[19] Results and discussion Identification of transformed crysta

[19]. Results and discussion Identification of transformed crystal structure Similar to monocrystalline silicon, monocrystalline germanium undergoes a complicated phase transformation during mechanical loading and unloading. Experimental investigations show that germanium would transform from its diamond cubic

structure to the metallic β-tin phase when the pure hydrostatic pressure increases to about 10 GPa [20]. On fast pressure release, a metastable body-centered cubic structure with 8 atoms per unit cell (denoted BC8) [21, 22] forms, while a simple tetragonal phase with 12 atoms per unit cell (ST12) [23] forms in the case of slow pressure release. The threshold pressure inducing the phase transformation mentioned above

was deemed to be 12 GPa [24]. To identify the different phases of silicon and germanium formed in nanoindentation or nanocutting JNJ-64619178 by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, the EPZ015938 manufacturer coordination number is usually taken into consideration. For silicon, it is widely accepted that the atoms with coordination number 4 indicate the diamond cubic structure and the sixfold coordinated atoms are considered as the β-tin phase [7, 9, 11, 16, 25]. The atoms with coordination number 5 indicate the bct5 structure, which is considered as an intermediate in the formation of the sixfold coordinated β-tin phase [16, 25] or to have some relationship find more with amorphous silicon or liquid-state silicon [26]. However, the way of estimating crystal phase merely according to the statistics of coordination number is not be very reliable. For example, amorphous germanium consists of 90% atoms with coordination number 4, about 10% fivefold coordinated

Oxalosuccinic acid atoms, and a small number of sixfold coordinated atoms [27], which could be easily mistaken for the mixed structure of the three phases mentioned above if the judgment criterion is just the statistic of the coordination number. Hence, in this paper, atoms with the same coordination number forming an area with the ordered structure are considered as the relevant crystal phase. The germanium atoms were colored according to their coordination number during and after nanoindentation. If atoms with the same coordination number form the ordered structure, regions with a single color would be observed. In addition, since molecular dynamics simulation can present the crystal structure in detail at the atomic level, the atomic structure of the local region was enlarged for observation to distinguish the relevant phases. According to previous studies, the β-tin structure of germanium may undergo phase transformation into BC8-Ge or ST12-Ge on pressure release, and the transformation path depends on the rate of pressure release. Unfortunately, both BC8-Ge and ST12-Ge have the same coordination number with diamond cubic structure [24, 28].

For the RT-qPCR data, gene expression was assessed using 2 indepe

For the RT-qPCR data, gene expression was assessed using 2 independent samples from C57BL/6 mice and 3 independent samples from DBA/2 mice. RT-qPCR gene expression data (2-∆∆CT) was averaged within mouse strains and then used to calculate log2 fold change values between strains for direct comparison to microarray data. GS-9973 mouse A log2 fold change of

1 equates to an actual fold change of 2. A positive fold change indicates the gene was expressed to a greater extent in DBA/2 mice, and a negative fold change means higher expression in C57BL/6. An asterisk (*) indicates that the gene was significantly differentially expressed (p <0.05, t-test) between mice strains at day 14. Discussion Analysis of the gene expression differences between mice strains resistant (DBA/2) and sensitive (C57BL/6) to infection with C. immitis identified a large number of ISGs

associated with putative control of this fungal pathogen. Innate/adaptive immune responses as mediated by Type II interferon (IFN-γ) have previously been associated with resistance to infection with C. immitis[29, 30]. For example, Magee and Cox [29] found that IFN-γ protein levels as measured by ELISA were significantly this website elevated in DBA/2 mice compared to another susceptible strain (BALB/c) following infection with C. immitis. Furthermore, treatment of DBA/2 mice with an anti-IFN-γ monoclonal antibody resulted in a significant decrease in their ability to control this fungal pathogen after pulmonary challenge. This current study expands on their work by clearly demonstrating that downstream ISGs are expressed to a greater extent in resistant DBA/2 compared to sensitive C57BL/6 mice (selleck inhibitor Figures 2 and 7) and that these genes are modulated by the JAK/STAT pathway (Figures 4 and 6),

