Serial analysis of gene expression was used to profile transcript levels in Arabidopsis roots and assess their responses to 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) exposure. SAGE libraries representing control and TNT-exposed seedling root transcripts were constructed, and each was sequenced to a depth of roughly 32,000 tags. More than 19,000 unique tags were identified overall. The second most highly indu...

Nitroreductase (NR) from Enterobacter cloacae reduces diverse nitroaromatics including herbicides, explosives, and prodrugs, and holds promise for bioremediation, prodrug activation, and enzyme-assisted synthesis. We solved crystal structures of NR complexes with bound substrate or analog for each of its two half-reactions. We complemented these with kinetic isotope effect (KIE) measurements el...

The "classical" nitroreductases of enteric bacteria are flavoproteins which catalyze the reduction of a variety of nitroaromatic compounds to metabolites which are highly toxic, mutagenic, or carcinogenic. The gene for the nitroreductase Enterobacter cloacae has now been cloned using an antibody specific to this protein. The nucleotide sequence of the structural gene and flanking regions are re...

Nuruerous aromatic iii roe rirpounds are reduced to aromatic amines by nianrmalian liver. Bouts and Brodie (1) reported that the nitroreductase was localized in 0•,0(10 x g supernatant of liver. Although both N:A1)PH and NAUH can serve as electron donors, NADPH was about four times more effective:than NADH. I t is known that hydroxylamines are formed as intermediate in the reduction of nitrocom...

The antibacterial activities of different nitroheterocyclic compounds were assessed by an agar dilution method against aerobic, microaerophilic, and anaerobic bacteria. Nitronaphthofurans inhibited the multiplication of aerobic bacteria at low concentrations (MIC for 50% of strains tested [MIC50], 1 mg/liter). Under anaerobic growth conditions the MICs were found to be even lower. The rough, DN...

Members of the Bacteroides fragilis group are among the most common anaerobic bacterial isolates in clinical specimens. Metronidazole, a 5-nitroimidazole, is often used as empirical therapy for anaerobic infections. Susceptibility testing is not routinely performed because of nearly universal susceptibility of Bacteroides spp. to this agent. We report a case of metronidazole-resistant Bacteroid...

Benznidazole is the main drug used to treat Trypanosoma cruzi infections. However, frequent instances of treatment failure have been reported. To better understand potential resistance mechanisms, we analysed three clones isolated from a single parasite population that had undergone benznidazole-selection. These clones exhibited differing levels of benznidazole-resistance (varying between 9 and...