They then were able to utilize the CHW model to achieve similar b

They then were able to utilize the CHW model to achieve similar benefits in those with HIV infection [32]. Since the early work assessing the impact of CHWs in the context of coinfection with tuberculosis and HIV, several international studies have shown that the CHW model improves HAART adherence and associated HIV outcomes in diverse international communities [13,20–22]. Use of the CHW model to improve medical adherence among HIV-infected populations in the USA, however, has not been funded or studied on a large-scale basis, nor has the efficacy of this modality in the USA been clearly established. This review

seeks to provide more information regarding the feasibility of implementing the CHW model in the USA. Between May SCH772984 in vitro 2010 and November 2010, a comprehensive review of relevant articles

was conducted in MEDLINE. We defined the inclusion criteria as follows: the study was written in English; reported biological HIV outcomes (either viral load or CD4 Selleck Epigenetics Compound Library cell count); was conducted in the USA; and assessed the use of CHWs, outreach workers or peer educators to support improved adherence to HAART medications in HIV-infected populations. While other variables may be associated with the level of medication compliance, CD4 cell count and viral load were selected as the most objective assessments of HAART adherence and HIV outcomes; we therefore focused on studies that reported these measures. Medical subject heading (MESH) terms included ‘community health aide(s)’, ‘village health worker(s)’, barefoot doctor(s)’, ‘community worker(s)’, ‘HIV’, ‘human immunodeficiency virus(es)’, Flavopiridol (Alvocidib) ‘AIDS’, ‘Acquired Immunologic Deficiency Syndrome’ and ‘Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome(s)’. The ‘language’ limit was applied. There was no limit regarding date of publication. This search resulted in 26 studies that were based in North America. Of these 26 studies, 16 (involving a total of 2067 participants) met our inclusion criteria for this analysis. Table 1 presents details of each of the 16 studies reviewed for this article, describing

the purpose, sample population, duration, intensity and results of each study. Table 2 summarizes the 10 CHW studies that were excluded from our review, including reasons for exclusion. All study interventions focused on outcomes in the HIV-positive individuals (rather than provider or health services), and all studies described a CHW approach to improving medication adherence. The length of intervention ranged from 5 weeks to 12 months. Effects of the intervention on HIV viral load and CD4 cell count were reported for each study. Ten of the 16 articles reviewed targeted specific populations such as women, injecting drug users, individuals who were beginning a new HAART regimen, or persons with a documented history of medical nonadherence. Seven studies were randomized controlled trials (RCTs); one study did not have a control group but included historical controls.

Moreover, following induction of apoptosis by shifting the medium

Moreover, following induction of apoptosis by shifting the medium from a high (25 mm) to a low (5 mm) potassium concentration, we observed that: (i) LAP1 levels are decreased in the Cytoskeletal Signaling inhibitor nuclear fraction, but not in the cytosolic fraction, and its Ser105 phosphorylation disappears; and (ii) in parallel, LIP levels are increased in the nuclear fraction. Furthermore, by transfecting

CGNs with plasmids expressing LAP1, LAP2, or LIP, we observed that: (i) LAP2, but not LAP1, is transcriptionally active, as demonstrated by luciferase activity in pODC–Luc-co-transfected cells; and that (ii) both LAP2 and LAP1 were able to counteract apoptosis in transfected neurons, whereas LIP overexpression did not show any effect on neuronal survival/death. Finally, Roxadustat clinical trial in stable clones overexpressing LAP2 or LIP in DAOY medulloblastoma cells, derived from cerebellar neuron precursors, LAP2, but not LIP, was able to protect these cells from lactacystin toxicity. The role of C/EBP β in neurons has been mainly studied in relation to its transcriptional regulation of neuronal activity, memory, neurogenesis, and neuronal differentiation (Yukawa et al.,1998; Taubenfeld et al.,2001a,b; Cortés-Canteli et al.,2002,2011; Paquin et al.,2005; Garcia-Osta et al.,2006; Calella et al.,2007).

However, C/EBP β has also been proposed to be involved in neurodegenerative diseases, both acute, such as brain injury, ischemia, and stroke (Soga et al.,

2003; Cortés-Canteli et al., 2004, 2008; Nadeau et al., 2005; Kapadia et al., 2006), and chronic, such as Huntington’s disease (Obrietan & Hoyt, 2004). This dual role has emerged from in vivo models of brain injury, in which C/EBP β protein is upregulated and induces the expression of pro-inflammatory genes (Cortés-Canteli et al., 2004, 2008), but also of regeneration-associated genes (Nadeau et al., 2005). In ischemia, C/EBPs, including C/EBP β, are expressed in the selectively vulnerable regions during neuronal degeneration, suggesting roles in progression towards death and DNA fragmentation (Soga et al., 2003), and in the regulation of gene expression in post-ischemic inflammation and Gefitinib solubility dmso brain damage (Kapadia et al., 2006). More recently, it has been demonstrated that upregulation of C/EBP β expression in hypoxic conditions plays a neuroprotective role both in vitro and in vivo (Halterman et al., 2008; Rininger et al., 2012). It is important to note, however, that C/EBP β-dependent expression of inflammatory and neurodegenerative genes seems to be largely attibutable to the activity of C/EBP β in non-neuronal cells, such as microglia and astrocytes (Cardinaux et al., 2000; Pérez-Capote et al., 2006; Ejarque-Ortiz et al., 2007; Samuelsson et al., 2008; Ruffell et al., 2009; Sandhir & Berman, 2010). It is thus useful to study the role of C/EBP β in neuronal survival or death in in vitro models without glial cells.

On the contrary, overexpression of Orm2 resulted in high sensitiv

On the contrary, overexpression of Orm2 resulted in high sensitivity to the toxin. Moreover, GSK2118436 overexpression of Lcb1 and Lcb2, catalytic subunits of serine palmitoyltransferase, causes resistance to the toxin, whereas partial repression of expression of Lcb1 had the opposite effect. Partial reduction of complex sphingolipids by repression of expression of Aur1, an inositol phosphorylceramide synthase,

also resulted in high sensitivity to the toxin. These results suggested that an increase in sphingolipid biosynthesis caused by a change in the activity of serine palmitoyltransferase causes resistance to syringomycin E. “
“Phytophthora sojae is a devastating pathogen that causes soybean Phytophthora root rot. This study reports the development of a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay targeting the A3aPro element for visual detection of P. sojae. The A3aPro-LAMP assay efficiently amplified the target element in < 80 min at 64 °C and was evaluated for specificity and check details sensitivity. The specificity was evaluated against P. sojae,Phytophthora spp., Pythium spp., and true fungi isolates. Magnesium pyrophosphate resulting from the LAMP of P. sojae could be detected by real-time measurement of

turbidity. Phytophthora sojae DNA products were visualized as a ladder-like banding pattern on 2% gel electrophoresis. A positive colour (sky blue) was only observed in the presence of P. sojae with the addition of hydroxynaphthol

blue prior to amplification, whereas none of other isolates showed a colour change. The detection limit of the A3aPro-specific LAMP assay for P. sojae was 10 pg μL−1 of genomic DNA per reaction. The assay also detected buy Ponatinib P. sojae from diseased soybean tissues and residues. These results suggest that the A3aPro-LAMP assay reported here can be used for the visual detection of P. sojae in plants and production fields. The oomycetes pathogen Phytophthora sojae is currently one of the most devastating soybean (Glycine max) pathogens, causing ‘damping off’ in seedlings and root rot in older plants, with an annual worldwide loss of US$1–2 billion (Wrather et al., 2001). Since its identification around 1950 in Indiana and Ohio (Kaufmann & Gerdemann, 1957), P. sojae has become widespread in many soybean-producing countries (Schmitthenner, 1985; Erwin et al., 1996). Recently, this disease has caused serious soybean losses in Heilongjiang province in China (Zhu et al., 2000). Although P. sojae is a quarantine pathogen in China, more than 50 million tons of soybeans are imported into China annually. With the increasing amount of soybean traded with different countries, rapid detection of P. sojae in the soil carried with the transported soybeans is important not only for soybean trade between China and other countries but also for controlling the spread of P. sojae within China.

