Streptomyces ramocissimus, the producer of elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu)-targeted antibiotic kirromycin, contains three divergent tuf-like genes, with tuf1 encoding regular kirromycin-sensitive EF-Tu1; the functions of tuf2 and tuf3 are unknown. Analysis of the tuf gene organization in nine producers of kirromycin-type antibiotics revealed that they all contain homologues of tuf1 and sometimes o...

Dynamic, adaptive, real-time embedded control systems are present at any level(s) of an enterprise— e.g., devices in the defense domain such as multi-mode phased array radars and battle management. These embedded systems often include“soft”as well as“hard” time constraints. Jensen’s time/utility functions [4] (or TUFs) allow the semantics of soft time constraints to be precisely specified. A TU...

The aster yellows phytoplasma (AYp) is transmitted by the aster leafhopper, Macrosteles quadrilineatus Forbes, in a persistent and propagative manner. To study AYp replication and examine the variability of AYp titer in individual aster leafhoppers, we developed a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assay to measure AYp concentration in insect DNA extracts. Absolute quantification ...

BACKGROUND Staphylococci are a major constituent of the nasal microbiome and a frequent cause of hospital-acquired infection. Antibiotic surgical prophylaxis is administered prior to surgery to reduce a patient's risk of postoperative infection. The impact of surgical prophylaxis on the nasal staphylococcal microbiome is largely unknown. Here, we report the species present in the nasal staphylo...

Enterococci are becoming major nosocomial pathogens, and increasing resistance to vancomycin has been well documented. Conventional identification methods, which are based on culturing, require 2 to 3 days to provide results. PCR has provided a means for the culture-independent detection of enterococci in a variety of clinical specimens and is capable of yielding results in just a few hours. Ho...

Elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu).GTP has the primary function of promoting the efficient and correct interaction of aminoacyl-tRNA with the ribosome. Very little is known about the elements in EF-Tu involved in this interaction. We describe a mutant form of EF-Tu, isolated in Salmonella typhimurium, that causes a severe defect in the interaction of the ternary complex with the ribosome. The mutatio...

In 2000, the full genome sequence of Ureaplasma parvum (previously known as Ureaplasma urealyticum) serovar 3 was released. In 2002, after prolonged debate, it was agreed that the former U. urealyticum should be divided into two species -- U. parvum and U. urealyticum. To provide additional support for this decision and improve our understanding of the relationship between these two species, th...