Interaction between bacterial metabolites and some pesticides. I. Interaction between the phenolic compounds produced by Pseudomonas acidovorans and the herbicide Venzar

The phenolic compounds produced by Pseudomonas acidovorans interacted with the herbicide Venzar changing its phytotoxicity. Bioassay with Chlorella vulgaris and lettuce showed that the interaction of the bacterial phenols and Venzar was synergistic or antagonistic depending on the concentration of the phenolic compounds its chemical structure and pH of the environment. The humic-like polymers isolated from the bacterial culture reduced to a small extent the phytotoxicity of Venzar. It was found that [C14]-labelled Venzer was incorporated into the bacterial humic-like compounds due to the action of the enzymatic system of the bacteria.     

Herbicidal effect on some metabolic processes of Azotobacter chroococcum

The effect of pyramin (1-phenyl-4-amino-5-chloro-piridazone-6) and venzar (3-cyclohexyl-5,6-trimethyleneuracil) on growth, oxygen uptake and nitrogenase activity was examined. The possibilities of herbicide accumulation in cells and binding by mucopolisaccharides were also tested. Stimulation of growth was observed in the presence of pyramin (20 and 100 ppm) but no influence of venzar was found. Venzar was found to penetrate into the cells. Pyramin did not penetrate into the cells but its content decreased in cultures of Azotobacter strains. However, no degradation products of pyramin were found. Pyramin was detected in mucopolisaccharide fractions in range 0.2-47 micrograms of Pyrazon per 100 mg. Pyramin and venzar reduced the acetylene reduction rate of crude extracts by 50% when doses of active substances were equal to the weight of crude extract protein contents. Doses required for similar effect in living cells were however more than fourteen times higher. Addition of polivinylpyrrolidone and albumin protected the N2-ase from negative effect of pyramin and to a lesser degree from that of venzar.     

Mechanical properties of trabecular bone. Dependency on strain rate.

The effect of strain rate (epsilon) and apparent density (rho) on stiffness (E), strength (sigma u), and ultimate strain (epsilon u) was studied in 60 human trabecular bone specimens from the proximal tibia. Testing was performed by uniaxial compression to 5% specimen strain. Six different strain rates were used: 0.0001, 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1, and 10 s-1. Apparent density ranged between 0.23 and 0.59 g cm-3. Linear and non-linear regression analyses using strength, stiffness and ultimate strain as dependent variables (Y) and strain rate and apparent density as independent variables were performed using the following models: Y = a rho b epsilon c, Y = rho b(a + c epsilon; Y = (a + b rho)epsilon c, Y = a rho 2 epsilon c, E = a rho 3 epsilon c. The variations of strength and stiffness were explained equally well by the linear and the power function relationship to strain rate. The exponent was 0.07 in the power function relationship between strength and strain rate and 0.05 between stiffness and strain rate. The variation of ultimate strain was explained best using a power function relationship to strain rate (exponent = 0.03). The variation of strength and stiffness was explained equally well by the linear, power function and quadratic relationship to apparent density. The cubic relationship between stiffness and apparent density showed a less good fit. Ultimate strain varied independently of apparent density.     

Stabilization of a histidine-producing strain of Serratia marcescens.

A decrease in histidine productivity was observed during subculture of a histidine-producing strain of Serratia marcescens. The decrease was accompanied by an increase in the number of wild-type revertants. Adenine accelerated the growth of producing strain HT-2892 to nearly equal that of revertants, and histidine production was stable because the depletion of ATP in strain HT-2892 was restored by adenine. To increase the intracellular ATP content, mutants resistant to 6-methylpurine, an antagonist of adenine, were isolated from strain HT-2892. 6-Methylpurine-resistant mutant MPr90 grew more rapidly than the parent producing strain and produced L-histidine stably, even when it was subjected to subculture in medium without adenine. ATP depletion was restored in strain MPr90, probably owing to the derepression of adenylosuccinate synthetase in AMP biosynthesis.     

Metabolism of glyphosate in Pseudomonas sp. strain LBr.

Metabolism of glyphosate (N-phosphonomethylglycine) by Pseudomonas sp. strain LBr, a bacterium isolated from a glyphosate process waste stream, was examined by a combination of solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance experiments and analysis of the phosphonate composition of the growth medium. Pseudomonas sp. strain LBr was capable of eliminating 20 mM glyphosate from the growth medium, an amount approximately 20-fold greater than that reported for any other microorganism to date. The bacterium degraded high levels of glyphosate, primarily by converting it to aminomethylphosphonate, followed by release into the growth medium. Only a small amount of aminomethylphosphonate (about 0.5 to 0.7 mM), which is needed to supply phosphorus for growth, could be metabolized by the microorganism. Solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of strain LBr grown on 1 mM [2-13C,15N]glyphosate showed that about 5% of the glyphosate was degraded by a separate pathway involving breakdown of glyphosate to glycine, a pathway first observed in Pseudomonas sp. strain PG2982. Thus, Pseudomonas sp. strain LBr appears to possess two distinct routes for glyphosate detoxification.     

Threonine production by ethionine-resistant mutants of Serratia marcescens.

Ethionine reduced both the growth rate and the final growth level of Serratia marcescens Sr41. Growth inhibition was completely reversed by methionine. Strain D-315, defective in homoserine dehydrogenase I, was more sensitive to ethionine-mediated growth inhibition than was the wild-type strain. Ethionine-resistant mutants were isolated from cultures of strain D-316, which was derived from strain D-315 as a threonine deaminase-deficient mutant. Of 60 resistant colonies, 7 excreted threonine on minimal agar plates. One threonine-excreting strain, ETr17, was highly resistant to ethionine and, moreover, insensitive to methionine-mediated growth inhibition, whereas the parent strain was sensitive. When cultured in minimal medium with or without excess methionine, strain ETr17 had a higher homoserine dehydrogenase level than did strain D-316. The homoserine dehydrogenase activity was not inhibited by threonine or methionine. Transductional analysis revealed that the ethionine-resistant (etr-1) mutation carried by strain ETr17 was located in the metBM-argE region and caused the derepressed synthesis of homoserine dehydrogenase II. Strain ETr17 had a higher aspartokinase level than did the parent strain. By transductional cross with the argE+ marker, the etr-1 mutation was transferred into strain D-562 which was derived from D-505, a strain defective in aspartokinases I and III. The constructed strain had a higher aspartokinase level than did strain D-505 in medium with or without excess methionine, indicating that the etr-1 mutation led to the derepressed synthesis of aspartokinase II. Strain ETr17 produced about 8 mg of threonine per ml of medium containing sucrose and urea.     

Influence of amino acids on the growth of Bacteroides melaninogenicus.

Addition of individual amino acids to a Trypticase-yeast extract-hemin medium affected growth rates and final yields of an asaccharolytic strain and a saccharolytic strain of Bacteroides melaninogenicus. L-Aspartate or L-asparagine produced maximal growth enhancement for both strains. L-[14C]aspartate was fermented by resting cells of the asaccharolytic strain. L-Cysteine or L-serine also enhanced growth for the saccharolytic strain. However, growth of the saccharolytic strain was inhibited by L-lysine, L-glutamate, L-glutamine, L-isoleucine, L-leucine, and L-proline; growth of the asaccharolytic strain was inhibited by DL-valine and L-serine. Both strains were inhibited by L-histidine, DL-methionine, L-tryptophan, L-arginine, and glycine.     

Pyomelanin production by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. I. Transformation of pyomelanin productivity

Pseudomonas aeruginosa was successfully transformed from a pyomelanin-producing strain to a non-pyomelanin-producing strain by genetic transformation, with an average frequency of 1.17 X 10-3/recipient. Although the transformation frequency was not affected by doses of DNA between 17 and 51 microgram/ml, it was influenced by the growth phase of the recipient bacteria, i.e., it was highest in the late logarithmic phase. Biochemical functions of the transformants were the same as those of the recipient strain except for pyomelanin production. Some of them, however, showed an intermediate growth behavior and cell arrangement between the donor and recipient. The serological type of the donor strain was sometimes contransduced although a few transformants became nonagglutinable with either donor or recipient type antiserum. The pyomelanin producing activity and serological type gained of some transformants were eliminated by either subculturing in nutrient broth or acridine treatment. The results obtained suggested that the pyomelanin productivity of P. aeruginosa is controlled by a plasmid.     

Regulation of Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 glutamine synthetase activity in a Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 derivative strain bearing the Anabaena glnA gene and a mutated host glnA gene.

The glnA gene from Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 was cloned by hybridization with the glnA gene from Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120, and a deletion-insertion mutation of the Synechocystis gene was generated in vitro. A strain derived from Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 which contained integrated into the chromosome, in addition to its own glnA gene, the Anabaena glnA gene was constructed. From that strain, a Synechocystis sp. glnA mutant could be obtained by transformation with the inactivated Synechocystis glnA gene; this mutant grew by using Anabaena glutamine synthetase and was not a glutamine auxotroph. A Synechocystis sp. glnA mutant could not be obtained, however, from the wild-type Synechocystis sp. The Anabaena glutamine synthetase enzyme was subject to ammonium-promoted inactivation when expressed in the Synechocystis strain but not in the Anabaena strain itself.     

5-Fluorouracil-resistant strain of Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum.

Growth of Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum Marburg is inhibited by the pyrimidine, 5-fluorouracil (FU). It was shown previously that methanogenesis is not inhibited to the same extent as growth. A spontaneously occurring FU-resistant strain (RTAE-1) was isolated from a culture of strain Marburg. The growth of both strains was inhibited by 5-fluorodeoxyuridine but not 5-fluorocytosine, and the wild type was more susceptible to inhibition by 5-azauracil and 6-azauracil than was strain RTAE-1. The cellular targets for the pyrimidine analogs are not known. When the accumulation of 14C-labeled uracil or FU by the two strains was compared, the wild type took up 15-fold more radiolabel per cell than did the FU-resistant strain. In the wild type, radiolabel from uracil was incorporated into the soluble pool, RNA, and DNA. The metabolism of uracil appeared to involve a uracil phosphoribosyltransferase activity. Strain Marburg extracts contained this enzyme, whereas FU-resistant strain RTAE-1 extracts had less than 1/10 as much activity. Although it is possible that a change in permeability to the compounds plays a role in the stable resistance of strain RTAE-1, the fact that it lacks the ability to metabolize pyrimidines to nucleotides is sufficient to account for its phenotype.     

Growth of measles virus in nervous tissues. III. Neurovirulence of SSPE virus in ferrets.

The Niigata-1 strain isolated from a patient with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) was inoculated intracerebrally into ferrets. Neurological signs developed in about 1 week in most of the animals. Histopathological examinations of the central nervous tissues revealed degenerative lesions in the parenchyma of the brains and inflammatory reactions predominantly in the meninges and choroid plexus. Virus antigen was demonstrated mainly in the nerve cells by immunofluorescent staining. The results indicated high affinity of the Niigata-1 strain to the nerve cells. In contrast, the Mantooth strain of SSPE virus in cell-free state did not exhibit neurovirulence in ferrets.     

Microbial production of D-malate from maleate.

To produce D-malate from maleate by a microbial reaction, we screened a number of maleate-utilizing microorganisms for enzyme activity by an intact cell system. The strain which showed the best productivity among the 440 strains tested was identified taxonomically as Arthrobacter sp. strain MCI2612. The optical purity of the malate produced by this strain was 100% D type. The culture and reaction conditions for the production were studied for this strain. Addition of amino acids such as L-proline, L-histidine, and L-arginine to the culture medium promoted the formation of reaction activity as well as cell growth. Under optimum conditions, 87 g of D-malate per liter was produced in 20 h. The yield was 72 mol%.     

Localization of polyamine enhancement of protein synthesis to subcellular components of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas sp. strain Kim.

At 5 mM Mg2+, spermidine stimulation of polyphenylalanine synthesis by cell-free extracts of Escherichia coli was found to be about 30 times greater than that by extracts of Pseudomonas sp. strain Kim, a unique organism which lacks detectable levels of spermidine. By means of reconstitution experiments, the target of spermidine stimulation was localized to the protein fraction of the highspeed supernatant component (S-100) of E. coli and was absent from, or deficient in, the S-100 fraction of Pseudomonas sp. strain Kim. The spermidine stimulation did not appear to be due to the presence in the E. coli S-100 fraction of ribosomal protein S1, elongation factors, or E. coli aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. The failure to observe spermidine stimulation by the Pseudomonas sp. strain Kim S-100 fraction was also not due to a spermidine-enhanced polyuridylic acid degradation. The synthesis of polyphenylalanine by Pseudomonas sp. strain Kim extracts was stimulated by putrescine and by S-(+)-2-hydroxyputrescine to a greater degree than was synthesis by E. coli extracts. The enhancement by putrescine and by S-(+)-2-hydroxyputrescine with Pseudomonas sp. strain Kim extracts was found to be due to effects on its ribosomes.     

