Publications

entry of yersinia pestis into the viable but nonculturable state in a low-temperature tap water microcosm.	yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, has caused several pandemics throughout history and remains endemic in the rodent populations of the western united states. more recently, y. pestis is one of several bacterial pathogens considered to be a potential agent of bioterrorism. thus, elucidating potential mechanisms of survival and persistence in the environment would be important in the event of an intentional release of the organism. one such mechanism is entry into the viable but non- ...	2011	21436885
independent emergence of yersinia ruckeri biotype 2 in the united states and europe.	biotype 2 (bt2) variants of the bacterium yersinia ruckeri are an increasing disease problem in u.s. and european aquaculture and have been characterized as serovar 1 isolates that lack both peritrichous flagella and secreted phospholipase activity. the emergence of this biotype has been associated with an increased frequency of enteric redmouth disease (erm) outbreaks in previously vaccinated salmonid fish. in this study, four independent specific natural mutations that cause the loss of both m ...	2011	21441334
utilization of nitrophenylphosphates and oxime-based ligation for the development of nanomolar affinity inhibitors of the yersinia pestis outer protein h (yoph) phosphatase.	our current study reports the first k(m) optimization of a library of nitrophenylphosphate-containing substrates for generating an inhibitor lead against the yersinia pestis outer protein phosphatase (yoph). a high activity substrate identified by this method (k(m) = 80 µm) was converted from a substrate into an inhibitor by replacement of its phosphate group with difluoromethylphosphonic acid and by attachment of an aminooxy handle for further structural optimization by oxime ligation. a cocrys ...	2011	21443195
[toxicity of yersinia pestis ev76 lipopolysaccharides for mice sensitized by d-galactosamine].	to study toxicity of lipopolysaccharides (lps28 and lps 37) of yersinia pestis for mice sensitized by d-galactosamine (d-galn).	2011	21446171
[analysis of insect toxin complex gene variability of yersinia pestis and yersinia pseudotuberculosis strains].	the nucleotide sequences of the tc's insect toxin complex genes have been analyzed in 18 natural strains of the main and non-main subspecies of yersinia pestis isolated in different natural foci in the russian federation, as well as neighboring and more remote countries, as compared to the data on y. pestis and y. pseudotuberculosis strains stored in the ncbi genbank database. the nucleotide sequences of these genes in plague agent strains have been found to be highly conserved, in contrast to t ...	2011	21446179
antigenic and cross-protection studies of biotype 1 and biotype 2 isolates of yersinia ruckeri in rainbow trout, oncorhynchus mykiss (walbaum).	the study investigated antigen characteristics of biotype (bt) 1 and bt 2 isolates of yersinia ruckeri.	2011	21447021
shotgun sequencing of yersinia enterocolitica strain w22703 (biotype 2, serotype o:9): genomic evidence for oscillation between invertebrates and mammals.	yersinia enterocolitica strains responsible for mild gastroenteritis in humans are very diverse with respect to their metabolic and virulence properties. strain w22703 (biotype 2, serotype o:9) was recently identified to possess nematocidal and insecticidal activity. to better understand the relationship between pathogenicity towards insects and humans, we compared the w22703 genome with that of the highly pathogenic strain 8081 (biotype1b; serotype o:8), the only y. enterocolitica strain sequen ...	2011	21453472
mitochondria can recognize and assemble fragments of a beta-barrel structure.	ß-barrel proteins are found in the outer membranes of eukaryotic organelles of endosymbiotic origin as well as in the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria. precursors of mitochondrial ß-barrel proteins are synthesized in the cytosol and have to be targeted to the organelle. currently, the signal that assures their specific targeting to mitochondria is poorly defined. to characterize the structural features needed for specific mitochondrial targeting and to test whether a full ß-barrel struct ...	2011	21460184
[yersinia pestis infection in the state of bahia: effective control or epidemiological silence?]	introduction: from an epidemiological point of view, the plague is still being considered of great importance, because of its high epidemic potential. despite the absence of cases of human plague in brazil, its etiologic agent, the bacteria yersinia pestis, is still deep rooted in its natural environment. the occurrence of positive serology for plague in domestic carnivores in plague areas in bahia in the past few years implies the need for a more rigorous evaluation in order to verify whether t ...	2011	21468476
a comprehensive study on the role of the yersinia pestis virulence markers in an animal model of pneumonic plague.	we determined the role of yersinia pestis virulence markers in an animal model of pneumonic plague. eleven strains of y. pestis were characterized using pcr assays to detect the presence of known virulence genes both encoded by the three plasmids as well as chromosomal markers. the virulence of all y. pestis strains was compared in a mouse model for pneumonic plague. the presence of all known virulence genes correlated completely with virulence in the balb/c mouse model. strains which lacked hms ...	2011	21468758
neisseria meningitidis adhesin nada targets {beta}1 integrins: functional similarity to yersinia invasin.	meningococci are facultative-pathogenic bacteria endowed with a set of adhesins allowing colonization of the human upper respiratory tract, leading to fulminant meningitis and septicemia. the neisseria adhesin nada was identified in about 50% of n. meningitidis isolates and is closely related to the yersinia adhesin yada, the prototype of the oligomeric coiled-coil adhesin (oca) family. nada is known to be involved in cell adhesion, invasion, and induction of proinflammatory cytokines. because o ...	2011	21471204
automated lipid a structure assignment from hierarchical tandem mass spectrometry data.	infusion-based electrospray ionization (esi) coupled to multiple-stage tandem mass spectrometry (ms(n)) is a standard methodology for investigating lipid a structural diversity (shaffer et al. j. am. soc. mass. spectrom. 18(6), 1080-1092, 2007). annotation of these ms(n) spectra, however, has remained a manual, expert-driven process. in order to keep up with the data acquisition rates of modern instruments, we devised a computational method to annotate lipid a ms(n) spectra rapidly and automatic ...	2011	21472520
[the specific features of relations of the fleas xenopsylla cheopis l. to the plague microbe of the altai subspecies, its l-forms and revertant].	the rate and changes in the formation of bacterial lumps and blocks of the proventriculus in xenopsylla cheopis fleas in their contamination with the plague microbe of the altai subspecies, its l-form and revertant were studied to clarify the specific features of relations with the vector, including its transmission ability. the plague microbe of the altai subspecies, which was exposed to l-transformation in the resistant organism of a warm-blooded host (a guinea pig), as well as l-form revertan ...	2011	21476258
