Our current understanding of the spectral sensitivities of the mysticete whale rod-based visual pigments is based on two species, the gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) and the humpback whale ...(Megaptera novaeangliae) possessing absorbance maxima determined from difference spectra to be 492 and 497 nm, respectively. These absorbance maxima values are blueshifted relative to those from typical terrestrial mammals (≈500 nm) but are redshifted when compared to those identified in the odontocetes (479-484 nm). Although these mysticete species represent two of the four mysticete families, they do not fully represent the mysticete whales in terms of foraging strategy and underwater photic environments where foraging occurs. In order to better understand the spectral sensitivities of the mysticete whale rod visual pigments, we have examined the rod opsin genes from 11 mysticete species and their associated amino acid substitutions. Based on the amino acids occurring at positions 83, 292, and 299 along with the directly determined dark spectra from expressed odontocete and mysticete rod visual pigments, we have determined that the majority of mysticete whales possess deep-sea and pelagic like rod visual pigments with absorbance maxima between 479 and 484 nm. Finally, we have defined the five amino acid substitution events that determine the resulting absorbance spectra and associated absorbance maxima for the mysticete whale rod visual pigments examined here.
The complete genomic sequence of
Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032, well-known in industry for the production of amino acids, e.g. of
l-glutamate and
l-lysine was determined. The
C. glutamicum ...genome was found to consist of a single circular chromosome comprising 3 282 708 base pairs. Several DNA regions of unusual composition were identified that were potentially acquired by horizontal gene transfer, e.g. a segment of DNA from
C. diphtheriae and a prophage-containing region. After automated and manual annotation, 3002 protein-coding genes have been identified, and to 2489 of these, functions were assigned by homologies to known proteins. These analyses confirm the taxonomic position of
C. glutamicum as related to Mycobacteria and show a broad metabolic diversity as expected for a bacterium living in the soil. As an example for biotechnological application the complete genome sequence was used to reconstruct the metabolic flow of carbon into a number of industrially important products derived from the amino acid
l-aspartate.
To assess the spectral sensitivities of the retinal visual pigments from the North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), we have cloned and sequenced two exons from the rod opsin gene and two ...exons from the middle‐wavelength sensitive (MWS) cone opsin gene in order to determine the amino acids at positions known to be key regulators of the spectral location of the absorbance maximum (λmax). Based on previous mutagenesis models we estimate that the right whale possesses a rod visual pigment with a λmax of 499 nm and a MWS cone visual pigment with a λmax of 524 nm. Although the MWS cone visual pigment from the right whale is blue‐shifted in its spectral sensitivity like those from odontocetes, the spectral sensitivity of the right whale rod visual pigment is similar to those from terrestrial mammals.
Investigation of 62 clinical isolates of the opportunistic human pathogen
Corynebacterium jeikeium revealed that 17 possessed plasmids ranging in size from 7.6 to 14.9
kb. The plasmids formed four ...groups on DNA restriction analysis. The complete nucleotide sequence of a representative from each group (pK43, pK64, pCJ84, and pB85766) was subsequently determined. Additionally, two plasmids (pCo455 and pCo420) were shown to be derivatives of pK43 and pK64 carrying insertion sequences of the IS
3 family. Comparative genomics identified a conserved plasmid backbone consisting of two distinct DNA modules. Conserved motifs in the
parAB–repA module indicated that the sequenced plasmids from
C. jeikeium are new members of the pNG2 family. Recombinant derivatives of pK43 were shown to replicate in the soil bacterium
Corynebacterium glutamicum and in the human pathogen
Corynebacterium diphtheriae. The second plasmid module most likely encodes a novel type of DNA invertase. The respective gene is flanked by highly conserved 112-bp inverted repeats. All plasmids are `loaded' with a characteristic set of genes encoding products of unknown function. Plasmids indistinguishable from pK43 by DNA restriction analysis were identified in different
C. jeikeium strains, which revealed 16S-23S rDNA spacer length polymorphisms and specific antibiotic susceptibility profiles, implying a wide dissemination of the plasmid in clinical isolates of
C. jeikeium.
The complete nucleotide sequence of the erythromycin resistance plasmid pNG2 from the human pathogen
Corynebacterium diphtheriae S601 was determined. The plasmid has a total size of 15,100
bp and ...contains at least 17 coding regions. Comparative genomics identified conserved motifs within replication initiator proteins of corynebacterial plasmids and a novel nucleotide sequence feature, termed 22-bp box, located downstream of the
repA gene. The erythromycin resistance determinant
erm(X) is flanked by inverted repeats of the novel insertion sequence IS
3504, which may be responsible for a spontaneous deletion of the antibiotic resistance gene region. Furthermore, pNG2 encodes a putative conjugative relaxase, a membrane protein of the natural resistance-associated macrophage protein (Nramp) family and a protein with Nudix hydrolase signature. Expression of the predicted coding regions of pNG2 in
Escherichia coli JM109 was demonstrated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays. The detailed annotation of the entire pNG2 sequence provided genetic information regarding its molecular evolution and its role in dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes by horizontal gene transfer.
The binding of guanidinium ion has been shown to promote a large‐scale translation of a tandemly duplicated helix in an engineered mutant of T4 lysozyme. The guanidinium ion acts as a surrogate for ...the guanidino group of an arginine side chain. Here we determine whether methyl‐ and ethylguani‐dinium provide better mimics. The results show that addition of the hydrophobic moieties to the ligand enhances the binding affinity concomitant with reduction in ligand solubility. Crystallographic analysis confirms that binding of the alternative ligands to the engineered site still drives the large‐scale conformational change. Thermal analysis and NMR data show, in comparison to guanidinium, an increase in protein stability and in ligand affinity. This is presumably due to the successive increase in hydrophobicity in going from guanidinium to ethylguanidinium. A fluorescence‐based optical method was developed to sense the ligand‐triggered helix translation in solution. The results are a first step in the de novo design of a molecular switch that is not related to the normal function of the protein.
This practical guideline is based on the current scientific ESPEN guidelines on nutrition in cancer patients.
ESPEN guidelines have been shortened and transformed into flow charts for easier use in ...clinical practice. The practical guideline is dedicated to all professionals including physicians, dieticians, nutritionists and nurses working with patients with cancer.
A total of 43 recommendations are presented with short commentaries for the nutritional and metabolic management of patients with neoplastic diseases. The disease-related recommendations are preceded by general recommendations on the diagnostics of nutritional status in cancer patients.
This practical guideline gives guidance to health care providers involved in the management of cancer patients to offer optimal nutritional care.
Health benefits of the Mediterranean Diet (MD) have been shown in different at-risk populations. A German translation of the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS) from the PREvención con ...DIeta MEDiterránea (PREDIMED) consortium was used in the LIBRE study, investigating effects of lifestyle-intervention on women with BRCA1/2 mutations. The purpose of the present study is to validate the MEDAS German version.
LIBRE is a multicentre (three university hospitals during this pilot phase), unblinded, randomized, controlled clinical trial. Women with a BRCA1/2 mutation of age 18 or over who provided written consent were eligible for the trial. As part of the assessment, all were given a full-length Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) and MEDAS at baseline and after 3 months. Data derived from FFQ was compared to MEDAS in order to evaluate agreement or concordance between the two questionnaires. Additionally, the association of dietary intake biomarkers in the blood (β-carotene, omega-3, omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP)) with some MEDAS items was analyzed using t-Tests and a multivariate regression.
The participants of the LIBRE pilot study were 68 in total (33 Intervention, 35 Control). Only participants who completed both questionnaires were included in this analysis (baseline: 66, month three: 54). The concordance between these two questionnaires varied between the items (Intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.91 for pulses at the highest and -0.33 for sugar-sweetened drinks). Mean MEDAS scores (sum of all items) were 9% higher than their FFQ counter-parts at baseline and 15% after 3 months. Higher fish consumption (at least 3 portions) was associated with lower omega-6 fatty acid levels (p = 0.026) and higher omega-3 fatty acid levels (p = 0.037), both results being statistically significant.
We conclude that the German MEDAS in its current version could be a useful tool in clinical trials and in practice to assess adherence to MD.
ClinicalTrials.gov , registered on March 12, 2014, identifier: NCT02087592 . World Health Organization Trial Registration, registered on 3 August 2015, identifier: NCT02087592 .
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