Lytic Action of β(1-3)-Glucanase on Yeast Cells

Candida utilis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, S. fragilis, Pichia polymorpha, and Hansenula anomala yeast cells, harvested in the early logarithmic phase, were attacked with purified beta(1-3)-glucanase from Micromonospora chalcea, which resulted in the liberation of protoplasts. The treated cells were observed under the electron microscope before the protoplasts were liberated. Differences in the cell walls of the enzyme-treated and untreated cells were observed. The action of the glucanase was also tested against isolated walls of C. utilis. The enzyme attacked the S. cerevisiae cell wall in a uniform manner. The attack on S. fragilis was located in certain zones of the cell wall, where breakage occurred and through which the protoplast emerged. On the other three yeasts, an intermediate attack was observed, not as definitely located as in S. fragilis, yet less uniformly than in S. cerevisiae.     

Fractional protein makeup of Candida utilis yeast protoplasts in the process of their growth and development

Candida utilis IBFMY-405 was grown in a synthetic medium with glucose. Cells taken at the logarithmic phase of growth were studied. The cells were treated with the enzyme from Helix pomatia to prepare protoplasts which were separated by differential centrifugation into groups according to their size. Three protein fractions were isolated from each group and the amino acid composition of the proteins was determined. Proteins of the first fraction (cytoplasmic) prevailed in all of the protoplast groups while the content of proteins of the second fraction (intermediate or myosin-like) was the lowest. As the size of protoplasts increased, difference in the quantitative content of proteins from the first and second fractions became less pronounced. The content of proteins of the third fraction was 3.6 and 2.4 times higher in the protoplasts of the medium size than in the largest protoplasts. The amino acid composition of each protein fraction differed quantitatively and qualitatively in all of the protoplast groups.     

Hypochlorite effects on spores and spore forms of Bacillus subtilis and on a spore lytic enzyme

G orman , S.P., S cott , E.M. & H utchinson , E.P. 1984. Hypochlorite effects on spores and spore forms of- Bacillus subtilis and on a spore lytic enzyme. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 56 , 295–303.
Spores of Bacillus subtilis NCTC 10073 were converted to ion-exchange (Ca, H) forms and coat-defective (urea-mercaptoethanol, urea-dithiothreitol-sodium lauryl sulphate) forms. The resistance of these to sodium hypochlorite (1000 parts/10⁶ free chlorine) was compared and related to uptake from which the assumed monolayer capacities were calculated. Hypochlorite effects on spore protoplasts and cortical fragments were also examined in relation to DPA and hexosamine release. A spore lytic enzyme was extracted and examined in respect of hypochlorite activity. The results are discussed in terms of the mechanism and site of action of hypochlorite on the bacterial spore.     

Protoplasts from Aspergillus nidulans.

A very effective lytic enzyme system for massive micro/macro-scale production of protoplasts from the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans is described. A striking coincidence was observed between maximal lytic activity towards Aspergillus mycelium and the presece of both chitinase and alpha-(1 leads to 3)-glucanase activities. The release of protoplasts was greatly enhanced by preincubating the mycelium with 2-deoxy-D-glucose. Furthermore, protoplast formation was influenced by fungal age, culture conditions, pH of incubation and the osmotic stabilizer used. From 40 mg of fresh mycelium, grown for 14--16 h on 1% glucose in a low phosphate-citrate medium, preincubated with 2-deoxy-D-glucose for 45 min, and then incubated with the lytic enzyme mixture at pH 6.5 in the presence of 0.3--0.4 M (NH4) SO4, 2.5 x 10(8) stable protoplasts were produced within 3 h of incubation at 30 degrees C. Comparable results were obtained with 40--50 g of mycelium. At low osmotic stabilizer concentrations a peculiar type of regeneration was observed in the presence of the lytic enzyme system; within 12 h of incubation aberrant hyphal structure emerged from the large vacuolated protoplasts.     

The isolation and regenaration of protoblast from Lipomyces starkeyi: an oleaginous yeast

The isolation and regenration of prostoplasts from Lipomyces starkeyi have been optimised. Snail enzyme (12 mg·ml⁻¹) proved to be the most effective lytic enzyme although treatment with Novozym 234, Cellulase CP and β-glucanase also resulted in protoplast formation. Magnesium sulphate (0.55 M) was shown to be the best fro protoplast isolation. Exponential phase cells were most susceptible to the lytic enzyme, stationary phase cells appeared to be resistant. 2-Mercaptoethanol or dithiothreitol did not enahance the isolation of protoplasts in this yeast. The optimum pH for protoplast isolation was 5.8. Ultrastructural observations were made on cells during lytic digestion and revealed that the cell wall and capsule are stripped away from the protoplast.Protoplast synthesised new cell wall material when cultured on osmotically stabilised medium, regeneration was not oberved in liquid medium. Optimum regeneration occured when protoplasts were embedded in a thin layer of minimal medium osmotically stabilised with mannitol (0.6M) and solidified with 1.5–2.0% agar. A basal layer of medium was also stabilised with mannitol (0.6 M) but contained 3% agar. The lytic enzyme used for protoplast isolation did not appear to effect the regeneration of protoplasts.     

