Project description:This project provides the first characterization of protein differences in clinical isolates of Mtb after acquisition of resistance to isoniazid (INH), one of the most important drug treatment options against TB. This study determines the global protein differences in a clinical isogenic pair of Mtb, comparing INH susceptibility versus INH resistance.
2016-03-14 | PXD002986 | Pride
Project description:Characterization of clinical and environmenatal Pseudomonas putida group isolates and Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates
Project description:We compared multiple strains of lab trophozoites to recent clinical isolates. Clinical isolates were grown in xenic media, and maintained many characteristics of the cyst stage of devlopment Keywords: Stage conversion
Project description:Background: The human pathogen Arcobacter butzleri is a member of the epsilon subdivision of the Proteobacteria and a close taxonomic relative of other established pathogens, such as Campylobacter jejuni and Helicobacter pylori. Here we present the complete genome sequence of the human clinical isolate, A. butzleri strain RM4018. Results: Arcobacter butzleri is a member of the Campylobacteraceae, but the majority of its proteome is most similar to those of Thiomicrospira denitrificans and Wolinella succinogenes, both members of the Helicobacteraceae. In addition, many of the genes and pathways described here, e.g. those involved in signal transduction and sulfur metabolism, have been identified previously within the epsilon subdivision only in T. denitrificans and/or W. succinogenes, or are unique to the subdivision. The analyses indicated also that a large proportion of the A. butzleri genome is devoted to growth and survival under diverse environmental conditions, with a large number of respiration-associated proteins, signal transduction and chemotaxis proteins and proteins involved in DNA repair and adaptation. To investigate the genomic diversity of A. butzleri strains, we constructed an A. butzleri DNA microarray comprising 2238 genes from strain RM4018. Comparative genomic indexing analysis of 12 additional A. butzleri strains identified both the core genes of A. butzleri and intraspecies hypervariable regions, where < 70% of the genes were present in at least two strains. Conclusion: The presence of environmentally-associated pathways and loci, as well as genes associated with virulence indicates that this free-living, water-borne organism A. butzleri can be classified rightfully as an emerging pathogen. Keywords: comparative genomic hybridization
Project description:The release of cells from S. epidermidis biofilms formed on medical devices has been associated with the onset of bloodstream infections, resulting in increased morbidity and mortality rates. This has to do, in part, with the difficulty to accurately diagnose S. epidermidis bloodstream infections. S. epidermidis is a ubiquitous commensal of human skin and mucosa and, thus, a positive blood culture does not always represent an infection, possibly being the result of contamination during blood collection. As such, there is a high demand to find markers that can help clinicians to distinguish infection (clinical isolates) from contamination (commensal strains). With that in mind, several studies comparing phenotypic or genetic characteristics of clinical and commensal isolates have been performed over the years. However, because S. epidermidis virulence factors seem to be the same that confer its fitness as a commensal, we hypothesized that the ability of S. epidermidis strains to adapt to the host environment may not depend on a specific phenotypic and/or genetic makeup, but rather on the regulation of gene transcription. Thus, using RNA-Sequencing (RNA-seq), we characterized the transcriptome of commensal and clinical isolates in the context of infection to try to uncover differences and, thus, identify markers that could be used for the diagnostics. Several markers with the potential to discriminate between both groups were highlighted. Nevertheless, when the results obtained were confirmed in a wider collection of clinical and commensal isolates the discriminatory power of the genes initially identified was lost. Although we cannot rule out that the characterization of a larger collection of isolates would identify potential candidates, our transcriptomic data was not able to confirm our initial hypothesis, evidencing S. epidermidis opportunistic nature.