Rapid detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in clinical samples by the polymerase chain reaction.

A DNA amplification method was used to detect Mycoplasma pneumoniae in clinical samples. M. pneumoniae 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences were selected as the amplification target region. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with purified DNA fragments as templates yielded an expected 88-bp fragment from M. pneumoniae but not from other Mycoplasma spp. nor from any of the other bacteria assayed. With this method, the 88-bp product specific for M. pneumoniae could be obtained from a minimum of 0.05 pg of M. pneumoniae DNA. Subsequently this PCR technique was used for the detection of M. pneumoniae in throat-swab samples. Twenty-two of 30 culture-positive clinical samples gave positive results in the PCR test. Thirty-two culture-negative clinical samples and 33 samples from healthy volunteers, of which only one was culture-positive, gave negative results in the same PCR test. This PCR method is useful for the direct detection of M. pneumoniae in clinical samples.