Lipopolysaccharide of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Budvicia aquatica</Emphasis> 97U124: Immunochemical properties and structure

The structure and immunochemical properties of lipopolysaccharide from Budvicia aquatica 97U124, a representative of a novel species of Enterobacteriaceae, were studied. The O-polysaccharide (OPS) was isolated by mild acid hydrolysis and characterized by monosaccharide analysis and NMR spectroscopy. It was shown that the OPS from B. aquatica 97U124 consisted of repeating units with the structure      

Chemical characteristics and endotoxic activity of the lipopolysaccharide of Rahnella aquatilis 2-95

The lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from a new Enterobacteriaceae species, Rahnella aquatilis 2-95, was isolated and investigated. The structural components of the LPS molecule, namely, lipid A, core oligosaccharide, and O-specific polysaccharide, were obtained by mild acid hydrolysis. In lipid A, 3-oxytetradecanoic and tetradecanoic acids were found to be the predominant fatty acids. The major monosaccharides of the core oligosaccharide were galactose, arabinose, fucose, rhamnose, and an unidentified component. The O-specific polysaccharide was found to be assembled of a repeated trisaccharide unit of the following structure: The R. aquatilis 2-95 LPS is less toxic and more pyrogenic than the LPS from the R. aquatilis 1-95 strain studied earlier. Both acyl and phosphate groups are essential for toxic and pyrogenic activity of R. aquatilis 2-95 LPS.     

Bacterial antigen polysaccharides. 43. Structure for the O-specific polysaccharide of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Providencia alcalifaciens</Emphasis> O46

Acidic O-specific polysaccharide containing D-glucose, D-glucuronic acid, L-fucose, and 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucose was obtained by mild acid degradation of lipopolysaccharide from Providencia alcalifaciens O46. The following structure of the hexasaccharide repeating unit of the O-specific polysaccharide was established using methylation analysis along with ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy, including 2D ¹H, ¹H-COSY, TOCSY, ROESY, ¹H, ¹³C-HSQC, and HMQC-TOCSY experiments:

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Rahnella aquatilis 95U003 lipopolysaccharide

The lipopolysaccharide of a new species of Enterobacteriaceae, Rahnella aquatilis 95U003, was isolated and investigated. The structural components of the lipopolysaccharide molecule, lipid A, core oligosaccharide, and O-specific polysaccharide, were isolated by mild acidic hydrolysis. In lipid A, 3-hydroxytetradecanoic (64.3%) and tetradecanoic (22.3%) acids were found to be predominant fatty acids. In fractions 1 and 2 of the core oligosaccharides, galactose (36.6 and 43.6%), mannose (35.5 and 23.5%), and glucose (42.1 and 25.3%) were shown to be the major monosaccharides. The O-specific polysaccharide consisted of regularly repeating hexasaccharide units of the following structure:      

Antigenic polysaccharides of bacteria: 41. Structures of the O-specific polysaccharides of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Shigella dysenteriae</Emphasis> types 4 and 5 revised by NMR spectroscopy

The earlier established structures of the acidic O-specific polysaccharides from two typical strains of the Shigella dysenteriae bacterium were revised using modern NMR spectroscopy techniques. In particular, the configurations of the glycosidic linkages of GlcNAc (S. dysenteriae type 4) and mannose (S. dysenteriae type 5) residues were corrected. In addition, the location of the sites of non-stoichiometric O-acetylation in S. dysenteriae type 4 was determined: the lateral fucose residue was shown to be occasionally O-acetylated; also, theposition of the O-acetyl group present at the stoichiometric quantity in S. dysenteriae type 5 was corrected. The revised structures of the polysaccharides studied are shown below. The known identity of the O-specific polysaccharide structures of S. dysenteriae type 5 and Escherichia coli O58 was confirmed by ¹³C NMR spectroscopy and, hence, the structure of the E. coli O58 polysaccharide should be revised in the same manner.

