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To determine the relative importance of temperate bacteriophage in the horizontal gene transfer of fitness and virulence determinants of Enterococcus faecalis, a panel of 47 bacteremia isolates were treated with the inducing agents mitomycin C, norfloxacin, and UV radiation. Thirty-four phages were purified from culture supernatants and discriminated using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and restriction mapping. From these analyses the genomes of eight representative phages were pyrosequenced, revealing four distinct groups of phages. Three groups of phages, ⌽FL1 to 3, were found to be sequence related, with ⌽FL1A to C and ⌽FL2A and B sharing the greatest identity (87 to 88%), while ⌽FL3A and B share 37 to 41% identity with ⌽FL1 and 2. ⌽FL4A shares 3 to 12% identity with the phages ⌽FL1 to 3. The ⌽FL3A and B phages possess a high DNA sequence identity with the morphogenesis and lysis modules of Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris prophages. Homologs of the Streptococcus mitis platelet binding phage tail proteins, PblA and PblB, are encoded on each sequenced E. faecalis phage. Few other phage genes encoding potential virulence functions were identified, and there was little evidence of carriage of lysogenic conversion genes distal to endolysin, as has been observed with genomes of many temperate phages from the opportunist pathogens Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes. E. faecalis JH2-2 lysogens were generated using the eight phages, and these were examined for their relative fitness in Galleria mellonella. Several lysogens exhibited different effects upon survival of G. mellonella compared to their isogenic parent. The eight phages were tested for their ability to package host DNA, and three were shown to be very effective for generalized transduction of naive host cells of the laboratory strains OG1RF and JH2-2.Enterococcus faecalis is a member of the natural flora of humans and colonizes the gastrointestinal and vaginal tracts and the oral cavity. In recent years it has emerged as an important opportunistic nosocomial pathogen and is a causative agent of bacteremia, infective endocarditis, and surgical wound and urinary tract infections. The accumulation of acquired antibiotic resistance determinants, in addition to its intrinsic resistance and tenacity, has given rise to the evolution of clinical isolates of E. faecalis that are therapeutically problematic (19). Greater notoriety was afforded to this species following the observed transfer of the conjugative transposon Tn1546 to Staphylococcus aureus, imparting vancomycin resistance (11). Subsequent analysis has revealed that multiple independent E. faecalis-dependent vanA transfers had occurred in the United States prior to 2007 (50). This places enterococci in an important and dynamic position within the health care system, warranting their increased study.The specific determinants that are proposed to contribute to the virulence of E. faecalis are not universally present, and expression of the cognate genes is variable (21, 37). For exa...

The effect of different processing methods (soaking in water or solutions of sodium bicarbonate, citric acid, soaking plus cooking, and germination) on anti-nutritional factors (phytic acid, total polyphenols, tannins, and hydrocyanic acid) of red kidney bean was studied. The antinutritional factors were reduced significantly (P<0.001) with processing techniques. Cyanide contents were most effectively (25%) reduced by cooking after soaking in sodium bicarbonate solution, followed by germination. The most drastic effect was noted on tannin contents. Cooking after soaking in either citric acid or sodium bicarbonate solutions almost eliminated it. However, simple soaking in water did not result in any reduction in tannin contents. Reduction in total polyphenols was 78.7% with cooking after soaking in sodium bicarbonate solution. Phytic acid contents were reduced only with germination treatment (42.6%), while the other treatments did not bring about any large reduction.

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Dumping of dye-laden effluents into different environmental compartments adversely affects equilibrium and integrity of ecological systems. Being genotoxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic these dyes are quite damaging to health of biota (either aquatic or terrestrial). Many of these dyes are resistant to degradation and remediation under natural conditions and through conventional treatment methods. This situation has necessitated the development of effective and efficient wastewater treatment strategies without further stressing the environment and endangering other life forms. To date many biological systems including microorganisms and plants have been assessed for metabolism of dyestuffs. Phytoremediation catalyzed by natural solar driven pumps (green plants) and their associated metabolic processes has emerged as a comparatively new approach and has proven to be one of the most effective environmental friendly strategies for removal, detoxification and decolorization of dyes. Hence, this review quotes the literature of applied aspects of various plant species and their inherent metabolic as well as extractive potentials which enable them to effectively deal with various coloring agents. ª 2015 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).