Changing physician behaviour in low-prevalence countries to deliv

Changing physician behaviour in low-prevalence countries to deliver comprehensive targeted testing to high-risk groups is a challenge and, even with the introduction of national guidelines, HIV testing rates have been slow to increase [6-8]. For these reasons, national guidelines advocate universal testing in healthcare settings serving populations with a higher HIV prevalence (2 per 1000 in the UK [9]; 1 per 100 in the USA [10]). Successful initiatives in antenatal and genitourinary medicine services, and US emergency departments [9,

11], have shown that point-of-care HIV testing (HIV POCT) reduces specific barriers for testing. These barriers include the need for

follow-up visits, venepuncture and the anxiety associated with waiting for a result [12, 13]. Thus, HIV POCT may be a critical tool for implementing universal testing Dinaciclib cell line in many settings. New studies piloting HIV testing in hospital, primary care and community services suggest that HIV testing is feasible and acceptable in these settings [14]. A high HIV prevalence has previously been demonstrated in the Hospital for Tropical Diseases out-patient clinic [15, 16]. The aim was to establish nurse-delivered universal HIV POCT in an acute medical setting in an inner London hospital – the Hospital for Tropical Diseases Lumacaftor solubility dmso open-access emergency clinic. The Hospital for Tropical Diseases open-access emergency clinic offers a specialist service for acutely unwell patients who have a history of foreign travel in the last 6 months. Patients over 18 years of age may self-refer or attend with a referral from a primary care physician. We conducted a prospective study of all patients attending this clinic from the introduction of an Access database on 26 August 2008 until Clomifene 31 December 2010. During this study period, we introduced a universal offer of an HIV test. A fast-track referral service to

the local genitourinary medicine clinic was established with designated health advisor appointments for patients who received a reactive result. Patient leaflets were generated to support the service, and included information on the potential for a false negative (as a result of a recent infection) and false reactive tests. Prior to universal testing, targeted HIV testing was offered to patients (phase 0), as part of clinical diagnosis and management, by the junior doctor who assessed the patient after triage by the tropical clinical nurse specialist. Doctors were aware of, and had received training that covered, the 2008 UK guidelines on testing patients from high-risk groups and with indicator diseases [British HIV Association (BHIVA) / British Association of Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) / British Infection Society (BIS) 2008] [9].

The biochemical function of C42 in metal reduction by S oneidens

The biochemical function of C42 in metal reduction by S. oneidensis is currently unknown. Based on the participation of CXXC motifs in metal binding, redox sensing, and disulfide bond formation (Ritz & Beckwith, 2001; Green & Paget, 2004; Antelmann & Helmann, 2011), potential roles for C42 include the binding of metals or cofactors required SB203580 supplier for electron transport by the MtrCAB complex, sensing redox conditions via sulfur redox chemistry, or enhancing MtrB interaction with other cysteine-containing metabolites and proteins via heterologous disulfide bond

formation. Current work is focused on examining these possibilities during metal reduction by S. oneidensis. As described above, 20 of the top 21 MtrB

homologs were identified in the genera Ferrimonas, Aeromonas, and Vibrio (Table S3). Although Ferrimonas and Aeromonas species are known to catalyze dissimilatory metal reduction (Knight & Blakemore, 1998; Nakagawa et al., 2006; Nolan et al., 2010), the dissimilatory metal reduction capability of Vibrios is not well selleck screening library studied. The ability to predict dissimilatory metal reduction by a γ-proteobacterium with unknown metal reduction capability was tested with V. parahaemolyticus, a pathogen whose genome encodes an MtrB homolog with an N-terminal CXXC motif. A CSEC motif was identified in the N-terminus of the V. parahaemolyticus MtrB homolog VP1218 (87QD1_VIBPA; Table S3). Subsequent anaerobic incubations demonstrated that V. parahaemolyticus reduced Fe(III) and Mn(IV) as terminal electron acceptors (Fig. 3), while V. harveyi, a Vibrio control strain lacking the MtrB homolog, was deficient in Fe(III) and Mn(IV) reduction activity (Fig. 3). Results of the present study indicate that MtrB homologs of metal-reducing γ-proteobacteria contain an N-terminal CXXC motif that is missing from the MtrB homologs of Acidobacteria and NC10 group strains, nonmetal-reducing γ-proteobacteria, and all α-, β-, and δ-proteobacteria, Selleck Baf-A1 including those catalyzing dissimilatory

metal reduction or oxidation reactions. The N-terminal CXXC motif of MtrB is required for dissimilatory metal reduction by the representative metal-reducing γ-proteobacterium S. oneidensis, and the ability to predict dissimilatory metal reduction by a γ-proteobacterium with unknown metal reduction capability was confirmed with V. parahaemolyticus, a pathogen whose genome encodes an MtrB homolog with an N-terminal CXXC motif. MtrB homologs with N-terminal CXXC motifs may thus represent a molecular signature unique to metal-reducing members of the γ-proteobacteria, with the potential for further development as a biomarker for tracking the presence and activity of metal-reducing γ-proteobacteria in natural and engineered systems. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, and the Public Service Department of Malaysia.

