abscessus, precise identification of these species would be important for the treatment

of infected patients. Because of the very close relationship, the differentiation between M. abscessus and M. massiliense has largely depended on sequence analysis of several housekeeping genes (7, 31). Furthermore, in some strains, additional housekeeping genes were analyzed because of the discordant results between Selleckchem Target Selective Inhibitor Library rpoB and hsp65 gene analysis (7, 13). As observed in the present study, the ambiguous two clinical isolates, which had finally been identified as M. massiliense by additional sequence analysis (7), were proven to have the typical erm(41) sequence of M. massiliense. This means that the small erm(41) found only in M. massiliense, but not in other RGM, provides a simple clue for the differentiation. Thus, we suggest that molecular methods targeting erm(41), especially erm(41) PCR, can be easily and efficiently used for the differential identification of M. massiliense from M. abscessus and M. bolletii in the clinical microbiological laboratory.

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MEST) (No. 2009-007-6884). H.-Y. Kim and B. J. Kim were supported by the third stage of the Brain Korea 21 Project. “
“The use of bacteria as probiotics is in continuous development, thanks to their capacity to maintain or restore a host’s natural microbiome by interference with and/or inhibition Epigenetics inhibitor of other microorganisms mediated by antimicrobial peptide production such as bacteriocins. In the oral cavity, Streptococcus salivarius, a non-pathogenic and predominant oral species, is one of the major bacteriocin producers that is able to coexist in this environment and reduce the frequency of colonization of the main pathogens involved in upper respiratory tract infections. The aim of this study was to screen oral bacteria colonizing healthy children

for their use as potential oral probiotics. Eighty-one 4��8C α-hemolytic streptococci isolated from nasal and/or pharyngeal swabs of 31 healthy children aged between two and twelve years were isolated. Among them, 13 α-hemolytic streptococci were selected for their bacteriocin-like inhibitory activity against potential pathogens. These strains were tested for bacteriocin production and assayed for their capacity to adhere to HEp-2 cell lines. Our data showed that 13 bacteriocin producer strains were able to inhibit different gram-positive pathogens. Among them one strain, S. salivarius 24SMB, deposited as DSM 23307, was selected as a potential oral probiotic, thanks to its safety assessment, ability to inhibit Streptococcus pneumoniae and the absence of virulence and antibiotic resistance genes.