title: Identification of methicillin-resistant staphylococci by multiplex polymerase chain reaction assay.
abstract: A multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay using oligonucleotide primers to detect mecA and 16S ribosomal RNA gene was developed to aid in identification of methicillin-resistant staphylococci. Validation included 99 isolates of staphylococcus grouped into one of five categories: methicillin-susceptible coagulase-negative staphylococcus (MSCNS), methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococcus (MRCNS), methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), high beta-lactamase producing S aureus (HiBSA), and methicillin-resistant S aureus (MRSA). mecA was detected in MRSA (21/21), and in MRCNS (20/20), but not in MSSA (0/20). mecA was occasionally detected in HiBSA (1/19) and MSCNS (3/19). This multiplex PCR assay was also used to test 30 clinical isolates of coagulase-negative staphylococci with discrepancies between results of in vitro tests for susceptibility to oxacillin and was found to be valuable when a more definitive determination of intrinsic methicillin-resistance was desired.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Salisbury
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Sabatini
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Spiegel
mesh_terms: D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D016106:Methicillin Resistance / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial