The field of cyanobacterial biofuel production is advancing rapidly, yet we know little of the basic biology of these organisms outside of their photosynthetic pathways. We aimed to gain a greater understanding of how the cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803 (Synechocystis, hereafter) modulates its cell surface. Such understanding will allow for the creation of mutants that autoflocculate in a regulated way, thus avoiding energy intensive centrifugation in the creation of biofuels. We constructed mutant strains lacking genes predicted to function in carbohydrate transport or synthesis. Strains with gene deletions of slr0977 (predicted to encode a permease component of an ABC transporter), slr0982 (predicted to encode an ATP binding component of an ABC transporter) and slr1610 (predicted to encode a methyltransferase) demonstrated flocculent phenotypes and increased adherence to glass. Upon bioinformatic inspection, the gene products of slr0977, slr0982, and slr1610 appear to function in O-antigen (OAg) transport and synthesis. However, the analysis provided here demonstrated no differences between OAg purified from wild-type and mutants. However, exopolysaccharides (EPS) purified from mutants were altered in composition when compared to wild-type. Our data suggest that there are multiple means to modulate the cell surface of Synechocystis by disrupting different combinations of ABC transporters and/or glycosyl transferases. Further understanding of these mechanisms may allow for the development of industrially and ecologically useful strains of cyanobacteria. Additionally, these data imply that many cyanobacterial gene products may possess as-yet undiscovered functions, and are meritorious of further study.

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, a gram-negative facultative rod-shaped bacterium causing salmonellosis and foodborne disease, is one of the most common isolated Salmonella serovars in both developed and developing nations. Several S. Typhimurium genomes have been completed and many more genome-sequencing projects are underway. Comparative genome analysis of the multiple strains leads to a better understanding of the evolution of S. Typhimurium and its pathogenesis. S. Typhimurium strain UK-1 (belongs to phage type 1) is highly virulent when orally administered to mice and chickens and efficiently colonizes lymphoid tissues of these species. These characteristics make this strain a good choice for use in vaccine development. In fact, UK-1 has been used as the parent strain for a number of nonrecombinant and recombinant vaccine strains, including several commercial vaccines for poultry. In this study, we conducted a thorough comparative genome analysis of the UK-1 strain with other S. Typhimurium strains and examined the phenotypic impact of several genomic differences. Whole genomic comparison highlights an extremely close relationship between the UK-1 strain and other S. Typhimurium strains; however, many interesting genetic and genomic variations specific to UK-1 were explored. In particular, the deletion of a UK-1-specific gene that is highly similar to the gene encoding the T3SS effector protein NleC exhibited a significant decrease in oral virulence in BALB/c mice. The complete genetic complements in UK-1, especially those elements that contribute to virulence or aid in determining the diversity within bacterial species, provide key information in evaluating the functional characterization of important genetic determinants and for development of vaccines.