DNA Replication, Transcription, and Cell Division in Acinetobacter Spp
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Evolutionary Genomics of Conjugative Elements and Integrons
Université Paris Descartes École doctorale Interdisciplinaire Européenne 474 Frontières du Vivant Microbial Evolutionary Genomic, Pasteur Institute Evolutionary genomics of conjugative elements and integrons Thèse de doctorat en Biologie Interdisciplinaire Présentée par Jean Cury Pour obtenir le grade de Docteur de l’Université Paris Descartes Sous la direction de Eduardo Rocha Soutenue publiquement le 17 Novembre 2017, devant un jury composé de: Claudine MÉDIGUE Rapporteure CNRS, Genoscope, Évry Marie-Cécile PLOY Rapporteure Université de Limoges Érick DENAMUR Examinateur Université Paris Diderot, Paris Philippe LOPEZ Examinateur Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris Alan GROSSMAN Examinateur MIT, Cambdridge, USA Eduardo ROCHA Directeur de thèse CNRS, Institut Pasteur, Paris ِ عمحمود ُبدرويش َالنرد َم ْن انا ِٔ َقول ُلك ْم ما ا ُقول ُلك ْم ؟ وانا لم أ ُك ْن َ َج ًرا َص َق َل ْت ُه ُالمياه َفأ ْص َب َح ِوهاً و َق َصباً َثق َب ْت ُه ُالرياح َفأ ْص َب َح ًنايا ... انا ِع ُب َالن ْرد ، ا َرب ُح يناً وا َس ُر يناً انا ِم ُثل ُك ْم ا وا قل قليً ... The dice player Mahmoud Darwish Who am I to say to you what I am saying to you? I was not a stone polished by water and became a face nor was I a cane punctured by the wind and became a lute… I am a dice player, Sometimes I win and sometimes I lose I am like you or slightly less… Contents Acknowledgments 7 Preamble 9 I Introduction 11 1 Background for friends and family . 13 2 Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT) . 16 2.1 Mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer . -
Acinetobacter Baylyi Long-Term Stationary-Phase Protein Stip Is a Protease Required for Normal Cell Morphology and Resistance to Tellurite Blake Reichert, Amber J
726 ARTICLE Acinetobacter baylyi long-term stationary-phase protein StiP is a protease required for normal cell morphology and resistance to tellurite Blake Reichert, Amber J. Dornbusch, Joshua Arguello, Sarah E. Stanley, Kristine M. Lang, C. Phoebe Lostroh, and Margaret A. Daugherty Abstract: We investigated the Acinetobacter baylyi gene ACIAD1960, known from previous work to be expressed during long-term stationary phase. The protein encoded by this gene had been annotated as a Conserved Hypothetical Protein, surrounded by putative tellurite resistance (“Ter”) proteins. Sequence analysis suggested that the protein belongs to the DUF1796 putative papain-like protease family. Here, we show that the purified protein, subsequently named StiP, has cysteine protease activity. Deletion of stiP causes hypersensitivity to tellurite, altered population dynamics during long-term batch culture, and most strikingly, dramatic alteration of normal cell morphology. StiP and associated Ter proteins (the StiP–Ter cluster) are therefore important for regulating cell morphology, likely in response to oxidative damage or depletion of intracellular thiol pools, triggered artificially by tellurite exposure. Our finding has broad significance because while tellurite is an extremely rare compound in nature, oxidative damage, the need to maintain a particular balance of intracellular thiols, and the need to regulate cell morphology are ubiquitous. Key words: long-term stationary phase, tellurite resistance, DUF1796, Ter domain, cell division. Résumé : Nous avons fait l’étude du gène ACIAD1960 d’Acinetobacter baylyi, qui selon des travaux antérieurs serait exprimé au cours de la phase stationnaire prolongée. La protéine codée par ce gène a été libellée « protéine hypothétique conservée » et est entourée de protéines putatives de résistance a` la tellurite (« Ter »). -
Mapping the Diversity of Microbial Lignin Catabolism: Experiences from the Elignin Database
