加压CO2对大肠杆菌细胞膜的损伤作用

[目的]细菌细胞膜的损伤可以表现在细菌细胞内物质泄漏和细菌细胞吸收染料.与巴氏杀菌(63℃C、30 min)比较,研究加压CO2对大肠杆菌细胞膜的损伤作用,目的是分析出大肠杆菌死亡与细胞膜损伤的关系.[方法]检测大肠杆菌细胞膜通透性的改变情况,大肠杆菌内蛋白质和核酸的泄漏程度,并通过透射电镜观察大肠杆菌形态的改变情况.[结果]在研究范围内,加压CO2处理使大肠杆菌细胞膜通透性发生改变;加压CO2处理时虽然发生了胞内蛋白质泄漏,但发生泄漏的时间明显滞后于99％以上菌体死亡时间,因此并不是大肠杆菌死亡的原因,只是大肠杆菌死亡后的继发现象;大肠杆菌死亡与加压CO2处理导致的胞内核酸泄漏有关;大肠杆菌死亡与加压CO2处理导致的菌体形态改变有关.[结论]加压CO2对大肠杆菌细胞膜的损伤作用与菌体死亡有直接关系.     

Escherichia coli phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase: kinetics and mechanism of inactivation

In dilute solution phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase of Escherichia coli undergoes a spontaneous inactivation that can be described mathematically by a two-component declining exponential equation. The rate constant for the decay of the first component is 3.05 ± 0.52 × 10^?2 min^?, whereas that for the second component is variable, smaller in magnitude, and dependent upon the dilution conditions. Analysis of the coefficients for the exponential equation suggests that the decline of enzymatic activity with time is a function of the initial concentrations of catalytically active dimer and tetramer. From the concentrations of these two species, as determined from their initial activities, an equilibrium constant of 3 × 10^?7m for the tetramer-dimer dissociation was determined.The diluted enzyme exhibits properties similar to those ascribed to hysteretic enzymes. The appearance of hysteresis is a function of the time after dilution and the presence of modifiers of catalytic activity, i.e., it is not present immediately after dilution and can be prevented from occurring if aspartate is present in the dilution buffer. The data are consistent with a scheme in which dimeric and tetrameric forms of the enzyme undergo inactivation by dissociation to monomers. The tetramer can dissociate directly to monomers and become inactivated or it can dissociate first to dimers than to monomers before undergoing inactivation. Monomer-to-dimer reassociation occurs to form a catalytically active species, but monomer-to-tetramer reassociation to an active species is not apparent. Hysteresis is presumed to result from reversible isomerization of the monomeric species to a form that can also result in an irreversibly inactivated enzyme.     

Control of Escherichia coli growth by CO2.

Escherichia coli B dependence on CO2 for growth was demonstrated. At suboptimal CO2 concentrations the rate of growth was controlled by CO2 concentration.     

Escherichia coli mutants resistant to inactivation by high hydrostatic pressure.

Alternating cycles of exposure to high pressure and outgrowth of surviving populations were used to select for highly pressure-resistant mutants of Escherichia coli MG1655. Three barotolerant mutants (LMM1010, LMM1020, and LMM1030) were isolated independently by using outgrowth temperatures of 30, 37, and 42 degrees C, respectively. Survival of these mutants after pressure treatment for 15 min at ambient temperature was 40 to 85% at 220 MPa and 0.5 to 1.5% at 800 MPa, while survival of the parent strain, MG1655, decreased from 15% at 220 MPa to 2 x 10(-8)% at 700 MPa. Heat resistance of mutants LMM1020 and LMM1030 was also altered, as evident by higher D values at 58 and 60 degrees C and reduced z values compared to those for the parent strain. D and z values for mutant LMM1010 were not significantly different from those for the parent strain. Pressure sensitivity of the mutants increased from 10 to 50 degrees C, as opposed to the parent strain, which showed a minimum around 40 degrees C. The ability of the mutants to grow at moderately elevated pressure (50 MPa) was reduced at temperatures above 37 degrees C, indicating that resistance to pressure inactivation is unrelated to barotolerant growth. The development of high levels of barotolerance as demonstrated in this work should cause concern about the safety of high-pressure food processing.     

