Concordance of bacterial communities of two tick species and blood of their shared rodent host

High‐throughput sequencing is revealing that most macro‐organisms house diverse microbial communities. Of particular interest are disease vectors whose microbiome could potentially affect pathogen transmission and vector competence. We investigated bacterial community composition and diversity of the ticks Dermacentor variabilis (n = 68) and Ixodes scapularis (n = 15) and blood of their shared rodent host, Peromyscus leucopus (n = 45) to quantify bacterial diversity and concordance. The 16S rRNA gene was amplified from genomic DNA from field‐collected tick and rodent blood samples, and 454 pyrosequencing was used to elucidate their bacterial communities. After quality control, over 300 000 sequences were obtained and classified into 118 operational taxonomic units (OTUs, clustered at 97% similarity). Analysis of rarefied communities revealed that the most abundant OTUs were tick species‐specific endosymbionts, Francisella and Rickettsia, and the commonly flea‐associated bacterium Bartonella in rodent blood. An Arsenophonus and additional Francisella endosymbiont were also present in D. variabilis samples. Rickettsia was found in both tick species but not in rodent blood, suggesting that it is not transmitted during feeding. Bartonella was present in larvae and nymphs of both tick species, even those scored as unengorged. Relatively, few OTUs (e.g. Bartonella, Lactobacillus) were found in all sample types. Overall, bacterial communities from each sample type were significantly different and highly structured, independent of their dominant OTUs. Our results point to complex microbial assemblages inhabiting ticks and host blood including infectious agents, tick‐specific endosymbionts and environmental bacteria that could potentially affect arthropod‐vectored disease dynamics.     

CBOD5 treatment using the marshland upwelling system

Five-day carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand (CBOD₅) removal efficiency was evaluated for the marshland upwelling system (MUS) under both intermediate and saltwater conditions. The MUS treated decentralized wastewater from two private camps and a public restroom in the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Moss Point, Mississippi, and one private camp in the Barataria Terrebonne National Estuary, along Bayou Segnette, Louisiana. Raw wastewater was injected into the surrounding subsurface at a depth of 3.8 or 4.3 m. Various injection flow rates and frequencies were tested in addition to a synthetic wastewater trial. All trials followed a first-order background corrected removal equation, resulting in removal constants ranging from 0.49 to 3.32 m^?1 and predicted surface concentrations from 5.7 to 33.0 mg L^?1. CBOD₅ (unfiltered) influent concentrations of 282 ± 173 mg L^?1 were reduced to an overall effluent mean of 13 ± 13 mg L^?1 by a vector distance of 7 m at Moss Point and from 365 ± 151 mg L^?1 to 3.6 ± 7.6 mg L^?1 by a vector distance of 6 m for Bayou Segnette. Of seven trials, only one failed to achieve effluent CBOD₅ levels below a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) standard level of 25 mg L^?1.     

Assessing telomeric DNA content in pediatric cancers using whole-genome sequencing data

Background

Telomeres are the protective arrays of tandem TTAGGG sequence and associated proteins at the termini of chromosomes. Telomeres shorten at each cell division due to the end-replication problem and are maintained above a critical threshold in malignant cancer cells to prevent cellular senescence or apoptosis. With the recent advances in massive parallel sequencing, assessing telomere content in the context of other cancer genomic aberrations becomes an attractive possibility. We present the first comprehensive analysis of telomeric DNA content change in tumors using whole-genome sequencing data from 235 pediatric cancers.

Results

To measure telomeric DNA content, we counted telomeric reads containing TTAGGGx4 or CCCTAAx4 and normalized to the average genomic coverage. Changes in telomeric DNA content in tumor genomes were clustered using a Bayesian Information Criterion to determine loss, no change, or gain. Using this approach, we found that the pattern of telomeric DNA alteration varies dramatically across the landscape of pediatric malignancies: telomere gain was found in 32% of solid tumors, 4% of brain tumors and 0% of hematopoietic malignancies. The results were validated by three independent experimental approaches and reveal significant association of telomere gain with the frequency of somatic sequence mutations and structural variations.

