168 research outputs found
Analysis of the predicted carbohydrate transport systems encoded by Bifidobacterium bifidum PRL2010
No full textThe Bifidobacterium bifidum PRL2010 genome encodes a relatively small set of predicted carbohydrate transporters. Growth
experiments and transcriptome analyses of B. bifidum PRL2010 revealed that carbohydrate utilization in this microorganism
appears to be restricted to a relatively low number of carbohydrate
Human gut microbiota and bifidobacteria: from composition to functionality
No full textThe human gut is the home of an estimated 10(18) bacterial cells, many of which are uncharacterized or unculturable. Novel culture-independent approaches have revealed that the majority of the human gut microbiota consists of members of the phyla Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes. Nevertheless the role of bifidobacteria in gut ecology illustrates the importance of Actinomycetes and other Actinobacteria that may be underestimated. The human gut microbiota represents an extremely complex microbial community the collective genome of which, the microbiome, encodes functions that are believed to have a significant impact on human physiology. The microbiome is assumed to significantly enhance the metabolism of amino and glycan acids, the turnover of xenobiotics, methanogenesis and the biosynthesis of vitamins. Co-colonisation of the gut commensals Bifidobacterium longum and Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron in a murine model system revealed that the presence of bifidobacteria induced an expansion in the diversity of polysaccharides targeted for degradation by Bacteroides and also induced host genes involved in innate immunity. In addition, comparative analysis of individual human gut microbiomes has revealed various strategies that the microbiota use to adapt to the intestinal environment while also pointing to the existence of a distinct infant and adult-type microbiot
Postmortem diagnosis of left dominant arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy: the importance of a multidisciplinary network for sudden death victims. "HIC mors gaudet succurere vitae"
No full textAn apparently healthy man died suddenly at the age of 49 during physical activity. The heart was referred to our Cardiovascular Pathology Unit for valve tissue banking. Pathology findings led to the diagnosis of arrhythmogenic left ventricular cardiomyopathy. Molecular autopsy was performed and two variants of interest were identified in genes associated with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy. The 19-year-old son underwent a cardiac screening comprehensive of electrocardiogram (ECG), echocardiogram, cardiac magnetic resonance and genetic testing, and the diagnosis of arrhythmogenic left ventricular cardiomyopathy was achieved.This case report highlights the need of a systematic evaluation of all sudden death victims with autopsy performed by expert cardiovascular pathologists and implemented by molecular analysis, aiming to identify also rare hereditary diseases and activate proper family screening. (C) 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved
Analyses of bifidobacterial prophage-like sequences
No full textThe genomes of 22 putative prophages
(bifidoprophages), previously identified in bifidobacterial
genomes, were analyzed to detect the presence
and organization of functional modules. Bifidoprophages
were shown to display a classical modular
genomic organization in which the DNA lysogeny
module and the DNA packaging regions are the most
highly conserved. Furthermore, single phage gene as
well as multiple phage gene-based phylogenetic
analyses clearly revealed the chimeric make-up of
the genomes of bifidoprophage
A two-component regulatory system controls serpin expression in Bifidobacterium breve UCC2003
No full textThis work reports on the identification and molecular characterization of a two-component regulatory system (2CRS), encoded by serRK, which is believed to control the expression of the ser(2003) locus in Bifidobacterium breve UCC2003. The ser(2003) locus consists of two genes, Bbr_1319 (sagA) and Bbr_1320 (serU), which are predicted to encode a hypothetical membrane-associated protein and a serpin-like protein, respectively. The response regulator SerR was shown to bind to the promoter region of ser(2003), and the probable recognition sequence of SerR was determined by a combinatorial approach of in vitro site-directed mutagenesis coupled to transcriptional fusion and electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs). The importance of the serRK 2CRS in the response of B. breve to protease-mediated induction was confirmed by generating a B. breve serR insertion mutant, which was shown to exhibit altered ser(2003) transcriptional induction patterns compared to the parent strain, UCC2003. Interestingly, the analysis of a B. breve serU mutant revealed that the SerRK signaling pathway appears to include a SerU-dependent autoregulatory loop
Analisi archeobotaniche nel sito di Montegibbio: polline, NPPs, semi/frutti e carboni
No full textIl sito di Montegibbio rappresenta un esemplare caso di studio multidisciplinare, in cui una equipe di archeobotanici ha potuto seguire fin dall’inizio lo sviluppo del progetto d’indagine e le campagne di scavo che si sono succedute negli anni, in un clima di collaborazione e continuo confronto non solo con gli archeologi, ma anche con un team di esperti di altri settori scientifici.
Questo contributo presenta le analisi archeobotaniche effettuate su una ventina di campioni appartenenti a quattro fasi cronologiche, che coprono per la maggior parte un arco temporale complessivo di oltre un migliaio di anni e che permettono di ricavare preziose informazioni sul paesaggio vegetale, naturale e antropico, fino alla fine dell’età tardo antica
An Italian case of intestinal anisakiasis with a presurgical diagnosis: Could this parasite represent an emerging disease?
No full textAnisakiasis is a parasitic infection caused by the consumption of raw fish containing larvae of the Anisakis species. Since the first description in 1960 of a patient suffering from this pathogen, in the Netherlands, most of the cases have been reported in Japan, where consumption of raw fish is common, but the number of cases is increasing worldwide. The first case identified in Italy dates back to 1996 and a few cases have been reported since then. In Italy the intestinal form occurs almost as frequently as the gastric form, which is far more frequent in Japan. Intestinal Anisakiasis represents a diagnostic challenge as it is clinically misdiagnosed and most of the patients require surgery due to the occurrence of complications such as bowel occlusion or perforation. Practically no cases of the intestinal form are diagnosed preoperatively. We report the first case, to our knowledge, of intestinal Anisakiasis in which surgery was avoided, due to a prompt diagnosis suspected on intestinal biopsies. A literature review of Anisakiasis cases reported in Italy is also carried o
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