The Check-MDR CT102 microarray, aimed at identifying bacteria producing extended-spectrum -lactamase (ESBL) (SHV, TEM, and CTX-M) and carbapenemase (KPC, OXA-48, VIM, IMP, and NDM-1), was evaluated on a total of 144 Gram-negative strains expressing various -lactamases. The sensitivity and specificity were 100% for most tested genes, suggesting that this assay allows accurate identification of common ESBL and carbapenemase producers from bacterial cultures.
The 'Check-MDR CT103 array' is a powerful high-throughput tool for rapid identification of ESBL, pAmpC and carbapenemase producers in culture. Because of its rapid performance, this platform is a valuable tool for epidemiological or infection control studies.
The identification of Nocardia species, usually based on biochemical tests together with phenotypic in vitro susceptibility and resistance patterns, is a difficult and lengthy process owing to the slow growth and limited reactivity of these bacteria. In this study, a panel of 153 clinical and reference strains of Nocardia spp., altogether representing 19 different species, were characterized by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionizationtime of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). As reference methods for species identification, fulllength 16S rRNA gene sequencing and phenotypical biochemical and enzymatic tests were used. In a first step, a complementary homemade reference database was established by the analysis of 110 Nocardia isolates (pretreated with 30 min of boiling and extraction) in the MALDI BioTyper software according to the manufacturer's recommendations for microflex measurement (Bruker Daltonik GmbH, Leipzig, Germany), generating a dendrogram with species-specific cluster patterns. In a second step, the MALDI BioTyper database and the generated database were challenged with 43 blind-coded clinical isolates of Nocardia spp. Following addition of the homemade database in the BioTyper software, MALDI-TOF MS provided reliable identification to the species level for five species of which more than a single isolate was analyzed. Correct identification was achieved for 38 of the 43 isolates (88%), including 34 strains identified to the species level and 4 strains identified to the genus level according to the manufacturer's log score specifications. These data suggest that MALDI-TOF MS has potential for use as a rapid (<1 h) and reliable method for the identification of Nocardia species without any substantial costs for consumables.
This is the first report of the emergence of 16S rRNA methylases in Enterobacteriaceae in Belgium. The rapid spread of multidrug-resistant isolates producing both ESBLs and 16S rRNA methylases raises clinical concern and may become a major therapeutic threat in the future.
Summary
The plasma membrane H+‐ATPase couples ATP hydrolysis to proton transport, thereby establishing the driving force for solute transport across the plasma membrane. In Nicotiana plumbaginifolia, this enzyme is encoded by at least nine pma (plasma membrane H+‐ATPase) genes. Four of these are classified into two gene subfamilies, pma1‐2‐3 and pma4, which are the most highly expressed in plant species. We have isolated genomic clones for pma2 and pma4. Mapping of their transcript 5′ end revealed the presence of a long leader that contained small open reading frames, regulatory features typical of other pma genes. The gusA reporter gene was then used to determine the expression of pma2, pma3 and pma4 in N. tabacum. These data, together with those obtained previously for pma1, led to the following conclusions. (i) The four pma–gusA genes were all expressed in root, stem, leaf and flower organs, but each in a cell‐type specific manner. Expression in these organs was confirmed at the protein level, using subfamily‐specific antibodies. (ii) pma4–gusA was expressed in many cell types and notably in root hair and epidermis, in companion cells, and in guard cells, indicating that in N. plumbaginifolia the same H+‐ATPase isoform might be involved in mineral nutrition, phloem loading and control of stomata aperture. (iii) The second gene subfamily is composed, in N. plumbaginifolia, of a single gene (pma4) with a wide expression pattern and, in Arabidopsis thaliana, of three genes (aha1, aha2, aha3), at least two of them having a more restrictive expression pattern. (iv) Some cell types expressed pma2 and pma4 at the same time, which encode H+‐ATPases with different enzymatic properties.
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