When genome-based approach meets the “Old but Good”: revealing genes involved in the antibacterial activity of Pseudomonas sp. P482 against soft rot pathogens

Dickeya solani and Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. brasiliense are recently established species of bacterial plant pathogens causing black leg and soft rot of many vegetables and ornamental plants. Pseudomonas sp. strain P482 inhibits the growth of these pathogens, a desired trait considering the limited measures to combat these diseases. In this study, we determined the genetic background of the antibacterial activity of P482, and established the phylogenetic position of this strain. Pseudomonas sp. P482 was classified as Pseudomonas donghuensis. Genome mining revealed that the P482 genome does not contain genes determining the synthesis of known antimicrobials. However, the ClusterFinder algorithm, designed to detect atypical or novel classes of secondary metabolite gene clusters, predicted 18 such clusters in the genome. Screening of a Tn5 mutant library yielded an antimicrobial negative transposon mutant. The transposon insertion was located in a gene encoding an HpcH/HpaI aldolase/citrate lyase family protein. This gene is located in a hypothetical cluster predicted by the ClusterFinder, together with the downstream homologs of four nfs genes, that confer production of a non-fluorescent siderophore by P. donghuensis HYS(T). Site-directed inactivation of the HpcH/HpaI aldolase gene, the adjacent short chain dehydrogenase gene, as well as a homolog of an essential nfs cluster gene, all abolished the antimicrobial activity of the P482, suggesting their involvement in a common biosynthesis pathway. However, none of the mutants showed a decreased siderophore yield, neither was the antimicrobial activity of the wild type P482 compromised by high iron bioavailability. A genomic region comprising the nfs cluster and three upstream genes is involved in the antibacterial activity of P. donghuensis P482 against D. solani and P. carotovorum subsp. brasiliense. The genes studied are unique to the two known P. donghuensis strains. This study illustrates that mining of microbial genomes is a powerful approach for predictingthe presence of novel secondary-metabolite encoding genes especially when coupled with transposon mutagenesis

Difficulties in the diagnosis of four repeats (4R) tauopathic parkinsonian syndromes

Corticobasal Degeneration Degeneration (CBD) and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) are types of four repeats (4R) tauopathies, which are associated to parkinsonian syndromes. The aim of the work is to analyze cases of patients of the Department of Neurology, overlapping of syndromes related to both pathologies and to show that most likely CBS and PSP are not lineary related to their commonly associated syndromes i.e. adequately corticobasal syndromes and progressive supranuclear palsy syndromes. In the context of each patient factors in favor of most likely CBS, PSP or both diseases are discussed and analyzed using contemporary criteria. This work discusses multidimensional aspect of the examination of five patient aged 64 to 83 – 4 females and 1 male with 4R tauopathies and difficulties in distinguishing both diseases. The duration of the disease varied from 1 to 5 years. Each patient after neurological examination was assessed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and psychological test. Examination of all patients was extended using single photon emission computer tomography (SPECT) to reveal the usefulness of this tool in differentiation of diseases was done. The outcome of this examination was verified with prior clinical manifestation of patients and morphological abnormalities in magnetic resonance imaging. Autopsies were not conducted

Effect of increased copper ion content in the medium on the regeneration of androgenetic embryos of carrot (Daucus carota L.)

The study was conducted to determine the effect of elevated concentrations of copper in the medium on the regeneration of androgenetic embryos of the carrot cultivar ‘Kazan F1’ obtained in anther cultures and to determine the level of soluble phenols produced in the regenerates under copper stress. Green embryos were laid out on 4 regeneration media based on B5 medium (G a m b o r g et al. 1968) without hormones, containing 0.1 – control, 1, 10, and 100 μM CuSO4×5H2O. The plant material was passaged 3 times, after 4, 9 and 15 weeks. During these passages the emerging structures were examined; they were classified in terms of growth and development in vitro, weighed and counted. The levels of soluble phenols in the freeze-dried regenerates were determined. The elevated concentrations of copper in the regeneration media affected positively the formation of complete plants (rooted rosettes) and secondary embryos during the first 4 weeks of culture. After a longer regeneration time (9, 15 weeks), the elevated concentrations of copper caused negative effects: deformation of rosettes. After 15 weeks, the number of rooted rosettes decreased. The 9-week culture subjected to copper stress brought about an increase in the amounts of soluble phenols. The highest values were recorded in the rosettes treated with 10 μM CuSO4. Prolonged exposure to media containing elevated concentrations of CuSO4 caused a reduction in the accumulation of phenolic compounds in the rosettes

