- Volume 146, Issue 12, 2000
Volume 146, Issue 12, 2000
- Mini-Review
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- Microbiology Comment
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- Biochemistry
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Prochlorococcus marinus strain PCC 9511, a picoplanktonic cyanobacterium, synthesizes the smallest urease
More LessThe GenBank accession number for the sequence determined in this work is AF242489.
The urease from the picoplanktonic oceanic Prochlorococcus marinus sp. strain PCC 9511 was purified 900-fold to a specific activity of 94.6 μmol urea min−1 (mg protein)−1 by heat treatment and liquid chromatography methods. The enzyme, with a molecular mass of 168 kDa as determined by gel filtration, is the smallest urease known to date. Three different subunits with apparent molecular masses of 11 kDa (γ or UreA; predicted molecular mass 11 kDa), 13 kDa (β or UreB; predicted molecular mass 12 kDa) and 63 kDa (α or UreC; predicted molecular mass 62 kDa) were detected in the native enzyme, suggesting a quaternary structure of (αβγ)2. The K m of the purified enzyme was determined as being 0·23 mM urea. The urease activity was inhibited by HgCl2, acetohydroxamic acid and EDTA but neither by boric acid nor by L-methionine-DL-sulfoximine. Degenerate primers were designed to amplify a conserved region of the ureC gene. The amplification product was then used as a probe to clone a 5·7 kbp fragment of the P. marinus sp. strain PCC 9511 genome. The nucleotide sequence of this DNA fragment revealed two divergently orientated gene clusters, ureDABC and ureEFG, encoding the urease subunits, UreA, UreB and UreC, and the urease accessory molecules UreD, UreE, UreF and UreG. A putative NtcA-binding site was found upstream from ureEFG, indicating that this gene cluster might be under nitrogen control.
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The microaerophilic flagellate Giardia intestinalis: oxygen and its reaction products collapse membrane potential and cause cytotoxicity
Trophozoites of the microaerophilic flagellate parasitic protozoon Giardia intestinalis have only a limited capacity to detoxify O2. Thus, when exposed to controlled concentrations of dissolved O2 >8 μM, they gradually lose their ability to scavenge O2. In a washed cell suspension stirred under 10% air in N2 (equivalent to 25 μM O2), inactivation of the O2-consuming system was complete after 3·5 h; during this period accumulation of H2O2 (3 μmol per 106 organisms) and oxidation of cellular thiols to 16% of their initial level occurred. Under 20% air (50 μM O2), respiratory inactivation was complete after 1·5 h, and under air (258 μM O2), after 50 min. Loss of O2-consuming capacity was accompanied by loss of motility. Use of the fluorogen 2,7-dichlorodihydrofluorescein acetate indicated that intracellular H2O2 is produced at extranuclear sites. Flow cytometric estimation of the plasma membrane electrochemical potentials using bis(1,3-dibutylbarbituric acid) trimethine oxonol, DiBAC4(3), showed that values declined from −134 mV to −20 mV after 4·5 h aeration. Incubation of organisms with 60 μM H2O2 for 10 min gave partial collapse of plasma membrane potential and complete loss of O2 uptake capacity; motility and viability as assessed by DiBAC4(3) exclusion were completely lost after 1 h. Inactivation of the O2-consuming system and loss of viability were also observed on exposure to singlet oxygen photochemically generated from rose bengal or toluidine blue.
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Antibacterial activity of synthetic analogues based on the disaccharide structure of moenomycin, an inhibitor of bacterial transglycosylase
Moenomycin is a natural product glycolipid that inhibits the growth of a broad spectrum of Gram-positive bacteria. In Escherichia coli, moenomycin inhibits peptidoglycan synthesis at the transglycosylation stage, causes accumulation of cell-wall intermediates, and leads to lysis and cell death. However, unlike Esc. coli, where 5–6 log units of killing are observed, 0–2 log units of killing occurred when Gram-positive bacteria were treated with similar multiples of the MIC. In addition, bulk peptidoglycan synthesis in intact Gram-positive cells was resistant to the effects of moenomycin. In contrast, synthetic disaccharides based on the moenomycin disaccharide core structure were identified that were bactericidal to Gram-positive bacteria, inhibited cell-wall synthesis in intact cells, and were active on both sensitive and vancomycin-resistant enterococci. These disaccharide analogues do not inhibit the formation of N-acetylglucosamine-β-1,4-MurNAc-pentapeptide-pyrophosphoryl-undecaprenol (lipid II), but do inhibit the polymerization of lipid II into peptidoglycan in Esc. coli. In addition, cell growth was required for bactericidal activity. The data indicate that synthetic disaccharide analogues of moenomycin inhibit cell-wall synthesis at the transglycosylation stage, and that their activity on Gram-positive bacteria differs from moenomycin due to differential targeting of the transglycosylation process. Inhibition of the transglycosylation process represents a promising approach to the design of new antibacterial agents active on drug-resistant bacteria.
