微生物学技术

Various methods that are routinely used to study the subcellular localization of membrane proteins in wild-type Gram-negative bacteria fall short in genetic studies addressing the biogenesis of outer membrane proteins (OMPs). Here, we describe three biochemical methods that can be ...

X-ray crystallography has become the most powerful approach to determine the three dimensional structures of proteins. The major bottleneck issues in protein crystallography are the availability of high-quality protein samples and the production of diffracting crystals. Sin ...

The bacterial type IV secretion systems (T4SSs) deliver DNA and protein substrates to bacterial and eukaryotic target cells generally by a mechanism requiring direct contact between donor and target cells. Recent advances in defining the architectures of T4SSs have been made through i ...

Gram-negative bacteria utilize a dedicated membrane-embedded apparatus, the type III secretion system (T3SS), to inject proteins into host cells. The passage of the proteins across the target membrane is accomplished by a proteinaceous pore—the translocon—formed within the host ...

Investigation of secretion systems is often critical to understanding the virulence mechanisms of bacterial pathogens. With estimates as high as 30–40% of proteins secreted or localized to the cell envelope, information about the subcellular localization and organization of sec ...

In the clinical microbiology laboratory advances in nucleic acid detection, quantification, and sequence analysis have led to considerable improvements in the diagnosis, management, and monitoring of infectious diseases. Molecular diagnostic methods are routinely used to ...

PCR is an important and powerful tool in several fields, including clinical diagnostics, food analysis, and forensic analysis. In theory, PCR enables the detection of one single cell or DNA molecule. However, the presence of PCR inhibitors in the sample affects the amplification efficiency ...

Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli strains are important causes of diarrhea in children from the developing world and are now being recognized as emerging enteropathogens in the developed world. Current methods of detection are too expensive and labor-intensive for routine detecti ...

The presence of Escherichia coli has long been established as the most reliable microbiological indication of fecal contamination in water. Current recommended culture-based methods for assessing water quality by the detection of E. coli are lengthy and lack ubiquity (ability to det ...

Nucleic acids are the ultimate biomarker and real-time PCR (qPCR) is firmly established as the method of choice for nucleic acid detection. Together, they allow the accurate, sensitive and specific identification of pathogens, and the use of qPCR has become routine in diagnostic laborator ...

Helicobacter pylori is an important pathogen whose primary niche is the human stomach. H. pylori is etiologically associated with gastric inflammation (gastritis), peptic ulcer disease, and gastric cancer. Both noninvasive (e.g., urea breath and stool antigen tests) and invasive (ga ...

Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is an established nucleic acid amplification method offering rapid, accurate, and cost-effective diagnosis of infectious diseases. From the beginning of DNA extraction to final detection of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylob ...

Rapid diagnosis of leptospirosis, through culture and/or serology, can be difficult without proper expertise and is often delayed due to the length of time required to obtain results. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), more specifically the real-time detection of the amplified PCR produ ...

Clostridium difficile is known to cause antibiotic-associated diarrhea and pseudomembranous colitis. Toxinogenic strains of the bacterium produce toxins A (TcdA) and B (TcdB), which are associated with the pathogenicity. The standard methods for diagnosis of C. difficile infec ...

Molecular diagnostics is an increasing popular approach for the direct detection and identification of pathogenic bacteria in clinical samples. Conventional culture techniques are time-consuming and therefore causing a delay in the diagnosis of the patient. Alternative tec ...

Despite considerable advances in the safety of blood components based on the application of highly sensitive and specific screening methods to minimize the viral infection risk, the prevention of transfusion-associated bacterial infection remains a major challenge in transfu ...

The control and prevention of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major challenge for healthcare establishments, especially as this pathogen continues to evolve. The emergence and spread of community associated MRSA producing Panton–Valentine leukoc ...

The detection of Haemophilus influenzae by conventional methods like culture is time-consuming and may give false-negative results, especially during ongoing antibiotic treatment. Therefore, non-culture based methods that are sensitive, specific, and rapid are valuable for ...

The accurate diagnosis of lower respiratory tract infection remains a challenge, with conventional diagnostic methods often failing to identify a causative agent. Here we describe a multiplex real-time PCR assay that has been validated for the detection of the rarely identified atyp ...

Bordetella pertussis causes an upper respiratory infection in infants, adolescents, and adults. Diagnosis of pertussis, a vaccine-preventable disease, can be difficult, but recent implementation of real-time PCR assays in laboratories has hastened the ability of clinicians to m ...