Photosynthetic response to salt of aquatic-living colonies of the terrestrial cyanobacterium <Emphasis Type="Italic">Nostoc</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">flagelliforme</Emphasis>

Aquatic-living colonial filaments of the terrestrial cyanobacterium Nostoc flagelliforme, developed from single cells in laboratory under aquatic conditions, were cultured at different salt concentrations (0–400 mM), and their photosynthetic responses were investigated to see their physiological tolerance. Light-saturated photosynthesis, photosynthetic efficiency and dark respiration showed the highest values in treatments at 20 mM NaCl for 24 or 48 h incubation. Changes in salt level exerted little influence on light saturation point and light compensation point. Patterns of photosynthetic performance as a function of salt were the same after 48 h as those after 24 h treatment, with the largest values at 20 mM NaCl, though photochemical efficiency increased with increased NaCl concentrations in the colonies treated for 48 h. From an applied point of view, the laboratory-generated aquatic living colonies are able to tolerate salt stress when transferred from aquatic to terrestrial environments.     

Notes on the growth and sporulation of a natural population of Aphanizomenon flos-aquae

Aphanizomenon flos-aquae contributed regularly to the summer phytoplankton in Kinnego Bay, a highly eutrophic part of Lough Neagh. Growth of the alga was variable in different years, and was apparently related to the duration of depletion of dissolved nitrate-nitrogen in the water. Although four growth pulses occurred during the study period, sporulation was only observed during one of these, when the population was very dense although evenly distributed down the water column. It seems that Aphanizomenon overwintered in Kinnego Bay as vegetative filaments and that production of akinetes was not necessary for perennation of the species. The observed sporulation in 1973 may have been induced by the high pH values caused by dense phytoplankton crops; no other measured environmental factors were particularly unfavourable to growth of Aphanizomenon at this time.     

Photochromic pigments in akinetes and pigment characteristics of akinetes in comparison with vegetative cells of Anabaena variabilis

Since akinete germination is triggered by light and the action spectrum for this process has features in common with the spectra of the two photochromic pigments, phycochromes b and d, a search was made for the presence of these phycochromes in akinetes of the blue-green alga. Anabaena variabilis Kützing. Allophycocyanin-B was also looked for, since the action spectrum for akinete germination points to a possible participation of this pigment too. Isoelectric focusing was used for purification of the pigments. The different fractions were investigated for phycochromes b and d by measuring the absorbance difference spectra: for phycochrome b. 500 nm irradiated minus 570 nm irradiated, and for phycochrome d, 650 nm irradiated minus 610 nm irradiated. For determination of allophycocyanin-B. fourth derivative analysis of absorption spectra was made for some of the fractions from the isoelectric focusing column. Phycochrome b was also assayed for by measuring in vivo absorption difference spectra. The assays were positive for all three pigments. The complete photosynthetic pigment systems were also studied by in vivo fluorescence measurements on both akinetes and vegetative cells of Anabaena variabilis. Fluorescence emission and excitation spectra at selected emission wavelengths were measured at room temperature and liquid nitrogen temperature. The energy transfer from phycoerythrocyanin to phycocyanin is very efficient under all conditions, as is the energy transfer from phycocyanin to allophycocyanin at room temperature. At low temperature, however, phycocyanin is partly decoupled from allophycocyanin, particularly in the akinetes; the energy transfer from allophycocyanin to chlorophyll a is less efficient at low temperature in both types of cells, but especially in akinetes. Delayed light emission was measured for both types of cells and found to be very weak in akinetes compared to vegetative cells. From this study it would seem that akinetes lack an active photosystem II, although the 691 nm peak in the 570 nm excited low temperature fluorescence emission spectrum proves the presence of photosystem II chlorophyll, and also its energetic connection to the phycobilisomes.     

Sporulation in the filamentous cyanobacterium Anabaena cylindrica

Sporulation in the filamentous cyanobacterium Anabaena cylindrica involves the transformation of a vegetative cell into a thick-walled resistant structure. Because this process occurs at predictable loci in each filament and involves a significant increase in cell size, the course of sporulation in a culture can be quantitatively determined. Sporulation occurs during the late logarithmic phase of a culture, a time of slow but unbalanced growth. Under the conditions imployed here, sporulation is not a synchronous event either between or within filaments. The information in this paper provides an estimate of the rate of spore differentiation and supports the previous notion that in the formation of strings of more than one spore, a gradient of spore maturation exists.     

Osmotic responses of unicellular blue-green algae (cyanobacteria): changes in cell volume and intracellular solute levels in response to hyperosmotic treatment

Abstract Changes in cell volume and solute content upon hyperosmotic shock have been studied for six unicellular blue-green algae (cyanobacteria): Synechococcus PCC 6301, PCC 6311; Synechocystis PCC 6702, PCC 6714, PCC 6803 and PCC 7008. The extent of change in volume was shown to be dependent upon the solute used to establish the osmotic gradient, with cells in NaCl showing a reduced shrinkage when compared to cells in media containing added sorbitol and sucrose. Uptake of extracellular solutes during hyperosmotic shock was observed in Synechocystis PCC 6714, with maximum accumulation of external solutes in NaCl and minimum solute uptake in sucrose solutions. Conversely, solute loss from the cells (K⁺ and amino acids) was greatest in sucrose-containing media and least in NaCl. The results show that these blue-green algae do not behave as ‘ideal osmometers’ in media of high osmotic strength. It is proposed that short-term changes in plasmalemma permeability in these organisms may be due to transient membrane instability resulting from osmotic imbalance between the cell and its surrounding fluid at the onset of hyperosmotic shock.     

Effective transformation of the cyanobacterium Spirulina platensis using electroporation

Although Spirulina (Arthrospira) is expected to be a suitableorganism for producing recombinant proteins, a gene transfer system hasnot yet been established, due to a lack of suitable vectors and because Spirulina appears refractory to common genetic manipulations. As theinitial stages of the development of recombinant DNA methodology, weexamined the effects on transformation efficiency of electroporationconditions such as electric-field strength (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12kV cm^-1) and time constant (2.5, 5 ms). At a time constant of2.5 ms, few transformants were observed regardless of the field strength.The longer time constant of 5.0 ms reproducibly yielded transformants atthe middle field strength of 4 - 8 kV cm^-1, but gave high killingand no transformation at the higher field strength of 10 - 12kV cm^-1. Chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) activities wereincreased only in the transformants from 2–6 kV cm^-1 and 5.0 ms.The density of the transformants was significantly correlated with therelative value of CAT activity (r = 0.89, n = 11, p < 0.01),suggesting that the chloramphenicol resistance was due to CAT activity. Weconcluded that transformation of S. platensis was most effective at apulse duration 5.0 ms with an electric field of 4 kV cm^-1, and thatforeign genes can be expressed in this organism.     

Influence of CO2, light and watering on growth of Nostoc flagelliforme mats

The terrestrial blue-green alga (cyanobacterium), Nostoc flagelliforme, was cultured in air at variouslevels of CO₂, light and watering to see theireffects on its growth. The alga showed the highestrelative growth rate at the conditions of highCO₂ (1500 ppm), high light regime (219–414mol m^-2s^-1) and twice daily watering,but the lowest rate at the conditions of low light(58–114 mol m^-2s^-1) and daily twicewatering. Increased watering had little effect ongrowth rate at 350 ppm CO₂, but increased byabout 70% at 1500ppm CO₂ under high lightconditions. It was concluded that enriched CO₂could enhance the growth of N. flagelliformewhen sufficient light and water was supplied.     

苏云金芽胞杆菌G03 spoIVF操纵子敲除对芽胞和晶体形成的影响

spoIVF是一个普遍存在于芽胞杆菌中的操纵子。在枯草芽胞杆菌中,它编码的两个蛋白是芽胞形成所必需的。采用基因重组技术敲除了苏云金芽胞杆菌G03菌株中的spoIVF操纵子,构建了spoIVF缺失株G03(spoIVF-)。研究表明:该突变株丧失了形成芽胞和晶体的能力。lacZ基因与cry1Aa基因的启动子融合表达分析发现:突变株中的cry1Aa基因的活性严重降低。利用载体pSTK携带spoIVF操纵子在突变株中的表达,使突变株部分恢复了产胞和形成杀虫晶体蛋白的能力。这说明spoIVF操纵子是所必需的,同时该操纵子还影响σ^E因子控制的cry1Aa基因表达。     