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A new broad-spectrum protease inhibitor from the entomopathogenic bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens
More LessA new protease inhibitor was purified to apparent homogeneity from a culture medium of Photorhabdus luminescens by ammonium sulfate precipitation and preparative isoelectric focusing followed by affinity chromatography. Ph. luminescens, a bacterium symbiotically associated with the insect-parasitic nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, exists in two morphologically distinguishable phases (primary and secondary). It appears that only the secondary-phase bacterium produces this protease inhibitor. The protease inhibitor has an M r of approximately 12000 as determined by SDS-PAGE. Its activity is stable over a pH range of 3·5–11 and at temperatures below 50 °C. The N-terminal 16 amino acids of the protease inhibitor were determined as STGIVTFKND(X)GEDIV and have a very high sequence homology with the N-terminal region of an endogenous inhibitor (IA-1) from the fruiting bodies of an edible mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus. The purified protease inhibitor inactivated the homologous protease with an almost 1:1 stoichiometry. It also inhibited proteases from a related insect-nematode-symbiotic bacterium, Xenorhabdus nematophila. Interestingly, when present at a molar ratio of 5 to 1, this new protease inhibitor completely inactivated the activity of both trypsin and elastase. The activity of proteinase A and cathepsin G was partially inhibited by this bacterial protease inhibitor, but it had no effect on chymotrypsin, subtilisin, thermolysin and cathepsins B and D. The newly isolated protease inhibitor from the secondary-phase bacteria and its specific inhibition of its own protease provides an explanation as to why previous investigators failed to detect the presence of protease activity in the secondary-phase bacteria. The functional implications of the protease inhibitor are also discussed in relation to the physiology of nematode-symbiotic bacteria.
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- Bioenergetics And Transport
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Continuous monitoring of the cytoplasmic pH in Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum using the intracellular factor F420 as indicator
More LessThe absorption spectrum of factor F420 changes depending on the pH and the redox state of the cytoplasm. Specific wavelengths were used to calibrate absorption changes to allow the measurement of changes in the cytoplasmic pH in Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum. Upon a hydrogen pulse, a rapid efflux of protons was observed. Under these energized conditions, the ΔpH amounts to 0·2–0·4 pH units at pH 6·6, and 0·6–0·8 pH units at pH 6·0. It decays within 10–20 s. In parallel, a sodium gradient is formed which has a slightly longer lifetime. Both ΔpH and ΔΨ contribute to the proton-motive force present during methanogenesis. The energy-conversion rate, as indicated by the decay of the energized state of the cell, is fastest under growth conditions, i.e. at pH 6·9 and at a temperature of 58 °C.
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A functional water channel protein in the pathogenic bacterium Brucella abortus
The GenBank accession number for the nucleotide sequence reported in this paper is AF148066.
The gene for a new bacterial aquaporin, AqpX, was cloned from the pathogenic Gram-negative bacterium Brucella abortus. The gene was mapped on the large chromosome of B. abortus. It is flanked by one upstream and two downstream copies of the Brucella repeated sequence Bru-RS. Prediction from the nucleotide sequence indicated that the protein is a member of the MIP family, which comprises channels for water and/or solute transport. Expression in Xenopus oocytes and cryoelectron microscopy of Escherichia coli cells transformed with the aqpX gene confirmed that the protein is an efficient water channel. Glycerol uptake experiments in E. coli also showed that the protein is not able to transport glycerol.
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- Genetics And Molecular Biology
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Mutations in the β subunit of the Bacillus subtilis RNA polymerase that confer both rifampicin resistance and hypersensitivity to NusG
More LessMutations conferring resistance to the antibiotic rifampicin (Rifr) occur at specific sites within the β subunit of the prokaryotic RNA polymerase. Rifr mutants of Escherichia coli are frequently altered in the elongation and termination of transcription. Rifr rpoB mutations were isolated in Bacillus subtilis and their effects on transcription elongation factor NusG and Rho-dependent termination were investigated. RNase protection assay, Northern analysis and the expression of nusG–lacZ fusions in cells with an inducible NusG suggested the B. subtilis nusG gene was autoregulated at the level of transcription. Rifr mutations that changed residue Q469 to a basic residue (Q469K and Q469R) enhanced autoregulation of nusG. A mutant expressing a truncated form of NusG, due to a nonsense mutation within the nusG gene, was isolated on the basis of the loss of autoregulation. The mechanism of autoregulation was found to be independent both of transcription termination factor Rho and of the promoter transcribing nusG. Autoregulation required sequences within the 5′ coding sequence of the nusG gene or immediately upstream. This is the first evidence from any bacterium that Rifr RNA polymerases can display altered transcription regulation by NusG.
