Hybridizing matter-wave and classical accelerometers

We demonstrate a hybrid accelerometer that benefits from the advantages of both conventional and atomic sensors in terms of bandwidth (DC to 430 Hz) and long term stability. First, the use of a real time correction of the atom interferometer phase by the signal from the classical accelerometer enables to run it at best performances without any isolation platform. Second, a servo-lock of the DC component of the conventional sensor output signal by the atomic one realizes a hybrid sensor. This method paves the way for applications in geophysics and in inertial navigation as it overcomes the main limitation of atomic accelerometers, namely the dead times between consecutive measurements

Spatial organisation of enzymes in the biosynthetic limonene production pathway in Escherichia coli

Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstrac

Post-transcriptional association of proteins to study spatial organisation within multi-enzyme complexes

Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstrac

The Role of the FMN-Domain of Human Cytochrome P450 Oxidoreductase in Its Promiscuous Interactions With Structurally Diverse Redox Partners

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2020.00299.].publishersversionpublishe

The Unconventional Xer Recombination Machinery of Streptococci/Lactococci

Homologous recombination between circular sister chromosomes during DNA replication in bacteria can generate chromosome dimers that must be resolved into monomers prior to cell division. In Escherichia coli, dimer resolution is achieved by site-specific recombination, Xer recombination, involving two paralogous tyrosine recombinases, XerC and XerD, and a 28-bp recombination site (dif) located at the junction of the two replication arms. Xer recombination is tightly controlled by the septal protein FtsK. XerCD recombinases and FtsK are found on most sequenced eubacterial genomes, suggesting that the Xer recombination system as described in E. coli is highly conserved among prokaryotes. We show here that Streptococci and Lactococci carry an alternative Xer recombination machinery, organized in a single recombination module. This corresponds to an atypical 31-bp recombination site (difSL) associated with a dedicated tyrosine recombinase (XerS). In contrast to the E. coli Xer system, only a single recombinase is required to recombine difSL, suggesting a different mechanism in the recombination process. Despite this important difference, XerS can only perform efficient recombination when difSL sites are located on chromosome dimers. Moreover, the XerS/difSL recombination requires the streptococcal protein FtsKSL, probably without the need for direct protein-protein interaction, which we demonstrated to be located at the division septum of Lactococcus lactis. Acquisition of the XerS recombination module can be considered as a landmark of the separation of Streptococci/Lactococci from other firmicutes and support the view that Xer recombination is a conserved cellular function in bacteria, but that can be achieved by functional analogs

CO Disrupts the Reduced H-Cluster of FeFe Hydrogenase. A Combined DFT and Protein Film Voltammetry Study

n/

The nucleoid-associated proteins H-NS and FIS modulate the DNA supercoiling response of the pel genes, the major virulence factors in the plant pathogen bacterium Dickeya dadantii

Dickeya dadantii is a pathogen infecting a wide range of plant species. Soft rot, the visible symptom, is mainly due to the production of pectate lyases (Pels) that can destroy the plant cell walls. Previously we found that the pel gene expression is modulated by H-NS and FIS, two nucleoid-associated proteins (NAPs) modulating the DNA topology. Here, we show that relaxation of the DNA in growing D. dadantii cells decreases the expression of pel genes. Deletion of fis aggravates, whereas that of hns alleviates the negative impact of DNA relaxation on pel expression. We further show that H-NS and FIS directly bind the pelE promoter and that the response of D. dadantii pel genes to stresses that induce DNA relaxation is modulated, although to different extents, by H-NS and FIS. We infer that FIS acts as a repressor buffering the negative impact of DNA relaxation on pel gene transcription, whereas H-NS fine-tunes the response of virulence genes precluding their expression under suboptimal conditions of supercoiling. This novel dependence of H-NS effect on DNA topology expands our understanding of the role of NAPs in regulating the global bacterial gene expression and bacterial pathogenicity

Branched-chain amino acid database integrated in MEDIPAD software as a tool for nutritional investigation of mediterranean populations

Branched-chained amino acids (BCAA) are essential dietary components for humans and can act as potential biomarkers for diabetes development. To efficiently estimate dietary intake, we developed a BCAA database for 1331 food items found in the French Centre d'Information sur la Qualité des Aliments (CIQUAL) food table by compiling BCAA content from international tables, published measurements, or by food similarity as well as by calculating 267 items from Greek, Turkish, Romanian, and Moroccan mixed dishes. The database embedded in MEDIPAD software capable of registering 24 h of dietary recalls (24HDR) with clinical and genetic data was evaluated based on archived 24HDR of the Saint Pierre Institute (France) from 2957 subjects, which indicated a BCAA content up to 4.2 g/100 g of food and differences among normal weight and obese subjects across BCAA quartiles. We also evaluated the database of 119 interviews of Romanians, Turkish and Albanians in Greece (27⁻65 years) during the MEDIGENE program, which indicated mean BCAA intake of 13.84 and 12.91 g/day in males and females, respectively, comparable to other studies. The MEDIPAD is user-friendly, multilingual, and secure software and with the BCAA database is suitable for conducting nutritional assessment in the Mediterranean area with particular facilities for food administration

Calpain 3 is important for muscle regeneration: Evidence from patients with limb girdle muscular dystrophies

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Limb girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) type 2A is caused by mutations in the CAPN3 gene and complete lack of functional calpain 3 leads to the most severe muscle wasting. Calpain 3 is suggested to be involved in maturation of contractile elements after muscle degeneration. The aim of this study was to investigate how mutations in the four functional domains of calpain 3 affect muscle regeneration.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We studied muscle regeneration in 22 patients with LGMD2A with calpain 3 deficiency, in five patients with LGMD2I, with a secondary reduction in calpain 3, and in five patients with Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) with normal calpain 3 levels. Regeneration was assessed by using the developmental markers neonatal myosin heavy chain (nMHC), vimentin, MyoD and myogenin and counting internally nucleated fibers.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that the recent regeneration as determined by the number of nMHC/vimentin-positive fibers was greatly diminished in severely affected LGMD2A patients compared to similarly affected patients with LGMD2I and BMD. Whorled fibers, a sign of aberrant regeneration, was highly elevated in patients with a complete lack of calpain 3 compared to patients with residual calpain 3. Regeneration is not affected by location of the mutation in the <it>CAPN3 </it>gene.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings suggest that calpain 3 is needed for the regenerative process probably during sarcomere remodeling as the complete lack of functional calpain 3 leads to the most severe phenotypes.</p