A new role for PGRP-S (Tag7) in immune defense: lymphocyte migration is induced by a chemoattractant complex of Tag7 with Mts1

PGRP-S (Tag7) is an innate immunity protein involved in the antimicrobial defense systems, both in insects and in mammals. We have previously shown that Tag7 specifically interacts with several proteins, including Hsp70 and the calcium binding protein S100A4 (Mts1), providing a number of novel cellular functions. Here we show that Tag7–Mts1 complex causes chemotactic migration of lymphocytes, with NK cells being a preferred target. Cells of either innate immunity (neutrophils and monocytes) or acquired immunity (CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ lymphocytes) can produce this complex, which confirms the close connection between components of the 2 branches of immune response.     

Biosynthesis of polyhydroxybutyrate/valerate with different molecular weights during the growth of Methylobacterium extorquens G-10 on a methanol-pentanol mixture

The influence of the concentration and time of addition of cosubstrate (pentanol) on the molecular weight (MW) of the polyhydroxybutyrate/valerate (PHBV) copolymer synthesized by Methylobacterium extorquens G-10 during cultivation in a methanol-containing medium has been studied. It was shown that an increase in the pentanol concentration to 20% in a mixture with methanol stimulated the biosynthesis of PHBV with a MW of ～1500 kDa and increased the content of valerate up to 50%, especially when pentanol was added to the log phase culture. High pentanol concentrations are toxic for the producer and reduce the total yield of PHBV. An MW increase to 1500 kDa lowers the melting temperature (from 172 to 162°C) and the crystallinity degree (from 63 to 8%) of the biopolymer but increases its elasticity. The revealed variability of PHBV properties extends considerably the potential application areas of synthetic bioplastics.     

Distribution of populations of ringed seal <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phoca hispida</Emphasis> and bearded seal <Emphasis Type="Italic">Erignathus barbatus</Emphasis> in shallow and average-deep areas of the southwestern part of the Kara Sea in summer 2015

In August–September 2015 in the southwest part of the Kara Sea, visual censuses of ringed seal (Phoca hispida) and bearded seal (Erignatus barbatus) from research vessels were carried out in the water area of 49 814 km². For the first time, for calculation of abundance and density on ice-free area the SEAL-CALCULATION (TYULEN-RASCHET) software was used with application of separate extrapolation method by the selected sectors. Calculation for the whole census polygon yielded abundance of ringed seal of 4163 ± 16.9% and abundance of bearded seal of 1026 ± 28.4%. On the basis of the census results, a preliminary estimation of distribution of pinnipeds by various depths is presented.     

Studies of Mycofungicid,a Preparation Based on Trichoderma viride,for Plant Infection Control

A technology was designed for manufacturing a preparation based on Trichoderma viride Pers ex S.F. Gray that strongly suppresses the development of causative agents of certain plant diseases and displays a growth-stimulating activity. Cultivation of the strain in a liquid medium for 18–24 h produced up to 60 g dry biomass per liter nutrient medium. A marketable form created in this work conserves the activity of the mycelial preparation for six months. The preparation is compatible with insecticides (carbofos, vismetrin, talstar, and applaud) and certain fungicides (such as baitan). Tests performed with the liquid form of Mycofungicid (seeds were treated with this preparation at a dose of 20–30 g per metric ton before sowing) showed its high efficiency in protecting cereal crops from plant pathogens. The incidence of plant diseases decreased by 65%, and crop yields increased by 15–20%.     

Chemiluminescent multiassay of pesticides with horseradish peroxidase as a label

Competitive chemiluminescent immunoassay based on a combination of five antibodies was used in a combination with neural network to identify and estimate amounts of three cross-reacting s-triazines (atrazine, terbythylazine and ametryn). Antibodies with different cross-reactivity towards s-triazines were immobilized in separate wells an eight-well microtiter strip. Training of neural networks was carried out with four different learning procedures. The best topology for the data measured was a net with two hidden layers with ten neurons in the first and 15 in the second layer trained with the Schmidhuber method. s-Triazine classification of environmental samples containing various analyte mixtures was correct in 70-100% of all cases depending on the type of analyte. The test developed can be proposed as an alternative field test for multianalyte environmental monitoring.     

