25 documents found, page 1 of 3
PhageDPO: A machine-learning based computational framework for identifying phag...
Vieira, Maria Fernanda; Duarte, José; Domingues, Rita; Oliveira, Hugo Alexandre Mendes; Dias, OscarBacteriophages (phages) are the most predominant and genetically diverse biological entities on Earth. Phages are viruses that infect bacteria and encode numerous proteins with potential biotechnological application. However, most phage-encoded proteins remain functionally uncharacterized. Depolymerases (DPOs) in particular, enzymes that degrade external polysaccharide structures, have garnered increasing inter...
Molecular detection of carbapenemases in Acinetobacter baumannii strains of Por...
Domingues, Rita; Oliveira, Ricardo; Silva, Sónia Carina; Araújo, Daniela; Almeida, Carina; Cho, Gyu-Sung; Franz, Charles M. A. P.; Saavedra, Maria JoséPurpose: Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) is an important nosocomial pathogen. The capsular type (K-type) is considered a major virulence factor, contributing to the evasion of host defenses. The global spread and dissemination dynamics between K-types, sequence types (ST), antibiotic resistance genes, and virulence factors remain largely unknown in Portugal. Methods: A collection of 96 CRAB ...
Evaluation of the responsiveness pattern to caffeine through a smart data-drive...
Domingues, Rita; Batista, Patrícia; Pintado, Manuela; Oliveira-Silva, Patrícia; Rodrigues, Pedro MiguelThis study aimed to explore more efficient ways of administering caffeine to the body by investigating the impact of caffeine on the modulation of the nervous system's activity through the analysis of electrocardiographic signals (ECG). An ECG non-linear multi-band analysis using Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) was employed to extract various features from healthy individuals exposed to different caffeine cons...
Growth and grazing mortality of microbial plankton in a shallow temperate Coast...
Santos, Yohann; Mosley, Benjamin A.; Nogueira, Patricia; Galvão, Helena; Domingues, RitaMicrozooplankton grazing is widely recognized as an important process of heterotrophic prokaryote and phytoplankton biomass removal. However, few studies have specifically addressed microbial mortality in the Ria Formosa coastal lagoon. This study aimed to assess the growth and mortality of heterotrophic prokaryotes and phytoplankton in this ecosystem using the dilution technique. The results revealed significa...
Advances in the diversity of Acinetobacter phage-encoded capsular depolymerases
Oliveira, Hugo Alexandre Mendes; Domingues, Rita; Vieira, Maria; Gomes, Marta; Dias, Oscar; Azeredo, Joana[Excerpt] Introduction: Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) are bacteria resistant to nearly all antibiotics and difficult to remove from the environment. This bacterium displays diverse capsule types (K-types) to protect themselves from environmental pressures, including viral predation. In turn, bacteriophages have evolved to encode capsular depolymerases to recognize specific K-types, making ...
CkP1 bacteriophage, a S16-like myovirus that recognizes Citrobacter koseri lipo...
Oliveira, Hugo Alexandre Mendes; Santos, Sílvio Roberto Branco; Pires, Diana Priscila Penso; Boeckaerts, Dimitri; Pinto, Graça; Domingues, RitaCitrobacter koseri is an emerging Gram-negative bacterial pathogen, which causes urinary tract infections. We isolated and characterized a novel S16-like myovirus CKP1 (vB\_CkoM\\_CkP1), infecting C. koseri. CkP1 has a host range covering the whole C. koseri species, i.e., all strains that were tested, but does not infect other species. Its linear 168,463-bp genome contains 291 coding sequences, sharing sequenc...
Impacts of sample storage time on estimates of phytoplankton abundance: how lon...
Nogueira, Patricia; Barbosa, Ana; Domingues, RitaPhytoplankton play a key role in marine ecosystems, making the accurate quantification of functional groups/species, using standardized microscopy techniques, essential in many research efforts. In this study we aimed to evaluate the effects of (a) storage time on the abundance of microphytoplankton in samples fixed with acid Lugol’s solution; (b) storage time on the abundance of pico- and nanophytoplankton in ...
Short-term effects of climate change on Planktonic Heterotrophic Prokaryotes in...
Barbosa, Ana; Mosley, Benjamin A.; Galvão, Helena; Domingues, RitaPlanktonic heterotrophic prokaryotes (HProks) are a pivotal functional group in marine ecosystems and are highly sensitive to environmental variability and climate change. This study aimed to investigate the short-term effects of increasing carbon dioxide (CO2 ), ultraviolet radiation (UVR), and temperature on natural assemblages of HProks in the Ria Formosa coastal lagoon during winter. Two multi-stressor micr...
Genomic diversity of bacteriophages infecting the genus Acinetobacter
Oliveira, Hugo Alexandre Mendes; Domingues, Rita; Evans, Benjamin; Sutton, J. Mark; Adriaenssens, Evelien M.; Turner, DannThe number of sequenced Acinetobacter phage genomes in the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration has increased significantly in recent years, from 37 in 2017 to a total of 139 as of January 2021 with genome sizes ranging from 31 to 378 kb. Here, we explored the genetic diversity of the Acinetobacter phages using comparative genomics approaches that included assessment of nucleotide similarity...
The acinetobacter baumannii SOS gene ddrR is crucial for prophage maintenance a...
Monteiro, Rodrigo Pimenta Oliveira; Melo, Luís Daniel Rodrigues; Domingues, Rita; Oliveira, Hugo Alexandre Mendes; van Dijl, Jan Maarten; Azeredo, JoanaAcinetobacter baumannii, considered a number one priority pathogen by WHO, is threatening hospitals due to its high ability to acquire antibiotic resistance. We have recently shown that mobile elements, such as prophages, are highly prevalent and encode several fitness/virulence-related genes, suggesting that they may serve as vectors for the spread of virulence. Here, we want to understand how stress factors i...