Publications by authors named "Mariscal V"

Cells of colonize the light organ of , providing the squid bioluminescence in exchange for nutrients and protection. The bacteria encounter DNA-rich mucus throughout their transition to a symbiotic lifestyle, leading us to hypothesize a role for nuclease activity in the colonization process. In support of this, we detected abundant extracellular nuclease activity in growing cells of .

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Unlabelled: Motility promotes biofilm initiation during the early steps of this process: microbial surface association and attachment. Motility is controlled in part by chemotaxis signaling, so it seems reasonable that chemotaxis may also affect biofilm formation. There is a gap, however, in our understanding of the interactions between chemotaxis and biofilm formation, partly because most studies analyzed the phenotype of only a single chemotaxis signaling mutant, e.

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Amid growing environmental concerns and the imperative for sustainable agricultural practices, this study examines the potential of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria as biofertilizers, particularly in cotton cultivation. The reliance on synthetic nitrogen fertilizers (SNFs), prevalent in modern agriculture, poses significant environmental challenges, including greenhouse gas emissions and water system contamination. This research aims to shift this paradigm by exploring the capacity of cyanobacteria as a natural and sustainable alternative.

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Scientific progress relies on clear and consistent definitions for effective communication and collaboration. The term "symbiosis" in the context of plant-microbe associations suffers from diverse interpretations, leading to ambiguity in classification of these associations. This review elaborates on the issue, proposing an inclusive definition as well as a keyword.

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All known photosynthetic cyanobacteria carry a cytochrome protein that acts transferring electrons from cytochrome complex to photosystem I, in photosynthesis, or cytochrome oxidase, in respiration. In most of the cyanobacteria, at least one homologue to cytochrome is found, the so-called cytochrome or cytochrome . However, the function of these cytochrome -like proteins is still unknown.

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Rice is one of the most important crops in the world and is considered a strategic crop for food security. Furthermore, the excessive use of chemical fertilizers to obtain high yields causes environmental problems. A sustainable alternative includes taking advantage of beneficial bacteria that promote plant growth.

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Nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria from the order Nostocales are able to establish symbiotic relationships with diverse plant species. They are promiscuous symbionts, as the same strain of cyanobacterium is able to form symbiotic biological nitrogen-fixing relationships with different plants species. This review will focus on the different types of cyanobacterial-plant associations, both endophytic and epiphytic, and provide insights from a structural viewpoint, as well as our current understanding of the mechanisms involved in the symbiotic crosstalk.

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Article Synopsis
  • V. fischeri colonizes the light organ of the squid Euprymna scolopes, facilitating bioluminescence in exchange for nutrients and protection, with extracellular nuclease activity aiding in this colonization process.
  • Researchers identified a single transposon mutant strain with a gene mutation that completely lost nuclease activity, linking it to a gene homologous to a nuclease in Vibrio cholerae.
  • Despite some loss of nuclease activity in mutants, residual activity was observed, hinting at the involvement of a second nuclease, which is crucial for the bacteria's natural transformation and competition for squid colonization.
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Symbiosis between cyanobacteria and plants is considered pivotal for biological nitrogen deposition in terrestrial ecosystems. Despite extensive knowledge of the ecology of plant-cyanobacterium symbioses, little is known about the molecular mechanisms involved in recognition between partners. Here, we conducted a quantitative sequential window acquisition of all theoretical fragment ion spectra mass spectrometry pipeline to analyze protein changes in Oryza sativa and Nostoc punctiforme during early events of symbiosis.

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Sphingolipids, a class of amino-alcohol-based lipids, are well characterized in eukaryotes and in some anaerobic bacteria. However, the only sphingolipids so far identified in cyanobacteria are two ceramides (i.e.

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Cell-cell communication is an essential attribute of multicellular organisms. The effects of perturbed communication were studied in septal protein mutants of the heterocyst-forming filamentous cyanobacterium sp. PCC 7120 model organism.

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Article Synopsis
  • Acetylmuramoyl-l-alanine amidases play a crucial role in breaking down peptidoglycan and are linked to biofilm production in a specific bacterial strain.
  • A mutant strain with a disrupted amidase showed increased biofilm formation due to overproduction of cellulose, but it was nonmotile and had poor colonization ability in squid hosts.
  • Further study revealed that motile suppressor mutants could partially restore the ability to colonize, indicating a complex interaction between amidase activity, motility, and biofilm formation in the bacterial lifecycle.
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Cyanobacteria are phototrophic microorganisms able to establish nitrogen-fixing symbiotic associations with representatives of all four of the major phylogenetic divisions of terrestrial plants. Despite increasing knowledge on the beneficial effects of cyanobacteria in rice fields, the information about the interaction between these microorganisms and rice at the molecular and structural levels is still limited. We have used the model nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium to promote a long-term stable endophytic association with rice.

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Filamentous, heterocyst-forming cyanobacteria are multicellular organisms in which growth requires the activity of two interdependent cell types that exchange nutrients and regulators. Vegetative cells provide heterocysts with reduced carbon, and heterocysts provide vegetative cells with fixed nitrogen. Additionally, heterocyst differentiation from vegetative cells is regulated by inhibitors of differentiation produced by prospective heterocysts and heterocysts.

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Cytochrome c is a soluble electron carrier, present in all known cyanobacteria, that has been replaced by plastocyanin in plants. Despite their high structural differences, both proteins have been reported to be isofunctional in cyanobacteria and green algae, acting as alternative electron carriers from the cytochrome b-f complex to photosystem I or terminal oxidases. We have investigated the subcellular localization of both cytochrome c and plastocyanin in the heterocyst-forming cyanobacterium Anabaena sp.

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Thylakoid membranes are far from being homogeneous in composition. On the contrary, compositional heterogeneity of lipid and protein content is well known to exist in these membranes. The mechanisms for the confinement of proteins at a particular membrane domain have started to be unveiled, but we are far from a thorough understanding, and many issues remain to be elucidated.

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Heterocyst-forming cyanobacteria grow as filaments that can be hundreds of cells long. Proteinaceous septal junctions provide cell-cell binding and communication functions in the filament. In sp.

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Filamentous cyanobacteria have developed a strategy to perform incompatible processes in one filament by differentiating specialized cell types, N-fixing heterocysts and CO-fixing, photosynthetic, vegetative cells. These bacteria can be considered true multicellular organisms with cells exchanging metabolites and signaling molecules via septal junctions, involving the SepJ and FraCD proteins. Previously, it was shown that the cell wall lytic -acetylmuramyl-L-alanine amidase, AmiC2, is essential for cell-cell communication in .

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When deprived of combined nitrogen, some filamentous cyanobacteria contain two cell types: vegetative cells that fix CO through oxygenic photosynthesis and heterocysts that are specialized in N fixation. In the diazotrophic filament, the vegetative cells provide the heterocysts with reduced carbon (mainly in the form of sucrose) and heterocysts provide the vegetative cells with combined nitrogen. Septal junctions traverse peptidoglycan through structures known as nanopores and appear to mediate intercellular molecular transfer that can be traced with fluorescent markers, including the sucrose analog esculin (a coumarin glucoside) that is incorporated into the cells.

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Filamentous, N2 -fixing, heterocyst-forming cyanobacteria grow as chains of cells that are connected by septal junctions. In the model organism Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120, the septal protein SepJ is required for filament integrity, normal intercellular molecular exchange, heterocyst differentiation, and diazotrophic growth.

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Nitric oxide (NO) is a relevant signal molecule involved in many plant processes. However, the mechanisms and proteins responsible for its synthesis are scarcely known. In most photosynthetic organisms NO synthases have not been identified, and Nitrate Reductase (NR) has been proposed as the main enzymatic NO source, a process that in vitro is also catalysed by other molybdoenzymes.

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The filamentous nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 differentiates specialized cells, heterocysts, that fix atmospheric nitrogen and transfer the fixed nitrogen to adjacent vegetative cells. Reciprocally, vegetative cells transfer fixed carbon to heterocysts.

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Unlabelled: In the diazotrophic filaments of heterocyst-forming cyanobacteria, two different cell types, the CO2-fixing vegetative cells and the N2-fixing heterocysts, exchange nutrients, including some amino acids. In the model organism Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120, the SepJ protein, composed of periplasmic and integral membrane (permease) sections, is located at the intercellular septa joining adjacent cells in the filament.

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Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 is a filamentous cyanobacterium that can use inorganic compounds such as nitrate or ammonium as nitrogen sources. In the absence of combined nitrogen, it can fix N2 in differentiated cells called heterocysts.

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