Occurrence and genetic diversity of Enterocytozoon bieneusi (Microsporidia) in owned and sheltered dogs and cats in Northern Spain.

Enterocytozoon bieneusi is an obligate intracellular protist-like fungi parasite that infects numerous mammal hosts including humans, raising concerns of zoonotic transmission. There is little information available on the presence and diversity of E. bieneusi genotypes in companion animals.

Genes and molecules involved in Aspergillus fumigatus virulence.

Aspergillus fumigatus causes a wide range of diseases that include mycotoxicosis, allergic reactions and systemic diseases (invasive aspergillosis) with high mortality rates. Pathogenicity depends on immune status of patients and fungal strain. There is no unique essential virulence factor for development of this fungus in the patient and its virulence appears to be under polygenetic control.

Molecular genotyping methods and computerized analysis for the study of Salmonella enterica.

Salmonella enterica is widely recognized as a major cause of foodborne diseases in humans and animals and has been isolated from environmental sources in increasing numbers worldwide. Conventional typing methods such as serotyping and phage typing have been and still are the mainstay in descriptive epidemiology of this microorganism. Nevertheless, limitations on the availability of phage reagents circumscribes the performance of such technique in reference laboratories.

Computerized restriction endonuclease analysis compared with O-serotype and phage type in the epidemiologic fingerprinting of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains.

OBJECTIVE: To assess restriction endonuclease analysis (REA) of chromosomal DNA using SalI enzyme, low-concentration (0.4%) agarose gels and digitalized data management of the REA patterns obtained for the typing of clinical Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates. METHODS: A group of 67 clinical unrelated isolates from 10 Spanish hospitals was used to study the discriminatory power, reproducibility and typeability of REA typing.