Structure of the Bacterial Sex F Pilus reveals an assembly of a Stoichiometric Protein-Phospholipid Complex

Conjugative pili are widespread bacterial appendages that play important roles in horizontal gene transfer, in spread of antibiotic resistance genes, and as sites of phage attachment. Among conjugative pili, the F “sex” pilus encoded by the F plasmid is the best functionally characterized, and it is also historically the most important, as the discovery of F-plasmid-mediated conjugation ushered in the era of molecular biology and genetics. Yet, its structure is unknown. Here, we present atomic models of two F family pili, the F and pED208 pili, generated from cryoelectron microscopy reconstructions at 5.0 and 3.6 Å resolution, respectively. These structures reveal that conjugative pili are assemblies of stoichiometric protein-phospholipid units. We further demonstrate that each pilus type binds preferentially to particular phospholipids. These structures provide the molecular basis for F pilus assembly and also shed light on the remarkable properties of conjugative pili in bacterial secretion and phage infection

Colonization of artificial substrata by teredinid larvae released from a previously infested focus at Ilha Grande Bay, RJ

The colonization pattern of wooden panels by teredinid larvae released from a previously infested focus was investigated. Panels were placed at different distances (1, 10, 20m) and in different directions from the focus. The colonization experiment took place at Parcel do Aleijado, Ilha Grande Bay, RJ. The focus remained immersed in nearly surface water, by the coast, during three months for infestation by teredinids. After this period, it was transferred to the study site. The infested focus and colonization panels remained in water, 10m deep, for three months more. Total density and density of the dominant species were considered for each group of panels. Five teredinid species were found: Bankia fimbriatula, Bankia gouldi, Lyrodus floridanus, Lyrodus massa and Teredo furcifera. The dominant species was Teredo furcifera (76.6%). Significant differences were only observed between directions for total teredinids and for dominant species density. Results concerning the dominant species Teredo furcifera were even more expressive and suggested the occurrence of a local water circulation pattern.<br>Foi estudado o padrão de colonização de larvas de teredinídeo liberadas a partir de um foco previamente infestado. Coletores foram posicionados a diferentes distâncias (1m, 10m, 20m) e em diferentes sentidos a partir do foco. O experimento de colonização foi realizado junto ao Parcel do Aleijado, Baía da Ilha Grande, RJ. O foco permaneceu imerso próximo à superfície, junto à costa, durante 3 meses para infestação por teredinídeos. Após este período, foi tranferido para a área de estudo. O foco infestado e os coletores permaneceram imersos, a 10m de profundidade, por mais 3 meses. Foram consideradas a densidade total e a densidade da espécie dominante para cada grupo de coletores. Foram encontradas 5 espécies de teredinídeos: Bankia fimbriatula, Bankia gouldi, Lyrodus floridanus, Lyrodus massa and Teredo furcifera. A espécie dominante foi Teredo furcifera (76,6%). Diferenças significativas foram observadas somente entre os diferentes sentidos, para o valor total de teredinídeos e para a densidade da espécie dominante. Os resultados envolvendo a espécie dominante Teredo furcifera foram ainda mais expressivos e sugerem a ocorrência de um padrão local de circulação de água

Coiled-coils in the YopD translocator family : A predicted structure unique to the YopD N-terminus contributes to full virulence of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis

Pathogenic Yersinia all harbor a virulence plasmid-encoded Ysc–Yop T3SS. In this system, translocator function is performed by the hydrophobic proteins YopB and YopD. With the goal to better understand how YopD orchestrates yop-regulatory control, translocon pore formation and Yop effector translocation, we performed an in silico prediction of coiled-coil motifs in YopD and YopD-like sequences from other bacteria. Of interest was a predicted N-terminal coiled-coil that occurred solely in Yersinia YopD sequences. To investigate if this unique feature was biologically relevant, two in cis point mutations were generated with a view to disrupting this putative structure. Both mutants maintained full T3SS function in vitro in terms of environmental control of Yops synthesis and secretion, effector toxin translocation and evasion of phagocytosis and killing by cultured immune cells. However, these same mutants were attenuated for virulence in a murine oral-infection model. The cause of this tardy disease progression is unclear. However, these data indicate that any structural flaw in this element unique to the N-terminus will subtly compromise an aspect of YopD biology. Sub-optimal T3SSs are then formed that are unable to fortify Yersinia against attack by the host innate and adaptive immune response