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The aprE leader is a determinant of extreme mRNA stability in Bacillus subtilis
More LessThe Bacillus subtilis aprE gene encodes subtilisin, an extracellular proteolytic enzyme produced in stationary phase. The authors examined the stability of aprE mRNA and aprE leader–lacZ fusion mRNA. Both mRNAs were found to be unusually stable, with half-lives longer than 25 min, demonstrating that the aprE leader contains a determinant for extreme mRNA stability. The half-lives were the same in growing and stationary-phase cells. This contrasts with the findings of O. Resnekov et al. (1990) R31 [Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 87, 8355–8359], which suggested a growth-phase-dependent mechanism for decay of aprE mRNA. The discrepancy is explained by the techniques used. Substitution of two bases or deletion of 25 nucleotides in the aprE leader led to a major difference in its predicted secondary structure and resulted in a fivefold reduction of the half-life of aprE mRNA. The authors also determined the half-life of amyE mRNA, which encodes α-amylase, another stationary-phase, excreted enzyme and found it to be around 5 min. This shows that extreme stability is not a general property of stationary-phase mRNAs encoding excreted enzymes.
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Bacillus subtilis guanine deaminase is encoded by the yknA gene and is induced during growth with purines as the nitrogen source
More LessBacillus subtilis can utilize the purine bases adenine, hypoxanthine and xanthine as nitrogen sources. The utilization of guanine as a nitrogen source is reported here. The first step is the deamination of guanine to xanthine catalysed by guanine deaminase (GDEase). To isolate mutants defective in GDEase activity, a collection of mutant strains was screened for strains unable to use guanine as a nitrogen source. The strain BFA1819 (yknA) showed the expected phenotype and no GDEase activity could be detected in this strain. A new name for yknA, namely gde, is proposed. The gde gene encodes a 156 amino acid polypeptide and was preceded by a promoter sequence that is recognized by the σA form of RNA polymerase. High levels of GDEase were found in cells grown with purines and intermediary compounds of the purine catabolic pathway as nitrogen sources. Allantoic acid, most likely, is a low molecular mass inducer molecule. The level of GDEase was found to be subjected to global nitrogen control exerted by the GlnA/TnrA-dependent signalling pathway. The two regulatory proteins of this pathway, TnrA and GlnR, indirectly and positively affected gde expression. This is the first instance of a gene whose expression is positively regulated by GlnR. The GDEase amino acid sequence shows no homology with the mammalian enzyme. In agreement with this are the different physiological roles for the two enzymes.
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Gene transfer to Clostridium cellulolyticum ATCC 35319
More LessAlthough much is known about the bacterial cellulosome and its various protein components, their contributions to bacterial growth on cellulose and the process of cellulolysis in vivo cannot currently be assessed. To remedy this, the authors have developed gene transfer techniques for Clostridium cellulolyticum ATCC 35319. Firstly, transfer of Tn1545 has been obtained using an Enterococcus faecalis donor. Secondly, IncP-mediated conjugative mobilization of plasmids from Escherichia coli donors has also been achieved. The yield of transconjugants in both cases was low and was probably limited by the suboptimal growth conditions that must of necessity be employed for the co-culture of oligotrophic C. cellulolyticum with copiotrophic donors. A restriction endonuclease was detected in crude extracts of C. cellulolyticum. This enzyme, named CceI, is an isoschizomer of MspI (HpaII). Electro-transformation was employed to establish plasmids containing the replication functions of pAMβ1 (En. faecalis), pIM13 (Bacillus subtilis), pCB102 (Clostridium butyricum), pIP404 (Clostridium perfringens) and pWV01 (Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris) in C. cellulolyticum. Transformants were only obtained if the DNA was appropriately methylated on the external C of the sequence 5′-CCGG-3′ using either BsuFI methylase in vivo or MspI methylase in vitro. Plasmids based on the pAMβ1 and pIM13 replicons were more stably maintained than one based on the pCB102 replicon. Selection of transformants on solid medium led to low apparent transformation efficiencies (approx. 102 transformants per μg DNA) which might, in part, reflect the low plating efficiency of the organism. Selection of transformants in liquid medium led to a higher apparent yield of transformants (between 105 and 107 transformants per μg DNA). The methods developed here will pave the way for functional analysis of the various cellulosome components in vivo.