most likely activated by IFN-γ (Figure 7). These findings are highly relevant to human infection since patients with congenital deficiencies of IFN-γ and the interleukin 12 receptor beta 1 (IL-12rβ1) are susceptible to disseminated coccidioidomycosis [30, 31]. The upregulation of ISGs (i.e. CXCL9, IRGM1, PSMB9, STAT1 and UBD) in DBA/2 compared to C57BL/6 mice was confirmed by RT-qPCR at all days post-infection (Figure 7 and Additional file 1: Figure S3). STAT1 is integral to JAK/STAT signaling triggered by Type I and II IFN and upregulates a number of ISGs Elongation factor 2 kinase that are involved with the host defense against pathogen infection [32]. UBD was the ISG that exhibited the greatest upregulation in DBA/2 mice (Figures 2 and 7), and is induced to a greater extent by IFN-γ than IFN-α in human immune and non-immune cells [14]. Several roles have been ascribed to UBD including targeting proteins for proteosomal degradation [33], activation of the nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells 1 (NF-κB) [34], which is a central mediator of innate immunity, as well as a functional involvement in the programmed cell death mediated by TNF-α in the murine B8 fibroblast cell line [35].

019), suggesting

019), suggesting Foretinib molecular weight that NQO1 upregulation promotes the invasion and/or metastasis of breast cancer cells. These finding indicate that NQO1 might be useful as a poor prognostic

biomarker of breast cancer. Moreover, Buranrat et al. demonstrated a significant association between high level of NQO1 expression and short overall survival time of cholangiocarcinoma patients, which raises the exciting possibility of using NQO1 as a tumor marker [14]. Additionally, an association was found by Awadallah et al. between high level of NQO1 expression and short overall survival of pancreatic cancer patients [15]. In our previous study, we found that high level of NQO1 CYC202 protein significantly associated with shortened survival of patients with gastric adenocarcinoma [28]. However, the alternative hypothesis seems to be true with low NQO1 expression evaluated by IHC in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) cases predicting poor prognosis [29]. The conflicting conclusions may be due to the different study populations, which also highlights the need to evaluate the biomarkers under relevant circumstances. In the present study, univariate survival analysis revealed that tumor histological grade, clinical stage, LN metastasis, Her2 expression level and NQO1 expression status are all significantly related with DFS and10-year

OS rates of patients with breast cancer (P < 0.05). Further multivariate survival analysis showed that NQO1 expression was one of the independent prognostic factors, along with tumor clinical stage and Her2 status. Alvocidib price Moreover, finding tumor-selective see more therapies for breast cancer is of utmost importance. Our study with NQO1 protein expression in breast cancers also indicated that as an exploitable cancer target, NQO1 might improve patient management and outcome by personalized therapy. A comprehensive analysis of the molecular mechanism of NQO1 involved in the tumorigenesis and progression of breast cancer is essential. Conclusions In summary, NQO1 plays a key role in the progression of breast cancer, and high level of NQO1

protein is strongly associated with advanced stage, lymph node metastasis, Her2 overexpression and shortened survival of patients with breast cancer. The high proportion and prognostic value of NQO1 expression suggests that NQO1 may be a significant biomarker and a potential therapeutic target for patients with breast cancer. Acknowledgments This study was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Funds of China (No. 31301065) and The Projects of Research & Innovation of Jilin Youth Leader and Team (No. 20130521017JH). References 1. Stopeck AT, Brown-Glaberman U, Wong HY, Park BH, Barnato SE, Gradishar WJ, Hudis CA, Rugo HS: The role of targeted therapy and biomarkers in breast cancer treatment. Clin Exp Metastasis 2012,29(7):807–819.PubMedCrossRef 2.

This is the first time shown that 20-kDaPS is discrete from PIA a

This is the first time shown that 20-kDaPS is discrete from PIA and this statement is based on concrete basis. Transposon insertion in icaADBC, the locus encoding Selleckchem LCZ696 synthetic enzymes for PIA synthesis, does not abrogate production of 20-kDaPS. In mutant 1457-M10 in which Tn917 was inserted in icaA in the same transcriptional orientation, outward directed Erastin chemical structure transcription resulted in transcripts comprising the complete sequences of icaD icaB and icaC[44]. Expression of 20-kDaPS in mutant 1457-M10 where icaA synthesis is inhibited and in

mutant M22 and M3 where icaC expression was inhibited shows that 20-kDaPS synthesis does not require an intact icaA or icaC gene. The fact that 20-kDaPS was detected in M24, where Tn917 was inserted in the opposite transcriptional direction to the ica operon and no-ica specific transcripts were identified [44], provides evidence that 20-kDaPS synthesis is YAP-TEAD Inhibitor 1 purchase independent of ica operon. In contrast, PIA synthesis is completely inhibited not only by the disruption of

