Protein composition of Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitochondrial ribosomes

Protein composition of mitochondrial ribosomes of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was analysed by two-dimensional electrophoresis. The small (37S) mitoribosomal subunit contains 36 different polypeptides with molecular weights ranging from 10,000 to 60,000. The large (50S) subunit is composed of 41 proteins with molecular weights from 10,000 to 43,000. The molecular weights of mitoribosomal small and large subunits are 1.85 MDa and 2.35 MDa, respectively. Proteins represent 60-62% and 42-45% of the total mass of 37S and 50S subunits respectively. On the basis of the protein content and molecular weights of individual proteins we conclude that all mitoribosomal proteins are present in the mitoribosome in equimolar proportions.     

Production of Antioxidant Peptides from Pea Protein Using Protease from Bacillus licheniformis LBA 46

International Journal of Peptide Research and Therapeutics - The objective of this study was to establish the suitable conditions for pea protein hydrolysis using the response surface methodology...     

Expression of alpha-amylase in Bacillus licheniformis.

In Bacillus licheniformis, alpha-amylase production varied more than 100-fold depending on the presence or absence of a catabolite-repressing carbon source in the growth medium. alpha-Amylase was produced during the growth phase and not at the onset of the stationary phase. Induction of alpha-amylase correlated with synthesis of mRNA initiating at the promoter of the alpha-amylase gene.     

Deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis in isolated DNA-membrane complexes

The DNA synthesized by isolated Escherichia coli DNA-membrane complexes has been analysed by centrifugation techniques. The in vitro synthesized DNA sediments after deproteinization, in part with the parental bulk DNA and in part as a spectrum of fragments with sedimentation coefficients between 10 and 25 s. The fragments are, at least partially, precursors to the fast sedimenting DNA. The DNA fragments are mostly double stranded and contain (i) parental DNA pieces non-covalently bound to newly synthesized DNA strands of similar length, as well as (ii) one well-defined fraction in which parental DNA and newly synthesized DNA are covalently joined. The results are discussed in terms of the “prefork synthesis” model of Haskell & Davern (1969).     

Extracellular serine proteinase from Bacillus licheniformis

The serine proteinase from B. licheniformis was purified by affinity chromatography on the sorbent obtained by attachment of p-(omega-aminomethyl)-phenylboronic acid via an amino group to CH-Sepharose. The use of this sorbent specific to the serine proteinases active sites resulted in a 35-fold purification of the enzyme with an apparent activity yield of 288%. Such a high activity yield is due to a removal of the enzyme inhibitors. The N-terminal sequence of B. licheniformis extracellular serine proteinase traced for 35 amino acid residues coincides with that of subtilisin Carlberg, a serine proteinase presumed to be secreted by a B. subtilis strain. Since the amino acid composition as well as the functional properties of these two enzymes did not reveal any noticeable differences, it was assumed that both proteinases are very similar, if not identical. This conclusion leads to reconsideration of the existing concept on an extremely fast rate of subtilisin evolution. Three multiple forms of B. licheniformis extracellular serine proteinase were found to differ only in their net charges, presumably as a result of partial deamidation of Asn or Gln residues within their structure.     

Nucleotide sequence of 5-S RNA from Bacillus licheniformis.

The complete nucleotide sequence of 5-S RNA from Bacillus licheniformis was determined by analysis of complete and partial digests obtained with either T1 or pancreatic ribonuclease. The molecule was found to have a length of 116 nucleotides and may possess a minor sequence heterogeneity. There is a large degree of homology between the sequence of B. licheniformis 5-S RNA and those published for 5-S RNA from B. megatherium and B. stearothermophilus. The difference between the three 5-S RNA species are limited mainly to the two terminal and one internal sequence. B. licheniformis 5-S RNA contains the sequence U95-G-A-G-A-G100, which in B. subtilis has been implicated in the processing of precursor 5-S RNA. Possible models for the secondary structure of prokaryotic 5-S RNA are discussed on the basis of the results of limited digestion of B. licheniformis 5-S RNA by ribonuclease T1.     

Catalytic properties of the cloned amylase from Bacillus licheniformis.

A gene encoding a new amylolytic enzyme of Bacillus licheniformis (BLMA) has been cloned, and we characterized the enzyme expressed in Escherichia coli. The genomic DNA of B. licheniformis was double-digested with EcoRI and BamHI and ligated the pBR322. The transformed E. coli was selected by its amylolytic activity, which carries the recombinant plasmid pIJ322 containing a 3.5-kilobase fragment of B. licheniformis DNA. The purified enzyme encoded by pIJ322 was capable of hydrolyzing pullulan and cyclodextrin as well as starch. It was active over a pH range of 6-8 and its optimum temperature was 50 degrees C. The molecular weight of the enzyme was 64,000, and the isoelectric point was 5.4. It degraded soluble starch by cleaving maltose units preferentially but did not attack alpha-1,6-linkage. The enzyme also hydrolyzed pullulan to panose units exclusively. In the presence of glucose, however, it transferred the panosyl moiety to glucose with the formation of alpha-1,6-linkage. The specificity of transferring activity is evident from the result of the maltosyl-transferring reaction which produces isopanose from maltotriose and glucose. The molecular structure of the enzyme deduced from the nucleotide sequence of the clone maintains limited similarity in the conserved regions to the other amylolytic enzymes.     

微生态系统中地衣芽孢杆菌消长的研究

采用不同接种培养方法,研究了地衣芽孢杆菌在微生态系统的消长状况．结果表明,在健康人体内该菌能迅速增殖,菌数为１．４９×１０８～１．８３×１０８个·ｇ－１,并能较长时间定植下来,３０ｄ后菌数为１．２７×１０７～１．５１×１０７个·ｇ－１．在病人体内增殖相对较慢些,菌数为１．４０×１０８～１．６７×１０８个·ｇ－１,３０ｄ后菌数为１．１５×１０７～１．３１×１０７个·ｇ－１．在人工模拟微生态系统中,当ｐＨ为５．０～９．０,营养物为食物匀浆培养基、牛肉膏蛋白胨培养基时,其菌数为３．０５×１０８、３．４２×１０８个·ｍｌ－１．     

Light-induced inhibition of sporulation in Bacillus licheniformis.

Sporulation of Bacillus licheniformis is inhibited by broad-spectrum light. This phenomenon is intensity dependent and is a near-ultraviolet and blue light effect.     

Reconstitution of active 50 S ribosomal subunits from Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus subtilis.

Active 50 S ribosomal subunits from Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus subtilis can be reconstituted in vitro from dissociated RNA and proteins. The reconstituted 50 S sub-units are indistinguishable from native 50 S subunits in sedimentation on sucrose gradients and in protein composition. The procedure used is similar to that developed for reconstitution of Bacillus stearothermophilus 50 S subunits, though the optimal conditions are somewhat different. Hybrid ribosomes can be reconstituted with 23 S RNA and proteins from different sources (B. stearothermophilus and B. licheniformis or B. subtilis). The thermal stability of these ribosomes depends on the source of the proteins, and not on the source of 23 S RNA.     

Guanosine Formation from Guanine by Bacillus licheniformis

Adenine-auxotrophic mutant of Bacillus licheniformis formed considerable amount of guanosine from guanine. The guanosine formation was stimulated by the addition of penicillin to the growing cells and by the presence of uridine in the crude extract. The crude extract preserved for long time showed the changes of the enzyme actions for added guanine.     

Formation of inside-out vesicles of Bacillus licheniformis. Dependence on buffer composition and lysis procedure.

1. The extent to which the cytoplasmic membrane of the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus licheniformis formed inside-out vesicles was studied with the freeze-fracture technique. The membrane orientation appeared to be dependent on the buffer compositon as well as on the lysis procedure used. 2. By manipulating these conditions, membrane preparations were obtained with the percentage of inside-out vesicles varying from 15 to 80%. 3. More vesicles had the opposite orientation when the cells were lysed in potassium phosphate buffer than when they were lysed in sodium phosphate buffer. Tris-HCl buffer favoured the formation of inside-out vesicles more than phosphate buffer. 4. Lysis of protoplasts in hypotonic buffers resulted in more inside-out vesicles than did direct lysis of cells in hypotonic media. 5. In an attempt to explain the observed differences, experiments were performed in which the morphology of thin-sectioned lysing cells in sodium phosphate buffer was compared with that in potassium phosphate buffer. The results from these experiments indicate that the formation of inside-out vesicles is brought about by an effect on the membrane itself rather than on the cell wall, on the cell wall membrane association, or on the cytoplasm.     

Toxic lactonic lipopeptide from food poisoning isolates of Bacillus licheniformis.

Toxins from three Bacillus licheniformis strains connected to a fatal food poisoning were isolated and their structures elucidated. Toxins were purified from methanol extracts of the B. licheniformis biomass using boar sperm cells as the toxicity indicator. The HPLC purified toxins showed protonated masses m/z 1007, 1021 and 1035 in MALDI-TOF-MS. The toxins isolated from the strains of different origins contained the same three components of which and each had a same amino-acid residues L-Gln, L-Leu, D-Leu, L-Val, L-Asp, D-Leu and L-Ile in that order. Toxins were identified as lichenysin A, a cyclic lactonic heptalipopeptide in which the main 3-hydroxy fatty acids are 13-15 carbons in length. We showed that the toxins from food and food poisoning isolates of B. licheniformis were identical to lichenysin A both in the structure and in the toxic symptoms induced to boar spermatozoa. Confocal laser scanning microscopy showed that the acrosome and the plasma membrane of boar spermatozoa were the targets of lichenysin A toxicity.     

A thermophilic extracellular -amylase from Bacillus licheniformis

A strain of Bacillus licheniformis isolated from soil produced an extracellular α-amylase(s) with unusual characteristics. The enzyme was purified 126-fold by starch adsorption, DEAE-cellulose treatment, and CM-cellulose column chromatography. Four active protein bands were detected by disc electrophoresis in poly-acrylamide gel although the enzyme behaved as a single peak during both ultracen-trifugation and chromatography using CM-cellulose and Sephadex G-100. The enzyme showed a very broad pH-activity curve and had substantial activity in the alkaline range. The optimal temperature was 76 °C at pH 9.O. The enzyme was stable between pH 6 and 11 at 25 °C, and below 60 °C at pH 8.0. Using Sephadex G-100 gel filtration, a molecular weight of 22,500 was estimated for the enzyme. The action pattern on amylose and amylopectin is unique in that the predominant product during all stages of hydrolysis is maltopentaose.     

Two glucose transport systems in Bacillus licheniformis.

Bacillus licheniformis NCIB 6346 showed active accumulation of glucose which was inhibited by agents which affect the transmembrane proton gradient. Phosphotransferase (PTS) activity, identified as phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphorylation of glucose, was found in cell extracts but could not be demonstrated in cells permeabilized with toluene when assays were conducted at pH 6.6. The same was true for mannitol and fructose phosphotransferase activities. Cells grown on fructose accumulated glucose at a slower rate than glucose-grown cells, and extracts prepared from them did not contain glucose PTS activity. Examination of the effects of analogs on glucose uptake and phosphorylation showed that 2-deoxyglucose was not a PTS substrate, but did markedly inhibit glucose uptake, with stronger inhibition in cells grown on fructose. Glucose accumulation by whole cells grown on glucose became less sensitive to the uncoupler tetrachlorosalicylanilide (TCS) as the pH was raised from 6.6 to 8.0, while in fructose-grown cells TCS was equally effective across this pH range. PTS activity was exhibited by toluene-treated cells at pH 7.5 and above, although the system itself in extracts was not affected by pH in the range of 5.0 to 8.0. The results are consistent with the presence of two glucose transport systems, one a PTS and the other operating by an alternative mechanisms, and suggest that the PTS in B. licheniformis may be regulated in a pH-dependent manner.     

Purification and regulation of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase from Bacillus licheniformis.

The fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (D-fructose-1,6-bisphosphate 1-phosphohydrolase, EC 3.1.3.11) from the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus licheniformis was purified approximately 800-fold (with a 20% yield of activity) by a procedure that included ammonium sulfate precipitation, precipitation by MnCl2, and gamma-alumina gel absorption. Catalysis by this enzyme in vitro was specific for fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (Km of approximately 20 muM) and proceeded optimally at pH 8.0 to 8.5. Fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase was found to be rapidly inactivated by incubation in the presence of AMP or in the absence of Mn2+. The AMP inactivation was prevented by adding P-enolpyruvate to the incubation mixture. The enzyme was slowly inactivated when incubated in the presence of stabilizing concentrations of Mn2+ (5 mM) at protein concentrations of less than 8 mg of protein per ml. An additional system is produced during sporulation which specifically inactivates fructose bisphosphatase in vitro. This system, which is distinctly different from the AMP inactivating system, can be blocked by P-enolpyruvate. This fructose bisphosphatase, like fructose bisphosphatases from other sources, was strongly inhibited by AMP, exhibiting a Ki of approximately 5 muM. This inhibition, however, could be completely overcome by P-enolpyruvate. P-enolpyruvate was also found to be an activator of the enzyme and exhibited a Km of approximately 2 muM. This activation was prevented in a competitive manner by AMP, exhibiting a Ki of approximately 5 muM. No other effector of fructose bisphosphatase was identified in an extensive search. The specific activity of fructose bisphosphatase in crude extracts was found to be independent of the stage of the life cycle of the bacterium or of the nature of the carbon-energy source supporting growth. Immunoprecipitation studies indicate that no new species of fructose biphosphatase is produced during gluconeogenic growth or sporulation. The enzyme extracted from cells under a variety of physiological conditions exhibited a molecular weight of about 5 times 10-5 as determined by sucrose density centrifugation. Therefore, it is proposed that a single constitutively synthesized fructose bisphosphatase is present in B. licheniformis. Measurements of the intracellular level of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate indicate that the variation in the level of substrate throughout growth (1 mM) and sporulation (0.3 mM) does not regulate the in vivo activity of this enzyme, since the Km of the enzyme for fructose 1,6-bisphosphate is approximately 10-fold lower than the lowest in vivo concentration of substrate. P-enolpyruvate is proposed as the major regulator of fructose bisphosphatase activity in vivo.