X. Kang, Yun Yang, Yang Jiao, Hongqin Song, Li Song, D. Xiong, Lili Wu, Z. Pan, X. Jiao
{"title":"HA1-2-fljB Vaccine Induces Immune Responses against Pandemic Swine-Origin H1N1 Influenza Virus in Mice","authors":"X. Kang, Yun Yang, Yang Jiao, Hongqin Song, Li Song, D. Xiong, Lili Wu, Z. Pan, X. Jiao","doi":"10.1159/000448895","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000448895","url":null,"abstract":"In 2009, a novel pandemic swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus caused a public emergency of international concern. Vaccination is the primary strategy for the control of influenza epidemics. However, the poor immunopotency of many vaccine antigens is a major barrier to the development of effective vaccines against influenza. Flagellin, a Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) ligand, has been used as an adjuvant to enhance the immunopotency of vaccines in preclinical studies. Here, we developed a recombinant candidate vaccine, HA1-2-fljB, in which the globular head of the hemagglutinin (HA) antigen (residues 62-284) from H1N1 virus was fused genetically to the N-terminus of Salmonella typhimurium fljB. The recombinant HA1-2-fljB protein was expressed efficiently in Escherichia coli, and the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of recombinant HA1-2-fljB were evaluated in a mouse model. Immunization with HA1-2-fljB elicited robust IgG antibodies and neutralizing antibodies and completely protected the mice against infection by swine-origin influenza A/swine/Jangsu/38/2010 (H1N1). These results suggest that HA antigen placed at the N-terminus of flagellin is also an excellent starting point for creating a fusion HA1-2-fljB protein as a candidate vaccine, and the recombinant HA1-2-fljB protein will contribute to the development of a more effective vaccine against swine-origin influenza virus infection.","PeriodicalId":16370,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2016-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1159/000448895","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"65110715","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Douraghi, S. Jasemi, M. Kodori, M. Rahbar, M. Boroumand
{"title":"Evidence of Interruption of the comM Gene in a Large Series of Clinical Isolates of Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii","authors":"M. Douraghi, S. Jasemi, M. Kodori, M. Rahbar, M. Boroumand","doi":"10.1159/000448785","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000448785","url":null,"abstract":"Recent studies have recognized the ATPase-encoding comM gene as a hot spot for the integration of Acinetobacter baumannii resistance islands (RIs). Despite the circulation of high numbers of multidrug-resistant A. baumannii (MDR-AB) isolates in Middle East countries, no information is available about the interruption of comM and subsequent transposition into comM in isolates belonging to the global clones (GC) GC1, GC2, or GC3. In this study 401 A. baumannii isolates from hospitals in Tehran, Iran, were included. The resistance profile was determined by disc diffusion against 22 antibiotics. PCR was used to assess the GC type, presence of the comM gene, and the boundary junctions (J1 and J2) of RIs. Most of the MDR-AB isolates (384 of 388; 98%) and more than half of the susceptible A. baumannii isolates (9 of 13; 69%) had interrupted comM gene-carrying integrative elements. Among the isolates tested, 57 belonged to GC1, 86 to GC2, and 8 to GC3. A set of 250 isolates showed distinct patterns of allele-specific PCR for ompA, csuE, and blaOXA-51-like genes. All but 2 of the GC1 isolates and 2 of the GC2 isolates contained interrupted comM genes. Four A. baumannii isolates harbored intact comM, but were multiply resistant to antibiotics. This study demonstrated that the comM gene is targeted by transposons in Iranian MDR-AB isolates belonging to different GCs. The data also showed that the carriage of interrupted comM is not exclusive to MDR isolates of A. baumannii.","PeriodicalId":16370,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2016-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1159/000448785","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"65105874","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Junrui Wang, Junli Zhang, Q. Fu, Sufang Guo, La Ta, Peng Sun
