TITLE:
vicK Gene as Potential Identification Marker for Staphylococcus aureus
AUTHORS:
Nurmusfirah Morad, Suzana Misbah
KEYWORDS:
vicK Gene, Staphylococcus aureus, Identification Marker, Rapid Diagnostic, Two-Component Signal Transduction
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biosciences and Medicines,
Vol.6 No.11,
November
30,
2018
ABSTRACT: Staphylococcus aureus is an important human pathogen frequently detected in hospital community and has emerged as an important health concern in human medicine. Identification of S. aureus from clinical specimens by phenotypic methods may produce variable characteristics leading to ambiguity. Hence, a rapid and reliable method for identification of S. aureus is required which could expedite appropriate antibiotic therapy. This study aimed to evaluate the specificity of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting a signal transduction gene, vicK, among S. aureus isolates of Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia. A total of 118 bacterial isolates were screened, which consisted of one hundred S. aureus isolates, ten Staphylococcus spp. and eight non-Staphylococci. Results indicated that PCR targeting vicK was able to identify 98% of S. aureus isolates with high sensitivity and specificity, while the remaining isolates of Staphylococcus spp. and non-Staphylococci did not yield any amplification of the gene. vicK thus, is highly specific within interspecies and intraspecies, which is potential to be used as a molecular identification marker for S. aureus.