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1.
Insect Mol Biol ; 33(3): 185-194, 2024 Jun.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38251981

ABSTRACT

The hAT family transposable element, hopper, was originally discovered as a defective 3120-bp full-length element in a wild-type strain of the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae), and subsequently a functional 3131-bp element, hopperBdwe, was isolated from a white eye mutant strain. The latter study showed that closely related elements exist in melonfly, Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coquillett) (Diptera: Tephritidae), a closely related subgenus, suggesting that hopper could have a widespread presence in the Bactrocera genus. To further understand the distribution of hopper within and beyond the B. dorsalis species complex, primer pairs from hopperBdwe and its adjacent genomic insertion site were used to survey the presence and relatedness of hopper in five species within the complex and four species beyond the complex. Based on sequence identity of a 1.94 kb internal nucleotide sequence, the closest relationships were with mutated elements from B. dorsalis s.s. and species synonymized with B. dorsalis including B. papayae, B. philippinensis and B. invadens, ranging in identity between 88.4% and 99.5%. Notably, Bactrocera carambolae (Drew & Hancock) (Diptera: Tephritidae), which is most closely related to B. dorsalis beyond the synonymized species, shared hopper identities of 97.3%-99.5%. Beyond the B. dorsalis complex, Z. cucurbitae, Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt) (Diptera: Tephritidae) and Bactrocera zonata (Saunders) (Diptera: Tephritidae) shared identities of 83.1%-97.1%, while hopper was absent from the Bactrocera oleae (Gmelin) (Diptera: Tephritidae) strain tested. While the functional autonomous hopperBdwe element was not detected in these species, another closely related hopper element isolated from a B. dorsalis genetic sexing strain has an uninterrupted transposase open reading frame. The discontinuous presence of hopper in the Bactrocera genus has implications for its use for genomic manipulation and understanding the phylogenetic relationship of these species.


Subject(s)
DNA Transposable Elements , Phylogeny , Tephritidae , Animals , Tephritidae/genetics , Base Sequence , Molecular Sequence Data
2.
Sci Rep ; 14(1): 1924, 2024 01 22.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38253542

ABSTRACT

Here we describe a molecular approach to assess conspecific identity that relies on the comparison of an evolved mutated transposable element sequence and its genomic insertion site in individuals from closely related species. This was explored with the IFP2 piggyBac transposon, originally discovered in Trichoplusia ni as a 2472 bp functional element, that was subsequently found as mutated elements in seven species within the Bactrocera dorsalis species complex. In a B. dorsalis [Hendel] strain collected in Kahuku, Hawaii, a degenerate 2420 bp piggyBac sequence (pBacBd-Kah) having ~ 94.5% sequence identity to IFP2 was isolated, and it was reasoned that common species, or strains within species, should share the same evolved element and its precise genomic insertion site. To test this assumption, PCR using primers to pBacBd-Kah and adjacent genomic sequences was used to isolate and compare homologous sequences in strains of four sibling species within the complex. Three of these taxa, B. papayae, B. philippinensis, and B. invadens, were previously synonymized with B. dorsalis, and found to share nearly identical pBacBd-Kah homologous elements (> 99% nucleotide identity) within the identical insertion site consistent with conspecific species. The fourth species tested, B. carambolae, considered to be a closely related yet independent species sympatric with B. dorsalis, also shared the pBacBd-Kah sequence and insertion site in one strain from Suriname, while another divergent pBacBd-Kah derivative, closer in identity to IFP2, was found in individuals from French Guiana, Bangladesh and Malaysia. This data, along with the absence of pBacBd-Kah in distantly related Bactrocera, indicates that mutated descendants of piggyBac, as well as other invasive mobile elements, could be reliable genomic markers for common species identity.


