Detailed characterization of plasmids carrying resistance genes using optical DNA mapping

Paper i proceeding, 2016

We present an assay, based on optical DNA mapping in nanochannels that is capable of characterizing the plasmid content of bacterial isolates resistant to antibiotics in a fast an detailed way. In a single experiment we determine the number of different plasmids in each sample, their size, as well as a barcode that can be used for plasmid identification and tracing. In addition we demonstrate that we can identify resistance genes on individual plasmids using CRISPR/Cas9. We foresee that the assay can be a useful tool all the way from fundamental plasmid biology to diagnostics and surveillance of resistant infections.