None of the Tn916 insertion sites identified in this study were a

None of the Tn916 insertion sites identified in this study were adjacent to neighbouring genes with a convergent orientation, selleck but 23 (67%) were adjacent to neighbouring genes with a tandem orientation ( or ) and 12 (33%) to genes with a divergent () orientation (Table 1). The frequency of neighbouring gene orientation (NGO) was performed for the fully annotated core genome of B316T (Table 1) and was found to be significantly different from the NGO of the Tn916 insertion sites (χ2=94.75, df=2, P-value <0.001) (Table 2). The same analysis of the distribution of tandem, convergent

and divergent neighbouring genes within the completed B316T genome was also significantly different (χ2=13.25, df=2, P-value <0.05) when compared with the NGO of other insertion sequences, such as transposases (n=35), associated with the fully annotated core genome of B316T (Kelly et al., 2010). Similarly, the NGO were significantly different (χ2=28.22, df=2, P-value <0.001) when the Tn916 insertion

sites and insertion sequences from the B316T core genome were compared (Table 1). Transcription termination sites were identified from the annotated B316T genome, and in addition to having a high G+C percentage (Table 1), the long runs of A or T nucleotides associated with the Tn916 insertion consensus site were not apparent. These regions of higher G+C percentage may direct small molecule library screening Tn916 insertion away Etofibrate from gene termini. Additionally, selection using tetracycline may influence the maintenance of Tn916 insertion sites where the transposon would be lost in the absence of antibiotic. This study has been the first to comprehensively examine the insertion of Tn916 in a bacterial genome with multiple replicons. Furthermore, we were able to demonstrate

variations in transpositional frequency in megaplasmids having specific characteristics (copy number and stability) and unexpected NGO frequencies that did not correlate with the likelihood of disruption, but appeared to correlate negatively with proximity to gene termini. These data suggest that the presence of a consensus sequence for transposon insertion is biased towards intergenic regions that constitute only 10% of the B316T genome. Although the presence of transposon insertions in intergenic regions may appear to be of limited value for assessing changes in phenotype commonly associated with insertions in ORFs, insertions between ORFs may still provide useful insights into gene function.

The JSMBE supported the development of perinatal medical devices

The JSMBE supported the development of perinatal medical devices for fetal surveillance, particularly electric safety standards for fetal electrocardiograph (fECG) and fetal heart rate monitors with direct fECG, in the joint Committee of the JSOG and JSMBE. The JSUM has an important role in ensuring the safety and accuracy of obstetric and gynecological ultrasound diagnoses,

particularly the prenatal diagnosis of anomalous fetuses. In the 1970s, as part of the discussion regarding the fetal safety of diagnostic ultrasound, the JSUM authorized the experimental SB431542 research buy threshold of ultrasound output intensity investigated by the author in a national study group on the safety of diagnostic ultrasound, which was supervised by ultrasound specialist, Professor M. Ide. Consequently, a diagnostic ultrasound output intensity of less than 10 mW/cm2 was imposed by the Japan Industrial Standard to ensure the safety of diagnostic ultrasound. Global safety was guaranteed by the thermal index and the mechanical index. Established ultrasound safety promoted its use in perinatal medicine in the ultrasound imaging and ultrasound fetal monitor. The course of the Japan branch was established in 1998 and 13 courses were held (Table 12). The Japan branch of the Ian Donald School has also organized five advanced seminars in this

field. Advanced seminars are composed of up-to-date advanced topics of perinatal ultrasound and the prenatal diagnosis. Perinatal societies in the Asia–Oceania region, including Australia, Bangladesh, Y27632 Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taipei and Thailand established the FAOPS, with Associate Member countries being Egypt and Saudi Arabia, in 1979. The first FAOPS Congress was held in Singapore in 1979[5] under the auspices of President S. Ratnam Oxymatrine (Singapore). FAOPS Congresses are held every 2 years (Table 14). Perinatal medicine is the main focus of the AFSUMB. The author expresses