the entire icaADBC operon but also by the isolated inhibition of icaA (M10) and icaC (M22, M23) gene expression. Proteinase K does not disrupt antigenic properties of 20-kDaPS reconfirming its polysaccharide nature. Furthermore, DspB, which specifically cleaves β-1,6-linked N-acetylglucosamine polymer disrupting PIA chain [38, 39], did not affect 20-kDaPS. Although sodium meta-periodate is an agent commonly used to disrupt polysaccharide molecules, it did not affect integrity of 20-kDaPS antigen. Taking into account that periodate preferably degrades cis-diols, it is suggested

that monomeric units of the polysaccharide core form glycosidic bonds between the anomeric C-1 and the C-3 or C-4. This is not the case for PIA, where a β-1,6-glycosidic bond is present leaving free vicinal hydroxyl groups Immune system of glucosamine at C-3 and C-4. The above structural data suggest that 20-kDa PS and PIA are two discrete and different polysaccharides. Preliminary data in our laboratories showed that 20-kDaPS is not affected upon treatment with glycosaminoglycan- degrading enzymes (heparin lyases, keratanases and chondroitinases), suggesting a non glycosaminoglycan-related structure. Absence of 20-kDaPS in Q-Sepharose fractions containing maximum PIA reactivity is due to different physicochemical properties among the two molecules. Q-Sepharose is a strong anion-exchanger which retains negatively charged molecules. Whereas PIA is eluting, 20-kDaPS may be strongly retained by the column due to its negative charges. Aforementioned differentiation was expected as different isolation procedures are used for the two polysaccharides. As previously described [16, 19], 20-kDaPS is obtained from bacterial extracellular matrix using a linear NaCl gradient on DEAE-Sephacel and elutes at 0.

This new finding suggests that InlA is important for overcoming a

This new finding suggests that InlA is important for overcoming a bottleneck in the gut that then leads to the systemic spread of the pathogen. The E-cadherin expressing host cells that are used by Listeria to overcome this bottleneck have not yet been identified. Although, preliminary find more finding

suggest that these cells might be monocyte-derived migratory phagocyte that express E-cadherin. Future experiments incorporating conditional ablation of E-cadherin in different cells types (e.g. in enterocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells) with murinised L. monocytogenes will help verify the existence of this hypothetical cell population. Conclusion In summary, we conclude that the murinised, bioluminescent L. monocytogenes strain provides a versatile

tool to analyse the pathogenesis of listeriosis in a range of different mouse model systems. By comparing the host resistance to orally acquired listeriosis in four inbred strains of mice we YH25448 supplier identified C57BL/6J mice to Momelotinib research buy be most resistant to infections whereas BALB/cJ, A/J and C3HeB/FeJ were identified to be susceptible. Importantly, we did not find evidence in any of the investigated diverse mouse genetic backgrounds that expression of murinised InlA enhanced listerial invasion into the brain, revealing that Listeria uses a different invasion mechanism in different target organs. It is unlikely that InlA-Cdh1 interactions are a major driver of neurolisteriosis. Methods Mice Female inbred A/J OlaHsd (Harlan-Winkelmann, Venray, Netherland), BALB/cJ, C57BL/6J (Janvier, St. Berthevin Cedex, France) and C3HeB/FeJ (Charles River, Sulzfeld, Germany) mice were obtained at 9-10 weeks of age. IFN-β-reporter mice (Ifnb1 tm2.2Lien ) on an albino C57BL/6 (B6(Cg)-Tyr c-2J /J) genetic background have been

described previously [24, 71]. Briefly, in this transgenic mouse the firefly luciferase reporter gene is under the control of the Ifnb promoter. This allows the detection of Ifnb induction in vivo with BLI after intravenous injection of D-luciferin (see below). All mice were housed under specific-pathogen-free conditions at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (Braunschweig, Germany). Mice were acclimatised for 1 to 2 weeks in the facility before being used in infection challenge studies. All experiments Selleckchem Nutlin 3 were performed in accordance to German laws and animal welfare regulations after approval was granted from the Niedersächsisches Landesamt für Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit (LAVES) as the local authority. The license number for this study was 33.11.42502-04-098/07. Bacterial strains and growth conditions Listeria monocytogenes EGDe-lux (Lmo-EGD-lux) and L. monocytogenes EGDe-InlA-mur-lux (Lmo-InlA-mur-lux) have been described previously [17]. Both strains are isogenic and have been tagged with the constitutive bioluminescent lux marker pIMK2lux[44].

