Biosynthesis of Prodigiosin, a Secondary Metabolite of Serratia marcescens

Prodigiosenes (prodigiosin and prodigiosin-like pigments) are known to be synthesized by only one genus of Eubacteriales and by two genera of Actinomycetales. Biosynthesis by Serratia marcescens occurs over a relatively narrow range of temperatures, although the bacteria grow over a broad range. When cultures of S. marcescens were incubated at 27 C in 1.0% casein hydrolysate, viable count and protein attained maximal values within 24 to 48 h, whereas prodigiosin did not reach a maximum until 96 h. The greatest amount of pigment was synthesized when cultures were in the senescent phase of growth. Suspensions of nonproliferating bacteria incubated at 27 C in only L-alanine also synthesized prodigiosin, although at a slower rate than growing cultures. Kinetics of growth for the wild-type, red S. marcescens and a white mutant were identical when incubated at 27 C, but the wild type produced abundant pigment. These results plus other data obtained from the literature suggest that prodigiosin is a secondary metabolite. The importance of this proposal to understanding the function of prodigiosin in S. marcescens is discussed.     

Chromosome diversity and similarity within the Actinomycetales

Many chromosomes from Actinomycetales, an order within the Actinobacteria, have been sequenced over the last 10 years and the pace is increasing. This group of Gram-positive and high G+C% bacteria is economically and medically important. However, this group of organisms also is just about the only order in the kingdom Bacteria to have a relatively high proportion of linear chromosomes. Chromosome topology varies within the order according to the genera. Streptomyces, Kitasatospora and Rhodococcus, at least as chromosome sequencing stands at present, have a very high proportion of linear chromosomes, whereas most other genera seem to have circular chromosomes. This review examines chromosome topology across the Actinomycetales and how this affects our concepts of chromosome evolution.     

放线菌15个属中线型染色体和线型质粒的检测

在属于放线菌目 (Actinomycetales)链霉菌属 (Streptomyces)下的不同种中发现了约 5 0 0 0种抗生素和生理活性物质 ,其作用包括抗细菌、抗真菌、除草、杀虫、抗肿瘤和免疫抑制剂等[1 ] 。在属于放线菌目的红球菌属 (Rhodococcus)和诺卡氏菌属 (Nocardia)中有许多种可以降解多种工业有毒化合物 ,如苯酚、多卤联苯、脂环烃和硝基芳族等[2 ] 。一般细菌的染色体和质粒DNA为环型结构。近年来 ,人们利用脉冲电泳技术发现在链霉菌等少数细菌中存在线型结构的染色体和质粒[3] ,有的巨大线型质粒上还带有完整的抗生素生物合成基因簇[4 ]或降解多…     

F420H2-dependent degradation of aflatoxin and other furanocoumarins is widespread throughout the actinomycetales

Two classes of F(420)-dependent reductases (FDR-A and FDR-B) that can reduce aflatoxins and thereby degrade them have previously been isolated from Mycobacterium smegmatis. One class, the FDR-A enzymes, has up to 100 times more activity than the other. F(420) is a cofactor with a low reduction potential that is largely confined to the Actinomycetales and some Archaea and Proteobacteria. We have heterologously expressed ten FDR-A enzymes from diverse Actinomycetales, finding that nine can also use F(420)H(2) to reduce aflatoxin. Thus FDR-As may be responsible for the previously observed degradation of aflatoxin in other Actinomycetales. The one FDR-A enzyme that we found not to reduce aflatoxin belonged to a distinct clade (herein denoted FDR-AA), and our subsequent expression and analysis of seven other FDR-AAs from M. smegmatis found that none could reduce aflatoxin. Certain FDR-A and FDR-B enzymes that could reduce aflatoxin also showed activity with coumarin and three furanocoumarins (angelicin, 8-methoxysporalen and imperatorin), but none of the FDR-AAs tested showed any of these activities. The shared feature of the compounds that were substrates was an α,β-unsaturated lactone moiety. This moiety occurs in a wide variety of otherwise recalcitrant xenobiotics and antibiotics, so the FDR-As and FDR-Bs may have evolved to harness the reducing power of F(420) to metabolise such compounds. Mass spectrometry on the products of the FDR-catalyzed reduction of coumarin and the other furanocoumarins shows their spontaneous hydrolysis to multiple products.     

Geographical location determines the population structure in phyllosphere microbial communities of a salt-excreting desert tree

The leaf surfaces of Tamarix, a salt-secreting desert tree, harbor a diverse community of microbial epiphytes. This ecosystem presents a unique combination of ecological characteristics and imposes a set of extreme stress conditions. The composition of the microbial community along ecological gradients was studied from analyses of microbial richness and diversity in the phyllosphere of three Tamarix species in the Mediterranean and Dead Sea regions in Israel and in two locations in the United States. Over 200,000 sequences of the 16S V6 and 18S V9 hypervariable regions revealed a diverse community, with 788 bacterial and 64 eukaryotic genera but only one archaeal genus. Both geographic location and tree species were determinants of microbial community structures, with the former being more dominant. Tree leaves of all three species in the Mediterranean region were dominated by Halomonas and Halobacteria, whereas trees from the Dead Sea area were dominated by Actinomycetales and Bacillales. Our findings demonstrate that microbial phyllosphere communities on different Tamarix species are highly similar in the same locale, whereas trees of the same species that grow in different climatic regions host distinct microbial communities.     

Effect of signal compounds and incubation conditions on the culturability of freshwater bacterioplankton

The effect of signal compounds and of different incubation conditions on the culturability (i.e., the fraction of all cells capable of growth) of natural bacterioplankton from the eutrophic lake Zwischenahner Meer was investigated over a period of 20 months. Numbers of growing cells were determined by the most-probable-number technique in liquid media containing low concentrations (10 micro M) of the signal compounds N-(oxohexanoyl)-DL-homoserine lactone, N-(butyryl)-DL-homoserine lactone, cyclic AMP (cAMP), or ATP. cAMP was the most effective signal compound, leading to significantly increased cultivation efficiencies of up to 10% of the total bacterial counts. Microautoradiography with [2,8-(3)H]cAMP, combined with fluorescence in situ hybridization, demonstrated that cAMP was taken up by 18% of all cells. The bacterial cAMP uptake systems had a very low K(m) value of 相似文献   

Two-component signal transduction systems in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Streptomyces</Emphasis> and related organisms studied using DNA comparative microarray analysis

Two component sensor-response regulator systems (TCSs) are very common in the genomes of the Streptomyces species that have been fully sequenced to date. It has been suggested that this large number is an evolutionary response to the variable environment that Streptomyces encounter in soil. Notwithstanding this, TCSs are also more common in the sequenced genomes of other Actinomycetales when these are compared to the genomes of most other eubacteria. In this study, we have used DNA/DNA genome microarray analysis to compare 14 Streptomyces species and one closely related genus to Streptomyces coelicolor in order to identify a core group of such systems. This core group is compared to the syntenous and non-syntenous TCSs present in the genome sequences of other Actinomycetales in order to separate the systems into those present in Actinomycetales in general, the Streptomyces specific systems and the species specific systems. Horizontal transfer does not seem to play a very important role in the evolution of the TCS complement analyzed in this study. However, cognate pairs do not necessarily seem to evolve at the same pace, which may indicate the evolutionary responses to environmental variation may be reflected differently in sequence changes within the two components of the TCSs. The overall analysis allowed subclassification of the orphan TCSs and the TCS cognate pairs and identification of possible targets for further study using gene knockouts, gene overexpression, reporter genes and yeast two hybrid analysis. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

海洋放线菌盐孢菌属研究进展

1991年,Jensen等从热带及亚热带海洋样品中分离获得了放线菌目专性海洋放线菌类群MAR1。根据形态学特征、生理生化特征及16S rRNA基因分析,提议该类群为新属——盐孢菌属(Salinospora)。2005年,盐孢菌属被正式报道,并将Salinospora更正为Salinispora。盐孢菌属是放线菌目第一个被报道的专性海洋微生物属,可以产生丰富的活性次级代谢产物,使盐孢菌属成为海洋微生物研究的热点。短短几年内,相继报道了许多研究成果。本文从盐孢菌属的建立过程、属及所含种的分类特征、生理生态学研究、次级代谢产物和分子生物学研究等方面对盐孢菌属的研究进展进行综述。     

Biochemistry and genetics of actinomycete cellulases.

The order Actinomycetales includes a number of genera that contain species that actively degrade cellulose and these include both mesophilic and facultative thermophilic species. Cellulases produced by strains from two of the genera containing thermophilic organisms have been studied extensively: Microbispora bispora and Thermomonospora fusca. Fractionation of M. bispora cellulases has identified six different enzymes, all of which were purified to near homogeneity and partially characterized. Two of these enzymes appear to be exocellulases and gave synergism with each other and with the endocellulases. The structural genes of five M. bispora cellulases have been cloned and one was sequenced. Fractionation of T. fusca cellulases has identified five different enzymes, all of which were purified to near homogeneity and partially characterized. One of the T. fusca enzymes gives synergism in the hydrolysis of crystalline cellulose with several T. fusca endocellulases and with Trichoderma reesei CBHI but not with T. reesei CBHII. Each T. fusca cellulase contains distinct catalytic and cellulose binding domains. The structural genes of four of the T. fusca endoglucanases have been cloned and sequenced, while three cellulase genes have been cloned from "T. curvata". The T. fusca cellulase genes are expressed at a low level in Escherichia soli, but at a high level in Streptomyces lividans. Sequence comparisons have shown that there are no significant amino acid homologies between any of the catalytic domains of the four T. fusca cellulases, but each of them shows extensive homology to several other cellulases and fits in one of the five existing cellulase gene families. There have been extensive studies of the regulation of the synthesis of these cellulases and a number of regulatory mutants have been isolated. This work has shown that the different T. fusca cellulases are coordinately regulated over a 100-fold range by two independent controls; induction by cellobiose and repression by any good carbon source.     

Cell Recognition: Antigenic Determinants of Plant Organs and Their Cultured Callus Cells

We present evidence that plant cells, like animal cells, may be typed according to their specific cellular determinants. Stems, leaves, pistils, and anthers of sweet cherry, Prunus avium , and their derived callus cells in culture have been examined by immunological methods to determine both to what extent parental characteristics are retained by the callus cells and the relationship between callifrom different organs. For the organs, some antigenic determinants were shared while others were unique to a particular organ. Callus cells derived from different organs share some common determinants, while others are specific. Although the callus cells from a particular organ retained their antigenic individuality, they also expressed a wider range of determinants than their parental tissues. Parental antigens were still expressed in callus cells after four subcultures. In suspension culturès of leaf and pistil callus, the organ-specific antigens were present in the culture filtrate and were associated with the protein rather than polysaccharide fractions.     

抗生素对于对虾苗池水体细菌区系的影响

以细菌16S rDNA片段作为分子标记,采用PCR结合DGGE（Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis）的方法构建了细菌区系指纹图谱,研究了对虾苗池使用硫酸链霉素、土霉素和氨苄青霉素3种抗生素后水体细菌区系的变化.结果表明：在120 h试验期内,与对照组相比,苗池水体分别经0.5 mg·L^-1的硫酸链霉素、土霉素和氨苄青霉素处理后,细菌区系均产生了显著变化;对照组水体0～30 h时段的细菌DGGE条带聚为一组,56～120 h取样时的条带聚为一组;而3个处理组水体0～56 h时段的细菌DGGE条带聚为一组,72～120 h聚为一组.对DGGE图谱典型条带进行测序,经BLAST-N比对,表明对虾苗池水体细菌多样性丰富,包括可培养的细菌（主要包括亚硫酸盐杆菌、红假单胞菌、美人鱼发光杆菌、聚球菌、海洋放线菌、黄杆菌、丝状光合细菌、粘细菌、哈氏弧菌）和某些不可培养的其他海洋细菌等.其中,单胞菌、发光杆菌、放线菌、黄杆菌、粘细菌和2种不可培养的其他海洋细菌不受抗生素的影响;而硫细菌、丝状光合细菌和另外8种不可培养的其他海洋细菌则因抗生素种类不同产生了不同的时空变化.     

PhyloChip hybridization uncovered an enormous bacterial diversity in the rhizosphere of different potato cultivars: many common and few cultivar-dependent taxa

The phylogenetic composition of bacterial communities in the rhizosphere of three potato cultivars grown at two distant field sites was analysed. Ribosomal gene fragments amplified from total community DNA were hybridized to PhyloChips. A total of 2432 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were detected by the PhyloChips, of which 65% were found in the rhizosphere of all cultivars at both field sites. From all detected OTUs, 9% revealed a cultivar-dependent abundance at the one or the other field site and 4% at both sites. Differential abundance on the three cultivars was mainly observed for OTUs belonging to the Pseudomonadales, Actinomycetales and Enterobacteriales. More than 40% of OTUs belonging to Bradyrhizobiales, Sphingomonadales, Burkholderiales, Rhodocyclales, Xanthomonadales and Actinomycetales differed significantly in their abundance between the sites. A sequence analysis of six 16S rRNA gene clone libraries corresponded well with the taxonomic community structure evidenced by the PhyloChip hybridization. Most ribotypes matched OTUs detected by the PhyloChip. Those OTUs that responded to the potato cultivar at both field sites might be of interest in view of cultivar-specific effects on bacterial biocontrol strains and pathogens.     

Conjugative transfer of a plasmid from Escherichia coli to various strains of the order Actinomycetales

The conjugal transfer of autonomous and integrative plasmids from the donor strain Escherichia coli S17-1 to strains of genera Actinomadura, Arthrobacter, Kitasatoa, Micromonospora, Nocardia, Rhodococcus, Saccharopolyspora, and to 16 strains of the genus Streptomyces was demonstrated. The status of plasmids in recipient strains and the stability of their inheritance were analyzed. Plasmids constructed for strains of the genus Streptomyces were shown to function in a large number of strains belonging to the order Actinomycetales. The well-developed system of Streptomyces vector molecules and cloned genes of antibiotic biosynthesis allows their transfer to those microorganisms for which conventional techniques of plasmid transfer by regenerated protoplast transformation or electroporation have not been developed or are inefficient.     

Regulation of nitrogen metabolism in Mycobacterium tuberculosis: a comparison with mechanisms in Corynebacterium glutamicum and Streptomyces coelicolor

The mechanisms governing the regulation of nitrogen metabolism in Corynebacterium glutamicum and Streptomyces coelicolor have been extensively studied. These Actinomycetales are closely related to the Mycobacterium genus and may therefore serve as a models to elucidate the cascade of nitrogen signalling in other mycobacteria. Some factors involved in nitrogen metabolism in Mycobacterium tuberculosis have been described, including glutamine synthetase and its adenylyltransferase, but not much data concerning the other components involved in the signalling cascade is available. In this review a comparative study of factors involved in nitrogen metabolism in C. glutamicum and S. coelicolor is made to identify similarities with M. tuberculosis on both a genomic and proteomic level. This may provide insight into a potential global mechanism of nitrogen control in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.     

Cytoplasmic antigen relationships among the Actinomycetales

Kwapinski, J. B. (The University of New England, Armidale, N.S.W., Australia). Cytoplasmic antigen relationships among the Actinomycetales. J. Bacteriol. 87:1234-1237. 1964.-Cytoplasm obtained from 44 strains of the Actinomycetales was tested against the homologous and heterologous antisera in a diffusion precipitation test. A pattern of serological relationships among the cytoplasmic fractions was revealed, with Mycobacterium smegmatis occupying a central position in the antigenic evolution of these microorganisms.     

Evidence for a common cytoplasmic determinant of longevity and senescence in the ascomycete Podospora anserina

Summary With the aim of establishing whether a relationship existed between longevity and senescent determinants, three kinds of experiments have been carried out.First, the study of heteroplasmons obtained by mixing together ground mycelia of different longevities, led to observe that the resulting heteroplasmons exhibited the longevity of one parent. Two interpretations were suggested: either the elimination of one sort of determinant, or the dominance, if the two remain together.Second, the use of heteroplasmons obtained by anastomosis allowed to follow the transmission of one type of determinants into a cytoplasm containing another type of determinants. The results are in agreement with the invasion hypothesis.Finally the multiplication of senescent determinants was followed during the incubation period. The number of senescent determinants increased exponentially. The experiments demonstrated that the increase rate is different for strains of different longevities. It can be established a correlation between the increasing rate and the amount of growth necessary before the senescent morphology becomes manifest.A common particle could be responsible of the longevity and senescence characteristics of a given race. The longevity determinant can be transformed into a senescent determinant either by a structural modification of the particle, or through a functional modificationThe correspondence between the longevity determinant and the senescence factor is discussed as the correspondence of the longevity determinant to a known cytoplasmic organelles.     

Immunochemical studies on blood groups. The combining site specificities of mouse monoclonal hybridoma anti-A and anti-B

Mouse monoclonal hybridomas, five anti-blood group A, three anti-B, and one anti-AB, produced by various methods of immunization, have been characterized by quantitative precipitin tests and the fine structures of their combining sites have been mapped by oligosaccharide inhibition assays. The combining sites of antibodies of each specificity differed among themselves. Three of the five monoclonals were specific for difucosyl and two for monofucosyl A determinants. All but the anti-AB were strictly specific for blood group A or blood group B erythrocytes; all of the anti-A monoclonals gave essentially equivalent titers in hemagglutination tests with A1 and A2 erythrocytes except for a monoclonal anti-A prepared by immunization with a human gastric cancer cell line. The data provide additional evidence for the heterogeneity of the antibody response to the different antigenic determinants present on blood A and B substances and emphasize the importance of difucosyl determinants which comprise most of the determinants on the water-soluble blood group substances.     

几株具有除莠活性的放线菌的鉴定

14 strains of Actinomycetes were isolated from soil samples collected in Yunnan China Experiments showed that they had activity of herbicide. In this paper,the morphological and chemotaxonomic characters of these strains were studied and they were identified as three genera of Actinomycetales respecitively, such as Streptomyces, Micromonospora and Nocardia.     

Characteristics of the antigenic complexes that determine cross reactions between brucellae and Yersinia enterocolitica 09

In the study of antigens with different chemical composition, isolated from different Brucella species and from Y. enterocolitica 09, the common character and antigenic relationship of Brucella and Y. enterocolitica 09 in respect to their lipopolysaccharide (LPS) components and protein antigens have been established. The occurrence of serological cross reactions between the above microorganisms is due to their common LPS determinants.     

Expression of an onco-developmental antegen among avian species.

Rabbit antisera directed against an onco-developmental antigen on chicken red blood cells have been serologically dissected through specific adsorptions. It is now possible to detect 13 antigenic determinants with the fractionated antisera. The onco-developmental antigen referred to as chicken fetal-leukemic antigen (CFA) is fetal-specific in the white Leghorn chicken, being present on the embryonic but not adult peripheral red blood cells of non-being present on the embryonic but not adult peripheral red blood cells of non-leukemic birds. However, one or more of the onco-developmental antigenic determinants have been detected on adult peripheral red blood cells of non-Gallus avian species, as well as on red blood cells from two adult chicken varieties. For phylogenetic purposes, red blood cells from avian species were characterized for their combinations of CFA determinants. Comparisons among species revealed specific patterns of antigenic expression within phylogenetic groups. Several CFA determinants were restricted in their occurrence to species within a single family, and one determinant was found in all cases where CFA was expressed. The distribution of CFA determinants was used to determine immunological distances among four Galliform species. These distances agreed with the immunological relationships established using different serological markers.