Dimethyl formamide-free, urea-NaCl fluorescence in situ hybridization assay for Staphylococcus aureus.

AIMS

To test the feasibility of identifying Staphylococcus aureus with a fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assay that uses a single hot-plate and urea-NaCl reagents.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Slides spotted with S. aureus and treated with methanol and lysozyme were incubated with urea-NaCl reagents on a hot-plate with a precise temperature control and identified with specific DNA probes.

CONCLUSIONS

Staphylococcus aureus was detected and differentiated from Staphylococcus epidermidis in 1 h with a novel FISH method that used a single hot-plate and in the absence of dimethyl formamide.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF STUDY

A rapid hot-plate FISH assay with urea-NaCl and without toxic dimethyl formamide might be useful if FISH is run infrequently or where resources are limited.