AMDINOCILLIN FOR RAPID DETERMINATION OF SUSCEPTIBILITY TO BETA-LACTAM ANTIBIOTICS

摘要

Described are methods for detecting susceptibility of a specimen to antibiotics, and particularly for enhancing such susceptibility testing for beta lactam antibiotics and antibiotics that bind to penicillin-binding proteins. The method comprises contacting the specimen with an oligonucleotide probe that specifically hybridizes with a target nucleic acid sequence region of ribosomal RNA. The target sequence is mature ribosomal RNA or at the splice site between a pre-ribosomal RNA tail and mature ribosomal RNA. Performing the method in the presence and absence of an antibiotic permits determination of antibiotic susceptibility. Rapid susceptibility testing is enabled by the addition of the PBP2-specific antibiotic, amdinocillin.

主权项

1. A method for determining whether a sample of bacteria is susceptible to an antibiotic agent, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) contacting a specimen obtained from the sample with an oligonucleotide probe or pair of probes in the absence of the agent and in the presence of amdinocillin, wherein the probe or pair of probes specifically hybridizes to a target sequence over the full length of the target sequence, wherein the target sequence comprises 25-35 contiguous nucleotides of mature ribosomal RNA (mrRNA) or ribosomal RNA spanning a splice site between a pre-ribosomal RNA (prRNA) tail and mrRNA; (b) contacting a specimen obtained from the sample with the probe or pair of probes in the presence of the antibiotic agent and in the presence of amdinocillin; (c) detecting the relative amounts of probe hybridization to the target sequence in the specimens of (a) and (b); (d) identifying the sample as susceptible to antibiotic treatment if the amount of probe hybridization to the target sequence in step (b) is reduced relative to the amount of probe hybridization to the target sequence in step (a).