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Commonly used flame retardants, such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers, are extremely persistent in the environment, causing serious environmental risks. Certain strains of bacteria are able to degrade several low brominated congeners of PBDEs aerobically. However, the aerobic degradation pathway is not yet well understood, particularly at the genetic level. In this study, we isolated Cupriavidus sp. WS from the environment that could degrade diphenyl ether (DE), 4-bromodiphenyl ether, and 4,4'-bromodiphenyl ether. DE was completely degraded in 6 days without any detectable end-product. Using transposon mutagenesis, several DE degradation-deficient mutants were obtained. Knocking out bphA1, bphA2, and bphA3 eliminated the ability of the Cupriavidus sp. WS bacterium to degrade DE, indicating that the bph genes play a crucial role in DE degradation by this strain. The specific roles of bphA, bphB, and bphC were identified by systematically expressing these genes in Escherichia coli. The dihydrodiol product of BphA was dehydrogenated into 2,3-dihydroxydiphenyl ether by BphB. 2,3-Dihydroxydiphenyl ether was then decomposed into phenol and 2-pyrone-6-carboxylic acid by BphC. Thus, BphA, BphB, and BphC act sequentially in the aerobic degradation of DE, 4-bromodiphenyl ether, and 4,4'-dibromodiphenyl ether by the Cupriavidus sp. WS bacterium.

In this study, the impact of the exopolysaccharides Pel and Psl on the cell surface electron donor-electron acceptor (acid-base) properties and adhesion to quartz sand was investigated by using Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 and its isogenic EPS-mutant strains Δpel, Δpsl and Δpel/Δpsl. The microbial adhesion to hydrocarbon (MATH) test and titration results showed that both Pel and Psl contribute to the surface hydrophobicity of the cell. The results of contact angle measurement, however, showed no correlation with the cell surface hydrophobicity measured by the MATH test and the titration method. Packed-bed column experiments indicated that the exopolysaccharides Pel and Psl are involved in the initial cell attachment to the sand surface and the extent of their impact is dependent on the ionic strength (IS) of the solution. Overall, the Δpel/Δpsl double mutant had the lowest adhesion coefficient to sand compared with the wild-type PAO1, the Δpel mutant and the Δpsl mutant. It is hypothesized that in addition to bacterial surface hydrophobicity and DLVO forces, other factors, eg steric repulsion caused by extracellular macromolecules, and cell surface appendages (flagella and pili) also contribute significantly to the interaction between the cell surface and a sand grain.

Antibiotic therapy is the most commonly used strategy to control pathogenic infections; however, it has contributed to the generation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. To circumvent this emerging problem, we are searching for compounds that target bacterial virulence factors rather than their viability. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic human pathogen, possesses a type III secretion system (T3SS) as one of the major virulence factors by which it secretes and translocates T3 effector proteins into human host cells. The fact that this human pathogen also is able to infect several plant species led us to screen a library of phenolic compounds involved in plant defense signaling and their derivatives for novel T3 inhibitors. Promoter activity screening of exoS, which encodes a T3-secreted toxin, identified two T3 inhibitors and two T3 inducers of P. aeruginosa PAO1. These compounds alter exoS transcription by affecting the expression levels of the regulatory small RNAs RsmY and RsmZ. These two small RNAs are known to control the activity of carbon storage regulator RsmA, which is responsible for the regulation of the key T3SS regulator ExsA. As RsmY and RsmZ are the only targets directly regulated by GacA, our results suggest that these phenolic compounds affect the expression of exoS through the GacSA-RsmYZ-RsmA-ExsA regulatory pathway.

Fructose-bisphophate aldolase (FbaB), is an enzyme in glycolysis and gluconeogenesis in living organisms. The mutagenesis in a unique fbaB gene of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola, the causal agent of rice bacterial leaf streak, led the pathogen not only unable to use pyruvate and malate for growth and delayed its growth when fructose was used as the sole carbon source, but also reduced extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) production and impaired bacterial virulence and growth in rice. Intriguingly, the fbaB promoter contains an imperfect PIP-box (plant-inducible promoter) (TTCGT-N(9)-TTCGT). The expression of fbaB was negatively regulated by a key hrp regulatory HrpG and HrpX cascade. Base substitution in the PIP-box altered the regulation of fbaB with the cascade. Furthermore, the expression of fbaB in X. oryzae pv. oryzicola RS105 strain was inducible in planta rather than in a nutrient-rich medium. Except other hrp-hrc-hpa genes, the expression of hrpG and hrpX was repressed and the transcripts of hrcC, hrpE and hpa3 were enhanced when fbaB was deleted. The mutation in hrcC, hrpE or hpa3 reduced the ability of the pathogen to acquire pyruvate and malate. In addition, bacterial virulence and growth in planta and EPS production in RΔfbaB mutant were completely restored to the wild-type level by the presence of fbaB in trans. This is the first report to demonstrate that carbohydrates, assimilated by X. oryzae pv. oryzicola, play critical roles in coordinating hrp gene expression through a yet unknown regulator.

The outbreaks caused by enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 on leafy greens have raised serious and immediate food safety concerns. It has been suggested that several phytopathogens aid in the persistence and proliferation of the human enteropathogens in the phyllosphere. In this work, we examined the influence of virulence mechanisms of Dickeya dadantii 3937, a broad-host-range phytopathogen, on the proliferation of the human pathogen E. coli O157:H7 EDL933 (EDL933) on postharvest lettuce by coinoculation of EDL933 with D. dadantii 3937 derivatives that have mutations in virulence-related genes. A type II secretion system (T2SS)-deficient mutant of D. dadantii 3937, A1919 (ΔoutC), lost the capability to promote the multiplication of EDL933, whereas Ech159 (ΔrpoS), a stress-responsive σ factor RpoS-deficient mutant, increased EDL933 proliferation on lettuce leaves. A spectrophotometric enzyme activity assay revealed that A1919 (ΔoutC) was completely deficient in the secretion of pectate lyases (Pels), which play a major role in plant tissue maceration. In contrast to A1919 (ΔoutC), Ech159 (ΔrpoS) showed more than 2-fold-greater Pel activity than the wild-type D. dadantii 3937. Increased expression of pelD (encodes an endo-pectate lyase) was observed in Ech159 (ΔrpoS) in planta. These results suggest that the pectinolytic activity of D. dadantii 3937 is the dominant determinant of enhanced EDL933 proliferation on the lettuce leaves. In addition, RpoS, the general stress response σ factor involved in cell survival in suboptimal conditions, plays a role in EDL933 proliferation by controlling the production of pectate lyases in D. dadantii 3937.

Hypoxia from birth increases resistance to myocardial ischemia in infant rabbits. We hypothesized that increased cardioprotection in hearts chronically hypoxic from birth persists following development in a normoxic environment and involves increased activation of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and ATP-dependent K (K(ATP)) channels. Resistance to myocardial ischemia was determined in rabbits raised from birth to 10 days of age in a normoxic (Fi(O(2)) = 0.21) or hypoxic (Fi(O(2)) = 0.12) environment and subsequently exposed to normoxia for up to 60 days of age. Isolated hearts (n = 8/group) were subjected to 30 min of global ischemia followed by 35 min of reperfusion. At 10 days of age, resistance to myocardial ischemia (percent recovery postischemic recovery left ventricular developed pressure) was higher in chronically hypoxic hearts (68 +/- 4%) than normoxic controls (43 +/- 4%). At 10 days of age, N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (200 microM) and glibenclamide (3 microM) abolished the cardioprotective effects of chronic hypoxia (45 +/- 4% and 46 +/- 5%, respectively) but had no effect on normoxic hearts. At 30 days of age resistance to ischemia in normoxic hearts declined (36 +/- 5%). However, in hearts subjected to chronic hypoxia from birth to 10 days and then exposed to normoxia until 30 days of age, resistance to ischemia persisted (63 +/- 4%). L-NAME or glibenclamide abolished cardioprotection in previously hypoxic hearts (37 +/- 4% and 39 +/- 5%, respectively) but had no effect on normoxic hearts. Increased cardioprotection was lost by 60 days. We conclude that cardioprotection conferred by adaptation to hypoxia from birth persists on subsequent exposure to normoxia and is associated with enhanced NOS activity and activation of K(ATP) channels.

We determined whether isoflurane can confer delayed cardioprotection in the adult rat by triggering increased production of reactive oxygen (ROS) and nitrogen species (RNS). Our objectives were to determine 1) the concentration of isoflurane that confers delayed cardioprotection in the adult rat, 2) the role of ROS and RNS in the induction of delayed cardioprotection, and 3) the cellular sources of ROS and RNS responsible for induction of delayed cardioprotection by isoflurane. Male Sprague-Dawley rats at 8 wk of age (n = 8 rats/group) were exposed to 0.5%, 0.8%, 1%, and 2% (vol/vol) isoflurane-100% oxygen for 2 h. Isoflurane conferred delayed cardioprotection 24 h later at a concentration of 0.8% (vol/vol). Administration of manganese (III) tetrakis (4-benzoic acid)porphyrin chloride (MnTBAP), a superoxide scavenger (15 mg/kg ip), or N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), a general nitric oxide synthase inhibitor (15 mg/kg ip), 15 min before isoflurane treatment abolished the delayed cardioprotective effects of isoflurane. MnTBAP and L-NAME had no effect on delayed cardioprotection in untreated hearts. Perfusion of isolated hearts with hydroethidine, a fluorescent probe for superoxide, after isoflurane treatment resulted in a twofold increase in ethidine staining of isoflurane-treated hearts compared with untreated controls, which was attenuated by myxothiazol, an inhibitor of the mitochondrial electron transport chain (0.2 mg/kg ip) and L-NAME (15 mg/kg ip). Nitrite and nitrate content in isoflurane-treated hearts was 1.5-fold higher than in untreated hearts, whereas myocardial reduced glutathione levels were decreased by 13% in 0.8% but not in 1.0% isoflurane-treated hearts. We conclude that isoflurane confers delayed cardioprotection in the adult rat, triggered by ROS and RNS.

A brief review of the literature has been accomplished. A report is given on 32 ankles in 31 patients who had reconstruction of their lateral ligaments. The operative technique is described. A criteria for selection of patients is given.