ANTIBIOTIC SUSCEPTIBILITY TESTING USING PROBES FOR PRERIBOSOMAL RNA

摘要

Described are probes and methods for detecting antibiotic susceptibility of a specimen. 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 at the junction between a pre-ribosomal RNA tail and mature ribosomal RNA of 23S or 16S rRNA. Performing the method in the presence and absence of an antibiotic permits detection of antibiotic susceptibility.

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, 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 bacterial ribosomal RNA (rRNA) spanning a splice site between a pre-ribosomal RNA (prRNA) tail and mature ribosomal RNA (mrRNA); (b) contacting a specimen obtained from the sample with the probe or pair of probes in the presence of the antibiotic agent; (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 by at least 80% relative to the amount of probe hybridization to the target sequence in step (a).