sincere gratitude to Professors K. Baba, T. T. Hsieh, T. Ikenoue, I. Kawabata, R. K. Pooh, H. Togari, V. Yu, Mr Sakurada of JSOG, Aono of JAOG, and Takahashi of the JSPNM offices for their contributions to this article. Conflict of interest: No conflict was declared. Disclosure: No disclosure is present. “
“We present the Patient Annual Report in 2011 and the Treatment Annual Report in 2005 that were collected and analyzed by the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Data on 15 698 patients with cervical cancer, 7713 with endometrial cancer and 4672 with ovarian cancer in whom treatment was started in 2011 and data on the prognosis of 2985 patients with cervical cancer, 2812 with endometrial cancer, and 1839 with ovarian cancer who were started on treatment in 2005 were analyzed and summarized. Patient Annual Report in 2011: Stage 0 accounted for 58%, stage I for 24%, stage II for 9%, stage III for 5%, and stage IV for 4% of all the patients with cervical cancer.

Fig S4 Venn diagrams comparing (a) the phylotype numbers and (b

Fig. S4. Venn diagrams comparing (a) the phylotype numbers and (b) the Chao1 species richness estimates in the archaeal clone libraries HO28S9 and HO28S21. Please note: Wiley-Blackwell is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting materials supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing material) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article. “
“Magnaporthe oryzae germlings tightly attach to the host surface by producing extracellular matrix (ECM) from germ tubes and

appressoria, which selleck inhibitor are important for the early infection process. To understand the adhesion mechanisms of ECM during differentiation of infection structure, we evaluated the effects of various enzymes on M. oryzae germlings and the disease click here symptoms

of the host plant, wheat. Treatment with β-mannosidase, collagenase N-2, collagenase S-1, or gelatinase B at 1-h postinoculation (hpi) resulted in germling detachment, although producing normal appressoria. Treatment with matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) at 6 hpi also caused germling detachment. Furthermore, we confirmed by the inoculation tests and scanning electron microscopy that the germlings on the wheat plant were removed and did not manifest pathogenicity on treatment with MMPs. The most effective MMPs were crude collagenase, collagenase S-1, and gelatinase B, suggesting that the application of MMPs is promising for crop protection from fungal diseases by its detachment action. Magnaporthe oryzae, a pathogen of a wide variety of cereal crops including barley, rice, and wheat, causes significant yield loss (Ou, 1985). This pathogen disseminates via asexual spores and propagates exponentially. When these asexual spores land on plant surfaces and absorb water, spore tip mucilage (STM) is secreted from an apical compartment in the spore, making the spore attach to the surfaces (Hamer et al., 1988). The

Montelukast Sodium attached spore elongates the germ tube and then differentiates into the specific infection machinery, the appressorium, which elaborates the penetration peg at the bottom and generates enormous turgor, passing through the rigid plant cuticle (Howard et al., 1991; Howard, 1994). Therefore, the germlings of the spores (infection structures) need to withstand the counteracting pressures (i.e. turgor and penetration force) on the plant surface. Extracellular matrix (ECM), abundantly secreted from germ tubes and appressoria, seems to be essential for adhesion and penetration and is therefore regarded as a pathogenicity factor (Apoga et al., 2001; Inoue et al., 2007; Schumacher et al., 2008). Up to now, several control measures have been used to control blast disease. Identification of race-specific or broad-spectrum resistance genes enables breeders to develop new cultivars (Roumen, 1994).

, 2007) However, Tetrahymena had been reported to be more suitab

, 2007). However, Tetrahymena had been reported to be more suitable than the amoeba model in high-throughput screening to identify inhibitors of Klebsiella pneumoniae virulence (Benghezal et al., 2007). The ciliate Tetrahymena is a eukaryotic unicellular microorganism with a defined genetic Selleckchem PKC inhibitor background that provides an ideal interface between pathogen and host, allowing for the

elucidation of molecular interactions between host and pathogen (Orias, 1998). Recently, several Tetrahymena–bacteria infection models have been described. For example, Kikuhara et al. (1994) and Steele & McLennan (1996) reported on the interaction between Legionella pneumophila and Tetrahymena thermophila and Benghezal et al. (2007) designed a simple surrogate host model system using Tetrahymena pyriformis and K. pneumoniae cells to assess bacterial virulence while also identifying antivirulence Oligomycin A manufacturer molecules. In addition, interactions between Tetrahymena and other bacteria, such as Yersinia pestis (Pushkareva, 2003; Breneva & Maramovich, 2008), Escherichia coli (Bukharin et al., 2008), Vibrio fischeri (Bonnet et al., 2008) and so on, have also been reported. Tetrahymena is common in the freshwater environment, where A. hydrophila is naturally confronted with it. However, the interaction mode between the two organisms

is not clear. In this study, we co-cultured both virulent and avirulent A. hydrophila strains with T. thermophila and recorded changes in the biomass of both A. hydrophila and T. thermophila. In addition, we analyzed infection mechanisms to evaluate the potential use of T. thermophila as an A. hydrophila infection model. The A. hydrophila J-1 strain, used as a vaccine strain in China, was a clinical isolate associated with a natural outbreak linked to cyprinoid fish in Nanjing, China (Chen & Lu, 1991). The A. hydrophila strain Nutlin-3 NJ-4 was isolated from healthy cultured cyprinoid fish in Nanjing, China, and its very low virulence was confirmed by the results of three consecutive infections of cyprinoid fish carried out before this study (unpublished data). In this study,

the two bacterial strains were used as virulent and avirulent strains, respectively. Tetrahymena thermophila BF1 was obtained from Dr Miao Wei, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Tetrahymena thermophila BF1 was cultured at 30 °C and stock cultures were maintained axenically in PYG medium containing 1% proteose peptone, 0.1% yeast extract and 0.1% glucose. Aeromonas hydrophila strains J-1 and NJ-4 were routinely cultured in Luria–Bertani (LB) broth or on Luria agar plates at 28 °C. Tetrahymena thermophila cells were cultured for 48 h and the cultures were concentrated from 6 to 1 mL by centrifugation at 2000 g for 10 min at 15 °C, thus resulting in a concentration of approximately 108 cells mL−1. Five hundred microliters of suspensions of late-log-phase A. hydrophila J-1 and NJ-4 cultures were mixed with the same volume of T. thermophila cells, respectively.

Although higher rates of rash-associated hepatotoxicity were obse

Although higher rates of rash-associated hepatotoxicity were observed among Thai women, other studies have also observed high rates of nevirapine-associated rash in Thailand [44]. Thirdly, we do not have data on exposure to other hepatotoxins (e.g. alcohol and chronic aflatoxin exposure Sunitinib concentration [36,45]). Fourthly, few women (n=7) in this study had CD4 counts ≥350 cells/μL and therefore these findings cannot necessarily be extrapolated to women with higher (≥350 cells/μL) CD4 counts. Finally, we have not evaluated whether chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) coinfection might have augmented or confounded

the associations we observed between abnormal baseline serum transaminases and risk of hepatitis after initiating nevirapine. Although the presence of HBV surface antigen alone has not been associated with increased risk of hepatotoxicity [46], HBV DNA levels >2000 copies/mL have been found among persons taking antiretrovirals [47]. In summary, severe hepatotoxicity and rash-associated hepatotoxicity occurred in 3–5% of women in three resource-limited settings during the first 24 weeks after initiating therapy with www.selleckchem.com/products/obeticholic-acid.html nevirapine-based ART. Risk for both outcomes was predicted by abnormal baseline transaminase levels but not by a CD4 count ≥250 cells/μL. Although we observed alterations in the risk of rash-associated hepatotoxicity by CD4 count, risk was equivalently elevated at CD4 counts <50 and ≥200 cells/μL. In resource-limited settings where transaminase

testing is available, laboratory evaluation for hepatotoxicity should focus on women with baseline transaminase abnormalities regardless of CD4 cell count and on early time-points after nevirapine initiation. In addition, clinical vigilance and patient education to minimize concomitant exposure to nevirapine

Vasopressin Receptor and other hepatotoxins should be emphasized. Clinicians and public health officials should be aware that limiting nevirapine use to women with a CD4 count <250 cells/μL may not limit the frequency of nevirapine-associated hepatotoxicity events but may reduce treatment options unnecessarily. This publication was made possible by support from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Global AIDS Program and from the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, CDC. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the CDC. Conflict of interest None of the authors reports a conflict of interest. Funding In Zambia, this study was supported by grant U62/CCU12354 from the US CDC, with complementary funding from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). In Thailand, this study was supported by the US CDC through purchase orders #Bangkok-07-M-0424 to the Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University and #Bangkok-07-M-0425 to Rajavithi Hospital.

The situation was completely different when a female was used as

The situation was completely different when a female was used as the stimulus subject. In this case, Glu-CB1−/− mice showed reduced interest in the social stimulus, mimicking the phenotype of CB1−/− or WT mice treated

with SR141716A. GABA-CB1−/− mice showed the opposite phenotype, by spending more time investigating the social stimulus. In conclusion, we provide evidence that CB1 receptors specifically modulate the social investigation of female mice in a neuronal subtype-specific ubiquitin-Proteasome system manner. “
“Variation in environmental factors such as day length and social context greatly affects reproductive behavior and the brain areas that regulate these behaviors. One such behavior is song in songbirds, which males use to attract a mate during the breeding season. In these species the absence of a potential mate leads to an increase in the number of songs produced, HCS assay while the presence of a mate greatly diminishes singing. Interestingly, although long days promote song

behavior, producing song itself can promote the incorporation of new neurons in brain regions controlling song output. Social context can also affect such neuroplasticity in these song control nuclei. The goal of the present study was to investigate in canaries (Serinus canaria), a songbird species, how photoperiod and social context affect song and the incorporation of new neurons, as measured by the microtubule-associated protein doublecortin (DCX) in HVC, a key vocal production brain region of the song control system. We show that long days increased HVC size and singing activity. In addition, male canaries paired with a female for 2 weeks showed enhanced DCX-immunoreactivity in HVC relative to birds housed alone. Strikingly, however, paired males sang fewer songs that exhibited a reduction in acoustic features such as song complexity and energy, compared with birds housed alone, which sang prolifically. These results show that social presence plays a significant role in the regulation of neural and behavioral plasticity in songbirds and can exert these effects in opposition to what might be expected

based on activity-induced neurogenesis. “
“To test potential parallels between hippocampal and anterior thalamic function, rats with anterior thalamic lesions were trained on a series of biconditional Sirolimus manufacturer learning tasks. The anterior thalamic lesions did not disrupt learning two biconditional associations in operant chambers where a specific auditory stimulus (tone or click) had a differential outcome depending on whether it was paired with a particular visual context (spot or checkered wall-paper) or a particular thermal context (warm or cool). Likewise, rats with anterior thalamic lesions successfully learnt a biconditional task when they were reinforced for digging in one of two distinct cups (containing either beads or shredded paper), depending on the particular appearance of the local context on which the cup was placed (one of two textured floors).

Cell suspension (1 mL) was added to lysing matrixE tubes (MP Biom

Cell suspension (1 mL) was added to lysing matrixE tubes (MP Biomedicals, UK) inside the cabinet and the cells were lysed

mechanically by treatment in a Fastprep150 instrument for 2 min (4 × 30 s treatment, 2-min cooling on ice). Homogenates were first centrifuged at 25 000 g to remove unbroken cells and debris and the resultant supernatants were subsequently ultracentrifuged (150 000 g, 2 h, 3–5 °C, Beckman L8-M centrifuge/70.1 Ti rotor) to pellet the insoluble proteins, following which the supernatant was removed. The insoluble pellet was resolubilized by gentle sonication in resolubilization buffer (1 mL) as described previously (Graham et al., 2006b), and the protein concentration was measured using the Bradford (1976)

assay. Samples were reduced and alkylated before electrophoresis and protein (42 μg) from each duplicate was electrophoresed and stained (Graham et al., 2006b). Lanes were excised from learn more the gel and cut into seven fractions based on molecular mass and an in-gel tryptic digest was carried out as described previously (Graham et al., 2006b). LC-MS of peptide samples was performed as described by Graham et al. (2006a, b) using a 60-min nano-LC gradient. Protein identification was carried out using an internal mascot server (version 1.9; Matrix Science, London, LDK378 ic50 UK) searching against a combined C. difficile genomic DNA and plasmid database (Reference sequence NC_0090989 and NC_008226, respectively) downloaded from NCBI (20 June 2007) and containing 3573 sequences in total. Peptide tolerance was set at 1.2 Da with an MS/MS tolerance of 0.6 Da and the search set to allow for one missed tryptic cleavage. To expedite the curation of the identified protein list from mascot, the resultant mascot output only files were reanalysed against the extracted C. difficile database using provalt (Weatherly et al., 2005), which takes

