Deep Functional Profiling of Wild Animal Microbiomes Reveals Probiotic Bacillus pumilus Strains with a Common Biosynthetic Fingerprint

The biodiversity of microorganisms is maintained by intricate nets of interactions between competing species. Impaired functionality of human microbiomes correlates with their reduced biodiversity originating from aseptic environmental conditions and antibiotic use. Microbiomes of wild animals are free of these selective pressures. Microbiota provides a protecting shield from invasion by pathogens in the wild, outcompeting their growth in specific ecological niches. We applied ultrahigh-throughput microfluidic technologies for functional profiling of microbiomes of wild animals, including the skin beetle, Siberian lynx, common raccoon dog, and East Siberian brown bear. Single-cell screening of the most efficient killers of the common human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus resulted in repeated isolation of Bacillus pumilus strains. While isolated strains had different phenotypes, all of them displayed a similar set of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) encoding antibiotic amicoumacin, siderophore bacillibactin, and putative analogs of antimicrobials including bacilysin, surfactin, desferrioxamine, and class IId cyclical bacteriocin. Amicoumacin A (Ami) was identified as a major antibacterial metabolite of these strains mediating their antagonistic activity. Genome mining indicates that Ami BGCs with this architecture subdivide into three distinct families, characteristic of the B. pumilus, B. subtilis, and Paenibacillus species. While Ami itself displays mediocre activity against the majority of Gram-negative bacteria, isolated B. pumilus strains efficiently inhibit the growth of both Gram-positive S. aureus and Gram-negative E. coli in coculture. We believe that the expanded antagonistic activity spectrum of Ami-producing B. pumilus can be attributed to the metabolomic profile predetermined by their biosynthetic fingerprint. Ultrahigh-throughput isolation of natural probiotic strains from wild animal microbiomes, as well as their metabolic reprogramming, opens up a new avenue for pathogen control and microbiome remodeling in the food industry, agriculture, and healthcare.     

Study on coalescent properties of ZnO nanoclusters using molecular dynamics simulation and experiment

The coalescent properties of ZnO clusters were studied through experiment and molecular dynamics simulation in combination with the tight-binding potential and ZnO potential. The results from the simulation show that the linearly relationship between the melting temperature and the function of atom numbers of N^−1/3 was obtainable. Extrapolating the result yield at a melting point of 2130 K for N→∞ (i.e. N^−1/3→0) was slightly lower than the bulk value of 2248 K. In addition, the neck diameter of two ZnO clusters was a function of temperature during coalescence. The contact length was influenced by the coalescence temperature and time, when a cluster was simulated being deposited onto a substrate. The experimental results showed that the grain size increased when the coalescence temperature and sintering time were increased.     

Glassy-like Metal Oxide Particles Embedded on Micrometer Thicker Alginate Films as Promising Wound Healing Nanomaterials

Micrometer-thicker, biologically responsive nanocomposite films were prepared starting from alginate-metal alkoxide colloidal solution followed by sol-gel chemistry and solvent removal through evaporation-induced assembly. The disclosed approach is straightforward and highly versatile, allowing the entrapment and growth of a set of glassy-like metal oxide within the network of alginate and their shaping as crake-free transparent and flexible films. Immersing these films in aqueous medium triggers alginate solubilization, and affords water-soluble metal oxides wrapped in a biocompatible carbohydrate framework. Biological activity of the nano-composites films was also studied including their hemolytic activity, methemoglobin, prothrombin, and thrombine time. The effect of the films on fibroblasts and keratinocytes of human skin was also investigated with a special emphasis on the role played by the incorporated metal oxide. This comparative study sheds light on the crucial biological response of the ceramic phase embedded inside of the films, with titanium dioxide being the most promising for wound healing purposes.     

Penicillin-Binding Proteins, β-Lactamases,and β-Lactamase Inhibitors in β-Lactam-Producing Actinobacteria: Self-Resistance Mechanisms

The human society faces a serious problem due to the widespread resistance to antibiotics in clinical practice. Most antibiotic biosynthesis gene clusters in actinobacteria contain genes for intrinsic self-resistance to the produced antibiotics, and it has been proposed that the antibiotic resistance genes in pathogenic bacteria originated in antibiotic-producing microorganisms. The model actinobacteria Streptomyces clavuligerus produces the β-lactam antibiotic cephamycin C, a class A β-lactamase, and the β lactamases inhibitor clavulanic acid, all of which are encoded in a gene supercluster; in addition, it synthesizes the β-lactamase inhibitory protein BLIP. The secreted clavulanic acid has a synergistic effect with the cephamycin produced by the same strain in the fight against competing microorganisms in its natural habitat. High levels of resistance to cephamycin/cephalosporin in actinobacteria are due to the presence (in their β-lactam clusters) of genes encoding PBPs which bind penicillins but not cephalosporins. We have revised the previously reported cephamycin C and clavulanic acid gene clusters and, in addition, we have searched for novel β-lactam gene clusters in protein databases. Notably, in S. clavuligerus and Nocardia lactamdurans, the β-lactamases are retained in the cell wall and do not affect the intracellular formation of isopenicillin N/penicillin N. The activity of the β-lactamase in S. clavuligerus may be modulated by the β-lactamase inhibitory protein BLIP at the cell-wall level. Analysis of the β-lactam cluster in actinobacteria suggests that these clusters have been moved by horizontal gene transfer between different actinobacteria and have culminated in S. clavuligerus with the organization of an elaborated set of genes designed for fine tuning of antibiotic resistance and cell wall remodeling for the survival of this Streptomyces species. This article is focused specifically on the enigmatic connection between β-lactam biosynthesis and β-lactam resistance mechanisms in the producer actinobacteria.     

