Detection of bovine Clostridium perfringens by polymerase chain reaction

A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay to detect Clostridium perfringens alpha toxin gene (cpa) was used to identify eighty-nine C.perfringens strains obtained from bovine clinical material. The strains were biochemically characterized a C. perfringens. The isolated strains were cultured on plates containing brain heart infusion agar with 5 per cent sheep blood under anaerobic conditions. DNA extraction was performed by boiling. The 324 bp amplification product of cpa was observed in all isolates. C.sordellii, C.botulinum, C.novyi, and C.septicum were also tested but did not produce any alpha toxin gene amplification. These findings suggest that PCR is a useful assay in identifying C. perfringens toxin types.