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The potential for intraspecific horizontal gene exchange by natural genetic transformation: sexual isolation among genomovars of Pseudomonas stutzeri
More LessThe EMBL accession numbers for the sequences reported in this paper are given in Methods.
The potential for natural genetic transformation among the seven genomovars (gvs) of Pseudomonas stutzeri was investigated. Of the 12 strains originating from a variety of environments, six strains (50%) from five gvs were competent for DNA uptake (RifR marker). The transformation frequencies varied over more than three orders of magnitude. With three highly transformable strains (ATCC 17587, ATCC 17641, JM300) from two gvs and all other strains as DNA donors, sexual isolation from other pseudomonad species (Pseudomonas alcaligenes, Pseudomonas mendocina) and also from other P. stutzeri gvs was observed (i.e. heterogamic transformation was reduced). For ATCC 17587 (gv 2) and ATCC 17641 (gv 8), heterogamic transformation was up to two and three orders of magnitude lower with other P. stutzeri gv and the other species employed, respectively, than in homogamic transformations. Interestingly, whereas with ATCC 17587 and ATCC 17641 heterogamic transformation with donors of the same gv was as high as homogamic transformation, JM300 (gv 8) was sexually isolated from its nearest relative (ATCC 17641). Also, sexual isolation of JM300 from other P. stutzeri gvs was most pronounced among the recipients tested, in some cases reaching the highest levels found with the other species as DNA donors (reduction of heterogamic transformation by 4000-fold). Results obtained here from nucleotide sequence analysis of part (422 nt) of the gene for the RNA polymerase β subunit (rpoB) from various strains indicated that sexual isolation of ATCC 17641 increased with nucleotide sequence divergence. Implications of the observed great heterogeneity in transformability, competence levels and sexual isolation among strains are discussed with regard to the evolution of P. stutzeri.
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Molecular characterization of the mycobacterial SenX3–RegX3 two-component system: evidence for autoregulation
More LessEnvironmental regulation of bacterial gene expression is often mediated by two-component signal transduction systems, which are themselves tightly regulated. The response regulator RegX3 and the cytoplasmic portion of the histidine kinase SenX3 from Mycobacterium bovis BCG were overproduced in Escherichia coli and purified as N-terminally (His)6-tagged proteins. Phosphorylation assays demonstrated autophosphorylation of the cytoplasmic portion of SenX3 and a phosphotransfer from SenX3 to RegX3, involving conserved histidine and aspartate residues, respectively. In addition, as shown by electrophoretic mobility shift assays, (His)6RegX3 was able to specifically bind to the promoter region of the senX3–regX3 operon. Furthermore, operon fusion analyses indicated that the overexpression of the senX3–regX3 operon increases the activity of the senX3 promoter in Mycobacterium smegmatis. Together, these results indicate that the mycobacterial SenX3–RegX3 two-component system is positively autoregulated.
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Temperature regulation of protease in Pseudomonas fluorescens LS107d2 by an ECF sigma factor and a transmembrane activator
More LessThe GenBank accession numbers for the sequences reported in this paper are AF228766 and AF228767.
The production of extracellular enzymes by Pseudomonas fluorescens is important with respect to phytopathogenesis and, in the case of psychrotrophic strains, food spoilage. The production of extracellular protease has been previously reported to be dependent on temperature in psychrotrophic strains of P. fluorescens; production is decreased above the optimum growth temperature with a relatively small change in growth rate. In this work, a transposon mutant of P. fluorescens LS107d2 has been isolated which, in contrast to the wild-type strain, is completely protease deficient at 29 °C, above the optimum growth temperature of 25 °C, but which produces protease at 23 °C. Further analysis revealed that this mutation is in a gene (prtR) which is part of a dicistronic operon, prtIR, in which the two genes are translationally coupled. Evidence is presented that prtI encodes a sigma factor related to others involved in extracytoplasmic functions (ECF sigma factors) and that prtR encodes a novel transmembrane activator of PrtI. PrtI, like PrtR, is also required for protease production at 29 °C but not at 23 °C. Analysis of the amino acid sequence of PrtR indicates that it is functionally related to a group of membrane-associated anti-sigma factors and a few transmembrane regulators, but is not significantly sequence related. Complementation analysis indicates that PrtR may also interact with sigma factors other than PrtI. The promoter region of the protease-encoding gene (aprX) in LS107d2 has been identified and has sequence features which could indicate interaction with either an ECF sigma factor or a primary sigma factor.
