title: Interlaboratory reproducibility of DiversiLab rep-PCR typing and clustering of Acinetobacter baumannii isolates.
abstract: We have investigated the reproducibility of DiversiLab rep-PCR fingerprints between two laboratories with the aim of determining if the fingerprints and clustering are laboratory-specific or portable. One-hundred non-duplicate Acinetobacter baumannii isolates were used in this study. DNA isolation and rep-PCR were each performed separately in two laboratories and rep-PCR patterns generated in laboratory A were compared with those from laboratory B. Twelve A. baumannii isolates processed in laboratory A showed ≥98 % pattern similarity with the corresponding 12 isolates tested in laboratory B and were considered identical. Sixty-four isolates showed 95-97.9 % similarity with their corresponding isolates. Twenty-three isolates showed 90-94 % similarity with the corresponding isolates, while one isolate showed only 87.4 % similarity. However, intra-laboratory clustering was conserved: isolates that clustered in laboratory A also clustered in laboratory B. While clustering was conserved and reproducible at two different laboratories, demonstrating the robustness of rep-PCR, interlaboratory comparison of individual isolate fingerprints showed more variability. This comparison allows conclusions regarding clonality to be reached independent of the laboratory where the analysis is performed.
authors: Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, University of Cologne, Goldenfelsstrasse 19-21, 50935 Cologne, Germany.
authors: Paul G
authors: PG
authors: Higgins
authors: Research Service, Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.|Department of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
authors: Andrea M
authors: AM
authors: Hujer
authors: Research Service, Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.|Department of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
authors: Kristine M
authors: KM
authors: Hujer
authors: Research Service, Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.|Department of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.|Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.|Department of Pharmacology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
authors: Robert A
authors: RA
authors: Bonomo
authors: Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, University of Cologne, Goldenfelsstrasse 19-21, 50935 Cologne, Germany.
authors: Harald
authors: H
authors: Seifert
mesh_terms: D000151:Acinetobacter Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D040981:Acinetobacter baumannii / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting / Q000379:methods; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007753:Laboratories; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid / Q000235:genetics*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial