Draft Genome Sequence of Lactobacillus fermentum Strain 3872

This report describes a draft genome sequence of Lactobacillus fermentum strain 3872. The data revealed remarkable similarity to and dissimilarity with the published genome sequences of other strains of the species. The absence of and variation in structures of some adhesins and the presence of an additional adhesin may reflect adaptation of the bacterium to different host systems and may contribute to specific properties of this strain as a new probiotic

Complete genome sequence of 'Campylobacter jejuni' strain G1, isolated from a patient with Guillain-Barré syndrome

Here, I report the complete genome sequence of Campylobacter jejuni strain G1, belonging to Penner serotype HS1. One remarkable feature of the genome of this isolate is the presence of four copies of Mu-like prophages, of which none are present in some other strains, including the reference strain NCTC11168

Remarkable features of mitochondrial DNA of 'Acanthamoeba polyphaga' Linc Ap-1, revealed by whole-genome sequencing

Whole-genome sequencing of Acanthamoeba polyphaga Linc Ap-1 resulted in a draft assembly of the chromosomal DNA and a complete sequence of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Despite very high sequence similarity with the mtDNA of Acanthamoeba castellanii Neff, in contrast to Acanthamoeba polyphaga Linc Ap-1, the determined DNA sequence revealed a complete absence of introns

Draft genome sequence of 'Cohnella kolymensis' B-2846

A draft genome sequence of "Cohnella kolymensis" strain B-2846 was derived using IonTorrent sequencing technology. The size of the assembly and G+C content were in agreement with those of other species of this genus. Characterization of the genome of a novel species of Cohnella will assist in bacterial systematics

Draft genome sequence of Lactobacillus plantarum 2025

A draft genome sequence of Lactobacillus plantarum 2025 was derived using Ion Torrent sequencing technology. The total size of the assembly (3.33 Mb) was in agreement with the genome sizes of other strains of this species. The data will assist in revealing the genes responsible for the specific properties of this strain

Draft Genome Sequence of a Probiotic Strain, Lactobacillus fermentum UCO-979C.

This report describes a draft genome sequence of Lactobacillus fermentum strain UCO-979C. The reads generated by a Ion Torrent PGM were assembled into contigs, with a total size of 2.01 Mb. The data were annotated using the NCBI GenBank and RAST servers. Specific features of the genome are highlighted

Expression of Escherichia coli araE and modified lacY genes in Campylobacter jejuni is not sufficient for arabinose transport

Introduction. Unlike Escherichia coli, Campylobacter jejuni is unable to import a range of sugars, including arabinose, which makes common expression vectors, such as pBAD33, non-functional in these bacteria. Aim. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the E. coli transporters AraE and modified LacY (LacYA177C) would enable C. jejuni to uptake arabinose. Methodology and Results. The respective genes of E. coli were constitutively expressed in C. jejuni strain 11168H after integration into the chromosome via homologous recombination. Vectors carrying these genes also contained a reporter gene, gfp, under the control of the arabinose-inducible promoter, pBAD. These constructs were verified in E. coli by demonstrating the induction of gfp in the presence of arabinose. Integration of the genes into one of the rRNA gene clusters was verified by PCR and genome sequencing. The latter also confirmed that the inserted gene clusters contained no mutations. Expression of the gfp gene in the presence of arabinose inducer was monitored using fluorescence microscopy of colonies and fluorimetry using both whole cells and lysates. Conclusion. The results demonstrated the inability of C. jejuni to use arabinose transporters, which are fully functional in E. coli, suggesting a remarkable difference in the physiology of these bacteria

YPTB3816 of 'Yersinia pseudotuberculosis' strain IP32953 is a virulence-related metallo-oligopeptidase

Background: although bacterial peptidases are known to be produced by various microorganisms, including pathogenic bacteria, their role in bacterial physiology is not fully understood. In particular, oligopeptidases are thought to be mainly involved in degradation of short peptides e.g. leader peptides released during classical protein secretion pathways. The aim of this study was to investigate effects of inactivation of an oligopeptidase encoding gene opdA gene of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis on bacterial properties in vivo and in vitro, and to test dependence of the enzymatic activity of the respective purified enzyme on the presence of different divalent cations. Results: in this study we found that oligopeptidase OpdA of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis is required for bacterial virulence, whilst knocking out the respective gene did not have any effect on bacterial viability or growth rate in vitro. In addition, we studied enzymatic properties of this enzyme after expression and purification from E. coli. Using an enzyme depleted of contaminant divalent cations and different types of fluorescently labelled substrates, we found strong dependence of its activity on the presence of particular cations. Unexpectedly, Zn2+ showed stimulatory activity only at low concentrations, but inhibited the enzyme at higher concentrations. In contrast, Co2+, Ca2+ and Mn2+ stimulated activity at all concentrations tested, whilst Mg2+ revealed no effect on the enzyme activity at all concentrations used. Conclusions: the results of this study provide valuable contribution to the investigation of bacterial peptidases in general, and that of metallo-oligopeptidases in particular. This is the first study demonstrating that opdA in Yersinia pseudotuberculsosis is required for pathogenicity. The data reported are important for better understanding of the role of OpdA-like enzymes in pathogenesis in bacterial infections. Characterisation of this protein may serve as a basis for the development of novel antibacterials based on specific inhibition of this peptidase activity

Variant signal peptides of vaccine antigen, FHbp, impair processing affecting surface localization and antibody-mediated killing in most meningococcal isolates

© Copyright © 2019 da Silva, Karlyshev, Oldfield, Wooldridge, Bayliss, Ryan and Griffin. Meningococcal lipoprotein, Factor H binding protein (FHbp), is the sole antigen of the Trumenba vaccine (Pfizer) and one of four antigens of the Bexsero vaccine (GSK) targeting Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B isolates. Lipidation of FHbp is assumed to occur for all isolates. We show in the majority of a collection of United Kingdom isolates (1742/1895) non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the signal peptide (SP) of FHbp. A single SNP, common to all, alters a polar amino acid that abolishes processing: lipidation and SP cleavage. Whilst some of the FHbp precursor is retained in the cytoplasm due to reduced binding to SecA, remarkably some is translocated and further surface-localized by Slam. Thus we show Slam is not lipoprotein-specific. In a panel of isolates tested, the overall reduced surface localization of the precursor FHbp, compared to isolates with an intact SP, corresponded with decreased susceptibility to antibody-mediated killing. Our findings shed new light on the canonical pathway for lipoprotein processing and translocation of important relevance for lipoprotein-based vaccines in development and in particular for Trumenba