Regulatory and structural properties differentiating the chromosomal and the bacteriophage-associated <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> O157:H7 Cu,Zn Superoxide Dismutases

Background  

Highly virulent enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 strains possess three sodC genes encoding for periplasmic Cu, Zn superoxide dismutases: sodC, which is identical to the gene present in non-pathogenic E. coli strains, and sodC-F1 and sodC-F2, two nearly identical genes located within lambdoid prophage sequences. The significance of this apparent sodC redundancy in E. coli O157:H7 has not yet been investigated.     

Oxygen limitation modulates pH regulation of catabolism and hydrogenases, multidrug transporters, and envelope composition inEscherichia coli K-12

Background  

InEscherichia coli, pH regulates genes for amino-acid and sugar catabolism, electron transport, oxidative stress, periplasmic and envelope proteins. Many pH-dependent genes are co-regulated by anaerobiosis, but the overall intersection of pH stress and oxygen limitation has not been investigated.     

Complete PHB mobilization in Escherichia coli enhances the stress tolerance: a potential biotechnological application

Background  

Poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) mobilization in bacteria has been proposed as a mechanism that can benefit their host for survival under stress conditions. Here we reported for the first time that a stress-induced system enabled E. coli, a non-PHB producer, to mobilize PHB in vivo by mimicking natural PHB accumulation bacteria.     

Computational identification of rare codons of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> based on codon pairs preference

Background  

Codon bias is believed to play an important role in the control of gene expression. In Escherichia coli, some rare codons, which can limit the expression level of exogenous protein, have been defined by gene engineering operations. Previous studies have confirmed the existence of codon pair's preference in many genomes, but the underlying cause of this bias has not been well established. Here we focus on the patterns of rarely-used synonymous codons. A novel method was introduced to identify the rare codons merely by codon pair bias in Escherichia coli.     

Improving Salmonella vector with rec mutation to stabilize the DNA cargoes

Background  

Salmonella has been employed to deliver therapeutic molecules against cancer and infectious diseases. As the carrier for target gene(s), the cargo plasmid should be stable in the bacterial vector. Plasmid recombination has been reduced in E. coli by mutating several genes including the recA, recE, recF and recJ. However, to our knowledge, there have been no published studies of the effect of these or any other genes that play a role in plasmid recombination in Salmonella enterica.     

Functions of the Clostridium acetobutylicium FabF and FabZ proteins in unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis

Background  

The original anaerobic unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis pathway proposed by Goldfine and Bloch was based on in vivo labeling studies in Clostridium butyricum ATCC 6015 (now C. beijerinckii) but to date no dedicated unsaturated fatty acid biosynthetic enzyme has been identified in Clostridia. C. acetobutylicium synthesizes the same species of unsaturated fatty acids as E. coli, but lacks all of the known unsaturated fatty acid synthetic genes identified in E. coli and other bacteria. A possible explanation was that two enzymes of saturated fatty acid synthesis of C. acetobutylicium, FabZ and FabF might also function in the unsaturated arm of the pathway (a FabZ homologue is known to be an unsaturated fatty acid synthetic enzyme in enterococci).     

Rapid identification and mapping of insertion sequences in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> genomes using vectorette PCR

Background  

Insertion sequences (IS) are small DNA segments capable of transposing within and between prokaryotic genomes, often causing insertional mutations and chromosomal rearrangements. Although several methods are available for locating ISs in microbial genomes, they are either labor-intensive or inefficient. Here, we use vectorette PCR to identify and map the genomic positions of the eight insertion sequences (IS1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 30, 150, and 186) found in E. coli strain CGSC6300, a close relative of MG1655 whose genome has been sequenced.     

Impact of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">rpoS</Emphasis> genotype for acid resistance patterns of pathogenic and probiotic <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis>

Background  

Enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), a subgroup of Shiga toxin (Stx) producing E. coli (STEC), may cause severe enteritis and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and is transmitted orally via contaminated foods or from person to person. The infectious dose is known to be very low, which requires most of the bacteria to survive the gastric acid barrier. Acid resistance therefore is an important mechanism of EHEC virulence. It should also be a relevant characteristic of E. coli strains used for therapeutic purposes such as the probiotic E. coli Nissle 1917 (EcN). In E. coli and related enteric bacteria it has been extensively demonstrated, that the alternative sigma factor σ^S, encoded by the rpoS gene, acts as a master regulator mediating resistance to various environmental stress factors.     

