A quantitative fingerprinting method, called the real-time terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (real-time-t-RFLP) assay, was developed for simultaneous determination of microbial diversity and abundance within a complex community. The real-time-t-RFLP assay was developed by incorporating the quantitative feature of real-time PCR and the fingerprinting feature of t-RFLP analysis. T...

A pyrosequencing protocol was developed as a rapid and reliable method to identify the mutations of the dhfr and dhps genes of Plasmodium falciparum that are associated with antifolate resistance. The accuracy and specificity of this method were tested using six laboratory-cultured P. falciparum isolates harboring known single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the genes dhfr (codons 50, 51, 59...

A quantitative molecular technique was developed for rapid analysis of microbial community diversity in various environments. The technique employed PCR in which one of the two primers used was fluorescently labeled at the 5' end and was used to amplify a selected region of bacterial genes encoding 16S rRNA from total community DNA. The PCR product was digested with restriction enzymes, and the...

BACKGROUND Dermatophytes are the most common causative agents of superficial mycoses. Species identification of these fungi is important from therapeutic and epidemiological point of wive. Traditional approaches for identification of dermatophytes at the species level, relying on macroscopic and microscopic features of the colonies, usually are time-consuming and unreliable in many circumstance...

OBJECTIVE Bacteremia due to lactobacilli is uncommon, yet it is increasing in frequency, especially among immunosuppressed patients. In the clinical laboratory, lactobacilli must be subcultured from positive blood cultures before identification by traditional biochemical methods. Delays in diagnosis are significant because the organisms are inherently resistant to vancomycin, a drug frequently ...

The bacterium Campylobacter jejuni naturally colonizes the gastrointestinal tract of many birds and animals, resulting in a harmless commensal relationship, but this microbe can also promote pathogenesis in humans, resulting in a productive gastroenteritis leading to a mild bloody diarrhoeal syndrome. Consumption or handling of poultry meats is prevalent source of. C. jejuni for infection in hu...

A twenty-four year old male Peruvian of Japanese origin, who came to Japan in September 1990 and had been working in a minor factory in a rural area, was admitted to a hospital in March '91 with severe cough. Smear examination of his sputum smear was positive for acid-fast bacilli and his chest X-ray showed multiple cavities (Index case). Subsequent contact examination identified further four p...

In most Japanese populations of dojo loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus), gonochoristic diploids genetically diversified groups (A and B, further subdivided into B1 B2) are present, whereas unisexual clonal lineages inhabit certain localities in the Hokkaido Ishikawa Prefectures Japan. Through a series genetic studies including DNA markers, loaches were deemed to originate from hybridization eve...

Persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is an essential factor of cervical cancer. This study evaluated the analytical performance of restriction fragment length polymorphism polymerase chain reaction (PCR-RFLP) assay compared to PapilloCheck® microarray to identify human papilloma virus (HPV) in cervical cells. Three hundred and twenty-five women were analyzed. One sample was used for ...