Identification and Characterization of a Potential Antibiotic Producing Strain of .

Antibiotic resistance continues to be a significant public health challenge. Soil bacteria represent a potential source of yet to be discovered antimicrobials. The screening of Iowa (United States) soils yielded the identification of a strain of (MMB-1), which displayed an antimicrobial-producing phenotype against a bacterium () representative of Gram-positive bacteria.

Predicted Cold Shock Proteins from the Extremophilic Bacterium and Related Species.

While many studies have examined the mechanisms by which extremophilic Deinococci survive exposure to ionizing radiation, very few publications have characterized the cold shock adaptations of this group, despite many species being found in persistent cold environments and environments prone to significant daily temperature fluctuations. Bacterial cold shock proteins (Csps) are a family of conserved, RNA chaperone proteins that commonly play a role in cold temperature adaptation, including a downward shift in temperature (i.e.

Identification and Characterization of a Putative Chemotaxis Protein, CheY, from the Oral Pathogen .

is an understudied oral bacterium that contributes to periodontitis. Processes that contribute to the disease-causing capabilities of pathogens, such as chemotaxis, are largely unknown in . The aim of this study was to better understand chemotaxis, by examining the genome for the presence of a gene.

Identification and Characterization of an Invasion Antigen B Gene from the Oral Pathogen Campylobacter rectus.

The oral bacterium, Campylobacter rectus, is an etiological agent of periodontitis. The virulence genes of C. rectus are largely unknown.

A Preliminary Investigation of Fecal Indicator Bacteria, Human Pathogens, and Source Tracking Markers in Beach Water and Sand.

Data suggesting that fecal indicating bacteria may persist and/or regrow in sand has raised concerns that fecal indicators may become uncoupled from sources of human fecal pollution. To investigate this possibility, wet and dry beach sand, beach water, riverine water, canal water, and raw sewage samples were screened by PCR for certain pathogenic microbes and molecular markers of human fecal pollution. The targets included in this study were human specific (HF8 marker), human-specific enterococci (esp gene), , 0157:H7, , and adenovirus.

Electrochemical detection of harmful algae and other microbial contaminants in coastal waters using hand-held biosensors.

Standard methods to identify microbial contaminants in the environment are slow, laborious, and can require specialized expertise. This study investigated electrochemical detection of microbial contaminants using commercially available, hand-held instruments. Electrochemical assays were developed for a red tide dinoflagellate (Karenia brevis), fecal-indicating bacteria (Enterococcus spp.

An electrochemical RNA hybridization assay for detection of the fecal indicator bacterium Escherichia coli.

Monitoring waters for indicator bacteria is required to protect the public from exposure to fecal pollution. Our proof-of-concept study describes a method for detecting fecal coliforms. The coliform Escherichia coli was used as a model fecal indicator.

A real-time multiplexed PCR assay for rapid detection and differentiation of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli.

Campylobacter species are the leading agents of bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide. C. jejuni and C.

Mitochondrial-type iron-sulfur cluster biosynthesis genes (IscS and IscU) in the apicomplexan Cryptosporidium parvum.

Several reports have indicated that the iron-sulfur cluster [Fe-S] assembly machinery in most eukaryotes is confined to the mitochondria and chloroplasts. The best-characterized and most highly conserved [Fe-S] assembly proteins are a pyridoxal-5'-phosphate-dependent cysteine desulfurase (IscS), and IscU, a protein functioning as a scaffold for the assembly of [Fe-S] prior to their incorporation into apoproteins. In this work, genes encoding IscS and IscU homologues have been isolated and characterized from the apicomplexan parasite Cryptosporidium parvum, an opportunistic pathogen in AIDS patients, for which no effective treatment is available.

Cryptosporidium parvum: the first protist known to encode a putative polyketide synthase.

We are reporting a putative multifunctional Type I polyketide synthase (PKS) gene from the apicomplexan Cryptosporidium parvum (CpPKS1). The 40 kb intronless open reading frame (ORF) predicts a single polypeptide of 13,414 amino acids with a molecular mass of 1516.5 kDa.

Characterisation of a novel transporter from Cryptosporidium parvum.

P-ATPases are transmembrane proteins that hydrolyse ATP to drive cations or other substances across biomembranes. In this study we present the characterisation of a novel P-ATPase from the apicomplexan parasite Cryptosporidium parvum (CpATPase3), an opportunistic pathogen in autoimmune deficiency syndrome patients, for which no treatment is available. The single copy gene encodes 1488 amino acids, predicting a protein of 169.