Erzeugung eines zellwandlytischen Enzymkomplexes aus Arthrobacter GJM-I zur Herstellung von Protoplasten aus Candia spec. H

Growing conditions have been found out for the bacterium Arthrobacter GJM-I to produce a lytic enzyme system, which converts cells of the yeast Candida spec. H to protoplasts quickly and in a good yield. Estimating the activities of α-mannanase and β-glucanase we found out the optimal culture time to gain the lytic enzyme system from the culture filtrate. It was shown that radioactive labeling of the yeast cells makes it possible to estimate quantitatively the conversion to protoplasts and the simultaneous lysis. The obtained lytic enzyme system can substitute the snail cnzyme system which was used for cell conversion of Candida spec. H to protoplasts till now.     

Effect of gramicidin S and its derivatives on protoplasts of Bacillus subtilis

The lysis of Bacillus subtilis protoplasts by gramicidin S, a membrane active antibiotic, and its derivatives was studied according to free amino groups of the ornithine residue. The initial antibiotic and guanylgramicidin , a positive charge-preserving derivative, had a high lytic activity. Succinylgramicidin , a gramicidin S derivative with acid properties, and carbomoylgramicidin , a neutral derivative, actively lysed B. subtilis protoplasts suspended in 1/15 M phosphate buffer solution with sucrose . No lytic activity of succinylgramicidin was observed with respect to B. subtilis protoplasts suspended in an aqueous solution of sucrose. Comparative study on the sensitivity of the protoplasts of Micrococcus lysodeikticus, B. megaterium and B. subtilis to the lytic action of gramicidin S and its derivatives showed in the main a similar character of their interaction with the membranes of the protoplasts of the taxonomically close species (B. megaterium and B. subtilis). It is likely that the specificity of the action of the above substances on the protoplasts of M. lysodeikticus, i. e. a complicated character of the dependence of the lytic action of gramicidin S on its concentration, manifestation of the lytic activity of the neutral and acid derivatives in the presence of phosphates or other salts and in sucrose aqueous solution was mainly defined by the properties of the micrococcal membranes.     

Isolation and Cell Wall Regeneration of Protoplasts from Botrytis cinerea Pers.

Abstract A procedure for efficient isolation and cell wall regeneration of protoplasts from Botrytis cinerea is described. Protoplasts were obtained from mycelia using a lytic enzyme mixture containing β-Glucuronidase, Cellulase R10 and Driselase with mannitol for osmotic support. The digestion of cell walls was checked by fluorescence microscopy. Protoplasts were purified from cell debris and lytic enzymes. Regeneration and reversion were performed by incubation on agar plates.     

轮梗霉原生质体的制备*

本文比较了酶浓度、菌龄、渗透压稳定剂以及酶解温度和时间等因素对轮梗霉原生质体得率的影响。结果基本获得了制备原生质体的适宜条件:用0.6mol/L甘露醇稳渗剂配制成的4%纤维素酶和0.5%蜗牛酶混合酶,35℃酶解培养了30h的菌丝1.0h,即可得到较高产量的原生质体。对该原生质体进行了再生实验,其再生率约为23.8%。     

A novel metal-activated L-serine O-acetyltransferase from Thermus thermophilus HB8

L-Cysteine is an important amino acid in terms of its industrial applications. The biosynthesis of L-cysteine in enteric bacteria is regulated through the feedback inhibition by L-cysteine of L-serine O-acetyltransferase (SAT), a key enzyme in L-cysteine biosynthesis. We recently found that L-cysteine is overproduced in Escherichia coli strains expressing a gene encoding feedback inhibition-insensitive SAT. Further improvements in L-cysteine production are expected by the use of SAT with high stability. We report here the sat1 gene encoding SAT of an extreme thermophile, Thermus thermophilus HB8. The sat1 gene was cloned and overexpressed in E. coli cells based on the genome sequence in T. thermophilus HB8. The predicted amino acid sequence consists of 295 amino acids and is homologous to other O-acetyltransferase members. In particular, the carboxyl-terminal region shares approximately 30% identities with SATs found in bacteria and plants, despite showing only about 15% identity in the overall sequence. Enzymatic analysis and an atomic absorption study of the purified recombinant proteins revealed that the enzyme is highly activated by Co(2+) or Ni(2+), and contains Zn(2+) and Fe(2+). These results indicate that the T. thermophilus SAT is a novel type of enzyme different from other members of this protein family.     

