Microcalorimetric Study of the Biological Effects of Zn^＋ on Bacillus thuringiensis Growth

A microcalorimetric technique was used to investigate the influence of Zn^2 on the growth metabolism of Bacillus thuringiensis .LKB-2277 Bioactivity Monitor was employed to obtain the power-time curves,from which the maximum peak-heat output power(Pmax) in the log phase,the growth rate constants(k), the inhibitory ratios(I) ,the generational time(tG) and the total heat effect (Qtotal) in 23 h for the growth metabolism of Bacillus thuringiensis at 28℃ can be evaluated,The results indicate that the concentration of Zn^2 affects its growth obviously,Low concentration (0-50μg/mL) of Zn^2 promotes the growth of Bacillus thuringiensis while high concentration (50-500μg/mL) of Zn^2 inhibits its growth .When the concentration reached up to 600μg/mL,it can not grow at all.     

Purification and properties of cyclodextrinase fromBacillus stearothermophilus HY-1

A thermostable cyclodextrinase (EC 3.2.1.54) fromBacillus stearothermophilus HY-1 was purified to homogeneity by disc-electrophoresis after sonication disruption, ammonium sulfate fractionation, DEAE-cellulose(DE32) column chromatography, hydroxyapatite chromatography, Sephadex G150 gel-filtration, and α-cyclodextrin-AH-Sepharose 4B affinity chromatography. The enzyme was purified 230-fold with 21.2% of activity recovery. The optimal substrates of the enzyme were α-, Β-, and γ-cyclodextrins and linear maltooligosaccharides, and the final product was mainly maltose. The enzyme could hydrolyze pullulan to produce panose. It could also hydrolyze soluble starch, amylose, and amylopectin, but not glycogen. The Km and Vmax for α-, Β-, and γ-cyclodextrins were 1.79, 1.67, and 2.50 mg/mL, and 336, 185, and 208 Μmol/mg/min, respectively. The molecular weight of the enzyme was 61,000 by SDS-gel-electrophoresis. The isoelectric point was pH 5.0. The enzyme was most active at pH 6.2 and 55‡C, and it was strongly inhibited by Cu²⁺, Hg²⁺, Zn²⁺, Pb²⁺, and slightly by Fe²⁺. The effect of some protein modification reagents on the activity of the enzyme suggested that tryptophan and histidine residue(s) may be located at the active site. The amino acid composition of the enzyme was also determined.     

Development of continuous surfactin production from potato process effluent by Bacillus subtilis in an airlift reactor

The biosurfactant surfactin has the potential to aid in the recovery of subsurface organic contaminants (environmental remediation) or crude oils (oil recovery). However, high medium and purification costs limit its use in these high-volume applications. In previous work, we showed that surfactin can be produced from an inexpensive low-solids (LS) potato process effluent with minimal amendments or pretreatments. Previous research has also shown that 95% or more of the surfactin in Bacillus subtilis cultures can be recovered by foam fractionation. In this work, we present the results of research to integrate surfactin production with foam fractionation. Experiments were performed in an airlift reactor, with continuous collection of the foam through a tube at the top of the column. Preliminary results using both purified potato starch and unamended low-solids potato process effluent as substrates for surfactin production indicate that the process is oxygen limited and that recalcitrant indigenous bacteria in the potato process effluent may hamper continuous surfactin production.     

Microcalorimetric Investigation of Influence of Fungicide SYP-L190 on Growth Metabolism of Tetrahyrnena therrnophila and Bacillus thuringiensis

Flumorph (SYP‐L190) is a new systemic fungicide with good protective, curative and antisporulant activities but no phytotoxicity to certain plants. Its performance on the environmental ecosystem is unknown. Tetrahymena thermophila and Bacillus thuringiensis are two of biological indicators for the aquatic and soil environmental ecosystem respectively. Microcalorimetric technique based on the heat output was applied to evaluate the influence of fungicide flumorph (SYP‐L190) on the two microorganisms. The thermogenic curves and corresponding thermodynamic and thermokinetic parameters were obtained. SYP‐L190 at a concentration of 50–100 µg·mL^?1 had 5% –10% inhibitory ratios aganist Tetrahymena thermophila and was used as a protection reagent, while at a concentration of 100–200 µg·mL^?1 SYP‐L190 had 10% –20% inhibitory ratios and was used as a therapy reagent. The metabolic thermogenic curves of Bacillus thuringiensis contained bacterial growth phase and sporulation phase. The SYP‐L190 at a concentration of 0–200 µg·mL^?1 had no influence on bacterial growth phase, but led to a little lag of the sporulation phase with a constant heat output. Hormesis was obviously observed in present study.     

