Characteristics of polyamine stimulation of cyclic nucleotide-independent protein kinase reactions.

Coupled oxidation of octaethylhaemin and phenylhydrazine hydrochloride with 16,16O2 and 18,18O2 produced octaethyl[16O]verdohaemochrome and octaethyl[18O]-verdohaemochrome respectively. Reactions of these products with 16,16O2 in the presence of phenylhydrazine hydrochloride yielded octaethyl[16O, 16O]biliverdin and octaethyl[18O, 16O]biliverdin. The same reactions with 18,18O2 yielded octaethyl[16O, 18O]biliverdin and octaethyl[18O, 18O]biliverdin. Accordingly, the two oxygen atoms of biliverdin are incorporated from different O2 molecules in separate reactions, namely the formation of verdohaemochrome and the conversion of verdohaemochrome into biliverdin. These reactions account for a "two-molecule mechanism' of biliverdin formation from haem with verdohaemochrome participating as an intermediate product.     

RAPD, RFLP and SSLP analyses of phylogenetic relationships between cultivated and wild species of rice.

RAPD, RFLP, nuclear SSLP and chloroplast SSLP analyses were carried out to clarify the phylogenetic relationships among A-genome species of rice. In total, 12 cultivars of Oryza sativa (4 Japonica, 3 Javanica and 5 Indica), one cultivar of O. glaberrima, and 17 wild accessions (12 O. rufipogon, 2 O. glumaepatula, 1 O. longistaminata, 1 O. meridionalis and 1 O. barthii) were used. Their banding patterns were scored and compared to evaluate the similarity between accessions. Genetic differentiation within and between taxa was examined based on the average similarity indices. Except for chloroplast SSLP analysis, the average similarities were higher within O. sativa than within O. rufipogon, and O. sativa Indica had greater intrasubspecific variation than Japonica and Javanica. Comparisons between cultivated and wild species showed that O. sativa was closely related to O. rufipogon, while O. glaberrima was closely related to O. barthii. This indicated that two cultivated species, O. sativa and O. glaberrima, originated from O. rufipogon and O. barthii, respectively. Domestication of O. sativa seemed to be diphyletic, since strong similarity was observed between O. sativa Japonica-Javanica and O. rufipogon from China and between O. sativa Indica and O. rufipogon from tropical Asia. In addition, dendrograms for RAPD, RFLP, and nuclear and chloroplast SSLP analyses were constructed to reveal the overall genetic relationships among A-genome species. In all analyses, O. sativa and O. glaberrima formed groups with O. rufipogon and O. barthii, respectively. However, their manners of clustering with other wild species were not the same. The results of RAPD and RFLP analyses indicate that O. glumaepatula was relatively close to the groups of O. sativa and O. glaberrima whereas O. longistaminata and O. meridionalis were highly differentiated from other A-genome species. On the other hand, clear interspecific relationships were not obtained by nuclear or chloroplast SSLP analyses.     

Intergeneric antigenic relation of Hafnia and Shigella (S. flexneri and S. boydii) bacteria

The O-antigenic relationships between Hafnia and Shigellae (S. flexneri and S. boydii) have been studied. For the first time the presence of antigenic relationship between Hafnia O19, O4, O9, O33, O5, O16, O12, O7, O29, O28, O10, O32, O24, O25, O18, O1, O13, O3, O22, O30, O37, O14, O11, O25, O23, O21, O28, O16, O24, O8, O26, O27 and S. flexneri la, lb, 2a, 2b, 4a, 4b, 6, 5a, 5b, as well as between Hafnia O10, O21, O35, O36, O9, O28, O8, O30 and S. boydii 1, 3, 6, 14, 2, 5, 2, 12 have been revealed. The character and degree of manifestation of antigenic relationships between the above-mentioned groups of bacteria have been established.     