Subject(s)
Tephritidae , Humans , Animals , Genetic Markers , Tephritidae/genetics , Bangladesh , DNA Primers
3.
J Food Sci Technol ; 61(2): 220-229, 2024 Feb.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38196715

ABSTRACT

Camel (Camelus dromedarius and (Camelus bactrianus) are commonly domesticated in the arid and semi-arid regions because they are well adapted to live in harsh climatic conditions. Camel milk is widely consumed in these regions due to its high nutritional value and medicinal properties. It is rich in protein, minerals and vitamins. Moreover, it possesses therapeutic properties such as anti-microbial, anti-oxidants, anti-viral and anti-cancer. Camel milk can be processed into value added products with the aim of extending shelf life and diversifying its usage. However, there are various challenges experienced in processing of camel milk products. This study aims at reviewing published literature on camel milk products processing, processing challenges, the available solutions and applications. To achieve these aims, literature search was carried out using narrative methodology. Literature review provided information concerning processing of camel milk products, the challenges, how to overcome these processing challenges and applications. From this review of literature on camel milk products it can be concluded that it's possible to process these products with some challenges but scientific and technological solutions are available that are improving over time.

4.
Laryngoscope ; 134(2): 741-748, 2024 Feb.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37540051

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To determine the utility of 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) fluorescence for resection of head and neck carcinoma. METHODS: In this prospective pilot trial, 5-ALA was administered as an oral suspension 3-5 h prior to induction of anesthesia for resection of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Following resection, 405 nm blue light was applied, and fluorescence of the tumor as well as the surgical bed was recorded. Specimen fluorescence intensity was graded categorically as none (score = 0), mild (1), moderate (2), or robust (3) by the operating surgeon intraoperatively and corroborated with final pathologic diagnosis. RESULTS: Seven patients underwent resection with 5-ALA. Five (83%) were male with an age range of 33-82 years (mean = 60). Sites included nasal cavity (n = 3), oral cavity (n = 3), and the larynx (n = 1). All specimens demonstrated robust fluorescence when 5-ALA was administered 3-5 h preoperatively. 5-ALA fluorescence predicted the presence of perineural invasion, a positive margin, and metastatic lymphadenopathy. Two patients had acute photosensitivity reactions, and one patient had a temporary elevation of hepatic enzymes. CONCLUSIONS: 5-ALA induces robust intraoperative fluorescence of HNSCC, capable of demonstrating a positive margin, perineural invasion, and metastatic nodal disease. Although no conclusions are there about the safety of this drug in the head and neck cancer population, our study parallels the extensive safety data in the neurosurgical literature. Future applications may include intraoperative assessment of margin status, diagnostic accuracy, and impacts on survival. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4 Laryngoscope, 134:741-748, 2024.


Subject(s)
Brain Neoplasms , Head and Neck Neoplasms , Surgery, Computer-Assisted , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Aminolevulinic Acid , Brain Neoplasms/pathology , Head and Neck Neoplasms/surgery , Margins of Excision , Prospective Studies , Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck/surgery , Pilot Projects
5.
Cell ; 187(1): 62-78.e20, 2024 01 04.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38096822

ABSTRACT

The microbiota influences intestinal health and physiology, yet the contributions of commensal protists to the gut environment have been largely overlooked. Here, we discover human- and rodent-associated parabasalid protists, revealing substantial diversity and prevalence in nonindustrialized human populations. Genomic and metabolomic analyses of murine parabasalids from the genus Tritrichomonas revealed species-level differences in excretion of the metabolite succinate, which results in distinct small intestinal immune responses. Metabolic differences between Tritrichomonas species also determine their ecological niche within the microbiota. By manipulating dietary fibers and developing in vitro protist culture, we show that different Tritrichomonas species prefer dietary polysaccharides or mucus glycans. These polysaccharide preferences drive trans-kingdom competition with specific commensal bacteria, which affects intestinal immunity in a diet-dependent manner. Our findings reveal unappreciated diversity in commensal parabasalids, elucidate differences in commensal protist metabolism, and suggest how dietary interventions could regulate their impact on gut health.


Subject(s)
Gastrointestinal Microbiome , Parabasalidea , Polysaccharides , Animals , Humans , Mice , Dietary Fiber , Intestine, Small/metabolism , Polysaccharides/metabolism , Parabasalidea/metabolism , Dietary Carbohydrates/metabolism , Biodiversity
6.
Phys Rev Lett ; 130(25): 251901, 2023 Jun 23.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37418716

ABSTRACT

We present measurements of the cross section and double-helicity asymmetry A_{LL} of direct-photon production in p[over →]+p[over →] collisions at sqrt[s]=510 GeV. The measurements have been performed at midrapidity (|η|<0.25) with the PHENIX detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. At relativistic energies, direct photons are dominantly produced from the initial quark-gluon hard scattering and do not interact via the strong force at leading order. Therefore, at sqrt[s]=510 GeV, where leading-order-effects dominate, these measurements provide clean and direct access to the gluon helicity in the polarized proton in the gluon-momentum-fraction range 0.02

Subject(s)
Food , Photons , Motion
7.
Genetica ; 151(3): 215-223, 2023 Jun.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37300797

ABSTRACT

The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a highly effective biologically-based method for the population suppression of highly invasive insect pests of medical and agricultural importance. The efficacy of SIT could be significantly enhanced, however, by improved methods of male sterilization that avoid the fitness costs of irradiation. An alternative sterilization method is possible by gene-editing that targets genes essential for sperm maturation and motility, rendering them nonfunctional, similar to the CRISPR-Cas9 targeting of ß2-tubulin in the genetic model system, Drosophila melanogaster. However, since genetic strategies for sterility are susceptible to breakdown or resistance in mass-reared populations, alternative targets for sterility are important for redundancy or strain replacement. Here we have identified and characterized the sequence and transcriptional expression of two genes in a Florida strain of Drosophila suzukii, that are cognates of the D. melanogaster spermatocyte-specific genes wampa and Prosalpha6T. Wampa encodes a coiled-coil dynein subunit required for axonemal assembly, and the proteasome subunit gene, Prosalpha6T, is required for spermatid individualization and nuclear maturation. The reading frames of these genes differed from their NCBI database entries derived from a D. suzukii California strain by 44 and 8 nucleotide substitutions/polymorphisms, respectively, though all substitutions were synonymous resulting in identical peptide sequences. Expression of both genes is predominant in the male testis, and they share similar transcriptional profiles in adult males with ß2-tubulin. Their amino acid sequences are highly conserved in dipteran species, including pest species subject to SIT control, supporting their potential use in targeted male sterilization strategies.


Subject(s)
Drosophila , Infertility , Animals , Male , Drosophila/genetics , Drosophila melanogaster/genetics , Tubulin/genetics , Semen , Spermatogenesis/genetics
8.
Front Robot AI ; 10: 1089062, 2023.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37122582

ABSTRACT

Intelligent robotic systems are becoming ever more present in our lives across a multitude of domains such as industry, transportation, agriculture, security, healthcare and even education. Such systems enable humans to focus on the interesting and sophisticated tasks while robots accomplish tasks that are either too tedious, routine or potentially dangerous for humans to do. Recent advances in perception technologies and accompanying hardware, mainly attributed to rapid advancements in the deep-learning ecosystem, enable the deployment of robotic systems equipped with onboard sensors as well as the computational power to perform autonomous reasoning and decision making online. While there has been significant progress in expanding the capabilities of single and multi-robot systems during the last decades across a multitude of domains and applications, there are still many promising areas for research that can advance the state of cooperative searching systems that employ multiple robots. In this article, several prospective avenues of research in teamwork cooperation with considerable potential for advancement of multi-robot search systems will be visited and discussed. In previous works we have shown that multi-agent search tasks can greatly benefit from intelligent cooperation between team members and can achieve performance close to the theoretical optimum. The techniques applied can be used in a variety of domains including planning against adversarial opponents, control of forest fires and coordinating search-and-rescue missions. The state-of-the-art on methods of multi-robot search across several selected domains of application is explained, highlighting the pros and cons of each method, providing an up-to-date view on the current state of the domains and their future challenges.

