We report a mechanism-based screening technique to rapidly identify eukaryotic topoisomerase I targeting agents. The method is based on genetic tagging of topoisomerase I to immobilize the enzyme on a solid surface in a microtiter well format. DNA is added to the wells, and retained DNA is detected by Pico Green fluorescence. Compounds that result in an increase in Pico Green staining represent...

a U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Eastern Regional Research Center, Microbial Food Safety Research Unit, 600 East Mermaid Lane, Wyndmoor, PA 19038, USA b U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, 14th and Independence S.W., Washington, DC 20250, USA c Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research, School of Agricultural Science, University...

Many pinnipeds frequently rest on land or ice, but some species remain in open waters for weeks or months, raising the question of how they rest. A unique type of dive, called drift dives, has been reported for several pinnipeds with suggested functions of rest, food processing and predator avoidance. Prolonged surfacing periods have also been observed in captive seals and are thought to aid fo...

C-type inactivation in potassium channels helps fine-tune long-term channel activity through conformational changes at the selectivity filter. Here, through the use of cross-linked constitutively open constructs, we determined the structures of KcsA's mutants that stabilize the selectivity filter in its conductive (E71A, at 2.25 Å) and deep C-type inactivated (Y82A at 2.4 Å) conformations. Thes...

BACKGROUND Viruses are important drivers of ecosystem functions, yet little is known about the vast majority of viruses. Viral shotgun metagenomics enables the investigation of broad ecological questions in phage communities. One ecological characteristic is species richness, which is the number of different species in a community. Viruses do not have a phylogenetic marker analogous to the bact...

The trophic transfer of total mercury (THg) and its bioaccumulation from prey species to the predator fish Trichiurus lepturus was analysed in coastal waters of southeastern Brazil to evaluate the trace element dynamic in this predator-prey system. The isotopic (δ13C and δ15N) relation between this predator and its prey allowed inferences on prey assimilation and predator feeding habits. The TH...

Sea turtles are known to detect chemical cues, but in contrast to most marine animals, turtles surface to breathe and thus potentially have access to olfactory cues both in air and in water. To determine whether sea turtles can detect airborne chemical cues, captive loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) were placed into a circular, water-filled arena in which odorants could be introduced to the ...

Bacterioplankton play a key role in marine waters facilitating processes important for carbon cycling. However, the influence of specific bacterial populations and environmental conditions on bacterioplankton community performance remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to identify drivers of bacterioplankton community functions, taking into account the variability in community compos...

We review the current state of knowledge about urban ecosystem services in New York City (NYC) and how these services are regulated, planned for, and managed. Focusing on ecosystem services that have presented challenges in NYC-including stormwater quality enhancement and flood control, drinking water quality, food provisioning and recreation-we find that mismatches between the scale of product...

Quantifying muscle activity during locomotion in water is an emerging area of research. This article discusses the methods for quantifying muscle activity and summarizes key research findings of muscle activity during locomotion in water. The article is focused on comparing muscle activity during locomotion in water and on dry land.