5% (one of 18 patients) in the centre that delivered care to pati

5% (one of 18 patients) in the centre that delivered care to patients originating mainly from sub-Saharan Africa. The seroprevalence according to ethnic origin was 0% among Caucasians and 2.2% among Africans, and was 1.5% among patients with an indicator condition. The rate of new diagnoses was 0.5% for the standard HIV test (one new HIV-positive result from the 203 tests performed) and 0.5% for the rapid INSTI HIV test (one

new HIV-positive result from the 197 tests performed). A total of 1087 consecutive consultations with the GPs involved in the study were recorded over several time periods between November Protein Tyrosine Kinase inhibitor 2010 and June 2011 (Fig. 1); 457 patients (42.0%) met at least one inclusion criterion. Of these, 352 (77.0%) originated from a high HIV-prevalence country, 23 (5.0%) had returned from a high HIV-prevalence country, 15 (3.0%) presented with an indicator condition (14 with STIs and one with cervical dysplasia), 16 (3.5%) were sex workers, 11 (2.4%) were MSM, and five (1%) were active or former injecting drug users. Testing was offered to 186 patients (41.0%) and not offered to 272 patients; that is to say, there

were ‘missed opportunities’ in 59.5% of cases. http://www.selleckchem.com/products/SB-431542.html The reasons for not offering testing were recorded for 148 patients, and were as follows: ‘not indicated’ for 66 patients (44.5%), ‘no time’ for 49 patients (33.0%), ‘impossible to offer a test’ for 10 patients (14.8%), ‘had taken test before’ for 16 patients (11.0%) and ‘known to be HIV positive’ for six patients (4.0%), meaning that the percentage of ‘real’ missed opportunities was 58.3%. No reason was recorded for why the test had not been offered for the remaining 124 patients who met at least one inclusion criterion. The three centres included in the study delivered care to a large proportion of highly vulnerable patients who had to deal with medical, financial, social, legal, psychological, mental and reproductive health issues. The practices of the centres regarding HIV testing were based on the model of VCT and the opt-in approach, where patients must affirmatively agree to the test being performed. Actively offering HIV testing was considered by centre staff

to be the prerogative of doctors. Etoposide in vitro Psychologists, social workers and other staff members were not used to promote or offer HIV testing. Psychologists did not feel that they were ‘allowed’ to offer HIV testing. Furthermore, they often felt that HIV testing was not a priority for patients who had to deal with ‘heavy’ issues. Only one centre had a nurse. Before the beginning of the study, the staff of the three multidisciplinary centres had some concerns. The reception staff felt that the project was a form of discrimination against individuals of African origin and were worried about access to care and treatment for persons without health insurance. The GPs’ concerns mainly centred on time constraints and perceived lack of skills, especially in the performance of rapid tests.

Distal leg epidermal nerve fibre density (ENFD) is a validated

Distal leg epidermal nerve fibre density (ENFD) is a validated

predictor of small unmyelinated nerve fibre damage and neuropathy risk in various diseases including HIV infection [2-4]. We determined ENFD in HIV-infected Thai individuals without signs or symptoms of neuropathy prior to the initiation of first-time ARV therapy to investigate which factors were associated with lower ENFD and therefore might increase neuropathy risk following initiation of d4T-containing regimens. selleck In addition to epidemiological and HIV-specific factors such as CD4 cell count and plasma HIV RNA, we assessed mitochondrial parameters based on the known role of mitochondrial toxicity in the pathogenesis of neuropathy following the use of potentially neurotoxic NRTIs such as d4T. This analysis utilized baseline data on subjects who were enrolled in SEARCH (South East Asia Research Collaboration with Hawaii; www.searchthailand.org/) 003, a 150-patient, 72-week,

two-site ARV clinical trial in ARV-naïve subjects conducted in Thailand at the Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre (TRCARC) in Bangkok and at the Queen Savang Vadhana Memorial Hospital in Chonburi, Thailand (www.clinicaltrials.gov Sotrastaurin ic50 identification NCT00669487). SEARCH 003 compared, in a randomized fashion, rates of anaemia, lipoatrophy and neuropathy among three ARV regimens differing by NRTI backbone. Specifically, a backbone of 24 weeks of stavudine (d4T) followed by a switch to zidovudine (ZDV) was compared with continuous ZDV and with continuous tenofovir (TDF) for Meloxicam the entire 72-week duration of the study. Skin punch biopsies

