Isolation of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis from diseased field-collected larvae of the saturniid moth, Hylesia metabus, in French Guiana

Abstract An isolate of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis (BTI) was obtained from field-collected larvae of the saturniid moth, Hylesia metabus . This isolate was shown to belong to serotype H 14, and to produce a spherical parasporal body identical to that of the type strain of BTI. With an LC₅₀ of 0.764 μg cm⁻², this isolate was more toxic to H. metabus than the HD-1 strain of B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki (HD-1). These results demonstrate that BTI can be active against lepidopterous insects, a wider spectrum of activity than previously realized.     

A new method for integration and stable DNA amplification in poorly transformable bacilli

Abstract We have developed a strategy for the integration and stable amplification of DNA sequences in the chromosome of poorly transformable bacilli, which avoids the presence of a functional plasmid replication system in the integrated DNA. The parental vector for integration contains two plus origins of replication from pUB110 in the same orientation on a single plasmid. Due to the direct repeats, such plasmids produce two individual progeny vectors, one of which is dependent on the other for replication, as it lacks a functional rep gene. We have used such a progeny vector system to integrate and amplify DNA on the chromosome of Bacillus licheniformis , and show that the structure is stable in the absence of selective pressure.     

Identification of two Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strains with high suppression to the key fruit pathogens of Chinese jujube

Two bacterial strains (ZJ01 and ZJ02) isolated from the phyllosphere of Chinese jujube were tested for antifungal activities and morphological mechanisms against Phoma destructiva, Alternaria alternata and Fusicoccum spp., three key pathogens of jujube fruits. Based on their physiological characteristics and 16S rDNA gene sequences, both strains were identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. The disease incidence of jujube fruits sprayed with the fermentation liquor of ZJ01 and ZJ02 on the puncture wounds before inoculation with the spores of those three key pathogenic fungi was 10% or 66.7%, significantly lower than that of Nutrient Broth medium treatment (100%). These results suggest that strains ZJ01 may be a potential biological control agent for Chinese jujube fruit diseases. The antagonistic bacteria could cause five kinds of hyphal alterations of the causal agents, the maximum number ever observed. Of them, hyphal swelling and excessive branching were the dominant phenomenon, the other three varied with the pathogens. The diverse morphological malformation might be helpful to understand the broad antifungal activity of Bacillus spp..     

Bacteriophage Ø105clz induces the GroEL-homologue protein inBacillus subtilis

Using two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the GroEL homologue ofBacillus subtilis was shown to be induced upon infection with Ø105clz, a clear plaque mutant of the temperate bacteriophage Ø105. Western blotting of one dimensional polyacrylamide gels also showed the induction of the GroEL homologue when cells were infected with Ø105clz.     

Deciphering Spatial Protein–Protein Interactions in Brain Using Proximity Labeling

Cellular biomolecular complexes including protein–protein, protein–RNA, and protein–DNA interactions regulate and execute most biological functions. In particular in brain, protein–protein interactions (PPIs) mediate or regulate virtually all nerve cell functions, such as neurotransmission, cell–cell communication, neurogenesis, synaptogenesis, and synaptic plasticity. Perturbations of PPIs in specific subsets of neurons and glia are thought to underly a majority of neurobiological disorders. Therefore, understanding biological functions at a cellular level requires a reasonably complete catalog of all physical interactions between proteins. An enzyme-catalyzed method to biotinylate proximal interacting proteins within 10 to 300 nm of each other is being increasingly used to characterize the spatiotemporal features of complex PPIs in brain. Thus, proximity labeling has emerged recently as a powerful tool to identify proteomes in distinct cell types in brain as well as proteomes and PPIs in structures difficult to isolate, such as the synaptic cleft, axonal projections, or astrocyte–neuron junctions. In this review, we summarize recent advances in proximity labeling methods and their application to neurobiology.     

Temperature-Dependent Self-Splicing Group I Introns in the Flagellin Genes of the Thermophilic Bacillus Species

A previous report described the presence of a self-splicing group I intron in a flagellin gene from a thermophilic Bacillus species. Here, we present evidence that the splicing reaction of the flagellin introns is dependent on temperature. Furthermore, a complementation analysis using a Bacillus subtilis flagellin-deficient mutant indicated that the intron-containing flagellin gene significantly restored the motility of the mutant at higher temperatures.     

Thermally Induced Changes of Lipoate Acetyltransferase Inner Core Isolated from the Bacillus stearothermophilus Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex

Incubation at 70°C converted the Bacillus stearothermophilus lipoate acetyltransferase inner core into an unidentified active molecular form, X, yielding an inactive aggregate. The core and X showed similar thermostabilities, but they were different in the recovery of enzyme activity after incubation with 1.2-2.0 M guanidine hydrochloride and its subsequent removal; the core was hardly recovered, but X was well recovered.     

High Yield Synthesis of Nitriles by a New Enzyme,Phenylacetaldoxime Dehydratase,from Bacillus sp. Strain OxB-1

3-Phenylpropionitrile was synthesized from Z-3-phenylpropionaldoxime (0.75 M) in a quantitative yield (98 g/l) by the use of cells of Eschrichia coli JM 109/pOxD-9OF, a transformant harboring a gene for a new enzyme, phenylacetaldoxime dehydratase, from Bacillus sp. strain OxB-1. Other arylalkyl- and alkyl-nitriles were also synthesized in high yields from the corresponding aldoximes. Moreover, 3-phenylpropionitrile was successfully synthesized by the recombinant cells in 70 and 100% yields from 0.1 M unpurified E/Z-3-phenylpropionaldoxime, which is spontaneously formed from 3-phenylpropionaldehyde and hydroxylamine in a butyl acetate/water biphasic system and aqueous phase, respectively.     

Manganese and Arsenic Oxidation Performance of Bacterium-Yunotaki 86 (BY86) from Hokkaido,Japan, and the Bacterium's Phylogeny

We examined the Mn(II) oxidation performance of a bacterium, BY86, collected at Yunotaki Falls Hokkaido, Japan. The bacterium showed rapid oxidation of Mn(II), and brown precipitates containing Mn formed within a few days of incubation. The presence of higher oxidation states of Mn than Mn(II) was ascertained by the UV-vis and XANES sutdy. This bacterium did not oxidize As(III) to As(V) in the absence of Mn. In the presence of Mn, however, As(III) was rapidly oxidized to As(V) on the cell surfaces. These findings indicate that BY86 does not have the ability to directly oxidize As(III) to As(V) within a short period of contact, but indirectly oxidizes it by the Mn oxides generated on the cell surfaces. A phylogenetical study disclosed that BY86 was most closely related to Bacillus cereus with an identity of 99.90%. It is expected that our findings in this study will contribute to the study of Mn(II)-oxidizing bacteria, which play an important role in the biogeochemical cycling of Mn as well as other trace elements including As.