7 kDa and the pI is 97 Both are predicted to have a short cytop

7 kDa and the pI is 9.7. Both are predicted to have a short cytoplasmic tail adjacent to a single transmembrane region,

followed by the extracellular part containing the LCP domain, extending from aa 86 to 234 in SA0908 and from aa 90 to 236 in SA2103. The transcriptional start sites (TSS) of sa0908 and sa2103 were identified by primer extension and were 99 and 44 bp upstream of the start codons, buy Opaganib respectively, and were preceded by putative promoter elements (Fig. 1a and b). Northern blots revealed that sa0908 and sa0907 were cotranscribed on a single mRNA of ∼2000 nt in wild-type MSSA1112. The deletion of sa0908 in strain RH53 resulted in a shorter, ∼800 bp, sa0907 transcript (Fig. 1c). Two transcripts hybridized to the sa2103 DIG-probe, an ∼1100 bp transcript, which initiated at the TSS, and a larger transcript of ∼2000 bp, representing a bicistronic sa2104–sa2103 transcript, which decreased in size to ∼1000 bp in the Δsa2103 mutant PS47 (Fig. 1d). Promoter–luciferase fusion constructs were used to compare the relative expression

Selleckchem Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Library levels of msrR, sa0908 and sa2103 over growth (Fig. 1D). The expression of all three genes peaked during exponential growth when cells were dividing rapidly, and then decreased as cultures entered the stationary phase. The relative expression levels of msrR were much higher than those of sa0908 and sa2103. To obtain a comprehensive overview of the functions of LCP genes, we created all possible combinations of double mutants: RH72 (Δsa0908/ΔmsrR), PS60 (Δsa2103/ΔmsrR) and PS110 (Δsa2103/Δsa0908), and a triple mutant PS111 (Δsa2103/Δsa0908/ΔmsrR). To further investigate the roles of individual LCP proteins, we complemented the triple mutant with msrR, sa0908 or sa2103 in trans. The deletion of msrR was previously shown to have no effect on

the growth rate (Hubscher et al., 2009). The deletion of sa0908 or sa2103 also had only a small, but complementable effect on growth in RH53 (Δsa0908) and PS47 (Δsa2103). The deletion of a second LCP protein had negligible further effects on the growth characteristics (data not shown). The growth of the triple mutant PS111 was severely see more retarded, with the growth rate decreasing from 1.39 to 0.95 h−1 at 37 °C (Fig. 2a). This growth defect was further exacerbated at 42 °C (Fig. 2b). The ability of the three proteins to complement this growth defect differed, especially at the elevated temperature of 42 °C: MsrR restored growth almost to the wild-type level, followed by SA0908, which compensated growth to up to ∼70% of the wild type OD600 nm after 7 h, while SA2103 had the lowest effect (Fig. 2b). LCP mutants were analysed by TEM and the cell sizes of a minimum of 100 cells per strain were measured and expressed as the mean±SD. In single mutants, enlarged cells and irregular septa were observed in the msrR mutant (JH100 ∅1.33±0.16 μm) as reported previously (Hubscher et al., 2009). The cells of sa0908 (RH53 ∅1.04±0.07 μm) and sa2103 (PS47 ∅1.

In the ΔAoatg15 mutant, autophagic bodies accumulated in vacuoles

In the ΔAoatg15 mutant, autophagic bodies accumulated in vacuoles, PFT�� molecular weight suggesting that the uptake process proceeded. We therefore propose that the level of autophagy is closely correlated with the degree of differentiation in A. oryzae. In eukaryotes, macroautophagy (autophagy) is a conserved degradation process that mediates the trafficking of cytosolic proteins and organelles into lysosomes/vacuoles for bulk degradation (Reggiori & Klionsky, 2002). Although the process appears to predominantly recycle

macromolecules and aid cell survival during periods of nutritional starvation, autophagy is also involved in development and differentiation in numerous eukaryotes, including yeasts, plants, and

