Benchmark dose estimation for cadmium-induced renal tubular damage among environmental cadmium-exposed women aged 35-54 years in two counties of China.

Background: A number of factors, including gender, age, smoking habits, and occupational exposure, affect the levels of urinary cadmium. Few studies have considered these influences when calculating the benchmark dose (BMD) of cadmium. In the present study, we aimed to calculate BMDs and their 95% lower confidence bounds (BMDLs) for cadmium-induced renal tubular effects in an age-specific population in south-central China.

Application of BMD approach to identify thresholds of cadmium-induced renal effect among 35 to 55 year-old women in two cadmium polluted counties in China.

Background: Cadmium (Cd) is a heavy metal that can cause renal tubular dysfunction in humans. Women are among the high-risk group for Cd health effects. Determining the thresholds of Cd-induced renal effects is important.

Global fitness profiling of fission yeast deletion strains by barcode sequencing.

A genome-wide deletion library is a powerful tool for probing gene functions and one has recently become available for the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Here we use deep sequencing to accurately characterize the barcode sequences in the deletion library, thus enabling the quantitative measurement of the fitness of fission yeast deletion strains by barcode sequencing.

Associations among rhizobial chromosomal background, nod genes, and host plants based on the analysis of symbiosis of indigenous rhizobia and wild legumes native to Xinjiang.

The associations among rhizobia chromosomal background, nodulation genes, legume plants, and geographical regions are very attractive but still unclear. To address this question, we analyzed the interactions among rhizobia rDNA genotypes, nodC genotypes, legume genera, as well as geographical regions in the present study. Complex relationships were observed among them, which may be the genuine nature of their associations.

Rhizobium fabae sp. nov., a bacterium that nodulates Vicia faba.

Six strains were isolated from root nodules of Vicia faba grown in Nanchang, Yifeng, Taihu, Huaibei, Bengbu and Lujiang, in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. According to phylogenetic analyses of 16S rRNA gene, atpD and recA sequences, these strains belong to the genus Rhizobium, with Rhizobium etli and Rhizobium leguminosarum as the closest related species. CCBAU 33202(T), a representative of these novel isolates, showed sequence similarity to its closest relatives R.

Mesorhizobium gobiense sp. nov. and Mesorhizobium tarimense sp. nov., isolated from wild legumes growing in desert soils of Xinjiang, China.

Twenty-four Mesorhizobium strains were isolated from desert soils in the Xinjiang region of China and were characterized by a polyphasic approach. These strains grouped into three clusters in IGS-RFLP, SDS-PAGE analysis of whole-cell proteins and BOX-PCR analysis, corresponding to genomic species V, VI and VII as found in a previous study. The results were supported by sequencing analyses of rrs, IGS, atpD and recA genes.

Molecular diversity and phylogeny of rhizobia associated with wild legumes native to Xinjiang, China.

A total of 111 rhizobial strains were isolated from wild legumes in Xinjiang, an isolated region of northwest China. Nine genomic species belonging to four genera of Rhizobium, Mesorhizobium, Ensifer, and Bradyrhizobium were defined among these strains based on the characterization of amplified 16S ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA), restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of 16S-23S rDNA intergenic spacers (IGS), 16S rRNA gene sequencing and multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA). Twenty-five nodC types corresponding to eight phylogenetic clades were divided by RFLP and sequence analysis of the PCR-amplified nodC gene.

Rhizobium multihospitium sp. nov., isolated from multiple legume species native of Xinjiang, China.

Thirty-one rhizobial strains isolated from nodules of legumes native of Xinjiang, China, were characterized. These strains were classified as belonging to the genus Rhizobium based on amplified 16S rDNA restriction analysis (ARDRA). The strains were distinguished from recognized Rhizobium species using analysis of 16S-23S rDNA intergenic spacers (IGS-RFLP), SDS-PAGE analysis of whole proteins and BOX-PCR; the test strains always formed a distinct cluster with patterns that were quite different from those of the reference rhizobial strains used.

Shinella kummerowiae sp. nov., a symbiotic bacterium isolated from root nodules of the herbal legume Kummerowia stipulacea.

Bacterial strain CCBAU 25048(T) was isolated from root nodules of Kummerowia stipulacea grown in Shandong province of China. Cells of the strain were Gram-negative, strictly aerobic, non-spore-forming, motile short rods. Phylogeny of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the strain belonged to the genus Shinella, a member of family Rhizobiaceae.

Rhizobium miluonense sp. nov., a symbiotic bacterium isolated from Lespedeza root nodules.

Seventeen strains of lespedeza rhizobia, a previously defined novel group, were further characterized by comparison with phylogenetically related species using a polyphasic approach, including SDS-PAGE of whole-cell proteins, PCR-based restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of ribosomal intergenic spacer sequences, determination of DNA G+C contents, DNA-DNA hybridization and analysis of phenotypic features. Based on data obtained in the present and previous studies, a novel species, Rhizobium miluonense sp. nov.

Genetic diversity of rhizobia associated with Vicia faba in three ecological regions of China.

Great genetic diversity was revealed among 75 rhizobal isolates associated with Vicia faba grown in Chinese fields with AFLP, ARDRA, 16S rDNA sequencing, DNA-DNA hybridization, BOX-PCR and RFLP of PCR-amplified nodD and nodC. Most of the isolates were Rhizobium leguminosarum, and six isolates belonged to an unnamed Rhizobium species. In the homogeneity analysis, the isolates were grouped into three clusters corresponding to (1) autumn sowing (subtropical) region where the winter ecotype of V.