{"title":"Proteomic Analyses Uncover the Mechanisms Underlying Antibiotic Resistance Differences among Three Acinetobacter baumannii Isolates","authors":"Junrui Wang, Junli Zhang, Q. Fu, Sufang Guo, La Ta, Peng Sun","doi":"10.1159/000447454","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000447454","url":null,"abstract":"This study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the antibiotic resistance difference among three Acinetobacter baumannii isolates. Fifty A. baumannii isolates were first subjected to an antimicrobial susceptibility test, then three isolates differing in antibiotic resistance were selected and subjected to iTRAQ (isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification)-based proteomics analysis. Differential proteins among the three A. baumannii isolates were further identified and subjected to gene ontology functional enrichment analysis. A resistant isolate (A1), a less resistant one (A8) and a susceptible one (A9) were selected. In total, there were 424 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) between the A1 and A8 isolates, 1,992 DEPs between the A9 and A1 isolates, and 1,956 DEPs between the A8 and A9 isolates. The upregulation of I6TUC8 and Q0GA83 in the A1 and A8 isolates may be responsible for their higher resistance to ceftriaxone. The higher gentamicin resistance of A. baumannii isolates A1 and A8 when compared to A9 may be related to the higher expression levels of O05286 and D0CCK1, while the higher Q2FCY1 expression level may contribute more to strong gentamicin resistance in A1. The higher levels of L9LWL7, L9MDB0, K9C9W3, E2IGU7, B6E129, G8HYR7, D2XTB0 and D2XTB0 may be responsible for the higher carbapenem resistance of isolate A1 as compared to A8.","PeriodicalId":16370,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2016-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1159/000447454","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"65077168","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Front & Back Matter","authors":"","doi":"10.1159/000449196","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000449196","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16370,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2016-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"65121853","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
C. Vogt, T. Lueders, H. Richnow, M. Krüger, M. von Bergen, J. Seifert
{"title":"Stable Isotope Probing Approaches to Study Anaerobic Hydrocarbon Degradation and Degraders","authors":"C. Vogt, T. Lueders, H. Richnow, M. Krüger, M. von Bergen, J. Seifert","doi":"10.1159/000440806","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000440806","url":null,"abstract":"Stable isotope probing (SIP) techniques have become state-of-the-art in microbial ecology over the last 10 years, allowing for the targeted detection and identification of organisms, metabolic pathways and elemental fluxes active in specific processes within complex microbial communities. For studying anaerobic hydrocarbon-degrading microbial communities, four stable isotope techniques have been used so far: DNA/RNA-SIP, PLFA (phospholipid-derived fatty acids)-SIP, protein-SIP, and single-cell-SIP by nanoSIMS (nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry) or confocal Raman microscopy. DNA/RNA-SIP techniques are most frequently applied due to their most meaningful phylogenetic resolution. Especially using 13C-labeled benzene and toluene as model substrates, many new hydrocarbon degraders have been identified by SIP under various electron acceptor conditions. This has extended the current perspective of the true diversity of anaerobic hydrocarbon degraders relevant in the environment. Syntrophic hydrocarbon degradation was found to be a common mechanism for various electron acceptors. Fundamental concepts and recent advances in SIP are reflected here. A discussion is presented concerning how these techniques generate direct insights into intrinsic hydrocarbon degrader populations in environmental systems and how useful they are for more integrated approaches in the monitoring of contaminated sites and for bioremediation.","PeriodicalId":16370,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2016-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1159/000440806","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"64916957","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
B. Selvaraj, W. Buckel, Bernard T. Golding, G. Matthias Ullmann, B. Martins
{"title":"Structure and Function of 4-Hydroxyphenylacetate Decarboxylase and Its Cognate Activating Enzyme","authors":"B. Selvaraj, W. Buckel, Bernard T. Golding, G. Matthias Ullmann, B. Martins","doi":"10.1159/000440882","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000440882","url":null,"abstract":"4-Hydroxyphenylacetate decarboxylase (4Hpad) is the prototype of a new class of Fe-S cluster-dependent glycyl radical enzymes (Fe-S GREs) acting on aromatic compounds. The two-enzyme component system comprises a decarboxylase responsible for substrate conversion and a dedicated activating enzyme (4Hpad-AE). The decarboxylase uses a glycyl/thiyl radical dyad to convert 4-hydroxyphenylacetate into p-cresol (4-methylphenol) by a biologically unprecedented Kolbe-type decarboxylation. In addition to the radical dyad prosthetic group, the decarboxylase unit contains two [4Fe-4S] clusters coordinated by an extra small subunit of unknown function. 