mammals, among others (Levine & Klionsky, 2004). This involvement may have resulted from the autophagic degradation of damaged organelles and cytosol for constitutive cell clearance and cellular remodeling during development and differentiation. The autophagic process proceeds sequentially through several steps, involving the induction of autophagy, formation of autophagosomes, fusion of autophagosomes to lysosomes/vacuoles, and degradation of autophagic bodies selleck chemicals llc (Mizushima, 2007; Pollack et al., 2009). In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the induction of autophagy results from inactivation of the target of rapamycin (Tor) kinase, allowing formation of the Atg1 kinase complex composed of Atg1, Atg13, and Atg17 (Funakoshi et al., 1997; Kamada et al., 2000; Kabeya et al., 2005). The association of Atg13 with Atg1, which is essential for autophagy, is prevented by phosphorylation of Atg13 in a Tor kinase-dependent manner under conditions suitable for growth. In starvation conditions, Atg13 is dephosphorylated by inhibition of Tor kinase activity, allowing it to associate with Atg1 (Kamada Gefitinib purchase et al., 2000). The induction of autophagy induces the formation of cup-shaped isolation membranes, which subsequently

elongate and sequester cytosol and/or organelles within double-membrane vesicles termed autophagosomes. Saccharomyces cerevisiae Atg8 is a ubiquitin-like protein that is essential for the formation of autophagosomes and is localized in preautophagosomal structures (PAS) and the membranes of autophagosomes and autophagic bodies, and has been used as a marker for these organelles (Suzuki et al., 2001). A critical event for autophagy involves the conjugation of the carboxy (C)-terminal glycine of Atg8 with phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), which is mediated by a ubiquitination-like system composed of Atg4 (cysteine protease), Atg7 (E1-like protein), and Atg3 (E2-like protein) (Ichimura et al., 2000; Kirisako et al., 2000). Atg4 cleaves newly synthesized Atg8 to expose the C-terminal glycine for conjugation with PE, and also cleaves Atg8-conjugated PE (Atg8-PE) to recycle Atg8.

On the other hand, bacteria have acquired various resistance mech

On the other hand, bacteria have acquired various resistance mechanisms to cope with aminoglycosides. Plasmid-mediated 16S rRNA methyltransferases (MTases), which confer a high level of resistance GW-572016 cost to various aminoglycosides, especially to those containing 4,6-disubstituted 2-deoxystreptamine (2-DOS), have been widely distributed among pathogenic microorganisms belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae and glucose nonfermentative Gram-negative bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii isolated from clinical and livestock-farming environments (Chen et al., 2007; Yamane et al., 2007). RmtA (Yokoyama et al., 2003), RmtB (Doi et al., 2004), RmtC (Wachino et al., 2006), RmtD (Doi et al., 2007),

RmtE (Davis et al., 2010), ArmA (Galimand et al., 2003), and NpmA (Wachino et al., 2007) have so far been reported as plasmid-mediated 16S rRNA MTases conferring aminoglycoside resistance, but methylation sites have only been determined as G1405 for RmtB and ArmA, and A1408 for NpmA (Liou et al., 2006; Perichon et al., 2007; Wachino et al., 2007). As for RmtA, RmtC, RmtD, and RmtE, the site of methylation in the 16S rRNA has not been

described. Plasmid-mediated 16S rRNA MTases have only been found in Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria, and not in Gram-positives. Selleckchem ATM inhibitor It remains controversial whether or not 16S rRNA MTase as described above is functional and confers aminoglycoside resistance in Gram-positives as well as in Gram-negatives, although it was revealed previously that armA controlled under the original promoter could confer aminoglycoside resistance Niclosamide in Bacillus subtilis (Liou et al., 2006). Therefore, in this study, we aimed to determine exactly the residue modified by RmtC, and investigated whether RmtC can provide aminoglycoside resistance in Gram-positive pathogens. The rmtC gene

