Microbial DNA and Microbial cells in Humans

[kitkat]

Is the Microbial DNA and Microbial cells that live in our bodies unique to Humans? Do we share many of the same species with others groups of species?

[CharonY]

It depends on how broad you want to define the microbial composition. There are already differences between individual humans in terms of composition, for instance. At the same time the composition is dynamic and if we provide similar ecological niches, similar compositions are to be expected. Certain bacteria (as e.g. Escherichia) are found in many mammals as well as birds, whereas e.g. Bifidobacterium is mainly present in pigs and humans, also in the rumen of cows (but they get digested before they can become feces), but not in poultry, for instance.

[Guest mabil]

Repetitive sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR) has been recognized as an effective method for bacterial strain typing. Recently, rep-PCR has been commercially adapted to an automated format known as the DiversiLab system to provide a reliable PCR-based typing system for clinical laboratories. We describe the adaptations made to automate rep-PCR and explore the performance and reproducibility of the system as a molecular genotyping tool for bacterial strain typing. The modifications for automation included changes in rep-PCR chemistry and thermal cycling parameters, incorporation of microfluidics-based DNA amplicon fractionation and detection, and Internet-based computer-assisted analysis, reporting, and data storage. The performance and reproducibility of the automated rep-PCR were examined by performing DNA typing and replicate testing with multiple laboratories, personnel, instruments, DNA template concentrations, and culture conditions prior to DNA isolation. Finally, we demonstrated the use of automated rep-PCR for clinical laboratory applications by using isolates from an outbreak of Neisseria meningitidis infections. N. meningitidis outbreak-related strains were distinguished from other isolates. The DiversiLab system is a highly integrated, convenient, and rapid testing platform that may allow clinical laboratories to realize the potential of microbial DNA typing.