Biosensors for the detection of chorismate and cis,cis-muconic acid in Corynebacterium glutamicum.

Unlabelled: Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032 is a promising microbial chassis for industrial production of valuable compounds, including aromatic amino acids derived from the shikimate pathway. In this work, we developed two whole-cell, transcription factor based fluorescent biosensors to track cis,cis-muconic acid (ccMA) and chorismate in C. glutamicum.

Targeted mutagenesis and high-throughput screening of diversified gene and promoter libraries for isolating gain-of-function mutations.

Targeted mutagenesis of a promoter or gene is essential for attaining new functions in microbial and protein engineering efforts. In the burgeoning field of synthetic biology, heterologous genes are expressed in new host organisms. Similarly, natural or designed proteins are mutagenized at targeted positions and screened for gain-of-function mutations.

Two Liberibacter Proteins Combine to Suppress Critical Innate Immune Defenses in Citrus.

We adopted a systems-based approach to determine the role of two Liberibacter asiaticus (Las) proteins, and Effector 3, in Huanglongbing (HLB) pathogenesis. While a published work suggests the involvement of these Las proteins HLB pathogenesis, the exact structure-based mechanism of their action has not been elucidated. We conducted the following experiments to determine the structure-based mechanisms of action.

On the mechanism of pore formation by melittin.

The mechanism of pore formation of lytic peptides, such as melittin from bee venom, is thought to involve binding to the membrane surface, followed by insertion at threshold levels of bound peptide. We show that in membranes composed of zwitterionic lipids, i.e.

In vitro oncosphere-killing assays to determine immunity to the larvae of Taenia pisiformis, Taenia ovis, Taenia saginata, and Taenia solium.

Taeniid cestodes infect humans and livestock, causing considerable morbidity and mortality, as well as economic loss. Substantial progress has been made toward the production of recombinant vaccines against cysticercosis in livestock animals. Further development of these vaccines would be aided if a reliable in vitro test were available to measure host-protective immune responses in vaccinated animals.