Solvolysis of 2'-deoxyribonucleosides and oligo-2'-deoxyribonucleotides in aqueous pyrrolidine or ammonia solutions.

To assess the feasibility of high-temperature aminolysis of deoxyribooligonucleotides containing rare bases as a method to determine their base sequence, the 2'-ß-D-deoxyribosides of 5-bromouracil, 2-aminopurine, uracil, adenine, cytosine, 5-methylcytosine, hypoxanthine, N6-methyladenine, N4-ethylcytosine, and guanine were compared as to their rate of degradation in 0.5 M aqueous pyrrolidine at 110 °C, conditions used earlier in the analysis of oligonucleotides containing only the canonical bases. The reaction mixtures were analyzed by chromatography on Zorbax XDB-CN and UV absorption spectroscopy. The first-order rate constants for the nucleoside degradations decreased in the above order, spanning a wide range of reactivities. Some of these nucleosides were also tested in 0.5 M aqueous ammonia at 110 °C, giving similar first-order rate constants, except for 2'-deoxyguanosine, which is much more reactive with ammonia, due to the lower basicity of this reagent, leaving a larger proportion of the nucleoside in the non-ionized form, susceptible to nucleophilic attack at the base. Short oligothymidylates containing a single 2-aminopurine, adenine, guanine, or cytosine unit in central position were tested in pyrrolidinolysis, to determine the cleavage rates at these sites and the dependence of these cleavage rates on oligonucleotide length. A model decadeoxyribonucleotide containing all four canonical bases was also pyrrolidinolyzed, followed by ion-exchange chromatography, to deduce the nucleotide sequence from the resulting chromatographic profile.

Residue interactions affecting the deprotonation of internal guanine moieties in oligodeoxyribonucleotides, calculated by FMO methods.

The effect of vicinal molecular groups on the intrinsic acidity of a central guanine residue in short single-stranded DNA models and the potentials exerted by the backbone and the nucleobases on the leaving proton were determined by the fragment molecular orbital (FMO) method, in terms of quantum descriptors (QDs) and pair interaction interfragment decomposition analysis (PIEDA). The acidity of the central guanine moiety decreased with increasing oligonucleotide length, in response to changes by less than 1 eV in the ionization potential, global softness, electrophilicity index, and electronegativity descriptors. The differences in these descriptors were majorly interpreted in terms of the electrostatic influence of the negative charges residing on the backbone of the molecule. Additionally, this electric-field effect was determined explicitly for the displacement of the test hydronium ion to a distance of 250 Å from its original position, resulting in good agreement with calculations of the variation in Gibbs free energies, obtained from physical experiments conducted on the identical oligonucleotide sequences. The reported results are useful for biophysical applications of deoxyriboligonucleotides containing guanine residues in order to induce local negative charges at specific positions in the DNA chain.

Nanosilver gel as an endodontic alternative against Enterococcus faecalis in an in vitro root canal system in Mexican dental specimens.

Nanotechnology has become a research area with promising results for technological innovation. Endodontics can benefit from this field of research by increasing the success rate of the treatment, which currently ranges between 86% and 98% and has varied very little over the years. One of the causes of endodontic treatment failure is based on the presence of Enterococcus faecalis. The objective of this investigation is to evaluate the antibacterial effect of a gel preparation containing silver nanoparticles (Ag-NP) against E. faecalis present in the walls of the root canal. 60 extracted human uniradicular teeth that were instrumented with Wave One Gold (Denstplay/USA) and subsequently contaminated with Enterococcus faecalis. For antibacterial evaluation, intra-canal conducting was placed, and several groups were formed: a) Ag-NP 300 ug/MI gel; b) Ag-NP 500 ug/MI gel; c) Ca (OH) 2 (Ultracal from Ultradent/USA) and the control group. They were incubated at 37°C and a sample was taken every 24 h for 7 days. The Ag-NP gel showed antimicrobial activity against E. faecalis with a value of minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration of 300 g/ml and 900 g/ml, respectively. When the Ag-NP gel was used as an intra-canal conducting drug in an in-vitro model, its antimicrobial effect at 300 g/ml and 500 g/ml was equivalent to the action of Ca(OH)2.

czcD gene from Bacillus megaterium and Microbacterium liquefaciens as a potential nickel-vanadium soil pollution biomarker.

