Genetic diversity of PRRSV 1 in Central Eastern Europe in 1994-2014: origin and evolution of the virus in the region.

More than 20 years after the first outbreaks, the phylogenetic picture of PRRSV is still incomplete and full of gaps, especially in regards of PRRSV 1. Due to the exceptional diversity observed at the eastern borders of Europe and the low number of available sequences from Central Eastern European countries, the authors collected and analyzed both recent as well as already submitted sequences comparing them to a large backbone set of available ORF5 sequences representing the full spectrum of PRRSV 1 Subtype 1 diversity to conduct a systematic phylogenetic analysis and reclassification elucidating the diversity of the virus in these countries. Moreover, further analyses of the EUROSTAT data regarding the live pig movement trends revealed their influence of virus diversity and evolution.

High fat diet induced atherosclerosis is accompanied with low colonic bacterial diversity and altered abundances that correlates with plaque size, plasma A-FABP and cholesterol: a pilot study of high fat diet and its intervention with Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) or telmisartan in ApoE mice.

Background: Atherosclerosis appears to have multifactorial causes - microbial component like lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and other pathogen associated molecular patterns may be plausible factors. The gut microbiota is an ample source of such stimulants, and its dependent metabolites and altered gut metagenome has been an established link to atherosclerosis. In this exploratory pilot study, we aimed to elucidate whether microbial intervention with probiotics L.

Triterpenoid herbal saponins enhance beneficial bacteria, decrease sulfate-reducing bacteria, modulate inflammatory intestinal microenvironment and exert cancer preventive effects in ApcMin/+ mice.

Saponins derived from medicinal plants have raised considerable interest for their preventive roles in various diseases. Here, we investigated the impacts of triterpenoid saponins isolated from Gynostemma pentaphyllum (GpS) on gut microbiome, mucosal environment, and the preventive effect on tumor growth. Six-week old ApcMin/+ mice and their wild-type littermates were fed either with vehicle or GpS daily for the duration of 8 weeks.

Tumor grafting induces changes of gut microbiota in athymic nude mice in the presence and absence of medicinal Gynostemma saponins.

Recent findings have revealed that gut microbiota plays a substantial role in modulating diseases such as autism, rheumatoid arthritis, allergies, and cancer that occur at sites distant to the gut. Athymic nude mice have been employed for tumorigenic research for decades; however, the relationships between the gut microbiome and host's response in drug treatment to the grafted tumors have not been explored. In this study, we analyzed the fecal microbiome of nonxenograft and xenograft nude mice treated with phytosaponins from a popular medicinal plant, Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Gp).

Evolutionary diversification of type 2 porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is one of the leading swine pathogens causing tremendous economic loss to the global swine industry due to its virulence, pathogenesis, infectivity and transmissibility. Although formally recognized only two and half decades ago, molecular dating estimation indicates a more ancient evolutionary history, which involved divergence into two genotypes (type 1 and type 2) prior to the 'initial' outbreaks of the late 1980s. Type 2 PRRSV circulates primarily in North America and Asia.

Microbial community in microbial fuel cell (MFC) medium and effluent enriched with purple photosynthetic bacterium (Rhodopseudomonas sp.).

High power densities have been obtained from MFC reactors having a purple color characteristic of Rhodopseudomonas. We investigated the microbial community structure and population in developed purple MFC medium (DPMM) and MFC effluent (DPME) using 16S rRNA pyrosequencing. In DPMM, dominant bacteria were Comamonas (44.

Genomic evolution of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) isolates revealed by deep sequencing.

Most studies on PRRSV evolution have been limited to a particular region of the viral genome. A thorough genome-wide understanding of the impact of different mechanisms on shaping PRRSV genetic diversity is still lacking. To this end, deep sequencing was used to obtain genomic sequences of a diverse set of 16 isolates from a region of Hong Kong with a complex PRRSV epidemiological record.

Genetic dissection of complete genomes of Type 2 PRRS viruses isolated in Denmark over a period of 15 years.

Type 2 Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV) was first detected in Europe in 1996 co-incident with the introduction of a live attenuated vaccine. Since then, only limited ORF5 and ORF7 sequences of Type 2 PRRS viruses have been reported throughout Europe. In the present study, the genetic and antigenic diversity of 11 complete genomes and 49 ORF5 and 55 ORF7 nucleotide sequences obtained from 57 viruses in Denmark from 2003 to 2012 were examined.

Recombination is associated with an outbreak of novel highly pathogenic porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome viruses in China.

In 2009 to 2010, there was a marked increase in the number of infections with highly pathogenic porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (HP-PRRSV) in China. Through phylogenetic analysis, we show that viruses from this outbreak originated from a single recombination event, illustrating the potential importance of this process for disease emergence.

Towards a metagenomic understanding on enhanced biomethane production from waste activated sludge after pH 10 pretreatment.

Background: Understanding the effects of pretreatment on anaerobic digestion of sludge waste from wastewater treatment plants is becoming increasingly important, as impetus moves towards the utilization of sludge for renewable energy production. Although the field of sludge pretreatment has progressed significantly over the past decade, critical questions concerning the underlying microbial interactions remain unanswered. In this study, a metagenomic approach was adopted to investigate the microbial composition and gene content contributing to enhanced biogas production from sludge subjected to a novel pretreatment method (maintaining pH at 10 for 8 days) compared to other documented methods (ultrasonic, thermal and thermal-alkaline).

Gene-centric metagenomics analysis of feline intestinal microbiome using 454 junior pyrosequencing.

The feline gastrointestinal microbiota have direct influence on feline health and also human health as a reservoir for potential zoonotic pathogens and antibiotic resistant bacterial strains. In order to describe the feline gastrointestinal microbial diversity, fecal samples from cats have been characterized using both culture-dependent and culture-independent methods. However, data correlating total microbial composition and their functions are lacking.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus in Ontario, Canada 1999 to 2010: genetic diversity and restriction fragment length polymorphisms.

Classification of Ontario porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) field isolates (n = 505) from 1999 to 2010, based on a global type 2 PRRSV ORF5 phylogenetic framework, revealed genetic diversity comparable to PRRSV in the USA, with sequences assigned to five of nine lineages (1, 2, 5, 8 and 9). Importantly, the tree topology indicated a Canadian ancestry for the highly virulent MN184-related strains that first emerged in 2001 in the USA. Mapping of the RFLP patterns onto the phylogenetic tree revealed numerous examples of different RFLP patterns located within the same phylogenetic cluster.