Penicillium expansum, a Resident Fungal Strain of the Orbital Complex Mir, Producing Xanthocyllin X and Questiomycin A

It was demonstrated that the fungus Penicillium expansum 2-7, a resident strain of the orbital complex Mir, which became dominant at the end of a long-term space flight, formed biologically active secondary metabolites (antibiotics). Using physicochemical methods these metabolites were identified as xanthocyllin X and questiomycin A. The time courses of their biosyntheses during the growth and development of the producer culture were studied. The addition of zinc to the culture medium affected both the growth of the culture and the biosyntheses of the antibiotics. The concentrations of zinc in the medium, optimum for xanthocyllin X and questiomycin A production, were 0.3 and 3.0 mg/l, respectively.     

Zinc Effects on Growth, Pigmentation and Antibacterial Activity of Monascus purpureus

Growth, pigmentation and antibacterial activity of Monascus purpureus Went (starch fungus) were affected by zinc. Zinc at concentrations of 2 × 10^-3M and 3 × 10^-3M nearly stopped the growth, pigmentation and antibiotic production of both wild type and strain NI IS in liquid medium. Relatively vigorous growth, high pigment production, and strong antibacterial activity of NIIS still occurred on solid medium with the same zinc concentrations. Wild type was hardly affected by zinc concentrations lower than 2 × 10^-3M. The growth of strain NI IS was significantly inhibited even by 5 × 10^-5M zinc, but pigment production and antibacterial activity were highly promoted by 5 × 10^-5M zinc. Increase of glucose concentration also promoted pigment and antibiotic productions of strain NI IS. Glucose effects were intensified as 1 × 10^-3M zinc was added. Zinc may act as a growth inhibitor and concomitantly as a stimulant for glucose uptake and for the synthesis of metabolites such as pigments and antibiotics.     

The influence of medium composition on alkaloid biosynthesis by Penicillium citrinum

The fungus P. citrinum produces secondary metabolites, clavine ergot alkaloids (EA), and quinoline alkaloids quinocitrinines (QA) in medium with various carbon and nitrogen sources and in the presence of iron, copper, and zinc additives. Mannitol and sucrose are most favorable for EA biosynthesis and mannitol is most favorable for QA. Maximum alkaloid production is observed on urea. Iron and copper additives in the medium containing zinc ions stimulated fungal growth but inhibited alkaloid biosynthesis. The production of these secondary metabolites does not depend on the physiological state of culture, probably due to the constitutive nature of the enzymes involved in biosynthesis of these substances.     

The influence of medium composition on alkaloid biosynthesis by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Penicillium citrinum</Emphasis>

The fungus P. citrinum produces secondary metabolites, clavinet ergot alkaloids (EA), and quinoline alkaloids (quinocitrinines, QA) in medium with various carbon and nitrogen sources and in the presence of iron, copper, and zinc additives. Mannitol and sucrose are most favorable for EA biosynthesis and mannitol is most favorable for QA. Maximum alkaloid production is observed on urea. Iron and copper additives in the medium containing zinc ions stimulated fungal growth but inhibited alkaloid biosynthesis. The production of these secondary metabolites does not depend on the physiological state of culture, probably due to the constitutive nature of the enzymes involved in biosynthesis of these substances.     

Sequential immunosuppressive activities of bacterial secondary metabolites from the entomopahogenic bacterium Xenorhabdus nematophila

The entomopathogenic bacterium Xenorhabdus nematophila secretes at least eight bacterial metabolites that play crucial roles suppressing target insect immune responses by inhibiting eicosanoid biosynthesis. We analyzed sequential changes in bacterial metabolite production during bacterial growth and analyzed their individual immunosuppressive activities against the insect host, Spodoptera exigua. X. nematophila exhibited a typical bacterial growth pattern in both insect host and culture medium, and eight metabolites were secreted at different time points. At the early growth phase (6–12 h), Ac-FGV and PHPP were detected in significant amounts in the culture broth. At this early phase, both Ac-FGV (18 μg/ml) and oxindole (110 μg/ml) levels significantly inhibited phenoloxidase and phospholipase A₂ activities in S. exigua hemolymph. At the late growth phase (12–36 h), all eight metabolites were detected at significant levels (10–140 μg/ml) in the culture broth and were sufficient to induce hemocyte toxicity. These results suggest that X. nematophila sequentially produces immunosuppressive metabolites that might sequentially and cooperatively inhibit different steps of insect immune responses.     

