Quantification of toxin-encoding mRNA from<i>Clostridium botulinum</i>type E in media containing sorbic acid or sodium nitrite by competitive RT-PCR

Abstract

Competitive reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (cRT-PCR) was used to quantify the toxin-encoding mRNA production of a Clostridium botulinum type E strain in media containing either sorbic acid or sodium nitrite. A 10-fold reduction in toxin mRNA production and a 25-fold reduction in the proportion of toxin mRNA to total RNA, was estimated when either 1 mg ml(-1) sorbic acid or 100 microg ml(-1) sodium nitrite were added to the medium at pH 7.0.