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House mice ( produce a variable number of major urinary proteins (MUPs), and studies suggest that each individual produces a unique MUP profile that provides a distinctive odor signature controlling individual and kin recognition. This 'barcode hypothesis' requires that MUP urinary profiles show high individual variability within populations and also high individual consistency over time, but tests of these assumptions are lacking. We analyzed urinary MUP profiles of 66 wild-caught house mice from eight populations using isoelectric focusing. We found that MUP profiles of wild male house mice are not individually unique, and though they were highly variable, closer inspection revealed that the variation strongly depended on MUP band type. The prominent ('major) bands were surprisingly homogenous (and hence most MUPs are not polymorphic), but we also found inconspicuous ('minor') bands that were highly variable and therefore potential candidates for individual fingerprints. We also examined changes in urinary MUP profiles of 58 males over time (from 6 to 24 weeks of age), and found that individual MUP profiles and MUP concentration were surprisingly dynamic, and showed significant changes after puberty and during adulthood. Contrary to what we expected, however, the minor bands were the most variable over time, thus no good candidates for individual fingerprints. Although MUP profiles do not provide individual fingerprints, we found that MUP profiles were more similar among siblings than non-kin despite considerable fluctuation. Our findings show that MUP profiles are not highly stable over time, they do not show strong individual clustering, and thus challenge the barcode hypothesis. Within-individual dynamics of MUP profiles indicate a different function of MUPs in individual recognition than previously assumed and advocate an alternative hypothesis ('dynamic changes' hypothesis).

Background As cefiderocol is increasingly being prescribed in clinical practice, it is critical that we understand key mechanisms contributing to acquired resistance to this agent. Methods We report the case of a patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia with an NDM-5 producing Escherichia coli intra-abdominal infection where resistance to cefiderocol evolved approximately 2 weeks after initiating cefiderocol therapy. Through WGS investigations, mRNA expression studies, and EDTA inhibition analysis, we investigate the role of increased NDM-5 production and genetic mutations contributing to the development of cefiderocol resistance using 5 sequential clinical E. coli isolates obtained from the patient. Results blaNDM-5 genes were identified in all 5 isolates. Cefiderocol MICs were 2, 4, and >32 mcg/mL for isolates 1-2, 3, 4-5, respectively. WGS showed that isolates 1-3 contained a single copy of the blaNDM-5 gene, whereas isolates 4 and 5 had 5 copies and 10 copies of the blaNDM-5 gene on an IncFIA/FIB/IncFII plasmid, respectively. These findings correlated with NDM-5 mRNA expression analysis in which isolates 4 and 5 expressed NDM 1.7x and 2.8x greater than isolate 1. Synergy testing with the combination of ceftazidime-avibactam and aztreonam demonstrated expansion of the zone of inhibition between the disks for all isolates. The patient was eventually successfully treated with this combination and remained infection free 10 months later. Conclusions Our patient’s case suggests that increased copy numbers of bla NDM genes through translocation events is used by Enterobacterales to evade cefiderocol-mediated cell death. The frequency of increased NDM expression in contributing to cefiderocol resistance needs investigation.

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Spike-In RNA variants (SIRVs) enable for the first time the validation of RNA sequencing workflows using external isoform transcript controls. 69 transcripts, derived from seven human model genes, cover the eukaryotic transcriptome complexity of start-and end-site variations, alternative splicing, overlapping genes, and antisense transcription in a condensed format. Reference RNA samples were spiked with SIRV mixes, sequenced, and exemplarily four data evaluation pipelines were challenged to account for biases introduced by the RNA-Seq workflow. The deviations of the respective isoform quantifications from the known inputs allow to determine the comparability of sequencing experiments and to extrapolate to which degree alterations in an RNA-Seq workflow affect gene expression measurements. The SIRVs as external isoform controls are an important gauge for inter-experimental comparability and a modular spike-in contribution to clear the way for diagnostic RNA-Seq applications.