Typing of Toxigenic Isolates of Clostridium perfringens by Multiplex PCR in Ostrich

Clostridium perfringens is an important pathogen that provokes numerous different diseases. This bacte-rium is classified into five various types, each of which capable of causing a distinct disease. There are various methods for the bacterial identification, many are labor-intensive, time-consuming, expensive and also show low sensitivity and specificity. The aim of this research was to identify the unlike types of Clos-tridium perfringens using PCR method. In this study, 120 ostrich-dung samples were randomly collected from areas around the city of Kerman, southeastern Iran. After processing and culturing of samples, the produced colonies were morphologically studied, gram stain test was also carried out and the genera of these bacteria were identified through biochemical tests. DNA extracted from isolated bacteria for genotyp-ing was tested by multiplex PCR with specific primers. Based on length of synthesized fragments by PCR, toxin types and bacterial strains were detected. Clostridium perfringens isolated types were divided as fol-lows: 100% type A, 0% type B, 0% type C and 0% type D. It should be emphasized that, up to now, Clos-tridium perfringens type A has not been reported in Iran.