Root architecture traits are an important component for improving water stress adaptation. However, selection for aboveground traits under favorable environments in modern cultivars may have led to an inadvertent loss of genes and novel alleles beneficial for adapting to environments with limited water. In this study, we elucidate the physiological and molecular consequences of introgressing an...

Comparative genome hybridization of the Francisella tularensis subsp. tularensis and F. tularensis subsp. holarctica populations have shown that genome content is highly conserved, with relatively few genes in the F. tularensis subsp. tularensis genome being absent in other F. tularensis subspecies. To determine if organization of the genome differs between global populations of F. tularensis s...

The genetic determinant (pepXP) of an X-prolyl dipeptidyl aminopeptidase (PepXP) has recently been cloned and sequenced from both Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris (B. Mayo, J. Kok, K. Venema, W. Bockelmann, M. Teuber, H. Reinke, and G. Venema, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 57:38-44, 1991) and L. lactis subsp. lactis (M. Nardi, M.-C. Chopin, A. Chopin, M.-M. Cals, and J.-C. Gripon, Appl. Environ. ...

The ability of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus administered in yogurt to survive the passage through the upper gastrointestinal tract was investigated with Göttingen minipigs that were fitted with ileum T-cannulas. After ingestion of yogurt containing viable microorganisms, ileostomy samples were collected nearly every hour beginning 3 h after food upt...

The conversion of pyruvate to lactate is a key feature of lactococcal strains. The enzyme which facilitates this conversion, L-lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and the gene which encodes it (Idh), are therefore of great significance. This paper presents the cloning and DNA sequence analysis of three further lactococcal genes which are of key importance in the genetic manipulation of commercial star...

The phylogenetically related Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capricolum and M. mycoides subsp. mycoides biotype Large Colony are two small-ruminant pathogens involved in contagious agalactia. Their respective contributions to clinical outbreaks are not well documented, because they are difficult to differentiate with the current diagnostic techniques. In order to identify DNA sequences specific to...

The two subspecies of Francisella tularensis, F. tularensis subsp. tularensis (type A) and F. tularensis subsp. palaearctica (type B), differ from each other in biochemistry and virulence. Strains of F. tularensis subsp. tularensis are believed to be confined to North America, whereas strains of F. tularensis subsp. palaearctica occur in Europe, in Asia, and in North America. Moreover, the exis...

Seven bacterial isolates from farmed Atlantic cod displaying chronic granulomatous disease were characterized by phenotypic and molecular taxonomic methods. The isolates were Gram-negative, facultatively intracellular, non-motile, strictly aerobic coccobacilli which produced H(2)S from cysteine-supplemented media and are therefore phenotypically consistent with members of the genus Francisella....

Vegetative Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis cells (6 X 10(5)/ml) achieved 100% mortality of Aedes aegypti larvae within 24 h. This larvicidal potential was localized within the cells; the cell-free supernatants did not kill mosquito larvae. However, they did contain a heat-labile hemolysin which was immunologically distinct from the general cytolytic (hemolytic) factor released during ...