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology (2019) 103:3979–4002 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-019-09692-4 MINI-REVIEW Mapping the diversity of microbial lignin catabolism: experiences from the eLignin database Daniel P. Brink1 & Krithika Ravi2 & Gunnar Lidén2 & Marie F Gorwa-Grauslund1 Received: 22 December 2018 /Revised: 6 February 2019 /Accepted: 9 February 2019 /Published online: 8 April 2019 # The Author(s) 2019 Abstract Lignin is a heterogeneous aromatic biopolymer and a major constituent of lignocellulosic biomass, such as wood and agricultural residues. Despite the high amount of aromatic carbon present, the severe recalcitrance of the lignin macromolecule makes it difficult to convert into value-added products. In nature, lignin and lignin-derived aromatic compounds are catabolized by a consortia of microbes specialized at breaking down the natural lignin and its constituents. In an attempt to bridge the gap between the fundamental knowledge on microbial lignin catabolism, and the recently emerging field of applied biotechnology for lignin biovalorization, we have developed the eLignin Microbial Database (www.elignindatabase.com), an openly available database that indexes data from the lignin bibliome, such as microorganisms, aromatic substrates, and metabolic pathways. In the present contribution, we introduce the eLignin database, use its dataset to map the reported ecological and biochemical diversity of the lignin microbial niches, and discuss the findings. Keywords Lignin . Database . Aromatic metabolism . Catabolic pathways -
Showcase Page
SHOWCASE ON RESEARCH EDITORIAL Excellence and Breadth: the Success of Cytoskeleton Research in Australia and New Zealand The Molecular Biology of the Cell textbook used to include value of diverse experimental approaches that each an advisory to students: “The functions of the cytoskeleton provide a unique insight. These include in vitro assays of are difficult to study”. For the cautious, this sounds like sage cytoskeleton assembly/disassembly and cytoskeleton-based advice. When their research encounters the cytoskeleton, they cargo movement, structural biology, microscopic imaging, will search for a detour around this difficult topic. However, study of inherited diseases and genetic studies employing for the adventurous, exploration of the cytoskeleton is the model organisms. More recently, omic approaches have ultimate challenge – a cell biologist’s ascent of Everest. identified novel cytoskeleton genes and proteins, and have The cytoskeleton is central to cell biology. It dictates the demonstrated altered expression of cytoskeleton components shape of each individual cell, as well as the whole multicellular in both inherited and acquired diseases. organism. It is responsible for the polarised distribution of This Showcase aims to provide the broadest possible organelles, proteins and RNA within cells. It is also responsible coverage of cytoskeleton research. Liz Harry and Leigh for the pattern by which cells proliferate to form tissues, the Monahan describe how a prototype cytoskeleton (only adherence of cells to each other and the extracellular matrix, recently recognised in prokaryotes), comprising an actin and and the chemotactic motility and polarised growth of cells. a tubulin homologue, forms intriguing spiral-shape structures Without the cytoskeleton, cells would be an amorphous that help determine where cell division initiates. -
The Gospel According to LUCA (The Last Universal Common Ancestor)
UC San Diego UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title The gospel according to LUCA (the last universal common ancestor) Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6pw6n8xp Author Valas, Ruben Eliezer Meyer Publication Date 2010 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO The gospel according to LUCA (the last universal common ancestor) A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics by Ruben Eliezer Meyer Valas Committee in charge: Professor Philip E. Bourne, Chair Professor William F. Loomis, Co-Chair Professor Russell F. Doolittle Professor Richard D. Norris Professor Milton H. Saier Jr. 2010 The Dissertation of Ruben Eliezer Meyer Valas is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Co-chair ______________________________________________________________________ Chair University of California, San Diego 2010 iii DEDICATION I dedicate this work to Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin. Sasha is probably the wisest person I’ve met. He refuses to allow anything other than his own imagination dictates the rules of what is -
Coordination of Chromosome Segregation and Cell Division in Staphylococcus Aureus
