Therapeutic use of phage cocktail for controlling Escherichia coli O157:H7 in gastrointestinal tract of mice

To investigate the therapeutical use of phage mixture for controlling gastrointestinal Escherichia coli O157:H7 cells, in vitro and in vivo experiments were conducted. Three phages, SP15, SP21, and SP22 were selected from 26 phage stock screened from feces of stock animals and sewage influent. Addition of single or binary phage to the E. coli cell batch-culture reduced the turbidity of the culture. However, reascend of the turbidity due to the appearance of phage resistance cell was observed. On the other hand, addition of three phage mixture (SP15-21-22) did not produce reascend of culture turbidity under aerobic condition. Under anaerobic condition, slight reascend of culture turbidity was observed after SP15-21-22 addition. Chemostat continuous culture was operated under anaerobic condition to optimize the titer of phage cocktail and frequency of the addition for controlling E. coli cells. Five-log decrease of E. coli cell concentration after addition of phage cocktail of 10(9) Plaque forming unit (PFU)/ml was observed. However, reascend of cell concentration was observed after 1 d incubation. Repeated addition of phage cocktail was effective to reduce the cell concentration. Suspension of phage cocktail in the buffer containing 0.25% CaCO3 neutralized 9 times much more buffer of pH 2. Based on this in vitro experiment, phage cocktail (SP15-21-22) suspended in the buffer containing 0.25% CaCO3 was orally administrated to the mice in which E. coli O157:H7 cells was administrated in 2-d advance. E. coli and phage concentration in the feces was monitored for 9 d after phage addition. High titer of phage was detected in the feces when the phage cocktail administrated daily. E. coli O157:H7 concentration in the feces has been reduced according to the time period. However, difference of E. coli concentration in the feces of mice administrates with phage and in the control mice without phage addition became slight after 9-d test period. High titer of the phage settled down in the gastrointestinal tracts and reduced the concentration of E. coli cell. Repeated oral administration of SP15-21-22 was effective for rapid evacuation of E. coli O157:H7 from the feces and gastrointestinal tract of mice.     

A new microbial method for more efficient production of Nalpha-benzyloxycarbonyl-L-aminoadipate delta-semialdehyde and Nalpha-benzyloxycarbonyl-D-aminoadipate delta-semialdehyde

A new biochemical method for more efficient production of Nalpha-benzyloxycarbonyl-L-aminoadipate delta-semialdehyde (Nalpha-Z-L-AASA) and Nalpha-Z-D-AASA was developed with cells of Rhodococcus sp. AIU Z-35-1. Using the cells harvested after 1 d of cultivation, more than 95 mM Nalpha-Z-L-AASA was produced from 100 mM Nalpha-Z-L-lysine by incubating at pH 5.0 for 1 d at 30 degrees C or by incubating at pH 7.0 for 2 d at 10 degrees C. A similar conversion yield of Nalpha-Z-D-AASA was also obtained under the same conditions. These reaction times required were 1/4 and 1/2 of the respective ones by the method with amine oxidase, and the yields of Nalpha-Z-L-AASA and Nalpha-Z-D-AASA were 2 times higher than the respective ones by the method with amine oxidase. In addition, this method had the advantages of not requiring purification of enzyme and addition of catalase. Thus, the microbial method proposed here was superior to the chemical and other biochemical methods in simplicity, reaction rate, and yield.     

Production of L-talitol from L-psicose by Metschnikowia koreensis LA1 isolated from soy sauce mash

A strain LA1 that can convert L-psicose to L-talitol was isolated from soy sauce mash and identified as Metschnikowia koreensis. The cells grown on L-arabitol were found to have relatively high conversion potential. Addition of D-sorbitol to the reaction mixture considerably accelerated the conversion rate of L-psicose to L-talitol. During the conversion reaction, D-sorbitol was added to the reaction mixture at 12-h intervals to maintain the concentration of D-sorbitol at 1.0%. The final conversion ratios were 81.4%, 75.2%, 73.0%, 60.4% and 43.5% using washed cells when the concentrations of L-psicose were 0.5%, 1.0%, 2.0%, 3.0% and 5.0%, respectively. The product from L-psicose was identified as L-talitol by HPLC analysis, and infrared spectroscopy, optical rotation and melting point measurements.     

Cloning and expression of NAD+-dependent L-arabinitol 4-dehydrogenase gene (ladA) of Aspergillus oryzae

A gene of Aspergillus oryzae, ladA, which encodes L-arabinitol 4-dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.12), and its cDNA were cloned in Escherichia coli. The gene consisted of a 1209-bp coding region, interrupted by a 59-bp intron, which encoded a 382-amino-acid polypeptide (40,812 Da). The protein showed 67% identity to a well-studied L-arabinitol 4-dehydrogenase (Lad1) of Hypocrea jecorina. The cell-free extract of E. coli, which expressed ladA cDNA, showed L-arabinitol dehydrogenase activity with NAD+. It was also reactive for ribitol and xylitol.     

Production of L-sorbitol from L-fructose by Aureobasidium pullulans LP23 isolated from soy sauce mash

A strain LP23 that can convert L-fructose to L-sorbitol was isolated from soy sauce mash and identified as Aureobasidium pullulans. The cells grown on L-arabinose were found to have relatively high L-fructose to L-sorbitol conversion potential. Addition of erythritol to the reaction mixture considerably accelerated the conversion rate of L-fructose to L-sorbitol. During the conversion reaction, erythritol was added to the reaction mixture at 8-h intervals to maintain the concentration of erythritol at 1.0%. The final conversion ratios were 82.8%, 95.3%, 92.4%, and 42.6% using washed cells when the concentrations of L-fructose were 1.0%, 2.0%, 5.0% and 10.0%, respectively. The product from L-fructose was identified as L-sorbitol by HPLC analysis, infrared spectroscopy, optical rotation and melting point measurements.     

Performance of a styrene-degrading biofilter inoculated with Pseudomonas sp. SR-5

Styrene removal was studied for 3 months in a laboratory-scale biofilter packed with a mixed packing material of peat and ceramic at a ratio of 1 to 1 on a dry-weight basis and inoculated with Pseudomonas sp. SR-5. More than 90% removal efficiency (RE) was attained at 1-140 g/m3/h styrene loads under nitrogen-source limitation. When RE decreased to 70% after 30 d with an increase in styrene load, readdition of SR-5 and washing of the filter packing material restored the RE to more than 90% by maintaining the population of SR-5 at 1-10% of the total cell number. The maximum elimination capacity (EC) by kinetic analysis was estimated to be 290 g/m3/h. High conversion of the removed styrene carbon to CO2, and significantly small production of cell mass from the removed carbon were confirmed.     

Vacuolar functions are involved in stress-protective effect of intracellular proline in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Proline protects yeast cells from damage caused by various stresses. A yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutant with high levels of intracellular proline grown in a minimal medium accumulated proline in its vacuole, but when grown in a nutrient medium, accumulated proline mainly in the cytosol. To understand the role of the proline pool in the vacuole, we examined the stress-protective effect of proline in proline-accumulating yeast cells deficient in vacuolar functions. The disruption of PEP3 encoding a vacuolar membrane protein required for vacuolar biogenesis caused hypersensitivity to heat shock and ethanol stresses, probably due to disappearance of normal vacuoles. The vph1-disrupted cells lacking vacuolar-ATPase activity showed resistance to heat shock without any change in proline localization, but showed severe growth defects in an ethanol-containing medium. These results indicate that vacuolar functions are involved in the stress-protective effect of proline in S. cerevisiae. Also, it appears that excess proline is transported to the vacuole in an ATP-independent manner.     

Removal and recovery of uranyl ion using various microorganisms

The adsorption of uranyl ion by microorganisms was examined. Among the 76 strains of 69 species tested (23 bacteria, 20 actinomycetes, 18 fungi, and 15 yeasts), high uranyl ion adsorption ability was exhibited by strains of the bacteria, Arthrobacter nicotianae, Bacillus subtilis, and Micrococcus luteus. A. nicotianae cells, which showed the best performance, could adsorb about 698 mg uranyl ion (2.58 mmol) per gram dry wt. of microbial cells. The adsorption of uranyl ion was rapid, selective, and mostly dependent on physico-chemical binding to the cell components. As well as uranyl ion, A. nicotianae could adsorb thorium ion with high efficiency. Cells immobilized with polyacrylamide gel could be used during repeated adsorption-desorption cycles.     

Micrococcus luteus K-3-type glutaminase from Aspergillus oryzae RIB40 is salt-tolerant

Aspergillus oryzae RIB40 possesses the gene of glutaminase (Micrococcus luteus K-3-type glutaminase; AoGls), which has 40% homology with the salt-tolerant glutaminase from M. luteus K-3 (Micrococcus glutaminase). It was found that AoGls is a salt-tolerant enzyme, and its properties are similar to those of Micrococcus glutaminase.     

