The identification and characterization of pathogenicity factors are essential to an understanding of the molecular events that regulate the interaction of plant-pathogenic microbes with their hosts. We have isolated the gene that encodes a host-selective toxic protein produced by the fungus Pyrenophora tritici-repentis and confirmed that this gene functions in the plant as the primary determin...

Race 1 isolates of Cochliobolus carbonum are pathogenic on certain maize lines due to production of a host-selective cyclic tetrapeptide, HC-toxin. Flanking HTS1, which encodes the central enzyme in HC-toxin biosynthesis, a gene was identified and named TOXA. Like HTS1, TOXA occurred only in isolates of the fungus that make HC-toxin and was present as two linked copies in most toxin-producing i...

Tetanus toxin is a powerful neurotoxin known to inhibit neurotransmitter release. The tetanus toxin light chain is a metalloprotease that cleaves some members of the synaptobrevin gene family with high specificity. Here, we report the expression of a synthetic gene encoding the tetanus toxin light chain in the seminiferous epithelium of transgenic mice. Spermatogenesis was severely impaired and...

Abstract African lungfish estivate every dry season to survive unfavorable environmental conditions. The estivation process is associated with a drastic remodeling of the skin characterized by severe inflammation, granulocyte infiltration, epithelial damage and stem cell depletion which ultimately lead formation cocoon potent antimicrobial functions. We recently identified novel toxin molecule ...

Abstract The consumption of raw milk cheese has been growing worldwide with S. aureus and E. coli the leading agents in food poisoning. present work aims to evaluate microbiological quality cheeses commercialized Brazil, regarding microbiology safety enterotoxin gene presence. Forty-three samples from five different suppliers were analyzed. Counting identification aureus, Salmonella spp perform...

Retrotransposon-mediated disruption of the BtR-4 gene encoding the Heliothis virescens cadherin-like protein (HevCaLP) is linked to high levels of resistance in the YHD2 strain to Cry1Ac toxin from Bacillus thuringiensis. This suggests that HevCaLP functions as a Cry1Ac toxin receptor on the surface of midgut cells in susceptible larvae and that the BtR-4 gene disruption eliminates this protein...

The most common complications of varicella are bacterial skin and soft tissue infections, generally due to Staphylococcus aureus and group A beta-hemolytic streptococci. The aim of this study was to characterize the toxin and antibiotic resistance profiles of S. aureus isolates involved in varicella complications. Between 2002 and 2007, the French Reference Centre for Staphylococci collected 58...

clostridium perfringens is an important cause of enteric diseases in both human and animals. the bacteria produce several toxins which play key roles in the pathogenesis of diseases and are classified into five toxin types, on the basis of the differential production of alpha, beta, epsilon and iota toxins. in this study a single pcr assay was developed and used for detection of cpb2 gene to id...

Blooms of cyanobacteria are frequent in Brazilian water reservoirs used for drinking water. The warning the presence potential toxin-producing is typically based on time-consuming microscopy, rather than specific molecular detection toxic genes cyanobacteria. In this study, we developed a quantitative PCR assay producing neurotoxin saxitoxin (STX). targets sxtA gene sxt cluster. Potential and d...

The aim was to decipher the temporal impact of key interacting climate change (CC) abiotic factors temperature (30 vs 37 °C), water activity (aw; 0.985 0.930) and CO2 exposure (400 1000 ppm) on (a) growth Aspergillus flavus effects (b) gene expression a structural (aflD) regulatory (aflR) involved in aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) biosynthesis (c) AFB1 production yeast extract sucrose medium over period 1...