The prevalence of the plasmid-encoded virulence-associated gene (vapA) of Rhodococcus equi, as determined by PCR, was found to be 98% in isolates from 154 foals with pneumonia, confirming the strong association of vapA with virulence. The vapA genes from 60 representative isolates were compared by digestion with the restriction endonuclease HinfI, and no evidence of sequence variation was detec...

We compared HinfI restriction endonuclease-based analysis of genomic DNA with a PCR-based method for molecular typing of 90 Candida krusei isolates from 17 geographically related patients. Strain groupings by these methods were the same for 89 of 90 isolates. Ten of 17 patients were infected with related strains of C. krusei.

We developed a novel PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism test for the ccrB gene by using HinfI and BsmI for rapid typing of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec). When tested with reference strains and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates, the method proved to be valid and useful for rapid identification of four SCCmec types, especially type IV.

Elevated TG [triacylglycerol (triglyceride)] is a significant independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. LPL (lipoprotein lipase) is one of the key enzymes in the metabolism of the TG-rich lipoproteins which hydrolyses TG from the chylomicrons and very-LDL (low-density lipoprotein). To investigate the relationship between the LPL gene and lipid profiles, especially TG, in 148 hypertens...

Twenty-five unique CfoI-generated whole-cell DNA profiles were identified in a study of 30 Paenibacillus alvei isolates cultured from honey and diseased larvae collected from honeybee (Apis mellifera) colonies in geographically diverse areas in Australia. The fingerprint patterns were highly variable and readily discernible from one another, which highlighted the potential of this method for tr...