Gene expression in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms.

Bacteria often adopt a sessile biofilm lifestyle that is resistant to antimicrobial treatment. Opportunistic pathogenic bacteria like Pseudomonas aeruginosa can develop persistent infections. To gain insights into the differences between free-living P. aeruginosa cells and those in biofilms, and into the mechanisms underlying the resistance of biofilms to antibiotics, we used DNA microarrays. Here we show that, despite the striking differences in lifestyles, only about 1% of genes showed differential expression in the two growth modes; about 0.5% of genes were activated and about 0.5% were repressed in biofilms. Some of the regulated genes are known to affect antibiotic sensitivity of free-living P. aeruginosa. Exposure of biofilms to high levels of the antibiotic tobramycin caused differential expression of 20 genes. We propose that this response is critical for the development of biofilm resistance to tobramycin. Our results show that gene expression in biofilm cells is similar to that in free-living cells but there are a small number of significant differences. Our identification of biofilm-regulated genes points to mechanisms of biofilm resistance to antibiotics.     

蓝藻的抗药性及其诱导与质粒关系

考察5个种9株水生蓝藻对8 种抗菌素和Hg~(2+)、Ca~(2+)离子的抗性及其诱导与质粒遗传的关系,结果表明,蓝藻种间及株系间对药物的抗性有显著差异。某些藻株对几种抗菌素的抗性可因诱导而显著增强。经三次连续药物诱导培养后抗药性可提高5～20倍。诱导获得的抗药性是可以传递的。对7株蓝藻进行质粒DNA检测,发现其中4 株分别含有1、2或3个质粒。对比分析表明这些株系的抗药性与其内含质粒不存在对应关系,表明蓝藻抗药性遗传不是质粒编码的。讨论了蓝藻抗药性诱导的实质及其用于除污染的意义。     

共振散射光谱分析方法测定痕量庆大霉素

在pH值为3.2-6.2 NaOAc-HOAc缓冲介质中,十二烷基苯磺酸钠分别与硫酸庆大霉素(GEN)、硫酸妥布霉素(TOB)、硫酸卡那霉素(KANA)、硫酸新霉素(NEO)等氨基糖苷类抗生素相互作用形成缔合物,在320,340,420 和470 nm有4个散射峰.GEN,TOB,KANA和NEO的浓度分别在0.072 0-5.04,0.128-7.04,0.240-4.80,0.076 0-6.84 mg/L与共振散射强度成正比,检出限分别为0.010,0.031,0.090,0.070 mg/L.该法有好的选择性和灵敏度,用于市售庆大霉素注射液、片剂和胶囊的测定,结果比较满意.     

质粒与基因工程

质粒是细小、环状、独立于染色体外，能自主复制的DNA，合有少量基因。原核细胞质粒合有可控制原核细胞发育，转移对药物的耐药性、毒性产物，降解碳源等基因。近代可利用质粒研究各种机体基因结构与功能的关系，作为研究基因工程的工具与技术。     

Expression of a transposable antibiotic resistance element in Saccharomyces

Some eukaryotic genes can be expressed in bacteria but there are few examples of the expression of prokaryotic genes in eukaryotes. Antibiotic G418 is a 2-deoxystreptamine antibiotic that is structurally related to gentamicin but has inhibitory activity against a much wider variety of pro- and eukaryotic organisms. In bacteria, resistance to G418 can be determined by several plasmid-encoded modifiying enzymes and, in view of the broad spectrum of activity of G418, we considered that this antibiotic might be useful as a selective agent for the introduction of these antibiotic resistance genes into a eukaryotic organism such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Additional impetus for these experiments came from the knowledge that certain of the G418-resistance determinants in bacteria are carried on transposable elements; a study of the properties of these elements in eukaryotes would be intriguing.     

依纽小单胞菌2-脱氧蟹肌醇合成酶基因的克隆与表达

从伊纽小单孢菌(Micromonospora inyoensis)扩增参与紫苏霉素生物合成的2-脱氧蟹肌醇合成酶基因sisB,并分别将其克隆到筛选载体pUC18和表达载体pET-30a上,其开放阅读框长1 185 bp,编码含394个氨基酸残基(41.94 ku)的多肽链,将pET-sisB转化大肠杆菌E.coliBL21(DE3),使sisB基因实现表达.基因sisB的碱基序列与棘孢小单孢菌(M.echinospora)的基因gntB的碱基序列的同源性高达93%.预测的SisB蛋白序列与GntB蛋白序列的同源性为95.2%.基因sisB是继紫苏霉素抗性基因srm1(AY661430)和参与紫苏霉素生物合成的糖基转移酶基因sisD(DQ250992)和sisZ(DQ250994)后,从依纽小单孢菌克隆到的又一新基因.该基因在GenBank的接受号为DQ250993.     

