scholarly journals Identification of a d-Arabinose-5-Phosphate Isomerase in the Gram-Positive Clostridium tetani

2017 ◽  
Vol 199 (17) ◽  
Author(s):  
David L. Cech ◽  
Katherine Markin ◽  
Ronald W. Woodard

ABSTRACT d-Arabinose-5-phosphate (A5P) isomerases (APIs) catalyze the interconversion of d-ribulose-5-phosphate and d-arabinose-5-phosphate. Various Gram-negative bacteria, such as the uropathogenic Escherichia coli strain CFT073, contain multiple API paralogs (KdsD, GutQ, KpsF, and c3406) that have been assigned various cellular functions. The d-arabinose-5-phosphate formed by these enzymes seems to play important roles in the biosynthesis of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and group 2 K-antigen capsules, as well as in the regulation of the cellular d-glucitol uptake and uropathogenic infectivity/virulence. The genome of a Gram-positive pathogenic bacterium, Clostridium tetani, contains a gene encoding a putative API, C. tetani API (CtAPI), even though C. tetani lacks both LPS and capsid biosynthetic genes. To better understand the physiological role of d-arabinose-5-phosphate in this Gram-positive organism, recombinant CtAPI was purified and characterized. CtAPI displays biochemical characteristics similar to those of APIs from Gram-negative organisms and complements the API deficiency of an E. coli API knockout strain. Thus, CtAPI represents the first d-arabinose-5-phosphate isomerase to be identified and characterized from a Gram-positive bacterium. IMPORTANCE The genome of Clostridium tetani, a pathogenic Gram-positive bacterium and the causative agent of tetanus, contains a gene (the CtAPI gene) that shares high sequence similarity with those of genes encoding d-arabinose-5-phosphate isomerases. APIs play an important role within Gram-negative bacteria in d-arabinose-5-phosphate production for lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis, capsule formation, and regulation of cellular d-glucitol uptake. The significance of our research is in identifying and characterizing CtAPI, the first Gram-positive API. Our findings show that CtAPI is specific to the interconversion of arabinose-5-phosphate and ribulose-5-phosphate while having no activity with the other sugars and sugar phosphates tested. We have speculated a regulatory role for this API in C. tetani, an organism that does not produce lipopolysaccharide.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yonggang Yang ◽  
Zegao Wang ◽  
Cuifen Gan ◽  
Lasse Hyldgaard Klausen ◽  
Robin Bonné ◽  
...  

AbstractLong-distance extracellular electron transfer has been observed in Gram-negative bacteria and plays roles in both natural and engineering processes. The electron transfer can be mediated by conductive protein appendages (in short unicellular bacteria such as Geobacter species) or by conductive cell envelopes (in filamentous multicellular cable bacteria). Here we show that Lysinibacillus varians GY32, a filamentous unicellular Gram-positive bacterium, is capable of bidirectional extracellular electron transfer. In microbial fuel cells, L. varians can form centimetre-range conductive cellular networks and, when grown on graphite electrodes, the cells can reach a remarkable length of 1.08 mm. Atomic force microscopy and microelectrode analyses suggest that the conductivity is linked to pili-like protein appendages. Our results show that long-distance electron transfer is not limited to Gram-negative bacteria.


Author(s):  
Yali Yu ◽  
Yiyi Kong ◽  
Jing Ye ◽  
Aiguo Wang ◽  
Wenteng Si

Introduction. Prosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a serious complication after arthroplasty, which results in high morbidity, prolonged treatment and considerable healthcare expenses in the absence of accurate diagnosis. In China, microbiological data on PJIs are still scarce. Hypothesis/Gap Statement. The incidence of PJI is increasing year by year, and the proportion of drug-resistant bacteria infection is nicreasing, which brings severe challenges to the treatment of infection. Aim. This study aimed to identify the pathogens in PJIs, multi-drug resistance, and evaluate the effect of the treatment regimen in patients with PJI. Methodology. A total of 366 consecutive cases of PJI in the hip or knee joint were admitted at the Orthopedic Surgery Center in Zhengzhou, China from January 2012 to December 2018. Infections were confirmed in accordance with the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the Musculoskeletal Infection Society (MSIS) criteria. Concurrently, patient demographic data, incidence and antibiotic resistance were investigated. Statistical differences were analysed using Fisher’s exact test or chi-square test. Results. Altogether, 318 PJI cases satisfying the inclusion criteria were enrolled in this study, including 148 with hip PJIs and 170 with knee PJIs. The average age of patients with hip PJIs was lesser than that of patients with knee PJIs (56.4 vs. 68.6 years). Meanwhile, coagulase-negative staphylococcus (CNS, n=81, 25.5 %) was the predominant causative pathogen, followed by Staphylococcus aureus (n=67, 21.1 %). Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus (MRS) was identified in 28.9 % of PJI patients. In addition, fungus accounted for 4.8 % (n=15), non-tuberculosis mycobacterium accounted for 1.6 % (n=5), polymicrobial pathogens accounted for 21.7 % (n=69), and Gram-negative bacteria accounted for 7.9 % (n=25) of the total infections. The results of antibiotic susceptibility testing showed that gentamicin and clindamycin β-lactam antibiotics were poorly susceptible to Gram-positive isolates, but they were sensitive to rifampicin, linezolid and vancomycin. While antibiotics such as amikacin and imipenem were effective against Gram-negative bacteria, there was a high resistance rate of other pathogens to gentamicin, clindamycin and some quinolone antibacterial drugs. Empirical antibiotic treatment should combine vancomycin and cephalosporin, levofloxacin or clindamycin. When the pathogen is confirmed, the treatment should be individualized. Conclusions. The prevalence of culture-negative PJIs is still very high. Gram-positive bacteria are still the main type of pathogens that cause PJIs. Attention should be paid to the high incidence of MRS, such as MRSA and MR-CNS, among PJI patients. Empirical antibiotic treatment should cover Gram-positive isolates, especially Staphylococcus .


2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (a1) ◽  
pp. C814-C814
Author(s):  
Ditte Welner ◽  
Emil Dedic ◽  
Hans van Leeuwen ◽  
Ed Kuijper ◽  
Rene Jorgensen ◽  
...  

Fic domains in proteins are found in abundance in nature from the simplest prokaryotes to animals. Interestingly, Fic domains found in two virulence factors of gram-negative bacteria have recently been demonstrated to catalyse the transfer of an AMP moiety from ATP to small host GTPases (1,2). This post-translational modification has received considerable interest and a role for adenylylation in pathology and physiology is emerging. We have structurally characterised a newly identified Fic protein of the pathogenic gram-positive bacterium Clostridium difficile. A constitutively active inhibitory helix mutant of C. difficile Fic was purified, crystallised and data collected to 1.7 Å resolution. The structure confirms C. difficult Fic protein as an ATP binding protein and reveal a binding site similar to other confirmed virulent Fic proteins. Surprisingly, this gram-positive Fic protein does not seem to target GTPases in humans and currently target identification is being chased. The current status of the project will be presented.


2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hatem E. Gaffer ◽  
Ismail I. Althagafi

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to synthesize some new azobenzene dyestuffs clubbed with thiazolidinone moiety and their solicitation in dyeing polyester fabrics representing their antibacterial evaluation. Design/methodology/approach Herein, the authors report the synthesis of new thiazolidinone moiety after the coupling of diazotized 4-aminoacetophenone with resorcinol. The newly synthesized dyes were characterized by IR, elemental analysis, mass spectroscopy and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectral studies. The characteristics of dyeing of these dyestuffs were evaluated at optimum conditions. Concurrent with dyeing of polyester fabric for synthesized dyes with their antibacterial activity was estimated. Antimicrobial activity of the dyed fabrics at different concentrations was evaluated against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Findings Synthesized azobenzene dyestuffs clubbed with thiazolidinone dyes were applied on polyester fabrics. It was remarked that the modified dyes exhibited better colourfastness properties. Furthermore, the synthesized dyes revealed antimicrobial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Research limitations/implications The synthesized azobenzene dyes for polyester dyeing were not bore earlier. Practical implications The azobenzene dyes were accountable for giving improved colourfastness properties on polyester fabrics. Social implications The synthesized azobenzene derivatives are sensibly expensive and applicable dyes accompanied with good antimicrobial and anticancer activities. Originality/value A common process could be affording textiles of colour and antibacterial assets. The newly synthesized dyes containing thiazolidinone moieties with azobenzene coupler showed interesting disperse colourant for polyester with good antibacterial activity.


