Fundicoccus culcitae sp. nov., a novel potential bacteriocin producing bacterium isolated from a spoiled eye mask.

A Gram-positive, facultatively anaerobic, oval beaded-shape, oxidase-negative, and non-motile bacterium designated DM20194951T was isolated from a spoiled eye mask obtained from Guangdong, China. Based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence, phylogenetic analysis indicated that strain DM20194951T showed the highest sequence similarity (95.8%) to Fundicoccus ignavus WS4937T. Meanwhile, strain DM20194951T could be distinguished from the type strains in the genus Fundicoccus by distinct phenotypic and genotypic traits. Strain DM20194951T grew variably with 1-2% (w/v) NaCl and tolerated pH 6.0-10.0. Growth was observed from 28 to 37 °C. The diagnostic diamino acids in the cell-wall peptidoglycan consisted of aspartic and glutamic acids as well as alanine. The predominant fatty acids were C18:1 ω9c, C16:0, and C16:1 ω9c. In the polar lipid profile, two glycolipids, three phospholipids, one phosphatidylglycerol, and one diphosphatidylglycerol were found. No respiratory quinones were detected. The DM20194951T genome is 3.2 Mb in size and contains a G + C content of 38.1%. A gene cluster for lactococcin 972 family bacteriocin production was found in the DM20194951T genome. Based on morphological, genotypic, and phylogenetic data, strain DM20194951T should be considered to represent a novel species in the genus Fundicoccus, for which the name Fundicoccus culcitae sp. nov. is proposed with the type strain DM20194951T (= KCTC 43472T = GDMCC 1.3614T).

[Comparison of the predictive value of the modified CADILLAC, GRACE and TIMI risk scores for the risk of short-term death in patients with acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction after percutaneous coronary intervention].

OBJECTIVE: To establish a modified controlled abciximab and device investigation to lower late angioplasty complication (CADILLAC) score, and to compare the predictive value of modified CADILLAC score, the global registry of acute coronary event (GRACE) score and the thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) score in predicting the risk of short-term death after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted. The clinical data of 169 STEMI patients under going PCI admitted to the department of cardiology of Guizhou Provincial People's Hospital from September 2019 to December 2020 through emergency chest pain fast track were enrolled. A multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to screen the factors closely related to the mortality risk within 30 days of STEMI, and a modified CADILLAC scoring system was established by referring to CADILLAC scoring settings. The score of modified CADILLAC, GRACE and TIMI scores of patients were calculated after admission, and the number of deaths due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) within 30 days after onset was recorded. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve) was used to evaluate the predictive value of three scoring systems on the risk of death within 30 days after PCI in patients with STEMI. RESULTS: In 169 STEMI patients, 16 patients died of CVD within 30 days after PCI, and the actual case mortality was 9.47%. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that age > 75 years old, cardiac function Killip ≥ Grade III, ventricular arrhythmia, ST segment elevation ≥ 0.2 mV, cardiac troponin I (cTnI) increase, systolic blood pressure (SBP) < 90 mmHg (1 mmHg ≈ 0.133 kPa) were all independent predictors of death after PCI in STEMI patients. The improved CADILLAC scoring system was constructed based on the above predictive factors combined with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) less than 0.40. The GRACE, TIMI and modified CADILLAC scores of dead patients were significantly higher than those of survival patients (GRACE score: 197.60±31.83 vs. 149.81±36.72, TIMI score: 11.21±2.13 vs. 7.27±1.97, modified CADILLAC score: 12.60±2.52 vs. 6.96±2.17, all P < 0.05). The higher the risk stratification of the three scores, the higher the mortality of patients with CVD within 30 days after PCI [the mortality of patients with low, medium and high risk in GRACE score were 2.41% (2/83), 9.61% (5/52) and 26.47% (9/34); the mortality of patients with low, medium and high risk in TIMI score were 3.12% (3/96), 12.82% (5/39) and 23.53% (8/34); and the mortality of patients with low, medium and high risk in modified CADILLAC score were 3.19% (3/94), 7.69% (4/52) and 39.13% (9/23), respectively, all P < 0.01]. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of the GRACE, TIMI and the modified CADILLAC scores predicting the risk of death 30 days after PCI in STEMI patients were 0.855 [95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 0.702-0.923], 0.725 (95%CI was 0.666-0.812) and 0.882 (95%CI was 0.732-0.936), respectively, all P = 0.000; the sensitivity of its prediction accuracy were 81.59%, 78.65% and 89.26%, and the specificity were 78.62%, 57.12% and 75.54%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The GRACE and the modified CADILLAC scores have predictive value for the short-term mortality risk of STEMI patients after PCI, and the modified CADILLAC score is more accurate. But the TIMI score has a poor predictive effect on the short-term mortality risk of STEMI patients after PCI.

Metagenomic analysis of microbial communities and antibiotic resistance genes in spoiled household chemicals.

Numerous attempts have been utilized to unveil the occurrences of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in human-associated and non-human-associated samples. However, spoiled household chemicals, which are usually neglected by the public, may be also a reservoir of ARGs because of the excessive and inappropriate uses of industrial drugs. Based upon the Comprehensive Antibiotic Research Database, a metagenomic sequencing method was utilized to detect and quantify Antibiotic Resistance Ontology (AROs) in six spoiled household chemicals, including hair conditioner, dishwashing detergent, bath shampoo, hand sanitizer, and laundry detergent. Proteobacteria was found to be the dominant phylum in all the samples. Functional annotation of the unigenes obtained against the KEGG pathway, eggNOG and CAZy databases demonstrated a diversity of their functions. Moreover, 186 types of AROs that were members of 72 drug classes were identified. Multidrug resistance genes were the most dominant types, and there were 17 AROs whose resistance mechanisms were categorized into the resistance-nodulation-cell division antibiotic efflux pump among the top 20 AROs. Moreover, Proteobacteria was the dominant carrier of AROs with the primary resistance mechanism of antibiotic efflux. The maximum temperature of the months of collection significantly affected the distributions of AROs. Additionally, the isolated individual bacterium from spoiled household chemicals and artificial mixed communities of isolated bacteria demonstrated diverse resistant abilities to different biocides. This study demonstrated that there are abundant microorganisms and a broad spectrum profile of AROs in spoiled household chemicals that might induce a severe threat to public healthy securities and merit particular attention.

LncRNA HOTAIR Promotes Neuronal Damage Through Facilitating NLRP3 Mediated-Pyroptosis Activation in Parkinson's Disease via Regulation of miR-326/ELAVL1 Axis.

Parkinson's disease (PD) seriously threatens human's health. Researches have shown a close correlation between long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and PD. However, the biological function of lncRNA homeobox transcript antisense RNA (HOTAIR) in PD remains largely unknown. In this study, we established PD models in vivo and in vitro by using 1-methyl-4-phenyl-2, 3, 6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) and 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+) to assess the role of HOTAIR in pyroptotic cell death and neuronal damage. RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) and dual luciferase reporter assay were used to verify the interaction between miR-326 and HOTAIR or ELAV like RNA binding protein 1 (ELAVL1). LncRNA HOTAIR was upregulated in PD mice and MPP+ induced SH-SY5Y cells. Additionally, knockdown of HOTAIR notably attenuated the symptom of PD in vivo. Downregulation of HOTAIR could obviously promoted cell viability and suppressed NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) mediated pyroptotic cell death of SH-SY5Y cells in the presence of MPP+. Further, lncRNA HOTAIR positively regulated ELAVL1 expression by targeting miR-326, and downregulation of HOTAIR or ELAVL1 notably suppressed promotive effects of miR-326 inhibitor on MPP+ induced pyroptosis via activation of NLRP3 inflammasome. Collectively, HOTAIR silencing significantly inhibits neuronal damage through repressing NLRP3 mediated pyroptosis activation via regulation of miR-326/ELAVL1 axis in PD, which may contribute to a better understanding of PD pathogenesis and provide new treatment strategies for this disease.

