Overwintering of Piezodorus guildinii (Heteroptera, Pentatomidae) populations.

Piezodorus guildinii (Westwood) is a soybean pest that causes significant economic losses in the Americas. The variability of overwintering (diapause) traits was evaluated in populations of the Southwest (SW) (33°55′?34°17′S, 57°13′?57°46′W) during 2-year period (2011?2013) and of the Northwest (NW) (32°01′?33°02′S, 57°50′?57°24′W) during 1-year period (2014?2015) Regions of Uruguay. Samples were taken from different plant species (cultivated legumes, wild shrubs, and trees) and from overwintering sites (leaf litter and bark). Alfalfa, Medicago sativa L. was the main host, with a collection period of 10?11 months in the SW and 12 months in the NW. Cluster analysis for each sex was carried out to group the months according to the similarity in diapause traits of populations (body size, body lipid content, immature reproductive organs, and clear type of pronotum band and connexivum in females). Female diapause in the SWwas longer (beginning of autumn to end of winter) than that in the NW (mid-autumn to mid-winter). Male diapause was longer (mid-autumn o mid-winter) in SW1 (1st year) than in SW2 (2nd year) and NW (lateautumn to mid-winter). In both regions, male diapause was shorter than female. Differences were associated with maximum temperature at daylight hours ≤ 12.1, being necessary maximum temperatures below 23.8 °C for females and 19.2 °C for males to initiate diapause

Abundance and phylogenetic distribution of eight key enzymes of the phosphorus biogeochemical cycle in grassland soils.

Grasslands are one of the most diverse and widely distributed biomes on the Earth's surface. Nutrient cycling is one of the main ecosystem services provided by grasslands. The organic fraction of phosphorus (P) represents over half of the total P in soil and is a valuable reservoir. Soil microorganisms, involved in the P cycle, mediate organic P release through three enzyme families: alkaline phosphatases, nonspecific acid phosphatases, and phytases (P-enzymes). This study aimed, through a metagenomic approach, to assess the abundance and phylogenetic distribution of prokaryotic P-enzymes in a wide distribution of grass biomes across the globe and how they are related with environmental variables. To generate a functional perspective of phosphorus cycling, 43 soil metagenomes from 17 sites/projects representing different environmental conditions were examined for eight key P-enzymes. Multivariate analyses showed that Tmax, pH and evapotranspiration were highly associated with P-enzymes abundance and diversity. In addition, they tend to respond in a correlated manner to these variables suggesting an intricate relationship of abundance and diversity between them. On the other hand, their association with the general functional profiles was more idiosyncratic

Three-Year Trend in Antimicrobial Resistance and Genotypes among Salmonella in Swine and Humans

The aim of this study was to determine antimicrobial resistance among Salmonella isolated from swine and humans in North Carolina, compare genotypes among isolates from humans originated from pig-producing areas and characterize important genes. Resistance to 9 and 11 of the 12 antimicrobial agents tested was detected among isolates from swine and humans respectively. Frequency of resistance to tetracycline and b-lactams was significantly higher among isolates from swine than humans (p \u3c0.05). Two common multi-drug resistance (MDR) patterns were found among isolates from apparently healthy swine: AmKmStSuTe and AmCmStSuTe. However, the former MDR pattern was rare among clinical isolates. Genotyping revealed that two predominant genotypes, one composed of clinical isolates and the other non-clinical were noticed. Further characterization using Salmonella plasmid virulence; spvA gene also revealed that this gene is absent among the most common MDR pattern, AmKmStSuTe, in swine

Species of Mycosphaerellaceae and Teratosphaeriaceae on native Myrtaceae in Uruguay : evidence of fungal host jumps

Mycosphaerella species are well-known causal agents of leaf diseases on many economically and ecologically important plant species. In Uruguay, a relatively large number of Mycosphaerellaceae and Teratosphaeriaceae are found on Eucalyptus, but nothing is known of these fungi on native Myrtaceae. The aim of this study was to identify Mycosphaerellaceae and Teratosphaeriaceae species associated with leaf diseases on native Myrtaceae in Uruguay and to consider whether host jumps by the pathogen from introduced Eucalyptus to native Myrtaceae have occurred. Several native forests throughout the country were surveyed with special attention given to those located close to Eucalyptus plantations. Five species belonging to the Mycosphaerellaceae and Teratosphaeriaceae clades were found on native Myrtaceous trees and three of these had previously been reported on Eucalyptus in Uruguay. Those occurring both on Eucalyptus and native Myrtaceae included Pallidocercospora heimii, Pseudocercospora norchiensis, and Teratosphaeria aurantia. In addition, Mycosphaerella yunnanensis, a species known to occur on Eucalyptus but not previously recorded in Uruguay, was found on leaves of two native Myrtaceous hosts. Because most of these species occur on Eucalyptus in countries other than Uruguay, it appears that they were introduced in this country and have adapted to be able to infect native Myrtaceae. These apparent host jumps have the potential to result in serious disease problems and they should be carefully monitored.Forestal Oriental, Rivermol, Stora Enso and Weyerhaeuser.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/funbiohb201

Antimicrobial resistance, diversity and class-1 integrons among Salmonella serovars isolated from swine

