Vibrio vulnificus Type 6 Secretion System 1 contains anti-Bacterial properties.

This is the final version of the article. Available from Public Library of Science via the DOI in this record.Vibrio vulnificus is a bacterium responsible for severe gastroenteritis, sepsis and wound infections. Gastroenteritis and sepsis are commonly associated with the consumption of raw oysters, whereas wound infection is often associated with the handling of contaminated fish. Although classical virulence factors of this emerging pathogen are well characterised, there remains a paucity of knowledge regarding the general biology of this species. To investigate the presence of previously unreported virulence factors, we applied whole genome sequencing to a panel of ten V. vulnificus strains with varying virulence potentials. This identified two novel type 6 secretion systems (T6SSs), systems that are known to have a role in bacterial virulence and population dynamics. By utilising a range of molecular techniques and assays we have demonstrated the functionality of one of these T6SSs. Furthermore, we have shown that this system is subject to thermoregulation and is negatively regulated by increasing salinity concentrations. This secretion system was also shown to be involved in the killing of V. vulnificus strains that did not possess this system and a model is proposed as to how this interaction may contribute to population dynamics within V. vulnificus strains. In addition to this intra-species killing, this system also contributes to the killing of inter bacterial species and may have a role in the general composition of Vibrio species in the environment.This work was funded by a CEFAS-Exeter University Alliance PhD Studentship awarded to SRC and SLM. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Relative gut lengths of coral reef butterflyfishes (Pisces: Chaetodontidae)

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2011. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Springer for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Coral Reefs 30 (2011): 1005-1010, doi:10.1007/s00338-011-0791-x.Variation in gut length of closely related animals is known to generally be a good predictor of dietary habits. We examined gut length in 28 species of butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae), which encompass a wide range of dietary types (planktivores, omnivores, corallivores). We found general dietary patterns to be a good predictor of relative gut length, although we found high variation among groups and covariance with body size. The longest gut lengths are found in species that exclusively feed on the living tissue of corals, while the shortest gut length is found in a planktivorous species. Although we tried to control for phylogeny, corallivory has arisen multiple times in this family, confounding our analyses. The butterflyfishes, a speciose family with a wide range of dietary habits, may nonetheless provide an ideal system for future work studying gut physiology associated with specialisation and foraging behaviours.This project was funded in part by a National Science Foundation (USA) Graduate Research Fellowship to MLB.2012-06-1

Intestinal microbiota in human health and disease: the impact of probiotics

The complex communities of microorganisms that colonise the human gastrointestinal tract play an important role in human health. The development of culture-independent molecular techniques has provided new insights in the composition and diversity of the intestinal microbiota. Here, we summarise the present state of the art on the intestinal microbiota with specific attention for the application of high-throughput functional microbiomic approaches to determine the contribution of the intestinal microbiota to human health. Moreover, we review the association between dysbiosis of the microbiota and both intestinal and extra-intestinal diseases. Finally, we discuss the potential of probiotic microorganism to modulate the intestinal microbiota and thereby contribute to health and well-being. The effects of probiotic consumption on the intestinal microbiota are addressed, as well as the development of tailor-made probiotics designed for specific aberrations that are associated with microbial dysbiosis

Redox-controlled iron isotope fractionation during magmatic differentiation: An example from the Red Hill intrusion, S. Tasmania

This study presents accurate and precise iron isotopic data for 16 co-magmatic rocks and 6 pyroxene-magnetite pairs from the classic, tholeiitic Red Hill sill in southern Tasmania. The intrusion exhibits a vertical continuum of compositions created by in situ fractional crystallisation of a single injection of magma in a closed igneous system and, as such, constitutes a natural laboratory amenable to determining the causes of Fe isotope fractionation in magmatic rocks. Early fractionation of pyroxenes and plagioclase, under conditions closed to oxygen exchange, gives rise to an iron enrichment trend and an increase in fo2 of the melt relative to the Fayalite-Magnetite-Quartz (FMQ) buffer. Enrichment in Fe3+/ΣFemelt is mirrored by δ57Fe, where VIFe2+-bearing pyroxenes partition 57Fe-depleted iron, defining an equilibrium pyroxene-melt fractionation factor of Δ57 Fepx-melt ≤ -0.25‰ × 106/T2 Upon magnetite saturation, the fo2 and δ57Fe of the melt fall, commensurate with the sequestration of the oxidised, 57Fe-enriched iron into magnetite, quantified as Δ57 Femtn-melt= +0.20‰ × 106/T2 Pyroxene-magnetite pairs reveal an equilibrium fractionation factor of Δ57 Femtn-px= ≈ + 0.30‰ at 900-1,000 °C. Iron isotopes in differentiated magmas suggest that they may act as an indicator of their oxidation state and tectonic setting. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.Paolo A. Sossi, John D. Foden, Galen P. Halverso