J Physiol 1990,

J Physiol 1990, #NCT-501 order randurls[1|1|,|CHEM1|]# 429:339–348.PubMedCentralPubMed 41. Berger NJ, Campbell IT, Wilkerson DP, Jones AM: Influence of acute plasma volume expansion on VO2 kinetics, VO2 peak, and performance during high-intensity cycle exercise. J Appl Physiol (1985) 2006,101(3):707–714.CrossRef 42. Eddy DO, Sparks KL, Adelizi DA: The effects of continuous and interval training in women and men. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol 1977,37(2):83–92.PubMedCrossRef 43. Heck H, Mader A, Hess G, Mucke S, Muller R, Hollmann W: Justification of the 4-mmol/l lactate threshold. Int J Sports Med 1985,6(3):117–130.PubMedCrossRef 44. Edge J, Bishop D,

Goodman C: The effects of training intensity on muscle buffer capacity in females. Eur J Appl Physiol 2006,96(1):97–105.PubMedCrossRef 45. Weston SB, Zhou S, Weatherby RP, Robertson SJ: HDAC inhibitor Does exogenous coenzyme Q10 affect aerobic capacity in endurance athletes? Int J Sport Nutr 1997,7(3):197.PubMed 46. Henriksson J: Effects of physical

training on the metabolism of skeletal muscle. Diabetes Care 1992,15(11):1701–1711.PubMedCrossRef 47. Krustrup P, Söderlund K, Mohr M, Bangsbo J: The slow component of oxygen uptake during intense, sub-maximal exercise in man is associated with additional fibre recruitment. Pflugers Arch 2004,447(6):855–866.PubMedCrossRef 48. Bruckbauer A, Zemel MB, Thorpe T, Akula MR, Stuckey AC, Osborne D, Martin EB, Kennel S, Wall JS: Synergistic effects of leucine and resveratrol on insulin sensitivity and fat metabolism in adipocytes and mice. Nutr Metab (Lond) 2012,9(1):77.CrossRef 49. Pinheiro C, Gerlinger-Romero F, Guimarães-Ferreira L, Souza-Jr A, Vitzel K, Nachbar R, Nunes M, Curi R: Metabolic and functional effects of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) supplementation in skeletal muscle. Eur J Appl Physiol 2012,112(7):2531–2537.PubMedCrossRef 50. Verdin E, Hirschey MD,

Finley LW, Haigis MC: Sirtuin regulation of mitochondria: energy production, apoptosis, and signaling. Trends Biochem Sci 2010,35(12):669–675.PubMedCentralPubMedCrossRef 51. Hardie DG, Sakamoto K: AMPK: a key sensor of fuel and energy status in skeletal muscle. Physiology (Bethesda) 2006,21(1):48–60.CrossRef Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Authors’ Rucaparib concentration contributions All authors contributed equally to this work. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.”
“Introduction Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for 3% of all adult malignancies and is the most lethal urological cancer. It accounted more than 57, 000 new cases and 13, 000 cancer-related deaths in the United States in 2009[1]. In China around 23, 000 new patients with RCC are diagnosed each year, and the incidence is increasing rapidly due to the aging population [2]. Approximately 60% of patients have clinically localized disease at presentation, with the majority undergoing curative nephrectomy. However, metastatic disease recurs in a third of these patients.

Both the shape and size of metal nano

Both the shape and size of metal nanoparticles are key factors in determining the coupling efficiency. The two-layer ultrathin nanofilm increases the nanoparticle density; according to the Mie theory, the extinction coefficient is proportional to the nanoparticle density. Consequently, optical local-field enhancement of

the two-layer continuous ultrathin gold nanofilm is stronger than that of the one-layer ultrathin continuous gold nanofilm. Figure 3 embodies AZD6738 manufacturer the absorbance of the two-layer ultrathin continuous gold nanofilm which far outweighs that of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/Au film/P3HT:PCBM and ITO/Au film/PEDOT:PSS/P3HT:PCBM. In brief, the enhanced efficiency is shown to stem from field enhancement originating both from localized plasmonic resonances and periodic similar nanopatch antenna configuration and SPP modes in the peculiar gold nanofilm. To investigate the performance for electromagnetic enhancement, SERS spectroscopic measurements

