1,629 research outputs found
Complete Sequences of Multiple-Drug Resistant IncHI2 ST3 Plasmids in Escherichia coli of Porcine Origin in Australia
© Copyright © 2019 Wyrsch, Reid, DeMaere, Liu, Chapman, Roy Chowdhury and Djordjevic. IncHI2 ST3 plasmids are known carriers of multiple antimicrobial resistance genes. Complete plasmid sequences from multiple drug resistant Escherichia coli circulating in Australian swine is however limited. Here we sequenced two related IncHI2 ST3 plasmids, pSDE-SvHI2, and pSDC-F2_12BHI2, from phylogenetically unrelated multiple-drug resistant Escherichia coli strains SvETEC (CC23:O157:H19) and F2_12B (ST93:O7:H4) from geographically disparate pig production operations in New South Wales, Australia. Unicycler was used to co-assemble short read (Illumina) and long read (PacBio SMRT) nucleotide sequence data. The plasmids encoded three drug-resistance loci, two of which carried class 1 integrons. One integron, hosting drfA12-orfF-aadA2, was within a hybrid Tn1721/Tn21, with the second residing within a copper/silver resistance transposon, comprising part of an atypical sul3-associated structure. The third resistance locus was flanked by IS15DI and encoded neomycin resistance (neoR). An oqx-encoding transposon (quinolone resistance), similar in structure to Tn6010, was identified only in pSDC-F2_12BHI2. Both plasmids showed high sequence identity to plasmid pSTM6-275, recently described in Salmonella enterica serotype 1,4,[5],12:i:- that has risen to prominence and become endemic in Australia. IncHI2 ST3 plasmids circulating in commensal and pathogenic E. coli from Australian swine belong to a lineage of plasmids often in association with sul3 and host multiple complex antibiotic and metal resistance structures, formed in part by IS26
Porcine commensal escherichia coli: A reservoir for class 1 integrons associated with IS26
© 2017 The Authors. Porcine faecal waste is a serious environmental pollutant. Carriage of antimicrobial-resistance genes (ARGs) and virulenceassociated genes (VAGs), and the zoonotic potential of commensal Escherichia coli from swine are largely unknown. Furthermore, little is known about the role of commensal E. coli as contributors to the mobilization of ARGs between food animals and the environment. Here, we report whole-genome sequence analysis of 103 class 1 integron-positive E. coli from the faeces of healthy pigs from two commercial production facilities in New South Wales, Australia. Most strains belonged to phylogroups A and B1, and carried VAGs linked with extraintestinal infection in humans. The 103 strains belonged to 37 multilocus sequence types and clonal complex 10 featured prominently. Seventeen ARGs were detected and 97% (100/103) of strains carried three or more ARGs. Heavy-metal-resistance genes merA, cusA and terA were also common. IS26 was observed in 98% (101/103) of strains and was often physically associated with structurally diverse class 1 integrons that carried unique genetic features, which may be tracked. This study provides, to our knowledge, the first detailed genomic analysis and point of reference for commensal E. coli of porcine origin in Australia, facilitating tracking of specific lineages and the mobile resistance genes they carry
Manganite charge and orbitally ordered and disordered states probed by Fe substitution into Mn site in LnBaMn1.96Fe0.04O5, LnBaMn1.96Fe0.04O6 and LnBaMn1.96Fe0.04O5.5 (Ln=Y, Gd, Sm, Nd, Pr, La)
The layered manganese oxides LnBaMn1.96Fe0.04Oy (Ln=Y, Gd, Sm, Nd, Pr, La)
have been synthesized for y=5, 5.5 and 6. In the oxygen-saturated state (y=6)
they exhibit the charge and orbital order at ambient temperature for Ln=Y, Gd,
Sm, but unordered eg-electronic system for Ln=La,Pr,Nd. Fourfold increase of
quadrupole splitting was observed owing to the charge and orbital ordering.
This is in agreement with the jumplike increase in distortion of the reduced
perovskite-like cell for the charge and orbitally ordered manganites compared
to the unordered ones. Substitution of 2 percents of Mn by Fe suppresses the
temperatures of structural and magnetic transitions by 20 to 50 K. Parameters
of the crystal lattices and the room-temperature M\"{o}ssbauer spectra were
studied on forty samples whose structures were refined within five symmetry
groups: P4/mmm, P4/nmm, Pm-3m, Icma and P2/m. Overwhelming majority of the Fe
species are undifferentiated in the M\"{o}ssbauer spectra for most of the
samples. Such the single-component spectra in the two-site structures are
explained by the preference of Fe towards the site of Mn(III) and by the
segmentation of the charge and orbitally ordered domains.Comment: 8 figures; figures 2 and 3 were revise
The Complete Star Formation History of the Universe
The determination of the star-formation history of the Universe is a key goal
of modern cosmology, as it is crucial to our understanding of how structure in
the Universe forms and evolves. A picture has built up over recent years,
piece-by-piece, by observing young stars in distant galaxies at different times
in the past.
These studies indicated that the stellar birthrate peaked some 8 billion
years ago, and then declined by a factor of around ten to its present value.
Here we report on a new study which obtains the complete star formation history
by analysing the fossil record of the stellar populations of 96545 nearby
galaxies. Broadly, our results support those derived from high-redshift
galaxies elsewhere in the Universe. We find, however, that the peak of star
formation was more recent - around 5 billion years ago. Our study also shows
that the bigger the stellar mass of the galaxy, the earlier the stars were
formed. This striking result indicates a very different formation history for
high- and low-mass formation.Comment: Accepted by Nature. Press embargo until publishe
Oxygen and Cation Ordered Perovskite, Ba2Y2Mn4O11
A three-step route has been developed for the synthesis of a new
oxygen-ordered double perovskite, BaYMn2O5.5 or Ba2Y2Mn4O11. (i) The A-site
cation ordered perovskite, BaYMn2O5+d, is first synthesized at d ~ 0 by an
oxygen-getter-controlled low-O2-pressure encapsulation technique utilizing FeO
as the getter for excess oxygen. (ii) The as-synthesized, oxygen-deficient
BaYMn2O5.0 phase is then readily oxygenated to the d ~ 1 level by means of
1-atm-O2 annealing at low temperatures. (iii) By annealing this
fully-oxygenated BaYMn2O6.0 in flowing N2 gas at moderate temperatures the new
intermediate-oxygen-content oxide, BaYMn2O5.5 or Ba2Y2Mn4O11, is finally
obtained. From thermogravimetric observation it is seen that the final oxygen
depletion from d ~ 1.0 to 0.5 occurs in a single sharp step about 600 C,
implying that the oxygen stoichiometry of BaYMn2O5+d is not continuously
tunable within 0.5 < d < 1.0. For BaYMn2O5.5 synchrotron x-ray diffraction
analysis reveals an orthorhombic crystal lattice and a long-range ordering of
the excess oxygen atoms in the YO0.5 layer. The magnetic behavior of BaYMn2O5.5
(with a ferromagnetic transition at ~ 133 K) is found different from those
previously reported for the known phases, BaYMn2O5.0 and BaYMn2O6.0.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures, to appear in J. Solid State Che
The Non-Canonical CTD of RNAP-II Is Essential for Productive RNA Synthesis in Trypanosoma brucei
The carboxy-terminal domain (CTD) of the largest subunit (RPB1) of RNA polymerase II (RNAP-II) is essential for gene expression in metazoa and yeast. The canonical CTD is characterized by heptapeptide repeats. Differential phosphorylation of canonical CTD orchestrates transcriptional and co-transcriptional maturation of mRNA and snRNA. Many organisms, including trypanosomes, lack a canonical CTD. In these organisms, the CTD is called a non-canonical CTD or pseudo-CTD (ΨCTD. In the African trypanosome, Trypanosoma brucei, the ΨCTD is ∼285 amino acids long, rich in serines and prolines, and phosphorylated. We report that T. brucei RNAP-II lacking the entire ΨCTD or containing only a 95-amino-acid-long ΨCTD failed to support cell viability. In contrast, RNAP-II with a 186-amino-acid-long ΨCTD maintained cellular growth. RNAP-II with ΨCTD truncations resulted in abortive initiation of transcription. These data establish that non-canonical CTDs play an important role in gene expression
Wheat-barley hybridization – the last forty years
Abstract Several useful alien gene transfers have
been reported from related species into wheat (Triticum
aestivum), but very few publications have dealt
with the development of wheat/barley (Hordeum
vulgare) introgression lines. An overview is given
here of wheat 9 barley hybridization over the last
forty years, including the development of
wheat 9 barley hybrids, and of addition and translocation
lines with various barley cultivars. A short
summary is also given of the wheat 9 barley hybrids
produced with other Hordeum species. The meiotic
pairing behaviour of wheat 9 barley hybrids is presented,
with special regard to the detection of wheat–
barley homoeologous pairing using the molecular
cytogenetic technique GISH. The effect of in vitro
multiplication on the genome composition of intergeneric
hybrids is discussed, and the production and
characterization of the latest wheat/barley translocation
lines are presented. An overview of the agronomical
traits (b-glucan content, earliness, salt tolerance,
sprouting resistance, etc.) of the newly developed
introgression lines is given. The exploitation and
possible use of wheat/barley introgression lines for
the most up-to-date molecular genetic studies
(transcriptome analysis, sequencing of flow-sorted
chromosomes) are also discussed
Retinal glycoprotein enrichment by concanavalin a enabled identification of novel membrane autoantigen synaptotagmin-1 in equine recurrent uveitis.
Complete knowledge of autoantigen spectra is crucial for understanding pathomechanisms of autoimmune diseases like equine recurrent uveitis (ERU), a spontaneous model for human autoimmune uveitis. While several ERU autoantigens were identified previously, no membrane protein was found so far. As there is a great overlap between glycoproteins and membrane proteins, the aim of this study was to test whether pre-enrichment of retinal glycoproteins by ConA affinity is an effective tool to detect autoantigen candidates among membrane proteins. In 1D Western blots, the glycoprotein preparation allowed detection of IgG reactions to low abundant proteins in sera of ERU patients. Synaptotagmin-1, a Ca2+-sensing protein in synaptic vesicles, was identified as autoantigen candidate from the pre-enriched glycoprotein fraction by mass spectrometry and was validated as a highly prevalent autoantigen by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Analysis of Syt1 expression in retinas of ERU cases showed a downregulation in the majority of ERU affected retinas to 24%. Results pointed to a dysregulation of retinal neurotransmitter release in ERU. Identification of synaptotagmin-1, the first cell membrane associated autoantigen in this spontaneous autoimmune disease, demonstrated that examination of tissue fractions can lead to the discovery of previously undetected novel autoantigens. Further experiments will address its role in ERU pathology
Modelling Hurricane Exposure and Wind Speed on a Mesoclimate Scale: A Case Study from Cusuco NP, Honduras
High energy weather events are often expected to play a substantial role in biotic community dynamics and large scale diversity patterns but their contribution is hard to prove. Currently, observations are limited to the documentation of accidental records after the passing of such events. A more comprehensive approach is synthesising weather events in a location over a long time period, ideally at a high spatial resolution and on a large geographic scale. We provide a detailed overview on how to generate hurricane exposure data at a meso-climate level for a specific region. As a case study we modelled landscape hurricane exposure in Cusuco National Park (CNP), Honduras with a resolution of 50 m×50 m patches. We calculated actual hurricane exposure vulnerability site scores (EVVS) through the combination of a wind pressure model, an exposure model that can incorporate simple wind dynamics within a 3-dimensional landscape and the integration of historical hurricanes data. The EVSS was calculated as a weighted function of sites exposure, hurricane frequency and maximum wind velocity. Eleven hurricanes were found to have affected CNP between 1995 and 2010. The highest EVSS's were predicted to be on South and South-East facing sites of the park. Ground validation demonstrated that the South-solution (i.e. the South wind inflow direction) explained most of the observed tree damage (90% of the observed tree damage in the field). Incorporating historical data to the model to calculate actual hurricane exposure values, instead of potential exposure values, increased the model fit by 50%
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