Seascape genetics of the Atlantic Spotted Dolphin (Stenella frontalis) based on mitochondrial DNA

The Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) is endemic to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Throughout its distribution, both geographic distance and environmental variation may contribute to population structure of the species. In this study, we follow a seascape genetics approach to investigate population differentiation of Atlantic spotted dolphins based on a large worldwide dataset and the relationship with marine environmental variables. The results revealed that the Atlantic spotted dolphin exhibits population genetic structure across its distribution based on mitochondrial DNA control region (mtDNA-CR) data. Analyses based on the contemporary landscape suggested, at both the individual and population level, that the population genetic structure is consistent with the isolation-by-distance model. However, because geography and environmental matrices were correlated, and because in some, but not all analyses, we found a significant effect for the environment, we cannot rule out the addition contribution of environmental factors in structuring genetic variation. Future analyses based on nuclear data are needed to evaluate whether local processes, such as social structure and some level of philopatry within populations, may be contributing to the associations among genetic structure, geographic, and environmental distance.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Toward antituberculosis drugs: in silico screening of synthetic compounds against Mycobacterium tuberculosis L,D-transpeptidase 2

Junie B Billones,1,2 Maria Constancia O Carrillo,1 Voltaire G Organo,1 Stephani Joy Y Macalino,1 Jamie Bernadette A Sy,1 Inno A Emnacen,1 Nina Abigail B Clavio,1 Gisela P Concepcion31Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs – Emerging Interdisciplinary Research Program: “Computer-aided Discovery of Compounds for the treatment of Tuberculosis in the Philippines,” Department of Physical Sciences and Mathematics, College of Arts and Sciences, 2Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, National Institutes of Health, University of the Philippines Manila, Manila, 3Marine Science Institute, University of the Philippines Diliman, Diliman, Quezon City, PhilippinesAbstract: Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) the main causative agent of tuberculosis, is the main reason why this disease continues to be a global public health threat. It is therefore imperative to find a novel antitubercular drug target that is unique to the structural machinery or is essential to the growth and survival of the bacterium. One such target is the enzyme L,D-transpeptidase 2, also known as LdtMt2, a protein primarily responsible for the catalysis of 3→3 cross-linkages that make up the mycolyl–arabinogalactan–peptidoglycan complex of Mtb. In this study, structure-based pharmacophore screening, molecular docking, and in silico toxicity evaluations were employed in screening compounds from a database of synthetic compounds. Out of the 4.5 million database compounds, 18 structures were identified as high-scoring, high-binding hits with very satisfactory absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity properties. Two out of the 18 compounds were further subjected to in vitro bioactivity assays, with one exhibiting a good inhibitory activity against the Mtb H37Ra strain.Keywords: antituberculosis drug discovery, virtual screening, dockin

In silico discovery and in vitro activity of inhibitors against Mycobacterium tuberculosis 7,8-diaminopelargonic acid synthase (Mtb BioA)

Junie B Billones,1,2 Maria Constancia O Carrillo,1 Voltaire G Organo,1 Jamie Bernadette A Sy,1 Nina Abigail B Clavio,1 Stephani Joy Y Macalino,1 Inno A Emnacen,1 Alexandra P Lee,1 Paul Kenny L Ko,1 Gisela P Concepcion3 1OVPAA-EIDR Program, “Computer-Aided Discovery of Compounds for the Treatment of Tuberculosis in the Philippines”, Department of Physical Sciences and Mathematics, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Manila, Manila, Philippines; 2Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, National Institutes of Health, University of the Philippines Manila, Manila, Philippines; 3Marine Science Institute, College of Science, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines Abstract: Computer-aided drug discovery and development approaches such as virtual screening, molecular docking, and in silico drug property calculations have been utilized in this effort to discover new lead compounds against tuberculosis. The enzyme 7,8-diaminopelargonic acid aminotransferase (BioA) in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), primarily involved in the lipid biosynthesis pathway, was chosen as the drug target due to the fact that humans are not capable of synthesizing biotin endogenously. The computational screening of 4.5 million compounds from the Enamine REAL database has ultimately yielded 45 high-scoring, high-affinity compounds with desirable in silico absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity properties. Seventeen of the 45 compounds were subjected to bioactivity validation using the resazurin microtiter assay. Among the 4 actives, compound 7 ((Z)-N-(2-isopropoxyphenyl)-2-oxo-2-((3-(trifluoromethyl)cyclohexyl)amino)acetimidic acid) displayed inhibitory activity up to 83% at 10 µg/mL concentration against the growth of the Mtb H37Ra strain. Keywords: CADDD, ADMET, TOPKAT, BioA inhibitor, structure-based pharmacophore, pharmacophore, molecular docking, resazurin microtiter assa

Search for supersymmetry in events with large missing transverse momentum, jets, and at least one tau lepton in 20 fb−1 of √s= 8 TeV proton-proton collision data with the ATLAS detector

© 2014, The Author(s). A search for supersymmetry (SUSY) in events with large missing transverse momentum, jets, at least one hadronically decaying tau lepton and zero or one additional light leptons (electron/muon), has been performed using 20.3fb−1of proton-proton collision data at √ s= 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. No excess above the Standard Model background expectation is observed in the various signal regions and 95% confidence level upper limits on the visible cross section for new phenomena are set. The results of the analysis are interpreted in several SUSY scenarios, significantly extending previous limits obtained in the same final states. In the framework of minimal gauge-mediated SUSY breaking models, values of the SUSY breaking scale Λ below 63 TeV are excluded, independently of tan β. Exclusion limits are also derived for an mSUGRA/CMSSM model, in both the R-parity-conserving and R-parity-violating case. A further interpretation is presented in a framework of natural gauge mediation, in which the gluino is assumed to be the only light coloured sparticle and gluino masses below 1090 GeV are excluded