and ENFD assessments were performed as elective procedures at baseline, week 24 and week 72 to allow an in-depth evaluation of neuropathy risk during ARV therapy. The baseline ENFD and its relationship to various parameters prior to initiation of ARV therapy are the topics of this report. The SEARCH 003 study was approved by the Chulalongkorn University Institutional Review Board (IRB) and the Queen Savang Vadhana Memorial Hospital IRB as primary IRBs of record and by the University of Hawaii Committee on Human Subjects and the University of California San Francisco Committee for Human Research as secondary IRBs. Informed consent was obtained from all subjects. Entry criteria included documented HIV infection, age ≥18 years, CD4 lymphocyte count <350 cells/μL and ARV-naïve status except for women with past exposure to ARV associated with pregnancy who were allowed to enroll as long as the exposure was at least 3 months prior to entry. The study utilized an entry criterion of CD4 lymphocyte count <350 cells/μL to be consistent with Thai national guidelines for initiation of ARV therapy.

2 Two of our travelers were repatriated for car accidents during

2 Two of our travelers were repatriated for car accidents during travel. This is consistent with studies of

medical evacuation etiology. Among 504 cases of medical evacuation in Germany, traumas (ie, femoral neck fractures, cerebrocranial trauma, and multiple trauma) were the primary cause of repatriation accounting for 25% of evacuations, followed by cardiovascular diseases (ie, strokes for 14% and myocardial infarctions for 8%).5 Among 115 patients repatriated in the Netherlands from 1998 to 2002, one third of the younger patients ITF2357 (below 50 years) were evacuated for trauma, whereas in older patients, cardiopulmonary incidents were the most frequent causes of evacuation.6 It should be noted that exacerbation of chronic diseases was an important cause of medical repatriation

among older patients. In addition, the median duration of illness before evacuation of the German patients was 7 days (interquartile range, 4–13 days) putting them at risk of acquiring MDR bacteria when hospitalized during this period of time.5 Infection with MDR bacteria is an emerging and serious worldwide problem. In the past 10 years, many cases of MDR bacteria have been reported in various countries. For example, gram-negative Enterobacteriaceae (Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli) with resistance to carbapenem conferred by NDM-1 are known to be widespread selleck in India and Pakistan.1 These bacteria may be acquired by travelers and imported into their home country on their return. Indeed, of 1167 Dutch travelers repatriated from Akt cancer foreign hospitals to the Netherlands, 18% were diagnosed as carriers of MDR bacteria such as MRSA, vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), and gentamicin-resistant gram-negative bacteria (GGNB).7 The carrier rates of MRSA, VRE, and GGNB were higher than those found in patients hospitalized in Dutch hospitals. In addition to carriers, returning travelers may also be diagnosed with

MDR bacterial infections. This mainly concerns MRSA infections.8 However, as we suggest from these episodes and other recently published studies, MDR gram-negative bacteria are also concerned.1,2 Moreover, this not only refers to repatriated hospitalized travelers but also to patients with community-acquired infections with an associated history of travel. In fact, a Canadian study showed that foreign travel was an important risk factor for developing community-acquired ESBL-producing E coli infections.9 More precisely, overseas travel above all increased the risk of ESBL-producing E coli infections by 5.7 (4.1–7.8), and this risk was higher for travelers to India (OR 145), the Middle East (OR 18), and Africa (OR 7.7). Physicians should be aware of the risk of MDR bacteria carriage among international travelers after hospitalization abroad.

tumefaciens (Zhang et al, 2002) In the case of the bacteroidete

tumefaciens (Zhang et al., 2002). In the case of the bacteroidete FK228 T. maritimum, the presence of a QQ enzyme for long AHLs may represent an exclusion mechanism to interfere with the QS systems of competitors (Dong

