DETECTION OF VIRULENCE GENES IN AEROMONAS SPP.ISOLATED FROM READY-TO-EAT SALADSiriwat Kucharoenphaibul, JintanaWongwigkarn, Wassana Chatdumrong, Sutthirat Sitthisak,RattiyaCheewapat, KunsudaNimanussornkul and Kannipa TasanapakAbstract Nowadays, most people are more concerned with their personal health. Salads that are ready to eat arefrequently a healthy eating option. It is consumed raw and unheated, which promotes the growth ofnumerous microorganisms. Furthermore, microbial contamination may occur because of the use ofcontaminated water for cleaning and packing. Aeromonas spp. are bacteria that grow on the waterâs surface.They can survive in water that has been chlorinated to eliminate bacteria, which is critical for public health.Because bacteria can produce and secrete a variety of enzymes that are toxic to human tissue, there are anumber of factors that contribute to violence. In people with low immunity, the majority of them can causeserious disease. As a result, the goal of this research is to look into and identify Aeromonas spp. Isolatedfrom ready-to-eat salad. The 16s rDNA gene was used to confirm the findings, and a PCR was used to lookinto the virulence factor genes. In this study, 9 isolates of Aeromonas spp. were found in 136 ready-to-eatsalad samples, accounting for 6.6 percent of the total. Six virulence genes (ast, fla, lip, act, alt, and aphB) wereused to identify each of 9 isolates where flawere found 4 isolates (44.44 %), and ahpB were also discovered8 isolates (88.88 %). Therefore, there is the potential that ready to eat salad can be contaminated by Aeromonasspp. containing virulence factor which can cause a severe health risk such as diarrhea to consumers. |