Extrachromosomal elements as possible agents of adaptation and development.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
SEARCH · PubMed Health
Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Comparison of resistance genes from different sources support the hypothesis that the antibiotic-producing microorganisms are the source of resistant determinants present in clinical isolates. There is also evidence that Gram-positive cocci (staphylococci and streptococci) can serve as a reservoir of resistance genes for Gram-negative bacteria.
The authors studied the susceptibility to 5 aminoglycosides (amikacin, dibekacin, gentamicin, netilmicin and tobramycin) of 3,354 strains isolated at the Centre Hospitalier Sud in Bordeaux during 1987. The results are compared to those obtained in 1984 on 2,818 strains. Amikacin remains the most active aminoside against the Enterobacteriaceae and Acinetobacter; against Pseudomonas, tobramycin has become the best one at that time, as well as netilmicin against Staphylococcus aureus. Evolution: no significative increase of Enterobacteriaceae resistance to aminoglycosides was observed during the last 3 years except for Providencia and Serratia. For Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas, percentage of resistant strains is respectively two-fold and three-fold higher. Although resistance increased in that species, netilmicin and amikacin showed a still good activity against Staphylococcus aureus.
Blood sedimentation rate and balanced titration of immunoglobulins were studied in 59 patients presenting a ankylosing pelvispondylitis: in 30 of them, these examinations were repeated at an interval of 3-6 months. The sedimentation rate (Sed. rate) and the level of immunoglobulins G and A increased in the course of the disease, but an elective increase of the level of immunoglobulins A was not demonstrated. Neither the Sed. rate, nor the level of IgA are correlated to evolution criteria of the disease; a positive correlation is only found with the platelets number, in a vertical study of 59 patients. Nevertheless, the variations of the immunoglobulins A is positively correlated with alterations of the clinical condition as demonstrated in the longitudinal study carried out in 30 patients. This finding supports physiopathological hypothesis which incriminates microbial intestinal infections at the origin of evolutive bouts of ankylosing pelvispondylitis.
Microbial symbiosis underpins host adaptation, yet mechanisms of metabolic integration in holobionts remain unclear. Using metatranscriptomics, genomics, and metabolic assays, we investigated gut microbiome interactions in the European spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus). We observed metabolic complementarity among symbionts and host, forming cross-domain networks that support nutrient acquisition. Nitrogen recycling revealed strong interdependence: no single partner possessed a complete uric acid degradation pathway, but combined evidence supports a distributed pathway spanning beetle, Bacteria, and fungi. Additionally, bacterial nitrate reduction to ammonia indicates a potential nitrogen influx, making otherwise inaccessible inorganic nitrogen available to the host. Shaped by microbial interactions, symbionts also likely supply specific amino acids, while vitamin metabolism showed cross-domain co-metabolism, with Bacteria as main producers of B vitamins, while host and fungi modulated interconversion. Carbohydrate degradation was highly partitioned; bacteria target xylan and pectin, while fungi contribute to glucan breakdown. Crucially, our data provide indirect evidence that the beetle may contribute to complete cellulose degradation, highlighting an underappreciated host role in lignocellulose processing. In terms of enzymatic functional diversity, the bacteriome emerged as the most important microbiome component-an observation that contrasts with the traditional focus on fungi and underscores the need to consider bacterial contributions in insect symbioses. Despite life-stage variation, core metabolic functions remained stable. Overall, metabolic interdependence, rather than microbial composition alone, structures holobiont function. These results highlight functional redundancy and ecological resilience, emphasizing the importance of microbial cooperation and host-microbe metabolic evolution.
