scholarly journals In vitro selection of an archaeal RNase P RNA mimics natural variation

Archaea ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 241-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Williams ◽  
James W. Brown

Archaeal and bacterial RNase P RNAs are similar in sequence and secondary structure, but in the absence of protein, the archaeal RNAs are much less active and require extreme ionic conditions for activity. To assess how readily the activity of the archaeal RNA alone could be improved by small changes in sequence, in vitro selection was used to generate variants of aMethanobacterium formicicumRNase P RNA:Bacillus subtiluspre-tRNAAspself-cleaving conjugate RNA. Functional variants were generated with a spectrum of mutations that were predominately consistent with natural variation in this RNA. Variants generated from the selection had cleavage rates comparable to that of wild type; variants with improved cleavage rates or lower ionic requirements were not obtained. This suggests that the RNase P RNAs of Bacteria and Archaea are globally optimized and the basis for the large biochemical differences between these two types of RNase P RNA is distributed in the molecule.

Parasitology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 145 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
SIMONE S. C. OLIVEIRA ◽  
INÊS C. GONÇALVES ◽  
VITOR ENNES-VIDAL ◽  
ANGELA H. C. S. LOPES ◽  
RUBEM F. S. MENNA-BARRETO ◽  
...  

SUMMARYThe species Phytomonas serpens is known to express some molecules displaying similarity to those described in trypanosomatids pathogenic to humans, such as peptidases from Trypanosoma cruzi (cruzipain) and Leishmania spp. (gp63). In this work, a population of P. serpens resistant to the calpain inhibitor MDL28170 at 70 µm (MDLR population) was selected by culturing promastigotes in increasing concentrations of the drug. The only relevant ultrastructural difference between wild-type (WT) and MDLR promastigotes was the presence of microvesicles within the flagellar pocket of the latter. MDLR population also showed an increased reactivity to anti-cruzipain antibody as well as a higher papain-like proteolytic activity, while the expression of calpain-like molecules cross-reactive to anti-Dm-calpain (from Drosophila melanogaster) antibody and calcium-dependent cysteine peptidase activity were decreased. Gp63-like molecules also presented a diminished expression in MDLR population, which is probably correlated to the reduction in the parasite adhesion to the salivary glands of the insect vector Oncopeltus fasciatus. A lower accumulation of Rhodamine 123 was detected in MDLR cells when compared with the WT population, a phenotype that was reversed when MDLR cells were treated with cyclosporin A and verapamil. Collectively, our results may help in the understanding of the roles of calpain inhibitors in trypanosomatids.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (10) ◽  
pp. e1501695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan V. Smirnov ◽  
Andrey V. Golovin ◽  
Spyros D. Chatziefthimiou ◽  
Anastasiya V. Stepanova ◽  
Yingjie Peng ◽  
...  

In vitro selection of antibodies from large repertoires of immunoglobulin (Ig) combining sites using combinatorial libraries is a powerful tool, with great potential for generating in vivo scavengers for toxins. However, addition of a maturation function is necessary to enable these selected antibodies to more closely mimic the full mammalian immune response. We approached this goal using quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) calculations to achieve maturation in silico. We preselected A17, an Ig template, from a naïve library for its ability to disarm a toxic pesticide related to organophosphorus nerve agents. Virtual screening of 167,538 robotically generated mutants identified an optimum single point mutation, which experimentally boosted wild-type Ig scavenger performance by 170-fold. We validated the QM/MM predictions via kinetic analysis and crystal structures of mutant apo-A17 and covalently modified Ig, thereby identifying the displacement of one water molecule by an arginine as delivering this catalysis.


2002 ◽  
Vol 46 (8) ◽  
pp. 2712-2715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serge Houssaye ◽  
Laurent Gutmann ◽  
Emmanuelle Varon

ABSTRACT We analyzed the frequencies of selection, the order of acquisition, and the mutations selected on moxifloxacin in two wild-type pneumococcal strains, R6 and 5714. The first selection step showed either a single GyrA mutation or no mutation in any of the quinolone resistance-determining regions. Second-step mutants selected had either a second mutation in ParC or in ParE. Moxifloxacin could belong to these fluoroquinolones, which preferentially target GyrA though probably acting equally through both gyrase and topoisomerase IV.


2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan K. Shields ◽  
M. Hong Nguyen ◽  
Ellen G. Press ◽  
Liang Chen ◽  
Barry N. Kreiswirth ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Ceftazidime-avibactam resistance is mediated by bla KPC-3 mutations, which restore carbapenem susceptibility. We subjected Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates with different bla KPC-3 mutations (n = 5) or wild-type bla KPC-3 (n = 2) to serial passages with meropenem. The meropenem MIC against each isolate increased. Mutations in the ompK36 porin gene evolved in 5 isolates. Among isolates with D179Y substitutions in KPC-3, bla KPC-3 mutations reverted to wild type, were replaced by new mutations, or were retained. Carbapenem treatment of ceftazidime-avibactam-resistant K. pneumoniae infections may select for carbapenem resistance.


2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 3-7
Author(s):  
V. V. Gostev ◽  
Yu. V. Sopova ◽  
O. S. Kalinogorskaya ◽  
M. E. Velizhanina ◽  
I. V. Lazareva ◽  
...  

Glycopeptides are the basis of the treatment of infections caused by MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus). Previously, it was demonstrated that antibiotic tolerant phenotypes are formed during selection of resistance under the influence of high concentrations of antibiotics. The present study uses a similar in vitro selection model with vancomycin. Clinical isolates of MRSA belonging to genetic lines ST8 and ST239, as well as the MSSA (ATCC29213) strain, were included in the experiment. Test isolates were incubated for five hours in a medium with a high concentration of vancomycin (50 μg/ml). Test cultures were grown on the medium without antibiotic for 18 hours after each exposure. A total of ten exposure cycles were performed. Vancomycin was characterized by bacteriostatic action; the proportion of surviving cells after exposure was 70–100%. After selection, there was a slight increase in the MIC to vancomycin (MIC 2 μg/ml), teicoplanin (MIC 1.5–3 μg/ml) and daptomycin (MIC 0.25–2 μg/ml). According to the results of PAP analysis, all strains showed an increase in the area under curve depending on the concentration of vancomycin after selection, while a heteroresistant phenotype (with PAP/AUC 0.9) was detected in three isolates. All isolates showed walK mutations (T188S, D235N, E261V, V380I, and G223D). Exposure to short-term shock concentrations of vancomycin promotes the formation of heteroresistance in both MRSA and MSSA. Formation of VISA phenotypes is possible during therapy with vancomycin.


2002 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 473-480
Author(s):  
Bentham Science Publisher A.N. Alexandrov ◽  
Bentham Science Publisher V.Yu. Alakhov ◽  
Bentham Science Publisher A.I. Miroshnikov

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