An extracellular serine protease produced by Vibrio vulnificus NCIMB 2137, a metalloprotease-gene negative strain isolated from a diseased eel

Vibrio vulnificus is a ubiquitous estuarine microorganism but causes fatal systemic infections in immunocompromised humans, cultured eels or shrimps. An extracellular metalloprotease VVP/VvpE has been reported to be a potential virulence factor of the bacterium; however, a few strains isolated from a diseased eel or shrimp were recently found to produce a serine protease termed VvsA, but not VVP/VvpE. In the present study, we found that these strains had lost the 80 kb genomic region including the gene encoding VVP/VvpE. We also purified VvsA from the culture supernatant through ammonium sulfate fractionation, gel filtration and ion-exchange column chromatography, and the enzyme was demonstrated to be a chymotrypsin-like protease, as well as those from some vibrios. The gene vvsA was shown to constitute an operon with a downstream gene vvsB, and several Vibrio species were found to have orthologues of vvsAB. These findings indicate that the genes vvp/vvpE and vvsAB might be mobile genetic elements

Ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity and community structure associated with cork oak in different landscapes

Cork oak (Quercus suber L.) forests play an important ecological and economic role. Ectomycorrhizal fungi (ECMF) are key components for the sustainability and functioning of these ecosystems. The community structure and composition of ECMF associated with Q. suber in different landscapes of distinct Mediterranean bioclimate regions have not previously been compared. In this work, soil samples from cork oak forests residing in different bioclimates (arid, semi-arid, sub-humid, and humid) were collected and surveyed for ectomycorrhizal (ECM) root tips. A global analysis performed on 3565 ECM root tips revealed that the ECMF community is highly enriched in Russula, Tomentella, and Cenoccocum, which correspond to the ECMF genera that mainly contribute to community differences. The ECMF communities from the rainiest and the driest cork oak forests were distinct, with soils from the rainiest climates being more heterogeneous than those from the driest climates. The analyses of several abiotic factors on the ECMF communities revealed that bioclimate, precipitation, soil texture, and forest management strongly influenced ECMF structure. Shifts in ECMF with different hyphal exploration types were also detected among forests, with precipitation, forest system, and soil texture being the main drivers controlling their composition. Understanding the effects of environmental factors on the structuring of ECM communities could be the first step for promoting the sustainability of this threatened ecosystem.This work was supported by Fundacao Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT/MCTES/PIDDAC, Portugal), under the project (PEst-OE/BIA/UI4046/2014; UID/MULTI/04046/2013) and PhD grant to F.R. (SFRH/BD/86519/2012)

İran Şahı'ndan utansınlar!

Taha Toros Arşivi, Dosya Adı: Nazım Hikmetİstanbul Kalkınma Ajansı (TR10/14/YEN/0033) İstanbul Development Agency (TR10/14/YEN/0033

Should the poultry red mite Dermanyssus gallinae be of wider concern for veterinary and medical science?

The poultry red mite Dermanyssus gallinae is best known as a threat to the laying-hen industry; adversely affecting production and hen health and welfare throughout the globe, both directly and through its role as a disease vector. Nevertheless, D. gallinae is being increasingly implemented in dermatological complaints in non-avian hosts, suggesting that its significance may extend beyond poultry. The main objective of the current work was to review the potential of D. gallinae as a wider veterinary and medical threat. Results demonstrated that, as an avian mite, D. gallinae is unsurprisingly an occasional pest of pet birds. However, research also supports that these mites will feed from a range of other animals including: cats, dogs, rodents, rabbits, horses and man. We conclude that although reported cases of D. gallinae infesting mammals are relatively rare, when coupled with the reported genetic plasticity of this species and evidence of permanent infestations on non-avian hosts, potential for host-expansion may exist. The impact of, and mechanisms and risk factors for such expansion are discussed, and suggestions for further work made. Given the potential severity of any level of host-expansion in D. gallinae, we conclude that further research should be urgently conducted to confirm the full extent of the threat posed by D. gallinae to (non-avian) veterinary and medical sectors

Self-Trapped Excitons in Ionic-Covalent Silver Halide Crystals and Nanostructures: High-Frequency EPR, ESE, ENDOR and ODMR Studies

Silver halides have unique features in solid state physics because their properties are considered to be of borderline nature between ionic and covalent bonding. In AgCl, the self-trapped hole (STH) is centered and partly trapped in the cationic sublattice, forming an Ag2+ ion inside of a (AgCl6)4− complex as a result of the Jahn–Teller distortion. The STH in AgCl can capture an electron from the conduction band forming the self-trapped exciton (STE). Recent results of a study of STE by means of high-frequency electron paramagnetic resonance, electron spin echo, electron–nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) and optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) are reviewed. The properties of the STE in AgCl crystals, such as exchange coupling, the ordering of the triplet and singlet sublevels, the dynamical properties of the singlet and triplet states, and the hyperfine interaction with the Ag and Cl (Br) nuclei are discussed. Direct information about the spatial distribution of the wave function of STE unpaired electrons was obtained by ENDOR. From a comparison with the results of an ENDOR study of the shallow electron center and STH, it is concluded that the electron is mainly contained in a hydrogen-like 1s orbital with a Bohr radius of 15.1 ± 0.6 Å, but near its center the electron density reflects the charge distribution of the hole. The hole of the STE is virtually identical to an isolated STH center. For AgCl nanocrystals embedded into the KCl crystalline matrix, the anisotropy of the g-factor of STE and STH was found to be substantially reduced compared with that of bulk AgCl crystals, which can be explained by a considerable suppression of the Jahn–Teller effect in nanoparticles. A study of ODMR in AgBr nanocrystals in KBr revealed spatial confinement effects and allowed estimating the nanocrystal size from the shape of the ODMR spectra

