Note on a convenient apparatus for the chemical and bacteriological examination of the atmosphere

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Genomic analysis of Anderson typing phages of Salmonella Typhimrium: towards understanding the basis of bacteria-phage interaction

The Anderson phage typing scheme has been successfully used worldwide for epidemiological surveillance of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Although the scheme is being replaced by whole genome sequence subtyping methods, it can provide a valuable model system for study of phage-host interaction. The phage typing scheme distinguishes more than 300 definitive types of Salmonella Typhimurium based on their patterns of lysis to a unique collection of 30 specific Salmonella phages. In this study, we sequenced the genomes of 28 Anderson typing phages of Salmonella Typhimurium to begin to characterize the genetic determinants that are responsible for the differences in these phage type profiles. Genomic analysis of typing phages reveals that Anderson phages can be classified into three different groups, the P22-like, ES18-like and SETP3-like clusters. Most Anderson phages are short tailed P22-like viruses (genus Lederbergvirus); but phages STMP8 and STMP18 are very closely related to the lambdoid long tailed phage ES18, and phages STMP12 and STMP13 are related to the long noncontractile tailed, virulent phage SETP3. Most of these typing phages have complex genome relationships, but interestingly, two phage pairs STMP5 and STMP16 as well as STMP12 and STMP13 differ by a single nucleotide. The former affects a P22-like protein involved in DNA passage through the periplasm during its injection, and the latter affects a gene whose function is unknown. Using the Anderson phage typing scheme would provide insights into phage biology and the development of phage therapy for the treatment of antibiotic resistant bacterial infections

Different modes of variation for each BG lineage suggest different functions.

Mammalian butyrophilins have various important functions, one for lipid binding but others as ligands for co-inhibition of αβ T cells or for stimulation of γδ T cells in the immune system. The chicken BG homologues are dimers, with extracellular immunoglobulin variable (V) domains joined by cysteines in the loop equivalent to complementarity-determining region 1 (CDR1). BG genes are found in three genomic locations: BG0 on chromosome 2, BG1 in the classical MHC (the BF-BL region) and many BG genes in the BG region just outside the MHC. Here, we show that BG0 is virtually monomorphic, suggesting housekeeping function(s) consonant with the ubiquitous tissue distribution. BG1 has allelic polymorphism but minimal sequence diversity, with the few polymorphic residues at the interface of the two V domains, suggesting that BG1 is recognized by receptors in a conserved fashion. Any phenotypic variation should be due to the intracellular region, with differential exon usage between alleles. BG genes in the BG region can generate diversity by exchange of sequence cassettes located in loops equivalent to CDR1 and CDR2, consonant with recognition of many ligands or antigens for immune defence. Unlike the mammalian butyrophilins, there are at least three modes by which BG genes evolve.Wellcome Trust (Grant IDs: RG49834 (Studentship), 089305 and a Senior Investigator Award), Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (Studentship)This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from The Royal Society via http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsob.16018

Whole Genome Sequencing for Public Health Surveillance of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Other than Serogroup O157

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are considered to be a significant threat to public health due to the severity of gastrointestinal symptoms associated with human infection. In England STEC O157 is the most commonly detected STEC serogroup, however, the implementation of PCR at local hospital laboartories has resulted in an increase in the detection of STEC other than serogroup O157 (non-O157 STEC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of whole genome sequencing (WGS) for routine public health surveillance of non-O157 STEC by comparing this approach to phenotypic serotyping and PCR for subtyping the stx-encoding genes. Of the 102 isolates where phenotypic and genotypic serotyping could be compared, 98 gave fully concordant results. The most common non-O157 STEC serogroups detected were O146 (22) and O26 (18). All but one of the 38 isolates that could not be phenotypically serotyped (designated O unidentifiable or O rough) were serotyped using the WGS data. Of the 73 isolates where a flagella type was available by traditional phenotypic typing, all results matched the H-type derived from the WGS data. Of the 140 sequenced non-O157 isolates, 52 (37.1%) harboured stx1 only, 42 (30.0%) had stx2 only, 46 (32.9%) carried stx1 and stx2. Of these, stx subtyping PCR results were available for 131 isolates and 121 of these had concordant results with the stx subtype derived from the WGS data. Non-specific primer binding during PCR amplification, due to the similarity of the stx2 subtype gene sequences was the most likely cause. The results of this study showed WGS provided a reliable and robust one-step process for characterisation of STEC. Deriving the full serotype from WGS data in real time has enabled us to report a higher level of strain discrimination while stx subtyping provides data on the pathogenic potential of each isolate, enabling us to predict clinical outcome of each case and to monitor the emergence of hyper-virulent strains

The PKC, HOG and Ca2+ signalling pathways co-ordinately regulate chitin synthesis in Candida albicans

Open Access via PMC2649417Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Enteroaggregative escherichia coli have evolved independently as distinct complexes within the E. Coli population with varying ability to cause disease

Enteroaggregative E. Coli (EAEC) is an established diarrhoeagenic pathotype. The association with virulence gene content and ability to cause disease has been studied but little is known about the population structure of EAEC and how this pathotype evolved. Analysis by Multi Locus Sequence Typing of 564 EAEC isolates from cases and controls in Bangladesh, Nigeria and the UK spanning the past 29 years, revealed multiple successful lineages of EAEC. The population structure of EAEC indicates some clusters are statistically associated with disease or carriage, further highlighting the heterogeneous nature of this group of organisms. Different clusters have evolved independently as a result of both mutational and recombination events; the EAEC phenotype is distributed throughout the population of E. coli

Trends in ExPEC serogroups in the UK and their significance

We thank the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy for kindly providing E. coli bloodstream isolates from the BSAC Bacteraemia Resistance Surveillance Programme (2011), and all the staff at PHE’s Gastrointestinal Bacteria Reference Unit for their guidance and patience during the serogrouping process. This work was performed as part of a PhD study funded by PHE

Propylthiouracil Is Teratogenic in Murine Embryos

Background: Hyperthyroidism during pregnancy is treated with the antithyroid drugs (ATD) propylthiouracil (PTU) and methimazole (MMI). PTU currently is recommended as the drug of choice during early pregnancy. Yet, despite widespread ATD use in pregnancy, formal studies of ATD teratogenic effects have not been performed. Methods: We examined the teratogenic effects of PTU and MMI during embryogenesis in mice. To span different periods of embryogenesis, dams were treated with compounds or vehicle daily from embryonic day (E) 7.5 to 9.5 or from E3.5 to E7.5. Embryos were examined for gross malformations at E10.5 or E18.5 followed by histological and micro-CT analysis. Influences of PTU on gene expression levels were examined by RNA microarray analysis. Results: When dams were treated from E7.5 to E9.5 with PTU, neural tube and cardiac abnormalities were observed at E10.5. Cranial neural tube defects were significantly more common among the PTU-exposed embryos than those exposed to MMI or vehicle. Blood in the pericardial sac, which is a feature indicative of abnormal cardiac function and/or abnormal vasculature, was observed more frequently in PTU-treated than MMI-treated or vehicle-treated embryos. Following PTU treatment, a total of 134 differentially expressed genes were identified. Disrupted genetic pathways were those associated with cytoskeleton remodeling and keratin filaments. At E 18.5, no gross malformations were evident in either ATD group, but the number of viable PTU embryos per dam at E18.5 was significantly lower from those at E10.5, indicating loss o