Multiplex PCR assay for typing of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec types I to V in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome mec (SCCmec) typing is a very important molecular tool for understanding the epidemiology and clonal strain relatedness of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), particularly with the emerging outbreaks of community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) occurring on a worldwide basis. Traditional PCR typing schemes classify SCCmec by targeting and identifying the individual mec and ccr gene complex types, but require the use of many primer sets and multiple individual PCR experiments. We designed and published a simple multiplex PCR assay for quick-screening of major SCCmec types and subtypes I to V, and later updated it as new sequence information became available. This simple assay targets individual SCCmec types in a single reaction, is easy to interpret and has been extensively used worldwide. However, due to the sophisticated nature of the assay and the large number of primers present in the reaction, there is the potential for difficulties while adapting this assay to individual laboratories. To facilitate the process of establishing a MRSA SCCmec assay, here we demonstrate how to set up our multiplex PCR assay, and discuss some of the vital steps and procedural nuances that make it successful.