multiple mascot results and identifies matching peptides. Redundant peptides are removed and related peptides are grouped together, associated with their predicted matching protein. provalt also uses peptide matches from a random database (in this case, the C. difficile database was randomized) to calculate the false-discovery rates (FDR) for protein identifications as described previously by Weatherly et al. (2005). In the current work, FDR was set at 1%; thus, 99% of the proteins identified should be correct. The workflow used in our gel-based analysis firstly isolated the insoluble fraction of the proteome from duplicate C. difficile cultures by ultracentrifugation, yielding a protein concentration of 22.4 mg mL−1. Because of the complex nature of the peptide mixtures being analysed and the chance nature of automated selection of peptides for MS analysis (Graham et al., 2006a, b), the separation capabilities of the LC-MS system can often be exceeded.

Patients expressed strong views about the negative feelings and s

Patients expressed strong views about the negative feelings and sense of injustice (emotions) that can be evoked through disparities in service provision such as delivery and collection services and quantities of repeat medicines supplied; such barriers have previously

received little attention in the literature. The TDF is a viable tool for mapping medication adherence barriers to behavioural domains, with members of the public endorsing the appropriateness SCH727965 solubility dmso and relevance of the mapped barriers which were identified through existing literature. The TDF has enabled grouping of medication adherence barriers and provides a structured framework for practitioners to ensure less obvious adherence barriers (such as negative emotions) are not overlooked. However, this work has been undertaken in a relatively small sample whose views may not be representative of the wider population. Further work to establish the generalisability of these findings is therefore warranted. 1. Michie, S. et al. (2005). “Making psychological theory PD0332991 purchase useful for implementing evidence based practice: a consensus approach.” Quality and Safety in health care 14(1): 26–33. D. Taylor, W. Pike, S. Stevens, M. Tran, W. Ng, H. Price University of Bath, Somerset, UK The aim was to explore levels of

clozapine knowledge to facilitate an objective of producing a Clozapine Information Guide (CIG) for HCPs and patients in a shared care service. Patient Safety was the superordinate theme highlighting different information needs of HCPs and people taking clozapine; worryingly some HCPs were unaware of their lack of knowledge. A CIG has the potential to ensure pro-active monitoring Carnitine palmitoyltransferase II of severe adverse effects by the individual and HCPs. Clozapine is usually initiated and prescribed via inpatient mental health services

due to potentially fatal side effects such as cardiomyopathy, agranulocytosis and bowel obstruction.1 One mental health trust has implemented a clozapine shared care service where GP’s take over routine prescribing and monitoring with support from social workers and a ward pharmacist. Anecdotal evidence from staff involved suggested more clozapine information was required to safely support people in the community. The literature suggests that HCPs and patients have differing perspectives of adverse events and efficacy.2 Our aim was to explore levels of knowledge to facilitate an objective of producing a CIG for HCPs and patients. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were used to explore perceptions held by people who take clozapine and HCPs involved in their care, on the level of information and knowledge needed about clozapine. Interviews took place on trust property. HCPs provided medication services including information, mental and physical health monitoring and included psychiatrists; GP’s, pharmacists; social workers, community psychiatric nurses and occupational therapy.

Given the high operational tempo as well as potential

com

Given the high operational tempo as well as potential

complication of giving multiple doses of antibiotics along with other chemoprophylactic regimens (eg, doxycycline for malaria), a single high dose daily (QD) regimen was evaluated for TD prevention in a deployment setting. Subjects were military beneficiaries traveling from the United States, with most staying at Incirlik Air Base, Incirlik, Turkey, for 14 days. Subjects were eligible for inclusion in this study if all of the following criteria were met: ≥18 years of age, in good health, and if female, met criteria for non-childbearing potential, or had a negative urine pregnancy test at screening and Rapamycin chemical structure agreed to use a medically approved method of birth control. Exclusion criteria were as follows: antibiotic use within 7 days, antidiarrheal medication within 24, hypersensitivity or allergy to rifaximin or rifampin, acute diarrhea during the 7 days prior to enrollment, or within 24 hours after ingesting initial dose of study drug. Treatments were randomly Selleckchem ZD1839 assigned to consecutive numbers by using an allocation ratio of 1 : 1 in blocks of four for either oral rifaximin 1,100 mg QD (two 550 mg tablets) or matching placebo QD for 14 days. Salix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Morrisville, NC,