Effect of various factors on the biosynthesis of piscarinines,secondary metabolites of the fungus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Penicillium piscarium</Emphasis> Westling

Piscarinines A and B were synthesized most actively during the surface cultivation of the fungus Penicillium piscarium in a complex medium (5.5 mg/l). Under conditions of submerged cultivation in a mineral medium, the yield of piscarinines was two times lower. An increase in the inoculum quantity of conidia treated with Tween-80 increased the culture productivity. The biosynthesis of the alkaloid was completely suppressed when mannitol was replaced with glucose or when zinc, iron, or copper ions were added to the culture medium. The metabolites were active against the prostate cancer cell line LNCAP (IC₅₀ were 2.195 and 1.914 μg/ml for piscarinines A and B, respectively).     

Zinc levels in zinc-stabilized insulin are inhibitory to the growth of cells in vitro

Adult human prostatic epithelium was cultured in a defined medium consisting of RPMI 1640 supplemented with transferrin, insulin, epidermal growth factor, dexamethasone, and vitamin A. In the presence of insulin, stabilized with zinc, maximum epithelial multiplication was obtained at an insulin concentration of 0.03 to 0.1 U/ml, corresponding to a zinc concentration of 1.4 X 10(-7) M. At higher insulin concentrations, growth stimulation declined. Zinc-free insulin, on the other hand, stimulated cell multiplication with an optimum concentration of 0.3 to 1.0 U/ml. At this concentration, the maximum growth was twice that obtained with zinc-stabilized insulin. Results demonstrate that growth inhibition caused by zinc limits the concentration of zinc-stabilized insulin, which can be used in serum-free, defined culture media.     

Isolation and long-term serial cultivation of endothelial cells from the microvessels of the adult human dermis

A method to isolate and maintain microvascular endothelial cells from the cutaneous vessels of adult human skin in long-term culture has been developed. Endothelial cells lining the microvessels of the papillary dermis are released from surrounding tissue during a brief trypsin incubation (0.3% trypsin, 1% EDTA). Cells are plated onto a fibronectin substrate and maintained in Leibovitz (L15) culture medium containing pooled human serum (50%) and antibiotics. Proliferation is dependent upon the presence of several additional growth factors, cholera enterotoxin (1 X 10(-9) M), isobutyl methylxanthine (3.3 X 10(-5) M), and medium conditioned by explant culture of the mouse EHS sarcoma. Using this supplemented medium, cells proliferate readily and can be cultivated serially for more than 6 passages (3 months in vitro). These cells retain their characteristic endothelial cell morphology, stain positively for Factor VIII antigen, and contain Weibel-Palade bodies.     

Continuous cultivation of Streptomyces tendae in different media

Summary The strain Streptomyces tendae is well suited for continuous cultivation because of its ability to grow and produce secondary metabolites simultaneously. Continuous culture experiments on defined medium show that growth is limited by nitrogen during steady state for the given medium composition. It is supposed that this also holds for complex medium. Production of antibiotics (several nikkomycins) occurs simultaneously with exponential growth. After switching from batch to continuous operation the fraction of biomass, consisting of pellets, decreases permanently.     

Fungus Penicillium citrinum, isolated from permafrost sediments, as a producer of ergot alkaloids and new quinoline alkaloids quinocitrinines

Quinocitrinines and ergot alkaloids are synthesized by the strain Penicillium citrinum VKM FW-800 as the culture grows. The major part of these secondary metabolites are secreted into the medium. In the phase of growth deceleration, these metabolites were partly absorbed by the producer cells. Zinc ions stimulated both the primary and secondary metabolic processes. Addition of this microelement into the culture medium stimulated biomass accumulation and the synthesis of clavine alkaloids and quinocitrinines.     

具有抗哈维氏弧菌活性共生真菌HLZ-3菌株的筛选、鉴定及其培养条件

【背景】目前,海水养殖业中主要利用抗生素来防治哈维氏弧菌等病原菌,但抗生素的长期使用或滥用会对环境和人体健康带来危害,因此既环保又有效的生物防治方法具有广阔的应用前景。【目的】从海水产品共生微生物中筛选具有抗菌活性的菌株,对活性菌株进行鉴定并确定其合成抗菌活性物质的培养条件。【方法】利用沙氏和2216E培养基,以稀释涂布平板法从海水养殖动物中分离真菌和细菌;利用牛津杯法测定微生物发酵液抗水产病原哈维氏弧菌的活性;通过菌株的培养特征、形态特征和ITS序列分析对抗菌活性菌株进行鉴定;通过筛选发酵培养基的种类及盐度确定培养条件。【结果】从海蚌、白虾、海蛎子等9种样品中分离出微生物52株,其中真菌30株、细菌22株;筛选得到2株具有抗哈维氏弧菌活性的真菌菌株;其中一株活性菌株HLZ-3被鉴定为塔宾曲霉;菌株HLZ-3合成抗菌活性物质的培养条件为4%NaCl的大米培养基,28°C静置培养2周。【结论】实验结果为进一步分离纯化菌株HLZ-3所产抗菌活性次生代谢产物提供了基础。     

Silver electrode as a sensor for determination of zinc in cell cultivation medium.