inactivation of avirulent yersinia pestis in beef bologna by gamma irradiation.	yersinia pestis, a psychrotrophic pathogen capable of growth at refrigeration temperatures, can cause pharyngeal and gastrointestinal plague in humans that consume contaminated foods. because y. pestis is listed as a select agent for food safety and defense, evaluation of food safety intervention technologies for inactivation of this pathogen is needed. ionizing (gamma) radiation is a safe and effective intervention technology that can inactivate pathogens in raw and processed meats, produce, an ...	2011	21477478
the strictly conserved arg-321 residue in the active site of escherichia coli topoisomerase i plays a critical role in dna rejoining.	the strictly conserved arginine residue proximal to the active site tyrosine of type ia topoisomerases is required for the relaxation of supercoiled dna and was hypothesized to be required for positioning of the scissile phosphate for dna cleavage to take place. mutants of recombinant yersinia pestis topoisomerase i with hydrophobic substitutions at this position were found in genetic screening to exhibit a dominant lethal phenotype, resulting in drastic loss in escherichia coli viability when o ...	2011	21478161
modified needle-tip pcrv proteins reveal distinct phenotypes relevant to the control of type iii secretion and intoxication by pseudomonas aeruginosa.	the type iii secretion system (t3ss) is employed to deliver effector proteins to the cytosol of eukaryotic hosts by multiple species of gram-negative bacteria, including pseudomonas aeruginosa. translocation of effectors is dependent on the proteins encoded by the pcrgvhpopbd operon. these proteins form a t3s translocator complex, composed of a needle-tip complex (pcrv), translocons (popb and popd), and chaperones (pcrg and pcrh). pcrv mediates the folding and insertion of popb/popd in host plas ...	2011	21479247
expression hierarchy in the yersinia type iii secretion system established through yopd recognition of rna.	the yersinia type iii secretion system (t3ss) is environmentally responsive to enable its rapid induction upon contact with host cells and is necessary for yersiniae to establish a replicative niche and cause disease. yopd, a translocator protein, represses the expression of t3ss genes until signalled by environmental cues, a mechanism known as the low calcium response. in this work, we investigated recognition of target genes by yersinia pestis yopd. expression of all genes of the t3ss was indu ...	2011	21481017
[recurrent abdominal pain in a patient with irritable bowel syndrome.]		2011	21481494
yersinia enterocolitica tonsillitis.	we present five cases of tonsillitis secondary to yersinia enterocolitica. no response to commonly-used antibiotics and continuous professional contact with pigs were common. the definitive diagnosis was established by bacteriological isolation on tonsil tissue samples.	2011	21481820
molecular phylogeny of burkholderia pseudomallei from a remote region of papua new guinea.	the island of new guinea is located midway between the world's two major melioidosis endemic regions of australia and southeast asia. previous studies in papua new guinea have demonstrated autochthonous melioidosis in balimo, western province. in contrast to other regions of endemicity, isolates recovered from both environmental and clinical sources demonstrate narrow genetic diversity over large spatial and temporal scales.	2011	21483841
effects of temperature on early-phase transmission of yersina pestis by the flea, xenopsylla cheopis.	sharp declines in human and animal cases of plague, caused by the bacterium yersinia pestis (yersin), have been observed when outbreaks coincide with hot weather. failure of biofilm production, or blockage, to occur in the flea, as temperatures reach 30 degrees c has been suggested as an explanation for these declines. recent work demonstrating efficient flea transmission during the first few days after fleas have taken an infectious blood meal, in the absence of blockage (e.g., early-phase tran ...	2011	21485382
comparative efficacies of candidate antibiotics against yersinia pestis in an in vitro pharmacodynamic model.	yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, is a potential agent of bioterrorism. streptomycin is the "gold standard" for the treatment of plague infections in humans, but the drug is not available in many countries, and resistance to this antibiotic occurs naturally and has been generated in the laboratory. other antibiotics have been shown to be active against y. pestis in vitro and in vivo. however, the relative efficacies of clinically prescribed regimens of these antibiotics with str ...	2011	21486959
no causal relationship between yersinia enterocolitica infection and autoimmune thyroid disease: evidence from a prospective study.	the objective of this study was to evaluate prospectively the relationship between yersinia enterocolitica (ye) infection and the development of overt autoimmune hypo- or hyperthyroidism (study a) and the de novo occurrence of thyroid antibodies (study b). this was a prospective cohort study of 790 euthyroid women who were first- or second-degree relatives of autoimmune thyroid disease (aitd) patients. follow-up was 5 years, with annual assessments. study a was a nested case-control study in whi ...	2011	21488870
use of protein microarray to identify gene expression changes of yersinia pestis at different temperatures.	yersinia pestis is a bacterium that is transmitted between fleas, which have a body temperature of 26 °c, and mammalian hosts, which have a body temperature of 37 °c. to adapt to the temperature shift, phenotype variations, including virulence, occur. in this study, an antigen microarray including 218 proteins of y. pestis was used to evaluate antibody responses in a pooled plague serum that was unadsorbed, adsorbed by y. pestis cultivated at 26 °c, or adsorbed by y. pestis cultivated at 26 and ...	2011	21491980
gut proteases target yersinia invasin in vivo.	abstract:	2011	21501502
association between yersinia ruckeri infection, cytokine expression and survival in rainbow trout (oncorhynchus mykiss).	the immune response against bacterial pathogens has been widely studied in teleosts and it is evident that survival chances differ significantly within a host population. identification of indicators for susceptibility and responsiveness will improve our understanding of this host-pathogen interaction. the present work shows that the transcripts of cytokine genes in blood cells sampled three days post-infection was significantly higher in fish which obtained a high bacteriemia and died at later ...	2011	21501689
gene expression profiling in naïve and vaccinated rainbow trout after yersinia ruckeri infection: insights into the mechanisms of protection seen in vaccinated fish.	despite the importance and success of vaccination against bacterial diseases in fish, little is known about the mechanisms of vaccine-induced disease resistance. in this study a known efficacious bacterial vaccine, to enteric redmouth disease (erm), was used to vaccinate rainbow trout, and sixty days later the fish were challenged with the causative agent of the disease, yersinia ruckeri. the bacterial burden in the spleen, the spleen index, and the expression profiles of pro- and anti-inflammat ...	2011	21504776
