The phnA gene that encodes the carbon-phosphorus bond cleavage enzyme phosphonoacetate hydrolase is widely distributed in the environment, suggesting that its phosphonate substrate may play a significant role in biogeochemical phosphorus cycling. Surprisingly, however, no biogenic origin for phosphonoacetate has yet been established. To facilitate the search for its natural source we have const...

Escherichia coli AW1.7 is a heat resistant food isolate and the occurrence of pathogenic strains with comparable heat resistance may pose a risk to food safety. To identify the genetic determinants of heat resistance, 29 strains of E. coli that differed in their of heat resistance were analyzed by comparative genomics. Strains were classified as highly heat resistant strains, exhibiting a D60-v...

The persistence of Shiga-like toxin producing E. coli (STEC) strains in the agricultural soil creates serious threat to human health through fresh vegetables growing on them. However, the survival of STEC strains in Indian tropical soils is not yet understood thoroughly. Additionally how the survival of STEC strain in soil diverges with non-pathogenic and genetically modified E. coli strains is...

A synthetic method was developed to chemically attach few molecules of simple sugars like glucose, mannose, galactose, maltose and xylose (0.09 0.37 wt%) and with quaternary nitrogen pendants (0.42 0.46 atomic%) along the polybutadiene section of polystyrene-block-polybutadiene-block-polystyrene (SBS) block copolymer. These functionalized SBS copolymers were evaluated for biodegradation using t...

Cronobacter sakazakii could form yellow-pigmented colonies. However, the chemical structure and the biosynthetic pathway of the yellow pigments have not been identified. In this study, the yellow pigments of C. sakazakii BAA894 were purified and analyzed. The major components of the yellow pigments were confirmed as zeaxanthin-monoglycoside and zeaxanthin-diglycoside. A gene cluster containing ...

objectives: in present study we aimed to clone the lux i gene encoding n-acyl-homoserine synthase detected in biofilm forming clinical isolates of acinetobacter baumannii and study its expression in escherichia coli transformants. materials and methods: four a. baumannii hospital strains which demonstrated strong biofilm activity were selected in this investigation. the presence of lux i gene w...

Phagocytosis involves the internalization of extracellular material by invagination of the plasma membrane to form intracellular vesicles called phagosomes, which have functions that include pathogen degradation. The degradative properties of phagosomes are thought to be conferred by sequential fusion with endosomes and lysosomes; however, this maturation process has not been studied in vivo. W...