Water absorption by acrylic‐based latex blend films and its effect on their properties

The absorption of moisture, from liquid as well as gaseous states of water, is known to strongly influence the properties of many polymeric materials. In this article, we examine the unusually high affinity for water of acrylic‐based latex blend films, which lose their transparency and turn white upon water absorption. Composed of rubbery and glassy phases at room temperature, these blends absorb significant amounts of water, which results in only a minor plasticization of the glassy component. When redried at elevated temperatures, the blend films return to their original transparent state but remain white and opaque when freeze‐dried at −70°C. Scanning electron micrographs of the freeze‐fractured surfaces of wet samples exhibit micron‐sized holes that suggest clusters of water inside the bulk of the films. A qualitative model associates these water clusters to residual surfactant inside the samples that is left behind after the drying of original latices. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 72: 1407–1419, 1999     

Thiosulfate-Cyanide Sulfurtransferase a Mitochondrial Essential Enzyme: From Cell Metabolism to the Biotechnological Applications

Thiosulfate: cyanide sulfurtransferase (TST), also named rhodanese, is an enzyme widely distributed in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, where it plays a relevant role in mitochondrial function. TST enzyme is involved in several biochemical processes such as: cyanide detoxification, the transport of sulfur and selenium in biologically available forms, the restoration of iron–sulfur clusters, redox system maintenance and the mitochondrial import of 5S rRNA. Recently, the relevance of TST in metabolic diseases, such as diabetes, has been highlighted, opening the way for research on important aspects of sulfur metabolism in diabetes. This review underlines the structural and functional characteristics of TST, describing the physiological role and biomedical and biotechnological applications of this essential enzyme.     

Silica-supported tantalum clusters: catalysts for conversion of methane with n-butane to give ethane, propane, and pentanes

Si0₂-supported tantalum clusters were prepared by adsorption of the precursor Ta(CH₂Ph)₅ (Ph is phenyl) on the support followed by treatments in H₂ at 523, 623, and 723 K. The resultant clusters, had approximate average diameters of 0.3, 0.8, and 2 nm, as determined by extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. The samples were tested as catalysts for conversion of methane with n-butane in a once-through flow reactor operated at atmospheric pressure and 523 K, and EXAFS spectroscopy was used to characterize the used catalysts. The results show that (a) the catalysts are active for the conversion of methane with n-butane to give ethane, propane, and pentanes; (b) catalytic activity decreased to nearly zero over a time on stream of 22 h; (c) the catalyst incorporating the smallest clusters exhibited the highest initial activity and that incorporating the largest clusters exhibited the lowest activity; (d) each used catalyst contained clusters of approximately the same nuclearity as the respective fresh catalyst, but with Ta–Ta bond lengths approximately 0.17 ? longer than those found in the fresh catalysts. The data are consistent with catalysis by the supported clusters, and the product distributions are consistent with disproportionation of n-butane accompanied by the reaction of methane with propane to give other alkanes.     

Fe82Ga18合金的磁致伸缩效应及显微组织研究

采用真空感应熔炼惰性气体吹铸方法,制备出了晶粒组织沿径向择优生长的φ3 mm Fe82Ga18合金棒材,沿轴向饱和磁致伸缩值达到92×10-6。系统研究了Fe82Ga18合金不同热处理方式下的相结构和磁致伸缩性能,通过对比退火前后合金的组织结构及性能发现,吹铸法制备的Fe82Ga18合金棒材,大的磁致伸缩性能缘自合金内部所具有的大量短程有序富Ga原子团簇,同时该合金沿〈110〉方向具有择优生长的趋势。     

Quantitative evaluation of sp/sp hybridization ratio in cluster-assembled carbon films by in situ near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy

We present a near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy characterization of nanostructured carbon films containing carbynoid species. By a careful data analysis and normalization of the spectra at the carbon K-edge we have quantitatively evaluated the extent of valence sp hybridization of the films. A sp/sp² ratio between 10% and 25% has been obtained. This result allowed the evaluation of the ratio between the sp and sp² Raman cross section at different excitation laser wavelengths.     

Effect of ambient gas ionisation on the morphology of a pulsed laser deposited carbon film

The paper reports a study of the mechanism of ambient gas ionisation and its effects on a growing carbon film. Such an ionisation occurs during the expansion through an inert gas of an ablation plume generated by laser irradiation of a target. Charge transfer reactions between ablated ions and inert gas atoms lead to the formation of a charged layer in contact with plume front. The energy lost by fast ablated ions associated with plume slowing down is calculated. In the case of carbon ablated in helium and argon atmospheres, where ionisation plays a very different role, we discuss the microstructure changes observed in the deposited films in terms of dramatic differences of plume dynamics.