Complete genome sequence of a multiple drug resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi CT18.

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. typhi) is the aetiological agent of typhoid fever, a serious invasive bacterial disease of humans with an annual global burden of approximately 16 million cases, leading to 600,000 fatalities. Many S. enterica serovars actively invade the mucosal surface of the intestine but are normally contained in healthy individuals by the local immune defence mechanisms. However, S. typhi has evolved the ability to spread to the deeper tissues of humans, including liver, spleen and bone marrow. Here we have sequenced the 4,809,037-base pair (bp) genome of a S. typhi (CT18) that is resistant to multiple drugs, revealing the presence of hundreds of insertions and deletions compared with the Escherichia coli genome, ranging in size from single genes to large islands. Notably, the genome sequence identifies over two hundred pseudogenes, several corresponding to genes that are known to contribute to virulence in Salmonella typhimurium. This genetic degradation may contribute to the human-restricted host range for S. typhi. CT18 harbours a 218,150-bp multiple-drug-resistance incH1 plasmid (pHCM1), and a 106,516-bp cryptic plasmid (pHCM2), which shows recent common ancestry with a virulence plasmid of Yersinia pestis.     

一株能耐受高浓度As(Ⅲ)菌株的耐As特性研究及耐受机制

对一株耐As菌株AS-01耐As特性以及耐As机制进行了初步的探索和研究,发现菌株AS - 01对As(Ⅲ)的耐受质量浓度最低能达到1 200 mg/L,对As(Ⅴ)的耐受质量浓度能达到1 600 mg/L以上;菌株AS -01对含As废水中含有的其他重金属离子如Cu2+、Zn2+、pb2+、Cd2+也有不同的耐受能力.通过扫描电镜( SEM)观察发现菌株在500 mg/L的As(Ⅲ)培养液中培养后,菌体细胞间有絮状颗粒物镶嵌;红外光谱分析发现-OH以及酰胺基团是细菌细胞壁上参与结合As(Ⅲ)的官能团.通过质粒消除实验证明该菌株的耐As性质与耐As质粒的存在有关.     

耐碳青霉烯酶肺炎克雷伯菌的分离鉴定及生物学特性分析

以临床尿路感染患者尿液为研究对象,通过分离培养及16s rDNA进行肺炎克雷伯菌的分离鉴定;采用Kirby-Bauer纸片法进行药敏实验,并对分离株进行碳青霉烯酶表型筛选;通过PCR检测常见的碳青霉烯酶耐药基因、荚膜血清型和毒力基因分布情况;对分离的肺炎克雷伯菌株进行了生物被膜形成能力及其对小鼠致病力的分析。本研究从采取的86例尿液标本中分离检出11株耐碳青霉烯酶肺炎克雷伯菌,分离率为12.79%。耐碳青霉烯酶基因PCR检测结果显示,blaNDM、blaVIM、blaIMP和blaKPC基因在分离株中均呈现不同程度的分布。耐药性分析发现11株肺炎克雷伯菌对氨苄西林耐药率为90.91%,对头孢噻肟耐药率为63.64%,对链霉素、庆大霉素、氯霉素和诺氟沙星的耐药率较低。耐碳青霉烯类肺炎克雷伯菌荚膜分型结果显示,分离的11株细菌中10株均为强毒力型菌株（90.9%）,其中K57血清型4株（36.4%）,K1血清型1株（9.1%）,K2血清型1株（9.1%）,K5血清型1株（9.1%）,K20血清型3株（27.3%）,提示该批分离株具有较强的致病力。此外,毒力因子分布结果显示,其毒力因子rmpA（54.5%）、Aerobactin F（54.5%）在菌株中分布较为广泛。生物被膜形成能力检测及小鼠致病性试验结果显示,9株分离株均有较强的生物被膜形成能力,菌株致病力可能与荚膜血清型及生物被膜形成能力相关。综上所述,临床分离的致尿路感染病原肺炎克雷伯菌呈现多重耐药特征,强毒力菌株以K57荚膜型为主,K1、K2均有分布,提示对尿路感染病原应加强耐药监测,合理使用抗菌药物,有效防控多重耐药和强毒力菌株的感染与流行。     

