title: Combining use of a panel of ssDNA aptamers in the detection of Staphylococcus aureus.
abstract: In this article, a panel of ssDNA aptamers specific to Staphylococcus aureus was obtained by a whole bacterium-based SELEX procedure and applied to probing S. aureus. After several rounds of selection with S. aureus as the target and Streptococcus and S. epidermidis as counter targets, the highly enriched oligonucleic acid pool was sequenced and then grouped under different families on the basis of the homology of the primary sequence and the similarity of the secondary structure. Eleven sequences from different families were selected for further characterization by confocal imaging and flow cytometry analysis. Results showed that five aptamers demonstrated high specificity and affinity to S. aureus individually. The five aptamers recognize different molecular targets by competitive experiment. Combining these five aptamers had a much better effect than the individual aptamer in the recognition of different S. aureus strains. In addition, the combined aptamers can probe single S. aureus in pyogenic fluids. Our work demonstrates that a set of aptamers specific to one bacterium can be used in combination for the identification of the bacterium instead of a single aptamer.
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoxiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Shaohua
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Liucun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Hongmei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Yanping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Nongle
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Weihong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Yanjun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Beifen
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Ningsheng
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shao
mesh_terms: D052157:Aptamers, Nucleotide / Q000737:chemistry*; D017931:DNA Primers; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D052156:SELEX Aptamer Technique; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D052157:Aptamers, Nucleotide; D017931:DNA Primers; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded