Experimental evolution under different nutritional conditions changes the genomic architecture and virulence of Acinetobacter baumannii.

This study uncovers the molecular processes governing the adaptive evolution of multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens without antibiotic pressure. Genomic analysis of MDR Acinetobacter baumannii cells cultured for 8000 generations under starvation conditions (EAB1) or nutrient-rich conditions (EAB2) revealed significant genomic changes, primarily by insertion sequence (IS)-mediated insertions and deletions. Only two Acinetobacter-specific prophage-related deletions and translocations were observed in the EAB1 strain.

Characterization of Salmonella species from poultry slaughterhouses in South Korea: carry-over transmission of Thompson ST292 in slaughtering process.

Importance: outbreaks linked to poultry meat have been reported continuously worldwide. Therefore, contamination of poultry meats in slaughterhouses is one of the critical control points for reducing disease outbreaks in humans.

Objective: This study examined the carry-over contamination of species through the entire slaughtering process in South Korea.

Combined antimicrobial effect of two peptide nucleic acids against and veterinary isolates.

Background: and are the major etiological agents of staphylococcal infections in humans, livestock, and companion animals. The misuse of antimicrobial drugs has led to the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant spp., including methicillin-resistant (MRSA) and methicillin-resistant (MRSP).

Acid tolerance of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 strain ATCC 43894 and its relationship with a large virulence plasmid pO157.

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 is a zoonotic pathogen that causes a severe intestinal infection including hemolytic uremic syndrome in humans. Various factors contribute to its pathogenesis, including a large virulence plasmid pO157. This F-like 92-kb plasmid is isolated in virtually all clinical EHEC isolates, and is considered a hallmark of EHEC virulence.

Development of antisense peptide-peptide nucleic acids against fluoroquinolone-resistant Escherichia coli.

Background: Fluoroquinolones (FQs) are potent and broad-spectrum antibiotics commonly used to treat MDR bacterial infections, but bacterial resistance to FQs has emerged and spread rapidly around the world. The mechanisms for FQ resistance have been revealed, including one or more mutations in FQ target genes such as DNA gyrase (gyrA) and topoisomerase IV (parC). Because therapeutic treatments for FQ-resistant bacterial infections are limited, it is necessary to develop novel antibiotic alternatives to minimize or inhibit FQ-resistant bacteria.

Mutating both and of enteropathogenic E2348/69 attenuates its virulence and induces interleukin 6 .

Here, we report for the first time that disrupting both and genes in enteropathogenic E2348/69 can attenuate its virulence and significantly induce interleukin 6 (IL-6) . Our experimental analyses demonstrated that an E2348/69 ΔΔ double mutant strain derepressed the expression of type IV bundle forming pilus (BFP) and repressed the expression of glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) and locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE). Whole genome-scale transcriptomic analysis revealed that 1,564 EPEC genes were differentially expressed in the ΔΔ double mutant strain (cut-off > two-fold).

Characterization of transcriptional activities at a divergent promoter of the type VI secretion system in enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7.

The type VI secretion system (T6SS) is a novel secretion system found in many Gram-negative bacteria that plays a role in bacterial competition, virulence, and host immune evasion. The enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 strain EDL933 has a single functional T6SS gene cluster. In this study, we attempted to characterize the transcriptional pattern of the T6SS effector gene Z0264 in EDL933.

Pathophysiology of enteropathogenic during a host infection.

Enteropathogenic (EPEC) is a major cause of infantile diarrhea in developing countries. However, sporadic outbreaks caused by this microorganism in developed countries are frequently reported recently. As an important zoonotic pathogen, EPEC is being monitored annually in several countries.

A Novel Peptide Nucleic Acid against the Cytidine Monophosphate Kinase of S. aureus Inhibits Staphylococcal Infection In Vivo.

Here, we report a novel bactericidal peptide nucleic acid (PNA) that can induce the antisense effect on the cytidine monophosphate kinase (Cmk) of Staphylococcus aureus, a putative essential component for bacterial species. Based on the genome sequence of S. aureus N315, a set of PNA conjugates with a bacterial penetration peptide, (KFF)K, were synthesized to target the seven potentially essential genes (cmk, deoD, ligA, smpB, glmU, pyrH, and ftsA) and further evaluated for their antibacterial properties in vitro as well as in vivo.

Antisense peptide nucleic acids as a potential anti-infective agent.

Antibiotics have long been used for anti-infective control of bacterial infections, growth promotion in husbandry, and prophylactic protection against plant pathogens. However, their inappropriate use results in the emergence and spread of multiple drug resistance (MDR) especially among various bacterial populations, which limits further administration of conventional antibiotics. Therefore, the demand for novel anti-infective approaches against MDR diseases becomes increasing in recent years.

Molecular epidemiology of sequence type 33 of Shiga toxin-producing O91:H14 isolates from human patients and retail meats in Korea.

Sequence type (ST) 33 of Shiga toxin-producing (STEC) strain O91:H14 has been proposed as a potential domestic clone of STEC in Korea because of its high prevalence among human patients with mild diarrhea or asymptomatic carriers. Herein, the clonal diversity of 17 STEC O91:H14 isolates of ST33 during 2003 to 2014 was analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, including 14 isolates from human patients and 3 from retail meats. Their virulence characteristics, acid resistance, and antimicrobial susceptibility were also determined.

Deletion of a putative NlpC/P60 endopeptidase BAS1812 affects germination, long-term survival and endospore formation in Bacillus anthracis.

Bacillus anthracis, an aetiologic agent of the zoonotic disease anthrax, encodes a putative NlpC/P60 endopeptidase BAS1812. It harbours a signal peptide, three bacterial SH3 domains and an NlpC/P60 family domain. Previous studies showed that BAS1812 is immunogenic in infected hosts and is a potential biomarker for anthrax treatment.

Changes in Bacillus anthracis CodY regulation under host-specific environmental factor deprived conditions.

Background: Host-specific environmental factors induce changes in Bacillus anthracis gene transcription during infection. A global transcription regulator, CodY, plays a pivotal role in regulating central metabolism, biosynthesis, and virulence in B. anthracis.

Late-Exponential Gene Expression in codY-Deficient Bacillus anthracis in a Host-Like Environment.

CodY is a pleiotropic regulator commonly found in Gram-positive bacteria and regulates various biological processes during the stringent response in a nutrient-limiting environment. CodY also participates in virulence factor expression in many low G+C Gram-positive pathogens, as observed in Bacillus anthracis. However, the mechanism by which B.

Transcriptomic Profiling and H3K27me3 Distribution Reveal Both Demethylase-Dependent and Independent Regulation of Developmental Gene Transcription in Cell Differentiation.

The removal of histone H3 trimethylation at lysine residue 27 (H3K27me3) plays a critical role in the transcriptional initiation of developmental genes. The H3K27me3-specific KDM6 demethylases JMJD3 and UTX are responsible for the transcriptional initiation of various developmental genes, but some genes are expressed in a KDM6 demethylase-independent manner. To address the role of H3K27me3 in the retinoic acid (RA)-induced differentiation of the human carcinoma NCCIT cell line, we inhibited JMJD3 and UTX using the H3K27me3 demethylase inhibitor GSK-J4.

Global transcriptome profiling of genes that are differentially regulated during differentiation of mouse embryonic neural stem cells into astrocytes.

Many genes are associated with the differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs) into astrocytes, the most abundant and functionally diverse population of glial cells in the central nervous system, particularly in the brain. In the present study, we differentiated NSCs from the forebrain of embryonic day 14.5 mouse embryos into astrocytes over 1 and 7 days.

Complete Genome Sequence of Bacillus anthracis HYU01, Isolated from Soil Samples in the Korean Peninsula.

Bacillus anthracis is a Gram-positive endospore-forming bacterium that causes the zoonotic disease anthrax. We report a complete genome sequence of B. anthracis strain HYU01, isolated from Changnyung, which belongs to the B branch (B.

Toxic pyrene metabolism in Mycobacterium gilvum PYR-GCK results in the expression of mammalian cell entry genes as revealed by transcriptomics study.

Mycobacterium gilvum PYR-GCK is a bacterial strain under study for its bioremediation use on heavy hydrocarbon pollutants in the environment. During the course of our study, mammalian cell entry (mce) genes, known to facilitate pathogenicity in M. tuberculosis, were highly expressed during a comparative and substrate-related cultural global transcriptomic study.

Identification of stringent response-related and potential serological proteins released from Bacillus anthracis overexpressing the RelA/SpoT homolog, Rsh Bant.

RelA and SpoT synthesize ppGpp, a key effector molecule that facilitates the adaptation of bacteria to nutrient starvation and other stresses, known as the stringent response. To investigate the role of Rsh Bant , a putative RelA/SpoT homolog (encoded by BAS4302) in Bacillus anthracis, we examined the alteration of the secretome profiles after the overexpression of a functional His-Rsh Bant protein in the B. anthracis strain Sterne at the stationary growth phase.

Transcription-related element gene expression pattern differs between microglia and macrophages during inflammation.

Objective And Design: Microglia and macrophages play an important role in the innate and adaptive immune systems. Although the resident location of these cells is different, their functions during the polarization response due to various stimuli are very similar. The present study aimed to analyze differences in microglial and macrophage gene expression during inflammation.

Genetic diversity of Korean Bacillus anthracis isolates from soil evaluated with a single nucleotide repeat analysis.

Bacillus (B.) anthracis, the etiological agent of anthrax, is one of the most genetically monomorphic bacteria species in the world. Due to the very limited genetic diversity of this species, classification of isolates of this bacterium requires methods with high discriminatory power.

Proteomic analysis of the oxidative stress response induced by low-dose hydrogen peroxide in Bacillus anthracis.

Anthrax is a bacterial disease caused by the aerobic sporeforming bacterium Bacillus anthracis, which is an important pathogen owing to its ability to be used as a terror agent. B. anthracis spores can escape phagocytosis and initiate the germination process even in antimicrobial conditions, such as oxidative stress.

Effects of the activated mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway via the c-ros receptor tyrosine kinase on the T47D breast cancer cell line following alcohol exposure.

Compared to other cancers affecting women, breast cancer is significantly associated with alcohol consumption. However, the principles underlying the carcinogenesis of alcohol-induced breast cancer and the related metastatic mechanisms have yet to be established. To observe the effect of alcohol on the growth regulation in breast cancer cells, we identified differentially expressed proteins in alcohol-exposed human breast cancer T47D cells using gel-based proteomics analysis.

Genetic populations of Bacillus anthracis isolates from Korea.

Bacillus (B.) anthracis is the pathogen that causes fatal anthrax. Strain-specific detection of this bacterium using molecular approaches has enhanced our knowledge of microbial population genetics.