A região promotora é uma sequência de DNA localizada anteriormente à uma região codificante e é responsável por iniciar o processo de transcrição. Deste modo, atua como um elemento regulador. O estudo da regulação da expressão gênica auxilia na compreensão da maquinária vital dos seres vivos, no conhecimento sobre a funcionalidade dos genes em diferentes espécies, na resposta celular frente às mudanças ambientais, entre outras questões. Embora os métodos computacionais para a predição de genes possuam uma boa acurácia o mesmo não é conseguido para os promotores. Esta dificuldade se deve ao tamanho reduzido do promotor e ao padrão pouco conservado, o que gera resultados com alto número de falsos positivos. Esta tese teve como objetivo a utilização de Redes Neurais Artificiais na predição, caracterização e reconhecimento de promotores de bactérias Gramnegativas. Diferente de outros trabalhos, a predição realizada não foi limitada apenas aos promotores dos genes constitutivos; foi realizada também para as demais classes de sequências promotoras. Além da abordagem clássica utilizando a composição de nucleotídeos foram empregados os valores de estabilidade da sequência. De modo a otimizar o aprendizado da Rede Neural e implementar uma ferramenta própria para a predição de promotores, foram extraídas regras de inferência (baseadas no conhecimento produzido durante o treinamento da rede) que foram ponderadas e implementadas em uma nova ferramenta, chamada BacPP. Até o presente, os resultados obtidos com o BacPP foram satisfatórios e comparáveis com a literatura. Os valores de exatidão obtidos com o BacPP para os fatores σ24, σ28, σ32, σ38, σ54 e σ70 de E. coli foram, 86,9%; 92,8%; 91,5%; 89,3%; 97,0%; 83,6%, respectivamente. Quando a ferramenta foi aplicada em promotores pertencentes a outras bactérias Gram-negativas, a exatidão geral foi de 76%. Considerando a importância da predição de promotores e a ausência de banco de dados com informações para outras bactérias, implementou-se o IntergenicDB, um banco de dados com diversas informações sobre as sequencias intergênicas e o valor de classificação destas para os diferentes fatores σ bacterianos, conforme os resultados obtidos com o BacPP. / The promoter region is located some few base pairs before a coding region. It is responsible for initiating gene expression process, thus, it can plays a regulatory role. The study about gene expression regulation can assist mainly in the comprehension of complex metabolic network presented by several organisms and cellular answer considering the environment changes. The computational methods to gene prediction have a good accuracy, but this is not achieved in promoter prediction. This difficulty occurs because of the length of the promoter and its degenerate pattern. Those features can explain results with a great number of false positives present in the literature. The present thesis has as its main goal the neural networks applied to Gram-negative promoter prediction, recognition and characterization. Beside the classical approach with the nucleotides of the sequence, the prediction was also made by using stability values. Aiming at developing a own tool for bacterial promoter prediction, the rules extraction was carried out and the results were weighted and implemented. This tool, named BacPP, presents results comparable with the related literature. Currently, the BacPP specific accuracy for σ24, σ28, σ32, σ38, σ54 and σ70 were 86,9%; 92,8%; 91,5%; 89,3%; 97,0%; 83,6%, respectively. Furthermore, when challenged with promoter sequences belonging to other enterobacteria BacPP maintained 76% accuracy overall. Currently, there is no databases dedicated for other Gram-negative promoter than E.coli. For this reason, IntergenicDB was modeled and implemented. This database was projected to collect several pieces of information about the sequences and the organisms to which they belong and, the classification results originated from BacPP for each sequence.

