One Assay for All: A Microarray technology for identification and Serotyping of Streptococcus pneumoniae in Culture Negative qmPCR Positive Serum Specimens

Avid Hussain Shaik; Kadahalli Lingegowda Ravikumar

Volume : VIII, Issue : V, May - 2019

One Assay for All: A Microarray technology for identification and Serotyping of Streptococcus pneumoniae in Culture Negative qmPCR Positive Serum Specimens

Avid Hussain Shaik, Kadahalli Lingegowda Ravikumar

Abstract :

Serotyping of Streptococcus pneumoniae is of importance for disease management and vaccine studies. Current serotyping methods require culturing which is often negative and cannot differentiate homologous serotypes. Serum provides a convenient and widely available source of pathogen detection, but the presence of host DNA hinder the detection of S. pneumoniae. This study aimed to evaluate a microarray method to detect and serotype S. pneumoniae from serum specimens. Unique serotype–specific probes were identified and added to the custom pneumococcal array and evaluated with 32 homologous reference strains, 8 Non– pneumococcal isolates and 454 serum samples. With a combination of Microbial DNA enrichment, the custom pneumococcal array identified serotype of homologous reference strains and serum samples accurately with an additional advantage of multiple serotypes and other respiratory bacterial pathogens detection in spiked samples. Our results signify the ability of microarray technology to identify and detect S. pneumoniae serotype from serum specimens.