title: PCR for the identification of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains using a single primer pair specific for SCCmec elements and the neighbouring chromosome-borne orfX.
abstract: The chromosomal location of the SCCmec elements containing mecA allows the identification of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains by PCR amplification of a sequence covering the right junction of the SCCmec elements and the adjacent chromosomal region encoding the species-specific ORFX. MRSA strains can be identified specifically using one forward primer, with only one or two mismatches, targeting the SCCmec elements of different types, and one reverse primer targeting the orfX region.
authors.affiliation: Robert Koch Institute, Wernigerode, Germany.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cuny
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Witte
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D002876:Chromosomes, Bacterial; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D016106:Methicillin Resistance / Q000235:genetics*; D046915:Penicillin-Binding Proteins; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D017931:DNA Primers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D046915:Penicillin-Binding Proteins; C487789:mecA protein, Staphylococcus aureus