title: Rapid identification of clinically relevant Nocardia species to genus level by 16S rRNA gene PCR.
abstract: Two regions of the gene coding for 16S rRNA in Nocardia species were selected as genus-specific primer sequences for a PCR assay. The PCR protocol was tested with 60 strains of clinically relevant Nocardia isolates and type strains. It gave positive results for all strains tested. Conversely, the PCR assay was negative for all tested species belonging to the most closely related genera, including Dietzia, Gordona, Mycobacterium, Rhodococcus, Streptomyces, and Tsukamurella. Besides, unlike the latter group of isolates, all Nocardia strains exhibited one MlnI recognition site but no SacI restriction site. This assay offers a specific and rapid alternative to chemotaxonomic methods for the identification of Nocardia spp. isolated from pathogenic samples.
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur, Unite de Mycologie, Centre National de Reference des Mycoses Humaines, des Antifongiques et des Actinomycetes, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France. laurent@lyon-sud.univ-lyon1.fr
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Laurent
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Provost
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boiron
mesh_terms: D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D001483:Base Sequence; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009615:Nocardia / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000032:analysis*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S