RESUMO
The scientific publication landscape is changing quickly, with an enormous increase in options and models. Articles can be published in a complex variety of journals that differ in their presentation format (online-only or in-print), editorial organizations that maintain them (commercial and/or society-based), editorial handling (academic or professional editors), editorial board composition (academic or professional), payment options to cover editorial costs (open access or pay-to-read), indexation, visibility, branding, and other aspects. Additionally, online submissions of non-revised versions of manuscripts prior to seeking publication in a peer-reviewed journal (a practice known as pre-printing) are a growing trend in biological sciences. In this changing landscape, researchers in biochemistry and molecular biology must re-think their priorities in terms of scientific output dissemination. The evaluation processes and institutional funding for scientific publications should also be revised accordingly. This article presents the results of discussions within the Department of Biochemistry, University of São Paulo, on this subject.
Assuntos
Bioquímica , Biologia Molecular , Publicações Periódicas como Assunto/estatística & dados numéricos , Editoração/tendências , Pesquisa , Brasil , Humanos , Publicações Periódicas como Assunto/normas , Publicações Periódicas como Assunto/tendênciasRESUMO
The scientific publication landscape is changing quickly, with an enormous increase in options and models. Articles can be published in a complex variety of journals that differ in their presentation format (online-only or in-print), editorial organizations that maintain them (commercial and/or society-based), editorial handling (academic or professional editors), editorial board composition (academic or professional), payment options to cover editorial costs (open access or pay-to-read), indexation, visibility, branding, and other aspects. Additionally, online submissions of non-revised versions of manuscripts prior to seeking publication in a peer-reviewed journal (a practice known as pre-printing) are a growing trend in biological sciences. In this changing landscape, researchers in biochemistry and molecular biology must re-think their priorities in terms of scientific output dissemination. The evaluation processes and institutional funding for scientific publications should also be revised accordingly. This article presents the results of discussions within the Department of Biochemistry, University of São Paulo, on this subject.
Assuntos
Humanos , Publicações Periódicas como Assunto/estatística & dados numéricos , Editoração/tendências , Pesquisa , Bioquímica , Biologia Molecular , Publicações Periódicas como Assunto/normas , Publicações Periódicas como Assunto/tendências , BrasilRESUMO
The intestinal microbiota, a barrier to the establishment of pathogenic bacteria, is also an important reservoir of opportunistic pathogens. It plays a key role in the process of resistance-genes dissemination, commonly carried by specialized genetic elements, like plasmids, phages, and conjugative transposons. We obtained from strains of enterobacteria, isolated from faeces of newborns in a university hospital nursery, indication of phenotypical gentamicin resistance amplification (frequencies of 10(-3) to 10(-5), compatible with transposition frequencies). Southern blotting assays showed strong hybridization signals for both plasmidial and chromosomal regions in DNA extracted from variants selected at high gentamicin concentrations, using as a probe a labeled cloned insert containing aminoglycoside modifying enzyme (AME) gene sequence originated from a plasmid of a Klebsiella pneumoniae strain previously isolated in the same hospital. Further, we found indications of inactivation to other resistance genes in variants selected under similar conditions, as well as, indications of co-amplification of other AME markers (amikacin). Since the intestinal environment is a scenario of selective processes due to the therapeutic and prophylactic use of antimicrobial agents, the processes of amplification of low level antimicrobial resistance (not usually detected or sought by common methods used for antibiotic resistance surveillance) might compromise the effectiveness of antibiotic chemotherapy.
Assuntos
Fezes/microbiologia , Gentamicinas/farmacologia , Klebsiella pneumoniae/efeitos dos fármacos , Resistência Microbiana a Medicamentos/genética , Amplificação de Genes , Hospitalização , Humanos , Recém-Nascido , Klebsiella pneumoniae/genética , Klebsiella pneumoniae/isolamento & purificação , Células-TroncoRESUMO
A vinblastine-resistant Leishmania amazonensis cell line (RV100) which exhibits cross-resistance to the unrelated drug adriamycin, and thus is considered to be multidrug resistant (MDR), was isolated after stepwise selection with increasing concentrations of vinblastine. This phenotype was partially reverted by the calcium channel antagonist verapamil. Drug transport studies using the hydrophobic fluorescent dye rhodamine 123 demonstrated that the MDR cell line has a reduced dye accumulation due to an increased efflux. Furthermore, DNA and RNA hybridization studies demonstrated that a gene (lamdr1), homologous to ldmdr1 and lemdr1, was overexpressed and amplified within 27 kb extrachromosomal DNA circles (V-circles) in these cells. An independent cell line, RA5000, which was selected for resistance to adriamycin and was not cross-resistant to vinblastine, accumulated normal levels of rhodamine 123 and did not contain amplified DNA or overexpressed RNA of mdr-related sequences.
Assuntos
Antiprotozoários/farmacologia , Doxorrubicina/farmacologia , Resistência a Múltiplos Medicamentos/genética , Leishmania/efeitos dos fármacos , Verapamil/farmacologia , Vimblastina/farmacologia , Membro 1 da Subfamília B de Cassetes de Ligação de ATP/genética , Animais , Linhagem Celular , DNA de Protozoário , Eletroforese em Gel de Campo Pulsado , Amplificação de Genes , Genes de Protozoários , Leishmania/genética , Técnicas de Sonda Molecular , Fenótipo , RNA de Protozoário , Rodamina 123 , Rodaminas/metabolismoRESUMO
A PCR based assay was designed in order to amplify putative ras gene sequences of the GTPase superfamily eventually present in Leishmania amazonensis and Trypanosoma cruzi. A set of primers corresponding to the conserved motifs G1 and G3 of the GTP binding proteins was synthesized. Sequencing of six PCR products (three from Leishmania and three from Trypanosoma) identified, however, two other different GTPases. The 270 bp L. amazonensis clone, pLef-11, shared an amino acid identity of around 80% with an eukaryotic elongation factor 1a of protein synthesis. On the other hand, the 168 bp T. cruzi clone, pTCr1, demonstrated over 60% amino acid identity to ras-related proteins of the rab-YPT-SEC4 family involved in control of vesicular traffic. To our knowledge, this is the first report of GTP binding protein genes in trypanosomatids.