Draft Genome Sequences of 10 Bacillus subtilis Strains That Form Spores with High or Low Heat Resistance

Here, we report the draft genome sequences of 10 isolates of Bacillus subtilis, a spore forming Gram-positive bacterium. The strains were selected from food products and produced spores with either high or low heat resistance

Transitions between Inherent Structures in Water

The energy landscape approach has been useful to help understand the dynamic properties of supercooled liquids and the connection between these properties and thermodynamics. The analysis in numerical models of the inherent structure (IS) trajectories -- the set of local minima visited by the liquid -- offers the possibility of filtering out the vibrational component of the motion of the system on the potential energy surface and thereby resolving the slow structural component more efficiently. Here we report an analysis of an IS trajectory for a widely-studied water model, focusing on the changes in hydrogen bond connectivity that give rise to many IS separated by relatively small energy barriers. We find that while the system \emph{travels} through these IS, the structure of the bond network continuously modifies, exchanging linear bonds for bifurcated bonds and usually reversing the exchange to return to nearly the same initial configuration. For the 216 molecule system we investigate, the time scale of these transitions is as small as the simulation time scale ($\approx 1$ fs). Hence for water, the transitions between each of these IS is relatively small and eventual relaxation of the system occurs only by many of these transitions. We find that during IS changes, the molecules with the greatest displacements move in small ``clusters'' of 1-10 molecules with displacements of $\approx 0.02-0.2$ nm, not unlike simpler liquids. However, for water these clusters appear to be somewhat more branched than the linear ``string-like'' clusters formed in a supercooled Lennar d-Jones system found by Glotzer and her collaborators.Comment: accepted in PR

Molecular dynamics simulations of N-terminal peptides from a nucleotide binding protein

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of N-terminal peptides from lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) with increasing length and individual secondary structure elements were used to study their stability in relation to folding, Ten simulations of 1-2 ns of different peptides in water starting from the coordinates of the crystal structure were performed, The stability of the peptides was compared qualitatively by analyzing the root mean square deviation (RMSD) from the crystal structure, radius of gyration, secondary and tertiary structure, and solvent accessible surface area, In agreement with earlier MD studies, relatively short (<15 amino acids) peptides containing individual secondary structure elements were generally found to be unstable; the hydrophobic alpha(1)-helix of the nucleotide binding fold displayed a significantly higher stability, however, Our simulations further showed that the first pap supersecondary unit of the characteristic dinucleotide binding fold (Rossmann fold) of LDH is somewhat more stable than other units of similar length and that the alpha(2)-helix, which unfolds by itself, is stabilized by binding to this unit, This finding suggests that the first pap unit could function as an N-terminal folding nucleus, upon which the remainder of the polypeptide chain can be assembled, Indeed, simulations with longer units (beta alpha beta alpha and beta alpha beta alpha beta beta) showed that all structural elements of these units are rather stable, The outcome of our studies is in line with suggestions that folding of the N-terminal portion of LDH in vivo can be a cotranslational process that takes place during the ribosomal peptide synthesis. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc

Antibiotic residues and resistance in the environment

Antibiotic usage has benefited the animal industry and helped providing affordable animal proteins to the growing human population. However, since extensive use of antibiotics results in the inhibition of susceptible organisms while selecting for the resistant ones, agricultural use is contributing substantially to the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance in the environment. So far, scientific focus has predominantly been on the emergence and spread of resistant bacteria and genes into the environment as a result of veterinary treatment, in particular through manure but also through food products and direct animal contact. However, environmental contamination with antibiotic residues could also be an important factor in the selection and dissemination of antibiotic resistant bacteria. The persistence of antibiotics in the environment depends on factors like soil type and climate, but also on physical-chemical characteristics of the different types of antibiotics. Monitoring studies showed that substantial concentrations of antibiotic residues can occur in soil and water, in particular at locations close to intensive animal farming. Little is known about the concentrations that will exert selective pressure on environmental microorganisms and promote persistence or even enrichment of the environmental resistance gene pool. Traditionally, it was assumed that resistance is only induced at concentrations above the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). However, recently, evidence is accumulating that selective environments may occur at concentrations down to several hundred-folds below the MIC. However, for most of the antibiotics and environmental conditions, the minimal threshold concentrations that will induce or support propagation of antibiotic resistance in environmental microbes are still undefined. Therefore, more research is needed into the relationship between the concentrations of antibiotic residues in the environment and the prevalence and persistency of environmental antibiotic resistance. First, additional research is needed to determine what antibiotic concentrations still exert pressure on bacteria and can cause persistence or enrichment of resistant bacteria. Furthermore, the fate of antibiotics in the main reservoirs (manure, soil, water) should be studied, including antimicrobially active metabolites and their bioavailability. Finally, transmission of antibiotic compounds between reservoirs should be studied to identify the main reservoirs of interest and define intervening measures