Murdoch Childrens Research Institute 3 articles published in JoVE Immunology and Infection Capsular Serotyping of Streptococcus pneumoniae by Latex Agglutination Barbara D. Porter1, Belinda D. Ortika1, Catherine Satzke1,2 1Pneumococcal Research, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, 2Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne Latex agglutination testing is a simple, rapid and inexpensive method for serotyping Streptococcus pneumoniae, and has also been widely applied in diagnostic microbiology. This manuscript describes the in-house production of latex agglutination reagents, quality control procedures and the application of this technique to pneumococcal serotyping. Immunology and Infection Investigating the Effects of Probiotics on Pneumococcal Colonization Using an In Vitro Adherence Assay Eileen M. Dunne1, Zheng Q. Toh2, Mary John3, Jayne Manning1,4, Catherine Satzke*1,4, Paul Licciardi*2 1Pneumococcal Research, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, 2Allergy & Immune Disorders, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, 3Department of Otolaryngology, The University of Melbourne, 4Department of Microbiology & Immunology at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection & Immunity, The University of Melbourne In vitro adherence assays can be used to study the attachment of Streptococcus pneumoniae to epithelial cell monolayers and to investigate potential interventions such as the use of probiotics for inhibiting pneumococcal colonization. Immunology and Infection Capsular Serotyping of Streptococcus pneumoniae Using the Quellung Reaction Maha Habib1, Barbara D. Porter1, Catherine Satzke1,2 1Pneumococcal Research, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, 2Department of Microbiology & Immunology, The University of Melbourne The Quellung reaction is the gold standard technique for serotyping Streptococcus pneumoniae. This technique utilizes a microscope and specific pneumococcal antisera and is commonly used in reference and research laboratories worldwide.