The detection of antibody to non-structural protein (NSP) of Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) is the reliable diagnostic method for differentiating infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA). For this purpose, the detection of antibodies to non-structural 3ABC protein is suitable for identification of virus activity in the animals exposed to FMDV infection. However, large-scale production of recombinant 3ABC protein is challenging due to the formation of inclusion bodies in Escherichia coli and low yield due to protein aggregation during in vitro refolding.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn response to a large local school-based outbreak of tuberculosis, we have been evaluating the utility of microarray bacterial genomic analysis in outbreak management. After initial comparison of the isolate from the index case with Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv, it was possible to design robust PCRs directed towards strain-specific deletions. Rapid PCR analysis of isolates proved valuable in determining whether or not other isolates were compatible with the outbreak strain and further microarray studies revealed genetic markers that could be used to discriminate between locally circulating strains.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSix major lineages of Mycobacterium tuberculosis appear preferentially transmitted amongst distinct ethnic groups. We identified a deletion affecting Rv1519 in CH, a strain isolated from a large outbreak in Leicester U.K.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnique events in the genome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, including deletions and IS6110 insertions, have been proposed to be responsible for the virulence phenotype of outbreak strains. Based on this premise, we determined ten IS6110 insertion sites in the genome of the M. tuberculosis CH strain, which was responsible for a large outbreak in Leicestershire, England.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMycobacterium tuberculosis strain CH, the index isolate linked to a major tuberculosis outbreak associated with high levels of transmissibility and virulence, was characterized by microarray analysis by use of a PCR product array representative of the genome of M. tuberculosis strain H37Rv. Seven potential genomic deletions were identified in CH, five of which were confirmed by PCR analysis across the predicted deletion points.
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