Conclusions

Telomere DNA content measurement using whole-genome sequencing data is a reliable approach that can generate useful insights into the landscape of the cancer genome. Measuring the change in telomeric DNA during malignant progression is likely to be a useful metric when considering telomeres in the context of the whole genome.     

Imaging and therapy of malignant pleural mesothelioma using replication-competent herpes simplex viruses

BACKGROUND: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive cancer that is refractory to current treatment modalities. Oncolytic herpes simplex viruses (HSV) used for gene therapy are genetically engineered, replication-competent viruses that selectively target tumor cells while sparing normal host tissue. The localized nature, the potential accessibility and the relative lack of distant metastasis make MPM a particularly suitable disease for oncolytic viral therapy. METHODS: The infectivity, selective replication, vector spread and cytotoxic ability of three oncolytic HSV: G207, NV1020 and NV1066, were tested against eleven pathological types of MPM cell lines including those that are resistant to radiation therapy, gemcitabine or cisplatin. The therapeutic efficacy and the effect on survival of NV1066 were confirmed in a murine MPM model. RESULTS: All three oncolytic HSV were highly effective against all the MPM cell lines tested. Even at very low concentrations of MOI 0.01 (MOI: multiplicity of viral infection, ratio of viral particles per cancer cell), HSV were highly effective against MPM cells that are resistant to radiation, gemcitabine and cisplatin. NV1066, an oncolytic HSV that expresses green fluorescent protein (GFP), was able to delineate the extent of the disease in a murine model of MPM due to selective infection and expression of GFP in tumor cells. Furthermore, NV1066 was able to reduce the tumor burden and prolong survival even when treatment was at an advanced stage of the disease. CONCLUSION: These findings support the continued investigation of oncolytic HSV as potential therapy for patients with therapy-resistant MPM.     

The “Buruli Score”: Development of a Multivariable Prediction Model for Diagnosis of Mycobacterium ulcerans Infection in Individuals with Ulcerative Skin Lesions,Akonolinga, Cameroon

Background

Access to laboratory diagnosis can be a challenge for individuals suspected of Buruli Ulcer (BU). Our objective was to develop a clinical score to assist clinicians working in resource-limited settings for BU diagnosis.

Methododology/Principal Findings

Between 2011 and 2013, individuals presenting at Akonolinga District Hospital, Cameroon, were enrolled consecutively. Clinical data were collected prospectively. Based on a latent class model using laboratory test results (ZN, PCR, culture), patients were categorized into high, or low BU likelihood. Variables associated with a high BU likelihood in a multivariate logistic model were included in the Buruli score. Score cut-offs were chosen based on calculated predictive values. Of 325 patients with an ulcerative lesion, 51 (15.7%) had a high BU likelihood. The variables identified for the Buruli score were: characteristic smell (+3 points), yellow color (+2), female gender (+2), undermining (+1), green color (+1), lesion hyposensitivity (+1), pain at rest (-1), size >5cm (-1), locoregional adenopathy (-2), age above 20 up to 40 years (-3), or above 40 (-5). This score had AUC of 0.86 (95%CI 0.82–0.89), indicating good discrimination between infected and non-infected individuals. The cut-off to reasonably exclude BU was set at scores <0 (NPV 96.5%; 95%CI 93.0–98.6). The treatment threshold was set at a cut-off ≥4 (PPV 69.0%; 95%CI 49.2–84.7). Patients with intermediate BU probability needed to be tested by PCR.

Conclusions/Significance

We developed a decisional algorithm based on a clinical score assessing BU probability. The Buruli score still requires further validation before it can be recommended for wide use.     

Oligomeric states of the SecA and SecYEG core components of the bacterial Sec translocon

Many proteins synthesized in the cytoplasm ultimately function in non-cytoplasmic locations. In Escherichia coli, the general secretory (Sec) pathway transports the vast majority of these proteins. Two fundamental components of the Sec transport pathway are the SecYEG heterotrimeric complex that forms the channel through the cytoplasmic membrane, and SecA, the ATPase that drives the preprotein to and across the membrane. This review focuses on what is known about the oligomeric states of these core Sec components and how the oligomeric state might change during the course of the translocation of a preprotein.