title: Detection of mecA and ermA genes and simultaneous identification of Staphylococcus aureus using triplex real-time PCR from Malaysian S. aureus strain collections.
abstract: A triplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was used for the simultaneous detection of mecA (methicillin resistance), ermA (erythromycin resistance) and femA (Staphylococcus aureus identification) genes in a single assay. Among 93 clinical S. aureus hospital isolates, there were 48 methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and 45 methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) isolates. Screening the isolates using the triplex real-time PCR assay, the mecA, ermA and femA genes were detected in all MRSA isolates. The triplex real-time PCR assay was completed within 3h and is a useful genotypic method for detecting the resistance determinants as well as for the identification of S. aureus isolates. These findings will assist the clinical laboratory in identifying these resistance genes and S. aureus rapidly, thus benefiting patient therapy. This study represents a valuable source of information for researchers to study the local antibiotic resistance pattern, which can increase our knowledge of the antibiotic resistance profile, using real-time PCR technology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Negar Shafiei
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Sabet
authors.forename: Geetha
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Subramaniam
authors.forename: Parasakthi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Navaratnam
authors.forename: Shamala Devi
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Sekaran
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D004917:Erythromycin / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia; D016106:Methicillin Resistance / Q000235:genetics; D008780:Methyltransferases / Q000235:genetics*; D046915:Penicillin-Binding Proteins; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D046915:Penicillin-Binding Proteins; C487789:mecA protein, Staphylococcus aureus; D004917:Erythromycin; D008780:Methyltransferases; C431709:ErmA protein, Bacteria