Previous Article | Next Article ![]()
Journal of Virology, December 2003, p. 13171-13181, Vol. 77, No. 24
0022-538X/03/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.77.24.13171-13181.2003
Copyright © 2003, American
Society for
Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology and UF Shands Cancer Center, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida 32610-0235
Received 15 July 2003/ Accepted 4 September 2003
|
|
|---|
|
|
|---|
Interestingly, the E1B 55-kDa protein from the highly oncogenic Ad12 does not bind directly to p53, although it has a high level of sequence identity to its Ad2/5 counterpart and can similarly inhibit p53 function. Consistent with this, whereas the Ad2 55-kDa protein binds to p53 in the yeast two-hybrid assay, we were unable to detect any direct interaction between p53 and the Ad12 E1B 55-kDa protein by using the same method (16). Immunoprecipitation using various antibodies against p53 or the Ad12 E1B 55-kDa protein failed to detect an interaction between them (28, 33). Replacing the p53-binding region of the Ad2 55-kDa protein (amino acids [aa] 224 to 354) with corresponding sequence from the Ad12 55-kDa protein (aa 210 to 341) dramatically reduced its affinity to p53, although the Ad2 and Ad12 55-kDa proteins exhibit very high sequence identity in this region (5). In addition, it was shown previously that the Ad12 E1B 55-kDa protein does not sequester p53 in the cytoplasmic body (28, 33). Nonetheless, the epitopes for antibodies used in previous studies might not be exposed, so that cytoplasmic colocalization between the Ad12 55-kDa protein and p53 was not detectable. Indeed, using different anti-Ad12 55-kDa antibodies, colocalization of p53 and Ad12 E1B was clearly demonstrated (16, 29). Another difference between the Ad2 and Ad12 55-kDa proteins is the preferential nuclear localization of the Ad12 55-kDa protein (5, 14, 28), which may be explained by the presence of a functional nuclear export signal (NES) in the Ad2/5 55-kDa protein but not in the Ad12 protein (12, 14). The Ad2/5 55-kDa protein is modified by SUMO-1, a ubiquitin-like protein modifier, whereas it is not certain whether Ad12 is subjected to the same modification (4). Additionally, the Ad12 55-kDa protein is involved in the induction of chromosomal fragility at specific loci (14, 32).
Thus, precisely how the Ad12 E1B 55-kDa protein inhibits p53-mediated activities is still not clear. In this study, we have examined in detail the requirements for the colocalization of the Ad12 E1B 55-kDa protein and p53 as well as the biological effects of the Ad12 55-kDa protein on the p53 pathway.
|
|
|---|
Antibodies against p53 (DO-1 and anti-p53-393FL) were purchased from Santa Cruz Biotechnology. Anti-Flag mouse monoclonal (M2) and rabbit polyclonal antibodies were purchased from Sigma. Anti-ubiquitin antibody (FK2) was purchased from Affiniti. Anti-Ad12 E1B 55-kDa rabbit polyclonal antibody was described previously (14). Anti-giantin rabbit polyclonal antibody was provided by E. Chan (22). Antiserum to the human centrosome was provided by J. Rattner. Antiserum to protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) was as described previously (2).
Immunofluorescence microscopy. Cells grown on glass coverslips were transfected using Effectene reagent (Qiagen) and 24 h later were fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde for 20 min at room temperature and permeabilized with 0.2% Triton X-100 in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). The slides were then incubated with blocking buffer (2% fetal bovine serum, 0.1% sodium azide, and 0.1% Tween 20 in PBS). After incubation with primary antibodies, the cells were washed with PBS containing 0.1% Tween 20 and then incubated with appropriate secondary antibodies conjugated with fluorescent dyes. The cells were washed and mounted in medium containing 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI). The processed cells were examined using a Zeiss Axiophot microscope.
Luciferase reporter gene assays. Saos2 human osteosarcoma cells (p53-deficient) were cultured in Dulbecco modified Eagle medium with 10% fetal bovine serum in a 24-well plate. The luciferase reporter construct PG13 contains multiple copies of the p53 DNA-binding site upstream of a TATA box cloned into pGL3-Basic (Promega). The control reporter carries the liciferase gene from the sea pansy (Promega). The reporter plasmids were transiently transfected into cells alone or with other plasmids by using SuperFect transfection reagent (Qiagen). The transfected cells were harvested 48 h posttransfection and processed for dual luciferase assays (Promega). The firefly luciferase activity was normalized against the sea pansy luciferase activity.
Colony formation
assay.
Subconfluent Saos2
cells grown in a six-well plate were transfected with a combination of
various plasmids. The cells were split in triplicate into 10-cm dishes
and grown under puromycin (2 µg/ml) selection 24 h
after transfection. The resulting colonies were stained with methylene
blue solution and counted in
2 weeks under puromycin
selection. The experiments were repeated at least three times in
triplicate.
Apoptosis assay. Saos2 cells grown on coverslips were transfected with the plasmids expressing various GFP-E1B and p53 constructs (0.5 µg each); 24 h later, 5-fluorouracil was added to a final concentration of 0.4 mM, and the culture was continued for an additional 24 h. The cells were then fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde and mounted on antifade medium containing DAPI. Using a fluorescence microscope, apoptotic cells were identified by their rounded and shrunken morphology with condensed and fragmented nuclei, in contrast to the spread-out appearance of nonapoptotic cells with well-preserved nuclei. In flow cytometry analysis, cells were similarly transfected and treated with 0.4 mM 5-fluorouracil for 48 h posttransfection; the cell cycle profiles of GFP-positive cells were analyzed, and cells with sub-G1 DNA contents were considered apoptotic.
|
|
|---|
![]() View larger version (32K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 1. Colocalization
of Ad12 E1B 55-kDa protein and p53 in the cytoplasmic body.
(A) p53 aa 11 to 27 are required for localization of p53 to
the cytoplasmic body. Vectors for fusion of GFP and the Ad12 55-kDa
protein and various p53 constructs as indicated were transfected
into p53-null Saos2 cells.
p53 was detected using goat polyclonal antibody raised against
full-length p53 (Santa Cruz Biotechnology) and rabbit anti-goat
immunoglobulin G-rhodamine conjugate. The p53 mutants are as follows:
K8R, lysine residues at 319 to 321, 372 to 373, 381 to 382, and 386
were converted to arginine; 1-375, aa 1 to 375; 1-355,
aa 1 to 355; 1-315, aa 1 to 315; 83-393, aa 83 to 393;
83-355, aa 83 to 355; D11-27, aa 11 to 27 are deleted;
D61-75, aa 61 to 75 are deleted; 22/23, L22Q/W23S. The cells
were counterstained with DAPI. (B) p73 does not localize to
the E1B cytoplasmic body. Flag-p73 or Flag-p73ß vector
was cotransfected with plasmid for the GFP fusion with Ad12 E1B, and
the transfected cells were stained with rabbit anti-Flag polyclonal
antibody (Sigma) and rhodamine-conjugated secondary antibody.
(C) Summary of results shown in panels A and B. p53 and its
mutants, as well as p73 and p73ß are schematically
drawn, and whether they localize to the E1B cytoplasmic body is
indicated with + and -, denoting the presence or
absence of colocalization, respectively. The individual domains in both
p53 and p73 are illustrated: DBD, DNA-binding domain; OD,
oligomerization domain; RD, regulatory domain; PxxP, proline-rich
motif; SP, spacer sequence with unknown function; SAM,
sterile- domain. The numbers denote the amino acid position.
The black box in the C terminus of p73ß indicates distinct
amino
acids.
|
and p73ß, members of p53-related transcriptional
regulators, were not retained in the E1B cytoplasmic body (Fig.
1B, a to f), consistent
with previous findings that viral oncoproteins do not interact with and
inactivate p73 (18,
25). The observed E1B cytoplasmic body was not due to some unexpected property of the GFP-E1B fusion, since the wild-type Ad12 55-kDa protein expressed in the human rhabdoid kidney tumor cell line G401 also formed a large, elongated cytoplasmic body and the endogenous p53 localized to it (Fig. 2A, panels a to c). Likewise, cytoplasmic clusters containing Ad12 E1B and p53 were observed in the transfected human non-small cell lung carcinoma cell line H1299 (29). Hence, formation of E1B cytoplasmic bodies is independent of cell types.
![]() View larger version (32K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 2. The
E1B cytoplasmic body is distinct from aggresomes. (A)
Intracellular distributions of wild-type Ad12 E1B 55-kDa protein in
relation to various cellular proteins. G401 cells that constitutively
express the Ad12 E1B 55-kDa protein were stained with rabbit polyclonal
antibody raised against the N-terminal domain of Ad12 E1B (14).
Antibodies to other proteins were as described in Materials and
Methods. The nuclei were visualized by DAPI staining. (B)
Staining pattern of GFP-E1B, vimentin, and the Golgi marker giantin.
Saos2 cells were transfected with GFP-E1B, and the transfected cells
were stained with antibodies to vimentin and giantin and an appropriate
secondary antibody, respectively. The cells were counterstained with
DAPI.
|
We also examined the relationship between the E1B body and the Golgi apparatus and endoplasmic reticulum (ER). E1B-expressing cells were stained with antibodies to the ER marker PDI (2) or the Golgi marker giantin (22). The E1B body did not obviously associate with or distort the ER structure (Fig. 2A, panels m to o [note that the E1B body was revealed with p53 staining using mouse monoclonal antibody DO-1, because only rabbit antibodies were available for both Ad12 E1B and PDI]). Similarly, the 55-kDa protein was not coincident with the Golgi marker (Fig. 2B, panels d to f). Therefore, the E1B body is different from and is not closely associated with the Golgi apparatus or the ER.
The
conserved C-terminal phosphorylation sites S476/7 of the Ad12 55-kDa
protein are required for the formation of the cytoplasmic
body.
We examined structural
or sequence elements in the Ad12 E1B 55-kDa protein that may be
required for the formation of the E1B cytoplasmic body. N-terminal
deletion constructs of the Ad12 55-kDa protein abolished the
cytoplasmic structure (Fig.
3A, panels a to c). Interestingly, removal of
100 aa from the N
terminus markedly increased the nuclear presence of the Ad12 55-kDa
protein (panels a and b), suggesting that, like the Ad2/5 protein, a
potential NES may exist in the N-terminal sequence of the Ad12 55-kDa
protein and that active nuclear export might be important for the
formation of the E1B body. The N-terminal sequences are poorly
conserved among the 55-kDa proteins from various Ad serotypes, and the
identified NES in Ad2/5 E1B is absent in the Ad12 protein
(14). Nonetheless,
leucine-rich elements resembling typical NES are present within the
Ad12 E1B N-terminal domain. For example, sequence 101-LsrLtVnLm-109 may
be a potential NES. We therefore mutated L101/104 alone or in
combination with L106/V108 into alanine and found that these mutations
did not affect the formation of the cytoplasmic body (Fig.
3A, panels d to i). While
it remains uncertain whether the sequence we mutated represents a
functional NES, it is unlikely that active nuclear export is required,
since treatment of E1B-expressing cells with the export inhibitor
leptomycin B did not affect the appearance of E1B cytoplasmic bodies
(data not shown).
![]() View larger version (20K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 3. An
S476/7A mutation in the Ad12 55-kDa protein abolishes the formation of
the E1B cytoplasmic body. (A) Subcellular distributions of
p53 and GFP fusions with the Ad12 E1B 55-kDa protein and its mutants in
Saos2 cells. Various mutants of the Ad12 55-kDa protein were fused with
GFP, and their expression vectors were transfected alone or together
with p53 plasmid into Saos2 cells. p53 was revealed with antibody to
p53 (DO-1) and rabbit anti-mouse immunoglobulin G-rhodamine conjugate.
The E1B mutants are as follows: 136-482, aa 136 to the C
terminus; 341-482, aa 341 to the C terminus; 432-482,
aa 432 to the C terminus; 101/4A, substitutions with alanine at L101
and L104; 101/4/6/8A, substitutions with alanine at L101, L104, and
L108 as well as V106; 476/7A, S476 and S477 mutated to alanine;
476/7/481A, S476, S477, and D481 mutated to alanine; 481A, D481 mutated
to alanine. The nuclei were revealed by DAPIstaining. (B)
Summary of the results shown in panel A. The GFP fusion of wt Ad12 E1B
55-kDa protein and its various mutants are schematically depicted.
