scholarly journals Metabolic Differentiation of Co-occurring Accumulibacter Clades Revealed through Genome-Resolved Metatranscriptomics

mSystems ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. McDaniel ◽  
Francisco Moya-Flores ◽  
Natalie Keene Beach ◽  
Pamela Y. Camejo ◽  
Ben O. Oyserman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Polyphosphate Kinase ◽  
Sequence Identity ◽  
Accumulibacter Phosphatis

“ Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis” is a model polyphosphate-accumulating organism that has been studied using genome-resolved metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, and metaproteomics to understand the EBPR process. Within the Accumulibacter lineage, several similar but diverging clades are defined by the shared sequence identity of the polyphosphate kinase ( ppk1 ) locus.

Sitagliptin: a potential drug for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanaa Bardaweel
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Drug Discovery ◽  
Antimalarial Drug ◽  
Drug Repurposing ◽  
Spike Protein ◽  
Diabetic Patients ◽  
Potential Drug ◽  
Chemokine Production ◽  
Drug Discovery And Development ◽  
Sequence Identity

Recently, an outbreak of fatal coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, has emerged from China and is rapidly spreading worldwide. As the coronavirus pandemic rages, drug discovery and development become even more challenging. Drug repurposing of the antimalarial drug chloroquine and its hydroxylated form had demonstrated apparent effectiveness in the treatment of COVID-19 associated pneumonia in clinical trials. SARS-CoV-2 spike protein shares 31.9% sequence identity with the spike protein presents in the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus (MERS-CoV), which infects cells through the interaction of its spike protein with the DPP4 receptor found on macrophages. Sitagliptin, a DPP4 inhibitor, that is known for its antidiabetic, immunoregulatory, anti-inflammatory, and beneficial cardiometabolic effects has been shown to reverse macrophage responses in MERS-CoV infection and reduce CXCL10 chemokine production in AIDS patients. We suggest that Sitagliptin may be beneficial alternative for the treatment of COVID-19 disease especially in diabetic patients and patients with preexisting cardiovascular conditions who are already at higher risk of COVID-19 infection.

Bacterial Polyphosphate Kinases Revisited: Role in Pathogenesis and Therapeutic Potential

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 292-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lalit Kumar Gautam ◽  
Prince Sharma ◽  
Neena Capalash
Keyword(s):  
Drug Target ◽  
Bacterial Infections ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Wide Distribution ◽  
Medical Community ◽  
Polyphosphate Kinase ◽  
Potential Drug Target ◽  
Potential Drug ◽  
Resistant Strains ◽  
Structural Aspects

Bacterial infections have always been an unrestrained challenge to the medical community due to the rise of multi-drug tolerant and resistant strains. Pioneering work on Escherichia coli polyphosphate kinase (PPK) by Arthur Kornberg has generated great interest in this polyphosphate (PolyP) synthesizing enzyme. PPK has wide distribution among pathogens and is involved in promoting pathogenesis, stress management and susceptibility to antibiotics. Further, the absence of a PPK orthologue in humans makes it a potential drug target. This review covers the functional and structural aspects of polyphosphate kinases in bacterial pathogens. A description of molecules being designed against PPKs has been provided, challenges associated with PPK inhibitor design are highlighted and the strategies to enable development of efficient drug against this enzyme have also been discussed.

scholarly journals The mutL Gene as a Genome-Wide Taxonomic Marker for High Resolution Discrimination of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and Its Closely Related Taxa

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 1570
Author(s):  
Chien-Hsun Huang ◽  
Chih-Chieh Chen ◽  
Yu-Chun Lin ◽  
Chia-Hsuan Chen ◽  
Ai-Yun Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
16S Rrna ◽  
16S Rrna Gene ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Marker Genes ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Accurate Identification ◽  
Discrimination Power ◽  
Sequence Identity ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
A Genome

The current taxonomy of the Lactiplantibacillus plantarum group comprises of 17 closely related species that are indistinguishable from each other by using commonly used 16S rRNA gene sequencing. In this study, a whole-genome-based analysis was carried out for exploring the highly distinguished target genes whose interspecific sequence identity is significantly less than those of 16S rRNA or conventional housekeeping genes. In silico analyses of 774 core genes by the cano-wgMLST_BacCompare analytics platform indicated that csbB, morA, murI, mutL, ntpJ, rutB, trmK, ydaF, and yhhX genes were the most promising candidates. Subsequently, the mutL gene was selected, and the discrimination power was further evaluated using Sanger sequencing. Among the type strains, mutL exhibited a clearly superior sequence identity (61.6–85.6%; average: 66.6%) to the 16S rRNA gene (96.7–100%; average: 98.4%) and the conventional phylogenetic marker genes (e.g., dnaJ, dnaK, pheS, recA, and rpoA), respectively, which could be used to separat tested strains into various species clusters. Consequently, species-specific primers were developed for fast and accurate identification of L. pentosus, L. argentoratensis, L. plantarum, and L. paraplantarum. During this study, one strain (BCRC 06B0048, L. pentosus) exhibited not only relatively low mutL sequence identities (97.0%) but also a low digital DNA–DNA hybridization value (78.1%) with the type strain DSM 20314T, signifying that it exhibits potential for reclassification as a novel subspecies. Our data demonstrate that mutL can be a genome-wide target for identifying and classifying the L. plantarum group species and for differentiating novel taxa from known species.

scholarly journals Discriminating between JCPyV and BKPyV in Urinary Virome Data Sets

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1041
Author(s):  
Rita Mormando ◽  
Alan J. Wolfe ◽  
Catherine Putonti
Keyword(s):  
Jc Virus ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Bk Virus ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Metagenomic Sequencing ◽  
Significant Sequence Similarity ◽  
Sequence Identity ◽  
Shotgun Metagenomic Sequencing ◽  
Urinary Microbiome ◽  
Six Genes

Polyomaviruses are abundant in the human body. The polyomaviruses JC virus (JCPyV) and BK virus (BKPyV) are common viruses in the human urinary tract. Prior studies have estimated that JCPyV infects between 20 and 80% of adults and that BKPyV infects between 65 and 90% of individuals by age 10. However, these two viruses encode for the same six genes and share 75% nucleotide sequence identity across their genomes. While prior urinary virome studies have repeatedly reported the presence of JCPyV, we were interested in seeing how JCPyV prevalence compares to BKPyV. We retrieved all publicly available shotgun metagenomic sequencing reads from urinary microbiome and virome studies (n = 165). While one third of the data sets produced hits to JCPyV, upon further investigation were we able to determine that the majority of these were in fact BKPyV. This distinction was made by specifically mining for JCPyV and BKPyV and considering uniform coverage across the genome. This approach provides confidence in taxon calls, even between closely related viruses with significant sequence similarity.

scholarly journals Production of nonulosonic acids in the extracellular polymeric substances of “Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis”

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Tomás-Martínez ◽  
Hugo B.C. Kleikamp ◽  
Thomas R. Neu ◽  
Martin Pabst ◽  
David G. Weissbrodt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Extracellular Polymeric Substances ◽  
Lectin Binding ◽  
Wide Distribution ◽  
Sialic Acids ◽  
Animal Cells ◽  
Microbial Life ◽  
Proteomic Data ◽  
Accumulibacter Phosphatis

Abstract Nonulosonic acids (NulOs) are a family of acidic carbohydrates with a nine-carbon backbone, which include different related structures, such as sialic acids. They have mainly been studied for their relevance in animal cells and pathogenic bacteria. Recently, sialic acids have been discovered as an important compound in the extracellular matrix of virtually all microbial life and in “Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis”, a well-studied polyphosphate-accumulating organism, in particular. Here, bioaggregates highly enriched with these bacteria (approx. 95% based on proteomic data) were used to study the production of NulOs in an enrichment of this microorganism. Fluorescence lectin-binding analysis, enzymatic quantification, and mass spectrometry were used to analyze the different NulOs present, showing a wide distribution and variety of these carbohydrates, such as sialic acids and bacterial NulOs, in the bioaggregates. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed the potential of “Ca. Accumulibacter” to produce different types of NulOs. Proteomic analysis showed the ability of “Ca. Accumulibacter” to reutilize and reincorporate these carbohydrates. This investigation points out the importance of diverse NulOs in non-pathogenic bacteria, which are normally overlooked. Sialic acids and other NulOs should be further investigated for their role in the ecology of “Ca. Accumulibacter” in particular, and biofilms in general. Key Points •“Ca. Accumulibacter” has the potential to produce a range of nonulosonic acids. •Mass spectrometry and lectin binding can reveal the presence and location of nonulosonic acids. •The role of nonulosonic acid in non-pathogenic bacteria needs to be studied in detail.

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