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Articles 1 - 4 of 4
Full-Text Articles in Microbiology
Real-Time Qpcr Assay Development For Detection Of Bacillus Thuringiensis And Serratia Marcescens Dna And The Influence Of Complex Microbial Community Dna On Assay Sensitivity, Jonathan Segal
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (real-time qPCR) assays are an effective technique to detect biological warfare agents and surrogate organisms. In my study, primers were designed to detect chromosomal DNA of biological warfare agent surrogates B. thuringiensis and S. marcescens (representing B. anthracis and Y. pestis, respectively) via real-time qPCR. Species-level specificity of the primers was demonstrated through comparisons with a bacterial strain panel and corroborated by qPCR data. Additionally, the primer efficacy was tested when template DNA was spiked into metagenomic DNA extracted from clinical lung microbiome samples. The results showed that while detection of B. thuringiensis or …
Mscs-Like Mechanosensitive Channels In Plants And Microbes, Margaret E. Wilson, Grigory Maksaev, Elizabeth S. Haswell
Mscs-Like Mechanosensitive Channels In Plants And Microbes, Margaret E. Wilson, Grigory Maksaev, Elizabeth S. Haswell
Biology Faculty Publications & Presentations
The challenge of osmotic stress is something all living organisms must face as a result of environmental dynamics. Over the past three decades, innovative research and cooperation across disciplines have irrefutably established that cells utilize mechanically gated ion channels to release osmolytes and prevent cell lysis during hypoosmotic stress. Early electrophysiological analysis of the inner membrane of Escherichia coli identified the presence of three distinct mechanosensitive activities. The subsequent discoveries of the genes responsible for two of these activities, the mechanosensitive channels of large (MscL) and small (MscS) conductance, led to the identification of two diverse families of mechanosensitive channels. …
Recombinant Expression Of Indolicidin Concatemers In Escherichia Coli, K Morin, S Arcidiacono, Richard Beckwitt, C Mello
Recombinant Expression Of Indolicidin Concatemers In Escherichia Coli, K Morin, S Arcidiacono, Richard Beckwitt, C Mello
Richard D Beckwitt
Antimicrobial peptides are part of the innate immune system of vertebrates and invertebrates. They are active against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, fungi, and protozoa. Currently, most antimicrobial peptides are extracted from host organisms or produced by solidphase peptide synthesis. Recombinant protein expression in Escherichia coli is a tool for greater production yields at a decreased cost and reduces the use of hazardous materials. We have constructed a concatamer of indolicidin and successfully expressed a fusion product with thioredoxin in E. coli BL21DE3. Codons for methionine residues flanking individual indolicidin genes were incorporated for cyanogen bromide cleavage of the fusion protein …
A Bacterial Symbiont Is Converted From An Inedible Producer Of Beneficial Molecules Into Food By A Single Mutation In The Gaca Gene, Pierre Stallforth, Debra A. Brock, Alexandra M. Cantley, Xiangjun Tian, David C. Queller, Joan E. Strassmann, Jon Clardy
A Bacterial Symbiont Is Converted From An Inedible Producer Of Beneficial Molecules Into Food By A Single Mutation In The Gaca Gene, Pierre Stallforth, Debra A. Brock, Alexandra M. Cantley, Xiangjun Tian, David C. Queller, Joan E. Strassmann, Jon Clardy
Biology Faculty Publications & Presentations
Stable multipartite mutualistic associations require that all partners benefit. We show that a single mutational step is sufficient to turn a symbiotic bacterium from an inedible but host-beneficial secondary metabolite producer into a host food source. The bacteria's host is a "farmer" clone of the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum that carries and disperses bacteria during its spore stage. Associated with the farmer are two strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens, only one of which serves as a food source. The other strain produces diffusible small molecules: pyrrolnitrin, a known antifungal agent, and a chromene that potently enhances the farmer's spore production and …