Complete genome sequence of Thauera aminoaromatica strain MZ1T.

Thauera aminoaromatica strain MZ1T, an isolate belonging to genus Thauera, of the family Rhodocyclaceae and the class the Betaproteobacteria, has been characterized for its ability to produce abundant exopolysaccharide and degrade various aromatic compounds with nitrate as an electron acceptor. These properties, if fully understood at the genome-sequence level, can aid in environmental processing of organic matter in anaerobic cycles by short-circuiting a central anaerobic metabolite, acetate, from microbiological conversion to methane, a critical greenhouse gas. Strain MZ1T is the first strain from the genus Thauera with a completely sequenced genome.

Bioluminescent yeast estrogen assay (BLYES) as a sensitive tool to monitor surface and drinking water for estrogenicity.

Estrogenic Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) are a concern due to their ubiquity and recognized adverse effects to humans and wildlife. Methods to assess exposure to and associated risks of their presence in aquatic environment are still under development. The aim of this work is to assess estrogenicity of raw and treated waters with different degrees of pollution.

Activation of group IVC phospholipase A(2) by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons induces apoptosis of human coronary artery endothelial cells.

Exposure to environmental pollutants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) found in coal tar mixtures and tobacco sources, is considered a significant risk factor for the development of heart disease in humans. The goal of this study was to determine the influence of PAHs present at a Superfund site on human coronary artery endothelial cell (HCAEC) phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)) activity and apoptosis. Extremely high levels of 12 out of 15 EPA high-priority PAHs were present in both the streambed and floodplain sediments at a site where an urban creek and its adjacent floodplain were extensively contaminated by PAHs and other coal tar compounds.

Autonomous bioluminescent expression of the bacterial luciferase gene cassette (lux) in a mammalian cell line.

Background: The bacterial luciferase (lux) gene cassette consists of five genes (luxCDABE) whose protein products synergistically generate bioluminescent light signals exclusive of supplementary substrate additions or exogenous manipulations. Historically expressible only in prokaryotes, the lux operon was re-synthesized through a process of multi-bicistronic, codon-optimization to demonstrate for the first time self-directed bioluminescence emission in a mammalian HEK293 cell line in vitro and in vivo.

Methodology/principal Findings: Autonomous in vitro light production was shown to be 12-fold greater than the observable background associated with untransfected control cells.

New hybrid approach for NOTES transvaginal cholecystectomy: preliminary clinical experience.

Objectives: Natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) represents the first step toward scar-less surgery. The objective of this study is to evaluate early clinical results of transvaginal cholecystectomy using a new technique.

Methods: Institutional review board approval was obtained and transvaginal NOTES cholecystectomy was performed in 12 women for cholelithiasis.

Screening of potentially hormonally active chemicals using bioluminescent yeast bioreporters.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae bioluminescent bioreporter assays were developed previously to assess a chemical's estrogenic or androgenic disrupting potential. S. cerevisiae BLYES, S.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae BLYAS, a new bioluminescent bioreporter for detection of androgenic compounds.

A Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain, capable of autonomous bioluminescence, was engineered to respond to androgenic chemicals. The strain, S. cerevisiae BLYAS, contains the human androgen receptor in the chromosome and was constructed by inserting a series of androgen response elements between divergent yeast promoters GPD and ADH1 on pUTK401 that constitutively expressed luxA and luxB to create pUTK420.

Use of Saccharomyces cerevisiae BLYES expressing bacterial bioluminescence for rapid, sensitive detection of estrogenic compounds.

An estrogen-inducible bacterial lux-based bioluminescent reporter was developed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae for applications in chemical sensing and environmental assessment of estrogen disruptor activity. The strain, designated S. cerevisiae BLYES, was constructed by inserting tandem estrogen response elements between divergent yeast promoters GPD and ADH1 on pUTK401 (formerly pUA12B7) that constitutively express luxA and luxB to create pUTK407.

Natural selection for 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid mineralizing bacteria in agent orange contaminated soil.

Agent Orange contaminated soils were utilized in direct enrichment culture studies to isolate 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T) and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) mineralizing bacteria. Two bacterial cultures able to grow at the expense of 2,4,5-T and/or 2,4-D were isolated. The 2,4,5-T degrading culture was a mixed culture containing two bacteria, Burkholderia species strain JR7B2 and Burkholderia species strain JR7B3.

In vitro estrogen receptor binding of PCBs: measured activity and detection of hydroxylated metabolites in a recombinant yeast assay.

The estrogenic activities of 17beta-estradiol, biphenyl, chlorinated biphenyls, and Aroclor mixtures 1221, 1242, and 1248 were measured with a modified recombinant yeast estrogen assay (i.e., a Saccharomyces cerevisiae-based lac-Z (beta-galactosidase) reporter assay).

The measurement of toluene dioxygenase activity in biofilm culture of Pseudomonas putida F1.

Toluene dioxygenase (Tod) enzyme activity can be measured by the conversion of indole to indigo. Indigo is measured spectrophotometrically at 600 nm. However, this method is inadequate to measure the whole-cell enzyme activity when interference by suspended biomass is present.

Analyses of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria isolated from contaminated soils.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-degrading bacteria isolated from PAH-contaminated soils were analyzed genotypically and phenotypically for their capacity for metabolism of naphthalene and other PAH substrates. The methods used for the analyses were DNA hybridization using NAH7-derived gene probes, PAH spray plate assays, 14C-PAH mineralization assays, and dioxygenase activity assays. The results of the analyses showed a dominant number of PAH-degrading bacteria with a NAH7-like genotype.

Molecular diagnostics and chemical analysis for assessing biodegradation of polychlorinated biphenyls in contaminated soils.

The microbial populations in PCB-contaminated electric power substation capacitor bank soil (TVA soil) and from another PCB-contaminated site (New England soil) were compared to determine their potential to degrade PCB. Known biphenyl operon genes were used as gene probes in colony hybridizations and in dot blots of DNA extracted from the soil to monitor the presence of PCB-degrading organisms in the soils. The microbial populations in the two soils differed in that the population in New England soil was enriched by the addition of 1000 p.

Plasmid-mediated mineralization of naphthalene, phenanthrene, and anthracene.

The well-characterized plasmid-encoded naphthalene degradation pathway in Pseudomonas putida PpG7(NAH7) was used to investigate the role of the NAH plasmid-encoded pathway in mineralizing phenanthrene and anthracene. Three Pseudomonas strains, designated 5R, DFC49, and DFC50, were recovered from a polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading inoculum developed from a manufactured gas plant soil slurry reactor. Plasmids pKA1, pKA2, and pKA3, approximately 100 kb in size, were isolated from these strains and characterized.

Molecular diagnostics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon biodegradation in manufactured gas plant soils.

Traditional methods for quantifying specific catabolic bacterial populations underestimate the true population count due to the limitations of the necessary laboratory cultivation methods. Likewise, in situ activity is also difficult to assess in the laboratory without altering the sample environment. To circumvent these problems and achieve a true in situ bacterial population count and activity measurement, new methods based on molecular biological analysis of bacterial nucleic acids were applied to soils heavily contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH).

Evidence for 4-chlorobenzoic acid dehalogenation mediated by plasmids related to pSS50.

The biodegradation of 4-chlorobiphenyl usually proceeds through the intermediate 4-chlorobenzoate. Few bacterial strains can degrade 4-chlorobiphenyl to 4-chlorobenzoate and 4-chlorobenzoate to CO2. This study demonstrates that the 4-chlorobiphenyl-degrading Alcaligenes sp.

Rapid, sensitive bioluminescent reporter technology for naphthalene exposure and biodegradation.

A bioluminescent reporter plasmid for naphthalene catabolism (pUTK21) was developed by transposon (Tn4431) insertion of the lux gene cassette from Vibrio fischeri into a naphthalene catabolic plasmid in Pseudomonas fluorescens. The insertion site of the lux transposon was the nahG gene encoding for salicylate hydroxylase. Luciferasemediated light production from P.