Sublittoral soft bottom communities and diversity of Mejillones Bay in northern Chile (Humboldt Current upwelling system)

The macrozoobenthos of Mejillones Bay (23°S; Humboldt Current) was quantitatively investigated over a 7-year period from austral summer 1995/1996 to winter 2002. About 78 van Veen grab samples taken at six stations (5, 10, 20 m depth) provided the basis for the analysis of the distribution of 60 species and 28 families of benthic invertebrates, as well as of their abundance and biomass. Mean abundance (2,119 individuals m-2) was in the same order compared to a previous investigation; mean biomass (966 g formalin wet mass m-2), however, exceeded prior estimations mainly due to the dominance of the bivalve Aulacomya ater. About 43% of the taxa inhabited the complete depth range. Mean taxonomic Shannon diversity (H', Log e) was 1.54 ± 0.58 with a maximum at 20 m (1.95 ± 0.33); evenness increased with depth. The fauna was numerically dominated by carnivorous gastropods, polychaetes and crustaceans (48%). About 15% of the species were suspensivorous, 13% sedimentivorous, 11% detritivorous, 7% omnivorous and 6% herbivorous. Cluster analyses showed a significant difference between the shallow and the deeper stations. Gammarid amphipods and the polychaete family Nephtyidae characterized the 5-mzone, the molluscs Aulacomya ater, Mitrella unifasciata and gammarids the intermediate zone, while the gastropod Nassarius gayi and the polychaete family Nereidae were most prominent at the deeper stations. The communities of the three depth zones did not appear to be limited by hypoxia during non-El Niño conditions. Therefore, no typical change in community structure occurred during El Niño 1997–1998, in contrast to what was observed for deeper faunal assemblages and hypoxic bays elsewhere in the coastal Humboldt Current system

Use of the Meganuclease I-SceI of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to select for gene deletions in actinomycetes

The search for new natural products is leading to the isolation of novel actinomycete species, many of which will ultimately require genetic analysis. Some of these isolates will likely exhibit low intrinsic frequencies of homologous recombination and fail to sporulate under laboratory conditions, exacerbating the construction of targeted gene deletions and replacements in genetically uncharacterised strains. To facilitate the genetic manipulation of such species, we have developed an efficient method to generate gene or gene cluster deletions in actinomycetes by homologous recombination that does not introduce any other changes to the targeted organism's genome. We have synthesised a codon optimised I-SceI gene for expression in actinomycetes that results in the production of the yeast I-SceI homing endonuclease which produces double strand breaks at a unique introduced 18 base pair recognition sequence. Only those genomes that undergo homologous recombination survive, providing a powerful selection for recombinants, approximately half of which possess the desired mutant genotype. To demonstrate the efficacy and efficiency of the system, we deleted part of the gene cluster for the red-pigmented undecylprodiginine complex of compounds in Streptomyces coelicolor M1141. We believe that the system we have developed will be broadly applicable across a wide range of actinomycetes

A replication study confirms the association of TNFSF4 (OX40L) polymorphisms with systemic sclerosis in a large European cohort

<p><b>Objectives</b> The aim of this study was to confirm the influence of TNFSF4 polymorphisms on systemic sclerosis (SSc) susceptibility and phenotypic features.</p> <p><b>Methods</b> A total of 8 European populations of Caucasian ancestry were included, comprising 3014 patients with SSc and 3125 healthy controls. Four genetic variants of TNFSF4 gene promoter (rs1234314, rs844644, rs844648 and rs12039904) were selected as genetic markers.</p> <p><b>Results</b> A pooled analysis revealed the association of rs1234314 and rs12039904 polymorphisms with SSc (OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.31; OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.29, respectively). Significant association of the four tested variants with patients with limited cutaneous SSc (lcSSc) was revealed (rs1234314 OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.38; rs844644 OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.83 to 0.99; rs844648 OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.20 and rs12039904 OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.33). Association of rs1234314, rs844648 and rs12039904 minor alleles with patients positive for anti-centromere antibodies (ACA) remained significant (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.37; OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.25; OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.38, respectively). Haplotype analysis confirmed a protective haplotype associated with SSc, lcSSc and ACA positive subgroups (OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.82 to 0.96; OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.80 to 0.96; OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.77 to 0.97, respectively) and revealed a new risk haplotype associated with the same groups of patients (OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.26; OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.35; OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.42, respectively).</p> <p><b>Conclusions</b> The data confirm the influence of TNFSF4 polymorphisms in SSc genetic susceptibility, especially in subsets of patients positive for lcSSc and ACA.</p&gt

