Comparison of bias and resolvability in single-cell and single-transcript methods.

Single-cell and single-transcript measurement methods have elevated our ability to understand and engineer biological systems. However, defining and comparing performance between methods remains a challenge, in part due to the confounding effects of experimental variability. Here, we propose a generalizable framework for performing multiple methods in parallel using split samples, so that experimental variability is shared between methods.

Genetic circuit design automation.

Computation can be performed in living cells by DNA-encoded circuits that process sensory information and control biological functions. Their construction is time-intensive, requiring manual part assembly and balancing of regulator expression. We describe a design environment, Cello, in which a user writes Verilog code that is automatically transformed into a DNA sequence.

Molecular methods for the detection of Mycoplasma and ureaplasma infections in humans: a paper from the 2011 William Beaumont Hospital Symposium on molecular pathology.

Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma species are well-known human pathogens responsible for a broad array of inflammatory conditions involving the respiratory and urogenital tracts of neonates, children, and adults. Greater attention is being given to these organisms in diagnostic microbiology, largely as a result of improved methods for their laboratory detection, made possible by powerful molecular-based techniques that can be used for primary detection in clinical specimens. For slow-growing species, such as Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Mycoplasma genitalium, molecular-based detection is the only practical means for rapid microbiological diagnosis.

Comparative genome analysis of 19 Ureaplasma urealyticum and Ureaplasma parvum strains.

Background: Ureaplasma urealyticum (UUR) and Ureaplasma parvum (UPA) are sexually transmitted bacteria among humans implicated in a variety of disease states including but not limited to: nongonococcal urethritis, infertility, adverse pregnancy outcomes, chorioamnionitis, and bronchopulmonary dysplasia in neonates. There are 10 distinct serotypes of UUR and 4 of UPA. Efforts to determine whether difference in pathogenic potential exists at the ureaplasma serovar level have been hampered by limitations of antibody-based typing methods, multiple cross-reactions and poor discriminating capacity in clinical samples containing two or more serovars.

Chromosomal mutations responsible for fluoroquinolone resistance in Ureaplasma species in the United States.

We sequenced the full lengths of the gyrA, gyrB, parC, and parE genes in 13 fluoroquinolone-resistant Ureaplasma isolates (levofloxacin MICs, 4 to 32 μg/ml) and 10 susceptible isolates (MICs ≤ 2 μg/ml). Mutations were detected in all resistant isolates but in none of the susceptible isolates. The most prevalent mutation was the S83L substitution in the ParC protein.

Genotypic characterization of ureaplasma serovars from clinical isolates by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.

Genetic relationships within ureaplasma serovars were investigated by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). One hundred thirteen Ureaplasma parvum isolates and 78 Ureaplasma urealyticum isolates were different from their ATCC serovar type strains and different within the same serovars. The organisms were geographically widespread.

Extensive horizontal gene transfer in ureaplasmas from humans questions the utility of serotyping for diagnostic purposes.

Ureaplasma parvum and Ureaplasma urealyticum are sexually transmitted, opportunistic pathogens of the human urogenital tract. There are 14 known serovars distributed between the two species. For decades, it has been postulated based upon limited data that virulence is related to serotype specificity.

Mutations in ribosomal proteins and ribosomal RNA confer macrolide resistance in human Ureaplasma spp.

Genetic mechanisms of macrolide resistance were investigated in six isolates of Ureaplasma spp. with erythromycin minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs)≥ 8 μg/mL that were derived from 370 cultures obtained over a several year period. Point mutations in domain V of 23S rRNA and/or mutations in ribosomal protein L4 genes are likely to be responsible for this drug resistance.

Detection and characterization of human Ureaplasma species and serovars by real-time PCR.

We designed primers and probes for the detection and discrimination of Ureaplasma parvum and U. urealyticum and their 14 serovars by real-time PCR. The analytical sensitivity and specificity of the multiplex species-specific PCR were determined by testing corresponding American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) type strains, 47 other microbial species, and human genomic DNA.