Expression of enterotoxin genes in Staphylococcus aureus isolates based on mRNA analysis

Staphylococcus aureus strains are important foodborne pathogens that produce various toxins. To evaluate the risk of the enterotoxins, four S. aureus strains from kimbap and two clinical samples were isolated and identified, and their expression of the enterotoxin genes were analyzed using a reverse transcription real-time PCR. Various enterotoxin genes were detected, including sea, seg, seh, sei, sen, seo, and sem, where each isolate contained one or two. When the mRNA detection of the enterotoxin genes was analyzed using a reverse transcriptase PCR, various levels of expression were found depending on the species and enterotoxin gene. Therefore, it is reasonable to suggest that the poisoning risk of S. aureus can be effectively evaluated based on the gene expression at the mRNA level.