Performance of a new molecular assay for the detection of gastrointestinal pathogens.

Introduction: Conventional diagnostic laboratory algorithms for determining the cause of infectious gastroenteritis include culture, biochemical identification and immunoassays. In addition, multiplex PCR-based testing has advanced into the gastroenterology diagnostic arena in recent years.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of a new molecular test (Diagnostics Solutions Laboratory GI-MAP) for the detection of bacterial and parasitic pathogens in stool samples spiked with known organisms.

Fingerprinting species and strains of Bacilli spores by distinctive coat surface morphology.

In this work, we applied high-resolution atomic force microscopy (AFM) to identify and characterize similarities and differences in the spore surface morphology of strains from four species of Bacilli: B. anthracis, B. cereus, B.

Methyl bromide fumigant lethal to Bacillus anthracis spores.

Methyl bromide (MB), an agricultural fumigant used in the United States, is capable of reducing or eliminating Bacillis anthracis spores. In the event of a bioterrorist attack, MB might serve as an excellent decontaminating agent because it leaves no residue and does not damage furnishings and commodities.

A selective chromogenic agar that distinguishes Bacillus anthracis from Bacillus cereus and Bacillus thuringiensis.

A selective and differential plating medium, R & F anthracis chromogenic agar (ACA), has been developed for isolating and identifying presumptive colonies of Bacillus anthracis. ACA contains the chromogenic substrate 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indoxyl-choline phosphate that upon hydrolysis yields teal (blue green) colonies indicating the presence of phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C (PC-PLC) activity. Among seven Bacillus species tested on ACA, only members of the Bacillus cereus group (B.