BMC Microbiology - Latest articlesThe latest articles from BMC Microbiology (ISSN 1471-2180) published by BioMed CentralCytokine responses in primary chicken embryo intestinal cells infected with Campylobacter jejuni strains of human and chicken origin and the expressio- June 27, 2008 Background: Campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of inflammatory diarrhoea in humans and is considered a commensal of the gastroenteric tract of the avian host. However, little is known about the interaction between C. jejuni and the avian host including the cytokine responses and the expression of the bacterial genes. We have investigated the invasiveness of primary chicken embryo intestinal cells (CEICs) by C. jejuni strains of human and chicken origins and the production of pro-inflammatory.http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2180/8/107 Characterization of a restriction modification system from the commensal Escherichia coli strain A0 3486 (O83:K24:H31)- June 27, 2008 Background: Type I restriction-modification (R-M) systems are the most complex restriction enzymes discovered to date. Recent years have witnessed a renaissance of interest in R-M enzymes Type I. The ongoing sequencing programmes leading to discovery of, so far, more than 1 000 putative enzymes in a broad range of microorganisms including pathogenic bacteria, revealed that these enzymes are widely represented in nature. The aim of this study was characterisation of a putative R-M system...http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2180/8/106 Bacteria of the Burkholderia cepacia complex are cyanogenic under biofilm and colonial growth conditions- June 27, 2008 Background: The Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) is a collection of nine genotypically distinct but phenotypically similar species. They show wide ecological diversity and include species that are used for promoting plant growth and bio-control as well species that are opportunistic pathogens of vulnerable patients. Over recent years the Bcc have emerged as problematic pathogens of the CF lung. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is another important CF pathogen. It is able to synthesise hydrogen cyanide..http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2180/8/108 A laminar flow model of aerosol survival of epidemic and non-epidemic strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from people with cystic fibrosis- June 26, 2008 Background: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited multi-system disorder characterised by chronic airway infection with pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Acquisition of P. aeruginosa by patients with CF is usually from the environment, but recent studies have demonstrated patient to patient transmission of certain epidemic strains, possibly via an airborne route. This study was designed to examine the survival of P. aeruginosa within artificially generated aerosols. Results: Survival...http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2180/8/105 Automated Discovery and Phylogenetic Analysis of New Toxin-Antitoxin Systems- June 25, 2008 Background: Although often viewed as elements "at the service of" bacteria, plasmids exhibit replication and maintenance mechanisms that make them purely "selfish DNA" candidates. Toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems are a spectacular example of such mechanisms: a gene coding for a cytotoxic stable protein is preceded by a gene coding for an unstable antitoxin. The toxin being more stable than the antitoxin, absence of the operon causes a reduction of the amount of the latter...http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2180/8/104 High genetic diversity among Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex strains from Sierra Leone- June 25, 2008 Background: Among tuberculosis (TB) high incidence regions, Sub-Saharan Africa is particularly affected with approx. 1.6 million new cases every year. Besides this dramatic situation, data on the diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) strains causing this epidemic in this area are only sparsely available. Here we analyzed the population structure of strains from Sierra Leone with a special focus on the prevalence of M. africanum. Results: A total of 97 strains isolated from...http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2180/8/103 Genomic and proteomic analysis of the Alkali-Tolerance Response (AlTR) in Listeria monocytogenes 10403S- June 24, 2008 Background: Information regarding the Alkali-Tolerance Response (AlTR) in Listeria monocytogenes is very limited. Treatment of alkali-adapted cells with the protein synthesis inhibitor chloramphenicol has revealed that the AlTR is at least partially protein-dependent. In order to gain a more comprehensive perspective on the physiology and regulation of the AlTR, we compared differential gene expression and protein content of cells adapted at pH 9.5 and un-adapted cells (pH 7.0) using...http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2180/8/102 Transcriptional analysis of Mycobacterium fortuitum cultures upon hydrogen peroxide treatment using the novel standard rrnA-P1.- June 19, 2008 Background: The ability of an intracellular pathogen to establish infection depends on the capacity of the organism to survive and replicate inside the host. Mycobacterium fortuitum is a bacterium that contains genes involved in the detoxification of the oxygen reactive species such as those produced by the host during the infection. In this work, we investigate the effects of hydrogen peroxide on the transcription and expression of these genes by developing a real time quantitative PCR...http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2180/8/100 Predicting Transcriptional Regulatory Interactions with Artificial Neural Networks applied to E. coli Multidrug Resistance Efflux Pumps- June 19, 2008 Background: Little is known about bacterial transcriptional regulatory networks (TRNs). In Escherichia coli, which is the organism with the largest wet-lab validated TRN, its set of interactions involves only 50% of the repertoire of transcription factors currently known, and 25% of its genes. Of those, only a small proportion describes the regulation of processes that are clinically relevant, such as drug resistance mechanisms. Results: We designed feed-forward (FF) and bi-fan (BF) motif...http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2180/8/101 A two-genome microarray for the rice pathogens Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae and X. oryzae pv. oryzicola and its use in the discovery of a difference- June 18, 2008 Background: Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) and X. oryzae pv. oryzicola (Xoc) are bacterial pathogens of the worldwide staple and grass model, rice. Xoo and Xoc are closely related but Xoo invades rice vascular tissue to cause bacterial leaf blight, a serious disease of rice in many parts of the world and Xoc colonizes the mesophyll parenchyma to cause bacterial leaf steak, a disease of emerging importance. Both pathogens depend on hrp genes for type III secretion to infect their host. We...http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2180/8/99 |