P087, a lactococcal phage with a morphogenesis module similar to an Enterococcus faecalis prophage

The virulent lactococcal phage P087 was isolated from a dairy environment in 1978. This phage was then recognized as the reference member for one of the ten phage groups currently known to infect Lactococcus lactis strains. The double-stranded DNA genome of this Siphoviridae phage is composed of 60,074 bp and is circularly permuted. Five tRNA and 88 orfs were found within an uncommon genome architecture. Eleven structural proteins were also identified through SDS-PAGE and LC-MS/MS analyses. Of note, 11 translated orfs from the structural module of phage P087 have identities to gene products found in a prophage located in the genome of Enterococcus faecalis V583. The alignment of both genomic sequences suggests that DNA exchanges could occur between these two phages which are infecting low G+C bacteria found in similar ecological niches

Cattle methane fluxes measurement over an intensively grazed grassland using eddy covariance

audience: researcherMethane emissions account for 8% of the EU-15 GHG emissions and livestock generates approximately half of these emissions (European Commission, 2009). Recent technological advances in spectroscopy now permit methane flux measurement using eddy covariance. This method has numerous strengths. It can measure fluxes in situ, continuously and across broad areas. This provides information about meadow and cattle emission behaviour throughout the year and across a broad range of climatic conditions. We will present here a one year monitoring of methane exchange between an intensively grazed meadow and the atmosphere obtained using the eddy-covariance method. Methane fluxes exchanged by a grazed meadow were measured continuously since June 2012 at the Dorinne Terrestrial Observatory (50˚ 18’ 44” N; 4˚ 58’ 07” E; 248 m asl.) in Belgium. The site is an intensively pastured meadow of 4.2 ha managed according to the regional common practices where up to 30 Belgian Blue cows are grazing simultaneously. Flux measurements were made with the eddy covariance technique, using a fast CH4 analyzer (Picarro G2311-f) and a sonic anemometer (Campbell Csat3). Carbon dioxide fluxes and various micro-meteorological and soil variables, biomass growth and stocking rate evolution were also measured at the site. Turbulent fluxes were calculated according to standard eddy covariance computation schemes and were filtered for non-stationarity and for low friction velocity (u*) events. During grazing periods, fluxes are dominated by the enteric fermentation source and average 111 nmol m-2 s-1. They are highly variable, probably due to cow movements in and out the measurement footprint and cow digestion rhythm. Despite this spread, a daily emission rhythm is observed with higher emissions during the afternoon. When fluxes are integrated over large periods, methane emissions were found strongly related to cattle stocking rate with a slope of 7.34±0.78 mol CH4 day-1 LSU-1. Further developments are ongoing in order to improve cattle geo-localization through infra-red cameras and individual home-made GPS devices. The two systems will be compared in terms of cost, efficiency and ease of use. During cow-free periods, the methane flux averages 10.5 nmol m-2 s-1 and is highly variable with some production peaks above 100 nmol m-2 s-1. No relation was found between methane fluxes and soil temperature while a weak negative relation was found between methane fluxes and soil humidity. No soil methane absorption has been observed. European Commission. Fifth National Communication from the European Community Under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Technical Report - 2009 – 038 (2009)

Le Hellp syndrome (à propos de 65 cas)

TOULOUSE3-BU Santé-Centrale (315552105) / SudocPARIS-BIUM (751062103) / SudocSudocFranceF

A Phage Protein Confers Resistance to the Lactococcal Abortive Infection Mechanism AbiP

Phage bIL66M1 is sensitive to the lactococcal abortive infection mechanism AbiP. No spontaneous AbiP-resistant variant could be obtained at a frequency of <10(−10). However, AbiP-resistant variants were readily obtained during infection with both bIL66M1 and the highly homologous AbiP-resistant phage bIL170. Gain of AbiP resistance was due to the acquisition of the e6 gene from bIL170

Analysis of six prophages in Lactococcus lactis IL1403: different genetic structure of temperate and virulent phage populations

We report the genetic organisation of six prophages present in the genome of Lactococcus lactis IL1403. The three larger prophages (36–42 kb), belong to the already described P335 group of temperate phages, whereas the three smaller ones (13–15 kb) are most probably satellites relying on helper phage(s) for multiplication. These data give a new insight into the genetic structure of lactococcal phage populations. P335 temperate phages have variable genomes, sharing homology over only 10–33% of their length. In contrast, virulent phages have highly similar genomes sharing homology over >90% of their length. Further analysis of genetic structure in all known groups of phages active on other bacterial hosts such as Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Mycobacterium and Streptococcus thermophilus confirmed the existence of two types of genetic structure related to the phage way of life. This might reflect different intensities of horizontal DNA exchange: low among purely virulent phages and high among temperate phages and their lytic homologues. We suggest that the constraints on genetic exchange among purely virulent phages reflect their optimal genetic organisation, adapted to a more specialised and extreme form of parasitism than temperate/lytic phages

KSY1, a lactococcal phage with a T7-like transcription

The virulent lactococcal phage KSY1 possesses a large elongated capsid (223 nm long, 45 nm wide) and a short tail (32 nm). This phage of the Podoviridae group (C3 morphotype) has a linear 79,232-bp double-stranded DNA genome, which encodes 131 putative proteins and 3 tRNAs. This is the first description of the genome of a phage of this morphotype. KSY1 possesses a T7-like transcription system, including an RNA polymerase and a series of specific promoters, showing sequence homology to other known T7-like RNA polymerase promoters. Late stages of KSY1 multiplication are resistant to rifampicin. Otherwise, KSY1 shares limited similarity with other Podoviridae phages. Fourteen KSY1 structural proteins were identified by SDS–PAGE analysis. Among these proteins, those forming the distal tail structure and likely involved in host recognition are encoded by a 5-kb genomic region of KSY1. This region consists of a mosaic of DNA segments highly homologous to DNA of other lactococcal phages, suggesting an horizontal gene transfer