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YeiL, the third member of the CRP–FNR family in Escherichia coli
More LessThe yeiL open reading frame located at 48·5 min (2254 kb) in the nfo–fruA region of the Escherichia coli chromosome was predicted to encode a CRP and FNR paralogue capable of forming inter- or intra-molecular disulphide bonds and incorporating one iron–sulphur centre per 25 kDa subunit. Purified MBP–YeiL (a maltose-binding-protein–YeiL fusion protein) was a high-molecular-mass oligomer or aggregate which released unstable monomers (68 kDa) under reducing conditions. The MBP–YeiL protein contained substoichiometric amounts of iron and acid-labile sulphide, and an average of one disulphide bond per monomer. The iron and sulphide contents increased consistent with the acquisition of one [4Fe–4S] cluster per monomer after anaerobic NifS-catalysed reconstitution. By analogy with FNR and FLP (the FNR-like protein of Lactobacillus casei) it was suggested that the transcription-regulatory activity of YeiL might be modulated by a sensory iron–sulphur cluster and/or by reversible disulphide bond formation. A yeiL–lacZ transcriptional fusion showed that aerobic yeiL expression increases at least sixfold during stationary phase, requires RpoS, and is positively autoregulated by YeiL, positively activated by Lrp (and IHF in the absence of FNR) and negatively regulated by FNR. A regulatory link between the synthesis of YeiK (a potential nucleoside hydrolase) and YeiL was inferred by showing that the yeiK and yeiL genes are divergently transcribed from overlapping promoters. A 10–15% deficiency in aerobic growth yield and an enhanced loss of viability under nitrogen starvation conditions were detected with a yeiL::kan R mutant, suggesting that YeiL might function as a post-exponential-phase nitrogen-starvation regulator.
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A method for direct cloning of Fur-regulated genes: identification of seven new Fur-regulated loci in Escherichia coli
More LessA strain that allows the cloning of Fur-regulated loci was constructed. The strain, named FUR-SEL1, contains a chromosomal fhuA′–′cat transcriptional fusion that is expressed from the Fur-regulated promoter, fhuA p. Therefore, Fur boxes introduced on a multicopy plasmid can cause derepression of the fusion by titrating the Fur repressor and thereby confer chloramphenicol resistance, which can be used as a selectable phenotype for cloning Fur-regulated loci. However, a number of additional mutations had to be introduced before FUR-SEL1 could be used for cloning Fur-regulated genes. The principal approach consisted of introducing a leaky fur mutation that ensures a more than 106-fold increase in chloramphenicol resistance for FUR-SEL1 transformants carrying FUR-box-containing plasmids. To verify that the cloning procedure selects Fur-regulated genes, 10 recombinant plasmids chosen at random among the ones selected with FUR-SEL1 were analysed by FURTA (Fur-titration assay), a method for identification of Fur-regulated genes. In addition, the nucleotide sequences of their chromosomal inserts were determined. Besides known Fur-regulated genes, seven Escherichia coli loci which have not previously been shown to be Fur regulated were found, including the pgmA and nrdHIEF genes, predicted ORF yhhY and four promoters identified first in this study. Three of the promoters preceded the nohA gene, and ORFs ygaC and yhhX. The fourth was located upstream of orf78 predicted in this work. The regulation of the promoter activities by iron and the involvement of Fur in this regulation were shown. Employing FUR-SEL1 for cloning Fur-regulated loci from other enterobacteria is discussed.
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How Delisea pulchra furanones affect quorum sensing and swarming motility in Serratia liquefaciens MG1
Halogenated furanones produced by the benthic marine macroalga Delisea pulchra inhibit swarming motility of Serratia liquefaciens MG1. This study demonstrates that exogenously added furanones control transcription of the quorum sensing regulated gene swrA in competition with the cognate signal molecule N-butanoyl-L-homoserine lactone. This in turn results in reduced production of the surface-active compound serrawettin W2, which is crucial for surface translocation of the differentiated swarm cells. It is demonstrated that furanones interfere with interspecies communication during swarming of mixed cultures and that the mode of interference in quorum-sensing control and interspecies communication is not through inhibition of autoinducer synthesis.
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PkwA, a WD-repeat protein, is expressed in spore-derived mycelium of Thermomonospora curvata and phosphorylation of its WD domain could act as a molecular switch
More LessWD-repeat proteins are found in all eukaryotes and are implicated in a variety of regulatory functions as a result of protein–protein interactions. PkwA from Thermomonospora curvata CCM3352 is a first potential example of a WD-repeat protein in a prokaryotic actinomycete. A mAb (3G2) was generated against the carboxy terminus of PkwA and was used to analyse the expression of PkwA in T. curvata. PkwA was detected in exponential growth phase following inoculation with spores, but could not be found at any stage of growth following inoculation with vegetative mycelium. PkwA and its WD domain were expressed in Escherichia coli as His-tag derivatives and purified on a Talon metal affinity matrix. The WD domain was phosphorylated by Pkg2, a membrane-spanning protein Ser/Thr kinase from ‘Streptomyces granaticolor’. A membrane fraction from an exponential, spore-derived culture of T. curvata was found to phosphorylate the WD domain specifically in the presence of Mn2+. These data confirm that PkwA is expressed in spore-derived exponential growth phase of T. curvata and could play a role as a molecular switch in a signalling pathway.
