| 1. |
- Sjöstrand, Dan, et al.
(författare)
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Disruption of the GDNF Binding Site in NCAM DissociatesLigand Binding and Homophilic Cell Adhesion
- 2007
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Ingår i: Journal of Biological Chemistry. - Bethesda, MD : American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. - 0021-9258 .- 1083-351X. ; 282:17, s. 12734-12740
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Most plasma membrane proteins are capable of sensing multiple cell-cell and cell-ligand interactions, but the extent towhich this functional versatility is founded on their modular design is less clear. We have identified the third immunoglobulin domain of the Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule (NCAM) as the necessary and sufficient determinant for its interaction with Glial Cell Line-derived Neurotrophic Factor (GDNF). Four charged contacts were identified by molecular modeling as the main contributors to binding energy. Their mutation abolished GDNF binding to NCAM but left intact the ability of NCAM tomediate cell adhesion, indicating that the two functions are genetically separable. The GDNF-NCAM interface allows complex formation with the GDNF family receptor α1, shedding light on the molecular architecture of a multicomponent GDNF receptor.
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| 2. |
- Tofigh, Ali, et al.
(författare)
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Detecting LGTs using a novel probabilistic modelintegrating duplications, LGTs, losses, rate variation,and sequence evolution
- 2009
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The debate over the prevalence of lateral gene transfers (LGTs) has been intense.There is now to a large extent consensus around the view that LGT is an important evolutionary force as well as regarding its relative importance across species. This consensus relies, however, mainly on studies of individual gene families.Up until now, the gold standard for identifying LGTs has been phylogenetic methods where LGTs are inferred from incongruities between a species tree andan associated gene tree. Even in cases where there is evidence of LGT, several concerns have often been raised regarding the significance of the evidence. One common concern has been the possibility that other evolutionary events have caused the incongruities. Another has been the significance of the gene trees involved in the inference; there may for instance be alternative, almost equally likely, gene trees that do not provide evidence for LGT. Independently of these concerns, there has been a need for methods that can be used to quantitatively characterize the level of LGT among sets of species, but also for methods able to pinpoint where in the species tree LGTs have occurred.Here, we provide the first probabilistic model capturing gene duplication, LGT,gene loss, and point mutations with a relaxed molecular clock. We also provide allfundamental algorithms required to analyze a gene family relative to a given speciestree under this model. Our algorithms are based on Markov chain Monte Carlo(MCMC) methodology but build also on techniques from numerical analysis and involve dynamic programming (DP).
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| 3. |
- Unemo, Magnus, et al.
(författare)
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Molecular characterization of Neisseria gonorrhoeae identifies transmission and resistance of one ciprofloxacin-resistant strain
- 2007
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Ingår i: Acta Pathologica, Microbiologica et Immunologica Scandinavica (APMIS). - : Wiley. - 0903-4641 .- 1600-0463. ; 115:3, s. 231-240
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A highly discriminative and objective genetic characterization of N. gonorrhoeae, which increases our knowledge of strain populations in different geographic areas, is crucial for the development of improved control measures. In the present study, conventional phenotypic characterization and genetic characterization by means of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), sequencing of the entire porB gene, N. gonorrhoeae multiantigen sequence typing (NG-MAST), and pyrosequencing of a quinolone resistance determining region (QRDR) of the gyrA gene of Swedish ciprofloxacin-resistant N. gonorrhoeae serovar IB-10 isolates (n=45) were performed. The genetic characterization identified one widely spread ciprofloxacin-resistant N. gonorrhoeae ST147 strain. In addition, isolates with slightly different genetic characteristics, which presumably reflect the ongoing evolution only, were also identified. All the isolates contained single nucleotide polymorphisms in QRDR of the gyrA gene that are highly correlated with ciprofloxacin resistance. Consequently, comprehensive characterization identified the first confirmed large domestic transmission, mainly among young heterosexuals, of one ciprofloxacin-resistant N. gonorrhoeae strain in Swedish society during 2002-2003. In conclusion, a precise, i. e. genetic, characterization for identification of individual strains is a very valuable support to the crucial active surveillance of the epidemiological characteristics and the antibiotic susceptibility of N. gonorrhoeae in the effective treatment of gonorrhoea.
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