We have previously shown that Mkp-1deficient mice produce elevated TNF-a, IL-6, and IL-10 following systemic Escherichia coli infection, and they exhibited increased mortality, elevated bacterial burden, and profound metabolic alterations. To understand the function of Mkp-1 during bacterial infection, we performed RNA-sequencing analysis to compare the global gene expression between E. coliinfected wild-type and Mkp-1 2/2 mice. A large number of IFN-stimulated genes were more robustly expressed in E. coliinfected Mkp-1 2/2 mice than in wild-type mice. Multiplex analysis of the serum cytokine levels revealed profound increases in IFN-b, IFN-g, TNF-a, IL-1a and b, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17A, IL-27, and GMSF levels in E. coliinfected Mkp-1 2/2 mice relative to wildtype mice. Administration of a neutralizing Ab against the receptor for type I IFN to Mkp-1 2/2 mice prior to E. coli infection augmented mortality and disease severity. Mkp-1 2/2 bone marrowderived macrophages (BMDM) produced higher levels of IFN-b mRNA and protein than did wild-type BMDM upon treatment with LPS, E. coli, polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid, and herring sperm DNA. Augmented IFN-b induction in Mkp-1 2/2 BMDM was blocked by a p38 inhibitor but not by an JNK inhibitor. Enhanced Mkp-1 expression abolished IFN-b induction by both LPS and E. coli but had little effect on the IFN-b promoter activity in LPSstimulated RAW264.7 cells. Mkp-1 deficiency did not have an overt effect on IRF3/7 phosphorylation or IKK activation but modestly enhanced IFN-b mRNA stability in LPS-stimulated BMDM. Our results suggest that Mkp-1 regulates IFN-b production primarily through a p38-mediated mechanism and that IFN-b plays a beneficial role in E. coliinduced sepsis.

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It is common for states across America to adopt official symbols that are used for representation. For example, states may have an official state tree, animal, flower, and song. Ohio has at least 25 state symbols, including a state beverage and a state fossil. At this time it does not yet have a state microbe. There is only one state that currently has an official microbe. Oregon has chosen Saccharomyces cerevisiae, commonly referred to as brewer's and baker's yeast, because of the state's brewing industry and many craft breweries. Three other states have selected a microbe and are pursuing legislation to have the microbe officially recognized. After learning of the stories surrounding the microbes selected in other states, I decided to introduce this as a unique service learning project into my upper‐level microbiology course at Otterbein University. This is a writing intensive course that serves as an upper‐level elective for Biology as well as Biochemistry and Molecular Biology majors. Each student was required to choose a microbe that they felt represented Ohio and write a persuasive paper on the topic. Six of these microbes were then selected for a vote by the general public. While the students in the course learned about many new microbes and fulfilled their writing requirements for the course, the major service goal of the project was to educate the public about microbiology, especially the fact that there are beneficial microbes. Microbes and their beneficial roles were presented to the public in a fun, educational way via social media. This multi‐disciplinary project involved many departments at Otterbein, including Biology and Earth Science, Communication, and History and Political Science, as well as the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Program. The American Society for Microbiology and American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Student Chapters both played a vital role in relaying the information to the public and organizing events. Currently the “Microbe Term Election” is almost finished, and the next step is to write the winning “candidate microbe” into legislation. The “campaign” has been largely successful in its goals and has gained the support of various organizations, colleges and universities throughout Ohio and allowed the participation of the general public, including K‐12 classrooms in the voting process. The service learning initiative will continue throughout the year with a general education microbiology course in Spring 2019. The selection of an official state microbe is anticipated to continue to spark the public interest in microbiology and biochemistry, as people learn how microbes are beneficial and how they fulfill their important roles.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Streptomyces coelicolor is a filamentous, high G‐C (guanine‐cytosine), gram‐positive bacterium that produces an aerial mycelium. The genome consists of a 8,667,507 base pair linear chromosome for this organism and contains the largest number of genes so far discovered in a bacterium. It belongs to the phylum Actinobacteria. In addition, streptomycetes are used to produce the majority of antibiotics in the medical field. This study focuses on the effect of the deletion of Sco5218, which encodes a putative integral membrane protein and Sco5219, which encodes a putative lipoprotein in Streptomyces coelicolor. Both of these genes are found in a potential operon. The goal of this research is to construct the double mutant and discern differences in phenotype compared to the single deletion mutants of each gene. We hypothesize that the double mutant will have an enhanced effect on the sporulation defect of Streptomyces. Sco5218 is believed to contain an HD‐GYP domain through bioinformatics analysis and is highly conserved throughout the Streptomyces genus. The HD‐GYP domain is typically associated with cyclic di‐GMP specific phosphodiesterase activity. Following REDIRECT protocol, the Streptomyces coelicolor cosmid clone was introduced into E. coli via electroporation. PCR was then utilized for the deletion of Sco5218 and Sco5219. This PCR product was run onto a gel and purified. This pure PCR product was then transformed into the plasmid vector which will then be mated into Streptomyces coelicolor. The relevance of this research allows us to see the importance of the HD‐GYP domain in bacteria. We witnessed a slight delay in sporulation with the Sco5218 mutant deletion. With the added deletion of Sco5219 we hypothesize that there will be an enhanced delay in sporulation. If we witness a delay in the sporulation with the double mutant in Streptomyces we can deduce that both genes play a role in bacterial development. These findings will allow us to further delve into the study of other bacteria and have a basis for other orthologs containing the HD‐GYP domain.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.