Non-radioactive gene probes for the detection of tetracycline and/or minocycline resistance in staphylococci

This report describes the development of a non-radioactive gene probe for the characterization of tetracycline and/or minocycline resistant staphylococci. Both radio-labelled and non-radioactive gene probes yielded a better characterization of the strains than the determination of minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC). A 100% correlation was found between radioactive and non-radioactive hybridization tests. The latter technique detected genes present in a single copy per bacterial genome, could be performed in 8 h, avoided radioactive hazards and autoradiography delay, and appeared therefore to be a useful tool for clinical and epidemiological studies.