Application of amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis in identification of Acinetobacter baumannii from a Tertiary Teaching Hospital, Malaysia

摘要

Acinetobacter baumannii, genomic species 3 and 13TU are being increasinglyreported as the most important Acinetobacter species that cause infections in hospitalizedpatients. These Acinetobacter species are grouped in the Acinetobacter calcoaceticus-Acinetobacter baumannii (Acb) complex. Differentiation of the species in the Acb-complexis limited by phenotypic methods. Therefore, in this study, amplified ribosomal DNA restrictionanalysis (ARDRA) was applied to confirm the identity A. baumannii strains as well as todifferentiate between the subspecies. One hundred and eighty-five strains from IntensiveCare Unit, Universiti Malaya Medical Center (UMMC) were successfully identified as A.baumannii by ARDRA. Acinetobacter genomic species 13TU and 15TU were identified in 3and 1 strains, respectively. ARDRA provides an accurate, rapid and definitive approachtowards the identification of the species level in the genus Acinetobacter. This paper reportsthe first application ARDRA in genospecies identification of Acinetobacter in Malaysia.