Pyrosequencing Bacillus anthracis.

Pyrosequencing technology is a sequencing method that screens DNA nucleotide incorporation in real time. A set of coupled enzymatic reactions, together with bioluminescence, detects incorporated nucleotides in the form of light pulses, which produces a profile of characteristic peaks in a pyrogram. We used this technology to identify the warfare agent Bacillus anthracis by sequencing 4 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the rpoB gene as chromosomal markers for B.

Rapid combined characterization of microorganism and host genotypes using a single technology.

Background: Genetic information is becoming increasingly important in diagnosis and prognosis of infectious diseases. In this study we investigated the possibility of using a single technology, the Pyrosequencing trade mark technology (Biotage AB, Uppsala, Sweden), to gather several kinds of important genetic information from the human pathogen Helicobacter pylori, as well as from the carrier of the H. pylori infection.

Application of a colorimetric chain-termination assay for characterization of reverse transcriptase from 3'-azido-2',3'-deoxythymidine-resistant HIV isolates.

Two different enzyme assays, both based on the interaction of native reverse transcriptase (RT) and 3'-azido-2',3'-deoxythymidine triphosphate (AZT-TP), were used to characterize the enzymes from 18 HIV-1 isolates with decreased sensitivity to AZT in cell culture. The first assay, which measures the balance between incorporation and excision of AZT monophosphate in the presence of dNTP substrate (in terms of IC(50)), gave an approx. 9-fold variation in sensitivity to AZT-TP.

Determining antibiotic resistance in Helicobacter pylori.

Resistance development is a significant clinical problem in Helicobacter pylori and represents the major cause of treatment failure. Today the problem is most focused on the macrolide clarithromycin that is an essential component of the H. pylori treatment.