The arthrobacter arilaitensis Re117 genome sequence reveals its genetic adaptation to the surface of cheese.

Arthrobacter arilaitensis is one of the major bacterial species found at the surface of cheeses, especially in smear-ripened cheeses, where it contributes to the typical colour, flavour and texture properties of the final product. The A. arilaitensis Re117 genome is composed of a 3,859,257 bp chromosome and two plasmids of 50,407 and 8,528 bp.

Effects of acepromazine, hydromorphone, or an acepromazine-hydromorphone combination on the degree of sedation in clinically normal dogs.

Objective: To determine the effects of IM administration of acepromazine, hydromorphone, or the acepromazine-hydromorphone combination on degree of sedation in clinically normal dogs and to compare 2 sedation scoring techniques.

Design: Prospective, randomized, blinded, controlled trial. Animals-46 random-source dogs.

Culture and the Home-Field Disadvantage.

The home-field disadvantage refers to the disadvantage inherent in research that takes a particular cultural group as the starting point or standard for research, including cross-cultural research. We argue that home-field status is a serious handicap that often pushes researchers toward deficit thinking, however good the researchers' intentions may be. In this article, we aim to make this home-field bias more explicit and, in doing so, more avoidable.

DNA recognition and the precleavage state during single-stranded DNA transposition in D. radiodurans.

Bacterial insertion sequences (ISs) from the IS200/IS605 family encode the smallest known DNA transposases and mobilize through single-stranded DNA transposition. Transposition by one particular family member, ISDra2 from Deinococcus radiodurans, is dramatically stimulated upon massive γ irradiation. We have determined the crystal structures of four ISDra2 transposase/IS end complexes; combined with in vivo activity assays and fluorescence anisotropy binding measurements, these have revealed the molecular basis of strand discrimination and transposase action.

A prospective comparison of cardiac imaging using intracardiac echocardiography with transesophageal echocardiography in patients with atrial fibrillation: the intracardiac echocardiography guided cardioversion helps interventional procedures study.

Background: The Intracardiac Echocardiography Guided Cardioversion Helps Interventional Procedures study evaluated the concordance of intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) with transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).

Methods And Results: Patients with AF undergoing right heart catheterization underwent left atrium (LA) and interatrial septal (IAS) imaging by TEE and ICE. A blinded comparison of the 2 modalities was performed at a core laboratory.

Myocardial insulin resistance induced by high fat feeding in heart failure is associated with preserved contractile function.

Previous studies have reported that high fat feeding in mild to moderate heart failure (HF) results in the preservation of contractile function. Recent evidence has suggested that preventing the switch from fatty acid to glucose metabolism in HF may ameliorate dysfunction, and insulin resistance is one potential mechanism for regulating substrate utilization. This study was designed to determine whether peripheral and myocardial insulin resistance exists with HF and/or a high-fat diet and whether myocardial insulin signaling was altered accordingly.

Single-stranded DNA transposition is coupled to host replication.

DNA transposition has contributed significantly to evolution of eukaryotes and prokaryotes. Insertion sequences (ISs) are the simplest prokaryotic transposons and are divided into families on the basis of their organization and transposition mechanism. Here, we describe a link between transposition of IS608 and ISDra2, both members of the IS200/IS605 family, which uses obligatory single-stranded DNA intermediates, and the host replication fork.

Are there sex differences in affective modulation of spinal nociception and pain?

Unlabelled: Sex differences in the processing and experience of emotion exist. The present study examined whether sex differences in emotion lead to sex differences in affective modulation of pain and spinal nociception (assessed by nociceptive flexion reflex, NFR). Participants were healthy men (n = 47) and women (n = 73).

A model for the molecular organisation of the IS911 transpososome.

Tight regulation of transposition activity is essential to limit damage transposons may cause by generating potentially lethal DNA rearrangements. Assembly of a bona fide protein-DNA complex, the transpososome, within which transposition is catalysed, is a crucial checkpoint in this regulation. In the case of IS911, a member of the large IS3 bacterial insertion sequence family, the transpososome (synaptic complex A; SCA) is composed of the right and left inverted repeated DNA sequences (IRR and IRL) bridged by the transposase, OrfAB (the IS911-encoded enzyme that catalyses transposition).

Gene exchange and the origin of giant viruses.

Giant viruses or nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDVs) infect a wide range of eukaryotic hosts (including, algae, amoebae and metazoans) and show a very large range in genome size (between 100 kb and 1.2 Mb). Here we review some recent results concerning the extensive lateral gene transfer which appears to have occurred during NCLDV evolution.

The myocardial contractile response to physiological stress improves with high saturated fat feeding in heart failure.

Impaired myocardial contractile function is a hallmark of heart failure (HF), which may present under resting conditions and/or during physiological stress. Previous studies have reported that high fat feeding in mild to moderate HF/left ventricular (LV) dysfunction is associated with improved contractile function at baseline. The goal of this study was to determine whether myocardial function is compromised in response to physiological stress and to evaluate the global gene expression profile of rats fed high dietary fat after infarction.

Structure, function, and evolution of the Thiomonas spp. genome.

Bacteria of the Thiomonas genus are ubiquitous in extreme environments, such as arsenic-rich acid mine drainage (AMD). The genome of one of these strains, Thiomonas sp. 3As, was sequenced, annotated, and examined, revealing specific adaptations allowing this bacterium to survive and grow in its highly toxic environment.

Smoking cessation.

Cigarette smoking is arguably the major cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in the developed world. The Department of Health and Human Services in the United States classifies cigarette smoking as a chronic, often relapsing disease. Like most complex diseases, genetic and environmental factors play important roles and contribute to both smoking initiation and persistence.

Irradiation-induced Deinococcus radiodurans genome fragmentation triggers transposition of a single resident insertion sequence.

Stress-induced transposition is an attractive notion since it is potentially important in creating diversity to facilitate adaptation of the host to severe environmental conditions. One common major stress is radiation-induced DNA damage. Deinococcus radiodurans has an exceptional ability to withstand the lethal effects of DNA-damaging agents (ionizing radiation, UV light, and desiccation).

Route 66: investigations into the organisation and distribution of the IS66 family of prokaryotic insertion sequences.

We have analysed a large number of members of the IS66 family of prokaryotic insertion sequences which include three orfs (A, B and C) and we show that these are closely related to a second group (ISBst12) which includes only orfC, encoding the transposase TnpC. These two IS groups are also related by their terminal inverted repeats (IR) which show significant conservation. We propose that both groups be included in the same family, the IS66 family.

Integrating prokaryotes and eukaryotes: DNA transposases in light of structure.

DNA rearrangements are important in genome function and evolution. Genetic material can be rearranged inadvertently during processes such as DNA repair, or can be moved in a controlled manner by enzymes specifically dedicated to the task. DNA transposases comprise one class of such enzymes.

Direct regulation of myocardial triglyceride metabolism by the cardiomyocyte circadian clock.

Maintenance of circadian alignment between an organism and its environment is essential to ensure metabolic homeostasis. Synchrony is achieved by cell autonomous circadian clocks. Despite a growing appreciation of the integral relation between clocks and metabolism, little is known regarding the direct influence of a peripheral clock on cellular responses to fatty acids.

ISbrowser: an extension of ISfinder for visualizing insertion sequences in prokaryotic genomes.

Insertion sequences (ISs) are among the smallest and simplest autonomous transposable elements. ISfinder (http://www-is.biotoul.

Clamping down on transposon targeting.

The sliding beta clamp subunit of the DNA replication machinery in the bacterium Escherichia coli coordinates multiple functions in the cell beyond genome duplication. In this issue, Parks et al. (2009) find that the beta clamp interacts with the transposition protein TnsE to target the Tn7 transposon to discontinuously replicating DNA at the replication fork.

Calcium metabolism in eight dogs with hypoadrenocorticism.

Hypoadrenocorticism is a well-described endocrinopathy in dogs that results from deficient production and secretion of glucocorticoids and/or mineralocorticoids. Although hyperkalaemia, hyponatraemia and hypochloraemia are the most common electrolyte disturbances, hypercalcaemia also occurs in approximately 30 per cent of cases. The pathogenesis of hypercalcaemia in dogs with hypoadrenocorticism is unknown.

Resetting the site: redirecting integration of an insertion sequence in a predictable way.

Target site choice is a complex and poorly understood aspect of DNA transposition despite its importance in rational transposon-mediated gene delivery. Though most transposons choose target sites essentially randomly or with some slight sequence or structural preferences, insertion sequence IS608 from Helicobacter pylori, which transposes using single-stranded DNA, always inserts just 3' of a TTAC tetranucleotide. Our results from studies on the IS608 transposition mechanism demonstrated that the transposase recognizes its target site by co-opting an internal segment of transposon DNA and utilizes it for specific recognition of the target sites through base-pairing.

Influence of habitat structure and resource availability on the movements of Rhagoletis indifferens (Diptera: Tephritidae).

Habitat structure and resources availability may differentially influence movement between habitat patches. We examined fly movement decisions (stay or leave) at the scale of individual trees by measuring the response of marked Rhagoletis indifferens (Diptera: Tephritidae) to sweet cherry trees (Prunus avium) that were manipulated by changing the shape of the tree (structure treatment = normal or reduced) and the fruit load (fruit treatment = augmented, normal, or reduced). More than 600 observations were made at two field sites that differed in the average inter-tree distance: Senger site, 10.

Alliance of proteomics and genomics to unravel the specificities of Sahara bacterium Deinococcus deserti.

To better understand adaptation to harsh conditions encountered in hot arid deserts, we report the first complete genome sequence and proteome analysis of a bacterium, Deinococcus deserti VCD115, isolated from Sahara surface sand. Its genome consists of a 2.8-Mb chromosome and three large plasmids of 324 kb, 314 kb, and 396 kb.

The new IS1595 family, its relation to IS1 and the frontier between insertion sequences and transposons.

A picture of insertion sequence (IS) diversity is emerging in which previously well-defined groups or families, while remaining tightly clustered, no longer have defined borders but tend to be joined by ISs with partially shared characteristics. This is to some extent due to the presence or absence of different structurally defined transposase domains (and their spacing) and sequence similarities between IS ends. A surprising result arising from the detailed analysis of ISs in various bacterial genomes is the presence of close relatives carrying passenger genes (e.