Distinguishing Bacteriolytic from Bacteriostatic Activity of an Antibiotic Agent by Real-Time Quantitative PCR

Abstract

A simple and rapid real-time quantitative PCR assay was devised to discriminate bacteriolytic from bacteriostatic activity for a given antibacterial agent. Bacteria suspension was incubated with the compound solution, the mixture was centrifuged and supernatant was removed completely, the obtained pellet was then used as the DNA template for PCR. Then the bacteriostatic and bacteriolytic activity can be inferred by the quantity of PCR product. Moreover, the parameters that influence the assay sensitivity was discussed.