Intramolecular hygrogen bonds in conformers of 2'-deoxycytidine: results of quantum-chemical analysis of electron density topology

As many as 13 types of intramolecular hygrogen bonds are determined in 89 conformers of 2'-deoxycytidine nucleoside by means of quantum-chemical analysis (at DFT B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) theory level) of electron density topology with Atoms-in-Molecules (AIM) theory. The total number of H-bonds is 168 and their types are C1'H...O2, C2'H2...O5', C2'H2...O2, C3'H...O2, C5'H1...O2, C5'H2...O2, C6H...O4', C6H...O5', C3'H...HC6, O3'H...O5', O5'H...O3', O5'H...O4' and O5'H...O2. Conformational, geometric and electron-topological properties of H-bonds are presented.     

Characteristics of the serological passage of Escherichia isolated from children and adults with acute intestinal infections

The serological picture of Escherichia (5,910 strains), isolated from 1,430 inpatients (486 adults and 944 children) with acute intestinal infections by means of new diagnostic preparations (Escherichia rapid agglutinating O- and H-systems), was studied. In 15% of the adults and 26-28% of the children no Escherichia were detected. The serological picture of Escherichia proved to comprise 143 O-groups and 334 serovars; about 50% of the strains belonged to 11 prevailing O-groups: O1, O2, O4, O6, O7, O8, O9, O16, O21, O75, O85. The serological picture in the adults was more variegated than that in the children: from most of the patients (77.2%) Escherichia were isolated as a mixture of 2-9 serovars. The isolation rate of Escherichia monocultures and the incidence of Escherichia belonging to different O-groups were the same in patients of different ages, with the exception of groups O4, O6, O26, O55 and O111 which were more frequent in young children.     

Structures of lipopolysaccharides from Klebsiella pneumoniae. Eluicidation of the structure of the linkage region between core and polysaccharide O chain and identification of the residues at the non-reducing termini of the O chains

Deamination of LPSs from Klebsiella pneumoniae released O-chain polysaccharides together with a fragment of the core oligosaccharide. The structures of the products from serotypes O1, O2a, O2a,c, O3, O4, O5, and O12 were determined by NMR spectroscopy and chemical methods, identifying the linkage region between the O antigens and the core as well as novel residues at the non-reducing ends of the polysaccharides. All serotypes had an identical linkage between the O chain and core.     

Comparison of immunochemical specificities of Vibrio parahaemolyticus O10 and O12 antigens using monoclonal antibodies.

The monoclonal antibodies against Vibrio parahaemolyticus O10 and O12 antigens (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) were prepared and specificities of the antibodies were examined. Five of six anti-O10 antibodies reacted with O10 antigen, but none of them reacted with O12 antigen. On the contrary all of the five anti-O12 antibodies reacted with O10 antigen as well as homologous O12 antigen. O10 and O12 antigens were subjected to alkali treatment or periodate oxidation, and reactivities of these chemically modified preparations with the monoclonal antibodies were examined. Reactivities of O10 with anti-O10 and anti-O12 antibodies were reduced by the above two chemical treatments, but that of O12 with anti-O12 was not. O-Deacetylation of O10 LPS by the alkaline treatment was confirmed by NMR spectroscopy. These results suggest contributions to O10-specificity of O-acetyl group and periodate sensitive sugar residue. Inhibition experiments of O10 and O12 homologous precipitations were also carried out with various sugars. From the results we concluded that O10 and O12 antigenic determinants were distinct entities, although O10 and O12 antigens have been reported to be similar and cross-reactive.     

The genes responsible for O-antigen synthesis of vibrio cholerae O139 are closely related to those of vibrio cholerae O22.