9.
Mol Cell ; 83(10): 1677-1692.e8, 2023 05 18.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37207626

ABSTRACT

PERIOD (PER) and Casein Kinase 1δ regulate circadian rhythms through a phosphoswitch that controls PER stability and repressive activity in the molecular clock. CK1δ phosphorylation of the familial advanced sleep phase (FASP) serine cluster embedded within the Casein Kinase 1 binding domain (CK1BD) of mammalian PER1/2 inhibits its activity on phosphodegrons to stabilize PER and extend circadian period. Here, we show that the phosphorylated FASP region (pFASP) of PER2 directly interacts with and inhibits CK1δ. Co-crystal structures in conjunction with molecular dynamics simulations reveal how pFASP phosphoserines dock into conserved anion binding sites near the active site of CK1δ. Limiting phosphorylation of the FASP serine cluster reduces product inhibition, decreasing PER2 stability and shortening circadian period in human cells. We found that Drosophila PER also regulates CK1δ via feedback inhibition through the phosphorylated PER-Short domain, revealing a conserved mechanism by which PER phosphorylation near the CK1BD regulates CK1 kinase activity.


Subject(s)
Circadian Clocks , Period Circadian Proteins , Animals , Humans , Phosphorylation , Feedback , Period Circadian Proteins/genetics , Period Circadian Proteins/metabolism , Casein Kinase I/genetics , Casein Kinase I/metabolism , Circadian Rhythm/genetics , Drosophila/metabolism , Serine/metabolism , Mammals/metabolism
10.
ISME Commun ; 3(1): 47, 2023 May 09.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37160952

ABSTRACT

Our understanding of in situ microbial physiology is primarily based on physiological characterization of fast-growing and readily-isolatable microbes. Microbial enrichments to obtain novel isolates with slower growth rates or physiologies adapted to low nutrient environments are plagued by intrinsic biases for fastest-growing species when using standard laboratory isolation protocols. New cultivation tools to minimize these biases and enrich for less well-studied taxa are needed. In this study, we developed a high-throughput bacterial enrichment platform based on single cell encapsulation and growth within double emulsions (GrowMiDE). We showed that GrowMiDE can cultivate many different microorganisms and enrich for underrepresented taxa that are never observed in traditional batch enrichments. For example, preventing dominance of the enrichment by fast-growing microbes due to nutrient privatization within the double emulsion droplets allowed cultivation of slower-growing Negativicutes and Methanobacteria from stool samples in rich media enrichment cultures. In competition experiments between growth rate and growth yield specialist strains, GrowMiDE enrichments prevented competition for shared nutrient pools and enriched for slower-growing but more efficient strains. Finally, we demonstrated the compatibility of GrowMiDE with commercial fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) to obtain isolates from GrowMiDE enrichments. Together, GrowMiDE + DE-FACS is a promising new high-throughput enrichment platform that can be easily applied to diverse microbial enrichments or screens.

11.
Sci Adv ; 9(19): eadf5336, 2023 05 10.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37163603

ABSTRACT

Ring-forming AAA+ chaperones solubilize protein aggregates and protect organisms from proteostatic stress. In metazoans, the AAA+ chaperone Skd3 in the mitochondrial intermembrane space (IMS) is critical for human health and efficiently refolds aggregated proteins, but its underlying mechanism is poorly understood. Here, we show that Skd3 harbors both disaggregase and protein refolding activities enabled by distinct assembly states. High-resolution structures of Skd3 hexamers in distinct conformations capture ratchet-like motions that mediate substrate extraction. Unlike previously described disaggregases, Skd3 hexamers further assemble into dodecameric cages in which solubilized substrate proteins can attain near-native states. Skd3 mutants defective in dodecamer assembly retain disaggregase activity but are impaired in client refolding, linking the disaggregase and refolding activities to the hexameric and dodecameric states of Skd3, respectively. We suggest that Skd3 is a combined disaggregase and foldase, and this property is particularly suited to meet the complex proteostatic demands in the mitochondrial IMS.


Subject(s)
Molecular Chaperones , Animals , Humans , Molecular Chaperones/metabolism , Protein Refolding
12.
ChemSusChem ; 16(11): e202202345, 2023 Jun 09.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36861656

ABSTRACT

Unprecedented increase in atmospheric CO2 levels calls for efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective technologies for CO2 removal, including both capture and conversion approaches. Current CO2 abatement is largely based on energy-intensive thermal processes with a high degree of inflexibility. In this Perspective, it is argued that future CO2 technologies will follow the general societal trend towards electrified systems. This transition is largely promoted by decreasing electricity prices, continuous expansion of renewable energy infrastructure, and breakthroughs in carbon electrotechnologies, such as electrochemically modulated amine regeneration, redox-active quinones and other species, and microbial electrosynthesis. In addition, new initiatives make electrochemical carbon capture an integrated part of Power-to-X applications, for example, by linking it to H2 production. Selected electrochemical technologies crucial for a future sustainable society are reviewed. However, significant further development of these technologies within the next decade is needed, to meet the ambitious climate goals.


