Project description:The gut microbiota exerts profound influence on poultry immunity and metabolism through mechanisms that yet need to be elucidated. Here we used conventional and germ-free chickens to explore the influence of the gut microbiota on transcriptomic along the gut-lung axis in poultry. Our results demonstrated a differential regulation of genes associated with innate immunity and metabolism in the spleen of germ-free birds.
Project description:The gut microbiota exerts profound influence on poultry immunity and metabolism through mechanisms that yet need to be elucidated. Here we used conventional and germ-free chickens to explore the influence of the gut microbiota on transcriptomic along the gut-lung axis in poultry. Our results demonstrated a differential regulation of genes associated with innate immunity and metabolism in the lungs of germ-free birds.
Project description:The gut microbiota exerts profound influence on poultry immunity and metabolism through mechanisms that yet need to be elucidated. Here we used conventional and germ-free chickens to explore the influence of the gut microbiota on transcriptomic along the gut-lung axis in poultry. Our results demonstrated a differential regulation of genes associated with innate immunity and metabolism in the caeca of germ-free birds.
Project description:Incomplete antibiotic removal in pharmaceutical wastewater treatment plants (PWWTPs) could lead to the development and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARBs) and genes (ARGs) in the environment, posing a growing public health threat. In this study, two multiantibiotic-resistant bacteria, Ochrobactrum intermedium (N1) and Stenotrophomonas acidaminiphila (N2), were isolated from the sludge of a PWWTP in Guangzhou, China. The N1 strain was highly resistant to ampicillin, cefazolin, chloramphenicol, tetracycline, and norfloxacin, while the N2 strain exhibited high resistance to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, and cefazolin. Whole-genome sequencing revealed that N1 and N2 had genome sizes of 0.52 Mb and 0.37 Mb, respectively, and harbored 33 and 24 ARGs, respectively. The main resistance mechanism in the identified ARGs included efflux pumps, enzymatic degradation, and target bypass, with the N1 strain possessing more multidrug-resistant efflux pumps than the N2 strain (22 vs 12). This also accounts for the broader resistance spectrum of N1 than of N2 in antimicrobial susceptibility tests. Additionally, both genomes contain numerous mobile genetic elements (89 and 21 genes, respectively) and virulence factors (276 and 250 factors, respectively), suggesting their potential for horizontal transfer and pathogenicity. Overall, this research provides insights into the potential risks posed by ARBs in pharmaceutical wastewater and emphasizes the need for further studies on their impact and mitigation strategies.
Project description:The cerebral cortex is a highly organized structure whose development depends on different progenitor cell types. These give rise to post-mitotic neurons that migrate across the developing cortical wall to their final positions in the cortical plate. Apical radial glia cells (aRGs) are the main progenitor type in early corticogenesis, responsible for the production of other progenitors, and regulating the final neuronal output. Abnormal behavior of aRG can severely impact corticogenesis resulting in cortical malformations. Mutations in the microtubule associated protein Eml1 lead to severe subcortical heterotopia, characterized by the presence of aberrantly located neurons beneath the normotopic cortex. Mutations in EML1/Eml1 have been reported in three families presenting severe atypical heterotopia, as well as in the Heterotopic cortex ‘HeCo’ spontaneous mouse mutant. In the latter, ectopically cycling aRGs were found cycling outside their normal proliferative ventricular zone (VZ) from early stages of corticogenesis (Croquelois et al., 2009, Kielar et al., 2014, Shaheen et al., 2017). Ectopic aRGs are likely to be responsible for the formation of the heterotopia. It is thus crucial to understand the role of Eml1 in aRGs to elucidate the physiological and pathological mechanisms causing aRGs to leave the VZ. The role of Eml1 in aRGs remains vastly unexplored. We have thus performed mass spectrometry with embryonic cortex lysates (E13.5) to shed light on the intracellular pathways and molecular mechanisms in which Eml1 could be involved. This data combined with other cell biology and biochemistry approaches will contribute to understand the role of this heterotopia protein at early stages of development.
Project description:In this study, two multiantibiotic-resistant bacteria, Ochrobactrum intermedium (N1) and Stenotrophomonas acidaminiphila (N2), were isolated from the sludge of a PWWTP in Guangzhou, China. Whole-genome sequencing revealed that N1 and N2 had genome sizes of 0.52 Mb and 0.37 Mb, respectively, and harbored 33 and 24 ARGs, respectively. The main resistance mechanism in the identified ARGs included efflux pumps, enzymatic degradation, and target bypass, with the N1 strain possessing more multidrug-resistant efflux pumps than the N2 strain (22 vs 12). This also accounts for the broader resistance spectrum of N1 than of N2 in antimicrobial susceptibility tests. Additionally, both genomes contain numerous mobile genetic elements (89 and 21 genes, respectively) and virulence factors (276 and 250 factors, respectively), suggesting their potential for horizontal transfer and pathogenicity.
Project description:Freshwater environments such as rivers receive effluent discharges from wastewater treatment plants, representing a potential hotspot for antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). These effluents also contain low levels of different antimicrobials including biocides and antibiotics such as sulfonamides that can be frequently detected in rivers. The impact of such exposure on ARG prevalence and microbial diversity of riverine environment is unknown, so the aim of this study was to investigate the release of a sub-lethal concentration (<4 g L-1) of the sulfonamide compound sulfamethoxazole (SMX) on the river bacterial microbiome using a microflume system. This system was a semi-natural in-vitro microflume using river water (30 L) and sediment, with circulation to mimic river flow. A combination of ‘omics’ approaches were conducted to study the impact of SMX exposure on the microbiomes within the microflumes. Metaproteomics did not show differences in ARGs expression with SMX exposure in water.