was amplified with the P1 primer (5′-GGA ATT CCATATGAA AAC CAA CGA TAA TT-3′: NdeI restriction site added), the P2 primer (5′-GCTCTAGAT TAC AAT CTC GAT ACG ATA-3′: XbaI restriction site added), and the pET-His-rmtC vector (Wachino et al., 2006) as a DNA template. The amplified fragments were digested with endonucleases, cloned into pCold-II vector (Takara), and introduced into Escherichia coli BL21(DE3)pLysS. Cells were grown until A600 nm 0.5 at 37 °C in Luria–Bertani medium. After the addition of isopropyl-β-d-1-thiogalactopyranoside (0.5 mM), cells were grown at 15 °C for 24 h, and disrupted with a French press. Protein purification using nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid was performed according to the manufacturer’s instructions (GE Healthcare). The eluted recombinant protein was loaded on size-exclusion chromatography column Superdex™ 200 10/300GL (GE Healthcare), and eluted with 20 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) containing 0.5 M NaCl and 1 mM dithiothreitol. Finally, the purified protein (His6-RmtC) was concentrated using an Amicon Ultra-15 Centricon (Millipore).

Furthermore, as P2Y1R can control neuronal and glial functions, w

Furthermore, as P2Y1R can control neuronal and glial functions, we explored if P2Y1R antagonist-mediated Torin 1 order protection would mainly involve neuronal and/or glial processes. Adult male mice subject to permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO) displayed an infarcted cortical

area (2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining), decreased neurological score with decreased working and reference memory performance (Y-maze, object recognition and aversive memory), accompanied by neuronal damage (FluoroJade C), astrogliosis (glial fibrillary acidic protein) and microgliosis (CD11b). All of these changes were attenuated by intracerebroventricular pre-treatment (10 min before pMCAO) with the generic P2R antagonist 4-[(E)-4-formyl-5-hydroxy-6-methyl-3-[(phosphono-oxy)methyl]pyridin-2-yldiazenyl]benzene-1,3-disulfonic selleck chemicals llc acid (PPADS, 0.5–1.0 nmol/μL). In contrast, the selective P2Y1R antagonist (1R*,2S*)-4-[2-Iodo-6-(methylamino)-9H-purin-9-yl]-2-(phosphono-oxy)bicycle[3.1.0] hexane-1-methanol

dihydrogen phosphate ester (MRS2500, 1.0–2.0 nmol/μL) afforded equivalent behavioral benefits but only prevented neuronal damage but not astrogliosis or microgliosis upon pMCAO. These results indicated that P2Y1R-associated neuroprotection mainly occurred through neuronal mechanisms, whereas other P2R were also involved in the control of astrocytic Florfenicol reactivity upon brain injury. “
“A t(1;11) balanced chromosomal translocation transects the Disc1 gene in a large Scottish family and produces genome-wide linkage to schizophrenia and recurrent major

depressive disorder. This study describes our in vitro investigations into neurophysiological function in hippocampal area CA1 of a transgenic mouse (DISC1tr) that expresses a truncated version of DISC1 designed to reproduce aspects of the genetic situation in the Scottish t(1;11) pedigree. We employed both patch-clamp and extracellular recording methods in vitro to compare intrinsic properties and synaptic function and plasticity between DISC1tr animals and wild-type littermates. Patch-clamp analysis of CA1 pyramidal neurons (CA1-PNs) revealed no genotype dependence in multiple subthreshold parameters, including resting potential, input resistance, hyperpolarization-activated ‘sag’ and resonance properties. Suprathreshold stimuli revealed no alteration to action potential (AP) waveform, although the initial rate of AP production was higher in DISC1tr mice. No difference was observed in afterhyperpolarizing potentials following trains of 5–25 APs at 50 Hz.