Identification of signature and primers specific to genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudomonas</Emphasis> using mismatched patterns of 16S rDNA sequences

Background

Pseudomonas, a soil bacterium, has been observed as a dominant genus that survives in different habitats with wide hostile conditions. We had a basic assumption that the species level variation in 16S rDNA sequences of a bacterial genus is mainly due to substitutions rather than insertion or deletion of bases. Keeping this in view, the aim was to identify a region of 16S rDNA sequence and within that focus on substitution prone stretches indicating species level variation and to derive patterns from these stretches that are specific to the genus.

Results

Repeating elements that are highly conserved across different species of Pseudomonas were considered as guiding markers to locate a region within the 16S gene. Four repeating patterns showing more than 80% consistency across fifty different species of Pseudomonas were identified. The sub-sequences between the repeating patterns yielded a continuous region of 495 bases. The sub-sequences after alignment and using Shanon's entropy measure yielded a consensus pattern. A stretch of 24 base positions in this region, showing maximum variations across the sampled sequences was focused for possible genus specific patterns. Nine patterns in this stretch showed nearly 70% specificity to the target genus. These patterns were further used to obtain a signature that is highly specific to Pseudomonas. The signature region was used to design PCR primers, which yielded a PCR product of 150 bp whose specificity was validated through a sample experiment.

Conclusions

The developed approach was successfully applied to genus Pseudomonas. It could be tried in other bacterial genera to obtain respective signature patterns and thereby PCR primers, for their rapid tracking in the environmental samples.

     

Microfungicid--a preparation based on trichoderma viride for plant diseases control

A technology was designed for manufacturing a preparation based on Trichoderma viride Pers ex S.F. Gray that strongly suppresses the development of causative agents of certain plant diseases and displays a growth-stimulating activity. Cultivation of the strain in a liquid medium for 18-24 h produced up to 60 g dry biomass per liter nutrient medium. A marketable form created in this work conserves the activity of the mycelial preparation for six months. The preparation is compatible with insecticides (carbofos, vismetrin, talstar, and applaud) and certain fungicides (such as baitan). Tests performed with the liquid form of Mycofungicid (seeds were treated with this preparation at a dose of 20-30 g per metric ton before sowing) showed its high efficiency in protecting cereal crops from plant pathogens. The incidence of plant diseases decreased by 65%, and crop yields increased by 15-20%.     

Significance of an increase in the titer of agglutinins in the microagglutination test in leptospirosis

The authors considered different views of investigators on the diagnostic antibody titre level in the microagglutination test (MAT) in leptospirosis of man and animals. Some of them took into consideration MAT in low titres (1:10-1:20), and others - in high only (1:400, 1:1000), which gave no possibility to assess the state of leptospirosis morbidity. The authors suggest that the assessment of the level of the titres in single and repeated studies should be approached differentially. In single examination 1:100 and over should be considered as a positive MAT titre for man, 1:200 and over - for cattle, 1:20 and over - for swine, and 1:20 and over for murine rodents. In repeated investigations any level of the titre in case of its dynamics should be taken into consideration.     

Sorption of acid ribonuclease from Penicillium brevi-compactum by various ion-exchange resins

Sorption of acid ribonuclease from Penicillium brevi-compactum F-399 was studied. The effect of nature and structure of various ion-exchange resins on the sorption capacity and reversibility was determined. High rate and reversibility of the enzyme sorption on the strong base anion-exchange fiber TsM-A2 were demonstrated. It is suggested that sorption of acid ribonuclease of the TsM-A2 fiber proceeds as ion exchange and on carboxyl cation exchange resins as molecular sorption.