The Complete Chromosomal Organization of the Reference Strain of the Leishmania Genome Project, L. major ;Friedlin'.

In recent years, analysis of the genomes of many organisms has received increasing international attention. The bulk of the effort to date has centred on the Human Genome Project and analysis of model organisms such as yeast, Drosophila and Caenorhabditis elegans. More recently, the revolution in genome sequencing and gene identification has begun to impact on infectious disease organisms. Initially, much of the effort was concentrated on prokaryotes, but small eukaryotic genomes, including the protozoan parasites Plasmodium, Toxoplasma and trypanosomatids (Leishmania, Trypanosoma brucei and T. cruzi), as well as some multicellular organisms, such as Brugia and Schistosoma, are benefiting from the technological advances of the genome era. These advances promise a radical new approach to the development of novel diagnostic tools, chemotherapeutic targets and vaccines for infectious disease organisms, as well as to the more detailed analysis of cell biology and function.Several networks or consortia linking laboratories around the world have been established to support these parasite genome projects[1] (for more information, see http://www.ebi.ac.uk/ parasites/paratable.html). Five of these networks were supported by an initiative launched in 1994 by the Specific Programme for Research and Tropical Diseases (TDR) of the WHO[2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. The Leishmania Genome Network (LGN) is one of these[3]. Its activities are reported at http://www.ebi.ac.uk/parasites/leish.html, and its current aim is to map and sequence the genome of Leishmania by the year 2002. All the mapping, hybridization and sequence data are also publicly available from LeishDB, an AceDB-based genome database (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/parasites/LGN/leissssoft.html)

Identification of sugarcane genes involved in the purine synthesis pathway

Nucleotide synthesis is of central importance to all cells. In most organisms, the purine nucleotides are synthesized de novo from non-nucleotide precursors such as amino acids, ammonia and carbon dioxide. An understanding of the enzymes involved in sugarcane purine synthesis opens the possibility of using these enzymes as targets for chemicals which may be effective in combating phytopathogen. Such an approach has already been applied to several parasites and types of cancer. The strategy described in this paper was applied to identify sugarcane clusters for each step of the de novo purine synthesis pathway. Representative sequences of this pathway were chosen from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database and used to search the translated sugarcane expressed sequence tag (SUCEST) database using the available basic local alignment search tool (BLAST) facility. Retrieved clusters were further tested for the statistical significance of the alignment by an implementation (PRSS3) of the Monte Carlo shuffling algorithm calibrated using known protein sequences of divergent taxa along the phylogenetic tree. The sequences were compared to each other and to the sugarcane clusters selected using BLAST analysis, with the resulting table of p-values indicating the degree of divergence of each enzyme within different taxa and in relation to the sugarcane clusters. The results obtained by this strategy allowed us to identify the sugarcane proteins participating in the purine synthesis pathway.<br>A via de síntese de purino nucleotídeos é considerada uma via de central importância para todas as células. Na maioria dos organismos, os purino nucleotídeos são sintetizados ''de novo'' a partir de precursores não-nucleotídicos como amino ácidos, amônia e dióxido de carbono. O conhecimento das enzimas envolvidas na via de síntese de purinas da cana-de-açúcar vai abrir a possibilidade do uso dessas enzimas como alvos no desenho racional de inibidores no combate a agentes fitopatogênicos, como esta sendo feita com diversos parasitos e células cancerosas. A seguinte estratégia esta sendo utilizada na identificação de genes de cana-de-açúcar para cada membro da via de síntese de purinas: Seqüências representativas dos genes que compões a via foram escolhidas do banco de dados NCBI. Essas seqüências de peptídeos estão sendo utilizadas em buscas ao banco de dados gerado pelo SUCEST pelo programa BLAST (implementação tBLASTn). Alinhamentos com os clusters de cana-de-a��úcar são posteriormente analisados para sua significância estatística pela implementação PRSS3 do algoritmo conhecido como Monte Carlo shuffling. Para calibrar a análise dos resultados de PRSS3, foram empregadas seqüências conhecidas de diferentes taxas ao longo da arvore filogenética. Essas seqüências são comparadas duas a duas e com o cluster da cana-de-açúcar. A tabela de valores-p resultante indica o grau estatístico de similaridade e divergência entre as seqüências já descritas e entre essas e os clusters de cana-de-açúcar. Os resultados obtidos dessas análises estão descritos neste artigo

