A cell-free xylan synthesizing enzyme system from Avena sativa

A cell-free paniculate preparation from oat seedlings showedxylan synthetase activity, producing xylan from uridine diphosphatexylose. With high substrate concentration or prolonged incubation,three polysaccharides other than neutral xylan were synthesized.It is suggested that one of these might be a glycolipid andthe other two might be glucuronoxylans. ¹Present address: Department of Fruit and Vegetable Storage,The Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center,P.O.B. 6, Bet Dagan, Israel. (Received December 5, 1972; )     

Calcium stimulation of polyphenylalanine synthesis in a bovine heart cell-free system

A bovine myocardial cell-free system, active in polyphenylalanine synthesis, has been studied. When Ca²⁺ was present under suboptimal Mg²⁺ concentrations (2 and 5 mM) a marked stimulation of the poly(U) directed macromolecular synthesis was obtained. Calcium did not stimulate the aminoacylation of bovine heart tRNA^Phe The evidence suggests that calcium is required, in conjunction with other cations, for an efficient translation of synthetic polynucleotides.     

Effect of bile on Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

Many enteric pathogens are thought to enter a viable but nonculturable state when deprived of nutrients. Virulent strains of the enteric pathogen Vibrio parahaemolyticus are rarely isolated from their low-nutrient aquatic environments, possibly due to their nonculturability. Host factors such as bile may trigger release from dormancy and increase virulence in these strains. In this study, the addition of bile or the bile acid deoxycholic acid to estuarine water-cultured bacteria led to an increase in the direct viable count and colony counts among the virulent strains. This effect was not demonstrated in the nonvirulent strains, and it was reversed by extraction of bile acids with cholestyramine. Bile-treated V. parahaemolyticus had lower levels of intracellular calcium than untreated cells, and this effect coincided with an increase in the number of metabolically active cells. Chelation of intracellular calcium with BAPTA/AM (R. Y. Tsien, Biochemistry 19:2396-2402, 1980) produced similar results. Addition of bile to V. parahaemolyticus cultures in laboratory medium enhanced factors associated with virulence such as Congo red binding, bacterial capsule size, and adherence to epithelial cells. These results suggest that a bile acid-containing environment such as that found in the human host favors growth of virulent strains of V. parahaemolyticus and that bile acids enhance the expression of virulence factors. These effects seem to be mediated by a decrease in intracellular calcium.     

Characterization of a cell-free protein synthesizing system from rat lung.

1. A cell-free protein synthesizing system has been developed from a novel source, namely the rat lung. 2. The system translates endogenous mRNA at a linear rate for up to 10 min at approx 5% of the in vivo rate. 3. With the use of edeine and 7-methylguanosine-5'-triphosphate (m7GTP), specific blockers of peptide chain initiation, we have demonstrated that 40-60% of total amino acid incorporation is attributable to reinitiation on nascent polypeptide chains. 4. The lung cell-free system will be a valuable asset when investigating the mechanisms involved in the regulation of pulmonary protein synthesis.     

Inhibitory Effect of Glycerin on Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Salmonella

In a study of the effect of glycerin in transport media on Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Salmonella, it was found that a concentration of 30% glycerin was highly inhibitory for V. parahaemolyticus and to a lesser degree for Salmonella. The incorporation of peptone or human feces in media did not reduce the inhibitory effect of glycerin. In media with 15% glycerin, viable counts of V. parahaemolyticus and Salmonella increased after 24 hr of incubation both in the presence and absence of feces. Due to the concurrent increase in the total bacterial count in the media containing feces, no enrichment effect was noted.     

The isolation of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and related vibrios from moribund aquarium lobsters.

Vibrios were isolated in pure culture from the hemolymph of 7 out of 28 dead or dying aquarium lobsters which had been acclimated to 20-22 degrees C. One isolate was identified as Vibrio parahaemolyticus, one as a related marine Vibrio (probably V. marinus), and five as Vibrio alginolyticus. No isolates of halophilic Vibrio species were made from healthy lobsters using thiosulfate citrate bile salts sucrose agar (TCBS).     

Effect of polyamines on yeast cell-free protein synthesizing system. II. Increase stability of cell-free system in the presence of spermine.

The addition of spermine, at concentration which stimulates protein synthesis, to the yeast cell-free system significantly increases the thermal stability of the latter. Similar stabilizing effect of polyamine is observed for ribosome-poly U-ac-phe-tRNA complexes. These results suggest that the stimulatory effect of polyamines on the in vitro protein synthesis might be partly due to the increased stability of ribosomes and ribosome-peptydyl-tRNA complexes.     

