La résistance aux antibiotiques est une menace non négligeable pour la santé publique. Ces résistances peuvent être portées par différents supports dont les îlots génomiques. Il a été démontré que les îlots génomiques Salmonella Genomic Island 1 (SGI1) et Proteus Genomic Island 1 (PGI1) sont des acteurs importants de la multirésistance aux antibiotiques. Quelques variants de SGI1 et PGI1 ont déjà été décrits au sein de l’espèce P. mirabilis. Dans ce contexte, ce projet de thèse se proposait d’approfondir notre connaissance de la situation épidémiologique de la diffusion de SGI1 et PGI1 chez P. mirabilis chez l’homme et l’animal en France, en ce qui concerne la diversité des isolats, mais aussi celles des variants de SGI1/PGI1. En parallèle, une autre volonté a été d’identifier d’autres facteurs et acteurs permettant l’acquisition de gènes de résistances d’intérêt au sein des Morganellaceae (β-Lactamases à Spectre Etendu, céphalosporinase AmpC, Plasmid-mediated Quinolone Resistance...). Au final, cette étude a permis en outre de révéler les premiers cas de SGI1 et PGI1 chez P. mirabilis chez l’animal en France. De nouveaux variants de SGI1 ont également été mis en évidence. Et pour la première fois, SGI1 a été décrit chez M. morganii, une autre espèce d’entérobactérie. / The antibiotic resistance is a major treat for public health. These resistances can be hold by different element and genomic islands are one of them. Salmonella Genomic Island 1 (SGI1) and Proteus Genomic Island 1 (PGI1) are important genetic elements for the antibiotic resistance. A few SGI1 and PGI1 variants were already described in P. mirabilis. It is in this context that this thesis project aimed to improve our knowledge about the epidemiological spread of SGI1 and PGI1 in P. mirabilis in humans but also in animals in France (diversity of isolates and SGI1/PGI1 variants). Moreover, another wish was to identify other factors and actors for the acquisition of antibiotic resistance in the Morganellaceae tribe (Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamases, AmpC cephalosporinase, Plasmid-mediated Quinolone Resistance…). Finally, this study revealed the first cases of SGI1 and PGI1 in P. mirabilis in animals in France. New SGI1 variants were also described. And for the very first time, SGI1 was found in M. morganii, another entrobacterial species.

Undergraduate honors paper--Mount Holyoke College, 2006. Program in Neuroscience and Behavior. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 52-57).

Thesis (PH. D.)--University of Chicago, 1919. / "Private edition, distributed by the University of Chicago Libraries, Chicago, Illinois." "Reprinted from the Journal of infectious diseases, Vol. 24, No. 5, May, 1919." Bibliography: p. 54-56.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1970. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1983. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 432-463).

Bacterial histamine formation in mackerel and albacore was studied by inducing histamine in the muscles under controlled storage conditions. The optimum temperature for histamine formation was 25°C. The highest level of histamine detected was 283 mg/100 g in the 2-day stored mackerel; and 67.1 mg/100 g in the 6-day stored albacore. To identify the bacteria crucial to histamine formation, histamine formers were isolated using the conventional culture method. Enteric bacteria were most frequently isolated from the fish. Weak histamine formers were found in the gill and skin of fresh fish, and they required the enrichment step. Prolific histamine formers were mostly isolated from the decomposed muscles during storage at 25°C. Morganella morganii was the most prolific histamine former, producing >3,000 ppm in culture broth. M. morganii was the most prevalent histamine former in mackerel. In albacore, however, the most prevalent species was Hafnia alvei, a weak histamine former, resulting in less histamine accumulation than mackerel. Weak histamine formers, identified as natural bacteria in the marine environment, were found in mackerel during storage at 4°C after fish became unsuitable for human consumption. At 0°C, neither histamine-forming bacteria nor histamine was detected in fish. M. morganii formed significant amounts of histamine (>200 mg/100 g) in artificially contaminated fresh and frozen mackerel, albacore, and mahi-mahi when the fish were improperly stored at ambient temperatures (25°C). Growth of M. morganii was controlled by storage of fish at 4°C or below, but histamine formation was controlled only during frozen storage. For rapid detection of M. morganii, a PCR assay was developed by designing 16S rDNA targeted primers. Unique primers found for M. morganii were: the forward primer, 5'-CTCGCACCATCAGATGAACCCATAT-3'; and the reverse primer, 5'-CAAAGCATCTCTGCTAAGTTCTCTGGATG-3'. Nine CFU/ml of M. morganii inoculated in albacore homogenate were detected with a 6 h-enrichment of samples in TSB at 37°C. It would be necessary to monitor the presence of M. morganii in fish during handling and storage due to its high histamine-producing capability and prevent its contamination and proliferation after capture. The PCR assay developed in this study would be helpful to routinely monitor its presence in fish. / Graduation date: 2002