Metabolic rates during sporulation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae on acetate

We have quantified yeast carbon and oxygen consumption fluxes and estimated anabolic fluxes through glyoxylate and gluconeogenic pathways under various conditions of sporulation on acetate. The percentage of sporulation reached a maximum of 55% to 60% after 48 h in sporulation medium, for cells harvested from logarithmic growth in acetate minimal medium. When cells were harvested in the stationary phase of growth before transfer to sporulation medium, the maximum percentage of sporulation decreased to 40% along with the occurrence of meiosis as could be judged by counting of bi- and tetra-nucleated cells. In both experiments, the rates of acetate and oxygen consumption decreased as a function of time when exposed to sporulation medium. Apparently, the decrease of metabolic rates was not due to alkalinization. By systematically varying the cell concentration in sporulation medium from 1.4×10⁷ to 20×10⁷ cell ml^-1, the percentage of sporulating cells was found to decrease in parallel with the rate of acetate consumption. When the sporulation efficiency attained under the different experimental conditions was plotted as a function of the rate of acetate consumption, a linear correlation was found. Anabolic fluxes estimation revealed a decrease of the rate through gluconeogenic and glyoxylate pathways occurring during sporulation progression. The pattern of metabolic fluxes progressively evolved toward a predominance of more oxidative catabolic fluxes than those exhibited under growth conditions. The results obtained are discussed in terms of a characteristic pattern of metabolic fluxes and energetics, associated to the development of yeast sporulation.Abbreviations DAPI 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole - dw dry weight - OD₅₄₀ optical density at 540 nm - SEM standard error of the mean - RQ respiratory quotient     

Ecology of a marineRivularia population

An account is given of the environmental chemistry and physiological ecology of a population ofRivularia atra growing in the upper eulittoral of Tyne Sands, a sheltered bay in S-E. Scotland. Large masses of detached seaweed tend to be deposited in the supralittoral of this bay and their decay leads to elevated levels of dissolved phosphate (typically 50–150 μg 1⁻¹ P) in the water of shallow pools of the upper eulittoral. Much (usually 50%) of this phosphate is organic, as opposed to phosphate in the open sea just outside the bay, where it is almost entirely inorganic. This organic phosphate is presumably available to theRivularia, as colonies show marked alkaline phosphatase activity. The colonies are small (mostly <1 mm diameter), but with a high nitrogenase activity (expressed per unit chlorophyll) in the light are high (sometimes approaching 0.2 nM C₂H₄ μg chl a⁻¹ min⁻¹ × 10⁻³) but there is a rapid and very marked drop on transfer to the dark. It is suggested that this latter feature may be of adaptive significance for this population, as colonies in many pools are covered intermittently by sand.     

Bicarbonate is a stimulus in the inter-species induced sporulation of strict anaerobic Syntrophomonas erecta subsp. sporosyntropha

Previously Syntrophomonas species had been described as the bacteria those did not form spores, however, in our previous studies, a newly isolated S. erecta subsp. sporosyntropha JCM13344^T was found to form spores in the co-culture with methanogens, while not in mono-culture or in co-culture with sulfate reducer. In this study, we examined the sporulation stimulus conferred by methanogens in the co-culture. By reducing bicarbonate in mono-culture and sulfate-reducing co-culture, we could induce S. erecta subsp. sporosyntropha JCM13344^T to form spores, so that bicarbonate at lower concentration was determined as another stimulus for sporulation. Based on the substrate degradation by strain JCM13344^T in different concentration of bicarbonate vs at different pHs, it was suggested that bicarbonate could stimulate the sporulation by mediating a nutrient deprivation but not pH drop. To further confirm the sporulation potential of this group of bacteria, spo0A fragments were amplified from strain JCM13344^T as well as all the recognized Syntrophomonas species, confirming that they were members of the spore-forming group. Since sporulation is a kind of response of spore-forming bacteria to environmental stresses, the observation in this work implies that stresses can be created even between the mutual beneficial partners, in this case, inducing sporulation.     