Subtidal macrozoobenthos communities from northern Chile during and post El Niño 1997–1998

Despite a large amount of climatic and oceanographic information dealing with the recurring climate phenomenon El Niño (EN) and its well known impact on diversity of marine benthic communities, most published data are rather descriptive and consequently our understanding of the underlying mechanisms and processes that drive community structure during EN are still very scarce. In this study, we address two questions on the effects of EN on macrozoobenthic communities: (1) how does EN affect species diversity of the communities in northern Chile? and (2) is EN a phenomenon that restarts community assembling processes by affecting species interactions in northern Chile? To answer these questions, we compared species diversity and co-occurrence patterns of soft-bottoms macrozoobenthos communities from the continental shelf off northern Chile during (March 1998) and after (September 1998) the strong EN event 1997–1998. The methods used varied from species diversity and species co-occurrence analyses to multivariate ordination methods. Our results indicate that EN positively affects diversity of macrozoobenthos communities in the study area, increasing the species richness and diversity and decreasing the species dominance. EN represents a strong disturbance that affects species interactions that rule the species assembling processes in shallow-water, sea-bottom environments

Living GenoChemetics by hyphenating synthetic biology and synthetic chemistry in vivo

Marrying synthetic biology with synthetic chemistry provides a powerful approach toward natural product diversification, combining the best of both worlds: expediency and synthetic capability of biogenic pathways and chemical diversity enabled by organic synthesis. Biosynthetic pathway engineering can be employed to insert a chemically orthogonal tag into a complex natural scaffold affording the possibility of site-selective modification without employing protecting group strategies. Here we show that, by installing a sufficiently reactive handle (e.g., a C–Br bond) and developing compatible mild aqueous chemistries, synchronous biosynthesis of the tagged metabolite and its subsequent chemical modification in living culture can be achieved. This approach can potentially enable many new applications: for example, assay of directed evolution of enzymes catalyzing halo-metabolite biosynthesis in living cells or generating and following the fate of tagged metabolites and biomolecules in living systems. We report synthetic biological access to new-to-nature bromo-metabolites and the concomitant biorthogonal cross-coupling of halo-metabolites in living culture

Analysis of the tunicamycin biosynthetic gene cluster of Streptomyces chartreusis reveals new insights into tunicamycin production and immunity

The tunicamycin biosynthetic gene cluster of Streptomyces chartreusis consists of 14 genes (tunA-N) with a high degree of apparent translational coupling. Transcriptional analysis revealed that all of these genes are likely to be transcribed as a single operon from two promoters, tunp1 and tunp2. In frame deletion analysis revealed that just six of these genes (tunABCDEH) are essential for tunicamycin production in the heterologous host Streptomyces coelicolor, while five (tunFGKLN) with likely counterparts in primary metabolism are not necessary, but presumably ensure efficient production of the antibiotic at the onset of tunicamycin biosynthesis. Three genes are implicated in immunity; tunIJ, which encode a two component ABC transporter presumably required for export of the antibiotic, and tunM, which encodes a putative SAM-dependent methyltransferase. Expression of tunIJ or tunM in S. coelicolor conferred resistance to exogenous tunicamycin. The results presented here provide new insights into tunicamycin biosynthesis and immunity

Reduced phosphorylation of brain insulin receptor substrate and Akt proteins in apolipoprotein-E4 targeted replacement mice

10.1038/srep03754Scientific Reports4

VARIABILIDAD EN EL REGISTRO DE ALERGIAS POR PROFESIONALES SANITARIOS EN UN HOSPITAL DE TERCER NIVEL.

