An open reading frame (hyl(Efm)) with homologies to previously described hyaluronidase genes has been identified in nonstool isolates of Enterococcus faecium. E. faecium isolates (n=577) from diverse sources were screened for the presence of hyl(Efm) and esp(Efm), a putative virulence gene associated with epidemic E. faecium strains. The presence of esp(Efm) was roughly twice that of hyl(Efm), but both were found primarily in vancomycin-resistant E. faecium isolates in nonstool cultures obtained from patients hospitalized in the United States. These data suggest that specific E. faecium strains may be enriched in determinants that make them more likely to cause clinical infections. Differences in the prevalence of these strains may help explain variations in the clinical importance of multiresistant E. faecium across different continents.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/367711 | DOI Listing |
Appl Environ Microbiol
January 2025
Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA.
The bacterial pathogen causes disease in coral species worldwide. The mechanisms of coral colonization, coral microbiome interactions, and virulence factor production are understudied. In other model species, virulence factors like biofilm formation, toxin secretion, and protease production are controlled through a density-dependent communication system called quorum sensing (QS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVet Med (Praha)
November 2024
College of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Qinghai University, Xining, P.R. China.
Pigeon paramyxovirus type-1 (PPMV-1) is the causative agent of pigeon Newcastle disease (ND), which has caused huge losses to the pigeon industry. In this study, a PPMV-1 strain, PPMV-1/QH-01/CH/23, was isolated from a sick racing pigeon in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China in 2023. The mean death time of chicken embryos and the intracerebral pathogenicity index (ICPI) were 76.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeurol Genet
February 2025
Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
In the late 1800s, Nikolaus Friedreich first described "degenerative atrophy of the posterior columns of the spinal cord," noting its connection to progressive ataxia, sensory loss, and muscle weakness, now recognized as Friedreich ataxia (FRDA). Renewed interest in the disease in the 1970s and 80s by the Quebec Cooperative Group and by Anita Harding led to the development of clinical diagnostic criteria and insights into associated biochemical abnormalities, although the primary defect remained unknown. In 1988, Susan Chamberlain mapped FRDA's location on chromosome 9.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeurol Genet
February 2025
Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Background And Objectives: Neonatal encephalopathy (NE) is characterized by an abnormal level of consciousness with or without seizures in the neonatal period. It affects 1-6/1,000 live term newborns. We applied genome sequencing (GS) in term newborns with NE to investigate the underlying genetic causes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlant Dis
January 2025
Huazhong Agricultural University, College of Plant Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei , China;
China is a major producer of pears in the world and anthracnose is the most important disease, which may include fruit rot and early defoliation, and further brings enormous economic losses. In August of 2023, a sudden outbreak of anthracnose disease, ranging from 70% to 90% disease incidence, occurred on fruits of Pyrus pyrifolia (Burm.f.
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