Hda inactivation of DnaA is the predominant mechanism preventing hyperinitiation of Escherichia coli DNA replication

Initiation of DNA replication from the Escherichia coli chromosomal origin is highly regulated, assuring that replication occurs precisely once per cell cycle. Three mechanisms for regulation of replication initiation have been proposed: titration of free DnaA initiator protein by the datA locus, sequestration of newly replicated origins by SeqA protein and regulatory inactivation of DnaA (RIDA), in which active ATP-DnaA is converted to the inactive ADP-bound form. DNA microarray analyses showed that the level of initiation in rapidly growing cells that lack datA was indistinguishable from that in wild-type cells, and that the absence of SeqA protein caused only a modest increase in initiation, in agreement with flow-cytometry data. In contrast, cells lacking Hda overinitiated replication twofold, implicating RIDA as the predominant mechanism preventing extra initiation events in a cell cycle.     

Stepwise inactivation of Escherichia coli aspartokinase-homoserine dehydrogenase I

In the range of guanidine hydrochloride concentrations from 0.2 to 1.2 M, aspartokinase-homoserine dehydrogenase I loses its enzymatic properties, both kinase and dehydrogenase activities and their allosteric inhibition by L-threonine. Ligands which stabilize the tetrameric native structure protect the enzyme against inactivation. Under some conditions, all the functional properties do not disappear at the same rate: an intermediate species possessing only the kinase activity can be detected. Several arguments suggest that this partly active intermediate has a monomeric structure. These results show that deactivation of aspartokinase-homoserine dehydrogenase I is a stepwise process, compatible with the reverse of the previously described reactivation [Garel, J.-R., & Dautry-Varsat, A. (1980) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 77, 3379-3383]. The same measurements performed with a monofunctional fragment carrying the dehydrogenase activity show that the loss of dehydrogenase activity is the same whether or not the polypeptide chain is intact or lacks the kinase region; this finding suggests that the protein is composed of independent regions. The influence of protein aggregation in studying unfolding-refolding of oligomeric enzymes is also discussed.     

2-aminopurine allows interspecies recombination by a reversible inactivation of the Escherichia coli mismatch repair system

2-Aminopurine treatment of Escherichia coli induces a reversible phenotype of DNA mismatch repair deficiency. This transient phenotype results in a 300-fold increase in the frequency of interspecies conjugational recombination with a Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium Hfr donor. This method can be used for the generation of biodiversity by allowing recombination between diverged genes and genomes.     

Escherichia coli pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. Thiamin pyrophosphate-dependent inactivation by 3-bromopyruvate

Inactivation of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex by 3-bromopyruvate is thiamin pyrophosphate (TPP)-dependent. Inactivation with 2-14C- or 3-14C-labeled 3-bromopyruvate results in TPP-dependent covalent labeling of more than 60 sites in the complex, all of which are associated with the dihydrolipoyl transacetylase component. Inactivation by 3-bromo[1-14C]pyruvate labels up to 20 sites associated with dihydrolipoyl transacetylase, also with TPP dependence. Systemic chemical degradation of the complex inactivated by 3-bromo[2-14C]pyruvate under conditions that would convert lipoyl groups to S,S,-biscarboxymethyl dihydrolipoic acid produces S,S,-bis[14C]carboxymethyl dihydrolipoic acid. It is concluded that 3-bromopyruvate inactivates this complex by initially undergoing the first two steps of the usual catalytic pathway, TPP-dependent decarboxylation followed by reductive bromoacetylation of lipoyl moieties. The sulfhydryl groups of S-bromoacetyl dihydrolipoyl moieties generated by reductive bromoacetylation are then alkylated by 3-bromopyruvate as well as by bromoacetyl thioester groups associated with the complex.     

Insertional inactivation of an Escherichia coli urease gene by IS3411.

Ureolytic Escherichia coli are unusual clinical isolates that are found at various extraintestinal sites of infection, predominantly the urinary tract. The urease-positive phenotype is unstable in approximately 25% of these isolates, and urease-negative segregants are produced at a high frequency. We have studied the nature of the urease-positive-to-negative transition in one of these isolates, designated E. coli 1021. Southern hybridization experiments with genomic DNA extracted from seven independent E. coli 1021 urease-negative segregants revealed the presence of a 1.3-kb DNA insertion in the urease gene cluster. A DNA fragment containing the DNA insertion was cloned from one of the urease-negative segregants. This cloned DNA fragment was capable of mediating cointegrate formation with the conjugative plasmid pOX38, suggesting that the DNA insertion was a transposable element. The insert was identified as an IS3411 element in ureG by DNA sequence analysis. A 3-bp target duplication (CTG) flanking the insertion element was found. DNA spanning the insertion site was amplified from the other six urease-negative segregants by using the polymerase chain reaction. The DNA sequence of the amplified fragments indicated that an IS3411 element was found in an identical site in all urease-negative segregants examined. These data suggest that in E. coli 1021, IS3411 transposes at a high frequency into ureG at a CTG site, disrupting this gene and eliminating urease activity.     

Enhancement of solar inactivation of Escherichia coli by titanium dioxide photocatalytic oxidation

AIMS: To improve solar water disinfection using a photocatalysing semi-conductor and to study the mechanisms involved in this process. METHODS AND RESULTS: Cells of Escherichia coli were used as the microbiological indicator to study the possibility of improving the efficiency of solar water disinfection using titanium dioxide (TiO2) as a photooxidizing semi-conductor. TiO2 was used either as a suspended powder or in an immobilized form. Both applications improved the efficiency of solar disinfection. TiO2 in suspension was more effective than the immobilized form, producing enhancement factors of 1.62 and 1.34, respectively. The concentration of TiO2 greatly affected efficiency, with a maximum effect at 1 mg ml(-1). Higher TiO2 concentrations reduced the efficiency. Dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) and cysteamine (Cys), hydroxyl radical (OH.) scavengers, were used to elucidate the mechanisms involved in the presence of TiO2. Both DMSO and Cys totally abolished the enhancing effect produced by the presence of TiO2. CONCLUSIONS: Sunlight has a potential water disinfecting capacity. The use of TiO2 greatly improved this efficiency. The effect of TiO2 was mainly concentration-dependent, giving maximum efficiency at 1 mg ml(-1). The presence of DMSO and Cys removed the TiO2-induced enhancement, indicating that OH. may be involved in the process of cell killing. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The efficiency of solar disinfection is limited and time-consuming and needs to be improved. The use of a semi-conductor is promising as it reduces the time of exposure and therefore increases the efficiency of solar disinfection. This would allow for the availability of good quality water, and hence would improve the quality of life.     

Aminoglycoside antibiotics: inactivation by phosphorylation in Escherichia coli carrying R factors

R-factor strains which are streptomycin-resistant and spectinomycin-sensitive have been found to inactivate streptomycin by a new mechanism. The 3'-OH group of the 2-deoxy-2-methylamino-l-glucopyranosyl moiety is phosphorylated.     

Kinetics of the inactivation of Escherichia coli glutamate apodecarboxylase by phenylglyoxal.

The possible interaction of the phosphate moiety of pyridoxal phosphate with a guanidinium group in glutamate apodecarboxylase was investigated. The holoenzyme is not inactivated significantly by incubation with butanedione, glyoxal, methylglyoxal, or phenylglyoxal. However, the apoenzyme is inactivated by these arginine reagents in time-dependent processes. Phenylgloxal inactivates the apoenzyme most rapidly. The inactivation follows pseudo-first-order kinetics at high phenylglyoxal to apoenzyme ratios. The rate of inactivation is proportional to phenylglyoxal concentration, increases with increasing pH, and is also dependent on the type of buffer present. The rate of inactivation of the apoenzyme by phenylglyoxal is fastest in bicarbonate — carbonate buffer and increases with increasing bicarbonate — carbonate concentration. Phosphate, which inhibits the binding of pyridoxal phosphate to the apoenzyme, protects the apodecarboxylase against inactivation by phenylglyoxal. When the apodecarboxylase is inactivated with [¹⁴C]phenylglyoxal, approximately 1.6 mol of [¹⁴C]phenylglyoxal is incorporated per mol subunit. The phenylglyoxal is thought to modify an arginyl residue at or near the pyridoxal phosphate binding site of glutamate apodecarboxylase.     

