Microcalorimetric Studies of the Toxic Action of La^3＋ on Halobacterium Halobium R1 Growth

A microcalorimetric technique was used to evaluate the influence of La^3 on Halobacterium halobium R1 growth.By means of LKB-2277 bioactivity monitor,ampoule methos at 37℃,the thermogenic curves of Halobacterium halobium R1 growth were obtained.In order to analyze the results,the maximum power Pm and the growth rate constants k were determined,showing that values of Pm and k are linked to the concentration of La^3 .Addition of low concentration of La^3 can cause a decrease of the maximum heat production and growth rate constant.However,high concentration of La^3 may promote growth of Halobacterium halobium R1,but at much higher concentration of La^3 ,the growth of Halobacterium halobium R1 is inhibited again.For comparison,the shapes of Halobacterium halobium R1 cell were observed by means of transmission electron microscope.According to the thermogenic curves and TEM photos of Halobacterium halobium R1 under different conditions,it is clear that metabolic mechanism of Halobacterium halobium R1 growth is changed with the addition of La^3 .     

Microcalorimetric investigation of the growth of the engineering <Emphasis Type="Italic">BACILLUS</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">THURINGIENSIS</Emphasis> with different plasmid numbers and various promoters

A microcalorimetric technique based on the bacterial heat output was applied to evaluate the influence of plasmid copy number and various promoters on the green fluorescent protein expression in Bacillus thuringiensis. The thermogenic curves of the aerobic metabolism of B. thuringiensis strains were determined by using an LKB-2277 bioactivity monitor at 28°C. The analysis of the thermogenic curves indicated for the first time that the more plasmid copy number per cell the more protein synthetization. Promoter BtI-BtII had a stronger impact on the gene expression than promoter 3A investigated by the method of microcalorimetry.     

Microcalorimetric studies on the mitochondria metabolism of Cyprinus Carpio val and its parents

The metabolic thermogenic curves of liver mitochondria isolated from the livers of Cyprinus Carpio vol and its parents were determined at 28°C by using an LKB‐2277 Bioactivity Monitor. The results indicated that their thermogenic curves are different The total heat output and total time of the metabolism of the liver mitochondria of the hybrid F₁ (Cyprinus Carpio val) are more than those of its parents, and its maximum heat power is between that of the female parent and male parent. The relationship between their metabolic thermogenic curves and character of mitochondrial metabolism, and thermokinetics and the heterosis were analyzed and discussed. The character of the mitochondrial thermogenic curves reflected the physiologic character of heterosis. The microcalorimetric method proved to be a probable and sensitive tool for the assessment of heterosis.     

Novel intramolecular coordination chemistry of some new metallocene complexes

The metabolic thermogenic curves of liver mitochondria isolated from the livers of Cyprinus Carpio vol and its parents were determined at 28°C by using an LKB‐2277 Bioactivity Monitor. The results indicated that their thermogenic curves are different The total heat output and total time of the metabolism of the liver mitochondria of the hybrid F₁ (Cyprinus Carpio val) are more than those of its parents, and its maximum heat power is between that of the female parent and male parent. The relationship between their metabolic thermogenic curves and character of mitochondrial metabolism, and thermokinetics and the heterosis were analyzed and discussed. The character of the mitochondrial thermogenic curves reflected the physiologic character of heterosis. The microcalorimetric method proved to be a probable and sensitive tool for the assessment of heterosis.     

Microcalorimetric Studies on Influence of Sm^3＋, Dy^3＋ on Growth and Sporulation of Bacillus thuringiensis

By using an LKB-2277 Bioactivity Monitor and cycle-flow method, the thermogenic curves of aerobic growth for Bacillus thuringiensis cry Ⅱ strain at 28 ℃ have been obtained. The metabolic thermogenic curves of Bt cry Ⅱ contain two distinct parts: the first part reflects the changes of bacterial growth phase and the second part corresponds to sporulation phase. From these thermogenic curves in the absence or presence of Sm^3 , Dy^3 ions, the thermokinetic parameters such as the growth rate constants k. the interval time τ1, the maximum power PMAX1 and heat-output QLOG for log phase, the maximum power PMAX2 and heat-output QSTAT for stationary phase, the heat-output QSPOR for sporulation phase and total heat effects QT were calculated. Sm^3 and Dy^3 ions have promoting action on the growth of Bt cryⅡ in their lower concentration range, on the other hand, they have inhibitory action on the sporulation of Bt in their higher concentration range, It has also been found that the effects of Sm^3 and Dy^3 ions on Bt during the sporulation phase were far greater than those during the bacterial growth phase. It was concluded that the application of Bt for controlling insecticide could not be affected by the presence of the rare-earth elements in the environmental ecosystem.     

