MOLECULAR DETECTION OF AmpC β-LACTAMASE GENE IN Morganella morganii CLINICAL ISOLATES

AL-MUHANNA A.S.¹*
¹Department of Laboratory Investigation, Faculty of Sciences, Kufa University, Iraq.
* Corresponding Author : almuhannaabbas@yahoo.com

Received : 27-10-2013     Accepted : 12-12-2013     Published : 31-12-2013
Volume : 5     Issue : 7       Pages : 506 - 509
Int J Microbiol Res 5.7 (2013):506-509
DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.9735/0975-5276.5.7.506-509

Keywords : Morganella morganii, β-lactamase, AmpC, VITEK-2, PCR
Conflict of Interest : None declared

Seventeen isolates of Morganella morganii were identified among three hundred ninety five of gram-negative bacteria that grown on MacConkey agar and isolated from different infections at Al-Najaf Al-ashraf province hospitals. The initial identification of Morganella morganii isolates depended on the colonial morphology, microscopic examination and biochemical tests. The final identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing were performed by using automated VITEK-2 compact system. The results of susceptibility revealed that Morganella morganii isolates were highly resistant to most common antibiotics and considered to be multi-drug resistant (MDR). To detect AmpC β-lactamase enzymes, phenotype methods were used. Eleven and five isolates were AmpC producers according to initial and confirmatory methods, respectively. The genotype method was used to detect bla_AmpC gene using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technique. The results revealed that 7 (41.2%) of Morganella morganii isolates possess bla_AmpC gene.