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. 2000 Feb;38(2):877-80.
doi: 10.1128/JCM.38.2.877-880.2000.

PCR-Based assay for discrimination between invasive and contaminating Staphylococcus epidermidis strains

N B Frebourg  1 , S Lefebvre, S Baert, J F Lemeland
Affiliations

PCR-Based assay for discrimination between invasive and contaminating Staphylococcus epidermidis strains

N B Frebourg et al. J Clin Microbiol. 2000 Feb.

Abstract

The discrimination between Staphylococcus epidermidis strains that contaminate and infect blood cultures is a daily challenge for clinical laboratories. The results of PCR detection of putative virulence genes were compared for contaminating strains, sepsis-related strains, catheter strains, and saprophytic strains. Multiplex PCR was used to explore the atlE gene, which is involved in initial adherence, the intercellular adhesion gene cluster (ica), which mediates the formation of the biofilm, and the agrA, sarA, and mecA genes, which might contribute to the pathogenicity of S. epidermidis. Whereas the atlE, agrA, and sarA genes were almost ubiquitously amplified, the ica and mecA genes were detected significantly more in infecting strains than in contaminating strains (P </= 0.02) and thus appeared to be related to the potential virulence of S. epidermidis.

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Figures

FIG. 1
FIG. 1
Multiplex amplifications of representative S. epidermidis strains. (A) Multiplex PCR of altE, icaAB, and 16S rRNA gene fragments (lanes 1 to 4) and of mecA and 16S rRNA gene fragments (lanes 6 to 9). Lanes 1, 4, 7, and 8, blood culture-contaminating isolates; lanes 2, 3, and 6, sepsis-related isolates; lane 5, molecular weight marker (pBR322 DNA-MspI digest); lane 9, healthy volunteer isolate. (B) Multiplex PCR of agrA, 16S rRNA, and sarA gene fragments. Lane 1, sepsis-related isolate; lane 2, blood culture-contaminating isolate; lane 3, molecular weight marker (pBR322 DNA-MspI digest).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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