Detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and simultaneous confirmation by automated nucleic acid extraction and real-time PCR.

ABSTRACT: A molecular assay for the simultaneous detection of a Staphylococcus aureus-specific gene and the mecA gene, responsible for the resistance to methicillin in staphylococci, was evaluated. The assay included an automated DNA extraction protocol conducted with a MagNA Pure instrument and real-time PCR conducted with a LightCycler instrument. The performance and robustness of the assay were evaluated for a suspension of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strain with a turbidity equivalent to a McFarland standard of 0.5, which was found to be the ideal working concentration. The specificity of the new molecular assay was tested with a panel of 30 gram-negative and gram-positive bacterial strains other than MRSA. No cross-reactivity was observed. In a clinical study, 109 isolates of MRSA we

SUBMITTER: Grisold AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC120553 | biostudies-literature | 2002 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature