Roma Tre University

About: Roma Tre University is a education organization based out in Rome, Lazio, Italy. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Large Hadron Collider & Galaxy. The organization has 4434 authors who have published 15352 publications receiving 374888 citations. The organization is also known as: Universita degli Studi Roma Tre & RomaTre.

Functional Analysis of PvdS, an Iron Starvation Sigma Factor of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Abstract: In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, iron modulates gene expression through a cascade of negative and positive regulatory proteins. The master regulator Fur is involved in iron-dependent repression of several genes. One of these genes, pvdS, was predicted to encode a putative sigma factor responsible for the transcription of a subset of genes of the Fur regulon. PvdS appears to belong to a structurally and functionally distinct subgroup of the extracytoplasmic function family of alternative sigma factors. Members of this subgroup, also including PbrA from Pseudomonas fluorescens, PfrI and PupI from Pseudomonas putida, and FecI from Escherichia coli, are controlled by the Fur repressor, and they activate transcription of genes for the biosynthesis or the uptake of siderophores. Evidence is provided that the PvdS protein of P. aeruginosa is endowed with biochemical properties of eubacterial sigma factors, as it spontaneously forms 1:1 complexes with the core fraction of RNA polymerase (RNAP, α2ββ′ subunits), thereby promoting in vitro binding of the PvdS-RNAP holoenzyme to the promoter region of the pvdA gene. These functional features of PvdS are consistent with the presence of structural domains predicted to be involved in core RNAP binding, promoter recognition, and open complex formation. The activity of pyoverdin biosynthetic (pvd) promoters was significantly lower in E. coli overexpressing the multicopy pvdS gene than in wild-type P. aeruginosa PAO1 carrying the single gene copy, andpvd::lacZ transcriptional fusions were silent in both pfrI (the pvdS homologue) and pfrA (a positive regulator of pseudobactin biosynthetic genes) mutants of P. putida WCS358, while they are expressed at PAO1 levels in wild-type WCS358. Moreover, the PvdS-RNAP holoenzyme purified from E. coli lacked the ability to generate in vitro transcripts from the pvdA promoter. These observations suggest that at least one additional positive regulator could be required for full activity of the PvdS-dependent transcription complex both in vivo and in vitro. This is consistent with the presence of a putative activator binding site (the iron starvation box) at variable distance from the transcription initiation sites of promoters controlled by the iron starvation sigma factors PvdS, PfrI, and PbrA of fluorescent pseudomonads.

Compartmentalized reactions as a case of soft-matter biotechnology: synthesis of proteins and nucleic acids inside lipid vesicles

Abstract: In this mini-review we would like to summarize the recent advances in the field of protein and nucleic acid synthesis inside lipid vesicles (liposomes). This research, which originated within the origin of life community, is now recognized as an example of synthetic biology. Current approaches are based on the convergence of liposome technology and cell-free in vitro technology. In particular, in addition to the classical liposome preparation methods, the new water-in-oil droplet transfer method appears very interesting for progressing in the assembly of these cell-like systems, possibly in combination with microfluidic devices. As an alternative to cell extract, the use of a transcription/translation kit composed of purified components is also presented as a new tool for carrying out protein synthesis inside liposomes. Data presented in the literature are collected and shortly discussed, and the potential relevance of this new soft-matter biotechnology in various research fields is also commented on.

Topography of the Calabria subduction zone (southern Italy): Clues for the origin of Mt. Etna

Abstract: [1] Calabria represents an ideal site to analyze the topography of a subduction zone as it is located on top of a narrow active Wadati-Benioff zone and shows evidence of rapid uplift. We analyzed a pattern of surface deformation using elevation data with different filters and showed the existence of a long wavelength (>100 km) relatively positive topographic signal at the slab edges. The elevation of MIS 5.5 stage marine terraces supports this pattern, although the record is incomplete and partly masked by the variable denudation rate. We performed structural analyses along the major active or recently reactivated normal faults showing that the extensional direction varies along the Calabrian Arc and laterally switches from arc-normal, within the active portion of the slab, to arc-oblique or even arc-parallel, along the northern and southern slab edges. This surface deformation pattern was compared with a recent high resolution P wave tomographic model showing that the high seismic velocity anomaly is continuous only within the active Wadati-Benioff zone, whereas the northern and southwestern sides are marked by low velocity anomalies, suggesting that large-scale topographic bulges, volcanism, and uplift could have been produced by mantle upwelling. We present numerical simulations to visualize the three-dimensional mantle circulation around a narrow retreating slab, ideally similar to the one presently subducting beneath Calabria. We emphasize that mantle upwelling and surface deformation are expected at the edges of the slab, where return flows may eventually drive decompression melting and the Mount Etna volcanism.