Many medications not prescribed to treat infectious diseases have antibacterial activity at physiologically relevant concentrations, raising the risk that chronic administration of such nonantibiotics may inadvertently select for resistance in the host microbiome. However, how frequently such exposures select for adaptations that impact broad drug resistance, including to antibiotics, remains unclear. Here, we systematically evolved Escherichia coli under exposure to 40 antibiotics and nonantibiotics and profiled the cross-resistance of the drug-adapted strains to 21 antibiotics representing all major classes. Our measurements revealed that most drug-adapted strains did not become multidrug resistant. However, five nonantibiotics and three antibiotics emerged as exceptions and were repeatedly selected for broad antibiotic resistance. Whole-genome sequencing of all 168 evolved strains revealed that changes in the regulation of efflux pumps repeatedly underlay broad drug resistance and converged into two key regulatory genes, acrR and lon. Our work suggests that although inadvertent antibiotic cross-resistance is rare, specific nonantibiotics can still potentially pose a risk for the emergence of multidrug resistance.IMPORTANCEMany medications not typically prescribed to treat infectious diseases have potent antimicrobial activity at physiological concentrations. This anti-bacterial activity raises concern that long-term administration of such nonantibiotics might unintentionally select for multidrug resistance, including resistance to antibiotics. Using Escherichia coli, we show that in most cases, these nonantibiotics do not broadly select for resistance to antibiotics in vitro. However, we identified five nonantibiotics that repeatedly selected for resistance to multiple antibiotics through a shared mechanism of action-upregulation of the multidrug efflux pump AcrAB-TolC. These findings highlight that while the overall risk is low, certain nonantibiotics may still contribute to the emergence of multidrug resistance. Identifying these high-risk drugs can help guide safer prescribing practices and inform strategies to limit the spread of antibiotic resistance.
Two different mechanisms were responsible for the disappearance of styrene in enrichment cultures: (i) a mixed population of microorganisms, capable of utilizing styrene as a sole carbon source, oxidized this substrate to phenylethanol and phenylacetic acid; (ii) the culture also mediated polymerization of the monomer to low-molecular-weight styrene oligomers. This chemical reaction probably occurred as the result of microbial degradation of butylcatechol, an antioxidant polymerization inhibitor present in commercial styrene. The resultant polymer material was subsequently metabolized. In soil incubation studies, 14CO2 evolution from applied [8-14C] styrene was used to estimate microbial degradation. Approximately 90 percent of the labeled carbon was evolved from a 0.2 percent addition, and about 75 percent was lost from the 0.5 percent application over a 16-week period.
Several patterns of enzymology for L-tyrosine biosynthesis exist in modern microorganisms, each differing in the apparent degree of regulatory efficiency. The extent of pathway evolution in a particular organism may reflect the relative selective pressure for regulation encountered in different ecological niches.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Predator-prey interactions are widespread across organisms and are key drivers of morphological and behavioral evolution. Despite this, predation remains poorly understood among microbial eukaryotes, mostly due to the absence of a tractable experimental system that allows quantitative, reproducible investigation. This study establishes the marine raptorial ciliate Chaenea vorax as a highly efficient predator, with Rosenzweig-MacArthur model simulations based on predation data showing that only a few dozen individuals can eliminate the vast majority of the facultatively pathogenic ciliate Uronema marinum within 1-2 days, providing a quantitative basis for developing predator-based biocontrol strategies in aquaculture. Genomic analysis shows that C. vorax possesses a highly fragmented macronuclear genome enriched with predation-related pathways, including calcium-mediated contractility, cellular proteolysis, toxin expulsion systems, among others. Transcriptomic profiling during predation events further demonstrates significant upregulation of genes involved in cytoskeletal remodeling, proteolytic activity, and cellular detoxification. Evolutionary analyses suggest that C. vorax has an extremely long evolutionary history, exceptionally high nucleotide diversity even among ciliates, and gene family expansions linked to predatory adaptation. Although the prey possesses certain defensive mechanisms (e.g. trichocysts), these are largely ineffective against short-term predation in closed aquatic environments. These findings provide fundamental insights into the molecular basis of predation in ciliates and suggest the potential utility of C. vorax in biocontrol applications targeting pathogenic ciliates.