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where L-Rhap3Rlac2Ac is 2-O-acetyl-3-O-[(R-1-carboxyethyl]-L-rhamnose

     

Characterization of the lipopolysaccharide of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> 126

The lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Escherichia coli 126 was isolated and studied. The lipid A fatty acid composition of the investigated LPS was similar to that of other members of the family Enterobacteriaceae. The E. coli 126 LPS was more toxic than the LPSs of previously studied E. coli strains and of other members of the Enterobacteriaceae (Budvicia aquatica and Pragia fontium), and was less pyrogenic than pyrogenal. SDS-PAG electrophoresis showed a bimodal distribution typical of S-form LPSs. The LPS of E. coli 126 decreased the adhesive index indicating a possible competition between LPS molecules of E. coli 126 and adhesins of E. coli F-50 on rabbit erythrocytes. The LPS of E. coli 126 in a homologous system showed antigenic activity in the reactions of double immunodiffusion in agar by Ouchterlony. No serological cross-reaction of the LPS of other E. coli strains, as well as of that of the B. aquatica type strain, with the antiserum to E. coli 126 was observed. The structural components of the lipopolysaccharide obtained by mild acid hydrolysis were lipid A, the core oligosaccharide, and the O-specific polysaccharide. Based on the data of monosaccharide analysis and ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy it was found that the O-specific polysaccharide had the structure characteristic of the representatives of E. coli serogroup O15.     

Increase of 1-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid concentration as a cause of temporary cessation of growth for <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arthrobacter</Emphasis> sp. K3: Kinetic analysis

Consumption of 1-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid by strain Arthrobacter sp. K3 was investigated. Drastic increase in the substrate concentration in flow culture was shown to induce the lag phase of growth in case the initial substrate concentration in the medium was not saturating; the culture originally saturated with the substrate (S

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K _S ) was resistant to the concentration increase. In accordance with the constructed kinetic model, lag phase results from an accumulation of intermediates in the metabolic system.

     

Antigenic polysaccharides of bacteria: 40. The structures of O-specific polysaccharides from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Shigella dysenteriae</Emphasis> types 3 and 9 and <Emphasis Type="Italic">S. boydii</Emphasis> type 4 revised by NMR spectroscopy

The reported structures of O-specific polysaccharides from three type strains of Shigella bacteria were corrected by modern NMR techniques. The revisions concerned the configuration of the O-glycoside linkage (S. dysenteriae type 3, structure 1), the positions of monosaccharide residue glycosylation and acetalation by pyruvic acid (S. dysenteriae type 9, structure 2), and the attachment position of the side monosaccharide chain (S. boydii type 4, structure 3).

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The activity of thyme essential oil against <Emphasis Type="Italic">Acinetobacter</Emphasis> spp.

The aim of this work was to investigate the antimicrobial properties of thyme essential oil against clinical multiresistant strains of Acinetobacter spp. The antibacterial activity of oil was tested against standard and clinical bacterial strains of Acinetobacter genus. The agar diffusion method was used to check the inhibition of microbial growth at various concentrations of the oil from Thymus vulgaris. Susceptibility testing to antibiotics and chemotherapeutics was prepared using the disc-diffusion method. Identification of bacterial strains was carried out with the Vitek system and confirmed by PCR for Acinetobacter baumanii gyrB gene. The results of experiments showed that the oil from T. vulgaris exhibited an extremely strong activity against all of the clinical strains of Acinetobacter. Thyme oil demonstrated a very good efficacy against multiresistant strains of tested bacteria. Essential oils seems to be an excellent alternative for synthetic preparations and that is reason for an extensive assessment of their antimicrobial activity.      

