Rhodococcus equi, a facultative intracellular bacterium, causes severe pneumonia in foals. Evidence suggests that most foals become infected very early in life, when they have immature or ineffective innate immune responses. This study evaluated the antimicrobial activity of gallium against R. equi, as a potential chemoprophylactic and therapeutic agent. Rhodococcus equi was grown in media with...

We examined innate immune responses to the intracellular bacterium Rhodococcus equi and show that infection of macrophages with intact bacteria induced the rapid translocation of NF-kappa B and the production of a variety of proinflammatory mediators, including TNF, IL-12, and NO. Macrophages from mice deficient in MyD88 failed to translocate NF-kappa B and produced virtually no cytokines in re...

The genus Rhodococcus is known for its ability to degrade various xenobiotic compounds. Rhodococcus sp. strain P14 isolated from crude oil-contaminated sediments can degrade mineral oil and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The draft genome sequence of Rhodococcus sp. P14 was obtained using Solexa technology, which provided an invaluable genetic background for further investigation of th...

Five transcriptional promoters of biphenyl-degradation genes in Rhodococcus sp. RHA1 were characterized. We newly identified the etbA4 promoter region, which was located adjacent upstream from a ferredoxin reductase gene, etbA4 and a dihydrodiol dehydrogenase gene, bphB2. The etbA4 promoter activity was determined in RHA1 using a promoter probe vector with a luxAB luciferase reporter gene, and ...

Rhodococcus kyotonensis KB10 is an endophytic bacterium isolated from Arabidopsis thaliana The organism showed mild antibacterial activity against the phytopathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000. This study reports the genome sequence of R. kyotonensis KB10. This bacterium contains an ectoine biosynthesis gene cluster and has the potential to degrade nitroaromatic compounds. The identi...

A bacterium isolated from a contaminated site in Sydney, Australia, utilized benzene in the liquid phase as a sole carbon source at levels toxic to other micro-organisms. The organism was a short Gram-positive rod which grew at 6% NaCl, 0-37 degrees C and pH 2-10. Biochemical tests, fatty acid analysis, and 16S rDNA sequencing identified the organism as a member of the genus Rhodococcus. Vapour...

We announce the completion of the genome sequence of a phenol derivative-degrading bacterium, Rhodococcus erythropolis strain CCM2595. This bacterium is interesting in the context of bioremediation for its capability to degrade phenol, catechol, resorcinol, hydroxybenzoate, hydroquinone, p-chlorophenol, p-nitrophenol, pyrimidines, and sterols.

Triacylglycerols (TAGs) are in the spotlight as a feasible source of hydrocarbon-based biofuels. Rhodococcus opacus PD630 produces large amounts of intracellular TAGs in cultivations containing high concentrations of glucose, but it does not utilize xylose present in all hydrolysates of lignocellulosic biomass. We constructed a highpotency xylose-fermenting R. opacus strain MITXM-61 that exhibi...

The genome sequence for Rhodococcus sp. 4J2A2, a newly described desiccation-tolerant strain that removes aromatic hydrocarbons, is reported here. The genome is estimated to be around 7.5 Mb in size, with an average G+C content of 60.77% and a predicted number of protein-coding sequences of 6,354.

We present a study about AFM imaging of living, moving or self-immobilized bacteria in their genuine physiological liquid medium. No external immobilization protocol, neither chemical nor mechanical, was needed. For the first time, the native gliding movements of Gram-negative Nostoc cyanobacteria upon the surface, at speeds up to 900 µm/h, were studied by AFM. This was possible thanks to an im...