Analysis of the intestinal microbiota using SOLiD 16S rRNA gene sequencing and SOLiD shotgun sequencing

Background: Metagenomics seeks to understand microbial communities and assemblages by DNA sequencing. Technological advances in next generation sequencing technologies are fuelling a rapid growth in the number and scope of projects aiming to analyze complex microbial environments such as marine, soil or the gut. Recent improvements in longer read lengths and paired-sequencing allow better resolution in profiling microbial communities. While both 454 sequencing and Illumina sequencing have been used in numerous metagenomic studies, SOLiD sequencing is not commonly used in this area, as it is believed to be more suitable in the context of reference-guided projects. Results: To investigate the performance of SOLiD sequencing in a metagenomic context, we compared taxonomic profiles of SOLiD mate-pair sequencing reads with Sanger paired reads and 454 single reads. All sequences were obtained from the bacterial 16S rRNA gene, which was amplified from microbial DNA extracted from a human fecal sample. Additionally, from the same fecal sample, complete genomic microbial DNA was extracted and shotgun sequenced using SOLiD sequencing to study the composition of the intestinal microbiota and the existing microbial metabolism. We found that the microbiota composition of 16S rRNA gene sequences obtained using Sanger, 454 and SOLiD sequencing provide results comparable to the result based on shotgun sequencing. Moreover, with SOLiD sequences we obtained more resolution down to the species level. In addition, the shotgun data allowed us to determine a functional profile using the databases SEED and KEGG. Conclusions: This study shows that SOLiD mate-pair sequencing is a viable and cost-efficient option for analyzing a complex microbiome. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that SOLiD sequencing has been used in a human sample. Keywords: Metagenomics; Intestinal Microbiota; Next-Generation Sequencing; SOLiD Mate-Pair Sequencing; Human Fecal SamplePublished versio

Genetic Deletion of SEPT7 Reveals a Cell Type-Specific Role of Septins in Microtubule Destabilization for the Completion of Cytokinesis

Cytokinesis terminates mitosis, resulting in separation of the two sister cells. Septins, a conserved family of GTP-binding cytoskeletal proteins, are an absolute requirement for cytokinesis in budding yeast. We demonstrate that septin-dependence of mammalian cytokinesis differs greatly between cell types: genetic loss of the pivotal septin subunit SEPT7 in vivo reveals that septins are indispensable for cytokinesis in fibroblasts, but expendable in cells of the hematopoietic system. SEPT7-deficient mouse embryos fail to gastrulate, and septin-deficient fibroblasts exhibit pleiotropic defects in the major cytokinetic machinery, including hyperacetylation/stabilization of microtubules and stalled midbody abscission, leading to constitutive multinucleation. We identified the microtubule depolymerizing protein stathmin as a key molecule aiding in septin-independent cytokinesis, demonstrated that stathmin supplementation is sufficient to override cytokinesis failure in SEPT7-null fibroblasts, and that knockdown of stathmin makes proliferation of a hematopoietic cell line sensitive to the septin inhibitor forchlorfenuron. Identification of septin-independent cytokinesis in the hematopoietic system could serve as a key to identify solid tumor-specific molecular targets for inhibition of cell proliferation

Adaptive Immune Response to Model Antigens Is Impaired in Murine Leukocyte-Adhesion Deficiency-1 Revealing Elevated Activation Thresholds In Vivo

Absence of β2 integrins (CD11/CD18) leads to leukocyte-adhesion deficiency-1 (LAD1), a rare primary immunodeficiency syndrome. Although extensive in vitro work has established an essential function of β2 integrins in adhesive and signaling properties for cells of the innate and adaptive immune system, their respective participation in an altered adaptive immunity in LAD1 patients are complex and only partly understood in vivo. Therefore, we investigated adaptive immune responses towards different T-dependent antigens in a murine LAD1 model of β2 integrin-deficiency (CD18−/−). CD18−/− mice generated only weak IgG responses after immunization with tetanus toxoid (TT). In contrast, robust hapten- and protein-specific immune responses were observed after immunization with highly haptenated antigens such as (4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenyl)21 acetyl chicken γ globulin (NP21-CG), even though regularly structured germinal centers with specificity for the defined antigens/haptens in CD18−/− mice remained absent. However, a decrease in the hapten/protein ratio lowered the efficacy of immune responses in CD18−/− mice, whereas a mere reduction of the antigen dose was less crucial. Importantly, haptenation of TT with NP (NP-TT) efficiently restored a robust IgG response also to TT. Our findings may stimulate further studies on a modification of vaccination strategies using highly haptenated antigens in individuals suffering from LAD1