In settings of year-round malaria transmission where most adults

In settings of year-round malaria transmission where most adults are semi-immune to malaria, the incidence of parasitaemia and clinical malaria are increased in individuals with HIV infection

[5]. Malaria presents non-specifically with fever, headache, arthralgia, myalgia, diarrhoea and sometimes features of bacterial infection. Patients may be severely unwell and hypotensive, requiring intensive care unit (ICU) involvement early in the hospital admission. Other than severity there is no evidence that HIV JQ1 manufacturer serostatus modifies presentation. Complications of malaria include hyperparasitaemia, acute renal failure, hypoglycaemia, disseminated intravascular coagulopathy, lactic acidosis, fulminant hepatic failure and cerebral malaria [6]. Mortality is still around 20% with higher rates in HIV-seropositive individuals when treated in Africa. Controversy remains concerning the impact of malaria on mother-to-child transmission of HIV but HIV-seropositive women with malaria have an increased incidence of anaemia, infants with low birth weight, prematurity and infant mortality due to malarial parasites

preferentially binding to the placenta [7]. Malaria should be diagnosed in the same way as in HIV-seronegative individuals, using a combination of thick and thin blood films with or without a rapid diagnostic (antigen) test in selleck HIV-seropositive individuals (category IV recommendation). In practice, this involves considering the diagnosis in anyone with fever who has returned from an endemic area. Falciparum malaria usually presents within 3 months of their return but non-falciparum malaria may recrudesce many years after their return. There is little information on how HIV may modify this but partial immunity may delay the presentation of falciparum malaria. Malaria should be suspected in anyone returning from an endemic area, as the presentation, especially in the semi-immune person, is very variable. Diagnosis is made by a thick and thin blood film although highly sensitive and specific diagnostic dipsticks now exist [8–10]. Thick films (to diagnose

malaria and estimate the percentage parasitaemia) and 17-DMAG (Alvespimycin) HCl thin films (for speciation) should be collected on all patients (category IV recommendation) [6]. Rapid diagnostic tests for malaria antigens may be helpful if malaria is suspected but blood films are negative. In HIV-seronegative individuals they are less sensitive but are useful for laboratories with less experience in interpreting malaria blood films [6]. There is limited information on their performance in HIV-seropositive individuals. Current guidelines recommend that any patient considered to be at risk of viral haemorrhagic fever should have a malaria film done under category 3 conditions first [11]. Follow the World Health Organization guidelines [12].

In settings of year-round malaria transmission where most adults

In settings of year-round malaria transmission where most adults are semi-immune to malaria, the incidence of parasitaemia and clinical malaria are increased in individuals with HIV infection

[5]. Malaria presents non-specifically with fever, headache, arthralgia, myalgia, diarrhoea and sometimes features of bacterial infection. Patients may be severely unwell and hypotensive, requiring intensive care unit (ICU) involvement early in the hospital admission. Other than severity there is no evidence that HIV compound screening assay serostatus modifies presentation. Complications of malaria include hyperparasitaemia, acute renal failure, hypoglycaemia, disseminated intravascular coagulopathy, lactic acidosis, fulminant hepatic failure and cerebral malaria [6]. Mortality is still around 20% with higher rates in HIV-seropositive individuals when treated in Africa. Controversy remains concerning the impact of malaria on mother-to-child transmission of HIV but HIV-seropositive women with malaria have an increased incidence of anaemia, infants with low birth weight, prematurity and infant mortality due to malarial parasites

preferentially binding to the placenta [7]. Malaria should be diagnosed in the same way as in HIV-seronegative individuals, using a combination of thick and thin blood films with or without a rapid diagnostic (antigen) test in ABT-263 solubility dmso HIV-seropositive individuals (category IV recommendation). In practice, this involves considering the diagnosis in anyone with fever who has returned from an endemic area. Falciparum malaria usually presents within 3 months of their return but non-falciparum malaria may recrudesce many years after their return. There is little information on how HIV may modify this but partial immunity may delay the presentation of falciparum malaria. Malaria should be suspected in anyone returning from an endemic area, as the presentation, especially in the semi-immune person, is very variable. Diagnosis is made by a thick and thin blood film although highly sensitive and specific diagnostic dipsticks now exist [8–10]. Thick films (to diagnose

