Comparative Analyses of the Transport Proteins Encoded within the Genomes of nine Bifidobacterium Species

The human microbiome influences human health in both negative and positive ways. Studies on the transportomes of these organisms yield information that may be utilized for various purposes, including the identification of novel drug targets and the manufacture of improved probiotic strains. Moreover, these genomic analyses help to improve our understanding of the physiology and metabolic capabilities of these organisms. The present study is a continuation of our studies on the transport proteins of the major gut microbes. <i>Bifidobacterium</i> species are essential members of the human gut microbiome, and they initiate colonization of the gut at birth, providing health benefits that last a lifetime. In this study we analyze the transportomes of nine bifidobacterial species: <i>B. adolescentis, B. animalis, B. bifidum, B. breve, B. catenulatum, B. dentium, B. longum</i> subsp. <i>infantis, B. longum</i> subsp. <i>longum, and B. pseudocatenulatum</i>. All of these species have proven probiotic characteristics and exert beneficial effects on human health. Surprisingly, we found that all nine of these species have similar pore-forming toxins and drug exporters that may play roles in pathogenesis. These species have transporters for amino acids, carbohydrates, and proteins, essential for their organismal lifestyles and adaption to their respective ecological niches. The strictly probiotic species, <i>B. bifidum</i>, however, contains fewer such transporters, thus indicative of limited interactions with host cells and other gut microbial counterparts. The results of this study were compared with those of our previous studies on the transportomes of multiple species of <i>Bacteroides, Escherichia coli/Salmonella</i>, and <i>Lactobacillus</i>. Overall, bifidobacteria have larger transportomes (based on percentages of total proteins) than the previously examined groups of bacterial species, with a preference for primary active transport systems over secondary carriers. Taken together, these results provide useful information about the physiologies and pathogenic potentials of these probiotic organisms as reflected by their transportomes.

Comparison of the Efficacy of Disinfectant Pre-impregnated Wipes for Decontaminating Stainless Steel Carriers Experimentally Inoculated With Ebola Virus and Vesicular Stomatitis Virus

The authors evaluated four disinfectant pre-impregnated wipes (DPW) for efficacy against Ebola virus Makona variant (EBOV) and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), Indiana serotype. Steel carriers were inoculated with the infectious virus and then were wiped with DPW in the Wiperator instrument per ASTM E2967-15. Following the use of J-Cloth impregnated with medium (negative control wipes) or the use of activated hydrogen peroxide (AHP)-, ethanol-, sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl)-, or single or dual quaternary ammonium compound (QAC)-based DPW, virus recovery from the carriers was assayed by titration assay and by two passages on Vero E6 cells in 6-well plates. The Wiperator also enabled the measurement of potential transfer of the virus from the inoculated carrier to a secondary carrier by the DPW or control wipes. The J-Cloth wipes wetted with medium alone (no microbicidal active) removed 1.9–3.5 log10 of virus from inoculated carriers but transferred ~4 log10 of the wiped virus to secondary carriers. DPW containing AHP, ethanol, NaOCl, or single or dual QAC as active microbicidal ingredients removed/inactivated ~6 log10 of the virus, with minimal EBOV or no VSV virus transfer to a secondary surface observed. In Ebola virus outbreaks, a DPW with demonstrated virucidal efficacy, used as directed, may help to mitigate the unintended spread of the infectious virus while performing surface cleaning.

Comparative population genomic analyses of transporters within the Asgard archaeal superphylum

Upon discovery of the first archaeal species in the 1970s, life has been subdivided into three domains: Eukarya, Archaea, and Bacteria. However, the organization of the three-domain tree of life has been challenged following the discovery of archaeal lineages such as the TACK and Asgard superphyla. The Asgard Superphylum has emerged as the closest archaeal ancestor to eukaryotes, potentially improving our understanding of the evolution of life forms. We characterized the transportomes and their substrates within four metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), that is, Odin-, Thor-, Heimdall- and Loki-archaeota as well as the fully sequenced genome of Candidatus Prometheoarchaeum syntrophicum strain MK-D1 that belongs to the Loki phylum. Using the Transporter Classification Database (TCDB) as reference, candidate transporters encoded within the proteomes were identified based on sequence similarity, alignment coverage, compatibility of hydropathy profiles, TMS topologies and shared domains. Identified transport systems were compared within the Asgard superphylum as well as within dissimilar eukaryotic, archaeal and bacterial organisms. From these analyses, we infer that Asgard organisms rely mostly on the transport of substrates driven by the proton motive force (pmf), the proton electrochemical gradient which then can be used for ATP production and to drive the activities of secondary carriers. The results indicate that Asgard archaea depend heavily on the uptake of organic molecules such as lipid precursors, amino acids and their derivatives, and sugars and their derivatives. Overall, the majority of the transporters identified are more similar to prokaryotic transporters than eukaryotic systems although several instances of the reverse were documented. Taken together, the results support the previous suggestions that the Asgard superphylum includes organisms that are largely mixotrophic and anaerobic but more clearly define their metabolic potential while providing evidence regarding their relatedness to eukaryotes.

