Hyphal compartmentalization and sporulation in Streptomyces require the conserved cell division protein SepX

Filamentous actinobacteria such as Streptomyces undergo two distinct modes of cell division, leading to partitioning of growing hyphae into multicellular compartments via cross-walls, and to septation and release of unicellular spores. Specific determinants for cross-wall formation and the importance of hyphal compartmentalization for Streptomyces development are largely unknown. Here we show that SepX, an actinobacterial-specific protein, is crucial for both cell division modes in Streptomyces venezuelae. Importantly, we find that sepX-deficient mutants grow without cross-walls and that this substantially impairs the fitness of colonies and the coordinated progression through the developmental life cycle. Protein interaction studies and live-cell imaging suggest that SepX contributes to the stabilization of the divisome, a mechanism that also requires the dynamin-like protein DynB. Thus, our work identifies an important determinant for cell division in Streptomyces that is required for cellular development and sporulation.

Hypoxia-Induced Ethanol Production in Arabidopsis Root Apex Cells Affects Endocytic Vesicle Recycling and F-Actin Organisation

Ethanol (EtOH) is a short-chain alcohol that is abundant in nature. EtOH is endogenously produced by plants under hypoxic conditions, and exogenously applied EtOH improves plant stress tolerance at low concentrations (<1%). However, no direct observations have shown how EtOH affects cellular events in plants. In intact Arabidopsis roots, 0.1% EtOH promoted reactive oxygen species production in root apex cells. EtOH also accelerated exocytic vesicle recycling and altered F-actin organisation, both of which are closely related to cell membrane properties. In addition to exogenous EtOH application, hypoxic treatment resulted in EtOH production in roots and degradation of the cross-wall actin cytoskeleton in root epidermal cells. We conclude that hypoxia-induced EtOH production affects endocytic vesicle recycling and associated signalling pathways.

Determination of Cross-directional and Cross-Wall Variations of Passive Biaxial Mechanical Properties of Rat Myocardium

Heart myocardia are critical to the facilitation of heart pumping and blood circulating around the body. The biaxial mechanical testing of the Left Ventricle (RV) is utilised to build the computa-tional model of the whole heart with little importance given to the unique mechanical properties of Right Ventricle (RV) and Mid-wall (MDW). Most of those studies focussed on the LV of the heart, and then apply the obtained characteristics with a few modifications to the right side of the heart. However, that view has been contested over time with the realisation that the right side of the heart possesses its own unique mechanical properties that are widely distinct from that of the left side of the heart. This paper is aimed at reporting and evaluating the passive mechanical property dif-ferences in the three main walls of the rat heart based on biaxial tensile test data. Fifteen mature Wistar rats weighing 225 &plusmn; 25 g were euthanised by inhalation of 5 % halothane. The hearts were excised after which all the top chambers comprising the two atria, pulmonary and vena cava trunks, aorta and valves are all dissected out. Then 5 x 5 mm sections from the middle of each wall were carefully dissected with a surgical knife to avoid over-prestraining the specimens. The specimens were subjected tensile test. The elastic moduli, peak stresses in the toe region and stresses at 40 % strain, anisotropy indices as well as the stored strain energy in the toe and linear region up to 40 % strain are used for statistical significance tests. The following are the main findings of this study: (1) LV and MDW tissues have relatively shorter toe regions of 10 - 15 % strain as compared to RV tissue whose toe region extends up to twice as much as that (2) LV tissues have higher strain energy storage in the linear region despite being lower in stiffness than the RV (3) the MDW has the highest strain energy storage along both directions which might be directly related to its high level of anisotropy. These findings, though for a specific animal species at similar age and around the same body mass, emphasize the importance of application of wall specific material parameters to obtain accurate ventricular hyperelastic models. The findings further enhance our understanding of the desired mechanical behaviour of the different ventricle walls.

A Modified Elastic Foundation Beam Method for Analyzing Lateral Wall Deformation in Excavations with Cross Wall

Cross walls have been used as alternative auxiliary measures to protect buildings in some areas of Asia. Realizing the inadequacy of the classical Winkler foundation to predict the deflection of the diaphragm wall with cross wall, a modified Winkler foundation of the finite element method (MEFB) was formulated in this paper. Then, the MEFB method was verified through two excavation cases and applied in a new well-documented excavation history. Results showed that the wall deflection by the proposed method was line with the 3D numerical analysis and field observations but smaller than that of classical Winkler’s elastic foundation (EFB) method. The maximum deformation calculated by the MEFB method was predicted to have a reduction of 40∼60% compared to those of the EFB method. Meanwhile, the wall deformation was minimum at the location of cross walls and reaches the maximum value at the midline between two cross walls. Besides, the plane strain ratio PSR d based on the MEFB method was defined to study the interval L , the embedded depth, and arrangement of cross walls. The results indicated the MEFB method was used successfully as a more accurate method than Winkler foundation and is simpler than 3D numerical analysis method for the engineering design of the diaphragm-cross wall system during excavation.

Multicellular growth and sporulation in filamentous actinobacteria require the conserved cell division protein SepX

Filamentous actinobacteria like Streptomyces undergo two distinct modes of cell division, leading to the partitioning of growing hyphae into multicellular compartments via cross-walls and to the septation and release of unicellular spores. While some progress has been made towards the regulation of sporulation-specific cell division, specific determinants for cross-wall formation and the importance of hyphal compartmentalization for Streptomyces development have remained unknown. Here we describe SepX, an actinobacterial-specific protein that is crucial for both cell division events in Streptomyces. We show that sepX-deficient mutants grow without cross-walls and that this substantially impairs the fitness of colonies and the coordinated progression through the developmental life cycle. Protein interaction studies and live-cell imaging suggest that SepX functions to spatially stabilize the divisome, a mechanism that also requires the dynamin-like protein DynB. Collectively, this work identifies an important determinant for cell division in filamentous actinobacteria that is required for multicellular development and sporulation.

Stress-strain state finite element modeling of concrete foundation of a multistory brick building

The determination of mobility of the concrete foundation on a natural subgrade is rather relevant for the strength analysis of multistory brick buildings with a spatial cross-wall structural system. During the inelastic soil behavior, its ultimate limit and elastoplastic states are allowable along the concrete foundation perimeter, the bearing capacity of the foundation being provided as a whole. In this case, it is important to adhere to the standard conditions of the foundation deformation and mobility. The finite element modeling of the stress-strain state of the concrete foundation and the building superstructure of the base-foundation-building system is performed in the MicroFe software package. A consideration of inelastic soil deformations in the natural subgrade results in unacceptable displacements of the concrete foundation.