Scedosporium apiospermum keratitis

A case of Scedosporium apiospermum keratitis is reported in a 65-year-old farmer referred for treatment of an extensive corneal ulcer in the left eye. Direct examination of scrapes revealed abundant filamentous septate hyphae; all cultures were consistently positive for the same fungus, identified later as Scedosporium apiospermum. The patient successfully responded to treatment with amphotericin B.     

A role for the exosome in the in vivo degradation of unstable mRNAs

In mammals, the mRNAs encoding many proteins involved in inflammation bear destabilizing AU-rich elements (AREs) in the 3'-untranslated region. The exosome, a complex of 3' --> 5' exonucleases, is rate limiting in the destruction of such mRNAs in a mammalian in vitro system, but a role in vivo has not been demonstrated. The phenomenon of ARE-mediated degradation also occurs in the protist parasite Trypanosoma brucei. Messenger RNAs with 3'-untranslated region U-rich elements, which strongly resemble AREs, are extremely unstable in the trypanosome form that parasitizes mammals. The first step in degradation of these mRNAs in vivo is rapid destruction of the 3'-untranslated region; subsequently the mRNA is destroyed by exonucleases acting in both 5' --> 3' and 3' --> 5' directions. We here investigated the roles of three subunits of the trypanosome exosome complex, RRP45, RRP4, and CSL4, in this process, depleting the individual subunits in vivo by inducible RNA interference. RRP45 depletion, which probably disrupts exosome integrity, caused a delay in the onset of degradation of the very unstable RNAs, but did not affect degradation of more stable species. Depletion of RRP4 or CSL4 does not affect the stability of the residual exosome and did not change mRNA degradation kinetics. We conclude that the exosome is required for the initiation of rapid degradation of unstable mRNAs in trypanosomes.     

GARBAN: genomic analysis and rapid biological annotation of cDNA microarray and proteomic data

SUMMARY: Genomic Analysis and Rapid Biological ANnotation (GARBAN) is a new tool that provides an integrated framework to analyze simultaneously and compare multiple data sets derived from microarray or proteomic experiments. It carries out automated classifications of genes or proteins according to the criteria of the Gene Ontology Consortium at a level of depth defined by the user. Additionally, it performs clustering analysis of all sets based on functional categories or on differential expression levels. GARBAN also provides graphical representations of the biological pathways in which all the genes/proteins participate. AVAILABILITY: http://garban.tecnun.es.     

Caprellids (Crustacea: Amphipoda) from Papua New Guinea,with the description of a new species

This is the first study of caprellid amphipods from the coast of Papua New Guinea. Several collections from Madang Lagoon (north) and Bootless Bay (south) have been studied. Seven species in seven genera are recorded, of which Pseudoproto papua sp. nov. is described as new to science. The genus Pseudoproto Mayer, 1903 has consisted, so far, of only one species, Pseudoproto fallax Mayer, 1903. Although only a single male has been found of Pseudoproto papua sp. nov., differences in antennae, mouthparts, gnathopod 2 and pereopods 3 and 4 have revealed that it represents a new species of Pseudoproto. Lateral view figures of all species, together with a key to species level for the Caprellidea from Papua New Guinea are also included. Communicated by H.-D. Franke     

Cry29A and Cry30A: two novel delta-endotoxins isolated from Bacillus thuringiensis serovar medellin

Two novel crystal protein genes from a highly mosquitocidal Bacillus thuringiensis serovar medellin strain were cloned and sequenced. The corresponding proteins, Cry29A and Cry30A, were nontoxic when tested individually against the mosquito species bioassayed (Aedes aegypti, Culex pipiens and Anopheles stephensi). However, Cry29A synergized the toxicity of Cry11Bb against Aedes aegypti by a four-fold factor.     

Gene expression databases and data mining

The DNA microarray technology has arguably caught the attention of the worldwide life science community and is now systematically supporting major discoveries in many fields of study. The majority of the initial technical challenges of conducting experiments are being resolved, only to be replaced with new informatics hurdles, including statistical analysis, data visualization, interpretation, and storage. Two systems of databases, one containing expression data and one containing annotation data are quickly becoming essential knowledge repositories of the research community. This present paper surveys several databases, which are considered "pillars" of research and important nodes in the network. This paper focuses on a generalized workflow scheme typical for microarray experiments using two examples related to cancer research. The workflow is used to reference appropriate databases and tools for each step in the process of array experimentation. Additionally, benefits and drawbacks of current array databases are addressed, and suggestions are made for their improvement.     

Neo-clerodane diterpenoids from Croton schiedeanus

Two new neo-clerodane type furano diterpenoids were isolated from the aerial part of Croton schiedeanus, besides the clerodane diterpenes cis- and trans-dehydrocrotonin, previously isolated from other species of Croton. Structural elucidation was achieved on basis of extensive NMR experiments, including X-ray diffraction analysis and molecular mechanics calculations. The previously known flavonoids ayanin and quercetin-3,7-dimethyl ether were also obtained from the extract of this plant.