A variable-number tandem-repeat (VNTR) typing assay for the differentiation of Mycobacterium abscessus strains was developed. This assay showed complete reproducibility, locus stability, and a discriminatory power (Hunter-Gaston discriminatory index [HGDI] of 0.9563) that is superior to that of multilocus sequencing. It is a promising tool for the investigation of Mycobacterium abscessus epidemiology and nosocomial outbreaks.
Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), a rapid nucleic acid amplification method, was developed for the clinical diagnosis of toxoplasmosis. Three LAMP assays based on the SAG1, SAG2, and B1 genes of Toxoplasma gondii were developed. The sensitivities and specificities of the LAMP assays were evaluated by comparison with the results of conventional nested PCR. The LAMP assays were highly sensitive and had a detection limit of 0.1 tachyzoite, and no cross-reactivity with the DNA of other parasites was observed. Blood was collected from 105 individuals to test the LAMP assays: 40 patients with active toxoplasmosis, 40 negative controls, and 25 patients with other parasitic infections. The SAG2-based LAMP (SAG2-LAMP) had a greater sensitivity (87.5%) than the SAG1-LAMP (80%), B1-LAMP (80%), and nested PCR (62.5%). All the LAMP assays and nested PCR were 100% specific. This is the first report of a study which applied the LAMP method to diagnose toxoplasmosis from human blood samples. Due to its simplicity, sensitivity, and specificity, LAMP is suggested as an appropriate method for routine diagnosis of active toxoplasmosis in humans.
The incidence of diarrhea and the prevalence of bacterial enteropathogens, viruses, and parasites in feces of subjects with and without diarrhea were evaluated in 204 Finns traveling round the world (from Finland to China, Malaysia, Australia, Fiji, Chile, and Brazil and back to Finland). Special emphasis was placed on the finding of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (enterotoxigenic, enteropathogenic, Shiga toxin-producing, and enteroaggregative strains) by PCR from growth on primary culture plates. From the PCR-positive samples, corresponding strains were isolated, confirmed as E. coli, and O serotyped. Of all the subjects, 37% experienced a total of 90 episodes of diarrhea. No adenoviruses or rotaviruses were detected, and findings of parasites were insignificant. In contrast, enteropathogenic bacteria were present in 62% of the 65 diarrheal and in 33% of the 127 nondiarrheal samples (P < 0.001); diarrheagenic E. coli strains were found in 35 and 26% of these, respectively (not statistically significant). As a single pathogen, E. coli was found in 20 and 24% of samples (not significant). Of all diarrheagenic E. coli strains, enteropathogenic strains were the most commonly found independently of the clinical picture of the subjects, whereas Salmonella enterica as a single pathogen was the most common non-E. coli organism found in diarrheal samples. Multiple bacterial pathogens were found 10 times more commonly in diarrheal than in nondiarrheal samples (20 versus 2%; P < 0.001).
Misidentifications of Burkholderia pseudomallei as Burkholderia cepacia by Vitek 2 have occurred. Multidimensional scaling ordination of biochemical profiles of 217 Malaysian and Australian B. pseudomallei isolates found clustering of misidentified B. pseudomallei isolates from Malaysian Borneo. Specificity of B. pseudomallei identification in Vitek 2 and potentially other automated identification systems is regionally dependent.
Treponema pallidum infections can have severe complications if not diagnosed and treated at an early stage. Screening and diagnosis of syphilis require assays with high specificity and sensitivity. The Elecsys Syphilis assay is an automated treponemal immunoassay for the detection of antibodies against T. pallidum The performance of this assay was investigated previously in a multicenter study. The current study expands on that evaluation in a variety of diagnostic settings and patient populations, at seven independent laboratories. The samples included routine diagnostic samples, blood donation samples, samples from patients with confirmed HIV infections, samples from living organ or bone marrow donors, and banked samples, including samples previously confirmed as syphilis positive. This study also investigated the seroconversion sensitivity of the assay. With a total of 1,965 syphilis-negative routine diagnostic samples and 5,792 syphilis-negative samples collected from blood donations, the Elecsys Syphilis assay had specificity values of 99.85% and 99.86%, respectively. With 333 samples previously identified as syphilis positive, the sensitivity was 100% regardless of disease stage. The assay also showed 100% sensitivity and specificity with samples from 69 patients coinfected with HIV. The Elecsys Syphilis assay detected infection in the same bleed or earlier, compared with comparator assays, in a set of sequential samples from a patient with primary syphilis. In archived serial blood samples collected from 14 patients with direct diagnoses of primary syphilis, the Elecsys Syphilis assay detected T. pallidum antibodies for 3 patients for whom antibodies were not detected with the Architect Syphilis TP assay, indicating a trend for earlier detection of infection, which may have the potential to shorten the time between infection and reactive screening test results.
