MRSA Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about MRSA, including details on methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, hospitals, infection, antibiotic resistance, superbugs.

Gene sequences and specific detection for Panton-Valentine leukocidin.

Nakagawa S, Taneike I, Mimura D, Iwakura N, Nakayama T, Emura T, Kitatsuji M, Fujimoto A, Yamamoto T

Division of Bacteriology, Department of Infectious Disease Control and International Medicine, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata, Japan.

A new category of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), called community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA), has emerged worldwide. In contrast to previous MRSA, most CA-MRSA carries the Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) genes (lukPVSF) as a virulence genetic trait. Sequence analysis of the lukPVSF gene of a Japanese isolate demonstrated that the gene has more similarity to methicillin-susceptible S. aureus from France than MRSA from the United States. Based on the sequences, we developed a real-time PCR assay for the three key genes of CA-MRSA; that is, lukPVSF, mecA (for methicillin resistance), and spa (for S. aureus). Dual or triple assay for lukPVSF, mecA, and spa in one test tube became possible. The detection limit of the assay with probe and SYBR Green methods was between 2.7 and 2.7 x 10(1) CFU/ml. The assay detected PVL-positive MRSA in clinical (blood) isolates.

Published 14 February 2005 in Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 328(4): 995-1002.
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