Microcalorimetry Study on the Effect of Nd(III) Ion on Metabolism of Mitochondria Isolated from Fish Liver Tissue

Metabolic thermogenic curves of mitochondria isolated from fish liver tissue and the effect of Nd(III) on it were determined by LKB-2277 Bioactivity Monitor, ampoule method, at 28.00°C. From these thermogenic curves, rate constant of the activity recovery phase (k ₁), rate constant of the stationary increase phase (k ₂), rate constant of the decline phase(k ₃), the maximum heat production rate (P _m) are obtained. These results show that Nd³⁺ has changed the metabolism of mitochondria completely. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Microcalorimetric research on recombinant <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> with high production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs)

The thermogenic curves of metabolism of the four strains of Escherichia coli pUC19cab/JM109, pUC19cab/XL-IBlue, JM109 and XL-IBlue were determined using the LKB-2277 BioActivity Monitor and the ampoule method at 37°C. The pUC19cab/JM109 and pUC19cab/XL-IBlue are recombinant E. coli strains bearing the same foreign plasmid pUC19cab, which confers the ability to produce polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). The yield of PHAs of pUC19cab/XL-IBlue was higher than that of pUC19cab/JM109. XL-IBlue and JM109 were the host bacteria. The heat flow of these strains was XL-Blue≈JM109>pUC19cab/JM109>pUC19cab/XL-IBlue. These results indicate an obvious interrelation between the PHAs production and the heat flow rate of E. coli strains.     

微量热法研究二价铅对两种不同土壤微生物的毒性作用

本次研究采用微量量热技术分析了铅对两种常见土壤微生物（假丝酵母菌、枯草杆菌）的毒性作用。实验结果表明,低浓度Pb(Ⅱ) (10.0 µg mL-1) 对两种土壤微生物的生长均有促进作用;而当Pb(Ⅱ) 浓度较高时（假丝酵母菌 20.0~320.0 µg mL-1、枯草杆菌20.0~160.0 µg mL-1）,微生物的生长则明显被抑制了,此时微生物的生长速率常数k与Pb(Ⅱ) 的浓度c呈现线性相关。同时,细胞干重法和浊度法也应用于本次研究中,并与微量量热曲线拟合,充分证明了微量量热技术对研究铅对土壤微生物毒性作用的准确性和有效性。     

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.     

基于微量热法的板蓝根提取方法和活性部位挑选

应用TAM Air微量热系统, 采用微量热法, 考察不同提取方法的板蓝根水煎液及其化学萃取部位在37 ℃时, 对大肠杆菌生长代谢的影响. 结合中医药理论, 分析板蓝根水煎液及其化学萃取部分的药效作用及其差异, 挑选板蓝根药材最佳的提取方法和抑菌最强的活性部位, 并采用试管稀释法求出抑菌活性最强部位的最小抑菌浓度(MIC). 结果表明微量热法可用于常用中药——板蓝根的提取方法和活性部位的挑选, 为进一步研究中药的药性基础提供了一种新的、快速灵敏的技术和方法.     

Microcalorimetric Studies on Gene Promoter Function of Cloned DNA Fragements from Halobacterium halobium J7 Plasmid pHH205 in Escherichia coli TG1

Halobacterium halobium is a typical kind of extremely halophilic bacterium. Combined with the antibiotic resistance assay, the microcalorimetric method was used to study the promoter function of the cloned DNA fragments from Halobacterium halobium J7 plasmid pHH205 in Escherichia coli TG1. The promoter probe vector, plasmid pKK232-8, was used to form the recombinants. The DNA fragment, which is the promoter for the chloramphenicol acetyl transferase （CAT） gene in plasmid pKK232-8, is about 800 bp, and the chloramphenicol resistance level presented by IC50 is about 200 μg·mL^-1, which suggests a high promoter activity. The conclusions show that there probably exist double-function or trinary-function gene promoters in Halobacterium halobium, and Archaea may contain rich genetic resources.     