Walk to me when I smile, step back when I’m angry: emotional faces modulate whole-body approach–avoidance behaviors

Facial expressions are potent social cues that can induce behavioral dispositions, such as approach–avoidance tendencies. We studied these tendencies by asking participants to make whole-body forward (approach) or backward (avoidance) steps on a force plate in response to the valence of social cues (happy or angry faces) under affect-congruent and incongruent mappings. Posturographic parameters of the steps related to automatic stimulus evaluation, step initiation (reaction time), and step execution were determined and analyzed as a function of stimulus valence and stimulus–response mapping. The main result was that participants needed more time to initiate a forward step towards an angry face than towards a smiling face (which is evidence of a congruency effect), but with backward steps, this difference failed to reach significance. We also found a reduction in spontaneous body sway prior to the step with the incongruent mapping. The results provide a crucial empirical link between theories of socially induced action tendencies and theories of postural control and suggest a motoric basis for socially guided motivated behavior

Essential role of CCL21 in establishment of central self-tolerance in T cells.

The chemokine receptor CCR7 directs T cell relocation into and within lymphoid organs, including the migration of developing thymocytes into the thymic medulla. However, how three functional CCR7 ligands in mouse, CCL19, CCL21Ser, and CCL21Leu, divide their roles in immune organs is unclear. By producing mice specifically deficient in CCL21Ser, we show that CCL21Ser is essential for the accumulation of positively selected thymocytes in the thymic medulla. CCL21Ser-deficient mice were impaired in the medullary deletion of self-reactive thymocytes and developed autoimmune dacryoadenitis. T cell accumulation in the lymph nodes was also defective. These results indicate a nonredundant role of CCL21Ser in the establishment of self-tolerance in T cells in the thymic medulla, and reveal a functional inequality among CCR7 ligands in vivo

Extreme disorder in an ultrahigh-affinity protein complex

Molecular communication in biology is mediated by protein interactions. According to the current paradigm, the specificity and affinity required for these interactions are encoded in the precise complementarity of binding interfaces. Even proteins that are disordered under physiological conditions or that contain large unstructured regions commonly interact with well-structured binding sites on other biomolecules. Here we demonstrate the existence of an unexpected interaction mechanism: the two intrinsically disordered human proteins histone H1 and its nuclear chaperone prothymosin-α associate in a complex with picomolar affinity, but fully retain their structural disorder, long-range flexibility and highly dynamic character. On the basis of closely integrated experiments and molecular simulations, we show that the interaction can be explained by the large opposite net charge of the two proteins, without requiring defined binding sites or interactions between specific individual residues. Proteome-wide sequence analysis suggests that this interaction mechanism may be abundant in eukaryotes

The citronellol metabolism in Pseudomonads - functional assignment of involved genes and their products