Cladosporium sphaerospermum is one of the most widely distributed allergens causing serious problems in patients with respiratory tract disease. We report the 26,644,473-bp draft genome sequence and gene annotation of C. sphaerospermum UM843. Analysis of the genome sequence led to the finding of genes associated with C. sphaerospermum's melanin biosynthesis, allergens, and antifungal drug resistance.
Aureobasidium pullulans AY4 is an opportunistic pathogen that was isolated from the skin of an immunocompromised patient. We present here the draft genome of strain AY4, which reveals an abundance of genes relevant to bioindustrial applications, including biocontrol and biodegradation. Putative genes responsible for the pathogenicity of strain AY4 were also identified.
New thermostable β-1,3-1,4-glucanase (lichenase) designated as Blg29 was expressed and purified from a locally isolated alkaliphilic bacteria Bacillus lehensis G1. The genome sequence of B. lehensis predicted an open reading frame of Blg29 with a deduced of 249 amino acids and a molecular weight of 28.99 kDa. The gene encoding for Blg29 was successfully amplified via PCR and subsequently expressed as a recombinant protein using the E. coli expression system. Recombinant Blg29 was produced as a soluble form and further purified via immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC). Based on biochemical characterization, recombinant Blg29 showed optimal activity at pH9 and temperature 60 °C respectively. This enzyme was stable for more than 2 h, incubated at 50 °C, and could withstand ∼50 % of its activity at 70 °C for an hour and a half. No significant effect on Blg29 was observed when incubated with metal ions except for a small increase with ion Ca2+. Blg29 showed high substrate activity towards lichenan where Vm, Km, Kcat, and kcat/Km values were 2040.82 μmolmin‾1mg‾1, 4.69 mg/mL, and 986.39 s‾1 and 210.32 mLs‾1mg‾1 respectively. The high thermostability and activity make this enzyme useable for a broad prospect in industry applications.
Wolbachia-based vector control strategies have been proposed as a mean to augment the existing measures for controlling dengue vector. Prior to utilizing Wolbachia in novel vector control strategies, it is crucial to understand the Wolbachia-mosquito interactions. Many studies have only focused on the prevalence of Wolbachia in female Aedes albopictus with lack of attention on Wolbachia infection on the male Ae. albopictus which also affects the effective expression of Wolbachia induced- cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). In this study, field surveys were conducted to screen for the infection status of Wolbachia in female and male Ae. albopictus from various habitats including housing areas, islands and seashore.
Squalene synthase (SS) is the key precursor and first committed enzyme of the sterol biosynthesis pathway. In a previous work, SS has been identified as one of the immunogenic proteins that could be a potential diagnostic candidate for the pathogenic fungus Candida tropicalis. In this study, SS from C. tropicalis was cloned and expressed as recombinant protein in Pichia pastoris to investigate its reactivity with serum antibodies. ERG9 gene that encodes for SS was amplified by PCR and cloned in-frame into pPICZB expression vector. The recombinant construct was then transformed into P. pastoris GS115 host strain. Expression of the recombinant protein was confirmed by SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis using anti-His tag probe. Optimal protein production was achieved by cultivating the culture with 1.0% methanol for 72h. The recombinant protein was purified to approximately 97% pure in a single step immobilized metal affinity chromatography with a yield of 70.3%. Besides, the purified protein exhibited specific reactivity with immune sera on Western blot. This is the first report on heterologous expression of antigenic SS from C. tropicalis in P. pastoris which can be exploited for large-scale production and further research. The results also suggested that the protein might be of great value as antigen candidate for serodiagnosis of Candida infection.
