Methods for improved recovery of Listeria monocytogenes from cheese.

Method of homogenization (Waring blender versus stomacher), type of diluent (tryptose broth [TB] versus aqueous 2% trisodium citrate), and temperature of diluent (20 versus 40 degrees C) were compared for recovery of Listeria monocytogenes from freshly made and ripened Colby cheese. By using direct plating on McBride listeria agar, significantly higher numbers of L. monocytogenes were recovered when cheese samples were (i) homogenized for 2 min with the blender rather than the stomacher (P less than 0.01), (ii) diluted in trisodium citrate rather than TB (P less than 0.01), and (iii) diluted in diluents at 40 rather than 20 degrees C (P less than 0.05). Based on these results, a new diluent/enrichment medium was developed by adding 2% trisodium citrate to TB (TBC). Despite superior results with the blender, biosafety concerns led to use of the stomacher for homogenization of cheese samples; hence, the stomaching time was increased to 3 min. Results obtained by direct plating indicated that recovery of L. monocytogenes from Colby cheese and from curd samples taken during manufacture of brick cheese increased when samples were diluted 1:10 in TBC at 45 degrees C and stomached for 3 min, as compared with similarly treated samples diluted in TB at 25 degrees C. A similar comparison of both diluents for recovery of L. monocytogenes from cold-pack cheese food yielded bacterial counts which were not significantly different. Recovery of L. monocytogenes from cold-enriched (at 4 degrees C for up to 8 weeks) samples of Colby cheese and cold-pack cheese food was generally similar for samples homogenized in TBC or TB.     

p56lck protein-tyrosine kinase is cytoskeletal and does not bind to polyomavirus middle T antigen.

p56lck and p60c-src are closely related protein-tyrosine kinases that are activated by similar oncogenic mutations. We have used fibroblast cell lines that express p56lck from introduced DNA molecules to compare the subcellular localizations of p60c-src and p56lck and their abilities to bind polyomavirus middle T antigen (mT). p56lck is associated with the detergent-insoluble matrix, as defined by extraction with solutions containing nonionic detergents, whereas p60c-src is soluble under these conditions. p56lck is also associated with detergent-insoluble structures in a lymphoid cell line, LSTRA. p60c-src binds to mT, but p56lck does not bind detectably. In terms of both solubility and mT interactions, the nononcogenic p56lck more closely resembles oncogenically activated p60c-src mutants than it resembles p60c-src. Because published results show that an intact carboxy terminus is required for p60c-src to bind mT and be soluble, we tested whether the different localization and mT binding properties of p56lck and p60c-src were dictated by their different carboxy termini. A protein consisting largely of p60c-src sequences but carrying a p56lck carboxy terminus was soluble and bound to mT. We suggest that both the solubility and mT-binding properties of p60c-src not only require sequences common to the carboxy termini of p60c-src and p56lck, but also require sequences unique to the body of p60c-src.     

Using the Semantic Web for Rapid Integration of WikiPathways with Other Biological Online Data Resources

The diversity of online resources storing biological data in different formats provides a challenge for bioinformaticians to integrate and analyse their biological data. The semantic web provides a standard to facilitate knowledge integration using statements built as triples describing a relation between two objects. WikiPathways, an online collaborative pathway resource, is now available in the semantic web through a SPARQL endpoint at http://sparql.wikipathways.org. Having biological pathways in the semantic web allows rapid integration with data from other resources that contain information about elements present in pathways using SPARQL queries. In order to convert WikiPathways content into meaningful triples we developed two new vocabularies that capture the graphical representation and the pathway logic, respectively. Each gene, protein, and metabolite in a given pathway is defined with a standard set of identifiers to support linking to several other biological resources in the semantic web. WikiPathways triples were loaded into the Open PHACTS discovery platform and are available through its Web API (https://dev.openphacts.org/docs) to be used in various tools for drug development. We combined various semantic web resources with the newly converted WikiPathways content using a variety of SPARQL query types and third-party resources, such as the Open PHACTS API. The ability to use pathway information to form new links across diverse biological data highlights the utility of integrating WikiPathways in the semantic web.     

The role of eddies in the diving behaviour of female southern elephant seals

As the Antarctic Circumpolar Current crosses the South-West Indian Ocean Ridge, it creates an extensive eddy field characterised by high sea level anomaly variability. We investigated the diving behaviour of female southern elephant seals from Marion Island during their post-moult migrations in relation to this eddy field in order to determine its role in the animals’ at-sea dispersal. Most seals dived within the region significantly more often than predicted by chance, and these dives were generally shallower and shorter than dives outside the eddy field. Mixed effects models estimated reductions of 44.33 ± 3.00 m (maximum depth) and 6.37 ± 0.10 min (dive duration) as a result of diving within the region, along with low between-seal variability (maximum depth: 5.5 % and dive duration: 8.4 %). U-shaped dives increased in frequency inside the eddy field, whereas W-shaped dives with multiple vertical movements decreased. Results suggest that Marion Island’s adult female elephant seals’ dives are characterised by lowered cost-of-transport when they encounter the eddy field during the start and end of their post-moult migrations. This might result from changes in buoyancy associated with varying body condition upon leaving and returning to the island. Our results do not suggest that the eddy field is a vital foraging ground for Marion Island’s southern elephant seals. However, because seals preferentially travel through this area and likely forage opportunistically while minimising transport costs, we hypothesise that climate-mediated changes in the nature or position of this region may alter the seals’ at-sea dispersal patterns.     

Simple Method To Detect beta-Galactosidase

A simple and rapid method was developed to detect beta-galactosidase by using alpha- or beta-naphthyl-beta-d-galactopyranoside as substrate and fast garnet GBC as a dye coupler following polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This method was specific for beta-galactosidase but not for phospho-beta-galactosidase.     

Incorporation of (2-14C)acetate into lipids of mink (Mustela vison) liver and intestine during in vitro and in vivo treatment with aflatoxin B1.

The in vitro and in vivo incorporation of (2-14C)acetate into lipids of mink (Mustela vison) liver and intestines was studied. In vitro, a dose of aflatoxin B1 as small as 7.5 mug/ml of medium reduced by 20% the amount of (2-14C)acetate incorporated into lipids of mink liver slices, whereas 180 mug caused 76% reduction in the synthesis of lipids from the radioactive precusor. Similar inhibition of lipid synthesis by aflatoxin also was observed with tissues from mink intestines and fatty liver. The degree of inhibition (19 to 84% for tissue from intestines and 19 to 64% for tissue from fatty livers) depended on the amount of aflatoxin B1 (7.5 TO 180 MUG) present in the medium. In vivo, a substantially increased amount of 14C-labeled lipids was found in the livers of mink injected with 600 mug of aflatoxin B1 per kg of body weight 20, 28, and 40 h earlier. However, no appreciable difference in incorporation of (2-14C)acetate into lipids was observed between toxin-treated and control animals when these animals were sacrificed and examined for 14C-labeled lipids at 4 and 10 h after toxin was administered.