Kinetic analysis for synthesis of a dipeptide precursor using an immobilized enzyme in water-immiscible organic solvents

N-(Benzyloxycarbonyl)-L-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine methyl ester (Z-AspPheOMe), a precursor of the synthetic sweetener aspartame, was synthesized, using thermolysin immobilized onto Amberlite XAD-7, both in ethyl acetate and in tert-amyl alcohol. The initial rates for synthesis of Z-AspPheOMe in the organic solvents were predicted on the basis of a model proposed for an aqueous/organic biphasic reaction and compared with the experimentally observed substrate concentration dependencies. The experimental synthetic rates using the enzyme immobilized at a high enzyme concentration were lower than the calculated ones over a wide range of the substrate concentration. It was suggested as a reason for this discrepancy that the enzyme molecules form compact aggregates and those existing inside the aggregates cannot be utilized for reaction. The experimental results with the enzyme immobilized at a low concentration in ethyl acetate coincided well with the calculated ones. On the other hand, when tert-amyl alcohol was used, the experimental results were different in tendency irrespective of the amount of enzyme loaded, probably due to the fact that a distinct water phase does not exist around the enzyme aggregates inside the support.     

Plackett-Burman设计法筛选影响茎点菌属在液体培养中生产松脂醇二葡萄糖苷的主要影响因子

在单因素试验的基础上,选定合适的因素水平,通过Plackett-Burman设计从5个因素中筛选出培养基初始pH、摇床转速、装液量是影响茎点菌属菌SP-16F生产松脂醇二葡萄糖苷(PDG)的主要因素,其较优水平为初始pH8、转速180 r/min、装液量100 mL/250 mL.在试验条件下,PDG的最高产量可达29 mg/L.     

Kinetic aspects of the Maillard reaction: a critical review.

The literature concerning the kinetics of the Maillard reaction was critically discussed according to the initial, intermediate and advanced stages, as this is the way the Maillard reaction is traditionally analysed. For each stage, a division is made between simple kinetics and complex kinetics. Simple kinetics means that the general rate law is used and results are reported as zero-, first- or second-order reactions (sometimes a fractional order). It is emphasized that this approach for a complex reaction as the Maillard reaction only results in a mathematical fit procedure, not in mechanistic insight. The rate constants and activation energies derived are in fact composed of several elementary rate constants. With complex kinetics, i.e. trying to establish the kinetics for individual reaction steps, more mechanistic information can be extracted. However, there are conflicting results in literature and the interpretation is not always correct, as is shown in several examples. A summary of activation energies reported for the various stages in the Maillard reaction reveals large discrepancies, probably reflecting strong effects of experimental conditions on results that are obtained. Careful control of experimental conditions and proper kinetic analysis of the various stages in the Maillard reaction should lead to more consistent results in the future.     

褐藻胶裂解酶产生菌的筛选、鉴定及其产酶条件研究

从土壤中分离得到的一株芽孢杆菌W1在以褐藻酸钠为唯一碳源的培养基中进行驯化后,在琼脂平板上产生透明水解圈,通过筛选得到实验菌株S1,鉴定后确定其为枯草芽孢杆菌.经过发酵培养实验,确定其最佳产酶条件:以蛋白胨和尿素为氮源,褐藻酸钠0.5～0.6%(质量分数),培养初始pH值7.5,培养温度32℃,180r/min摇床发酵84hr-108hr.     

Determination of synthetic by-products and an intermediate in the colour additive D&C Orange No. 5 using high-performance liquid chromatography

Specifications in the US Code of Federal Regulations for the colour additive D&C Orange No. 5 (Colour Index No. 45370:1) limit the levels of the synthetic by-products 2-(3,5-dibromo-2,4-dihydroxybenzoyl)benzoic acid (Br2BBA) and brominated resorcinol (Br3R) as well as the level of the intermediate phthalic acid (PhthAc). The present work reports the development and application of a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the quantitative determination of these impurities in D&C Orange No. 5 and its lakes. Br2BBA, Br3R and PhthAc were quantified by using five-point calibration curves with data points that ranged from 0.010% to 0.700%, from 0.012% to 0.706% and from 0.006% to 1.383% by weight, respectively. The HPLC method was applied to the analysis of test portions from 11 lots of D&C Orange No. 5 and one lot of D&C Orange No. 5 lake submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for certification.     

Acetaldehyde: an intermediate in the formation of ethanol from glucose by lactic acid bacteria.

Group N streptococci formed acetaldehyde and ethanol from glucose. As the enzymes aldehyde dehydrogenase, phosphotransacetylase and acetate kinase were present this would enable these organisms to reduce acetyl-CoA to acetaldehyde and convert acetyl-CoA to acetyl phosphate and acetate. A pentose phosphate pathway which converted ribose-5-phosphate to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate was also present. Acetaldehyde could not be formed via the hexose monophosphate shunt or by direct decarboxylation of pyruvate, as the enzymes phosphoketolase and alpha-carboxylase were absent. Phosphoketolase activity was induced in Streptococcus lactis subsp. diacetylactis after growth on D-xylose. Group N streptococci also contained an NAD-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase which reduced acetaldehyde to ethanol while both NAD- and NADP-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase activities were found in Leuconostoc cremoris.     

Construction of an enzymatic route using a food-grade recombinant Bacillus subtilis for the production and purification of epilactose from lactose

Lactose is a main by-product in the cheese industry. Many attempts have been made to convert the lactose to high value-added products, including epilactose. Epilactose is a valuable prebiotic and can be epimerized from lactose with cellobiose 2-epimerase (CEase). The objective of the present work was to construct a food-grade recombinant Bacillus subtilis that produces CEase from Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum. The CEase was expressed in B. subtilis without antibiotic resistance genes. After fermentation, the maximum volumetric activity of the fermented broth was more than 7 U/mL. The activity of the recombinant B. subtilis was increased by up to 3.7 fold after ethanol permeabilization. Then, 66.9 ± 0.7 g/L of epilactose was produced from 300 g/L of whey powder solution in 1 h with 13.3 U/mL of permeabilized biocatalyst. In addition, an enzymatic route including degradation of the lactose, yeast fermentation, and cation exchange chromatography was described to further purify the produced epilactose from lactose. Finally, epilactose with a purity >98% was produced from 300 g/L of lactose with a yield of 24.0%. In conclusion, neither antibiotics nor pathogenic bacteria were used throughout the epilactose production and purification procedure.     

Determination of synthetic by-products and an intermediate in the colour additive D&C Orange No. 5 using high-performance liquid chromatography

Specifications in the US Code of Federal Regulations for the colour additive D&C Orange No. 5 (Colour Index No. 45370:1) limit the levels of the synthetic by-products 2-(3,5-dibromo-2,4-dihydroxybenzoyl)benzoic acid (Br2BBA) and brominated resorcinol (Br3R) as well as the level of the intermediate phthalic acid (PhthAc). The present work reports the development and application of a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the quantitative determination of these impurities in D&C Orange No. 5 and its lakes. Br2BBA, Br3R and PhthAc were quantified by using five-point calibration curves with data points that ranged from 0.010% to 0.700%, from 0.012% to 0.706% and from 0.006% to 1.383% by weight, respectively. The HPLC method was applied to the analysis of test portions from 11 lots of D&C Orange No. 5 and one lot of D&C Orange No. 5 lake submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for certification.     