fmicb-08-01575 August 22, 2017 Time: 17:46 # 1 ORIGINAL RESEARCH published: 23 August 2017 doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.01575 Coordination of Chromosome Segregation and Cell Division in Staphylococcus aureus Amy L. Bottomley1‡, Andrew T. F. Liew1†‡, Kennardy D. Kusuma1, Elizabeth Peterson1, Lisa Seidel1, Simon J. Foster2 and Elizabeth J. Harry1* 1 The ithree Institute, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2 Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Krebs Institute, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom Productive bacterial cell division and survival of progeny requires tight coordination between chromosome segregation and cell division to ensure equal partitioning of DNA. Unlike rod-shaped bacteria that undergo division in one plane, the coccoid human Edited by: pathogen Staphylococcus aureus divides in three successive orthogonal planes, which Marc Bramkamp, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität requires a different spatial control compared to rod-shaped cells. To gain a better München, Germany understanding of how this coordination between chromosome segregation and cell Reviewed by: division is regulated in S. aureus, we investigated proteins that associate with FtsZ and Mark Buttner, the divisome. We found that DnaK, a well-known chaperone, interacts with FtsZ, EzrA John Innes Centre (BBSRC), United Kingdom and DivIVA, and is required for DivIVA stability. Unlike in several rod shaped organisms, David Hugh Edwards, DivIVA in S. aureus associates with several components of the divisome, as well as the University of Dundee, United Kingdom chromosome segregation protein, SMC. This data, combined with phenotypic analysis *Correspondence: Elizabeth J. Harry of mutants, suggests a novel role for S. aureus DivIVA in ensuring cell division and [email protected] chromosome segregation are coordinated. -
Section 1. Information Used in the Assessment of Environmental Applications of Acinetobacter
148 - PART 2. DOCUMENTS ON MICRO-ORGANISMS Section 1. Information used in the assessment of environmental applications of Acinetobacter 1. Introduction This document represents a snapshot of current information that may be relevant to risk assessments of micro-organisms in the genus Acinetobacter. This document presents information in the scientific literature and other publicly-available literature about the known characteristics of Acinetobacter species encountered in various environments (including clinical settings) and with diverse potential applications (environmental, industrial, agricultural, and medical). In considering information that should be presented on this taxonomic grouping, the Task Group has discussed the list of topics presented in “The Blue Book” (i.e. Recombinant DNA Safety Considerations (OECD, 1986) and attempted to pare down that list to eliminate duplications as well as those topics whose meaning is unclear, and to rearrange the presentation of the topics covered to be more easily understood. 2. General considerations Members of the genus Acinetobacter have been known for many years, often under other generic names. Detailed accounts of their history and nomenclature are found in reviews (Grimont and Bouvet, 1991; Dijkshoorn, 1996; Towner, 1996), or as chapters in books whose appearance testifies to the growing interest and importance of this group of bacteria (Towner, 1991b; Bergogne-Bérézin et al., 1996). The genus Acinetobacter includes Gram-negative coccobacilli, with a DNA G + C content of 39-47 mol %. Physiologically, they are strict aerobes, non-motile, catalase positive and oxidase negative. They grow well on complex media and can grow on simple mineral medium with a single carbon source, including acetate, fatty acids, and sometimes hydrocarbons. -
Light Microscopy Techniques for Bacterial Cell Biology Petra Anne
