Mycoplasma pulmonis is a natural rodent pathogen, considered a privileged model for studying respiratory mycoplasmosis. The complete genome of this bacterium, which belongs to the class Mollicutes, has recently been sequenced, but studying the role of specific genes requires improved genetic tools. In silico comparative analysis of sequenced mollicute genomes indicated the lack of conservation ...

AIMS The objective of this study was to determine the effect of lysozyme and antibiotics on zoonotic pathogen shedding in faeces from nursery pigs housed without and with an indirect disease challenge. METHODS AND RESULTS Two replicates of approximately 650 pigs each were weaned and randomly assigned to one of 24 pens in either a nursery room that had been fully disinfected or a nursery room ...

Bacteroides fragilis is the most frequent opportunistic pathogen isolated from anaerobic infections. However, there is a paucity of information regarding the genetic and molecular aspects of gene expression of its virulence factors during extra-intestinal infections. A potential virulence factor that has received little attention is the ability of B. fragilis to produce hemolysins. In this stud...

Listeria monocytogenes is of major concern in the fermented meat products and is able to persist in their processing environments. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the virulence profile and the persistence capacity of L. monocytogenes strains isolated in Sardinian fermented sausages processing plants. Food (ground meat, sausages at the end of acidification and ripening stage) and env...

BACKGROUND Coeliac disease is an immune-mediated enteropathology triggered by the ingestion of cereal gluten proteins. This disorder is associated with imbalances in the composition of the gut microbiota that could be involved in its pathogenesis. The aim of the present study was to determine whether intestinal Enterobacteriaceae populations of active and non-active coeliac patients and healthy...

David A. Wink,1 Katrina M. Miranda,2 Tatsuo Katori,3 Daniele Mancardi,1 Douglas D. Thomas,1 Lisa Ridnour,1 Michael G. Espey,1 Martin Feelisch,4 Carol A. Colton,5 Jon M. Fukuto,6 Pasquale Pagliaro,7 David A. Kass,3 and Nazareno Paolocci3 1Tumor Biology Section, Radiation Biology Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892; 2Department of Chemistry, ...

Samples of bulk tank milk from dairies across the United States, taken as part of the National Animal Health Monitoring Dairy 2002 survey, were analyzed for the presence of several genes encoding virulence factors associated with enterohemorrhagic forms of Escherichia coli (EHEC) using real-time and conventional PCR assays. Samples from 859 farms in 21 states were collected and enriched in EC m...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES El Tor Vibrio cholerae O1 carrying ctxB C trait, so-called El Tor variant that causes more severe symptoms than the prototype El Tor strain, first detected in Bangladesh was later shown to have emerged in India in 1992. Subsequently, similar V. cholerae strains were isolated in other countries in Asia and Africa. Thus, it was of interest to investigate the characteristic...