Secreted LysM proteins are required for niche competition and full virulence in Pseudomonas savastanoi during host plant infection.

Phytopathogenic bacteria secrete diverse virulence factors to manipulate host defenses and establish infection. Characterization of the type III secretion system (T3SS)- and HrpL-independent secretome (T3-IS) in Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi (Psv), the causal agent of olive knot disease, identified five secreted LysM-containing proteins (LysM1-LysM5) associated with distinct physiological processes critical for infection.

Integrative Elements Repeatedly Captured the Phaseolotoxin Biosynthesis Gene Cluster and Invaded Multiple Times.

Phaseolotoxin is a virulence factor of pv. (Pph) and pv. (Psa).

Comparative genomics of native plasmids from plant pathogenic Gammaproteobacteria.

Plasmids are key in the evolution and adaptation of plant pathogenic Gammaproteobacteria (PPG), yet their diversity and functional contributions remain underexplored. Here, comparative genomics revealed extensive variation in plasmid size, replicon types, mobility, and genetic content across PPG. Most plasmids are small (< 200 kb), except in Pantoea, exhibiting high coding densities (76% to 78%).

GacA reduces virulence and increases competitiveness in planta in the tumorigenic olive pathogen pv. savastanoi.

GacS/GacA is a widely distributed two-component system playing an essential role as a key global regulator, although its characterization in phytopathogenic bacteria has been deeply biased, being intensively studied in pathogens of herbaceous plants but barely investigated in pathogens of woody hosts. pv. savastanoi (Psv) is characterized by inducing tumours in the stem and branches of olive trees.

Multiple relaxases contribute to the horizontal transfer of the virulence plasmids from the tumorigenic bacterium pv. savastanoi NCPPB 3335.

pv. savastanoi NCPPB 3335 is the causal agent of olive knot disease and contains three virulence plasmids: pPsv48A (pA), 80 kb; pPsv48B (pB), 45 kb, and pPsv48C (pC), 42 kb. Here we show that pB contains a complete MPF (previously type IVA secretion system) and a functional origin of conjugational transfer adjacent to a relaxase of the MOB family; pC also contains a functional -MOB array, whereas pA contains an incomplete MPF (previously type IVB secretion system), but not a recognizable .

The Pbo Cluster from pv. Phaseolicola NPS3121 Is Thermoregulated and Required for Phaseolotoxin Biosynthesis.

The bean () pathogen pv. phaseolicola NPS3121 synthesizes phaseolotoxin in a thermoregulated way, with optimum production at 18 °C. Gene was previously shown to be thermoregulated and required for phaseolotoxin biosynthesis.

Presence of risk factors for thyroid cancer does not improve the performance of ultrasound screening for thyroid nodules in patients with obesity.

Purpose: It has been suggested, on a theoretical basis, that ultrasound screening of thyroid nodules in obese patients with additional risk factors (family history, chronic autoimmune thyroiditis or high thyrotropin) might be cost-effective for the early detection and treatment of thyroid cancer. The present study evaluates if this approach can be validated in a real clinical setting.

Methods: Patients with obesity who attended hospital-based clinics were evaluated for risk factors of thyroid cancer and ultrasound screened for thyroid nodularity.

pv. pv. nov., a Clonal Pathogen Causing an Emerging, Devastating Disease of the Ornamental Plant spp.

Commercial production of the ornamental plant dipladenia ( spp.) is threatened by dipladenia leaf and stem spot disease, caused by the bacterium . includes four pathovars of woody hosts differentiated by a characteristic host range in olive, oleander, ash, and broom plants.

Two Homologues of the Global Regulator Csr/Rsm Redundantly Control Phaseolotoxin Biosynthesis and Virulence in the Plant Pathogen pv. phaseolicola 1448A.

The widely conserved Csr/Rsm (carbon storage regulator/repressor of stationary-phase metabolites) post-transcriptional regulatory system controls diverse phenotypes involved in bacterial pathogenicity and virulence. Here we show that pv. phaseolicola 1448A contains seven genes, four of which are chromosomal.