Use of the silver electrode as a sensor for the monitoring of zinc in cell growth medium is described. Zinc at silver electrodes provides specific voltammetric signal, which is affected by solution components. Signals of zinc ions in phosphate buffer solutions with and without cell growth medium were compared. Common DMEM cell culture medium was used for the cultivation of a cell line of v-myb-transformed chicken monoblasts and its variants expressing v-jun and c-jun in a zinc-dependent manner. Electrochemical results showed zinc concentrations in the medium coincide very well with the jun expression. With respect to the low toxicity of silver for eukaryotic cells, silver electrodes represent promising tools for the determination of zinc concentrations in vivo without the potential risk of a cell culture damage.     

Biosynthesis of the hyperforin skeleton in Hypericum calycinum cell cultures

Hyperforin is an important antidepressant constituent of Hypericum perforatum (St. John's wort). Cell cultures of the related species H. calycinum were found to contain the homologue adhyperforin and to a low extent hyperforin, when grown in BDS medium in the dark. Adhyperforin formation paralleled cell culture growth. Cell-free extracts from the cell cultures contained isobutyrophenone synthase activity catalyzing the condensation of isobutyryl-CoA with three molecules of malonyl-CoA to give phlorisobutyrophenone, i.e. the hyperforin skeleton. The formation of the hyperforins during cell culture growth was preceded by an increase in isobutyrophenone synthase activity. The cell cultures also contained benzophenone synthase and chalcone synthase activities which are involved in xanthone and flavonoid biosyntheses, respectively. The three type III polyketide synthases were separated by anion exchange chromatography.     

The Fungus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Penicillium citrinum</Emphasis>, Isolated from Permafrost Sediments,as a Producer of Ergot Alkaloids and New Quinoline Alkaloids Quinocitrinines

Quinocitrinines and ergot alkaloids were synthesized by the strain Penicillium citrinum VKM FW-800 as the culture grews. The major part of these secondary metabolites was secreted into the medium. In the phase of growth deceleration, these metabolites were partly absorbed by the producer cells. Zinc ions stimulated both the primary and secondary metabolic processes. Addition of this microelement into the culture medium stimulated biomass accumulation and the synthesis of clavine alkaloids and quinocitrinines.     

Culture medium refinement by dialysis for the expansion of human induced pluripotent stem cells in suspension culture

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) secrete essential autocrine factors that are removed along with toxic metabolites when the growth medium is exchanged daily. In this study, after determining the minimum inhibitory level of lactic acid for hiPSCs, a medium refining system was constructed by which toxic metabolites were removed from used culture medium and autocrine factors as well as other growth factors were recycled. Specifically, about 87 % of the basic fibroblast growth factor and 80 % of transforming growth factor beta 1 were retained in the refined medium after dialysis. The refined medium efficiently potentiated the proliferation of hiPS cells in adherent culture. When the refining system was used to refresh medium in suspension culture, a final cell density of (1.1 ± 0.1) × 10⁶ cells mL^?1 was obtained, with 99.5 ± 0.2 % OCT 3/4 and 78.3 ± 1.1 % TRA-1-60 expression, on day 4 of culture. These levels of expression were similar to those observed in the conventional suspension culture. With this method, culture medium refinement by dialysis was established to remove toxic metabolites, recycle autocrine factors as well as other growth factors, and reduce the use of macromolecules for the expansion of hiPSCs in suspension culture.     

Culture conditions for zinc- and pH-regulated gene expression studies in Aspergillus fumigatus.

In Aspergillus fumigatus, the regulation of zinc homeostasis is strongly influenced by environmental pH. Thus, the study of zinc-regulated gene expression in A. fumigatus requires controlling variations in culture pH, as this may affect zinc availability. However, depending on the nitrogen source, the pH of the culture can change dramatically over time. In addition, due to the ubiquitous distribution of zinc and that it is an essential micronutrient required in minute amounts for optimal fungal growth, neither buffering of the culture media to prevent pH variations nor the use of chelating agents is advisable if mycelium is to be used for expression analyses. In this work, the growth of A. fumigatus in several culture media was examined in order to determine the conditions yielding mycelia suitable for gene expression analyses in acid and neutral media, regardless of zinc availability. Our results showed that a zinc-limiting synthetic basal medium could be readily converted into a zinc-replete one and subsequently into acid or neutral medium by using, respectively, ammonium or nitrate as nitrogen source.     

