Background: Organisms producing CTX-M b-lactamases are emerging as a source of resistance to oxyiminocephalosporins such as ceftriaxone and ceftazidime. However, the laboratory detection of these strains is not well defined. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of CTX-M and associated risk factors for community-acquired Klebsiella pneumoniae in Sanandaj, Iran.Methods: In this study, 100 Klebsiella pneumonia strains community- acquired were used. The pattern of antimicrobial resistance was determined by double disk diffusion method. The ESBL production was determined by combination disk method using disks containing Cefepime, Cefpodoxime, ceftazidime and cefotaxim alone and in combination with Clavulanic acid. CTX-M type of ESBL producing genes were detected by PCR. A possible clonal relationship among the strains was determined by REPetitive extragenic palindromic sequence PCR.Results: Confirmatory phenotypic test showed that 88% of the strains were ESBL positive. PCR used for the detection of CTX-M gene, showed that 37 (42.04%) out of 88 isolates contained such gene. Base on REP-PCR, 31 genotypes among 37 CTX-M-positive samples were detected. According to statistical analysis, the followings were identified as independent risk factors: age (P value: 0.006, 95%CI: 2.613- 15.084), pregnant (P value: 0.036, OR: 5.903, 95% CI: 1.125- 30.975), previous hospitalization in the past 3 months (P value<0.001, OR: 11.96, 95% CI: 4.541-31.491), time of hospitalization (P value<0.001), antibiotic treatment in the past 3 months (P value: 0.016, OR: 2.806, 95% CI: 1.208-6.518), having relatives in hospital staff (P value: 0.001, OR: 12.904, 95% CI: 2.671-62.336), Diabetes Distance under 2 km from the hospital.Conclusion: Noticing the increasing rate of the ESBLs producing strains, using the appropriate treatment protocol based on the PCR pattern of the strains is highly recommended. Hospitals and hospital staff should have more hygiene, proper disposal of hospital waste and the use of antibiotics only if prescribed by a doctor can help prevent the spread of ESBL.

Introduction and Aims: H. pylori has been implicated in peptic diseases, some with detrimental consequences such as ulcer or cancer. Since considerable genetic heterogeneity has been observed within H. pylori population worldwide, it appears an ideal achievement to recruit PCR-based methods and design genetic markers which recognize isolates from normal and symptomatic individuals. In this study 61 H. pylori isolates from dyspeptic patients were fingerprinted by REP-PCR.Materials and Methods: REP-PCR was performed on extracted DNAs of 61 H. pylori isolates from 39 normal, 18 ulcer and 4 cancer patients. Synthetic 18-nt primers, specific for interspersed REPetitive elements in the bacterial genome, were recruited. PCR conditions were optimized and REProducibility of the reactions were confirmed. The size and number of PCR products were determined and DNA fingerprints of all isolates were analyzed by NTSYSpc programme, and dendrograms were generated.Results: Among 39 H. pylori isolates from normal patients 28 comprised a distinct cluster and 5 clustered along with isolates from ulcer patients. The remaining 6 isolates comprised a separate cluster distinct from other groups. Among 18 isolates from ulcer patients, 17 classified in a specific cluster, only one isolate was clustered along with isolates from normal patients. Isolates from cancer patients consisted a quite distinct cluster.Conclusions: In this study REP-PCR was used to show that majority of isolates from normal, ulcer, and cancer patients have distinct fingerprints which can be recruited for predicting the outcome of the infection with certain H. pylori isolates. It is concluded that REP-PCR is an effective and REProducible technique for fingerprinting H. pylori isolates from different human origins.

Sclerotinia stem rot caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, is one of the most important disease of canola in Iran. Regarding to importance of this disease and the lack of comprehensive knowledge on genetic diversity of this pathogen in Iran, mycelia compatibility groupings (MCGs) and genetic variation among MCGs from Golestan, Mazandaran and western Azarbaijan provinces were examined. Sixty-four isolates were selected respecting to geographic distribution and their MCGs were determined. Among these tested isolates, 38 MCGs were identified. Pathogenecity tests were carried out in greenhouse and analysis of resulting data (lesion phenotype+lesion length+girdling) categorized isolates into three groups with different range of virulence. Our data indicated that virulence of isolates varied within one MCG and also between MCGs. Study of genetic diversity among MCGs (38 isolates REPresentative of 38 MCGs), using banding pattern of four REP-PCR primers categorized isolates into seven groups at the 64% similarity level. Accordingly, majority of isolates were separated based on their geographic origin. The discriminatory power of REP-PCR genotyping (D=0.993), which discriminated 37 different genotypes, was high, indicating that REP-PCR is a rapid, effective marker for genotyping S. sclerotiorum isolates.

Background and aim: Campylobacter, especially the two species Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli, having different strains and hosts, are considered one of the most important and common pathogenic bacteria between humans and animals. The present study was conducted with the aim of genetic classification of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli strains isolated from raw chicken meat. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 36 strains of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli strains isolated from raw chicken meat. In order to genotyping the isolates, three methods ERIC-PCR, RAPD-PCR, and REP-PCR were used. Results: 36 Campylobacter strains isolated from raw chicken meat were placed in 7 profiles in ERIC-PCR method, in 3 profiles in RAPD-PCR method and in 3 profiles in REP-PCR method. Conclusion: All investigated strains had a polymorphic band pattern, which shows a high rate of polymorphism in Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli genomes. The methods used in this study are powerful tools for genotyping of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli, but according to the findings, the ERIC-PCR method is a more suitable method than other methods for typing and classifying Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli strains.

Background: Infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa raise an important issue in burn patients. Molecular epidemiologic studies have been used for investigating the genetic features of P. aeruginosa and REP-PCR technique has been introduced as a rapid low cost method. Objectives: This study focused on investigating the genetic similarity and antibiotic resistance pattern of P. aeruginosa isolated from the clinical samples of burn patients in a major burn center in Khuzestan Province, Iran. Methods: In a cross sectional study, a total of 75 strains of P. aeruginosa were isolated from burn patients at Taleghani hospital, which is the main burn center in Ahvaz, Iran, during May-September, 2015. Antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates was detected using the disk diffusion method. Genetic relatedness of the isolates was analyzed by the REP-PCR technique. Results: Antimicrobial susceptibility testing showed more than 80% of P. aeruginosa isolates were resistant to ceftriaxone, cefotaxime, meropenem, piperacillin/tazobactam, ticarcillin, ciprofloxacin, and amikacin. Based on the REP-PCR analysis, 20 different common types and 20 unique patterns were illustrated among P. aeruginosa isolates. Conclusions: According to the findings of our study, there were diverse and high-level resistant P. aeruginosa strains in the major burn center in Khuzestan. Therefore, we faced troubles controlling the diverse P. aeruginosa clones in the burn patients.