苏云金芽胞杆菌Sigma H对芽胞形成的影响

【目的】检测苏云金芽胞杆菌HD73中的转录调控因子Sigma H(σ~H)对spo0A基因转录的调控作用;异源表达纯化Sigma H蛋白,验证其对spo0A基因启动子的直接结合;检测sigH基因的缺失对苏云金芽胞杆菌HD73芽胞形成和晶体蛋白产生的影响。【方法】通过测定spo0A基因启动子指导的β-半乳糖苷酶活性评价spo0A基因在苏云金芽胞杆菌HD73野生型和sigH缺失突变体中的转录水平;通过PCR扩增苏云金芽胞杆菌HD73的sigH基因并插入到表达载体pET21b上,将质粒转入到表达菌株BL21(DE3)中,得到重组菌株BL21 (pETsigH);利用镍柱亲和纯化和阴离子交换纯化得到纯化的Sigma H蛋白;通过凝胶迁移实验(electrophoretic mobility shift assay,EMSA)验证Sigma H蛋白与spo0A基因启动子的直接结合;通过显微镜观察、活芽胞计数的方法对突变株HDΔsigH进行表型特征分析。【结果】sigH缺失后,spo0A基因转录活性降低;在大肠杆菌中正确表达并纯化出大小约为28kDa的Sigma H-His蛋白;EMSA结果表明纯化后的Sigma H-His蛋白可与spo0A基因启动子结合;镜检和活芽胞计数结果表明突变株HDΔsigH无法产生芽胞和蛋白晶体。【结论】Sigma H蛋白通过与spo0A基因启动子结合直接调控spo0A基因的表达且sigH基因的缺失阻断了苏云金芽胞杆菌中芽胞和晶体蛋白的产生。     

里氏木霉VPS13基因缺失对菌丝分支、生孢和纤维素酶产量的影响

【目的】丝状真菌里氏木霉是纤维素酶生产的主要工业真菌。纤维素酶分泌过程中的蛋白运输途径是控制大量纤维素酶成功输出的重要环节,因此,研究蛋白分泌途径的特定靶标基因功能将有助于鉴定纤维素酶运输分泌过程的关键调控因子。本研究借助基因敲除方法将里氏木霉液泡蛋白分选相关基因VPS13缺失,分析了该基因缺失对菌株生长、生孢尤其是纤维素酶分泌的影响。【方法】利用Double-joint PCR技术和同源重组策略构建里氏木霉VPS13基因缺失突变株,通过菌丝培养、显微观察、生孢检测、蛋白与酶活测定,系统比较VPS13基因敲除前后菌株的生长特征、菌丝形态、孢子形成、蛋白分泌以及纤维素酶活等。【结果】成功获得两株VPS13基因缺失株。与出发菌株相比,该基因突变后菌丝蔓延速率明显减慢,但菌体生物量在对数生长期后显著增多。通过显微观察,发现该基因缺失株菌丝更加密集,分支明显增多。此外,该基因缺失也导致菌株生孢延迟。纤维素底物平板分析发现VPS13基因缺失株菌落周围透明圈更加清晰,且透明圈圈径比是出发菌株的4倍,说明降解纤维素的能力有明显提高。进一步的液体发酵实验结果显示,该基因缺失导致蛋白产量及纤维素酶活力分别提高16.4%和21.9%。【结论】里氏木霉VPS13基因在菌丝生长、生孢、蛋白分泌等不同生物学过程中具有功能多样性,且该基因在菌种改良上可以作为提高纤维素酶产量的重要靶点。     

Enhancement of sporulation in species of Bipolaris, Curvularia, Drechslera, and Exserohilum by growth on cellulose-containing substrates

Nine species of Bipolaris, Curvularia, Drechslera, and Exserohilum were compared for sporulation on agar media and for enhancement of sporulation by growth on four cellulose-containing substrates (index card, filter paper, cheesecloth, cotton fabric). On two natural and one synthetic agar media, sporulation varied from profuse to nonexistent among three isolates of each species. Growth of all species on cellulose substrates resulted in large and significant increases in sporulation. Growth on index card pieces often provided the greatest increases, but no single substrate was superior for all species, and significant substrate × isolate interactions were observed within species. Overlay of filter paper onto whole colonies in agar plates resulted in 2 to 18-fold increases in sporulation for eight of nine species and production of spores in sufficient quantity for most experimental purposes. Overlay of soil dilution plates with filter paper to promote sporulation of colonies enabled detection of B. spicifera, B. hawaiiensis, C. lunata, and E. rostratum at relatively low population levels (≤1.3 × 10³ colony-forming units per gram of soil) in samples of a naturally infested soil. Results indicate that enhancement of sporulation by growth of species of Bipolaris, Curvularia, Drechslera, and Exserohilum on cellulose substrates may facilitate (i) their identification in culture, (ii) production of spores at relatively high concentrations, and (iii) detection and enumeration of these fungi in soil.     

