70 research outputs found
Independent evolution of shape and motility allows evolutionary flexibility in Firmicutes bacteria
Functional morphological adaptation is an implicit assumption across many ecological studies. However, despite a few pioneering
attempts to link bacterial form and function, functional morphology is largely unstudied in prokaryotes. One intriguing
candidate for analysis is bacterial shape, as multiple lines of theory indicate that cell shape and motility should be strongly
correlated. Here we present a large-scale use of modern phylogenetic comparative methods to explore this relationship across
325 species of the phylum Firmicutes. In contrast to clear predictions from theory, we show that cell shape and motility are not
coupled, and that transitions to and from flagellar motility are common and strongly associated with lifestyle (free-living or
host-associated). We find no association between shape and lifestyle, and contrary to recent evidence, no indication that shape
is associated with pathogenicity. Our results suggest that the independent evolution of shape and motility in this group might
allow a greater evolutionary flexibility
Extracellular Hsp90 and TGFP regulate adhesion, migration and anchorage independent growth in a paired colon cancer cell line model
Tumour metastasis remains the major cause of death in cancer patients and, to date, the mechanism and signalling pathways governing this process are not completely understood. The TGF-ß pathway is the most commonly mutated pathway in cancer, however its role in cancer progression is controversial as it can function as both a promoter and a suppressor of metastasis. Although previous studies have suggested a role for the molecular chaperone Hsp90 in regulating the TGF-ß pathway, the level at which this occurs as well as the consequences in terms of colon cancer metastasis are unknown
Photoexcitation of W(CO)6 Solutions Containing α-Diimine Ligands. Kinetics and Mechanism of Chelation for a Series of Photoproduced W(CO)5(α-Diimine) Intermediates
Sequence diversity in CYP3A promoters and characterization of the genetic basis of polymorphic CYP3A5 expression
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