BACKGROUND Population analysis of viridans streptococci is important because these species are associated with dental caries, bacteremia, and subacute endocarditis, in addition to being important members of the human oral commensal microbiota. DESIGN In this study, we phylogenetically analyzed the rod shape-determining protein gene (rodA), which is associated with cellular morphology, cell di...

Marram grass (Ammophila arenaria L.), a sand-stabilizing plant species in coastal dune areas, is affected by a specific pathosystem thought to include both plant-pathogenic fungi and nematodes. To study the fungal component of this pathosystem, we developed a method for the cultivation-independent detection and characterization of fungi infecting plant roots based on denaturing gradient gel ele...

The objective of the present study was to investigate yeast communities in kefir grains and viili starters in Taiwan through conventional microbiological cultivation and polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE). The DNA sequencing was used as a validity technique to ensure that all isolates within each group belonged to just one species, and to confirm the id...

Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) can be used to distinguish two DNA molecules that differ by as little as a single-base substitution. This method detects approximately 50% of all possible single-base changes in DNA fragments ranging from 50 to approximately 1000 base pairs. To increase the number of single-base changes that can be distinguished by DGGE, we used the polymerase chai...

Raw cocoa has an astringent, unpleasant taste and flavour, and has to be fermented, dried and roasted in order to obtain the characteristic cocoa flavour and taste. During the fermentation microbial activity outside the cocoa beans induces biochemical and physical changes inside the beans. The process is complex involving activity of several different groups of microorganisms which bring about ...

Background and Aim: Oral infections are usual between people of any age and can activate systemic inflammation. The microbiota consists of a variety of microorganisms that play an important role in metabolism, immune function, and homeostasis. Oral microbiota in human atherosclerotic plaques has been identified by various techniques. Therefore, the focus of study was to determine the correlatio...

Middle meatus aspirates from patients with chronic rhinosinusitis were analyzed by bacterial culture, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), and antibiotic sensitivity techniques. DGGE detected a greater bacterial diversity than culture methods. Although resistance to antibiotics was low, there was evidence of changes in the composition of the bacterial microbiota over time, and the pr...

Many phyla of marine invertebrates are difficult to identify using conventional morphological taxonomy. Larvae of a wider set of phyla are also difficult to identify as a result of conservation of morphology between species or because morphological characters are destroyed during sampling and preservation. DNA sequence analysis has the potential for identification of marine organisms to the spe...