DETECTION OF MORGANELLA MORGANII IN FROZEN MACKEREL VIA MULTIPLEX PCR RECOGNITION AND ASSIMILATION

Abstract

Morganella morganii is a psychrotolerant organism recognized as a histamine-producing bacteria by decarboxylation of histidine amino acid, it has been involved in cases of histamine fish poisoning reported in different seafood products. In this study, we collected a total of 125 random samples of frozen Mackerel fish stored at -18°C from different fish markets in New Valley Governorate, Egypt. Through isolation from the tissue of fish samples on Chromogenic agar plates, bacteria forming light brown colonies were identified. Confirmatory identification of bacteria was conducted using 16S rRNA as a species-specific gene, revealing the presence of 14 M. morganii strains from samples, representing an incidence of 11.2% of all samples. Morganella morganii is a prominent adaptive nosocomial bacterium that can cause urinary tract infections and bacteremia.