苏云金芽胞杆菌AiiA蛋白对魔芋软腐病菌的抗病活性

AiiA蛋白通过破坏病原菌的信号分子来阻断病原菌的群体感应调节系统,达到抗病的目的,是一种新型的抗病蛋白.根据蜡状芽胞杆菌ATCC14579基因组中aiiA序列设计引物,从苏云金芽胞杆菌中成功扩增出aiiA基因,其ORF为753bp,测序后经blast检测与已发表的序列相似性均在95%以上.将此基因克隆到pET28a表达载体中,转化大肠杆菌BL21(DE3),经IPTG诱导,超量表达的蛋白在菌体中以包涵体形式存在,纯化的AiiA蛋白经SDS PAGE电泳检测,表达产物分子量为28×103,致病性测定表明该蛋白对魔芋软腐病菌CZY具有较强的抗病活性.     

Influence of culture conditions on lipopeptide production by Bacillus subtilis

Bacillus subtilis produces various families of lipopeptides with different homologous compounds. To produce “new molecules” with improved activities and to select strains that produced a reduced number of homologs or isomers, we studied the effects of different media on the nature of the synthesis of fatty acid chains for each lipopeptide family. This study focused on two B. subtilis strains cultivated in flasks. Optimized medium for lipopeptide production and Landymedium modified by replacing glutamic acid with other α-amino acids were used. We found that the intensity of production of homologous compounds depends on the strain and the culture medium. Analysis of these lipopeptides by high-performance liquid chromatography showed that the strain B. subtilis NT02 yielded various homologous compounds when cultivated in Landy medium (L-Glu), but primarily one homologous product in high relative amounts when cultivated in the optimized medium. Mass spectrometric analysis and determination of the amino acid composition of this molecule enabled us to identify it as Bacillomycine L c15.     

A Study of Pt4+-Adsorption and Its Reduction by Bacillus Megaterium D01

The properties of Pt4+-adsorption and its reduction by Bacillus megaterium D01 were studied by means of ICP,anode-stripping voltammetry,TEM,IR and XPS.The results of ICP analyses showed that the Pt4+-adsorptive efficiency of the strain D01 was as high as 94.3% under the conditions of 100 mg Pt4+/L,1 g biomass/L,pH 3.5 and at 30 ℃ for 24 h.Moreover,it was confirmed from anode stripping voltammetry that the strain D01 possessed a strong reducibility.The TEM analysis indicated that the strain D01 was able to adsorb and reduce Pt4+ to Pt0,small particles.The XPS result further supported the reduction of Pt4+ to Pt2+,followed by the further recuction to Pt0.The IR spectrum implied that D01 biomass adsorption of Pt4+ may result in the complexation of the C=O bond to the Pt species.     

嗜碱芽孢杆菌NTT89启动子的克隆及其表达

报导了以启动子探测质粒pKK232-8为载体克隆嗜碱芽孢杆菌NTT89启动子的研究.用限制性内切酶Hindl分别消化嗜碱芽孢杆菌NTT89染色体DNA和质粒pKK232-8,在体外重组,转化大肠杆菌DH5a感受态细胞,在含氨苄青霉素和氯霉素的选择性平板上筛选转化子,结果从NTT89染色体DNA中克隆到一系列带有启动子活性的DNA片段,并在大肠杆菌中得到表达,这些转化子抗氯霉素水平在34～500mg/L不等,随机挑选10个转化子,提取其重组质粒进行限制性酶切,表明转化子中的重组质粒外源片段插入的效率很高,插入片段大小在500～5500bp之间,通过地高辛标记的点杂交和Southern杂交均证明重组质粒上插入的具启动子功能的DNA片段来自于嗜碱芽孢杆菌的染色体DNA.     

Characterization of the Physiological State of Microorganisms Using the Respiration Electrode

Abstract

The respiration electrode - a new type of microbial sensor comprising small amounts of viable microorganisms on an oxygen electrode - was used for characterization of the physiological state of cells by measuring the change of respiration after substrate addition, (for example glucose by Bacillus subtilis as well as glucose and methanol by Candida boidinii). This respiration parameter - designated as acceleration of respiration - alters characteristically during a growth cycle, and is useful in following the physiological state of microorganisms.