RESUMEN
AIMS: To test the feasibility of identifying Staphylococcus aureus with a fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assay that uses a single hot-plate and urea-NaCl reagents. METHODS AND RESULTS: Slides spotted with S. aureus and treated with methanol and lysozyme were incubated with urea-NaCl reagents on a hot-plate with a precise temperature control and identified with specific DNA probes. CONCLUSIONS: Staphylococcus aureus was detected and differentiated from Staphylococcus epidermidis in 1 h with a novel FISH method that used a single hot-plate and in the absence of dimethyl formamide. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF STUDY: A rapid hot-plate FISH assay with urea-NaCl and without toxic dimethyl formamide might be useful if FISH is run infrequently or where resources are limited.