HCO3 - 高亲和转运蛋白操纵子基因在聚球藻7942 CO2浓缩机制中功能的研究

蓝藻 Synechococcus sp.PCC7942 HCO3 - 高亲和转运蛋白操纵子基因 cmpABCD 是其CO2浓缩机制中的调控基因之一.本研究用携带潮霉素B磷酸转移酶基因(hygromycin B pho transferase, hpt) 筛选标记的同源双臂整合载体pUC-HATH转化蓝藻Synechococcus sp.PCC7942,以潮霉素B作为筛选试剂筛选出具潮霉素B抗性的转化藻,运用引物PCR方法证实潮霉素B磷酸转移酶基因表达盒通过质粒pUC-HATH的介导已定点插入蓝藻 Synechococcus sp.PCC7942 基因组中,成功地构建了具有潮霉素B抗性的cmpBCD 基因插入失活突变藻株.并最终通过比较野生藻Synechococcus sp.PCC7942 和突变藻Synechococcus sp.PCC7942 在不同 Na2CO3浓度的改良BG-11培养基中生长特性,探讨了HCO3 -高亲和转运蛋白操纵子 cmpABCD 基因失活对藻体生长的影响.     

Giant linear plasmids in Streptomyces which code for antibiotic biosynthesis genes

A number of examples of circular plasmids with specific functions are known in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Several linear plasmids have also been identified, but these are all relatively small: large linear plasmids cannot be separated from chromosomal DNA by conventional techniques. There are several cases where the genetic evidence suggests that a character is encoded by a plasmid but no plasmid can be physically detected. This has been the case for antibiotic synthesis genes in Streptomyces; in particular a plasmid SCP1 in Streptomyces coelicolor has been shown to be involved in methylenomycin production by genetic evidence. We report here the application of orthogonal-field-alternation gel electrophoresis to the isolation of linear plasmids from Streptomyces. We have discovered a large linear plasmid of around 520 kilobases in Streptomyces lasaliensis and subsequently similar giant linear plasmids in other Streptomyces strains. We have confirmed that genes for methylenomycin biosynthesis are located on a series of giant linear plasmids in S. coelicolor. These observations may bear on the genetic variability and unstable genetic character of Streptomyces species.     

Polycistronic strategy for cyanobacterial expression vector construction: Co-transcription of a human gene and a selective marker gene

A polycistronic expression vector, pKGA-NTF1, was constructed for the cyanobacterium. Within this vector, the spectinomycin/streptomycin resistance gene (aadA) facilitated the selection of transformants when co-transcribed with favorite genes. A natural glnA gene was selected as the platform to introduce the plasmid into a neutral site of the Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 chromosome. Function of the vector was demonstrated by the insertion of a modified human Trefoil factor 3 gene (NTF1) to upstream of the aadA gene and by the analyses of the transformed strains. Antibiotics resistance assays showed that the dicistronic expression cassette conferred high spectinomycin resistance to both the E. coli cells and the Synechococcus cells. PCR analysis and Western-blot analysis were carried out to confirm the integration and expression of the NTF1 gene, respectively. Through simple molecular manipulations, the artificial polycistronic structure described here can be conveniently used to express other favorable genes or operons in cyanobacteria, and to study the cyanobacterial gene expression as well.     

The CRISPR/Cas bacterial immune system cleaves bacteriophage and plasmid DNA

Bacteria and Archaea have developed several defence strategies against foreign nucleic acids such as viral genomes and plasmids. Among them, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) loci together with cas (CRISPR-associated) genes form the CRISPR/Cas immune system, which involves partially palindromic repeats separated by short stretches of DNA called spacers, acquired from extrachromosomal elements. It was recently demonstrated that these variable loci can incorporate spacers from infecting bacteriophages and then provide immunity against subsequent bacteriophage infections in a sequence-specific manner. Here we show that the Streptococcus thermophilus CRISPR1/Cas system can also naturally acquire spacers from a self-replicating plasmid containing an antibiotic-resistance gene, leading to plasmid loss. Acquired spacers that match antibiotic-resistance genes provide a novel means to naturally select bacteria that cannot uptake and disseminate such genes. We also provide in vivo evidence that the CRISPR1/Cas system specifically cleaves plasmid and bacteriophage double-stranded DNA within the proto-spacer, at specific sites. Our data show that the CRISPR/Cas immune system is remarkably adapted to cleave invading DNA rapidly and has the potential for exploitation to generate safer microbial strains.     

A genetic basis for Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm antibiotic resistance

Biofilms are surface-attached microbial communities with characteristic architecture and phenotypic and biochemical properties distinct from their free-swimming, planktonic counterparts. One of the best-known of these biofilm-specific properties is the development of antibiotic resistance that can be up to 1,000-fold greater than planktonic cells. We report a genetic determinant of this high-level resistance in the Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We have identified a mutant of P. aeruginosa that, while still capable of forming biofilms with the characteristic P. aeruginosa architecture, does not develop high-level biofilm-specific resistance to three different classes of antibiotics. The locus identified in our screen, ndvB, is required for the synthesis of periplasmic glucans. Our discovery that these periplasmic glucans interact physically with tobramycin suggests that these glucose polymers may prevent antibiotics from reaching their sites of action by sequestering these antimicrobial agents in the periplasm. Our results indicate that biofilms themselves are not simply a diffusion barrier to these antibiotics, but rather that bacteria within these microbial communities employ distinct mechanisms to resist the action of antimicrobial agents.     