Citronellol und Geraniol sind in der Natur als Duftstoffe weit verbreitete azyklische Terpenoide, die aufgrund ihrer β-ständigen Methylgruppe nicht über β-Oxidation abgebaut werden können. In jüngster Zeit konnten zwei in den Citronellolabbau involvierte Gencluster in P. aeruginosa PAO1 identifiziert werden, das atu (acyclic terpene utilisation)- und das liu (leucine/isovalerate utilisation)-Gencluster (FÖRSTER-FROMME ET AL., 2006, HÖSCHLE ET AL., 2005). Bisher konnten nur die Gene der in den Citronellolstoffwechsel involvierten Carboxylasen funktionell identifiziert werden (HÖSCHLE ET AL., 2005). In dieser Arbeit wurden weitere Gene der Cluster funktionell zugeordnet. - In P. citronellolis wurde ein Gencluster (atuABCDEFGH) identifiziert und sequenziert, dessen Gene sehr hohe Identitäten zu den atu-Genen von P. aeruginosa PAO1 aufwiesen. Dieses Gencluster wurde als atu-Gencluster von P. citronellolis annotiert. Eine Insertionmutante in atuA zeigte, daß dieses Gen essentiell für den Citronellolabbau ist. - In P. citronellolis konnte anhand zweier Transposonmutanten in mqoB gezeigt werden, daß die Malat-Quinon-Oxidoreduktase (MqoB) eine essentielle Rolle beim Abbau von Terpenoiden spielt, da die Endprodukte des Citronellolabbaus in den Glyoxylatstoffwechsel eingehen und die Malat-Quinon-Oxidoreduktase ein essentielles Enzym dieses Stoffwechselweges ist. - In P. aeruginosa PAO1 konnte die Funktion der Citronellyl-CoA-Dehydrogenase AtuD zugeordnet werden. AtuD wurde exprimiert und gereinigt und eine spezifische Aktivität von 850 ± 37 mU/mg für den Umsatz von Citronellyl-CoA ermittelt. Der KM-Wert für Citronellyl-CoA beträgt 1,6 ± 0,3 µM. Das Reaktionsprodukt Geranyl-CoA wurde mit HPLC und Massenspektrometrie nachgewiesen. AtuD ist hochspezifisch für Citronellyl-CoA, da Isovaleryl-CoA oder Octanoyl-CoA nicht umsetzt werden. Durch 2D-Gelanalysen wurde eine weitere Acyl-CoA-Dehydrogenase als spezifisch beim Wachstum auf Terpenoiden erkannt und als PA1535-Genprodukt identifiziert. Das PA1535-Genprodukt wurde heterolog in E. coli exprimiert, gereinigt und die Substratspezifität bestimmt. Das Enzym setzte Citronellyl-CoA mit 2450 ± 26 mU/mg (KM-Wert 18 ± 1,1 µM) und Octanoyl-CoA mit 610 ± 10 mU/mg (KM-Wert 130 ± 9,8 µM) um. Isovaleryl-CoA stellt kein geeignetes Substrat dar. - In P. aeruginosa PAO1 wurde die Funktion der Isovaleryl-CoA-Dehydrogenase LiuA zugeordnet. Gereinigtes LiuA setzte Isovaleryl-CoA mit 1620 ± 55 mU/mg (KM-Wert 2,3 ± 0,4 µM) um. Langkettige CoA-Thioester wie Citronellyl-CoA oder Octanoyl-CoA wurden nicht umgesetzt. - In P. aeruginosa PAO1 wurde das stromaufwärts des atu-Genclusters liegende Gen (PA2885) durch Insertionsmutangenese als Repressor des atu-Genclusters identifiziert (atuR). AtuR gehört zur TetR-Familie. In dem intergenischen Bereich zwischen atuR und atuA (280 bp) wurde eine Region mit Ähnlichkeit zu σ-70 Promotoren sowie partiell überlappend zwei perfekte inverted repeats gefunden. Heterolog exprimiertes und gereinigtes AtuRHis6 war in der Lage, in Gelshift-Experimenten spezifisch an den intergenischen Bereich zu binden. Für eine vollständige Bindung waren beide inverted repeats, nicht aber die -10- und die -35-Region notwendig. Citronellol, Geraniol, Citronellal, Geranial, Citronellsäure und Geranylsäure, nicht aber Leucin, Isovaleriansäure, 3-Methylcrotonsäure, Phytol und Eukalyptol verhinderten die Bindung von AtuR und stellen somit offenbar Effektoren von AtuR dar. - Mithilfe von Proteomanalysen wurde gezeigt, daß sechs von acht Atu-Proteinen und vier von fünf Liu-Proteinen spezifisch beim Wachstum auf azyklischen Terpenen, bzw. Isovalerat gebildet werden. Des weiteren wurden 16 weitere Proteine identifiziert, die vermutlich ebenfalls am Citronellolstoffwechsel beteiligt sind. - Bei P. aeruginosa POA1 wurden alle Gene des atu-Genclusters durch Insertion von pKnockout-G (WINDGASSEN ET AL., 2000) inaktiviert. Es wurde gezeigt, daß fünf der atu-Gene (atuA, atuB, atuC, atuD, atuF) essentiell für den Citronellolabbau waren. Insertionsmutanten in atuE, atuG und atuH zeigten keinen Phänotyp.Citronellol and geraniol are widespread scents with acyclic terpenoid molecule structures in nature. Because of their β-methyl-branched carbon skeleton they can not be degraded via β-oxidation. Recently two