LncRNA MALAT1 facilitates inflammasome activation via epigenetic suppression of Nrf2 in Parkinson's disease.

The goal of the present study was to elucidate the mechanism by which long non-coding RNA metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (lncRNA MALAT1) promotes inflammation in Parkinson's disease (PD). 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) was used to induce PD development in C57BL/6 mice, and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) expression was analysed by immunohistochemical analysis. Western blot and qPCR analyses were conducted to assess the expression of protein and mRNA levels, respectively. Lipopolysaccharide/adenosine triphosphate (LPS/ATP) was used to activate microglia in vitro. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), RNA pull-down and RNA immunoprecipitation chip (RIP) assays were performed to investigate the interaction among specific molecules. The 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used to evaluate cell viability and proliferation. Flow cytometry was performed to analyse cell apoptosis after staining. The dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) assay was used to measure the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cells. The results showed that MALAT1 was highly expressed in the brains of MPTP-induced PD model mice and in LPS/ATP-induced microglia cells. Knockdown of MALAT1 inhibited elevated nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like-2 factor (NRF2) expression, thereby inhibiting inflammasome activation and ROS production. MALAT1 was shown to promote neuroinflammation by recruiting enhancer of zeste homologue 2 (EZH2) to the promoter of NRF2, suppressing Nrf2 expression. In summary, MALAT1 epigenetically inhibits NRF2, thereby inducing inflammasome activation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in PD mouse and microglial cell models.

Biological functions of nirS in Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027 under aerobic conditions.

Through our previous study, we found an up-regulation in the expression of nitrite reductase (nirS) in the isothiazolone-resistant strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. However, the definitive molecular role of nirS in ascribing the resistance remained elusive. In the present study, the nirS gene was deleted from the chromosome of P. aeruginosa ATCC 9027 and the resulting phenotypic changes of ΔnirS were studied alongside the wild-type (WT) strain under aerobic conditions. The results demonstrated a decline in the formations of biofilms but not planktonic growth by ΔnirS as compared to WT, especially in the presence of benzisothiazolinone (BIT). Meanwhile, the deletion of nirS impaired swimming motility of P. aeruginosa under the stress of BIT. To assess the influence of nirS on the transcriptome of P. aeruginosa, RNA-seq experiments comparing the ΔnirS with WT were also performed. A total of 694 genes were found to be differentially expressed in ΔnirS, of which 192 were up-regulated, while 502 were down-regulated. In addition, these differently expressed genes were noted to significantly enrich the carbon metabolism along with glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolisms. Meanwhile, results from RT-PCR suggested the contribution of mexEF-oprN to the development of BIT resistance by ΔnirS. Further, c-di-GMP was less in ΔnirS than in WT, as revealed by HPLC. Taken together, our results confirm that nirS of P. aeruginosa ATCC 9027 plays a role in BIT resistance along with biofilm formation and further affects several metabolic patterns under aerobic conditions.

Enhanced synergistic effects of xylitol and isothiazolones for inhibition of initial biofilm formation by Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538.

Bacterial biofilms, formed on biotic or abiotic surfaces, can lead to serious environmental or medical problems. Therefore, it is necessary to find novel antimicrobial agents to combat biofilms, or more effective combinations of existing biocides. In this study, initial biofilms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 in the presence of xylitol or xylitol and isothiazolones were determined using crystal violet staining in 96-well microplates and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Xylitol and isothiazolones exhibited enhanced synergistic inhibition of initial biofilm formation, and also the structure and production of extracellular polymeric substances by P. aeruginosa ATCC 9027 and S. aureus ATCC 6538 in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, xylitol and isothiazolones inhibited and restored the swimming motility of P. aeruginosa ATCC 9027, respectively. These findings show that a combination of xylitol and isothiazolones exerts pronounced antimicrobial activity against P. aeruginosa and S. aureus biofilms and may be applicable for preventing or reducing bacterial biofilms in vitro.

Role of Ttca of Citrobacter Werkmanii in Bacterial Growth, Biocides Resistance, Biofilm Formation and Swimming Motility.

To screen, identify and study the genes involved in isothiazolone resistance and biofilm formation in Citrobacter werkmanii strain BF-6. A Tn5 transposon library of approximately 900 mutants of C. werkmanii strain BF-6 was generated and screened to isolate 1,2-benzisothiazolin-3-one (BIT) resistant strains. In addition, the tRNA 2-thiocytidine (32) synthetase gene (ttcA) was deleted through homologous recombination and the resulting phenotypic changes of the ΔttcA mutant were studied. A total of 3 genes were successfully identified, among which ΔttcA mutant exhibited a reduction in growth rate and swimming motility. On the other hand, an increase in biofilms formation in ΔttcA were observed but not with a significant resistance enhancement to BIT. This work, for the first time, highlights the role of ttcA gene of C. werkmanii strain BF-6 in BIT resistance and biofilm formation.

Diallyl disulfide from garlic oil inhibits Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence factors by inactivating key quorum sensing genes.

Garlic oil can disrupt the quorum sensing (QS) pathways of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa; however, the underlying mechanisms for this effect are unclear. Diallyl disulfide (DADS) is one of the most abundant sulfur-containing compounds in garlic oil. This study investigated the effects of DADS on the growth, virulence factor production (elastase, pyocyanin, biofilm, and swarming motility), and essential gene expression of P. aeruginosa PAO1, particularly as they apply to QS and virulence. DADS at 1.28 mg/mL did not affect P. aeruginosa PAO1 growth, although it decreased elastase and pyocyanin production, biofilm formation, and swarming motility. Each of these phenomena is regulated by the three QS systems of P. aeruginosa PAO1 (las, rhl, and pqs). Real-time q-PCR revealed that DADS down-regulated the transcription levels of several important QS genes (lasI, lasR, rhlI, rhlR, pqsA, and pqsR) in the three systems. Furthermore, the transcription levels of QS-regulated virulence genes were also down-regulated. The lasB gene, encoding LasB elastase, is co-regulated by the las, rhl, and pqs systems, and thus the down-regulation of genes across the three systems further down-regulated lasB. Additionally, phzM (encoding pyocyanin), pslB (responsible for the production of a biofilm matrix polysaccharide), and chiC (encoding chitinase) were positively activated by LasR, and a decrease in lasR transcription further down-regulated the transcription of phzM, pslB, and chiC. Hence, DADS inhibits P. aeruginosa PAO1 virulence factors by inactivating the transcription of key genes across three different QS systems.

Tephrosin attenuates sepsis induced acute lung injury in rats by impeding expression of ICAM-1 and MIP-2.

Acute lung injury (ALI), a devastating form of respiratory infections, is characterized by increased edema, release of cytokines, weakened arterial oxygenation and infiltration of neutrophils and lymphocytes. The objective of the research envisaged was to reveal protective effects of tephrosin (TP) in ALI. In the present investigation, sepsis was triggered in rats by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) method, and TP was administered intraperitonially. Five groups - Group A (control), Group B (Sham group) Group C (infected and untreated), and Group D and E (infected and treated with 25 and 50 mg/kg TP respectively) - of ten rats each, were used for the investigation. Evaluation parameters included measurement of arterial oxygenation, lung water content, protein determination, cytokine determination, neutrophil and lymphocyte count in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). As indicated by histopathological examination, the lung injury score was maximum in group C, but indicated reduction in group D and E. Intracellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 and macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2) are known to be important mediators responsible for ALI. Reduction in the ICAM-1 and MIP-2 expression was found to reduce after treatment with TP. In comparison to group D, group E reflected higher magnitude of ICAM-1 and MIP-2 suppression due to administration of higher TP dose. Compared to Group A and B, Group E indicated slightly higher expression of ICAM-1 and MIP-2. The research envisaged thus supports that TP attenuates ICAM-1 and MIP-2 expression in sepsis induced ALI rat model.

Combined delivery of bone morphogenetic protein-2 and insulin-like growth factor-1 from nano-poly (γ-glutamic acid)/ß-tricalcium phosphate-based calcium phosphate cement and its effect on bone regeneration in vitro.

