Chemotaxis-mediated biodegradation of cyclic nitramine explosives RDX, HMX, and CL-20 by Clostridium sp. EDB2

Cyclic nitramine explosives, RDX, HMX, and CL-20 are hydrophobic pollutants with very little aqueous solubility. In sediment and soil environments, they are often attached to solid surfaces and/or trapped in pores and distribute heterogeneously in aqueous environments. For efficient bioremediation of these explosives, the microorganism(s) must access them by chemotaxis ability. In the present study, we isolated an obligate anaerobic bacterium Clostridium sp. strain EDB2 from a marine sediment. Strain EDB2, motile with numerous peritrichous flagella, demonstrated chemotactic response towards RDX, HMX, CL-20, and NO(2)(-). The three explosives were biotransformed by strain EDB2 via N-denitration with concomitant release of NO(2)(-). Biotransformation rates of RDX, HMX, and CL-20 by the resting cells of strain EDB2 were 1.8+/-0.2, 1.1+/-0.1, and 2.6+/-0.2nmol h(-1)mgwet biomass(-1) (mean+/-SD; n=3), respectively. We found that commonly seen RDX metabolites such as TNX, methylenedinitramine, and 4-nitro-2,4-diazabutanal neither produced NO(2)(-) during reaction with strain EDB2 nor they elicited chemotaxis response in strain EDB2. The above data suggested that NO(2)(-) released from explosives during their biotransformation might have elicited chemotaxis response in the bacterium. Biodegradation and chemotactic ability of strain EDB2 renders it useful in accelerating the bioremediation of explosives under in situ conditions.     

Choline starvation induces the gene licD2 in Streptococcus pneumoniae

Mutant strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae were constructed to monitor the regulation of three dispersed genes known or predicted to act in choline metabolism. One gene (licD2) was regulated in response to choline deprivation over a 30-fold range. The other two (SP1860 and licC) responded little if at all to the same challenge.     

Smad7 Inhibits Mesoderm Formation and Promotes Neural Cell Fate inXenopusEmbryos

We report the isolation and characterization of a new inhibitory Smad inXenopus,which we have designated asXenopusSmad7. Smad7 is present at fairly constant levels throughout early development and at blastula stages enriched in the ventral side of the animal hemisphere. The induction of mesoderm by TGF-β-like signals is mediated by receptor ALK-4 and we show that Smad7 blocks signaling of ALK-4 in a graded fashion: lower levels of Smad7 block activation of dorsal mesoderm genes and higher levels block all mesoderm genes expression. Smad7 is able to directly activate neural markers in explants in the absence of mesoderm or endoderm. This neural-inducing activity of Smad7 may be due to inhibition of BMP-4 signaling because Smad7 can also block BMP-4-mediated mesoderm induction. Thus, Smad7 acts as a potent inhibitor of mesoderm formation and also activates the default neural induction pathway.     

Lipase production from an alkalophilic yeast sp. by solid state fermentation

The present investigation has been carried out with the aim to produce lipase from an alkalophilic yeast species by solid state fermentation using rice and wheat brans as alternative cheap solid substrates.     

Marfey’s reagent for chiral amino acid analysis: A review

Summary. The present paper describes characteristics and application of Marfeys reagent (MR) including general protocols for synthesis of the reagent and diastereomers along with advantages, disadvantages and the required precautions. Applications, and comparison with other derivatizing agents, for the resolution of complex mixtures of DL-amino acids, amines and non-proteinogenic amino acids, peptides/amino acids from microorganisms, cysteine residues in peptides, and evaluation of racemizing characteristics have been discussed. Separation mechanisms of resolution of amino acid diastereomers and replacement of Ala–NH₂ by suitable chiral moieties providing structural analogs and different chiral variants and their application as a derivatizing agent to examine the efficiency, and reactivity of the reagent have been focussed. Use of MR for preparing CSPs for direct enantiomeric resolution has also been included.On leave from Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee 247 667, India.     

Chemotaxis of a Ralstonia sp. SJ98 toward different nitroaromatic compounds and their degradation

A Ralstonia sp. SJ98, isolated by a chemotactic enrichment technique, was capable of utilizing different nitroaromatic compounds (NACs). It utilized p-nitrophenol, 4-nitrocatechol, o-nitrobenzoic acid, and p-nitrobenzoic acid as the sole source of carbon and energy. It was observed that Ralstonia sp. SJ98 was chemotactic to the above-mentioned NACs as tested by the drop assay, swarm plate assay, and capillary assay. However, it failed to show chemotactic behavior toward those compounds which were not degraded by the microorganism. This is the first report which shows the chemotaxis of a microorganism toward different NACs and their subsequent degradation. Some of the intermediates of the NACs' degradative pathways have been identified using TLC, GC, and GC-MS studies. The results presented here indicate a correlation between chemotaxis and biodegradation of NACs.     

Altered Structural and Functional Connectivity in Late Preterm Preadolescence: An Anatomic Seed-Based Study of Resting State Networks Related to the Posteromedial and Lateral Parietal Cortex

Objective

Late preterm birth confers increased risk of developmental delay, academic difficulties and social deficits. The late third trimester may represent a critical period of development of neural networks including the default mode network (DMN), which is essential to normal cognition. Our objective is to identify functional and structural connectivity differences in the posteromedial cortex related to late preterm birth.

Methods

Thirty-eight preadolescents (ages 9–13; 19 born in the late preterm period (≥32 weeks gestational age) and 19 at term) without access to advanced neonatal care were recruited from a low socioeconomic status community in Brazil. Participants underwent neurocognitive testing, 3-dimensional T1-weighted imaging, diffusion-weighted imaging and resting state functional MRI (RS-fMRI). Seed-based probabilistic diffusion tractography and RS-fMRI analyses were performed using unilateral seeds within the posterior DMN (posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus) and lateral parietal DMN (superior marginal and angular gyri).

Results

Late preterm children demonstrated increased functional connectivity within the posterior default mode networks and increased anti-correlation with the central-executive network when seeded from the posteromedial cortex (PMC). Key differences were demonstrated between PMC components with increased anti-correlation with the salience network seen only with posterior cingulate cortex seeding but not with precuneus seeding. Probabilistic tractography showed increased streamlines within the right inferior longitudinal fasciculus and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus within late preterm children while decreased intrahemispheric streamlines were also observed. No significant differences in neurocognitive testing were demonstrated between groups.

Conclusion

Late preterm preadolescence is associated with altered functional connectivity from the PMC and lateral parietal cortex to known distributed functional cortical networks despite no significant executive neurocognitive differences. Selective increased structural connectivity was observed in the setting of decreased posterior interhemispheric connections. Future work is needed to determine if these findings represent a compensatory adaptation employing alternate neural circuitry or could reflect subtle pathology resulting in emotional processing deficits not seen with neurocognitive testing.     

Notch signaling in the pigmented epithelium of the anterior eye segment promotes ciliary body development at the expense of iris formation

The ciliary body and iris are pigmented epithelial structures in the anterior eye segment that function to maintain correct intra‐ocular pressure and regulate exposure of the internal eye structures to light, respectively. The cellular and molecular factors that mediate the development of the ciliary body and iris from the ocular pigmented epithelium remain to be fully elucidated. Here, we have investigated the role of Notch signaling during the development of the anterior pigmented epithelium by using genetic loss‐ and gain‐of‐function approaches. Loss of canonical Notch signaling results in normal iris development but absence of the ciliary body. This causes progressive hypotony and over time leads to phthisis bulbi, a condition characterized by shrinkage of the eye and loss of structure/function. Conversely, Notch gain‐of‐function results in aniridia and profound ciliary body hyperplasia, which causes ocular hypertension and glaucoma‐like disease. Collectively, these data indicate that Notch signaling promotes ciliary body development at the expense of iris formation and reveals novel animal models of human ocular pathologies.