微量热法研究蒽醌化合物的抑菌活性和毒理作用

The growth therrnogenic curves of Staphylococcus aureus and Tetrahymena thermophila affected by 1,8-dihydroxyanthraquinone, emodin and rhein were determined quantitatively by microcalorimetry. The inhibitory effects of the three anthraquinones （AQ） on S. aureus revealed that the sequence of antimicrobial activity of those was rhein〉emodin〉 1,8-dihydroxyanthraquinone. The toxicity of the three AQ on T. thermophila indicated that all the tested AQ were toxic to the tested protozoa and the hydroxyl and carboxyl substituted at different position of anthraquinone ring resulted in the enhancement of toxicity.     

Microcalorimetric investigation of the effect of La3+ on mitochondria isolated from avian chicken liver tissue cells

A microcalorimetric technique was used to evaluate the influence of La³⁺ on mitochondria isolated from the liver tissue of Avian chicken. By means of LKB-2277 bioactivity monitor, ampoule method at 37°C, we obtained the thermogenic curves of the metabolism of mitochondria. After isolation from the chicken liver tissue, mitochondria still have metabolic activity and can live for a long time depending on the stored nutrients. In order to analyze the results, the maximum power (P _m) and the decline rate constants (k _d) were obtained. The addition of La³⁺ results in an increase of the maximum heat production and decline rate constants. Furthermore, values of P _m and k _d are linked to the concentration of La³⁺. According to the thermogenic curves under different conditions, it is clear that metabolic mechanism of mitochondria has been changed with the addition of La³⁺. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

微量热法研究亚砷酸钠对鲫鱼肝脏线粒体的影响

Metabolic thermogenic curves of mitochondria isolated from liver tissue of Carassius auratus and the effect of different concentration of NaAsO2 on it were investigated by TAM air isothermal microcalorimeter, ampoule method, at 28.00 ℃. From the thermogenic curves, activity recovery rate constants k, the maximum heat production rate （Pmax） and the total heat produced （Q） were obtained. The values of k and Pmax decline gradually with the increase of the concentration of NaAsO2, and both of the values of Pmax and k are highly correlated to the concentration of NaAsO2. When concentration of NaAsO2 reached 16.0 μg/mL, the maximum heat production rate dropped to 70.8% of the control group, and the corresponding percentage of k was 71.4% of the control group. This experimental result indicates that the addition of NaAsO2 has restrained the metabolic activities of mitochondria in vitro.     

Microcalorimetric study on expression of foreign genes in Bacillus thuringiensis

The thermogenic curves of the aerobic metabolism of the three strains of Bacillus thuringiensis B.t. A, B.t. B and B.t. C have been determined by using an LKB-2277 BioActivity Monitor. B.t. A was the host bacterium without foreign gene. B.t. B and B.t. C were constructed by transforming different foreign genes into the host B.t. A, respectively. B.t. B expressed erythromycin resistant gene, while B.t. C expressed both erythromycin resistant gene and tyrosinase gene. The heat flow rate of these strains is B.t. A> B.t. B >B.t. C. These results indicated that there is obvious interrelation between expression of foreign genes and heat flow rate of B.t. strains. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Anti-fungal effect of berberine on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Candida albicans</Emphasis> by microcalorimetry with correspondence analysis

Using a LKB-2277 bioactivity monitor, stop-flow mode, the power–time curves of Candida albicans growth at 37 °C affected by berberine were measured. The check experiments were studied based on agar cup method to observe the inhibitory diameter and serial dilution method to determine the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of berberine on C. albicans growth. By analyzing the quantitative thermogenic parameters taken from the power–time curves using correspondence analysis (CA), we could find that berberine at a low concentration (5.0 μg mL⁻¹) began to inhibit the growth of C. albicans and at a high concentration (75.0 μg mL⁻¹) completely inhibited C. albicans growth. The anti-fungal activity of berberine could also be expressed as half-inhibitory concentration IC₅₀, i.e., 50% effective in this inhibition. The value of IC₅₀ of berberine on C. albicans was 34.52 μg mL⁻¹. The inhibitory diameters all exceeded 10 mm in test range and the MIC was 500 μg mL⁻¹. Berberine had strong anti-fungal effect on C. albicans growth. This work provided an important idea of the combination of microcalorimetry and CA for the study on anti-fungal effect of berberine and other compounds. Compared with the agar cup method and serial dilution method, microcalorimetry not only offered a useful way for evaluating the bioactivity of drugs, but also provides more information about the microbial growth and all this information was significant for the synthesis and searching of antibiotics.     