In this study, nano-doped calcium phosphate cement delivery systems (poly (γ-glutamic acid)/ß-tricalcium phosphate/calcium phosphate ceramics and nano (γ-glutamic acid)/ß-tricalcium phosphate/calcium phosphate ceramic) were fabricated, and low doses (10 µg/g) of two growth factors, insulin-like growth factor-1 and bone morphogenetic protein-2, were encapsulated then sequentially released. We characterized the delivery systems using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction and measured washout resistance and compressive strength, and thus optimized the most appropriate proportioning of delivery systems for the two growth factors. One of the growth factors was absorbed by the nano-poly (γ-glutamic acid)/ß-tricalcium phosphate, which was then mixed into the calcium phosphate ceramic solid phase to create a new solid phase calcium phosphate ceramic. Nano-poly (γ-glutamic acid)/ß-tricalcium phosphate/calcium phosphate ceramic carriers were then prepared by blending the new calcium phosphate ceramic solid phase powder with a solution of the remaining growth factor. The effects of different release patterns (studying sequential behavior) of insulin-like growth factor-1 and bone morphogenetic protein-2 on osteogenic proliferation and differentiation of the MC3t3-E1 mouse osteoblast cell were investigated. This combinational delivery system provided a controlled release of the two growth factors, in which nano-doping significantly affected their release kinetics. The incorporation of dual growth factors could potentially stimulate bone healing and promoting bone ingrowth processes at a low dose.

Complete genome sequence of Citrobacter werkmanii strain BF-6 isolated from industrial putrefaction.

BACKGROUND: In our previous study, Citrobacter werkmanii BF-6 was isolated from an industrial spoilage sample and demonstrated an excellent ability to form biofilms, which could be affected by various environmental factors. However, the genome sequence of this organism has not been reported so far. RESULTS: We report the complete genome sequence of C. werkmanii BF-6 together with the description of the genome features and its annotation. The size of the complete chromosome is 4,929,789 bp with an average coverage of 137×. The chromosome exhibits an average G + C content of 52.0%, and encodes 4570 protein coding genes, 84 tRNA genes, 25 rRNA operons, 3 microsatellite sequences and 34 minisatellite sequences. A previously unknown circular plasmid designated as pCW001 was also found with a length of 212,549 bp and a G + C content of 48.2%. 73.5%, 75.6% and 92.6% of the protein coding genes could be assigned to GO Ontology, KEGG Pathway, and COG (Clusters of Orthologous Groups) categories respectively. C. werkmanii BF-6 and C. werkmanii NRBC 105721 exhibited the closest evolutionary relationships based on 16S ribosomal RNA and core-pan genome assay. Furthermore, C. werkmanii BF-6 exhibits typical bacterial biofilm formation and development. In the RT-PCR experiments, we found that a great number of biofilm related genes, such as bsmA, bssR, bssS, hmsP, tabA, csgA, csgB, csgC, csgD, csgE, and csgG, were involved in C. werkmanii BF-6 biofilm formation. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first complete genome of C. werkmanii. Our work highlights the potential genetic mechanisms involved in biofilm formation and paves a way for further application of C. werkmanii in biofilms research.

The dynamics and mechanism of the antimicrobial activity of tea tree oil against bacteria and fungi.