4Hpad-AE reductively cleaves S-adenosylmethionine (SAM or AdoMet) at a site-differentiated [4Fe-4S]2+/+ cluster (RS cluster) generating a transient 5′-deoxyadenosyl radical that produces a stable glycyl radical in the decarboxylase by the abstraction of a hydrogen atom. 4Hpad-AE binds up to two auxiliary [4Fe-4S] clusters coordinated by a ferredoxin-like insert that is C-terminal to the RS cluster-binding motif. The ferredoxin-like domain with its two auxiliary clusters is not vital for SAM-dependent glycyl radical formation in the decarboxylase, but facilitates a longer lifetime for the radical. This review describes the 4Hpad and cognate AE families and focuses on the recent advances and open questions concerning the structure, function and mechanism of this novel Fe-S-dependent class of GREs.","PeriodicalId":16370,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2016-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1159/000440882","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"64920149","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Núria Jiménez, H. Richnow, C. Vogt, T. Treude, M. Krüger
{"title":"Methanogenic Hydrocarbon Degradation: Evidence from Field and Laboratory Studies","authors":"Núria Jiménez, H. Richnow, C. Vogt, T. Treude, M. Krüger","doi":"10.1159/000441679","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000441679","url":null,"abstract":"Microbial transformation of hydrocarbons to methane is an environmentally relevant process taking place in a wide variety of electron acceptor-depleted habitats, from oil reservoirs and coal deposits to contaminated groundwater and deep sediments. Methanogenic hydrocarbon degradation is considered to be a major process in reservoir degradation and one of the main processes responsible for the formation of heavy oil deposits and oil sands. In the absence of external electron acceptors such as oxygen, nitrate, sulfate or Fe(III), fermentation and methanogenesis become the dominant microbial metabolisms. The major end product under these conditions is methane, and the only electron acceptor necessary to sustain the intermediate steps in this process is CO2, which is itself a net product of the overall reaction. We are summarizing the state of the art and recent advances in methanogenic hydrocarbon degradation research. Both the key microbial groups involved as well as metabolic pathways are described, and we discuss the novel insights into methanogenic hydrocarbon-degrading populations studied in laboratory as well as environmental systems enabled by novel cultivation-based and molecular approaches. Their possible implications on energy resources, bioremediation of contaminated sites, deep-biosphere research, and consequences for atmospheric composition and ultimately climate change are also addressed.","PeriodicalId":16370,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2016-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1159/000441679","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"64947514","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Boll, O. Einsle, U. Ermler, P. Kroneck, G. Matthias Ullmann
{"title":"Structure and Function of the Unusual Tungsten Enzymes Acetylene Hydratase and Class II Benzoyl-Coenzyme A Reductase","authors":"M. Boll, O. Einsle, U. Ermler, P. Kroneck, G. Matthias Ullmann","doi":"10.1159/000440805","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000440805","url":null,"abstract":"In biology, tungsten (W) is exclusively found in microbial enzymes bound to a bis-pyranopterin cofactor (bis-WPT). Previously known W enzymes catalyze redox oxo/hydroxyl transfer reactions by directly coordinating their substrates or products to the metal. They comprise the W-containing formate/formylmethanofuran dehydrogenases belonging to the dimethyl sulfoxide reductase (DMSOR) family and the aldehyde:ferredoxin oxidoreductase (AOR) families, which form a separate enzyme family within the Mo/W enzymes. In the last decade, initial insights into the structure and function of two unprecedented W enzymes were obtained: the acetaldehyde forming acetylene hydratase (ACH) belongs to the DMSOR and the class II benzoyl-coenzyme A (CoA) reductase (BCR) to the AOR family. The latter catalyzes the reductive dearomatization of benzoyl-CoA to a cyclic diene. Both are key enzymes in the degradation of acetylene (ACH) or aromatic compounds (BCR) in strictly anaerobic bacteria. They are unusual in either catalyzing a nonredox reaction (ACH) or a redox reaction without coordinating the substrate or product to the metal (BCR). In organic chemical synthesis, analogous reactions require totally nonphysiological conditions depending on Hg2+ (acetylene hydration) or alkali metals (benzene ring reduction). The structural insights obtained pave the way for biological or biomimetic approaches to basic reactions in organic chemistry.","PeriodicalId":16370,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2016-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1159/000440805","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"64916771","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. Heider, M. Szaleniec, Katharina Sünwoldt, M. Boll