米曲霉两株营养缺陷型原生质体的形成和再生的条件实验*

采用1%溶壁酶加1%玛瑙螺酶(褐云玛瑙螺消化液的冷冻干粉)的混合酶,自米曲霉(Aspergillus oryzae)的两株营养缺陷型中获得了大量的原生质体,并比较了渗透压稳定剂、温度、菌丝体的培养基成分等因素对原生质体形成和再生的作用。无机盐类稳定剂(NaCl、KCl)获得了高产量的原生质体,而有机类(蔗糖、甘露醇、山梨醇)做为稳定剂不甚理想。对120和720菌株的原生质体在高渗再生培养基上进行再生试验,再生率分别为52%和65%。     

蓝色犁头霉原生质体的制备与再生

研究了氢化可的松生产菌蓝色犁头霉原生质体的形成与再生。通过对溶解酶系统的选择,影响原生质体形成的因素如渗透压稳定剂、酶浓度、菌龄、菌丝培养基和培养方式等因素进行考察,发现以0．4mol/L NH4Cl做为稳定剂、2．5mg/mL溶壁酶和5mg/mL纤维素酶组成的混合酶液溶解菌丝,4h后原生质体量可达10^6cell/mL。通过显微镜观察原生质体的形成过程以及在高渗培养基上的再生情况,再生率为15．6％。     

双歧杆菌原生质体的制备与回复研究

进行了双歧杆菌原生质体的制备与回复相关技术研究 ,为其基因操作及相关研究提供技术基础。采用浓度分别为 1 ,5 ,1 0mg/LMutanolysin(变溶菌素 )对长双歧杆菌进行脱壁处理 ,以探讨其原生质体形成与时间和酶浓度的关系 ,然后选用较适宜的酶浓度 ( 5mg/LMutanolysin)制备其原生质体 ,并将其倾入自制的双层再生培养基上 ,观察其在不同环境条件下培养时的回复生长情况。结果表明 ,长双歧杆菌的细胞壁对Mu tanolysin较为敏感 ,用浓度为 5mg/L的Mutanolysin处理长双歧杆菌 40min ,在普通光学显微镜下即可见90 %的原生质体形成 ,当Mutanolysin浓度为 1 0mg/L时 ,只需 2 5min其原生质体形成率就达此值。制备的长双歧杆菌原生质体倾入自制的双层再生培养基中 ,在厌氧条件下能很好地回复生长。     

Interactions between bacterial membranes and peptidolipids: Lysis of Micrococcus luteus protoplasts by derivatives of peptidolipidic antibiotics from Bacillus subtilis

The lysis of protoplasts of Micrococcus luteus has been tested with various derivatives of three peptidolipidic antibiotics: iturin A, mycosubtilin and bacillomycin L. The lytic activity is dependent to the nature of the substituting group and to the position of the substituted aminoacid residue. The acetylation of OH groups leads to a decrease of the lytic activity of the natural antibiotics. The methylation of aspartyl residues of bacillomycin L gives a strong lytic activity while natural bacillomycin L has no lytic activity. The methylation of the tyrosyl residue enhances the lytic activities of iturin A and of bacillomycin L-dimethyl ester and reduces that of mycosubtilin.Correlations between the structures of derivatives and their lytic action on M. luteus protoplasts are discussed.     

Formation and regeneration of protoplasts in Sclerotium rolfsii ATCC 201126

AIMS: Different cultural conditions for forming and reverting protoplasts were systematically studied to establish a rapid and efficient protocol for Sclerotium rolfsii ATCC 201126. METHODS AND RESULTS: Osmotic stabilizer, lytic enzymes and mycelial age were the main factors influencing protoplast yields. An optimized protocol involving 1-h hydrolysis of 45-h-old mycelium with Trichoderma harzianum enzymes in a 1 : 1 (w/w) biomass : enzyme ratio and 0.6 mol l-1 MgSO4 as osmotic stabilizer was designed to produce approx. 2 x 109 protoplasts per gram biomass dry weight, with 99% viability. Differences on the lytic activity between batches of commercial enzymes were clearly evidenced. Protoplast release was highly efficient showing no remaining cell wall material as witnessed by fluorescent brightener 28. Up to 26% of purified protoplasts developed into the typical filamentous form after 50 h of incubation on 0.6 mol l-1 sucrose agar media. CONCLUSIONS: The methodology herein proposed allowed a rapid, inexpensive and efficient protoplast production. Optimum yields were higher or in the order of that elsewhere reported for other S. rolfsii strains and the required lytic time was significantly shorter. Purified protoplasts successfully reverted to the filamentous morphology. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The present research reports the former protocol for the isolation and reversion of protoplasts in S. rolfsii ATCC 201126 providing key factors to ensure optimum results. In addition, the described procedure constitutes a starting point for downstream genetic manipulation.     