3种中药对产酶菌R质粒消除作用的研究

用煎煮法制备的黄芩、黄连和鱼腥草中药原液,在对产β-内酰胺酶金黄色葡萄球菌测定最小抑菌浓度的基础上进行了耐药质粒(R质粒)消除试验,并用美国国立临床实验室标准化委员会颁布的标准进行消除效果的判定。结果表明:黄芩、黄连和鱼腥草3种中药原液对2株产β-内酰胺酶金黄色葡萄球菌耐药质粒具有不同程度的消除作用,消除率分别达到15.27%、14.58%和6.25%及5.56%、0.00%和3.47%。     

NO and H2O2 induced by Verticillium dahliae toxins and its influence on the expression of GST gene in cotton suspension cells

Nitric oxide （NO） and hydrogen peroxide （H2O2） have been shown to be important signaling molecules that participate in the regulation of several physiological processes. In particular, they have significant role in plant resistance to pathogens by contributing to induction defense genes. Here, whether NO and H2O2 participate in the resistance responses against Verticillium dahliae toxins （VD-toxins） and their effects on the expression of GSTgene are studied. The results reveal that NO and H2O2 are produced as part of a complex network of signals that respond to VD-toxins and may converge to function both synergistically and independently by inducing resistant responses. GSTgene is potentially involved in the resistance mechanism in the cotton suspension cells. NO induces the expression of GSTgene independently of H2O2. H2O2 may be a more potent signal in the resistance responses against VD-toxins.     

Several alleles of the multidrug-resistance gene are closely linked to chloroquine resistance in Plasmodium falciparum

The lethal form of human malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum is virtually uncontrollable in many areas because of the development of drug resistance, in particular chloroquine resistance (CQR). CQR is biologically similar to the multiple drug resistance phenotype (MDR) of mammalian tumour cells, as both involve expulsion of drug from the cell and both can be reversed by calcium channel antagonists. A homologue (pfmdr1) of the mammalian multidrug resistance gene has been implicated in CQR because it is amplified in some CQR isolates of P. falciparum as is an mdr gene in MDR tumour cells. We show here that the complete sequences of pfmdr1 genes from 2 CQ sensitive (CQS) P. falciparum isolates are identical. In 5 CQR isolates, 1-4 key nucleotide differences resulted in amino acid substitutions. On the basis of these substitutions, we have correctly predicted the CQS/CQR status of a further 34 out of 36 isolates. This is a paradox as CQR arises much less frequently than would be predicted if single point mutations were sufficient. We conclude that a mutated pfmdr1 gene is one of at least two mutated genes required for CQR.     

抗菌药物耐药的现状、原因及对策

抗菌药物的发现和应用极大改善了严重细菌感染性疾病患者的预后,但耐药菌的出现和迅速传播则会严重影响其疗效,而防控抗菌药物耐药的一个重要措施是采用正确、适量的抗菌药物防治细菌感染性疾病.现总结抗菌药物耐药的现状、原因及对策,以期能为抗菌药物的临床合理应用及降低其耐药风险提供参考.     

重组人组织型纤溶酶原激活剂缺失变体基因的克隆及工程菌的构建与鉴定

利用RT-PCR技术,从人脐带静脉上皮细胞中克隆人组织型纤溶酶原激活剂基因,将其接入TA克隆载体PCR2．1中,经DNA序列测定后,以该重组质粒DNA为模板,用PCR方法获得了人组织型纤溶酶原激活剂缺失变体(K2tPA)基因,将其转入pET29a,构建了重组表达质粒pET29a／K2tPA,并转化至大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)中,构成工程菌．经IPTG诱导表达,在40kDa处有一明显表达条带,表达量为约占菌体总蛋白的20％．该菌种在贮存与复苏及传代过程中具有良好的质粒稳定性和表达稳定性．     

横纹肌肉瘤多药耐药细胞系RD/VCR的建立

横纹肌肉瘤是一种高度恶性的软组织肿瘤，化疗是最主要的辅助治疗手段．然而，肿瘤细胞对药物产生多药耐药常常导致治疗失败．本实验以长春新碱为诱导剂，在体外成功建立了耐药细胞系DD／VCR，为进一步研究横纹肌肉瘤的耐药机理制作了模型．耐药前后细胞超微结构发生显变化，mdr1及mrp基因，P-糖蛋白及多药相关蛋白的表达与横纹肌肉瘤多药耐药的发生有关。