Dispersion of TiO₂ nanoparticle agglomerates by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Engineered nanoparticles are increasingly incorporated into consumer products and are emerging as potential environmental contaminants. Upon environmental release, nanoparticles could inhibit bacterial processes, as evidenced by laboratory studies. Less is known regarding bacterial alteration of nanoparticles, including whether bacteria affect physical agglomeration states controlling nanoparticle settling and bioavailability.

Identification of a novel GPCAT activity and a new pathway for phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis in S. cerevisiae.

Turnover of phospholipids in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae generates intracellular glycerophosphocholine (GPC). Here we show that GPC can be reacylated in an acyl-CoA-dependent reaction by yeast microsomal membranes. The lysophosphatidylcholine that is formed in this reaction is efficiently further acylated to phosphatidylcholine (PC) by yeast microsomes, thus providing a new pathway for PC biosynthesis that can either recycle endogenously generated GPC or utilize externally provided GPC.

Ontogeny of mRNA expression and activity of long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase (ACSL) isoforms in Mus musculus heart.

Long-chain acyl-CoA synthetases (ACSL) activate fatty acids (FA) and provide substrates for virtually every metabolic pathway that catabolizes FA or synthesizes complex lipids. We have hypothesized that each of the five cloned ACSL isoforms partitions FA towards specific downstream pathways. Adult heart expresses all five cloned ACSL isoforms, but their independent functional roles have not been elucidated.