Evaluation of a novel method based on amplification of DNA fragments surrounding rare restriction sites (ADSRRS fingerprinting) for typing strains of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium

• Published in: Journal of microbiological methods Vol. 52; no. 3; pp. 341 - 351
• Main Authors: Krawczyk, Beata, Lewandowski, Krzysztof, Bronk, Marek, Samet, Alfred, Myjak, Przemysław, Kur, Józef
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier B.V 01.03.2003; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Bacterial Proteins - analysis; Bacterial Typing Techniques - methods; Bacteriological methods and techniques used in bacteriology; Bacteriology; Biological and medical sciences; Carbon-Oxygen Ligases - analysis; DNA Fingerprinting - methods; Enterococcus faecium; Enterococcus faecium - classification; Enterococcus faecium - drug effects; Enterococcus faecium - genetics; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Microbiology; Models, Genetic; PCR; PCR fingerprinting; PCR suppression; Phylogeny; Polymerase Chain Reaction - methods; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; Reproducibility of Results; Vancomycin Resistance; Vancomycin-resistant enterococci; Enterococcus faecium; PCR fingerprinting; PCR; PCR suppression; Vancomycin-resistant enterococci; Polymerase chain reaction; Resistance; Streptococcaceae; Nosocomial infection; Typing; Peptides; Glycopeptide; Fingerprint method; Bacteria; Micrococcales; Vancomycin
• ISSN: 0167-7012; 1872-8359
• DOI: 10.1016/S0167-7012(02)00187-2

In the search for an effective DNA-typing technique for use in hospital epidemiology, the performance and convenience of a novel assay based on the fingerprinting of bacterial genomes by amplification of DNA fragments surrounding rare restriction sites (ADSRRS fingerprinting) was tested. A large number of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREM) isolates from haematological ward patients of the Clinical Hospital in Gdańsk were examined. We found that ADSRRS fingerprinting analysis is a rapid method that offers good discriminatory power. The method demonstrated also excellent reproducibility. The usefulness of the ADSRRS fingerprinting method for molecular typing was compared with pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) method, which is currently considered the gold standard for molecular typing of isolates recovered from patients and the environment in the course of investigation and control of nosocomial outbreaks. Clustering of ADSRRS fingerprinting data matched pulsed field gel electrophoresis data. The features of ADSRRS fingerprinting technique is discussed in comparison with conventional methods. Data presented here demonstrate the complexity of the epidemiological situation concerning VREM that may occur in a single medical ward.