comparative study of immune status to infectious agents in elderly patients with multiple myeloma, waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia, and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance.	whereas patients with multiple myeloma (mm) have a well-documented susceptibility to infections, this has been less studied in other b-cell disorders, such as waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia (wm) and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (mgus). we investigated the humoral immunity to 24 different pathogens in elderly patients with mm (n = 25), wm (n = 16), and mgus (n = 18) and in age-matched controls (n = 20). antibody titers against pneumococci, staphylococcal alpha-toxin, tetanu ...	2011	21508164
asymmetric bioreduction of alkenes using ene-reductases yerser and kye1 and effects of organic solvents.	asymmetric trans-bioreduction of activated alkenes by kye1 from kluyveromyces lactis and yers-er from yersinia bercovieri, two ene-reductases from the old yellow enzyme family, showed a broad substrate spectrum with a moderate to excellent degree of stereoselectivity. both substrate- and enzyme-based stereocontrols were observed to furnish opposite stereoisomeric products. the effects of organic solvents on enzyme activity and stereoselectivity were outlined in this study, where two-phase system ...	2011	21510626
brucellosis of the european brown hare (lepus europaeus).	the european brown hare (lepus europaeus) is an important reservoir of brucella suis biovar 2 and also of the life-threatening zoonotic agent francisella tularensis. since both bacteria can produce similar gross pathological lesions in this species, laboratory tests are necessary for the final diagnosis. the aim of the present study was to develop an immunohistochemical method for the detection of b. suis infection and to describe the pathological and histological lesions caused by b. suis in eu ...	2011	21511271
cloning, expression analysis and bioactivity studies of rainbow trout (oncorhynchus mykiss) interleukin-22.	this report describes the cloning and characterisation of rainbow trout (oncorhynchus mykiss) interleukin (il)-22, and presents studies of the functional activity of its recombinant protein for the first time in a non-mammalian species. the predicted il-22 coding region consists of 522 nucleotides which translates into a 173 amino acid protein, that contains an il-10 family signature which is reasonably well conserved with other vertebrate il-22 molecules. expression analysis in tissues from hea ...	2011	21514178
serological and molecular heterogeneity among yersinia ruckeri strains isolated from farmed atlantic salmon salmo salar in chile.	we investigated 11 strains of yersinia ruckeri, the causative agent of enteric redmouth disease (erm), that had been isolated from atlantic salmon salmo salar l. farmed in chile and previously vaccinated against erm. phylogenetic analysis of the 16s rrna gene sequences confirmed the identification of the salmon isolates as y. ruckeri. a comparative analysis of the biochemical characteristics was made by means of traditional and commercial miniaturised methods. all studied isolates were motile an ...	2011	21516973
functional domains and motifs of bacterial type iii effector proteins and their roles in infection.	a key feature of the virulence of many bacterial pathogens is the ability to deliver effector proteins into eukaryotic cells via a dedicated type three secretion system (t3ss). many bacterial pathogens, including species of chlamydia, xanthomonas, pseudomonas, ralstonia, shigella, salmonella, escherichia and yersinia, depend on the t3ss to cause disease. t3ss effectors constitute a large and diverse group of virulence proteins that mimic eukaryotic proteins in structure and function. a salient f ...	2011	21517912
identification and characterisation of a novel adhesin ifp in yersinia pseudotuberculosis.	abstract:	2011	21527009
lessons learned about pneumonic plague diagnosis from 2 outbreaks, democratic republic of the congo.	pneumonic plague is a highly transmissible infectious disease for which fatality rates can be high if untreated; it is considered extremely lethal. without prompt diagnosis and treatment, disease management can be problematic. in the democratic republic of the congo, 2 outbreaks of pneumonic plague occurred during 2005 and 2006. in 2005, because of limitations in laboratory capabilities, etiology was confirmed only through retrospective serologic studies. this prompted modifications in diagnosti ...	2011	21529384
yersinia pestis dna sequences in late medieval skeletal finds, bavaria.	to the editor: we read with interest the report by wiechmann et al. that, in the investigation of late medieval plague, partial sequencing of the yersinia pestis ppcp1 plasmid yielded the observation of a 3-t homopolymeric tract which differed from the 5-t homopolymeric tract of the orientalis y. pestis co92 type strain (1). this observation was unexpected because previous data from multispacer sequence typing and glp d gene sequencing yielded only the orientalis biotype in cases of ancient plag ...	2011	21529431
molecular recognition of chymotrypsin by the serine protease inhibitor ecotin from yersinia pestis.	resistance to antibiotics is a problem not only in terms of healthcare but also biodefence. engineering of resistance into a human pathogen could create an untreatable biothreat pathogen. one such pathogen is yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague. previously we have used a bioinformatic approach to identify proteins which may be suitable targets for antimicrobial therapy and in particular for the treatment of plague. the serine protease inhibitor ecotin was identified as one such target ...	2011	21531711
diversity of somatic coliphages in coastal regions with different levels of anthropogenic activity in sao paulo state, brazil.	bacteriophages are the most abundant and genetically diverse viruses on earth, with their complex ecology in both quantitative and qualitative terms. somatic coliphages (sc) have been reported to be good indicators of fecal pollution in seawater. this study focused on determining the concentration of sc and their diversity by electron microscopy in seawater, plankton and bivalve samples collected at three coastal regions são paulo, brazil. the sc counts varied from <1 to 3.4×10(3) pfu/100ml in s ...	2011	21531842
a yersinia effector with enhanced inhibitory activity on the nf-κb pathway activates the nlrp3/asc/caspase-1 inflammasome in macrophages.	a type iii secretion system (t3ss) in pathogenic yersinia species functions to translocate yop effectors, which modulate cytokine production and regulate cell death in macrophages. distinct pathways of t3ss-dependent cell death and caspase-1 activation occur in yersinia-infected macrophages. one pathway of cell death and caspase-1 activation in macrophages requires the effector yopj. yopj is an acetyltransferase that inactivates mapk kinases and ikkβ to cause tlr4-dependent apoptosis in naïve ma ...	2011	21533069