Introdução: A pressão de colonização (PC) representa a estimativa da probabilidade de transmissão cruzada de microrganismos entre pacientes dentro de uma unidade ou hospital. Pouco se sabe sobre a influência das bactérias Gram negativas na pressão de colonização comparativamente às Gram positivas. Ainda assim, alguns estudos realizados com pacientes que adquiriram Acinetobacter baumannii multirresistente (ACMR) em Centros de Terapia Intensiva (CTIs) demonstram a PC como fator de risco associado à aquisição desta bactéria. Além da PC e de outros fatores de risco tradicionais, como presença de comorbidades, procedimentos invasivos e antibioticoterapia prévia, a própria colonização por ACMR representa um fator de risco associado ao desenvolvimento de infecção. A identificação de pacientes portadores de ACMR pode servir tanto como marcador para o desenvolvimento de infecções clínicas subsequentes como para identificar potenciais transmissores desta bactéria a outros pacientes. No entanto, a implantação de estratégias de vigilância sistemática ainda apresenta limitações como a baixa sensibilidade dos métodos de rastreamento e a determinação do melhor sítio anatômico a ser pesquisado. Nosso estudo investigou o papel da PC e outros fatores preditores para aquisição de (ACMR) e também estimou a sensibilidade das culturas de rastreamento e a prevalência de ACMR entre pacientes adultos internados em Centros de Terapia Intensiva (CTI) com baixa endemicidade. Métodos: Estudo realizado com os pacientes internados no CTI adulto de hospital universitário terciário, no período de junho de 2009 a maio de 2012. Para estimar a sensibilidade dos rastreamentos e prevalência de ACMR foi realizado estudo transversal incluindo todos os pacientes adultos consecutivos, admitidos no CTI durante o período, submetidos pelo menos, a um rastreamento semanal para ACMR. As amostras foram coletadas através de swabs, de pelo menos três sítios anatômicos: orofaringe, pele e região perianal. No caso de pacientes em ventilação mecânica, o sítio orofaringe era substituído pela aspiração de secreção traqueal e se houvesse ferida operatória e/ou cateter, era coletado um swab de ferida operatória e um swab do sítio de inserção do cateter. Para estimar a sensibilidade foram selecionados os pacientes que, além de submetidos pelo menos a um rastreamento semanal, apresentaram uma cultura positiva para ACMR proveniente de amostra clínica recente, obtida até 10 dias antes ou até 7 dias depois da coleta dos swabs para rastreamento. Para investigar a PC e fatores preditores para aquisição de ACMR foi realizada coorte retrospectiva incluindo-se todos os pacientes adultos, maiores de 18 anos, consecutivamente admitidos no CTI durante o período, submetidos pelo menos a uma oportunidade de rastreamento semanal para pesquisa de ACMR durante o período da internação e sem diagnóstico prévio de colonização/infecção por ACMR no momento da admissão. Pacientes em que ACMR foi isolado nas primeiras 48 horas de internação ou com tempo de permanência no CTI igual ou inferior a 48 horas foram excluídos do estudo. Para este delineamento, considerada somente a primeira internação de cada paciente durante o período avaliado. A PC foi estimada em nível individual como a proporção mensal de pacientes-dia identificados como portadores de ACMR no CTI X 100 no mês em que ocorreu a aquisição de ACMR, óbito ou alta da unidade. Além da PC, fatores como a presença de comorbidades, idade, sexo, escore APACHE II, cirurgia, uso de cateter vascular central, sonda vesical de demora, ventilação mecânica, antibioticoterapia com carbapenêmicos e/ou quinolonas e tempo de permanência no CTI foram investigados como preditores durante a hospitalização mediante análise univariável e multivariável. Resultados: Durante o período do estudo, 2561 pacientes foram admitidos no CTI e 1706 (66,6%) foram rastreados para pesquisa de ACMR. Foram realizados 14.638 rastreamentos ao total, dos quais 192 foram positivos (1,3%), identificados em 118 pacientes. A prevalência de pacientes colonizados ou infectados por ACMR no CTI foi de 9,5% (163/1706 pacientes), considerando isolados obtidos de amostras de rastreamento e amostras clínicas. A prevalência de pacientes colonizados ou infectados estimada somente por amostras de rastreamento foi de 6,9% (118/1706 pacientes) e a prevalência de pacientes colonizados foi 3,7% (64/1706 pacientes). Os sítios que apresentaram maior sensibilidade foram: aspirado traqueal (41,5%), orofaringe (40%) e ferida operatória (37,5%). A menor sensibilidade constatada foi quanto ao sítio de inserção de cateter (14,5%). A sensibilidade total do método foi de 60%, considerando a abordagem de rastreamento de múltiplos sítios. Entre os 1706 pacientes rastreados para pesquisa de ACMR e incluídos no estudo transversal, 1375 perfizeram os critérios de elegibilidade para o estudo de coorte. Destes, 75 (5,4%) adquiriram ACMR durante a internação no CTI. A densidade de incidência de ACMR no CTI variou entre zero a 10,6 casos/1000 pacientes-dia e os valores mensais da PC entre zero a 26,8%. Manifestações do trato digestivo (RR = 2,13; IC 1,22 – 3,69), diagnóstico de trauma e complicações relacionadas ao mesmo (RR = 2,39; IC 1,01 – 5,66) e a pressão de colonização (RR = 1,08; IC 1,06 – 1,10) foram identificados como fatores de risco independentes para aquisição de ACMR na análise multivariada. Conclusões: Em nosso estudo, o método utilizado para realizar o rastreamento de portadores de ACMR no CTI apresentou baixa sensibilidade, o que deve certamente subestimar a real prevalência desta bactéria. A pressão de colonização por ACMR esteve associada a risco de aquisição da bactéria em pacientes adultos submetidos à terapia intensiva mesmo num contexto de baixos níveis endêmicos, mesmo considerando-se a presença de outros fatores de risco já tradicionalmente conhecidos. / Introduction: Colonization pressure (CP) can represent an estimation of the probability of cross-transmission of a particular organism within a defined hospital unit or hospital. Few studies have assessed the role of gram-negative bacteria risk of acquisition in CP in comparison to the gram-positive. Some of these studies that are performed on patients who acquired Acinetobacter baumannii multiresistant (MRAB) in intensive care units, have showed that CP is associated at risk to acquire this bacteria. Besides CP and others traditional risk factors like comorbidities, invasive procedures and therapy with antibiotic, colonization by MRAB can be a risk factor to develop an infection. Establishing infection control measures to limit the crosstransmission is recommended when a MRAB carriage is identified and thus reduces the risk of development of clinical infections. The implementation of a screening surveillance policy to MRAB has some limitations including the low sensitivity of the method and the best anatomic site to be screened. The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of CP and other risk factors in the acquisition of multiresitant Acinetobacter baumannii (MRAB), estimate the sensitivity of surveillance cultures and estimate the prevalence of MRAB in adult patients admitted at intensive care unit (ICU) with low endemic levels of the bacteria. Methods: This study was conducted in the ICU at a tertiary hospital from June 2009 to May 2012. A cross-sectional study conducted to estimate the sensitivity of surveillance cultures and the prevalence of MRAB. We included all consecutive adult patients admitted to ICU, who had at least 1weekly surveillance cultures performed during their ICU stay. The samples were collected by swabs at least 3 body sites: pharynx, skin and rectum. In case of mechanical ventilation tracheal aspiration was collected instead of pharynx site. If patient had a surgery wound and/or catheter, a swab of surgical wound and insertion catheter site would be collected. Bacterial cultures of clinical specimens were performed by medical criteria. Patients whom MRAB isolated from a clinical specimen in the preceding 10 days or 7 days after performing surveillance cultures were selected to estimate the sensitivity of surveillance cultures. A retrospective cohort study was conducted to evaluate the role of CP and others risk factors in the acquisition of MRAB. We included all consecutive adult patients admitted to ICU without previous diagnosis of MRAB colonization/infection, who had at least 1 weekly surveillance cultures performed during their stay at ICU. Patients who stayed in the ICU for less than 48 hours, as well as those in whom MRAB was detected within the first 48 hours in the unit, were excluded from the cohort. Only the first ICU admission per patient was included in the analysis. CP was estimated individually as a monthly proportion of the number of patient-days positive to MRAB in ICU X100 in the month of MRAB acquisition, death or discharge. Multivariate analysis to determine risk factors for the MRAB acquisition was performed including additional variables such as patients’ demographic data, comorbidities, APACHE II score, performance of surgery, duration of ICU admission, quinolones or carbapenems antibiotic exposure and the use of mechanical ventilation, arterial/central venous catheter and/or urinary catheter. Results: During the study period, 2,561 patients were admitted to ICU and 1706 (66,6%) were screened to MRAB. A total of 14,638 surveillance cultures were performed, 192 were positive (1.3%) of 118 patients. The true prevalence of MRAB colonized or infected patients in ICU was 9.5% (163/1706 patients), while the prevalence estimated by the surveillance cultures was 6.9% (118/1706 patients). The most sensitivity site was tracheal aspirate (41.5%), pharynx (40%) and surgery wound (37.5%). The less sensitivity was obtained by a swab at the catheter insertion site (14.5%). The overall sensitivity of multisite surveillance approach was 60%. Out of the 1706 patients screened to surveillance cultures and included in a crosssectional study, 1375 met inclusion criteria for the cohort study. Of which, 75 (5.45%) acquired MRAB during ICU stay. The incident rates of MRAB ranged from 0 to 10.6 cases/1000 patient-days. CP ranged from 0 to 26.8%. Trauma (RR = 2.39; IC 1.01 – 5.66), gastrointestinal diseases (RR = 2.13; IC 1.22 – 3.69) and the CP (RR = 1.08; IC 1.06 – 1.10) were identified as independent risk factors for acquisition of MRAD at multivariate analysis. Conclusion: In our study, surveillance cultures to screening MRAB carriages showed low sensitivity. Thus, the true prevalence of MRAB in ICU may be underestimated. The CP was associated to the risk of acquisition of MRAB by the patients admitted to ICU despite the low endemic levels and other risk traditional factors included in the multivariate analysis.

