0000000000014351

AUTHOR

Manuel Zúñiga

0000-0003-1750-6975

Conjugative plasmid pIP501 undergoes specific deletions after transfer from Lactococcus lactis to Oenococcus oeni

Conjugal transfer of plasmids pIP501 and its derivative pVA797 from Lactococcus lactis to Oenococcus oeni was assayed by filter mating. Plasmid pIP501 was transferred to a number of O. oeni strains whereas a single transconjugant of O. oeni M42 was recovered when pVA797 was used. Physical analysis of the transconjugant plasmids revealed that pIP501 and pVA797 underwent extensive deletions in O. oeni that affected the tra region (conjugal transfer) and SegB region (stability). All derivatives showed segregational instability in O. oeni, but were stably maintained in L. lactis. These differences correlated with the different plasmid copy numbers and the extent of deletions within the SegB reg…

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Unique Microbial Catabolic Pathway for the Human Core N-Glycan Constituent Fucosyl-α-1,6-N-Acetylglucosamine-Asparagine

The survival of commensal bacteria in the human gut partially depends on their ability to metabolize host-derived molecules. The use of the glycosidic moiety of N-glycoproteins by bacteria has been reported, but the role of N-glycopeptides or glycoamino acids as the substrates for bacterial growth has not been evaluated. We have identified in Lactobacillus casei strain BL23 a gene cluster (alf-2) involved in the catabolism of the glycoamino acid fucosyl-α-1,6-N-GlcNAc-Asn (6′FN-Asn), a constituent of the core-fucosylated structures of mammalian N-glycoproteins. The cluster consists of the genes alfHC, encoding a major facilitator superfamily (MFS) permease and the α-l-fucosidase AlfC, and t…

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Evolutionary history of the OmpR/IIIA family of signal transduction two component systems in Lactobacillaceae and Leuconostocaceae

15 pages, 3 tables, 7 figures.

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Requirement of the Lactobacillus casei MaeKR two-component system for L-malic acid utilization via a malic enzyme pathway.

ABSTRACTLactobacillus caseican metabolizel-malic acid via malolactic enzyme (malolactic fermentation [MLF]) or malic enzyme (ME). Whereas utilization ofl-malic acid via MLF does not support growth, the ME pathway enablesL. caseito grow onl-malic acid. In this work, we have identified in the genomes ofL. caseistrains BL23 and ATCC 334 a cluster consisting of two diverging operons,maePEandmaeKR, encoding a putative malate transporter (maeP), an ME (maeE), and a two-component (TC) system belonging to the citrate family (maeKandmaeR). Homologous clusters were identified inEnterococcus faecalis,Streptococcus agalactiae,Streptococcus pyogenes, andStreptococcus uberis. Our results show that ME is …

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Nucleotide sequence of plasmid p4028, a cryptic plasmid from Leuconostoc oenos.

Abstract TheLeuconostoc oenosplasmid p4028 was cloned in pBlueScript (SK+), and its complete nucleotide sequence was determined. The analysis of the nucleotide sequence revealed five open reading frames, all of them located on the same strand and grouped in two clusters separated by a short noncoding stretch. A similarity search against the other sequences deposited in the EMBL and GenBank databases showed that p4028 has no significant similarity with any of the sequences checked. Nevertheless, a putative ATP-binding motif was found in ORF2. A more detailed analysis of this ORF suggests that it could encode for a DNA-dependent ATPase.

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Management of Dyslipidemia in the Metabolic Syndrome

In order to characterize the metabolic syndrome it becomes necessary to establish a number of diagnostic criteria. Because of its impact on cardiovascular morbidity/mortality, considerable attention has been focussed on the dyslipidemia accompanying the metabolic syndrome. The aim of this review is to highlight the fundamental aspects of the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and the treatment of the metabolic syndrome dyslipidemia with recommendations to clinicians. The clinical expression of the metabolic syndrome dyslipidemia is characterized by hypertriglyceridemia and low levels of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C). In addition, metabolic syndrome dyslipidemia is associated with hi…

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Comparative genomic and phylogenetic analyses of gammaproteobacterial glg genes traced the origin of the Escherichia coli glycogen glgBXCAP operon to the last common ancestor of the sister orders enterobacteriales and pasteurellales

© 2015 Almagro et al. Production of branched α-glucan, glycogen-like polymers is widely spread in the Bacteria domain. The glycogen pathway of synthesis and degradation has been fairly well characterized in the model enterobacterial species Escherichia coli (order Enterobacteriales, class Gammaproteobacteria), in which the cognate genes (branching enzyme glgB, debranching enzyme glgX, ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase glgC, glycogen synthase glgA, and glycogen phosphorylase glgP) are clustered in a glgBXCAP operon arrangement. However, the evolutionary origin of this particular arrangement and of its constituent genes is unknown. Here, by using 265 complete gammaproteobacterial genomes we have …

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Transposons Tn916 and Tn925 can transfer from Enterococcus faecalis to Leuconostoc oenos

The streptococcal transposons Tn916 and Tn925 were transferred to several strains of Leuconostoc (Ln.) oenos using the filter mating method. The insertion of both transposons into the chromosome occurred at different sites. Transconjugants of Ln. oenos carrying Tn916 could serve as donors in mating experiments with Lactococcus lactis LM2301. Further analysis of L. lactis LM2301 transconjugants showed that the insertion of the transposon Tn916 into the chromosome was site-specific. These studies establish a basis for the initiation of genetic studies in this Leuconostoc species since there are no efficient conjugal or transformation systems previously described for this microorganism.

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Dynamics of Microbial Populations during Fermentation of Wines from the Utiel-Requena Region of Spain

The dynamics of fungi, yeasts, and lactic acid bacteria during fermentation of four musts were studied. Fungi disappeared quickly in the fermenting must. The lactic acid bacteria population diminished during alcoholic fermentation, then they increased and performed malolactic fermentation. Yeasts grew quickly, reaching maximum populations at different times depending on the vinification treatment.

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The malate sensing two-component system MaeKR is a non-canonical class of sensory complex for C4-dicarboxylates

16 páginas, 7 figuras, 2 tablas

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Atherogenic Ratios in Patients with Recurrent Acute Coronary Syndrome and Receiving Statin Therapy: Clinical Usefullness as Cardiovascular Predictors

Patients who have already suffered a vascular event require more and better control of cardiovascular risk factors. Different atherogenic indexes such as TC/HDLc, LDLc/HDLc, apoB/apoA-I, LDLc/apoB and non-HDLc/HDLc have been used to follow-up the patients because of their predictive capacity of the lipid profile. The aim of this study was to evaluate atherogenic ratios as a marker of the lipid residual risk in high-risk patients receiving statin therapy and to know the changes produced by previous lipid-lowering drugs treatment for a previous coronary event. The study including patients admitted to coronary care units of six Spanish tertiary hospitals for Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS). A to…

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Unraveling the evolutionary history of the phosphoryl-transfer chain of the phosphoenolpyruvate:phosphotransferase system through phylogenetic analyses and genome context

[Background] The phosphoenolpyruvate phosphotransferase system (PTS) plays a major role in sugar transport and in the regulation of essential physiological processes in many bacteria. The PTS couples solute transport to its phosphorylation at the expense of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) and it consists of general cytoplasmic phosphoryl transfer proteins and specific enzyme II complexes which catalyze the uptake and phosphorylation of solutes. Previous studies have suggested that the evolution of the constituents of the enzyme II complexes has been driven largely by horizontal gene transfer whereas vertical inheritance has been prevalent in the general phosphoryl transfer proteins in some bacter…

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A selective medium for the isolation of malolactic mutants of Leuconostoc oenos

We have developed a selective medium for the isolation of Leuconostoc oenos mutants defective in malolactic fermentation. Forty per cent of colonies isolated directly on selective plates after UV mutagenesis had lost their ability to degrade malate. None of the tested mutants showed any detectable malolactic activity and all lacked a protein band corresponding in size to that of the malolactic enzyme. The availability of such mutants provides a valuable tool both for physiological and genetic research on malolactic fermentation.

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Evolution of arginine deiminase (ADI) pathway genes

We have analyzed the evolution of the three genes encoding structural enzymes of the arginine deiminase (ADI) pathway, arginine deiminase (ADI), ornithine transcarbamoylase (OTC), and carbamate kinase (CK) in a wide range of organisms, including Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya. This catabolic route was probably present in the last common ancestor to all the domains of life. The results obtained indicate that these genes have undergone a complex evolutionary history, including horizontal transfer events, duplications, and losses. Therefore, these genes are not adequate to infer organismal relationships at deep branching levels, but they provide an insight into how catabolic genes evolved and …

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Malic Enzyme and Malolactic Enzyme Pathways Are Functionally Linked but Independently Regulated in Lactobacillus casei BL23

ABSTRACT Lactobacillus casei is the only lactic acid bacterium in which two pathways for l -malate degradation have been described: the malolactic enzyme (MLE) and the malic enzyme (ME) pathways. Whereas the ME pathway enables L. casei to grow on l -malate, MLE does not support growth. The mle gene cluster consists of three genes encoding MLE ( mleS ), the putative l -malate transporter MleT, and the putative regulator MleR. The mae gene cluster consists of four genes encoding ME ( maeE ), the putative transporter MaeP, and the two-component system MaeKR. Since both pathways compete for the same substrate, we sought to determine whether they are coordinately regulated and their role in l -m…

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