Identification of Paenibacillus larvae to the subspecies level: an obstacle for AFB diagnosis

This study was initially aimed at developing a PCR-test to differentiate between the pathogenic agent of American foulbrood (Paenibacillus larvae subsp. larvae) and powdery-scale disease (P. larvae subsp. pulvifaciens) of the honeybee. The test was based on the "insert of clone 9" (iC9), referring to a cloned 1.9 kB HaeIII fragment that occurs only in the P. larvae subsp. larvae reference strains and possibly correlates with American foulbrood virulence. It was shown that an iC9-based PCR-test discriminates between the BCCM/LMG reference strains of both subspecies. However, the screening of 179 Belgian field strains revealed five isolates that gave no iC9-based amplicon, thus rather resembling to P. larvae subsp. pulvifaciens. In addition, they all produced acid from mannitol, a characteristic previously assigned to the pulvifaciens subspecies. Because the reference strains gave conflicting data, this carbohydrate acidification was not conclusive. Therefore, the exact taxonomic position of the five retained strains was determined by a polyphasic approach using SDS-PAGE, AFLP, and ERIC-based PCR. Four iC9-negative field strains could be identified as P. larvae subsp. larvae; the taxonomic position of the fifth field strain remained ambiguous. The latter was provisionally classified as a subspecies pulvifaciens strain on the basis of SDS-PAGE. The present paper demonstrates the existence of field strains that do not fit well in the subdivision of the species P. larvae into two subspecies. Knowing that only one of both subspecies represents the pathogenic agent of AFB, this is a serious obstacle for the diagnosis of this honeybee disease.     

A high-throughput turbidometric assay for screening inhibitors of Leishmania major protein disulfide isomerase

The use of a high-throughput technique to perform a pilot screen for Leishmania major protein disulfide isomerase (LmPDI) inhibitors identification is reported. In eukaryotic cells, protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) plays a crucial role in protein folding by catalyzing the rearrangement of disulfide bonds in substrate proteins following their synthesis. LmPDI displays similar domain structure organization and functional properties to other PDI family members and is involved in Leishmania virulence. The authors used a method based on the enzyme-catalyzed reduction of insulin in the presence of dithiothreitol. The screen of a small library of 1920 compounds was performed in a 384-well format and led to the identification of 27 compounds with inhibitory activity against LmPDI. The authors further tested the cytotoxicity of these compounds using Jurkat cells as well as their effect on Leishmania donovani amastigotes using high-content analysis. Results show hexachlorophene and a mixture of theaflavin monogallates inhibit Leishmania multiplication in infected macrophages derived from THP-1 cells, although the inhibitory effect on LmPDI enzymatic activity does not necessarily correlate with the antileishmanial activity.     

Synthesis of full length PB1-F2 influenza A virus proteins from 'Spanish flu' and 'bird flu'.

The proapoptotic influenza A virus PB1-F2 protein contributes to viral pathogenicity and is present in most human and avian isolates. Previous synthetic protocols have been improved to provide a synthetic full length H1N1 type PB1-F2 protein that is encoded by the 'Spanish flu' isolate and an equivalent protein from an avian host that is representative of a highly pathogenic H5N1 'bird flu' isolate, termed SF2 and BF2, respectively. Full length SF2, different mutants of BF2 and a number of fragments of these peptides have been synthesized by either the standard solid-phase peptide synthesis method or by native chemical ligation of unprotected N- and C-terminal peptide fragments. For SF2 chemical ligation made use of the histidine and the cysteine residues located in positions 41 and 42 of the native sequence, respectively, to afford a highly efficient synthesis of SF2 compared to the standard SPPS elongation method. By-product formation at the aspartic acid residue in position 23 was prevented by specific modifications of the SPPS protocol. As the native sequence of BF2 does not contain a cysteine residue two different mutants of BF2 (Y42C) and BF2 (S47C) with appropriate cysteine exchanges were produced. In addition to the full length molecules, fragments of the native sequences were synthesized for comparison of their physical characteristics with those from the H1N1 human isolate A/Puerto Rico/8/34 (H1N1). All peptides were analyzed by mass spectrometry, (1)H NMR spectroscopy, and SDS-PAGE. The protocols allow the synthesis of significant amounts of PB1-F2 and its related peptides. Copyright (c) 2008 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Calcium Dependence of Synaptic Vesicle Recycling Before and After Synaptogenesis

Abstract: Using an immunocytochemical assay to monitor synaptic vesicle exocytosis/endocytosis independently of neurotransmitter release, we have investigated some aspects of vesicle recycling in hippocampal neurons at different developmental stages. A calcium- and depolarization-dependent exocytotic/endocytotic recycling of synaptic vesicles was found to take place in neurons already before the formation of synaptic contacts. The analysis of synaptic vesicle recycling at different calcium concentrations revealed the presence of two release components: the first one activated by low calcium concentrations and sustaining vesicle recycling before synaptogenesis, and a second one activated by high calcium concentrations, which is specifically turned on after the establishment of synaptic contacts. These data suggest that formation of synapses correlates with the activation of a putative low-affinity calcium sensor, which allows synaptic vesicle exocytosis to be triggered and turned off over extremely short time scales, in response to large increases in the level of intracellular calcium.     

