University of Seville

About: University of Seville is a education organization based out in Seville, Andalucía, Spain. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 20098 authors who have published 47317 publications receiving 947007 citations. The organization is also known as: Universidad de Sevilla.

Halomonas neptunia sp. nov., Halomonas sulfidaeris sp. nov., Halomonas axialensis sp. nov. and Halomonas hydrothermalis sp. nov.: halophilic bacteria isolated from deep-sea hydrothermal-vent environments

Abstract: To assess the physiological and phylogenetic diversity of culturable halophilic bacteria in deep-sea hydrothermal-vent environments, six isolates obtained from low-temperature hydrothermal fluids, sulfide rock and hydrothermal plumes in North and South Pacific Ocean vent fields located at 1530–2580 m depth were fully characterized. Three strains were isolated on media that contained oligotrophic concentrations of organic carbon (0·002 % yeast extract). Sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene indicated that all strains belonged to the genus Halomonas in the γ-subclass of the Proteobacteria. Consistent with previously described species, the novel strains were slightly to moderately halophilic and grew in media containing up to 22–27 % total salts. The isolates grew at temperatures as low as −1 to 2 °C and had temperature optima of 30 or 20–35 °C. Both the minimum and optimum temperatures for growth were similar to those of Antarctic and sea-ice Halomonas species and lower than typically observed for the genus as a whole. Phenotypic tests revealed that the isolates were physiologically versatile and tended to have more traits in common with each other than with closely related Halomonas species, presumably a reflection of their common deep-sea, hydrothermal-vent habitat of origin. The G+C content of the DNA for all strains was 56·0–57·6 mol%, and DNA–DNA hybridization experiments revealed that four strains (Eplume1T, Esulfide1T, Althf1T and Slthf2T) represented novel species and that two strains (Eplume2 and Slthf1) were related to Halomonas meridiana. The proposed new species names are Halomonas neptunia (type strain Eplume1T=ATCC BAA-805T=CECT 5815T=DSM 15720T), Halomonas sulfidaeris (type strain Esulfide1T=ATCC BAA-803T=CECT 5817T=DSM 15722T), Halomonas axialensis (type strain Althf1T=ATCC BAA-802T=CECT 5812T=DSM 15723T) and Halomonas hydrothermalis (type strain Slthf2T=ATCC BAA-800T=CECT 5814T=DSM 15725T).

A novel yeast gene, THO2 , is involved in RNA pol II transcription and provides new evidence for transcriptional elongation‐associated recombination

Abstract: We have identified two novel yeast genes, THO1 and THO2 , that partially suppress the transcription defects of hpr1 Δ mutants by overexpression. We show by in vivo transcriptional and recombinational analysis of tho2 Δ cells that THO2 plays a role in RNA polymerase II (RNA pol II)‐dependent transcription and is required for the stability of DNA repeats, as previously shown for HPR1 . The tho2 Δ mutation reduces the transcriptional efficiency of yeast DNA sequences down to 25% of the wild‐type levels and abolishes transcription of the lacZ sequence. In addition, tho2 Δ causes a strong increase in the frequency of recombination between direct repeats (>2000‐fold above wild‐type levels). Some DNA repeats cannot even be maintained in the cell. This hyper‐recombination phenotype is dependent on transcription and is not observed in DNA repeats that are not transcribed. The higher the impairment of transcription caused by tho2 Δ, the higher the frequency of recombination of a particular DNA region. The tho2 Δ mutation also increases the frequency of plasmid loss. Our work not only identifies a novel yeast gene, THO2 , with similar function to HPR1 , but also provides new evidence for transcriptional blocks as a source of recombination. We propose that there is a set of proteins including Hpr1p and Tho2p, in the absence of which RNA pol II transcription is stalled or blocked, causing genetic instability.

The locked-in syndrome: a syndrome looking for a therapy

Abstract: A review of the scientific literature on locked-in syndrome (LIS) is offered The clinical features, diagnosis and prognosis of LIS are reviewed, and methods regarding the differential diagnosis of LIS with severe disorders of consciousness are considered Effective treatment, physiotherapy, and methods of communication are reviewed Although progress in the field of communication for patients with LIS is promising, it is concluded that there are new possibilities to be pursued and that a more positive outlook in the area of professional care of the patients, as well as more extensive imaginative research will facilitate new and positive strategies for this syndrome