were carried out using Rhodamine 6G, a well-characterized test molecule. Spectra obtained from Rhodamine 6G molecules at a concentration of 10−3 to 10−6 M are shown in Figure 4 which exhibit repeatable high SERS sensitivity. The distances between the centers of two adjacent particles and the particle diameter are important parameters affecting SERS activity. This ultrathin continuous gold nanofilm PKC inhibitor produces a high Raman signal due to its periodic arrangements, high nanoisland density, and control of the gap between the nanostructures in the sub-10-nm regime. The observed SERS efficiency

can be explained in terms of interparticle coupling-induced Raman enhancement. Thus, the distinctive continuous gold nanofilm is very effective in providing abundant hot spots for SERS enhancement. PAK5 Conclusions In find more conclusion, we have produced continuous ultrathin gold nanofilms with high local-field enhancement effect and a high SERS activity. Spectral analysis suggests that the prominent light absorption in organic photosensitive materials and the high SERS activity arise from the near-field effect of localized surface plasmons of nanoparticles. Owing to their distinctive morphology and high light transmittance, continuous ultrathin gold nanofilms can be used in multilayer organic solar cells to trap light without affecting the physical thickness of solar photovoltaic absorber layers and yielding new options for solar cell design. Further work is needed to research two-dimensional distinctive continuous gold nanofilms that are utilized to trap light in solar cells which may be suitable for application to the high photoelectric conversion efficiency of organic solar cells. Acknowledgements This work is supported by NSFC under grant no.

Therefore, this bacterium consumed energy to produce heat without

Therefore, this bacterium consumed energy to produce heat without producing additional biomass at 30°C. These results suggest that this increase in thermogenesis was caused by a growth-independent reaction. The energy-spilling reactions of some bacteria occur under conditions of limited nitrogen and an excess energy source [9–12]. P. putida TK1401 produced excess heat when it was incubated at a temperature lower than its optimal growth temperature. When this bacterium was incubated at 30°C, the heat production increased as the concentration of nutrient increased. Under these conditions,

there were sufficient amounts of nutrients for its growth, although this temperature limited the growth of this bacterium. Thus, the energy-spilling reaction of P. putida TK1401 may be induced under temperature-limiting Selleckchem SB203580 conditions. An increase in colony temperature

was only observed between 27°C and 31°C, which are suboptimal growth temperatures for P. putida TK1401. At temperatures less than 27°C, the colony temperatures and heat production of this bacterium did not increase. The enzymes that are related to heat production may have been induced at incubation temperatures between 27°C and 31°C or the specific activities of these enzymes may have been too low to affect the colony temperature and the amount of heat production at temperatures less than 27°C. Energy-spilling reactions are mediated by futile cycles. Some mechanisms involving futile cycles

have been proposed for bacteria, learn more including (1) futile cycles of enzymes involved in phosphorylation and dephosphorylation [13] and (2) futile cycles of membrane transfer, such as potassium ions, ammonium ions, and protons [22–24]. The mechanism of a futile cycle that mediates the heat production by Thiamine-diphosphate kinase P. putida TK1401 is unknown. The previously reported energy-spilling reactions of bacteria were activated under nutrient-limited and excess energy source conditions. The heat production by P. putida TK1401 increased under nutrient-rich conditions. Thus, the futile cycle of P. putida TK1401 could be related to nitrogen availability such as through the urea cycle. Conclusion We measured the colony temperatures of soil bacteria using thermography and found that the temperatures of some colonies were higher or lower than that of the surrounding medium. The selleck chemical bacterial isolate with the highest colony temperature, KT1401, was identified as Pseudomonas putida. The colony temperature of P. putida KT1401 increased when isolates of this bacterium were grown at a suboptimal growth temperature. Heat production by this bacterium increased without the production of additional biomass at a suboptimal growth temperature. Therefore, P. putida KT1401 may convert energy into heat by an energy-spilling reaction when the incubation temperature limits its growth. Acknowledgments We thank Prof. K. Koga of Tokai University for his help with microcalorimetric analyses.

JRK carried out the

JRK carried out the primer design to differentiate C. jejuni from C. coli. OAO conceived and coordinated the study, designed and revised NVP-BSK805 the manuscript. All authors read and accepted the final version of the manuscript.”
“Background Diarrheal infections caused by bacterial enteric pathogens including Salmonella, are one of the major causes of

