Clostridial neurotoxins, including tetanus and botulinum neurotoxins, generally target vertebrates. We show here that this family of toxins has a much broader host spectrum, by identifying PMP1, a clostridial-like neurotoxin that selectively targets anopheline mosquitoes. Isolation of PMP1 from Paraclostridium bifermentans strains collected in anopheline endemic areas on two continents indicates it is widely distributed. The toxin likely evolved from an ancestral form that targets the nervous system of similar organisms, using a common mechanism that disrupts SNARE-mediated exocytosis. It cleaves the mosquito syntaxin and employs a unique receptor recognition strategy. Our research has an important impact on the study of the evolution of clostridial neurotoxins and provides the basis for the use of P. bifermentans strains and PMP1 as innovative, environmentally friendly approaches to reduce malaria through anopheline control.

Helicobacter pylori is the major cause of peptic ulcers and gastric cancer in humans. Treatment involves a two or three drug cocktail, typically including amoxicillin. Increasing levels of resistance to amoxicillin contribute to treatment failures, and higher levels of resistance are believed to be due to multiple genetic mutations. In this study, we examined the progression of spontaneous genetic mutations that contribute to amoxicillin resistance in H. pylori when exposed to increasing concentrations of amoxicillin in vitro. During the selection process, we isolated five strains each of which had progressively higher levels of resistance. Using a whole genome sequencing approach, we identified mutations in a number of genes, notably pbp1, pbp2, hefC, hopC, and hofH, and by sequencing these genes in each isolate we were able to map the order and gradual accumulation of mutations in these isolates. These five isolates, each expressing multiple mutated genes and four transformed strains expressing individually mutated pbp1, hefC, or hofH, were characterized using minimum inhibitory concentrations, amoxicillin uptake, and efflux studies. Our results indicate that mutations in pbp1, hefC, hopC, hofH, and possibly pbp2 contribute to H. pylori high-level amoxicillin resistance. The data also provide evidence for the complexity of the evolution of amoxicillin resistance in H. pylori and indicate that certain families of genes might be more susceptible to amoxicillin resistance mutations than others.

Amoxicillin is commonly used to treat Helicobacter pylori, a major cause of peptic ulcers, stomach cancer, and B-cell mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. Amoxicillin resistance in H. pylori is increasing steadily, especially in developing countries, leading to treatment failures. In this study, we characterize the mechanism of amoxicillin resistance in the U.S. clinical isolate B258. Transformation of amoxicillin-susceptible strain 26695 with the penicillin binding protein 1 gene (pbp1) from B258 increased the amoxicillin resistance of 26695 to equal that of B258, while studies using biotinylated amoxicillin showed a decrease in the binding of amoxicillin to the PBP1 of B258. Transformation with 4 pbp1 fragments, each encompassing several amino acid substitutions, combined with site-directed mutagenesis studies, identified 3 amino acid substitutions in PBP1 of B258 which affected amoxicillin susceptibility (Val 469 Met, Phe 473 Leu, and Ser 543 Arg). Homology modeling showed the spatial orientation of these specific amino acid changes in PBP1 from 26695 and B258. The results of these studies demonstrate that amoxicillin resistance in the clinical U.S. isolate B258 is due solely to an altered PBP1 protein with a lower binding affinity for amoxicillin. Homology modeling analyses using previously identified amino acid substitutions of amoxicillin-resistant PBP1s demonstrate the importance of specific amino acid substitutions in PBP1 that affect the binding of amoxicillin in the putative binding cleft, defining those substitutions deemed most important in amoxicillin resistance.

The management and control of mosquito vectors of human disease currently rely primarily on chemical insecticides. However, larvicidal treatments can be effective, and if based on biological insecticides, they can also ameliorate the risk posed to human health by chemical insecticides. The aerobic bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis and Lysinibacillus sphaericus have been used for vector control for a number of decades. But a more cost-effective use would be an anaerobic bacterium because of the ease with which these can be cultured. More recently, the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium bifermentans subsp. malaysia has been reported to have high mosquitocidal activity, and a number of proteins were identified as potentially mosquitocidal. However, the cloned proteins showed no mosquitocidal activity. We show here that four toxins encoded by the Cry operon, Cry16A, Cry17A, Cbm17.1, and Cbm17.2, are all required for toxicity, and these toxins collectively show remarkable selectivity for Aedes rather than Anopheles mosquitoes, even though C. bifermentans subsp. malaysia is more toxic to Anopheles. Hence, toxins that target Anopheles are different from those expressed by the Cry operon.

The urban scape of Faisalabad is shaped by factors that have affected the urban story of Pakistan in general, and that of the city in particular. At the national level, these include the development of the irrigation system in the late nineteenth century, followed by partition of India and the mass migration of over a million people into the new country, industrialization in the 1960s, Indo-Pak and Afghan wars, massive natural disasters (floods and earthquakes) and the war on terrorism in Afghanistan; each of these events coupled with the natural increase in population and rural to urban migration have led to irreversible migration of people into the cities of Pakistan. Against this background, Faisalabad’s centrality in location and nearness to various transport nodes have given rise to several unprecedented challenges not only in the form of unplanned sprawl but also in the form of shortage of water, housing and sanitation facilities. This profile examines the unique challenges and opportunities that are city specific as well as those that afflict other similar cities in Pakistan or any city in the developing world. This discussion is expected to help draw lessons and provide solutions to manage cities. The profile also examines the city’s unique features and comparative advantages, to assess its potential for future growth, so that Faisalabad is equipped to compete with other large cities in Pakistan and also within the region.