Combined effect of the essential oil from Chenopodium ambrosioides and antileishmanial drugs on promastigotes of Leishmania amazonensis Efeito combinado do óleo de essência de Chenopodium ambrosioides e drogas anti-leishmaniose nos promastigotas de Leishmania amazonensis

To date, there are no vaccines against Leishmania, and chemotherapy remains the mainstay for the control of leishmaniasis. The drugs of choice used for leishmaniasis therapy are significantly toxic, expensive and with a growing frequency of refractory infections. Because of these limitations, a combination therapy is the better hope. This work demonstrates that the essential oil from Chenopodium ambrosioides shows a synergic activity after incubation in conjunction with pentamidine against promastigotes of Leishmania amazonensis. However, an indifferent effect has been found for combinations of meglumine antimoniate or amphotericin B and the essential oil.<br>Até hoje não temos vacina contra a Leishmania e a quimioterapia é a indicação para o controle desta doença. Os remédios que hoje utilizamos são tóxicos e muito caros e além disso o resultado não é sempre o desejado. Por isso, uma terapia de combinação é a melhor opção. Este trabalho mostra que o óleo de essência de C. ambrosioides tem atividade sinérgica junto com a pentamidina sobre os promastigotas de L. amazonensis, diferente do resultado da combinação de antimônio de meglumine e anfotericina B e o óleo de essência

A sirtuin in the African trypanosome is involved in both DNA repair and telomeric gene silencing but is not required for antigenic variation

Silent information regulator 2 (Sir2)-related proteins or sirtuins function as NAD(+)-dependent deacetylases or ADP ribosylases that target a range of substrates, thereby influencing chromatin structure and a diverse range of other biological functions. Genes encoding three Sir2-related proteins (SIR2rp1-3) have been identified in the parasitic trypanosomatids, early branching protozoa with no previously reported transcriptional silencing machinery. Here we show that, in the mammalian-infective bloodstream-stage of the African trypanosome, Trypanosoma brucei, SIR2rp1 localizes to the nucleus while SIR2rp2 and SIR2rp3 are both mitochondrial proteins. The nuclear protein, SIR2rp1, controls DNA repair and repression of RNA polymerase I-mediated expression immediately adjacent to telomeres. Antigenic variation, however, which involves the silencing and Pol I-mediated transcriptional switching of subtelomeric variant surface glycoprotein genes, continues to operate independent of SIR2rp1

A review of measurement and modelling results of particle atmosphere–surface exchange

Atmosphere–surface exchange represents one mechanism by which atmospheric particle mass and number size distributions are modified. Deposition velocities (vd) exhibit a pronounced dependence on surface type, due in part to turbulence structure (as manifest in friction velocity), with minima of approximately 0.01 and 0.2 cm s−1 over grasslands and 0.1–1 cm s−1 over forests. However, as noted over 20 yr ago, observations over forests generally do not support the pronounced minimum of deposition velocity (vd) for particle diameters of 0.1–2 μm as manifest in theoretical predictions. Closer agreement between models and observations is found over less-rough surfaces though those data also imply substantially higher surface collection efficiencies than were originally proposed and are manifest in current models. We review theorized dependencies for particle fluxes, describe and critique model approaches and innovations in experimental approaches, and synthesize common conclusions of experimental and modelling studies. We end by proposing a number of research avenues that should be pursued in to facilitate further insights and development of improved numerical models of atmospheric particles