Degradation of 2-chloroethanol by wild type and mutants of Pseudomonas putida US2

A strain of Pseudomonas putida was isolated that was able to degrade 2-chloroethanol. The degradation proceeded via 2-chloroacetaldehyde and chloroacetate to glycolate. In crude extracts the enzymes for this degradation pathway could be detected. All enzymes proved to be inducible. The dehalogenase that catalyzed the dehalogenation of chloroacetate to glycolate was further characterized. It consisted of a single polypeptide chain with a molecular mass of 28 kDa. After induction the dehalogenase was expressed at a high level. In a mutant resistant to high concentrations of 2-chloroethanol the dehalogenase was no longer expressed. The mechanism of resistance seemed to be due to the inability to convert chloroacetate and export of this compound out of the cell.Non-standard abbreviations CEO 2-chloroethanol - DCPIP 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol - FPLC fast protein liquid chromatography - PAGE polyacrylamide gelelectrophoresis - PES phenazine ethosulfate - PMS phenazine methosulfate - PQQ pyrroloquinoline quinone     

Strain DCB-1 conserves energy for growth from reductive dechlorination coupled to formate oxidation

Strain DCB-1 is a strict anaerobe capable of the reductive dechlorination of chlorobenzoates. The effect of dechlorination on the yield of pure cultures of DCB-1 was tested. Cultures were incubated with formate or H₂ as electron donors and CO₂ as a putative carbon source. Relative to control cultures with benzoate, cultures which dechlorinated 3-chlorobenzoate and 3,5-dichlorobenzoate had higher yields measured both as protein and cell density. On the media tested the apparent growth yield was 1.7 to 3.4 g cell protein per mole Cl^- removed. Dechlorination also stimulated formate oxidation by growing cultures. Resuspended cells required an electron donor for dechlorination activity, with either formate or elemental iron serving this function. Resuspended cells did not require an electron acceptor for formate consumption, but reductive dechlorination of 3CB to benzoate stoichiometrically stimulated oxidation of formate to CO₂. These results indicate that DCB-1 conserves energy for growth by coupling formate, and probably, H₂ oxidation to reductive dechlorination.Non-standard abbreviations 3CB 3-chlorobenzoate - 35DCB 3,5-dichlorobenzoate - PCF Propionibacterium sp. culture fluid     

Isolation and characterization of a bacterium that mineralizes toluene in the absence of molecular oxygen

A bacterium tentatively identified as a Pseudomonas sp. was isolated from a laboratory aquifer column in which toluene was degraded under denitrifying conditions. The organism mineralized toluene in pure culture in the absence of molecular oxygen. In carbon balance studies using [ring-UL-¹⁴C]toluene, more than 50% of the radioactivity was recovered as ¹⁴CO₂. Nitrate and nitrous oxide served as electron acceptors for toluene mineralization. The organism was also able to degrade m-xylene, benzoate, benzaldehyde, p-cresol, p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, p-hydroxybenzoate and cyclohexanecarboxylic acid in the absence of molecular oxygen.     

Somatic characteristics of an Australian population of Oreochromis mossambicus (Pisces: Cichlidae)

Synopsis The Oreochromis mossambicus population of North Pine Dam, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia was studied over three years, from 1985 to 1988. Basic somatic data were obtained and characteristic values of condition factor, sex ratio, gonosomatic index and the relationships between total and standard lengths, and length and weight, were calculated. Standard length is proportional to total length by the formula SL = –0.321 + 0.799 TL. Weight is related to length by the isometric formula W = aL³. Condition factor values spanned the range 0.0254 to 0.0563, with an average of 0.04078 for males and 0.03877 for females. The sex ratio is 1: 1 until maturity is reached (21 cm SL), at which time the catch rate of the sexes varies due to divergent habitat selection behaviour. Average values of gonosomatic index, considered in relation to maturity classification, are similar to those obtained from other populations, however maximum values are generally much lower, at 0.47 for males and 3.62 for females. These characteristic values are compared, with varying degrees of concordance, with those for populations of this species in other countries.     

Physiology and enzymology of thermophilic anaerobic bacteria degrading starch

Abstract The capability of secreting thermoactive enzymes exhibiting α-amylase and pullulanase with debraching activity, seems to be widely distributed amongst anaerobic thermophilic bacteria. Interestingly, pullulanase formed by these bacteria displays dual specificity by attacking α-1,6- as well as α-1,4-glycosidic linkages in branched glucose polymers. Unlike the enzyme system of aerobic microorganisms the majority of starch hydrolysing enzymes of anaerobic bacteria is metal indepedent and is extremely thermostable. This enzyme system is controlled by substrate induction and catabolite repression; enzyme expression is accomplished when maltose or maltose-containing carbohydrates are used as substrates. By developing a process in continuous culture we were able to greatly enhance enzyme synthesis and release by anaerobic thermophilic bacteria. An elevation in the specific activities of cell-free amylases and pullulanases could also be achieved by entrapping of bacteria in calcium alginate beads. The unique properties of extracellular enzymes of thermophilic anaerobic bacteria makes this group of organisms suitable candidates for inductrial application.     

A quantitative comparison of foliage development among allopatric ferns,Dryopteris crassirhizoma,D. coreano-montana andD. filix-mas

A quantitative comparison was conducted on the foliage development during sporophyte development of three allopatric ferns in cool temperate and subalpine regions of Hokkaido and Tirol, European Alps. The foliage development ofDryopteris crassirhizoma, D. coreano-montana andD. filix-mas was quantitatively described by the leaf development (NV, number of veins); NV correlates the leaf-shape complexity from a circle (DI, L/2(3.14×S)^1/2). Nearly similar patterns were detected on frequency distribution of fertile leaves, fertility increase and number of leaves in threeDryopteris ferns which exhibit funnel-shaped foliage arrangements in mature sporophyte. No difference was found in number of leaves, maximum NV, fertility rate and leaf-shape parameters among three ferns. A positive difference was found only on changes in order of pinnae with maximum number of costa branches (NVP) and the DI of outline of pinnae betweenD. crassirhizoma andD. filix-mas. These allopatricDryopteris ferns seem to have a similar foliage structure, in spite of some sympatricDryopteris ferns capable of producing putative hybrids (D. austriaca andD. amurensis; D. tokyoensis andD. monticola) having different foliage structures in Hokkaido. Contribution No. 3346 from the Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University.     

Formation and physiological role of biosurfactants produced by hydrocarbon-utilizing microorganisms

Microbial growth on water-insoluble carbon sources such as hydrocarbons is accompanied by metabolic and structural alterations of the cell. The appearance of surface-active compounds (biosurfactants) in the culture medium or attached to the cell boundaries is often regarded as a prerequisite for initial interactions of hydrocarbons with the microbial cell. Under this point of view, biosurfactants produced by hydrocarbon-utilizing microorganisms, their structures and physico-chemical properties are reviewed. The production of such compounds is mostly connected with growth limitation in the late logarithmic and the stationary growth phase, in which specific enzymes are induced or derepressed. Addition of purified biosurfactants to microbial cultures resulted in inhibitory as well as in stimulatory effects on growth. Therefore, a more differentiated view of microbial production of surface-active compounds is proposed. Biosurfactants should not only be regarded as prerequisites of hydrocarbon uptake, but also as secondary metabolic products.     

桂西壮族手皮纹的分析

本文对广西西部500例健康壮族大、中学生的手皮纹进行了观察分析,计算出各型指纹频率、指纹脊线总数、指纹频度指数、atd角度、a-b脊线数、τ距比、主线横向指数、皮纹花样出现率、掌褶纹出现率共九项基本参数,并将这些数值与汉族作了比较,桂西壮族的手纹与汉族既有相似之处,又有本民族的特点。     

Thiosulfate production from cystine by the keratinolytic prokaryote Streptomyces fradiae

In cultures of Streptomyces fradiae on wool as the only source of nutrition inorganic thiosulfate (in amounts up to 0.5 mg of Na₂S₂O₃·5 H₂O/ml) was formed as the final product of metabolization of sulfur from cystine of keratin proteins. The presence of thiosulfate was proved by qualitative tests and thin-layer chromatography and estimated quantitatively by spectrophotometry, titrimetry, and capillary isotachophoresis. Metabolization of organic sulfur to thiosulfate excreted into the medium is a process not yet described in microorganisms.     

Limited Tryptic Proteolysis of the Benzodiazepine Binding Proteins in Different Species Reveals Structural Homologies

Peptide mapping can be used to elucidate further the structural similarities of the benzodiazepine binding proteins in different vertebrate species. Crude synaptic membrane preparations were photoaffinity-labeled with [3H]flunitrazepam and subsequently degraded with various concentrations of trypsin. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by fluorography allowed a comparison of the molecular weights of photolabeled peptides in different species. Tryptic degradation led to a common peptide of 40K in all species investigated, a finding indicating that the benzodiazepine binding proteins are structurally homologous in higher bony fishes and tetrapods.