title: Specific identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with the luciferase reporter mycobacteriophage: use of p-nitro-alpha-acetylamino-beta-hydroxy propiophenone.
abstract: We have previously described a luciferase reporter mycobacteriophage (LRP) assay that can detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis and characterize mycobacterial drug susceptibility patterns within 24 to 48 h in positive cultures. One drawback of this LRP protocol is the ability of the recombinant mycobacteriophage phAE40 to infect a variety of Mycobacterium species, thus limiting its specificity for the detection of M. tuberculosis. In this study, we have (i) explored the host range of phAE40, (ii) developed a modified LRP assay that exploits the selective inhibitory effect of the compound p-nitro-alpha-acetylamino-beta-hydroxy propiophenone (NAP) against members of the M. tuberculosis complex to differentiate between the tubercle bacillus and other mycobacterial species, and (iii) tested over 300 samples, including primary clinical isolates and drug-resistant strains of M. tuberculosis, demonstrating the ability of the NAP-modified LRP assay to identify M. tuberculosis complex organisms with high degrees of sensitivity and specificity.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Montefiore Medical Center of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461, USA. riska@aecom.yu.edu
authors.forename: P F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Riska
authors.forename: W R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Jacobs
authors.forename: B R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Bloom
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McKitrick
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D001431:Bacteriological Techniques / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D006801:Humans; D008156:Luciferases / Q000235:genetics; D009160:Mycobacteriophages / Q000235:genetics*; D009161:Mycobacterium / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000821:virology; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000821:virology*; D011427:Propiophenones / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013045:Species Specificity; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000175:diagnosis
chemical_list: D011427:Propiophenones; D008156:Luciferases