Extraction of protein and amino acids from deoiled rice bran by subcritical water hydrolysis

This study investigated the production of value-added protein and amino acids from deoiled rice bran by hydrolysis in subcritical water (SW) in the temperature range between 100 and 220 degrees C for 0-30 min. The results suggested that SW could effectively be used to hydrolyze deoiled rice bran to produce useful protein and amino acids. The amount of protein and amino acids produced are higher than those obtained by conventional alkali hydrolysis. The yields generally increased with increased temperature and hydrolysis time. However, thermal degradation of the product was observed when hydrolysis was carried out at higher temperature for extended period of time. The highest yield of protein and amino acids were 219 +/- 26 and 8.0 +/- 1.6 mg/g of dry bran, and were obtained at 200 degrees C at hydrolysis time of 30 min. Moreover, the product obtained at 200 degrees C after 30 min of hydrolysis exhibited high antioxidant activity and was shown to be suitable for use as culture medium for yeast growth.     

Heterologous production of a new lasso peptide brevunsin in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sphingomonas subterranea</Emphasis>

A shuttle vector pHSG396Sp was constructed to perform gene expression using Sphingomonas subterranea as a host. A new lasso peptide biosynthetic gene cluster, derived from Brevundimonas diminuta, was amplified by PCR and integrated to afford a expression vector pHSG396Sp-12697L. The new lasso peptide brevunsin was successfully produced by S. subterranea, harboring the expression vector, with a high production yield (10.2 mg from 1 L culture). The chemical structure of brevunsin was established by NMR and MS/MS experiments. Based on the information obtained from the NOE experiment, the three-dimensional structure of brevunsin was determined, which indicated that brevunsin possessed a typical lasso structure. This expression vector system provides a new heterologous production method for unexplored lasso peptides that are encoded by bacterial genomes.     

Specific mutations within the alpha4-alpha5 loop of the Bacillus thuringiensis Cry4B toxin reveal a crucial role for Asn-166 and Tyr-170

The widely accepted model for toxicity mechanisms of the Bacillus thuringiensis Cry delta-endotoxins suggests that helices alpha4 and alpha5 form a helix-loop-helix hairpin structure to initiate membrane insertion and pore formation. In this report, alanine substitutions of two polar amino acids (Asn-166 and Tyr-170) and one charged residue (Glu-171) within the alpha4-alpha5 loop of the 130-kDa Cry4B mosquito-larvicidal protein were initially made via polymerase chain reaction-based directed mutagenesis. As with the wild-type toxin, all of the mutant proteins were highly expressed in Escherichia coli as inclusion bodies upon isopropyl-beta-Dthiogalactopyranoside induction. When E. coli cells expressing each mutant toxin were assayed against Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae, the activity was almost completely abolished for N166A and Y170A mutations, whereas E171A showed only a small reduction in toxicity. Further analysis of these two critical residues by induction of specific mutations revealed that polarity at position 166 and highly conserved aromaticity at position 170 within the alpha4-alpha5 loop play a crucial role in the larvicidal activity of the Cry4B toxin.     

Specific mutations within the α4–α5 loop of the bacillus thuringiensis Cry4B toxin reveal a crucial role for Asn-166 and Tyr-170

The widely accepted model for toxicity mechanisms of the Bacillus thuringiensis Cry δ-endotoxins suggests that helices α4 and α5 form a helix-loop-helix hairpin structure to initiate membrane insertion and pore formation. In this report, alanine substitutions of two polar amino acids (Asn-166 and Tyr-170) and one charged residue (Glu-171) within the α4–α5 loop of the 130-kDa Cry4B mosquito-larvicidal protein were initially made via polymerase chain reaction-based directed mutagenesis. As with the wild-type toxin, all of the mutant proteins were highly expressed in Escherichia coli as inclusion bodies upon isopropyl-β-d-thiogalactopyranoside induction. When E. coli cells expressing each mutant toxin were assayed against Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae, the activity was almost completely abolished for N166A and Y170A mutations, whereas E171A showed only a small reduction in toxicity. Further analysis of these two critical residues by induction of specific mutations revealed that polarity at position 166 and highly conserved aromaticity at position 170 within the α4–α5 loop play a crucial role in the larvicidal activity of the Cry4B toxin.     

Ex vivo cytotoxicity of the Bacillus thuringiensis Cry4B delta-endotoxin to isolated midguts of Aedes aegypti larvae

The pathological effect of the Bacillus thuringiensis Cry delta- endotoxins on susceptible insect larvae had extensive damage on the midgut epithelial cells. In this study, an ex vivo assay was devised for assessing the insecticidal potency of the cloned Cry4B mosquito-larvicidal protein that is expressed in Escherichia coli. Determination of toxicity was carried out by using a cell viability assay on the midguts that were dissected from 5-day old Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae. After incubation with the toxin proteins, the number of viable epithelial cells was determined photometrically by monitoring the quantity of the bioreduced formazan product at 490 nm. The results showed that the 65-kDa trypsin-activated Cry4B toxin exhibited toxic potency ca. 3.5 times higher than the 130-kDa Cry4B protoxin. However, the trypsin-treated products of the non-bioactive Cry4B mutant (R158A) and the lepidopteran-specific Cry1Aa toxin displayed relatively no ex vivo activity on the mosquito-larval midguts. The ex vivo cytotoxicity studies presented here confirms data that was obtained in bioassays.     

