Conjugation Mediates Large-Scale Chromosomal Transfer in Streptomyces Driving Diversification of Antibiotic Biosynthetic Gene Clusters.

Streptomyces are ubiquitous soil-dwelling bacteria with large, linear genomes that are of special importance as a source of metabolites used in human and veterinary medicine, agronomy, and industry. Conjugative elements (actinomycetes integrative and conjugative elements, AICEs) are the main drivers of Streptomyces Horizontal Gene Transfer. AICE transfer has long been known to be accompanied by mobilization of chromosomal DNA.

Prevalence and mobility of integrative and conjugative elements within a natural population.

Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT) is a powerful force generating genomic diversity in bacterial populations. HGT in is in large part driven by conjugation thanks to plasmids, Integrative and Conjugative elements (ICEs) and Actinomycete ICEs (AICEs). To investigate the impact of ICE and AICE conjugation on genome evolution, we used and experimental approaches on a set of 11 very closely related strains isolated from a millimeter scale rhizosphere population.

Mining the Biosynthetic Potential for Specialized Metabolism of a Soil Community.

The diversity and distribution of specialized metabolite gene clusters within a community of bacteria living in the same soil habitat are poorly documented. Here we analyzed the genomes of 8 isolated at micro-scale from a forest soil that belong to the same species or to different species. The results reveal high levels of diversity, with a total of 261 biosynthesis gene clusters (BGCs) encoding metabolites such as terpenes, polyketides (PKs), non-ribosomal peptides (NRPs) and ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) with potential bioactivities.

Incontinent ileovesicostomy in the management of neurogenic bladder dysfunction.

Aims: To report outcome and urodynamic follow-up of incontinent ileovesicostomy in quadriplegic patients with neurogenic bladder.

Methods: Seven patients (five male, two female; mean age, 33.7 yr) with neurogenic bladder underwent ileovesicostomy for management of leakage or complications of chronic catheter drainage.

Use of cadaveric fascia lata for closure of bladder exstrophy with diplomyelia.

We describe a technique for the repair of bladder exstrophy using cadaveric fascia lata. The graft is folded in a four-layer configuration, passed through the obturator foramina, and then wrapped and anchored in front of the pubis. The resultant ring-shaped graft is useful when complex deformities preclude proper apposition of the pelvis anteriorly.