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- Genomics
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Genomic survey of cAMP and cGMP signalling components in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803
More LessCyanobacteria modulate intracellular levels of cAMP and cGMP in response to environmental conditions (light, nutrients and pH). In an attempt to identify components of the cAMP and cGMP signalling pathways in Synechocystis PCC 6803, the authors screened its complete genome sequence by using bioinformatic tools and data from sequence–function studies performed on both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cAMP/cGMP-dependent proteins. Sll1624 and Slr2100 were tentatively assigned as being two putative cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases. Five proteins were identified as having all the determinants required to be cyclic nucleotide receptors, two of them being probably more specific for cGMP (an element of two-component regulatory systems – Slr2104 – and a putative cyclic-nucleotide-gated cation channel – Slr1575), the three others being probably more specific for cAMP: (i) a protein of unidentified function (Slr0842); (ii) a putative cyclic-nucleotide-modulated permease (Slr0593), previously annotated as a kinase A regulatory subunit; and (iii) a putative transcription factor (CRP-Syn =Sll1371), which possesses cAMP- and DNA-binding determinants homologous to those of the cAMP receptor protein of Escherichia coli (CRP-Ec). This homology, together with the presence in Synechocystis of CRP-Ec-like binding sites upstream of crp, cya1, slr1575, and several genes encoding enzymes involved in transport and metabolism, strongly suggests that CRP-Syn is a global regulator.
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The Oenococcus oeni genome: physical and genetic mapping of strain GM and comparison with the genome of a ‘divergent’ strain, PSU-1
More LessThe physical and genetic maps of the Oenococcus oeni strains GM and PSU-1, which represent two genomic divergent groups on the basis of macrorestriction and ribotyping analysis, were compared. To achieve this comparison, the GM maps were constructed and the PSU-1 maps, already established, were improved. All the recognition sites of the restriction enzymes AscI, I-CeuI, FseI, NotI and SfiI were located in both chromosomes and the position of 26 genetic markers, including two rrn operons and 14 new putative oenococcal genes, were allocated to the restriction fragments generated by the five enzymes. The comparative analysis of O. oeni GM and PSU-1 genomes revealed extensive conservation of loci order. As for the differences encountered in the locations of restriction sites, they seem to be a reflection of the differences in restriction fragment sizes, explainable by insertion/deletion events and point mutations. No evidence for major genomic rearrangements was found. The genomic conservation between the two strains is in agreement and suggests homogeneity within the species, which was not unexpected in view of the restricted ecological niche of O. oeni. Further comparisons of physical maps, both of O. oeni strains and related species, will certainly help to assess whether O. oeni is really an homogeneous species and physical mapping is suitable for taxonomic purposes, both at the supra- and intraspecific levels.
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Comparison of the proteome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain H37Rv with clinical isolate CDC 1551
The genome sequences of two virulent strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (H37Rv and CDC 1551) are now available. CDC 1551 is a recent clinical isolate and H37Rv is a commonly used lab strain which has been subject to in vitro passage. The two strains have been shown to display differing phenotypes both in vivo and in vitro. The proteome of the two strains grown in liquid culture were examined over time to determine whether there are any major differences between them at the protein level and the differences were compared to the genome data. Total cell lysates of the two strains were analysed by two-dimensional electrophoresis. Approximately 1750 protein spots were visualized by silver staining and the protein profiles of the two strains were found to be highly similar. Out of a total of 17 protein spot differences, seven were unique to CDC 1551 and three to H37Rv. Two further spots showed increased intensity in H37Rv, one spot showed differing vertical mobility between the strains and four showed differing spot intensities with time. Twelve of the spot differences were identified using mass spectrometry; however, no obvious association with phenotype could be deduced. When genome differences were analysed and related to the proteome differences, a mobility shift identified in the MoxR protein could be explained by a point mutation at the gene level. This proteome analysis reveals that, despite having been maintained under vastly different conditions, namely in vitro passage and in vivo transmission, these two strains have remained highly similar.