Several studies have shown that the emergence of the O139 serogroup of Vibrio cholerae is a result of horizontal gene transfer of a fragment of DNA from a serogroup other than O1 into the region responsible for O-antigen biosynthesis of the seventh pandemic V. cholerae O1 biotype El Tor strain. In this study, we show that the gene cluster responsible for O-antigen biosynthesis of the O139 serogroup of V. cholerae is closely related to those of O22. When DNA fragments derived from O139 O-antigen biosynthesis gene region were used as probes, the entire O139 O-antigen biosynthesis gene region could be divided into five classes, designated as I-V based on the reactivity pattern of the probes against reference strains of V. cholerae representing serogroups O1-O193. Class IV was specific to O139 serogroup, while classes I-III and class V were homologous to varying extents to some of the non-O1, non-O139 serogroups. Interestingly, the regions other than class IV were also conserved in the O22 serogroup. Long and accurate PCR was employed to determine if a simple deletion or substitution was involved to account for the difference in class IV between O139 and O22. A product of approx. 15kb was amplified when O139 DNA was used as the template, while a product of approx. 12.5kb was amplified when O22 DNA was used as the template, indicating that substitution but not deletion could account for the difference in the region between O22 and O139 serogroups. In order to precisely compare between the genes responsible for O-antigen biosynthesis of O139 and O22, the region responsible for O-antigen biosynthesis of O22 serogroup was cloned and analyzed. In concurrence with the results of the hybridization test, all regions were well conserved in O22 and O139 serogroups, although wbfA and the five or six genes comprising class IV in O22 and O139 serogroups, respectively, were exceptions. Again the genes in class IV in O22 were confirmed to be specific to O22 among the 155 'O' serogroups of V. cholerae. These data suggest that the gene clusters responsible for O139 O-antigen biosynthesis are most similar to those of O22 and genes within class IV of O139, and O22 defines the unique O antigen of O139 or O22.     

Radiation sensitization of E. coli B/r by mixtures of oxygen and nitrous oxide

Oxygen (O2) sensitizes bacterial cells in at least two mechanistically different ways, depending on the specific O2 concentration present during irradiation. Based on previous work from this laboratory, it has been proposed that nitrous oxide (N2O) and low concentrations of O2 share a common mechanism for damage. This mechanism, involving the production of superoxide anion radicals (O2-), is different from that which causes damage at high O2 concentrations. Others, however, have presented evidence that N2O and O2 (usually tested only at high concentrations) act in different ways to sensitize bacterial cells. We have now measured the radiation sensitivity in mixtures of N2O and O2 to observe additivity patterns and to determine if these two agents have any common processes for sensitization. We found that some low O2 concentrations do not increase the response in N2O, although they can have significant sensitizing effects in N2. This lack of additivity is taken as evidence for a common mechanism of damage from N2O and low concentrations of O2. In contrast, damage from high concentrations of O2 is additive to the damage from N2O. The greatest sensitivity, observed with a gas mixture of about 15 per cent O2/85 per cent N2O, is equivalent to the response in 100 per cent N2 plus the maximum amount of damage O2 can cause plus the maximum amount of damage N2O can cause. This additivity is taken as evidence that N2O and high concentrations of O2 sensitize in different ways. Thus, O2 is known to sensitize these bacteria in at least two different ways; one of these is apparently also the way N2O sensitizes.     

我国部分地区禽源性大肠杆菌的外膜蛋白型

测定了从我国１８个省、市、自治区分离到的２０４个禽病原性大肠杆菌优势血清型分离株的外膜蛋白型（ＯｕｔｅｒＭｅｍｂｒａｎｅＰｒｏｔｅｉｎＰａｔｅｒｎｓ,ＯＭＰ型）。这些分离株共产生了４个ＯＭＰ型,５６个Ｏ１８分离株可分为３个ＯＭＰ型,５４个Ｏ７８分离株、２８个Ｏ２分离株、２６个Ｏ８８分离株、２２个Ｏ１１分离株和１８个Ｏ２６分离株,分别出现了４、２、１、３和１个ＯＭＰ型。其中,ＯＭＰ１型为６个血清型所共有,ＯＭＰ３型则同时存在于Ｏ１８、Ｏ７８、Ｏ２和Ｏ１１分离株中。结果表明,优势血清型中,Ｏ１８、Ｏ７８、Ｏ２和Ｏ１１分离株具有多样性的ＯＭＰ型,而Ｏ８８、Ｏ２６分离株的ＯＭＰ型则高度一致,所测６个优势血清型的分离株间存在共同的ＯＭＰ型     

