I have been communicating with Randen Patterson on and off over the last five years or so about his efforts to try and study the evolution of gene families when the sequence similarity in the gene family is so low that making ... 
Dyer's woad rust (Puccinia thlaspeos 'strain woad') is used as a pesticide to control the spread of dyer's woad, an invasive weed in the dry open areas of eight western states. Rusts are a group of fungi that infect only plants, and are often very selective about their hosts. Despite extensive testing of related plants, dyer's woad is the only known plant host for this rust. When used according to label directions, pesticide products containing dyer's woad rust present no known risks to humans, non-target plants, wildlife, or the environment.
Isatis tinctoria (dyer's woad) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isatis_tinctoria Via Kamoun Lab @ TSL 
This is a core textbook covering every aspect of veterinary microbiology for students in both paraclinical and clinical years. The clinical applications to farm and companion animals, which are of relevance to the veterinarians are emphasised. 
Viruses that can target and destroy bacteria have the potential to be an effective strategy for tackling hard-to-treat bacterial infections. The development of such novel therapies is being accelerated in response to growing antibiotic resistance, says Dr David Harper at the Society for General Microbiology's Spring Conference in Dublin. Via AJCann, Chris Upton 
EM Sorrell, EJA Schrauwen, M Linster, M De Graaf, S Herfst, RAM Fouchier,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.coviro.2011.07.003
Repeated transmission of animal influenza viruses to humans has prompted investigation of the viral, host, and environmental factors responsible for transmission via aerosols or respiratory droplets. How do we determine — out of thousands of influenza virus isolates collected in animal surveillance studies each year — which viruses have the potential to become ‘airborne’, and hence pose a pandemic threat? Here, using knowledge from pandemic, zoonotic and epidemic viruses, we postulate that the minimal requirements for efficient transmission of an animal influenza virus between humans are: efficient virus attachment to (upper) respiratory tissues, replication to high titers in these tissues, and release and aerosolization of single virus particles. Investigating ‘airborne’ transmission of influenza viruses is key to understand — and predict — influenza pandemics.
Via Elsevier Microbiol* 
In the hostile environment of a bubbling volcanic hot spring, a team of researchers at Portland State University (PSU) in Oregon has discovered a new viral genome that appears to be the product of recombination between a DNA virus and an RNA virus... Via Jeff Habig 
Chagas disease affects an estimated 8 to 11 million people worldwide. It is caused by a parasite transmitted primarily through a bite from the triatomine, or “kissing” bug — so-called because it frequently bites humans on the face.
Via @TweetNTD Via Cesar Sanchez 
In 2011 the Food and Agriculture Organization formally announced that rinderpest was eradicated from the globe. Rinderpest virus had long been associated with huge disease outbreaks among cattle. Via Chris Upton 
(PhysOrg.com) -- The effort to classify life into various groups has been a bumpy ride. Prior to the 1900s, living things were usually pegged as either plants or animals – period. 
Nature | Breaking News
The US National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) today recommended the publication of two controversial avian flu papers. In December 2011, the board said that experimental details of the two studies should be redacted from any publications because of concerns that the information could be used in a bioterror attack. The board also feared that publishing the details would prompt more laboratories to work on the viruses, making an accidental release more likely. New guidelines aim to prevent concerns about dual use being raised only at the eve of publication. CDC/ Taronna Maines Today, after a two-day meeting, the board decided to revise its earlier decision.
Viva!! Via Ed Rybicki 
by Elio 
Some recent research indicates that the types and levels of bacteria in the intestines may be used to 
THERE. IS. NO. YELLOW. FEVER. IN. SOUTH. AFRICA. WHO does NOT think so - and there is a map to prove it. Via Ed Rybicki |
RT @Profmicro: Nice overview!RT @Archaellum: Why #archaea are important http://t.co/bVVH3W0G... 
Magnet-making bacteria may help build biological computers of the future, an international team of researchers says. Via Socrates Logos 
"Is there a new path to biofuels hiding in a handful of dirt? Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) biologist Steve Singer leads a group that wants to find out. They’re exploring whether a common soil bacterium can be engineered to produce liquid transportation fuels much more efficiently than the ways in which advanced biofuels are made today. The scientists are working with a bacterium called Ralstonia eutropha. It naturally uses hydrogen as an energy source to convert CO2 into various organic compounds. The group hopes to capitalize on the bacteria’s capabilities and tweak it to produce advanced biofuels that are drop-in replacements for diesel and jet fuel. The process would be powered only by hydrogen and electricity from renewable sources such as solar or wind. The goal is a biofuel—or electrofuel, as this new approach is called—that doesn’t require photosynthesis...." Via Socrates Logos 
High-throughput RNA sequencing has yielded some unexpected results in the past few years — including some that seem to rewrite conventional wisdom in genetics. But a few of those findings are now being challenged, as computational biologists warn of the statistical pitfalls that can lurk in data-intensive studies. Via Mohamed Nadhir Djekidel, Chris Upton 
Algae–based biofuel is a new energy source that has been getting a lot of attention lately. Via Marko Dolinar "L'intestin humain renferme des milliards de bactéries. Ce microbiote, c'est le nom qu'on lui donne, compte 150 fois plus gènes que le génome humain. Il faut savoir que chaque individu possède un microbiote unique et qu'il existe d'importantes diversités entre chaque personne. Au cours de ces dernières années, chercheurs et médecins ont prouvé l'incontestable rôle joué par ce microbiote intestinal dans le développement de nombreuses maladies, principalement les pathologies métaboliques chroniques et les maladies inflammatoires intestinales, des maladies qui affectent entre 25 et 40% de la population occidentale. Par exemple, la stéato-hépatite non alcoolique (SHNA), qui est la forme la plus sévère de l'une de ces maladies, est diagnostiquée chez 2 à 3% de la population mondiale." Via Damien Steiner 
One of few surviving southern mountain yellow-legged frogs (Rana muscosa) in Kings Canyon National Park, California, where chytrid fungus has all but wiped them out. Fungal infections have caused widespread damage in crops and dramatic declines in populations of amphibians and bat species. Newly emerged pathogenic fungi have been reported in corals, bees and many plants. In a Review this week, Matthew Fisher and colleagues warn that human activity is intensifying fungal disease dispersal by modifying natural ecosystems and creating new opportunities for evolution. Unless steps are taken to reduce the risk of these infectious diseases spreading globally, the authors suggest, fungal infections will cause increasing attrition of biodiversity, with wider implications for human and ecosystem health. The authors' recommendations include better monitoring of emerging diseases, stringent biosecurity controls on international trade and intensified research on the interactions between hosts, pathogens and the environment.
Check the publication at http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v484/n7393/full/nature10947.html Via Kamoun Lab @ TSL 
The researchers studied the immune system of mice lacking bacteria or any other microbes (“germ-free mice”) and compared them to mice living in a normal environment with microbes. They found that germ-free mice had ... 
by Marcia Stone 
CosmosNew strain blamed for whooping cough epidemicCosmos"The prolonged whooping cough epidemic in Australia that began during 2008 has been predominantly caused by the new genotype," said Ruiting Lan from the School of Biotechnology and... This is one of my favorite papers: A unique virus release mechanism in the Archaea. 
Provisional figures released by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) show |
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