EFFICIENCY OF THE POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION AMPLIFICATION OF THE UID GENE FOR DETECTION OF ESCHERICHIA-COLI IN CONTAMINATED WATER

Direct detection of Escherichia coli from polluted river water was ach ieved using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the uid g ene, Amplification using DNA from environmental samples resulted in no n-specific DNA fragments, Specific amplification was achieved through use of the touch-down PCR procedure, Targeting the uidA structural reg ion of the gene gave reproducibly better amplification than targeting the uidR regulatory region. The data demonstrate conditions for optima l specific detection.