malaria and estimate the percentage parasitaemia) and Idelalisib cost thin films (for speciation) should be collected on all patients (category IV recommendation) [6]. Rapid diagnostic tests for malaria antigens may be helpful if malaria is suspected but blood films are negative. In HIV-seronegative individuals they are less sensitive but are useful for laboratories with less experience in interpreting malaria blood films [6]. There is limited information on their performance in HIV-seropositive individuals. Current guidelines recommend that any patient considered to be at risk of viral haemorrhagic fever should have a malaria film done under category 3 conditions first [11]. Follow the World Health Organization guidelines [12].

The ROC curve analysis showed the accuracy of EBV load in PBMC1 f

The ROC curve analysis showed the accuracy of EBV load in PBMC1 for predicting progression to B lymphoma: the area under the ROC curve was

0.72 (95% CI 0.58–085; selleck chemicals llc P = 0.0014). The optimal cut-off threshold of EBV load that yielded the maximal sensitivity and specificity for predicting the development of B lymphoma was determined as 3.2 log10 copies/106 PBMCs. The sensitivity and specificity obtained with this cut-off value were 75 and 65%, respectively. Setting the cut-off level at 2.8 log10 copies/106 PBMCs allowed a higher sensitivity (85%) to be obtained, but at the price of a substantial decrease in specificity (40.5%). Having an EBV DNA load > 3.2 log10 copies/106 PBMCs was associated with an adjusted OR of 4.82 (95% CI 1.33; 17.46) for progression to B lymphoma within the next 10 months. EBV load in PBMCs had, as expected, poor accuracy

for identifying patients at risk for developing brain lymphoma (area under ROC curve 0.57; 95% CI 0.38; 0.76; P = 0.5). In this study, high levels of EBV DNA in PBMCs were predictive of subsequent progression to systemic B lymphoma when measured within 1 year before the diagnosis of lymphoma. One previous study failed to demonstrate such www.selleckchem.com/products/dorsomorphin-2hcl.html an association between EBV DNA level and the development of ARL [16]. This could be explained by the fact that, in this previous study, patients and controls were not matched for CD4 cell count and also by the fact that a limited number of cases (n = 9) and controls (n = 12) were tested. As expected, we found no association between EBV DNA levels in PBMCs and/or

in serum and the development of cerebral lymphoma. The lack of sensitivity of EBV PCR in blood Calpain for the diagnosis of cerebral lymphoma in patients with AIDS was demonstrated by Fan et al. [19], although there was a correlation between PBL and high levels of EBV DNA in cerebrospinal fluid [20]. This is likely to be attributable to the fact that PBLs are very compartmentalized tumours with low or no systemic dissemination. This result, however, has no major implications in clinical practice, as the incidence of PBL has dramatically fallen following the introduction of cART, PBL now representing less than 10% of all ARLs [7]. Indeed, no case of PBL was reported after 1995 in our cohorts. In this study, EBV DNA was quantified in stored samples (i.e. mainly cryopreserved PBMCs and serum samples). The choice of biological material used for EBV DNA quantification, i.e. PBMCs, whole blood, plasma or serum, has been a matter for debate and there is currently no consensus on which is the best material for EBV load measurement in EBV-associated lymphoproliferative disorders [21, 22]. In these settings, whole blood or PBMCs more frequently contained amplifiable EBV DNA than did plasma or serum [15, 23-25].