USA) provided the interventional products in sequentially labeled bottles. Subjects were instructed to take study drug every morning with breakfast, and missed doses were to be taken with the following meal. TD was defined as the coexistence of acute diarrhea (≥3 unformed stools within a 24-h period) and one or more of the following signs or symptoms of enteric infection: abdominal pain or cramps, moderate to severe increase in intestinal gas, nausea, filipin vomiting, fever (≥37.8°C), fecal urgency, tenesmus, or gross blood and/or mucus in the stool. Stools were defined

as formed (retained shape), soft (assumed shape of container and could not be poured, but would not hold form if placed on a surface; often had a custard or pudding-like consistency), or watery (could be poured). Additionally, subjects who had diarrhea and took a medication specifically for relief from the symptoms of diarrhea were categorized as having TD. Enteric symptoms were assessed via daily subject diary entries and weekly clinic visits. Adherence was assessed during weekly follow-up visits through pill counts and interview. In addition, safety was assessed by monitoring adverse events. Excluding preestablished weekly visits, subjects could go to the clinic at any time of the day throughout the study on an informal basis. Stool specimens were collected for the purpose of conducting etiological agent analyses; however, only five acute specimens were submitted, and, therefore, results of these analyses will not be reported herein.

salmonis

proteins, the amino acid sequences of Ps-Tox and

salmonis

proteins, the amino acid sequences of Ps-Tox and PS-Antox were analysed using the protparam tool of the Expasy Proteomic Server. The molecular weight of the Ps-Antox protein was 8.9 kDa and its theoretical pI is 4.79. The predicted molecular weight of Ps-Tox was 15.9 kDa with a pI of 6.7. In order to characterize this pair of predicted proteins, we cloned the ps-Antox and ps-Tox genes into the pET27b+ expression vector, either individually or together and attempted to express the genes in E. coli BL21 DE3. After the IPTG induction, the expression of the recombinants proteins was checked Entinostat every 1 h for a 3-h period, finding that the greatest amount of the two proteins is obtained 2-h post-IPTG induction. The expression level of Ps-Antox was much lower than that of its partner Ps-Tox when expressed alone (Fig. 2). When the two proteins were expressed simultaneously in a bicistronic operon the expression level of both proteins was similar, not showing a significant

polar effect (Fig. 2). To determine the toxic proprieties of the P. salmonis Dabrafenib chemical structure toxin, we made cultures of the E. coli transformant cells in the presence of IPTG. The growth of the E. coli carrying the pET27b+ vector that contains the ps-Tox gene was minimal in the presence of IPTG during 8 h of growth kinetics (Fig. 3a). In contrast, the growth of E. coli strains that contained the ps-Antox and ps-Tox-Antox in the pET27b+ was normal compared with the host that had the vector without insertion (Fig. 3a). All the transformants strains grew normally in the find more absence of IPTG, including the strain with the ps-Tox gene in the pET27b+ vector (Fig. 3b). When the strains were streaked out on LB agar plates supplemented with IPTG, the results were the same as those obtained in LB broth (data not

shown). The model constructed is presented in Fig. 4b and c. In general, the secondary structure is conserved compared with that of the M. tuberculosis VapC-5 toxin. Some amino acids implicated in the toxin function are conserved, in particular, three of the four acidic amino acids present in the PIN domains that are related with an exonuclease activity (Miallau et al., 2008), VapC-5: D26, E57, D115, D135, and Ps-Tox: D6, E44, D100, and E121, as can be seen Fig. 4a (see Table S1). In order to determine whether the newly described toxin behaves in the same way as most described toxins, we tested Ps-Tox for putative RNAse activity. When P. salmonis RNA was treated with a crude extract of E. coli containing the recombinant Ps-Tox protein, a significant degradation was observed compared with that of the untreated sample (Fig. 5, lanes 2 and 6, respectively). The same effect was observed in the corresponding extract containing Ps-Antox and Ps-Tox-Antox proteins (Fig. 5, lanes 1 and 3, respectively). The RNA degradation produced by the protein extract that contains Ps-Antox and Ps-Tox-Antox could also have been produced by E.