Glucose and citrate are two major carbon sources in fruits or fruit juices such as orange juice. Their metabolism and the microorganisms involved in their degradation were studied by inoculating with an aliquot of fermented orange juice a synthetic model medium containing glucose and citrate. At pH 3.6, their degradation led, first, to the formation of ethanol due to the activity of yeasts fermenting glucose and, eventually, to the formation of acetate resulting from the activity of lactobacilli. The yeast population always outcompeted the lactobacilli even when the fermented orange juice used as inoculum was mixed with fermented beet leaves containing a wider variety of lactic acid bacteria. The evolution of the medium remained similar between pH 3.3 and 5.0. At pH 3.0 or below, the fermentation of citrate was totally inhibited. Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lactobacillus plantarum were identified as the only dominant microorganisms. The evolution of the model medium with the complex microbial community was successfully reconstituted with a defined coculture of S. cerevisiae and L. plantarum. The study of the fermentation of the defined model medium with a reconstituted microbial community allows us to better understand the behavior not only of fermented orange juice but also of many other fruit fermentations utilized for the production of alcoholic beverages.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
The following five outlines are the results to date of the Workshop held in Rockville, Maryland, in January, 1990. The topics considered in these outlines are: (1) validation of immunological and/or nucleic acid identification probes, (2) cross-calibration of methods and/or laboratories for multi-laboratory cooperative studies, (3) choosing methods for identifying or describing microbial populations appropriate to the scientific question asked, (4) microbial ecology methods (e.g., population dynamics) for the oral cavity studies, and (5) epidemiological methods (e.g., incidence, risk factor analysis) for oral microbial studies. Each topic was considered by two independent groups of participants and later rationalized into one. These outlines are meant to be working outlines for evolution of a set of guidelines to advise on designing studies with microbial incidence and/or population components. We are publishing this preliminary version to elicit comment and criticism from people who did not attend the Workshop. (Attendance at the Workshop was necessarily limited by both space and funds). Some of the topic outlines have been condensed to save Journal space. The full document is available on request. The next stage will be an open forum to gather and discuss further amplification of the "Guidelines", planned for April 17, 1991, Acapulco, Mexico, in conjunction with the IADR/AADR Meeting. Written comments and requests for further information should be sent to the Workshop organizer (MIK) at the above address.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
BACKGROUND: Marine algae represent major producers of complex polysaccharides and serve as hosts for diverse microbial communities in the phycosphere. Flavobacteriaceae are among the key bacterial taxa involved in polysaccharide degradation and carbon remineralization in this environment. However, the extent to which algal hosts drive the divergence of polysaccharide utilization profiles in these bacteria remains unclear. RESULTS: We conducted a genome-resolved analysis of 103 cultured Flavobacteriaceae strains isolated from red, green, and brown macroalgae, as well as from diatoms and dinoflagellates. We found that macroalga-associated strains generally harbored more abundant and diverse CAZyme-encoding genes than their microalga-associated counterparts. Moreover, strains associated with different algal phyla showed distinct metabolic specializations that aligned with the typical polysaccharides of their respective hosts, strongly supporting host-specific adaptation. In four widely distributed genera (Maribacter, Flagellimonas, Polaribacter, Winogradskyella), CAZyme profile dissimilarity and key glycoside hydrolase gene divergence exhibited phylogenetic congruence with algal host phylogeny (Mantel r up to 0.76 and 0.85, respectively), indicative of host-associated functional adaptation. Using Maribacter as a model, cultivation experiments and transcriptome characterization demonstrated that polysaccharide utilization efficiency is not solely linked to the organization of genes into polysaccharide utilization loci (PULs), but also associated with the expression dynamics of key transcription factors (TFs), particularly those from AraC and DeoR families, whose expression patterns were coordinated with laminarin degradation. Notably, these two TF families also exhibited host-associated divergence patterns similar to those of CAZyme-encoding genes. Furthermore, analysis of the Tara Oceans metagenomic data indicated that, within the AraC and DeoR families, a higher proportion of genes were positively correlated with chlorophyll a content compared to other TF families, reinforcing their specialized roles in alga-associated bacterial lifestyles. CONCLUSIONS: Our integrative genomic and transcriptomic analyses reveal evolutionary and regulatory adaptation of marine Flavobacteriaceae to distinct algal hosts. These findings highlight algae-derived habitats as specialized niches that shape microbial metabolic potential, and suggest that carbohydrate metabolism plays a key role in host-driven bacterial evolution across global oceans. Video Abstract.