Human adipose tissue is a source of multipotent stem cells

Much of the work conducted on adult stem cells has focused on mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) found within the bone marrow stroma. Adipose tissue, like bone marrow, is derived from the embryonic mesenchyme and contains a stroma that is easily isolated. Preliminary studies have recently identified a putative stem cell population within the adipose stromal compartment. This cell population, termed processed lipoaspirate (PLA) cells, can be isolated from human lipoaspirates and, like MSCs, differentiate toward the osteogenic, adipogenic, myogenic, and chondrogenic lineages. To confirm whether adipose tissue contains stem cells, the PLA population and multiple clonal isolates were analyzed using several molecular and biochemical approaches. PLA cells expressed multiple CD marker antigens similar to those observed on MSCs. Mesodermal lineage induction of PLA cells and clones resulted in the expression of multiple lineage-specific genes and proteins. Furthermore, biochemical analysis also confirmed lineage-specific activity. In addition to mesodermal capacity, PLA cells and clones differentiated into putative neurogenic cells, exhibiting a neuronal-like morphology and expressing several proteins consistent with the neuronal phenotype. Finally, PLA cells exhibited unique characteristics distinct from those seen in MSCs, including differences in CD marker profile and gene expression.     

Assessing the Performance of Bacterial Cellulases: the Use of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Paenibacillus</Emphasis> Strains as Enzyme Sources for Lignocellulose Saccharification

Plant biomass offers a renewable and environmentally favorable source of sugars that can be converted to different chemicals, second-generation ethanol, and other liquid fuels. Cellulose makes up approximately 45 % of the dry weight of lignocellulosic biomass. Prior to the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose, lignin and hemicellulose must be structurally altered or removed, at least in part, by chemical and/or physical pretreatments. However, the high cost and low efficiency of the enzymatic hydrolysis prevent the process from being economically competitive. For this reason, it is necessary to find enzymes suitable for this type of process, with higher specific activities and greater efficiency. Members of the Bacillus and Paenibacillus genera have been traditionally used for the production of many enzymes for industrial applications. Cellulases produced by both genera have shown activity on soluble and crystalline cellulose and high thermostability and/or activity over a wide pH spectrum. In this review, the most recent information about the characterization of cellulolytic enzymes obtained from new strains of the Bacillus and Paenibacillus genera are reviewed. We focused on the variety of isoenzymes produced by these cellulolytic strains, their optimal production and reaction conditions, and their kinetic parameters and biotechnological potential.     

Expressed sequence tags and molecular cloning and characterization of gene encoding pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductase from Podophyllum hexandrum

Podophyllotoxin, an aryltetralin lignan, is the source of important anticancer drugs etoposide, teniposide, and etopophos. Roots/rhizome of Podophyllum hexandrum form one of the most important sources of podophyllotoxin. In order to understand genes involved in podophyllotoxin biosynthesis, two suppression subtractive hybridization libraries were synthesized, one each from root/rhizome and leaves using high and low podophyllotoxin-producing plants of P. hexandrum. Sequencing of clones identified a total of 1,141 Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) resulting in 354 unique ESTs. Several unique ESTs showed sequence similarity to the genes involved in metabolism, stress/defense responses, and signalling pathways. A few ESTs also showed high sequence similarity with genes which were shown to be involved in podophyllotoxin biosynthesis in other plant species such as pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductase. A full length coding sequence of pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductase (PLR) has been cloned from P. hexandrum which was found to encode protein with 311 amino acids and show sequence similarity with PLR from Forsythia intermedia and Linum spp. Spatial and stress-inducible expression pattern of PhPLR and other known genes of podophyllotoxin biosynthesis, secoisolariciresinol dehydrogenase (PhSDH), and dirigent protein oxidase (PhDPO) have been studied. All the three genes showed wounding and methyl jasmonate-inducible expression pattern. The present work would form a basis for further studies to understand genomics of podophyllotoxin biosynthesis in P. hexandrum.