Phylogenetic analysis and phenotypic characterization were used to assign a multicellular magnetotactic prokaryote the name ‘Candidatus Magnetoglobus multicellularis’. ‘Candidatus Magnetoglobus multicellularis' lives in a large hypersaline coastal lagoon from Brazil and has properties that are unique among prokaryotes. It consists of a compact assembly or aggregate of flagellated bacterial cells, highly organized in a sphere, that swim in either helical or straight trajectories. The life cycle of ‘Candidatus Magnetoglobus multicellularis' is completely multicellular, in which one aggregate grows by enlarging the size of its cells and approximately doubling the volume of the whole organism. Cells then divide synchronously, maintaining the spherical arrangement; finally the cells separate into two identical aggregates. Phylogenetic 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that ‘Candidatus Magnetoglobus multicellularis' is related to the dissimilatory sulfate-reducing bacteria within the Deltaproteobacteria and to other previously described, but not yet well characterized, multicellular magnetotactic prokaryotes.

Most multicellular organisms, prokaryotes as well as animals, plants, and algae have a unicellular stage in their life cycle. Here, we describe an uncultured prokaryotic magnetotactic multicellular organism that reproduces by binary fission. It is multicellular in all the stages of its life cycle, and during most of the life cycle the cells organize into a hollow sphere formed by a functionally coordinated and polarized single-cell layer that grows by increasing the cell size. Subsequently, all the cells divide synchronously; the organism becomes elliptical, and separates into two equal spheres with a torsional movement in the equatorial plane. Unicellular bacteria similar to the cells that compose these organisms have not been found. Molecular biology analysis showed that all the organisms studied belong to a single genetic population phylogenetically related to many-celled magnetotactic prokaryotes in the delta sub-group of the proteobacteria. This appears to be the first report of a multicellular prokaryotic organism that proliferates by dividing into two equal multicellular organisms each similar to the parent one.

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Several calpain inhibitors are under development and some are useful agents against important human pathogens. We therefore investigated the effect of MDL 28170, a potent calpain inhibitor, on the growth of Leishmania amazonensis. After 48 h of treatment, the inhibitor exhibited a dose-dependent antileishmanial activity, with a 50% lethal dose (LD(50)) of 23.3 microM. The inhibitor promoted cellular alterations, such as the parasites becoming short and round. A calpain-like protein migrating at 80 kDa was identified by Western blotting. In addition, the calpain-like molecules were identified on the cell surface of the flagellate. These results add new in vitro insights into the exploitation of calpain inhibitors in treating parasitic infections and add this family of peptidases to the list of potential targets for development of more potent and specific inhibitors against trypanosomatids.

Analytical strategies based on NMR ( 1 H and 13 C), IR (infrared), and GC (gas chromatography) techniques have been developed for the molecular level characterization of Soxhlet and ultrasonic solvent extracts of yeast biomass samples generated on a lab scale by different yeast, feed, and diverse culture conditions, with an objective to explore biodiesel potential. The extraction efficiency of each solvent (cyclohexane, chloroform, methanol) toward extraction of neutral lipids (total glycerides (TG), free fatty acids (FFA), and polar lipids have been determined and compared with regards to the nature of fatty acid components extracted in each solvent fractions. The fatty acid composition of yeast extracts has been found to be similar to vegetable oils, mostly rich in C16:0, 18:0, and C18:N (N = 1−3) fatty acids as indicated by the combined NMR, GC, and GC-MS analyses. The analytical protocol developed has established that 1 H NMR techniques can be used directly and rapidly without any sample treatment and prior separation to determine total neutral lipid content (TG, FFA), nature of fatty acids/ester, polyunsaturated fatty esters (PUFE), iodine value, etc. NMR results of nature of unsaturated fatty acids/esters (C18:N, N = 1−3) have been validated by GC and GC-MS analyses. The results have shown the presence of C18:1 and C18:2 as the predominant unsaturated fatty acid components besides common saturated fatty acids. The content and composition of biomass has been found to be specific to types of yeast and feed used for cultivation. The NMR methods offer great potential for rapid screening of yeast for generation of yeast biomass with desired lipid content, quality, and biodiesel potential and value added PUFE, keeping in view of the cost economics of overall generation cost of the biomass.