Rapid and reliable identification of Streptococcus anginosus group isolates to the species level by real-time PCR and melting curve analysis.

A real-time PCR assay is described for rapid and accurate identification of the Streptococcus anginosus group members. Based on melting curve analysis, the S. anginosus species isolates could be further subdivided into two subgroups, each associated with different clinically relevant ribotypes of S.

Presence of a novel DNA methylation enzyme in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates associated with pig farming leads to uninterpretable results in standard pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis.

Genomic DNA from methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates recovered from pigs and their caretakers proved resistant to SmaI digestion, leading to uninterpretable results in standard pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. This is the result of a yet unknown restriction/methylation system in the genus Staphylococcus with the recognition sequence CCNGG.