Postpartum depression and partner support during the period of lactation: Correlation research and its influencing factors.

Background: Postpartum depression (PPD) not only affects the psychological and physiological aspects of maternal health but can also affect neonatal growth and development. Partners who are in close contact with parturient women play a key role in communication and emotional support. This study explores the PPD support relationship with partners and its influencing factors, which is believed to establish psychological well-being and improve maternal partner support.

Extraordinary long-stem confers resistance of intrinsic terminators to processive antitermination.

Many prokaryotic operons encode a processive antitermination (P-AT) system. Transcription complexes associated with an antitermination factor can bypass multiple transcription termination signals regardless of their sequences. However, to avoid compromising transcriptional regulation of downstream regions, the terminator at the end of the operon needs to be resistant to antitermination.

Repurposing drugs with specific activity against L-form bacteria.

Cell wall deficient "L- form" bacteria are of growing medical interest as a possible source of recurrent or persistent infection, largely because of their complete resistance to cell wall active antibiotics such as β-lactams. Antibiotics that specifically kill L-forms would be of potential interest as therapeutics, but also as reagents with which to explore the role of L-forms in models of recurrent infection. To look for specific anti-L-form antibiotics, we screened a library of several hundred FDA-approved drugs and identified compounds highly selective for L-form killing.

Mirubactin C rescues the lethal effect of cell wall biosynthesis mutations in .

Growth of most rod-shaped bacteria is accompanied by the insertion of new peptidoglycan into the cylindrical cell wall. This insertion, which helps maintain and determine the shape of the cell, is guided by a protein machine called the rod complex or elongasome. Although most of the proteins in this complex are essential under normal growth conditions, cell viability can be rescued, for reasons that are not understood, by the presence of a high (mM) Mg concentration.

Discovery of Demurilactone A: A Specific Growth Inhibitor of L-Form .

Metabolic profiling of the extracts from a library of actinobacteria led to the identification of a novel polyketide, demurilactone A, produced by strain DEM21308. The structure of the compound was assigned based on a detailed investigation of 1D/2D NMR spectra and HR-MS. Whole genome DNA sequencing, followed by bioinformatics analysis and insertional mutagenesis, identified type I polyketide synthases encoded by the gene cluster to direct the biosynthesis of this polyene macrolide.

Chromosome remodelling by SMC/Condensin in is regulated by monomeric Soj/ParA during growth and sporulation.

SMC complexes, loaded at ParB- sites, are key mediators of chromosome organization in bacteria. ParA/Soj proteins interact with ParB/Spo0J in a pathway involving adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-dependent dimerization and DNA binding, facilitating chromosome segregation in bacteria. In , ParA/Soj also regulates DNA replication initiation and along with ParB/Spo0J is involved in cell cycle changes during endospore formation.

Conjugation Operons in Gram-Positive Bacteria with and without Antitermination Systems.

Genes involved in the same cellular process are often clustered together in an operon whose expression is controlled by an upstream promoter. Generally, the activity of the promoter is strictly controlled. However, spurious transcription undermines this strict regulation, particularly affecting large operons.

Establishment Genes Present on pLS20 Family of Conjugative Plasmids Are Regulated in Two Different Ways.

During conjugation, a conjugative DNA element is transferred from a donor to a recipient cell via a connecting channel. Conjugation has clinical relevance because it is the major route for spreading antibiotic resistance and virulence genes. The conjugation process can be divided into different steps.

pLS20 is the archetype of a new family of conjugative plasmids harboured by species.

Conjugation plays important roles in genome plasticity, adaptation and evolution but is also the major horizontal gene-transfer route responsible for spreading toxin, virulence and antibiotic resistance genes. A better understanding of the conjugation process is required for developing drugs and strategies to impede the conjugation-mediated spread of these genes. So far, only a limited number of conjugative elements have been studied.

A novel bipartite antitermination system widespread in conjugative elements of Gram-positive bacteria.

Transcriptional regulation allows adaptive and coordinated gene expression, and is essential for life. Processive antitermination systems alter the transcription elongation complex to allow the RNA polymerase to read through multiple terminators in an operon. Here, we describe the discovery of a novel bipartite antitermination system that is widespread among conjugative elements from Gram-positive bacteria, which we named conAn.

Multiple Layered Control of the Conjugation Process of the Plasmid pLS20.

Bacterial conjugation is the main horizontal gene transfer route responsible for the spread of antibiotic resistance, virulence and toxin genes. During conjugation, DNA is transferred from a donor to a recipient cell via a sophisticated channel connecting the two cells. Conjugation not only affects many different aspects of the plasmid and the host, ranging from the properties of the membrane and the cell surface of the donor, to other developmental processes such as competence, it probably also poses a burden on the donor cell due to the expression of the large number of genes involved in the conjugation process.

A Conserved Class II Type Thioester Domain-Containing Adhesin Is Required for Efficient Conjugation in Bacillus subtilis.

Conjugation, the process by which a DNA element is transferred from a donor to a recipient cell, is the main horizontal gene transfer route responsible for the spread of antibiotic resistance and virulence genes. Contact between a donor and a recipient cell is a prerequisite for conjugation, because conjugative DNA is transferred into the recipient via a channel connecting the two cells. Conjugative elements encode proteins dedicated to facilitating the recognition and attachment to recipient cells, also known as mating pair formation.

Reversible regulation of conjugation of Bacillus subtilis plasmid pLS20 by the quorum sensing peptide responsive anti-repressor RappLS20.

Quorum sensing plays crucial roles in bacterial communication including in the process of conjugation, which has large economical and health-related impacts by spreading antibiotic resistance. The conjugative Bacillus subtilis plasmid pLS20 uses quorum sensing to determine when to activate the conjugation genes. The main conjugation promoter, Pc, is by default repressed by a regulator RcopLS20 involving DNA looping.

A Small Molecule Inhibitor of CTP Synthetase Identified by Differential Activity on a Mutant Deficient in Class A Penicillin-Binding Proteins.

In the course of screening for compounds with differential growth inhibition activity on a mutant of lacking all four class A penicillin-binding proteins (), we came across an isoquinoline derivative, IQ-1 carboxylic acid (IQC) with relatively high activity on the mutant compared to the wild type strain. Treated cells were slightly elongated and had altered chromosome morphology. Mutants of resistant to IQC were isolated and subjected to whole genome sequencing.

Downregulation of G3BP2 reduces atherosclerotic lesions in ApoE mice.

Background And Aims: Atherosclerosis is mainly caused by stress in arterial microenvironments, which results in the formation of stress granules as a consequence of the stress response. As the core protein of stress granules, GTPase-activating protein (SH3 domain)-binding protein 2 (G3BP2) is known to play pivotal roles in tumour initiation, viral infection and Alzheimer's disease, but the role of G3BP2 in atherosclerosis development is poorly understood. Previous studies have shown that vaccination with epitopes from self-antigens could reduce atherosclerotic lesions.

Geometric principles underlying the proliferation of a model cell system.

Many bacteria can form wall-deficient variants, or L-forms, that divide by a simple mechanism that does not require the FtsZ-based cell division machinery. Here, we use microfluidic systems to probe the growth, chromosome cycle and division mechanism of Bacillus subtilis L-forms. We find that forcing cells into a narrow linear configuration greatly improves the efficiency of cell growth and chromosome segregation.

Cohesion of Sister Chromosome Termini during the Early Stages of Sporulation in Bacillus subtilis.

During sporulation of , the cell cycle is reorganized to generate separated prespore and mother cell compartments, each containing a single fully replicated chromosome. The process begins with reorganization of the nucleoid to form an elongated structure, the axial filament, in which the two chromosome origins are attached to opposite cell poles, with the remainder of the DNA stretched between these sites. When the cell then divides asymmetrically, the division septum closes around the chromosome destined for the smaller prespore, trapping the origin-proximal third of the chromosome in the prespore.

Surface Exclusion Revisited: Function Related to Differential Expression of the Surface Exclusion System of Plasmid pLS20.

During conjugation a genetic element is transferred from a bacterial donor to a recipient cell via a connecting channel. It is the major route responsible for the spread of antibiotic resistance. Conjugative elements can contain exclusion system(s) that inhibit its transfer to a cell already harboring the element.

Microfluidic time-lapse analysis and reevaluation of the Bacillus subtilis cell cycle.

Recent studies taking advantage of automated single-cell time-lapse analysis have reignited interest in the bacterial cell cycle. Several studies have highlighted alternative models, such as Sizer and Adder, which differ essentially in relation to whether cells can measure their present size or their amount of growth since birth. Most of the recent work has been done with Escherichia coli.

Synergy of N-(3-oxohexanoyl)-L-homoserine lactone and tryptophan-like outer extracellular substances in granular sludge dominated by aerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria.

Nitrogen removal via nitrite is an energy-saving method for high-strength ammonia wastewater treatment. A better understanding of the formation of granular sludge dominated by aerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AerAOB) could facilitate the improved use of rapid sludge granulation for nitritation. In this study, AerAOB-dominated activated sludge (NAS) and granular sludge (NGS) produced different N-scyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs).

Development of SimCells as a novel chassis for functional biosensors.

This work serves as a proof-of-concept for bacterially derived SimCells (Simple Cells), which contain the cell machinery from bacteria and designed DNA (or potentially a simplified genome) to instruct the cell to carry out novel, specific tasks. SimCells represent a reprogrammable chassis without a native chromosome, which can host designed DNA to perform defined functions. In this paper, the use of Escherichia coli MC1000 ∆minD minicells as a non-reproducing chassis for SimCells was explored, as demonstrated by their ability to act as sensitive biosensors for small molecules.

Cell Cycle Machinery in Bacillus subtilis.

Bacillus subtilis is the best described member of the Gram positive bacteria. It is a typical rod shaped bacterium and grows by elongation in its long axis, before dividing at mid cell to generate two similar daughter cells. B.

[Identification and Influence of Quorum Sensing on Anaerobic Ammonium Oxidation Process].

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX), an innovative nitrogen removal technology, has good prospects for applications. However, ANAMMOX bacteria grow slowly and are hardly accumulated in bioreactors. In this study, a UASB reactor inoculated with sludge from landfill leachate treatment plant was used for the start-up of ANAMMOX process.

L-form bacteria, chronic diseases and the origins of life.

The peptidoglycan cell wall is widely conserved across the bacterial domain, suggesting that it appeared early in the evolution of bacteria. It is normally essential but under certain conditions wall-deficient or 'L-form' bacteria can be isolated. In Bacillus subtilis this normally requires two genetic changes.

A benzamide-dependent ftsZ mutant reveals residues crucial for Z-ring assembly.

In almost all bacteria, cell division is co-ordinated by the essential tubulin homologue FtsZ and represents an attractive but as yet unexploited target for new antibiotics. The benzamides, e.g.