title: Use of peptide nucleic acid-fluorescence in situ hybridization for definitive, rapid identification of five common Candida species.
abstract: We investigated a 2.5-h peptide nucleic acid-fluorescence in situ hybridization (PNA-FISH) assay with five Candida species-specific probes to identify Candida colonies and compared it to standard 2-h to 5-day phenotypic identification methods. Suspensions were made and slides were prepared and read for fluorescence per the manufacturer's instructions. Sensitivity was 99% (109/110), and specificity was 99% (129/130). PNA-FISH can rapidly identify those Candida species isolated most frequently.
authors.affiliation: Medical Microbiology Division, Department Pathology, Meyer B1-193, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD 21287-7093, USA.
authors.forename: Megan E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Reller
authors.forename: Amanda B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Mallonee
authors.forename: Nicole P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Kwiatkowski
authors.forename: William G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Merz
mesh_terms: D002175:Candida / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D015341:Nucleic Acid Probes / Q000235:genetics*; D020135:Peptide Nucleic Acids / Q000235:genetics*