Detection of alcohol-tolerant hiochi bacteria by PCR

We report a sensitive and rapid method for detection of hiochi bacteria by PCR. This method involves the electrophoresis of amplified DNA. Nucleotide sequences of the spacer region between 16S and 23S rRNA genes of 11 Lactobacillus strains were identified by analysis of PCR products. Five primers were designed by analysis of similarities among these sequences. A single cell of Lactobacillus casei subsp. casei could be detected when purified genomic DNA was used as the template. When various cell concentrations of L. casei subsp. casei were added to 50 ml of pasteurized sake and the cells were recovered, the detection limit was about one cell. No discrete band was observed in electrophoresis after PCR when human, Escherichia coli, mycoplasma, Acholeplasma, yeast, or mold DNA was used as the template.