All these valproic acid effects could exert positive or negative roles on visual cortical Small molecule library chemical structure plasticity. For instance, recent data indicate that inhibition levels in the adult visual cortex might regulate adult ocular dominance plasticity (Harauzov et al., 2010; Southwell et al., 2010). However, the data also showing a recovery of VEP visual acuity with sodium butyrate, which

shares with valproic acid the HDAC inhibitory activity (Tsankova et al., 2007) but has different pharmacological actions, suggest that increased histone acetylation could be the common mechanism mediating the visual acuity recovery induced by valproic acid and sodium butyrate treatments. In keeping with this interpretation, we found a strong increase in histone acetylation in the visual cortex of the valproic acid-treated rats.

A key role for histone acetylation in visual acuity recovery is also in line with a previous study showing that administration of trichostatin, another HDAC inhibitor, in adult mice promoted visual cortical plasticity, reactivating a sensitivity to MD similar to that of juvenile mice (Putignano et al., 2007). Importantly, the results 3-MA in vitro in this manuscript indicate that histone acetylation could also be a crucial step in the mechanisms underlying experience-dependent recovery from amblyopia. Histone acetylation exerts its effect on transcription either by physical remodeling of chromatin structure or by further recruitment of signaling complexes that drive or repress transcription (Peterson & Laniel, 2004). Histone acetylation is achieved by a histone acetyl transferase adding an acetyl group to a lysine residue. Conversely, HDACs remove these acetyl

groups and are generally associated with chromatin inactivation. Therefore, HDAC inhibitors induce histone acetylation and promote gene transcription (Li et al., 2007; Graff & Mansuy, 2009). Increasing evidence, obtained by use of DNA microarrays to profile changes in gene expression of cell lines treated with HDAC inhibitors, demonstrate that the effect of HDAC activity on gene expression is not global because only 1–7% of genes show altered expression (Marks et al., 2000; Glaser et al., 2003), and similar results have also been reported in in vivo studies (Fass et al., 2003; Weaver et al., 2006; Vecsey et al., 2007; Shafaati et al., 2009). In particular, histone acetylation seems to be mafosfamide important for the activation of CREB-regulated genes; indeed CREB activation of gene transcription involves CREB-binding protein, a histone acetyltansferase important for activity-regulated gene expression and synaptic plasticity (Mayr & Montminy, 2001; Vo & Goodman, 2001; Alarcon et al., 2004; Korzus et al., 2004). CREB-mediated gene expression is strongly regulated by visual experience during the SP (Pham et al., 1999; Cancedda et al., 2003; Putignano et al., 2007); however, in adult animals experience-dependent regulation of CREB-mediated gene transcription is strongly reduced (Pham et al., 1999; Putignano et al.

The set of values of the amplitude of the narrow-band noise and its center frequency GSK-3 activation at each reversal defined the PTC. Subjects were trained on the task for 2–4 h for both the 1000- and the 2000-Hz test tones to give consistent performance before

the stimulation sessions. After training, PTCs were measured during two sessions in which either anodal or sham tDCS stimulation was applied for 20 min while subjects completed the task. In each experimental session, subjects first practised the task for 10 min, once for each 1000- and 2000-Hz test tone, before stimulation was applied. Two PTCs were determined for each test tone to give stable measurements, resulting in four PTC determinations per session. Anodal or sham stimulation was applied during four 5-min PTC determinations. All subjects had one anodal tDCS and one sham session with

the order of stimulation counterbalanced. Sessions were separated by a week to avoid any carry-over stimulation effects. Each session lasted approximately 45 min with PTC measurements taking 20–25 min. A rolling average of the amplitude of the narrow-band noise and its center frequency of two successive reversals was used to smooth the PTC and the frequency of the lowest point of the smoothed function (the LP) was found. The low-frequency slope was defined as 0.75× LP to LP and the high-frequency slope was defined as LP to 1.25× LP. Separate PR-171 price rounded exponential (roex(p)) functions were fitted to low- and high-frequency slopes using the equation (described in Patterson et al., 1982) for each slope: (1) where W is the shape of the PTC, g is the normalized deviation from the center frequency, p is the slope of the function and r is the shallower tail of the function. This produces low- and high-frequency slopes of the PTCs, with higher values indicating steeper slopes. The arithmetic mean for the low- and high-frequency slopes of the two determinations for each

fc was taken. Equivalent rectangular bandwidths (ERBs) were determined using the products of the roex(p) fitting with the equation (Moore, 1995): (2) where fc is the frequency of the tone, pl is the slope of the low-frequency equation and pu is the slope of the high-frequency equation. Data were normally distributed and suitable for parametric analysis. The second follow-up experiment measured the effects Pregnenolone of anodal tDCS on temporal fine structure (TFS), which is dependent on the fidelity of temporal coding information (Rose et al., 1967). The experimental design was similar to Experiment 2A with TFS measured in separate tDCS and sham stimulation sessions for each subject. Sensitivity to TFS was measured using the method described in Hopkins & Moore (2007) and Moore & Sęk (2009). This method estimates a TFS threshold using an adaptive 2I-2AFC procedure with a two-up, one-down rule estimating the 70.7% point on the psychometric function (Levitt, 1971).

The set of values of the amplitude of the narrow-band noise and its center frequency ITF2357 mouse at each reversal defined the PTC. Subjects were trained on the task for 2–4 h for both the 1000- and the 2000-Hz test tones to give consistent performance before

the stimulation sessions. After training, PTCs were measured during two sessions in which either anodal or sham tDCS stimulation was applied for 20 min while subjects completed the task. In each experimental session, subjects first practised the task for 10 min, once for each 1000- and 2000-Hz test tone, before stimulation was applied. Two PTCs were determined for each test tone to give stable measurements, resulting in four PTC determinations per session. Anodal or sham stimulation was applied during four 5-min PTC determinations. All subjects had one anodal tDCS and one sham session with

the order of stimulation counterbalanced. Sessions were separated by a week to avoid any carry-over stimulation effects. Each session lasted approximately 45 min with PTC measurements taking 20–25 min. A rolling average of the amplitude of the narrow-band noise and its center frequency of two successive reversals was used to smooth the PTC and the frequency of the lowest point of the smoothed function (the LP) was found. The low-frequency slope was defined as 0.75× LP to LP and the high-frequency slope was defined as LP to 1.25× LP. Separate find more rounded exponential (roex(p)) functions were fitted to low- and high-frequency slopes using the equation (described in Patterson et al., 1982) for each slope: (1) where W is the shape of the PTC, g is the normalized deviation from the center frequency, p is the slope of the function and r is the shallower tail of the function. This produces low- and high-frequency slopes of the PTCs, with higher values indicating steeper slopes. The arithmetic mean for the low- and high-frequency slopes of the two determinations for each

fc was taken. Equivalent rectangular bandwidths (ERBs) were determined using the products of the roex(p) fitting with the equation (Moore, 1995): (2) where fc is the frequency of the tone, pl is the slope of the low-frequency equation and pu is the slope of the high-frequency equation. Data were normally distributed and suitable for parametric analysis. The second follow-up experiment measured the effects PJ34 HCl of anodal tDCS on temporal fine structure (TFS), which is dependent on the fidelity of temporal coding information (Rose et al., 1967). The experimental design was similar to Experiment 2A with TFS measured in separate tDCS and sham stimulation sessions for each subject. Sensitivity to TFS was measured using the method described in Hopkins & Moore (2007) and Moore & Sęk (2009). This method estimates a TFS threshold using an adaptive 2I-2AFC procedure with a two-up, one-down rule estimating the 70.7% point on the psychometric function (Levitt, 1971).

, 2007). Although degradation of phenolic compounds has not been studied in detail in PM1, exposure of this strain to MTBE induces additional pathways for the degradation of aromatics such as benzene, toluene, and xylene. In a recent study employing PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of reverse-transcribed rRNA, active M. petroleiphilum was shown to accumulate in soils contaminated with penta-chlorophenol

(Cáliz et al., 2011). The specific Variovorax group (cluster C) was also represented by two sequences obtained from the midterm stage (sequences MID06_F3 and MID06_G7, OTU 7). Nevertheless, these two sequences were < 85% similar to Variovorax sp. HAB30. The ecological relevance of Variovorax sp. Rucaparib ic50 relies in the presence of a characteristic LmPH type, corresponding to highly active phenol-degrading enzymes with high semi-saturation constants according to determinations of kinetic Akt inhibitor parameters using isolated cultures (Futamata et al., 2005). Cluster D grouped sequences belonging to Gammaproteobacteria with a high-Ks LmPH, including Pseudomonas putida relatives. A single sequence from the initial stage (sequence INI06_A3, OTU 1)

was found in cluster D. Interestingly, this sequence contained the typical signature of low-Ks phenol hydroxylases at amino acid positions 252 and 253, and position in the high-Ks group should be confirmed by incubation experiments with isolated cultures. The number of bacterial OTUs remained at relatively low values (from 5 to 10) in the three samples analyzed. The bacterial community at the initial and midterm stages of decomposition showed a greater richness, greater diversity (Shannon’s H′), and greater evenness (E) of LmPH gene compared to the late

stage (Table 1). The significant decrease in richness and diversity values suggests a major specificity of phenol-degrading bacteria in the late-stage community. The results from the phenol-degrading bacterial community analysis showed a highest degree of specialization at the late decomposition stage. All LmPH genes obtained at the late stage, except for one, grouped in clusters A and E together with PAK5 sequences belonging to known high-affinity phenol degraders (Watanabe et al., 1996). On the contrary, at the initial stage, the lower bacterial biomass and weaker phenol oxidase activity may indicate that decomposition of the large recalcitrant plant molecules had not yet begun (Fig. 1, Artigas et al., 2011). At this first stage, bacterial communities are supposed to be defined by environmental conditions of the stream and random colonization of the leaf surface (Harrop et al., 2009; Marks et al., 2009). Differences in the community composition of potential phenol-degrading bacteria were tested from the tree topology using UniFrac and parsimony tests.

36 h when co-culturing Aspergillus strains with L60 and between 20.63 and 22.31 h selleck chemicals llc in presence of L23. The lag phase prior to growth of all fungal strains was significantly (P < 0.05) reduced by L. rhamnosus L60 compared with L. fermentum L23. In all Aspergillus section Flavi strains assayed, growth rate decreased significantly (P < 0.05) when coculturing with L60 and L23. Lactobacillus rhamnosus L60 significantly reduced (P < 0.05) the growth rate from 77% to 96%, while L. fermentum L23 significantly reduced (P < 0.05) the growth rate from 36% to 50%, with respect to control (Fig. 2). The highest reduction

of growth rate was observed with both bacterial strains on A. flavus RC2054. Lactobacillus rhamnosus L60 was most effective in reducing the growth rate on all Aspergillus section Flavi strains assayed when compared with L. fermentum L23. The effect of L60 and L23 on inhibition of AFB1 production is shown in Fig. 3. In general, AFB1 production exhibited a similar pattern to growth rate, when the fungal

strains were cocultured with L60 and L23. The presence of L60 and L23 did not stimulate the production of AFB1 in any of the Aspergillus section Flavi strains assayed. Lactobacillus fermentum L23 was able to inhibit AFB1 production of A. flavus RC2053 and A. flavus RC2055. Aspergillus section Flavi strains showed a significant reduction (P < 0.05) in AFB1 production when grown in the presence of L60 and L23, with decreased production of the toxin between 96% and 99% and 73% and 99%, respectively. Toxin production of Aspergillus section Flavi was significantly reduced www.selleckchem.com/products/sorafenib.html (P < 0.05) by both lactobacilli strains assayed compared with control. The Lactobacillus strains used were previously characterized by Pascual et al. (2008a ,b and Ruiz et al. (2009) as presenting probiotic properties: colonization, self-aggregation, adherence to epithelial cells

and coaggregation with bacterial pathogens. Lactobacillus rhamnosus L60 and L. fermentum L23 are producers of secondary active metabolites, such as organic acids, bacteriocins and, in the case of L. rhamnosus L60, hydrogen peroxide. Bacteriocin production was Selleck Palbociclib previously characterized and the substance was purified (Pascual et al., 2008a ,b). The two strains showed a wide spectrum of antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, some being human and animal pathogens. The present study shows the potential of L. rhamnosus L60 and L. fermentum L23 in control of Aspergillus section Flavi growth and AFB1 production in vitro. Biopreservation, the use of microorganisms to preserve food and feed stuffs, has been gaining increasing interest due to consumers’ demand for reduced use of chemical preservatives (Prema et al., 2010). As LAB are ‘generally recognized as safe’ organisms (Hoque et al., 2010), they could have useful application in the prevention of fungal contamination in raw materials, food and feed, and in reducing the health hazards associated with mycotoxins.

If exposed to measles, the severely immunocompromised group should receive passive immunization with immunoglobulin regardless of their immunization status. The extremely infectious nature of measles and the short exposure time of < 15 min for transmission to a susceptible host should be emphasized to families and clinicians. MLN0128 purchase Live attenuated VZV vaccines also appear to be safe in children who are not severely immunosuppressed and are included in national routine schedules in some European countries. A PACTG prospective, noncontrolled study of HIV-infected children

reported good VZV vaccine safety and immunogenicity in HIV-infected children; 60% developed antibodies to VZV and 83% had a positive cellular response to VZV antigen [65], suggesting cell-mediated immunity. Vaccine-related adverse events were less common after administration of the second dose. Also, no adverse effects on HIV viral load or CD4 T-cells were identified. Vaccine-induced VZV immunity appears to be sustained through childhood Selleckchem Gemcitabine in HIV-uninfected children [66], with evidence of subsequent asymptomatic boosting from exposure to wild-type VZV. Of a group of HIV-positive children on HAART aged 1–8 years immunized with two doses of VZV vaccine

3 months apart, 79% and 83% had protective VZV antibodies and/or cell-mediated immunity, respectively, after 1 year. VZV immunization was safe and well tolerated [67]. Longer-term published data are awaited, as are immunogenicity data on VZV vaccine in adolescents. A recent medical records review of VZV-vaccinated HIV-positive children reported a vaccine effectiveness of 82% [95% confidence interval (CI) 24–99%] against varicella and 100% (95% CI 67–100%) against herpes zoster

and when data were controlled for the receipt of HAART, vaccination remained highly protective against herpes zoster [68]. More vaccine effectiveness data are needed. We endorse recommendations that VZV-seronegative HIV-infected Galeterone children aged 1 to 18 years [69] should receive two-dose VZV vaccination [70] and they should be counselled to avoid exposure to individuals with chickenpox or shingles until they do. As for other high-risk groups, passive immunization with varicella zoster immunoglobulin (VZIG) is recommended if nonimmune HIV-positive children become exposed to VZV, ideally within 96 hours of exposure, but up to 10 days post exposure when notification is late [71]. If VZIG is unavailable, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) may be administered within 96 hours of exposure [72]. There are currently no data to support the use of antivirals such as aciclovir as post-exposure prophylaxis in this population. Tetravalent MMR-V vaccine is available in Europe; however, the mumps antigen content is higher than in the separate MMR preparation.

In our study, we have examined the genetic and biochemical potential of several aquatic bacteria to phosphorylate native dNs. In two Gram-negative bacteria, F. psychrophilum JIP02/86 and Polaribacter sp. MED 152, we identified TK1-like kinase (FpTK1 and PdTK1, respectively, Table S2), which group together with the already characterized Gram-positive TK1-like dNKs (Fig. 1). MG-132 molecular weight The corresponding enzymes followed classical Michaelis–Menten kinetics and were strictly specific for dT and dU (Table 1, Fig. S2a,b,e,f ). The kinetics parameters for FpTK1 resemble those of the Gram-positive TK1s from Staphylococcus aureus TK1 (SaTK1) and

Bacillus cereus TK1 (BcTK1), which also supports the obtained phylogenetic relationship (Sandrini et al., 2007a,b). On the other hand, PdTK1 is from the kinetic point of view similar to Gram-negative TK1 from Salmonella Osimertinib nmr enterica (SeTK1) (Sandrini et al., 2007a). Surprisingly, while the previously characterized bacterial TK1s are relatively thermostable, both FpTK1 and PdTK1 were not active at 37 °C, and by measuring PdTK1 phosphorylating activity as a function

of temperature, it turned out that the activity of PdTK1 increased with temperature up to 21 °C (Fig. 3). When measured at higher temperatures, 25, 30, and 37 °C, the activity decreased over time. Furthermore, when pre-incubating the enzyme at 0 °C for one hour, the measured activity at 21 °C was 10-fold lower, while pre-incubation at 37 °C for one hour resulted in irreversible denaturation. These data can be important for the interpretation of the results obtained in the past studies, when the indirect activity of TK1 from aquatic bacteria was measured at 37 °C (Jeffrey & Paul, 1990). In short, when measuring the activity of bacteria isolated from cold niches by the incorporation of 3H-dT into newly synthesized DNA, one filipin should keep in mind that the activity should be measured at different temperatures. So far it has been thought that Gram-negative bacteria have only one dNK, TK1, while Gram-positive bacteria seem to have several dNKs (Sandrini et al., 2007a). The FpdNK and PddNK kinases followed classical Michaelis–Menten

