No abstract

Brucellosis is a bacterial zoonotic disease which can be easy to misdiagnose in clinical microbiology laboratories. In the present study, we have tried to improve the current clinical method for detecting Brucella spp. and its antibiotic characteristics. Our method begins with detecting the clinical isolate through traditional biochemical methods and automatic identification systems. Then, we move on to editing the sequence for BLAST allows us to compare 16s rRNA sequences with sequences from other species, allowing the gene level to be determined. Next, the phylogenetic analysis of multiple genetic loci is able to determine the evolutionary relationships between our bacteria strain and those from other locations. Finally, an anti-microbial susceptibility test hones in on the level of antibacterial activity that the bacteria displays. Employing these four steps in concert is extremely effective in identifying rare bacteria. Thus, when attempting to determine the identity of rare bacteria such as Brucella, utilizing these four steps from our research should be highly effective and ultimately prevent further identification errors and misdiagnoses. The standards we have suggested to identify rare bacteria strains is applicable not only to Brucella, but also to other rarely encountered bacteria.

Globally, ecosystems are experiencing dramatic alterations in the supply of resources, including nutrients. How the temporal regime (press versus pulse), independent of total resource supply, affects growth and species interactions of primary producers remains unexplored. Coral reefs experience anthropogenic modifications to nutrient regimes, making it critical to understand impacts on primary producers, such as macroalgae. In mesocosms, we examined how three macroalgae respond to temporal pattern in nutrient regime (ambient, press, pulse) and species interactions (alone, pairwise, or all together) in terms of their individual growth and assemblage productivity. We found nutrient regime and species interactions influenced individual growth and total assemblage productivity. Press regimes promoted the highest productivity of total assemblages. We observed species interactions ranging from competitive to facilitative varied between macroalgal species and nutrient regimes. Ours is the first study to demonstrate the temporal regime of nutrient delivery, independent of total nutrient supply, strongly impacts the productivity of species assemblages, the nature and outcome of species interactions, and the relative growth rates of individual producer species. As nutrient regimes increasingly fluctuate for coastal marine ecosystems in the Anthropocene, our findings imply macroalgal community composition may also fluctuate. More broadly, our study highlights the importance of assessing primary producer species' responses to varying nutrient regimes to understand factors structuring their communities.

Canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2) is a severe enteric pathogen mainly affecting dogs. CPV-2 contains three antigenic variants (2a, 2b, and 2c) that are distributed internationally. Detection and characterization of the currently circulating CPV-2 strains are vital for the understanding of viral evolution, transmission, and the development of methods to control its spreading. Herein, we analyzed the strains in central Taiwan to provide information of local viral evolution, diversity, and epidemiology. Stool and blood samples from 24 dogs and 2 cats were genotyped by PCR amplification of strain-specific VP2 sequence collected during 2011–2013. 60% (16/26) of them were positive and 100% (16/16) of these positive samples were type 2b. Then, the full length VP2 gene was sequenced in 6 CPV-positive samples and a maximum-likelihood phylogenetic tree was constructed using both Taiwan and other strains worldwide. Surprisingly, all Taiwan CPVs showed high relatedness to type 2a. Recombination analysis revealed a recombination of VP2 gene between type 2a and 2b. This study demonstrates a recombination between CPV-2a and 2b in nature that contributes to the genetic diversity and evolution of CPV-2.