Instability of actinomadurae protoplasts generated by lytic enzyme treatment

The effect of lytic enzyme treatment upon protoplast formation and reversion in three species of Actinomadura has been determined. Incubation in the presence of lytic enzyme L2 generates large protoplasts (4 μm diameter) which remain intact for only 2h. In comparison, protoplasts formed by the degradative effects of the enzymes lysozyme and L1 are smaller (2 μm diameter), and remain stable for up to 18h. This results in a greater efficiency of regeneration. Lytic enzyme L2 has been shown to contain impurities, including proteolytic activity, which may affect cell wall regeneration.     

Mycelial protoplast isolation and regeneration of Lentinus lepideus

Generation of fungal protoplast is essential for fusion and transformation systems. Protoplast fusion offers great potential for the improvement of industrially important microorganisms. To establish conditions for the protoplast isolation and regeneration of the mycelia of Lentinus lepideus, various enzymes and osmotic stabilizers were examined. To investigate suitable medium for the culture of L. lepideus, the mycelia were grown in ten different media at 28 degrees C for 10 days. Among them potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium was found to be the best for colony growth. When Novozym 234, cellulase and beta-glucuronidase were added to the mycelia in combination or alone, Novozym 234 alone at the concentration of 10 mg/ml was the most effective for the protoplast yield. Purified spherical protoplasts of the mycelia were osmotically hypersensitive and further incubation of the mycelia with the lytic enzyme resulted in the older parts of the hyphae swollen. When we applied various osmotic stabilizers at the fixed concentration of 0.6 M on the protoplasts, the yields of protoplasts were increased until 4-hr incubation. However application of sucrose or MgSO4 led to further protection of protoplasts after that time and reached a plateau on 5- and 7-hr incubations, respectively. The suitable incubation time and optimal pH with the lytic enzyme for the maximum release of protoplasts were 6 hrs of incubation and pH 5, respectively. When we examined various osmotic stabilizers for the regeneration of the protoplast, the complete medium containing 0.6 M sucrose induced highest hyphal growth with regeneration frequency of 3.28%.     

Isolation and regeneration of Micromonospora olivoasterospora protoplasts

The conditions for preparation and regeneration of the protoplasts of M. olivoasterospora were developed. It was found that effective formation of the protoplasts required preliminary cultivation of M. olivoasterospora in the medium containing glycine in a concentration inhibiting its growth at least by 60-80 per cent. The strains studied markedly differed in their sensitivity to glycine and were highly sensitive to it. The efficacy of the protoplast formation depended on the culture age and increased with the use of the lytic enzyme 3 of Cytophaga dissolvens. The possibility and advisability of the use of prolonged lysis of the Micromonospora cell walls were shown. A rich organic medium was used for regeneration of the protoplasts.     

Preparation of protoplast-like structures from conidia ofFusarium culmorum

Protoplast-like structures have been formed by digestion of the cell walls ofFusarium culmorum conidia by lytic enzyme preparations ofMicromonospora AS. Under the test conditions extrusion of the protoplasts was not observed. It seems that digestion of the cell wall occurs in different stages. Digestion of the septa preceded the formation of protoplasts of the individual cells of the multicellularF. culmorum conidia. A few protoplasts survived the lytic enzyme treatment. “Protoplasts” obtained from conidia are much more stable than those obtained from young hyphae and were able to germinate with the formation of normal mycelium. Lysis of some of the protoplast bodies led to the formation of a membranous structure. The protoplasts derived from each of the constituent cells of the conidia could be isolated with the micromanipulator. No differences were found in the ability of the isolated cells to germinate.     

Lysine overproducer mutants with an altered dihydrodipicolinate synthase from protoplast culture of Nicotiana sylvestris (Spegazzini and Comes)

Summary Two S-(2-aminoethyl)L-cysteine (AEC) resistant lines were isolated by screening mutagenized protoplasts from diploid N. sylvestris plants. Both lines accumulated free lysine at levels 10 to 20-fold higher than in controls. Lysine overproduction and AEC-resistance were also expressed in plants regenerated from the variant cultures. A feedback insensitive form of dihydrodipicolinate synthase (DHPS), the pathway specific control enzyme for lysine synthesis, was detected in callus cultures and leaf extracts from the resistant lines. Aspartate kinase (AK), the other key enzyme in the regulation of lysine biosynthesis, was unaltered in the mutants. Crosses with wild type plants indicated that the mutation conferring insensitivity to feedback in DHPS, with as result overproduction of lysine and resistance to AEC, was inherited as a single dominant nuclear gene.Abbreviations AK aspartate kinase (EC 2.7.2.4) - DHPS dihydrodipicolinate synthase (EC 4.2.1.52) - AEC S-(2-aminoethyl)L-cysteine