This paper describes a fatal case of culture-confirmed, community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) pneumonia in an 8-month-old child in Hong Kong in 2001. Stored cytological materials prepared from the pleural fluid were retrieved for molecular analysis. The result indicates the presence of a Panton-Valentine leucocidin-positive, spa type 019 MRSA.

Molecular typing by PCR fingerprinting using the single primer (GACA)4 was performed with 110 isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans. Seventy clinical isolates of C. neoformans var. neoformans from Germany (n = 52) and Africa (n = 18) were included. Of these, serotype A (C. neoformans var. grubii) accounted for 47 isolates, serotype D for 12 and serotype AD for 11. Fourier transform infrared (FT-I...

Lake Malawi contains a flock of >500 species of cichlid fish that have evolved from a common ancestor within the last million years. The rapid diversification of this group has been attributed to morphological adaptation and to sexual selection, but the relative timing and importance of these mechanisms is not known. A phylogeny of the group would help identify the role each mechanism has playe...

Pistachio is one of the most important horticultural products of Iran. The best way to get the maximum yield is to have genetically pure and monotonous gardens. Thereby, study of genetic variation and providing genetic identifications, make this possible to have homogenous gardens with high performance genotypes. In the present study, genetic diversity of 19 Iranian pistachio cultivars was asse...

A diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) is rarely disputed if Mycobacterium tuberculosis is isolated from a clinical specimen; however, specimen contamination may occur (1-3). Identification of TB strain patterns through molecular typing or DNA fingerprinting is a recent advancement in TB laboratory techniques (3-7). CDC's National Tuberculosis Genotyping and Surveillance Network (NTGSN) performs DNA ...

The diversity within the genus Aphanizomenon (Nostocales, Cyanobacteria) is still controversial and more studies are needed to clarify its heterogeneity. Aphanizomenon strains isolated from the eutrophic shallow Vela Lake (Centralwestern Portugal) during bloom formation in summer months from 2001 to 2007 were characterized combining phenotypic and molecular approaches. The molecular affiliation...

Over the past 10 years, molecular methods have become available with which to strain-type Mycobacterium tuberculosis. They have allowed researchers to study certain important but previously unresolved issues in the epidemiology of tuberculosis (TB). For example, some unsuspected microepidemics have been revealed and it has been shown that the relative contribution of recently acquired disease t...