title: Comparison of rapid automated laser fluorescence analysis of DNA fingerprints with four other computer-assisted approaches for studying relationships between Acinetobacter baumannii isolates.
abstract: The relationships between isolates suggested by a novel DNA typing method (RAPD-ALFA) that combines randomly amplified polymorphic DNA with automated on-line laser fluorescence analysis of DNA fragments were compared with those suggested by four other computer-assisted typing strategies (biotyping, antibiogram typing, pulsed-field gel analysis of chromosomal fingerprints and arbitrarily-primed DNA amplification with three different primers) for 25 isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii obtained from 12 different hospitals in four countries over a period of 12 years. The results obtained by cluster analysis with two different software packages confirmed that the relationships suggested by RAPD-ALFA were robust and essentially similar to those suggested by the other more laborious computer-assisted typing methods. The technique of RAPD-ALFA appears to offer the possibility of routine on-line molecular identification and typing of isolates from particular hospital wards or units (e.g., intensive care units), and could, therefore, play a key role in the early recognition and prevention of outbreaks of infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University Hospital, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, UK.
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Webster
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Towner
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Humphreys
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ehrenstein
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hartung
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Grundmann
mesh_terms: D000150:Acinetobacter / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D000151:Acinetobacter Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D001483:Base Sequence; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007834:Lasers; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D019105:Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique; D012984:Software; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence