Evolutionary Genomics of a Temperate Bacteriophage in an Obligate Intracellular Bacteria (Wolbachia)

Genome evolution of bacteria is usually influenced by ecology, such that bacteria with a free-living stage have large genomes and high rates of horizontal gene transfer, while obligate intracellular bacteria have small genomes with typically low amounts of gene exchange. However, recent studies indicate that obligate intracellular species that host-switch frequently harbor agents of horizontal transfer such as mobile elements. For example, the temperate double-stranded DNA bacteriophage WO in Wolbachia persistently transfers between bacterial coinfections in the same host. Here we show that despite the phage's rampant mobility between coinfections, the prophage's genome displays features of constraint related to its intracellular niche. First, there is always at least one intact prophage WO and usually several degenerate, independently-acquired WO prophages in each Wolbachia genome. Second, while the prophage genomes are modular in composition with genes of similar function grouping together, the modules are generally not interchangeable with other unrelated phages and thus do not evolve by the Modular Theory. Third, there is an unusual core genome that strictly consists of head and baseplate genes; other gene modules are frequently deleted. Fourth, the prophage recombinases are diverse and there is no conserved integration sequence. Finally, the molecular evolutionary forces acting on prophage WO are point mutation, intragenic recombination, deletion, and purifying selection. Taken together, these analyses indicate that while lateral transfer of phage WO is pervasive between Wolbachia with occasional new gene uptake, constraints of the intracellular niche obstruct extensive mixture between WO and the global phage population. Although the Modular Theory has long been considered the paradigm of temperate bacteriophage evolution in free-living bacteria, it appears irrelevant in phages of obligate intracellular bacteria

Um acervo, uma coleção e três problemas: a Coleção Jacques Pilon da Biblioteca da FAUUSP

Este artigo examina a constituição do Acervo de Projetos de arquitetura da Biblioteca da Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo da Universidade de São Paulo (FAUUSP), o tratamento da Coleção Jacques Pilon e os rendimentos do projeto de arquitetura como fonte documental a partir de três questões interligadas: a constituição do campo arquitetônico no Brasil; a história de São Paulo e sua arquitetura; e a contribuição dos arquitetos estrangeiros para a construção da cidade entre 1930 e 1960. A partir da abordagem de novas e velhas fontes de pesquisa, procura-se articular a história da arquitetura com outros campos do conhecimento nem sempre a ela relacionados, mas que juntos podem contribuir para uma leitura mais complexa da produção arquitetônica e para os esforços de revisão da historiografia da arquitetura moderna no Brasil.This article examines the establishment of the Archive of Projects of the Library of the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the University of Sao Paulo (FAUUSP), the treatment of the Collection Jacques Pilon and the architectural design as a documentary source from three interconnected issues: the constitution of the architectural field in Brazil; the history of São Paulo and its architecture and the contribution of foreign architects to build the city between the years 1930 and 1960. From the approach of new and old sources of research, this article seeks to articulate the History of Architecture with other fields of knowledge not always related to it, but that together it can contribute to a more complex reading of architectural production and to efforts of reviewing the historiography of modern architecture in Brazil

26th Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting (CNS*2017): Part 3 - Meeting Abstracts - Antwerp, Belgium. 15–20 July 2017

This work was produced as part of the activities of FAPESP Research,\ud Disseminations and Innovation Center for Neuromathematics (grant\ud 2013/07699-0, S. Paulo Research Foundation). NLK is supported by a\ud FAPESP postdoctoral fellowship (grant 2016/03855-5). ACR is partially\ud supported by a CNPq fellowship (grant 306251/2014-0)

Genomic and physiological analyses of ‘Reinekea forsetii’ reveal a versatile opportunistic lifestyle during spring algae blooms

Avcı B, Hahnke RL, Chafee M, et al. Genomic and physiological analyses of ‘Reinekea forsetii’ reveal a versatile opportunistic lifestyle during spring algae blooms. Environmental Microbiology. 2016;19(3):1209-1221.Gammaproteobacterial Reinekea spp. were detected during North Sea spring algae blooms in the years 2009-2012, with relative abundances of up to 16% in the bacterioplankton. Here, we explore the ecophysiology of 'R. forsetii' strain Hel1_31_D35 that was isolated during the 2010 spring bloom using (i) its manually annotated, high-quality closed genome, (ii) re-analysis of in situ data from the 2009-2012 blooms and (iii) physiological tests. High resolution analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences suggested that 'R. forsetii' dominated Reinekea populations during these blooms. This was corroborated by retrieval of almost complete Hel1_31_D35 genomes from 2009 and 2010 bacterioplankton metagenomes. Strain Hel1_31_D35 can use numerous low-molecular weight substrates including diverse sugar monomers, and few but relevant algal polysaccharides such as mannan, α-glucans, and likely bacterial peptidoglycan. It oxidizes thiosulfate to sulfate, and ferments under anoxic conditions. The strain can attach to algae and thrives at low phosphate concentrations as they occur during blooms. Its genome encodes RTX toxin and secretion proteins, and in cultivation experiments Hel1_31_D35 crude cell extracts inhibited growth of a North Sea Polaribacter strain. Our data suggest that the combination of these traits make strain Hel1_31_D35 a versatile opportunist that is particularly competitive during spring phytoplankton blooms