A Novel Platform Using RNA Signatures To Accelerate Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing in Neisseria gonorrhoeae

Abstract

The rise of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens can be attributed to the lack of a rapid pathogen identification (ID) or antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST), resulting in delayed therapeutic decisions at the point of care. Gonorrhea is usually empirically treated, with no AST results available before treatment, thus contributing to the rapid rise in drug resistance. Here, we present a rapid AST platform using RNA signatures for Neisseria gonorrhoeae . Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) followed by bioinformatic tools was applied to explore potential markers in the transcriptome profile of N. gonorrhoeae upon minutes of azithromycin exposure.