towards a synthetic chloroplast.	the evolution of eukaryotic cells is widely agreed to have proceeded through a series of endosymbiotic events between larger cells and proteobacteria or cyanobacteria, leading to the formation of mitochondria or chloroplasts, respectively. engineered endosymbiotic relationships between different species of cells are a valuable tool for synthetic biology, where engineered pathways based on two species could take advantage of the unique abilities of each mutualistic partner.	2011	21533097
high catalytic efficiency and resistance to denaturing in bacterial rho gtpase-activating proteins.	abstract several major bacterial pathogens use the type iii secretion system (ttss) to deliver virulence factors into host cells. bacterial rho gtpase activating proteins (rhogaps) comprise a remarkable family of type iii secreted toxins that modulate cytoskeletal dynamics and manipulate cellular signaling pathways. we show that the rhogap activity of salmonella sptp and pseudomonas exos toxins is resistant to variations in the concentration of nacl or mgcl(2), unlike the known salt dependant na ...	2011	21534865
differentiation of lactococci from 2 greek cheeses with protected designation of origin by phenotypic criteria and rapd-pcr.	seventy-six lactococci isolates from 2 protected designation of origin (pdo) cheeses were studied for their acidification ability, proteolytic activity, and inhibitory activities as well as their intraspecies characterization by randomly amplified polymorphic dna-polymerase chain reaction (rapd-pcr). fifty-two of them were characterized as lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis by the sds-page of whole-cell proteins. the test strains increased the amount of acid in milk from 6 to 24 h as well as the q ...	2011	21535841
sequencing of a second interleukin-10 gene in rainbow trout oncorhynchus mykiss and comparative investigation of the expression and modulation of the paralogues in vitro and in vivo.	interleukin-10 (il-10) is a multifaceted cytokine that is produced by and effects a variety of cell populations, including macrophages, t, b and nk cells. the gene encoding for il-10 has been isolated in mammals, birds, amphibians and recently in fish, with only single copy identified in each species. we report here a second il-10 gene (til-10b) in rainbow trout that showed 92% identity in the coding region but only 50% identity in the 5'- and 3'-utr to the known trout il-10 paralogue, which we ...	2011	21536138
trimeric autotransporter adhesin-dependent adherence of bartonella henselae, bartonella quintana and yersinia enterocolitica to matrix components and endothelial cells under static and dynamic flow conditions.	trimeric autotransporter adhesins (taas) are important virulence factors of gram-negative bacteria responsible for adherence to extracellular matrix (ecm) and host cells. here, we analyzed three different taas [bartonella adhesin a (bada) of bartonella henselae, variably expressed outer membrane proteins (vomps) of bartonella quintana, yersinia adhesin a (yada) of yersinia enterocolitica] for mediating bacterial adherence to ecm and endothelial cells. using static (cell culture vials) and dynami ...	2011	21536788
rna-guided complex from a bacterial immune system enhances target recognition through seed sequence interactions.	prokaryotes have evolved multiple versions of an rna-guided adaptive immune system that targets foreign nucleic acids. in each case, transcripts derived from clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (crisprs) are thought to selectively target invading phage and plasmids in a sequence-specific process involving a variable cassette of crispr-associated (cas) genes. the crispr locus in pseudomonas aeruginosa (pa14) includes four cas genes that are unique to and conserved in microor ...	2011	21536913
safety and efficacy of anti-tumor necrosis factor α therapy in ten patients with recent-onset refractory reactive arthritis.		2011	21538314
brief communication: co-detection of bartonella quintana and yersinia pestis in an 11th-15th burial site in bondy, france.	historical and anthropological data suggest that skeletons excavated from an 11th to 15th century mass grave in bondy, france, may be those of victims of the great plague. using high-throughput real-time pcr investigation of the dental pulp collected from 14 teeth from five such skeletons, we detected bartonella quintana dna in three individuals and yersinia pestis dna in two individuals. dna from five other deadly pathogens was not found. suicide pcr genotyping confirmed y. pestis dna belonging ...	2011	21541920
[genetic bases of methionine dependence in yersinia pestis strains of major and non-major subspecies].	structural and functional organization of genes responsible for biosynthesis of amino acid methionine, which plays a leading role in cellular metabolism of bacteria, was studied in 24 natural yersinia pestis strains of the major and minor subspecies from various natural plague foci located in the territory of russian federation and neighbouring foreign countries, and also in y. pestis and y. pseudotuberculosis strains recorded in the files of ncbi genbank database. conservatism of genes meta, me ...	2011	21542303
recombinant expression and functional analysis of proteases from streptococcus pneumoniae, bacillus anthracis, and yersinia pestis.	abstract: background: uncharacterized proteases naturally expressed by bacterial pathogens represents important topic in infectious disease research, because these enzymes may have critical roles in pathogenicity and cell physiology. it has been observed that cloning, expression and purification of proteases often fail due to their catalytic functions which, in turn, cause toxicity in the e. coli heterologous host. results: in order to address this problem systematically, a modified pipeline of ...	2011	21545736
volatile compounds and bioactivity of eremurus spectabilis (ciris), a turkish wild edible vegetable.	abstract eremurus spectabilis grows in the spring as a wild vegetable and for many years has been used both as a food or food additive and for therapeutic purposes. this study investigated the total phenolic content and the antimicrobial, antioxidant, and antiradical activities of methanol, ethanol, and aqueous extracts of e. spectabilis (obtained from the antalya region of turkey). in addition, volatile compounds of e. spectabilis were characterized by using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry ...	2011	21548806
inactivation of pathogens on pork by steam-ultrasound treatment.	the objective of the study was to evaluate a new pathogen inactivation concept that combines application of pressurized steam simultaneously with high-power ultrasound through a series of nozzles. on skin and meat surfaces of pork jowl samples, counts of total viable bacteria were reduced by 1.1 log cfu/cm(2) after treatment for 1 s and by 3.3 log cfu/cm(2) after treatment for 4 s. the mean reduction of 1.7 to 3.3 log cfu/cm(2) on the skin surface was significantly higher than the reduction of 1 ...	2011	21549047
