Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a good method for identifying actinomycetes as it is based on the identification of specific genes. PCR tests use primers targeted at species-specific sequences.
So far, several PCR assays for Nocardia, Streptomyces, and Rhodococcus species have been developed for use in research.15 These types of nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) help to facilitate a rapid diagnosis. Specific research targeted the rapid diagnosis of these three organisms directly from bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimens of patients infected with HIV.16 PCR products were then sequenced to aid in obtaining full species identification.
PCR Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP molecular analysis [PRA]) involves the amplification of:
- The hsp65 gene or the 16S rRNA gene, and
- Subsequent digestions with specific restriction endonucleases for each gene15(p 20)
- Useful for Nocardia isolates
15. National Health Service. (2016). UK standards for microbiology investigations: Identification of aerobic actinomycetes. The Royal College of Pathologists. https://www.rcpath.org/static/ce08d742-b58e-4e8d-986c43a75ac367c3/uk-smi-id-10i2-2-identification-of-aerobic-actinomycetes-october-2016-pdf.pdf16. Rahdar, H. A., Salehi, M. R., Bahador, A., Jasemi, S., Karami-Zarandi, M., Nejad, M. H., Shahraki-Zahedani, S., Amani, J., Feyisa, S. G., Kardan-Yamchi, J., & Feizabadi, M. M. (2019). Detection of Nocardia, Streptomyces and Rhodococcus from bronchoalveolar lavage specimens of patients with HIV by Multiplex PCR Assay. Ethiopian journal of health sciences, 29(6), 737–744. https://doi.org/10.4314/ejhs.v29i6.10
