Search results for "Phylogenetics"
showing 10 items of 777 documents
The swinholide biosynthesis gene cluster from a terrestrial cyanobacterium, Nostoc sp. strain UHCC 0450
2017
ABSTRACT Swinholides are 42-carbon ring polyketides with a 2-fold axis of symmetry. They are potent cytotoxins that disrupt the actin cytoskeleton. Swinholides were discovered from the marine sponge Theonella sp. and were long suspected to be produced by symbiotic bacteria. Misakinolide, a structural variant of swinholide, was recently demonstrated to be the product of a symbiotic heterotrophic proteobacterium. Here, we report the production of swinholide A by an axenic strain of the terrestrial cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. strain UHCC 0450. We located the 85-kb trans -AT polyketide synthase (PKS) swinholide biosynthesis gene cluster from a draft genome of Nostoc sp. UHCC 0450. The swinholide …
Impact of Plasma Oxidative Stress Markers on Post-race Recovery in Ultramarathon Runners: A Sex and Age Perspective Overview
2021
Oxidative stress has been widely studied in association to ultra-endurance sports. Although it is clearly demonstrated the increase in reactive oxygen species and free radicals after these extreme endurance exercises, the effects on the antioxidant defenses and the oxidative damage to macromolecules, remain to be fully clarified. Therefore, the aim of this study was to elucidate the impact of an ultramarathon race on the plasma markers of oxidative stress of 32 runners and their post-race recovery, with especial focused on sex and age effect. For this purpose, the antioxidant enzymes glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GR) activity, as well as the lipid peroxidation prod…
Molecular evolution methods to study HIV-1 epidemics
2018
Nucleotide sequences of HIV isolates are obtained routinely to evaluate the presence of resistance mutations to antiretroviral drugs. But, beyond their clinical use, these and other viral sequences include a wealth of information that can be used to better understand and characterize the epidemiology of HIV in relevant populations. In this review, we provide a brief overview of the main methods used to analyze HIV sequences, the data bases where reference sequences can be obtained, and some caveats about the possible applications for public health of these analyses, along with some considerations about their limitations and correct usage to derive robust and reliable conclusions.
Inferring Horizontal Gene Transfer with DarkHorse, Phylomizer, and ETE Toolkits
2020
In this chapter, we describe how to use DarkHorse2.0 to search for xenologs in the genome of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942. DarkHorse is an implicit phylogenetic method that uses BLAST searches to identify proteins having close homologs of unexpected taxonomic affiliation. Once a set of putative xenologs are identified, Phylomizer is used to reconstruct phylogenetic trees. Phylomizer reproduces all the necessary steps to perform a basic phylogenetic analysis. The combined use of DarkHorse and Phylomizer allows the identification of genes incorporated into a given genome by HGT.
Erwinia piriflorinigrans sp. nov., a novel pathogen that causes necrosis of pear blossoms
2010
Eight Erwinia strains, isolated from necrotic pear blossoms in València, Spain, were compared with reference strains of Erwinia amylovora and Erwinia pyrifoliae, both of which are pathogenic to species of pear tree, and to other species of the family Enterobacteriaceae using a polyphasic approach. Phenotypic analyses clustered the novel isolates into one phenon, distinct from other species of the genus Erwinia, showing that the novel isolates constituted a homogeneous phenotypic group. Rep-PCR profiles, PCR products obtained with different pairs of primers and plasmid contents determined by restriction analysis showed differences between the novel strains and reference strains of E. amylovo…
Amphibians and squamate reptiles from the stratigraphic unit Xb of El Salt (Middle Palaeolithic; Alcoy, Spain): palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimati…
2020
The locality of El Salt (Middle Paleolithic, Alcoy, Spain) is mainly known by having one of the youngest Neanderthals records of the southeastern Iberian Peninsula. In this work, we have analysed the herpetofaunal fossils from the upper part of stratigraphic unit Xb, dated at 52.3 ± 4.6 ka (MIS 3). The faunal list is composed by three taxa of anurans (Alyte obstetricans, Bufo bufo s.l., and Epidalea calamita), one taxon of blanid (Blanus cinereus s.l.), two taxa of lizards (Chalcides bedriagai and cf. Acanthodactylus erythrurus), and one taxon of snakes (cf. Rhinechis scalaris). All of them have a broad distribution range in the Mediterranean, with wide ecological preferences range. This as…
Newly diagnosed depression is associated with increased beta-thromboglobulin levels and increased expression of platelet activation markers and plate…
2013
Abstract Background Inflammation plays a key role in atherosclerotic disease. Up until now only limited evidence exists on the mechanism of cardiovascular complications in patients with depression. In addition depression was also linked to an increase in cardiovascular mortality. The present study was designed to evaluate the extent of platelet activation and platelet-derived markers of atherosclerotic disease in patients with newly diagnosed depression. Methods This study used whole blood aggregometry, flow cytometry and ELISA to investigate platelet CD62P (P-selectin) expression and atherosclerotic markers (CD40, CD40L) as well as serum platelet factor 4 (PF-4) and beta-thromboglobulin (β…
Distribution of a special subset of keratinocytes characterized by the expression of cytokeratin 9 in adult and fetal human epidermis of various body…
1987
Biochemical analyses have previously shown that palmar and plantar epidermis, unlike the epidermis of other body sites, contain cytokeratin 9 (Mr 64,000), an unusually large acidic (type I) cytokeratin. Guinea-pig antibodies that specifically and selectively react with bovine and human cytokeratin 9 were used for the immunocytochemical identification of cytokeratin 9 in adult and fetal human epidermis from various body sites. In the epidermis of palms and soles, antibodies against cytokeratin 9 stained a high proportion of the keratinocytes in suprabasal locations. These suprabasal cytokeratin-9-positive keratinocytes were often arranged in vertical columns and concentrated around intraepid…
Prevalence of late-onset 11 β-hydroxylase-deficiency in hirsute patients
1988
Serum levels of 11-deoxycortisol were determined in 182 hirsute women. Three patients presented high basal 11-deoxycortisol levels and an exaggerated response of this steroid to ACTH stimulation. A fourth patient had normal basal 11-deoxycortisol but was hyperresponsive to ACTH stimulation. Therefore diagnosis of late-onset 11 beta-hydroxylase deficiency was made in 4 out of 182 hirsute women with a prevalence of 2.2% in the group studied. In these patients, clinical findings and other hormonal patterns were not different from those of other women suffering from hirsutism.
Cortisol levels and seizures in adults with epilepsy: A systematic review
2018
Stress has been suggested as a trigger factor for seizures in epilepsy patients, but little is known about cortisol levels, as indicators of stress, in adults with epilepsy. This systematic review summarizes the evidence on this topic. Following PRISMA guidelines, 38 articles were selected: 14 analyzing basal cortisol levels, eight examining antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) effects, 13 focused on seizure effects, and three examining stress. Higher basal cortisol levels were found in patients than in healthy people in studies with the most homogeneous samples (45% of 38 total studies). Despite heterogeneous results associated with AEDs, seizures were related to increases in cortisol levels in 77% …