Light Microscopy Techniques For Bacterial Cell Biology Petra Anne Levin, Department of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130 Levin Light Microscopy Techniques For Bacterial Cell Biology 2 INTRODUCTION Bacteria have typically been viewed as poor candidates for the techniques employed by eukaryotic cell biologists to localize subcellular factors. At a practical level, their small size (1 to 2µm on average) makes bacteria less than ideal subjects for light microscopy. Furthermore, in the absence of membrane bound organelles, prokaryotes have often been portrayed as “sacs of enzymes” exhibiting little if any organization within the confines of their plasma membrane. Electron microscopy did much to dispel the myth that bacterial cells are intrinsically uninteresting at the subcellular level. Gifted electron microscopists, such as Eduard Kellenberger and Antoinette Ryter, used transmission electron microscopy to create exquisite images of bacterial cells during growth and differentiation. Their work provided fundamental insights into the subcellular organization of the bacterial cell, including the nature of the bacterial nucleoid, the structure of the bacterial cell wall, and the morphological changes Bacillus subtilis cells undergo during spore development (Kellenberger and Ryter, 1958; Robinow and Kellenberger, 1994; Ryter, 1964). Immunoelectron microscopy, which uses antibodies conjugated to colloidal gold particles to localize factors of interest in thin sections of cells prepared for EM, also advanced our understanding of bacterial cells. For instance, immunoelectron microscopy first revealed cell type-specific gene expression in developing B. subtilis cells, the polar localization of the chemoreceptor MCP in Escherichia coli, and the ring structure formed by the bacterial cell division protein FtsZ (Bi and Lutkenhaus, 1991; Maddock and Shapiro, 1993; Margolis et al., 1991). -
The GASP Phenotype in Acinetobacter Baylyi
The GASP phenotype in Acinetobacter baylyi A Senior Thesis submitted to the Department of Biology, The Colorado College by Leland Krych Date ____________________________________ Approved by: _________________________________________ Primary Thesis Advisor ________________________________________ Secondary Thesis Advisor Introduction Microbiologist Steven Finkel once referenced Thomas Hobbes’s Leviathan to describe the realities of a bacterium’s life; it is: “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short (Finkel 2006).” All theatrics aside, Dr. Finkel makes the point that bacteria have it rough, and that this fact is often overlooked in modern bacterial experimentation. Therefore, common laboratory models for bacterial growth might not reveal how bacteria survive in nature, where resources are scarce and competition is fierce. Dr. Finkel goes on to suggest that a more accurate way of studying bacteria in the lab would be to focus on an overlooked aspect of the bacterial life cycle: long-term stationary phase. In order to address why this concept is significant we need to review the five stages in the typical life cycle of a bacterial population raised in the laboratory. These phases are known as lag phase, exponential phase, stationary phase, death phase, and long- term stationary phase. After inoculation of bacteria into liquid medium there is an initial phase in population growth in the media known as lag phase which is then followed by a phase of exponential growth of the culture. This burgeoning population growth is known as the exponential growth phase. Eventually, the population growth levels off into stationary phase as the amount of space and nutrients start to dwindle. After this period approximately 99% of the cells perish. -
The Bacterial Cytoskeleton
SHOWCASE ON RESEARCH The Bacterial Cytoskeleton Leigh Monahan and Elizabeth Harry* Institute for the Biotechnology of Infectious Diseases, University of Technology, Sydney, NSW 2007 *Corresponding author: [email protected] Until little more than a decade ago, the cytoskeleton was and couple the nucleotide hydrolysis cycle with polymer considered to be a hallmark of eukaryotic cells, setting them dynamics, and (iv) they function in a range of important apart from their simple bacterial ancestors. Researchers cellular processes, including cell division, chromosome arrived at this view primarily on the basis of conventional segregation, cell shape maintenance and the establishment light and electron microscopy studies, which painted the of cell polarity. In addition, bacteria possess a number of bacterium as an ‘amorphous bag of enzymes and DNA’, genuine cytoskeletal proteins that have no homology with devoid of any