gamma-CMD from the thermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus (Ss gamma-CMD) is encoded by the pcaC gene and is composed of 139 amino-acid residues with a molecular mass of 15 945 Da. Ss gamma-CMD was crystallized and X-ray data were collected to 2.40 angstrom resolution. The crystal belonged to space group P4(3)2(1)2, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 66.66, c = 184.82 angstrom. The Matthews coefficient and solvent content were estimated to be 2.14 angstrom(3) Da(-1) and 42.6%, respectively, assuming that the asymmetric unit contained three recombinant protein molecules.”
“The filoviruses, Marburg virus (MARV) and Ebola virus, causes severe hemorrhagic

fever with high mortality in humans and find more nonhuman primates. A promising filovirus vaccine under development is based on a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (rVSV) that expresses individual filovirus glycoproteins (GPs) in place of the VSV glycoprotein (G). These vaccines have shown 100% efficacy against filovirus infection in nonhuman primates when challenge occurs 28-35 days after a single injection immunization. Here, we examined the ability of a rVSV MARV-GP vaccine to provide protection when challenge occurs more than a year after vaccination. Cynomolgus macaques were immunized with rVSV-MARV-GP and challenged

with MARV Entinostat mechanism of action approximately 14 months after vaccination. Immunization resulted in the vaccine cohort of six animals having anti-MARV GP IgG throughout the pre-challenge period. Following MARV challenge none of the vaccinated animals showed any signs of clinical disease or viremia and all were completely

protected from MARV infection. Two unvaccinated control animals exhibited signs consistent with MARV infection and both succumbed. Importantly, these data are the first to show 100% protective efficacy against any high dose filovirus challenge beyond 8 weeks after final vaccination. These findings demonstrate the durability of VSV-based Selleckchem NU7441 filovirus vaccines.”
“Bird species are hypothesized to join mixed-species flocks (flocks hereon) either for direct foraging or anti-predation-related benefits. In this study, conducted in a tropical evergreen forest in the Western Ghats of India, we used intra-flock association patterns to generate a community-wide assessment of flocking benefits for different species. We assumed that individuals needed to be physically proximate to particular heterospecific individuals within flocks to obtain any direct foraging benefit (flushed prey, kleptoparasitism, copying foraging locations). Alternatively, for anti-predation benefits, physical proximity to particular heterospecifics is not required, i.e. just being in the flock vicinity can suffice.