In situ Yb-doped amorphous carbon thin films were grown on Si substrates at low temperatures (<200 °C) by a simple one-step RF-PEMOCVD system as a potential photonic material for direct integration with Si CMOS back end-of-line processing. Room temperature photoluminescence around 1 µm was observed via direct incorporation of optically active Yb3+ ions from the selected Yb(fod)₃ metal-organic c...

Serralysins are generally thought to function as pathogenicity factors of bacteria, but so far no hard evidence of this (e.g., specific substrate proteins that are sensitive to the cleavage by these proteases) has been found. We have looked for substrate proteins to a serralysin-type proteinase, PrtA, in a natural host-pathogen molecular interaction system involving Manduca sexta and Photorhabd...

Blood-feeding parasites employ a battery of proteolytic enzymes to digest the contents of their bloodmeal. Host haemoglobin is a major substrate for these proteases and, therefore, a driving force in the evolution of parasite-derived proteolytic enzymes. This review will focus on the digestive proteases of the major blood-feeding nematodes - hookworms (Ancylostoma spp. and Necator americanus) a...

Hepatitis C NS3/4A protease is a prime therapeutic target that is responsible for cleaving the viral polyprotein at junctions 3-4A, 4A4B, 4B5A, and 5A5B and two host cell adaptor proteins of the innate immune response, TRIF and MAVS. In this study, NS3/4A crystal structures of both host cell cleavage sites were determined and compared to the crystal structures of viral substrates. Two distinct ...

Bacterial pathogens have developed sophisticated mechanisms of evading the immune system to survive in infected host cells. Central to the pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the arrest of phagosome maturation, partly through interference with PtdIns signalling. The protein phosphatase MptpB is an essential secreted virulence factor in M. tuberculosis. A combination of bioinformatics ...

Filariasis is a major health problem, affecting millions of people in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. The isolation and characterization of parasite-specific enzyme targets is essential for developing effective control measures against filariasis. Acetylcholinesterase (AchE, E.C. 3.1.1.7), an important enzyme of neuromuscular transmission is found in a number of helminths includ...

Legionella pneumophila has a Dot/Icm type IV secretion system (T4SS) used to translocate a number of ‘effector proteins’ which subvert host cell functions. In this study we identified 19 novel Dot/Icm substrate proteins using a systematic screening technique. A BLAST analysis revealed that one of substrates, which we named LubX, contains two domains that have a remarkable similarity to the U-bo...

Many insects deposit marking pheromones following egg-laying that signal an occupied and thus sub-optimal resource. Herbivorous insects mark host fruit or other vegetative plant parts after depositing eggs, while insect parasitoids deposit such pheromones directly on the cuticle of a particular life stage of their prey. These oviposition marking pheromones (OMPs) are then recognized by conspeci...

Legionella pneumophila, the etiological agent of Legionnaires' disease, replicates intracellularly in protozoan and human hosts. Successful colonization and replication of this pathogen in host cells requires the Dot/Icm type IVB secretion system, which translocates approximately 300 effector proteins into the host cell to modulate various cellular processes. In this study, we identified RavK a...