Cross-Hemispheric Genetic Diversity and Spatial Genetic Structure of Reovirus 1 (CsRV1).

The movement of viruses in aquatic systems is rarely studied over large geographic scales. Oceanic currents, host migration, latitude-based variation in climate, and resulting changes in host life history are all potential drivers of virus connectivity, adaptation, and genetic structure. To expand our understanding of the genetic diversity of Callinectes sapidus reovirus 1 (CsRV1) across a broad spatial and host life history range of its blue crab host (), we obtained 22 complete and 96 partial genomic sequences for CsRV1 strains from the US Atlantic coast, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and the Atlantic coast of South America.

In Structural Glycobiology, Deuterium provides the Details.

In this issue of Structure, Gadjos et al. (2021b) determine the structure of a bacterial lectin in complex with L-fucose by neutron diffraction of both perdeuterated protein and carbohydrate ligand. The structure provides insight into lectin-ligand interactions, opening avenues for drug design targeting bacterial lectins for intervention in infectious disease.

Structural analysis of avibactam-mediated activation of the bla and mec divergons in methicillin-resistant .

Methicillin-resistant (MRSA) infections cause significant mortality and morbidity globally. MRSA resistance to β-lactam antibiotics is mediated by two divergons that control levels of a β-lactamase, PC1, and a penicillin-binding protein poorly acylated by β-lactam antibiotics, PBP2a. Expression of genes encoding these proteins is controlled by two integral membrane proteins, BlaR1 and MecR1, which both have an extracellular β-lactam-binding sensor domain.

Purification and Biochemical Characterization of Selected F-Type Lectins.

The purification of fucose-binding lectins from the liver of striped bass (Morone saxatilis), a teleost fish, and the identification of a novel lectin sequence motif led to the identification of a new family of lectins, the F-type lectins (FTLs) (see overview of the FTL family in Chapter 23 ). Isolation and purification of these proteins from liver extracts of striped bass was accomplished by affinity chromatography and size exclusion, and their identification as FTLs, by direct Edman sequencing, and protein, transcript, and gene sequence analysis. The development of specific antibodies against the M.

F-Type Lectins: Structure, Function, and Evolution.

F-type lectins (FTLs) are characterized by a fucose recognition domain (F-type lectin domain; FTLD) that displays a novel jellyroll fold ("F-type" fold) and unique carbohydrate- and calcium-binding sequence motifs. This novel lectin family comprises widely distributed proteins exhibiting single, double, or greater multiples of the FTLD, either tandemly arrayed or combined with other structurally and functionally distinct domains. Further, differences in carbohydrate specificity among tandemly arrayed FTLDs present in any FTL polypeptide subunit, together with the expression of multiple FTL isoforms in a single individual supports a striking diversity in ligand recognition.

Stp1 Loss of Function Promotes β-Lactam Resistance in Staphylococcus aureus That Is Independent of Classical Genes.

β-Lactam resistance in limits treatment options. Stp1 and Stk1, a serine-threonine phosphatase and kinase, respectively, mediate serine-threonine kinase (STK) signaling. Loss-of-function point mutations in were detected among laboratory-passaged β-lactam-resistant strains lacking and , the major determinants of β-lactam resistance in the bacteria.

Lacking catalase, a protistan parasite draws on its photosynthetic ancestry to complete an antioxidant repertoire with ascorbate peroxidase.

Background: Antioxidative enzymes contribute to a parasite's ability to counteract the host's intracellular killing mechanisms. The facultative intracellular oyster parasite, Perkinsus marinus, a sister taxon to dinoflagellates and apicomplexans, is responsible for mortalities of oysters along the Atlantic coast of North America. Parasite trophozoites enter molluscan hemocytes by subverting the phagocytic response while inhibiting the typical respiratory burst.

Exoplanet Biosignatures: A Framework for Their Assessment.

Finding life on exoplanets from telescopic observations is an ultimate goal of exoplanet science. Life produces gases and other substances, such as pigments, which can have distinct spectral or photometric signatures. Whether or not life is found with future data must be expressed with probabilities, requiring a framework of biosignature assessment.

Chaperonin of Group I: Oligomeric Spectrum and Biochemical and Biological Implications.

