Faculty Focus: Making a CAREER of It

The Faculty Early Career Development Program, or CAREER program, in the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious awards program for junior faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization

The Silicon Valley of Biodefense

K-State cements status at the forefront of biodefens

2011 Spring Perspectives - full issue (PDF)

Perspectivesshowcases Kansas State University\u27s range of research, scholarly, and creative activity and discovery. This Spring edition includes highlights In Europe and The U.S., Consumer Views On Cloned Products Breed Different Results, A Patented Success, Biologist’s career spent on research to prevent cataracts, Graphene research receives national recognition, Chemist recognized as promising young scientist, The meat of the matter: ready-to-eat products contain few cancerous compounds, Entomologist finds household pests carry same multi-drug resistant bacterial strains found in swine operations, Biosecurity Research Institute enhancing food safety research, A patented success

Patients with stricturing or penetrating Crohn\u27s disease phenotypes report high disease burden and treatment needs

BACKGROUND: Crohn\u27s disease (CD) is a chronic autoimmune disease in which inflammation can progress to complications of stricturing and/or penetrating disease. Real-world data on burden of complicated CD phenotypes are limited. METHODS: We analyzed cross-sectional data from the SPARC IBD (Study of a Prospective Adult Research Cohort with Inflammatory Bowel Disease) registry from 2016 to 2020. Four mutually exclusive phenotype cohorts were created: inflammatory CD (CD-I), complicated CD (stricturing CD, penetrating CD, and stricturing and penetrating CD [CD-SP]). Statistical analyses were performed using CD-I as the reference. RESULTS: A total of 1557 patients were identified: CD-I (n = 674, 43.3%), stricturing CD (n = 457, 29.4%), penetrating CD (n = 166, 10.7%), and CD-SP (n = 260, 16.7%). Patients with complicated phenotypes reported significantly greater use of tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (84.2%-86.7% vs 66.0%; P \u3c .001) and corticosteroids (75.3%-82.7% vs 68.0%; P \u3c .001). Patients with CD-SP reported significantly more aphthous ulcer (15.4% vs 10.5%; P \u3c .05), erythema nodosum (6.5% vs 3.6%; P \u3c .05), inflammatory bowel disease-related arthropathy (25.8% vs 17.2%; P \u3c .01), liquid stools (24.2% vs 9.3%; P \u3c .001), nocturnal fecal incontinence (10.8% vs 2.5%; P \u3c .001), and CD-related surgery (77.7% vs 12.2%; P \u3c .001). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with complicated CD phenotypes reported higher rates of active CD-related luminal and extraintestinal manifestations, and underwent more surgeries, despite being more likely to have received biologics than those with CD-I. The potential for early recognition and management of CD-I to prevent progression to complicated phenotypes should be explored in longitudinal studies

Structural Determination of the Broadly Reactive Anti-IGHV1-69 Anti-idiotypic Antibody G6 and Its Idiotope

The heavy chain IGHV1-69 germline gene exhibits a high level of polymorphism and shows biased use in protective antibody (Ab) responses to infections and vaccines. It is also highly expressed in several B cell malignancies and autoimmune diseases. G6 is an anti-idiotypic monoclonal Ab that selectively binds to IGHV1-69 heavy chain germline gene 51p1 alleles that have been implicated in these Ab responses and disease processes. Here, we determine the co-crystal structure of humanized G6 (hG6.3) in complex with anti-influenza hemagglutinin stem-directed broadly neutralizing Ab D80. The core of the hG6.3 idiotope is a continuous string of CDR-H2 residues starting with M53 and ending with N58. G6 binding studies demonstrate the remarkable breadth of binding to 51p1 IGHV1-69 Abs with diverse CDR-H3, light chain, and antigen binding specificities. These studies detail the broad expression of the G6 cross-reactive idiotype (CRI) that further define its potential role in precision medicine

The small RNA SgrS controls sugar–phosphate accumulation by regulating multiple PTS genes

A number of bacterial small RNAs (sRNAs) act as global regulators of stress responses by controlling expression of multiple genes. The sRNA SgrS is expressed in response to glucose–phosphate stress, a condition associated with disruption of glycolytic flux and accumulation of sugar–phosphates. SgrS has been shown to stimulate degradation of the ptsG mRNA, encoding the major glucose transporter. This study demonstrates that SgrS regulates the genes encoding the mannose and secondary glucose transporter, manXYZ. Analysis of manXYZ mRNA stability and translation in the presence and absence of SgrS indicate that manXYZ is regulated by SgrS under stress conditions and when SgrS is ectopically expressed. In vitro footprinting and in vivo mutational analyses showed that SgrS base pairs with manXYZ within the manX coding sequence to prevent manX translation. Regulation of manX did not require the RNase E degradosome complex, suggesting that the primary mechanism of regulation is translational. An Escherichia coli ptsG mutant strain that is manXYZ+ experiences stress when exposed to the glucose analogs α-methyl glucoside or 2-deoxyglucose. A ptsG manXYZ double mutant is resistant to the stress, indicating that PTS transporters encoded by both SgrS targets are involved in taking up substrates that cause stress

A carotenoid-deficient mutant in Pantoea sp. YR343, a bacteria isolated from the Rhizosphere of Populus deltoides, is defective in root colonization

The complex interactions between plants and their microbiome can have a profound effect on the health and productivity of the plant host. A better understanding of the microbial mechanisms that promote plant health and stress tolerance will enable strategies for improving the productivity of economically important plants. Pantoea sp. YR343 is a motile, rod-shaped bacterium isolated from the roots of Populus deltoides that possesses the ability to solubilize phosphate and produce the phytohormone indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). Pantoea sp. YR343 readily colonizes plant roots and does not appear to be pathogenic when applied to the leaves or roots of selected plant hosts. To better understand the molecular mechanisms involved in plant association and rhizosphere survival by Pantoea sp. YR343, we constructed a mutant in which the crtB gene encoding phytoene synthase was deleted. Phytoene synthase is responsible for converting geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate to phytoene, an important precursor to the production of carotenoids. As predicted, the ΔcrtB mutant is defective in carotenoid production, and shows increased sensitivity to oxidative stress. Moreover, we find that the ΔcrtB mutant is impaired in biofilm formation and production of IAA. Finally we demonstrate that the ΔcrtB mutant shows reduced colonization of plant roots. Taken together, these data suggest that carotenoids are important for plant association and/or rhizosphere survival in Pantoea sp. YR343.Work at the University of Notre Dame was supported by DOE grant SC0006642 (RM) and by a subcontract from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (SP).http://www.frontiersin.orgam2016Microbiology and Plant Patholog