Effect of Vibrio parahaemolyticus haemolysin on human erythrocytes

Haemolysin Kanagawa, a toxin from Vibrio parahaemolyticus, is known to trigger haemolysis. Flux studies indicated that haemolysin forms a cation channel. In the present study, channel properties were elucidated by patch clamp and functional significance of ion fluxes by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis. Treatment of human erythrocytes with 1 U ml-1 haemolysin within minutes induces a non-selective cation permeability. Moreover, haemolysin activates clotrimazole-sensitive K+ channels, pointing to stimulation of Ca2+-sensitive Gardos channels. Haemolysin (1 U ml-1) leads within 5 min to slight cell shrinkage, which is reversed in Ca2+-free saline. Erythrocytes treated with haemolysin (0.1 U ml-1) do not undergo significant haemolysis within the first 60 min. Replacement of extracellular Na+ with NMDG+ leads to slight cell shrinkage, which is potentiated by 0.1 U ml-1 haemolysin. According to annexin binding, treatment of erythrocytes with 0.1 U ml-1 haemolysin leads within 30 min to breakdown of phosphatidylserine asymmetry of the cell membrane, a typical feature of erythrocyte apoptosis. The annexin binding is significantly blunted at increased extracellular K+ concentrations and by K+ channel blocker clotrimazole. In conclusion, haemolysin Kanagawa induces cation permeability and activates endogenous Gardos K+ channels. Consequences include breakdown of phosphatidylserine asymmetry, which depends at least partially on cellular loss of K+.     

Release of the Outer Membrane Vesicles from Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio parahaemolyticus

We found numerous small vesicles released from the cell by thin sectioning of the plate culture of Vibrio cholerae and V. parahaemolyticus fixed with the freeze-substitution technique. From the broth media of exponentially growing bacteria we could collect the vesicles by the centrifugation but not enough without fixation. The vesicles are encompassed with a membrane structure similar to the outer membrane of these bacteria. The anti-O (Inaba) serum reacted with the surface of the vesicles and the inside of the vesicle are generally filled with an electron-dense mass.     

Elevated levels of the norspermidine synthesis enzyme NspC enhance Vibrio cholerae biofilm formation without affecting intracellular norspermidine concentrations

Biofilm formation in Vibrio cholerae is in part regulated by norspermidine, a polyamine synthesized by the enzyme carboxynorspermidine decarboxylase (NspC). The absence of norspermidine in the cell leads to a marked reduction in V.?cholerae biofilm formation by an unknown mechanism. In this work, we show that overexpression of nspC results in large increases in biofilm formation and vps gene expression as well as a significant decrease in motility. Interestingly, increased NspC levels do not lead to increased concentrations of norspermidine in the cell. Our results show that NspC levels inversely regulate biofilm and motility and implicate the presence of an effective feedback mechanism maintaining norspermidine homeostasis in V.?cholerae. Moreover, we provide evidence that NspC and the norspermidine sensor protein, NspS, provide independent and distinct inputs into the biofilm regulatory network.     

外源化学物质对副溶血性弧菌药物敏感性的影响

【目的】细菌对抗生素的耐药性已成为全球公共卫生问题关注的热点。有研究表明外源添加化学物质可以增强耐药细菌对抗生素的敏感性。本研究比较了3种化学物质葡萄糖、丙氨酸、甘油对增强副溶血性弧菌抗生素敏感性的作用效果。【方法】在亚抑菌浓度抗生素胁迫条件下,通过比较副溶血性弧菌在添加终浓度为10 mmol/L葡萄糖、丙氨酸、甘油后细菌存活率随时间的变化水平,来观察弧菌对亚抑菌浓度抗生素敏感性作用效果的改变,并采用氧化磷酸化解偶联剂CCCP对实验结果进行验证。【结果】发现3种外源化学物质均能增强亚抑菌浓度氨基糖苷类抗生素对副溶血性弧菌的杀菌能力,其中外源添加葡萄糖对增强亚抑菌浓度卡那霉素的杀菌能力最为显著,而对其他种类抗生素的杀菌能力则无明显增强作用。加入氧化磷酸化解偶联剂CCCP后可消除由外源化学物质引发的弧菌抗生素敏感性作用增强的现象。【结论】通过调节细菌细胞代谢水平可提高耐药副溶血性弧菌对氨基糖苷类抗生素的敏感性,对多重耐药副溶血性弧菌的防控具有一定的实际应用价值。     

Effect of essential oils on pathogenic and biofilm-forming Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains

Abstract

In this study, the effect of three essential oils (EOs) – clove oil (CO), thyme oil (TO), and garlic oil (GO), which are generally recognized as safe – on the planktonic growth, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), motility, biofilm formation, and quorum sensing (QS) of Vibrio parahaemolyticus was investigated. All three EOs showed bacteriostatic activity, with MICs in the range 0.02%–0.09% (v/v). CO and TO completely controlled planktonic growth at 0.28% and 0.08% (v/v), which is four times their MIC (4?×?MIC), after 10?min, whereas GO completely controlled growth at 0.36% (v/v) (4?×?MIC) after treatment for 20?min. V. parahaemolyticus motility was significantly reduced by all three EOs at 4?×?MIC (0.28% for CO, 0.08% for TO, and 0.36% for GO), whereas QS was controlled and biofilm formation reduced by all three EOs at 8?×?MIC (0.56% for CO, 0.16% for TO, and 0.72% for GO) after 30?min of treatment. These results suggest that CO, TO, and GO have a significant inhibitory effect on V. parahaemolyticus cells in biofilm sand thus represent a promising strategy for improving food safety. These results provide the evidence required to encourage further research into the practical use of the proposed EOs in food preparation processes.