High-resolution melting analysis of the single nucleotide polymorphism hot-spot region in the rpoB gene as an indicator of reduced susceptibility to rifaximin in Clostridium difficile.

Clostridium difficile, a Gram-positive, spore-forming, anaerobic bacterium, is the main causative agent of hospital-acquired diarrhoea worldwide. In addition to metronidazole and vancomycin, rifaximin, a rifamycin derivative, is a promising antibiotic for the treatment of recurring C. difficile infections (CDI).

Real-time PCR for single-nucleotide polymorphism detection in the 16S rRNA gene as an indicator for extensive drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Objectives: A real-time PCR screening system was established for rapid detection of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at positions 1401, 1402 and 1484 of the 16S rRNA gene of Mycobacterium tuberculosis leading to resistance to amikacin, kanamycin and capreomycin. Resistances to the respective drugs may indicate the presence of an extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strain of M. tuberculosis.