The method in this

study

The method in this

study Dasatinib ic50 could also provide a feasible strategy for duplicating the five large spinosyn genes encoding the type I PKS and the four rhamnose biosynthetic genes in S. spinosa for increasing spinosyn production. We wish to thank Prof. Mark Goettel (Lethbridge Research Centre of Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada) for revising the manuscript. This investigation was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (30870064, 30970066), National High Technology Research and Development Project (863) of China (NC2010GA0091), and Key Project of Hunan Provincial Science & Technology Department (2010FJ2002). “
“Chronological analysis of 125 Vibrio cholerae O139 strains isolated during 1993–2005 in Kolkata revealed the prevalence of two new genotypes of cholera toxin (CT) and novel combinations of ctxB and rstR alleles resulting in variant CTX prophages. One of the new genotypes of ctxB, which first appeared in 1996 with the re-emerged V. cholerae O139 strains that had CTX Calcutta phage, was designated as genotype 4. In 1998, another new genotype, designated as genotype 5, was detected that prevailed mostly in CTX phages with El Tor rstR. The prototype El Tor CTX phage with genotype 3 gradually disappeared in O139, and since 2002 the predominant CTX prophages in O139 are Calcutta phages with genotype 4 and El Tor phages with genotype 5. Results PLX4032 chemical structure showed that V.

cholerae O139 strains of Kolkata, isolated over a decade, harboured CTX prophages in the large chromosome having no RS1 downstream of CTX prophage. During the course of its intermittent incidence over a decade, five types of O139 strains were detected based on CT genotypes. Such abrupt genetic changes in O139 strains might not favour its continued prevalence in human cases in Kolkata, Arachidonate 15-lipoxygenase India. The emergence of Vibrio cholerae serogroup O139 in 1992 in south India and its quick spread to different cholera endemic regions of India, Bangladesh and neighbouring countries is considered an unprecedented

event in the history of cholera (Cholera Working Group, 1993; Chongsa-Nguan et al., 1993; Fisher-Hoch et al., 1993; Ramamurthy et al., 1993; Nair et al., 1994). The genesis of V. cholerae O139 attracted worldwide attention, particularly because this was the first non-O1 serogroup associated with widespread epidemics of cholera. Ever since, O139 strains have undergone various alterations in both phenotypic and genetic characteristics, for example changing patterns of antimicrobial resistance, restriction fragment-length polymorphisms in conserved rRNA genes (ribotype), rearrangement of the CTX prophage and acquisition of new CTX prophages (Mitra et al., 1996; Sharma et al., 1997; Basu et al., 1998; Mukhopadhyay et al., 1998; Faruque et al., 2000). Molecular evolutionary studies have also recorded temporal variations in the prevalence of O139 and O1 serogroups over the years in India along with the emergence of new clones within the O139 serogroup.

To further explore the presence of collagenases, we generated a c

To further explore the presence of collagenases, we generated a collection of 40 bacterial isolates (comprising a total of 19 unique phylotypes) from the sponge and showed through 16S rRNA gene sequencing that they covered 17 distinct genera within the classes Alpha-, Gammaproteobacteria, Flavobacterales and Bacilli (see Supporting Information, Table S1). We screened selleck compound this collection for gelatinolytic activity and found seven positive isolates. Their 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that they belonged to four unique phylotypes (Table 1). All three isolates from the Vibrio-related phylotype showed

gelatinolytic activity, while two isolates of the Zobellia-related phylotype were positive. For the latter phylotype, we also found six isolates in our culture collection that had no

gelatinolytic LDK378 activity, indicating a strain-level variation. The collagenolytic activity of strains representing the four species was assessed by their ability to degrade Azocoll, demonstrating that all, except for the Zobellia sp.-related strain, were capable of degrading (azo-dye impregnated) collagen (Fig. 2). These four organisms, as well as the other isolates, were regarded as low-abundance members of the sponge community, as they were not present in the 16S rRNA gene sequence database, the shotgun-sequencing dataset and the fosmid library from C. concentrica (Yung et al., 2009; Thomas et al., 2010). While not representing the major bacterial community in C. concentrica, it is noteworthy that the collagenase-producing Pazopanib clinical trial sponge isolates identified in this study are phylogenetically closely related to taxa of known pathogens. For example, isolate I’s 16S rRNA gene sequence is 99% identical to those of Vibrio crassostreae, which has been reported