17beta-estradiol affects the response of complement components and survival of rainbow trout (oncorhynchus mykiss) challenged by bacterial infection.	research on the endocrine role of estrogens has focused on the reproductive system, while other potential target systems have been less studied. here, we investigated the possible immunomodulating role of 17β-estradiol (e2) using rainbow trout (oncorhynchus mykiss) as a model. the aims of the study were to examine a) whether estrogens can modulate immune gene transcription levels, and b) whether this has functional implications for the resistance of trout towards pathogens. trout were reared fro ...	2011	21549195
genetic assignment methods for gaining insight into the management of infectious disease by understanding pathogen, vector, and host movement.	for many pathogens with environmental stages, or those carried by vectors or intermediate hosts, disease transmission is strongly influenced by pathogen, host, and vector movements across complex landscapes, and thus quantitative measures of movement rate and direction can reveal new opportunities for disease management and intervention. genetic assignment methods are a set of powerful statistical approaches useful for establishing population membership of individuals. recent theoretical improve ...	2011	21552326
adhesins of human pathogens from the genus yersinia.	bacteria of the gram-negative genus yersinia are environmentally ubiquitous. three species are of medical importance: the intestinal pathogens y. enterocolitica and y. pseudotuberculosis, and the plague bacillus y. pestis. the two former species, spread by contaminated food or water, cause a range of gastrointestinal symptoms and, rarely, sepsis. on occasion, the primary infection is followed by autoimmune sequelae such as reactive arthritis. plague is a systemic disease with high mortality. it ...	2011	21557054
structure and biology of trimeric autotransporter adhesins.	trimeric autotransporter adhesins (taas) are a family of secreted gram-negative bacterial outer membrane (om) proteins. these obligate homotrimeric proteins share a common molecular organisation, consisting of a n-terminal "passenger" domain followed by a c-terminal translocation unit/membrane anchor. all described taas act as adhesins. the passenger domain is responsible for specific adhesive and other activities of the protein and has a modular architecture. its globular head domain(s), where ...	2011	21557062
histopathological observation of immunized rhesus macaques with plague vaccines after subcutaneous infection of yersinia pestis.	in our previous study, complete protection was observed in chinese-origin rhesus macaques immunized with sv1 (20 µg f1 and 10 µg rv270) and sv2 (200 µg f1 and 100 µg rv270) subunit vaccines and with ev76 live attenuated vaccine against subcutaneous challenge with 6×10(6) cfu of y. pestis. in the present study, we investigated whether the vaccines can effectively protect immunized animals from any pathologic changes using histological and immunohistochemical techniques. in addition, the glomerula ...	2011	21559437
differential control of yersinia pestis biofilm formation in vitro and in the flea vector by two c-di-gmp diguanylate cyclases.	yersinia pestis forms a biofilm in the foregut of its flea vector that promotes transmission by flea bite. as in many bacteria, biofilm formation in y. pestis is controlled by intracellular levels of the bacterial second messenger c-di-gmp. two y. pestis diguanylate cyclase (dgc) enzymes, encoded by hmst and y3730, and one phosphodiesterase (pde), encoded by hmsp, have been shown to control biofilm production in vitro via their opposing c-di-gmp synthesis and degradation activities, respectively ...	2011	21559445
genome sequencing and analysis of yersina pestis kim d27, an avirulent strain exempt from select agent regulation.	yersinia pestis is the causative agent of the plague. y. pestis kim 10+ strain was passaged and selected for loss of the 102 kb pgm locus, resulting in an attenuated strain, kim d27. in this study, whole genome sequencing was performed on kim d27 in order to identify any additional differences. initial assemblies of 454 data were highly fragmented, and various bioinformatic tools detected between 15 and 465 snps and indels when comparing both strains, the vast majority associated with a or t hom ...	2011	21559501
food-specific attribution of selected gastrointestinal illnesses: estimates from a canadian expert elicitation survey.	abstract the study used a structured expert elicitation survey to derive estimates of food-specific attribution for nine illnesses caused by enteric pathogens in canada. it was based on a similar survey conducted in the united states and focused on campylobacter spp., escherichia coli o157:h7, listeria monocytogenes, nontyphoidal salmonella enterica, shigella spp., vibrio spp., yersinia enterocolitica, cryptosporidium parvum, and norwalk-like virus. a snowball approach was used to identify food ...	2011	21561379
chlorine dioxide inactivation of bacterial threat agents.	aims: to evaluate the efficacy of chlorine dioxide (clo(2) ) against seven species of bacterial threat (bt) agents in water. methods and results: two strains of bacillus anthracis spores, yersinia pestis, francisella tularensis, burkholderia pseudomallei, burkholderia mallei, and brucella species were each inoculated into a clo(2) solution with an initial concentration of 2·0 mg l(-1) (spores only) and 0·25 mg l(-1) (all other bacteria) at ph 7 or 8, 5°c or 25°c. at 0·25 mg l(-1) in potable wa ...	2011	21623848
an individual-based simulation of pneumonic plague transmission following an outbreak and the significance of intervention compliance.	the existence of primary pneumonic plague outbreaks raises concerns over the use of the causative bacteria as an aerosol-based bioweapon. we employed an individual-based model, parameterised using published personal contact information, to assess the severity of a deliberate release in a discrete community, under the influence of two proposed intervention strategies. we observed that the severity of the resulting epidemic is determined by the degree of personal compliance with said strategies, i ...	2011	21624780
transcriptional regulation of ompf2, an ompf paralogue, in yersinia pestis.	a regulatory circuit composed of three porins (ompf, ompc, and ompx) and two transcriptional regulators (ompr and crp) has previously been characterized in yersinia pestis . in this follow-up study, ompf2, an ompf paralogue, was integrated into this regulatory circuit. only basal expression was detected for ompf2 in the wild-type strain under different osmotic conditions. the ompf2 transcription was dramatically enhanced with increasing medium osmolarity in the ompr null mutant background. the c ...	2011	21627465
in vitro efficacy of antibiotics commonly used to treat human plague against intracellular yersinia pestis.	yersinia pestis initiates infection as a facultative intracellular parasite in host macrophages; however, little is known about the efficacy of antibiotics commonly used to treat human plague against intracellular y. pestis. intracellular minimal bactericidal concentrations were determined using a high throughput broth microdilution assay in which human thp-1 macrophage-like cells were infected with y. pestis strain kim6-2053.1+ and exposed to two-fold serial dilutions of antibiotics for 24 h in ...	2011	21628541