Bacterial biofilms form on liquid/air and liquid/solid surfaces and consist of cells combined with an extracellular matrix such as exopolysaccharides, extracellular DNA, and glycoproteins. Bacteria have up to a 1000-fold increase of antibiotic resistance in biofilms compared to planktonic cells. Furthermore, biofilm cells show better tolerance to adverse environmental conditions such as nutrition limitations, temperature changes, pH changes, and non-optimal osmotic conditions. In Escherichia coli, the outer membrane protein OmpA increased biofilm formation on polystyrene, polypropylene, and polyvinyl chloride surfaces while it decreased biofilm formation on glass surfaces. This surface-dependent phenotype was because OmpA inhibits cellulose production by inducing the CpxRA two-component signal transduction pathway, and cellulose inhibits biofilm formation on plastic due to its hydrophilic nature. We discovered, and then engineered, BdcA (formerly YjgI), for biofilm dispersal. We found that in E. coli, BdcA increases motility and extracellular DNA production while it decreases exopolysaccharide production, cell length, and aggregation. We reasoned that the 3, 5-cyclic diguanylic acid (c-di-GMP) levels increase upon deleting bdcA, and showed that BdcA binds c-di-GMP in vitro. In addition, we used protein engineering to evolve BdcA for greater c-di-GMP binding and found that the single amino acid change E50Q causes nearly complete biofilm dispersal. We isolated Proteus mirabilis from the blowfly Lucilia sericata, which swarmed significantly. By motility screening and complementation with putative interkingdom signal molecules that have been shown to attract flies, we found lactic acid, phenol, NaOH, KOH, putrescine, and ammonia restore the swarming motility of seven different swarming deficient mutants. These mutants and putative signal molecules will be further tested for fly attraction and oviposition. Acetylation of lysine residues is conserved in all three kingdoms although its role in bacteria is not clear. We demonstrated that acetylation enables E. coli to withstand environmental stresses. Specifically, the bacteria became more resistant to heat and oxidative stress. Furthermore, we showed that the increase in oxidative stress resistance is due to the induction of catalase gene katG. Hence we demonstrate for the first time a specific physiological role for acetylation in prokaryotes.

This report summarizes the work performed for the design and development of the Proteus research robot. The Proteus design is motivated by the need for a modular, flexible, and usable autonomous robotic platform. To accomplish these goals, a modular hardware architecture coupled with low-power, high-computation processing is presented. The robot is subdivided into three layers: mobility, computation, and application. The interface between layers is characterized by well defined APIs and may be individually replaced to achieve different functionality. An efficient low-level event scheduler is described along with higher-level software algorithms for motion control and navigation. Experiments of Proteus robots are provided including field tests and collaboration with outside research institutions. / text

Thesis--Wisconsin. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 296-301).

