Biochemical and structural characterisation of a two-component signalling system downstream of bacteriophytochrome photoreceptor 1 in Rhizobium NT-26

Prokaryotic signal transduction frequently involves two-component systems (TCSs), typically comprising a sensor histidine kinase (HK) and a response regulator (RR). Via a conserved phosphotransfer reaction, TCSs couple the detection of diverse stimuli with appropriate responses. The initial aim of this project was to characterise the two-component “signalome” of an arsenite oxidiser, Rhizobium NT-26, in the context of the environmental niche, and compare it to “signalomes” of other bacterial species. A light-sensing HK, bacteriophytochrome photoreceptor 1 (BphP1), was thus identified. Previous studies indicated that BphP1 and the members of its gene cluster - two single-domain RRs and a hybrid RR/HK protein, ExsG - may constitute a TCS. Functional characterisation revealed that BphP1 initiates a branched signalling pathway; however, the mediated output could not be identified. ExsG, a HWE-type HK, was shown to possess dual HK/RR activity and act as a novel type of signalling switch: phosphorylation of the N-terminal receiver domain downregulates the autokinase activity of the C-terminal kinase core. Ion mobility-mass spectrometry analysis indicated that while Asp62 phosphorylation stabilises the “closed” form of ExsG, nucleotide binding stabilises the “open” conformation. These observations led to a model in which phosphorylation of the receiver domain precludes ATP binding and thus inhibits autokinase activity. Furthermore, ExsG was demonstrated to hexamerise via the HWE core, which makes it the first non-dimeric HK. Notably, however, the basic unit of the hexameric assembly is a homodimer, and the HWE core shares homology with canonical HK cores. The results presented herein broaden the current knowledge on TCSs and identify previously unreported mechanisms involved in two-component signal transduction. The members of the BphP1 signalling cascade enrich the pool of modular communication units that can be exploited in engineering artificial signalling networks, biosensors and microorganisms with novel functionalities

Draft genome sequence of the necrotrophic plant-pathogenic bacterium Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum strain LMG 2410

This work was funded by the University of Glasgow MVLS DTP and the BBSRC (grant BB/L02022X/1).Here, we report the draft genome sequence of Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum strain LMG 2410, isolated from cucumber in the United Kingdom. The draft genome is 4,773,000 bp, with a GC content of 51.9%, and carries a total of 4,536 coding sequences.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

A Forum for Business Growth and Workforce Development: Findings and Recommendations

In the fall of 2008, Illinois State University – Extended University (EU) and the Economic Development Council of the Bloomington-Normal Area (EDC) initiated discussions about a community partnership project to identify workforce opportunities and challenges related to economic stabilization and growth in order to gain a better understanding of the state of workforce preparedness in the area. Rapidly changing dynamics in the economy made previous assessments obsolete. Organizations who work toward the promotion of a strong workforce were approached to participate in the project. EU and the EDC were joined in sponsoring a community event by Heartland Community College, Illinois Wesleyan University, Lincoln College – Normal, Regional Office of Education 17, McLean County Chamber of Commerce, CareerLink 16, and the Small Business Development Center at Illinois State University. Project partners designed and developed a series of discussion forums for eight sectors: Agriculture and Energy, Manufacturing, Small Business Retail, Service, Financial Services, Information Technology, Healthcare, and Construction. The Forum for Business Growth and Workforce Development was held from June 8 – 12, 2009 at Illinois State University. Each sector panel discussion was moderated over a ninety minute period and included two to seven panelists from area businesses

Oligomeric states in sodium ion-dependent regulation of cyanobacterial histidine kinase-2

IMI thanks Queen Mary University of London for a graduate teaching studentship. LW thanks the China Scholarship Council (CSC) and Queen Mary University of London for financial support. SP held a Leverhulme Trust early-career post-doctoral research fellowship. JN is grateful for the continued support of the JST CREST Grant Number JPMJCR13M4, Japan. JFA acknowledges the support of research grant F/07 476/AQ and fellowship EM-2015-068 of the Leverhulme Trust

Green areas along rivers’ frontline. Case studies Budapest, Prague and Warsaw

This article reviews the existing situation of the riverbanks development in three Eastern European capital cities. The aim of the work is to compare the riverbank management in Warsaw, Budapest and Prague and describe the main features of greenery system along the rivers. The material taken to the analyses was gathered by European Environment Agency and published in GIS format under the project Urban Atlas. The delimitation of the research area covers 500m from each site of the river beds. The research has shown that Warsaw has the biggest rate of the green area, especially along the Vistula right bank. It is still a great potential of land to develop for the city. Danube’s greenery in Budapest is concentrated mostly on the Margaret Island, whereas the Vltava greenery in Prague consists in majority of the pocket parks along the river. The low amount of green area at the rivers in the last two case studies and their patchwork location makes those systems too small to think about green riverbanks as a big scale and coherent linear project. Current trends of waterfront management are slowly entering those three cities mostly in a form of small social participation initiatives. It seems that the waterfronts will change their face soon in all analysed cities commenced by the urban acupuncture initiatives

Znaczenie czynników środowiska naturalnego w projektowaniu przestrzeni miejskich

The article presents the problems of bioclimatic architecture that derives its traditions from the distant past. Urban settlements aligned with the landscape often benefitted from natural environmental factors pragmatically and symbolically. Nowadays, practice of using solar or wind energy and water in building development becomes more common. The paper presents examples of urban solutions, which use natural environmental factors e.g. to optimize the energy consumption or drinking water in particular urban areas. They fit into the mainstream of Ecological Urbanism, which in the era of climate change in the world has the opportunity to provide for the development of future-oriented architecture environment

Rozwiązania krajobrazowe w małej retencji

The article presents landscape solutions for natural water retention named in Poland ‘small water retention’. The paper covers examples of neighbourhood scale interventions, which use natural environmental factors to optimize the stormwater storage capacity. They fit into the mainstream of natural ecosystem and landscape-oriented ways that influence and change microclimate of a particular area