{"title":"Ethylbenzene Dehydrogenase and Related Molybdenum Enzymes Involved in Oxygen-Independent Alkyl Chain Hydroxylation","authors":"J. Heider, M. Szaleniec, Katharina Sünwoldt, M. Boll","doi":"10.1159/000441357","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000441357","url":null,"abstract":"Ethylbenzene dehydrogenase initiates the anaerobic bacterial degradation of ethylbenzene and propylbenzene. Although the enzyme is currently only known from a few closely related denitrifying bacterial strains affiliated to the Rhodocyclaceae, it clearly marks a universally occurring mechanism used for attacking recalcitrant substrates in the absence of oxygen. Ethylbenzene dehydrogenase belongs to subfamily 2 of the DMSO reductase-type molybdenum enzymes together with paralogous enzymes involved in the oxygen-independent hydroxylation of p-cymene, the isoprenoid side chains of sterols and even possibly n-alkanes; the subfamily also extends to dimethylsulfide dehydrogenases, selenite, chlorate and perchlorate reductases and, most significantly, dissimilatory nitrate reductases. The biochemical, spectroscopic and structural properties of the oxygen-independent hydroxylases among these enzymes are summarized and compared. All of them consist of three subunits, contain a molybdenum-bis-molybdopterin guanine dinucleotide cofactor, five Fe-S clusters and a heme b cofactor of unusual ligation, and are localized in the periplasmic space as soluble enzymes. In the case of ethylbenzene dehydrogenase, it has been determined that the heme b cofactor has a rather high redox potential, which may also be inferred for the paralogous hydroxylases. The known structure of ethylbenzene dehydrogenase allowed the calculation of detailed models of the reaction mechanism based on the density function theory as well as QM-MM (quantum mechanics - molecular mechanics) methods, which yield predictions of mechanistic properties such as kinetic isotope effects that appeared consistent with experimental data.","PeriodicalId":16370,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2016-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1159/000441357","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"64934745","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Anaerobic Degradation of p-Alkylated Benzoates and Toluenes","authors":"R. Rabus, M. Boll, B. Golding, H. Wilkes","doi":"10.1159/000441144","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000441144","url":null,"abstract":"The anaerobic degradation of 4-alkylbenzoates and 4-alkyltoluenes is to date a rarely reported microbial capacity. The newly isolated Alphaproteobacterium Magnetospirillum sp. strain pMbN1 represents the first pure culture demonstrated to degrade 4-methylbenzoate completely to CO2 in a process coupled to denitrification. Differential proteogenomic studies in conjunction with targeted metabolite analyses and enzyme activity measurements elucidated a specific 4-methylbenzoyl-coenzyme A (CoA) pathway in this bacterium alongside the classical central benzoyl-CoA pathway. Whilst these two pathways are analogous, in the former the p-methyl group is retained and its 4-methylbenzoyl-CoA reductase (MbrCBAD) is phylogenetically distinct from the archetypical class I benzoyl-CoA reductase (BcrCBAD). Subsequent global regulatory studies on strain pMbN1 grown with binary or ternary substrate mixtures revealed benzoate to repress the anaerobic utilization of 4-methylbenzoate and succinate. The shared nutritional property of betaproteobacterial ‘Aromatoleum aromaticum' pCyN1 and Thauera sp. strain pCyN2 is the anaerobic degradation of the plant-derived hydrocarbon p-cymene (4-isopropyltoluene) coupled to denitrification. Notably, the two strains employ two different peripheral pathways for the conversion of p-cymene to 4-isopropylbenzoyl-CoA as the possible first common intermediate. In ‘A. aromaticum' pCyN1 a putative p-cymene dehydrogenase (CmdABC) is proposed to hydroxylate the benzylic methyl group, which is subsequently further oxidized to the CoA-thioester. In contrast, Thauera sp. strain pCyN2 employs a reaction sequence analogous to the known anaerobic toluene pathway, involving a distinct branching (4-isopropylbenzyl)succinate synthase (IbsABCDEF).","PeriodicalId":16370,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2016-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1159/000441144","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"64927429","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}