Introducción: El objetivo del estudio es cuantificar el grado de coincidencia en las alergias registradas en las distintas aplicaciones informáticas disponibles para cada profesional sanitario (médicos, personal de enfermería y farmacéuticos). Métodos: Estudio observacional descriptivo retrospectivo de 3 meses de duración en el que participaron todas las Unidades Clínicas con Sistema de Distribución de Medicamentos en Dosis Unitarias. Se incluyeron a todos los pacientes ingresados con al menos una alergia registrada en cualquiera de las tres aplicaciones informáticas utilizadas por los distintos profesionales sanitarios. Se cuantificaron el porcentaje de alergias registradas en una, dos o tres aplicaciones disponibles. Resultados: Se incluyeron 767 pacientes en los que se registraron 1257 alergias. La mediana de edad fue 59 años y el 60,76% eran mujeres. El 70,09% de las alergias registradas fueron farmacológicas. El registro de alergias únicamente a través de la aplicación de enfermería fue el más frecuente (36,67%). El porcentaje de alergias registradas por los tres profesionales sanitarios fue el 7,88%. Haciendo distinción en el tipo de alergia, solamente el 0,80% de las alergias no farmacológicas fueron registradas simultáneamente por los tres profesionales sanitarios frente al 10,90% de las farmacológicas. El personal médico contribuyó al registro del 59,29% de las alergias farmacológicas y del 10,65% de las no farmacológicas. Discusión: Existe una gran variabilidad en el registro de alergias por parte del personal sanitario y escasa concordancia en las registradas por cada  tipo de profesionales. El personal médico únicamente registró una décima parte de las alergias no farmacológicas

Streptomyces aridus sp. nov., isolated from a high altitude Atacama Desert soil and emended description of Streptomyces noboritoensis Isono et al. 1957.

A polyphasic study was undertaken to determine the taxonomic status of a Streptomyces strain which had been isolated from a high altitude Atacama Desert soil and shown to have bioactive properties. The strain, isolate H9(T), was found to have chemotaxonomic, cultural and morphological properties that place it in the genus Streptomyces. 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses showed that the isolate forms a distinct branch at the periphery of a well-delineated subclade in the Streptomyces 16S rRNA gene tree together with the type strains of Streptomyces crystallinus, Streptomyces melanogenes and Streptomyces noboritoensis. Multi-locus sequence analysis (MLSA) based on five house-keeping gene alleles showed that isolate H9(T) is closely related to the latter two type strains and to Streptomyces polyantibioticus NRRL B-24448(T). The isolate was distinguished readily from the type strains of S. melanogenes, S. noboritoensis and S. polyantibioticus using a combination of phenotypic properties. Consequently, the isolate is considered to represent a new species of Streptomyces for which the name Streptomyces aridus sp. nov. is proposed; the type strain is H9(T) (=NCIMB 14965(T)=NRRL B65268(T)). In addition, the MLSA and phenotypic data show that the S. melanogenes and S. noboritoensis type strains belong to a single species, it is proposed that S. melanogenes be recognised as a heterotypic synonym of S. noboritoensis for which an emended description is given. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10482-017-0838-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

VARIABILIDAD EN EL REGISTRO DE ALERGIAS POR PROFESIONALES SANITARIOS EN UN HOSPITAL DE TERCER NIVEL.

Introducción: El objetivo del estudio es cuantificar el grado de coincidencia en las alergias registradas en las distintas aplicaciones informáticas disponibles para cada profesional sanitario (médicos, personal de enfermería y farmacéuticos). Métodos: Estudio observacional descriptivo retrospectivo de 3 meses de duración en el que participaron todas las Unidades Clínicas con Sistema de Distribución de Medicamentos en Dosis Unitarias. Se incluyeron a todos los pacientes ingresados con al menos una alergia registrada en cualquiera de las tres aplicaciones informáticas utilizadas por los distintos profesionales sanitarios. Se cuantificaron el porcentaje de alergias registradas en una, dos o tres aplicaciones disponibles. Resultados: Se incluyeron 767 pacientes en los que se registraron 1257 alergias. La mediana de edad fue 59 años y el 60,76% eran mujeres. El 70,09% de las alergias registradas fueron farmacológicas. El registro de alergias únicamente a través de la aplicación de enfermería fue el más frecuente (36,67%). El porcentaje de alergias registradas por los tres profesionales sanitarios fue el 7,88%. Haciendo distinción en el tipo de alergia, solamente el 0,80% de las alergias no farmacológicas fueron registradas simultáneamente por los tres profesionales sanitarios frente al 10,90% de las farmacológicas. El personal médico contribuyó al registro del 59,29% de las alergias farmacológicas y del 10,65% de las no farmacológicas. Discusión: Existe una gran variabilidad en el registro de alergias por parte del personal sanitario y escasa concordancia en las registradas por cada  tipo de profesionales. El personal médico únicamente registró una décima parte de las alergias no farmacológicas