Prevalence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa O serogroups

The serological typing of 708 P. aeruginosa strains made it possible to determine serogroups in 97.9% of cultures. Serogroups O2 and O6 were the most prevalent (33.8% and 2.5% respectively); serotypes O1, O3 and O11 also occurred rather frequently (about 10%); O4, O7 and O9 were rare (3-8%), serotypes O10 and O12, very rare (less than 1%). The prevalence of P. aeruginosa strains O2 and O6 among the clinical strains was shown over a period of 10 years, serogroup O2 always playing the leading role. In serogroups, the predominance of strains with a definite combination of partial antigen was established; strains with the antigenic structure not described in the International Scheme of the Structure of O-Antigens were detected.     

Potent adjuvant action of lipopolysaccharides possessing the O-specific polysaccharide moieties consisting of mannans in antibody response against protein antigen

It was previously reported that Klebsiella O3 lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exhibits extraordinarily strong adjuvant activity in augmenting antibody response against protein antigens in mice compared with other kinds of LPS, for example, LPS from Escherichia coli O55, O111, and O127 and Salmonella enteritidis. The present study was undertaken to clarify the relationship between the strong adjuvant activity in augmenting antibody response against deaggregated bovine gammaglobulin and the chemical structure of LPS. Among LPS from Klebsiella O1, O4, O5, and O7, only O5 LPS exhibited nearly the same degree of the strong adjuvant activity as did O3 LPS. The adjuvant activity of the other LPS was very weak in a degree similar to that of LPS from E. coli O55 and O127. Even when the natural forms of Klebsiella O3 LPS and O1 LPS were converted to various defined uniform salt forms, their adjuvant activity did not significantly differ from that of the respective natural forms. It is therefore unlikely that the difference in strength of the adjuvant activity between Klebsiella O3 LPS and O1 LPS is due to the difference in their salt forms. The common feature in the structures of Klebsiella O3 LPS and O5 LPS is their O-specific polysaccharide chains consisting of the mannose homopolysaccharides (mannans). LPS from E. coli O8 and O9, the O-specific polysaccharide chains of which consist of the mannans, also exhibited much stronger adjuvant activity than do LPS from E. coli O55 and O127, and the strength of the adjuvant activities of the former two was comparable to that of LPS from Klebsiella O3 and O5. On the other hand, LPS from Klebsiella O3 and O5 and E. coli O8 and O9 showed the ability to activate B lymphocytes polyclonally in vivo in a degree similar to that of the other kinds of LPS. From the present results it can be concluded that LPS possessing the O-specific polysaccharide moieties consisting of the mannans exhibit extraordinarily strong adjuvant activity in augmenting antibody response against protein antigen.     

Suitability of AFLP markers for the study of genomic relationships within theOxalis tuberosa alliance

O. tuberosa is an Andean crop that belongs to the worldwide distributed genusOxalis. On the basis of their chromosome numbers the following species (O. herrerae, O. lotoides, O. medicaginea, O. mollissima, O. oblongiformis, O. peduncularis, O. spiralis, O. subintegra, O. tabaconanensis, O. tuberosa, O. villosula) were placed in an alliance. To analyse five species belonging to theOxalis tuberosa alliance (O. oblongiformis, O. peduncularis, O. tabaconanensis, O. tuberosa andO. villosula) and a distant member of the genus (O. articulata), we examined 253 AFLP markers generated after amplification using four primer combinations. Within the alliance, two main clusters were observed, one containing the diploid species and the other group with the polyploid speciesO. tuberosa. All of the primer combinations assayed showed the same clustering pattern. Grouping of accessions of each species by data analysis corresponded largely with their previous taxonomic classifications. The concordance between the clustering of the individuals belonging to different species obtained in this work show the appropriateness of AFLP markers for this type of study. The results obtained are in good agreement with the cytogenetic hypothesis and showed a clustering behaviour, which is similar to the one previously obtained using ITS rDNA nucleotide sequence comparison.     

