title: Real-time PCR assays for the detection and quantification of Streptococcus pneumoniae.
abstract: Streptococcus pneumoniae is the main etiologic agent of pneumonia worldwide. Because the members of the viridans group streptococci share a high degree of DNA sequence homologies, phenotypic and genotypic discriminations of S. pneumoniae from the viridans group are difficult. A quantitative real-time PCR assay targeting the capsular polysaccharide biosynthesis gene (cpsA) was developed as a species-specific detection tool for S. pneumoniae. The specificity was evaluated using genomic DNAs extracted from 135 oral cocci strains. Twenty-seven S. pneumoniae strains tested positive, whereas 108 other strains including Streptococcus pseudopneumoniae, Streptococcus mitis, and Streptococcus oralis did not show a specific signal. The linear regression of standard curves indicated high correlations between the log numbers of S. pneumoniae cells and the C(T) values (R(2)=0.99). The minimal limit of detection was 32 fg of purified genomic DNA, equivalent to 14 genomes of S. pneumoniae. This new real-time PCR method may be very useful as a rapid and specific tool for detecting and quantifying S. pneumoniae.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology & Research, Institute for Translational System Biomics, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hee Kuk
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Hee Joong
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hee Jung
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Wonyong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D011008:Pneumococcal Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C500439:CpsA protein, Streptococcus pneumoniae