REAL-TIME POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION VERSUS CONVENTIONAL PCR: A COMPARISON BETWEEN TWO METHODS FOR THE DETECTION OF FUSOBACTERIUM NUCLEATUM IN SALIVA, NASOPHARYNGEAL SECRETION AND MIDDLE EAR EFFUSION SAMPLES

Abstract

Oral and middle ear infections are biofilm related infections. Fusobacterium nucleatum is considered to be a key species in dental biofilm formation. The aim of this study was to compare conventional and real-time PCR, for the detection of F. nucleatum in saliva, nasopharyngeal secretion and middle ear effusion samples. Sixty samples were collected from 20 patients with otitis media with effusion. Species-specific 165 rRNA primers were used for conventional PCR and species-specific primers and TaqMan probes were used for real-time PCR analysis. Real-time PCR had a better performance than conventional PCR in detecting bacteria in the analyzed samples. The tested real-time PCR assay can identify) and identify) F nucleatum in biofilm samples with a high degree of sensitivity when compared with conventional PCR techniques.