internal organisation or structure. How eukaryotic cytoskeletal elements. quickly times change. Thanks largely to the development In this Showcase on Research article, we focus on the two of green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion technology most well studied bacterial cytoskeletal proteins, the tubulin and immunofluorescence microscopy (IFM) methods homologue FtsZ and the actin homologue MreB, and for bacteria, we now know that the bacterial cell is highly discuss the wealth of emerging data regarding their cellular organised at the level of protein localisation and does indeed localisation and dynamics, functions and mechanisms of possess a bona fide cytoskeleton. action. Other major players in the bacterial cytoskeleton are Bacterial homologues have been identified for all of the summarised in Table 1. major groups of eukaryotic cytoskeletal proteins, namely the actin, tubulin and intermediate filament groups. -
Superfast Evolution of Bacterial Resistance to Beta-Lactam Antibiotics
SUPERFAST EVOLUTION OF BACTERIAL RESISTANCE TO BETA-LACTAM ANTIBIOTICS MEDIATED BY BACTERIAL DNA RECOMBINATION By LE ZHANG Institute for Biomedical Materials & Devices Faculty of Science Supervisors: Prof. Dayong Jin, Prof. Elizabeth Harry, Prof. Antoine van Oijen, Dr. Yuen Yee Cheng, and Dr. Qian Peter Su This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy October 2020 Certificate of Original Authorship Certificate of Original Authorship I, Le Zhang declare that this thesis, submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy, in the IBMD, Faculty of Science at the University of Technology Sydney. This thesis is wholly my own work unless otherwise reference or acknowledged. In addition, I certify that all information sources and literatures used are indicated in the thesis. This document has not been submitted for qualifications at any other academic institution. This research is supported by an Australia Government Research Training Program Scholarship. Production Note: Signature: Signature removed prior to publication. Date: 06/10/2020 I Acknowledgements Acknowledgements After 3 years’ study at University of Technology Sydney (UTS), I have completed my PhD thesis with the help of others. Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisor Prof. Dayong Jin for the valuable opportunity of PhD scholarship in Australia. From the beginning of my study, Prof. Jin has paid much energy and time to my research plan development. He has insights to foresee the trend of related research area and provided great ideas and suggestions for my research. I could not imagine how to complete my research without his guidance. Moreover, supervised by Prof. -
The Bulletin 372
The Bulletin 372 The Royal Society of New South Wales ABN 76 470 896 415 ISSN 1039-1843 November 2013 Wednesday 18 December 2013 Special meeting to consider rule changes Future Events Jak Kelly Award Presentation & Christmas Party Wednesday 18 December 2013 Probing the Nano-World with the Symmetries of Light Special meeting to consider rule changes Delivered by Xavier Zambrana-Puyalto Union, University & Schools Club Union, University & Schools Club, 25 Bent St, Sydney City 25 Bent St, Sydney 6:00 for 6:15 and 6:30 pm 6:15 pm Wednesday 18 December 2013 Note revised date for this meeting. The 2013 1217th OGM, Jak Kelly Award Presentation Jak Kelly Award Winner Xavier Zambrana- Delivered by: Xavier Zambrana-Puyalto Puyalto, Department of Physics and 6:00 pm for 6:30 pm Astronomy, ARC Center of Excellence for Union, University & Schools Club Engineered Quantum Systems, Macquarie 25 Bent St, Sydney University, will deliver his talk “Probing the Followed by the Society’s Christmas Party Nano-World with Symmetires of Light” at $35.00 for members & Guests the Society’s 1217th OGM. RSVP to [email protected] Abstract Wednesday 5 February 2014 1218th OGM, Scholarship Award In 1959, Richard Feynman gave a seminal Presentations lecture entitled “There’s Plenty of Room at Dr Donald Hector, Xavier Zambrana-Puyalto, Prof. Union, University & Schools Club the Bottom” which pushed scientists to set Michael Burton 25 Bent St, Sydney out on the journey of controlling light-matter 6:00 pm for 6:30 pm interactions at the nano-scale. Since then, nanotechnology has rapidly developed.