Genes and , Coding for Cytokinin Biosynthesis Enzymes, Are Essential for Tumorigenesis and Growth by pv. savastanoi NCPPB 3335.

The phytopathogenic bacterium pv. savastanoi elicits aerial tumors on olive plants and is also able to synthesize large amounts of auxins and cytokinins. The auxin indoleacetic acid was shown to be required for tumorigenesis, but there is only correlational evidence suggesting a role for cytokinins.

Host Range Determinants of Pathovars of Woody Hosts Revealed by Comparative Genomics and Cross-Pathogenicity Tests.

The study of host range determinants within the complex is gaining renewed attention due to its widespread distribution in non-agricultural environments, evidence of large variability in intra-pathovar host range, and the emergence of new epidemic diseases. This requires the establishment of appropriate model pathosystems facilitating integration of phenotypic, genomic and evolutionary data. pv.

The toxic guardians - multiple toxin-antitoxin systems provide stability, avoid deletions and maintain virulence genes of virulence plasmids.

Background: is a γ-proteobacterium causing economically relevant diseases in practically all cultivated plants. Most isolates of this pathogen contain native plasmids collectively carrying many pathogenicity and virulence genes. However, is generally an opportunistic pathogen primarily inhabiting environmental reservoirs, which could exert a low selective pressure for virulence plasmids.

Coping with Environmental Eukaryotes; Identification of Genes during the Interaction with Alternative Hosts or Predators.

Understanding the molecular mechanisms underpinning the ecological success of plant pathogens is critical to develop strategies for controlling diseases and protecting crops. Recent observations have shown that plant pathogenic bacteria, particularly , exist in a range of natural environments away from their natural plant host e.g.

Knots Untie: Molecular Determinants Involved in Knot Formation Induced by in Woody Hosts.

The study of the molecular basis of tree diseases is lately receiving a renewed attention, especially with the emerging perception that pathogens require specific pathogenicity and virulence factors to successfully colonize woody hosts. Pathosystems involving woody plants are notoriously difficult to study, although the use of model bacterial strains together with genetically homogeneous micropropagated plant material is providing a significant impetus to our understanding of the molecular determinants leading to disease. The gammaproteobacterium belongs to the intensively studied complex, and includes three pathogenic lineages causing tumorous overgrowths (knots) in diverse economically relevant trees and shrubs.

Temperature-mediated biosynthesis of the phytotoxin phaseolotoxin by Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola depends on the autoregulated expression of the phtABC genes.

Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola produces phaseolotoxin in a temperature dependent manner, being optimally synthesized between 18°C and 20°C, while no detectable amounts are present above 28°C. The Pht cluster, involved in the biosynthesis of phaseolotoxin, contains 23 genes that are organized in five transcriptional units.

Four genes essential for recombination define GInts, a new type of mobile genomic island widespread in bacteria.

Integrases are a family of tyrosine recombinases that are highly abundant in bacterial genomes, actively disseminating adaptive characters such as pathogenicity determinants and antibiotics resistance. Using comparative genomics and functional assays, we identified a novel type of mobile genetic element, the GInt, in many diverse bacterial groups but not in archaea. Integrated as genomic islands, GInts show a tripartite structure consisting of the ginABCD operon, a cargo DNA region from 2.

Plasmid Replicons from Are Natural Chimeras of Functional, Exchangeable Modules.

Plasmids are a main factor for the evolution of bacteria through horizontal gene exchange, including the dissemination of pathogenicity genes, resistance to antibiotics and degradation of pollutants. Their capacity to duplicate is dependent on their replication determinants (replicon), which also define their bacterial host range and the inability to coexist with related replicons. We characterize a second replicon from the virulence plasmid pPsv48C, from pv.

Bacillus thuringiensis toxins: an overview of their biocidal activity.

