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pIP501 is a conjugative broad-host-range plasmid frequently present in nosocomial Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium isolates. We focus here on the functional analysis of the type IV secretion gene traG, which was found to be essential for pIP501 conjugative transfer between Gram-positive bacteria. The TraG protein, which localizes to the cell envelope of E. faecalis harboring pIP501, was expressed and purified without its N-terminal transmembrane helix (TraGΔTMH) and shown to possess peptidoglycan-degrading activity. TraGΔTMH was inhibited by specific lytic transglycosylase inhibitors hexa-N-acetylchitohexaose and bulgecin A. Analysis of the TraG sequence suggested the presence of two domains which both could contribute to the observed cell wall-degrading activity: an N-terminal soluble lytic transglycosylase domain (SLT) and a C-terminal cysteine-, histidine-dependent amidohydrolases/peptidases (CHAP) domain. The protein domains were expressed separately, and both degraded peptidoglycan. A change of the conserved glutamate residue in the putative catalytic center of the SLT domain (E87) to glycine resulted in almost complete inactivity, which is consistent with this part of TraG being a predicted lytic transglycosylase. Based on our findings, we propose that TraG locally opens the peptidoglycan to facilitate insertion of the Gram-positive bacterial type IV secretion machinery into the cell envelope.
Wastewater contains large amounts of pharmaceuticals, pathogens, and antimicrobial resistance determinants. Only a little is known about the dissemination of resistance determinants and changes in soil microbial communities affected by wastewater irrigation. Community DNAs from Mezquital Valley soils under irrigation with untreated wastewater for 0 to 100 years were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR for the presence of sul genes, encoding resistance to sulfonamides. Amplicon sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes from community DNAs from soils irrigated for 0, 8, 10, 85, and 100 years was performed and revealed a 14% increase of the relative abundance of Proteobacteria in rainy season soils and a 26.7% increase in dry season soils for soils irrigated for 100 years with wastewater. In particular, Gammaproteobacteria, including potential pathogens, such as Pseudomonas, Stenotrophomonas, and Acinetobacter spp., were found in wastewater-irrigated fields. 16S rRNA gene sequencing of 96 isolates from soils irrigated with wastewater for 100 years (48 from dry and 48 from rainy season soils) revealed that 46% were affiliated with the Gammaproteobacteria (mainly potentially pathogenic Stenotrophomonas strains) and 50% with the Bacilli, whereas all 96 isolates from rain-fed soils (48 from dry and 48 from rainy season soils) were affiliated with the Bacilli. Up to six types of antibiotic resistance were found in isolates from wastewater-irrigated soils; sulfamethoxazole resistance was the most abundant (33.3% of the isolates), followed by oxacillin resistance (21.9% of the isolates). In summary, we detected an increase of potentially harmful bacteria and a larger incidence of resistance determinants in wastewater-irrigated soils, which might result in health risks for farm workers and consumers of wastewater-irrigated crops.
Long-term irrigation with untreated wastewater can lead to an accumulation of antibiotic substances and antibiotic resistance genes in soil. However, little is known so far about effects of wastewater, applied for decades, on the abundance of IncP-1 plasmids and class 1 integrons which may contribute to the accumulation and spread of resistance genes in the environment, and their correlation with heavy metal concentrations. Therefore, a chronosequence of soils that were irrigated with wastewater from 0 to 100 years was sampled in the Mezquital Valley in Mexico in the dry season. The total community DNA was extracted and the absolute and relative abundance (relative to 16S rRNA genes) of antibiotic resistance genes (tet(W), tet(Q), aadA), class 1 integrons (intI1), quaternary ammonium compound resistance genes (qacE+qacEΔ1) and IncP-1 plasmids (korB) were quantified by real-time PCR. Except for intI1 and qacE+qacEΔ1 the abundances of selected genes were below the detection limit in non-irrigated soil. Confirming the results of a previous study, the absolute abundance of 16S rRNA genes in the samples increased significantly over time (linear regression model, p < 0.05) suggesting an increase in bacterial biomass due to repeated irrigation with wastewater. Correspondingly, all tested antibiotic resistance genes as well as intI1 and korB significantly increased in abundance over the period of 100 years of irrigation. In parallel, concentrations of the heavy metals Zn, Cu, Pb, Ni, and Cr significantly increased. However, no significant positive correlations were observed between the relative abundance of selected genes and years of irrigation, indicating no enrichment in the soil bacterial community due to repeated wastewater irrigation or due to a potential co-selection by increasing concentrations of heavy metals.
