Search results for "Molecular sequence"

The cockroach Blattella germanica obtains nitrogen from uric acid through a metabolic pathway shared with its bacterial endosymbiont.

2014

Uric acid storedin the fat bodyof cockroaches is a nitrogen reservoirmobilized in times of scarcity. The discovery of urease in Blattabacterium cuenoti, the primary endosymbiont of cockroaches, suggests that the endosymbiont may participate in cockroach nitrogen economy. However, bacterial urease may only be one piece in the entire nitrogen recycling process from insect uric acid. Thus, in addition to the uricolytic pathway to urea, there must be glutamine synthetase assimilating the released ammonia by the urease reaction to enable the stored nitrogen to be metabolically usable. None of the Blattabacterium genomes sequenced to date possess genes encoding for those enzymes. To test the host…

Cellular UDP-Glucose Deficiency Caused by a Single Point Mutation in the UDP-Glucose Pyrophosphorylase Gene

1997

We previously isolated a mutant cell that is the only mammalian cell reported to have a persistently low level of UDP-glucose. In this work we obtained a spontaneous revertant whose UDP-glucose level lies between those found in the wild type and the mutant cell. The activity of UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (UDPG:PP), the enzyme that catalyzes the formation of UDP-glucose, was in the mutant 4% and in the revertant 56% of the activity found in the wild type cell. Sequence analysis of UDPG: PP cDNAs from the mutant cell showed one missense mutation, which changes amino acid residue 115 from glycine to aspartic acid. The substituted glycine is located within the largest stretch of strictly con…

Characterization of field isolates of Trichoderma antagonistic against Rhizoctonia solani.

2010

The aim of the present study was to characterize sixteen isolates of Trichoderma originating from a field of sugar beet where disease patches caused by Rhizoctonia solani were observed. Use of both molecular and morphological characteristics gave consistent identification of the isolates. Production of water-soluble and volatile inhibitors, mycoparasitism and induced systemic resistance in plant host were investigated using in vitro and in vivo tests in both sterilized and natural soils. This functional approach revealed the intra-specific diversity as well as biocontrol potential of the different isolates. Different antagonistic mechanisms were evident for different strains. The most antag…

Synthetic vaccines consisting of tumor-associated MUC1 glycopeptide antigens and a T-cell epitope for the induction of a highly specific humoral immu…

2008

Synthetic vaccines consisting of tumor-associated MUC1 glycopeptide antigens and bovine serum albumin.

2005

A method for determining the position and size of optimal sequence regions for phylogenetic analysis.

1995

The availability of fast and accurate sequencing procedures along with the use of PCR has led to a proliferation of studies of variability at the molecular level in populations. Nevertheless, it is often impractical to examine long genomic stretches and a large number of individuals at the same time. In order to optimize this kind of study, we suggest a heuristic procedure for detection of the shortest region whose informational content can be considered sufficient for significant phylogenetic reconstruction. The method is based on the comparison of the pairwise genetic distances obtained from a set of sequences of reference to those obtained for different windows of variable size and posit…

Cloning and characterization of CSP37, a novel gene encoding a putative membrane protein of Candida albicans.

1997

In the course of an analysis of the functions and assembly of the cell wall of Candida albicans, we have cloned and characterized a gene, which we designated CSP37 (cell surface protein), encoding a 37-kDa polypeptide which is a membrane-associated protein. The gene was isolated by immunological screening of a DNA library constructed from mycelial cells with a polyclonal serum raised against cell walls of this morphology. Analysis of the nucleotide sequence of a corresponding genomic DNA fragment revealed a single open reading frame which encodes a predicted protein of 321 amino acids with no significant homology to others in the databases. Disruption of the CSP37 gene by the method describ…

Membrane topology and post-translational modification of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae essential protein Rot1.

2007

ROT1 is an essential gene that has been related to cell wall biosynthesis, the actin cytoskeleton and protein folding. In order to help to understand its molecular function, we carried out a characterization of the Rot1 protein. It is primarily located at the endoplasmic reticulum-nuclear membrane facing the lumen. Rot1 migrates more slowly than expected, which might suggest post-translational modification. Our results indicate that Rot1 is a protein that is neither GPI-anchored nor O-glycosylated. In contrast, it is N-glycosylated. By a directed mutagenesis of several Asn residues, we identified that the protein is simultaneously glycosylated at N103, N107 and N139. Although the mutation o…

Characterisation of fascioliasis lymnaeid intermediate hosts from Chile by DNA sequencing, with emphasis on Lymnaea viator and Galba truncatula.

2011

In South America, Fasciola hepatica infection poses serious health problems in both humans and livestock. In Chile, the medical impact appears yearly stable and mainly concentrated in central regions, where the veterinary problem is highlighted by higher animal prevalences. Studies were undertaken by rDNA ITS-2 and ITS-1 and mtDNA cox1 sequencing to clarify the specific status of the lymnaeids, their geographical distribution and fascioliasis transmission capacity in Chile, by comparison with other American countries and continents. Results change the lymnaeid scenario known so far. The lymnaeid fauna of mainland Chile shows to be poor, including only two authochthonous species, Lymnaea via…

Paenibacillus larvae Chitin-Degrading Protein PlCBP49 Is a Key Virulence Factor in American Foulbrood of Honey Bees

2014

Paenibacillus larvae, the etiological agent of the globally occurring epizootic American Foulbrood (AFB) of honey bees, causes intestinal infections in honey bee larvae which develop into systemic infections inevitably leading to larval death. Massive brood mortality might eventually lead to collapse of the entire colony. Molecular mechanisms of host-microbe interactions in this system and of differences in virulence between P. larvae genotypes are poorly understood. Recently, it was demonstrated that the degradation of the peritrophic matrix lining the midgut epithelium is a key step in pathogenesis of P. larvae infections. Here, we present the isolation and identification of PlCBP49, a mo…