Molecular methods for the identification of bacteria from the genus Staphylococcus

Staphylococci are increasingly recognized as etiological agent of many opportunistic human and animal infections, indicating the need for rapid and accurate identification of these bacteria. In recent years, a significant progress in the identification and phylogenetic studies of Staphylococcus species has been made. In this paper we describe several molecular methods used in taxonomy and identification of staphylococci. The analysis of 16S rRNA gene, gap gene (coding for glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase), hsp60 gene (encoding heat shock protein Hsp60), dnaJ gene (encoding heat shock protein Hsp40), tuf gene (encoding elongation factor Tu), sodA gene (encoding superoxide dismutase), ropB gene (encoding the beta subunit of RNA polymerase) has been used as tool for the identification of Staphylococcus isolates. Besides the sequence analysis, the PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis of core genes (16S rRNA, gap, hsp60, dnaJ, tuf) has been described. Attention is also paid to new molecular methods such as real-time PCR and mass spectrometry.