gene clusters involved in the citronellol degradation pathway could be identified in P. aeruginosa PAO1, the atu (acyclic terpene utilisation)- and the liu (leucine/isolvalerate utilisation)-gene cluster (FÖRSTER-FROMME ET AL., 2006, HÖSCHLE ET AL., 2005). Up to now only genes coding the carboxylases involved in the citronellol degradation pathway could be identified (HÖSCHLE ET AL., 2005). In the present work several other genes of the gene clusters were functionally assigned. - A gene cluster (atuRABCDEFGH) was identified and sequenced in P. citronellolis; the genes showed very high similarities to the atu-genes of P. aeruginosa PAO1. An insertion mutant in atuA was unable to utilise acyclic terpenes and indicated that this gene is essential for citronellol degradation. - Investigation of two P. citronellolis transposon mutants in mqoB showed that the malate:quinone oxidoreductase (MQO) plays an essential role in the degradation of terpenoids. The end products of the citronellol degradation pathway enter the glyoxylate cycle and MQO is an essential enzyme of this pathway. - In P. aeruginosa PAO1 the function of the citronellyl-CoA-dehydrogenase was assigned to AtuD. AtuD was expressed, purified and a specific activity of 850 ± 37 mU/mg for citronellyl-CoA was determined. The KM value for citronellyl-CoA is 1,6 ± 0,3 µM. The reaction product geranyl-CoA was identified by mass spectrometry. AtuD is highly specific for citronellyl-CoA while it is inactive with isovaleryl-CoA and octanoyl-CoA. 2D-gel-analysis showed that an additional acyl-CoA-dehydrogenase was expressed specifically during growth on terpenoids and it was identified as PA1535 gene product. The PA1535 gene product was expressed in E. coli, purified and its substrate specifity was determined. The enzyme converted citronellyl-CoA with 2450 ± 26 mU/mg (KM value18 ± 1,1 µM) and octanoyl-CoA with 610 ± 10 mU/mg (KM value130 ± 9,8 µM). The enzyme was inactive with isovaleryl-CoA. - The function of the isovaleryl-CoA-dehydrogenase was assigned to LiuA in P. aeruginosa PAO1. LiuA was expressed and converts isovaleryl-CoA with 1620 ± 55 mU/mg (KM value 2,3 ± 0,4 µM). LiuA was inactive with long chain acyl-CoA thioesters like citronellyl-CoA or octanoyl-CoA. - The gene upstream of the atu-gene cluster (PA2885) was identified as the repressor of the atu-gene cluster (AtuR) in P. aeruginosa PAO1. AtuR is a member of the TetR family. An area with similarities to σ-70 promoters and partial overlapping two perfect inverted repeats was identified in the intergenic region between atuR and atuA (280 bp). Heterologically expressed and purified AtuRHis6 was able to bind specifically to the intergenic region in gel shift experiments. Both inverted repeats but not the -10 and the -35-region were necessary for complete binding. Citronellol, geraniol, citronellal, geranial, citronellate and geranylate but not leucine, isovaleric acid, 3-methylcrotonic acid, phytol and eucalyptol prevented AtuR from binding and apparently represent the effectors of AtuR. - Proteom analysis showed that six of eight Atu-proteins and four of five Liu-proteins were specifically expressed during growth on acyclic terpenes and isovalerate, respectively. Furthermore 16 additional proteins were identified which are supposed to be involved in the citronellol degradation pathway. - All atu-genes of the atu-gene cluster were inactivated by insertion of pKnockout-G (WINDGASSEN ET AL., 2000) into the genes in P. aeruginosa PAO1. Five of them (atuA, atuB, atuC, atuD, atuF) turned out to be essential for citronellol utilisation. Insertion in atuE, atuG and atuH showed no phenotype

Data-based decision-making in schools: Examining the process and effects of teacher support

Here, we provide all additional materials (including data and codes) to the following article: Data-based decision-making in schools: Examining the process and effects of teacher support The folder "Additional OSF materials" contains 1) Measurement invariance testing of reading achievement across cohorts and timepoints 2) Alternative results 3) Integrative data analysis for instructional decision-making The folder "Open data, open code, research transparency" contains all data and code needed to reproduce the analyses reported in the manuscript