Isolation and structure determination of a new lasso peptide specialicin based on genome mining

Based on genome mining, a new lasso peptide specialicin was isolated from the extract of Streptomyces specialis. The structure of specialicin was established by ESI-MS and NMR analyses to be a lasso peptide with the length of 21 amino acids, containing an isopeptide bond and two disulfide bonds in the molecule. The stereochemistries of the constituent amino acids except for Trp were determined to be L and the stereochemistry of Trp at C-terminus was determined to be D. Three dimensional structure of specialicin was determined based on NOE experimental data, which indicated that specialicin possessed the similar conformational structure with siamycin I. Specialicin showed the antibacterial activity against Micrococcus luteus and the moderate anti-HIV activity against HIV-1 NL4-3. The biosynthetic gene cluster of specialicin was proposed from the genome sequence data of S. specialis.     

Self-aggregates formation and mucoadhesive property of water-soluble β-cyclodextrin grafted with chitosan

Water-soluble β-cyclodextrin grafted with chitosan (CD-g-CS) was carried out by quaternizing the CD-g-CS with glycidyltrimethyl ammonium chloride (GTMAC) under mild acidic condition, corresponding to the quaternized CD-g-CS (QCD-g-CS). The degrees of substitution (DS) and quaternization (DQ), ranging from 5% to 23% and 66% to 80%, respectively, were determined by (1)H NMR spectroscopy. Self-aggregates formation of all QCD-g-CSs were investigated in water using dynamic light scattering (DLS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. The result revealed that all QCD-g-CSs are able to form self-aggregates in water. Large particle sizes ranged from 800 to 3000nm were obtained by DLS while zeta-potentials were ranging from 25 to 40mV. AFM and TEM depicted a spherical shape with particle sizes ranging from 100 to 900nm. Mucoadhesive and cytotoxic properties of all QCD-g-CSs were evaluated using a mucin particle method and MTT assay compared to quaternized chitosan (QCS). It was found that the mucoadhesive property increased with decreasing DS due to less quaternary ammonium moiety into the chitosan backbone. On the other hand, the cytotoxicity increased with increasing DS even though the DQ is decreased.     

Encapsulation of citral isomers in extracted lemongrass oil with cyclodextrins: molecular modeling and physicochemical characterizations

The complexation between two isomers of citral in lemongrass oil and varying types of cyclodextrins (CDs), α-CD, β-CD, and HP-β-CD, were studied by molecular modeling and physicochemical characterization. The results obtained revealed that the most favorable complex formation governing between citrals in lemongrass oil and CDs were found at a 1:2 mole ratio for all CDs. Complex formation between E-citral and CD was more favorable than between Z-citral and CD. The thermal stability of the inclusion complex was observed compared to the citral in the lemongrass oil. The release time course of citral from the inclusion complex was the diffusion control, and it correlated well with Avrami's equation. The release rate constants of the E- and Z-citral inclusion complexes at 50 °C, 50% RH were observed at 1.32×10(-2) h(-1) and 1.43×10(-2) h(-1) respectively.     

Intra-subunit residue interactions from the protein surface to the active site of glutathione S-transferase AdGSTD3-3 impact on structure and enzyme properties

Structural residues are one of the major factors that modulate the catalytic specificity as well as having a role in stability of the glutathione S-transferases (GST). To understand how residues remote from the active site can affect enzymatic properties, four mutants, His144Ala, Val147Leu, Val147Ala and Arg96Ala, were generated. The selected residues appear to be in a putative intra-subunit interaction pathway from the exterior Asp150 to the active site Arg66 of AdGSTD3-3. The analysis of the four mutants suggested that the interaction formed between Asp150 and His144 is required for the packing of the hydrophobic core in domain 2. Mutations of both Asp150 and His144 impacted upon enzymatic properties. Two Val147 mutants also showed contribution to packing and support of the N-capping box motif by demonstrating shorter half-lives. The planar guanidinium of Arg96 is in a stacked geometry with the face of the aromatic ring of Phe140 in a cation-pi interaction. The Arg96 also interacts with several other residues one of which, Asp100, is in the active site. These interactions restrict movement of the residues in this region and as the data demonstrates when Arg96 is changed have dramatic impact on stability and enzyme properties. These findings indicate the significance of the roles played by residue interactions which can cause conformational changes and thereby influence the catalytic activity and stability of an enzyme.