Biological treatment of wastewater discharged from biodiesel fuel production plant with alkali-catalyzed transesterification

The biological treatment of wastewater discharged from a biodiesel fuel (BDF) production plant conducting alkali catalysis transesterification was investigated. BDF wastewater has a high pH and high hexane-extracted oil and low nitrogen concentrations, and inhibits the growth of microorganisms. The biological treatment of BDF wastewater is difficult because the composition of such wastewater is not suitable for microbial growth. To apply the microbiological treatment of BDF wastewater using an oil degradable yeast, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, the pH was adjusted to 6.8 and several nutrients such as a nitrogen source (ammonium sulfate, ammonium chloride or urea), yeast extract, KH2PO4 and MgSO4.7H2O were added to the wastewater. The optimal initial concentration of yeast extract was 1 g/l and the optimal C/N ratio was between 17 and 68 when using urea as a nitrogen source. A growth inhibitor was also present in the BDF wastewater, and this growth inhibitor could be detected by measuring the solid content in an aqueous phase after the hexane extraction of the wastewater. Microorganisms could not grow at solid contents higher than 2.14 g/l in the wastewater. To avoid the growth inhibition, the BDF wastewater was diluted with the same volume of water. Oil degradation in the diluted BDF wastewater was observed and the best result was obtained under the determined optimal conditions. This treatment system is simple because no controllers, except for a temperature, are necessary. These results suggest that the biological treatment system developed for BDF wastewater is useful for small-scale BDF production plants.     

Two novel cyclodextrin-degrading enzymes isolated from thermophilic bacteria have similar domain structures but differ in oligomeric state and activity profile

In this paper, we present the expression and characterization of two novel enzymes from the alpha-amylase family exhibiting cyclomaltodextrinase specificity. The nucleotide sequences encoding the enzymes were isolated from the genomic DNA of two thermophilic bacterial strains originating from Icelandic hot springs and belonging to the genera Anoxybacillus (AfCda13) and Laceyella (LsCda13). The genes were amplified using a consensus primer strategy utilizing two of the four conserved regions present in glycoside hydrolase family 13. No identifiable signal peptides were present in open reading frames encoding the enzymes, indicating an intracellular location of both enzymes, and their physiological function to be intracellular cyclodextrin degradation. The domain structures of both enzymes were also similar, including an N-terminal domain, the catalytic module composed of the A- and B-domains, and a C-terminal domain. Despite the similarity in domain composition, the two enzymes displayed differences in the oligomeric state with AfCda13 being a dimeric protein, whereas LsCda13 was monomeric. The two enzymes also displayed significantly different activity profiles, despite being active on the same range of substrates. It was shown that the enzyme displaying the highest activity on cyclodextrin was dimeric (AfCda13). Moreover, a fraction of the dimeric enzyme could be converted to a monomeric state in the presence of KCl and this fraction retained only 23% of its activity on alpha-cyclodextrin while its activity on starch was not significantly affected, indicating that the oligomeric state is an important factor for a high activity on cyclodextrin substrates.     

Biosynthesis of poly-gamma-glutamic acid in plants: transient expression of poly-gamma-glutamate synthetase complex in tobacco leaves

Transient expression of genes coding for the poly-gamma-glutamate (gammaPGA) synthetase system (pgs) was investigated in tobacco plants. Three genes of the pgs, pgsA, pgsB and pgsC, were separately placed under the control of the CaMV 35S promoter and introduced into tobacco leaves via Agrobacterium infection. Synthesized gammaPGA in plant tissues was detected immunologically with mouse anti-gammaPGA antiserum which specifically reacts with gammaPGA on a nitrocellulose membrane. Confirmation of gammaPGA biosynthesis in the transient expression analysis in tobacco tissue indicates that subunits of pgs complex were expressed and reassembled in a functional form.     

耐Mn~(2+)高产柠檬酸菌株的选育及其特性分析

诱变选育耐锰离子(Mn2+)的高产柠檬酸菌株,并研究了突变株的特性。采用紫外和亚硝基胍复合诱变,以含不同浓度Mn2+的培养基进行筛选,同时考察了不同浓度Mn2+对突变株柠檬酸发酵、关键酶酶活力及呼吸途径的影响。在以葡萄糖为唯一碳源进行摇瓶发酵时,突变株柠檬酸产量比野生菌株提高了92.4%,突变株UV-141对高浓度Mn2+有一定的耐受性,且Mn2+对其发酵生产柠檬酸有促进作用,与不添加Mn2+时相比,添加300 mg/L Mn2+时,柠檬酸产量及葡萄糖最大比消耗速率分别提高了107%和16.7%;乌头酸酶最高酶活下降了15.8%,NAD+-(NADP+-)异柠檬酸脱氢酶对Mn2+不敏感且在整个发酵过程中始终处于较低水平,有利于柠檬酸的积累;当侧系呼吸链(AOX)受到水杨基氧肟酸(SHAM)抑制时柠檬酸产量显著下降,而添加Mn2+则能够削弱其对柠檬酸产量的影响。突变株柠檬酸产量明显高于野生菌株,Mn2+能促进突变株葡萄糖代谢加快、乌头酸酶酶活下降,同时能削弱SHAM对AOX途径的影响,从而促进柠檬酸的大量积累。     

产几丁质酶菌的分离、筛选及其对烟草病原真菌的抑制作用

从福建、河南、安徽、云南、湖北采集了烟草根际土样100份,用几丁质选择培养基法共分离出产几丁质酶菌株62株,其中真菌32株、细菌22株、放线菌8株。通过透明圈法和还原糖法对分离的菌株进行了筛选,结果表明链霉菌属(Streplomycessp)产几丁质酶活性最高。并测定了几丁质酶活性较高的菌株对烟草赤星病菌和黑胫病菌的抑制效果,其中菌株9-1-1、9-2-1和19-2-1对黑胫病菌均有不同程度的抑制作用,以菌株9-1-1的抑菌效果最好,而这3种菌株对赤星病菌的抑制效果不明显。因此,菌株9-1-1有开发成为生防制剂用于防治烟草黑胫病的潜力。     

溶氧(DO)对混菌发酵生产Nisin影响的研究

Nisin(乳酸链球菌素)是由乳酸菌产生的一种抑菌活性肽。其在生产过程中需要控制发酵体系的pH,以避免由于乳酸菌代谢积累的乳酸导致pH迅速降低抑制菌体生长。本文采用以能够代谢消耗乳酸的酵母菌为辅助发酵菌的新型混菌发酵方法,在小试条件下研究了在混菌发酵过程中对菌体特别是酵母菌代谢有显著影响的因素溶氧(DO)对混菌发酵生产过程中发酵体系的pH与乳酸含量的变化nisin产量的影响。结果表明,不同水平溶氧对混菌发酵体系中两种菌的生长及代谢产物生成有一定影响。DO 10%与DO 30%时的nisin效价的水平波动范围为24.35%;在分阶段控制发酵体系溶氧水平的条件下获得了较高的nisin效价,效价水平比恒定溶氧提高45.38%。说明分阶段控制发酵体系溶氧水平是较为理想的溶氧控制策略。     

高产胞外多糖(EPS)乳酸菌菌株的筛选与鉴定

本研究对收集的3个混合发酵剂进行了分离、筛选,并通过测定其pH值、粘度和EPS产量,从中筛选出了两株高产EPS的乳酸菌。利用API细菌鉴定系统对这两株高产EPS乳酸菌的属性进行了鉴定,分别为乳酸乳球菌乳亚种和片球菌。     

烟蚜茧蜂对烟蚜的选择性寄生及雌蜂年龄对后代性别的影响

烟蚜茧蜂寄生烟蚜后对烟蚜的产仔量和寿命影响较大,一龄若蚜至成蚜被寄生后的平均产仔量分别下降100.0%、97.3%、95.9%、92.7%、89.5%,平均寿命分别缩短65.6%、58.9%、57.9%、49.4%、38.3%;在各龄烟蚜数量比相同,雌蜂与烟蚜比为1:100的条件下,烟蚜茧蜂对二龄、三龄烟蚜有较强的嗜好性,这种嗜好性与雌蜂年龄无关;羽化并交配过的烟蚜茧蜂雌蜂,在前5 d内产卵寄生烟蚜,其后代的雌雄比大于1,寄主烟蚜的龄期对烟蚜茧蜂后代性别的影响不大。      

烟草内生细菌对烟草病害的拮抗和防治作用

利用烟草内生细菌进行了防治烟草黑胫病的试验,获得了对烟草黑胫病有较好防效的内生细菌菌株118、57、93等,其防效分别达69.23%、61.53%和65.38%。其中118菌株具有较广的抗菌谱,对几种主要的烟草病害的病原菌均有拮抗作用,对烟草疫霉菌有明显的拮抗作用,而且对烟草有促生效果,鲜重增产率为13.10%。     

Antagonistic effect of coryneform bacteria from red smear cheese against Listeria species

A total of 187 coryneform bacteria were isolated from red smear and screened for inhibitory effects against 16 strains of Listeria species. Culture filtrates from Brevibacterium linens (16 strains), Arthrobacter nicotianae (4 strains) and Arthrobacter nucleogenes (3 strains) showed clear zones of inhibition. The antagonistic effect was seen against 26 to 87% of 91 Listeria strains tested. A. nicotianae and A. nucleogenes were more effective against Listeria innocua and Listeria ivanovii than against Listeria monocytogenes. No species specifically was observed for B. linens, but there was a difference regarding the inhibitory activity of individual culture filtrates. When culture filtrates of the test strains were added to Listeria broth cultures, the maximum growth level was not attained. Inhibition in broth cultures was dependent on the concentration of culture filtrates. Culture filtrates from the late stationary phase had a stronger inhibitory effect on the growth of L. monocytogenes. The nature of the inhibitory effects remained unclear. Attempts to characterize the nature of the antagonism showed that the culture filtrates lost their inhibitory activity upon heating, and the molecular size of the inhibitory substances were greater than 12-14 kDa.