childhood morbidity and mortality in developing countries [1]. Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) is an intracellular Gram-negative bacterium characterized by its ability to survive and replicate within eukaryotic host cells, particularly epithelial cells and macrophages. In humans, while Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi typically causes severe or sometimes lethal systemic illness called “”Typhoid LY333531 in vitro Fever”", Salmonella Typhimurium is associated with self limiting gastroenteritis and requires treatment only in immunocompromised patients. S. Typhimurium develops in mice an infection with the same pathogenesis and clinical manifestations than S. Typhi in humans thus, this mouse model is useful for the study of this disease [2]. The intestine harbours trillions of commensal bacteria that participate in digestive functions and help to protect the host from the aggression of several enteropathogens [3]. The beneficial effects of the microbiota on the host immune system have allowed the proposal to use some non pathogenic bacteria, such as probiotics in improving

animal health and protection against infectious agents [4]. Probiotics have been shown to influence both innate and adaptive immunity through direct contact with epithelial and immune cells, or by their ability to modify the composition and activity of the gut microbiota. They exert their protective effects by multiple immune and non immune mechanisms [5], i.e., exerting direct antimicrobial activity against pathogens [6], increasing phagocytosis

[7], modifying cytokine production by different cell populations [8–10] or enhancing IgA production [11]. One of the principal mechanisms of protection against gastroenteric infections by probiotics is via modulation of pro-inflammatory (like IFNγ and TNFα) and anti-inflammatory (IL-10) cytokines, but the pathways and cells involved in this mechanisms are not clear yet [12]. It is a mafosfamide fact that not all microorganisms have the same effect on the host, and that probiotic properties are strain and host specific. In this sense, it is not Ro 61-8048 order possible to extrapolate the effects found with one probiotic strain to another, or its effect against a specific pathogen to other pathogen [13]. L. casei CRL 431 is a probiotic bacterium and its effects on the gut immune cells have been extensively studied. In a previous work, the effect of L. casei CRL 431 in the prevention of S. Typhimurium infection in BALB/c mice was evaluated. It was demonstrated that 7 days of L. casei CRL 431 administration before S. Typhimurium infection decreased its severity.

Bacteriocin encoding genes Figures 1 and 2 also present the resul

Bacteriocin encoding genes Figures 1 and 2 also present the results for bacteriocin encoding genes assessed in the Lactococcus spp. and Enterococcus spp. isolates, respectively. All Lactococcus spp. isolates presented lantibiotic genes in distinct associations, only one (GLc02) presenting lanB, lanC and lanM simultaneously (Figure 1). lanB was the less frequent gene, while lanC and lanM usually were present simultaneously in the majority

of isolates; this result was expected, since both genes are located VX-765 cell line in the same operon in the bacterial genome [52]. However, the isolated presence of lanC or lanM has already been described in previous studies [19, 25]. For Enterococcus isolates, 30 isolates presented at least one of the tested lantibiotic genes; no isolates presented lanB, lanC and lanM simultaneously (Figure 2). Cytolisin is a class I lantibiotic

produced by Enterococcus spp., a bacteriocin that can be related to the tested genes [53]. Considering the antimicrobial potential of the isolates, the presence of at least one of the tested genes would be sufficient for lantibiotic production [17, 19]. A lower frequency of positive results was observed for nis in the tested Lactococcus isolates (9 strains) compared to similar studies identifying the bacteriocinogenic potential of this genus (Figure 1) [9, 22, 25, 49]. Still considering the results for the nis gene, ten Enterococcus isolates presented typical PCR amplification products (Figure 2). The occurrence of Enterococcus

strains possessing nisin-related genes has already been reported, and AZD6244 cost can be explained by the capability of this genus to acquire new genetic elements [40]. However, positive results for the nis gene must not be related to the production of nisin by Enterococcus isolates. No Enterococcus isolates presenting encoded genes for enterocin A and enterocin AS-48 (Figure 2). Only a single isolate (GEn27) presented a positive result for the enterocin B gene, and 10 isolates, from five distinct clusters, for the enterocin P gene (Figure 2). Enterocin A and enterocin P are bacteriocins selleck kinase inhibitor classified in subclass IIa (pediocin-like bacteriocins), with typical high inhibitory activity against Listeria spp. [53]. The enterocin L50AB gene was Stattic solubility dmso detected in 29 isolates, from all identified genetic profiles (Figure 2); this bacterocin is classified in subclass IIb, characterized by its synthesis without leader peptides and demanding a complex system for transport [54, 55]. The three LAB isolates that presented antimicrobial activity but an absence of enzymatic sensitivity in their produced substances (Table 2) were two Lactococcus (GLc20 and GLc21) and one Enterococcus (GEn27) (Figures 1 and 2). However, the three isolates presented positive results for bacteriocin-related genes, indicating that they were unable to express them.