Search results for "enterobacteria"
showing 10 items of 149 documents
Drastic Genome Reduction in an Herbivore's Pectinolytic Symbiont.
2017
Pectin, an integral component of the plant cell wall, is a recalcitrant substrate against enzymatic challenges by most animals. In characterizing the source of a leaf beetle’s (Cassida rubiginosa) pectin-degrading phenotype, we demonstrate its dependency on an extracellular bacterium housed in specialized organs connected to the foregut. Despite possessing the smallest genome (0.27 Mb) of any organism not subsisting within a host cell, the symbiont nonetheless retained a functional pectinolytic metabolism targeting the polysaccharide’s two most abundant classes: homogalacturonan and rhamnogalacturonan I. Comparative transcriptomics revealed pectinase expression to be enriched in the symbiot…
Natural Occurrence of Secondary Bacterial Symbionts in Aphids from Tunisia, with a Focus on Genus Hyalopterus
2018
Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) can harbor two types of bacterial symbionts. In addition to the obligate endosymbiont Buchnera aphidicola Munson, Baumann and Kinsey 1991 (Enterobacteriales: Enterobacteriaceae), several facultative symbiotic bacteria, called secondary (S) symbionts, have been identified among many important pest aphid species. To determine interpopulational diversity of S-symbionts, we carried out a survey in a total of 18 populations of six aphid species collected from six localities in Tunisia, by performing a diagnostic polymerase chain reaction analysis of partial 16S-23S rRNA operon sequences. While 61.7% of individuals contained only Buchnera, three S-symbionts were foun…
Multi-modal defences in aphids offer redundant protection and increased costs likely impeding a protective mutualism.
2017
The pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, maintains extreme variation in resistance to its most common parasitoid wasp enemy, Aphidius ervi, which is sourced from two known mechanisms: protective bacterial symbionts, most commonly Hamiltonella defensa, or endogenously encoded defences. We have recently found that individual aphids may employ each defence individually, occasionally both defences together, or neither. In field populations, Hamiltonella-infected aphids are found at low to moderate frequencies and while less is known about the frequency of resistant genotypes, they show up less often than susceptible genotypes in field collections. To better understand these patterns, we sought to co…
Erwinia carotovora subsp. odorifera subsp.nov., associated with odorous soft rot of chicory (Cichorium intybus L.)
1992
Eleven strains of Erwinia carotovora that were isolated mainly, but not exclusively, from slimy rot of witloof chicory and were previously designated “atypical” E. carotovora subsp. atroseptica strains were characterized and compared with strains of E. carotovora subsp. carotovora, E. carotovora subsp. atroseptica, and Erwinia chrysanthemi (including the type strains). The 11 atypical E. carotovora subsp. atroseptica strains produced a typical bananalike odor when they were inoculated onto witloof chicory leaves. DNA-DNA homology experiments, biochemical tests, tests to determine carbon utilization patterns, and tests to identify the volatile metabolites produced from rotting witloofs were …
Genome reduction and potential metabolic complementation of the dual endosymbionts in the whitefly Bemisia tabaci
2015
Background The whitefly Bemisia tabaci is an important agricultural pest with global distribution. This phloem-sap feeder harbors a primary symbiont, “Candidatus Portiera aleyrodidarum”, which compensates for the deficient nutritional composition of its food sources, and a variety of secondary symbionts. Interestingly, all of these secondary symbionts are found in co-localization with the primary symbiont within the same bacteriocytes, which should favor the evolution of strong interactions between symbionts. Results In this paper, we analyzed the genome sequences of the primary symbiont Portiera and of the secondary symbiont Hamiltonella in the B. tabaci Mediterranean (MED) species in orde…
Antibiotic treatment of infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacilli: an international ESCMID cross-sectional survey among infecti…
2018
ESGAP, ESGBIS, ESGIE and the CRGNB treatment survey study group.
Ceftazidime-Avibactam Combination Therapy Compared to Ceftazidime-Avibactam Monotherapy for the Treatment of Severe Infections Due to Carbapenem-Resi…
2020
Ceftazidime-avibactam (CZA) is a novel beta-lactam beta-lactamase inhibitor combination approved for the treatment of complicated urinary tract infections, complicated intra-abdominal infections, and for hospital-acquired/ventilator-associated pneumonia. The aim of this systematic review (PROSPERO registration number: CRD42019128927) was to evaluate the effectiveness of CZA combination therapy versus CZA monotherapy in the treatment of severe infections. The databases included in the search, until February 12th, 2020, were MEDLINE by PubMed, EMBASE, and The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. We included both randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomized studies publish…
Human milk and mucosa-associated disaccharides impact on cultured infant fecal microbiota
2020
Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are a mixture of structurally diverse carbohydrates that contribute to shape a healthy gut microbiota composition. The great diversity of the HMOs structures does not allow the attribution of specific prebiotic characteristics to single milk oligosaccharides. We analyze here the utilization of four disaccharides, lacto-N-biose (LNB), galacto-N-biose (GNB), fucosyl-α1,3-GlcNAc (3FN) and fucosyl-α1,6-GlcNAc (6FN), that form part of HMOs and glycoprotein structures, by the infant fecal microbiota. LNB significantly increased the total levels of bifidobacteria and the species Bifidobacterium breve and Bifidobacterium bifidum. The Lactobacillus genus levels wer…
Pharmaceutical Approaches to Target Antibiotic Resistance Mechanisms
2017
There is urgent need for new therapeutic strategies to fight the global threat of antibiotic resistance. The focus of this Perspective is on chemical agents that target the most common mechanisms of antibiotic resistance such as enzymatic inactivation of antibiotics, changes in cell permeability, and induction/activation of efflux pumps. Here we assess the current landscape and challenges in the treatment of antibiotic resistance mechanisms at both bacterial cell and community levels. We also discuss the potential clinical application of chemical inhibitors of antibiotic resistance mechanisms as add-on treatments for serious drug-resistant infections. Enzymatic inhibitors, such as the deriv…
Which non-carbapenem antibiotics are active against extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae?
2018
In this study, the activity of 18 non-carbapenem antibiotics was evaluated against 100 extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli (ESBL-Ec) and 50 ESBL-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (ESBL-Kp) isolated from urinary tract infections and bacteraemia in 2016. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined using reference methods and the susceptibility profiles were defined according to European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) 2017 recommendations. All of the ESBL-Ec isolates were susceptible to ceftazidime/avibactam and a great majority of them were susceptible to fosfomycin (98%), piperacillin/tazobactam (97%), amikacin (97%) and nitr…