These studies provide experimental evidence supporting the notion that prophylactic statin therapy can exert protective benefits

against CAP in humans; however these effects are modest in mice at the maximum recommended dose of simvastatin for humans. Materials and methods Mice and simvastatin diet All experiments were performed in compliance with approved Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee protocols. Female 12-16 week old BALB/c mice were purchased from The Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, MA). Rodent chow containing simvastatin (Sigma, St. Louis MO) at 0 mg/kg (control), 12 mg/kg (low simvastatin diet [LSD]), or 120 mg/kg (high simvastatin diet [HSD]) was prepared by Purina TestDiet (Richmond, IN) and fed ad libitum selleck screening library for ≥4 weeks. For a 25-30 g mouse consuming 2-2.5 g of chow per day these diets correspond to 1.0 and 10 mg/kg/day

of simvastatin, respectively. Previous studies have confirmed a therapeutic effect for LSD and HSD by testing for a reduction in serum cholesterol [14]. Assessment of disease severity S. pneumoniae serotype 4, strain TIGR4 was grown in Todd Hewitt Broth at 37°C in 5% CO2[15]. Animals were anesthetized with vaporized isoflurane and 105 cfu in 100 μl phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) was delivered intratracheally by forced inhalation [16]. Mice were euthanized and bacterial burden in the lungs was assessed per gram of homogenized tissue. Alternatively, bacteremia and mortality was assessed over 7 days [17]. In intervention experiments, beginning at 48 h post-challenge, mice LY3039478 were administered ampicillin (80 mg/kg) at 12 h intervals. Lungs sections (5 μm) were stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) and scored in a blind manner based on lung consolidation,

evidence of hemorrhage, and extent of cellular infiltration. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) Mice were euthanized by CO2 asphyxiation. Following surgical visualization of the trachea, BAL was performed by insertion of a 0.18 gauge angiocatheter and flushing of the lungs with 0.5 ml ice-cold PBS until a total volume of 3 ml Carnitine palmitoyltransferase II was obtained. BAL fluid was strained (40-μM) and centrifuged. The cellular fraction was suspended in 1 ml PBS and total cell counts were determined using a hemocytometer. Differential cell counts were done following cytospin and staining with a Diff-Quick Staining Kit (IMEB Inc.); >300 cells were counted in three separate fields for each mouse. Albumin and cytokine analysis Epoxomicin nmr Vascular leakage in BAL fluid was assessed using a mouse albumin ELISA Quantitation Set (Bethyl Laboratories, Inc., Montgomery, TX). Levels of Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF)α, Interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10, IL-12, Monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1, and Interferon (IFN)γ in BAL fluid and serum samples were performed using a Mouse Inflammatory Cytometric Bead Array (BD Biosciences).

Tree Physiol 28(1):95–104PubMedCrossRef Dyson-Hudson N (1972) The study of nomads. J Asian Afr Stud 1972(7):2–29CrossRef El Amin HA (1990) Trees and shrubs of the Sudan. Ithaca Press, Exeter El-Awad AA (1994) Eco-taxonomical studies in the Red Sea Hills. University

of Khartoum, Sudan Ellis JE, Swift DM (1988) Stability of African pastoral ecosystems—alternate paradigms and implications for development. J Range Manag 41(6):450–459. doi:10.​2307/​3899515 CrossRef El-Sayed R (2004) r’ n Mḏ.iw—lingua blemmyica—tu-bed̨awiε. Ein Sprachenkontinuum im Areal der nubischen Ostwüste und seine (sprach-) historischen Implikationen. Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur 32:351–362 Fadlalla AH (2007) Embodying learn more honour. Fertility,

foreignness, and regeneration in Eastern Sudan. The Univeristy of Wisconsin Press, Madison Garibaldi A, Turner N (2004) Cultural keystone species: implications for ecological conservation and restoration. Ecol Soc 9(3):1 Gilbert H (2013) ‘Bedouin overgrazing’ and conservation politics: challenging ideas of pastoral destruction in South Sinai. Biol Conserv 160:59–69. doi:10.​1016/​j.​biocon.​2012.​12.​022 CrossRef Gilman EF (2011) An illustrated guide to pruning, 3rd edn. Delmar Cengage Learning, Clifton Park Goslar T, Andersen GL, Krzywinski K, Czernik J (2013) Radiocarbon determination of past growth rates of living Acacia tortilis trees from two arid sites in Eastern Sahara. Radiocarbon 55(2–3):1683–1692 Hasan YF (1973) The Arabs and the Sudan: from the seventh to the early sixteenth MK-4827 datasheet century, 3rd edn. Khartoum University Press, Khartoum (Reprint Amoxicillin First edition

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oryzae[25, 26]. AspGD curators read the published experimental literature to record information including gene names and synonyms, write free-text descriptions of each gene, record phenotypes and assign terms that describe functional information about genes and proteins using the Gene Ontology (GO; http://​www.​geneontology.​org). www.selleckchem.com/products/NVP-AUY922.html These annotations are an important resource for the scientific

research community, used both for reference on individual genes of interest as well as for analysis of results from microarray, proteomic experiments, or other screens that produce large lists of genes. The GO is a structured vocabulary for describing the functions associated with genes products [27]. GO terms describe the activity of a gene product (Molecular Function;

MF) within the cell, the Citarinostat cell line biological process (Biological Process; BP) in which a gene product is involved and the location within the cell (Cellular Component; CC) where the gene product is observed [28]. Evidence codes are assigned to GO annotations based on the type of available experimental evidence. At the start of this project most of the terms needed to describe secondary metabolite biosynthetic genes or regulators of secondary metabolism did not yet exist in the GO. Thus, in order to provide an improved annotation of secondary metabolite biosynthetic genes and their regulatory proteins, we developed new GO terms for secondary metabolite production in collaboration with the GO Consortium, and reannotated the Cytoskeletal Signaling inhibitor entire set of genes associated with secondary metabolism in AspGD. We then performed a comprehensive analysis of the secondary metabolism biosynthetic genes and their orthologs across the genomes of A. nidulans, A. fumigatus, A. niger and A. oryzae and now provide a set learn more of

manually annotated secondary metabolite gene clusters. We anticipate that these new, more precise annotations will encourage the rapid and efficient experimental verification of novel secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters in Aspergillus and the identification of the corresponding secondary metabolites. Results Identifying genes for reannotation Many branches of the GO, such as apoptosis and cardiac development [29], have recently been expanded and revised to include new terms that are highly specific to these processes. The secondary metabolism literature has expanded over the last several years, allowing AspGD curators to make annotations to an increasing number of genes with roles in secondary metabolism. During routine curation, it became apparent that hundreds of Aspergillus genes that were candidates for annotation to the GO term ‘secondary metabolic process’ had the potential for more granular annotations, since, in many cases, the specific secondary metabolite produced by a gene product is known.

Biochem J 294(Pt 1):271–278PubMed 9. Kawamoto T, Noshiro M, Shen M, Nakamasu K, Hashimoto K, Kawashima-Ohya Y, Gotoh O, Kato Y (1998) Structural and phylogenetic analyses of RGD-CAP/beta ig-h3, a fasciclin-like adhesion Ilomastat datasheet protein expressed in chick chondrocytes. Biochim Biophys Acta 1395:288–292PubMed 10. Kruzynska-Frejtag A, Machnicki M, Rogers R, Markwald

RR, Conway SJ (2001) Periostin (an osteoblast-specific factor) is expressed within the embryonic mouse heart during valve formation. Mech Dev 103:183–188PubMedCrossRef 11. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/VX-765.html Oshima A, Tanabe H, Yan T, Lowe GN, Glackin CA, Kudo A (2002) A novel mechanism for the regulation of osteoblast differentiation: transcription of periostin, a member of the fasciclin I family, is regulated by the bHLH transcription factor, twist. J Cell Biochem 86:792–804PubMedCrossRef 12. Lee MS, Lowe GN, Strong DD, Wergedal JE, Glackin CA (1999) TWIST, a basic helix–loop–helix transcription factor, can regulate the human osteogenic lineage. J Cell Biochem 75:566–577PubMedCrossRef 13. Litvin J, Selim AH, Montgomery MO, Lehmann K, Rico MC, Devlin H, Bednarik DP, Safadi FF (2004) Expression and function of periostin-isoforms in bone. J Cell Biochem 92:1044–1061PubMedCrossRef 14. Bonnet N, Standley KN,

Bianchi EN, Stadelmann V, Foti M, Conway SJ, Ferrari SL (2009) The matricellular protein periostin is required for sost inhibition and the anabolic response to mechanical loading and physical activity. J Bio Chem 284(51):35939–35950CrossRef 15. Huang QY, Li GH, Kung AW (2009) The −9247 T/C selleck inhibitor polymorphism in the SOST upstream regulatory region that potentially affects C/EBPalpha and FOXA1 binding is associated with osteoporosis. Bone 45(2):289–294PubMedCrossRef 16. Kung AW, Lai BM, Ng MY, Chan V, Sham PC (2006) T-1213 C polymorphism Verteporfin of estrogen receptor beta is associated with low bone mineral density and osteoporotic fractures. Bone 39:1097–1106PubMedCrossRef 17. Cheung CL, Chan BY, Chan V, Ikegawa S, Kou I, Ngai H, Smith D, Luk KD, Huang QY, Mori S, Sham PC, Kung AW (2009) Pre-B-cell leukemia homeobox 1 (PBX1) shows functional and possible genetic association with bone mineral density variation. Hum Mol Genet 18(4):679–687PubMedCrossRef 18. Kung AW,

Xiao SM, Cherny S, Li GH, Gao Y, Tso G, Lau KS, Luk KD, Liu JM, Cui B, Zhang MJ, Zhang ZL, He JW, Yue H, Xia WB, Luo LM, He SL, Kiel DP, Karasik D, Hsu YH, Cupples LA, Demissie S, Styrkarsdottir U, Halldorsson BV, Sigurdsson G, Thorsteinsdottir U, Stefansson K, Richards JB, Zhai G, Soranzo N, Valdes A, Spector TD, Sham PC (2010) Association of JAG1 with bone mineral density and osteoporotic fractures: a genome-wide association study and follow-up replication studies. Am J Hum Genet 86(2):229–239PubMedCrossRef 19. Kung AW, Lee KK, Ho AY, Tang G, Luk KD (2007) Ten-year risk of osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal Chinese women according to clinical risk factors and BMD T-scores: a prospective study. J Bone Miner Res 22:1080–1087PubMedCrossRef 20.

The between-run CV was 4.6% at 53 nmol/L and 9.9% at 28 nmol/L. We defined 25OHD3

levels <50 nmol/L (20 ng/mL) as being vitamin D deficient. Statistical analyses Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 17.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). For univariate comparison, 25OHD levels were stratified in two groups C188-9 ic50 (vitamin D deficiency, <50 nmol/L, and adequate vitamin D status, ≥50 nmol/L). Univariate statistical analyses were performed by using a parametric test (unpaired t test) when a normal distribution was present and, when in order, a non-parametric test (Mann–Whitney U) to assess significant associations between the stated continuous determinants and the various groups (CD patients vs. UC patients, and vitamin D deficiency vs. adequacy). Categorical determinants were analysed by using Pearson’s Chi-square test (or Fisher’s exact test when expected frequencies were low). Furthermore, quartiles according the 25OHD levels were stratified and assessed using a one-way ANOVA test with a Bonferroni post hoc test as parametric test when a normal distribution was present, and a non-parametric test (Kruskal–Wallis test) when in order to assess significant associations between the stated determinants

and 25OHD quartiles. Mean differences between 25OHD levels in summer and winter were calculated with the non-parametric Wilcoxon signed rank test. In order to identify PARP activity independent risk factors of vitamin D deficiency in summer and

winter, a logistic regression model was used with vitamin D deficiency as dependent factor. All p values >0.10 are noted in the tables as NS (non-significant). not All p DMXAA order values between 0.5 and 0.10 are noted in order to identify non-significant trends. All p values <0.05 were considered as statistically significant. Results In this study, 316 patients with a mean age (±SD) of 48.5 ± 14.8 years were included (Table 1). Fifty-seven percent of the included patients were women. Ninety-seven percent of the patients were of Caucasian ethnicity. The main group of IBD patients was diagnosed with UC (59%). The mean duration of IBD (±SD) was 11.0  ± 9.7 years. Table 1 Baseline characteristics and laboratory results of IBD patients   Total CD patients UC patients p valuea n = 316 n = 131 n = 185 Age, years (SD) 48.5 (14.8) 46.5 (14.7) 49.9 (14.8) 0.046 Women, n (%) 181 (57.3) 84 (64.1) 97 (52.4) 0.039 Postmenopausal state, n (% of women) 71 (39.2) 32 (38.1) 39 (40.2) NS Body mass index, kg/m2 (SD) 25.3 (4.5) 25.5 (4.8) 25.1 (4.3) NS Active IBD, n (%) 160 (50.6) 70 (53.4) 90 (48.6) NS Disease duration IBD, years (SD) 11.0 (9.7) 11.1 (10.0) 11.0 (9.6) NS Exacerbation IBD, episodes/year (SD) 2.7 (2.1) 2.8 (2.2) 2.7 (1.9) NS History of >7.5 mg daily corticosteroid usage for at least 6 months, n (%) 92 (29.1) 38 (29.0) 54 (29.2) NS Daily use of oral vitamin D supplementation, n (%) 106 (33.5) 42 (32.1) 64 (34.6) NS Low dietary calcium intake, n (%) 15 (4.8) 6 (4.6) 9 (4.

The IN route requires delivering small drops of inoculum into one https://www.selleckchem.com/products/Fedratinib-SAR302503-TG101348.html of the nostrils (total volume of 20 μL), and some of this inoculum could be swallowed rather than inhaled. Signal from the stomach never seemed to last

beyond the 6 hpi time point, suggesting that gastric infections with Y. pestis in these mice are cleared quickly. We also observed that the feces of half of the mice produced detectible signal, indicating that Y. pestis was being shed. This was only observed at very early time points (6 hpi), indicating that bacteria were fully shed from the gastrointestinal tract by 24 hpi. In humans, it has been shown that transmission can occur after ingestion of contaminated food [32]. While mice are coprophagous, it is not know whether a fecal-oral route could be a mechanism for Y. pestis to disperse or infect other individuals. Detecting signal from the tip of the nose also opens the question whether bacteria could be transmitted to other individuals with whom food and water are shared. We do not know whether signal from the STA-9090 in vivo stomach or the tip of the nose would still

be present after an aerosol infection, a route that pneumonic plague is assumed to be transmitted in nature. All mice, independent of the presence of signal from the stomach or feces, showed the same progression of infection with comparable levels of signal from the thorax. More importantly, all animals showed signs of disease and mortality at very similar times. This observation suggests that the fraction of the inoculum that may go to the gastrointestinal tract has no effect on the overall pneumonic infection. The low number of mice used during BLI is one of its more important advantages. However, it can also be a disadvantage because of the variability in bacterial load for a specific organ from animal to animal and sudden death, both inherent aspects of plague infections. The differences in the levels of significance from time point to time point when comparing radiance values between the wild type and double mutant infected animals are due to this high variability of bacterial load and death. Despite these challenges,

we found that BLI is a suitable method for studying dissemination/colonization of Y. pestis in three separate models of plague, and that significant differences in radiance could be detected click here between wild type and a mutant of modest attenuation using relatively few mice. Conclusions We used BLI to follow bacterial selleckchem dissemination in mice after SC, ID and IN infections. The dissemination patterns we describe are fully consistent with dissemination and colonization data that has been reported for bubonic and pneumonic plague experiments that describe bacterial burden in specific organs after infection. In addition, we found lower levels of signal from a mutant with established defects in colonization and dissemination in comparison to a wild type strain, indicating that this will be a useful technique for mutational analysis.

19 ± 0.83 −3.13 ± 0.90 −3.14 ± 0.85 Sweat rate A (L.h-1) −1.94 ± 0.48 −1.91 ± 0.48 −1.92 ± 0.47 Total fluid consumed B (L) 2.18 ± 0.74 3.22 ± 1.24* 3.24 ± 1.25* Total urine volume C (L) 1.71 ± 0.34 1.51 ± 0.30 1.20 ± 0.36 *# Note: A represents n=11; pre to post time trial, B represents fluids consumed from −180 min prior to the time trial until the end of the time trial, C represents urine volume collected from −150 min prior to the LY2874455 ic50 time trial until immediately after the

time trial, * represents substantial difference to CON (P<0.05), # represents substantial difference between PC and PC+G treatments (P=0.03). Figure 2 Volume of urine output (a) and urine specific gravity (b) throughout the experimental trial. Significant time effects from t=−150 min before TT are denoted by dark symbols. Significant treatment effect of PC+G compared with CON denoted with star symbol (*2). Time trial denoted by black bar. There was no significant change in the rating of thermal comfort after subjects had entered the heat chamber to stabilize to the hot and humid conditions for 60 min (t=−120 to −60 min pre TT, Figure 3a). However,

once precooling commenced (t=−60 min before the time trial), the rating of thermal comfort was significantly reduced, such that subjects reported feeling cooler when treated with PC and PC+G (t=−55 to −25 min before time trial, P505-15 P<0.05). There was no significant change in ratings of perceived stomach fullness (Figure 3b) across the three trials, however, there were significant interactions (P<0.05, Figure 3c) detected in RPE throughout the first 17 km of the time trial (Climb 1 and the first 4.5 km of descent 1). Figure 3 Subjective ratings of comfort. Thermal comfort (a), stomach fullness (b). and rating of perceived exertion (c). Significant time effects from t=−65 min before TT are denoted Nintedanib (BIBF 1120) by dark symbols. Significant effects of precooling treatment (1; PC and 2; PC+G) compared with CON are denoted by a star symbol (*1,*2, respectively). Subjective information provided by each subject at the completion of each trial are presented in Table 3. These data suggest that subjects’

perceived level of effort, sensations, motivation and comfort experienced, were similar across all trials. Table 3 Subjective information on completion of time click here trials Theme CON PC PC + G   (mean ± SD) (mean ± SD) (mean ± SDcpa Effort given (%) 94 ± 10 95 ± 6 98 ± 4 Sensation (Arbitrary value) 4.0 ± 0.9 3.8 ± 1.1 3.8 ± 0.8 Motivation (Arbitrary value) 4.6 ± 1.4 4.9 ± 1.2 5.2 ± 0.7 Comfort (Arbitrary value) 2.4 ± 1.2 2.5 ± 0.9 2.9 ± 0.7 Note: All comparisons P>0.05. Discussion The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effectiveness of combining glycerol hyperhydration and a practical precooling strategy on performance during a cycling time trial that simulated a real-life event in hot and humid environmental conditions.

Louis C, Drif L, Vago C: Mise en évidence et étude ultrastructurale de procaryotes de type rickettsien dans les glandes salivaires des Triatomidae (Heteroptera) = Evidence and ultrastructural study of Rickettsia -like prokaryotes in salivary glands WH-4-023 of Triatomidae (Heteroptera). Ann Soc Entomol Fr 1986, 22:153–162. 7. Hypša V, Dale C: In vitro culture and phylogenetic analysis of “”Candidatus Arsenophonus triatominarum , “” an intracellular bacterium from the triatomine bug, Triatoma infestans. Int J Syst

Bacteriol 1997, 47:1140–1144.CrossRefPubMed 8. Zreik L, Bove JM, Garnier M: Phylogenetic characterization of the bacterium-like organism associated with marginal chlorosis of strawberry and proposition of a Candidatus taxon for the organism, ‘Candidatus Phlomobacter fragariae ‘. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1998, 48:257–261.CrossRefPubMed 9. Spaulding AW, von Dohlen CD: Psyllid endosymbionts exhibit patterns of co-speciation with hosts and destabilizing substitutions in ribosomal RNA. Insect Mol Biol 2001, 10:57–67.CrossRefPubMed 10. Subandiyah Autophagy Compound Library S, Nikoh N, Tsuyumu S, Somowiyarjo S, Fukatsu T: Complex endosymbiotic microbiota of the citrus psyllid Diaphorina citri (Homoptera: Psylloidea). Zool Science 2000, 17:983–989.CrossRef 11. Thao ML, Moran NA, Abbot P, Brennan EB, Burckhardt DH, Baumann P: Cospeciation of psyllids and their primary prokaryotic endosymbionts. App Environ Microbiol 2000, 66:2898–2905.CrossRef

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95:711–718.CrossRef 15. Thao MLL, STK38 Baumann P: Evidence for multiple acquisition of Arsenophonus by whitefly species (Sternorrhyncha: Aleyrodidae). Curr Microbiol 2004, 48:140–144.CrossRefPubMed 16. Dale C, Beeton M, Harbison C, Jones T, Pontes M: Isolation, pure culture, and characterization of “”Candidatus Arsenophonus arthropodicus , “” an intracellular secondary endosymbiont from the hippoboscid louse fly Pseudolynchia canariensis. App Environ Microbiol 2006, 72:2997–3004.CrossRef 17. Dunn AK, Stabb EV: Culture-independent characterization of the microbiota of the ant lion Myrmeleon mobilis (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae). App Environ Microbiol 2005, 71:8784–8794.CrossRef 18. Allen JM, Reed DL, Perotti MA, Braig HR: Evolutionary relationships of “”Candidatus Riesia spp.,”" endosymbiotic Enterobacteriaceae living within hematophagous primate lice. App Environ Microbiol 2007, 73:1659–1664.CrossRef 19.

0–98.6)* Negative/positive identification by conventional methods 2 108 Specificity 98% (93.6–99.5)* * Calculations are conducted according to CLSI recommendations. # Initial sensitivity of 82% was observed. Discussion Microarrays are widely used in gene expression and genotyping applications in research

settings but their use in diagnostics is still rare. Nevertheless, microarray technology and DNA-based approaches are believed to have great clinical potential in the field of infectious diseases [17]. In RGFP966 this study, we described a combined PCR- and microarray-based assay for the rapid and reliable detection of A. baumannii, E. faecalis, E. faecium, H. influenzae, K. pneumoniae, L. monocytogenes, N. meningitidis, S. aureus, S. epidermidis, S. agalactiae, S. pneumoniae, S. pyogenes and selected CNS (non-S. Vactosertib epidermidis) species. In this study, we introduced a novel multiplex-PCR method that first produces dsDNA exponentially, after which ssDNA is produced in a linear manner. During the linear phase, the high annealing temperature allows only the reverse primer to function due to the Tm PLX-4720 in vivo difference between forward and reverse primers. Thus the whole PCR procedure

can be conveniently performed in a single multiplex PCR amplification reaction without manual involvement. In our method, sufficient quantities of ssDNA are produced during the PCR reaction. Consequently, the conventional methods such as alkali or heat treatment, Liothyronine Sodium or asymmetric PCR are rendered unnecessary for generating a single

stranded target for microarray hybridization [18, 19]. Our method, therefore, enables a rapid protocol for assay as hybridization can be performed immediately after the PCR step. A similar type of PCR method has been developed by Zhu et al. (2007) [20]. These authors used forward primers tagged with an unrelated universal sequence at the 5′ end to create the necessary Tm difference between the forward and reverse primer. In contrast to the method of Zhu et al. (2007) [20] the temperature difference in our method is achieved by target-specific primers that enable rapid PCR cycling. In this study, we used our method for the multiplex amplification of the gyrB and mecA genes. The gyrB gene region has been shown to be capable of discrimination when identifying closely related bacterial species [6, 7]. When the specificity of our assay was evaluated using nucleic acid from 70 different untargeted bacteria, only one cross-reaction was observed: Klebsiella pneumoniae subsp. ozeanae was reported as Klebsiella pneumoniae subsp. pneumoniae. In addition to the gyrB gene, the 16S rRNA gene has been used in bacterial speciation, partly due to the large number of microbial 16S rDNA sequences available in the public databases [5, 21]. In this study, the 16S rRNA gene and the corresponding public databases were used to study objectively any discrepancies in bacterial identification between the compared methods.

Several methodologies exist for the construction of phylogenetic trees: single gene trees, trees based on concatenated gene sequences, gene content trees, and gene order trees. Phylogenetic trees based on single genes are unlikely to provide an accurate lineage of the serovars because of horizontal gene transfer among ureaplasmas. We find extensive horizontal gene transfer among clinical isolates relative to the 14 ATCC type strains [26]. Another challenge of building intra-species phylogenetic

trees based on a single gene is that the primary nucleotide sequences of the genes conserved among all ureaplasma serovars/strains have such a high percentage of identity that there are not enough informative positions in the multiple sequence alignment to provide

EGFR inhibitor a resolution capability with high confidence. A gene content tree is based on a multiple sequence alignment in which each sequence (line) represents PR-171 in vivo the genome of a strain and each position (column) in the multiple sequence alignment signifies the presence or absence of a gene in the strain. Therefore, such a tree has a binary nature (presence = 1, absence = 0). The pan genome of ureaplasmas generates a relatively short multiple sequence alignment: 1020 positions for 1020 genes in the pan genome. Therefore, a gene content tree of ureaplasma strains does not have the fine resolution capability of a phylogenetic tree based on nucleotide sequences. This can be noted in the low bootstrap values of the deep nodes of the gene content tree based

on the pan genome (Additional file 4: Table S1). We did not attempt to construct a gene order tree, because the majority of the P-type ATPase genomes are in multiple pieces, thus making it hard to judge the gene order in these genomes. Phylogenetic trees of ureaplasmas have been published previously, showing clear separation of the parvum and urealyticum species [27, 28]. The conserved buy OSI-906 domain of the mba genes has been used to generate a phylogenetic tree to resolve the relationship of serovars [5, 29]. We reconstructed the mba conserved domain tree using the first 430 nucleotides of the mba gene of all 19 strains (Figure  3). We also present a phylogenetic tree (Figure  4) based on the information of the nucleotide sequence of 82 housekeeping genes forming four groups: 1) 16 tRNA ligase genes 2) 12 RNA and DNA polymerase genes, 3) 47 ribosomal protein genes, and 4) 7 ureases. The clades of the multigene tree are very similar to the clades of the previously published mba based tree; however, the deep nodes of the two trees show some differences.