We spoligotyped and screened 1490 clinical Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex strains from Northern and Greater Accra regions of Ghana against INH and RIF using the microplate alamar blue phenotypic assay. Specific drug resistance associated genetic elements of drug resistant strains were analyzed for mutations. A total of 111 (7.5%), 10 (0.7%) and 40 (2.6%) were mono-resistant to INH, RIF, and...

Specific small deletions within the rpoC gene encoding the β'-subunit of RNA polymerase (RNAP) are found repeatedly after adaptation of Escherichia coli K-12 MG1655 to growth in minimal media. Here we present a multiscale analysis of these mutations. At the physiological level, the mutants grow 60% faster than the parent strain and convert the carbon source 15-35% more efficiently to biomass, b...

A series of inhibitors with a squaramide core was synthesized following its discovery in a high-throughput screen for novel inhibitors of a transcription-coupled translation assay using Escherichia coli S30 extracts. The inhibitors were inactive when the plasmid substrate was replaced with mRNA, suggesting they interfered with transcription. This was confirmed by their inhibition of purified E....

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is instrumental in molecular analysis of microorganisms, allowing for the selective amplification of nucleic acids directly from clinical and environmental samples. However, the principles that allow for targeted amplification of DNA become a hindrance when attempting to simultaneously discriminate and quantify complex mixtures of homologous genes. Here we pr...

We developed single-point genome signature tags (SP-GSTs), a generally applicable, high-throughput sequencing-based method that targets specific genes to generate identifier tags from well-defined points in a genome. The technique yields identifier tags that can distinguish between closely related bacterial strains and allow for the identification of microbial community members. SP-GSTs are det...

High hydrostatic pressure processing (HPP) is currently being used as a treatment for certain foods to control the presence of food-borne pathogens, such as Listeria monocytogenes. Genomic microarray analysis was performed to determine the effects of HPP on L. monocytogenes in order to understand how it responds to mechanical stress injury. Reverse transcriptase PCR analysis of tufA and rpoC in...

20 An outbreak of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis has been reported on Daru Island, Papua New 21 Guinea. The Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains driving this outbreak and the temporal accrual 22 of drug resistance mutations have not been described. We analyzed 100 isolates using whole 23 genome sequencing and found 95 belonged to a single modern Beijing strain cluster. Molecular 24 dating sugg...

The nitrogen-fixing symbiosis between Sinorhizobium meliloti and Medicago sativa requires complex physiological adaptation by both partners. One method by which bacteria coordinately control physiological adaptation is the stringent response, which is triggered by the presence of the nucleotide guanosine tetraphosphate (ppGpp). ppGpp, produced by the RelA enzyme, is thought to bind to and alter...

Despite more than three decades of multidrug therapy (MDT), leprosy remains a major public health issue in several endemic countries, including India. The emergence of drug resistance in Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae) is a cause of concern and poses a threat to the leprosy-control program, which might ultimately dampen the achievement of the elimination program of the country. Rifampicin resi...

Background: Antisense peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) exhibit growth inhibitory effects on bacteria by inhibiting the expression of essential genes and could be promising therapeutic agents for treating bacterial infections. A study was carried out to determine efficacy several antisense PNAs in extracellular intracellular Mycobacterium smegmatis. Methods: Six obtained from a commercial supplier w...