EcoCyc: fusing model organism databases with systems biology.

EcoCyc (http://EcoCyc.org) is a model organism database built on the genome sequence of Escherichia coli K-12 MG1655. Expert manual curation of the functions of individual E. coli gene products in EcoCyc has been based on information found in the experimental literature for E. coli K-12-derived strains. Updates to EcoCyc content continue to improve the comprehensive picture of E. coli biology. The utility of EcoCyc is enhanced by new tools available on the EcoCyc web site, and the development of EcoCyc as a teaching tool is increasing the impact of the knowledge collected in EcoCyc

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

A novel intragenic marker targeting the ectodomain of bacterial leaf blight resistance gene Xa21 in rice

Abstract Background Among the diseases in rice (Oryza sativa L.), bacterial leaf blight (BLB) caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae results in devastating economic losses, both in terms of yield and quality. The Xa21 mapped to the rice chromosome 11, is known to convey resistance against BLB by its involvement in plant pathogen recognition and immunity responses. The closely-linked sequence-tagged site marker pTA248 is frequently used for marker-assisted selection (MAS) of Xa21. However, lower precision and linkage drag of linked-markers hinders the reliability and effectiveness in MAS compared to the use of flanking or intergenic markers. Results In the current study, a diagnostic intragenic marker was developed for MAS of Xa21 in rice. The new marker ABUOP0001 targets a 19-bp insertion/deletion (InDel) on the ectodomain of the Xa21, and amplifies a 200-bp amplicon from the rice line IRBB 62, which is known-to-carry the ‘resistance allele’, and a 181-bp amplicon from IRBB 7, which is known-to-carry the ‘susceptible allele’. The resistance allele was identified in ten IRBB lines, and five newly improved Sri Lankan rice accessions through ABUOP0001 marker assay. In a field study, 14 of these accessions conveyed highly resistant BLB disease responses, and one conveyed an intermediate response. While carrying the susceptible allele at Xa21, 30 accessions conveyed a resistance response to BLB, and it could be due to the contribution of other Xa resistance alleles in their genetic background. Further, the Xa21 resistance allele was identified in 1,675 rice accessions through an in silico analysis of genomic sequences available through the 3K Rice Genomes Project. The intragenic marker ABUOP0001 performs equally to that of the linked-marker pTA248 anchored 224 kbp upstream of Xa21, in detecting resistant and susceptible BLB phenotypes. The marker ABUOP0001 is compatible for high-throughput screening with high resolution melting (HRM) and can be multiplexed effectively with an intragenic marker of BLB resistance gene Xa4. Conclusion The marker ABUOP0001 is a diagnostic intragenic marker that can be recommended for MAS of Xa21 in rice. The marker can be assayed as a high-throughput marker using HRM and multiplexed PCR.</jats:p

A novel intragenic marker targeting the ectodomain of bacterial blight-resistance gene <i>Xa21</i> for marker-assisted selection in rice

The rice (Oryza sativa L.) Xa21 gene is known to confer resistance against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae, the causal organism of bacterial blight (BB) through its involvement in pathogen recognition and immunity responses. The closely linked sequence-tagged site marker pTA248 is frequently used for marker-assisted selection (MAS) of Xa21. However, lower precision and linkage drag of linked-markers hinders its reliability and effectiveness in MAS compared to flanking/intergenic markers. In the current study, a diagnostic intragenic marker was developed for MAS of Xa21 in rice. The new marker ABUOP0001 targets a 19-bp insertion/deletion on the ectodomain of Xa21 and amplifies a 200-bp amplicon from rice line IRBB 62 (known to carry the “resistance allele”), and a 181-bp amplicon from IRBB 7 (known to carry the “susceptible allele”). The ABUOP0001 marker assay identified the resistance allele in 15 rice lines/accessions. In a field study, 14 of these lines/accessions had highly resistant BB responses, and one had an intermediate response. Further, Xa21 resistance allele was identified in 1,675 rice accessions through an in-silico genomic sequence analysis. The marker ABUOP0001 performs better than the previously used linked-marker pTA248 (anchored to a gene 225 kbp upstream of Xa21) as ABUOP0001 is an intragenic marker targeting the functionally important ectodomain of Xa21. Further, ABUOP0001 is compatible for high-throughput screening with high-resolution melting and can be multiplexed effectively with an intragenic marker of BB resistance gene Xa4. Therefore, ABUOP0001 can be recommended as a high-throughput diagnostic intragenic marker for MAS of Xa21 in rice.</p

The EcoCyc database

EcoCyc is a bioinformatics database available at EcoCyc.org that describes the genome and the biochemical machinery of Escherichia coli K-12 MG1655. The longterm goal of the project is to describe the complete molecular catalog of the E. coli cell, as well as the functions of each of its molecular parts, to facilitate a system-level understanding of E. coli. EcoCyc is an electronic reference source for E. coli biologists and for biologists who work with related microorganisms. The database includes information pages on each E. coli gene, metabolite, reaction, operon, and metabolic pathway. The database also includes information on E. coli gene essentiality and on nutrient conditions that do or do not support the growth of E. coli. The website and downloadable software contain tools for analysis of high-throughput data sets. In addition, a steady-state metabolic flux model is generated from each new version of EcoCyc. The model can predict metabolic flux rates, nutrient uptake rates, and growth rates for different gene knockouts and nutrient conditions. This review provides a detailed description of the data content of EcoCyc and of the procedures by which this content is generated.13 page(s