Their ability to form a cytoplasmic body is indicated by + or
-
signs.
|
The S476/7A mutation abolishes E1B-mediated inhibition of p53 functions. Although the C-terminal sequences are highly conserved among the various E1B 55-kDa proteins and the residues corresponding to S476/7 of the Ad12 55-kDa protein are important for Ad5 E1B to inhibit p53 (26), it is still necessary to study whether the S476/7A mutation would have similar effects. We first examined whether such a mutation would affect p53-dependent transactivation. p53-responsive luciferase reporter PG-13 was transfected into Saos2 cells alone or with various combinations of vectors expressing p53, wild-type Ad12 E1B 55-kDa protein, and its mutants. Expressing p53 in Saos2 increased the reporter activity about 15-fold, and wt Ad12 55-kDa protein reduced this enhancement by two-thirds (Fig. 4B). S476/7A or S476/7D481A did not affect p53-mediated transactivation at all, but the D481A mutant repressed the reporter activity to the same extent as the wt 55-kDa protein did (Fig. 4B). p53 was well expressed in transfected cells in all cases, and the protein levels of wt Ad12 E1B and its mutants were similar in transfected cells (Fig. 4B, right panel). One interesting result of this experiment is that the wt Ad12 55-kDa protein or the D481A mutant reduced the reporter activities in the absence of p53 cotransfection. In the absence of p53, both versions of the Ad12 55-kDa protein repressed the reporter activities by two-thirds whereas S476/7A had virtually no effect and S476/7D481A mutant slightly increased the reporter activity (Fig. 4B, the middle panel). These data indicate that the Ad12 55-kDa protein can exert transcriptional repression without being tethered to the promoter by p53, in contrast to Ad2/5 55-kDa protein-mediated repression (20, 31). Nonetheless, like Ad2/5 E1B, the C-terminal phosphorylation sites are critical to repressing p53-dependent transcription.
![]() View larger version (19K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 4. S476/7A
mutation of the Ad12 E1B 55-kDa protein relieves its inhibition of
p53-mediated transactivation. (A) Sequence alignment of the
C-terminal sequences of Ad2 and Ad12 E1B 55-kDa proteins. The numbers
above or below the sequence indicate the position of the amino acid
residues. Identical residues are indicated by a white box, and similar
residues are indicated by a gray box. (B) Point mutations
near the C terminus of the Ad12 E1B 55-kDa oncoprotein abolish its
inhibition of p53 transactivation. Wild-type E1B (lanes 3 and 4) and
point mutants (S476A/S477A [lanes 5 and 6], S476A/S477A/D481A
[lanes 7 and 8], and D481A [lanes 9 and 10]) were
transfected into Saos2 cells alone with reporters (PG13-Luc and
pRL-SV40) or together with p53 and reporters, as indicated, and dual
luciferase assays were performed 48 h after transfection. The
expression of p53 and E1B in transfected cells is shown on the right.
The lane numbers in the left and right panels are the same. The middle
panel shows relative reporter activities from cells transfected with wt
Ad12 E1B and its mutants in the absence of p53 expression in an
enlarged format to facilitate a comparison of the activities in each
transfection. Error bars represent one standard deviation of two
independent
transfections.
|
![]() View larger version (51K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 5. Effect
of the Ad12 55-kDa protein and its mutant on p53-imediated suppression
of colony formation. (A) Representative images of colony
formation assays. Saos2 cells were transfected with the indicated
plasmids and plated in medium containing puromycin. E1B AA is the
S476/7A mutant of the Ad12 E1B 55-kDa protein. (B)
Quantification of the data from the colony formation assays. Error bars
represent one standard deviation of three independent
assays.
