Pretreatment with alum or powdered activated carbon reduces bacterial predation-associated irreversible fouling of membranes

This study evaluated the co-application of bacterial predation by Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus and either alum coagulation or powdered activated carbon adsorption to reduce fouling caused by Escherichia coli rich feed solutions in dead-end microfiltration tests. The flux increased when the samples were predated upon or treated with 100 ppm alum or PAC, but co-treatment with alum and predation gave the best flux results. The total membrane resistance caused by the predated sample was reduced six-fold when treated with 100 ppm PAC, from 11.8 to 1.98 × 10¹¹ m^?1, while irreversible fouling (R_p) was 2.7-fold lower. Treatment with 100 ppm alum reduced the total resistance 14.9-fold (11.8 to 0.79 × 10¹¹ m^?1) while the R_p decreased 4.25-fold. SEM imaging confirmed this, with less obvious fouling of the membrane after the combined process. This study illustrates that the combination of bacterial predation and the subsequent removal of debris using coagulation or adsorption mitigates membrane biofouling and improves membrane performance.     

噬菌蛭弧菌的分离及初步鉴定

采用双层平板法,以滤膜过滤的方法来收集噬菌蛭弧菌,以嗜水气单胞菌(Aeromonas hudrophila)、荧光假单胞菌(Pseudomonas fluorescent)和绿脓杆菌(Pseudomonas aeruginosa)为宿主菌,进行噬菌蛭弧菌的分离研究;并在此基础上,通过接触酶检测和寄生性确认对噬菌蛭弧菌(Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus)进行了初步的鉴定.结果表明未使用滤膜过滤,采用自来水琼脂双层平板法分离噬菌蛭弧菌的效果较好;并经过接触酶和寄生性检测初步鉴定此BD-SPOI菌株为噬菌蛭弧菌.     

Rapid isolation of host-independent Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus

A new method of isolating host-independent Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus has been developed. Filtered suspensions of host-dependent cells are dropped in small volumes onto 0.2 μm membranes laid on rich media agar. Significant growth is observed within 1–2 days; these cells were confirmed to be B. bacteriovorus using microscopic observations and PCR.     

Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus phosphoglucose isomerase structures reveal novel rigidity in the active site of a selected subset of enzymes upon substrate binding

Glycolysis and gluconeogenesis are central pathways of metabolism across all domains of life. A prominent enzyme in these pathways is phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI), which mediates the interconversion of glucose-6-phosphate and fructose-6-phosphate. The predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus leads a complex life cycle, switching between intraperiplasmic replicative and extracellular ‘hunter’ attack-phase stages. Passage through this complex life cycle involves different metabolic states. Here we present the unliganded and substrate-bound structures of the B. bacteriovorus PGI, solved to 1.74 Å and 1.67 Å, respectively. These structures reveal that an induced-fit conformational change within the active site is not a prerequisite for the binding of substrates in some PGIs. Crucially, we suggest a phenylalanine residue, conserved across most PGI enzymes but substituted for glycine in B. bacteriovorus and other select organisms, is central to the induced-fit mode of substrate recognition for PGIs. This enzyme also represents the smallest conventional PGI characterized to date and probably represents the minimal requirements for a functional PGI.     

噬菌蛭弧菌对致病性大肠杆菌感染小鼠保护性作用的研究

实验建立了致病性大肠杆菌Ｅ０１１１ 感染昆明小鼠动物模型,用噬菌蛭弧菌进行保护试验。致病性大肠杆菌Ｅ０１１１ 攻击前３ 天,用噬菌蛭弧菌预先保护,小鼠生存时间与对照组比较明显延长,存活率高（Ｐ＜ ０．０５） 。致病性大肠杆菌Ｅ０１１１ 攻击后１ 小时,用噬菌蛭弧菌保护与对照组比较生存时间,存活率无差异（Ｐ＞ ０．０５） 。并证明噬菌蛭弧菌８ ×１０５ＣＦＵ／ｍｌ 小鼠腹腔注射０．０２ｍｌ／ｇ 对小鼠无毒性反应。     

噬菌蛭弧菌对鱼类常见致病菌裂解作用的研究

调查了北京地区２５份水样,其中２４份检出噬菌蛭弧菌。本次试验选用４株鱼类主要致病菌为宿主菌,检出的蛭弧菌对上述４种细菌的裂解范围有所不同。其中嗜水气单胞菌可被全部检出的蛭弧菌裂解（２４／２４）,其他３株菌仅部分被裂解,依次为肠型点状气单胞菌（１７／２４）,荧光假单胞菌（９／２４）,鳗弧菌（７／２４）。本次试验直接从水样中检出６株对４种宿主菌均有裂解作用的蛭弧菌,为进一步利用蛭弧菌防治鱼类常见细菌性疾病提供了可用资料。     

噬菌蛭弧菌代谢产物活性成分对小鼠免疫功能的影响

目的研究噬菌蛭弧菌代谢产物活性成分对小鼠免疫功能的影响。方法将噬菌蛭弧菌代谢产物的3种有机溶剂（石油醚、三氯甲烷、乙酸乙酯）提取物和提取后的剩余液体分别腹腔注射实验小鼠,分两次注射,共注射0.5 mL,注射后连续饲养28 d,每隔7 d小鼠采血检测离体白细胞吞噬活性（phagocytic activity）、吞噬细胞杀菌活性（bactericidal activity）、超氧化物歧化酶（superoxide dismutase,SOD）活性、血清凝集抗体效价、血红蛋白值和红细胞数的变化,以研究不同提取物对小鼠免疫功能的影响。结果石油醚提取物组和三氯甲烷提取物组小鼠血清SOD活性、血清凝集抗体效价、离体白细胞吞噬活性和吞噬细胞杀菌活性增强与对照组相比差异极显著（P〈0.01）;乙酸乙酯提取物组SOD活性和血清凝集抗体效价增强与对照组相比差异极显著（P〈0.01）,离体白细胞吞噬活性和吞噬细胞杀菌活性增强与对照组相比差异显著（P〈0.05）;石油醚提取物组的血红蛋白值（12.64 g/100 mL）和红细胞数（11.32×106/mL）最高。各项指标的峰值均出现在第7天~第21天。结论噬菌蛭弧菌代谢产物3种有机溶剂提取的活性物质具有增强小鼠免疫功能的作用。     

Complex histories of genes encoding 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoenzymeA reductase

The mevalonate pathway for the synthesis of isoprenoids can be found in organisms from all domains of life. It has been previously demonstrated that the first gene specific to that pathway, which encodes the enzyme 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoenzymeA reductase (HMGR), has been transferred between domains by lateral gene transfer on several occasions. Here we look within the domain Bacteria at lateral acquisition of HMGR, whether as a single gene or as part of a mevalonate pathway cluster. We observe a complex history of multiple transfer events probably reflecting the fact that HMGR could be beneficial in a variety of physiological and genetic contexts. We demonstrate that even in Vibrio species, where HMGR is not clustered with other genes to form an operon or a metabolic cluster, it is under strong purifying selection.