& Zhang, 2005). Evidence is beginning to accumulate indicating that QS and QS inhibition processes, including enzymatic degradation of the signal or QQ, are important in the marine environment. Besides the well-characterized phenomenon of the production of furanones by the red alga D. pulchra to avoid surface colonization by Gram-negative biofilm formers (Givskov et al., 1996), QS systems mediated by AHLs have been found in many species of marine pathogenic bacteria (Bruhn et al., 2005). AHLs also seem to play an important role in the eukaryotic–prokaryotic interactions in the marine environment, as demonstrated by the importance of the production of AHLs by marine biofilms for the surface selection and permanent attachment of zoospores of the green alga Ulva (Tait et al., 2005), for spore release of the red alga Acrochaetium sp. (Weinberger et al., 2007), and for some initial larval settlement behaviours in the polychaete Hydroides elegans (Huang et al., 2007). As most of the isolates involved in algal morphogenesis belong to the CFB group (Hanzawa et al., 1998; Matsuo et al., 2003), the discovery of the production

and degradation of AHLs by members of this group provides the possibility of new interactions Ruxolitinib manufacturer Mannose-binding protein-associated serine protease between bacteria and eukaryotes in the marine environment. For the first time, the production of AHL-type QS signals and QQ activity has been demonstrated simultaneously in a pathogenic member of the CFB group. Because of the ecological significance of the Cytophaga–Flavobacterium cluster, especially in the marine environment, the discovery of AHL-mediated QS processes among

their members will advance our understanding of the microbial interactions in complex ecosystems. Moreover, cell-to-cell communication phenomena should be reconsidered in other habitats in which the Bacteroidetes play an important role, such as intestinal flora or dental plaque. As QS controls the expression of important virulence factors in many pathogenic bacteria, the disruption of QS mechanisms in T. maritimum and other fish pathogenic bacteria may represent a new strategy for the treatment of infections in aquaculture. This work was financed by a grant from Consellería de Innovación e Industria, Xunta de Galicia, Spain (PGIDIT06PXIB200045PR). M.R. is supported by an FPU fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education. We would like to thank Noemi Ladra (University of Santiago) and Catherine Ortori (University of Nottingham) for LC-MS analysis. The sensor Chromobacterium violaceum VIR07 was kindly provided by Prof. T. Morohoshi. “
“Biofilm detachment is a physiologically regulated process that facilitates the release of cells to colonize new sites and cause infections.

tumefaciens (Zhang et al, 2002) In the case of the bacteroidete

tumefaciens (Zhang et al., 2002). In the case of the bacteroidete selleck screening library T. maritimum, the presence of a QQ enzyme for long AHLs may represent an exclusion mechanism to interfere with the QS systems of competitors (Dong

& Zhang, 2005). Evidence is beginning to accumulate indicating that QS and QS inhibition processes, including enzymatic degradation of the signal or QQ, are important in the marine environment. Besides the well-characterized phenomenon of the production of furanones by the red alga D. pulchra to avoid surface colonization by Gram-negative biofilm formers (Givskov et al., 1996), QS systems mediated by AHLs have been found in many species of marine pathogenic bacteria (Bruhn et al., 2005). AHLs also seem to play an important role in the eukaryotic–prokaryotic interactions in the marine environment, as demonstrated by the importance of the production of AHLs by marine biofilms for the surface selection and permanent attachment of zoospores of the green alga Ulva (Tait et al., 2005), for spore release of the red alga Acrochaetium sp. (Weinberger et al., 2007), and for some initial larval settlement behaviours in the polychaete Hydroides elegans (Huang et al., 2007). As most of the isolates involved in algal morphogenesis belong to the CFB group (Hanzawa et al., 1998; Matsuo et al., 2003), the discovery of the production

and degradation of AHLs by members of this group provides the possibility of new interactions BGB324 datasheet PRKD3 between bacteria and eukaryotes in the marine environment. For the first time, the production of AHL-type QS signals and QQ activity has been demonstrated simultaneously in a pathogenic member of the CFB group. Because of the ecological significance of the Cytophaga–Flavobacterium cluster, especially in the marine environment, the discovery of AHL-mediated QS processes among

their members will advance our understanding of the microbial interactions in complex ecosystems. Moreover, cell-to-cell communication phenomena should be reconsidered in other habitats in which the Bacteroidetes play an important role, such as intestinal flora or dental plaque. As QS controls the expression of important virulence factors in many pathogenic bacteria, the disruption of QS mechanisms in T. maritimum and other fish pathogenic bacteria may represent a new strategy for the treatment of infections in aquaculture. This work was financed by a grant from Consellería de Innovación e Industria, Xunta de Galicia, Spain (PGIDIT06PXIB200045PR). M.R. is supported by an FPU fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education. We would like to thank Noemi Ladra (University of Santiago) and Catherine Ortori (University of Nottingham) for LC-MS analysis. The sensor Chromobacterium violaceum VIR07 was kindly provided by Prof. T. Morohoshi. “
“Biofilm detachment is a physiologically regulated process that facilitates the release of cells to colonize new sites and cause infections.