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- Pathogenicity And Medical Microbiology
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Cooperative, synergistic and antagonistic haemolytic interactions between haemolysin BL, phosphatidylcholine phospholipase C and sphingomyelinase from Bacillus cereus
More LessHaemolysis of erythrocytes from different species (sheep, bovine, swine and human), caused by various combinations of phosphatidylcholine (PC)-preferring phospholipase C (PC-PLC), sphingomyelinase (SMase) and the three-component, pore-forming toxin haemolysin BL (HBL) from Bacillus cereus was analysed. The lytic potency of HBL did not correlate with phospholipid (PL) content, but lysis by the individual or combined enzymes did. SMase alone lysed ruminant erythrocytes, which contain 46–53% sphingomyelin (SM). The cooperative action of PC-PLC and SMase was needed to lyse swine and human erythrocytes (22–31% PC and 28–25% SM). SMase synergistically enhanced haemolysis caused by HBL for all erythrocytes tested, which all contained >25% SM. PC-PLC enhanced HBL haemolysis only in cells containing significant amounts of PC (swine, 22% PC; human, 31% PC). Unexpectedly, PC-PLC inhibited HBL lysis of sheep erythrocytes (<2% PC) and enhanced the discontinuous haemolysis pattern that is characteristic of HBL in sheep blood agar. Inhibition and pattern enhancement was abolished by washing PC-PLC-treated erythrocytes or by adding EDTA, suggesting that enzymic alteration of the membrane is not involved, but that zinc in the active site is required, perhaps to facilitate binding. These observations highlight the potential for cooperative and synergistic interactions among virulence factors in B. cereus infections and dependence of these effects on tissue composition.
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The microaerophilic flagellate Giardia intestinalis: Allium sativum (garlic) is an effective antigiardial
More LessWhole garlic (Allium sativum L.) extract and some of its components were assayed for antigiardial activity. Whole garlic extract gave an IC50 at 24 h of 0·3 mg ml−1. Most of the components assayed were inhibitory to the organism, especially allyl alcohol and allyl mercaptan, with IC50 values of 7 μg ml−1 and 37 μg ml−1 respectively. Studies with calcofluor white indicated that whole garlic and allyl alcohol collapse the transmembrane electrochemical membrane potential (Δψ) of the organism, as indicated by uptake of the fluorochrome. Electron microscopy allowed the morphological changes that occur with garlic inhibition to be recorded. Both the surface topography and internal architecture of the organism changed during incubation with the biocides. Both whole garlic and allyl alcohol resulted in fragmentation of the disc and an overexpression of disc microribbons, internalization of flagella, vacuole formation and an increase in distended vesicles. Allyl mercaptan, however, only gave an increase in distended vesicles, suggesting that this biocide has a different mode of action.
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Differential cytokine expression in avian cells in response to invasion by Salmonella typhimurium, Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella gallinarum
More LessThe GenBank accession numbers for the sequences reported in this paper are AI982185 for chicken IL-6 cDNA and AJ250838 for the partial chicken IL-6 genomic sequence, respectively.
Salmonella enterica is a facultative intracellular pathogen that is capable of causing disease in a range of hosts. Although human salmonellosis is frequently associated with consumption of contaminated poultry and eggs, and the serotypes Salmonella gallinarum and Salmonella pullorum are important world-wide pathogens of poultry, little is understood of the mechanisms of pathogenesis of Salmonella in the chicken. Type III secretion systems play a key role in host cell invasiveness and trigger the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines during invasion of mammalian hosts. This results in a polymorphonuclear cell influx that contributes to the resulting enteritis. In this study, a chicken primary cell culture model was used to investigate the cytokine responses to entry by the broad host range serotypes S. enteritidis and S. typhimurium, and the host specific serotype S. gallinarum, which rarely causes disease outside its main host, the chicken. The cytokines interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-2, IL-6 and interferon (IFN)-γ were measured by quantitative RT-PCR, and production of IL-6 and IFN-γ was also determined through bioassays. All serotypes were invasive and had little effect on the production of IFN-γ compared with non-infected cells; S. enteritidis invasion caused a slight down-regulation of IL-2 production. For IL-1β production, infection with S. typhimurium had little effect, whilst infection with S. gallinarum or S. enteritidis caused a reduction in IL-1β mRNA levels. Invasion of S. typhimurium and S. enteritidis caused an eight- to tenfold increase in production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6, whilst invasion by S. gallinarum caused no increase. These findings correlate with the pathogenesis of Salmonella in poultry. S. typhimurium and S. enteritidis invasion produces a strong inflammatory response, that may limit the spread of Salmonella largely to the gut, whilst S. gallinarum does not induce an inflammatory response and may not be limited by the immune system, leading to the severe systemic disease fowl typhoid.