yersinia species in the dunnock (prunella modularis) in sub-alpine habitats of the western carpathians.	the study presents the prevalence of yersinia species in dunnok prunella modularis from the sub-alpine zone of the western carpathians. bacteria were detected from cloacal and pharyngeal swabs from 97 specimens using pcr assay. yersinia enterocolitica showed the highest prevalence (47.4%) from among the determined yersinia species. yersinia species (except y frederiksenii) were detected more frequently in pharyngeal than cloacal samples. the highest prevalence of yersiniosis was detected in apri ...	2011	21630578
seasonal and among-site variation in the occurrence and abundance of fleas on california ground squirrels (otospermophilus beecheyi).	an improved understanding of the ecology of fleas on california ground squirrels, otospermophilus beecheyi, is warranted given the role of fleas in the transmission, and perhaps persistence, of the plague-causing bacterium yersinia pestis. we sampled o. beecheyi on a seasonal basis from three study sites, each representing a different land use type (preserve, pasture, and agriculture) in the san joaquin valley, ca. overall, the abundance of fleas on squirrels was greatest in spring at the preser ...	2011	21635649
structure and function of martx toxins and other large repetitive rtx proteins.	the repeats-in-toxins (rtx) family of proteins classically consists of cytolysins and hemolysins. over the past decade, genome sequencing revealed the existence of very large members of this family. these are all repetitive proteins ranging in size from 200 to 900 kda that function as toxins or adhesins. many are exported by type i secretion. one major new subfamily is the large repetitive rtx adhesins and biofilm-associated proteins. these are characterized by 80- to 300- amino-acid repeats ord ...	2011	21639783
yersinia pestis tir-domain protein forms dimers that interact with the human adaptor protein myd88.	recent research has highlighted the presence of toll/interleukin 1 receptor (tir)-domain proteins (tdps) in a range of bacteria, suggested to form interactions with the human adaptor protein myd88 and inhibit intracellular signaling from toll-like receptors (tlrs). a tdp has been identified in yersinia pestis (yptdp), a highly pathogenic bacterium responsible for plague. expression of a number of yptir constructs of differing lengths (yptir1, s130-a285; yptir2, i137-i273; yptir3, i137-246; yptir ...	2011	21640812
yersinia pestis yope contains a dominant cd8 t cell epitope that confers protection in a mouse model of pneumonic plague.	septic bacterial pneumonias are a major cause of death worldwide. several of the highest priority bioterror concerns, including anthrax, tularemia, and plague, are caused by bacteria that acutely infect the lung. bacterial resistance to multiple antibiotics is increasingly common. although vaccines may be our best defense against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, there has been little progress in the development of safe and effective vaccines for pulmonary bacterial pathogens. the gram-negative bac ...	2011	21653834
trends of the major porin gene (ompf) evolution: insight from the genus yersinia.	ompf is one of the major general porins of enterobacteriaceae that belongs to the first line of bacterial defense and interactions with the biotic as well as abiotic environments. porins are surface exposed and their structures strongly reflect the history of multiple interactions with the environmental challenges. unfortunately, little is known on diversity of porin genes of enterobacteriaceae and the genus yersinia especially. we analyzed the sequences of the ompf gene from 73 yersinia strains ...	2011	21655186
modulation of connexin signaling by bacterial pathogens and their toxins.	inherent to their pivotal tasks in the maintenance of cellular homeostasis, gap junctions, connexin hemichannels, and pannexin hemichannels are frequently involved in the dysregulation of this critical balance. the present paper specifically focuses on their roles in bacterial infection and disease. in particular, the reported biological outcome of clinically important bacteria including escherichia coli, shigella flexneri, yersinia enterocolitica, helicobacter pylori, bordetella pertussis, aggr ...	2011	21656255
low resolution structure of a bacterial slc26 transporter reveals dimeric stoichiometry and mobile intracellular domains.	the slc26/sulp (solute carrier/sulfate transporter) proteins are a superfamily of anion transporters conserved from bacteria to man, of which four have been identified in human diseases. proteins within the slc26/sulp family exhibit a wide variety of functions, transporting anions from halides to carboxylic acids. the proteins comprise a transmembrane domain containing between 10-12 transmembrane helices followed a by c-terminal cytoplasmic sulfate transporter and anti-sigma factor antagonist (s ...	2011	21659513
vital signs: incidence and trends of infection with pathogens transmitted commonly through food--foodborne diseases active surveillance network, 10 u.s. sites, 1996-2010.	in the united states, contaminated food causes approximately 1,000 reported disease outbreaks and an estimated 48 million illnesses, 128,000	2011	21659984
enhancement of immune response to an antigen delivered by vaccinia virus by displaying the antigen on the surface of intracellular mature virion.	vaccinia virus (vacv) is the vaccine for smallpox and a widely used vaccine vector for infectious diseases and cancers. the majority of the antibodies elicited by live vacv vaccination respond to virion structural proteins, including many integral membrane proteins on the intracellular mature virion (mv). here, we showed that antibody response to an exogenous antigen delivered by vacv was greatly enhanced by incorporating the antigen as an integral membrane protein of mv. we constructed recombin ...	2011	21664218
progress on plague vaccine development.	yersinia pestis (yp), the gram-negative plague bacterium, has shaped human history unlike any other pathogen known to mankind. yp (transmitted by the bite of an infected flea) diverged only recently from the related enteric pathogen yersinia pseudotuberculosis but causes radically different diseases. three forms of plague exist in humans: bubonic (swollen lymph nodes or bubos), septicemic (spread of yp through the lymphatics or bloodstream from the bubos to other organs), and contagious, pneumon ...	2011	21670978
oxime-based click chemistry in the development of 3-isoxazolecarboxylic acid containing inhibitors of yersinia pestis protein tyrosine phosphatase, yoph.	the pathogenicity of yersinia pestis relies on several effector proteins including yoph, a protein tyrosine phosphatase (ptp). we previously screened a library of analogues based on the ubiquitous ptp substrate para-nitrophenylphosphate (pnpp) and found that incorporation of a 3-phenyl substituent to give 6-nitro-[1,1'-biphenyl]-3-yldihydrogen phosphate (1) enhanced affinity. herein we report the conversion of 1 from a substrate into an inhibitor by replacing the hydrolysable phosphoryl group wi ...	2011	21671403