Lethality of hydrogen peroxide in wild type and superoxide dismutase mutants of Escherichia coli. (A hypothesis on the mechanism of H2O2-induced inactivation of Escherichia coli)

The toxicity of H₂O₂ in Escherichia coli wild type and superoxide dismutase mutants was investigated under different experimental conditions. Cells were either grown aerobically, and then treated in M9 salts or K medium, or grown anoxically, and then treated in K medium. Results have demonstrated that the wild type and superoxide dismutase mutants display a markedly different sensitivity to both modes of lethality produced by H₂O₂ (i.e. mode one killing, which is produced by concentrations of H₂O₂ lower than 5 mM, and mode two killing which results from the insult generated by concentrations of H₂O₂ higher than 10 mM). Although the data obtained do not clarify the molecular basis of H₂O₂ toxicity and/or do not explain the specific function of superoxide ions in H₂O₂-induced bacterial inactivation, they certainly demonstrate that the latter species plays a key role in both modes of H₂O₂ lethality. A mechanism of H₂O₂ toxicity in E. coli is proposed, involving the action of a hypothetical enzyme which should work as an O₂^-• generating system. This enzyme should be active at low concentrations of H₂O₂ (<5 mM) and high concentrations of the oxidant (>5 mM) should inactivate the same enzyme. Superoxide ions would then be produced and result in mode one lethality. The resistance at intermediate H₂O₂ concentrations may be dependent on the inactivation of such enzyme with no superoxide ions being produced at levels of H₂O₂ in the range 5–10 mM. Mode two killing could be produced by the hydroxyl radical in concert with superoxide ions, chemically produced via the reaction of high concentrations of H₂O₂ (>10 mM) with hydroxyl radicals. The rate of hydroxyl radical production may be increased by the higher availability of Fe²⁺ since superoxide ions may also reduce trivalent iron to the divalent form.     

Different inactivation behaviors of MS-2 phage and Escherichia coli in TiO2 photocatalytic disinfection

Despite a wealth of experimental evidence concerning the efficacy of the biocidal action associated with the TiO(2) photocatalytic reaction, our understanding of the photochemical mechanism of this particular biocidal action remains largely unclear. It is generally accepted that the hydroxyl radical (.OH), which is generated on the surface of UV-illuminated TiO(2), plays the main role. However, our understanding of the exact mode of action of the hydroxyl radical in killing microorganisms is far from complete, and some studies report that other reactive oxygen species (ROS) (H(2)O(2) and O(2).(-), etc.) also play significant roles. In particular, whether hydroxyl radicals remain bound to the surface or diffuse into the solution bulk is under active debate. In order to examine the exact mode of action of ROS in inactivating the microorganism, we tested and compared the levels of photocatalytic inactivation of MS-2 phage and Escherichia coli as representative species of viruses and bacteria, respectively. To compare photocatalytic microbial inactivation with the photocatalytic chemical degradation reaction, para-chlorobenzoic acid, which rapidly reacts with a hydroxyl radical with a diffusion-limited rate, was used as a probe compound. Two different hydroxyl radical scavengers, tert-butanol and methanol, and an activator of the bulk phase hydroxyl radical generation, Fe(2+), were used to investigate their effects on the photocatalytic mode of action of the hydroxyl radical in inactivating the microorganism. The results show that the biocidal modes of action of ROS are very different depending on the specific microorganism involved, although the reason for this is not clear. It seems that MS-2 phage is inactivated mainly by the free hydroxyl radical in the solution bulk but that E. coli is inactivated by both the free and the surface-bound hydroxyl radicals. E. coli might also be inactivated by other ROS, such as O(2).(-) and H(2)O(2), according to the present results.