RAPID IDENTIFICATION OF STREPTOCOCCUS-PNEUMONIAE BY PCR AMPLIFICATIONOF RIBOSOMAL DNA SPACER REGION

Streptococcus pneumoniae is one of the important human pathogens in cl inical microbiology. A polymerase chain reaction assay was designed to detect and identify S. pneumoniae through amplification of the riboso mal DNA spacer regions between the pneumococcal 16S-23S ribosomal RNA genes. Thirty-two Streptococcus and non-Streptococcus strains were tes ted to verify the specificity of the assay, and only S. pneumoniae str ains gave a positive reaction. This method is a powerful technique for the rapid identification of S. pneumoniae.