Ethidium and propidium monoazide: comparison of potential toxicity on Vibrio sp. viability

S Copin (1) , Julia Mougin (2, 3) , V Raguenet (1) , A Robert‐pillot , G Midelet (1) , Thierry Grard (2, 3) , Maryse Bonnin‐jusserand (2, 3)

1 ANSES - Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail
2 ULCO - Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale
3 BPA - Biochimie des Produits Aquatiques

Significance and Impact of the Study: Ethidium monoazide (EMA) and propidium monoazide (PMA) treatment have commonly been used combined with qPCR to discriminate viable and dead cells. However, these DNA-binding dyes can damage membranes in viable bacteria, generating false-negative results. Most available studies examined either EMA-qPCR or PMA-qPCR, based on the literature to select the dye of interest. However, none of them tested the cytotoxicity of EMA vs PMA on various Vibrio sp. strains. In this study, we showed that PMA was the optimal dye for Vibrio as a tool for pretreatment when using qPCR methods to determine Vibrio viability in environmental or seafood samples.

Keywords: EMA; PMA; toxicity; VBNC; Vibrio

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]

S Copin, Julia Mougin, V Raguenet, A Robert‐pillot, G Midelet, et al.. Ethidium and propidium monoazide: comparison of potential toxicity on Vibrio sp. viability. Letters in Applied Microbiology, 2021, 72 (3), pp.245-250. ⟨10.1111/lam.13412⟩. ⟨hal-03697173⟩