ANALYTICAL AND LABORATORY EQUIPMENT 33
Detecting microbes - new tools for old challenges
and compared over time, in different locations, or following different treatment regimens, to reveal patterns of resistance.
Stefanie Brookmann and Elizabeth Scanlan look at developments in gaining a better understanding of microbes at the molecular level.
I
n the age-old struggle of man versus microbe, there have been many victories
for humans, most notably the development of antibiotics, and many defeats, such as the inability to culture and study many species in the laboratory.
In recent years, we have gained a new perspective with the understanding that many microbial species are our allies and help maintain our health and well-being. However, old threats from infectious diseases such as tuberculosis have remerged and the increasing appearance of multi-drug-resistant organisms has presented difficulties for treatment. To this end, we are armed with powerful new quantitative PCR (qPCR) tools that enable analysis of microbial communities without the need to culture organisms.
Fig. 1. (Above) Microbial DNA qPCR Arrays, Assays, and Kits enable identification and profiling of microbial species, virulence factor genes, or antibiotic resistance genes from a variety of sample types.
Combined with microbial genetic information, qPCR allows any lab with a real- time PCR cycler to generate valuable data that will impact and advance our knowledge. QIAGEN has developed a range
of qPCR assays, multi-assay kits, and arrays for studies from single microbial genes to comprehensive genetic profiles.
Microbes evolve quickly to counteract antimicrobial drugs, and today antibiotic-resistant strains of pathogenic bacteria are a growing worldwide health problem, hampering treatment of bacterial infections. Understanding how resistance evolves and multiplies is central to creating public health policies on antibiotic use and controlling disease spread. A key research capability is the detection of the antibiotic-resistance genes present in a sample.
QIAGEN has developed a PCR array that can rapidly screen a sample for a range of antibiotic- resistance genes. Te array uses PCR amplification primers and hydrolysis-probe detection to target 87 antibiotic-resistance genes with high sensitivity (low- end detection of 5–80 copies) and wide dynamic range (at least five orders of magnitude). As a result, the presence of key genes in samples can be reliably profiled
We now appreciate that variations in the composition of the microbial communities living on and in our bodies have the potential to explain a variety of disease states. Again, the sensitivity and specificity of qPCR make it an attractive tool for research seeking correlations between microbiome status and disease. qPCR arrays and assays from QIAGEN can rapidly screen for specific bacterial species, virulence factor genes, and antibiotic-resistance genes, yielding insights into the underlying causes for observed conditions. qPCR takes a snapshot of the true microbial composition in a sample rather than relying on culture of whole organisms. Additionally, qPCR arrays can be designed to target focused panels of microbes and their genes that are known to impact health.
Microbiology studies that seek to answer big questions about how diseases emerge, spread, and are overcome, require tracking and measurement of microbes. Beginning with purification of microbial DNA using long-standing QIAGEN solutions provides the essential basis of high-quality starting material. Detection of species, virulence genes, or antibiotic- resistance genes by qPCR then builds profile data, shedding light on how microorganisms behave and change within their environments. Tese technologies will help improve our health and welfare.
For more information ✔ at
www.scientistlive.com/eurolab
Stefanie Brookmann is Associate Global Market Manager Discovery Sciences at QIAGEN GmbH, Hilden, Germany, and Elizabeth Scanlan is Technical and
Marketing Writing Manager at QIAGEN SA, Courtaboeuf, France.
www.qiagen.com
www.scientistlive.com
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