To verify the specificity of the primers, a large selection of nontarget cells were tested by mPCR. A 1 mL of pure culture was centrifuged at 12,000 g for 5 min and the pelletwas resuspended in an equal volumeof sterilewater.DNAtemplateswere obtained using the boiling method in which the samples were boiled for 15 min to release the genomic DNA, and followed by centrifugation at 12,000 g for 5 min. The genomicDNAs in the supernatantwas used as template DNAs for mPCR assays immediately. To test the limit of detection (LOD) of the PMA-mPCR assay, 10-fold serially diluted viable bacterial cell suspensions ranging from 107 to 101 CFU/Ml were subjected to PMA treatment and DNA extraction as mentioned above, followed by the mPCR assay. Additionally, to determine whether the PMA treatment would affect the LOD, non-PMA treated and negative control samples were subjected to the mPCR assay.