MedWorm.com provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest items from the 'Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology' source. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:15:14 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5657415&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22297214%26dopt%3DAbstract In conclusion, low butachlor doses may prove beneficial in paddy fields having a neutral to alkaline soil pH. PMID: 22297214 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology) Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5657415 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5657415 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5657414&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22297215%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Rameshkumar N, Ayyadurai N, Kayalvizhi N, Gunasekaran P Abstract The genetic diversity of plant growth-promoting rhizobacterial (PGPR) fluorescent pseudomonads associated with the sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) rhizosphere was analyzed. Selected isolates were screened for plant growthpromoting properties including production of indole acetic acid, phosphate solubilization, denitrification ability, and production of antifungal metabolites. Furthermore, 16S rDNA sequence analysis was performed to identify and differentiate these isolates. Based on 16S rDNA sequence similarity, the isolates were designated as Pseudomonas plecoglossicida, P. fluorescens, P. libaniensis, and P. aeruginosa. Differentiation of isolates belonging to the same group was achieved through differ... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5657414 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5657414 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5657413&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22297216%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Doughari HJ, Ndakidemi PA, Human IS, Benade S Abstract The association of verotoxic E. coli and Acinetobacter spp. with various antibiotic-resistant, diarrhogenic, and nosocomial infections has been a cause for concern worldwide. E. coli and A. haemolyticus isolated on a number of selective media were screened for virulence factors, antibiotic resistance, and transformation of resistance genes. Out of 69 E. coli isolates obtained, 25 (35.23%), 14 (20.30%), and 28 (40.58%) were positive for Vtx1&2, Vtx1, and Vtx2, respectively, 49 (71.015%) for extendedspectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs), 34 (49.28%) for serum resistance, 57 (82.61%) for cell surface hydrophobicity, 48 (69.57%) for gelatinase production, and 37 (53.62%) for hemolysin production. For t... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5657413 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5657413 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5657412&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22297217%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Rahman RN, Muhd Noor ND, Ibrahim NA, Salleh AB, Basri M Abstract A thermophilic Bacillus stearothermophilus F1 produces an extremely thermostable serine protease. The F1 protease sequence was used to predict its three-dimensional (3D) structure to provide better insights into the relationship between the protein structure and biological function and to identify opportunities for protein engineering. The final model was evaluated to ensure its accuracy using three independent methods: Procheck, Verify3D, and Errat. The predicted 3D structure of F1 protease was compared with the crystal structure of serine proteases from mesophilic bacteria and archaea, and led to the identification of features that were related to protein stabilization. Higher thermostability correlated wit... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5657412 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5657412 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5657411&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22297218%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Lee HJ, Lee KH Abstract The Vibrio vulnificus vuuA gene, of which expression is repressed by a complex of iron and ferric uptake regulator (Fur), was characterized to localize the Fur-binding site in its upstream regulatory region. In silico analysis suggested the presence of two possible Fur-binding sites; one is a classical Fur-box and the other is a previously reported distinct Fur-binding site. Site-directed mutagenesis and DNase I protection assays revealed the binding site for the iron-Fur complex, which includes an extended inverted repeat containing a homologous sequence to the classical Fur-box. PMID: 22297218 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology) Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5657411 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5657411 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5657410&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22297219%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Nam HJ, Kang JK, Chang JS, Lee MS, Nam ST, Jung HW, Kim SK, Ha EM, Seok H, Son SW, Park YJ, Kim H Abstract Phospholipase C-gammal (PLC-gammal) expression is associated with cellular transformation. Notably, PLC-gamma is up-regulated in colorectal cancer tissue and breast carcinoma. Because exotoxins released by Clostridium botulinum have been shown to induce apoptosis and promote growth arrest in various cancer cell lines, we examined here the potential of Clostridium difficile toxin A to selectively induce apoptosis in cells transformed by PLC-gammal overexpression. We found that PLC-gammal-transformed cells, but not vectortransformed (control) cells, were highly sensitive to C. difficile toxin A-induced apoptosis and mitotic inhibition. Moreover, expression of the proapo... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5657410 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5657410 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5657409&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22297220%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Joo HS, Choi JW Abstract An investigation was conducted on the enhancement of production and purification of an oxidant and SDS-stable alkaline protease (BHAP) secreted by an alkalophilic Bacillus horikoshii, which was screened from the body fluid of a unique Korean polychaeta (Periserrula leucophryna) living in the tidal mud flats of Kwangwha Island in the Korean West Sea. A prominent effect on BHAP production was obtained by adding 2% maltose, 1% sodium citrate, 0.8% NaCl, and 0.6% sodium carbonate to the culturing medium. The optimal medium for BHAP production contained (g/l) SBM, 15; casein, 10; K2HPO4, 2; KH2PO4, 2; maltose, 20; sodium citrate, 10; MgSO4, 0.06; NaCl, 8; and Na2CO3, 6. A protease yield of approximately 56,000 U/ml was achieved using the optimized mediu... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5657409 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5657409 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5657408&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22297221%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kamal A, Shaik AB, Kumar CG, Mongolla P, Rani PU, Krishna KV, Mamidyala SK, Joseph J Abstract In an ongoing survey of the bioactive potential of microorganisms from Ladakh, India, the culture medium of a bacterial strain of a new Pseudomonas sp., strain ICTB-745, isolated from an alkaline soil sample collected from Leh, Ladakh, India, was found to contain metabolites that exhibited broad-spectrum antimicrobial and biosurfactant activities. Bioactivity-guided purification resulted in the isolation of four bioactive compounds. Their chemical structures were elucidated by 1H and 13C NMR, 2D-NMR (HMBC, HSQC, 1H,1H-COSY, and DEPT- 135), FT-IR, and mass spectroscopic methods, and were identified as 1-hydroxyphenazine, phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (PCA), rhamnolipid-1 (RL-1), and ... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5657408 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5657408 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5657407&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22297222%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Leutou AS, Yun K, Choi HD, Kang JS, Son BW Abstract The addition of NaBr to the fermentation medium of a marine isolate of the fungus Dothideomycete sp. resulted in induced production of two toluhydroquinone derivatives, 5- bromotoluhydroquinone (1) and 4-O-methyltoluhydroquinone (2), and two known compounds, toluhydroquinone (3) and gentisyl alcohol (4). The structures of 1 and 2 were assigned through the spectroscopic data analyses. Compounds 1-4 showed a potent antibacterial activity against the methicillinresistant and multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA and MDRSA) with MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) values of 6.2, 12.5, 6.2, and 12.5 microgram/ml, respectively. Compounds 1-4 also exhibited a moderate radical scavenging activity against 1,1-diphenyl... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5657407 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5657407 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5657406&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22297223%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Xie W, Khosasih V, Suwanto A, Kim HK Abstract Two staphylococcal lipases were obtained from Staphylococcus epidermidis S2 and Staphylococcus aureus S11 isolated from sebaceous areas on the skin of the human face. The molecular mass of both enzymes was estimated to be 45 kDa by SDS-PAGE. S2 lipase displayed its highest activity in the hydrolysis of olive oil at 32 degrees C and pH 8, whereas S11 lipase showed optimal activity at 31 degrees C and pH 8.5. The S2 lipase showed the property of cold-adaptation, with activation energy of 6.52 kcal/mol. In contrast, S11 lipase's activation energy, at 21 kcal/mol, was more characteristic of mesophilic lipases. S2 lipase was stable up to 45 degrees C and within the pH range from 5 to 9, whereas S11 lipase was stable up to 50 degrees... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5657406 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5657406 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5657405&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22297224%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Sukkhum S, Tokuyama S, Kitpreechavanich V Abstract The optimal physical factors affecting enzyme production in an airlift fermenter have not been studied so far. Therefore, the physical parameters such as aeration rate, pH, and temperature affecting PLA-degrading enzyme production by Actinomadura keratinilytica strain T16-1 in a 3 l airlift fermenter were investigated. The response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize PLAdegrading enzyme production by implementing the central composite design. The optimal conditions for higher production of PLA-degrading enzyme were aeration rate of 0.43 vvm, pH of 6.85, and temperature at 46 degrees C. Under these conditions, the model predicted a PLA-degrading activity of 254 U/ml. Verification of the optimization showed that P... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5657405 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5657405 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5657404&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22297225%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, the metabolite profiles of three Aspergillus strains during rice koji fermentation were compared. In the partial least squares discriminant analysis-based gas chromatography-mass spectrometry data sets, the metabolite patterns of A. oryzae (KCCM 60345) were clearly distinguished from A. kawachii (KCCM 60552) and only marginal differences were observed for A. oryzae (KCCM 60551) fermentation. In the 2 days fermentation samples, the overall metabolite levels of A. oryzae (KCCM 60345) were similar to the A. oryzae (KCCM 60551) levels and lower than the A. kawachii (KCCM 60552) levels. In addition, we identified discriminators that were mainly contributing tyrosinase inhibition (kojic acid) and antioxidant activities (pyranonigrin A) in A. oryzae (KCCM 60345) and A. kawachii (KC... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5657404 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5657404 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5657403&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22297226%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Lee SE, Lee JE, Shin GY, Choi WY, Kang do H, Lee HY, Jung KH Abstract To develop a practical and cost-effective medium for bioethanol production from the hydrolysate of seaweed Sargassum sagamianum, we investigated the feasibility and performance of bioethanol production in CSL (cornsteep liquor)-containing medium, where yeast Pichia stipitis was used and the repeated batch was carried out in a surface-aerated fermentor. The optimal medium replacement time during the repeated operation was determined to be 36 h, and the surface aeration rates were 30 and 100 ml/min. Under these conditions, the repeatedbatch operation was successfully carried out for 6 runs (216 h), in which the maximum bioethanol concentrations reached about 11-12 g/l at each batch operation. These results... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5657403 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5657403 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5657402&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22297227%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Seo BJ, Kumar VJ, Ahmad RI, Kim BC, Park W, Park SD, Kim SE, Kim SD, Lim J, Park YH Abstract The biological control efficacy of a greenhouse soil bacterial mixture of Lactobacillus farraginis, Bacillus cereus, and Bacillus thuringiensis strains with antinematode activity was evaluated against the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita. Two control groups planted in soil drenched with sterile distilled water or treated with the broadspectrum carbamate pesticide carbofuran were used for comparison. The results suggest that the bacterial mixture is effective as a biocontrol agent against the root-knot nematode. PMID: 22297227 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology) Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5657402 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5657402 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5657401&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22297228%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Rhee JS, Ki JS, Kim BM, Hwang SJ, Choi IY, Lee JS Abstract Heat shock proteins (Hsps) play a key role in the cellular defense response to diverse environmental stresses. Here, the role of Hsp genes in the acquisition of thermotolerance in the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa NIES-298 was investigated. Twelve Hsp-related genes were examined to observe their modulated expression patterns at different temperatures (10, 15, 25, and 35 degrees C) over different exposure periods. HspA and HtpG transcripts showed an up-regulation of expression at low temperatures (10 and 15 degrees C) and high temperature (35 degrees C), compared with the control (25 degrees C). To examine their effects upon thermotolerance, we purified recombinant HspA and HtpG proteins. During a thermotole... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5657401 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5657401 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5657400&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22297229%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Li P, Zhang D, Wang X, Wang X, Cui Z Abstract A cellulose-degrading composite microbial system containing a mixture of microbes was previously shown to demonstrate a high straw-degrading capacity. To estimate its potential utilization as an inoculant to accelerate straw biodegradation after returning straw to the field, two cellulose-degrading composite microbial systems named ADS3 and WSD5 were inoculated into wheat straw-amended soil in the laboratory. The microbial survival of the inoculant was confirmed by a denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis, whereas the enhancement of straw degradation in soil was assessed by measuring the mineralization of the soil organic matter and the soil cellulase activity. The results indicated that most of the DGGE bands ... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5657400 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5657400 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5657399&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22297230%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Sevim A, Eryuzlu E, Demirbag Z, Demir I Abstract A novel cry2Ab gene was cloned and sequenced from the indigenous isolate of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki. This gene was designated as cry2Ab25 and its sequence revealed an open reading frame of 1,902 bp encoding a 633 aa protein with calculated molecular mass of 70 kDa and pI value of 8.98. The amino acid sequence of the Cry2Ab25 protein was compared with previously known Cry2Ab toxins, and the phylogenetic relationships among them were determined. The deduced amino acid sequence of the Cry2Ab25 protein showed 99% homology to the known Cry2Ab proteins, except for Cry2Ab10 and Cry2Ab12 with 97% homology, and a variation in one amino acid residue in comparison with all known Cry2Ab proteins. The cry2Ab25 gene was exp... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5657399 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5657399 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5657398&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22297231%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Lee H, Park HG, Lim YR, Lee IS, Kim BJ, Seong CH, Chun YJ, Kim D Abstract Malassezia globosa is a common pathogenic fungus that causes skin diseases including dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis in humans. Analysis of its genome identified a gene (MGL_1677) coding for a putative NADPH-P450 reductase (NPR) to support the fungal cytochrome P450 enzymes. The heterologously expressed recombinant M. globosa NPR protein was purified, and its functional features were characterized. The purified protein generated a single band on SDS-PAGE at 80.74 kDa and had an absorption maximum at 452 nm, indicating its possible function as an oxidized flavin cofactor. It evidenced NADPH-dependent reducing activity for cytochrome c or nitroblue tetrazolium. Human P450 1A2 and 2A6 were able to su... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5657398 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5657398 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5657397&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22297232%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kim JW, Cho HR, Moon SB, Kim KY, Ku S Abstract beta-Glucan purified from oats (OG) and bitter melon, Momordica charantia Linn (MC), water extracts have shown favorable effects on diabetes and its complications. We investigated to find out the optimal composition showing hypoglycemic and antidiabetic complication effects in variable compositions (OG:MC = 1:1, 1:2, 1:4, 1:6, 1:8, 1:10, 2:1, 4:1, 6:1, 8:1, 10:1). Extracts were administered orally once a day for 28 days following 7 days post streptozotocin (STZ) dosing. Five rats per group (total 15 groups; Intact, STZ, OG, MC, and the variable composition groups) were selected according to the blood glucose and body weight at 6 days after STZ dosing. After 28 days of extracts dosing, the changes on the body weight, liver and ... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5657397 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5657397 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5657396&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22297233%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kim IW, Kim SJ, Kwon YN, Yun EY, Ahn MY, Kang DC, Hwang JS Abstract A synthetic coprisin analog peptide, 9-mer dimer CopA3 (CopA3) was designed based on a defensin-like peptide, Coprisin, isolated from the bacteria-immunized dung beetle Copris tripartitus. Here, CopA3 was investigated for its antimicrobial activity and cancer cell growth inhibition. CopA3 showed antimicrobial activities against various pathogenic bacteria and yeast fungus with MIC values in 2~32 microM ranges, and inhibited the cell viabilities of pancreatic and hepatocellular cancer cells, except MIAPaca2, Hep3B, and HepG2 cells, in a dose-dependent manner. The average IC50 values of CopA3 against pancreatic and hepatocellular cancer cells were 61.7 microM and 67.8 microM, respectively. The results indica... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5657396 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5657396 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5558881&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22210605%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, we investigated lipolytic enzymes selected from an alluvial soil metagenomic library, and identified two novel esterases, EstDL26 and EstDL136. EstDL26 and EstDL136 reactivated chloramphenicol from its acetyl derivates by counteracting the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) activity in Escherichia coli. These two enzymes showed only 27% identity in amino acid sequence to each other; however both preferentially hydrolyzed short-chain p-nitrophenyl esters (< or =C5) and showed mesophilic properties. In vitro, EstDL136 catalyzed the deacetylation of 1- and 3- acetyl and 1,3-diacetyl derivates; in contrast, EstDL26 was not capable of the deacetylation at C1, indicating a potential regioselectivity. EstDL26 and EstDL136 were similar to microbial hormone-sensitive lipase (... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5558881 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5558881 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5558880&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22210606%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Oh TS, Kwon EY, Choi JW, Choi MS, Yun JW Abstract C57BL/6J mice have been widely used as a diet-induced obesity model because they trigger common features of the human metabolic syndrome. In the present study, C57BL/6J male mice were fed either a high-fat diet (HFD) or normal diet (ND) during a 24-week period, and then the age-dependent liver proteome of mice in two groups was analyzed using 2-DE combined with MALDI-TOF-MS. Among identified proteins, up-regulated proteins were subdivided to early (during the first 4 weeks) and late (20~24 weeks) markers that played a role in diet-induced obesity development. Important early markers included ketohexokinase and prohibitin, and late markers included the 75 kDa glucose-regulated protein, citrate synthase, and selenium-binding ... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5558880 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5558880 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5558879&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22210607%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kim IH, Kim BS, Lee KS, Kim IJ, Son JS, Kim KS Abstract We compared the gene expression among four clinical and five environmental V. vulnificus isolates, using a cDNA microarray containing 131 genes possibly associated with pathogenicity, transport, signal transduction, and gene regulations in the pathogen. cDNAs from total RNAs of these isolates were hybridized into the cDNA microarray using the cDNA of the wild-type strain MO6/24-O as a reference. We focused on selecting differentially expressed (DE) genes between clinical and environmental isolates using a modified t-statistic. We could detect two statistically significant DE genes between virulent isolates and lessvirulent isolates with a marginal statistical significance (pvalue of 0.008). These were genes putatively... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5558879 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5558879 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5558878&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22210608%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Park SB, Lee IA, Suh JW, Kim JG, Lee CH Abstract Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) is the most devastating pathogen to Oryza sativa and has been shown to cause bacterial blight. Two bioactive compounds showing antimicrobial activities against Xoo strain KACC 10331 were isolated from a Streptomyces bottropensis strain. The ethyl acetate extract was fractionated on a Sephadex LH-20 column, and then purified by preparative HPLC. The purified compounds were identified as bottromycin A2 and dunaimycin D3S by HR/MS and 1H NMR analyses. The MIC value against Xoo and the lowest concentration still capable of suppressing rice bacterial blight were 2 microgram/ml and 16 microgram/ml for bottromycin A2, and 64 microgram/ml and 0.06 microgram/ml for dunaimycin D3S, respectively. The... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5558878 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5558878 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5558877&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22210609%26dopt%3DAbstract This study was performed to examine the use of NaOCl as an alternative antimicrobial compound in winemaking because of the potential health problems that may arise as a result of the use of SO2. For this, the blank (non-treated), control (SO2-added), and sample (NaOCl-treated) wines were made, and microbial and chemical changes including sensory characteristics were analyzed during the fermentation periods. Treatment of grapes with NaOCl decreased the initial contaminating microbial population in grape must, resulting in higher growth of yeast and lactic acid bacteria. After 200 days of fermentation, the chemical analysis of sample wine revealed that it had higher ethanol content, redness (a*), and concentrations of fruity ester compounds and lower total acidity than the control. In the se... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5558877 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5558877 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5558876&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22210610%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, Bacillus licheniformis cells were immobilized by entrapment in calcium alginate beads and were used for production of alkaline protease by repeated batch process. In order to increase the stability of the beads, the immobilization procedure was optimized by statistical full factorial method, by which three factors including alginate type, calcium chloride concentration, and agitation speed were studied. Optimization of the enzyme production medium, by the Taguchi method, was also studied. The obtained results showed that optimization of the cell immobilization procedure and medium constituents significantly enhanced the production of alkaline protease. In comparison with the free-cell culture in pre-optimized medium, about 7.3-fold higher productivity was resulted after opti... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5558876 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5558876 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5558875&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22210611%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Galaction AI, Rotaru R, Kloetzer L, Vlysidis A, Webb C, Turnea M, Cascaval D Abstract This paper is dedicated to the study on the external and internal mass transfers of glucose for succinic acid fermentation under substrate and product inhibitions using a bioreactor with stirred bed of immobilized Actinobacillus succinogenes cells. By means of the substrate mass balance for a single particle of biocatalysts, considering the kinetic model adapted for both inhibitory effects, specific mathematical models were developed for describing the profiles of the substrate concentration in the outer and inner regions of biocatalysts and for estimating the substrate mass flows in the liquid boundary layer surrounding the particle and inside the particle. The values of the mass flows w... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5558875 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5558875 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5558874&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22210612%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, the recombinant duck IL-2 (rduIL-2) was secretory expressed in Pichia pastoris (P. pastoris). The recombinant P. pastoris strain was cultured in shake flasks and then scaled up in a 5.0-l bioreactor. The result showed that the maximal fresh-cell-weight of 594.1 g/l and the maximal OD600 of 408 were achieved in the bioreactor. The rduIL-2 was purified by two steps of purification procedures, and approximately 311 mg of rduIL-2/L fermentation supernatant was obtained. SDS-PAGE showed that the purified rduIL-2 constituted a homogeneous band of ~16 kDa or ~14 kDa corresponding to the glycosylated or non-glycosylated duIL-2 protein in size, respectively. The bioactivity of rduIL-2 was determined by lymphocyte proliferation assay. The result indicated that the rduIL-2 greatly prom... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5558874 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5558874 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5558873&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22210613%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kim JY, Yeo SH, Baek SY, Choi HS Abstract Bealmijang is a short-term aged paste made from meju, which is a brick of fermented soybeans and other ingredients. Different types of bealmijang are available depending on the geographic region or ingredients used. However, no study has clarified the microbial diversity of these types. We identified 17 and 14 fungal species from black soybean meju (BSM) and buckwheat meju (BWM), respectively, on the basis of morphology, culture characteristics, and internal transcribed spacer and beta-tubulin gene sequencing. In both meju, Aspergillus oryzae, Rhizopus oryzae, Penicillium polonicum, P. steckii, Cladosporium tenuissimum, C. cladosporioides, C. uredinicola, and yeast species Pichia burtonii were commonly found. Moreover, A. flavus, A... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5558873 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5558873 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5558872&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22210614%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Cho GS, Krauss S, Huch M, du Toit M, Franz CM Abstract A quantitative, real-time PCR method was developed to enumerate Lactobacillus plantarum IWBT B 188 during the malolactic fermentation (MLF) in Grauburgunder wine. The qRT-PCR was strain-specific, as it was based on primers targeting a plasmid DNA sequence, or it was L. plantarum-specific, as it targeted a chromosomally located plantaricin gene sequence. Two 50 l wine fermentations were prepared. One was inoculated with 15 g/hl Saccharomyces cerevisiae, followed by L. plantarum IWBT B 188 at 3.6 × 10(6) CFU/ml, whereas the other was not inoculated (control). Viable cell counts were performed for up to 25 days on MRS agar, and the same cells were enumerated by qRT-PCR with both the plasmid or chromosomally encoded gene ... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5558872 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5558872 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5558871&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22210615%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Seo MJ, Kang BW, Park JU, Kim MJ, Lee HH, Choi YH, Jeong YK Abstract The extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) was isolated from mycelial cultures of Laetiporus sulphureus var. miniatus and purified by DEAE cellulose and Sephadex G-50 column chromatography. The purified EPS (EPS-2-1) was composed of only glucose units and its molecular mass was 6.95 kDa. The chemical structure of EPS-2-1 consisted of a main chain containing (1-->4)-Glcp units with branches at the C-6 position of the chain carrying -Glcp-(1-->4)-linked residues. The effect of purified EPS on immunomodulatory genes and proteins of the Bcl-2 family was observed using cultured U937 human leukemia cells. Of note, the levels of Bax and Bad proteins treated with the EPS (4 mg/ml) were approximately 23- and 18-... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5558871 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5558871 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5558870&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22210616%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kim DY, Hwang YI, Choi SU Abstract A metK gene encoding S-adenosyl-L-methionine synthetase was cloned from the non-Streptomyces actinomycetes, Actinoplanes teichomyceticus ATCC31121. In order to evaluate the effect of the metK expression on antibiotic production in actinomycetes, an expression vector harboring the metK gene was constructed and introduced into Streptomyces lividans TK24 and A. teichomyceticus, and the antibiotic production of the exconjugants was assessed. As a result, it was determined that the expression of metK induced 17-fold and 2.2-fold increases in actinorhodin production from S. lividans TK24 and teicoplanin production from A. teichomyceticus, respectively, compared with the control strains. PMID: 22210616 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal ... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5558870 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5558870 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5558869&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22210617%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Davami F, Barkhordari F, Alebouyeh M, Adeli A, Mahboudi F Abstract An important modification of thrombolytic agents is resistance to plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1). In previous studies, a new truncated PAI-1-resistant variant was developed based on deletion of the first three domains in t-PA and the substitution of KHRR 128-131 amino acids with AAAA in the truncated t-PA. The novel variant expressed in a static culture system of Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) DG44 cells exhibited a higher resistance to PAI-1 when compared with the full-length commercial drug; Actylase. In the present study, the truncatedmutant protein was expressed in CHO DG44 cells in 50 ml orbital shaking bioreactors. The final yield of the truncatedmutant in the culture was 752 IU/ml, representi... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5558869 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5558869 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5558868&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22210618%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Maeda I, Sakurai H, Yoshida K, Siddiki M, Shimizu T, Fukami M, Ueda S Abstract Recombinant Rhodopseudomonas palustris, harboring the carotenoid-metabolizing gene crtI (CrtIBS), and whose color changes from greenish yellow to red in response to inorganic As(III), was cultured in transparent microplate wells illuminated with a light emitting diode (LED) array. The cells were seen to grow better under near-infrared light, when compared with cells illuminated with blue or green LEDs. The absorbance ratio of 525 to 425 nm after cultivation for 24 h, which reflects red carotenoid accumulation, increased with an increase in As(III) concentrations. The detection limit of cultures illuminated with near-infrared LED was 5 microgram/l, which was equivalent to that of cultures in test... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5558868 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5558868 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5558867&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22210619%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Dhillon GS, Brar SK, Kaur S, Valero JR, Verma M Abstract Enzyme extracts of cellulase [filter paper cellulase (FPase) and carboxymethyl cellulase (CMCase)], chitinase, and chitosanase produced by Aspergillus niger NRRL-567 were evaluated. The interactive effects of initial moisture and different inducers for FP cellulase and CMCase production were optimized using response surface methodology. Higher enzyme activities [FPase 79.24+/- 4.22 IU/gram fermented substrate (gfs) and CMCase 124.04+/-7.78 IU/gfs] were achieved after 48 h fermentation in solid-state medium containing apple pomace supplemented with rice husk [1% (w/w)] under optimized conditions [pH 4.5, moisture 55% (v/w), and inducers veratryl alcohol (2 mM/kg), copper sulfate (1.5 mM/kg), and lactose 2% ... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5558867 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5558867 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5558866&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22210620%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Lee S, Jang Y, Lee YM, Lee J, Lee H, Kim GH, Kim JJ Abstract Filamentous fungi colonizing rice straw were collected from 11 different sites in Korea and were identified based on characterization of their morphology and molecular properties. The fungi were divided into 25 species belonging to 16 genera, including 14 ascomycetes, one zygomycete, and one basidiomycete. Fungal cellulolytic and xylanolytic enzymes were assessed through a two-step process, wherein highly active cellulase- and/or hemicellulaseproducing fungi were selected in a first screening step followed by a second step to isolate the best enzymeproducer. Twenty-five fungal species were first screened for the production of total cellulase (TC), endo-beta-1,4 glucanase (EG), and endo-beta-1,4 xylanase (XYL) usi... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5558866 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5558866 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5558865&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22210621%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Li Q, Ni H, Meng S, He Y, Yu Z, Li L Abstract N-Acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs) serve as the vital quorum-sensing signals that regulate the virulence of the pathogenic bacterium Erwinia carotovora. In the present study, an approach to efficiently restrain the pathogenicity of E. carotovora-induced soft rot disease is described. Bacillus thuringiensis-derived N-acyl homoserine lactonase (AiiA) was projected onto the surface of Pseudomonas putida cells, and inoculation with both strains was challenged. The previously identified N-terminal moiety of the ice nucleation protein, InaQ-N, was applied as the anchoring motif. A surface display cassette with inaQ-N/ aiiA was constructed and expressed under the control of a constitutive promoter in P. putida AB92019. Surface localiza... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5558865 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5558865 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5558864&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22210622%26dopt%3DAbstract This study details and examines a novel ligation-mediated polymerase chain reaction (LM-PCR) method. Named the LM-PCR/Shifter, it relies on the use of a Class IIS restriction enzyme giving restriction fragments with different 4-base, 5' overhangs, this being the Shifter, and the ligation of appropriate oligonucleotide adapters. A sequence of 4-base, 5' overhangs of the adapter and a 4- base sequence of the 3' end of the primer(s) determine a subset of the genomic restriction fragments, which are amplified by PCR. The method permits the differentiation of bacterial species strains on the basis of the different DNA band patterns obtained after electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gels stained with ethidium bromide and visualized in UV light. The usefulness of the LM-PCR/ Shifter method for geno... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5558864 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5558864 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5558863&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22210623%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Olivares A, Trejo JO, Arellano-Galindo J, Zuniga G, Escalona G, Vigueras JC, Marin P, Xicohtencatl J, Valencia P, Velazquez-Guadarram N Abstract Vancomycin therapy failure due to the emergence of tolerance in pneumococci is increasing. The molecular mechanism of tolerance is not clear, but lytA and pep27 are known to be involved. Our aim was to evaluate the expression of both genes in vancomycin-tolerant Streptococcus pneumoniae (VTSP) strains. Eleven VTSP strains from a total of 309 clinical isolates of S. pneumoniae from 1997 to 2006 were classified according to the criteria of Liu and Tomasz. All VTSP strains were evaluated for susceptibility according to CLSI criteria, serotype by the Quellung test, and clonality by PFGE. The expressions of lytA and pep27 were analyzed... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5558863 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5558863 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5558862&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22210624%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Hwang IY, Lim SK, Ku HO, Park CK, Jung SC, Park YH, Nam HM Abstract Forty-one Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) isolates from feces of pigs and chickens in Korea were screened for the presence of virulence factors. Gelatinase activity (85.4%, 35/41) was the more commonly observed phenotype of virulence in E. faecalis, compared with hemolytic activity (12.2%, 5/41). Thirty-one of 35 (88.6%) gelatinase-positive E. faecalis isolates harbored the gelE and fsrABC genes. A gene encoding for the enterococcal surface protein (Esp) was detected in 24.4% (10/41) of the isolates. All betahemolysin- producing isolates harbored the esp gene. PMID: 22210624 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology) Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5558862 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5558862 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5473649&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22127119%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, aerobic bacteria were isolated from an Indian coal bed that can solubilize and utilize coal as the sole source of carbon. The six bacterial isolates capable of growing on coal agar medium were identified on the basis of their 16S rRNA gene sequences, which clustered into two groups; Group I isolates belonged to the genus Rhizobium, whereas Group II isolates were identified as Chelatococcus species. Out of the 4 methods of whole genome fingerprinting (ERIC-PCR, REP-PCR, BOX-PCR, and RAPD), REPPCR showed maximum differentiation among strains within each group. Only Chelatococcus strains showed the ability to solubilize and utilize coal as the sole source of carbon. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence and the ability to utilize different carbon sources, the Chelatococcus str... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5473649 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5473649 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5473648&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22127120%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Jang IK, Suriakala K, Kim JS, Meng XH, Choi TJ Abstract A highly sensitive and specific TaqMan real-time PCR was used to quantify hepatopancreatic parvovirus (HPV) type III infections in wild broodstocks and hatcheryreared postlarvae (PL) of Fenneropenaeus chinensis. Totals of 159 and 162 wild brooders from three locations were captured, and 140 and 180 PL were obtained from seven and six commercial hatcheries in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Among the three wild broodstock groups from 2007, only 1 group showed HPV infection and 3.2% of 159 brooders were positive for HPV infection. In 2008, HPV infections were observed from all three wild broodstock groups with 1.93×10(4) copies/mg tissue of pleopods. Of 162 brooders, 26.6% were positive for HPV infection. No PL from the t... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5473648 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5473648 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5473647&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22127121%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, site-directed mutagenesis was performed on the beta-agarase AgaA gene from Zobellia galactanivorans to improve its catalytic activity and thermostability. The activities of three mutant enzymes, S63K, C253I, and S63K-C253I, were 126% (1,757.78 U/mg), 2.4% (33.47 U/mg), and 0.57% (8.01 U/mg), respectively, relative to the wildtype beta-agarase AgaA (1,392.61 U/mg) at 40 degreesC. The stability of the mutant S63K enzyme was 125% of the wild-type up to 45 degreesC, where agar is in a sol state. The mutant S63K enzyme produced 166%, 257%, and 220% more neoagarohexaose, and 230%, 427%, and 350% more neoagarotetraose than the wild-type in sol, gel, and nonmelted powder agar, respectively, at 45 degreesC over 24 h. The mutant S63K enzyme produced 50% more neoagarooligosaccharides f... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5473647 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5473647 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5473646&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22127122%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Santiago CP, Quick LN, Wilson JW Abstract The IncP plasmid R995 has been a useful selftransmissible, broad-host-range vector for a number of applications including the recombinase/conjugation-based cloning of large genomic DNA segments. However, R995 derivatives (or related plasmids) expressing a wide range of different resistance markers and Flp recombinase target sites do not exist in the literature. In addition, documented strategies for applying such plasmids in cloning applications that take advantage of conjugation for the convenient isolation and recovery of constructs are extremely limited. Here, we report a new series of R995 plasmids with alternative markers to increase options for applications in backgrounds already expressing resistance to a particular antibiot... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5473646 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5473646 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5473645&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22127123%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Sharma SK, Johri BN, Ramesh A, Joshi OP, Sai Prasad SV Abstract The aim of this investigation was to select effective Pseudomonas sp. strains that can enhance the productivity of soybean-wheat cropping systems in Vertisols of Central India. Out of 13 strains of Pseudomonas species tested in vitro, only five strains displayed plant growth-promoting (PGP) properties. All the strains significantly increased soil enzyme activities, except acid phosphatase, total system productivity, and nutrient uptake in field evaluation; soil nutrient status was not significantly influenced. Available data indicated that six strains were better than the others. Principal component analysis (PCA) coupled cluster analysis of yield and nutrient data separated these strains into five distinct cl... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5473645 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5473645 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5473644&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22127124%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, we successfully improved flavonoid production by expressing two sets of genes predicted to be involved in malonate assimilation. The introduction of matB and matC encoding for malonyl-CoA synthetase and the putative dicarboxylate carrier protein, respectively, from Streptomyces coelicolor into the recombinant S. venezuelae strains expressing flavanone and flavone biosynthetic genes resulted in enhanced production of both flavonoids. PMID: 22127124 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology) Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5473644 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5473644 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5473643&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22127125%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Son GH, Kim J, Muthaiya MJ, Lee S, Kim HY, Lee C Abstract Xanthomonas oryzae causes rice bacterial blight, which has been reported as one of the most destructive diseases of rice. Metabolites were identified through cheonggukjang, a traditional Korean fermented soybean product fermented by the Bacillus spp., to control the bacteria. HPLC, MS, and UPLC-Q-TOF-MS analyses were performed to identify metabolites responsible for antimicrobial activity. In this analysis, the m/z values of 253.0498, 283.0600, 269.0455, 992.6287, and 1,006.6436 were identified as daidzein, glycitein, genistein, surfactin B, and surfactin A, respectively. The levels of surfactin B and surfactin A were found to be high at 24 h (4.35 microgram/ml) and 36 h (3.43 microgram/ml) of fermentation, respecti... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5473643 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5473643 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5473642&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22127126%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, galactooligosaccharide (GOS) was synthesized using active beta-galactosidase (beta-gal) inclusion bodies (IBs)- containing Escherichia coli (E. coli) cells. Analysis by MALDI-TOF (matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionizationtime of flight) mass spectrometry revealed that a trisaccharide was the major constituent of the synthesized GOS mixture. Additionally, the optimal pH, lactose concentration, amounts of E. coli beta-gal IBs, and temperature for GOS synthesis were 7.5, 500 g/l, 3.2 U/ml, and 37 degreesC, respectively. The total GOS yield from 500 g/l of lactose under these optimal conditions was about 32%, which corresponded to 160.4 g/l of GOS. Western blot analyses revealed that beta-gal IBs were gradually destroyed during the reaction. In addition, when both the reaction... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5473642 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5473642 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5473641&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22127127%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, methanol-tolerant lipase M37 from Photobacterium lipolyticum was immobilized using the cross-linked enzyme aggregate (CLEA) method. Lipase M37 has a high lysine content (9.7%) in its protein sequence. Most lysine residues are located evenly over the surface of the protein, except for the lid structure region, which makes the CLEA preparation yield quite high (~93%). CLEA M37 evidences an optimal temperature of 30oC, and an optimal pH of 9-10. It was stable up to 50 degreesC and in a pH range of 4.0-11.0. Both soluble M37 and CLEA M37 were stable in the presence of high concentrations of methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, and nbutanol. That is, their activities were maintained at solvent concentrations above 10% (v/v). CLEA M37 could produce biodiesel from olive oil and alcohols ... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5473641 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5473641 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5473640&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22127128%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Jo HD, Lee HA, Jeong SJ, Kim JH Abstract Meju is a traditional Korean fermented soy product used as a key element for soy sauce and doenjang. Bacilli with antimicrobial activity were isolated from meju prepared by traditional methods at Sunchang county, Jeollabukdo, Korea. Six isolates were identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens by recA gene sequencing and RAPD-PCR. One isolate, B. amyloliquefaciens MJ5-41, showed the strongest fibrinolytic activity. A 27 kDa active fibrinolytic enzyme, AprE5-41, was purified from the culture supernatant of MJ5-41 grown on LB by chromatographic methods. The optimum pH and temperature for purified AprE5-41 were 7.0 and 45 degreesC, respectively. AprE5-41 quickly degraded Aalpha and Bbeta chains but not the gamma-chain of fibrinogen. AprE5... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5473640 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5473640 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5473639&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22127129%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kang H, Choi HS, Kim JE, Han NS Abstract Exopolysaccharides (EPSs) are microbial polysaccharides that are released outside of the bacterial cell wall. There have been few studies on EPS-producing lactic acid bacteria that can enhance macrophage activity and the underlying signaling mechanism for cytokine expression. In the current study, EPS-overproducing Lactobacillus (L.) paracasei KB28 was isolated from kimchi and cultivated in conditioned media containing glucose, sucrose, and lactose. The whole bacterial cells were obtained with their EPS being attached, and the cytokine-inducing activities of these cells were investigated. Gas chromatography analysis showed the presence of glucose, galactose, mannose, xylose, arabinose, and rhamnose in EPS composition. EPS-producing ... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5473639 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5473639 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5473638&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22127130%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, the chromosome-encoded pcuRCAXB genes that are required for p-cresol degradation have been identified by using a newly constructed green fluorescent protein (GFP)-based promoter probe transposon in the long-chain alkylphenol degrader Pseudomonas alkylphenolia. The deduced amino acid sequences of the genes showed the highest identities at the levels of 65-93% compared with those in the databases. The transposon was identified to be inserted in the pcuA gene, with the promoterless gfp gene being under the control of the pcu catabolic gene promoter. The expression of GFP was positively induced by p-cresol and was about 10 times higher by cells grown on agar than those in liquid culture. In addition, phydroxybenzoic acid was detected during p-cresol degradation. These results in... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5473638 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5473638 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5473637&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22127131%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Dhanjal S, Cameotra SS Abstract A bacterial isolate (strain JS-2) characterized as Bacillus sp. was challenged with high concentrations of toxic selenite ions. The microbe was found to transform the toxic, soluble, colorless selenite (SeO3 (2-)) oxyions to nontoxic, insoluble, red elemental selenium (Se0). This process of biotransformation was accompanied by cytoplasmic and surface accumulation of electron dense selenium (Se0) granules, as revealed in electron micrographs. The cells grown in the presence of selenite oxyions secreted large quantities of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). There were quantitative and qualitative differences in the cell wall fatty acids of the culture grown in the presence of selenite ions. The relative percentage of total saturated fat... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5473637 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5473637 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5473636&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22127132%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Stachowiak R, Granicka LH, Wisniewski J, Lyzniak M, Kawiak J, Bielecki J Abstract Encapsulation of biological material in the permiselective membrane allows to construct a system separating cells from their products, which may find biotechnological as well as biomedical applications in biological processes regulation. Application of a permiselective membrane allows avoiding an attack of the implanted microorganisms on the host. Our aim was to evaluate the performance of Bacillus subtilis encapsulated in an elaborate membrane system producing listeriolysin O, a cytolysin from Listeria monocytogenes, with chosen eukaryotic cells for future application in anticancer treatment. The system of encapsulating in membrane live Bacillus subtilis BR1-S secreting listeriolysin O was p... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5473636 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5473636 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5473635&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22127133%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Lee JH, Kim HL, Lee MH, Taguchi H, Hyon SH, Park JC Abstract Infection of surgical wounds is a severe problem. Conventional tissue reattachment methods have limits of incomplete sealing and high susceptibility to infection. Medical adhesives have several advantages over traditional tissue reattachment techniques, but still have drawbacks, such as the probability of infection, low adhesive strength, and high cytotoxicity. Recently, a new medical adhesive (new-adhesive) with high adhesive strength and low cytotoxicity, composed of aldehyded dextran and epsilon-poly(Llysine), was developed. The antimicrobial activity of the new-adhesive was assayed using agar media and porcine skin. In the agar diffusion method, inoculated microorganisms that contacted the new-adhesive were i... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5473635 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5473635 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5358442&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22031023%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Huma N, Shankar P, Kushwah J, Bhushan A, Joshi J, Mukherjee T, Raju S, Purohit H, Kalia V Abstract To explore bacterial diversity for elucidating genetic variability in acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) lactonase structure, we screened 800 bacterial strains. It revealed the presence of a quorum quenching (QQ) AHL-lactonase gene (aiiA) in 42 strains. These 42 strains were identified using rrs (16S rDNA) sequencing as Bacillus strains, predominantly B. cereus. An in silico restriction endonuclease (RE) digestion of 22 AHL lactonase gene (aiiA) sequences (from NCBI database) belonging to 9 different genera, along with 42 aiiA gene sequences from different Bacillus spp. (isolated here) with 14 type II REs, revealed distinct patterns of fragments (nucleotide length and order) with f... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5358442 Sat, 01 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5358442 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5358441&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22031024%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Pham TH, Quyen DT, Nghiem NM, Vu TD Abstract A gene coding for an endoglucanase (EglA), of the glycosyl hydrolase family 12 and derived from Aspergillus niger VTCC-F021, was cloned and sequenced. The cDNA sequence, 717 bp, and its putative endoglucanase, a 238 aa protein with a predicted molecular mass of 26 kDa and a pI of 4.35, exhibited 98.3-98.7% and 98.3-98.6% identities, respectively, with cDNA sequences and their corresponding endoglucanases from Aspergillus niger strains from the GenBank. The cDNA was overexpressed in Pichia pastoris GS115 under the control of an AOX1 promoter with a level of 1.59 U/ml culture supernatant, after 72 h of growth in a YP medium induced with 1% (v/v) of methanol. The molecular mass of the purified EglA, determined by SDS-PAGE, was 33 k... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5358441 Sat, 01 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5358441 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5358440&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22031025%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Oh C, De Zoysa M, Kang DH, Lee Y, Whang I, Nikapitiya C, Heo SJ, Yoon KT, Affan A, Lee J Abstract A Bacillus subtilis strain was isolated from the intestine of Sebastiscus marmoratus (scorpion fish) that was identified as Bacillus subtilis CH2 by morphological, biochemical, and genetic analyses. The chitosanase of Bacillus subtilis CH2 was best induced by fructose and not induced with chitosan, unlike other chitosanases. The strain was incubated in LB broth, and the chitosanase secreted into the medium was concentrated with ammonium sulfate precipitation and purified by gel permeation chromatography. The molecular mass of the purified chitosanase was detected as 29 kDa. The optimum pH and temperature of the purified chitosanase were 5.5 and 60 degrees C, respectively. The ... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5358440 Sat, 01 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5358440 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5358439&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22031026%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Durai S, Karutha Pandian S, Balamurugan K Abstract Vibrio parahaemolyticus, which owes its origin to the marine environment, is considered as one of the most common causes of infectious diarrhea worldwide. The present study investigated the pathogenicity of V. parahaemolyticus against the model organism, Caenorhabditis elegans. Infection in the host was localized with GFP-tagged V. parahaemolyticus using confocal laser scanning microscopy. The times required for causing infection, bacterial load in intestine, chemotactic response, and alteration in pharyngeal pumping were analyzed in the host system. In addition, the regulation of innate immune-related genes, lys-7, clec- 60, and clec-87, was analyzed using real-time PCR. The role of immuneresponsible pmk-1 was studied usi... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5358439 Sat, 01 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5358439 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5358438&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22031027%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Brandi J, Oliveira E, Monteiro N, Vasconcelos AF, Dekker R, Barbosa A, Silveira J, Mourao P, Corradi da Silva Mde L Abstract The exopolysaccharide botryosphaeran (EPSGLC; a (1--> 3)(1-->6)-beta-D-glucan from Botryosphaeria rhodina MAMB- 05) was sulfonated to produce a water-soluble fraction (EPSGLC-S) using pyridine and chlorosulfonic acid in formamid. This procedure was then repeated twice to produce another fraction (EPSGLC-RS) with a higher degree of substitution (DS, 1.64). The purity of each botryosphaeran sample (unsulfonated and sulfonated) was assessed by gel filtration chromatography (Sepharose CL-4B), where each polysaccharide was eluted as a single symmetrical peak. The structures of the sulfonated and re-sulfonated botryosphaerans were investigated using ... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5358438 Sat, 01 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5358438 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5358437&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22031028%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Park YB, Kim SB Abstract A methanol extract of Cassia tora seeds was successively partitioned with diethyl ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and water, and the antitumor-promoting activity of the solvent fractions was determined by inhibition of Epstein- Barr virus early antigen (EBV-EA) activation induced by teleocidin B-4 in Raji cells. The diethyl ether (68.7%) and chloroform (91.2%) fractions and the hydrolysate (94.3%) of the ethyl acetate fraction had strong inhibitory activities. The chloroform and ethyl acetate fractions were chromatographed on silica gel and further purified by HPLC. Three active compounds, obtusifolin-2-glucoside (75.0%), chryso-obtusin-6-glucoside (56.8%), and norrubrofusarin- 6-glucoside (39.4%), were obtained from the ethyl acetate fraction, a... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5358437 Sat, 01 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5358437 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5358436&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22031029%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, we demonstrated the asymmetric synthesis of L-tert-leucine from trimethylpyruvate using branchedchain aminotransferase (BCAT) from Escherichia coli in the presence of L-glutamate as an amino donor. Since BCAT was severely inhibited by 2-ketoglutarate, in order to overcome this here, we developed a BCAT/aspartate aminotransferase (AspAT) and BCAT/AspAT/pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) coupling reaction. In the BCAT/ AspAT/PDC coupling reaction, 89.2 mM L-tert-leucine (ee >99%) was asymmetrically synthesized from 100 mM trimethylpyruvate. PMID: 22031029 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology) Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5358436 Sat, 01 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5358436 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5358435&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22031030%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Seo MJ, Choi HJ, Chung KH, Pyun YR Abstract Optimal conditions for a high cell density fermentation were investigated in a recombinant Escherichia coli producing salmosin, a platelet aggregation inhibitor. The optimized carbon and nitrogen sources were glycerol 10 g/l, yeast extract 30 g/l, and bacto-tryptone 10 g/l, yielding the dry cell weight (DCW) of 10.61 g/l in a 500 ml flask culture. The late-stage induction with 1% L-arabinose in a 5 l jar fermentor showed the highest DCW of 65.70 g/l after 27 h of the fed-batch fermentation. Around 2,200 mg/l of the protein was expressed as an inclusion body that was then refolded to obtain the active salmosin of 96 mg/l. We also confirmed the inhibitory activity against platelet aggregation of the active salmosin from the high ce... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5358435 Sat, 01 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5358435 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5358434&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22031031%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Wang DM, Yu HS, Song JG, Xu YF, Liu CY, Jin FX Abstract Herein, a novel ginsenosidase, named ginsenosidase type IV, hydrolyzing 6-O-multi-glycosides of protopanaxatrioltype ginsenosides (PPT), such as Re, R1, Rf, and Rg2, was isolated from the Aspergillus sp. 39g strain, purified, and characterized. Ginsenosidase type IV was able to hydrolyze the 6-O-alpha-L-(1-->2)-rhamnoside of Re and the 6-O-beta-D- (1-->2)-xyloside of R1 into ginsenoside Rg1. Subsequently, it could hydrolyze the 6-O-beta-D-glucoside of Rg1 into F1. Similarly, it was able to hydrolyze the 6-O-alpha-L-(1-->2)- rhamnoside of Rg2 and the 6-O-beta-D-(1-->2)-glucoside of Rf into Rh1, and then further hydrolyze Rh1 into its aglycone. However, ginsenosidase type IV could not hydrolyze the 3-O- or 2... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5358434 Sat, 01 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5358434 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5358433&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22031032%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Park EH, Lee HY, Ryu YW, Seo JH, Kim MD Abstract The osmotolerant yeast, Candida magnoliae, which was isolated from honeycomb, produces erythritol from sugars such as fructose, glucose, and sucrose. Erythrose reductase in C. magnoliae (CmER) reduces erythrose to erythritol with concomitant oxidation of NAD(P)H. Sequence analysis of the 5'-flanking region of the CmER gene indicated that one putative stress response element (STRE, 5'-AGGGG- 3'), found in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, exists 72 nucleotides upstream of the translation initiation codon. An enzyme activity assay and semiquantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction revealed that the expression of CmER is upregulated under osmotic and salt stress conditions caused by a high concentration of sugar, KCl,... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5358433 Sat, 01 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5358433 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5358432&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22031033%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kim SY, Yoo KS, Kim Y, Seo E, Kim BS, Han NS Abstract A real-time PCR assay method was established to monitor Leuconostoc spp. populations via specific amplification of the dextransucrase gene. Quantification of L. mesenteroides B-512F using both genomic DNA and cell suspensions yielded a log-linear correlation spanning approximately 5 log units. By using this method, monitoring changes of Leuconostoc spp. during sauerkraut fermentation was successfully accomplished with accuracy after inoculation of starter and sugars (sucrose and maltose). PMID: 22031033 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology) Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5358432 Sat, 01 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5358432 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5358431&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22031034%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Cho S, Lee D, Luong T, Park S, Oh YK, Lee T Abstract In order to investigate and generalize the effects of carbon and nitrogen sources on the growth of and lipid production in Chlorella sp. 227, several nutritional combinations consisting of different carbon and nitrogen sources and concentrations were given to the media for cultivation of Chlorella sp. 227, respectively. The growth rate and lipid content were affected largely by concentration rather than by sources. The maximum specific growth was negatively affected by low concentrations of carbon and nitrogen. There is a maximum allowable inorganic carbon concentration (less than 500~1,000 mM bicarbonate) in autotrophic culture, but the maximum lipid content per gram dry cell weight (g DCW) was little affected by the co... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5358431 Sat, 01 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5358431 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5358430&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22031035%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Choi YE, Yun YS, Park JM, Yang JW Abstract An internally radiating photobioreactor was applied for the production of astaxanthin using the unicellular green alga Haematococcus pluvialis. The cellular morphology of H. pluvialis was significantly affected by the intensity of irradiance of the photobioreactor. Small green cells were widespread under lower light intensity, whereas big reddish cells were predominant under high light intensity. For these reasons, growth reflected by cell number or dry weight varied markedly with light conditions. Even under internal illumination of the photobioreactor, light penetration was significantly decreased as algal cells grew. Therefore, we employed a multistage process by gradually increasing the internal illuminations for astaxanthin p... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5358430 Sat, 01 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5358430 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5358429&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22031036%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Lee B, Kim H, Shim I, Lee H, Hahm DH Abstract The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether wild ginseng (WG) administration could attenuate anxiety- and depression-like behaviors and expression of corticotrophinreleasing factor (CRF) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) following withdrawal from repeated morphine administration in rats. Male rats were administered daily doses of WG (50, 100, or 200 mg/kg, i.p.) for 5 days, 30 min before morphine injection (40 mg/kg, s.c). The anxiety- and depression-like behavioral responses were measured 72 h after the last morphine injection using an elevated plus maze (EPM) and forced swimming test (FST), respectively. Changes in hypothalamic CRF and NPY expressions were also examined by analyzing their immunoreactivities in the hypothalamus. ... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5358429 Sat, 01 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5358429 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5358428&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22031037%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, the structure of the tolaasin ion channel was determined in silico based on data obtained from nuclear magnetic resonance experiments. PMID: 22031037 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology) Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5358428 Sat, 01 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5358428 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5274747&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21952364%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Hong SW, Kim IS, Lee JS, Chung KS Abstract The bacterial communities in the intestinal tracts of earthworm were investigated by culture-dependent and - independent approaches. In total, 72 and 55 pure cultures were isolated from the intestinal tracts of earthworms under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, respectively. Aerobic bacteria were classified as Aeromonas (40%), Bacillus (37%), Photobacterium (10%), Pseudomonas (7%), and Shewanella (6%). Anaerobic bacteria were classified as Aeromonas (52%), Bacillus (27%), Shewanella (12%), Paenibacillus (5%), Clostridium (2%), and Cellulosimicrobium (2%). The dominant microorganisms were Aeromonas and Bacillus species under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. In all, 39 DNA fragments were identified by polymerase chain reaction... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5274747 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5274747 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5274746&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21952365%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Khan AL, Hamayun M, Ahmad N, Hussain J, Kang SM, Kim YH, Adnan M, Tang DS, Waqas M, Radhakrishnan R, Hwang YH, Lee IJ Abstract Endophytic fungi are little known for their role in gibberellins (GAs) synthesis and abiotic stress resistance in crop plants. We isolated 10 endophytes from the roots of field-grown soybean and screened their culture filtrates (CF) on the GAs biosynthesis mutant rice line - Waito-C. CF bioassay showed that endophyte GMH-1B significantly promoted the growth of Waito-C compared with controls. GMH-1B was identified as Penicillium minioluteum LHL09 on the basis of ITS regions rDNA sequence homology and phylogenetic analyses. GC/MS-SIM analysis of CF of P. minioluteum revealed the presence of bioactive GA4 and GA7. In endophyte-soybean plant interactio... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5274746 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5274746 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5274745&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21952366%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Yang YJ, Lee NK, Lee NY, Lee JW, Park SJ Abstract Vibrio parahaemolyticus, which causes gastroenteritis, wound infection, and septicemia, has two sets of type III secretion systems (TTSS), TTSS1 and TTSS2. A TTSS1- deficient vcrD1 mutant of V. parahaemolyticus showed an attenuated cytotoxicity against HEp-2 cells, and a significant reduction in mouse lethality, which were both restored by complementation with the intact vcrD1 gene. V. parahaemolyticus also triggered phosphorylation of mitogenactivated protein kinases (MAPKs) including p38 and ERK1/2 in HEp-2 cells. The ability to activate p38 and ERK1/2 was significantly affected in a TTSS1-deficient vcrD1 mutant. Experiments using MAPK inhibitors showed that p38 and ERK1/2 MAPKs are involved in V. parahaemolyticus-induced... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5274745 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5274745 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5274744&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21952367%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Rambhatla P, Kumar S, Floyd JT, Varela MF Abstract Vibrio cholerae utilizes mannitol through an operon of the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase (PTS) type. A gene, mtlD, encoding mannitol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase was identified within the 3.9 kb mannitol operon of V. cholerae. The mtlD gene was cloned from V. cholerae O395, and the recombinant enzyme was functionally expressed in E. coli as a 6×His-tagged protein and purified to homogeneity. The recombinant protein is a monomer with a molecular mass of 42.35 kDa. The purified recombinant MtlD reduced fructose 6-phosphate (F6P) using NADH as a cofactor with a Km of 1.54 +/- 0.1 mM and Vmax of 320.8 +/- 7.81 micronmol/min/mg protein. The pH and temperature optima for F6P reduction were determined to be 7.5 a... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5274744 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5274744 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5274743&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21952368%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Jeong YT, Song CH Abstract Stimulation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling followed by increase of glucose uptake in L6 myotubes were studied with organic solvent extract of Malva verticillata (MV) seeds. Ethanol extract of M. verticillata seeds (MVE) significantly increased the phosphorylation level of AMPK, acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), and glucose uptake in L6 myotube cells. The MVE was fractionated with n-hexane (MVE-H), chloroform (MVE-C), ethylacetate (MVE-E), n-butanol (MVE-B), and water (MVE-W). MVE-H (150 microgram/ml) showed the highest phosphorylating activity and increased glucose uptake by 2.3-fold. Oral administration of MVE-H (40 mg/kg) for 4 weeks to type 2 diabetic (db/db) mice reduced non-fasting and fasting blood glucose levels by 17.1% and ... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5274743 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5274743 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5274742&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21952369%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Han B, Gross H, McPhail KL, Goeger D, Maier CS, Gerwick WH Abstract Two new cyclic depsipeptides wewakamide A (1) and guineamide G (2) have been isolated from the marine cyanobacterium Lyngbya semiplena and Lyngbya majuscula, respectively, collected from Papua New Guinea. The amino and hydroxy acid partial structures of wewakamide A and guineamide G were elucidated through extensive spectroscopic techniques, including HR-FABMS, 1D 1H and 13C NMR, as well as 2D COSY, HSQC, HSQCTOCSY, and HMBC spectra. The sequence of the residues of wewakamide A was determined through a combination of ESI-MS/MS, HMBC, and ROESY. Wewakamide A possesses a beta-amino acid, 3-amino-2-methylbutanoic acid (Maba) residue, which has only been previously identified in two natural products, guineamid... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5274742 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5274742 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5274741&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21952370%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Sattar S, Maiti MK Abstract Several isolates of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) were screened for the vegetative insecticidal protein (Vip) effective against sap-sucking insect pests. Screening results were based on LC50 values against cotton aphid (Aphis gossypii), one of the dangerous pests of various crop plants including cotton. Among the isolates, the Bt#BREF24 showed promising results, and upon purification the aphidicidal protein was recognized as a binary toxin. One of the components of this binary toxin was identified by peptide sequencing to be a homolog of Vip2A that has been reported previously in other Bacillus spp. Vip2 belongs to the binary toxin group Vip1-Vip2, and is responsible for the enzymatic activity; and Vip1 is the translocation and receptor binding pr... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5274741 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5274741 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5274740&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21952371%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kumar CG, Kamle A, Mongolla P, Joseph J Abstract A fungal strain, Aspergillus terreus strain GA2, isolated from an agricultural field cultivating sweet sorghum, produced feruloyl esterase using maize bran. In order to obtain maximum yields of feruloyl esterase, the solid state fermentation (SSF) conditions for enzyme production were standardized. Effective feruloyl esterase production was observed with maize bran as substrate followed by wheat bran, coconut husk, and rice husk among the tested agro-waste crop residues. Optimum particle size of 0.71- 0.3 mm and moisture content of 80% favored enzyme production. Moreover, optimum feruloyl esterase production was observed at pH 6.0 and a temperature of 30 degrees C. Supplementation of potato starch (0.6%) as the carbon source... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5274740 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5274740 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5274739&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21952372%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Lee HY, Chai LC, Pui CF, Wong WC, Mustafa S, Cheah YK, Mat Issa Z, Nishibuchi M, Radu S Abstract There have been a number of studies conducted in order to compare the efficiencies of recovery rates, utilizing different protocols, for the isolation of L. monocytogenes. However, the severity of multiple cell injury has not been included in these studies. In the current study, L. monocytogenes ATCC 19112 was injured by exposure to extreme temperatures (60 degrees C and -20 degrees C) for a one-step injury, and for a two-step injury the cells were transferred directly from a heat treatment to frozen state to induce a severe cell injury (up to 100% injury). The injured cells were then subjected to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the ISO-11290, and the modified United... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5274739 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5274739 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5274738&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21952373%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Rodriguez-Duran LV, Contreras-Esquivel JC, Rodriguez R, Prado-Barragan LA, Aguilar CN Abstract Tannin acyl hydrolase, also known as tannase, is an enzyme with important applications in the food, feed, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries. However, despite a growing interest in the catalytic properties of tannase, its practical use is very limited owing to high production costs. Several studies have already demonstrated the advantages of solid-state fermentation (SSF) for the production of fungal tannase, yet the optimal conditions for enzyme production strongly depend on the microbial strain utilized. Therefore, the aim of this study was to improve the tannase production by a locally isolated A. niger strain in an SSF system. The SSF was carried out in packed-bed biorea... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5274738 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5274738 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5274737&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21952374%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Otgonbayar GE, Eom HJ, Kim BS, Ko JH, Han NS Abstract Leuconostoc genus, which comprise heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria, reduces fructose to mannitol by recycling intracellular NADH. To evaluate the mannitol productivities of different Leuconostoc species, 5 stock cultures and 4 newly isolated strains were cultivated in MRS and simplified media containing glucose and fructose (1:2 ratio). Among them, L. citreum KACC 91348P, which was isolated from kimchi, showed superior result in cell growth rate, mannitol production rate, and yield in both media. The optimal condition for mannitol production of this strain was pH 6.5 and 30 degrees C. When L. citreum KACC was cultured in simplified medium in a 2 l batch fermenter under optimal conditions, the maximum volumetric p... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5274737 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5274737 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5274736&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21952375%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, we investigated the performance of an immobilized beta-galactosidase inclusion bodies-containing Escherichia coli cell reactor, where the cells were immobilized in alginate beads, which were then used in repeated-batch operations for the hydrolysis of o-nitrophenyl-beta-D-galactoside or lactose over the long-term. In particular, in the Tris buffer system, disintegration of the alginate beads was not observed during the operation, which was observed for the phosphate buffer system. The o-nitrophenyl-beta-Dgalactoside hydrolysis was operated successfully up to about 80 h, and the runs were successfully repeated at least eight times. In addition, hydrolysis of lactose was successfully carried out up to 240 h. Using Western blotting analyses, it was verified that the beta-galact... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5274736 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5274736 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5274735&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21952376%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kim YJ, Moon MH, Lee JS, Hong SK, Chang YK Abstract Culture pH change has some important roles in signal transduction and secondary metabolism. We have already reported that acidic pH shock enhanced actinorhodin production in Streptomyces coelicolor. Among many potential governing factors on pH variation, the putative Na+/H+ antiporter (sha) genes in S. coelicolor have been investigated in this study to elucidate the association of the sha on pH variation and secondary metabolism. Through the transcriptional analysis and overexpression experiments on 8 sha genes, we observed that most of the sha expressions were promoted by pH shock, and in the opposite way the pH changes and actinorhodin production were enhanced by the overexpression of each sha. We also confirmed that sh... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5274735 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5274735 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5274734&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21952377%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kim DJ, Kim Y Abstract A significant amount of nitrous oxide (N2O), which is one of the serious greenhouse gases, is emitted from nitrification and denitrification of wastewater. Batch wastewater nitrifications with enriched nitrifiers were carried out under oxygen-limited condition with synthetic (without organic carbon) and real wastewater (with organic carbon) in order to find out the effect of ammonium concentration on N2O emission. Cumulated N2O-N emission reached 3.0, 5.7, 6.2, and 13.5 mg from 0.4 l of the synthetic wastewater with 50, 100, 200, and 500 mg/l NH4 +-N, respectively, and 1.0 mg from the real wastewater with 125 mg/l NH4 +-N. The results indicate that N2O emission increased with ammonium concentration and the load. The ammonium removal rate and nitrite ... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5274734 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5274734 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5274733&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21952378%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kristanti RA, Hadibarata T, Toyama T, Tanaka Y, Mori K Abstract The bioremediation potential of crude oil by Polyporus sp. S133 pre-grown in wood meal was investigated in two separate experiment trials; liquid medium and soil. The effect of three nutrients (glucose, polypeptone, and wood meal), oxygen flow, and some absorbent on the efficiency of the process was also evaluated. Degradation of crude oil in soil was significantly increased with an addition of oxygen flow and some absorbent (kapok and pulp). The highest degradation rate of crude oil was 93% in the soil with an addition of 10% kapok. The present study clearly demonstrates that, if suitably developed, Polyporus sp. S133 could be used to remediate soil contaminated with crude oil. PMID: 21952378 [PubMed - as... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5274733 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5274733 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5191937&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21876366%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kim WI, Cho WK, Kim SN, Chu H, Ryu KY, Yun JC, Park CS Abstract To elucidate the biodiversity of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) in Korea, 7,638 bacteria isolated from the rhizosphere of plant species growing in many different regions were screened. A large number of PGPR were identified by testing the ability of each isolate to promote the growth of cucumber seedlings. After redundant rhizobacteria were removed via amplified rDNA restriction analysis, 90 strains were finally selected as PGPR. On the basis of 16S ribosomal RNA sequences, 68 Gram-positive (76%) and 22 Gram-negative (24%) isolates were assigned to 21 genera and 47 species. Of these genera, Bacillus (32 species) made up the largest complement, followed by Paenibacillus (19) and Pseudomonas (11). P... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5191937 Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5191937 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5191936&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21876367%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Cha JY, Jeong JJ, Yang HJ, Lee BJ, Cho YS Abstract Sea tangle, a kind of brown seaweed, was fermented with Lactobacillus brevis BJ-20. The gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) content in fermented sea tangle (FST) was 5.56% (w/w) and GABA in total free amino acid of FST was 49.5%. The effect of FST on the enzyme activities and mRNA protein expression of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) involved in alcohol metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae was investigated. Yeast was cultured in YPD medium supplemented with different concentrations of FST powder [0, 0.4, 0.8, and 1.0% (w/v)] for 18 h. FST had no cytotoxic effect on the yeast growth. The highest activities and protein expressions of ADH and ALDH from the cell-free extracts of S. cerevisiae wer... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5191936 Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5191936 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5191935&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21876368%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Wieteska L, Szewczyk EM, Szemraj J Abstract Corynebacterium tuberculostearicum B146, a strain derived from healthy human skin, contains a medium copy plasmid, p1B146. This plasmid was cloned and its complete nucleotide sequence determined. As a result, p1B146 was found to be 4,2 kb in size with a 53% G+C content, plus six open reading frames (ORFs) were distinguished. According to a computer-assisted alignment, two of the ORFs exhibited significant similarities to already-known common plasmid proteins, the first being the RepA gene, responsible for plasmid replication via a rolling-circle mechanism, and the second being an FtsK-like protein, the function of which remains unclear. The presence and quantity of RNA fragments in the putative ORFs were also evaluated. PMID:... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5191935 Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5191935 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5191934&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21876369%26dopt%3DAbstract In conclusion, we have designed a novel transfection-enhancing peptide by easy homodimerization of Tat peptide, and the simple mix of these novel peptides with DNA increased the gene transfer of cationic lipids more efficiently with no additional cytotoxicity. PMID: 21876369 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology) Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5191934 Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5191934 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5191933&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21876370%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Colussi F, Serpa V, Delabona Pda S, Manzine LR, Voltatodio ML, Alves R, Mello BL, Pereira N, Farinas CS, Golubev AM, Santos MA, Polikarpov I Abstract Because of its elevated cellulolytic activity, the filamentous fungus Trichoderma harzianum has a considerable potential in biomass hydrolysis applications. Trichoderma harzianum cellobiohydrolase I (ThCBHI), an exoglucanase, is an important enzyme in the process of cellulose degradation. Here, we report an easy single-step ion-exchange chromatographic method for purification of ThCBHI and its initial biophysical and biochemical characterization. The ThCBHI produced by induction with microcrystalline cellulose under submerged fermentation was purified on DEAE-Sephadex A-50 media and its identity was confirmed by mass spectrom... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5191933 Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5191933 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5191932&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21876371%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Oh YH, Jung C, Lee J Abstract An agar-degrading bacterium was isolated from the guts of spiny turban shells. It was identified as a Pseudoalteromonas species and named Pseudoalteromonas sp. JYBCL 1. The viscosity of the inoculated agar medium decreased by more than 60% after 20 h cultivation. The agarase produced by the isolate had optimal activities at 35 degrees C and pH 7. The enzyme had extremely strong resistance to ionic stress compared with other known agarases. Its molecular mass was estimated at about 60 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The agarase could saccharify Gelidium amansii directly, with an efficiency about half that compared with agar saccharification. PMID: 21876371 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Microbiol... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5191932 Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5191932 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5191931&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21876372%26dopt%3DAbstract In conclusion, penicillin G was able to alter the S-layer protein production, slpA gene expression, and certain physicochemical properties of Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 4356. PMID: 21876372 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology) Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5191931 Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5191931 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5191930&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21876373%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Wu S, He L, Shen R, Zhang X, Wang Q Abstract A genomic DNA fragment encoding a putative maltooligosyltrehalose trehalohydrolase (NfMTH) for trehalose biosynthesis was cloned by the degenerate primer- PCR from cyanobacterium Nostoc flagelliforme. The ORF of NfMTH is 1,848 bp in length and encodes 615 amino acid residues, constituting a 70 kDa protein. The deduced amino acid sequence of NfMTH contains 4 regions highly conserved for MTHs. By expression of NfMTH in E. coli, the function of this protein was demonstrated, where the recombinant protein catalyzed the hydrolysis of maltooligosyl trehalose to trehalose. The expressions of MTH and maltooligosyltrehalose synthase in the filaments of N. flagelliforme were upregulated significantly under dehydration stress, NaCl stress,... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5191930 Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5191930 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5191929&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21876374%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Jarocki P Abstract The present work describes the identification, purification, and characterization of bile salt hydrolase (BSH) from Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis. The enzyme was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity by hydrophobic chromatography, ion-exchange chromatography and ultrafiltration. SDS-PAGE analysis of putative BSH and gel filtration revealed that the analyzed protein is presumably a tetramer composed of four monomers each of about 35 kDa. The purified enzyme was analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to LTQ FT ICR mass spectrometry and unambiguously identified as a bile salt hydrolase from B. animalis. The isoelectric point of the studied protein was estimated to be around pH 4.9. The pH optimum of the purified BSH is between 4.7 to 6.5, and ... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5191929 Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5191929 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5191928&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21876375%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, we used glycerol as a main carbon source in S. cerevisiae to produce 1,2-propanediol. Metabolically engineered S. cerevisiae strains with overexpression of glycerol dissimilation pathway genes, including glycerol kinase (GUT1), glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GUT2), glycerol dehydrogenase (gdh), and a glycerol transporter gene (GUP1), showed increased glycerol utilization and growth rate. More significant improvement of glycerol utilization and growth rate was accomplished by introducing 1,2-propanediol pathway genes, mgs (methylglyoxal synthase) and gldA (glycerol dehydrogenase) from Escherichia coli. By engineering both glycerol dissimilation and 1,2-propanediol pathways, the glycerol utilization and growth rate were improved 141% and 77%, respectively, and a 2.19 g 1,... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5191928 Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5191928 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5191927&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21876376%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, quercetin was biotransformed into rhamnetin using Escherichia coli expressing POMT7, with the goal of developing an approach for mass production of rhamnetin. In order to maximize the production of rhamnetin, POMT7 was subcloned into four different E. coli expression vectors, each of which was maintained in E. coli with a different copy number, and the best expression vector was selected. In addition, the S-adenosylmethionine biosynthesis pathway was engineered for optimal cofactor production. Through the combination of optimized POMT7 expression and cofactor production, the production of rhamnetin was increased up to 111 mg/l, which is approximately 2-fold higher compared with the E. coli strain containing only POMT7. PMID: 21876376 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journa... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5191927 Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5191927 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5191926&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21876377%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Anu Appaiah KA, Parvathy A, Mathew M, Karanth NG Abstract Production of biosurfactant can be substantially increased by the addition of precursors like vegetable oils, petroleum products, and other water-insoluble substances. Pseudomonas Ptm+ strain produces biosurfactant in the presence of hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), which specifically emulsifies HCH, a recalcitrant organochlorine pesticide. Addition of previously produced crude biosurfactant by the same organism as a precursor instead of HCH increased production of biosurfactants with a decrease in the total fermentation time from 32 to 24 h. The main objective of this paper was to find alternatives for HCH as an inducer. PMID: 21876377 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology) Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5191926 Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5191926 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5191925&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21876378%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Zhao Y, Meng K, Luo H, Yang P, Shi P, Huang H, Bai Y, Yao B Abstract A xylanase gene, xyn7c, was cloned from Paenibacillus sp. 12-11, an alkalophilic strain isolated from the alkaline wastewater sludge of a paper mill, and expressed in Escherichia coli. The full-length gene consists of 1,296 bp and encodes a mature protein of 400 residues (excluding the putative signal peptide) that belongs to the glycoside hydrolase family 10. The optimal pH of the purified recombinant XYN7C was found to be 8.0, and the enzyme had good pH adaptability at 6.5-8.5 and stability over a broad pH range of 5.0-11.0. XYN7C exhibited maximum activity at 55 degrees C and was thermostable at 50 degrees C and below. Using wheat arabinoxylan as the substrate, XYN7C had a high specific activity of 1,8... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5191925 Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5191925 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5191924&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21876379%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Cho CH, Whang KS, Gaugler R, Yoo SK Abstract Most medium formulations for improving culture of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) based on protein sources have used enriched media like animal feed such as dried egg yolk, lactalbumin, and liver extract, among other ingredients. Most results, however, showed unstable yields and longer production time. Many of the results do not show the detailed parameters of fermentation. Soy flour, cotton seed flour, corn gluten meal, casein powder, soytone, peptone, casein hydrolysates, and lactalbumin hydrolysate as protein sources were tested to determine the source to support optimal symbiotic bacteria and nematode growth. The protein hydrolysates selected did not improve bacterial cell mass compared with the yeast extract control, but s... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5191924 Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5191924 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5191923&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21876380%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Lee B, Shim I, Lee H, Hahm DH Abstract Many studies have shown that the steamed root of Rehmannia glutinosa (SRG), which is widely used in the treatment of various neurodegenerative diseases in the context of Korean traditional medicine, is effective for improving cognitive and memory impairments. The purpose of this study was to examine whether SRG extracts improved memory defects caused by administering scopolamine (SCO) into the brains of rats. The effects of SRG on the acetylcholinergic system and proinflammatory cytokines in the hippocampus were also investigated. Male rats were administered daily doses of SRG (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg, i.p.) for 14 days, 1 h before scopolamine injection (2 mg/kg, i.p.). After inducing cognitive impairment via scopolamine administration... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5191923 Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5191923 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5095034&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21791951%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Virk AP, Sharma P, Capalash N The gene for esterase (rEst1) was isolated from a new species of genus Rheinheimera by functional screening of E. coli cells transformed with the pSMART/HaeIII genomic library. E. coli cells harboring the esterase gene insert could grow and produce clear halo zones on tributyrin agar. The rEst1 ORF consisted of 1,029 bp, corresponding to 342 amino acid residues with a molecular mass of 37 kDa. The signal P program 3.0 revealed the presence of a signal peptide of 25 amino acids. Esterase activity, however, was associated with a homotrimeric form of molecular mass 95 kDa and not with the monomeric form. The deduced amino acid sequence showed only 54% sequence identity with the closest lipase from Cellvibrio japonicus strain Ueda 107. Conserved domai... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5095034 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5095034 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5095029&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21791952%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Suzuki H, Takahashi S, Osada H, Yoshida K DNA methylation in Streptomyces griseus IFO 13350 was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis and bisulfite-based analysis to reveal two methylation sites, 5'-GC5mCGGC-3' and 5'-GAG5mCTC-3'. The methylation was reconstituted in Escherichia coli by simultaneous expression of S. griseus SGR4675 and S. achromogenes M.SacI. The E. coli cells produced plasmids that mimicked the methylation profile of S. griseus DNA, which was readily introduced into S. griseus. The results of this study raise the possibility of a promising approach to establish efficient transformation in several streptomycetes. PMID: 21791952 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology) Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5095029 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5095029 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5095026&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21791953%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kim SH, Lee SE, Hong MK, Song NH, Yoon B, Viet P, Ahn YJ, Lee BM, Jung JW, Kim KP, Han YS, Kim JG, Kang LW Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) produces a putative effector, XoAvrBs2. We expressed XoAvrBs2 homologously in Xoo with a TAP-tag at the C-terminus to enable quantitative analysis of protein expression and secretion. Addition of rice leaf extracts from both Xoo-sensitive and Xoo-resistant rice cultivars to the Xoo cells induced expression of the XoAvrBs2 gene at the transcriptional and translational levels, and also stimulated a remarkable amount of XoAvrBs2 secretion into the medium. In a T3SS-defective Xoo mutant strain, secretion of the TAPtagged XoAvrBs2 was blocked. Thus, we elucidated the transcriptional and translational expressions of the XoAvrBs2 gene in Xoo w... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5095026 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5095026 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5095022&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21791954%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Salas-Marina MA, Silva-Flores MA, Cervantes-Badillo MG, Rosales-Saavedra MT, Islas-Osuna MA, Casas-Flores S To deal with pathogens, plants have evolved sophisticated mechanisms including constitutive and induced defense mechanisms. Phytohormones play important roles in plant growth and development, as well as in the systemic response induced by beneficial and pathogen microorganisms. In this work, we identified an Aspergillus ustus isolate that promotes growth and induces developmental changes in Solanum tuberosum and Arabidopsis thaliana. A. ustus inoculation on A. thaliana and S. tuberosum roots induced an increase in shoot and root growth, and lateral root and root hair numbers. Assays performed on Arabidopsis lines to measure reporter gene expression of auxin-induced/ repr... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5095022 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5095022 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5095017&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21791955%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Hu H, Li Y, Yin C, Ouyang Y A strain of the cyanobacterium Arthrospira was isolated from Lake Chahannaoer in northern China and was characterized according to microscopic morphology, photosynthetic oxygen-evolving activity, growth rate, and nutritional profile. Compared with thermophilic Arthrospira species occurring naturally in tropical and subtropical lakes, this isolate is mesophilic and grows optimally at ~20 degreesC. The total protein, fatty acid, phycocyanin, carotenoid, and chlorophyll a contents were 67.6, 6.1, 4.32, 0.29, and 0.76 grams per 100 grams of dry weight, respectively. The strain is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). An essential omega-3 fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), was detected, and gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) and DHA accounted for 28.... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5095017 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5095017 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5095013&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21791956%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Vincent M, Pometto Iii AL, van Leeuwen JH Enzymatic saccharification of corn stover using Phanerochaete chrysosporium and Gloeophyllum trabeum and subsequent fermentation of the saccharification products to ethanol by Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli K011 were achieved. Prior to simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) for ethanol production, solid-state fermentation was performed for four days on ground corn stover using either P. chrysosporium or G. trabeum to induce in situ cellulase production. During SSF with S. cerevisiae or E. coli, ethanol production was the highest on day 4 for all samples. For corn stover treated with P. chrysosporium, the conversion to ethanol was 2.29 g/100 g corn stover with S. cerevisiae as the fermenting organism, wherea... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5095013 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5095013 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5095010&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21791957%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Lee KM, Moon HJ, Kalyani D, Kim H, Kim IW, Jeya M, Lee JK A highly efficient cellobiohydrolase (CBH)-secreting basidiomycetous fungus, Agaricus arvensis KMJ623, was isolated and identified based on its morphological features and sequence analysis of internal transcribed spacer rDNA. An extracellular CBH was purified to homogeneity from A. arvencis culture supernatant using sequential chromatography. The relative molecular mass of A. arvencis CBH was determined to be 65 kDa by SDSPAGE and 130 kDa by size-exclusion chromatography, indicating that the enzyme is a dimer. A. arvencis CBH showed a catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km) of 31.8 mM-1 s-1 for p-nitrophenyl-beta-D-cellobioside, the highest level seen for CBH-producing microorganisms. Its internal amino acid sequences showed sig... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5095010 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5095010 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5095005&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21791958%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Jain S, Ponmariappan S, Kumar O, Singh L Botulism is a neuroparalytic disease caused by Clostridium botulinum, which produces seven (A-G) antigenically diverse neurotoxins (BoNTs). BoNTs are the most poisonous substances known to humans, with a median lethal dose (LD50) of approximately 1 ng/kg of body weight. Owing to their extreme potency and lethality, they have the potential to be used as a bioterrorism agent. The mouse bioassay is the gold standard for the detection of botulinum neurotoxins; however, it requires at least 3-4 days for completion. Attempts have been made to develop an ELISA-based detection system, which is potentially an easier and more rapid method of botulinum neurotoxin detection. The present study was designed using a synthetic gene approach. The synthe... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5095005 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5095005 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5094997&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21791959%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Santos-Fo F, Fill TP, Nakamura J, Monteiro MR, Rodrigues-Fo E Endophytic fungi, isolated from a number of different species of tropical plants, were investigated for lipid biodiesel precursor production. The extracts produced from liquid cultures of these fungi were subjected to acidcatalyzed transesterification reactions with methanol producing methyl esters and then analyzed through chromatographic (GC-FID) and spectrometric techniques (MS, NMR ¹H). The European Standard Method, EN 14103, was used for the quantification of methyl esters extracted from the fungi of the species and genera studied. Xylariaceous fungi exhibited the highest concentrations of methyl esters (91%), and hence may be a promising source for biofuel. PMID: 21791959 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Jo... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5094997 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5094997 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5094977&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21791960%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Jung SJ, Seo ES, Yun SI, Minh BN, Jin SD, Ryu HJ, Kim D Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major cause of invasive infection in young infants and older adults. There are currently 90 capsular serotypes identified and 23 serotypes (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6B, 7F, 8, 9N, 9V, 10A, 11A, 12F, 14, 15B, 17F, 18C, 19F, 19A, 20, 22F, 23F, and 33F) are responsible for about 90% of invasive disease. Among the more than 90 different S. pneumoniae serotypes, serotype 19A is globally very prevalent. A simplified purification procedure including adjustment of cell lysate pH to 4.5, fractionation with 50- 80% ethanol, and dialysis rendered capsular polysaccharide (CPS) in a yield of 31.32 +/- 3.11 mg from 1 l culture (75% recovery after lyses). The product contained only 69.6 microng of protein (99.78% pur... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5094977 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5094977 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5094968&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21791961%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Rani MU, Rastogi NK, Appaiah KA During the production of grape wine, the formation of thick leathery pellicle/bacterial cellulose (BC) at the airliquid interface was due to the bacterium, which was isolated and identified as Gluconacetobacter hansenii UAC09. Cultural conditions for bacterial cellulose production from G. hansenii UAC09 were optimized by central composite rotatable experimental design. To economize the BC production, coffee cherry husk (CCH) extract and corn steep liquor (CSL) were used as less expensive sources of carbon and nitrogen, respectively. CCH and CSL are byproducts from the coffee processing and starch processing industry, respectively. The interactions between pH (4.5- 8.5), CSL (2-10%), alcohol (0.5-2%), acetic acid (0.5- 2%), and water dilution rat... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5094968 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5094968 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5094966&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21791962%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Yuan X, Li P, Wang H, Wang X, Cheng X, Cui Z A composite microbial system (XDC-2) was used to pretreat and hydrolyze corn stalk to enhance anaerobic digestion. The results of pretreatment indicated that sCOD concentrations of hydrolysate were highest (8,233 mg/l) at the fifth day. XDC-2 efficiently degraded the corn stalk by nearly 45%, decreasing the cellulose content by 22.7% and the hemicellulose content by 74.1%. Total levels of volatile products peaked on the fifth day. The six major compounds present were ethanol (0.29 g/l), acetic acid (0.55 g/l), 1,2-ethanediol (0.49 g/l), propionic acid (0.15 g/l), butyric acid (0.22 g/l), and glycerine (2.48 g/l). The results of anaerobic digestion showed that corn stalks treated by XDC-2 produced 68.3% more total biogas and 87.9% mo... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5094966 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5094966 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5094957&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21791963%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Lee EH, Yi T, Moon KE, Park H, Ryu HW, Cho KS A methane-oxidizing bacterium was isolated from the enriched culture of a landfill cover soil. The closest relative of the isolate, designated M6, is Methylocystis sp. Based on a kinetic analysis, the maximum specific methane oxidation rate and saturation constant were 4.93 mmol·g-dry cell weight-1·h-1 and 23 microM, respectively. This was the first time a kinetic analysis was performed using pure methanotrophic culture. The methane oxidation by M6 was investigated in the presence of aromatic (m- and p-xylene and ethylbenzene) or sulfur (hydrogen sulfide, dimethyl sulfide, methanthiol) compounds. The methane oxidation was inhibited by the presence of aromatic or sulfur compounds. PMID: 21791963 [PubMed - in process] (Source: ... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5094957 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5094957 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5094952&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21791964%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Lee B, Kwon S, Yeom M, Shim I, Lee H, Hahm DH Many studies have suggested that the behavioral and reinforcing effects of morphine are induced by hyperactivation of the mesolimbic dopaminergic system, which results in increases in locomotor activity, c-Fos expression in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). In order to investigate the effect of wild ginseng (WG) on treating morphine addiction, we examined the behavioral sensitization of locomotor activity and c-Fos and TH expression in the rat brain using immunohistochemistry. Intraperitioneal injection of WG (100 and 200 mg/kg), 30 min before administration of a daily injection of morphine (40 mg/kg, s.c.), significantly inhibited morphine-induced increases in c-Fos exp... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5094952 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5094952 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5094939&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21791965%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Park JH, Choi JC, Sung MH, Kang JH, Chang MJ We investigated the effect of high molecular weight polygamma- glutamic acid (hm gamma-PGA) on adiposity and lipid metabolism of rats in the presence of an obesity-inducing diet. Thirty-two Sprague-Dawley rats were fed either a normal-fat (11.4% kcal fat, NFC) or high-fat (51% kcal fat, HFC) diet. After 5 weeks, half of each diet-fed group was treated with hm gamma-PGA (NFP or HFP) for 4 weeks. The HFC group had significantly higher body weight, visceral fat mass, fasting serum levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and leptin, and lower serum HDL cholesterol level compared with those of the NFC group (p < 0.05). Treatment with hm gamma-PGA decreased body weight gain and perirenal fat mass (p<0.05), fasting serum total ... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5094939 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5094939 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4998835&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21715960%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Gulati A, Sood S, Rahi P, Thakur R, Chauhan S, Chawla Nee Chadha I The diversity elucidation by amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis and 16S rDNA sequencing of 96 associative diazotrophs, isolated from the feeder roots of tea on enriched nitrogen-free semisolid media, revealed the predominance of Gram-positive over Gram-negative bacteria within the Kangra valley in Himachal Pradesh, India. The Gram-positive bacteria observed belong to two taxonomic groupings; Firmicutes, including the genera Bacillus and Paenibacillus; and Actinobacteria, represented by the genus Microbacterium. The Gram-negative bacteria included alpha-Proteobacteria genera Brevundimonas, Rhizobium, and Mesorhizobium; gamma-Proteobacteria genera Pseudomonas and Stenotrophomonas; and beta-Proteobacteri... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4998835 Tue, 31 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4998835 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4998834&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21715961%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Rokhbakhsh-Zamin F, Sachdev D, Kazemi-Pour N, Engineer A, R Pardesi K, Zinjarde S, K Dhakephalkar P, A Chopade B A total of 31 Acinetobacter isolates were obtained from the rhizosphere of Pennisetum glaucum and evaluated for their plant-growth-promoting traits. Two isolates, namely Acinetobacter sp. PUCM1007 and A. baumannii PUCM1029, produced indole acetic acid (10-13 microgram/ml). A total of 26 and 27 isolates solubilized phosphates and zinc oxide, respectively. Among the mineral-solubilizing strains, A. calcoaceticus PUCM1006 solubilized phosphate most efficiently (84 mg/ml), whereas zinc oxide was solubilized by A. calcoaceticus PUCM1025 at the highest solubilization efficiency of 918%. All the Acinetobacter isolates, except PUCM1010, produced siderophores. The highest si... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4998834 Tue, 31 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4998834 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4998833&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21715962%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Hong JK, Cho JC We investigated the phylogenetic diversity of ammoniaoxidizing bacteria (AOB) in Yellow Sea continental shelf sediment by the cloning and sequencing of PCR-amplified amoA and 16S rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis of the amoA-related clones revealed that the diversity of AOB was extremely low at the study site. The majority (92.7%) of amoA clones obtained belonged to a single cluster, environmental amoA cluster-3, the taxonomic position of which was previously unknown. Phylogenetic analysis on AOB-specific 16S rRNA gene sequences also demonstrated a very low diversity. All of the cloned 16S rRNA gene sequences comprised a single phylotype that belonged to the members of uncultured Nitrosospira cluster-1, suggesting that AOB belonging to the uncultured Nitrosospi... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4998833 Tue, 31 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4998833 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4998832&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21715963%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Gupta AK, Pathak R, Singh B, Gautam H, Kumar R, Kumar R, Arora R, Gautam H A Gram-positive bacterium was isolated from the saline soils of Jangpura (U.P.), India, and showed high-level of radiation-resistant property and survived upto 12.5 kGy dose of gamma radiation. The 16S rDNA sequence of this strain was examined, identified as Bacillus sp. strain HKG 112, and was submitted to the NCBI GenBank (Accession No. GQ925432). The mechanism of radiation resistance and gene level expression were examined by proteomic analysis of whole-cell extract. Two proteins, 38 kDa and 86.5 kDa excised from SDS-PAGE, which showed more significant changes after radiation exposure, were identified by MALDI-TOF as being flagellin and S-layer protein, respectively. Twenty selected 2-DE protein spot... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4998832 Tue, 31 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4998832 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4998831&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21715964%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Hu YM, Yu ZL, Fong WF Bioconversion of timosaponin A-III (TA-III), one of the major steroidal saponins isolated from the rhizomes of Anemarrhenae asphodeloides Bunge (Liliaceae), was investigated in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Five bioconversion products, denoted compounds 2-6, were obtained. Biotransformation metabolite 2 was a stereoisomer of TAIII with a specific isotype F-ring and beta-ranged CH3-21, which rarely occurs in nature. The structure of 2 was elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis (H-H COSY, HSQC, HMBC), as well as by high-resolution mass spectral analysis. The growth inhibitory activity of compounds 1-6 was assayed against four human cancer cell lines, HepG2, H-1299, HT-29, and HCT-116. Compounds 1 and 2 obviously inhibited the growth of the four types of... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4998831 Tue, 31 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4998831 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4998830&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21715965%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Jeon BY, Jung IL, Park DH Bacterial assimilation of CO2 into stable biomolecules using electrochemical reducing power may be an effective method to reduce atmospheric CO2 without fossil fuel combustion. For the enrichment of the CO2-fixing bacteria using electrochemical reducing power as an energy source, a cylinder-type electrochemical bioreactor with a built-in anode compartment was developed. A graphite felt cathode modified with neutral red (NR-graphite cathode) was used as a solid electron mediator to induce bacterial cells to fix CO2 using electrochemical reducing power. Bacterial CO2 consumption was calculated based on the variation in the ratio of CO2 to N2 in the gas reservoir. CO2 consumed by the bacteria grown in the electrochemical bioreactor (2,000 ml) reached a m... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4998830 Tue, 31 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4998830 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4998829&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21715966%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Ni S, Wu L, Wang H, Gan M, Wang Y, He W, Wang Y A new geldanamycin (GDM) derivative was discovered and isolated from the fermentation broth of Streptomyces hygroscopicus 17997. Its chemical structure was elucidated as thiazinogeldanamycin by LC-MS, sulfur analysis, and NMR. The addition of cysteine to the fermentation medium significantly stimulated the production level of thiazinogeldanamycin, suggesting cysteine as a precursor of thiazinogeldanamycin production. Although showing a decreased cytotoxicity against HepG2 cancer cells, thiazinogeldanamycin exhibited an improved water solubility and photostability. Thiazinogeldanamycin may represent the first natural GDM derivative characterized so far that uses GDM as its precursor. Its appearance also clearly indicates that an a... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4998829 Tue, 31 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4998829 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4998828&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21715967%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kim JS, Je YH, Yu YM Beauveria bassiana SFB-205 supernatant can effectively control cotton aphid populations, which is closely associated with its chitinase activity. The present work extends to optimizing a culture medium to produce more efficacious supernatant in flask conditions, followed by scale-up in 7 L, 300 L and 1.2 KL fermentors with the parameter of chitinase. In flask conditions, a combination of soluble starch and yeast extract produced the greatest amount of chitinase (5.1 units/ml) and its supernatant had the highest aphicidal activity. An optimal quantitative combination of the two substrates, estimated by a response surface method, enabled the supernatant to have 15.7 units/ml of chitinase activity and 3.7 ml/l of median lethal concentration (LC50) of toxicity... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4998828 Tue, 31 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4998828 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4998827&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21715968%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Han AR, Park SR, Park JW, Lee EY, Kim DM, Kim BG, Yoon YJ Streptomyces venezuelae YJ028, bearing a deletion of the entire biosynthetic gene cluster encoding the pikromycin polyketide synthases and desosamine biosynthetic enzymes, was used as a bioconversion system for combinatorial biosynthesis of glycosylated derivatives of tylosin. Two engineered deoxysugar biosynthetic pathways for the biosynthesis of TDP-3-O-demethyl-D-chalcose or TDP-Lrhamnose in conjunction with the glycosyltransferaseauxiliary protein pair DesVII/DesVIII were expressed in a S. venezuelae YJ028 mutant strain. Supplementation of each mutant strain capable of producing TDP-3-O-demethyl- D-chalcose or TDP-L-rhamnose with tylosin aglycone tylactone resulted in the production of the 3-O-demethyl- D-chalcose, ... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4998827 Tue, 31 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4998827 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4998826&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21715969%26dopt%3DAbstract This report now describes a novel substrate that inhibits papain, bromelain, and trypsin. Papain was the most sensitive protease; thus, the protein was designated Streptomyces papain inhibitor (SPI). To avoid transglutaminase-mediated glutamine deamidation during culture, SPI was produced by Streptomyces mobaraensis at various growth temperatures. The best results were achieved by culturing for 30-50 h at 42 degrees C, which yielded high SPI concentrations and negligibly small amounts of mature transglutaminase. Transglutaminasespecific biotinylation displayed largely unmodified glutamine and lysine residues. In contrast, purified SPI from the 28 degrees C culture lost the potential to be cross-linked, but exhibited higher inhibitory activity as indicated by a significantly lower Ki (60 nM... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4998826 Tue, 31 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4998826 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4998825&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21715970%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Rajkumar R, Kothilmozhian J, Ramasamy R A commercially important alkaline protease, produced by Bacillus sp. RRM1 isolated from the red seaweed Kappaphycus alvarezii (Doty) Doty ex Silva, was first recognized and characterized in the present study. Identification of the isolated bacterium was done using both biochemical characterization as well as 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The bacterial strain, Bacillus sp. RRM1, produced a high level of protease using easily available, inexpensive agricultural residues solid-state fermentation (SSF). Among them, wheat bran was found to be the best substrate. Influences of process parameters such as moistening agents, moisture level, temperature, inoculum concentration, and co-carbon and co-nitrogen sources on the fermentation were also evalua... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4998825 Tue, 31 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4998825 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4998824&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21715971%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, we demonstrated that overexpression of the PspA in the JM101(pM1VegGcexL-pspA) strain enhanced excretion of Exg to 1.65 U/ml using shake-flask cultivation, which was 80% higher than the highest yield previously obtained from the optimized JM101(pM1VegGcexL) strain. A much higher excreted Exg activity of 4.5 U/ml was further achieved with high cell density cultivation using rich media. Furthermore, we showed that the PspA overexpression strain enjoyed an elevated critical value (CV), which was defined as the largest quotient between the intracellular unprocessed precursor and its secreted mature counterpart that was still tolerable by the host cells prior to the onset of cell death, improving from the previously determined CV of 20/80 to the currently achieved CV of 45/55 for... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4998824 Tue, 31 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4998824 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4998823&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21715972%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Pankiewicz U, Jamroz J Cultures of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were treated with pulsed electric fields to improve accumulation of zinc in the biomass. Under optimized conditions, that is, on 15 min exposure of the 20 h grown culture to PEFs of 1500 V and 10 microns pulse width, accumulation of zinc in the yeast biomass reached a maximum of 15.57 mg/g d.m. Under optimum zinc concentration (100 microgram/ml nutrient medium), its accumulation in the cells was higher by 63% in comparison with the control (without PEFs). That accumulation significantly correlated against zinc concentration in the medium. Neither multiple exposure of the cultures to PEFs nor intermittent supplementation of the cultures with zinc increased the zinc accumulation. The intermittent supplementation of the ... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4998823 Tue, 31 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4998823 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4998822&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21715973%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Bankar S, Singhal R The growth kinetics of Streptomyces noursei NRRL 5126 was investigated under different aeration and agitation combinations in a 5.0 l stirred tank fermenter. Poly-epsilon-lysine biosynthesis, cell mass formation, and glycerol utilization rates were affected markedly by both aeration and agitation. An agitation speed of 300 rpm and aeration rate at 2.0 vvm supported better yields of 1,622.81 mg/l with highest specific productivity of 15 mg/l.h. Fermentation kinetics performed under different aeration and agitation conditions showed poly- epsilon-lysine fermentation to be a growth-associated production. A constant DO at 40% in the growth phase and 20% in the production phase increased the poly-epsilon-lysine yield as well as cell mass to their maximum values ... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4998822 Tue, 31 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4998822 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4998821&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21715974%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Mattsby-Baltzer I, Bergstrom T, McCrea K, Ward R, Adolfsson Msc L, Larm O Staphylococcus aureus (SA) bacteremia is associated with high mortality, and often results in metastatic infections. The methicillin-resistant SA (MRSA) is an urgent health care issue, as nosocomial infections with these bacteria represent limited treatment alternatives. Samples of whole blood containing challenge inoculums of SA and MRSA strains were passed through columns packed with surfaceheparinized polyethylene beads. The bound bacteria were eluted and quantitatively determined by culturing and by real-time PCR. Significant amounts of both SA and MRSA adhered to the heparinized beads (more than 65% of inoculated bacteria). After rinsing with buffer at high ionic strength, viable bacteria or bacteri... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4998821 Tue, 31 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4998821 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4903185&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21617340%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Yoo ES The infection of pandemic influenza viruses such as swine flu (H1N1) and avian flu viruses to the host cells is related to the following two factors: First, the surface protein such as HA (hemagglutinin) and NA (neuraminidase) of the influenza virus. Second, the specific structure of the oligosaccharide [sialic acid(alpha2-6) galactose(beta1-4)glucose or sialic acid(alpha2-3)galactose(beta1-4)glucose] on the host cell. After recognizing the specific structure of the oligosaccharide on the surface of host cells by the surface protein of the influenza virus, the influenza virus can secrete sialidase and cleave the sialic acid attached on the final position of the specific structure of the oligosaccharide on the surface of host cells. Tamiflu (oseltamivir), known as a reme... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4903185 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4903185 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4903184&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21617341%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Eastwood DC, Bains NK, Henderson J, Burton KS Metallothioneins are a class of small cysteine-rich proteins that have been associated with increased tolerance to metal and oxidative stresses in animals, plants, and fungi. We investigated a metallothionein-like (mt-like) gene shown previously to be upregulated in fruiting bodies of the fungus Agaricus bisporus in response to post-harvest storage. Analysis of an A. bisporus genomic DNA cosmid library identified two similar mt-like genes (met1 and met2) arranged as a bidirectional gene pair transcribed from the same promoter region. The promoter contained regulatory elements including 9 metal responsive elements and a CAAT box region 220 bp downstream of met1 that showed striking similarity to a feature in Coprinopsis cinerea mt-l... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4903184 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4903184 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4903183&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21617342%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Mo H, Chen Q, Du J, Tang L, Qin F, Miao B, Wu X, Zeng J The arsH gene is one of the arsenic resistance system in bacteria and eukaryotes. The ArsH protein was annotated as a NADPH-dependent flavin mononucleotide (FMN) reductase with unknown biological function. Here we report for the first time that the ArsH protein showed high ferric reductase activity. Glu104 was an essential residue for maintaining the stability of the FMN cofactor. The ArsH protein may perform an important role for cytosolic ferric iron assimilation in vivo. PMID: 21617342 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology) Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4903183 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4903183 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4903182&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21617343%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Sanghvi GV, Koyani R, Rajput KS A potent fungus for amylase production, Chrysosporium asperatum, was isolated from among 30 different cultures obtained from wood samples collected in the Junagadh forest, India. All of the isolated cultures were screened for their ability to produce amylase by submerged fermentation. Among the selected cultures, C. asperatum (Class Euascomycetes; Onygenales; Onygenaceae) gave maximum amylase production. In all of the different media tested, potato starch was found to be a good substrate for production of amylase enzyme at 30 degreesC and pH 5.0. Production of enzyme reached the maximum when a combination of starch and 2% xylose, and organic nitrogen (1% yeast extract) and ammonium sulfate were used as carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively. ... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4903182 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4903182 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4903181&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21617344%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Lee HJ, Rhee SK There are accumulating evidences suggesting that connexin (Cx), a gap junction channel-forming protein, acts as a growth suppressor in various cancer cells, and this effect is attributeed to the gap junction-mediated intercellular communication (GJIC). In order to characterize the relationship between the growth-arresting activity of Cx26 and its cytoplasmic localizations after expression, we linked a nuclear export signal (NES) sequence to Cx26 cDNA before transfecting into a rat breast cancer cell line. A confocal fluorescent microscopic observation revealed that the insertion of NES minimized the nuclear expression of Cx26, and increased its cytoplasmic expression, including plasma membrane junctions. Total cell counting and BrdUrd-labeling experiments showe... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4903181 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4903181 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4903180&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21617345%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Ki MR, Yun SK, Choi KM, Hwang SY An acid phosphatase (HppA) activated by NH4Cl was purified 192- and 34-fold from the periplasmic and membrane fractions of Helicobacter pylori, respectively. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed that HppA from the latter appears to be several kilodaltons larger in molecular mass than from the former by about 24 kDa. Under acidic conditions (pH< or =4.5), the enzyme activity was entirely dependent on the presence of certain mono- and/or divalent metal cations (e.g., K+, NH4 +, and/or Ni2+). In particular, Ni2+ appeared to lower the enzyme's Km for the substrates, without changing Vmax. The purified enzyme showed differential specificity against nucleotide substrates with pH; for example, the enzyme hydrolyzed adenosine nucleotides ... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4903180 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4903180 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4903179&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21617346%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Qiu L, Wang W, Zhong W, Zhong L, Fang J, Li X, Wu S, Chen J Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a widely used supplement in heart diseases treatment or antioxidative dietary. The microbial production of CoQ10 was enhanced by addition of solanesol and novel precursors recovered from waste tobacco. The novel precursors were separated by silica gel and identified as alpha-linolenic acid (LNA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) based on the effect on CoQ10 production and GC-MS. The effects of novel precursors on CoQ10 production by Sphingomonas sp. ZUTE03 were further evaluated in a two-phase conversion system. The precursor's combination of solanesol (70 mg/l) with BHT (30 mg/l) showed the best effect on the improvement of CoQ10 yield. A maximal CoQ10 productivity (9.5 mg l-1 h-1) was achiev... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4903179 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4903179 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4903178&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21617347%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Choi JY, Park AR, Kim YJ, Kim JJ, Cha CJ, Yoon JJ A beta-glucosidase from Phoma sp. KCTC11825BP isolated from rotten mandarin peel was purified 8.5-fold with a specific activity of 84.5 U/mg protein. The purified enzyme had a molecular mass of 440 kDa with a subunit of 110 kDa. The partial amino acid sequence of the purified beta-glucosidase evidenced high homology with the fungal beta- glucosidases belonging to glycosyl hydrolase family 3. Its optimal activity was detected at pH 4.5 and 60degrees C, and the enzyme had a half-life of 53 h at 60degrees C. The Km values for p-nitrophenyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside and cellobiose were 0.3 mM and 3.2 mM, respectively. The enzyme was competitively inhibited by both glucose (Ki=1.7 mM) and glucono-delta-lactone (Ki=0.1 mM) when pNPG was... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4903178 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4903178 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4903177&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21617348%26dopt%3DAbstract This study was conducted to investigate the phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of Korean isolates of Cronobacter spp. (Enterobacter sakazakii). A total of 43 Cronobacter spp., including 5 clinical isolates, 34 food isolates, 2 environmental isolates, and 2 reference strains (C. sakazakii ATCC 29004 and C. muytjensii ATCC51329) were used in this study. Korean isolates of Cronobacter spp. were divided into 11 biogroups according to their biochemical profiles and 3 genomic groups based on the analysis of their 16S rRNA gene sequences. Biogroups 1 and 2 contained the majority of isolates (n=26), most of which were contained in 16S rRNA cluster 1 (n=34). Korean isolates of Cronobacter spp. showed diverse biochemical profiles. Biogroup 1 contained C. sakazakii GIHE (Gyeonggido Research Ins... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4903177 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4903177 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4903176&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21617349%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kwon GH, Park JY, Kim JS, Lim J, Park CS, Kwon DY, Kim JH A gene encoding bacillopeptidase F, bpr86-1, was cloned from B. amyloliquefaciens CH86-1 isolated from cheonggukjang. This gene could encode a preproenzyme of 1,431 amino acids. When bpr86-1 was introduced into B. subtilis WB600 via pHY300PLK, an E. coli-Bacillus shuttle vector, the transformant showed fibrinolytic activity. During growth on LB, the fibrinolytic activity of cells increased sharply when they entered the stationary phase. The highest activity (761.4 mU/mg protein) was observed at 96 h of cultivation. PMID: 21617349 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology) Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4903176 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4903176 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4903175&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21617350%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Butzke CE, Park SK The correlation between alcoholic fermentation rate, measured as carbon dioxide (CO2) evolution, and the rate of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) formation during wine production was investigated. Both rates and the resulting concentration peaks in fermentor headspace H2S were directly impacted by yeast assimilable nitrogenous compounds in the grape juice. A series of model fermentations was conducted in temperature-controlled and stirred fermentors using a complex model juice with defined concentrations of ammonium ions and/or amino acids. The fermentation rate was measured indirectly by noting the weight loss of the fermentor; H2S was quantitatively trapped in realtime using a pre-calibrated H2S detection tube which was inserted into a fermentor gas relief port. Evo... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4903175 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4903175 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4903174&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21617351%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, we show that RKIP bound to Raf-1 and consequently inhibited the translocation of Raf-1 into mitochondria. This promoted the apoptosis of cells treated with apoptotic stimulus. Thus, the downregulation of RKIP increased the level of free Raf-1 and thereby elevated the mitochondrial translocation of Raf-1 during HBx-mediated hepatocarcinogenesis. The elevated Raf-1 mitochondrial translocation induced the increased anti-apoptotic effect and subsequently promoted HBx-mediated hepatocarcinogenesis. PMID: 21617351 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology) Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4903174 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4903174 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4903173&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21617352%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, the scFv of a monoclonal antibody against the third domain of human CD4 was cloned from OKT4 hybridoma cells using the phage display technique and produced in E. coli. The expression, production, and purification of anti-CD4 scFv were tested using SDS-PAGE and Western blot, and the specificity of anti-CD4 scFv was examined using ELISA. A 31 kDa recombinant anti-CD4 scFv was expressed and produced in bacteria, which was confirmed by SDS-PAGE and Western blot assays. Sequence analysis proved the ScFv structure of the construct. It was able to bind to CD4 in quality ELISA assay. The canonical structure of anti-CD4 scFv antibody was obtained using the SWISS_MODEL bioinformatics tool for comparing with the scFv general structure. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first re... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4903173 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4903173 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4903172&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21617353%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Baranska-Rybak W, Dawgul M, Bielinska S, Kraska B, Piechowicz L, Kamysz W Nowadays, there are a number of colorimetric techniques available for the determination of a time killing assay in a manner much easier and faster than those previously more commonly used, which were much more time-consuming and laborious colony counting procedures. Here, an attempt has been made to test the antimicrobial peptides of Citropin 1.1, Palm-KK-NH2, and Temporin A on a reference strain of Staphylococcus aureus using resazurin as the cell viability reagent. Staphylococcus aureus was exposed to the test compounds over varying periods of time and the metabolic activity measured, with a profile of antimicrobial activity then established. The results are in agreement with data from previous literat... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4903172 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4903172 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4903171&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21617354%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Suh H, Oh HL, Lee CH The molecular mechanisms of apoptotic induction by benzyldihydroxyoctenone (BDH), a nonsteroidal antiandrogen, isolated from the culture broth of Streptomyces sp., have been previously published in prostate cancer LNCaP cells. Apoptotic induction of BDH-treated LNCaP cells was associated with downregulation of Bcl-xL that caused, in turn, cytochrome c release from mitochondria, and activation of procaspases and specific proteolytic cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). The purpose of the present study was to investigate the patterns of apoptotic induction by BDH in non-prostate, ovarian cancer PA-1 (androgen-independent and -insensitive) cells and prostate cancer cells with different androgen responsiveness, such as C4-2 (androgen-independent and... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4903171 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4903171 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4800970&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21532315%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Lee YE, Yang SH, Bae TW, Kang HG, Lim PO, Lee HY Herbicide-tolerant Zoysia grass has been previously developed through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. We investigated the effects of genetically modified (GM) Zoysia grass and the associated herbicide application on bacterial community structure by using culture-independent approaches. To assess the possible horizontal gene transfer (HGT) of transgenic DNA to soil microorganisms, total soil DNAs were amplified by PCR with two primer sets for the bar and hpt genes, which were introduced into the GM Zoysia grass by a callus-type transformation. The transgenic genes were not detected from the total genomic DNAs extracted from 1.5 g of each rhizosphere soils of GM and non-GM Zoysia grasses. The structures and diversities of t... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4800970 Thu, 31 Mar 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4800970 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4800969&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21532316%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Siddikee MA, Tipayno SC, Kim K, Chung JB, Sa T To study the effects of salinity-sodicity on bacterial population and enzyme activities, soil samples were collected from the Bay of Yellow Sea, Incheon, South Korea. In the soils nearest to the coastline, pH, electrical conductivity (ECe), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), and exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) were greater than the criteria of salinesodic soil, and soils collected from sites 1.5-2 km away from the coastline were not substantially affected by the intrusion and spray of seawater. Halotolerant bacteria showed similar trends, whereas non-tolerant bacteria and enzymatic activities had opposite trends. Significant positive correlations were found between EC, exchangeable Na+, and pH with SAR and ESP. In contrast, ECe, ... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4800969 Thu, 31 Mar 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4800969 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4800968&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21532317%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Karim N, Shibuya H, Kikuchi T Fomitopsis palustris, a brown-rot basidiomycete, causes the most destructive type of decay in wooden structures. In spite of its great economic importance, very little information is available at the molecular level regarding its complex decay process. To address this, we generated over 3,000 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from a cDNA library constructed from F. palustris. Clustering of 3,095 high-quality ESTs resulted in a set of 1,403 putative unigenes comprising 485 contigs and 918 singlets. Homology searches based on BlastX analysis revealed that 78% of the F. palustris unigenes had a significant match to proteins deposited in the nonredundant databases. A subset of F. palustris unigenes showed similarity to the carbohydrateactive enzymes (CAZ... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4800968 Thu, 31 Mar 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4800968 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4800967&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21532318%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kwei CK, Lewis D, King K, Donohue W, Neilan B Cyanobacterial strains of the genus Spirulina have recently been identified as an excellent source of sulfolipids, some of which possess anti-HIV properties. Thus, to investigate the distribution of sufolipid biosynthesis pathways in Spirulina, a genetic screening/phylogentic study was performed. Five different strains of Spirulina [Spirulina (Jiangmen), Spirulina sp., S. platensis, S. maxima, and Spirulina seawater] sourced from different locations were initially classified via 16S rDNA sequencing, and then screened for the presence of the sulfolipid biosynthesis genes sqdB and sqdX via a PCR. To assess the suitability of these strains for human consumption and safe therapeutic use, the strains were also screened for the presence ... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4800967 Thu, 31 Mar 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4800967 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4800966&cid=s_37908_70_f&fid=37908&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21532319%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Wang X, Zhang S, Sun C, Yuan ZG, Wu X, Wang D, Ding Z, Hu R We characterized the proteomes of murine N2a cells following infection with three rabies virus (RV) strains, characterized by distinct virulence phenotypes (i.e., virulent BD06, fixed CVS-11, and attenuated SRV9 strains), and identified 35 changes to protein expression using twodimensional gel electrophoresis in whole-cell lysates. The annotated functions of these proteins are involved in various cytoskeletal, signal transduction, stress response, and metabolic processes. Specifically, a-enolase, prx-4, vimentin, cytokine-induced apoptosis inhibitor 1 (CIAPIN1) and prx-6 were significantly up-regulated, whereas Trx like-1 and galectin-1 were down-regulated following infection of N2a cells with all three rabies virus s... Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4800966 Thu, 31 Mar 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4800966