The aim of this study was to determine frequency of antimicrobial resistance, identify and characterize multi-drug resistant Salmonella, determine genetic diversity and characterize class-! integrons. The frequency of resistance wasTe (85%), Am (47%), Pi (32%), Ax (23%), Cm (2 1 %), Gm (2%), Ce (2%) and TSx (I%). Two pentaresistant MDR phenotypes were predominant: AmCmStSuTe (36.2%) and AmKmStSuTe (44.6%). DNA fingerprinting revealed eight clusters of typhimurium and Copenhagen with less than 95% of fragment length identity. DT l 04 with StSu R-type, which carried only one class-1 integron of l .Ok b size, were also found from environmental samples. In addition, we identified class 1 integrons among uncommon serovars including Muenchen, Muenster, Worthington, and Bere. The genetic diversity and p resence of class-1 integrons among diverse serovars further imply the potentia l hazard and spread of multiresistant strains in Salmonella

Salmonella prevalence serotypes and patterns of antimicrobial resistance in cohorts of nursery and finishing pigs

Salmonella are now being monitored by the Food Safety Inspection Service of the USDA for purposes of process control in slaughter plants, and as a sentinel organism for emerging antimicrobial resistance (I). Public concerns about the emergence of foodborne bacteria with multi-resistant phenotypes, and about the use of antimicrobials in food animals, are increasing. Despite considerable research, the epidemiology of asymptomatic Salmonella in pigs is poorly understood (2). The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between nursery prevalence of Salmonella and finisher prevalence, and to describe patterns of antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistant Salmonella in modern swine rearing facilities

Proinflammatory mediators modulate the heat-activated ion channel TRPV1 via the scaffolding protein AKAP79/150

Peer reviewedPostprin

Determinants of the voltage dependence of G protein modulation within calcium channel β subunits

CaVβ subunits of voltage-gated calcium channels contain two conserved domains, a src-homology-3 (SH3) domain and a guanylate kinase-like (GK) domain with an intervening HOOK domain. We have shown in a previous study that, although Gβγ-mediated inhibitory modulation of CaV2.2 channels did not require the interaction of a CaVβ subunit with the CaVα1 subunit, when such interaction was prevented by a mutation in the α1 subunit, G protein modulation could not be removed by a large depolarization and showed voltage-independent properties (Leroy et al., J Neurosci 25:6984–6996, 2005). In this study, we have investigated the ability of mutant and truncated CaVβ subunits to support voltage-dependent G protein modulation in order to determine the minimal domain of the CaVβ subunit that is required for this process. We have coexpressed the CaVβ subunit constructs with CaV2.2 and α2δ-2, studied modulation by the activation of the dopamine D2 receptor, and also examined basal tonic modulation. Our main finding is that the CaVβ subunit GK domains, from either β1b or β2, are sufficient to restore voltage dependence to G protein modulation. We also found that the removal of the variable HOOK region from β2a promotes tonic voltage-dependent G protein modulation. We propose that the absence of the HOOK region enhances Gβγ binding affinity, leading to greater tonic modulation by basal levels of Gβγ. This tonic modulation requires the presence of an SH3 domain, as tonic modulation is not supported by any of the CaVβ subunit GK domains alone

The Flagellar Regulator fliT Represses Salmonella Pathogenicity Island 1 through flhDC and fliZ

Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI1), comprising a type III section system that translocates effector proteins into host cells, is essential for the enteric pathogen Salmonella to penetrate the intestinal epithelium and subsequently to cause disease. Using random transposon mutagenesis, we found that a Tn10 disruption in the flagellar fliDST operon induced SPI1 expression when the strain was grown under conditions designed to repress SPI1, by mimicking the environment of the large intestine through the use of the intestinal fatty acid butyrate. Our genetic studies showed that only fliT within this operon was required for this effect, and that exogenous over-expression of fliT alone significantly reduced the expression of SPI1 genes, including the invasion regulator hilA and the sipBCDA operon, encoding type III section system effector proteins, and Salmonella invasion of cultured epithelial cells. fliT has been known to inhibit the flagellar machinery through repression of the flagellar master regulator flhDC. We found that the repressive effect of fliT on invasion genes was completely abolished in the absence of flhDC or fliZ, the latter previously shown to induce SPI1, indicating that this regulatory pathway is required for invasion control by fliT. Although this flhDC-fliZ pathway was necessary for fliT to negatively control invasion genes, fliZ was not essential for the repressive effect of fliT on motility, placing fliT high in the regulatory cascade for both invasion and motility

Engineering the Salmonella type III secretion system to export spider silk monomers

The type III secretion system (T3SS) exports proteins from the cytoplasm, through both the inner and outer membranes, to the external environment. Here, a system is constructed to harness the T3SS encoded within Salmonella Pathogeneity Island 1 to export proteins of biotechnological interest. The system is composed of an operon containing the target protein fused to an N-terminal secretion tag and its cognate chaperone. Transcription is controlled by a genetic circuit that only turns on when the cell is actively secreting protein. The system is refined using a small human protein (DH domain) and demonstrated by exporting three silk monomers (ADF-1, -2, and -3), representative of different types of spider silk. Synthetic genes encoding silk monomers were designed to enhance genetic stability and codon usage, constructed by automated DNA synthesis, and cloned into the secretion control system. Secretion rates up to 1.8 mg l−1 h−1 are demonstrated with up to 14% of expressed protein secreted. This work introduces new parts to control protein secretion in Gram-negative bacteria, which will be broadly applicable to problems in biotechnology