title: Rapid identification of Streptococcus pneumoniae by PCR amplification of ribosomal DNA spacer region.
abstract: Streptococcus pneumoniae is one of the important human pathogens in clinical microbiology. A polymerase chain reaction assay was designed to detect and identify S. pneumoniae through amplification of the ribosomal DNA spacer regions between the pneumococcal 16S-23S ribosomal RNA genes. Thirty-two Streptococcus and non-Streptococcus strains were tested to verify the specificity of the assay, and only S. pneumoniae strains gave a positive reaction. This method is a powerful technique for the rapid identification of S. pneumoniae.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Saruta
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsunaga
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hoshina
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kono
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kitahara
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kanemoto
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sakai
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Machida
mesh_terms: D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D001483:Base Sequence; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011008:Pneumococcal Infections / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal