Draft Genome Sequence of a Species from Hudson Valley Waterways That Expresses Violacein Pigment.

spp. are Gram-negative bacilli that are observed in freshwater and soil sources. A number of species have been characterized, including the green-pigmented The isolate described here, BJB300, was obtained from a freshwater source in the Hudson Valley, NY.

Draft Genome Sequences of Violacein-Producing Duganella sp. Isolates from a Waterway in Eastern Pennsylvania.

Five Duganella sp. bacterial isolates that synthesize violacein were cultured from a central Pennsylvania waterway. Violacein has antimicrobial potential, including chytrid-killing effects, relevant to amphibian declines worldwide.

Exposure to Arsenic Alters the Microbiome of Larval Zebrafish.

Exposure to environmental toxins such as heavy metals can perturb the development and stability of microbial communities associated with human or animal hosts. Widespread arsenic contamination in rivers and riparian habitats therefore presents environmental and health concerns for populations living near sources of contamination. To investigate how arsenic affects host microbiomes, we sequenced and characterized the microbiomes of twenty larval zebrafish exposed to three concentrations of arsenic that are found in contaminated water-low (10 ppb), medium (50 ppb), and high (100 ppb) for 20 days.

Draft Genome Sequences of Phenotypically Distinct sp. Isolates Cultured from the Hudson Valley Watershed.

Investigation of the Hudson Valley watershed reveals many violacein-producing bacteria. These are of interest for their biotherapeutic potential in treating chytrid infections of amphibians. The draft whole-genome sequences for seven isolates with a variety of phenotypes are provided in this study.

Draft Genome Sequence of a Red-Pigmented sp. Native to the Hudson Valley Watershed.

Water samples from the Hudson Valley watershed indicate that the area is host to many violacein-producing bacterial isolates. Here, we report the draft whole-genome sequence of sp. strain BJB412, an isolate lacking violacein production yet containing genes responsible for prodigiosin, biofilm production, and quorum sensing, like its purple-pigmented counterparts.

Draft Genome Sequence of a Violacein-Producing sp. from the Hudson Valley Watershed.

species are among a number of freshwater Gram-negative violacein-producing bacteria. and have had their whole genomes sequenced and annotated. This is the first report of a draft whole-genome sequence of a violacein-producing strain that was isolated from the Hudson Valley watershed.

The Search for Violacein-Producing Microbes to Combat Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis: A Collaborative Research Project between Secondary School and College Research Students.

In this citizen science-aided, college laboratory-based microbiology research project, secondary school students collaborate with college research students on an investigation centered around bacterial species in the local watershed. This study specifically investigated the prevalence of violacein-producing bacterial isolates, as violacein has been demonstrated as a potential bioremediation treatment for outbreaks of the worldwide invasive chytrid, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). The impact of this invasion has been linked to widespread amphibian decline, and tracking of the spread of Bd is currently ongoing.

Starting small: using microbiology to foster scientific literacy.

In order to achieve scientific literacy for all students, Bard College recently implemented Citizen Science, a common January course for all first-year students. Structured around the question 'how do we reduce the global burden of disease?', this course uses microbiological tools to develop an understanding of potential answers.

Characterization of BreR interaction with the bile response promoters breAB and breR in Vibrio cholerae.

The Vibrio cholerae BreR protein is a transcriptional repressor of the breAB efflux system operon, which encodes proteins involved in bile resistance. In a previous study (F. A.

The physical basis of type 4 pilus-mediated microcolony formation by Vibrio cholerae O1.

The Vibrio cholerae toxin co-regulated pilus (TCP) is a type 4b pilus that mediates bacterial microcolony formation, which is essential for intestinal colonization. Structural analyses have defined a surface domain of the TcpA pilin subunit that is displayed repeatedly around the pilus filament surface and forms the molecular basis for pilus-pilus interactions required for microcolony formation. The physical attributes of this domain that lead to pilus-pilus association between bacteria are not known.

Role of FlgT in anchoring the flagellum of Vibrio cholerae.

Flagellar motility has long been regarded as an important virulence factor. In Vibrio cholerae, the single polar flagellum is essential for motility as well as for proper attachment and colonization. In this study, we demonstrate that the novel flagellar protein FlgT is involved in anchoring the flagellum to the V.

Levels of the secreted Vibrio cholerae attachment factor GbpA are modulated by quorum-sensing-induced proteolysis.

Vibrio cholerae is the etiologic agent of cholera in humans. Intestinal colonization occurs in a stepwise fashion, initiating with attachment to the small intestinal epithelium. This attachment is followed by expression of the toxin-coregulated pilus, microcolony formation, and cholera toxin (CT) production.

Identification of a multidrug efflux pump in Flavobacterium johnsoniae.

In this study, the mechanism conferring multiple drug resistance in several strains of flavobacteria isolated from the ovarian fluids of hatchery reared 3-year old brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis was investigated. Metabolic fingerprinting and 16S rRNA gene sequences identified the isolates as Flavobacterium johnsoniae. The isolates exhibited multiple resistances to a wide range of antimicrobial classes including penicillin, cephem, monobactam, aminoglycoside, and phenicol.

Sequences within the gag gene of mouse mammary tumor virus needed for mammary gland cell transformation.

Previously, we identified a group of replication-competent exogenous mouse mammary tumor viruses that failed to induce mammary tumors in susceptible mice. Sequence comparison of tumorigenic and tumor-attenuated virus variants has linked the ability of virus to cause high-frequency mammary tumors to the gag gene. To determine the specific sequences within the gag gene that contribute to tumor induction, we constructed five distinct chimeric viruses that have various amino acid coding sequences of gag derived from a tumor-attenuated virus replaced by those of highly tumorigenic virus and tested these viruses for tumorigenic capacities in virus-susceptible C3H/HeN mice.

A colonization factor links Vibrio cholerae environmental survival and human infection.

Many bacteria that cause diseases must be able to survive inside and outside the host. Attachment to and colonization of abiotic or biotic surfaces is a common mechanism by which various microorganisms enhance their ability to survive in diverse environments. Vibrio cholerae is a Gram-negative aquatic bacillus that is often found in the environment attached to the chitinous exoskeletons of zooplankton.

Subversion of the innate immune system by a retrovirus.

Retroviruses evolve rapidly to avoid the immune response of the infected host. We show here that the wild-type mouse mammary tumor virus MMTV(C3H) persisted indefinitely in C3H/HeN mice. However, it was rapidly lost in mice of the closely related C3H/HeJ strain and was replaced by a virus recombinant with an endogenous Mtv provirus.

Characterization of a novel murine retrovirus mixture that facilitates hematopoiesis.

A new virus previously arose in BALB/c females mated repeatedly to C57BL/6 (B6) males and then injected with fixed, activated B6 male spleen cells (V. S. Ter-Grigorov, O.