Expressed sequence tags from poplar wood tissues--a comparative analysis from multiple libraries.

Xylogenesis involves successive developmental processes--cambial division, cell expansion and differentiation, cell death--each occurring along a gradient from the cambium to the pith of the stem. Taking advantage of the high level of organisation of wood tissues, we isolated cambial zone (CZ), differentiating xylem (DX) and mature xylem (MX) from both tension wood (TW) and opposite wood (OW) of bent poplars. Four different cDNA libraries were then constructed and used to generate 10,062 EST, reflecting the genes expressed in the different wood tissues. For the most abundant clusters, the EST distributions were compared between libraries in order to identify genes specific or over-represented at some specific developmental stages. They clearly showed a developmental shift between CZ and DX, whereas there is a continuity of development between DX and MX. CZ was mainly characterized by clusters of genes involved in cell cycle, protein synthesis and fate. Interestingly, two clusters with no assigned function were found specific to the cambial zone. In DX and MX, clusters were mostly involved in methylation of lignin precursors and microtubule cytoskeleton. In addition, in DX, EST from TW and OW were compared: five clusters of arabinogalactan proteins, one for sucrose synthase and one for fructokinase were specific or over-represented in TW. Moreover, a putative transcription factor and a cluster of unknown function were also identified in DX-TW. The informative comparison of multiple libraries prepared from wood tissues led to the identification of genes--some with still unknown functions--putatively involved in xylogenesis and tension wood formation.

CAT III chloramphenicol resistance in Pasteurella haemolytica and Pasteurella multocida isolated from calves.

Chloramphenicol, which had been used extensively for antimicrobial veterinary therapy, was prohibited in Europe in 1994. Soon after it became available, resistance to this drug was detected, generally conferred by plasmids encoding inactivating enzymes, the chloramphenicol acetyltransferases (CAT), in Gram-negative as well as in Gram-positive bacteria. In the last few years, resistance to antibiotics emerged in Pasteurella strains from breeding herds and this evolution was followed by a national surveillance network. Chloramphenicol-resistance was more recently detected in multiresistant strains. We studied 25 strains of Pasteurella, selected for their resistance to chloramphenicol. Production of a CAT was demonstrated in all these strains. PCR amplification indicated that the CAT produced was of type III for 23 of them. In these strains, chloramphenicol-resistance was mediated by plasmids of about 5.1 kb. Southern blots on restriction fragments suggested a high degree of homology between these 5.1 kb plasmids. In the two other strains, production of a CAT type I was demonstrated, and the corresponding genes were either shown on a plasmid of 17 or 5.5 kb.

Comparison of random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis and enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-PCR for epidemiological studies of Salmonella.

Discrimination of 70 Salmonella strains previously studied by ribotyping was realized by RAPD and ERIC-PCR analysis. RAPD results on the 56 S. typhimurium isolates did not closely match those of ribotyping. With ERIC-PCR, two fingerprints only were obtained. For the 14 S. enteritidis strains, a helpful discrimination was obtained with RAPD analysis, while ERIC-PCR resulted in a single fingerprint.

Tetracycline resistance determinants, Tet B and Tet M, detected in Pasteurella haemolytica and Pasteurella multocida from bovine herds.

Resistance to antibiotics has recently emerged in Pasteurella haemolytica and Pasteurella multocida isolated from bovine herds. Forty-two clinical strains resistant to antibiotics and isolated through a French national network from different origins were analysed for their resistance to tetracycline. The MICs of tetracycline ranged from 32-256 mg/L. The resistance determinants Tet B and Tet M were detected in two strains, in which they are probably chromosomal.