The Meanings of Ordinary in Times of Crisis: The Case of a Palestinian Refugee Camp in the West Bank

For people living in violent and insecure contexts, “ordinariness” and “crisis” take on new meanings. Daily efforts to manage these contexts transform everyday life into a scene of resistance, a place of refuge and a domain of resilience and survival. The article discusses four ways in which Palestinian refugees from Al-Am’ari camp in the West Bank frame the ordinary amidst protracted exile, ongoing occupation and recurring military conflict by: (1) suspending everyday life, (2) defending normalcy amidst the crisis, (3) normalizing the experience of crisis and (4) fostering a normative sense of ordinariness. Instead of adopting arbitrarily defined categories of ordinariness and crisis, the aim of the paper is to reconstruct how they are produced, understood and narrated by camp inhabitants. The analysis is based on eight months of ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Al-Am’ari camp between January 2010 and August 2012

ABOVE, BELOW, OR BETWEEN DIVISIONS? POLISH IMMIGRANTS IN THE POLARIZED SOCIETY OF NORTHERN IRELAND

In spite of the passage of over a dozen years since the signing of the peace treaty in 1998, the divisions between Catholic and Protestant societies in Northern Ireland are still sharply drawn. The segregation of the Northern Irish population can be observed at various levels: not only in areas of residence, the labor market, and the education sector, but also in the sphere of consumption or in patterns of spending free time. Beginning on 1 May 2004, a rapidly growing group of immigrants, of which the largest percentage was constituted by Poles, began to enter this polarized reality. The aim of the article is to portray the local social reaction to the appearance of immigrants from Poland, who - although generally viewed as Catholics - can not be easily written into the social and symbolic boundaries produced by the conflic

The Power of Storytelling and Digital Storytelling in Teaching Polish to Learners in UK

Wykorzystanie opowiadań w celach edukacyjnych jest skuteczną strategią nauczania – w szczególności języków. Większość uczniów lubi słuchać opowieści. Historie mają moc, która może wprowadzić uczniów w świat wyobraźni, narysować kolorowy obraz z wieloma interesującymi postaciami. Storytelling jest jedną z najbardziej przydatnych metod skutecznego przyciągania uczniów do procesu uczenia się. Opowiadanie historii jest dużą szansą dla uczących się na odkrycie doświadczenia prawdziwego życia i budowania wspólnych wypowiedzi. Opowiadanie historii to metoda nauczania, która może pomoc młodym uczniom w zdobyciu wiedzy, w tym umiejętności czytania, rozwijaniu wyobraźni, tworzenia i krytycznego myślenia, dlatego też storytelling jest bardzo przydatny w nauczaniu języka polskiego uczniów w Wielkiej Brytanii.Using stories for educational purposes is an effective teaching strategy especially for teaching languages. Most learners enjoy listening to stories. Stories have a power, which can bring students into a world of imagination and draw a colourful picture with interesting characters. Storytelling is one of the most useful techniques to attract students in the learning process effectively. Telling stories provides learners with an opportunity to discover experiences of real life and the language learning together. Storytelling is a teaching method which can help young learners to acquire knowledge, literacy, imagination, creativity and critical thinking. Therefore, storytelling would be very useful in teaching the Polish language in UK

Development of embryoids by microspore and anther cultures of red beet (Beta vulgaris L. subsp. vulgaris)

So far there is no information about receiving red beet androgenic embryos by androgenesis. Several factors were tested which affected this process: starch accumulation in microspores, correlation between bud length and microsporogenesis course, induction and regeneration medium composition. Ploidy level of obtained regenerants were evaluated. Treating anthers with α-amylase or watering donor plants with gibberellin increased number of obtained androgenic embryos. The highest percentage (80%) of microspores at uninuclear stage appeared in buds with 1.3-1.5 mm. The B5 medium with 100 g·L-1 sucrose and 0.1 mg·L-1 2,4-D (2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) proved to be better for inducing androgenesis than MS medium supplemented with 0.2 mg·L-1 BAP (6-benzylaminopurine) and 0.5 mg·L-1 IAA (indole-3-acetic acid). First androgenic embryos were placed on B5 medium without plant growth regulators and then on MS medium containing 0.2 mg·L-1 BAP and 1 mg·L-1 NAA (α-naphthaleneacetic acid). Androgenic embryos died on B5 regeneration medium without plant growth regulators. On MS medium first shoots and callus with and without roots were obtained. Rosettes withered during following passages whereas callus tissue developed further. The quantity of DNA in this tissue equivalent to 4X chromosomes