Rothia mucilaginosa (Rm) is a gram-positive bacterium residing in the oral cavity. Recent studies in our laboratory have shown that this microorganism is able to cleave gluten, including immunogenic domains implicated in celiac disease. This can be beneficial to patients with celiac disease because exploitation of Rm can provide a novel mode of treatment. The enzymes responsible for this cleavage are as yet unknown. The purpose of this study was to optimize the transformation efficiencies of Rm cells through electroporation, with the ultimate goal to create knock-out mutants for enzyme activity. We have determined various aspects of Rm cells relevant for this project: (1) the growth curve characteristics of Rm; (2) the presence of endogenous restriction enzyme activities; and (3) the conditions facilitating Rm electroporation by varying electroporation voltages. Furthermore, electroporation and transformation of the plasmid pUC18 was conducted in Escherichia coli. The growth curve of Rm cells in BHI growth medium incubated at 37°C while shaking showed a doubling time of approximately 3 hours in the logarithmic growth phase. Using a cell sonicate of Rm cells incubated with Lambda DNA and four different restriction enzyme buffers, we found that there were no apparent endogenous restriction enzyme activities detectable. For the electroporation experiments, we used previously published protocols for the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, as a standard condition to electroporate Rm cells. Those studies have shown that changing electrical parameters during the electroporation would yield a high efficiency rate of gram-positive bacterial transformation (Lofblom et. al., 2006; Metzler et. al., 1992). Therefore in our study, we increased the field strengths (kV*cm-1) to electroporate Rm cells. Rm cells could not be successfully transformed, and we observed that field strengths exceeding 18 kV*cm-1 destroyed Rm cells. On the other hand, the transformation of E. coli with pUC18 was successful. Our studies have laid the groundwork for investigating the transformation of Rm cells, and future studies can use the results obtained to further investigate ways to optimize transformation of Rm cells for potential utility in celiac patients.

Colistin, also known as polymyxin E, is antibiotics active against most of Gram-negative bacteria. In the pas decade, emergency of multidrug-resistant bacteria led to increase of colistin administration as a last resort antibiotic for human infections. The first plasmid-mediated colistin resistance gene mcr-1 was identified in 2015 in animals in China and after first detection, additional mcr genes: mcr-2, mcr-3, mcr-4, mcr-5, mcr-6, mcr-7 a mcr-8 were described throughout the world. The aim of this thesis was to clarify whether there is horizontal transmission colistin resistance encoded by the mcr genes in gram-negative bacteria isolated from the environment, animals and their breeding and food. The mcr-1 gene was detected in 2 strains Escherichia coli isolated from waste water. The mcr-4 gene was detected in 1 strain Shewanella putrefaciens isolate obtained from the lake. The environment is the most important source and way of spreading this type of resistance in the Czech Republic.

This study deals with the nature and characteristics of the Gram negative bacterial flora of the intestine of the domestic pigeon. Columba livia was selected for this study because of the abundance of this species around the Classroom building on the University of the Pacific campus.

Aerobic Gram negative bacteria such as Pseudomonas putida were reported to possess class A ATCases and to have a M.W. of 360 kD. The nucleotide sequence of the P. putida pyrBC was determined to answer this question once and for all. The expected regulatory gene was not found. It is shown that the P. putida pyrB gene is overlapped by pyrC by 4 bp. The P.putida pyrB is 1005 bp (335 aa) in length and the pyrC is 1275 bp (425 aa) long. Both of these genes complement E. coli mutants with their respective genotypes. Another finding borne out from the sequence is an effector binding site at the N-terminus of pyrB of P. putIda. The binding site shows that effectors compete with carbamoylphosphate for the active site. In this dissertation, it is shown that the ATCase of P.putida is a trimer of M.W. of 109 kD (3 x 36.4 kD) and that the gene encoding pyrB is overlapped by the pyrC gene which encodes DHOase. It is also shown that the pyrBC encoded enzymes copurify as a dodecameric complex with a M.W. of 484 kD.

Central nervous system (CNS) infection with Morganella morganii is very rare. We describe a 38-year-old female patient with frontal brain abscess caused by M morganii who was unsuccessfully treated. We also review all reported cases of Morganella CNS infections with an emphasis on treatment modalities and outcomes. Aggressive surgical management and appropriate antimicrobial therapy can lead to cure, but the mortality rate for these infections remains high.

This study describes the biochemical activity and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns (antibiograms) of 104 gram-negative bacteria, represented by six species of bacilli, isolated from ten macaws of the genus Ara. Bacterial samples were acquired from fecal matter of six different species of macaws, ages one to three years, housed in a variety of locations. Bacteria from these samples were cultured onto selective media for classification. Identification and biochemical characterization were accomplished with the API 20E system. Escherichia (E.) coli accounted for 78% (81/1 04) of the total number of isolates. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was done using the Kirby-Bauer method. Biotype and antimicrobial susceptibility data gathered in this study correspond with data of studies done on pigeons and llamas. These data show specific E. coli biotypes as members of the microflora of macaws.

No description available.

We tested 42 strains of amikacin-resistant gram-negative bacilli with amikacin in combination with six beta-lactam antibiotics using the checkerboard and time kill curve techniques. Synergism was demonstrated with time-killing curve in 43-68% of the strains tested. Ceftazidime plus amikacin was the most active combination by the checkerboard technique, while amikacin-cefoperazone was the most active combination by the time-killing curve technique against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Discrepancies were found between the results of the two methods used.