Bertelsensteffensen1396

The virulence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus is variable depending on its virulence determinants. A V. parahaemolyticus strain, in which the virulence is governed by the pirA and pirB genes, can cause acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND) in shrimps. Some V. parahaemolyticus that are non-AHPND strains also cause shrimp diseases and result in huge economic losses, while their pathogenicity and pathogenesis remain unclear. In this study, a non-AHPND V. parahaemolyticus, TJA114, was isolated from diseased Penaeus vannamei associated with a high mortality. To understand its virulence and adaptation to the external environment, whole-genome sequencing of this isolate was conducted, and its phenotypic profiles including pathogenicity, growth characteristics and nutritional requirements were investigated. Shrimps following artificial infection with this isolate presented similar clinical symptoms to the naturally diseased ones and generated obvious pathological lesions. The growth characteristics indicated that the isolate TJA114 could grow well under different salinity (10-55 p.p.t.), temperature (23-37 °C) and pH (6-10) conditions. Phenotype MicroArray results showed that this isolate could utilize a variety of carbon sources, amino acids and a range of substrates to help itself adapt to the high hyperosmotic and alkaline environments. Antimicrobial-susceptibility test showed that it was a multidrug-resistant bacterium. The whole-genomic analysis showed that this V. parahaemolyticus possessed many important functional genes associated with multidrug resistance, stress response, adhesions, haemolysis, putative secreted proteases, dedicated protein secretion systems and a variety of nutritional metabolic mechanisms. These annotated functional genes were confirmed by the phenotypic profiles. The results in this study indicated that this V. parahaemolyticus isolate possesses a high pathogenicity and strong environmental adaptability.Endolithic microbial symbionts in the coral skeleton may play a pivotal role in maintaining coral health. However, compared to aerobic micro-organisms, research on the roles of endolithic anaerobic micro-organisms and microbe-microbe interactions in the coral skeleton are still in their infancy. In our previous study, we showed that a group of coral-associated Prosthecochloris (CAP), a genus of anaerobic green sulphur bacteria, was dominant in the skeleton of the coral Isopora palifera. Though CAP is diverse, the 16S rRNA phylogeny presents it as a distinct clade separate from other free-living Prosthecochloris. In this study, we build on previous research and further characterize the genomic and metabolic traits of CAP by recovering two new high-quality CAP genomes - Candidatus Prosthecochloris isoporae and Candidatus Prosthecochloris sp. N1 - from the coral I. palifera endolithic cultures. Genomic analysis revealed that these two CAP genomes have high genomic similarities compared with other Prosthecochloris and harbour several CAP-unique genes. Interestingly, different CAP species harbour various pigment synthesis and sulphur metabolism genes, indicating that individual CAPs can adapt to a diversity of coral microenvironments. A novel high-quality genome of sulfate-reducing bacterium (SRB)- Candidatus Halodesulfovibrio lyudaonia - was also recovered from the same culture. The fact that CAP and various SRB co-exist in coral endolithic cultures and coral skeleton highlights the importance of SRB in the coral endolithic community. Based on functional genomic analysis of Ca. P. sp. N1, Ca. P. isoporae and Ca. H. lyudaonia, we also propose a syntrophic relationship between the SRB and CAP in the coral skeleton.Rodents are frequently used for models that require surgical procedures. At our institution, laboratory rats are increasingly preferred for investigations of neurologic disorders, cardiovascular interventions, and assessment and treatment of addictive and depressive behaviors. For these types of studies, surgical preparations of the head and neck areas are necessary for catheterization and instrumentation. Based upon our former work in laboratory mice, we sought to improve rat surgery outcomes and confirm the efficacy of a waterless alcohol-based (WAB) antiseptic for skin disinfection prior to incision. In addition, we wanted to investigate whether active warming efforts improved perioperative body temperatures for rats to aid in return to consciousness. Prior to cranial surgical incision and placement in stereotactic equipment, rats were assessed after skin preparation with WAB and after thermal interventions, including prewarming cages for 30 min before anesthesia and delivery of warmed fluid (NaCl) supplementation. Core temperatures were recorded and aerobic culture swabs collected from surgical sites at multiple time points. As previously shown in mice, bacterial counts in rats were effectively diminished by WAB agents. Assessment of intraoperative body temperature trajectories did not identify appreciable differences between control rats and rats that were exposed to prewarming or warmed fluid supplementation or both. However, heavier male rats recovered more rapidly from isoflurane anesthesia than did lighter male and female rats. Although these thermal support measures did not significantly improve anesthetic recovery times in rats, animals warmed for 30 min trended toward a faster return to righting reflex after exposure to isoflurane. Omipalisib in vivo These findings confirm that WAB antiseptic is an acceptable option for skin preparation in rats and suggest that continued evaluation of thermal interventions remains of interest for improved outcomes in rat surgery.An SNP is a spontaneous genetic change having a potential to modify the functions of the original genes and to lead to phenotypic diversity of bacteria in nature. In this study, a phylogenetic analysis of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis, a major food-borne pathogen, showed that eight strains of S. Enteritidis isolated in South Korea, including FORC_075 and FORC_078, have almost identical genome sequences. Interestingly, however, the abilities of FORC_075 to form biofilms and red, dry and rough (RDAR) colonies were significantly impaired, resulting in phenotypic differences among the eight strains. Comparative genomic analyses revealed that one of the non-synonymous SNPs unique to FORC_075 has occurred in envZ, which encodes a sensor kinase of the EnvZ/OmpR two-component system. The SNP in envZ leads to an amino acid change from Pro248 (CCG) in other strains including FORC_078 to Leu248 (CTG) in FORC_075. Allelic exchange of envZ between FORC_075 and FORC_078 identified that the SNP in envZ is responsible for the impaired biofilm- and RDAR colony-forming abilities of S.