SBT (Sense Before Transmit) Based LTE Licenced Assisted Access for 5 GHz Unlicensed Spectrum

Utilization of unlicensed spectrum under licensed assisted access ensuring fair co-existence with Wi-Fi networks is a good solution to address immense usage of mobile data. Radio communication operation of LTE in unlicensed frequency band is referred as LTE-unlicensed (LTE-U) or LTE-licensed assisted access. In this paper, we consider a HGNW in which coverage area of Wireless-Fidelity (Wi-Fi)’s Access Point is integrated within the LTE-U small base station’s cellular network coverage area. To overcome the disadvantages of existing LTE-U technics like carrier sense adaptive transmission and listen before talk, we proposed a new methodology i.e., sense before transmit in this paper by adopting a transmit power control mechanisms using reciprocity theorem based on the channel state information to assign the secondary carriers in the uplink as well as in the downlink directions in the unlicensed spectrum to carry the traffic. In our proposal, LTE-U users are allowed to use the unlicensed spectrum provided that the interference produced at Wi-Fi users due to LTE-U activities is remained below a certain threshold. We evaluated the performance of proposed network model in terms of outage probability and achievable throughputs.

The Dominance Indices and the Probability to Involve Different Fleas Types in Epizootic Diseases on the Example of Central-Caucasian High-Mountain Natural Plague Focus

The paper attempts to use an indicator of the number of fleas of different species in the natural focus of the plague to assess the intensity of epizootics. The correlation between the number of fleas of seven species and the number of isolated strains of plague microbe is established. It is shown for small species to be more often involved in epizootics during their intensive course, which corresponded to the first period of the focus activity. In the second period characterized the tendency to decrease the share of small species in the epizootic process. The third period demonstrated a significant difference with the first two previous ones. The detection insamples of field material of infected secondary carriers of these species or random carriers was indirect evidence of intense epizootics.

Relationship of the Representatives of Eight Genera of Siphonaptera Order and Yersinia Pestis from Tuva Natural Plague Focus

Mutual relations of Yersinia pestis and fleas are a necessary condition to estimation the role of carriers in maintenance of the causative agent circulation. Objective – the comparative analysis of frequency of «conglomerate» and «block» formations by Y. pestis in fleas parasitizing on the main and minor carriers in the Tuva natural focus. Materials and methods. Results of experiments with representatives of eight genera of Siphonaptera order and Y. pestis subsp. pestis from the Tuva focus were analyzed. Mammals with various epizootological roles in the focus were used as flea fooders. Frequency of «block» and bacterial «conglomerate» formations and death of the infected insects was estimated. Results and discussion. The highest level of block formation was observed in Citellophilus tesquorum altaicus, Frontopsylla elatoides, Neopsylla mana, Oropsylla alaskensis, Rhadinopsylla li transbaicalica – parasites of the basic carrier (Spermophilus undulates). Formation of «conglomerates» was more often revealed in F. hetera, Paradoxopsyllus scalonae, P. scorodumovi, P. dashidorzhii, Amphipsylla primaris – ectoparasites of the minor carriers (Ochotona pallasi, Alticola strelzovi). Positive connection between frequency of Y. pestis conglomerate formations in fleas and their death rate was detected. Maximal death rate of the carrier was observed at high degree of Y. pestis aggregation. It was supposed that fleas of the basic carrier participated in a greater degree in Y. pestis distribution and ectoparasites of the secondary carriers – in its persistence.

Comparative insights to the transportome ofNosema: a genus of parasitic microsporidians

Nosema,a genus of parasitic microsporidia, causes pebrine disease in arthropods, including economically important silkworms and honeybees.Nosemahave gene-poor genomes shaped by loss of the metabolic pathways, as a consequence of continued dependence on host-derived substrates. As an act of counterbalance, they have developed an array of transporter proteins that allow stealing from their hosts. Here, we have identified the core set of twelve transporter families present inNosemagenus, viz.N. apis, N. bombycis, N. ceranaeandN. antheraeathroughin silicopipeline. Transportomes ofN. apis, N. bombycis, N. ceranaeandN. antheraeahave a dominant share of secondary carriers and primary active transporters. The comparatively rich and diverse transportome ofN. bombycisindicates the role of transporters in its remarkable capability of host adaptation. The core set of transporter families ofNosemaincludes ones that have a likely role in osmo-regulation, intra- and extra-cellular pH regulation, energy compensation and self-defence mechanism. This study has also revealed a set of ten species-specific transporter families within the genus. To our knowledge, this is the first ever intra-genus study on microsporidian transporters. Both these datasets constitutes a valuable resource that can aid in development of inhibitor-basedNosemamanagement strategies.

Comparative Analyses of Transport Proteins Encoded within the Genomes of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus HD100 and Bdellovibrio exovorus JSS

<i>Bdellovibrio</i>, δ-proteobacteria, including <i>B. bacteriovorus</i> (Bba) and <i>B. exovorus</i> (Bex), are obligate predators of other Gram-negative bacteria. While Bba grows in the periplasm of the prey cell, Bex grows externally. We have analyzed and compared the transport proteins of these 2 organisms based on the current contents of the Transporter Classification Database (TCDB; www.tcdb.org). Bba has 103 transporters more than Bex, 50% more secondary carriers, and 3 times as many MFS carriers. Bba has far more metabolite transporters than Bex as expected from its larger genome, but there are 2 times more carbohydrate uptake and drug efflux systems, and 3 times more lipid transporters. Bba also has polyamine and carboxylate transporters lacking in Bex. Bba has more than twice as many members of the Mot-Exb family of energizers, but both may have energizers for gliding motility. They use entirely different types of systems for iron acquisition. Both contain unexpectedly large numbers of pseudogenes and incomplete systems, suggesting that they are undergoing genome size reduction. Interestingly, all 5 outer-membrane receptors in Bba are lacking in Bex. The 2 organisms have similar numbers and types of peptide and amino acid uptake systems as well as protein and carbohydrate secretion systems. The differences observed correlate with and may account, in part, for the different lifestyles of these 2 bacterial predators.