The spread of the causative agent of yersiniosis in the regions of Sochi and adjacent areas

Yersinia enterocolitica sensu stricto, Y. kristensenii, Y. aldovae and Y. intermedia strains were for the first time isolated in the Sochi districts from people, synanthropic rodents and washings from vegetables. In the adjacent alpine and subalpine areas isolates were obtained from wild rodents. 86.7% of the isolated strains were assigned to the known antigenic variants; O16; O5; O6.31; O7.8 and O6.30 serovars were predominant. All the strains isolated from people belonged to biovar 1 and O5; O6.31; O6.30 and O10 serovars. Y. intermedia and Y. aldovae belonged to O1, 2a, 3 and O16 serovars respectively. Y. kristensenii could not be agglutinated with sera against type strains of Yersiniae represented in the antigenic scheme of Wauters et al.     

Sequence of the Escherichia coli O26 O antigen gene cluster and identification of O26 specific genes

Escherichia coli associated with outbreaks of gastroenteritis and hemolytic uremic syndrome include clones with O antigens O157 and O111. However, O26 has emerged as an O antigen present in pathogenic strains, particularly those implicated in cases of infantile gastroenteritis worldwide. The O26 O antigen gene cluster was sequenced. It was found to contain the genes expected for biosynthesis of nucleotide sugars L-rhamnose, N-acetyl-L-fucosamine and N-acetyl-glucosamine, as well genes for O unit flippase, O antigen polymerase and potential transferase genes. By polymerase chain reaction testing against representative strains for the 166 Escherichia coli O serogroups and some randomly selected Gram-negative bacteria, we identified three O antigen genes that are highly specific to O26. This work provides the basis for a sensitive test for the rapid detection of pathogenic clones with the O26 antigen, which has implications for public health, especially in the control of food-borne outbreaks.     

Phylogeny of the genus Omphalotus based on nuclear ribosomal DNA-sequences

The evolutionary history of the genus Omphalotus was inferred from DNA sequences of the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 rDNA region. We analyzed 32 collections from different geographical areas: O. olearius (Europe), O. illudens (Europe, North America), O. subilludens (North America), O. olivascens var. olivascens (North America) and var. indigo (Mexico), O. mexicanus (Middle America), O. nidiformis (Australia), and O. japonicus (Japan). Phylogenetic analysis was performed declaring Nothopanus eugrammus as outgroup. Our analyses show that the genus Omphalotus is split into two major clades, the first consisting of O. illudens and O. mexicanus and the second comprising O. olearius, O. olivascens, O. japonicus, O. nidiformis and O. subilludens. Moreover, the often discussed synonymy of O. illudens and O. olearius is rejected. Omphalotus japonicus, a species formerly placed in the genus Lampteromyces Sing. for morphological reasons, clustered as the sister group of O. olearius.     

Cloning and sequence of a region encoding a surface polysaccharide of Vibrio cholerae O139 and characterization of the insertion site in the chromosome of Vibrio cholerae O1

