393 research outputs found
A large-scale proteogenomics study of apicomplexan pathogens-Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum
Proteomics data can supplement genome annotation efforts, for example being used to confirm gene models or correct gene annotation errors. Here, we present a large‐scale proteogenomics study of two important apicomplexan pathogens: Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum. We queried proteomics data against a panel of official and alternate gene models generated directly from RNASeq data, using several newly generated and some previously published MS datasets for this meta‐analysis. We identified a total of 201 996 and 39 953 peptide‐spectrum matches for T. gondii and N. caninum, respectively, at a 1% peptide FDR threshold. This equated to the identification of 30 494 distinct peptide sequences and 2921 proteins (matches to official gene models) for T. gondii, and 8911 peptides/1273 proteins for N. caninum following stringent protein‐level thresholding. We have also identified 289 and 140 loci for T. gondii and N. caninum, respectively, which mapped to RNA‐Seq‐derived gene models used in our analysis and apparently absent from the official annotation (release 10 from EuPathDB) of these species. We present several examples in our study where the RNA‐Seq evidence can help in correction of the current gene model and can help in discovery of potential new genes
Brillouin spectroscopy: From biomedical research to new generation pathology diagnosis
Brillouin spectroscopy has recently gained considerable interest within the biomedical field as an innovative tool to study mechanical properties in biology. The Brillouin effect is based on the inelastic scattering of photons caused by their interaction with thermodynamically driven acoustic modes or phonons and it is highly dependent on the material's elasticity. Therefore, Brillouin is a contactless, label-free optic approach to elastic and viscoelastic analysis that has enabled unprecedented analysis of ex vivo and in vivo mechanical behavior of several tissues with a micrometric resolution, paving the way to a promising future in clinical diagnosis. Here, we comprehensively review the different studies of this fast-moving field that have been performed up to date to provide a quick guide of the current literature. In addition, we offer a general view of Brillouin's biomedical potential to encourage its further development to reach its implementation as a feasible, cost-effective pathology diagnostic tool.The research was funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades,
Instituto de Salud Carlos III grants PI18/00462; was co-financed by the European Regional Development
Fund, “A way of making Europe”; and the CNIC is supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia,
Innovación y Universidades and the Pro CNIC Foundation and is a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence
(SEV-2015-0505). The ICMM-CSIC was supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y
Universidades under the project RTI2018-096918-B-C41
2014 site condition monitoring survey of marine sedimentary habitats in the Sound of Arisaig SAC:Commissioned Report No. 807
Common loss of far-red light photoacclimation in cyanobacteria from hot and cold deserts: a case study in the Chroococcidiopsidales
Deserts represent an extreme challenge for photosynthetic life. Despite their aridity, they are often inhabited by diverse microscopic communities of cyanobacteria. These organisms are commonly found in lithic habitats, where they are partially sheltered from extremes of temperature and UV radiation. However, living under the rock surface imposes additional constraints, such as limited light availability, and enrichment of longer wavelengths than are typically usable for oxygenic photosynthesis. Some cyanobacteria from the genus Chroococcidiopsis can use this light to photosynthesize, in a process known as far-red light photoacclimation, or FaRLiP. This genus has commonly been reported from both hot and cold deserts. However, not all Chroococcidiopsis strains carry FaRLiP genes, thus motivating our study into the interplay between FaRLiP and extreme lithic environments. The abundance of sequence data and strains provided the necessary material for an in-depth phylogenetic study, involving spectroscopy, microscopy, and determination of pigment composition, as well as gene and genome analyses. Pigment analyses revealed the presence of red-shifted chlorophylls d and f in all FaRLiP strains tested. In addition, eight genus-level taxa were defined within the encompassing Chroococcidiopsidales, clarifying the phylogeny of this long-standing polyphyletic order. FaRLiP is near universally present in a generalist genus identified in a wide variety of environments, Chroococcidiopsis sensu stricto, while it is rare or absent in closely related, extremophile taxa, including those preferentially inhabiting deserts. This likely reflects the evolutionary process of gene loss in specialist lineages
