Bacterial Gene Expression (bacterial + gene_expression)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Presence of High Numbers of Transcriptionally Active Helicobacter pylori in Vomitus from Bangladeshi Patients Suffering from Acute Gastroenteritis

HELICOBACTER, Issue 4 2009
Anders Janzon
Abstract Background:,Helicobacter pylori is one of the most prevalent human bacterial pathogens; however, its transmission pathways remain unknown. New infections of H. pylori during outbreaks of gastroenteritis have been suggested previously, and to explore this transmission route further H. pylori was quantified in vomitus and diarrheal stool of patients suffering from acute gastroenteritis in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Materials and Methods:, Vomitus and stool samples from 28 patients seeking care at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research hospital were analyzed for presence of H. pylori and other pathogens using quantitative culturing, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and H. pylori stool antigen test. Bacterial gene expression was analyzed using reverse transcriptase real-time PCR. Results:, The results of real-time PCR show that 23 (88%) of the 26 vomitus samples and 17 (74%) of the 23 stool samples were H. pylori positive, while stool antigen test show that 14 (67%) of the 21 stool samples were H. pylori positive. H. pylori could not be isolated by culture. Analysis using quantitative culture and real-time PCR to detect Vibrio cholerae showed strong correlation between these methods, and validating real-time PCR. Analysis of H. pylori virulence gene transcription in vomitus, diarrheal stool, antral and duodenal biopsy specimens, and in vitro cultures showed that cagA, flaA, and ureA were highly transcribed in vomitus, biopsy specimens, and cultures, whereas hpaA and vacA were expressed at lower levels. No H. pylori gene expression was detected in diarrheal stool. Conclusions:, We conclude that high numbers of transcriptionally active H. pylori are shed in vomitus, which indicates that new infections may be disseminated through vomiting. [source]


An improved method to extract RNA from soil with efficient removal of humic acids

JOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 4 2009
Y. Wang
Abstract Aims:, To remove humic substances from RNA extracted from soil for the study of bacterial gene expression in soil. Methods and Results:, A soil RNA extraction method was improved by optimization of lysis conditions and further purification by a spin column, to efficiently remove humic substances that may hinder enzymatic reactions of extracted RNA. Fluorescence spectrophotometry demonstrated that the improved method removed both humic and fulvic acids efficiently. Using the improved method, the signal of gene expression detected by real-time reverse transcription,polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) increased 10-fold compared with that using the previous method. Using the method, we extracted RNA from a sterilized field soil, which was inoculated with Pseudomonas putida KT2440 transformed with a chloroaromatic degrading plasmid, in the presence or absence of 3-chlorobenzoate (3CB). Real-time RT-PCR performed using the extracted RNA as a template confirmed the induction of chloroaromatic degrading genes in 3CB-amended soil. Conclusions:, The modified soil RNA extraction method succeeded in removing the co-extracted humic substances from soil RNA efficiently and improving the detection efficiency of the bacterial gene expression in soil. Significance and Impact of the Study:, This improved method is a useful tool for the extraction of RNA to detect gene expression in soil. [source]


Regulation of bacterial gene expression by the NTP substrates of transcription initiation

MOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2008
Charles L. Turnbough
Summary Many mechanisms of gene regulation in bacteria do not employ repressor or activator proteins. One class of these mechanisms includes those in which the key regulatory element is the control of transcription initiation by the availability of NTP substrates. In this commentary, several distinct examples of initiating NTP-mediated gene regulation are discussed, including a mechanism reported by Krásnýet al. in this issue of Molecular Microbiology. These researchers show that during the stringent response induced by amino acid starvation of Bacillus subtilis, increases in the intracellular level of ATP permit upregulation of promoters with +1A start sites, while concurrent decreases in the intracellular level of GTP cause downregulation of promoters with +1G start sites. This regulation is restricted to stringently controlled promoters. [source]


Global gene expression profile of Orientia tsutsugamushi

PROTEINS: STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND BIOINFORMATICS, Issue 8 2010
Bon-A Cho
Abstract Orientia tsutsugamushi, an obligate intracellular bacterium, is the causative agent of Scrub typhus. The control mechanisms for bacterial gene expression are largely unknown. Here, the global gene expression of O. tsutsugamushi within eukaryotic cells was examined using a microarray and proteomic approaches for the first time. These approaches identified 643 genes, corresponding to approximately 30% of the genes encoded in the genome. The majority of expressed genes belonged to several functional categories including protein translation, protein processing/secretion, and replication/repair. We also searched the conserved sequence blocks (CSBs) in the O. tsutsugamushi genome which is unique in that up to 40% of its genome consists of dispersed repeated sequences. Although extensive shuffling of genomic sequences was observed between two different strains, 204 CSBs, covering 48% of the genome, were identified. When combining the data of CSBs and global gene expression, the CSBs correlates well with the location of expressed genes, suggesting the functional conservation between gene expression and genomic location. Finally, we compared the gene expression of the bacteria-infected fibroblasts and macrophages using microarray analysis. Some major changes were the downregulation of genes involved in translation, protein processing and secretion, which correlated with the reduction in bacterial translation rates and growth within macrophages. [source]