Bacterial dehalogenation of chlorobenzoates and coculture biodegradation of 4,4'-dichlorobiphenyl.

Acinetobacter sp. strain 4CB1 was isolated from a polychlorobiphenyl-contaminated soil sample by using 4-chlorobenzoate as a sole source of carbon and energy. Resting cells of Acinetobacter sp. strain 4CB1 hydrolytically dehalogenated 4-chlorobenzoate under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, but 4-hydroxybenzoate accumulated only under anaerobic conditions. Cell extracts of Acinetobacter sp. strain 4CB1 oxidized 4-hydroxybenzoate by an NADH-dependent monooxygenase to form protocatechuate, which was subsequently oxidized by both ortho- and meta-protocatechuate dioxygenase reactions. When grown on biphenyl, Acinetobacter sp. strain P6 cometabolized 4,4'-dichlorobiphenyl primarily to 4-chlorobenzoate; however, when this strain was grown in a coculture with Acinetobacter sp. strain 4CB1, 4-chlorobenzoate did not accumulate but was converted to inorganic chloride. When resting cells of Acinetobacter sp. strain 4CB1 were incubated anaerobically with 3,4-dichlorobenzoate, they accumulated 4-carboxy-1,2-benzoquinone as a final product. Since 3,4-dichlorobenzoate is a product that is formed from the cometabolism of 3,4-dichloro-substituted tetrachlorobiphenyls by Acinetobacter sp. strain P6, the coculture has a potential application for dehalogenation and mineralization of specific polychlorobiphenyl congeners.     

Isolation of a dihydrofolate reductase-deficient mutant of Escherichia coli.

A strain of Escherichia coli was isolated in which dihydrofolate reductase was not detected by an enzyme assay or by competition for antibody. This strain requires methionine, glycine, a purine, and thymidine for growth in addition to the auxotrophic requirements of the parent strain. It was found to be useful as a recipient of plasmids harboring dihydrofolate reductase genes.     

phbC基因敲除对土壤杆菌产可得然胶的影响

本文构建了phbC基因无痕敲除菌株ΔphbC,分析了ΔphbC菌株生长代谢情况和产生的可得然胶在产量、凝胶性质和红外结构的变化。结果显示,ΔphbC菌株在发酵过程中氨基氮消耗情况与野生型菌株一致,在蔗糖消耗方面,ΔphbC菌株与野生型菌株在18 h之后出现显著差异,蔗糖消耗比野生型菌株明显降低。ΔphbC菌株可得然胶产量约24 g/L,相对于野生型菌株降低了45%;胶凝胶强度为812.521 g/cm^2,相对于野生型菌株降低了21%;红外结构与野生型菌株一致,无明显差异。phbC基因不影响菌体生长,不影响可得然胶结构,但是影响可得然胶的合成。     

Metabolism of thymineless mutants of Escherichia coli. I. Absence of thymidylate synthetase activity and growth characteristics of two sequential thymineless mutants

A study of optimal thymine and deoxythymidine (dThd) growth requirements of the thymineless mutants of Escherichia coli 15, E. coli 70-462 (strain 70), and a variant, E. coli 70V3-462 (strain 70V3), showed that for maximal turbidity (growth) strain 70 required 10-fold greater concentrations of thymine or dThd than did strain 70V3. On suboptimal concentrations of thymine or dThd, growth of strain 70 was greater on dThd than on thymine. In contrast, maximal growth of strain 70V3 was the same on equimolar concentrations of thymine and dThd. Growth rate of strain 70V3 was the same on equimolar concentrations of thymine and dThd up to 4 mum; at concentrations of 5 mum and greater, the "4-hr" growth was lower on dThd than on corresponding concentrations of thymine. Cultures of both thymineless mutants synthesized equal maximal amounts of DNA. Whereas strain 70V3 incorporated a maximum of 90% of the thymine or dThd in the media, strain 70 incorporated a maximum of only 10%. This poor utilization by strain 70 was neither a result of thymine or dThd conversion to a low-molecular-weight thymine derivative nor the production of a nonthymine inhibitory substance. Since strains 70 and 70V3 exhibited no thymidylate synthetase activity, the first mutation (strain 15 to strain 70) resulted in the loss of this activity. The second mutation (strain 70 to strain 70V3) probably brought about the loss of an enzyme(s) that catabolizes deoxyribose phosphate, permitting a greater net synthesis of dThd from thymine.     

