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Dive into the research topics where Ana Cifuentes is active.

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Featured researches published by Ana Cifuentes.


Applied and Environmental Microbiology | 2003

The ars Detoxification System Is Advantageous but Not Required for As(V) Respiration by the Genetically Tractable Shewanella Species Strain ANA-3

Chad W. Saltikov; Ana Cifuentes; Kasthuri Venkateswaran; Dianne K. Newman

ABSTRACT Arsenate [As(V); HAsO42−] respiration by bacteria is poorly understood at the molecular level largely due to a paucity of genetically tractable organisms with this metabolic capability. We report here the isolation of a new As(V)-respiring strain (ANA-3) that is phylogenetically related to members of the genus Shewanella and that also provides a useful model system with which to explore the molecular basis of As(V) respiration. This gram-negative strain stoichiometrically couples the oxidation of lactate to acetate with the reduction of As(V) to arsenite [As(III); HAsO2]. The generation time and lactate molar growth yield (Ylactate) are 2.8 h and 10.0 g of cells mol of lactate−1, respectively, when it is grown anaerobically on lactate and As(V). ANA-3 uses a wide variety of terminal electron acceptors, including oxygen, soluble ferric iron, oxides of iron and manganese, nitrate, fumarate, the humic acid functional analog 2,6-anthraquinone disulfonate, and thiosulfate. ANA-3 also reduces As(V) to As(III) in the presence of oxygen and resists high concentrations of As(III) (up to 10 mM) when grown under either aerobic or anaerobic conditions. ANA-3 possesses an ars operon (arsDABC) that allows it to resist high levels of As(III); this operon also confers resistance to the As-sensitive strains Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 and Escherichia coli AW3110. When the gene encoding the As(III) efflux pump, arsB, is inactivated in ANA-3 by a polar mutation that also eliminates the expression of arsC, which encodes an As(V) reductase, the resulting As(III)-sensitive strain still respires As(V); however, the generation time and the Ylactate value are two- and threefold lower, respectively, than those of the wild type. These results suggest that ArsB and ArsC may be useful for As(V)-respiring bacteria in environments where As concentrations are high, but that neither is required for respiration.


Systematic and Applied Microbiology | 2013

Description of Bacillus toyonensis sp. nov., a novel species of the Bacillus cereus group, and pairwise genome comparisons of the species of the group by means of ANI calculations

Guillermo Jiménez; Mercedes Urdiain; Ana Cifuentes; Aránzazu López-López; Anicet R. Blanch; Javier Tamames; Peter Kämpfer; Anne-Brit Kolstø; Daniel Ramón; Juan F. Martínez; Francisco M. Codoñer; Ramon Rosselló-Móra

Strain BCT-7112(T) was isolated in 1966 in Japan from a survey designed to obtain naturally occurring microorganisms as pure cultures in the laboratory for use as probiotics in animal nutrition. This strain, which was primarily identified as Bacillus cereus var toyoi, has been in use for more than 30 years as the active ingredient of the preparation TOYOCERIN(®), an additive for use in animal nutrition (e.g. swine, poultry, cattle, rabbits and aquaculture). Despite the fact that the strain was initially classified as B. cereus, it showed significant genomic differences from the type strains of the B. cereus group that were large enough (ANI values below 92%) to allow it to be considered as a different species within the group. The polyphasic taxonomic study presented here provides sufficient discriminative parameters to classify BCT-7112(T) as a new species for which the name Bacillus toyonensis sp. nov. is proposed, with BCT-7112(T) (=CECT 876(T); =NCIMB 14858(T)) being designated as the type strain. In addition, a pairwise comparison between the available genomes of the whole B. cereus group by means of average nucleotide identity (ANI) calculations indicated that besides the eight classified species (including B. toyonensis), additional genomospecies could be detected, and most of them also had ANI values below 94%. ANI values were on the borderline of a species definition only in the cases of representatives of B. cereus versus B. thuringiensis, and B. mycoides and B. weihenstephanensis.


Applied and Environmental Microbiology | 2000

Prokaryotic Diversity in Zostera noltii-Colonized Marine Sediments

Ana Cifuentes; Josefa Antón; Susana Benlloch; Andrew Donnelly; Rodney A. Herbert; Francisco Rodriguez-Valera

ABSTRACT The diversity of microorganisms present in a sediment colonized by the phanerogam Zostera noltii has been analyzed. Microbial DNA was extracted and used for constructing two 16S rDNA clone libraries for Bacteria and Archaea. Bacterial diversity was very high in these samples, since 57 different sequences were found among the 60 clones analyzed. Eight major lineages of the Domain Bacteria were represented in the library. The most frequently retrieved bacterial group (36% of the clones) was δ-Proteobacteria related to sulfate-reducing bacteria. The second most abundant group (27%) was γ-Proteobacteria, including five clones closely related to S-oxidizing endosymbionts. The archaeal clone library included members of Crenarchaeota and Euryarchaeota, with nine different sequences among the 15 analyzed clones, indicating less diversity when compared to the Bacteria organisms. None of these sequences was closely related to culturedArchaea organisms.


Systematic and Applied Microbiology | 2015

Diversity of extremely halophilic cultivable prokaryotes in Mediterranean, Atlantic and Pacific solar salterns: Evidence that unexplored sites constitute sources of cultivable novelty

Tomeu Viver; Ana Cifuentes; Sara Díaz; Gustavo Rodríguez-Valdecantos; Bernardo González; Josefa Antón; Ramon Rosselló-Móra

The culturable fraction of aerobic, heterotrophic and extremely halophilic microbiota retrieved from sediment and brine samples of eight sampling sites in the Mediterranean, Canary Islands and Chile was studied by means of a tandem approach combining large-scale cultivation, MALDI-TOF MS targeting whole cell biomass, and phylogenetic reconstruction based on 16S rRNA gene analysis. The approach allowed the identification of more than 4200 strains and a comparison between different sampling sites. The results indicated that the method constituted an excellent tool for the discovery of taxonomic novelty. Four new genera and nine new species could be identified within the archaeal family Halobacteriaceae, as well as one new bacterial species, and a representative of Salinibacter ruber phylotype II, a group that had been refractory to isolation for the last fifteen years. Altogether, the results indicated that in order to provide better yields for the retrieval of novel taxa from the environment, performance of non-redundant environment sampling is recommended together with the screening of large sets of strains.


PLOS ONE | 2013

High metabolomic microdiversity within co-occurring isolates of the extremely halophilic bacterium Salinibacter ruber

Josefa Antón; Marianna Lucio; Arantxa Peña; Ana Cifuentes; Jocelyn Brito-Echeverría; Franco Moritz; Dimitrios Tziotis; Cristina López; Mercedes Urdiain; Philippe Schmitt-Kopplin; Ramon Rosselló-Móra

Salinibacter ruber is an extremely halophilic member of the Bacteroidetes that thrives in crystallizer ponds worldwide. Here, we have analyzed two sets of 22 and 35 co-occurring S. ruber strains, newly isolated respectively, from 100 microliters water samples from crystalizer ponds in Santa Pola and Mallorca, located in coastal and inland Mediterranean Spain and 350 km apart from each other. A set of old strains isolated from the same setting were included in the analysis. Genomic and taxonomy relatedness of the strains were analyzed by means of PFGE and MALDI-TOF, respectively, while their metabolomic potential was explored with high resolution ion cyclotron resonance Fourier transform mass spectrometry (ICR-FT/MS). Overall our results show a phylogenetically very homogeneous species expressing a very diverse metabolomic pool. The combination of MALDI-TOF and PFGE provides, for the newly isolated strains, the same scenario presented by the previous studies of intra-specific diversity of S. ruber using a more restricted number of strains: the species seems to be very homogeneous at the ribosomal level while the genomic diversity encountered was rather high since no identical genome patterns could be retrieved from each of the samples. The high analytical mass resolution of ICR-FT/MS enabled the description of thousands of putative metabolites from which to date only few can be annotated in databases. Some metabolomic differences, mainly related to lipid metabolism and antibiotic-related compounds, provided enough specificity to delineate different clusters within the co-occurring strains. In addition, metabolomic differences were found between old and new strains isolated from the same ponds that could be related to extended exposure to laboratory conditions.


Systematic and Applied Microbiology | 2012

Neoscardovia arbecensis gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from porcine slurries

Cristina García-Aljaro; Elisenda Ballesté; Ramon Rosselló-Móra; Ana Cifuentes; Michael Richter; Anicet R. Blanch

Three Gram-positive, anaerobic, pleomorphic strains (PG10(T), PG18 and PG22), were selected among five strains isolated from pig slurries while searching for host specific bifidobacteria to track the source of fecal pollution in water. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence showed a maximum identity of 94% to various species of the family Bifidobacteriaceae. However, phylogenetic analyses of 16S rRNA and HSP60 gene sequences revealed a closer relationship of these strains to members of the recently described Aeriscardovia, Parascardovia and Scardovia genera, than to other Bifidobacterium species. The names Neoscardovia gen. nov. and Neoscardovia arbecensis sp. nov. are proposed for a new genus and for the first species belonging to this genus, respectively, and for which PG10(T) (CECT 8111(T), DSM 25737(T)) was designated as the type strain. This new species should be placed in the Bifidobacteriaceae family within the class Actinobacteria, with Aeriscardovia aeriphila being the closest relative. The prevailing cellular fatty acids were C(16:0) and C(18:1)ω9c, and the major polar lipids consisted of a variety of glycolipids, diphosphatidyl glycerol, two unidentified phospholipids, and phosphatidyl glycerol. The peptidoglycan structure was A1γmeso-Dpm-direct. The GenBank accession numbers for the 16S rRNA gene and HSP60 gene sequences of strains PG10(T), PG18 and PG22 are JF519691, JF519693, JQ767128 and JQ767130, JQ767131, JQ767133, respectively.


Systematic and Applied Microbiology | 2015

Crohn associated microbial communities associated to colonic mucosal biopsies in patients of the western Mediterranean.

Roberto Vidal; Daniel Ginard; Sam Khorrami; Merit del Rocio Mora-Ruiz; Raul Munoz; Marcela A. Hermoso; Sara Díaz; Ana Cifuentes; Alejandro Orfila; Ramon Rosselló-Móra

Next generation sequencing approaches allow the retrieval of several orders of magnitude larger numbers of amplified single sequences in 16S rRNA diversity surveys than classical methods. However, the sequences are only partial and thus lack sufficient resolution for a reliable identification. The OPU approach used here, based on a tandem combination of high quality 454 sequences (mean >500 nuc) applying strict OTU thresholds, and phylogenetic inference based on parsimony additions to preexisting trees, seemed to improve the identification yields at the species and genus levels. A total of thirteen biopsies of Crohn-diagnosed patients (CD) and seven healthy controls (HC) were studied. In most of the cases (73%), sequences were affiliated to known species or genera and distinct microbial patterns could be distinguished among the CD subjects, with a common depletion of Clostridia and either an increased presence of Bacteroidetes (CD1) or an anomalous overrepresentation of Proteobacteria (CD2). Faecalibacterium prausnitzii presence was undetectable in CD, whereas Bacteroides vulgatus-B. dorei characterized HC and some CD groups. Altogether, the results showed that a microbial composition with predominance of Clostridia followed by Bacteroidetes, with F. prausnitzii and B. vulgatus-B. dorei as major key bacteria, characterized what could be considered a balanced structure in HC. The depletion of Clostridia seemed to be a common trait in CD.


Journal of Animal Science | 2014

Technical note: Comparison of automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis to assess bacterial diversity in the rumen of sheep.

C. Saro; M.J. Ranilla; Ana Cifuentes; Ramon Rosselló-Móra; M.D. Carro

The aim of this study was to compare automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) techniques to assess bacterial diversity in the rumen of sheep. Sheep were fed 2 diets with 70% of either alfalfa hay or grass hay, and the solid (SOL) and liquid (LIQ) phases of the rumen were sampled immediately before feeding (0 h) and at 4 and 8 h postfeeding. Both techniques detected similar differences between forages, with alfalfa hay promoting greater (P < 0.05) bacterial diversity than grass hay. In contrast, whereas ARISA analysis showed a decrease (P < 0.05) of bacterial diversity in SOL at 4 h postfeeding compared with 0 and 8 h samplings, no variations (P > 0.05) over the postfeeding period were detected by DGGE. The ARISA technique showed lower (P < 0.05) bacterial diversity in SOL than in LIQ samples at 4 h postfeeding, but no differences (P > 0.05) in bacterial diversity between both rumen phases were detected by DGGE. Under the conditions of this study, the DGGE was not sensitive enough to detect some changes in ruminal bacterial communities, and therefore ARISA was considered more accurate for assessing bacterial diversity of ruminal samples. The results highlight the influence of the fingerprinting technique used to draw conclusions on factors affecting ruminal bacterial diversity.


Hepatology | 2002

Detection and identification of bacterial DNA in patients with cirrhosis and culture-negative, nonneutrocytic ascites☆

José Such; Rubén Francés; Carlos Muñoz; Pedro Zapater; Juan Antonio Casellas; Ana Cifuentes; Francisco Rodriguez-Valera; Sonia Pascual; Javier Sola-Vera; Fernando Carnicer; Francisco Uceda; Palazón Jm; Miguel Pérez-Mateo


Systematic and Applied Microbiology | 2013

Sequencing orphan species initiative (SOS): filling the gaps in the 16S rRNA gene sequence database for all species with validly published names

Pablo Yarza; Cathrin Spröer; Jolantha Swiderski; Nicole Mrotzek; Stefan Spring; Brian J. Tindall; Sabine Gronow; Rüdiger Pukall; Hans-Peter Klenk; Elke Lang; Susanne Verbarg; Audra Crouch; Timothy Lilburn; Brian Beck; Christel Unosson; Sofia Cardew; Edward R. B. Moore; Margarita Gomila; Yasuyoshi Nakagawa; Danielle Janssens; Paul De Vos; Jindrich Peiren; Timo Suttels; Dominique Clermont; Chantal Bizet; Mitsuo Sakamoto; Toshiya Iida; Takuji Kudo; Yoshimasa Kosako; Yumi Oshida

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Ramon Rosselló-Móra

Spanish National Research Council

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Mercedes Urdiain

Spanish National Research Council

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Sara Díaz

Spanish National Research Council

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Alejandro Orfila

Spanish National Research Council

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Raul Munoz

Spanish National Research Council

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Tomeu Viver

Spanish National Research Council

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