Comparative genomic analyses reveal a lack of a substantial signature of host adaptation in Rhodococcus equi (‘Prescottella equi’)

Rhodococcus equi (‘Prescottella equi’) is a pathogenic actinomycete primarily infecting horses but has emerged as an opportunistic human pathogen. We have sequenced the genome of the type strain of this species, R. equi strain C7T, and compared the genome with that of another foal isolate 103S and of a human isolate ATCC 33707. The R. equi strains are closely related to each other and yet distantly related to other rhodococci and Nocardia brasiliensis. The comparison of gene contents among R. equi strains revealed minor differences that could be associated with host adaptation from foals to humans, including the presence of a paa operon in the human isolate, which is potentially involved in pathogenesis

Persepsi Mahasiswa Terhadap Pembelajaran Berbasis Blended Learning dengan Memanfaatkan Aplikasi Microsoft Teams

Pandemi virus corona (Covid-19) menimbulkan dampak di setiap sektor kehidupan, salah satunya adalah sektor pendidikan di Indonesia. Wabah ini menyebabakan pemerintah pada awal tahun 2020, mengeluarkan himbauan untuk melakukan kegiatan pembelajaran dari rumah, dengan memanfaatkan teknologi dan internet. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis persepsi mahasiswa terhadap aspek kesiapan, proses dan hasil pembelajaran berbasis Blended Learning dengan memanfaatkan aplikasi Microsoft Teams di Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, yang difokuskan pada tiga program studi yakni, Program Studi Pendidikan Biologi, Program Studi Pendidikan Fisika dan Program Studi Pendidikan Kimia. Penelitian dilakukan dengan metode kualitatif dengan pendekatan deskriptif. Subjek penelitian ditentukan menggunakan teknik purposive sampling. Data dikumpulkan melalui wawancara, angket dan dokumentasi. Keabsahan data ditentukan dengan menggunakan triangulasi sumber dan teknik. Hasil penelitian menunjukan bahwa mahasiswa Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan memiliki tanggapan atau respon yang baik terhadap aspek kesiapan, aspek proses dan hasil pembelajaran berbasis Blended Learning dengan memanfaatkan aplikasi Microsoft Teams

Corynebacterium glutamicum as a model bacterium for the bioremediation of arsenic

Arsenic is an extremely toxic metalloid that, when present in high concentrations, severely threatens the biota and human health. Arsenic contamination of soil, water, and air is a global growing environmental problem due to leaching from geological formations, the burning of fossil fuels, wastes generated by the gold mining industry present in uncontrolled landfills, and improper agriculture or medical uses. Unlike organic contaminants, which are degraded into harmless chemical species, metals and metalloids cannot be destroyed, but they can be immobilized or transformed into less toxic forms. The ubiquity of arsenic in the environment has led to the evolution in microbes of arsenic defense mechanisms. The most common of these mechanisms is based on the presence of the arsenic resistance operon (ars), which codes for: (i) a regulatory protein, ArsR; (ii) an arsenite permease, ArsB; and (iii) an enzyme involved in arsenate reduction, ArsC. Corynebacterium glutamicum, which is used for the industrial production of amino acids and nucleotides, is one of the most arsenic-resistant microorganisms described to date (up to 12 mM arsenite and >400 mM arseniate). Analysis of the C. glutamicum genome revealed the presence of two complete ars operons (ars1 and ars2) comprising the typical three-gene structure arsRBC, with an extra arsC1´ located downstream from arsC1 (ars1 operon), and two orphan genes (arsB3 and arsC4). The involvement of both ars operons in arsenic resistance in C. glutamicum was confirmed by disruption and amplification of those genes. The strains obtained were resistant to up to 60 mM arsenite, one of the highest levels of bacterial resistance to arsenite so far described. Using tools for the genetic manipulation of C. glutamicum that were developed in our laboratory, we are attempting to obtain C. glutamicum mutant strains able to remove arsenic from contaminated water. [Int Microbiol 2006; 9(3):207-215

A motivação do trabalho dos funcionários públicos do Ministério da Justiça de Timor-Leste

Dissertação de mestrado em Administração PúblicaO estudo da motivação dos funcionários continua a ser um tema dominante que desperta o interesse dos estudiosos no desenvolvimento da gestão de recursos humanos. Tal atuação assenta numa perspetiva de que o homem é considerado um recurso valioso e estratégico na organização e, com razão, a sua motivação deverá ser bem-gerida. Este pressuposto básico deve ser fundamentando na crença dos gestores organizacionais expresso nas suas atuações e comportamentos. As transformações que ocorrem ao longo do tempo têm reflexo inevitavelmente na vida organizacional. As pessoas são por vezes pouco consideradas porque se tende a dar mais importância às tarefas mais críticas para as metas da organização. Torna-se necessário mudar tal atitude e adotar uma visão mais humanística olhando a pessoa como um parceiro estratégico para o alcance das metas organizacionais. Neste contexto, a reformulação e a modernização da gestão de recursos humanos assume um papel privilegiado na perspetiva dos trabalhadores pois a incorporação de boas práticas de gestão ajudará a manter o bem-estar das pessoas que trabalham nas organizações. Pretende-se, neste estudo, analisar os diversos aspetos que estimulam a motivação dos funcionários públicos no Ministério da Justiça de Timor-Leste. Assume-se, no entanto que alguns aspetos motivadores postulados pelos académicos ganharam espaço no interior das organizacionais na medida em que tais fatores são ferramentas que promovem o desempenho profissional. O estudo empírico foca a motivação dos funcionários públicos no Ministério da Justiça de Timor-Leste analisando as práticas organizacionais que impulsionam o nível da motivação dos colaboradores. A amostra do estudo é constituída por 121 funcionários. A Investigação é de carater de descritiva- quantitativa, reforçado com uma análise da componente qualitativa, permitindo explorar as opiniões dos inquiridos. O resultado da análise indica que a gestão de recursos humanos não está a atender às necessidades dos funcionários o que implica a baixa motivação dos mesmos na realização das tarefas.The study of public servants motivation continues to be a dominant theme that draws the interest of scholars in the field of development of human resource management. This action is based on a perspective that man is considered as a valuable and strategic resource in organization, and their motivation should be well- managed. This basic assumption should be based on expressed belief of organizational managers in their actions and behaviors. The transformations that occur over time are inevitably reflected in organizational life. People are sometimes not considered because organizations tend to give more importance to most critical tasks for organization's goals. Hence, it becomes necessary to change this attitude and adopt a more humanistic view looking the person as a strategic partner to achieve organizational goals. In this context, the redesign and modernization of human resource management, plays a key role in the perspective of workers since the incorporation of best management practices will help keep the welfare of those public servants and as service receiver. This study intended to explore and understand the various aspects that stimulate the motivation of civil servants in the Ministry of Justice. It is assumed however, that some driving aspects postulated by scholars found a place within organizations to the extent that such tools are factors that promote performance. The empirical study focuses on the motivation of civil servants in the Ministry of Justice in Timor-Leste and analyzes the organizational practices that drive the level of motivation of civil servants. The sample consisted of 121 employees. The research has a descriptive quantitative character, reinforcing with a qualitative analysis, allowing exploring the views of respondents. This research found that human resource management in the Ministry of Justice is not meeting the needs of employees which imply low motivation in carrying out the tasks

Cytoskeletal Proteins of Actinobacteria

Although bacteria are considered the simplest life forms, we are now slowly unraveling their cellular complexity. Surprisingly, not only do bacterial cells have a cytoskeleton but also the building blocks are not very different from the cytoskeleton that our own cells use to grow and divide. Nonetheless, despite important advances in our understanding of the basic physiology of certain bacterial models, little is known about Actinobacteria, an ancient group of Eubacteria. Here we review current knowledge on the cytoskeletal elements required for bacterial cell growth and cell division, focusing on actinobacterial genera such as Mycobacterium, Corynebacterium, and Streptomyces. These include some of the deadliest pathogens on earth but also some of the most prolific producers of antibiotics and antitumorals

TMEM59 defines a novel ATG16L1-binding motif that promotes local activation of LC3

Selective autophagy underlies many of the important physiological roles that autophagy plays in multicellular organisms, but the mechanisms involved in cargo selection are poorly understood. Here we describe a molecular mechanism that can target conventional endosomes for autophagic degradation. We show that the human transmembrane protein TMEM59 contains a minimal 19-amino-acid peptide in its intracellular domain that promotes LC3 labelling and lysosomal targeting of its own endosomal compartment. Interestingly, this peptide defines a novel protein motif that mediates interaction with the WD-repeat domain of ATG16L1, thus providing a mechanistic basis for the activity. The motif is represented with the same ATG16L1-binding ability in other molecules, suggesting a more general relevance. We propose that this motif may play an important role in targeting specific membranous compartments for autophagic degradation, and therefore it may facilitate the search for adaptor proteins that promote selective autophagy by engaging ATG16L1. Endogenous TMEM59 interacts with ATG16L1 and mediates autophagy in response to Staphylococcus aureus infection.This work was funded by grants from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación of the Spanish Government (Refs SAF2008‐00350 and SAF2011‐23714), Fundación Solórzano, Junta de Castilla y León (Consejería de Educación, Ref. CSI001A10‐2, and Consejería de Sanidad) and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC; Ref. 200720I026). Additional funding comes from the FEDER programme of the European Union. EB is a graduate student funded by a predoctoral fellowship from the FPU programme (Ministerio de Educación, MEC, Spanish Government). ML is funded by JAE‐Doc and Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral contracts (MEC and Social European Fund of the European Union, 2007–2013). AF is funded by a long‐term EMBO postdoctoral fellowship and a Juan de la Cierva contract. KP is a graduate student funded by an FPI fellowship (MEC).Peer Reviewe

