Adlercreutzia equolifaciens gen. nov., sp. nov., an equol-producing bacterium isolated from human faeces, and emended description of the genus Eggerthella Nine strains capable of metabolizing isoflavones to equol were isolated from human faeces. Four of the strains were characterized by determining phenotypic and biochemical features and their phylogenetic position based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. These strains were related to Eggerthella sinensis HKU14 T with about 93 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity; they were asaccharolytic, obligately anaerobic, non-spore-forming, non-motile and Gram-positive coccobacilli. In enzyme activity tests, arginine dihydrolase, arginine and leucine arylamidases were positive but nitrate reduction, urease and b-glucosidase were negative. The major menaquinone was DMMK-6 (dimethylmenaquinone-6), while that of members of the genus Eggerthella was MMK-6 (methylmenaquinone-6). Furthermore, the cell-wall peptidoglycan type of these strains was A1c, while that of members of the genus Eggerthella was A4c. On the basis of these data, a new genus, Adlercreutzia gen. nov., is proposed with one species, Adlercreutzia equolifaciens sp. , 2006). We isolated nine strains capable of metabolizing isoflavones to equol from human faeces. Seven of these strains could metabolize daidzein via dihydrodaidzein to equol, while the other two isolates could metabolize only dihydrodaidzein to equol. These strains were divided into four groups by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Representative strains selected from each group were asaccharolytic, obligately anaerobic, non-spore-forming, non-motile and Gram-positive coccobacilli. Although these strains were genetically related to the genus Eggerthella, they did not belong to the genera Eggerthella, Slackia or Denitrobacterium from 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis.The presence of dimethylmenaquinone-6 (DMMK-6) as the predominant menaquinone of these strains is unique. Furthermore, the cell-wall peptidoglycan type of these strains was A1c, while that of members of the genus Eggerthella was A4c.Strains FJC-A10, FJC-A161, FJC-B9 T , FJC-B12, FJC-B15, FJC-B19, FJC-B20, FJC-D47 and FJC-D53 were cultivated for 3 days at 37 u C on BL agar (Nissui) with 5 % (v/v) horse blood. Coriobacterium glomerans JCM 10262 T was cultivated for 2 days at 30 u C on GAM agar (Nissui). Detailed menaquinone and fatty acid profiles of representative strains and related type strains and minimum-evolution and maximumparsimony 16S rRNA gene sequence-based trees are available as supplementary material with the online version of this paper.

AMPA receptor (AMPA-R) complexes consist of channel forming subunits, GluA1–4 and auxiliary proteins including TARPs, CNIHs, synDIG1, and CKAMP44, which can modulate AMPA-R function in specific ways. Combinatorial effects of four GluA subunits binding to various auxiliary subunits amplify the functional diversity of AMPA-Rs. The significance and magnitude of molecular diversity, however, remain elusive. To gain insight into the molecular complexity of AMPA and kainate receptors (KA-Rs), we compared the proteins that co-purify with each receptor type in rat brain. This interactome study identified the majority of known interacting proteins and more importantly, provides novel candidates for further studies. We validate the claudin homologue GSG1L as a novel binding protein and unique modulator of AMPA-R gating, as determined by detailed molecular, cellular, electrophysiological, and biochemical experiments. GSG1L extends the functional variety of AMPA-R complexes and further investigation of other candidates may reveal additional complexity of ionotropic glutamate receptor function.

Subunit assembly governs regulation of AMPA receptor (AMPA-R) synaptic delivery and determines biophysical parameters of the ion channel. However, little is known about the molecular pathways of this process. Here, we present single-particle EM three-dimensional structures of dimeric biosynthetic intermediates of the GluA2 subunit of AMPA-Rs. Consistent with the structures of intact tetramers, the N-terminal domains of the biosynthetic intermediates form dimers. Transmembrane domains also dimerize despite the two ligandbinding domains (LBDs) being separated. A significant difference was detected between the dimeric structures of the wild type and the L504Y mutant, a point mutation that blocks receptor trafficking and desensitization. In contrast to the wild type, whose LBD is separated, the LBD of the L504Y mutant was detected as a single density. Our results provide direct structural evidence that separation of the LBD within the intact dimeric subunits is critical for efficient tetramerization in the endoplasmic reticulum and further trafficking of AMPARs. The contribution of stargazin on the subunit assembly of AMPA-R was examined. Our data suggest that stargazin affects AMPA-R trafficking at a later stage of receptor maturation.

Highlights d Most mouse Cre driver lines tested exhibited variable rates of germline recombination d Germline recombination exhibits parental sex bias and target locus selectivity d Similar principles apply to multiple organisms and recombinase systems d Guidelines are provided for detecting and minimizing unwanted germline recombination

We used microarrays carrying most of the genes that are developmentally regulated in Dictyostelium to discover those that are preferentially expressed in prestalk cells. Prestalk cells are localized at the front of slugs and play crucial roles in morphogenesis and slug migration. Using whole-mount in situ hybridization, we were able to verify 104 prestalk genes. Three of these were found to be expressed only in cells at the very front of slugs, the PstA cell type. Another 10 genes were found to be expressed in the small number of cells that form a central core at the anterior, the PstAB cell type. The rest of the prestalk-specific genes are expressed in PstO cells, which are found immediately posterior to PstA cells but anterior to 80% of the slug that consists of prespore cells. Half of these are also expressed in PstA cells. At later stages of development, the patterns of expression of a considerable number of these prestalk genes changes significantly, allowing us to further subdivide them. Some are expressed at much higher levels during culmination, while others are repressed. These results demonstrate the extremely dynamic nature of cell-type-specific expression in Dictyostelium and further define the changing physiology of the cell types. One of the signals that affect gene expression in PstO cells is the hexaphenone DIF-1. We found that expression of about half of the PstO-specific genes were affected in a mutant that is unable to synthesize DIF-1, while the rest appeared to be DIF independent. These results indicate that differentiation of some aspects of PstO cells can occur in the absence of DIF-1.