Xylan contains a backbone of β-linked d-xylose residues that can be decorated with acetyl-, l-arabinose, d-galactose, (4-O-methyl-)d-glucuronic acid and ferulic acid. Mannan contains a β-linked d-mannose backbone that can be decorated with α- and β-linked d-galactose and, depending on the origin, can contain single d-glucose residues interrupting the mannose main chain (referred to as glucomannan). Xyloglucan contains a β-linked d-glucose backbone that is decorated with α-linked d-xylose residues. Attached to these residues are d-galactose, l-arabinose and/or l-fucose residues. d-Galactose is the only component common to all three hemicelluloses and is also found in pectin (Pauly & Keegstra, 2010).

The enzymatic hydrolysis of these polysaccharides is subject to significant industrial interest, AZD4547 both in the food and feed as well as the wood-manufacturing sector (Bhat, 2000). Amongst microorganisms with

an ability to produce plant cell wall degrading enzymes, fungi are by far the most interesting Daporinad manufacturer group. Besides certain Trichoderma species, black Aspergilli such as Aspergillus niger are the most important organisms because of their high protein secretion capacity and wide range of cell wall degrading enzyme activity (de Vries & Visser, 2001). In recent years, considerable knowledge has been accumulated on the enzyme systems and genes involved in degrading hemicelluloses to their monomers and also about the further metabolism of the hemicellulose monomers in fungi (Flipphi et al., 2009). With respect to d-galactose, information has been obtained in Trichoderma reesei (Seiboth et al., 2002, 2003, 2004; Karaffa et al., 2006) and Aspergillus nidulans (Fekete et al., 2004; Christensen et al., 2011). In addition to the Leloir pathway, these fungi possess a second pathway for d-galactose catabolism, which, in analogy to the l-arabinose catabolic pathway, uses reductive and oxidative reactions to convert

d-galactose into d-fructose-6-phosphate (Seiboth & Metz, 2011). Although genome information from A. niger has shown the presence of all genes/enzymes needed to degrade d-galactose (Flipphi Silibinin et al., 2009), only few experimental data are available on its metabolism (Mojzita et al., 2011; Koivistoinen et al., 2012). This may be due to the fact that with the exception of Aspergillus brasiliensis, d-galactose is considered a very poor carbon source for black Aspergilli including A. niger (Meijer et al., 2011), which hampers efforts to cultivate it on d-galactose. Growth on d-galactose containing complex carbohydrates may also be affected, depending on which other carbon sources are present and the ratio of these and galactose in the carbohydrate. The aim of this study was to analyse and understand the physiological background of this phenomenon in A. niger. Aspergillus niger N402 (FGSC A733; cspA1) was used in this study (Bos et al.,1988).

Responses had to occur during the last 250 ms of the trace period, and the EMG signal had to stay above the predetermined threshold for at least 10 ms for a blink to be classified as a learned response. The learning criterion was set at > 60% learned responses during at least one 100-trial block. When the effects of chemotherapy on retention of trace memories (Fig. 1D) were studied, an even more stringent criterion was used during initial training

– Rats had to express > 60% learned responses during two of three consecutive 100-trial blocks before their ability to remember the conditioned response after administration of TMZ was tested. The highest percentage of learned responses reached Dabrafenib cost during a 100-trial block was used as an indicator of how well a rat had learned (peak performance). To assess the effects of chemotherapy on hippocampal theta activity, RG7422 in vivo the relative power of theta activity during a 5-min stimulus-free period immediately preceding the first eyeblink conditioning session (spontaneous) and that induced by the CS during eyeblink conditioning were derived. To examine spontaneous theta activity, the 5-min recording

was divided into 50 artefact-free 3-s sweeps that were used for analysis. To examine induced theta activity, a 500-ms time period starting 250 ms after the onset of the CS was selected for analysis from each conditioning trial, thus avoiding the effect of immediate mafosfamide event-related potentials. Sweeps

with artefacts most commonly caused by rapid large-scale movements were automatically rejected from the analysis by simple amplitude thresholding with Matlab. Next, to determine the relative power of hippocampal theta activity [theta/(delta + theta)], a fast Fourier transform was used to analyse the frequency composition of the signal. From the result, the relative power of hippocampal theta activity was determined as the ratio between the power of the signal at 4.5–10.3 Hz and the power of the signal at 1.5–10.3 Hz (theta ratio). Naturally, induced theta ratios were analysed separately for each experiment (Fig. 1B–D). However, regarding the effects of TMZ on spontaneous theta activity, data from two experiments (Fig. 1B and C) were combined to form one group, because the rats in both experiments had been subjected to identical experimental procedures (4 weeks of TMZ/saline) until the first eyeblink conditioning session. Data from the last experiment (Fig. 1D) were used to examine the effects of only 1 week of TMZ/saline treatment on spontaneous theta activity. Rats were euthanised 1 week after the BrdU injection, when the effects of chemotherapy on the retention of a trace memory were assessed (Fig. 1D). In all other experiments (Fig. 1A–C), rats were euthanised 3 weeks after the BrdU injection(s).

Anti-epithelial cell antibodies (AECA) GSK2118436 chemical structure and anti-aorta antibodies were reported to be found in patients with TAK.[95] In spite of several reports of functional involvement of AECA, its effect is still under controversy.[96-99] There are also reports that TAK patients often having anti-phospholipid antibodies.[100] However, the positivity of these autoantibodies and the functional meaning remain unclear. Taken together, recent study results have elucidated the basics

of TAK much more than before. Novel therapies, including biological agents, are now being tried for refractory TAK. However, further efforts to collect samples and information by a standardized method are necessary to improve the prognosis of patients with TAK. No competing interest exists. “
“A case of a 37-year-old pregnant patient with antiphospholipid syndrome

(APS), who has a medical history of both thrombosis and recurrent fetal loss, is presented. She was treated with predonisolone and fixed-dose unfractionated heparin (UFH) infusion, followed by plasmaphereses and fixed-dose low-molecular-weight heparin infusion during her fourth pregnancy. Unfortunately, this treatment did not have beneficial effects, resulting in intrauterine growth restriction and finally neonatal death. Continuous intravenous UFH infusion and low-dose aspirin were administrated under the monitoring of the activated partial thromboplastin time to achieve a target level of 120 s during her fifth pregnancy. A healthy baby weighing 1818 g at birth was delivered by Cesarean section at the 34th week of pregnancy. High-dose UFH infusion may be considered MDV3100 to be one of the preferable options to manage pregnant patients next with refractory APS. “
“Serum vitamin D level was inversely associated with the risk of developing new onset rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and disease activity, but some conflicting results have been reported. To examine the serum vitamin D status in Thai RA patients and possible independent factors affecting serum 25 hydroxyvitamin vitamin D (25(OH)D) and the associations of serum 25(OH)D level and the disease activity and functional status

in Thai RA patients. A cross-sectional study was performed in 239 Thai RA patients. The blood levels of 25(OH)D2 and D3 were measured by chemiluminescent immunoassay. Disease activity was assessed according to tender and swollen joint counts, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), visual analog scale for global patient assessment, Disease Activity Score-28 (DAS-28) and Thai Health Assessment Questionnaire (Thai HAQ). The mean vitamin D level was 28.79 ng/mL. There were no associations between 25(OH)D levels and number of tender and swollen joint counts, DAS-28 score, HAQ score or rheumatoid factor (RF) and/or anti-cyclic citrulinated peptide (CCP) positivity. After multivariated analysis, Bangkok residents, non-farmer, obesity and non-vitamin D supplementation were the predictors for vitamin D insufficiency in Thai patients with RA.

In this study, we addressed

the roles of areA in virulence, secondary metabolism, vegetative growth, and sexual development. A functional study of areA can increase our understanding of the relationships between nitrogen metabolism and fungal development in www.selleckchem.com/products/cx-5461.html G. zeae. The wild-type strain GZ3639 of G. zeae (Bowden & Leslie, 1999) and transgenic strains derived from this strain were used in this study (Table 1). All strains were stored as mycelia and conidia in a 20% glycerol solution at −70 °C. Standard laboratory methods and culture media for the Fusarium species were used (Leslie & Summerell, 2006). The growth rate of wild-type and transgenic strains was measured in complete medium (CM) and minimal medium (MM) (Leslie & Summerell, 2006) supplemented with 20 mM sodium nitrate, urea, ammonium tartrate, or l-glutamine as the sole nitrogen source. Fungal genomic DNA was isolated from freeze-dried mycelia powder as previously described (Leslie & Summerell, 2006). Standard procedures were used for agarose gel electrophoresis, restriction endonuclease digestion, and Southern blot analysis using 32P-labeled probes (Sambrook & Russell, 2001). Primers used in this study were synthesized by an oligonucleotide synthesis facility (Bionics, Seoul, Korea; Supporting

Information, Table S1). General PCR was performed following the manufacturer’s instructions (Takara Bio Inc., Otsu, Japan). DNA cassettes for targeted gene deletion and complementation were constructed using a slightly modified double-joint (DJ) PCR procedure (Yu et al., 2004). For deletion Cisplatin of areA, geneticin resistance gene cassette (gen) was amplified from pII99 (Namiki et al., 2001). The 5′ and 3′ regions of the target gene were amplified and the three amplicons (5′ region, gen, and 3′ region) were fused by a second round of PCR. The fusion constructs were amplified with nested primers to generate split markers (Son et al., 2011a ,b). To complement the deletion mutant, the areA gene region including the 5′ region and open reading frame (ORF) was amplified and fused with hygromycin resistance cassette (hyg) from pBCATPH (Gritz & Davies, 1983), generating

Fludarabine nmr areA-hyg construct. The GFP-areA-hyg construct was generated to visualize the localization and expression level of AreA. The 5′ flanking region of areA and ORF of green fluorescent protein (GFP) was fused with the areA-hyg construct. Fungal transformation was performed as previously described (Kim et al., 2005a,b). The virulence of G. zeae strains was determined using a susceptible wheat cultivar, Eunpamil, as previously described (Lee et al., ,b). A 10-μL aliquot of conidial suspension (1 × 105 conidia mL−1) was injected into a center spikelet of the wheat head at midanthesis. The inoculated plants were incubated in a humidity chamber for 3 days and then transferred to a greenhouse. At 14 days’ post-inoculation, the spikelets with head blight symptoms were counted. Cultures were grown on carrot agar plates for 5 days.

The frequency of transient desaturations emphasises the importance of adequate monitoring during sedation. The study highlights the need for more consistent reporting of adverse effects.

The authors declare no conflict of selleckchem interest. “
“International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry 2012; 22: 406–418 Background.  As a result of numerous rapid and exciting developments in tissue engineering technology, scientists are able to regenerate a fully functional tooth in animal models, from a bioengineered tooth germ. Advances in technology, together with our understanding of the mechanisms of tooth development and studies dealing with dentally derived stem cells, have led to significant progress in the field of tooth regeneration. Aim and design.  This review focuses on some of the recent advances in tooth bioengineering technology, the signalling pathways in tooth development, and in dental stem cell biology. These factors are highlighted in respect of Selleck NVP-BKM120 our current knowledge of tooth regeneration. Results and conclusion.  An understanding of these new approaches in tooth regeneration should help to prepare clinicians to use this new and somewhat revolutionary therapy while also enabling them to partake in future clinical trials. Tooth bioengineering promises to be at the forefront of the next generation of dental treatments.

“
“Oral health literacy is a newly emerging field with considerable research potential. To validate an original instrument, the Hong Kong Oral Health Bumetanide Literacy Assessment Task (HKOHLAT-P) for paediatric dentistry. A convenient

sample of 200 child/parent dyads attending a dental hospital in Hong Kong was selected. Convergent validity was tested by examining the association of HKOHLAT-P scores with those derived from the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Dentistry (TOFHLiD) and Hong Kong Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Dentistry (HKREALD-30). The predictive validity of HKOHLAT-P was determined by testing the association between HKOHLAT-P and children’s caries experience (dmft) and the Chinese Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS). The test-retest reliability and internal consistency of HKOHLAT-P were also evaluated. HKOHLAT-P was positively correlated with TOFHLiD and HKREALD-30 (P < 0.01), and was negatively correlated with children's dmft and ECOHIS. In the regression model, HKOHLAT-P was associated with TOFHLiD, HKEALD-30, children's dmft, and ECOHIS (P < 0.05) after controlling for participants' demographic characteristics. The intra-class correlation coefficient of HKOHLAT-P was 0.63 and the Cronbach's α was 0.71. Initial testing of HKOHLAT-P suggested that it is a valid and reliable instrument. "
“International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry 2012; 22: 310–316 Background.  Generalized aggressive periodontitis (GAP) in primary teeth is a rare periodontal disease that occurs during or soon after eruption of the primary teeth. An association with systemic diseases is a possibility. Case Report.

Intermittent mild footshock punishment of the cocaine-seeking response was then introduced. No prefrontal cortical lesion affected the ability of rats to withhold their seeking responses. However, rats with lesions to the basolateral amygdala increased their cocaine-seeking responses under punishment and were impaired in their acquisition of conditioned fear. Following a 7-day abstinence period, rats were re-exposed to the drug-seeking environment for assessment of relapse in the absence

of punishment or cocaine. Rats with prelimbic cortex lesions showed decreased seeking responses during relapse, whereas those with anterior insular cortex lesions showed an increase. Combined, these results show that acute impairment of prefrontal cortical function does click here not result in compulsive cocaine seeking after a short history of self-administering cocaine, but further implicates subregions of the prefrontal cortex

in relapse. “
“Cortical dysplasias (CDs) include a spectrum of cerebral lesions resulting from cortical development abnormalities during embryogenesis that lead to cognitive disabilities and Wortmannin solubility dmso epilepsy. The experimental model of CD obtained by means of in utero administration of BCNU (1-3-bis-chloroethyl-nitrosurea) to pregnant rats on embryonic day 15 mimics the histopathological abnormalities observed in many patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the behavioural, electrophysiological and anatomical profile of BCNU-treated rats in order to determine whether cortical and hippocampal lesions can directly lead to cognitive dysfunction. The BCNU-treated rats showed impaired short-term working memory but intact long-term aversive memory, whereas their spontaneous motor activity and anxiety-like response were normal.

The histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses, made after behavioural tests, revealed the disrupted integrity of neuronal populations and connecting fibres in hippocampus Niclosamide and prefrontal and entorhinal cortices, which are involved in memory processes. An electrophysiological evaluation of the CA1 region of in vitro hippocampal slices indicated a decrease in the efficiency of excitatory synaptic transmission and impaired paired pulse facilitation, but enhanced long-term potentiation (LTP) associated with hyperexcitability in BCNU-treated rats compared with controls. The enhanced LTP, associated with hyperexcitability, may indicate a pathological distortion of long-term plasticity. These findings suggest that prenatal developmental insults at the time of peak cortical neurogenesis can induce anatomical abnormalities associated with severe impairment of spatial working memory in adult BCNU-treated rats and may help to clarify the pathophysiological mechanisms of cognitive dysfunction that is often associated with epilepsy in patients with CD.

, 1995). Using the same antibody as in the present study, we showed that p-cofilin immunolabelling selleck chemicals is strongest

in the marginal zone and in the leading processes of migrating neurons approaching the cortical surface (Chai et al., 2009). We hypothesized that it is this Reelin-induced stabilization of the cytoskeleton in these processes that anchors them to the marginal zone, thereby determining the vertical orientation of radially migrating cortical pyramidal cells. Similar to Reelin’s proposed function on the migration of SPNs, Reelin in the neocortical marginal zone is likely to act as a stop signal, preventing migrating neocortical neurons from invading the marginal zone. In contrast, in the reeler mutant, the marginal zone is densely populated by neuronal cell bodies. We have reason to assume that the simultaneous presence of Reelin and p-cofilin is causally related: not only is the amount of p-cofilin

dramatically reduced in tissue from reeler mutants, apoer2 mutants and dab1 mutants (Chai et al., 2009), but incubation of reeler tissue in the presence of recombinant Reelin strongly increased cofilin phosphorylation, an effect that was confirmed for spinal cord tissue in the present experiments. Moreover, incubation of reeler tissue in the presence of recombinant Reelin strongly increased the phosphorylation of LIM kinase 1 (LIMK1), the enzyme that phosphorylates cofilin. LIMK1 phosphorylation and cofilin phosphorylation were significantly decreased when the tissue was incubated in the presence of PP2, an inhibitor of Src family Tyrosine-protein kinase BLK kinases that phosphorylate Dab1 upon ABT-199 cost Reelin binding to its receptors (Chai et al., 2009). Finally, the Reelin-induced phosphorylation of cofilin was significantly decreased when blockers of phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase were added. Taken together, our previous studies on neocortical tissue as well as the present experiments on tissue from the spinal cord provide strong evidence for the Reelin signalling cascade being involved in the phosphorylation of cofilin and hence cytoskeletal stabilization.

The resulting effect is similar in the cerebral cortex and spinal cord: migratory arrest of late generated neurons destined for superficial layers in the neocortex and of SPNs destined for the IMLC of the spinal cord. Compatible with this concept is that strongest Reelin expression in the spinal cord is found during the period when SPNs assemble in the IMLC (around E13; see Fig. 4). The large extracellular matrix protein Reelin plays an important role in the ordered lamination of cortical and cerebellar structures and in the assembly of SPNs in the spinal cord. One crucial mechanism that is induced by the Reelin signalling cascade is the phosphorylation of cofilin, which stabilizes the cytoskeleton and counteracts cell motility.

stutzeri. This is the first report of IS transposition directly leading to an expansion of the effective host range of a plasmid, adding a new dimension to our understanding of the relationship between plasmids and IS elements. “
“Institut Für Molekulare Infektionsbiologie, Würzburg University, Würzburg, Germany Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal Bacterial communication via the secretion of small diffusible compounds allows microorganisms to regulate gene expression in

a coordinated manner. As many virulence Dabrafenib order traits are regulated in this fashion, disruption of chemical communication has been proposed as novel antimicrobial therapy. Quorum-quenching enzymes have been a promising discovery in this field as they interfere with the communication of Gram-negative

www.selleckchem.com/products/MS-275.html bacteria. AHL-lactonases and AHL-acylases have been described in a variety of bacterial strains; however, usually only one of these two groups of enzymes has been described in a single species. We report here the presence of a member of each group of enzymes in the extremophile bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans. Co-occurrence of both enzymes in a single species increases the chance of inactivating foreign AHL signals under different conditions. We demonstrate that both enzymes are able to degrade the quorum-sensing molecules of various pathogens subsequently affecting virulence gene expression. These studies add the quorum-quenching enzymes of D. radiodurans to the list of potent quorum-quenchers and highlight the idea that quorum quenching could have evolved in some bacteria as a strategy to gain a competitive advantage by altering gene expression in other species. “
“Extracytoplasmic function mafosfamide (ECF) sigma factors are known

to play an important role in the bacterial response to various environmental stresses and can significantly modulate their pathogenic potential. In the genome of Porphyromonas gingivalis W83, six putative ECF sigma factors were identified. To further evaluate their role in this organism, a PCR-based linear transformation method was used to inactivate five ECF sigma factor genes (PG0162, PG0214, PG0985, PG1660, and PG1827) by allelic exchange mutagenesis. All five isogenic mutants formed black-pigmented colonies on blood agar. Mutants defective in PG0985, PG1660, and PG1827 genes were more sensitive to 0.25 mM of hydrogen peroxide compared with the wild-type strain. Isogenic mutants of PG0162 and PG1660 showed a 50% decrease in gingipain activity. Reverse transcription-PCR analysis showed that there was no alteration in the expression of rgpA, rgpB, and kgp gingipain genes in these mutants. Hemolytic and hemagglutination activities were decreased by more than 50% in the PG0162 mutant compared with the wild type. Taken together, these findings suggest that ECF sigma factors can modulate important virulence factors in P. gingivalis.

Briefly, bacteria were grown in 150 mL of THB in the presence of 0.05% Tween 80 and 20 mM dl-threonine until the culture reached the early-exponential phase with an OD600 nm of 0.2. The culture was chilled on ice for 30 min, and the bacteria were harvested CT99021 mw by centrifugation and washed extensively with ice-cold sterile distilled water and 10% glycerol in distilled H2O. Cells from the 150 mL culture were suspended in 0.6 mL of 10% glycerol. One hundred

microliters of suspended cells were used for each electroporation, which was conducted in a chilled 2-mm Gap cuvette using a Pulser model of ECM630 (BTX, San Diego, CA) with the following settings: 2.5 kV, 25 μF capacitor and 400 Ω resistor. One milliliter of THB with 0.05% Tween 80 was added to the pulsed cells. After 2-h incubation at 37 °C, the samples were plated on TH agar plates with appropriate selective substance(s). Nine plasmid

p6Srt derivatives were created with a QuikChange site-directed mutagenesis kit (Stratagene, La Jolla, CA): H184A, H204A, F213A, Y236A, L263A, T265A, C266A, R275A and R282A using the primer sets listed in Supporting Information, Table S1. The presence of the desired mutation in each plasmid was confirmed by sequencing the mutagenized plasmids. Actinomyces oris mutants were constructed by transforming selleck kinase inhibitor SrtC1-deficient strain A. orisΔSrtC1 with corresponding p6Srt derivative plasmids based on the allelic-exchange mechanism. Surface proteins were solubilized from A. oris T14V and its mutants using a procedure modified from a mutanolysin digestion method as described previously (Demuth et al., 1996). Briefly, cells from a 10-mL overnight culture were harvested by centrifugation and washed twice with sterile water. The washed cells were suspended in the extraction buffer at a ratio of 4 μL of buffer per milligram of wet cells. The extraction buffer consisted of 26% Baricitinib melezitose, 10 mM MgCl2, 10 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) and 1000 U mL−1

mutanolysin. After a 5-h incubation at 37 °C, the suspension was centrifuged (10 000 g, 10 min, 4 °C). The supernatant was dialyzed against distilled water using a 10-kDa molecular weight cut off mini Dialysis Units (Pierce, Rockford, IL) and stored at −20 °C for analyses. All chemicals used in the extraction were obtained from Sigma-Aldrich Corp. (St. Louis, MO). Extracted surface proteins were separated on 3–8% Tris-Acetate NuPAGE gels (Invitrogen) and transferred onto nitrocellulose membranes. These membranes were incubated with 1 μg mL−1 monoclonal antibody C8A4 directed against the structural subunit (FimP) of T14V type 1 fimbriae (Cisar et al., 1991). Membranes were washed, incubated with a secondary antibody and developed according to the instructions of WesternBreeze Chromogenic Immunodetection System kit (Invitrogen). Previously, we identified three essential genes (fimQ, fimP and srtC1) for the biosynthesis of type 1 fimbriae in A. oris T14V (Chen et al.

1b). Ethanol was the primary fermentation product; and most of it was produced during the first day and the yield increased continuously. The content of acetic acid increased significantly, especially during the first 3 days. Like ethanol, butyric acid was mainly

produced during the first day and thereafter maintained a constant level. Cellobiose was detected on the third day, and with a peak value of 0.02 g L−1 on the fourth day. Glucose was only detected on the second day, with a concentration of 0.02 g L−1. Selleckchem Selumetinib The low concentration of the cellobiose and glucose indicated their immediate consumption. A minor proportion of butanol was detected on the 10th day, with a concentration of 0.016 g L−1. Normally, butanol is produced by mesophilic anaerobic bacteria such as Clostridium acetobutylicum; however, the thermophilic bacterial mixtures (60 °C) studied here also showed butanol production, indicating the

presence of thermophilic butanol-producing species in the community. However, other fermentation products still remained to be determined. Note that FP degradation was not a secondary consequence of using l-cysteine and bicarbonate as primary carbon source. This was confirmed using a medium with FP as the sole carbon source (without l-cysteine and bicarbonate); the degradation of FP was not changed except selleck chemicals that the decomposing rate was slower. The enzyme activity of the fermentation supernatant was compared with that of C. thermocellum LQR1. The FPase and CMCase activities of the community were two times higher than that of C. thermocellum LQR1 and beta-xylosidase of the community was much more active. The activities of xylanase, beta-glucosidase and pNPCase Fludarabine nmr of C. thermocellum LQR1 were also higher (Table 1). To identify the community members, a 16S rRNA gene library of the cellulolytic consortium was constructed. Diversity levels were determined with a cutoff value of 97% sequence similarity. A total of 16 OTUs were represented

in the clone library after 50 clones were surveyed. Rarefaction analysis of the 16S rRNA clone library is shown in Fig. 2. The most abundant OTUs accounted for 42% and 18% of the clone library, and shared similarity with the type strain C. thermocellum ATCC 27405, which is known for its high cellulolytic ability due to cellulosome formation. Although the 16S rRNA gene similarities of these closes were around 87–89%, we believe that they were mainly responsible for cellulose degradation. In other studies, Clostridium straminisolvens-like sequences accounted for a large portion of cellulolytic enrichments (Izquierdo et al., 2010). In our results, one OTU accounted for only 2% of the clone library and was most similar to C. straminisolvens. However, in contrast to other cellulolytic enrichments, all sequences from the OTUs represented novel species.