Tea tree oil (TTO) is a yellow liquid extracted from Melaleuca alternifolia. Although the antimicrobial activity of TTO has been known for a long time, its specific antimicrobial effects and mechanism underlying these remain poorly characterized. The present study investigated the chemical composition of TTO and the dynamics and mechanism of its antimicrobial activities in two bacterial and two fungal strains. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis identified alkenes and alcohols as the main constituents of TTO. Terpinen-4-ol was the most abundant individual component, accounting for approximately 23 % of the TTO. Poisoned food technique assessment showed that the minimum inhibitory concentrations of TTO for bacterial strains (Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus) and fungal strains (Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger) were 1.08 and 2.17 mg/mL, respectively. Antimicrobial dynamic curves showed that with increasing concentrations of TTO, the rate of cell killing and the duration of growth lag phase increased correspondingly. These data indicated that TTO produced concentration and time-dependent antimicrobial effects. The minimum bactericidal and fungicidal concentrations of TTO were 2.17, 4.34, and 4.34 against E. coli, S. aureus, and C. albicans, respectively. However, A. niger conidia were not completely eradicated, even after 3 days in the presence of 17.34 mg/mL TTO. Transmission electron microscopy images indicated that TTO penetrated the cell wall and cytoplasmic membrane of all the tested bacterial and fungal strains. TTO may also penetrate fungal organelle membrane. These findings indicated that TTO maybe exerts its antimicrobial effects by compromising the cell membrane, resulting in loss of the cytoplasm and organelle damage, which ultimate leads to cell death.

Comparison of transcriptomes of wild-type and isothiazolone-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa by using RNA-seq.

Isothiazolone biocides (such as Kathon) are widely used in a variety of industrial and domestic applications. However, the mechanisms through which bacteria develop resistance to these biocides are not completely clear. A better understanding of these mechanisms can contribute to optimal use of these biocides. In this study, transcription profiles of a Kathon-resistant strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa-R) and the wild-type strain were determined using RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) with the Illumina HiSeq 2000 platform. RNA-Seq generated 18,657,896 sequence reads aligned to 7093 genes. In all, 1550 differently expressed genes (DEGs, log2 ratio ≥1, false discovery rate (FDR) ≤0.001) were identified, of which 482 were up-regulated and 1068 were down-regulated. Most Kathon-induced genes were involved in metabolic and cellular processes. DEGs significantly enriched nitrogen metabolism and oxidative phosphorylation pathways. In addition, Pa-R showed cross-resistance to triclosan and ciprofloxacin and showed repressed pyocyanin production. These results may improve our understanding of the resistance mechanisms of P. aeruginosa against isothiazolones, and provide insight into the development of more efficient isothiazolones.

Antifungal activity, kinetics and molecular mechanism of action of garlic oil against Candida albicans.

The antifungal activity, kinetics, and molecular mechanism of action of garlic oil against Candida albicans were investigated in this study using multiple methods. Using the poisoned food technique, we determined that the minimum inhibitory concentration of garlic oil was 0.35 µg/mL. Observation by transmission electron microscopy indicated that garlic oil could penetrate the cellular membrane of C. albicans as well as the membranes of organelles such as the mitochondria, resulting in organelle destruction and ultimately cell death. RNA sequencing analysis showed that garlic oil induced differential expression of critical genes including those involved in oxidation-reduction processes, pathogenesis, and cellular response to drugs and starvation. Moreover, the differentially expressed genes were mainly clustered in 19 KEGG pathways, representing vital cellular processes such as oxidative phosphorylation, the spliceosome, the cell cycle, and protein processing in the endoplasmic reticulum. In addition, four upregulated proteins selected after two-dimensional fluorescence difference in gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) analysis were identified with high probability by mass spectrometry as putative cytoplasmic adenylate kinase, pyruvate decarboxylase, hexokinase, and heat shock proteins. This is suggestive of a C. albicans stress responses to garlic oil treatment. On the other hand, a large number of proteins were downregulated, leading to significant disruption of the normal metabolism and physical functions of C. albicans.

Proteome responses of Citrobacter werkmanii BF-6 planktonic cells and biofilms to calcium chloride.

Calcium ions are well-known as intracellular second messengers that also have an important extracellular structural role for bacteria. Recently, we found that denser biofilms were formed by Citrobacter werkmanii BF-6 in the presence of 400 mM Ca(2+) than that of 12.5mM Ca(2+). Therefore, we employed two-dimensional (2-D) electrophoresis methods to investigate the proteome profiles of planktonic cells and biofilms in BF-6 under different concentrations of Ca(2+). Meanwhile, BF-6 biofilm architecture was also visualized with confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The results demonstrated that BF-6 biofilms formed at the bottom of microtiter plates when grown in the presence of 400 mM Ca(2+). A total of 151 proteins from planktonic cells and biofilms after exposure of BF-6 cells to 12.5 and 400 mM Ca(2+) were successfully identified. Different gene ontology (GO) and KEGG pathways were categorized and enriched for the above proteins. Growth in the presence of 400 mM Ca(2+) induced more complex signal pathways in BF-6 than 12.5mM Ca(2+). In addition, the biofilm architectures were also affected by Ca(2+). Our results show two different modes of biofilm enhancement for C. werkmanii in the presence of excess Ca(2+) and provide a preliminary expression of these differences based on proteomic assays.

The Three Bacterial Lines of Defense against Antimicrobial Agents.

Antimicrobial agents target a range of extra- and/or intracellular loci from cytoplasmic wall to membrane, intracellular enzymes and genetic materials. Meanwhile, many resistance mechanisms employed by bacteria to counter antimicrobial agents have been found and reported in the past decades. Based on their spatially distinct sites of action and distribution of location, antimicrobial resistance mechanisms of bacteria were categorized into three groups, coined the three lines of bacterial defense in this review. The first line of defense is biofilms, which can be formed by most bacteria to overcome the action of antimicrobial agents. In addition, some other bacteria employ the second line of defense, the cell wall, cell membrane, and encased efflux pumps. When antimicrobial agents permeate the first two lines of defense and finally reach the cytoplasm, many bacteria will make use of the third line of defense, including alterations of intracellular materials and gene regulation to protect themselves from harm by bactericides. The presented three lines of defense theory will help us to understand the bacterial resistance mechanisms against antimicrobial agents and design efficient strategies to overcome these resistances.

Insights into Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC9027 resistance to isothiazolones through proteomics.

Although many explanations have been proposed for drug resistance to isothiazolones, the scope of cellular and physiological changes associated with this resistance remains unclear. In this study, comparative proteomic profiles of Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC9027 (WT) and an induced strain of Pa-R, which showed resistance to Kathon (a type of isothiazolone), were characterized using two-dimensional electrophoresis and matrix-assisted desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectroscopy. The results showed that a total of 16 proteins were successfully identified, among which 5 proteins were upregulated and 11 proteins were found to be repressed in Pa-R. At the same time, there were 14 proteins that contributed to metabolic processes, 1 protein (ATP-binding component of ATP-binding cassette [ABC] transporter) was the cellular component, and 1 protein (LolA) exhibited a transporter activity. The respective gene expression patterns of all the identified proteins in both Pa-R and WT were also evaluated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and shown to consistently correlate with those deduced from the proteomic results. Moreover, the resistant levels of Pa-R and WT could be affected by temperature and pH. Additionally, Pa-R exhibited coresistance and cross-resistance to other types of antimicrobial agents. Our results suggest that the resistant levels of P. aeruginosa to isothiazolones could be affected by extracellular factors and the resistance features are a complex system.

Antibacterial activity and kinetics of Litsea cubeba oil on Escherichia coli.

Litsea cubeba oil is extracted from the fresh fruits of Litsea cubeba by distillation. In this study, its chemical constituents, antibacterial activity, kinetics and effects against Escherichia coli were studied. Its minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were both 0.125% (v/v) by toxic food method. Moreover, the antibacterial kinetic curves indicated 0.0625% (v/v) of litsea cubeba oil was able to prolong the growth lag phase of E. coli cells to approximate 12 hours while 0.125% (v/v) of litsea cubeba oil was able to kill the cells completely. Furthermore, transmission electron microscope (TEM) observation showed most E. coli cells treated with 0.125% (v/v) of litsea cubeba oil were killed or destroyed severely within 2 hours. The litsea cubeba oil might penetrate and destroy the outer and inner membrane of E. coli cells. Thus many holes and gaps were observed on the damaged cells, which led to their death eventually. The antibacterial effects of litsea cubeba oil mainly attributed to the presence of aldehydes, which accounted for approximately 70% in its whole components analyzed by GC/MS. Based on the antimicrobial properties, litsea cubeba oil would have a broad application in the antimicrobial industry.