UDP-galactose 4-epimerase (GalE) catalyzes the interconversion of UDP-glucose (UDP-Glc) and UDP-galactose (UDP-Gal), which is a pivotal step in the Leloir pathway for d-galactose metabolism. Although GalE is widely distributed in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, little information is available regarding hyperthermophilic GalE. We overexpressed the TM0509 gene, encoding a putative GalE from Thermotog...

A 500 km long network of valleys extends from Herschel crater to Gale, Knobel, and Sharp craters. The mineralogy and timing of fluvial activity in these watersheds provide a regional framework for deciphering the origin of sediments of Gale crater’s Mount Sharp, an exploration target for the Curiosity rover. Olivine-bearing bedrock is exposed throughout the region, and its erosion contributed t...

Bacillus subtilis is unable to grow by consuming galactose because it is unable to transport it into the cell. The transcription of galE is not influenced by galactose but is repressed by glucose. Galactose is toxic for galE-negative bacteria because it results in elevated levels of metabolic intermediates. These negative effects are reduced in galK and galT mutants. Glucose is also toxic for g...

Succeeding Jared Eliot, the pastor-physician and medical instructor, was Benjamin Gale, his son-in-law and a leading physician of his time. Not a pastor though he dabbled in theology, not a politician though he represented his town for twenty years in the legislature, not a loyalist though he hated the constitution and at one time wished for reunion with Great Britain he was, "a man of integrit...

Shigella sonnei, an intestinal pathogen, produces a characteristic form I cell surface antigen now known to be plasmid encoded. We considered that the GalE Salmonella typhi Ty21a oral vaccine strain, highly effective against typhoid, might be modified so as to be protective also against shigellosis due to S. sonnei. The plasmid responsible for form I antigen synthesis was therefore conjugally t...