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Updated: Jul 31, 2026

In Situ Detection of Bacteria within Paraffin-embedded Tissues Using a Digoxin-labeled DNA Probe Targeting 16S rRNA
Published on: May 21, 2015
Geographical differences in bacteria detected in endodontic infections using polymerase chain reaction
J C Baumgartner1, J F Siqueira, T Xia
1School of Dentistry, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland 97239, USA. baumgarc@ohsu.edu
Abstract:
The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is an innovative nucleic acid-based assay that has the highest sensitivity of any microbiological technique for the detection of bacteria. The purpose of this study was to use PCR to detect the presence of specific species of bacteria in samples collected from two geographical locations. Microbial samples from abscesses of endodontic origin were collected from patients in Portland, Oregon, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. PCRs with species-specific oligonucleotide primers for the 16S ribosomal RNA gene were used for detection of the bacteria after DNA extraction from each clinical sample. Statistical analysis revealed that there was a significant difference in detection of the bacteria between the two geographical locations for Prevotella intermedia, Prevotella nigrescens, Prevotella tannerae, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Porphyromonas gingivalis, but not for Porphyromonas endodontalis, Fusobacterium necrophorum, and Enterococcus faecalis. These results suggest that differences in bacteria detected or cultured in studies can be associated with geographical location.
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