The Geobacillus plasmid set: a modular toolkit for thermophile engineering

Geobacillus thermoglucosidasius is a gram-positive thermophile of industrial interest that exhibits rapid growth and can utilize a variety of plant-derived feedstocks. It is an attractive chassis organism for high temperature biotechnology and synthetic biology applications but is currently limited by a lack of available genetic tools. Here we describe a set of modular shuttle vectors, including a promoter library and reporter proteins. The compact plasmids are composed of interchangeable modules for molecular cloning in Escherichia coli and stable propagation in G. thermoglucosidasius and other Geobacillus species. Modules include two origins of replication, two selectable markers and three reporter proteins for characterization of gene expression. For fine-tuning heterologous expression from these plasmids, we include a characterized promoter library and test ribosome binding site design. Together, these gene expression tools and a standardized plasmid set can facilitate modularity and part exchange to make Geobacillus a thermophile chassis for synthetic biology

2,3-Diferrocenylcyclopropenone: Synthesis, Structure, and Some Chemical and Electrochemical Properties

Alkylation of ferrocene with tetrachlorocyclopropene in the presence of AlCl3 followed by aqueous workup affords 2,3-diferrocenylcyclopropenone in high yield. We have studied some of this ketone's chemical transformations and electrochemical properties. 2,3-Diferrocenylcyclopropenone withstands thermolysis; it is stable in an acidic medium; the action of tetrafluoroboric acid-diethyl ether results in the formation of diferrocenyl(hydroxy)cyclopropenylium tetrafluoroborate; nucleophiles, including methyllithium and lithium aluminum hydride, react regioselectively with the three-membered ring by opening it to form the respective substituted cis-diferrocenylethenes. We present data from X-ray diffraction analyses of 2,3-diferrocenylcyclopropenone, isopropyl cis-2,3-diferrocenylacrylate, and cis-3,4-diferrocenyl-2-methylbut-3-en-2-ol. © Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2003

Metabolic reprogramming of the tumor

Cancer is classically considered as a genetic and, more recently, epigenetic multistep disease. Despite seminal studies in the 1920s by Warburg showing a characteristic metabolic pattern for tumors, cancer bioenergetics has often been relegated to the backwaters of cancer biology. This review aims to provide a historical account on cancer metabolism research, and to try to integrate and systematize the metabolic strategies in which cancer cells engage to overcome selective pressures during their inception and evolution. Implications of this renovated view on some common concepts and in therapeutics are also discussed. © 2012 Macmillan Publishers Limited All rights reserved.SCOPUS: re.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe