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Research has been conducted on Xylella fastidiosa, gamma-proteobacterium affecting plants including citrus and grapevine. The results of genome analysis of this bacterium isolated from infected grapevine with Pierce's disease are reported.

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The article discusses a study that determines the fate of Shiga toxigenic Escherichia coli non-O517 cells in ovine manure in two different composting systems. Other topics include examination of 10 isolates for susceptibility to 10 antimicrobial drugs, a table showing the average changes in E. coli number in the composting system, and virulence genes of E. coli isolates received from an ovine manure-based composting.

Unlabelled: Escherichia coli is part of the normal microflora of the intestines of mammals. However, among the enteric pathogens, it is one of the leading causes of intestinal diseases, especially Shiga toxigenic E. coli, which can cause diarrhoea, haemorrhagic colitis and complications like haemolytic uraemic syndrome and thrombotic thrombocytopaenic purpura. Escherichia coli is considered a serious public health problem. Water and fish samples were subjected to biochemical tests to confirm the presence of E. coli and by PCR to verify the presence of pathogenic strains (O157, enteropathogenic and shiga toxigenic) in water and fish (skin, gastrointestinal tract and muscles) from pay-to-fish ponds located in the Córrego Rico watershed in the northeastern region of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Of the 115 E. coli isolates from fish or water, five (4·34%) contained eae and stx2 genes, one had only the eae gene and two had the stx1 gene. An isolate containing the stx2 gene was also found in the water sample. In addition, eight isolates (6·95%) from the fish gastrointestinal tract contained rfbEO157:H7 (O157 gene), and three (2·61%) contained stx2 and eae genes, demonstrating the potential risk to the environment and public health. The results provide useful basic information for the proper management of these environments and animals in order to prevent faecal pollution, reducing health risks to the Brazilian population., Significance and Impact of the Study: Pay-to-fish ponds are a common commercial activity in Brazil. Samples of water and Oreochromis niloticus were examined by PCR to detect the presence of pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli (O157, enteropathogenic and shiga toxigenic). Several pathogenic strains were detected in this study, providing useful epidemiological information for the proper management of these environments and animals in order to prevent faecal pollution, reducing health risks to the Brazilian population., (© 2015 The Society for Applied Microbiology.)

The polyphagous pests belonging to the genus Spodoptera are considered to be among the most important causes of damage and are widely distributed throughout the Americas'. Due to the extensive use of genetically modified plants containing Bacillus thuringiensis genes that code for insecticidal proteins, resistant insects may arise. To prevent the development of resistance, pyramided plants, which express multiple insecticidal proteins that act through distinct mode of actions, can be used. This study analyzed the mechanisms of action for the proteins Cry1Ia10 and Vip3Aa on neonatal Spodoptera frugiperda, Spodoptera albula, Spodoptera eridania and Spodoptera cosmioides larvae. The interactions of these toxins with receptors on the intestinal epithelial membrane were also analyzed by binding biotinylated toxins to brush border membrane vesicles (BBMVs) from the intestines of these insects. A putative receptor of approximately 65 kDa was found by ligand blotting in all of these species. In vitro competition assays using biotinylated proteins have indicated that Vip3Aa and Cry1Ia10 do not compete for the same receptor for S. frugiperda, S. albula and S. cosmioides and that Vip3Aa was more efficient than Cry1Ia10 when tested individually, by bioassays. A synergistic effect of the toxins in S. frugiperda, S. albula and S. cosmioides was observed when they were combined. However, in S. eridania, Cry1Ia10 and Vip3Aa might compete for the same receptor and through bioassays Cry1Ia10 was more efficient than Vip3Aa and showed an antagonistic effect when the proteins were combined. These results suggest that using these genes to develop pyramided plants may not prove effective in preventing the development of resistance in S. eridiana., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The entomophatogenic bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis produces crystal proteins, named Cry proteins which are encoded by the cry genes. This bacterium is used on biological control of important economical pests, as well as in the control of disease´s vectors, such as Aedes aegypti, a mosquito that transmits the dengue viruses. Isolates of this bacterium can be characterized by the content of cry genes and this prediction helps target different insect orders. In this research, we isolated 76 colonies of B. thuringiensis from 30 soil samples that were taken from Ilha Bela (SP, Brazil), a place where simulids are already biologically controlled by B. thuringiensis, to find bacterial isolates that were capable of controlling A. aegypti. The 16S ribosomal subunit genes of the selected isolates were sequenced, and the isolates were molecularly characterized based on their Dipteran-specific cry gene contents. Eight of the 76 isolates (10.52%) contained the cry4Aa, cry4Ba or cry10Aa genes, these isolates were carried out against A. aegypti larvae on bioassay. The presence or absence of specific cry genes was associated with the observed average larval mortalities. From the 76 isolates, seven (9.2%) were potentially able to control A. aegypti larvae. Therefore these are promising isolates for the biological control of A. aegypti larvae.

Salmonella enterica serovar Gallinarum (SG) is an intracellular pathogen of chickens. To survive, to invade and to multiply in the intestinal tract and intracellularly it depends on its ability to produce energy in anaerobic conditions. The fumarate reductase (frdABCD), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)-trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) reductase (dmsABC), and nitrate reductase (narGHIJ) operons in Salmonella Typhimurium (STM) encode enzymes involved in anaerobic respiration to the electron acceptors fumarate, DMSO, TMAO, and nitrate, respectively. They are regulated in response to nitrate and oxygen availability and changes in cell growth rate. In this study mortality rates of chickens challenged with mutants of Salmonella Gallinarum, which were defective in utilising anaerobic electron acceptors, were assessed in comparison to group of bird challenged with wild strain. The greatest degree of attenuation was observed with mutations affecting nitrate reductase (napA, narG) with additional attenuations induced by a mutation affecting fumarate reductase (frdA) and a double mutant (dmsA torC) affecting DMSO and TMAO reductase.

Fluorescence amplified fragment length polymorphism (fAFLP) was used to assess the genetic relatedness of 40 Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from human and animal skin samples in seven dairy farms with manual milking. S. aureus was isolated from 11 out of 30 (36%) human skin samples and from 29 out of 100 (29%) teat skin samples from apparently healthy cows. Genomic DNA from each isolate was double-digested with EcoRI and MseI and complementary oligonucleotide adaptors were ligated to the restriction fragments. Pre-selective and selective amplification reactions were performed, the amplified fragments were separated by electrophoresis in an ABI377 sequencer and analysed using GeneScan 3.1 and Genotyper 2.5. Three single isolates (a-c), a predominant cluster with 35 isolates (d) and another cluster with two isolates (e) were identified. Both clusters d and e included human and animal isolates genetically related, because the profiles had 90-100% homology. Since no cluster was comprised uniquely of human or animal isolates and given the close genetic relatedness among human and animal samples in the farms, the present findings support the hypothesis that dairy workers can spread S. aureus through manual milking.

Pyrophosphate-dependent phosphofructokinase (PPi-PFK) has been detected in several types of plant cells, but the gene has not been reported in sugar cane. Using Citrus paradisi PPi-PFK gene (AF095520 and AF095521) sequences to search the sugar cane EST database, we have identified both the alpha and beta subunits of this enzyme. The deduced amino acid sequences showed 76 and 80% similarity with the corresponding alpha and beta subunits of C. paradisi. A high degree of similarity was also observed among the PFK b subunits when the alignment of the sugar cane sequences was compared to those of Ricinus communis and Solanum tuberosum. It appears that alpha and beta are two distinct subunits; they were found at different concentrations in several sugar cane tissues. It remains to be determined if the different gene expression levels have some physiological importance and how they affect sucrose synthesis, export, and storage in vacuoles. A comparison between the amino acid sequences of b PFKs from a variety of organisms allowed us to identify the two critical Asp residues typical of this enzyme's activity site and the other binding sites; these residues are tightly conserved in all members of this protein family. Apparently, there are catalytic residues on the b subunit of the pyrophosphate-dependent enzyme.