Functional validation of LexADBDGim chimeras in saccharomyces cerevisiae

GimC/Prefoldin is a hetero-oligomeric complex involved in cytoskeleton biogenesis. In order to identify by two-hybrid system targets that directly interact with Gims and support the stress phenotypes, this work aimed the functional validation of all Gims in saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Haptoglobin, acid phosphatase and demographic factors: obesity risk

The aim of this work is to study the risk of obesity posed by two genetic factors: haptoglobin phenotype and acid phosphatase phenotype, one enzymatic activity: acid phosphatase activity (ACP1), age and gender. Haptoglobin (Hp) is a protein of the immune system, and three phenotypes of Hp are found in humans: Hp1-1, Hp2-1, and Hp2-2. This protein is associated with a susceptibility to common pathological conditions, such as obesity. ACP1 is an intracellular enzyme The phenotypes of ACP1 (AA, AB, AC, BB, BC, CC) are also considered. We took a sample of 127 subjects with complete data from 714 registers. Since we intend to identify risk factors for obesity, an ordinal regression model is adjusted, using the Body Mass Index, BMI, to define weight categories. Haptoglobin phenotype, enzymatic activity of ACP1, acid phosphatase phenotype, age and gender are considered as regressor variables. We found three factors associated with an increased risk of obesity: phenotype Hp2-1 of haptoglobin (estimated odds ratio OR 11.54), phenotype AA of acid phosphatase (OR 33.788) and age (OR 1.39). The interaction between phenotype Hp2-1 and phenotype AC is associated with a decreased risk of obesity (OR 0.032); The interaction between phenotype AA and ACP1 activity is associated with a decreased risk of obesity (OR 0.954).

Disruption and phenotypic analysis of six open reading frames from chromosome VII of Saccharomyces cerevisiae reveals one essential gene

Six open reading frames (ORFs) located on chromosome VII of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (YGR205w, YGR210c, YGR211w, YGR241c, YGR243w and YGR244c) were disrupted in two different genetic backgrounds using short-flanking homology (SFH) gene replacement. Sporulation and tetrad analysis showed that YGR211w, recently identified as the yeast ZPR1 gene, is an essential gene. The other five genes are non-essential, and no phenotypes could be associated to their inactivation. Two of these genes have recently been further characterized: YGR241c (YAP1802) encodes a yeast adaptor protein and YGR244c (LSC2) encodes the b-subunit of the succinyl-CoA ligase. For each ORF, a replacement cassette with long flanking regions homologous to the target locus was cloned in pUG7, and the cognate wild-type gene was cloned in pRS416.

Gamma radiation effects on microbial inactivation of two medicinal plants

The consumption of natural products has become a public health problem, since these medicinal teas are prepared using natural plants without an effective hygienic and sanitary control. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of gamma radiation, on the microbial burden of two medicinal plants: Melissa officinalis and Lippia citriodora. Dried samples of the two plants were irradiated at a Co-60 experimental equipment. The applied gamma radiation doses were 1, 3, and 5 kGy at a dose rate of 1.34 kGy/h. Non-irradiated samples followed all the experiments. Bacterial and fungal counts were assessed before and after irradiation by membrane filtration method. Challenging tests with Escherichia coli were performed in order to evaluate the disinfection efficiency of gamma radiation treatment. Characterization of M. officinalis and L. citriadora microbiota indicated an average bioburden value of 102CFU/g. The inactivation studies of the bacterial mesophilic population of both dried plants pointed out to a one log reduction of microbial load after irradiation at 5 kGy. Regarding the fungal population, the initial load of 30 CFU/g was only reduced by 0.5 log by an irradiation dose of 5 kGy. The dynamics with radiation doses of plants microbial population’s phenotypes indicated the prevalence of gram-positive rods for M. officinalis before and after irradiation, and the increase of the frequency of gram-negative rods with irradiation for L. citriadora. Among fungal population of both plants, Mucor, Neoscytalidium, Aspergillus and Alternaria were the most isolated genera. The results obtained in the challenging tests with E. coli on plants pointed out to an inactivation efficiency of 99.5% and 99.9% to a dose of 2 kGy, for M.officinalis and L. citriadora, respectively. The gamma radiation treatment can be a significant tool for the microbial control in medicinal plants.