Chaperonins play various physiological roles and can also be pathogenic. Elucidation of their structure, e.g.

Survival of microbes in Earth's stratosphere.

The remarkable survival of microorganisms high above the surface of the Earth is of increasing interest. At stratospheric levels, multiple stressors including ultraviolet and ionizing radiation, low temperatures, hypobaric conditions, extreme desiccation, and nutrient scarcity are all significant challenges. Our understanding of which microorganisms are capable of tolerating such stressful conditions has been addressed by stratospheric sample collection and survival assays, through launching and recovery, and exposure to simulated conditions in the laboratory.

Tunicamycin induced endoplasmic reticulum stress promotes apoptosis of prostate cancer cells by activating mTORC1.

Studies suggest that tunicamycin may work as a therapeutic drug to cancer cells by inducing stress in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) through unfolded protein response (UPR) and thereby promoting apoptosis. However, mechanisms of the prolonged activation of the UPR under sustained ER stress in the regulation of cell apoptosis are largely unknown. To delineate the role of candidate genes in the apoptotic process under ER stress and to search for new therapeutic strategies to treat metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer, we performed whole genome expression microarray analysis in tunicamycin treated metastatic androgen-insensitive prostate cancer cells, PC-3.

Binding of a C-type lectin's coiled-coil domain to the Domeless receptor directly activates the JAK/STAT pathway in the shrimp immune response to bacterial infection.

C-type lectins (CTLs) are characterized by the presence of a C-type carbohydrate recognition domain (CTLD) that by recognizing microbial glycans, is responsible for their roles as pattern recognition receptors in the immune response to bacterial infection. In addition to the CTLD, however, some CTLs display additional domains that can carry out effector functions, such as the collagenous domain of the mannose-binding lectin. While in vertebrates, the mechanisms involved in these effector functions have been characterized in considerable detail, in invertebrates they remain poorly understood.

Functions of galectins as 'self/non-self'-recognition and effector factors.

Carbohydrate structures on the cell surface encode complex information that through specific recognition by carbohydrate-binding proteins (lectins) modulates interactions between cells, cells and the extracellular matrix, or mediates recognition of potential microbial pathogens. Galectins are a family of ß-galactoside-binding lectins, which are evolutionary conserved and have been identified in most organisms, from fungi to invertebrates and vertebrates, including mammals. Since their discovery in the 1970s, their biological roles, initially understood as limited to recognition of endogenous carbohydrate ligands in embryogenesis and development, have expanded in recent years by the discovery of their roles in tissue repair and regulation of immune homeostasis.

Microneedle-Assisted Skin Permeation by Nontoxic Bioengineerable Gas Vesicle Nanoparticles.

Gas vesicle nanoparticles (GVNPs) are hollow, buoyant protein organelles produced by the extremophilic microbe Halobacterium sp. NRC-1 and are being developed as bioengineerable and biocompatible antigen and drug-delivery systems (DDS). Dynamic light scattering measurements of purified GVNP suspensions showed a mean diameter of 245 nm.

Targeted Mutagenesis of the Hypophysiotropic Gnrh3 in Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Reveals No Effects on Reproductive Performance.

Gnrh is the major neuropeptide regulator of vertebrate reproduction, triggering a cascade of events in the pituitary-gonadal axis that result in reproductive competence. Previous research in mice and humans has demonstrated that Gnrh/GNRH null mutations result in hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and infertility. The goal of this study was to eliminate gnrh3 (the hypophysiotropic Gnrh form) function in zebrafish (Danio rerio) to determine how ontogeny and reproductive performance are affected, as well as factors downstream of Gnrh3 along the reproductive axis.

Lectin staining and Western blot data showing differential sialylation of nutrient-deprived cancer cells to sialic acid supplementation.

This report provides data that are specifically related to the differential sialylation of nutrient deprived breast cancer cells to sialic acid supplementation in support of the research article entitled, "Nutrient-deprived cancer cells preferentially use sialic acid to maintain cell surface glycosylation" [1]. Particularly, breast cancer cells, when supplemented with sialic acid under nutrient deprivation, display sialylated glycans at the cell surface, but non-malignant mammary cells show sialylated glycans intracellularly. The impact of sialic acid supplementation under nutrient deprivation was demonstrated by measuring levels of expression and sialylation of two markers, EGFR1 and MUC1.

Analysis of three genomes within the thermophilic bacterial species Caldanaerobacter subterraneus with a focus on carbon monoxide dehydrogenase evolution and hydrolase diversity.

Background: The Caldanaerobacter subterraneus species includes thermophilic fermentative bacteria able to grow on carbohydrates substrates with acetate and L-alanine as the main products. In this study, comprehensive analysis of three genomes of C. subterraneus subspecies was carried in order to identify genes encoding key metabolic enzymes and to document the genomic basis for the evolution of these organisms.

Galectins regulate the inflammatory response in airway epithelial cells exposed to microbial neuraminidase by modulating the expression of SOCS1 and RIG1.

Influenza patients frequently display increased susceptibility to Streptococcus pneumoniae co-infection and sepsis, the prevalent cause of mortality during influenza pandemics. However, the detailed mechanisms by which an influenza infection predisposes patients to suffer pneumococcal pneumonia are not fully understood. A murine model for influenza infection closely reflects the observations in human patients, since if the animals that have recovered from influenza A virus (IAV) sublethal infection are challenged with S.

Nutrient-deprived cancer cells preferentially use sialic acid to maintain cell surface glycosylation.

Cancer is characterized by abnormal energy metabolism shaped by nutrient deprivation that malignant cells experience during various stages of tumor development. This study investigated the response of nutrient-deprived cancer cells and their non-malignant counterparts to sialic acid supplementation and found that cells utilize negligible amounts of this sugar for energy. Instead cells use sialic acid to maintain cell surface glycosylation through complementary mechanisms.

Architecture of GnRH-Gonadotrope-Vasculature Reveals a Dual Mode of Gonadotropin Regulation in Fish.

The function and components of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis are conserved among vertebrates; however, in fish, a neuroglandular mode of delivery (direct contact between axons and endocrine cells) was considered dominant, whereas in tetrapods hypothalamic signals are relayed to their targets via the hypophysial portal blood system (neurovascular delivery mode). By using a transgenic zebrafish model we studied the functional and anatomical aspects of gonadotrope regulation thus revisiting the existing model. FSH cells were found to be situated close to the vasculature whereas the compact organization of LH cells prevented direct contact of all cells with the circulation.

Influence of tidal cycles on the endocrine control of reproductive activity in common snook (Centropomus undecimalis).

The aim of our study was to confirm the role of tidal pattern on the coordination of oocyte maturation and spawning in common snook Centropomus undecimalis. To do so, we studied oocyte maturation during the spawning season in relation to the tidal pattern in both males and females by means of histology and hormonal profiling along the pituitary-gonadal axis. Plasma LH levels, as well as transcript levels of gonadotropin genes (fshβ and lhβ) from the pituitaries of sexually mature male and female common snook were analyzed using a heterologous ELISA and quantitative RT-PCR, respectively.

Galectin CvGal2 from the Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) Displays Unique Specificity for ABH Blood Group Oligosaccharides and Differentially Recognizes Sympatric Perkinsus Species.

Galectins are highly conserved lectins that are key to multiple biological functions, including pathogen recognition and regulation of immune responses. We previously reported that CvGal1, a galectin expressed in phagocytic cells (hemocytes) of the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica), is hijacked by the parasite Perkinsus marinus to enter the host, where it causes systemic infection and death. Screening of an oyster hemocyte cDNA library revealed a novel galectin, which we designated CvGal2, with four tandemly arrayed carbohydrate recognition domains (CRDs).

Structural, functional, and evolutionary aspects of galectins in aquatic mollusks: From a sweet tooth to the Trojan horse.

Galectins constitute a conserved and widely distributed lectin family characterized by their binding affinity for β-galactosides and a unique binding site sequence motif in the carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD). In spite of their structural conservation, galectins display a remarkable functional diversity, by participating in developmental processes, cell adhesion and motility, regulation of immune homeostasis, and recognition of glycans on the surface of viruses, bacteria and protozoan parasites. In contrast with mammals, and other vertebrate and invertebrate taxa, the identification and characterization of bona fide galectins in aquatic mollusks has been relatively recent.