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Invasiveness in chickens, stress resistance and RpoS status of wild-type Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium definitive type 104 and serovar Enteritidis phage type 4 strains
The heat and acid resistance and the ability to survive airdrying on commonly used kitchen surfaces were assessed for clinical and environmental strains of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium, definitive type (DT) 104. Three out of thirty-eight strains of DT 104 were found to be more sensitive in stationary phase to the stresses examined than the other strains. This compares to a previous study by the authors which showed that seven out of forty serovar Enteritidis phage type (PT) 4 strains were more sensitive. RpoS activity was examined indirectly in selected strains of DT 104 and PT 4. In those with normal stress resistance a 100-fold induction of an RpoS-dependent spvR/A′::luxCDABE fusion was observed upon entry into stationary phase. The sensitive strains examined showed either no induction or a reduced level of spvR/A′::luxCDABE expression. The rpoS gene was sequenced from these strains and three were found to harbour mutations including one deletion, one base-pair substitution resulting in a nonsense codon, and one insertion causing a frameshift resulting in an early stop codon. Strains with negligible or reduced spvR/A′::luxCDABE expression had low stress resistance. All strains of DT 104 could be recovered from liver and spleen tissues of infected hens 14 d post-infection, but one with no induction of spvR/A′::luxCDABE expression was significantly less likely to be recovered from chicken reproductive tissues, liver or spleen than the majority of other strains, including one with reduced spvR/A′::luxCDABE expression. This work has demonstrated that clinical and environmental strains of DT 104 and PT 4 not infrequently harbour mutations in the rpoS allele. It is possible that the rpoS mutations may have occurred during the initial isolation of the strains. The ability of a strain to cause infection, however, also depends on factors such as host susceptibility and dose.
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- Physiology And Growth
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The importance of the five phosphoribosyl-pyrophosphate synthetase (Prs) gene products of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in the maintenance of cell integrity and the subcellular localization of Prs1p
Phosphoribosyl-pyrophosphate synthetase (Prs) catalyses the synthesis of phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate (PRPP), an intermediate in nucleotide metabolism and the biosynthesis of the amino acids histidine and tryptophan. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome contains a family of five PRS genes, PRS1–PRS5. Using anti-peptide antisera directed against two different epitopes of Prs1p it was shown that Prs1p localizes to granular cytoplasmic structures. This localization was confirmed by living cell microscopy of strains expressing a functional green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged Prs1p. Analysis of Prs1p distribution in conditional secretory-deficient (sec) mutants suggested that the observed distribution of Prs1p is independent of the secretory pathway. Electron microscopy revealed that plasma membrane invaginations and accumulation of cytoplasmic vesicles were more frequent in strains which lack some of the PRS genes than in the wild-type. The fact that Δprs1 and Δprs3 are hypersensitive to caffeine and unable to recover from exposure to it as judged by the release of alkaline phosphatase points to a possible link between Prs and the maintenance of cell integrity.
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Landmarks in the early duplication cycles of Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus nidulans: polarity, germ tube emergence and septation
More LessWhen the spores of filamentous fungi break dormancy, nuclear division is accompanied by a series of ordered morphological events including the switch from isotropic to polar growth, the emergence of a second germ tube from the conidium and septation. Correlation of these morphological events with nuclear number allows them to serve as duplication cycle landmarks. Early duplication cycle landmarks have been characterized in Aspergillus nidulans, but not in other filamentous fungi. To learn more about duplication cycle control in filamentous fungi, a study was undertaken to compare the timing of landmarks in Aspergillus fumigatus and A. nidulans. Nuclear duplication took approximately 45 min in A. fumigatus, with mitosis occupying roughly 5% of this period. Under the same conditions, nuclear duplication in A. nidulans took approximately 60 min, with mitosis occupying roughly 4% of this period. In A. fumigatus the isotropic to polar switch preceded the first mitosis in 22% of cells, while in A. nidulans the isotropic to polar switch did not occur until after the first mitosis. In both A. fumigatus and A. nidulans the earliest emergence of a second germ tube from the conidium occurred after the third mitotic division. However, by the fifth mitosis only 19% of A. fumigatus conidia had a second germ tube, compared to 98% of A. nidulans conidia. In both A. fumigatus and A. nidulans, formation of the first septum occurred after the fourth mitotic division. In all experiments a few cells lagged behind the others in nuclear number. In this delayed group, it was common to see landmark events at an earlier mitotic division. Differences in nuclear number when identical landmarks occur in A. fumigatus versus A. nidulans, and uncoupling of mitotic division and landmarks in delayed cells suggest that nuclear division and morphogenesis lie in parallel pathways, perhaps coordinated by checkpoints.
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- Corrigendum
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