Transmission of Staphylococcus aureus from humans to green monkeys in the Gambia as revealed by whole-genome sequencing

En el marco de la actual crisis económica internacional y las consecuentes políticas de ajuste estructural adoptadas por el gobierno de España desde 2008, la investigación desarrollada centró su atención en los impactos diferenciados sobre un grupo de mujeres migrantes de origen colombiano residentes en el Sur de España, teniendo en cuenta que, ni el origen, ni las políticas de ajuste estructural implementadas, ni los efectos que está generando la denominada crisis económica, tienen un carácter neutral en cuanto al género, la clase social, la edad y la condición de extranjería. En este sentido, la investigación indagó a través de un grupo de mujeres cómo desde diversas trayectorias familiares, socioeconómicas y condición de extranjería, sus hogares están vivenciando la actual crisis económica en relación con lo laboral y lo familiar, así como también la incidencia en sus más estrechos vínculos transnacionales, todo ello dentro del actual proceso de reacomodamiento de la economía global

The volatile microbiome

The first detailed temporal study of the human microbiome shows that individual body habitats exhibit surprising variation over time yet maintain distinguishable community structures

The Neonatal Microbiome and Necrotizing Enterocolitis.

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a devastating disorder that affects approximately 10% of premature infants. Its mortality remains high (15-30%), and its cause remains unknown. About 80% of cases occur within 35 days of birth among hospitalized newborns of low birth weight. Probiotics diminish the incidence and severity of NEC, and NEC does not occur antepartum. NEC affects a readily identifiable at-risk group, has a tightly defined interval before its onset, occurs in an organ system that is intimately associated with a microbial population in flux, has a plausible association with the intestinal microbiota, and cohorts at risk have rarely been studied in large numbers, or prospectively. This disorder, therefore, provides a unique opportunity to explore the role of the human enteric microbiome in a devastating disease. Moreover, NEC epidemiology and age-incidence present an ability to enroll and study cohorts that are highly likely to provide valuable pathophysiologic and microbiologic insights.

In this project, we will identify and quantify the microbial components of stool and its products before and at the onset of NEC. In doing so, we will test the overarching hypothesis that NEC is a direct or indirect consequence of the enteric biomass, its products, or both. We will use multicenter cohorts of premature infants at high risk of developing NEC, extend our research on this disease currently sponsored by the Washington University Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences, and continue our longstanding collaborations with the Genome Center at Washington University and the Washington University Digestive Diseases Research Core Center (Informatics Core). The Aims of this proposal are to (1) conduct a case cohort study in which we compare clinical data and biological specimens from cases and well-matched controls; (2) determine if the kind and density of intestinal biomass, its gene content, and transcriptional activity are associated with, and potential determinants of, NEC; and (3) determine if host risk alleles for intestinal inflammation play a role in the development of NEC. These efforts will be accomplished using subjects from three collaborating neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), focusing on the critical, instructive, and understudied pre-NEC stage of illness, and formulating a data repository that will be a resource for investigators worldwide who wish to focus their efforts on NEC, its precipitants, and its prevention and cure.
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Genetic diversity in Treponema pallidum: Implications for pathogenesis, evolution and molecular diagnostics of syphilis and yaws

AbstractPathogenic uncultivable treponemes, similar to syphilis-causing Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum, include T. pallidum ssp. pertenue, T. pallidum ssp. endemicum and Treponema carateum, which cause yaws, bejel and pinta, respectively. Genetic analyses of these pathogens revealed striking similarity among these bacteria and also a high degree of similarity to the rabbit pathogen, Treponema paraluiscuniculi, a treponeme not infectious to humans. Genome comparisons between pallidum and non-pallidum treponemes revealed genes with potential involvement in human infectivity, whereas comparisons between pallidum and pertenue treponemes identified genes possibly involved in the high invasivity of syphilis treponemes. Genetic variability within syphilis strains is considered as the basis of syphilis molecular epidemiology with potential to detect more virulent strains, whereas genetic variability within a single strain is related to its ability to elude the immune system of the host. Genome analyses also shed light on treponemal evolution and on chromosomal targets for molecular diagnostics of treponemal infections

Genetic and physical studies of bacteriophage P22 genomes containing translocatable drug resistance elements.

Thesis. 1977. Ph.D.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Biology.Microfiche copy available in Archives and Science.Vita.Bibliography : leaves 115-120.Ph.D