Oxidative Catabolism of (+)-Pinoresinol Is Initiated by an Unusual Flavocytochrome Encoded by Translationally Coupled Genes within a Cluster of (+)-Pinoresinol-Coinduced Genes in sp. Strain SG-MS2.

sp. strain SG-MS1 and sp. strain SG-MS2 have previously been found to mineralize (+)-pinoresinol through a common catabolic pathway.

Detoxification Genes Differ Between Cactus-, Fruit-, and Flower-Feeding Drosophila.

We use annotated genomes of 14 Drosophila species covering diverse host use phenotypes to test whether 4 gene families that often have detoxification functions are associated with host shifts among species. Bark, slime flux, flower, and generalist necrotic fruit-feeding species all have similar numbers of carboxyl/cholinesterase, glutathione S-transferase, cytochrome P450, and UDP-glucuronosyltransferase genes. However, species feeding on toxic Morinda citrifolia fruit and the fresh fruit-feeding Drosophila suzukii have about 30 and 60 more, respectively.

Phylogenetic and kinetic characterization of a suite of dehydrogenases from a newly isolated bacterium, strain SG61-1L, that catalyze the turnover of guaiacylglycerol-β-guaiacyl ether stereoisomers.

Lignin is a complex aromatic polymer found in plant cell walls that makes up 15 to 40% of plant biomass. The degradation of lignin substructures by bacteria is of emerging interest because it could provide renewable alternative feedstocks and intermediates for chemical manufacturing industries. We have isolated a bacterium, strain SG61-1L, that rapidly degrades all of the stereoisomers of one lignin substructure, guaiacylglycerol-β-guaiacyl ether (GGE), which contains a key β-O-4 linkage found in most intermonomer linkages in lignin.

Insights into Ongoing Evolution of the Hexachlorocyclohexane Catabolic Pathway from Comparative Genomics of Ten Sphingomonadaceae Strains.

Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), a synthetic organochloride, was first used as a broad-acre insecticide in the 1940s, and many HCH-degrading bacterial strains have been isolated from around the globe during the last 20 years. To date, the same degradation pathway (the lin pathway) has been implicated in all strains characterized, although the pathway has only been characterized intensively in two strains and for only a single HCH isomer. To further elucidate the evolution of the lin pathway, we have biochemically and genetically characterized three HCH-degrading strains from the Czech Republic and compared the genomes of these and seven other HCH-degrading bacterial strains.

Whole-genome expression analysis in the third instar larval midgut of Drosophila melanogaster.

Survival of insects on a substrate containing toxic substances such as plant secondary metabolites or insecticides is dependent on the metabolism or excretion of those xenobiotics. The primary sites of xenobiotic metabolism are the midgut, Malpighian tubules, and fat body. In general, gene expression in these organs is reported for the entire tissue by online databases, but several studies have shown that gene expression within the midgut is compartmentalized.

Identification of candidate odorant degrading gene/enzyme systems in the antennal transcriptome of Drosophila melanogaster.

The metabolism of volatile signal molecules by odorant degrading enzymes (ODEs) is crucial to the ongoing sensitivity and specificity of chemoreception in various insects, and a few specific esterases, cytochrome P450s, glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) and UDP-glycosyltransferases (UGTs) have previously been implicated in this process. Significant progress has been made in characterizing ODEs in Lepidoptera but very little is known about them in Diptera, including in Drosophila melanogaster, a major insect model. We have therefore carried out a transcriptomic analysis of the antennae of D.

Draft Genome Sequence of Pandoraea sp. Strain SD6-2, Isolated from Lindane-Contaminated Australian Soil.

Pandoraea sp. strain SD6-2 is a δ-hexachlorocyclohexane-degrading bacterial strain isolated from lindane-contaminated soil in Queensland, Australia. The genome of SD6-2 was sequenced to investigate its ability to degrade δ-hexachlorocyclohexane.

Draft Genome Sequence of Ralstonia sp. Strain GA3-3, Isolated from Australian Suburban Soil.

Ralstonia sp. strain GA3-3 is a hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH)-degrading bacterial strain isolated from suburban soil in Canberra, Australia. The genome of strain GA3-3 was sequenced to investigate its ability to degrade α-HCH.

Genome sequence of the newly isolated chemolithoautotrophic Bradyrhizobiaceae strain SG-6C.

Strain SG-6C (DSM 23264, CCM 7827) is a chemolithoautotrophic bacterium of the family Bradyrhizobiaceae. It can also grow heterotrophically under appropriate environmental conditions. Here we report the annotated genome sequence of this strain in a single 4.