A plant MinD homologue rescues Escherichia coli HL1 mutant (ΔMinDE) in the absence of MinE

Background  

In E. coli, the Min operon (MinCDE) plays a key role in determining the site of cell division. MinE oscillates from the middle to one pole or another to drive the MinCD complex to the end of the cell. The MinCD complex prevents FtsZ ring formation and the subsequent cell division at cell ends. In Arabidopsis thaliana, a homologue of MinD has been shown to be involved in the positioning of chloroplast division site.     

Use of the λ Red-recombineering method for genetic engineering of Pantoea ananatis

Background  

Pantoea ananatis, a member of the Enterobacteriacea family, is a new and promising subject for biotechnological research. Over recent years, impressive progress in its application to L-glutamate production has been achieved. Nevertheless, genetic and biotechnological studies of Pantoea ananatis have been impeded because of the absence of genetic tools for rapid construction of direct mutations in this bacterium. The λ Red-recombineering technique previously developed in E. coli and used for gene inactivation in several other bacteria is a high-performance tool for rapid construction of precise genome modifications.     

Systems biology approach reveals that overflow metabolism of acetate in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> is triggered by carbon catabolite repression of acetyl-CoA synthetase

Background  

The biotechnology industry has extensively exploited Escherichia coli for producing recombinant proteins, biofuels etc. However, high growth rate aerobic E. coli cultivations are accompanied by acetate excretion i.e. overflow metabolism which is harmful as it inhibits growth, diverts valuable carbon from biomass formation and is detrimental for target product synthesis. Although overflow metabolism has been studied for decades, its regulation mechanisms still remain unclear.     

Prevalence and characterization of plasmids carrying sulfonamide resistance genes among <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> from pigs,pig carcasses and human

Background  

Sulfonamide resistance is very common in Escherichia coli. The aim of this study was to characterize plasmids carrying sulfonamide resistance genes (sul1, sul2 and sul3) in E. coli isolated from pigs and humans with a specific objective to assess the genetic diversity of plasmids involved in the mobility of sul genes.     

RecA Proteins from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Deinococcus geothermalis</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Deinococcus murrayi</Emphasis> - Cloning,Purification and Biochemical Characterisation

Background  

Escherichia coli RecA plays a crucial role in recombinational processes, the induction of SOS responses and mutagenic lesion bypasses. It has also been demonstrated that RecA protein is indispensable when it comes to the reassembly of shattered chromosomes in γ-irradiated Deinococcus radiodurans, one of the most radiation-resistant organisms known. Moreover, some functional differences between E. coli and D. radiodurans RecA proteins have also been shown.     

Formation of functional Tat translocases from heterologous components

Background  

The Tat pathway transports folded proteins across the cytoplasmic membrane of bacteria and the thylakoid membrane of plants. In Eschericha coli, Tat transport requires the integral membrane proteins TatA, TatB and TatC. In this study we have tested the ability of tat genes from the eubacterial species Pseudomonas syringae, Streptomyces coelicolor and Aquifex aeolicus, to compensate for the absence of the cognate E. coli tat gene, and thus to form functional Tat translocases with E. coli Tat components.     

Molecular analysis of type 3 fimbrial genes from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Klebsiella</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Citrobacter</Emphasis> species

Background  

Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is the most common nosocomial infection in the United States and is caused by a range of uropathogens. Biofilm formation by uropathogens that cause CAUTI is often mediated by cell surface structures such as fimbriae. In this study, we characterised the genes encoding type 3 fimbriae from CAUTI strains of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Klebsiella oxytoca, Citrobacter koseri and Citrobacter freundii.     

Role of the ArcAB two-component system in the resistance of Escherichia coli to reactive oxygen stress

Background  

The global regulatory system ArcAB controls the anaerobic growth of E. coli, however, its role in aerobic conditions is not well characterized. We have previously reported that ArcA was necessary for Salmonella to resist reactive oxygen species (ROS) in aerobic conditions.     

Two heterologously expressed <Emphasis Type="Italic">Planobispora rosea</Emphasis> proteins cooperatively induce <Emphasis Type="Italic">Streptomyces lividans</Emphasis> thiostrepton uptake and storage from the extracellular medium

Background  

A bacterial artificial chromosomal library of Planobispora rosea, a genetically intractable actinomycete strain, was constructed using Escherichia coli - Streptomyces artificial chromosome (ESAC) and screened for the presence of genes known to be involved in the biosynthesis of antibiotics.