kinetics and were able to phosphorylate dA and dC; however, both of them had dA as the preferred substrate (Table 1, Fig. S2c, d,g,h). None of them was able to efficiently phosphorylate dG; therefore, these two enzymes seem to act like dAK from S. aureus dAK (SadAK) or B. cereus dAK (BcdAK) (Sandrini et al., 2007a,b), but with much lower specificity for dC. The substrate preferences could be partially explained by the genome composition. Both bacteria have AT content of approximately 70%; therefore during DNA replication, they need more A and T than G and C. However, it is puzzling why the activity on dG is so low in both species (Table 1 and Table S2). We examined the sequenced genomes from several aquatic bacteria for the genes encoding dNKs, the key enzymes in the salvage of dNs.

5, 47 and 60%) for 200 quarters of circular unscored, square, circular scored, heart scored and caplet scored tablets. No significant difference (P < 0.05) in tablet halves weight for the tested medicines using a kitchen knife and F, splitter model. Large weight variability

among halves and quarters compared to intact tablets was observed using a kitchen knife and four splitter models. However, splitter models offered ease of splitting compared to a knife, selleckchem deviation in fragments weight still exist. RSD values were beyond the USP adopted criteria for intact tablets. Divisibility results were also influenced by shape and size of tablets. MG-132 cell line Shape, size and splitter model are critical parameters in tablet splitting and standards for these parameters need to be implemented. 1. Berga C. and Ekedahl A. Dosages involving splitting tablets: common but unnecessary? J Pharm Hlth Serv Res 2010; 1, 137–141. 2. El-Baseir M. M and El-Basir H. M. Evaluation of split tablets of cardiovascular medicines. Int. J. Pharm. Pract (Wash) 2012; 2: 31–101. Shailesh Patel2, Parastou Donyai1 1University of Reading, Reading, Berkshire, UK, 2Pharmacy Space, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK A newly-designed questionnaire captured views of, and experiences with, pharmaceutical services and medication

reviews by care-home managers Supplying medicines and medicines information, currently provided by pharmacists, topped the list of care home priorities Areas for greater pharmacist involvement included advice on medication errors, adverse drug reactions and safe

handling of medication Care homes for older people in England can provide 24-hour nursing care, residential care or both. Compared to those living in their own homes, older people in care-homes will usually Resminostat have a greater degree of frailty, vulnerability and co-morbidities requiring multiple medicines. Because of the likelihood of cognitive impairment and altered drug handling, the correct prescribing and use of medicines becomes vital in this patient group. The Care Homes Use of Medicines Study recommended that a pharmacist should have overall responsibility for medicines use in each care home to facilitate a safe medicines system.1 The benefits of this recommendation and the practicalities of its implementation are not yet tested. We wanted to design a modern questionnaire to capture the views and experiences of care-home managers in relation to medication reviews and pharmaceutical services. Two focus groups (n = 5; n = 4) were convened with key stakeholders invited from the following sectors; Primary Care Trust, care-home association, community practice, and hospital pharmacy.

However, recent studies in rats and mice have shown that vasopressin neurons in the supraoptic nucleus also display intrinsic

osmosensory and thermosensory properties. Isolated vasopressin neurons exposed to increases in perfusate temperature or osmolality generate increases in non-selective cation channel activity that cause membrane depolarization and increase neuronal excitability. These channels are calcium-permeable and can be blocked by ruthenium red. Moreover, intrinsic responses to osmotic and thermal stimuli are absent in magnocellular neurosecretory cells isolated from mice lacking the transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 (trpv1) gene, which mTOR inhibitor encodes the capsaicin receptor. Immunostaining of vasopressin-releasing neurons with anti-TRPV1 antibodies reveals the presence of amino acids present in the carboxy terminus of the

protein, but not those lying in the amino terminal domain. Thus, magnocellular neurosecretory www.selleckchem.com/products/AG-014699.html neurons appear to express an N-terminal variant of trpv1 which lacks sensitivity to capsaicin, but which enables osmosensing and thermosensing. “
“The ventral pallidum (VP) is a major target of projections from the nucleus accumbens, and has been implicated in the reinstatement of psychostimulant seeking as part of a cortical–striatal–pallidal ‘final common pathway’ for relapse. Here, we studied the role of the VP in context-induced and primed reinstatement of alcoholic beer seeking, using a combination of microinjections and tract tracing studies. In experiment 1, rats were trained to respond to alcoholic beer in one context (A), and then extinguished in a second context (B), prior to testing for reinstatement (ABA renewal) and extinction (ABB). VP microinjection of the μ-opioid receptor (MOR) antagonist CTAP prevented reinstatement. In experiment 2, VP microinjection of CTAP also prevented the primed reinstatement of alcoholic beer seeking after rats were trained, extinguished, and tested in the same context. In experiment 3, we employed

retrograde neural tract tracing together with c-Fos immunohistochemistry to identify the VP afferents recruited during context-induced reinstatement of alcoholic beer seeking. There was evidence for the recruitment of accumbens coreVP, basolateral amygdalaVP however and paraventricular thalamusVP pathways during context-induced reinstatement. These results indicate that the VP MORs are critical for context-induced reinstatement, and that the VP receives inputs from a number of regions known to be important in reinstatement of drug seeking. “
“Mental imagery is a complex cognitive process that resembles the experience of perceiving an object when this object is not physically present to the senses. It has been shown that, depending on the sensory nature of the object, mental imagery also involves correspondent sensory neural mechanisms.

The primary and secondary structure analyses were performed NVP-BKM120 purchase using the protparam tool on ExPASy server (Bairoch et al., 2005) and psipred (Jones,

1999), respectively. The tertiary structure of CspD from Ant5-2 was generated by the modeller software from hhpred alignments on HHpred servers (Soding et al., 2005; Eswar et al., 2006). The significance of the protein structure similarity was measured by TM-score calculated by T-align, a more sensitive method than root-mean-square-deviation (Zhang & Skolnick, 2005). The protein–protein docking was performed using the hex 5.1 software according to its manual (Ritchie & Venkatraman, 2010). During the initial 4 h, Ant5-2 cultures exhibited faster growth rates at 22 and 37 °C than at 15 °C (Fig. 1). Within 20 h of incubation at 15, 22 and 37 °C, the cultures grew exponentially and reached stationary phase. However, the culture at 37 °C exhibited a decline in growth after 48 h of incubation. In contrast, the cultures maintained at −1 and 4 °C did not show

any significant cell proliferation for 24 and 4 h, respectively. Thereafter, the culture at 4 °C exhibited exponential growth and reached stationary phase within 72 h. A slow but steady exponential growth of the culture at −1 °C was noticed after incubation for 24 h. After one freeze–thaw cycle, increased survival was observed when Ant5-2 was exposed to 4 °C before freezing. The cultures transferred to 4 °C showed 94.1% survival compared with the 48.9% survival of cultures incubated http://www.selleckchem.com/products/Tigecycline.html at 22 °C (Supporting Progesterone Information, Fig. S1). The autoradiogram exhibited expression of a ∼7.28-kDa Csp

(CspD) at all temperatures (Fig. S2). The immunoblot results showed that the expression of CspD in Ant5-2 was both time- and growth phase-dependent (Fig. 2a). Its expression increased at 37 °C and UVC exposure (Fig. 2b and c). A 204-bp DNA fragment encompassing the entire ORF of the cspD gene (accession no. HQ873479) was PCR amplified. The deduced amino acid sequence exhibited 100% identity with the cold shock transcription regulator of J. lividum DSM 1522 and >98% sequence identity with the RNA chaperone, transcription antiterminator of Herminiimonas arsenicoxydans and with Csps from different bacteria belonging to class Betaproteobacteria (Figs 3 and Fig. S3). The CspD from Ant5-2 showed highest identity and similarity to E. coli CspE (67/83%) and E. coli CspD (56/74%) when compared with Csps from E. coli, B. subtilis and Pseudomonas sp. 30/3 (Fig. 3). PCR amplification of the cspA family of genes in Ant5-2 genomic DNA using CSPU5 and CSPU3 universal primers (Francis and Stewart, 1997) resulted in negative outcome (Fig. S4).