부산대학교 도서관

ABSTRACTWe describe a high-throughput assay using PCR coupled to electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (PCR/ESI-MS) to determine the genotypes of Staphylococcus aureusisolates. The primer sets used in the PCR/ESI-MS assay were designed to amplify the same genes analyzed in multilocus sequence typing (MLST). The method was used to identify the clonal complex and USA type of each isolate and is suitable for use in a clinical or public-health setting. The method was validated using a panel of diverse isolates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that were previously characterized by MLST and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Clinical isolates from two geographically distinct hospitals were characterized, and the clustering results were in agreement with those for repetitive-element PCR and PFGE. The PCR/ESI-MS method enables genotyping of over 180 samples of S. aureusper day in an automated fashion.