Zinc effects on LDH, MDH and alkaline phosphatase from cultures of fathead minnow cells.

1. Three purported zinc metalloenzymes have been investigated from cell cultures of the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas). 2. With the addition of increasingly higher concentrations of zinc to the tissue culture medium, the specific activity of LDH increased. 3. The results with MDH were equivocal. 4. The specific activity of alkaline phosphatase decreased in the presence of increasing amounts of zinc in the growth medium. 5. Zinc exogenously added to the LDH enzyme assay did not alter the LDH enzyme activity of cells grown without zinc.     

Production and composition of phenylpyrrole metabolites prodcued by Pseudomonas cepacia

Summary In shaken cultures, a strain of Pseudomonas cepacia isolated from apple leaves produced pyrrolnitrin and four other phenylpyrrole antibiotics. The concentrations of these metabolites were determined at intervals for 7 days in three different media at two initial pH levels. Optical density measurements revealed maximum cell concentrations after 24 h in nutrient broth, after 48 h in King's B medium, and after 96 h in minimum salts solution. The effects caused by initiating fermentations at pH 5.8 rather than 7.0 were in most cases not dramatic, although in some instances, especially in minimum salts broth, higher concentrations of metabolites were produced with the lower initial pH. Concentrations of the phenylpyrrole antibiotics were greatly affected by choice of culture medium and incubation time. Concentrations of the two nitrophenyl metabolites, pyrrolnitrin and 2-chloropyrrolnitrin, rose throughout the 7-day incubation and were more than 20 times greater in minimum salts medium than in either King's B medium or nutrient broth. The maximum concentrations of each of the three aminophenyl metabolites (dichloroamino, trichloroamino and monochloroamino) occurred in different media, the monochloro compound in nutrient broth, the dichloro compound in Kings B medium and the trichloro compound in minimum salts medium. The time dependence of the concentrations of the five metabolites supports the proposed biosynthesis of these pyrroles from tryptophan by successive chlorinations followed by oxidation of the amino group at the end of the pathway.     

Replicative aging of the yeast does not require DNA replication

Glucose addition to a stationary culture of wild-type Saccharomyces cerevisiae BY4742 cells with zero activity of MDR pumps resuspended in a fresh medium causes pump resynthesis (measured as pump-effected diS-C3(3) efflux). In a stationary culture in its original growth medium, this glucose-induced pump resynthesis fails to occur due to depletion of essential nutrients or to extracellular metabolites produced by cells during growth. Direct pump inactivation by metabolites is excluded since exponential cells with high MDR pump activity cultured in a medium with high concentration of extracellular metabolites retain this activity for at least 2 h. The metabolites also do not affect pump synthesis on the level of gene expression as addition of concentrated growth medium or an amino acid mixture to stationary cells in spent growth medium restores glucose-induced pump synthesis. The block of MDR pump synthesis is therefore due to the lack of essential nutrients in spent medium.     

An acidic fibroblast growth factor-like factor secreted into the brain cell culture medium upregulates apoE synthesis,HDL secretion and cholesterol metabolism in rat astrocytes

Production and release of apolipoprotein (apo) E and cholesterol were highly upregulated in the astrocytes prepared by 1-week secondary culture after 1-month primary culture of rat fetal brain cells (M/W cells) in comparison to the cells prepared by a conventional method of 1-week primary and 1-week secondary culture (W/W cells). Both cell preparations were mostly composed of astrocytes with small population of other glial cells, except that type-2 astrocyte-like cells accounted for 5–15% of M/W cells indicating more activated and/or matured status. The conditioned medium of the 1-month primary culture stimulated W/W cells to increase the release of apoE and cholesterol into the medium. The treatment of W/W cells by acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF) similarly upregulated biosyntheses and release of apoE and cholesterol. The effect of the conditioned medium was completely inhibited by pretreatment with an anti-aFGF antibody. The increase of the aFGF message was demonstrated in the brain cells after 1-month primary culture. The findings suggested that an aFGF-like trophic factor upregulates biosynthesis and secretion of apoE-high density lipoprotein (HDL) in astrocytes probably by autocrine stimulation in this culture system. Since this cytokine is highly expressed in the development or post-injury period of the brain, it putatively activates intercellular cholesterol transport to support construction or recovery of the brain.