|
![]() ![]() View larger version (63K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 6. Formation
of the E1B cytoplasmic body is required to inhibit p53-dependent
apoptosis. (A) Representative micrographs of Saos2 cells
transfected with the indicated plasmids. Saos2 cells were transfected
with expression vectors for p53 and wt Ad12 E1B 55-kDa protein fusion
with GFP or with E1B mutants as specified. Cells were treated with
5-fluorouracil 24 h after transfection and were grown for an
additional 24 h before being fixed. The cells were examined
under a fluorescence microscope. Apoptotic cells with shrunken
morphology and a fragmented nucleus are indicated by white arrows. The
mutants of the Ad12 E1B 55-kDa protein are as described in the legend
to Fig. 3. The nuclei were
visualized by DAPI staining. (B) Quantification of apoptotic
cells. Error bars represent one standard deviation of two independent
assays. (C and D) Effects of the wt Ad12 E1B 55-kDa protein and its
mutants on p53-mediated cell death as assessed by flow cytometry. In
panel C, vectors for expressing the GFP fusion of wt E1B and mutants as
indicated were transfected alone or together with the p53 plasmid into
Saos2 cells, and at 24 h posttransfection the cells were
treated with 0.4 mM 5-fluorouracil for 48 h and processed for
analysis by flow cytometry. In panel D, expression vectors for the
indicated proteins were cotransfected with vector expressing GFP and
cells were treated and analyzed in the same way as in panel C. The
percentage of cells with sub-G1 DNA content in various
transfections is
plotted.
|
![]() View larger version (25K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 7. The
Ad12 E1B 55-kDa protein does not affect apoptosis induced by L22Q/W23S
mutant p53. Saos2 cells were transfected with vector for GFP alone or
together with indicated plasmids, treated with 5-fluorouracil
24 h later, and harvested for flow cytometry analysis
72 h posttransfection, as was done for Fig.
6C and D. The GFP-positive
cells were analyzed, and cells with sub-G1 DNA content were
considered apoptotic. (Top) Representative cell cycle profiles of
transfected cells. Cells with G1 and sub-G1 DNA
content are indicated. (Bottom) Percentage of sub-G1 cells
in various
transfections.
|
The Ad12 E1B 55-kDa protein sequesters mito-L-p53, which contains mitochondrial import leader peptide. Recently, it has been shown that p53 can localize directly to mitochondria, where it triggers cytochrome c release and apoptosis (3, 21). Therefore, it is conceivable that sequestration of p53 by the 55-kDa oncoprotein might prevent p53 from entering mitochondria, thereby inhibiting p53-mediated apoptosis. To address this, we fused the N terminus of p53 to the mitochondrial import leader peptide from human ornithine transcarbamylase, which is capable of directing proteins into mitochondria (9), and this p53 fusion protein was shown to be effectively targeted to mitochondria (21). The fusion construct was well expressed in Saos2 cells (Fig. 8). As expected, the cytoplasmic presence of mito-L-p53 was dramatically increased (Fig. 8a and b), suggestive of correct mitochondrial targeting of p53. We then examined whether the Ad12 E1B 55-kDa protein could still retain this fusion in the cytoplasmic body. As shown in Fig. 8c to e, mito-L-p53 was found in the E1B cytoplasmic body, where most of the cytoplasmic p53 was concentrated. Since antibody to the Flag tag was used for detecting p53, the p53 revealed should still have the leader peptide and should not be the processed p53 that had lost the leader peptide. Therefore, it appears likely that as soon as p53 is synthesized by the ribosome, it is recognized and recruited to the E1B cytoplasmic body before being imported into the mitochondria.
![]() View larger version (23K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 8. The
Ad12 E1B 55-kDa protein can sequester p53 with the mitochondrial import
leader sequence. Saos2 cells were transfected with vector producing
mito-L-p53 alone or together with plasmid for the wt Ad12
E1B 55-kDa protein fused with GFP. The mito-L-p53 construct
contains the Flag epitope tag followed by the mitochondrial import
leader sequence from the human ornithine transcarbamylase. Cells were
fixed 16 h after transfection and stained with rabbit
polyclonal anti-Flag antibody and goat anti-rabbit immunoglobulin
G-rhodamine conjugate. The nuclei were visualized by DAPI
staining.
|
|
|
|---|
Our data indicated that aa 11 to 27 in the p53 N terminus are required for localizing p53 to the cytoplasmic body; other parts of the N-terminal TAD, the C-terminal regulatory domain, or the tetramerization domain are dispensable (Fig. 1). Therefore, monomeric p53 is sufficient for its targeting to the cytoplasmic body. Interestingly, aa 11 to 27 of p53 are a functional NES (35). This raises the possibility that nuclear export of p53 may be necessary for localizing p53 to the cytoplasmic body. Indeed, the E1B 55-kDa oncoprotein can actively shuttle between the nucleus and cytoplasm and is involved in the transport of late viral mRNA in cooperation with the 34-kDa E4orf6 protein (12). This property could enable E1B to relocate nuclear p53 to the cytoplasmic body, which would require active nuclear export. However, we found that p53 can still localize to the cytoplasmic body in the presence of the nuclear export inhibitor leptomycin B (data not shown), which is known to block shuttling of the E1B 55-kDa protein (12). As such, a more likely scenario is that p53 is recruited to the E1B body immediately after translation and before its import into the nucleus. Nonetheless, it remains possible that both nuclear export and cytoplasmic recruitment may contribute to localization of p53 to the cytoplasmic body.
Interestingly, mutation of S490/1 in the Ad2/5 55-kDa protein results in a mutant that retains the ability to bind to p53 (27). One might envision that this mutation should not affect the E1B-mediated repression of p53-dependent transactivation. However, the mutation essentially abolished the inhibitory effects of E1B on the transcriptional activity of p53 (26, 27). This is in agreement with previous conclusions that interaction between p53 and the 55-kDa protein is necessary but not sufficient for E1B to repress p53-dependent transcription (31). Therefore, it appears likely that the mutation may disrupt the interaction between the 55-kDa protein and the corepressor(s) that is required for E1B-mediated repression. Although interacting with the 55-kDa protein (23), histone deacetylases may not be the corepressors, since E1B could still exert repression in an in vitro system that contains low levels of histones(19). Other corepressors, e.g., mSin3a and an unidentified protein that copurified with RNA polymerase (20), could potentially be involved in the repression mechanism. Surprisingly, we showed here that corresponding mutation of the Ad12 55-kDa protein not only rendered it defective in inhibiting p53-mediated transactivation (Fig. 4) but also abolished the appearance of the E1B cytoplasmic body (Fig. 3). These observations suggest that cytoplasmic sequestration of p53 might contribute at least in part to E1B-mediated repression of p53, for example by reducing the p53 concentration in the nucleus. Alternatively, cytoplasmic sequestration of p53 by E1B inhibits the p53-mediated apoptotic mechanism only in the cytoplasm (3, 21), and the S476/7A mutation may independently affect cytoplasmic body formation and the interaction of E1B with corepressors.
Recently, it was shown that p53 can be found in the mitochondria, apparently through direct interaction with BclXL and Bcl2, which eventually results in cytochrome c release and cell death (3, 21). We showed above that p53 carrying a mitochondrial import leader peptide could still be retained in the E1B cytoplasmic body (Fig. 8). We also observed that the cytoplasmic body did not colocalize with mitochondria (data not shown). These observations are consistent with a model that the E1B 55-kDa protein recruits p53 to the large cytoplasmic body before it is imported into mitochondria. Therefore, the E1B 55-kDa oncoprotein is a particularly powerful inhibitor of p53; it uses multiple ways to inhibit p53 activities. In the nucleus, it tethers repressors to chromatin-bound p53, thereby inhibiting p53-dependent transactivation (31). It also interferes with acetylation of p53, which plays an important role in activating p53 by binding to acetylase and coactivator PCAF (16). In cooperation with the E4orf6 34-kDa protein, the 55-kDa protein can mediate ubiquitination and degradation of p53 by tethering it to SCF E3 ubiquitin ligase (6, 24). Furthermore, this viral oncoprotein can suppress p53-mediated apoptosis in the cytoplasm by sequestering p53 in the E1B cytoplasmic body and potentially blocking the import of p53 into mitochondria.
This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grant R01 CA92236 (to D.L.). In addition, D.L. received pilot project grants from the American Cancer Society, awarded to the University of Florida Shands Cancer Center, and from the Biomedical Research Support Program for Medical Schools, awarded to the University of Florida College of Medicine by Howard Hughes Medical Institute, as well as an American Lung Association Career Investigator award with funds from ALA Florida and its affiliates and regions.
|
|
|---|
This article has been cited by other articles:
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology. For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»