Westmalone6662

The G+C contents of the DNA of strains MF30-AT and MF845 were 69.8 mol% and 69.7 mol%, respectively. The average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA relatedness values of the two strains with all available genomes of the genus Agromyces were far below the respective thresholds of 95 and 70 %, respectively. All genotypic and phenotypic data indicated that strains MF30-AT and MF845 should be classified as novel members of the genus Agromyces, for which the name Agromyces badenianii sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is MF30-AT (=CGMCC 1.16469T=DSM 106183T).An obligately anaerobic, Gram-stain-positive, non-motile and coccoid- or oval-shaped bacterium, designated strain KGMB01111T, was isolated from faeces from a healthy Korean. Comparative analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that KGMB01111T was closely related to Ruminococcus gauveauii CCRI-16110T (93.9 %) and Blautia stercoris GAM6-1T (93.7 %), followed by Clostridium nexile DSM 1787T (93.5 %), Blautia producta ATCC 27340T (93.4 %), Blautia hydrogenotrophica DSM 10507T (93.1 %) and Blautia coccoides ATCC 29236T (93.1 %) within the family Lachnospiraceae (Clostridium rRNA cluster XIVa). Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that KGMB01111T formed a separate branch with species in the genus Blautia. The major cellular fatty acids (>10.0 %) were C16  0 and C18  1 cis 9 dimethyl acetal (DMA), and the major polar lipids were aminophospholipids and lipids. KGMB01111T contained meso-diaminopimelic acid in cell-wall peptidoglycan. The predominant end product of fermentation produced by KGMB01111T was acetic acid. Based on the whole-genome sequence, the DNA G+C content of the isolate was 44.7 mol%. On the basis of the phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic characteristics, KGMB01111T represents a novel species within the genus Blautia for which the name Blautia faecicola sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is KGMB01111T (=KCTC 15706T=DSM 107827T).Vaccinia virus (VACV) strain Western Reserve gene A49L encodes a small intracellular protein with a Bcl-2 fold that is expressed early during infection and has multiple functions. A49 co-precipitates with the E3 ubiquitin ligase β-TrCP and thereby prevents ubiquitylation and proteasomal degradation of IκBα, and consequently blocks activation of NF-κB. In a similar way, A49 stabilizes β-catenin, leading to activation of the wnt signalling pathway. HSP inhibitor review However, a VACV strain expressing a mutant A49 that neither co-precipitates with β-TrCP nor inhibits NF-κB activation, is more virulent than a virus lacking A49, indicating that A49 has another function that also contributes to virulence. Here we demonstrate that gene A49L encodes a second, smaller polypeptide that is expressed via leaky scanning translation from methionine 20 and is unable to block NF-κB activation. Viruses engineered to express either only the large protein or only the small A49 protein both have lower virulence than wild-type virus and greater virulence than an A49L deletion mutant. This demonstrates that the small protein contributes to virulence by an unknown mechanism that is independent of NF-κB inhibition. Despite having a large genome with about 200 genes, this study illustrates how VACV makes efficient use of its coding potential and from gene A49L expresses a protein with multiple functions and multiple proteins with different functions.The paramyxoviruses Hendra virus (HeV) and parainfluenza virus 5 (PIV5) require the fusion (F) protein to efficiently infect cells. For fusion to occur, F undergoes dramatic, essentially irreversible conformational changes to merge the viral and cell membranes into a continuous bilayer. Recently, a transmembrane (TM) domain leucine/isoleucine (L/I) zipper was shown to be critical in maintaining the expression, stability and pre-fusion conformation of HeV F, allowing for fine-tuned timing of membrane fusion. To analyse the effect of the TM domain L/I zipper in another paramyxovirus, we created alanine mutations to the TM domain of PIV5 F, a paramyxovirus model system. Our data show that while the PIV5 F TM L/I zipper does not significantly affect total expression and only modestly affects surface expression and pre-fusion stability, it is critical for fusogenic activity. These results suggest that the roles of TM L/I zipper motifs differ among members of the family Paramyxoviridae.In this study, we report an investigation of a tuberculosis (TB) outbreak in a high school in China. link2 Eleven students with active TB were identified. A culture-negative 17-year-old girl was considered as index case affected by pulmonary and meningeal TB. Screening results indicated latent TB in 32.8% of the students in the classroom of index case, whereas a significantly decreased prevalence of TB infection was found among students on the same floor, ranging from 1.3 to 8.2%. Genotyping revealed that all the Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates belonged to Beijing SIT1 spoligotype. In conclusion, a diagnostic delay for the culture-negative index case played an important role in the transmission of Beijing genotype MTB strain in the boarding school in Yunnan. The separate locations of classrooms and sufficient air ventilation contributed to the significant difference in proportions of TB infection between classmates and other students in this outbreak.A Gram-stain-negative, obligately anaerobic, non-motile, non-spore-forming, long-rod-shaped and non-flagellated bacterial strain, designated T3-2 S1-CT, was isolated from a sediment sample collected at the Okinawa Trough. Phylogenetic analyses of 16S rRNA gene sequences and the whole genome revealed that strain T3-2 S1-CT was a member of the family Marinifilaceae and exhibited less than 95.1 % sequence similarities to the closely related type strains of the family Marinifilaceae. Optimal growth occurred at pH 7.0, 28 °C and in the presence of 3 % (w/v) NaCl. The isoprenoid quinone of strain T3-2 S1-CT was identified as menaquinone-7 (MK-7) and the predominant fatty acids (>10 %) were iso-C15 0 (38.9 %) and anteiso-C15 0 (11.6 %). The major polar lipids were one phosphatidylethanolamine, one phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine, one aminolipids, two unidentified lipids and two unidentified phospholipids. The DNA G+C content of strain T3-2 S1-CT was 35.7 mol%. On the basis of the results of polyphasic analyses, strain T3-2 S1-CT is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Ancylomarina, for which the name Ancylomarina longa sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is T3-2 S1-CT (=KCTC 15505T=MCCC 1K01617T).Although described bacterial species increased in the twenty-first century, they correspond to a tiny fraction of the actual number of species living on our planet. The volume of textual data of these descriptions constitutes valuable information for revealing trends that in turn could support strategies for improvement of bacterial taxonomy. In this study, a text mining approach was used to generate bibliometric data to verify the state-of-art of bacterial taxonomy. Around 9700 abstracts of bacterial classification containing the expression 'sp. nov.' and published between 2001 and 2018 were downloaded from PubMed and analysed. Most articles were from PR China and the Republic of Korea, and published in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. From about 10 800 species names detected, 93.33 % were considered valid according to the rules of the Bacterial Code, and they corresponded to 82.98 % of the total number of species validated between 2001 and 2018. Streptomyces, Bacillus and Paenibacillus each had more than 200 species described in the period. However, almost 40 % of all species were from the phylum Proteobacteria. Most bacteria were Gram-stain-negative, bacilli and isolated from soil. Thirteen species and one genus homonyms were found. With respect to methodologies of bacterial characterization, the use of terms related to 16S rRNA and polar lipids increased along these years, and terms related to genome metrics only began to appear from 2009 onward, although at a relatively lower frequency. Bacterial taxonomy is known as a conservative discipline, but it gradually changed in terms of players and practices. With the advent of the mandatory use of genomic analyses for species description, we are probably witnessing a turning point in the evolution of bacterial taxonomy.Pectobacterium strains isolated from potato stems in Finland, Poland and the Netherlands were subjected to polyphasic analyses to characterize their genomic and phenotypic features. link3 Phylogenetic analysis based on 382 core proteins showed that the isolates clustered closest to Pectobacterium polaris but could be divided into two clades. Average nucleotide identity (ANI) analysis revealed that the isolates in one of the clades included the P. polaris type strain, whereas the second clade was at the border of the species P. polaris with a 96 % ANI value. In silico genome-to-genome comparisons between the isolates revealed values below 70%, patristic distances based on 1294 core proteins were at the level observed between closely related Pectobacterium species, and the two groups of bacteria differed in genome size, G+C content and results of amplified fragment length polymorphism and Biolog analyses. Comparisons between the genomes revealed that the isolates of the atypical group contained SPI-1-type Type III secretion island and genes coding for proteins known for toxic effects on nematodes or insects, and lacked many genes coding for previously characterized virulence determinants affecting rotting of plant tissue by soft rot bacteria. Furthermore, the atypical isolates could be differentiated from P. polaris by their low virulence, production of antibacterial metabolites and a citrate-negative phenotype. Based on the results of a polyphasic approach including genome-to-genome comparisons, biochemical and virulence assays, presented in this report, we propose delineation of the atypical isolates as a novel species Pectobacterium parvum, for which the isolate s0421T (CFBP 8630T=LMG 30828T) is suggested as a type strain.Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, is transmitted by insect vectors, and through transfusions, transplants, insect feces in food, and mother to child during gestation. An estimated 30% of infected persons will develop lifelong, potentially fatal cardiac or digestive complications. Treatment of infants with benznidazole is highly efficacious in eliminating infection. This work evaluates the costs of maternal screening and infant testing and treatment for Chagas disease in the United States, including the cost of commercially available benznidazole. We compare costs of testing and treatment for mothers and infants with the lifetime societal costs without testing and consequent morbidity and mortality due to lack of treatment or late treatment. We constructed a decision-analytic model, using one tree that shows the combined costs for every possible mother-child pairing. Savings per birth in a targeted screening program are $1,314, and with universal screening, $105 per birth. At current screening costs, universal screening results in $420 million in lifetime savings per birth-year cohort. We found that a congenital Chagas screening program in the United States is cost saving for all rates of congenital transmission greater than 0.001% and all levels of maternal prevalence greater than 0.06% compared with no screening program.