Insights into the taxonomy, genetics and physiology of bifidobacteria

Despite the generally accepted importance of bifidobacteria as probiotic components of the human intestinal microflora and their use in health promoting foods, there is only limited information about their phylogenetic position, physiology and underlying genetics. In the last few years numerous molecular approaches have emerged for the identification and characterization of bifidobacterial strains. Their use, in conjunction with traditional culturing methods, has led to a polyphasic taxonomy which has significantly enhanced our knowledge of the role played by these bacteria in the human intestinal ecosystem. The recent adaptation of culture-independent molecular tools to the fingerprinting of intestinal and food communities offers an exciting opportunity for revealing a more detailed picture of the true complexity of these environments. Furthermore, the availability of bifidobacterial genome sequences has advanced knowledge on the genetics of bifidobacteria and the effects of their metabolic activities on the intestinal ecosystem. The release of a complete Bifidobacterium longum genome sequence and the recent initiative to sequence additional strains are expected to open up a new era of comparative genomics in bifidobacterial biology. Moreover, the use of genomotyping allows a global comparative analysis of gene content between different bifidobacterial isolates of a given species without the necessity of sequencing many strains. Genomotyping provides useful information about the degree of relatedness among various strains of Bifidobacterium species and consequently can be used in a polyphasic identification approach. This review will deal mainly with the molecular tools described for bifidobacterial identification and the first insights into the underlying genetics involved in bifidobacterial physiology as well as genome variability.     

Enzymatic properties of cellobiose 2-epimerase from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ruminococcus albus</Emphasis> and the synthesis of rare oligosaccharides by the enzyme

The gene for cellobiose 2-epimerase (CE) from Ruminococcus albus NE1 was overexpressed in Escherichia coli cells. The recombinant CE was purified to homogeneity by a simple purification procedure with a high yield of 88%, and the molecular mass was 43.1 kDa on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and 44.0 kDa on gel chromatography. It exhibited optimal activity around at 30 degrees C and pH 7.5, and the enzyme activity was inhibited by Al3+, Fe3+, Co2+, Cu2+, Zn2+, Pb2+, Ag+, N-bromosuccinimide, iodoacetate, and 4-chloromercuribenzoate. In addition to cello-oligosaccharides, the enzyme was found to effectively 2-epimerize lactose to yield 4-O-beta-D-galactopyranosyl-D-mannose (epilactose), which occurs in cow milk as a rare oligosaccharide. The Km and kcat/Km values toward lactose were 33 mM and 1.6 s(-1) mM(-1), and those toward cellobiose were 13.8 mM and 4.6 s(-1) mM(-1), respectively. N-Acetyl-D-glucosamine, uridine 5'-diphosphate-glucose, D-glucose 6-phosphate, maltose, sophorose, laminaribiose, and gentiobiose were inert as substrates for the recombinant CE. We demonstrated that epilactose was resistant to rat intestinal enzymes, utilized by human adult bifidobacteria, and stimulated the tight junction permeability in Caco-2 cells. These results strongly suggest that this rare disaccharide is promising for use as a prebiotic.     

利用反向PCR方法扩增细菌热激蛋白HSP60基因

利用PCR简并引物扩增出HSP6 0基因中一段约 6 0 0bp的核心片段 ,将该核心片段标记为探针 ,与基因组DNA进行Southern杂交 ,选择出适宜的限制性内切酶 ,以便消化基因组DNA得到大小合适的、含有HSP6 0基因的酶切片段。将酶切片段自身环化后作为模板进行反向PCR ,引物的延伸方向自核心片段出发延环化分子向未知序列区进行 ,可扩增出核心区上下游的序列。应用该方法 ,扩增并测定了寓齿双歧杆菌 (Bifidobacteriumdenticolens)DSM1 0 1 0 5 T、奇异双歧杆菌 (Bifidobacteriuminopinatum)DSM1 0 1 0 7T 和阴道加德纳氏菌 (Gard nerellavaginalis)ATCC1 40 1 8T 的HSP6 0全基因序列及青春双歧杆菌 (Bifidobacteriumadolescentis)JCM1 2 75 T98%以上的HSP6 0全基因序列。结果表明 ,反向PCR方法可有效的扩增细菌HSP6 0基因     

甘露寡糖对断奶仔猪肠道主要菌群的影响

选择健康的 35日龄断奶仔猪 4 8头 ,随机分为两组 ,每组 3圈 ,每圈 8头。一组为含 0 .5 %甘露寡糠 +基础日粮 ,另一组为基础日粮。试验开始第 7天 ,每组各随机选 6头仔猪 ,麻醉后剖腹取肠道内容物以测定盲肠和结肠大肠杆菌、乳酸杆菌及双歧杆菌浓度和 p H。试验结果表明 ,与对照组相比 ,甘露寡糖可以显著降低盲肠、结肠大肠杆菌浓度 (P<0 .0 5 ) ;同时显著提高盲肠乳酸杆菌和双歧杆菌浓度 (P<0 .0 5 ) ,但对结肠乳酸杆菌和双歧杆菌数影响不显著 (P>0 .0 5 )     

Tests of Bacterial Strain Dominance within a Mouse Based on Sampling Faecal Colonies

This paper deals with making inferences about the dominance of a bacterial strain in a mouse gut based on strain typing of a random sample of colonies derived from plated faecal material.     

