DEEP WORK

INTRODUCTIONViruses are the most abundant life form on earth, inhabiting nearly every ecosystem, including animals, plants, and bacteria. Research over the past decade has provided enormous insights into the mechanism by which viruses are detected by infected cells. It is clear that the innate immune system is equipped with multiple sensors that detect different molecular signatures of a viral i..

Plasmid vectorsGeneral propertiesBroad-host-range vectors like the lactococcal plasmid pGK12, which has been shown to replicate in a variety of bacterial strains (Kok et al. 1984), can also replicate in different Lactobacillus species (Bringel et al. 1989; Posno et al. 1991a). These vectors have been instrumental in the development of genetransfer systems for Lactobacillus, at the time that vect..

Introduction The genus Lactobacillus belongs to the family of Lactobacteriaceae also known as lactic acid bacteria, a group of microorganisms that have been used for centuries in the preparation and processing of foods and beverages (Rose 1982; Kandler 1984; Chassy 1985, Chassy 1987). These rod-shaped, anaerobic to micro-aerophilic, non-pathogenic bacteria, which produce lactic acid as their maj..