Diagnosis of gonorrhoea using a genetic transformation test at a venereal disease clinic in Thailand.

A genetic transformation test (GTT), a technique in which gonococcal DNA is detected in clinical specimens, was used to search for Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections in 37 men and 159 women at the Venereal Disease clinic in Cholburi, Thailand. Swabs were collected in duplicate from cervical specimens from 159 women and from urethral specimens from 37 men. One of each specimen was cultured on Thayer-Martin media while the other was mailed to the United States at room temperature for the GTT which involved a delay of 10 to 14 days.

Diagnosis of gonorrhea using a genetic transformation test on mailed clinical specimens.

The genetic transformation test (GTT), a technique used for the detection of gonococcal DNA in clinical specimens, was compared with culture testing for the diagnosis of gonorrhea. At the De Kalb County Venereal Disease Clinic, Decatur, Ga., 454 cervical and 160 rectal specimens from women and 191 urethral specimens from men were collected in duplicate.

Laboratory diagnosis of gonorrhea by a simple transformation test with a temperature-sensitive mutant of Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

A temperature-sensitive mutant of Neisseria gonorrhoeae strain tsA-1 was used in a transformation test for the laboratory diagnosis of gonorrhea. This transformation test (C test) is based on a spotting of a DNA lysate, obtained through simple base-acid extraction of a cervical-swab specimen, onto a lawn of tsA-1, which is then incubated for one to two days at 37 C. Of 1,053 cervical-swab specimens tested, 52 contained the gonococcal DNA necessary for restoring the ability of tsA-1 to grow well at 37 C; 49 of the 52 specimens were identified as N.

Polygenes and modifier genes for tetracycline and penicillin resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

The genetic basis for spontaneous resistance to tetracyline (Tet) and penicillin (Pen) in Neisseria gonorrhoeae was investigated. Tet and pen are polygenes which confer small but distinct levels of resistance to Tet and Pen, respectively. Mtr is a multiple-drug resistance polygene which increases resistance to Tet and Pen (as well as to other unrelated antibiotics).