[Indication and identification of Lactobacillus spp. with the use of polymerase chain reaction].

AIM: The aim of the work is the development of laboratory test for indication and identification of Lactobacillus spp. by the polymerase chain reaction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The work is developed on the base of the GenBank/EMBL data about genetic sequences of the Lactobacillus spp. The sequences of DNA were studied with the help of the ClustalW program. The strains of the Lactobacillus spp., which are the object of the research, have been registered in Russian collection of industrial microorganisms. RESULTS: The laboratory test of nested-PCR for indication and identification L. plantarum, L. fermentum, L. acidophilus, L. delbrueckii, L. casei, L. rhamnosus was performed. The specificity of the nested-PCR was correlated with the control analyses of monoculture Lactobacillus spp. and commercial products. CONCLUSION: The new developed laboratory nested-PCR test may be use in control system of milk foods enriched by probiotic microorganisms.

[Improvement in the species identification of Lactobacillus by using microculture test systems and data on its genome structure]. / Sovershenstvovanie vidovoi identifikatsii laktobatsill s ispol'zovaniem mikrokul'tural'nykh test-sistem i dannykh o stroenii genoma.

18 microanalytical media, used for the construction of a biochemical plate test system permitting the specific identification of bacteria of the genus Lactobacillus, were developed on the basis of data on the metabolic activity of these bacteria and their need of growth factors. As the results of studies made on 78 Lactobacillus strains with the use of traditional microbiological and gene-systematizing methods, the proposed test system was shown to be reliable and specific.

[Biological characteristics of strains of lactobacilli, promising for use as eubiotics]. / Biologicheskia kharakteristika shtammov laktobatsill, perspektivnykh v kachestve éubiotikov.

In the course of in vitro studies 3 Lactobacillus strains with pronounced antagonistic activity against some pathogenic and opportunistic bacteria (shigellae, enteropathogenic Escherichia, Proteus, staphylococci) were selected. In experiments on germ-free rats faint colonization by L. plantarum 37 was observed in the small intestine, as well as in the large intestine when low doses of these bacilli were introduced into the gastrointestinal tract of the animals. In vitro experiments demonstrated the decreased growth rate of this strain. The prophylactic administration of two eubiotic strains, L. plantarum 37 and L. fermentum 39, simultaneously with chloramphenicol to primates inhibited the growth of opportunistic bacteria, though L. fermentum 39 excessively suppressed the content of Escherichia coli in the enterobacterial population. The optimum biological effect was achieved with the therapeutic use of these three strains for the correction of dysbiotic disturbances caused by the administration of tetracycline in volunteers.

[A comparative study of two commercial systems for the enzymatic identification of enterobacteriaceae]. / Sravnitel'noe izuchenie dvukh kommercheskikh sistem dlia énzimoidentifikatsii énterobakterii.

Two commercial test systems: Entero-Test manufactured in Czechoslovakia and made in the USSR are compared. Species identification of 33 newly isolated strains of gram-negative bacteria isolated from the wounds of subjects injured in the earthquake in Armenia was carried out. The advantages and shortcomings of the examined systems are analyzed. Species identification of Enterobacteriaceae by the two systems coincided in 97.2% of the examined cultures.

[Microbial ecology of the intestines in health and in pathology]. / Mikrobnaia ékologiia kishechnika v norme i pri patologii.

Bifidoflora constitute 85--95 per cent of the large intestine microbiocenosis in children under 1 year of age. Bacteroides are not specific of children under 6 months of age. Lactobacilli, lactic acid streptococci, colon bacilli, enterococci and staphylococci (saprophytic, epidermal) constitute not more than 15 per cent. The predominating group peculiar of eubiosis in adults includes bifidobacteria and bacteroides. Changes in human autoflora are often induced by such factors as impaired ecology, stress, uncontrolled use of antibacterial drugs, radio- and chemotherapy, etc. Dysbacteriosis (first of all lower quantitative contents of bifidoflora) has an unfavourable effect on the intestine secretory function, absorption and certain indices of protein, lipid and mineral metabolism, vitamin synthesizing and fermentative functions and leads to disfunction of the gastrointestinal tract. It is a cause of persisting and relapsing infections in children and adults. High and optimal levels of bifidoflora in the intestine usually prevent the pathogenic action of pathogens. Lysozyme of digestive secretion and secretory immunity with immunoglobulin A prevalence also play an important role in the complicated mechanism of the protective barrier. The use of bacterial preparations such as bifidumbacterin, lactobacterin or bifilact for stabilization and recovery of high bifidoflora levels is indicated in all the cases with impaired microbiocenosis of the intestine.

[Use of a new diagnostic test system in studying the biochemical properties of hemophils]. / Ispol'zovanie novoi diagnosticheskoi test-sistemy pri izuchenii biokhimicheskikh svoistv gemofilov.

Biochemical plates for the differentiation between Enterobacteriaceae have been employed for studies of the biochemical activities of hemophilic microorganisms. Thirty-seven hemophilic strains have been examined with the use of this test system. A wide set of diagnostic tests used with these plates permits not only biochemical identification of the hemophils but their biotyping as well.

[A method for assessing the microflora status of the large intestine using a computer]. / Metodika otsenki sostoianiia mikroflory tolstoi kishki s ispol'zovaniem EVM.

The qualitative and quantitative composition of the microflora of the large intestine has been studied in 31 healthy adults and in 137 patients with acute viral hepatitides A and B. A set of quantitative tests ensuring the complete characterization of the microbiocenosis under study has been proposed. The results obtained in this investigation have been processed by means of a computer with the use of the principles of numeric taxonomy, thus making it possible to obtain the objective criterion of the state of the microflora of the large intestine, expressed by the similarity index.

[Biological characterization of ecovars of gram-negative bacteria circulating in the burn ward]. / Biologicheskaia khakteristika ékovarov gramotritsatel'nykh bakterii,tsirkuliruiushchikh v ozhogovom otdelenii.

In 44 isolated cultures of Gram-negative bacteria, besides commonly known pathogenicity factors, their adhesive activity towards the cells of the buccal epithelium and their interrelations with the representatives of normal microflora which determine natural resistance to colonization have been studied. The artificial adhesion of target cells is accompanied by the inhibition on the natural colonization of epithelial cells by Streptococcus salivarius; it is, therefore, evident that adhesiveness is one of the factors which determine the behavior of microorganisms in cenoses. The circulation of adhesive strains of Gram-negative bacteria has been noted in the burn ward.

[A paper indicator system for the identification of Enterobacteria]. / Sistema indikatornaia bumazhnaia dlia identifikatsii énterobakterii.

A paper indicator system has been developed in the USSR for the accelerated identification of vibrios and proposed for the identification of enterobacteria. This system consists of paper discs or strips impregnated with definite substrates (carbohydrates, polyatomic alcohols, amino acids, etc.) in combination with an indicator and stabilized with the polymer coating. Two kits for the identification of enterobacteria to the level of the genus (kit A for 9 tests) and to the level of the species (kit B for 25 tests) are presented.