The Paleobiosphere: a novel device for the in vivo testing of hydrocarbon producing-utilizing microorganisms

The construction and testing of a unique instrument, the Paleobiosphere, which mimics some of the conditions of the ancient earth, is described. The instrument provides an experimental testing system for determining if certain microbes, when provided an adequate environment, can degrade biological materials to produce fuel-like hydrocarbons in a relatively short time frame that become trapped by the shale. The conditions selected for testing included a particulate Montana shale (serving as the “Trap Shale”), plant materials (leaves and stems of three extant species whose origins are in the late Cretaceous), a water-circulating system, sterile air, and a specially designed Carbotrap through which all air was passed as exhaust and volatile were hydrocarbons trapped. The fungus for initial testing was Annulohypoxylon sp., isolated as an endophyte of Citrus aurantifolia. It produces, in solid and liquid media, a series of hydrocarbon-like molecules. Some of these including 1,8-cineole, 2-butanone, propanoic acid, 2-methyl-, methyl ester, benzene (1-methylethyl)-, phenylethyl alcohol, benzophenone and azulene, 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,8a-octahydro-1,4-dimethyl-7-(1-methylethenyl), [1S-(1α,7α,8aβ)]. These were the key signature compounds used in an initial Paleobiosphere test. After 3 weeks, incubation, the volatiles associated with the harvested “Trap Shale” included each of the signature substances as well as other fungal-associated products: some indanes, benzene derivatives, some cyclohexanes, 3-octanone, naphthalenes and others. The fungus thus produced a series of “Trap Shale” products that were representative of each of the major classes of hydrocarbons in diesel fuel (Mycodiesel). Initial tests with the Paleobiosphere offer some evidence for a possible origin of hydrocarbons trapped in bentonite shale. Thus, with modifications, numerous other tests can also be designed for utilization in the Paleobiosphere.     

Impacts of thermal mismatches on chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis prevalence are moderated by life stage,body size,elevation and latitude

Global climate change is increasing the frequency of unpredictable weather conditions; however, it remains unclear how species‐level and geographic factors, including body size and latitude, moderate impacts of unusually warm or cool temperatures on disease. Because larger and lower‐latitude hosts generally have slower acclimation times than smaller and higher‐latitude hosts, we hypothesised that their disease susceptibility increases under ‘thermal mismatches’ or differences between baseline climate and the temperature during surveying for disease. Here, we examined how thermal mismatches interact with body size, life stage, habitat, latitude, elevation, phylogeny and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) conservation status to predict infection prevalence of the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) in a global analysis of 32 291 amphibian hosts. As hypothesised, we found that the susceptibility of larger hosts and hosts from lower latitudes to Bd was influenced by thermal mismatches. Furthermore, hosts of conservation concern were more susceptible than others following thermal mismatches, suggesting that thermal mismatches might have contributed to recent amphibian declines.     

Composition and Variation of the Human Milk Microbiota Are Influenced by Maternal and Early-Life Factors

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Comparison of Hindlimb Muscle Architecture Properties in Small-Bodied,Generalist Mammals Suggests Similarity in Soft Tissue Anatomy

Journal of Mammalian Evolution - For the first 100+?million years of their evolutionary history, the majority of mammals were very small, and many exhibited relatively generalized locomotor...     

CURRICULUM GUIDE FOR RESEARCH ETHICS WORKSHOPS FOR COUNTRIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST

To help ensure the ethical conduct of research, many have recommended educational efforts in research ethics to investigators and members of research ethics committees (RECs). One type of education activity involves multi‐day workshops in research ethics. To be effective, such workshops should contain the appropriate content and teaching techniques geared towards the learning styles of the targeted audiences. To ensure consistency in content and quality, we describe the development of a curriculum guide, core competencies and associated learning objectives and activities to help educators organize research ethics workshops in their respective institutions. The curriculum guide is divided into modular units to enable planners to develop workshops of different lengths and choose content materials that match the needs, abilities, and prior experiences of the target audiences. The content material in the curriculum guide is relevant for audiences in the Middle East, because individuals from the Middle East who participated in a Certificate Program in research ethics selected and developed the training materials (e.g., articles, powerpoint slides, case studies, protocols). Also, many of the activities incorporate active‐learning methods, consisting of group work activities analyzing case studies and reviewing protocols. The development of such a workshop training curriculum guide represents a sustainable educational resource to enhance research ethics capacity in the Middle East.     

A three-fluorophore FRET assay for high-throughput screening of small-molecule inhibitors of ribosome assembly

In one of the first steps of prokaryotic ribosome assembly, the ribosomal protein S15 binds to a three-way junction in the central domain of the 16S rRNA. Binding causes a conformational change that is required for subsequent binding events. Using a novel fluorescence resonance energy transfer assay with three fluorophores, two on the RNA and one on the S15 protein, small-molecule libraries can be screened for potential inhibitors of this initial step in ribosome assembly. The employment of three fluorophores allows both the conformational change of the RNA and the binding of S15 to be monitored in a single assay.     

Glyco-optimization of aminoglycosides: new aminoglycosides as novel anti-infective agents

Glyco-optimization (OPopS) of aminoglycosides has been performed by replacing the existing sugar moiety with a variety of sugar derivatives. Glycosylation of the 6-position of nebramine provided a library of novel 4,6-linked aminoglycosides (AMGs). Among them, compounds 8b,g,i,l, and 8u with 2"-amino, 2",3"-diamino, 2",4"-diamino, 3",4"-diamino, 3"-amino groups, respectively, showed significant antimicrobial activity against Gram-(+) and -(-) bacteria. Several were particularly potent against Pseudomonus aeruginosa with MICs in the 1-2 microg/mL range.