Characterization of the promoter region of ftsZ from Corynebacterium glutamicum and controlled overexpression of FtsZ

Of the five promoters detected for the ftsZ gene in Corynebacterium glutamicum, three were located within the coding region of the upstream ftsQ gene and two within the intergenic ftsQ-ftsZ region. The most distant ftsZ promoter showed activity in Escherichia coli and controlled high-level transcriptional expression of ftsZ in C. glutamicum. Quantitative Western blotting showed that all five promoters were active during the exponential growth phase and down-regulated during stationary phase. This tightly controlled expression of ftsZ in C. glutamicum indicated that small changes in the amount of FtsZ protein strongly affect bacterial cell viability. The controlled overexpression of ftsZ in C. glutamicum, using the promoter of the gntK gene (PgntK), resulted in approximately 5-fold overproduction of FtsZ, an increase in cell diameter, and a highly variable localization of the protein as spirals or tangles throughout the cell. These results suggest that the intracellular concentration of FtsZ is critical for productive septum formation in C. glutamicum. Our observations provide insight into the mechanisms used by the coryneform group, which lacks actin homologs and many regulators of cell division, to control cell morphology. [Int Microbiol 2007; 10(4): 271-282

Mycoredoxins Are Required for Redox Homeostasis and Intracellular Survival in the Actinobacterial Pathogen Rhodococcus equi

[EN] Rhodococcus equi is a facultative intracellular pathogen that can survive within macrophages of a wide variety of hosts, including immunosuppressed humans. Current antibiotherapy is often ineffective, and novel therapeutic strategies are urgently needed to tackle infections caused by this pathogen. In this study, we identified three mycoredoxin-encoding genes (mrx) in the genome of R. equi, and we investigated their role in virulence. Importantly, the intracellular survival of a triple mrx-null mutant (Δmrx1Δmrx2Δmrx3) in murine macrophages was fully impaired. However, each mycoredoxin alone could restore the intracellular proliferation rate of R. equi Δmrx1Δmrx2Δmrx3 to wild type levels, suggesting that these proteins could have overlapping functions during host cell infection. Experiments with the reduction-oxidation sensitive green fluorescent protein 2 (roGFP2) biosensor confirmed that R. equi was exposed to redox stress during phagocytosis, and mycoredoxins were involved in preserving the redox homeostasis of the pathogen. Thus, we studied the importance of each mycoredoxin for the resistance of R. equi to different oxidative stressors. Interestingly, all mrx genes did have overlapping roles in the resistance to sodium hypochlorite. In contrast, only mrx1 was essential for the survival against high concentrations of nitric oxide, while mrx3 was not required for the resistance to hydrogen peroxide. Our results suggest that all mycoredoxins have important roles in redox homeostasis, contributing to the pathogenesis of R. equi and, therefore, these proteins may be considered interesting targets for the development of new anti-infectivesS

Intracellular Staphylococcus aureus modulates host central carbon metabolism to activate autophagy

Staphylococcus aureus is a facultative intracellular pathogen that invades and replicates within many types of phagocytic and nonphagocytic cells. During intracellular infection, S. aureus is capable of subverting xenophagy and escaping to the cytosol of the host cell. Furthermore, drug-induced autophagy facilitates the intracellular replication of S. aureus, but the reasons behind this are unclear. Here, we have studied the host central carbon metabolism during S. aureus intracellular infection. We found extensive metabolic rerouting and detected several distinct metabolic changes that suggested starvation-induced autophagic flux in infected cells. These changes included increased uptake but lower intracellular levels of glucose and low abundance of several essential amino acids, as well as markedly upregulated glutaminolysis. Furthermore, we show that AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation levels are significantly increased in infected cells. Interestingly, while autophagy was activated in response to S. aureus invasion, most of the autophagosomes detected in infected cells did not contain bacteria, suggesting that S. aureus induces the autophagic flux during cell invasion for energy generation and nutrient scavenging. Accordingly, AMPK inhibition halted S. aureus intracellular proliferation