The aim of this study was to develop a highly multiplexed bead array to detect genes and/or mutations frequently associated with resistance to antimicrobials of the β-lactam, (fluoro)quinolone, colistin, macrolide and aminoglycoside families in Enterobacteriaceae such as Escherichia coli, Shigella spp. and Salmonella spp. Ligase Chain Reaction and the Luminex® technology were combined in a 53-plex assay designed to target selected genetic markers with 3 internal controls. The AMR-ARRAY consistently detected resistance determinants as compared to phenotypically expressed resistance for 94.7% (856/904) of the assessed resistances. When compared to resistance profiles inferred from whole genome sequencing results, the AMR-ARRAY showed a selectivity and specificity of 99.3% and 100%, respectively. The strong features of the AMR-ARRAY are (i) its competitive cost, currently 18€/sample (ii) its wide analytical scope, currently 50 markers covering 5 antimicrobial families, (iii) its robust and user-friendly design consisting in a single-tube assay conducted in 4 successive steps (iv) its relatively short turnaround time, less than 8 h (v) its ability to detect allelic variability at critical SNPs (vi) its open access and easily upgradable design, with probes sequences, procedure and software source code freely available. The use of the AMR-ARRAY as a screening method in official antimicrobial resistance monitoring could improve the granularity of the collected data and pinpoint remarkable isolates harbouring unusual resistance determinants thereby enabling fit-for-purpose selection of isolates for Whole Genome analysis.
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