Subject(s)
Carbon Dioxide , Electricity , Electrochemistry , Carbon Dioxide/chemistry , Oxidation-Reduction , Carbon
13.
JAC Antimicrob Resist ; 5(2): dlad029, 2023 Apr.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36999091

ABSTRACT

Objectives: The aim of this study was to characterize an unusual case of spontaneous, community-acquired Escherichia coli meningitis in an adult presenting to a general hospital in Kenya, where initial clinical recovery was followed by reinfection with an MDR, hospital-acquired strain. Patient and methods: An adult presented to a hospital in Kenya with meningitis symptoms. E. coli was cultured from CSF. Treatment with ceftriaxone was successful; however, the patient relapsed a few days later. E. coli was cultured from CSF and blood during the reinfection episode, though the patient died during admission. We sequenced the isolates using Illumina MiSeq and performed antimicrobial susceptibility testing, fitness and virulence assays on the bacteria. Results: The E. coli isolates from the two episodes were found to be distinct: the initial strain was ST88, serotype O8 H17 while the subsequent episode was caused by an ST167, serotype O101 H5 MDR strain. The ST88 strain was susceptible to all drugs except ampicillin and amoxicillin/clavulanate while the ST167 strain was MDR, including to all ß-lactam drugs due to the presence of the carbapenemase gene bla NDM-5. The hospital-acquired ST167 strain was also resistant to newer drugs such as cefiderocol and eravacycline, which are currently not available locally, and had overall lower fitness and virulence in vitro compared with the initial infecting strain. Conclusions: Though less fit and virulent in vitro, the MDR strain was fatal, suggesting that host factors, rather than bacterial virulence, may have been of greater importance in this patient's outcome.

14.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36231301

ABSTRACT

Cultural practices and development level can influence a population's household structures and mixing patterns. Within some populations, households can be organized across multiple dwellings. This likely affects the spread of infectious disease through these communities; however, current demographic data collection tools do not record these data. METHODS: Between June and October 2018, the Contact And Mobility Patterns in remote Aboriginal Australian communities (CAMP-remote) pilot study recruited Aboriginal mothers with infants in a remote northern Australian community to complete a monthly iPad-based contact survey. RESULTS: Thirteen mother-infant pairs (participants) completed 69 study visits between recruitment and the end of May 2019. Participants reported they and their other children slept in 28 dwellings during the study. The median dwelling occupancy, defined as people sleeping in the same dwelling on the previous night, was ten (range: 3.5-25). Participants who completed at least three responses (n = 8) slept in a median of three dwellings (range: 2-9). Each month, a median of 28% (range: 0-63%) of the participants travelled out of the community. Including these data in disease transmission models amplified estimates of infectious disease spread in the study community, compared to models parameterized using census data. CONCLUSIONS: The lack of data on mixing patterns in populations where households can be organized across dwellings may impact the accuracy of infectious disease models for these communities and the efficacy of public health actions they inform.


Subject(s)
Family Characteristics , Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander , Australia/epidemiology , Child , Female , Humans , Indigenous Peoples , Infant , Pilot Projects
15.
Environ Sci Technol ; 56(22): 16073-16081, 2022 11 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36260660

ABSTRACT

Microbial electrosynthesis (MES) of acetate is a process using electrical energy to reduce CO2 to acetic acid in an integrated bioelectrochemical system. MES powered by excess renewable electricity produces carbon-neutral acetate while benefitting from inexpensive but intermittent energy sources. Interruptions in electricity supply also cause energy limitation and starvation of the microbial cells performing MES. Here, we studied the effect of intermittent electricity supply on the performance of hydrogen-mediated MES of acetate. Thermoanaerobacter kivui produced acetic acid for more than 4 months from intermittent electricity supplied in 12 h on-off cycles in a semicontinuously-fed MES system. After current interruptions, hydrogen utilization and acetate synthesis rates were severely diminished. They did not recover to the steady-state rates of continuous MES within the 12 h current-on period under most conditions. Accumulating high product (acetate) concentration exacerbated this effect and prolonged recovery. However, supply of a low background current of 1-5% of the maximum current during "off-times" reduced the impact of current interruptions on subsequent MES performance. This study presents sustained MES at a rate of up to 2 mM h-1 acetate at an average concentration of 60-90 mM by a pure thermophilic microbial culture powered by intermittent electricity. We identified product inhibition of accumulating acetic acid as a key challenge to improving the efficiency of intermittently powered MES.


Subject(s)
Carbon Dioxide , Electricity , Electrodes , Hydrogen , Acetic Acid
16.
FEMS Microbiol Ecol ; 98(9)2022 08 25.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35977399

ABSTRACT

Algal-bacterial interactions provide clues to algal physiology, but mutualistic interactions are complicated by dynamic exchange. We characterized the response of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to the presence of a putative alga-benefitting commensal bacterium (Arthrobacter strain 'P2b'). Co-cultivation promoted chlorophyll content, biomass, average cell size, and number of dividing cells, relative to axenic cultures. Addition of bacterial spent medium (whole, size-fractionated and heat-treated) had similar effects, indicating P2b does not require algal interaction to promote growth. Nutrients and pH were excluded as putative effectors, collectively indicating a commensal interaction mediated by Arthrobacter-released small exometabolite(s). Proteogenomic comparison revealed similar response to co-cultivation and spent media, including differential cell cycle regulation, extensive downregulation of flagellar genes and histones, carbonic anhydrase and RubisCO downregulation, upregulation of some chlorophyll, amino acid and carbohydrate biosynthesis genes, and changes to redox and Fe homeostasis. Further, Arthrobacter protein expression indicated some highly expressed putative secondary metabolites. Together, these results revealed that low molecular weight bacterial metabolites can elicit major physiological changes in algal cell cycle regulation, perhaps through a more productive G1 phase, that lead to substantial increases in photosynthetically-produced biomass. This work illustrates that model commensal interactions can be used to shed light on algal response to stimulating bacteria.


Subject(s)
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii , Chlamydomonas , Bacteria , Cell Cycle , Chlamydomonas reinhardtii/genetics , Chlamydomonas reinhardtii/metabolism , Chlorophyll/metabolism
17.
Pathogens ; 11(8)2022 Aug 04.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36015002

ABSTRACT

Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) remains a major diagnostic and treatment challenge in feline medicine. An ineffective immune response is an important component of FIP pathophysiology; hence treatment with an immune stimulant such as Polyprenyl Immunostimulant™ (PI), which enhances cell-mediated immunity by upregulating the innate immune response via Toll-like receptors, is a rational approach. Records of cats with FIP treated with PI orally for over 365 days were retrospectively studied. Of these cats (n = 174), records were obtained for n = 103 cats with appropriate clinical signs and clinical pathology. Of these, n = 29 had FIP confirmed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) or reverse transcription polymerase-chain-reaction (RT-PCR). Most of the cats (25/29; 86%) had non-effusive FIP, and only 4/29 cats (14%) had effusive FIP. The mean survival time (MST) was 2927 days (eight years); with 55% of the cats (16/29) still being alive at the time data collection, and 45% (13/29) having died. A persistently low hematocrit plus low albumin:globulin (A:G) ratio, despite treatment, was a negative prognostic indicator. It took a mean of ~182 days and ~375 days, respectively, for anemia and low A:G ratio to resolve in the cats that presented with these laboratory changes. This study shows that PI is beneficial in the treatment of FIP, and more studies are needed to establish the best protocols of use.

18.
Entropy (Basel) ; 24(7)2022 Jun 30.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35885140

ABSTRACT

We study the collective motion of autonomous mobile agents in a ringlike environment. The agents' dynamics are inspired by known laboratory experiments on the dynamics of locust swarms. In these experiments, locusts placed at arbitrary locations and initial orientations on a ring-shaped arena are observed to eventually all march in the same direction. In this work we ask whether, and how fast, a similar phenomenon occurs in a stochastic swarm of simple locust-inspired agents. The agents are randomly initiated as marching either clockwise or counterclockwise on a discretized, wide ring-shaped region, which we subdivide into k concentric tracks of length n. Collisions cause agents to change their direction of motion. To avoid this, agents may decide to switch tracks to merge with platoons of agents marching in their direction. We prove that such agents must eventually converge to a local consensus about their direction of motion, meaning that all agents on each narrow track must eventually march in the same direction. We give asymptotic bounds for the expected time it takes for such convergence or "stabilization" to occur, which depends on the number of agents, the length of the tracks, and the number of tracks. We show that when agents also have a small probability of "erratic", random track-jumping behavior, a global consensus on the direction of motion across all tracks will eventually be reached. Finally, we verify our theoretical findings in numerical simulations.

19.
Nat Struct Mol Biol ; 29(8): 759-766, 2022 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35864165

ABSTRACT

The AAA+ family member KaiC is the central pacemaker for circadian rhythms in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus. Composed of two hexameric rings of adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) domains with tightly coupled activities, KaiC undergoes a cycle of autophosphorylation and autodephosphorylation on its C-terminal (CII) domain that restricts binding of clock proteins on its N-terminal (CI) domain to the evening. Here, we use cryogenic-electron microscopy to investigate how daytime and nighttime states of CII regulate KaiB binding on CI. We find that the CII hexamer is destabilized during the day but takes on a rigidified C2-symmetric state at night, concomitant with ring-ring compression. Residues at the CI-CII interface are required for phospho-dependent KaiB association, coupling ATPase activity on CI to cooperative KaiB recruitment. Together, these studies clarify a key step in the regulation of cyanobacterial circadian rhythms by KaiC phosphorylation.


Subject(s)
Circadian Clocks , Synechococcus , Adenosine Triphosphatases/metabolism , Bacterial Proteins/chemistry , CLOCK Proteins/metabolism , Circadian Rhythm , Circadian Rhythm Signaling Peptides and Proteins/genetics , Circadian Rhythm Signaling Peptides and Proteins/metabolism , Phosphorylation , Synechococcus/metabolism
20.
ISME J ; 16(10): 2313-2319, 2022 10.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35780255

ABSTRACT

Catabolic and anabolic processes are finely coordinated in microorganisms to provide optimized fitness under varying environmental conditions. Understanding this coordination and the resulting physiological traits reveals fundamental strategies of microbial acclimation. Here, we characterized the system-level physiology of Methanococcus maripaludis, a niche-specialized methanogenic archaeon, at different dilution rates ranging from 0.09 to 0.003 h-1 in chemostat experiments under phosphate (i.e., anabolic) limitation. Phosphate was supplied as the limiting nutrient, while formate was supplied in excess as the catabolic substrate and carbon source. We observed a decoupling of catabolism and anabolism resulting in lower biomass yield relative to catabolically limited cells at the same dilution rates. In addition, the mass abundance of several coarse-grained proteome sectors (i.e., combined abundance of proteins grouped based on their function) exhibited a linear relationship with growth rate, mostly ribosomes and their biogenesis. Accordingly, cellular RNA content also correlated with growth rate. Although the methanogenesis proteome sector was invariant, the metabolic capacity for methanogenesis, measured as methane production rates immediately after transfer to batch culture, correlated with growth rate suggesting translationally independent regulation that allows cells to only increase catabolic activity under growth-permissible conditions. These observations are in stark contrast to the physiology of M. maripaludis under formate (i.e., catabolic) limitation, where cells keep an invariant proteome including ribosomal content and a high methanogenesis capacity across a wide range of growth rates. Our findings reveal that M. maripaludis employs fundamentally different strategies to coordinate global physiology during anabolic phosphate and catabolic formate limitation.


Subject(s)
Methanococcus , Phosphates , Archaea/genetics , Carbon/metabolism , Formates/metabolism , Hydrogen/metabolism , Methane/metabolism , Methanococcus/metabolism , Phosphates/metabolism , Proteome/metabolism , RNA
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