Characterization of the Lipopolysaccharide from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rahnella aquatilis</Emphasis> 1-95

The lipopolysaccharide from the freshwater bacterium Rahnella aquatilis 1-95 has been isolated and investigated for the first time. The structural components of the lipopolysaccharide molecule, such as lipid A, core oligosaccharide, and O-specific polysaccharide, were isolated by mild acidic hydrolysis. In lipid A, 3-hydroxytetradecanoic and tetradecanoic acids were found to be the predominant fatty acids. In the core, oligosaccharide, galactose, arabinose, fucose, and an unidentified component were shown to be the major monosaccharides. The O-specific polysaccharide consists of a regularly repeating trisaccharide unit with the following structure: . Both acyl and phosphate groups have been shown to be responsible for the toxic and pyrogenic properties of the lipopolysaccharide of R. aquatilis.__________Translated from Mikrobiologiya, Vol. 74, No. 4, 2005, pp. 466–474.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Varbanets, E. Zdorovenko, Ostapchuk, G. Zdorovenko.     

Phosphorylation is switch of L-type pyruvate kinase allostery

Among four pyruvate kinase isoenzymes, M1, M2, R and L, only M1 is considered as a nonallosteric enzyme. However, here we show that the non-phosphorylated L-type pyruvate kinase (L-PK) is also a non-allosteric enzyme with respect to its substrate phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP). The allosteric catalytic properties of L-PK are switched on through phosphorylation by cAMP-dependent protein kinase. The non-phosphorylated enzyme was produced by expressing the rat L-PK in E. coli, as the bacterium does not have mammalian-type protein kinases. The resulting tetrameric protein was phosphorylated with a stoichiometric ratio of one mole of phosphate per one L-PK monomer. Activity of the phosphorylated enzyme was allosterically regulated by PEP with the Hill coefficient n=2.5. It was observed that allostery was engaged by phosphorylation of the first subunit in the tetrameric enzyme, while further phosphorylation only modulated this effect. The discovered switching between non-allosteric and allosteric forms of L-PK and the possibility of modulating the allostery by phosphorylation are important for understanding of the interrelationship between allostery and the regulatory phosphorylation in general, and may have implication for further analysis of glycolysis regulation in the liver.      

Repression of lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis in Escherichia coli by an antisense RNA of Acetobacter methanolicus phage Acm1

Lysogenic Acetobacter methanolicus strains carrying the prophage Acm1 were found to be unable to synthesize both the capsutar polysaccharide (CPS) and the O-specific side-chain of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and to represent rough variants of the host bacterium. A 262 bp DNA fragment of phage Acm1, obviously required for interference with LPS biosynthesis, was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli Independently of the O-type, transformation of various E. coli strains with the recombinant DNA resulted in a suppression of biosynthesis of the O-specific chains. The DNA fragment of phage Acm1 contained three very short open reading frames of 21, 24, and 36 bp. However, attempts to express phage-encoded peptides were not successful. Instead, the Acm1-derived DNA fragment was shown to code for the synthesis of a trans-acting RNA molecule of 97 nucleotides, designated lbi (L PS b iosynthesis-i nterfering) RNA. This RNA contains sequence complementarity to E. coli target RNA sequences and appears to have the ability to form intracellularly RNA hybrid duplexes with mRNA. The data presented in this study support the hypothesis that the phenotypic effect of conversion to rough-type LPS is accompanied by the expression of an antisense RNA of phage Acm1.     

Variation in morphology of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Teucrium polium</Emphasis> aggr. populations in Bulgaria

The aim of this study was to investigate natural serpentine and non-serpentine populations of Teucrium polium aggr. and to document the differences in their morphological traits, as well as estimate which characters are most likely contributing to differentiation of the populations. Nine populations distributed both on and off serpentine soils were investigated, and 12 different morphological features of 270 individuals were studied by univariate and multivariate statistical analyses. The results did not demonstrate clear delimitation of the serpentine from the non-serpentine populations. Using these ecotypes as classification factors in the discriminant analysis, it can be stated that stem height, leaf length in the fifth leaf pair, internode length between the fourth and the fifth leaf pairs, and corolla tube length are features with the greatest discriminant ability. The character variation was generally higher for the vegetative features, while reproductive features failed to demonstrate clear differences. The similarity groupings indicated by the cluster analysis were synchronous with groups distinguished by both the discriminant and PCA analyses. Significant differences were observed between sets of vegetative characters in all populations investigated.      