2014 ◽  
Vol 82 (12) ◽  
pp. 4952-4958 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marloes Vissers ◽  
Yvonne Hartman ◽  
Laszlo Groh ◽  
Dirk J. de Jong ◽  
Marien I. de Jonge ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTMatrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP-9) is a protease involved in the degradation of extracellular matrix collagen. Evidence suggests that MMP-9 is involved in pathogenesis duringStreptococcus pneumoniaeinfection. However, not much is known about the induction of MMP-9 and the regulatory processes involved. We show here that the Gram-positive bacteria used in this study induced large amounts of MMP-9, in contrast to the Gram-negative bacteria that were used. An important pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP) for Gram-positive bacteria is muramyl dipeptide (MDP). MDP is a very potent inducer of MMP-9 and showed a dose-dependent MMP-9 induction. Experiments using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from Crohn's disease patients with nonfunctional NOD2 showed that MMP-9 induction byStreptococcus pneumoniaeand MDP is NOD2 dependent. Increasing amounts of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), an important PAMP for Gram-negative bacteria, resulted in decreasing amounts of MMP-9. Moreover, the induction of MMP-9 by MDP could be counteracted by simultaneously adding LPS. The inhibition of MMP-9 expression by LPS was found to be regulated posttranscriptionally, independently of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1), an endogenous inhibitor of MMP-9. Collectively, these data show thatStreptococcus pneumoniaeis able to induce large amounts of MMP-9. These high MMP-9 levels are potentially involved inStreptococcus pneumoniaepathogenesis.


2015 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 752-756 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdelhamid Asli ◽  
Eric Brouillette ◽  
Kevin M. Krause ◽  
Wright W. Nichols ◽  
François Malouin

ABSTRACTAvibactam is a novel non-β-lactam β-lactamase inhibitor that covalently acylates a variety of β-lactamases, causing inhibition. Although avibactam presents limited antibacterial activity, its acylation ability toward bacterial penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) was investigated.Staphylococcus aureuswas of particular interest due to the reported β-lactamase activity of PBP4. The binding of avibactam to PBPs was measured by adding increasing concentrations to membrane preparations of a variety of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria prior to addition of the fluorescent reagent Bocillin FL. Relative binding (measured here as the 50% inhibitory concentration [IC50]) to PBPs was estimated by quantification of fluorescence after gel electrophoresis. Avibactam was found to selectively bind to some PBPs. InEscherichia coli,Pseudomonas aeruginosa,Haemophilus influenzae, andS. aureus, avibactam primarily bound to PBP2, with IC50s of 0.92, 1.1, 3.0, and 51 μg/ml, respectively, whereas binding to PBP3 was observed inStreptococcus pneumoniae(IC50, 8.1 μg/ml). Interestingly, avibactam was able to significantly enhance labeling ofS. aureusPBP4 by Bocillin FL. In PBP competition assays withS. aureus, where avibactam was used at a fixed concentration in combination with varied amounts of ceftazidime, the apparent IC50of ceftazidime was found to be very similar to that determined for ceftazidime when used alone. In conclusion, avibactam is able to covalently bind to some bacterial PBPs. Identification of those PBP targets may allow the development of new diazabicyclooctane derivatives with improved affinity for PBPs or new combination therapies that act on multiple PBP targets.


2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (7) ◽  
pp. 2030-2033 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-Christine Chopin ◽  
Annette Rouault ◽  
S. Dusko Ehrlich ◽  
Michel Gautier

ABSTRACT We present the first description of a single-stranded DNA filamentous phage able to replicate in a gram-positive bacterium. Phage B5 infects Propionibacterium freudenreichii and has a genome consisting of 5,806 bases coding for 10 putative open reading frames. The organization of the genome is very similar to the organization of the genomes of filamentous phages active on gram-negative bacteria. The putative coat protein exhibits homology with the coat proteins of phages PH75 and Pf3 active on Thermus thermophilus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, respectively. B5 is, therefore, evolutionarily related to the filamentous phages active on gram-negative bacteria.