长寿老人源双歧杆菌优良菌株的筛选

以人结肠腺癌细胞系HT-29细胞为试材,对来源于广西巴马百岁以上长寿老人肠道的24株双歧杆菌进行了体外黏附试验。结果发现,双歧杆菌均具有一定的黏附能力,其中TTF、Z2、TZ5和J-1菌株具有较高的黏附能力。进一步对4株初筛双歧杆菌耐胃酸、胆汁酸和合成B族维生素能力的试验发现,双歧杆菌TTF菌株不仅能合成较高的B1、B2、B6、B12等多种B族维生素,而且在pH3．0的条件下处理120min存活率达93．11％,同时在2％胆盐浓度下处理24h有较好的存活,具有显著的综合优势。     

A novel α-galactosidase from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Βifidobacterium bifidum</Emphasis> with transgalactosylating properties: gene molecular cloning and heterologous expression

A genomic library of Bifidobacterium bifidum (NCIMB 41171) DNA was constructed in Escherichia coli RA11r (melA⁻B⁺) and one α-galactosidase encoding gene was isolated. Conceptual translation combined with insertional mutagenesis analysis indicated an open reading frame (ORF) of 759 amino acid (aa) residues encoding an α-galactosidase (named as MelA) of 82.8 kDa. Partial purification and characterisation showed that the enzyme had an apparent native molecular mass of ≈243 kDa and a subunit size of ≈85 kDa. The enzyme belongs to glycosyl hydrolases 36 family with high aa sequence similarities (≈73%) to other known α-galactosidases of bifidobacterial origin. Under optimum pH conditions for activity (pH 6.0) and high melibiose concentration (40% w/v), the enzyme was able to form oligosaccharides with degree of polymerisation (DP) ≥3 at higher concentration than DP = 2, with a total yield of 20.5% (w/w).     

双歧杆菌的粘附特性及其对肠道致病菌的体外拮抗作用

本文采用体外细胞培养法, 从实验室现有的20株不同生境来源的双歧杆菌中筛选具有较强粘附能力的菌株, 并通过混合培养和牛津杯方法, 研究了具有粘附特性的双歧杆菌对肠道致病菌的体外拮抗作用。结果显示, 长寿老人源菌株A03和I06的粘附能力最强, 其菌液对金黄色葡萄球菌及大肠杆菌均具有显著的抑制性, 但是菌体及中和后的发酵液均没有抑菌性, 说明受试菌主要通过其代谢产物中的有机酸来发挥其抑菌性能; 此外, 通过分析比较受试菌和肠道致病菌分别与Caco-2细胞粘附后释放的乳酸脱氢酶量, 证实双歧杆菌与致病菌对细胞的作用具有本质上的区别, 双歧杆菌的粘附能减缓致病菌对细胞所造成的损害。     

双歧杆菌对食管癌细胞增殖的抑制作用及细胞周期的影响

目的探讨青春双歧杆菌对食管癌EC109细胞的增殖抑制作用及对细胞周期的影响。方法用MTT比色法测定EC109细胞活性,用流式细胞仪测定EC109细胞周期。结果青春双歧杆菌对EC109细胞具有显著的增殖抑制作用,并呈剂量和时间依赖性;经青春双歧杆菌处理后,EC109细胞周期发生变化：细胞分裂阻滞于G1期。结论青春双歧杆菌可通过影响细胞周期抑制食管癌EC109细胞的生长。     

益生菌DGGE Marker的制备及验证

目的 制备指示益生菌标准菌株的DGGE marker并对其可靠性进行验证.方法 分别利用乳杆菌、双歧杆菌特异性引物和细菌V3区通用引物对选取的乳杆菌、双歧杆菌标准菌株DNA进行扩增,利用DGGE检测每个标准菌株条带位置是否与利用这些标准菌株制备的DGGE marker条带相对应.结果 DGGE图谱显示,乳杆菌和双歧杆菌特异性引物或V3区通用引物扩增后的每个标准菌株优势条带,与乳杆菌、双歧杆菌DGGE marker均有对应关系.结论 常见益生菌菌株的DGGE marker可以指示相应菌株的存在;其研制成功,可为微生物生态学中应用DGGE技术检测特定微生物种类的动态变化,提供新的思路.