Structure of the O-Specific polysaccharide from Shewanella japonica KMM 3601 containing 5,7-Diacetamido-3,5,7,9-tetradeoxy-D-glycero-D-talo-non-2-ulosonic acid

Structure of the O-specific polysaccharide chain of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Shewanella japonica KMM 3601 was elucidated. The initial and O-deacylated LPS as well as a trisaccharide representing the O-deacetylated repeating unit of the O-specific polysaccharide were studied by sugar analysis along with ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The polysaccharide was found to contain a rare higher sugar, 5,7-diacetamido-3,5,7,9-tetradeoxy-d-glycero-d-talo-non-2-ulosonic acid (a derivative of 4-epilegionaminic acid, 4eLeg). The following structure of the trisaccharide repeating unit was established: →4)-α-4eLegp5Ac7Ac-(2→4)-β-d-GlcpA3Ac-(1→3)-β-d-GalpNAc-(1→.     

Conformational analysis of cyclic dipeptides: I. , , , and

Conformational analysis of two pairs of synthetic cyclodipeptides formed by interaction of both side chain functional groups ( , and ) and of the main and side chains ( , and ) was achieved by the method of molecular mechanics. The energetically optimal conformational states of the molecules under study were determined. It was shown that the conformational motility of cyclic system of the compounds under study depends on the relative arrangement of the amide groups and the number of atoms in the cycle.     

CD95-CD95L interaction mediates the growth control of MHV68 immortalized B cells by cytotoxic T cells

<正>Dear Editor,The main limitation of the viral pathogenesis study of human gammaherpesviruses Epstein-Barr virus(EBV)and Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus(KSHV)is the absence of animal model owing to the narrow host tropism of both EBV and KSHV.Murine gammaherpesvirus 68(MHV68)encodes several genes involved in     

Characterization of a recombinant Akabane mutant virus with knockout of a nonstructural protein NSs in a pregnant goat model

正Dear Editor,Akabane virus(AKAV),an orthobunyavirus,is transmitted primarily by biting midges and is widely distributed throughout the world except the Europe.AKAV was first isolated from mosquitoes in Japan(Oya et al.,1961).Although pregnant cows,ewes,and goats infected with AKAV exhibit no clinical signs of disease,in utero infections result in abortion,premature birth,stillbirth,and     

Isolation and phylogenetic study of Rift Valley fever virus from the first imported case to China

<正>Dear Editor,Rift Valley fever(RVF)is an anthropozoonosis caused by Rift Valley fever virus(RVFV).RVFV belongs to the Phlebovirus genus in the family Bunyaviridae,which is circulating among ruminants.Human infection with RVFV is generally asymptomatic,however,minority of patients develop severe RVF diseases like encephalitis or     

Recombinant canarypox virus expressing the VP2 protein of infectious bursal disease virus induces protection in vaccinated SPF chickens

正Dear Editor,Infectious bursal disease virus(IBDV)causes infectious bursal disease,a highly contagious immunosuppressive disease that affects young chickens and causes economic losses in the poultry industry worldwide.IBDV replicates mainly in actively dividing B lymphocytes within the bursa of Fabricius(BF),leading to immunosuppression in affected flocks(Mahgoub et al.,2012).Viral protein 2(VP2),the only structural component of the IBDV     

Structural characterization of the O-specific polysaccharide from the lipopolysaccharide of the fish pathogen Aeromonas bestiarum strain P1S

The O-specific polysaccharide obtained by mild-acid degradation of lipopolysaccharide of Aeromonas bestiarum P1S was studied by sugar and methylation analyses along with ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The sequence of the sugar residues was determined using ¹H,¹H NOESY and ¹H,¹³C HMBC experiments. The O-specific polysaccharide was found to be a high-molecular-mass polysaccharide composed of tetrasaccharide repeating units of the structureSince small amounts of a terminal Quip3N residue were identified in methylation analysis, it was assumed that the elucidated structure also represented the biological repeating unit of the O-specific polysaccharide.