Depolymerase is an enzyme that plays an important role in the hydrolysis of polyhydroxyalkanoates [PHAs]. In the current study, Burkholderia cepacia DP1 was obtained from Penang, Malaysia in which the enzyme was purified using ion exchange and gel filtration (Superdex-75) column chromatography. The molecular mass of the enzyme was estimated to be 53.3 kDa using SDS-PAGE. The enzyme activity was increased to 36.8 folds with the recovery of 16.3% after purification. The enzyme activity was detected between pH 6.0-10 and at 35-55 °C with pH 6.0 and 45 °C facilitating the maximum activity. Depolymerase was inactivated by Tween-20, Tween-80, SDS and PMSF, but insensitive to metal ions (Mg2+, Ca2+, K+, Na2+, Fe3+) and organic solvents (methanol, ethanol, and acetone). The apparent Km values of the purified P(3HB) depolymerase enzyme for P(3HB) and P(3HB-co-14%3HV) were 0.7 mg/ml and 0.8 mg/ml, respectively. The Vmax values of the purified enzyme were 10 mg/min and 8.89 mg/min for P(3HB) and P(3HB-co-14%3HV), respectively. The current study discovered a new extracellular poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB)] depolymerase enzyme from Burkholderia cepacia DP1 isolated and purified to homogeneity from the culture supernatant. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating the purification and biochemical characterization of P(3HB) depolymerase enzyme from genus Burkholderia.
Mycobacterium abscessus is an environmental bacterium with increasing clinical relevance. Here, we report the annotated whole-genome sequence of M. abscessus strain M152.
Pantoea sp. strain A4 is a Gram-negative bacterium isolated from the Rafflesia flower. We present here, for the first time, the genome sequence of Rafflesia-associated Pantoea sp. strain A4, which exhibited quorum-sensing activity.
Mycobacterium abscessus is a ubiquitous, rapidly growing species of nontuberculous mycobacteria that colonizes organic surfaces and is frequently associated with opportunistic infections in humans. We report here the draft genome sequence of Mycobacterium abscessus strain M139, which shows genomic features reported to be characteristic of both Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. abscessus and Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. massiliense.
The genome sequence analysis of a clinical Vibrio cholerae VC35 strain from an outbreak case in Malaysia indicates multiple genes involved in host adaptation and a novel Na(+)-driven multidrug efflux pump-coding gene in the genome of Vibrio cholerae with the highest similarity to VMA_001754 of Vibrio mimicus VMA223.
Roseomonas sp. strain B5 was isolated from Malaysian tropical soil that showed N-acylhomoserine lactone degradation. This is the first genome announcement of a member from the genus of Roseomonas and the first report on the quorum-quenching activity of Roseomonas spp.
Mycobacterium massiliense is a rapidly growing mycobacterial species. The pathogenicity of this subspecies is not well known. We report here the annotated genome sequence of M. massiliense strain M18, which was isolated from a lymph node biopsy specimen from a Malaysian patient suspected of having tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis.
Mycobacterium abscessus is a rapid-growing species of nontuberculous mycobacteria that is frequently associated with opportunistic infections in humans. We report herein the draft genome sequence of M. abscessus strain M93.
Geobacillus thermoleovorans CCB_US3_UF5 is a thermophilic bacterium isolated from a hot spring in Malaysia. Here, we report the complete genome of G. thermoleovorans CCB_US3_UF5, which shows high similarity to the genome of Geobacillus kaustophilus HTA 426 in terms of synteny and orthologous genes.
Methylobacterium sp. strain GXF4 is an isolate from grapevine. Here we present the sequence, assembly, and annotation of its genome, which may shed light on its role as a grapevine xylem inhabitant. To our knowledge, this is the first genome announcement of a plant xylem-associated strain of the genus Methylobacterium.