Laboratory medicine in modern teaching clinical physicians

At the end of the last century and, especially, in the first two decades of the 21st century, a significant technological breakthrough took place in clinical laboratory diagnostics in Russia. The transition from manual techniques to high-tech and high-performance automated systems has changed the potential of laboratory medicine. The laboratory has become a high-tech, rapidly developing branch of medical organizations. Following the changes in technology, the range of diagnostic tests began to alter, while the list of laboratory tests available grew. These dynamics are growing every year. Simple routine techniques, practiced for all patients, are complemented by more specific tests. The place of conventional routine tests has been determined by many years of practical experience, while modern analyzers allow the use of tests with a high evidence value of recommendations, which, in the context of evidence-based medicine, enable the clinician to conduct a personalized diagnostic search. At the same time, in order to use all the possibilities of laboratory medicine, the discipline Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics should be included in educational programs at different stages of a doctor's training

Genomic and Metabolic Insights into Two Novel Thiothrix Species from Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal Systems

Two metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), obtained from laboratory-scale enhanced biological phosphorus removal bioreactors, were analyzed. The values of 16S rRNA gene sequence identity, average nucleotide identity, and average amino acid identity indicated that these genomes, designated as RT and SSD2, represented two novel species within the genus Thiothrix, ‘Candidatus Thiothrix moscowensis’ and ‘Candidatus Thiothrix singaporensis’. A complete set of genes for the tricarboxylic acid cycle and electron transport chain indicates a respiratory type of metabolism. A notable feature of RT and SSD2, as well as other Thiothrix species, is the presence of a flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD)-dependent malate:quinone oxidoreductase instead of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)-dependent malate dehydrogenase. Both MAGs contained genes for CO2 assimilation through the Calvin–Benson–Bassam cycle; sulfide oxidation (sqr, fccAB), sulfur oxidation (rDsr complex), direct (soeABC) and indirect (aprBA, sat) sulfite oxidation, and the branched Sox pathway (SoxAXBYZ) of thiosulfate oxidation to sulfur and sulfate. All these features indicate a chemoorganoheterotrophic, chemolithoautotrophic, and chemolithoheterotrophic lifestyle. Both MAGs comprise genes for nitrate reductase and NO-reductase, while SSD2 also contains genes for nitrite reductase. The presence of polyphosphate kinase and exopolyphosphatase suggests that RT and SSD2 could accumulate and degrade polyhosphates during the oxic-anoxic growth cycle in the bioreactors, such as typical phosphate-accumulating microorganisms

Some like it cold: microbial transformations of mercury in polar regions

The contamination of polar regions with mercury that is transported from lower latitudes as inorganic mercury has resulted in the accumulation of methylmercury (MeHg) in food chains, risking the health of humans and wildlife. While production of MeHg has been documented in polar marine and terrestrial environments, little is known about the responsible transformations and transport pathways and the processes that control them. We posit that as in temperate environments, microbial transformations play a key role in mercury geochemical cycling in polar regions by: (1) methylating mercury by one of four proposed pathways, some not previously described; (2) degrading MeHg by activities of mercury resistant and other bacteria; and (3) carrying out redox transformations that control the supply of the mercuric ion, the substrate of methylation reactions. Recent analyses have identified a high potential for mercury-resistant microbes that express the enzyme mercuric reductase to affect the production of gaseous elemental mercury when and where daylight is limited. The integration of microbially mediated processes in the paradigms that describe mercury geochemical cycling is therefore of high priority especially in light of concerns regarding the effect of global warming and permafrost thawing on input of MeHg to polar regions