2019 ◽  
Vol 85 (15) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Tong ◽  
Yifeng Wei ◽  
Yiling Hu ◽  
Ee Lui Ang ◽  
Huimin Zhao ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTHydroxyethyl sulfonate (isethionate) is widely distributed in the environment as an industrial pollutant and as a product of microbial metabolism. It is used as a substrate for growth by metabolically diverse environmental bacteria. Aerobic pathways for isethionate dissimilation in Gram-negative bacteria involve the cytochromec-dependent oxidation of isethionate to sulfoacetaldehyde by a membrane-bound flavoenzyme (IseJ), followed by C-S cleavage by the thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP)-dependent enzyme sulfoacetaldehyde acetyltransferase (Xsc). Here, we report a bioinformatics analysis of Xsc-containing gene clusters in Gram-positive bacteria, which revealed the presence of an alternative isethionate dissimilation pathway involving the NAD+-dependent oxidation of isethionate by a cytosolic metal-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase (IseD). We describe the biochemical characterization of recombinant IseD from the haloalkaliphilic environmental bacteriumBacillus krulwichiaeAM31DTand demonstrate the growth of this bacterium using isethionate as its sole carbon source, with the excretion of sulfite as a waste product. The IseD-dependent pathway provides the only mechanism for isethionate dissimilation in Gram-positive species to date and suggests a role of the metabolically versatileBacilliin the mineralization of this ubiquitous organosulfur compound.IMPORTANCEIsethionate of biotic and industrial sources is prevalent. Dissimilation of isethionate under aerobic conditions is thus far only known in Gram-negative bacteria. Here, we report the discovery of a new pathway in Gram-positiveBacillus krulwichiae. Isethionate is oxidized by a cytosolic metal-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase (which we named IseD), with NAD+as the electron acceptor, generating sulfoacetaldehyde for subsequent cleavage by Xsc. This work highlights the diversity of organisms and pathways involved in the degradation of this ubiquitous organosulfonate. The new pathway that we discovered may play an important role in organosulfur mineralization and in the sulfur cycle in certain environments.


2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 1934578X0700200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leopold Jirovetz ◽  
Gerhard Buchbauer ◽  
Thomas Schweiger ◽  
Zapriana Denkova ◽  
Alexander Slavchev ◽  
...  

The chemical composition of a sample of Jasminum grandiflorum L. absolute from India was analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The major compounds identified were benzyl acetate (23.7%), benzyl benzoate (20.7%), phytol (10.9%), linalool (8.2%), isophytol (5.5%), geranyl linalool (3.0%), methyl linoleate (2.8%) and eugenol (2.5%). The odor of this absolute sample was olfactorically evaluated as intense and heavy floral-flowery, with penetrant-animalic and fruity side-notes. Some main and minor compounds were found to be responsible for the aroma impression of this sample. The antimicrobial activities of the J. grandiflorum sample and of some of its main and minor compounds were tested against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, as well as against the yeast Candida albicans, using agar dilution and agar diffusion methods. The jasmine absolute showed medium to high activity (reference compounds: eugenol and three synthetic antibiotics) against the Gram-positive bacterium Enterococcus faecalis, against the Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Salmonella sp., as well as against the yeast Candida albicans. A comparison of these biological data with those of some constituents of the jasmine absolute is also given.


2012 ◽  
Vol 78 (9) ◽  
pp. 3465-3468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashwini Wagh ◽  
Shujie Shen ◽  
Fen Ann Shen ◽  
Charles D. Miller ◽  
Marie K. Walsh

ABSTRACTThe antimicrobial activities of sucrose monolaurate and a novel ester, lactose monolaurate (LML), were tested. Gram-positive bacteria were more susceptible than Gram-negative bacteria to both esters. The minimal bactericidal concentrations of LML were 5 to 9.5 mM forListeria monocytogenesisolates and 0.2 to 2 mM forMycobacteriumisolates.


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