Using in-depth interview data on nominal marriages - legal marriages between a gay man and a lesbian to give the appearance of heterosexuality - this paper develops the concept of performative family to explain the processes through which parents and their adult children negotiate and resolve disagreements in relation to marriage decisions in post-socialist China. We identify three mechanisms - network pressure, a revised discourse of filial piety and resource leverage - through which parents influence their gay offspring's decision to turn to nominal marriage. We also delineate six strategies, namely minimizing network participation, changing expectations, making partial concessions, drawing the line, delaying decisions and ending the marriage, by which gay people in nominal marriages attempt to meet parental expectations while simultaneously retaining a degree of autonomy. Through these interactions, we argue that Chinese parents and their gay adult children implicitly and explicitly collaborate to perform family, emphasizing the importance of formally meeting society's expectations about marriage rather than substantively yielding to its demands. We also argue that the performative family is a pragmatic response to the tension between the persistent centrality of family and marriage and the rising tide of individualism in post-socialist China. We believe that our findings highlight the specific predicament of homosexual people. They also shed light on the more general dynamics of intergenerational negotiation because there is evidence that the mechanisms used by parents to exert influence may well be similar between gay and non-gay people.

We report the discovery of the first bacterial ribosomal RNA (rRNA) synthesis inhibitor that has specific antimicrobial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). A pharmacophore model was constructed on the basis of the protein-protein interaction between essential bacterial rRNA transcription factors NusB and NusE and employed for an in silico screen to identify potential leads. One compound, (E)-2-{[(3-ethynylphenyl)imino]methyl}-4-nitrophenol (MC4), demonstrated antimicrobial activity against a panel of S. aureus strains, including MRSA, without significant toxicity to mammalian cells. MC4 resulted in a decrease in the rRNA level in bacteria, and the target specificity of MC4 was confirmed at the molecular level. Results obtained from this work validated the bacterial rRNA transcription machinery as a novel antimicrobial target. This approach may be extended to other factors in rRNA transcription, and MC4 could be applied as a chemical probe to dissect the relationship among MRSA infection, MRSA growth rate, and rRNA synthesis, in addition to its therapeutic potential.

Streptococcus suis is one of the important emerging zoonotic pathogens. Serotype 2 is most prevalent in patients worldwide. In the present study, we first isolated one S. suis serotype 7 strain GX69 from the blood culture of a patient with septicemia complicated with pneumonia in China. In order to deepen the understanding of S. suis serotype 7 population characteristics, we investigated the phylogenetic structure, genomic features, and virulence of S. suis serotype 7 population, including 35 strains and 79 genomes. Significant diversities were revealed in S. suis serotype 7 population, which were clustered into 22 sequence types (STs), five minimum core genome (MCG) groups, and six lineages. Lineages 1, 3a, and 6 were mainly constituted by genomes from Asia. Genomes of Lineages 2, 3b, and 5a were mainly from Northern America. Most of genomes from Europe (41/48) were clustered into Lineage 5b. In addition to strain GX69, 13 of 21 S. suis serotype 7 representative strains were classified as virulent strains using the C57BL/6 mouse model. Virulence-associated genes preferentially present in highly pathogenic S. suis serotype 2 strains were not suitable as virulence indicators for S. suis serotype 7 strains. Integrative mobilizable elements were widespread and may play a critical role in disseminating antibiotic resistance genes of S. suis serotype 7 strains. Our study confirmed S. suis serotype 7 is a non-negligible pathotype and deepened the understanding of the population structure of S. suis serotype 7, which provided valuable information for the improved surveillance of this serotype.

Streptococcus suis is an important zoonotic pathogen. Serotype 2 and sequence type (ST) 1 are the most frequently reported strains in both infected humans and pigs. ST7 is only endemic to China, and it was responsible for outbreaks in 1998 and 2005 in China. In the present study, 38 sporadic ST7 S. suis strains, which mostly caused sepsis, were collected from patients in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GX) between 2007 and 2018. Of 38 sporadic ST7 strains, serotype 14 was the most frequent (27 strains, 71.1%), followed by serotype 2 (11 strains, 28.9%). The phylogenetic structure of the ST7 population, including epidemic and sporadic ST7 strains, was constructed using mutational single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). High diversity within the ST7 population was revealed and divided into five lineages. Only one sporadic ST7 strain, GX14, from a Streptococcal toxic-shock-like syndrome (STSLS) patient was clustered into the same lineage as the epidemic strains. GX14 and the epidemic strains diverged in 1974. The sporadic ST7 strains of GX were mainly clustered into lineage 5, which emerged in 1980. Comparing to genome of epidemic strain, the major differences in genome of sporadic ST7 strains of GX was the absence of 89 kb pathogenicity island (PAI) specific to epidemic strain and insertion of 128 kb ICE_phage tandem MGE or ICE portion of the MGE. These mobile elements play a significant role in the horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes in sporadic ST7 strains. Our results enhanced the understanding of the evolution of the ST7 strains and their ability to cause life-threatening infections in humans.