Vibrio cholerae serogroup O139 Bengal is the first documented serogroup other than O1 to cause epidemic cholera. The O139 Bengal strains are very similar to V. cholerae serogroup O1 biotype El Tor strains. The major differences between the two serogroups are that O139 Bengal contains a distinct O antigen and produces a polysaccharide capsule. We previously described three Tn phoA mutants of O139 strain AI1837 which abolish both O antigen and capsule production. These Tn phoA insertions were mapped to a 21.5 kb Eco RI fragment of the O139 chromosome. We describe here the cloning and mapping of this 21.5 kb Eco RI fragment and it was shown to complement each of the mutants in trans to produce O antigen and capsule. The Eco RI fragment contains 13 kb of DNA that is specific to O139 and 8.5 kb of DNA that is common to O1 and O139. Sequence analysis of the 13 kb of O139-specific DNA revealed that it contains 11 open reading frames all of which are transcribed in the same direction. Eight of the 11 open reading frames are homologous to sugar biosynthesis genes from other organisms. Using extended polymerase chain reactions, we show that the extent of the DNA region in O139 that is not present in O1 is approximately 35kb. The site of insertion of this O139-specific DNA in the O1 chromosome was mapped to the rfb _O1 region. We also demonstrate that O139 Bengal strain AI1837 contains a deletion of 22 kb that in serogroup O1 strains contains the rfb region. Therefore, O139 Bengal probably arose from an O1 strain that had undergone genetic rearrangements including deletion of the O1 rfb region and acquisition of a 35 kb region of DNA which encodes O139 surface polysaccharide.     

Characterization of Escherichia coli O3 and O21 O antigen gene clusters and development of serogroup-specific PCR assays

Escherichia coli O3 and O21 are associated with enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC). EAEC strains are often non-typable using the routine agglutination method due to their aggregative phenotype. Typing of E. coli O3 and O21 may also be impeded by cross-reactions with O152 or O83. In this study, the O antigen gene clusters of E. coli O3 and O21 were characterized, and PCR assays based on O antigen specific genes wzx (encoding O unit flippase) and wzy (encoding O unit polymerase) from each strain were developed. By screening against all 186 known E. coli O serotypes, the PCR assays were shown to be highly specific to O3 and O21 respectively. The sensitivity of the assays was determined to be 1 pg per mul of chromosomal DNA and 2 CFU per 10 g of water samples. The PCR assays were also applied to 658 clinical E. coli isolates, and 100% of detection accuracy was obtained. The PCR assays developed here are suitable for the detection and identification of E. coli O3 and O21 strains in environmental and clinical samples.     

Development of Three Multiplex PCR Assays Targeting the 21 Most Clinically Relevant Serogroups Associated with Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli Infection in Humans

Escherichia coli serogroups O5, O15, O26, O45, O55, O76, O91, O103, O104, O111, O113, O118, O121, O123, O128, O145, O146, O157, O165, O172, and O177 are the O-antigen forms of the most clinically relevant Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) serotypes. In this study, three multiplex PCR assays able to specifically detect these 21 serogroups were developed and validated. For this purpose, the O-antigen gene clusters of E. coli O5 and O76 were fully sequenced, their associated genes were identified on the basis of homology, and serogroup-specific primers were designed. After preliminary evaluation, these two primer pairs were proven to be highly specific and suitable for the development of PCR assays for O5 and O76 serogroup identification. Specific primers were also designed for serogroups O15, O45, O55, O91, O104, O113, O118, O123, O128, O146, O157, O165, O172, and O177 based on previously published sequences, and previously published specific primers for serogroups O26, O103, O111, O121, and O145 were also included. These 21 primer pairs were shown to be specific for their target serogroup when tested against E. coli type strains representing 169 known O-antigen forms of E. coli and Shigella and therefore suitable for being used in PCR assays for serogroup identification. In order to validate the three multiplex PCR assays, 22 E. coli strains belonging to the 21 covered serogroups and 18 E. coli strains belonging to other serogroups were screened in a double-blind test and their sensitivity was determined as 1 ng chromosomal DNA. The PCR assays developed in this study could be a faster, simpler, and less expensive strategy for serotyping of the most clinically relevant STEC strains in both clinical microbiology and public health laboratories, and so their development could benefit for clinical diagnosis, epidemiological investigations, surveillance, and control of STEC infections.