O gênero Proteus é caracterizado pela rápida mobilidade, fenômeno denominado swarming . Quanto à homologia de seu DNA, apresenta apenas uma discreta relação com o da Escherichia coli. Freqüentemente relacionado com infecções urinárias, facilitadas pela sua capacidade em degradar uréia, tem sido encontrado colonizando cateteres e sondas vesicais, principalmente a espécie Proteus mirabilis. Devido a sua crescente importância na prática clínica, tanto como agente infeccioso de difícil erradicação, quanto como microrganismo com possibilidade de produzir β-lactamases de espectro expandido, seu controle no ambiente hospitalar tornou-se essencial. A necessidade da correta identificação dessa bactéria estimulou com que métodos de identificação molecular sejam constantemente estudados e aprimorados para essa finalidade. Métodos baseados em PCR têm se mostrado úteis, mas precisam ser validados para a rotina laboratorial. Diversos fatores de patogenicidade, ou seja, características biológicas de Proteus que favorecem a sua participação em processos infecciosos têm sido identificados, tais como: a capacidade de mobilidade e fixação celular, produção de protease, urease e hemolisina. Diversos autores inferem que a correta co-regulação desses fatores de virulência durante a diferenciação de swarming está relacionada com a capacidade de colonizar e invadir o tecido do hospedeiro. Vários estudos sugerem que extratos vegetais podem ser importantes produtos no controle de P. mirabilis ao interferir em sinais de quorum sensing , e consequentemente, na diferenciação celular e expressão de fatores de virulência. Neste sentido, os terpenos, compostos presentes em óleos essenciais, podem representar uma alternativa viável no controle de infecções por esses microrganismos. As proteases microbianas vêm se destacando como importantes fatores de virulência devido a ação direta sobre proteínas do hospedeiro, particularmente imunoglobulinas. O estudo em P. mirabilis tem sido focalizado na protease ZapA (mirabilisina), enzima capaz de degradar IgA, IgG, entre outras proteínas. Trabalhos relatam que não somente ZapA é regulada durante o swarming , mas também hemolisinas, fatores ligados à diferenciação celular e hiperprodução do flagelo. Assim sendo, na presente tese foram avaliados distintos sistemas via PCR (RAPD, ERIC-PCR, REP-PCR, BOX-PCR e ISSR) para caracterização molecular de isolados clínicos de P. mirabilis, o efeito de monoterpenos sobre a diferenciação celular e a produção de fatores de patogenicidade dessas bactérias, e realizado um estudo bioinformático sobre o complexo de metaloproteases com base no recentemente publicado genoma de P. mirabilis. / Submitted by Marcelo Teixeira (mvteixeira@ucs.br) on 2014-05-22T17:39:53Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Lessandra Michelim.pdf: 1136815 bytes, checksum: 25bc56ba17160011b1aba3b4e7732643 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-05-22T17:39:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Lessandra Michelim.pdf: 1136815 bytes, checksum: 25bc56ba17160011b1aba3b4e7732643 (MD5) / O gênero Proteus é caracterizado pela rápida mobilidade, fenômeno denominado swarming . Quanto à homologia de seu DNA, apresenta apenas uma discreta relação com o da Escherichia coli. Freqüentemente relacionado com infecções urinárias, facilitadas pela sua capacidade em degradar uréia, tem sido encontrado colonizando cateteres e sondas vesicais, principalmente a espécie Proteus mirabilis. Devido a sua crescente importância na prática clínica, tanto como agente infeccioso de difícil erradicação, quanto como microrganismo com possibilidade de produzir β-lactamases de espectro expandido, seu controle no ambiente hospitalar tornou-se essencial. A necessidade da correta identificação dessa bactéria estimulou com que métodos de identificação molecular sejam constantemente estudados e aprimorados para essa finalidade. Métodos baseados em PCR têm se mostrado úteis, mas precisam ser validados para a rotina laboratorial. Diversos fatores de patogenicidade, ou seja, características biológicas de Proteus que favorecem a sua participação em processos infecciosos têm sido identificados, tais como: a capacidade de mobilidade e fixação celular, produção de protease, urease e hemolisina. Diversos autores inferem que a correta co-regulação desses fatores de virulência durante a diferenciação de swarming está relacionada com a capacidade de colonizar e invadir o tecido do hospedeiro. Vários estudos sugerem que extratos vegetais podem ser importantes produtos no controle de P. mirabilis ao interferir em sinais de quorum sensing , e consequentemente, na diferenciação celular e expressão de fatores de virulência. Neste sentido, os terpenos, compostos presentes em óleos essenciais, podem representar uma alternativa viável no controle de infecções por esses microrganismos. As proteases microbianas vêm se destacando como importantes fatores de virulência devido a ação direta sobre proteínas do hospedeiro, particularmente imunoglobulinas. O estudo em P. mirabilis tem sido focalizado na protease ZapA (mirabilisina), enzima capaz de degradar IgA, IgG, entre outras proteínas. Trabalhos relatam que não somente ZapA é regulada durante o swarming , mas também hemolisinas, fatores ligados à diferenciação celular e hiperprodução do flagelo. Assim sendo, na presente tese foram avaliados distintos sistemas via PCR (RAPD, ERIC-PCR, REP-PCR, BOX-PCR e ISSR) para caracterização molecular de isolados clínicos de P. mirabilis, o efeito de monoterpenos sobre a diferenciação celular e a produção de fatores de patogenicidade dessas bactérias, e realizado um estudo bioinformático sobre o complexo de metaloproteases com base no recentemente publicado genoma de P. mirabilis.