Dermatophyte fungi are a common cause of skin, nail and hair infections globally, ranging from mild to cosmetically disfiguring, or even invasive in rare cases. Specimens requiring fungal microscopy culture for suspected dermatophyte infection make up significant portion the workload diagnostic microbiology laboratories. Whilst still considered gold standard, culture-based method is labour inte...

PCR is the best method for the detection of enteric viruses present at low concentrations in environmental samples. However, some organic and inorganic compounds present in these samples can interfere in the reaction. Many of these substances are cytotoxic, too. The ZP60S filter membranes used in addition to fluorpentane treatment are quite efficient for virus concentration and simultaneous eli...

This report presents evidence that dogs recover from acute canine monocytic ehrlichiosis (CME) after 16 days of doxycycline treatment (10 mg/kg of body weight every 24 h). Blood PCR was as valuable as splenic aspirate PCR for early diagnosis of acute CME. Splenic aspirate PCR was, however, superior to blood PCR for the evaluation of ehrlichial elimination.

To improve the simultaneous detection of two pathogens in cucurbit seed, a combination of magnetic capture hybridization (MCH) and multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was developed. Single-stranded DNA hybridization capture probes targeting DNA of Acidovorax avenae subsp. citrulli, causal agent of bacterial fruit blotch, and Didymella bryoniae, causal agent of gummy stem blight,...

During the solid-phase PCR (SP-PCR), DNA oligonucleotides complementary to a soluble template and immobilized on a surface are extended in situ. Although primarily used for pathogen detection, SP-PCR has the potential for much broader application, including disease diagnostics, genotyping, and expression studies. Current protocols for SP-PCR in microwells are suitable for enzymatic detection of...

Successful DNA isolation is a critical step in molecular studies of symbiotic fungi including plant pathogens, mycorrhizal fungi, endophytic fungi and lichen-forming fungi. Whereas standard isolation protocols are usually the straightforward approach if axenic cultures are available, it is problematic to isolate DNA from fungi that grow in intricate associations with some other organisms. If th...