We present a video-densitometric quantification method for the triazine herbicides atraton, terbumeton, simazine, atrazine and terbutylazine. Triazine herbicides were separated on silica gel using methyl-t-butyl ether, cyclohexane (1+1, v/v) as mobile phase. The quantification was based on a bio-effective-linked analysis using chloroplast and 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol. Within 1-2 minutes HILL-reaction inhibitor substances show blue-grey zones on a pale yellow-green background. To increase the contrast, the moist plate can be dipped into a solution of PEG-600 (10% PEG-600 in methanol) for 2s. Measurements were carried out using a 16 bit ST-1603ME CCD camera with 1.56 megapixels (from Santa Barbara Instrument Group, Inc., Santa Barbara, USA). A white LED was used for illumination purposes. The range of linearity covers more than one magnitude using the (1/R) - 1 expression data transformation. The method can be used for herbicide screenings in environmental samples, because not spectral sensitivity but herbicide activity is measured. The separation method is cheap, fast and reliable.
Wastewater (WW) reuse for agriculture purposes provides benefits and risks at the same time. Wastewater reuse for irrigation is widely practiced in agriculture to alleviate water shortages. Irrigation with unpurified WW can allow large numbers of antibiotic resistance genes and nosocomial pathogens to be released with the WW into the soils. In arid and semiarid areas, WW irrigation reduces the pressure on other water sources. Together with organic waste (such as WW and manure), antibiotics, multiresistant bacteria, antibiotic resistance genes, and heavy metals are introduced into the soil. The concentration of the soil-adsorbed antibiotics depends on several factors including the soil composition and the sorption coefficient of the different antibiotics. Heavy metal resistance genes are frequently found on mobile genetic elements, such as transposons and plasmids, which also carry integrons and antibiotic resistance genes.
The quantification of simple sugars can be challenging due to their high polarity, low volatility, their lack of a chromophore and their common occurrence in complex matrices. HPTLC can separate mono- and oligosaccharides after minimal sample preparation and can sensitively detect these compounds after post-chromatographic derivatization. The published method for quantification of sugars in honey allows analyzing multiple samples on a single plate within approximately 3.7 hours. With the method transferred to the new HPTLC PRO System, this test can be accomplished in about 2.5 hours. An alternative method developed for HPTLC PRO requires just 1.3 hours per plate.
HPTLC allows quantification of sugars in honey and other complex matrices at low running costs. Depending on the level of equipment used, the speed, automation and reliability of the obtained quantitative results can be increased. With the new method developed for the HPTLC PRO System, the main sugars in honey can be investigated in short time and other sugars, such as oligomers present in fermentation processes, can be analyzed at the same time.
In previous articles we presented HPTLC (High- Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography) applications for a series of medicinal plants, such as Ginkgo (Analytix 5/2016), Hypericum (Analytix 1/2017) or Ginseng (Analytix Reporter Issue 2/2018). With this article, we continue this series with an application note for passion flower, to further demonstrate the effectiveness of HPTLC for fingerprints of botanicals. Our comprehensive offering of analytical reagents and standards includes all consumables (TLC/HPTLC plates, solvents, analytical standards and extract reference materials) used for this application.
Thin-layer chromatography is a rapid and reliable working method for quantification of mycotoxins which is suitable for checking EC legislation aflatoxin limits for dried figs without an RP-18 pre-column cleaning step. We describe normal-phase chromatography on silica gel plates with 2.4:0.05:0.1:0.05 ( v/v ) methyl t -butyl ether-water-methanol-cyclohexane as mobile phase and reversed-phase chromatography on RP-18 plates with methanol-4% aqueous ZnSO 4 solution-ethyl methyl ketone 15:15:3 ( v/v ) as mobile phase. Sample pretreatment was by modified QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, Safe) extraction with tetrahydrofuran or acetone. NaCl was used as QuEChERS salt. Response was a linear function of amount chromatographed in the ranges 3 to 100 pg per zone for aflatoxins B 2 and G 2 , 10 to 350 pg per zone for the aflatoxins B 1 and G 1 , and 0.25 to 2.5 ng per zone for ochratoxin A. Quantification limits for the aflatoxins were between 13 and 35 pg per zone (equivalent to 1.5 and 2.4 ppb, taking the pre-treatment procedure into account). Ochratoxin A was detectable with a limit of quantification of 970 pg per zone, corresponding to 56 ppb in the sample. Normal phase and RP-18 separations work rapidly, reliably, and at low cost. They are also suitable for checking the content of the mycotoxins patulin, penicillic acid, zearalenone, and deoxynivalenol.