In conjugational crosses, three Klebsiella pneumoniae strains and one Serratia marcescens strain have been demonstrated to transfer resistance determinants to newer types of cephalosporins. While Klebsiella strains donated cefotaxime, cefamandole and cefuroxime resistance to Escherichia coli K-12 recipients, the genetic analysis of exconjugants after the transfer of plasmids from Serratia strains to Proteus or Salmonella recipients showed that the cefoxitin resistance determinant was also co-transferred. In subsequent transfer cycles of this plasmid, cefotaxime and cefoxitin resistance determinants segregated in contrast to the relative stability of plasmids derived from Klebsiella strains in subsequent transfer cycles. From results obtained in this study, it may be concluded that in some strains of nosocomial Enterobacteriaceae, resistance to newer cephalosporins could be transmissible and thus plasmid-located.

Aims:  Riemerella anatipestifer is a significant pathogen of waterfowl and turkeys. Due to their similar ecology and morphological and cultural characteristics it is important to differentiate R. anatipestifer infections from those caused by Pasteurella multocida. Present study describes a novel PCR assay that is capable of rapid and species‐specific identification of R. anatipestifer from bacterial cultures. Methods and Results:  An ERIC (enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus)‐PCR fragment common to all tested isolates was used as a target for primer design. After optimization, the assay was tested on 72 R. anatipestifer strains isolated from clinical samples and identified using biochemical tests. All of these gave positive results, while heterologous pathogens, including different serotypes of P. multocida, proved to be negative. The assay was also capable of demonstrating R. anatipestifer directly from five clinical samples. Conclusions:  The presented PCR is suitable for proper identification of R. anatipestifer from culture. Preliminary investigation showed that the test could be suitable for detection of the pathogen from clinical samples as well. Significance and Impact of the Study:  The described PCR assay will improve the fast and proper identification of R. anatipestifer.

Spices are various plant parts that contain flavor and aroma compounds that in small amounts enhance the enjoyment value of foods.Nowadays, spices play a key role in modern food preparation as they contribute to salt reduction, reduce the utilization of artificial additives, impart natural color to foods, and act as natural antioxidants (Clemenson, 2019). Spices have been found to provide health benefits based on their bioactive ingredients. Diverse spices and herbs, namely anise, cinnamon, black cumin, curry, coriander, ginger, fenugreek, turmeric, garlic, mustard, pepper, and onion, are potentially involved in diabetes control (Sanlier & Gencerb, 2020).Spices are additives used in small quantities, owing to a high potential for microbial contamination as they are used in many food commodities. This possibility may be attributed to the existing various critical points (vulnerabilities) of microbial contamination during plant cultivation and product supply chain (Alegbeleye et al., 2018;Székács et al., 2018). Even though the spices have low water activity, they could be harbored by diverse pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms (Costa et al., 2020;Melo González et al., 2017). As dried herb products, they may be contaminated by different molds too.Due to the high tolerance to dehydration stress, Salmonella species can survive longer in dry products such as spices. The contamination can occur at several phases of the production including

Aims:  We developed, optimized and tested two novel PCR assays specific for Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovar Infantis. Methods and Results:  The fljB gene was chosen as the target sequence. Primers were designed on a consensus sequence built by sequencing the fljB gene of five genetically unrelated Hungarian S. Infantis strains and using sequence data from the GenBank (http://www.ncbi.nih.gov). Two alternative assays were designed, which share the reverse primer. Both proved to be highly specific to S. Infantis, neither reacted with 42 other nontyphoidal serovariants tested. The detection limit of the assays was determined to be 105 CFU ml−1 from pure culture, and 106 CFU g−1 from artificially spiked chicken faeces samples. Conclusions:  Although the detection limit is rather high to allow for using them for direct detection, the assays may be useful in identification of S. Infantis both for diagnostic and for research purposes. Significance and Impact of the Study:  The described PCR assays allow for the correct identification of S. Infantis even when traditional serotyping methods fail because lack of expression of flagellar antigens.

Abstract. A real-time reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR assay, applying light upon extension (LUX) fluorogenic primers, was developed for rapid and efficient detection of Newcastle disease virus (NDV). The method, which targets the fusion (F) protein gene of the viral genome, gave positive signal with all NDV isolates tested (32/32), while negative results were obtained with heterologous pathogens (35/35), including 13 avian influenza virus isolates. The detection limit of the assay was approximately 10 +1.2 egg infectious dose (EID) 50 /0.2 ml and 10 +2.2 EID 50 /0.2 ml for virus suspensions and spiked chicken fecal samples, respectively. As expressed in plasmid copy number, the procedure has a sensitivity of approximately 20 copies of the plasmid harboring the target gene. Due to its high specificity, sensitivity, and relative simplicity, the LUX RT-PCR assay provides a novel, rapid, and practical tool for the detection of NDV.