Initial invasive or conservative strategy for stable coronary disease

BACKGROUND Among patients with stable coronary disease and moderate or severe ischemia, whether clinical outcomes are better in those who receive an invasive intervention plus medical therapy than in those who receive medical therapy alone is uncertain. METHODS We randomly assigned 5179 patients with moderate or severe ischemia to an initial invasive strategy (angiography and revascularization when feasible) and medical therapy or to an initial conservative strategy of medical therapy alone and angiography if medical therapy failed. The primary outcome was a composite of death from cardiovascular causes, myocardial infarction, or hospitalization for unstable angina, heart failure, or resuscitated cardiac arrest. A key secondary outcome was death from cardiovascular causes or myocardial infarction. RESULTS Over a median of 3.2 years, 318 primary outcome events occurred in the invasive-strategy group and 352 occurred in the conservative-strategy group. At 6 months, the cumulative event rate was 5.3% in the invasive-strategy group and 3.4% in the conservative-strategy group (difference, 1.9 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.8 to 3.0); at 5 years, the cumulative event rate was 16.4% and 18.2%, respectively (difference, 121.8 percentage points; 95% CI, 124.7 to 1.0). Results were similar with respect to the key secondary outcome. The incidence of the primary outcome was sensitive to the definition of myocardial infarction; a secondary analysis yielded more procedural myocardial infarctions of uncertain clinical importance. There were 145 deaths in the invasive-strategy group and 144 deaths in the conservative-strategy group (hazard ratio, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.32). CONCLUSIONS Among patients with stable coronary disease and moderate or severe ischemia, we did not find evidence that an initial invasive strategy, as compared with an initial conservative strategy, reduced the risk of ischemic cardiovascular events or death from any cause over a median of 3.2 years. The trial findings were sensitive to the definition of myocardial infarction that was used

Observation of WWWWWW Production in pppp Collisions at s\sqrt s =13 TeV with the ATLAS Detector

International audienceThis Letter reports the observation of $WWW$ production and a measurement of its cross section using 139 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data recorded at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events with two same-sign leptons (electrons or muons) and at least two jets, as well as events with three charged leptons, are selected. A multivariate technique is then used to discriminate between signal and background events. Events from $WWW$ production are observed with a significance of 8.0 standard deviations, where the expectation is 5.4 standard deviations. The inclusive $WWW$ production cross section is measured to be $820 \pm 100\,\text{(stat)} \pm 80\,\text{(syst)}$ fb, approximately 2.6 standard deviations from the predicted cross section of $511 \pm 18$ fb calculated at next-to-leading-order QCD and leading-order electroweak accuracy

Observation of WWWWWW Production in pppp Collisions at s\sqrt s =13 TeV with the ATLAS Detector

International audienceThis Letter reports the observation of $WWW$ production and a measurement of its cross section using 139 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data recorded at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events with two same-sign leptons (electrons or muons) and at least two jets, as well as events with three charged leptons, are selected. A multivariate technique is then used to discriminate between signal and background events. Events from $WWW$ production are observed with a significance of 8.0 standard deviations, where the expectation is 5.4 standard deviations. The inclusive $WWW$ production cross section is measured to be $820 \pm 100\,\text{(stat)} \pm 80\,\text{(syst)}$ fb, approximately 2.6 standard deviations from the predicted cross section of $511 \pm 18$ fb calculated at next-to-leading-order QCD and leading-order electroweak accuracy

Observation of WWWWWW Production in pppp Collisions at s\sqrt s =13 TeV with the ATLAS Detector

International audienceThis Letter reports the observation of $WWW$ production and a measurement of its cross section using 139 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data recorded at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events with two same-sign leptons (electrons or muons) and at least two jets, as well as events with three charged leptons, are selected. A multivariate technique is then used to discriminate between signal and background events. Events from $WWW$ production are observed with a significance of 8.0 standard deviations, where the expectation is 5.4 standard deviations. The inclusive $WWW$ production cross section is measured to be $820 \pm 100\,\text{(stat)} \pm 80\,\text{(syst)}$ fb, approximately 2.6 standard deviations from the predicted cross section of $511 \pm 18$ fb calculated at next-to-leading-order QCD and leading-order electroweak accuracy

Observation of WWWWWW Production in pppp Collisions at s\sqrt s =13 TeV with the ATLAS Detector

International audienceThis Letter reports the observation of $WWW$ production and a measurement of its cross section using 139 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data recorded at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events with two same-sign leptons (electrons or muons) and at least two jets, as well as events with three charged leptons, are selected. A multivariate technique is then used to discriminate between signal and background events. Events from $WWW$ production are observed with a significance of 8.0 standard deviations, where the expectation is 5.4 standard deviations. The inclusive $WWW$ production cross section is measured to be $820 \pm 100\,\text{(stat)} \pm 80\,\text{(syst)}$ fb, approximately 2.6 standard deviations from the predicted cross section of $511 \pm 18$ fb calculated at next-to-leading-order QCD and leading-order electroweak accuracy

Observation of WWWWWW Production in pppp Collisions at s\sqrt s =13 TeV with the ATLAS Detector

International audienceThis Letter reports the observation of $WWW$ production and a measurement of its cross section using 139 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data recorded at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events with two same-sign leptons (electrons or muons) and at least two jets, as well as events with three charged leptons, are selected. A multivariate technique is then used to discriminate between signal and background events. Events from $WWW$ production are observed with a significance of 8.0 standard deviations, where the expectation is 5.4 standard deviations. The inclusive $WWW$ production cross section is measured to be $820 \pm 100\,\text{(stat)} \pm 80\,\text{(syst)}$ fb, approximately 2.6 standard deviations from the predicted cross section of $511 \pm 18$ fb calculated at next-to-leading-order QCD and leading-order electroweak accuracy