苏云金杆菌Bt4.0718不同时期比较转录组揭示芽胞和杀虫伴胞晶体形成机制

【目的】苏云金芽胞杆菌(Bacillus thuringiensis, Bt)在形成芽胞的过程中产生大量杀虫晶体蛋白(insecticidal crystal proteins, ICPs)，是目前应用最广泛、最安全的微生物杀虫剂的主要菌株资源。本研究旨在比较Bt 3个重要时期的转录组，进一步探究芽胞和杀虫伴胞晶体的形成机制，为高效工程菌的构建奠定理论基础。【方法】选取高毒力Bt4.0718菌株营养生长中期(T1-10h)、芽胞形成前期(T2-20 h)、芽胞形成后期(T3-32 h)进行比较转录组分析，对代表性差异基因进行实时荧光定量PCR(real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR, qRT-PCR)验证、特定功能基因的敲除和表型分析验证。【结果】差异表达基因数量分别为2 147个(T2/T1)、1 861个(T3/T1)、1 708个(T3/T2)。T1时期，培养基中营养相对丰富，主要为芽胞和杀虫伴胞晶体形成做准备。芽胞形成重要调控基因kinA/D、spo0A/F、sigE高水平转录对菌体的生长发育具有重要作用，Cry1Ac、碳源、能源贮藏物聚...     

Use of Brassica callus culture to induce sporulation in Alternaria brassicae (Berk.) Sacc.

A non-sporulating isolate of Alternaria brassicae, inoculated on callus culture of Brassica juncea cv. Kranti, colonized the callus and produced spores. When captafol, a fungicide, was added (100 mg/l) to the callus culture medium, if effectively checked fungal contamination and saprophytic growth of A. brassicae on culture medium, without adversely affecting callus growth or establishment of dual culture.     

Suppression and reactivation of UV-induced sporulation by blue light inBipolaris oryzae

Sporulation inBipolaris oryzae was induced by UV radiation (295 nm), but the number of conidia gradually decreased with increasing duration of UV radiation longer than 1 min. The inductive effect of UV radiation can be nullified by blue light (459 nm) applied immediately before or after inductive UV radiation shorter than 1 min. In contrast, the number of conidia increased with an increasing duration of blue light applied after inductive UV radiation longer than 1 min, but not if it was applied before UV radiation. The present study firstly revealed the possibility of photoreactivation inB. oryzae sporulation.     

Glutamine synthetase and arginine inhibition of nitrate reductase activity in Anabaena cycadeae

Wild-type Anabaena cycadeae with normal glutamine synthetase (GS) activity utilized arginine as sole N source whereas a mutant strain lacking GS activity did not. Nitrate reductase (NR) activity, higher in the mutant strain than the wild-type strain, was inhibited by arginine though arginine-dependent NH ₄ ⁺ generation was higher in the mutant strain than in the wild-type. This suggests that (1) NR activity is NO _inf3 ^sup- -inducible and arginine-repressible; and (2) while GS activity is required for the assimilation of arginine as sole N-source, it is not required for arginine inhibition of NR activity.S. Singh was with the Department of Biochemistry, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong-793014, India, and is now with P.S. Bisen at the Department of Microbiology, Barkatullah University, Bhopal-462026, India     

Hg2+ and Cd2+ induced inhibition of light induced proton efflux in the cyanobacteriumAnabaena flos-aquae

Light induced proton efflux in intact cells ofAnabaena flos-aquae is inhibited by the heavy metals Hg²⁺ and Cd²⁺. Furthermore, Hg²⁺ and Cd²⁺ reduced the¹⁴CO₂ fixation, oxygen evolution and carbonic anhydrase activity responsible for H⁺ efflux.