Common loss of far-red light photoacclimation in cyanobacteria from hot and cold deserts: a case study in the Chroococcidiopsidales
Deserts represent an extreme challenge for photosynthetic life. Despite their aridity, they are often inhabited by diverse microscopic communities of cyanobacteria. These organisms are commonly found in lithic habitats, where they are partially sheltered from extremes of temperature and UV radiation. However, living under the rock surface imposes additional constraints, such as limited light availability, and enrichment of longer wavelengths than are typically usable for oxygenic photosynthesis. Some cyanobacteria from the genus Chroococcidiopsis can use this light to photosynthesize, in a process known as far-red light photoacclimation, or FaRLiP. This genus has commonly been reported from both hot and cold deserts. However, not all Chroococcidiopsis strains carry FaRLiP genes, thus motivating our study into the interplay between FaRLiP and extreme lithic environments. The abundance of sequence data and strains provided the necessary material for an in-depth phylogenetic study, involving spectroscopy, microscopy, and determination of pigment composition, as well as gene and genome analyses. Pigment analyses revealed the presence of red-shifted chlorophylls d and f in all FaRLiP strains tested. In addition, eight genus-level taxa were defined within the encompassing Chroococcidiopsidales, clarifying the phylogeny of this long-standing polyphyletic order. FaRLiP is near universally present in a generalist genus identified in a wide variety of environments, Chroococcidiopsis sensu stricto, while it is rare or absent in closely related, extremophile taxa, including those preferentially inhabiting deserts. This likely reflects the evolutionary process of gene loss in specialist lineages
The far side of the Galactic bar/bulge revealed through semi-regular variables
The Galactic bulge and bar are critical to our understanding of the Milky
Way. However, due to the lack of reliable stellar distances, the structure and
kinematics of the bulge/bar beyond the Galactic center have remained largely
unexplored. Here, we present a method to measure distances of luminous red
giants using a period-amplitude-luminosity relation anchored to the Large
Magellanic Cloud, with random uncertainties of 10-15% and systematic errors
below 1-2%. We apply this method to data from the Optical Gravitational Lensing
Experiment (OGLE) to measure distances to stars in the Galactic bulge
and beyond out to 20 kpc. Using this sample we measure a distance to the
Galactic center of = pc,
consistent with astrometric monitoring of stars orbiting Sgr A*. We cross-match
our distance catalog with Gaia DR3 and use the subset of overlapping
stars to provide the first constraints on the Milky Way's velocity field
() beyond the Galactic center. We show that the
quadrupole from the bar's near side is reflected with respect to the Galactic
center, indicating that the bar is both bi-symmetric and aligned with the inner
disk, and therefore dynamically settled along its full extent. We also find
that the vertical height map has no major structure in the region of the
Galactic bulge, which is inconsistent with a current episode of bar buckling.
Finally, we demonstrate with N-body simulations that distance uncertainty plays
a major factor in the alignment of the major and kinematic axes of the bar and
distribution of velocities, necessitating caution when interpreting results for
distant stars.Comment: Accepted to the Astronomical Journa
Assessment of myocardial viscoelasticity with Brillouin spectroscopy in myocardial infarction and aortic stenosis models.
Heart diseases are associated with changes in the biomechanical properties of the myocardial
wall. However, there is no modality available to assess myocardial stiffness directly. Brillouin
microspectroscopy (mBS) is a consolidated mechanical characterization technique, applied to the
study of the viscoelastic and elastic behavior of biological samples and may be a valuable tool for
assessing the viscoelastic properties of the cardiac tissue. In this work, viscosity and elasticity were
assessed using mBS in heart samples obtained from healthy and unhealthy mice (n = 6 per group).
Speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE) was performed to evaluate heart deformation. We found
that mBS was able to detect changes in stiffness in the ventricles in healthy myocardium. The right
ventricle showed reduced stiffness, in agreement with its increased compliance. mBS measurements
correlated strongly with STE data, highlighting the association between displacement and stiffness
in myocardial regions. This correlation was lost in pathological conditions studied. The scar region in
the infarcted heart presented changes in stiffness when compared to the rest of the heart, and the
hypertrophied left ventricle showed increased stiffness following aortic stenosis, compared to the
right ventricle. We demonstrate that mBS can be applied to determine myocardial stiffness, that
measurements correlate with functional parameters and that they change with disease.post-print6652 K
Probation staff experiences of managing suicidal and self-harming service users
The current study sought to explore the impact of suicidal behaviours on probation staff, in relation to their experiences of working with Probation service users who have carried out suicide, attempted suicide or self-harm. Thirteen in-depth interviews were carried out with probation staff who had direct contact with Probation service users in one Probation area, and had varying degrees of experience of managing suicidal or self-injurious service users. These were analysed using Thematic Analysis and five themes were identified. Findings indicate that staff felt that suicide and self-harm by service users are serious issues which need to be recognised and dealt with in an effective yet compassionate manner. However not attending the Suicide Prevention Training or lack of experience was perceived as restricting their ability to know how to deal with these individuals, and offer support. Furthermore, staff were emotionally affected by these incidents and it is recommend that they should continue to be provided with access to appropriate support services after an incident
Coronavirus infection and PARP expression dysregulate the NAD metabolome: An actionable component of innate immunity
Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) superfamily members covalently link either a single ADP-ribose (ADPR) or a chain of ADPR units to proteins using NAD as the source of ADPR. Although the well-known poly(ADP-ribosylating) (PARylating) PARPs primarily function in the DNA damage response, many noncanonical mono(ADP-ribosylating) (MARylating) PARPs are associated with cellular antiviral responses. We recently demonstrated robust up-regulation of several PARPs following infection with murine hepatitis virus (MHV), a model coronavirus. Here we show that SARS-CoV-2 infection strikingly up-regulates MARylating PARPs and induces the expression of genes encoding enzymes for salvage NAD synthesis from nicotinamide (NAM) and nicotinamide riboside (NR), while down-regulating other NAD biosynthetic pathways. We show that overexpression of PARP10 is sufficient to depress cellular NAD and that the activities of the transcriptionally induced enzymes PARP7, PARP10, PARP12 and PARP14 are limited by cellular NAD and can be enhanced by pharmacological activation of NAD synthesis. We further demonstrate that infection with MHV induces a severe attack on host cell NAD+ and NADP+. Finally, we show that NAMPT activation, NAM, and NR dramatically decrease the replication of an MHV that is sensitive to PARP activity. These data suggest that the antiviral activities of noncanonical PARP isozyme activities are limited by the availability of NAD and that nutritional and pharmacological interventions to enhance NAD levels may boost innate immunity to coronaviruses
Mimicking salmochelin S1 and the interactions of its Fe(III) complex with periplasmic iron siderophore binding proteins CeuE and VctP
A mimic of the tetradentate stealth siderophore salmochelin S1, was synthesised, characterised and shown to form Fe(III) complexes with ligand-to-metal ratios of 1:1 and 3:2. Circular dichroism spectroscopy confirmed that the periplasmic binding proteins CeuE and VctP of Campylobacter jejuni and Vibrio cholerae, respectively, bind the Fe(III) complex of the salmochelin mimic by preferentially selecting Λ-configured Fe(III) complexes. Intrinsic fluorescence quenching studies revealed that VctP binds Fe(III) complexes of the mimic and structurally-related catecholate ligands, such as enterobactin, bis(2, 3-dihydroxybenzoyl-l-serine) and bis(2, 3-dihydroxybenzoyl)-1, 5-pentanediamine with higher affinity than does CeuE. Both CeuE and VctP display a clear preference for the tetradentate bis(catecholates) over the tris(catecholate) siderophore enterobactin. These findings are consistent with reports that V. cholerae and C. jejuni utilise the enterobactin hydrolysis product bis(2, 3-dihydroxybenzoyl)-O-seryl serine for the acquisition of Fe(III) and suggest that the role of salmochelin S1 in the iron uptake of enteric pathogens merits further investigation
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