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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, March 1999, p. 628-632, Vol. 37, No. 3
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Application of pbp1A PCR in Identification of Penicillin-Resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae

Mignon du Plessis,* Anthony M. Smith, and Keith P. Klugman

Pneumococcal Diseases Research Unit of MRC, SAIMR, WITS, Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, South African Institute for Medical Research, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa

Received 20 August 1998/Returned for modification 13 October 1998/Accepted 12 November 1998

A seminested PCR assay, based on the amplification of the pneumococcal pbp1A gene, was developed for the detection of penicillin resistance in clinical isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae. The assay was able to differentiate between intermediate (MICs = 0.25 to 0.5 µg/ml) and higher-level (MICs = >= 1 µg/ml) resistance. Two species-specific primers, 1A-1 and 1A-2, which amplified a 1,043-bp region of the pbp1A penicillin-binding region, were used for pneumococcal detection. Two resistance primers, 1A-R1 and 1A-R2, were designed to bind to altered areas of the pbp1A gene which, together with the downstream primer 1A-2, amplify DNA from isolates with penicillin MICs of >= 0.25 and >= 1 µg/ml, respectively. A total of 183 clinical isolates were tested with the pbp1A assay. For 98.3% (180 of 183) of these isolates, the PCR results obtained were in agreement with the MIC data. The positive and negative predictive values of the assay were 100 and 91%, respectively, for detecting strains for which the MICs were >= 0.25 µg/ml and were both 100% for strains for which the MICs were >= 1 µg/ml.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Pneumococcal Diseases Research Unit, SAIMR, P.O. Box 1038, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa. Phone: 27-11-4899335. Fax: 27-11-4899332. E-mail: mignondp{at}hotmail.com.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, March 1999, p. 628-632, Vol. 37, No. 3
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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