Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is an important mode of adaptation and diversification of prokaryotes and eukaryotes and a major event underlying the emergence of bacterial pathogens and mutualists. Yet it remains unclear how complex phenotypic traits such as the ability to fix nitrogen with legumes have successfully spread over large phylogenetic distances. Here we show, using experimental evol...

INTRODUCTION With regard to the relationship between inflammation and insulin resistance and due to the lack of researches conducted about the effect of synbiotics on inflammatory markers in diabetes patients, this study was designed to investigate the effect of these markers. METHODS A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted among 44 type 2 diabetes patients. They were randomize...

INTRODUCTION Functional foods are health promoters and their use is associated with reduced risk of chronic degenerative and non-transmissible diseases. Examples are symbiotic. The association of one (or more) probiotic with a one (or more) prebiotic is called symbiotic, being the prebiotics complementary and probiotics synergistic, thus presenting a multiplicative factor on their individual ac...

Rhizobia and legume plants establish symbiotic associations resulting in the formation of organs specialized in nitrogen fixation. In such organs, termed nodules, bacteria differentiate into bacteroids which convert atmospheric nitrogen and supply the plant with organic nitrogen. As a counterpart, bacteroids receive carbon substrates from the plant. This rather simple model of metabolite exchan...

ABEYSEKERA, R. M., NEWCOMB, W . , SILVESTER, W. B., and TORREY, J. G. 1990. A freeze-fracture electron microscopic study of Frankia in root nodules of Alnus incana grown at three oxygen tensions. Can. J. Microbiol. 36: 97-108. Nodulated plants of Alnus incana ssp. rugosa and ssp. incana were grown with the roots exposed to 5,21, and 40 kPa 02. The nodules were studied by freeze-fracture transmi...

Xylophagous termites possess symbiotic bacteria that Þx atmospheric nitrogen (N2). Although symbiotic N2 Þxation is central to termite nutrition and ecologically important, it is energetically costly. Using stable isotopes, we tested the hypothesis that symbiotic N2 Þxation would decrease in workers of the eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes Kollar, which were exposed to high ...

In this study the interplay between the symbiotic and defence signalling pathways in Lotus japonicus was investigated by comparing the responses to Mesorhizobium loti, the symbiotic partner of L. japonicus, and the elicitor flg22, a conserved peptide motif present in flagellar protein of a wide range of bacteria. It was found that defence and symbiotic pathways overlap in the interaction betwee...