a pathogen of oysters (Faury et al., 2004) and Vibrio splendidus, which causes disease in turbot larvae. Other Vibrio and Bacillus species have also been reported to contain collagenase genes with potential roles in disease (Dreisbach & Merkel, 1978; Smith & Merkel, 1982; Mäkinen & Mäkinen, 1987; Lund & Granum, 1999). Our results indicate that collagenase activity is not a dominant feature of the abundant bacteria in C. concentrica and that hence collagen might not be a preferred nutrient source. The identification of low-abundance bacteria with collagenase activity, however, raises the possibility that collagen in the sponge mesohyl could undergo degradation, potentially leading to tissue destruction. The aetiology of sponge diseases is often difficult to identify and only in a few cases have tissue disintegration and sponge disease been attributed to the presence of bacterial pathogens. For example, an alphaproteobacterium (strain NW4327) producing collagenolytic enzyme was identified as the primary causative agent of necrosis in the sponge tissue of Rhopaloeides odorabile (Webster et al.

Three E coli strains DH5α, Jm107 and BL21 (DE3) and three plasmi

Three E. coli strains DH5α, Jm107 and BL21 (DE3) and three plasmids pGEM-T, pET-28a and pCAMBIA

with different sizes (3000, 5369 and 8428 bp, respectively) were Fluorouracil concentration used to test the protocol. The results indicated a significant increase in number of transformed colonies compared with heat-shock method. Our findings also demonstrated the favourable impacts of glycerol on transformation of E. coli. “
“A novel thermophilic, anaerobic, keratinolytic bacterium designated KD-1 was isolated from grassy marshland. Strain KD-1 was a spore-forming rod with a Gram-positive type cell wall, but stained Gram-negative. The temperature, pH, and NaCl concentration range necessary for growth was 30–65 °C (optimum 55 °C), 6.0–10.5 (optimum 8.0–8.5), and 0–6% (optimum 0.2%) (w/v), respectively. Strain KD-1 possessed extracellular keratinase, and the optimum activity of the crude enzyme was pH 8.5 and 70 °C. The enzyme was identified as a thermostable serine-type protease. The strain was sensitive to rifampin, find more chloramphenicol, kanamycin, and tetracycline and was resistant to erythromycin, neomycin, penicillin, and streptomycin. The main cellular fatty acid was predominantly C15:0 iso (64%), and the G+C content was 28 mol%. Morphological and physiological characterization, together with phylogenetic analysis based

on 16S rRNA gene sequencing identified KD-1 as a new species of a novel genus of Clostridiaceae with 95.3%, 93.8% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to Clostridium ultunense BST (DSM 10521T) and Tepidimicrobium xylanilyticum PML14T (= JCM 15035T), respectively. We propose the name Keratinibaculum paraultunense gen. nov., sp. nov., with KD-1 (=JCM 18769T =DSM 26752T) as the type strain. “
“The

freshwater cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 exhibits light-dependent growth. Although it has been reported that DNA replication also depends on light irradiation in S. elongatus 7942, the involvement of the light in the regulation of DNA replication remains unclear. Histone demethylase To elucidate the regulatory pathway of DNA replication by light, we studied the effect of several inhibitors, including two electron transport inhibitors, 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU) and 2,5-dibromo-3-methyl-6-isopropyl-p-benzoquinone (DBMIB), on DNA replication in S. elongatus 7942. DCMU inhibited only DNA replication initiation, whereas DBMIB blocked both the initiation and progression of DNA replication. These results suggest that DNA replication depends on the photosynthetic electron transport activity and initiation and progression of DNA replication are regulated in different ways. “
“Most glycolipid antigens used for serological tests of Mycoplasma pneumoniae are not M. pneumonia-specific, and can cross-react with other microorganism antigens and body tissues, resulting in false positives. It is important to identify M. pneumonia-specific antigen(s) for serological testing and correct diagnosis.