Comprehensive evaluation of complex polymicrobial specimens using next generation sequencing and standard microbiological culture.

ABSTRACT: Optimal clinical decision-making depends on identification of clinically relevant organisms present in a sample. Standard microbiological culture may fail to identify unusual or fastidious organisms and can misrepresent relative abundance of sample constituents. Culture-independent methods have improved our ability to deconvolute polymicrobial patient samples. We used next-generation 16S rRNA gene sequencing (NGS16S) to determine how often cultivatable organisms in complex polymicrobial samples are not reported by standard culture. Twenty consecutive bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples were plated to standard and additional media; bacteria were identified by NGS16S analysis of DNA extracted directly from samples or from washed culture plates. 96% of organisms identified were cultivable, b

SUBMITTER: Cummings LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7096443 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature