RESUMO
The African BioGenome Project (AfricaBP) Open Institute for Genomics and Bioinformatics aims to overcome barriers to capacity building through its distributed African regional workshops and prioritizes the exchange of grassroots knowledge and innovation in biodiversity genomics and bioinformatics. In 2023, we implemented 28 workshops on biodiversity genomics and bioinformatics, covering 11 African countries across the 5 African geographical regions. These regional workshops trained 408 African scientists in hands-on molecular biology, genomics and bioinformatics techniques as well as the ethical, legal and social issues associated with acquiring genetic resources. Here, we discuss the implementation of transformative strategies, such as expanding the regional workshop model of AfricaBP to involve multiple countries, institutions and partners, including the proposed creation of an African digital database with sequence information relating to both biodiversity and agriculture. This will ultimately help create a critical mass of skilled genomics and bioinformatics scientists across Africa.
Assuntos
Biologia Computacional , Genômica , Genômica/educação , Biologia Computacional/métodos , Biologia Computacional/educação , África , Humanos , BiodiversidadeRESUMO
Type IV pili are virulence factors in various bacteria. Several subclasses of type IV pili have been described according to the characteristics of the structural prepilin subunit. Although type IVa pili have been implicated in the virulence of Ralstonia solanacearum, type IVb pili have not previously been described in this plant pathogen. Here, we report the characterization of two distinct tad loci in the R. solanacearum genome. The tad genes encode functions necessary for biogenesis of the Flp subfamily of type IVb pili initially described for the periodontal pathogen Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans. To determine the role of the tad loci in R. solanacearum virulence, we mutated the tadA2 gene located in the megaplasmid that encodes a predicted NTPase previously reported to function as the energizer for Flp pilus biogenesis. Characterization of the tadA2 mutant revealed that it was not growth impaired in vitro or in planta, produced wild-type levels of exopolysaccharide galactosamine, and exhibited swimming and twitching motility comparable with the wild-type strain. However, the tadA2 mutant was impaired in its ability to cause wilting of potato plants. This is the first report where type IVb pili in a phytopathogenic bacterium contribute significantly to plant pathogenesis.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Fímbrias/metabolismo , Regulação Bacteriana da Expressão Gênica/fisiologia , Doenças das Plantas/microbiologia , Ralstonia solanacearum/patogenicidade , Solanum tuberosum , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Clonagem Molecular , Biologia Computacional , DNA Bacteriano/genética , Proteínas de Fímbrias/genética , Dados de Sequência Molecular , Mutação , Ralstonia solanacearum/metabolismo , Fatores de Tempo , VirulênciaRESUMO
Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) has developed several resistance mechanisms. The bacteria have been reported as origin of multiple outbreaks. This study aims to investigate the use of efflux pumps and quinolone resistance-associated genotypic mutations as mechanisms of resistance in A. baumannii isolates at a tertiary hospital. A total number of 103 A. baumannii isolates were investigated after identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing by VITEK2 followed by PCR amplification of bla OXA-51 . Conventional PCR amplification of the AdeABC efflux pump (adeB, adeS, and adeR) and quinolone (parC and gyrA) resistance genes were performed, followed by quantitative real-time PCR of AdeABC efflux pump genes. Phenotypic evaluation of efflux pump expression was performed by determining the difference between the MIC of tigecycline before and after exposure to an efflux pump inhibitor. The Sanger sequencing method was used to sequence the parC and gyrA amplicons. A phylogenetic tree was drawn using MEGA 4.0 to evaluate evolutionary relatedness of the strains. All the collected isolates were bla OXA-51 -positive. High resistance to almost all the tested antibiotics was observed. Efflux pump was found in 75% of isolates as a mechanism of resistance. The study detected parC gene mutation in 60% and gyrA gene mutation in 85%, while 37% of isolates had mutations on both genes. A minimal evolutionary distance between the isolates was reported. The use of the AdeABC efflux pump system as an active mechanism of resistance combined with point mutation mainly in gyrA was shown to contribute to broaden the resistance spectrum of A. baumannii isolates.