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a Gram positive, spore-forming bacterium that synthesizes parasporal crystalline inclusions containing Cry and Cyt proteins, some of which are toxic against a wide range of insect orders, nematodes and human-cancer cells. These toxins have been successfully used as bioinsecticides against caterpillars, beetles, and flies, including mosquitoes and blackflies. Bt also synthesizes insecticidal proteins during the vegetative growth phase, which are subsequently secreted into the growth medium.

Molecular and insecticidal characterization of a novel Cry-related protein from Bacillus thuringiensis toxic against Myzus persicae.

This study describes the insecticidal activity of a novel Bacillus thuringiensis Cry-related protein with a deduced 799 amino acid sequence (~89 kDa) and ~19% pairwise identity to the 95-kDa-aphidicidal protein (sequence number 204) from patent US 8318900 and ~40% pairwise identity to the cancer cell killing Cry proteins (parasporins Cry41Ab1 and Cry41Aa1), respectively. This novel Cry-related protein contained the five conserved amino acid blocks and the three conserved domains commonly found in 3-domain Cry proteins. The protein exhibited toxic activity against the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Homoptera: Aphididae) with the lowest mean lethal concentration (LC₅₀ = 32.

Draft genome sequences of two Bacillus thuringiensis strains and characterization of a putative 41.9-kDa insecticidal toxin.

In this work, we report the genome sequencing of two Bacillus thuringiensis strains using Illumina next-generation sequencing technology (NGS). Strain Hu4-2, toxic to many lepidopteran pest species and to some mosquitoes, encoded genes for two insecticidal crystal (Cry) proteins, cry1Ia and cry9Ea, and a vegetative insecticidal protein (Vip) gene, vip3Ca2. Strain Leapi01 contained genes coding for seven Cry proteins (cry1Aa, cry1Ca, cry1Da, cry2Ab, cry9Ea and two cry1Ia gene variants) and a vip3 gene (vip3Aa10).

Draft Genome Sequence of Bacillus thuringiensis Serovar Tolworthi Strain Na205-3, an Isolate Toxic for Helicoverpa armigera.

We report here the complete annotated 6,510,053-bp draft genome sequence of Bacillus thuringiensis serovar tolworthi strain Na205-3, which is toxic for Helicoverpa armigera. This strain potentially contains nine insecticidal toxin genes homologous to cry1Aa12, cry1Ab1, cry1Ab8, cry1Ba1, cry1Af1, cry1Ia10, vip1Bb1, vip2Ba2, and vip3Aa6.

Translocation and functional analysis of Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi NCPPB 3335 type III secretion system effectors reveals two novel effector families of the Pseudomonas syringae complex.

Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi NCPPB 3335 causes olive knot disease and is a model pathogen for exploring bacterial infection of woody hosts. The type III secretion system (T3SS) effector repertoire of this strain includes 31 effector candidates plus two novel candidates identified in this study which have not been reported to translocate into plant cells.

A Pseudomonas syringae diversity survey reveals a differentiated phylotype of the pathovar syringae associated with the mango host and mangotoxin production.

Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae, the causal agent of bacterial apical necrosis (BAN) in mango crops, has been isolated in different mango-producing areas worldwide. An extensive collection of 87 P.

Strains of Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae from pea are phylogenetically and pathogenically diverse.

Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae causes extensive yield losses in the pea crop worldwide, although there is little information on its host specialization and its interactions with pea. A collection of 88 putative P.

HER2 blockade in metastatic collecting duct carcinoma (CDC) of the kidney: a case report.

Background: Collecting duct carcinoma of the kidney (CDC) is a rare cancer associated with bad prognosis and, at present, with no specific effective therapies.

Case Report: We report a clinical case with disseminated highgrade CDC presenting with widespread metastasis to both lungs, pelvic bones, axial skeleton, and the central nervous system (posterior fossa, both hemispheres and pituitary-hypothalamic). The primary tumor in the kidney was demonstrated (by fluorescence in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry with Herceptest (3+ score)) to significantly overexpress HER2.