Notiz über mikrobiologische Umsetzungen mit Halobacterium halobium: Reduktion von 3-Oxobutansäure-ethylester und Hydrolyse von 3-Hydroxybutansäure-ethylester. Cooperative Effekte von Reduktase und Hydrolase

Note on Biotransformations with Halobacterium halobium: Reduction of Ethyl 3-Oxobutanoate and Hydrolysis of Ethyl 3-Hydroxybutanoate. Cooperative Effects of Reductase and Hydrolase The archaebacterium Halobacterium halobium, growing in saturated NaCl solution, is tested for its ability to achieve biotransformations. We found that this microorganism does accept only a small variety of compounds as substrates. Ethyl acetoacetate ( 1 ) is reduced to ethyl (S)-3-hydroxybutanoate ( 2 ) of optical purity of 40–76%, but in low chemical yields. The reduction is accompanied by hydrolysis of the hydroxy-ester to 3-hydroxybutanoic acid ( 3 ). Hydrolysis of rac-ester 2 by Halobacterium halobium gives (R)- 2 of optical purity of up to 88%, depending upon reaction time, together with the almost racemic hydroxy-acid 3 , both in low chemical yields. Hopes that the ‘extremist’ Halobacterium halobium would be able to effect unique conversions were not fulfilled.     

硝酸镧引起Escherichia coli B代谢过程热爆发及其机理研究

采用微量热法研究了硝酸镧对Escherichia coli B生长代谢过程的影响, 发现高浓度硝酸镧引起E. coli B热谱图出现异常变化: 生长速率常数k值增大、产热峰显著升高和总发热量异常增加. 当硝酸镧浓度为300和500 mg/L时, 培养物在培养过程的总发热量分别是正常条件下的3.89和2.54倍. 用生物学方法对细胞存活率和生物量进行测定结果表明, 细胞在高浓度硝酸镧条件下增殖受到抑制、细胞生物量减少. 表明高浓度的硝酸镧存在时, E. coli B细胞生长受到抑制反而释放出比正常生长细胞多得多的热量, 将抑制状态细胞释放大量热量的现象称为热爆发. 分析热爆发的原因, 认为是La^3＋离子破坏细胞壁外膜而增加其透性, 导致细胞膜与外膜间的质子电化学势因质子外泄而降低或者不能形成, 氧化磷酸化过程中的能量不能有效地转化为ATP, 而以热能的方式释放出来. 细胞由于缺乏生物通用能量ATP, 因而其生长受到抑制.     

A microcalorimetric study of the action of mercuric chloride on the metabolism of mitochondria isolated from Cyprinus carpio liver tissue

After the occurrence of 'Minamata disease' in 1950, mercury aroused much more attention, and lots of studies concerned have been made. The purpose of the present paper is to study the effect of mercuric chloride on the mitochondria suspension isolated from the liver tissue of Cyprinus carpio from the direct viewpoint of energy by using the microcalorimetric method. The metabolic thermogenic curves of the mitochondria suspension at 25°C were obtained, and the mitochondria metabolic thermokinetic equations were established, from which we obtained the thermodynamic and thermokinetic parameters: thermogenic rate constant (k), heat output (Q), average heat power (P_av), etc. Experimental results indicated that low concentration of mercuric chloride (5 nmol Hg²⁺/(mg protein)) stimulates the thermogenesis of mitochondria, suggesting a strong effect of uncoupling action, while high concentration of mercuric chloride (20 nmol Hg²⁺/(mg protein)) inhibits the metabolism of mitochondria completely, suggesting a fatal effect on the phosphorylation system. The effect of Hg²⁺ on mitochondria is concentration-depended, from which the probable reaction mechanism of Hg²⁺ to the mitochondria was proposed. So the microcalorimetric method can be used in the toxicology research.     

Investigation of the influence of NaCl concentration on Halobacterium salinarum growth

Microcalorimetry was used to study the influence of NaCl concentration on Halobacterium salinarum growth. From the thermogenic curves and thermokinetic parameters of H. salinarum growth in different concentrations of NaCl, it was found that the optimum NaCl concentration for H. salinarum growth was not a wide range from 3.5 mol L^–1 to NaCl saturation (about 5.2 mol L^–1), as is generally acknowledged, but just around 230 g L^–1 (approximately 3.9 mol L^–1). And when external NaCl concentration was above 230 g L^–1, the growth metabolism of H. salinarum decreased constantly with the increasing of NaCl concentration. These have never been described before. Further investigation by transmission electron microscopy revealed that H. salinarum growing in approaching NaCl saturation underwent plasmolysis, which interpreted the novel finding of microcalorimetry perfectly. Our work shows that microcalorimetry may reveal more and newer details about microbial growth than the existing methods do. These details are significant to understand biological processes.