Analysis of the genome of the five Bifidobacterium breve strains: plasmid content, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis genome size estimation and rrn loci number

Abstract The genomes of the five Bifidobacterium breve strains available from culture collections were compared by restriction endonuclease analysis. Electrophoretic migration of undigested DNA allowed us to detect a 5.6-kb circular plasmid in two of these strains. A restriction map of this plasmid was constructed using 10 enzymes. With Dra I endonuclease, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis has allowed the determination of the five B. breve genome sizes to 2.1 Mb. This estimation was further confirmed for CIP 6469 (type strain) and ATCC 15698 using Xba I and Spe I enzymes. In addition, rRNA gene regions were used as probes for strain characterization and suggest that there are at least three rrn loci in B. breve .     

Characterization of Denitrification Gene Clusters of Soil Bacteria via a Metagenomic Approach

We characterized operons encoding enzymes involved in denitrification, a nitrogen-cycling process involved in nitrogen losses and greenhouse gas emission, using a metagenomic approach which combines molecular screening and pyrosequencing. Screening of 77,000 clones from a soil metagenomic library led to the identification and the subsequent characterization of nine denitrification gene clusters.     

Ligand-dependent kinase activity of MERTK drives efferocytosis in human iPSC-derived macrophages

Removal of apoptotic cells by phagocytes (also called efferocytosis) is a crucial process for tissue homeostasis. Professional phagocytes express a plethora of surface receptors enabling them to sense and engulf apoptotic cells, thus avoiding persistence of dead cells and cellular debris and their consequent effects. Dysregulation of efferocytosis is thought to lead to secondary necrosis and associated inflammation and immune activation. Efferocytosis in primarily murine macrophages and dendritic cells has been shown to require TAM RTKs, with MERTK and AXL being critical for clearance of apoptotic cells. The functional role of human orthologs, especially the exact contribution of each individual receptor is less well studied. Here we show that human macrophages differentiated in vitro from iPSC-derived precursor cells express both AXL and MERTK and engulf apoptotic cells. TAM RTK agonism by the natural ligand growth-arrest specific 6 (GAS6) significantly enhanced such efferocytosis. Using a newly-developed mouse model of kinase-dead MERTK, we demonstrate that MERTK kinase activity is essential for efferocytosis in peritoneal macrophages in vivo. Moreover, human iPSC-derived macrophages treated in vitro with blocking antibodies or small molecule inhibitors recapitulated this observation. Hence, our results highlight a conserved MERTK function between mice and humans, and the critical role of its kinase activity in homeostatic efferocytosis.Subject terms: Immune cell death, Peritoneal macrophages     

Genetic instability in Streptomyces ambofaciens: inducibility and associated genome plasticity.

DNA amplification and deletions occur at high frequency in unstable regions localized on the Streptomyces ambofaciens chromosome. The structure of these regions was investigated, leading to the identification of internal reiterations which could play a role in the deletion and/or amplification mechanism(s). UV irradiation and treatments with mitomycin C, oxolinic acid and novobiocin were shown to efficiently induce genetic instability. Finally, mutator strains were isolated, in which genetic instability was dramatically increased. The involvement of an SOS-like response in genetic instability in S. ambofaciens is proposed.