Glycyrrhizin stimulates growth of Eubacterium sp. strain GLH, a human intestinal anaerobe.

Eubacterium sp. strain GLH was isolated from human feces and produced two kinds of beta-D-glucuronidase (EC 3.2.1.31), one new enzyme specific for glycyrrhizin (GL) and the other for phenyl beta-D-glucuronides. GL or p-nitrophenyl-mono-beta-D-glucuronide (pNPG) stimulated the production of GL or pNPG beta-glucuronidases and the growth of strain GLH in a basal medium lacking carbohydrate. D-Glucuronic acid also stimulated the growth of the bacterium, but glycyrrhetic acid did not. The increase of GL beta-glucuronidase paralleled the growth of the Eubacterium strain in pure culture. These results suggest that glucuronides such as GL and pNPG stimulate the growth of the Eubacterium strain in a nutrient-poor medium by providing D-glucuronic acid through the activity of beta-glucuronidases. The increase in GL beta-glucuronidase activity in the presence of GL was observed during the cultivation of human intestinal flora in a general anaerobic medium. During mixed cultivation of the Eubacterium strain with Streptococcus faecalis, which does not produce GL beta-glucuronidase, GL beta-glucuronidase was also increased by GL or pNPG, but not by glycyrrhetic acid and p-nitrophenol. It is suggested that GL stimulates the growth of strain GLH even in the mixed culture.     

Biodegradation of bis(2-chloroethyl) ether by Xanthobacter sp. strain ENV481

Degradation of bis(2-chloroethyl) ether (BCEE) was observed to occur in two bacterial strains. Strain ENV481, a Xanthobacter sp. strain, was isolated by enrichment culturing of samples from a Superfund site located in the northeastern United States. The strain was able to grow on BCEE or 2-chloroethylethyl ether as the sole source of carbon and energy. BCEE degradation in strain ENV481 was facilitated by sequential dehalogenation reactions resulting in the formation of 2-(2-chloroethoxy)ethanol and diethylene glycol (DEG), respectively. 2-Hydroxyethoxyacetic acid was detected as a product of DEG catabolism by the strain. Degradation of BCEE by strain ENV481 was independent of oxygen, and the strain was not able to grow on a mixture of benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, and xylenes, other prevalent contaminants at the site. Another bacterial isolate, Pseudonocardia sp. strain ENV478 (S. Vainberg et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72:5218-5224, 2006), degraded BCEE after growth on tetrahydrofuran or propane but was not able to grow on BCEE as a sole carbon source. BCEE degradation by strain ENV478 appeared to be facilitated by a monooxygenase-mediated O-dealkylation mechanism, and it resulted in the accumulation of 2-chloroacetic acid that was not readily degraded by the strain.     

微小杆菌(Exiguobacterium sp.)对肉桂酸降解行为

【目的】为有效缓解自毒物质肉桂酸对西瓜等作物生长的危害,从宁夏中卫硒砂瓜连作土壤中分离筛选得到一株高效降解肉桂酸的菌株,研究其基本降解特性。【方法】分离筛选得到一株能有效利用肉桂酸生长的菌株,采用16S r RNA基因序列分析进行菌株鉴定,运用高效液相色谱法和西瓜幼苗生长毒性实验检测降解特性。【结果】从多年西瓜连作土壤中筛选得到一株高效降解肉桂酸的细菌R30,鉴定为Exiguobacterium sp.,其96 h内对肉桂酸的降解率可达99%以上,最适降解温度和p H分别为30°C、p H 7.0。除肉桂酸外,该菌也能够高效降解香豆酸、阿魏酸、苯甲酸等其他酚酸类物质,表现出一定的底物广谱性;检测96 h降解液对西瓜种子萌发直至幼苗生长阶段的影响表明,该菌株可有效缓解肉桂酸对西瓜幼苗的生长抑制作用。【结论】菌株R30在肉桂酸、香豆酸、阿魏酸、苯甲酸等酚酸类物质导致的农作物连作障碍治理领域具有潜在的开发应用价值。