A comparative evaluation of phenotypic and molecular methods in the identification of members of the Staphylococcus sciuri group.
Members of the Staphylococcus sciuri group (S. sciuri, S. lentus, and S. vitulinus) are coagulase-negative, novobiocin-resistant staphylococci that could be distinguished from other staphylococci on the basis of positive oxidase activity. In the present study, a scheme based on conventional methods and utilization of various carbohydrates was evaluated for the identification of oxidase-positive staphylococci, and validated using two molecular techniques. Of the 173 oxidase-positive staphylococcal tested strains, 161 were identified as S. sciuri, 9 as S. lentus, 2 as S. vitulinus, and one as S. fleurettii by our scheme. The level of agreement with tRNA intergenic length polymorphism analysis (tDNA-PCR) was high (97.5-100% correlation). The accuracy and ease of use of this protocol suggest that it may be useful and valuable in microbiological laboratories for the identification of members of this group.
Department of Bacteriology, School of Medicine, Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Dr Subotića 1, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia. stepan@afrodita.rcub.bg.ac.yu
Srdjan
S
Stepanović
Ivana
I
Dakić
An
A
Martel
Mario
M
Vaneechoutte
Donald
D
Morrison
Adebayo
A
Shittu
Petr
P
Jezek
Annemie
A
Decostere
Luc A
LA
Devriese
Freddy
F
Haesebrouck
D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D021901:DNA, Intergenic; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / Q000235:genetics; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000032:analysis; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012343:RNA, Transfer / Q000235:genetics; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000145:classification* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics
D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D021901:DNA, Intergenic; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer; D012343:RNA, Transfer; D010088:Oxidoreductases