Metals are among the most prevalent pollutants released into the environment. For these reasons, the use of biomarkers for environmental monitoring of individuals and populations exposed to metal pollution has gained considerable attention, offering fast and sensitive detection of chemical stress in organisms. There are different metal resistance genes in bacteria that can be used as biomarkers, including cation diffusion facilitators carrying metal ions; the prototype is the cobalt-zinc-cadmium transporter (czcD). The present study reports the expression changes in the czcD gene in Bacillus megaterium and Microbacterium liquefaciens under nickel and vanadium exposure by real-time polymerase chain reaction. The nickel-vanadium-resistant strains of B. megaterium and M. liquefaciens used in this study were isolated from mine tailings in Guanajuato, Mexico. The czcD gene showed high expression under exposure to 200 ppm of Ni and 200 ppm of V during the logarithmic growth phase of M. liquefaciens in PHGII liquid media. In contrast, no changes were observed in B. megaterium during logarithmic and stationary growth, perhaps due to the gene having differential expression during the growth phases. The expression profiles obtained for czcD show the possibility of using this gene from M. liquefaciens as a biomarker of nickel and vanadium pollution in microorganisms.

High-temperature solvolysis of 2'-deoxyribonucleosides in aqueous amine solutions.

Degradation of 2'-deoxyribonucleosides in 0.5 M aqueous pyrrolidine at 110 °C proceeds at different rates, ordered as deoxyuridine > deoxyadenosine > deoxycytidine > deoxyguanosine ≫ deoxythymidine. Deoxyadenosine degradation produces the free base, adenine, while deoxycytidine by deamination produces deoxyuridine, and then uracil. The solvolysis of deoxyadenosine has an activation energy of 23.3 kcal/mol. Ammonolysis is slower than pyrrolidinolysis for deoxyadenosine, but faster for deoxyguanosine. In pyrrolidinolysis of the trinucleotides, d-TGT and d-TAT, the guanine moiety reacts faster than the adenine moiety. These trends are interpreted in terms of the ionization of the guanine moieties under basic conditions, rendering them less susceptible to nucleophilic attack.

Protonation of Nucleobases in Single- and Double-Stranded DNA.

Single-stranded model oligodeoxyribonucleotides, each containing a single protonatable base-cytosine, adenine, guanine, or 5-methylcytosine-centrally located in a background of non-protonatable thymine residues, were acid-titrated in aqueous solution, with UV monitoring. The basicity of the central base was shown to depend on the type of the central base and its nearest neighbours and to rise with increasing oligonucleotide length and decreasing ionic strength of the solution. More complex model oligonucleotides, each containing a centrally located 5-methylcytosine base, were comparatively evaluated in single-stranded and double-stranded form, by UV spectroscopy and high-field NMR. The N3 protonation of the 5-methylcytosine moiety in the double-stranded case occurred at much lower pH, at which the duplex was already experiencing general dissociation, than in the single-stranded case. The central guanine:5-methylcytosine base pair remained intact up to this point, possibly due to an unusual alternative protonation on O2 of the 5-methylcytosine moiety, already taking place at neutral or weakly basic pH, as indicated by UV spectroscopy, thus suggesting that 5-methylcytosine sites in double-stranded DNA might be protonated to a significant extent under physiological conditions.

Use of alternative alkali chlorides in RT and PCR of polynucleotides containing G quadruplex structures.

Several alkali chlorides were compared for their use in reverse transcription (RT) and PCR of different types of nucleic acid templates. On a test region of biological DNA incapable of forming G quadruplex (G4) structures, Taq DNA polymerase showed similar PCR performance with 50 mM KCl, CsCl, LiCl, and NaCl. In contrast, on a synthetic model polydeoxyribonucleotide prone to G4 formation, good PCR amplification was obtained with 50 mM CsCl, but little or none with LiCl or KCl. Similarly, in RT of a G4-prone model polyribonucleotide, MMLV reverse transcriptase produced a good yield with 50 mM CsCl, mediocre yields with LiCl or without added alkali chloride, and a poor yield with 50 mM KCl. The full RT-PCR assay starting from the G4-prone polyribonucleotide, showed good results with CsCl in both stages, poor results with LiCl, and no product formation with KCl. The model polynucleotides showed fast G quadruplex formation under PCR or RT conditions with 50 mM KCl, but not with CsCl or LiCl. The results argue for the use of CsCl instead of KCl for RT and PCR of G4-prone sequences. No advantage was observed when using the 7-deaza type nucleotide analog c7dGTP in PCR amplification of the G4-prone polydeoxyribonucleotide.

Expression Changes in Metal-Resistance Genes in Microbacterium liquefaciens Under Nickel and Vanadium Exposure.

Microbacterium liquefaciens MNSH2-PHGII-2 is a nickel-vanadium-resistant bacterium isolated from mine tailings located in Guanajuato, Mexico. In PHGII liquid media, M. liquefaciens has the ability to remove 29.5 ppm of Ni and 168.3 ppm of V. The present study reports, for the first time in M. liquefaciens, the presence of the genes nccA (Ni-Co-Cd resistance), hant (high-affinity nickel transporter), smtA, a metal-binding protein gene, and VAN2 (V resistance), which showed an increased expression under exposure to 200 ppm of Ni and 200 ppm of V during the logarithmic growth phase of the microorganism in PHGII liquid media. Data about the expression profile of genes conferring metal resistance to M. liquefaciens can improve the knowledge of those mechanisms involved in the processes of Ni-V resistance and probably in Ni-V removal processes. Based on our data, we can suggest that M. liquefaciens has the potential to be used in the biological treatment of toxic wastes with high Ni and V content.

PCR amplification of GC-rich DNA regions using the nucleotide analog N4-methyl-2'-deoxycytidine 5'-triphosphate.

GC-rich DNA regions were PCR-amplified with Taq DNA polymerase using either the canonical set of deoxynucleoside triphosphates or mixtures in which the dCTP had been partially or completely replaced by its N4-methylated analog, N4-methyl-2'-deoxycytidine 5'-triphosphate (N4me-dCTP). In the case of a particularly GC-rich region (78.9% GC), the PCR mixtures containing N4me-dCTP produced the expected amplicon in high yield, while mixtures containing the canonical set of nucleotides produced numerous alternative amplicons. For another GC-rich DNA region (80.6% GC), the target amplicon was only generated by re-amplifying a gel-purified sample of the original amplicon with N4me-dCTP-containing PCR mixtures. In a direct PCR comparison on a highly GC-rich template, mixtures containing N4me-dCTP clearly performed better than did solutions containing the canonical set of nucleotides mixed with various organic additives (DMSO, betaine, or ethylene glycol) that have been reported to resolve or alleviate problems caused by secondary structures in the DNA. This nucleotide analog was also tested in PCR amplification of DNA regions with intermediate GC content, producing the expected amplicon in each case with a melting temperature (Tm) clearly below the Tm of the same amplicon synthesized exclusively with the canonical bases.

Identification of Bacillus megaterium and Microbacterium liquefaciens genes involved in metal resistance and metal removal.

Bacillus megaterium MNSH1-9K-1 and Microbacterium liquefaciens MNSH2-PHGII-2, 2 nickel- and vanadium-resistant bacteria from mine tailings located in Guanajuato, Mexico, are shown to have the ability to remove 33.1% and 17.8% of Ni, respectively, and 50.8% and 14.0% of V, respectively, from spent petrochemical catalysts containing 428 ± 30 mg·kg(-1) Ni and 2165 ± 77 mg·kg(-1) V. In these strains, several Ni resistance determinants were detected by conventional PCR. The nccA (nickel-cobalt-cadmium resistance) was found for the first time in B. megaterium. In M. liquefaciens, the above gene as well as the czcD gene (cobalt-zinc-cadmium resistance) and a high-affinity nickel transporter were detected for the first time. This study characterizes the resistance of M. liquefaciens and B. megaterium to Ni through the expression of genes conferring metal resistance.

Expression Analysis of Ni- and V-Associated Resistance Genes in a Bacillus megaterium Strain Isolated from a Mining Site.

Bacillus megaterium strain MNSH1-9K-1 was isolated from a mining site in Guanajuato, Mexico. This B. megaterium strain presented the ability to remove Ni and V from a spent catalyst. Also, its associated metal resistance genes nccA, hant, VAN2, and smtAB were previously identified by a PCR approach. The present study reports for the first time, in B. megaterium, the changes in the expression of the genes nccA (Ni-Co-Cd resistance); hant (high-affinity nickel transporter); smtAB, a metal-binding protein gene; and VAN2 (V resistance) after exposure to 200 ppm of Ni and 200 ppm of V during the stationary phase of the microorganism in PHGII liquid media. The data presented here may contribute to the knowledge of the genes involved in the Ni and V resistances of B. megaterium, and the possible pathways implicated in the Ni-V removal processes, which may be potentiated for the biological treatment of high metal content residues.

Brucellosis outbreak in a rural endemic region of Mexico - a comprehensive investigation.

Brucellosis is a worldwide zoonotic disease. Generally, humans can be infected by either the consumption of raw milk and fresh cheeses made from unpasteurised milk or by contact with infected animals, mainly in endemic regions. In this study, we investigated a brucellosis outbreak in State of Guanajuato, an endemic region of Mexico. Microbiological culture of human blood, raw milk from cows and goats, and fresh cheeses was performed to isolate Brucella. Identification of the bacteria was done by bacteriological procedures and by multiplex Bruce-ladder polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Brucella melitensis was isolated from patients, infected goats, and fresh goat cheeses; while Brucella abortus was isolated from cows. All patients had eaten fresh cheese, but no occupational exposure to animals was reported. The results of molecular typing did not show any Brucella vaccine strains. The isolation, identification, and molecular characterisation of Brucella spp. in both human brucellosis cases and infected animals are very important to identify the source of infection and to take control measures in endemic regions.

Determination of pKa values for deprotonable nucleobases in short model oligonucleotides.

The deprotonation of ionizable nucleobases centrally placed in short model oligonucleotides was examined under different physical conditions, using UV absorption spectroscopy. The oligonucleotide sequences were designed so that only the central base would be ionized over the pH range examined. pKa values of 9.90±0.01 and 9.34±0.04 were determined for the guanine group in the oligomer d-ACAGCAC and 2'-deoxyguanosine, respectively, both at 25°C and 0.1M NaCl. Lengthening the oligonucleotide up to the tridecamer stage further increases the pKa of the central guanine moiety. Electrolyte concentration, temperature, and mixed water-ethanol solvents affect the acidity of the central base. Changes in the sequence surrounding the central guanine can also have a significant effect, especially in the case of strongly stacking sequences. The pKa values were also determined for the hepta(2'-O-methyl)ribonucleotide and the heptamer PNA of identical sequence, as well as for oligodeoxyribonucleotides with different deprotonable bases, viz. thymine, uracil, or hypoxanthine, in the central position. The results are interpreted in terms of the electric-field effect exerted on the departing proton by the negative electric charges located on the internucleotide phosphate groups, and calculations show this effect to approximately explain the magnitude of the pKa difference observed between the deoxyriboheptanucleotide and its electroneutral PNA analogue.

Hybridisation of N4-methylcytosine-containing amplicons on DNA microarrays.

5'-Cy5-labelled PCR amplicons containing the analogue base, N(4)-methylcytosine, instead of cytosines were compared in microarray hybridisation experiments with the corresponding amplicons containing the canonical set of bases, with respect to the intensity of the fluorescence signal obtained, and cross hybridisation to non-corresponding probes. In general, higher hybridisation temperatures resulted in reduced signal intensities, particularly in the case of the N(4)-methylcytosine containing amplicons. At the lower hybridisation temperatures tested (40 °C, 30 °C), these modified amplicons gave about equal or stronger fluorescence signal than the corresponding regular amplicons. With the two GC-richest amplicons tested, in one instance the N(4)-methylated target gave a dramatically higher signal intensity than the unmodified amplicon, interpreted as reflecting the reduced formation of hairpin structures in the target sequence, due to the lower thermodynamic stability of the G:N(4)-methylC base pair, making the target more accessible, while in the other case no hybridisation was observed with either version of the amplicon, probably due to interference from a G-tetrad structure. Both for the regular and the N(4)-methylated amplicons, no significant cross hybridisation was seen in these experiments.

Capacity of N4-methyl-2'-deoxycytidine 5'-triphosphate to sustain the polymerase chain reaction using various thermostable DNA polymerases.

The dCTP analog N4-methyl-2'-deoxycytidine 5'-triphosphate (N4medCTP) was evaluated for its performance in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Using the HotStart Taq DNA polymerase with a standard thermal protocol, test segments 85 or 200 bp long were amplified equally well using dCTP or N4medCTP:dCTP mixtures ranging in molar ratio from 3:1 to 10:1, while complete replacement of dCTP by N4medCTP gave clearly lower amplicon yields and higher Cq values. Comparable yields with N4medCTP or dCTP were achieved only by using a slowdown protocol. Post-PCR melting analyses showed decreasing Tm values for amplicons obtained with increasing N4medCTP:dCTP input ratios; for the 200-bp amplicon, complete replacement of dCTP by N4medCTP in the reaction reduced the Tm by 11 °C; for the 85-bp amplicon the Tm reduction was 7 °C. In experiments aiming at the 200-bp amplicon, Pfu exo(-) DNA polymerase did not sustain PCR when dCTP was fully replaced by N4medCTP, even with the slowdown protocol, except at elevated N4medCTP concentrations, and, compared to PCR conducted exclusively with dCTP, the use of N4medCTP:dCTP mixtures gave reduced yields and distinctly higher Cq values, regardless of the thermal program employed. PCR experiments with 9°N DNA polymerase using N4medCTP in the conventional thermal protocol failed to produce the 200-bp amplicon.

Comparison of different amines for the one-lane sequence determination of 5'-end-labeled oligodeoxyribonucleotides by chemical cleavage.

Hot aqueous solutions of a wide variety of aliphatic amines bring about efficient cleavage of 5'-(32)P-labeled oligodeoxyribonucleotides. Electrophoretic resolution of the product mixtures produces a radioactivity pattern that can be analyzed in terms of relative band intensities and band separations to deduce the base sequence of the original oligonucleotide. Amines differ in their overall reactivity with respect to the oligonucleotide as well as in their preference for reaction with the various heterocyclic bases. Guanine sites, in particular, vary markedly in their cleavage susceptibility when reacted with the different amines, being more vulnerable to scission when reacted with less basic amines. Guanine cleavage propensity can also be affected markedly by the ionic strength of the aminolysis solution. Both effects are interpreted in terms of variable extents of deprotonation of the guanine sites in the basic medium. Some of the amines produce fragment patterns that are marred by the presence of minor extraneous bands; these probably are due to an incomplete extent of the second beta-elimination involved in backbone cleavage. The methodology is applicable to confirmatory sequencing of synthetic oligonucleotides and can also be used to prepare standard ladders for use in footprinting experiments or chemical reactivity studies.