Instructional Leadership, emphasis: K-12 School Leadership (MEd)
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  6. Genetic Signatures to Major Strain Types of MRSA

Genetic Signatures to Major Strain Types of MRSA

Description

The invention provides methods, kits, compositions, and assays to identify antibiotic-resistant genes in Staphylococcus aureus. Based on identified gene sequences, the assays’ primers and probes are designed to provide an antibiotic resistance profile for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other Staphylococcus strains. The methods include real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays, as well as oligonucleotides that are used as primers and probes.

Additional information

Patent number and inventor

9,914,978

Elizabeth Driebe, David Engelthaler, Jolene Bowers, and Paul Keim.

Potential applications

Clinical applications to identify Staphylococcus strains resistant to antibiotics.

Benefits and advantages

Because MRSA has the potential to develop resistance to antibiotics to which it once was susceptible, an accurate, sensitive, and efficient method of determining the evolved antimicrobial resistance for Staphylococcus strains was developed. The invention profiles Staph strains’ resistance to one or more antibiotic agents, detecting the presence of specific targeted sequences. The Staphylococcus strain for resistance profiling may be MRSA, methicillin-sensitive SA (MSSA), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE), and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus epidermidis (MSSE). In turn, an antibiotic will not be prescribed for infection treatment if the strain has already acquired resistance to the antibiotic agent that once was effective.

Case number and licensing status

2009-013

This invention is available for licensing.