JOURNAL WATCH

JOURNAL WATCH

Jennifer A. Herzog
Herkimer County Community College, E-mail:
herzogja@herkimer.edu .

Welcome to the second issue of JMBE 2.0 ! As in the past, I have provided articles on recent developments and new technology used in microbiology and related fields. I have also continued to post articles that may help you bring new information or techniques into your laboratory or classroom via case studies or lab exercises. I hope you find this information useful, and I encourage you to send suggestions, questions or comments to me. I look forward to hearing from you!

Research Articles

Cheolho, C., J. Matos, J.-H. Choi, D.B. Dandamudi, E. Shrestha, M.P. Longhi, et al. 2010. Microbial stimulation fully differentiates monocytes to DC-SIGN/CD209 + den-dritic cells for immune T cell areas. Cell 143: 416–429.

(Blood monocytes appear to become the predominant antigen presenting cell in response to gram-negative bacteria or lipopolysaccharide, via TLR4, CD14, and Trif. An accompanying review article is found on page 339 in this issue.)

Stolper, D.A., N.P. Reysbech, and D.E. Canfield. 2010. Aerobic growth at nanomolar oxygen concentrations. PNAS 107: 18755–18760. (doi: 10.1073/pnas.1013435107)

(E. coli K-12 is capable of growing at less than 3nM concentrations of oxygen, a level that is much lower than ever observed previously, providing insight into the habitat range and evolution of aerobic microorganisms.)

Benson, A.K., S.A. Kelly, R. Legge, F. Ma, S. J. Jow, J. Kim, et al. 2010. Individuality in gut microbiota composition is a complex polygenic trait shaped by multiple environmental and host genetic factors. PNAS 107: 18933–18938. (doi: 10.1073/pnas.1007028107)

(Study providing evidence illustrating the role of host genetic control in the development of microbial diversity in mammals.)

Dubey, J.P., C. Rajendran, L.R. Ferreira, O.C.H. Kwok, D. Sinnett, D. Majumdar, et al. 2010. A new atypical highly mouse virulent Toxoplasma gondii genotype isolated from a wild black bear in Alaska. J. Parasitology 96: 713–716.

(The identification of a novel strain of T. gondii that is circulating in wildlife in North America and may be related to recent infections in immunocompetent individuals.)

Porterfield, J.Z., and A. Zlotnick. 2010. A simple and general method for determining the protein and nucleic acid content of viruses by UV absorbance. Virology 407: 281–288. (doi:10.1016/j.virol.2010.08.015)

(Reliable method for UV spectra-based determination of RNA and protein concentration in any virus-like particle.)

Pedagogy Articles

Paulsen, F.P., M. Eichhorn, and L. Bräuer. 2010. Virtual microscopy – the future of teaching histology in the medical curriculum? Ann Anat. [Oct 22] (doi:10.1016/j.aanat.2010.09.008).

(An analysis of the potential use of virtual microscopy to effectively teach histology, microbiology and other related areas of study in professional schools.)

Lecky, D.M., C.A. McNulty, P. Touboul, T. K. Herotova, J. Benes, P. Dellamonica, et al. 2010. Evaluation of e-Bug, an educational pack, teaching about prudent antibiotic use and hygiene, in the Czech Republic, France and England. J. Antimicrob. Chemother. [Oct 18] (doi: 10.1093/jac/dkq356).

(An overview of a teaching tool for secondary schools with accompanying data demonstrating an enhancement of student learning and retention in regards to hygiene and the use of antibiotics. Please see the following website for more information and activities: www.e-bug.uu)

Yip, C. W. 2010. A basic microbiology course for high school students. The American Biology Teacher 72: 485–488. (doi: 10.1525/abt.2010.72.8.4)

(Information regarding the organization and presentation of a 5-day course in general microbiology developed for high school students. NOTE : This entire issue is dedicated to microbiology (“Earth’s Microbes”))

(Return to Top)

DOI: 10.1128/jmbe.v11i2.238
Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education , December 2010
Copyright © 2010 American Society for Microbiology . All Rights Reserved



JMBE
ISSN: 1935-7885