monitoring of gene expression in bacteria during infections using an adaptable set of bioluminescent, fluorescent and colorigenic fusion vectors.	a family of versatile promoter-probe plasmids for gene expression analysis was developed based on a modular expression plasmid system (pz). the vectors contain different replicons with exchangeable antibiotic cassettes to allow compatibility and expression analysis on a low-, midi- and high-copy number basis. suicide vector variants also permit chromosomal integration of the reporter fusion and stable vector derivatives can be used for in vivo or in situ expression studies under non-selective co ...	2011	21673990
pathogenic microorganisms carried by migratory birds passing through the territory of the island of ustica, sicily (italy).	several studies have shown that migratory birds play an important role in the ecology, circulation and dissemination of pathogenic organisms. in october 2006, a health status evaluation was performed on a large population of migratory birds passing through the territory of ustica (italy), an island located on the migration route of many species of birds to africa, and various laboratory tests were conducted. in total, 218 faecal swabs and the internal organs of 21 subjects found dead in nets wer ...	2011	21812720
quantitative proteomic analysis reveals formation of an escl-escq-escn type iii complex in enteropathogenic e. coli.	we characterized two type iii secretion (t3s) system proteins orf5 and sepq in enteropathogenic escherichia coli and showed that they are essential for t3s, associated with the bacterial membrane, and interact with escn. our findings suggest that orf5 and sepq are the yscl and yscq homologs from yersinia, respectively.	2011	21804003
t cells play an essential role in anti-f1 mediated rapid protection against bubonic plague.	plague, which is initiated by yersinia pestis infection, is a fatal disease that progresses rapidly and leads to high mortality rates if not treated. antibiotics are an effective plague therapy, but antibiotic-resistant y. pestis strains have been reported and therefore alternative countermeasures are needed. in the present study, we assessed the potential of an f1 plus lcrv-based vaccine to provide protection shortly pre- or post-exposure to a lethal y. pestis infection. mice vaccinated up to o ...	2011	21803090
physical, chemical and microbiological quality of ice used to cool drinks and foods in greece and its public health implications.	ice used for direct human consumption or to preserve foods and cool down drinks can be contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms and may potentially become a vehicle for consumer's infection. to evaluate physical, chemical and microbiological quality of commercial ice and ice used for fish and seafood, 100 ice samples collected at 10 different retail points in the region of epirus were studied. the following microbiological parameters were determined: total coliforms, fecal coliforms, salmonel ...	2011	21802520
tnfrp55 modulates il-6 and nitric oxide responses following yersinia lipopolysaccharide stimulation in peritoneal macrophages.	while cytokines are major regulators of macrophage activation following host-pathogen interactions, they also act to limit inflammation to avoid tissue damage. in previous studies we reported the development of progressive yersinia enterocolitica-induced reactive arthritis (rea) in mice lacking the tumor necrosis factor receptor p55 (tnfrp55). in this work, we analyzed the response of tnfrp55(-/-) macrophages to y. enterocolitica antigens. we found higher concentration of nitric oxide (no) in tn ...	2011	21802165
[purification of recombinant h-ns protein of yersinia pestis and characterization of its dna-binding activity].	the regulator protein h-ns of yersinia pestis was expressed using the escherichia coli bl21lambdade3 protein expression system, and its dna-binding activity was characterized.	2011	21800623
transmission shifts underlie variability in population responses to yersinia pestis infection.	host populations for the plague bacterium, yersinia pestis, are highly variable in their response to plague ranging from near deterministic extinction (i.e., epizootic dynamics) to a low probability of extinction despite persistent infection (i.e., enzootic dynamics). much of the work to understand this variability has focused on specific host characteristics, such as population size and resistance, and their role in determining plague dynamics. here, however, we advance the idea that the relati ...	2011	21799873
the pathogenic potential of yersinia enterocolitica 1a.	yersinia enterocolitica 1a strains are generally considered apathogenic. however, besides environmental sources, foods and animals, they are repeatedly isolated from patients with gastrointestinal symptoms typical to those evoked by yersinia of the virulent 1b and 2-4 biotypes. also, at least 2 gastrointestinal outbreaks associated with 1a strains have been reported. there is a general controversy concerning the pathogenic potential of 1a isolates of clinical and non-clinical origin. to address ...	2011	21798805
[epizootological assessment of the possibilities of importing plague from vietnam to russia].	to assess whether the plague microbe with vectors or carriers can be imported from vietnam to russia, the authors consider the specific features of pathogen circulation in this country's biotopes varying in anthropogenic transformation. the idea that there were natural foci of plague in vietnam dominated until the late 1990s. the small rat rattus exulans that inhabits open stations and ensures a parasitic contact with the synanthropic representatives of the fauna was considered to be a major car ...	2011	21797070
[interaction of plague microbe strains varying in plasmid composition with the fleas xenopsylla cheopis (roths. 1903)].	the interaction of two yersinia pestis strains varying in plasmid composition with the fleas xenopsylla cheopis was studied. the reference virulent strain i-2638 having four plasmids (pcad, ppst, pfra, and ptp 33) and its selected avirulent strain i-3480 that had lost the plasmids pcad and ppst formed a proventricular block in the fleas with equal frequency. there were no differences in the block-forming capacity of these strains among the infected females; however, the stock strain was more act ...	2011	21797060
characterization of a yersinia enterocolitica biotype 1a strain harboring an ail gene.	aims: the chromosomal ail gene (attachment and invasion locus) is commonly used as target gene for detection of pathogenic y. enterocolitica strains in food testing. the ail pcr does not detect strains of biotype 1a (bt1a), which are regarded as non-pathogenic since bt1a strains lack the virulence plasmid and chromosomally encoded virulence genes. in some recent reports, however, bt1a strains were discovered that harbored the ail gene. we isolated an ail positive strain and characterized this s ...	2011	21794036
yersinia pseudotuberculosis bloodstream infection and septic arthritis: case report and review of the literature.	yersinia pseudotuberculosis belongs to the family enterobacteriaceae and is known to cause enterocolitis, terminal ileitis, pseudoappendicitis, erythema nodosum, reactive polyarthritis, and, occasionally, bloodstream infections. here, we report the first case of bacteremia and septic arthritis in a patient without obvious risk factors and review all of the published cases of y. pseudotuberculosis bloodstream infections.	2011	21789525