Excess of serotonin affects neocortical pyramidal neuron migration

The serotonin transporter (SERT) is a key molecule involved in the homeostasis of extracellular levels of serotonin and is regulated developmentally. Genetic deletion of SERT in rodents increases extracellular levels of serotonin and affects cellular processes involved in neocortical circuit assembly such as barrel cortex wiring and cortical interneuron migration. Importantly, pharmacological blockade of SERT during brain development leads to phenotypes relevant to psychiatry in rodents and to an increased risk for autism spectrum disorders in humans. Furthermore, developmental adversity interacts with genetically-driven variations of serotonin function in humans and nonhuman primates to increase the risk for a variety of stress-related phenotypes. In this study, we investigate whether an excess of serotonin affects the migration of neocortical pyramidal neurons during development. Using in utero electroporation combined with time-lapse imaging to specifically monitor pyramidal neurons during late mouse embryogenesis, we show that an excess of serotonin reversibly affects the radial migration of pyramidal neurons. We further identify that the serotonin receptor 5-HT6 is expressed in pyramidal neuron progenitors and that 5-HT6 receptor activation replicates the effects of serotonin stimulation. Finally, we show that the positioning of superficial layer pyramidal neurons is altered in vivo in SERT knockout mice. Taken together, these results indicate that a developmental excess of serotonin decreases the migration speed of cortical pyramidal neurons, affecting a fundamental step in the assembly of neural circuits. These findings support the hypothesis that developmental dysregulation of serotonin homeostasis has detrimental effects on neocortical circuit formation and contributes to increased vulnerability to psychiatric disorders

Mycorrhization of fagaceae forests within mediterranean ecosystems

Mediterranean Fagaceae forests are valuable due to their ecological and socioeconomic aspects. Some profitable plant species, such as Castanea (timber and chestnut), Quercus (timber and cork), and Fagus (timber), encounter in this habitat the excellent edaphoclimatic conditions to develop. All Fagaceae plants are commonly associated to ECM fungal species, which are found in these forests in quite stable communities, mainly enriched in Russulaceae and Telephoraceae species. Currently, the Mediterranean Basin is considered as one of the global biodiversity hotspots, since many of their endemic plant species are not found elsewhere and are now under threat. Due to climate changing and introduction of disease agents, Fagaceae forests are facing an adaptation challenge to both biotic and abiotic threats. Although ECM communities are highly disturbed by climate factors and tree disease incidence, they could play an important role in increasing water availability to the plant and also improving plant tree defense against pathogens. Recent advances, namely, on genomics and transcriptomics, are providing tools for increasing the understanding of Fagaceae mycorrhization process and stress responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. Such studies can provide new information for the implementation of the most adequate management policies for protecting threaten Mediterranean forests.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Isomer Spectroscopy of Neutron-rich 165,167Tb

Open Access JournalWe present information on the excited states in the prolate-deformed, neutron-rich nuclei 165;167Tb100;102. The nuclei of interest were synthesized following in-flight fission of a 345 MeV per nucleon 238U primary beam on a 2 mm 9Be target at the Radioactive Ion-Beam Factory (RIBF), RIKEN, Japan. The exotic nuclei were separated and identified event-by-event using the BigRIPS separator, with discrete energy gamma-ray decays from isomeric states with half-lives in the _s regime measured using the EURICA gamma-ray spectrometer. Metastable-state decays are identified in 165Tb and 167Tb and interpreted as arising from hindered E1 decay from the 7/2-[523] single quasi-proton Nilsson configuration to rotational states built on the 3/2-[411] single quasi-proton ground state. These data correspond to the first spectroscopic information in the heaviest, odd-A terbium isotopes reported to date and provide information on proton Nilsson configurations which reside close to the Fermi surface as the 170Dy doubly-midshell nucleus is approached.postprin

Preclinical Models of Brain Metastasis

Research at the Brain Metastasis Group is supported by MINECO grants MINECO-Retos SAF2017-89643-R (M.V.), Bristol-Myers Squibb- Melanoma Research Alliance Young Investigator Award 2017 (498103) (M.V.), Beug Foundation’s Prize for Metastasis Research 2017 (M.V.), Fundación Ramón Areces (CIVP19S8163) (M.V.), Worldwide Cancer Research (19-0177) (M.V.), H2020-FETOPEN (828972)N