The conserved tryptophan-arginine-tyrosine motif of a proteinaceous alpha-amylase inhibitor T-76 from Streptomyces nitrosporeus is important for inhibition of animal alpha-amylases but not for an alpha-amylase from Bacillus sp. no. 195

Site-directed mutagenesis of Trp-16, Arg-17, and Tyr-18, which were thought to form a putative active site in proteinaceous alpha-amylase inhibitor T-76 from Streptomyces nitrosporeus for inhibition, was performed. The mutation at the site (W16A, R17A, and Y18A) resulted in a marked decrease in inhibitory activity against all animal alpha-amylases tested. Only the alpha-amylase from Bacillus sp. no. 195 (BAA) remained sensitive to all the constructed mutant inhibitors. A competition between T-76 mutants and the wild-type for porcine pancreatic alpha-amylase (PPA) suggest that the loss of inhibitory activity against PPA in mutant inhibitors was due to the decrease in their binding ability for PPA. T-76 formed a complex with BAA as well as PPA at the stoichiometric ratio of 1:1. A competition between BAA and the PPA/T-76 complex suggests that PPA and BAA might bind to the same region or regions close to each other on the T-76 molecule. These results indicate that the conserved Trp-Arg-Tyr motif of T-76 is involved in the interaction between T-76 and PPA while other amino acid residues seem to be important for the T-76/BAA interaction. Since the BAA-type alpha-amylase is the actual target of the inhibitors from microbes in comparison with animal alpha-amylases, BAA might be a better material than PPA to elucidate the "true" function of proteinaceous alpha-amylase inhibitors.     

Media for the detection and enumeration of Bacillus cereus in foods: a review.

Bacillus cereus is an established cause of food poisoning in addition to being a troublesome and persistent contaminant, responsible for a variety of spoilage defects in processed foods and dairy products. A range of diagnostic and selective media has been developed to facilitate the detection and enumeration of B. cereus in routine surveillance situations and food poisoning investigations. These media are reviewed with respect to the selective and diagnostic systems they employ, their ability to recover and differentiate the target organism, and their advantages and limitations in particular applications.     

Tracking the sources of nitrate in groundwater using coupled nitrogen and boron isotopes: a synthesis

Nitrate (NO3) is one of the world's major pollutants of drinking water resources. Although recent European Directives have reduced input from intensive agriculture, NO3 levels in groundwater are approaching the drinking water limit of 50 mg L(-1) almost everywhere. Determining the sources of groundwater contamination is an important first step toward improving its quality by emission control. It is with this aim that we review here the benefit of using a coupled isotopic approach (delta15N and delta11B), in addition to conventional hydrogeological analyses, to trace the origin of NO3 in water. The studied watersheds include both fractured bedrock and alluvial (subsurface and deep) hydrogeological contexts. The joint use of nitrogen and boron isotope systematics in each context deciphers the origin of NO3 in the groundwater and allows a semi-quantification of the contributions of the respective pollution sources (mineral fertilizers, wastewater, and animal manure).     

Cloning and expression of a gene encoding the lytic functions of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens phage: Evidence of an auxiliary lysis system

A bacteriophage specific to Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, a gram-positive bacterium, was isolated from a local sewage treatment center. Using a lysis assay, a gene, lys1521, was isolated and its nucleotide sequence revealed one open reading frame of 375 bp. Homology studies showed amino acid alignment similarity with gene 5A of Bacillus subtilis phages PZA and phi29. Overexpression of the cloned gene yielded a 13 kDa protein corresponding to the predicted gene product. Despite the fact that no significant homology with known cell wall lytic enzymes was apparent, the lytic profile obtained in an in vivo expression assay showed that lys1521 had cell wall hydrolysis activity. This is a significant revelation since the function of the homologous gene 5A product of phage phi29 has been suggested to be required for the in vivo elongation of phage DNA replication. The lys1521 gene could be evidence of the presence in gram-positive bacteriophages of a third lysis gene in addition to the well characterized two-step lysis system.     

Production of lepidimoide by an endophytic fungus from polysaccharide extracted from Abelmoschus sp.: identification of the product and the organism producing it

A highly potent allelopathic factor, lepidimoide, was initially extracted from mucilage of germinated cress seeds. Polysaccharide extracted from okra (Abelmoschus esculentum Moench) is considered to have a similar structure to lepidimoide as its repeating unit. We therefore initiated the screening of enzymes capable of degrading okra polysaccharide into lepidimoide from endophytes. We discovered an endophytic fungal strain AHU9748 isolated from Coleus galeatus, which produced an oligosaccharide having similar properties to lepidimoide on thin layer chromatography. The physico-chemical data from ESI-MS, NMR spectra and other analyses also showed the purified product to be identical to lepidimoide. The strain AHU9748 was identified as a fungus belonging to the coelomycetes, closely related to the genus Colletotrichum, based on morphological characteristics and sequence analysis of the 18S rDNA and ITS region.     

Evaluation of a collective kitchens program: using the Population Health Promotion Model.

To evaluate the impact of the Calgary Health Region Collective Kitchen Program on various Population Health Promotion Model health determinants, data were collected through mail-in questionnaires that examined the members' (n=331) and coordinators' (n=58) perspectives of the program. Seventy-nine members (24%) and 26 coordinators (45%) were included in the study. Three incomplete questionnaires (from prenatal program members) were discarded. Sixty-one percent of members who reported income level and family size (n=61) had incomes below the low-income cut-off. Fifty-eight members (73%) reported improvements in their lives because of the program. Sixty-four members (81%) perceived they learned to feed their families healthier foods. The members reported their fruit and vegetable consumption before and since joining a collective kitchen, and the proportion of those consuming at least five fruit and vegetable servings a day rose from 29% to 47%. The most common reasons for joining this program concerned social interactions and support. Over 90% of the coordinators perceived that they were competent to coordinate a kitchen. The results indicate that the collective kitchens program addresses several health determinants, and may increase members' capacity to attain food security and to achieve improved nutritional health.     

Streptomyces lavendulae X33海藻糖合酶基因克隆及酶学特性

目的：对菌株Bacillus sp. B110的胞内麦芽糖淀粉酶BMAL进行基因克隆、异源表达、纯化及酶学性质研究,为后期开发新的淀粉加工用酶打下基础。方法：使用PCR技术对Bacillus sp. B110的胞内麦芽糖淀粉酶bmal基因序列进行全长克隆,异源表达,使用Ni²⁺-NTA进行纯化,再对其酶学特性进行测定,使用序列分析工具BioEdit、MEGA等对其氨基酸序列进行分析,使用AlphaFold2对其三级结构进行预测分析。结果：BMAL基因全长1770 bp,编码一个589氨基酸残基的蛋白。重组酶rBMAL经Ni²⁺-NTA亲和层析纯化后,SDS-PAGE电泳结果显示其分子量大小为63 kDa。氨基酸序列分析和三维建模表明BMAL与来源于B.subtilis 168和B.subtilis SUH4-2的麦芽糖淀粉酶有较高的一致性,且BMAL具有一个麦芽糖淀粉酶所独有的N端结构域以及由Asp328-Glu357-Asp424三个氨基酸残基所构成的催化中心。重组酶rBMAL最适反应温度为45 ℃,最适反应pH为6.0。重组酶rBMAL在30 ℃条件下保藏7 h残留酶活为60%,但在60 ℃条件下保藏2 h残留酶活力下降98%,说明BMAL对热敏感。重组酶rBMAL在4 ℃,pH7.0~9.5保藏12 h活性稳定。当存在1 mmol/L的金属离子Mg²⁺时,重组酶rBMAL活力提高36%,而Ni²⁺、Fe³⁺、Co²⁺、Cu²⁺、Zn²⁺、Al³⁺、Ca²⁺对重组酶rBMAL有抑制作用,酶活力减少85%~48%。有机溶剂和化学试剂甲醇、乙醇、丙酮、异腈、EDTA和SDS对重组酶rBMAL有较强的抑制作用,酶活力减少至32.3%~64.8%。底物特异性实验结果证实BMAL最适底物为环精糊。结论：Bacillus sp. B110的胞内麦芽糖淀粉酶BMAL具有良好的催化特性和pH稳定性,在面包烘焙工业上具有潜在的应用价值。