yersinia pestis autoagglutination factor is a component of the type six secretion system.	autoagglutination (aa) is a protective phenotypic trait facilitating survival of bacteria in hostile environments and in the host during infection. autoagglutination factors (afs) that possess self-associating ability are currently characterized in many gram-negative bacteria, but yersinia pestis afs are still a matter of debate. previously, we have shown that af of hms(-) strain y. pestis ev76 is a complex of the 17,485-kda protein and a low-molecular-weight component with siderophore activity. ...	2011	21784704
[clinical features, diagnosis and treatment of 5 cases of primary pneumonic plague in tibet in 2010].	to explore the clinical manifestations, the feature of chest x-ray, the clinical outcome, and the clinical treatments of severe pneumonic plague.	2011	21781509
[antimicrobial activity of bacteriocin s760 produced by enterococcus faecium strain lwp760].	antimicrobial activity of bacteriocin s760 (enterocin) produced by enterococcusfaecium strain lwp760 was studied. bacteriocin s760 is a cationic, hydrophobic, and heat stable peptide with the molecular weight of 5.5 kda and pl of 9.8. enterocin s760 is shown to inhibit in vitro the growth both of sensitive and resistant to antibacterials gramnegative and grampositive bacteria of 25 species. mics of the bacteriocin s760 vary between 0.05-1.6 mg/l for escherichia coli 0157:h117, salmonella typhimu ...	2011	21780664
'bioluminescent' reporter phage for the detection of category a bacterial pathogens.	yersinia pestis and bacillus anthracis are category a bacterial pathogens that are the causative agents of the plague and anthrax, respectively (1). although the natural occurrence of both diseases' is now relatively rare, the possibility of terrorist groups using these pathogens as a bioweapon is real. because of the disease's inherent communicability, rapid clinical course, and high mortality rate, it is critical that an outbreak be detected quickly. therefore methodologies that provide rapid ...	2011	21775956
multi-functional characteristics of the pseudomonas aeruginosa type iii needle-tip protein, pcrv; comparison to orthologs in other gram-negative bacteria.	pseudomonas aeruginosa possesses a type iii secretion system (t3ss) to intoxicate host cells and evade innate immunity. this virulence-related machinery consists of a molecular syringe and needle assembled on the bacterial surface, which allows delivery of t3 effector proteins into infected cells. to accomplish a one-step effector translocation, a tip protein is required at the top end of the t3 needle structure. strains lacking expression of the functional tip protein fail to intoxicate host ce ...	2011	21772833
identification of the lps core of yersinia pestis and yersinia pseudotuberculosis as the receptor for bacteriophage {varphi}a1122.	?a1122 is t7-related bacteriophage infecting most isolates of yersinia pestis, the etiologic agent of plague, and used by cdc in the identification of y. pestis. ?a1122 infects y. pestis grown both at 20°c and at 37°c. wild type y. pseudotuberculosis strains are also infected, but only when grown at 37°c. since y. pestis expresses rough lipopolysaccharide (lps) missing the o-polysaccharide (o-ps) and expression of y. pseudotuberculosis o-ps is largely suppressed at temperatures above 30°c it has ...	2011	21764935
deletion of internal structured repeats increases the stability of a leucine-rich repeat protein, yopm.	mapping the stability distributions of proteins in their native folded states provides a critical link between structure, thermodynamics, and function. linear repeat proteins have proven more amenable to this kind of mapping than globular proteins. c-terminal deletion studies of yopm, a large, linear leucine-rich repeat (lrr) protein, show that stability is distributed quite heterogeneously, yet a high level of cooperativity is maintained [1]. key components of this distribution are three interf ...	2011	21764506
optimization of a sample preparation method for the metabolomic analysis of clinically relevant bacteria.	metabolomics, or metabolite profiling, is an approach that is increasingly used to study the metabolism of diverse organisms, elucidate biological processes and/or find characteristic biomarkers of physiological states. here, we describe the optimization of a method for global metabolomic analysis of bacterial cultures, with the following steps. cells are grown to log-phase, starting from an overnight culture and bacterial concentrations are monitored by measuring the optical density of the cult ...	2011	21763728
prevention of pneumonic plague in mice, rats, guinea pigs and non-human primates with clinical grade rv10, rv10-2 or f1-v vaccines.	yersinia pestis causes plague, a disease with high mortality in humans that can be transmitted by fleabite or aerosol. a us food and drug administration (fda)-licensed plague vaccine is currently not available. vaccine developers have focused on two subunits of y. pestis: lcrv, a protein at the tip of type iii secretion needles, and f1, the fraction 1 pilus antigen. f1-v, a hybrid generated via translational fusion of both antigens, is being developed for licensure as a plague vaccine. the rv10 ...	2011	21763383
yersinia pestis in small rodents, mongolia.	to the editor: plague is known to be endemic in several areas of mongolia, but transmission to humans seems to play only a minor role because the number of recognized cases is relatively low (figure) (1). the first human cases in mongolia were reported to the world health organization in 1980, and <20 human cases have occurred each year since then (2). however, human plague was first reported in 1897 (3), such infections have been documented since the 1940s, and yersinia pestis can be found in m ...	2011	21762605
identification and characterization of a new true lipase isolated through metagenomic approach.	abstract: background: metagenomics, the application of molecular genomics to consortia of non-cultivated microbes, has the potential to have a substantial impact on the search for novel industrial enzymes such as esterases (carboxyl ester hydrolases, ec 3.1.1.1) and lipases (triacylglycerol lipases, ec 3.1.1.3). in the current work, a novel lipase gene was identified from a fosmid metagenomic library constructed with the "prokaryotic-enriched" dna from a fat-contaminated soil collected from a wa ...	2011	21762508
annual seroprevalence of yersinia pestis in coyotes as predictors of interannual variation in reports of human plague cases in arizona, united states.	abstract although several health departments collect coyote blood samples for plague surveillance, the association between reported human cases and coyote seroprevalence rates remains anecdotal. using data from an endemic region of the united states, we sought to quantify this association. from 1974 to 1998, about 2,276 coyote blood samples from four arizona counties were tested for serological evidence of exposure to yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague. using a titer threshold presum ...	2011	21756031