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Bacteriophage‐receptor binding proteins for multiplex detection of Staphylococcus and Enterococcus in blood
Author(s) -
Santos Sílvio B.,
Cunha Alexandra P.,
Macedo Mariana,
Nogueira Catarina L.,
Brandão Ana,
Costa Susana P.,
Melo Luís D. R.,
Azeredo Joana,
Carvalho Carla M.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
biotechnology and bioengineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.136
H-Index - 189
eISSN - 1097-0290
pISSN - 0006-3592
DOI - 10.1002/bit.27489
Subject(s) - enterococcus , staphylococcus aureus , bacteriophage , microbiology and biotechnology , antibiotics , biology , antimicrobial , staphylococcus , bacteria , antibiotic resistance , multiplex , computational biology , bioinformatics , escherichia coli , genetics , gene
Healthcare‐associated infections (HCAIs) affect hundreds of millions of patients, representing a significant burden for public health. They are usually associated to multidrug resistant bacteria, which increases their incidence and severity. Bloodstream infections are among the most frequent and life‐threatening HCAIs, with Enterococcus and Staphylococcus among the most common isolated pathogens. The correct and fast identification of the etiological agents is crucial for clinical decision‐making, allowing to rapidly select the appropriate antimicrobial and to prevent from overuse and misuse of antibiotics and the consequent increase in antimicrobial resistance. Conventional culture methods are still the gold standard to identify these pathogens, however, are time‐consuming and may lead to erroneous diagnosis, which compromises an efficient treatment. (Bacterio)phage receptor binding proteins (RBPs) are the structures responsible for the high specificity conferred to phages against bacteria and thus are very attractive biorecognition elements with high potential for specific detection and identification of pathogens. Taking into account all these facts, we have designed and developed a new, fast, accurate, reliable and unskilled diagnostic method based on newly identified phage RBPs and spectrofluorometric techniques that allows the multiplex detection of Enterococcus and Staphylococcus in blood samples in less than 1.5 hr after an enrichment step.