A combined treatment using ethylmethane sulfonate and ultraviolet light to compare amylase production by three Bacillus sp. isolates

Abstract

In this study, three Bacillus sp.-producing amylase enzymes were isolated from soil samples and identified using 16S rDNA sequence analysis. Amylase production and total protein productions were spectrophotometrically measured. The following media were tested to increase enzyme production: LB medium and molasses. Three Bacillus sp. were identified as follows: Bacillus subtilis subtilis, Bacillus thuringiensis, and Bacillus cereus. Amylase production levels were in the range of 10?U/mL, whereas total protein production levels were at 15?mg/mL. Higher amylase activity was found in the Bacillus subtilis isolate. Ethylmethane sulfonate (EMS) and ultraviolet (UV) mutagenesis in combination were applied to compare amylase production. Amylase activity was increased to around 58% in the treatment with 0.03?mL of EMS and UV when compared to the control group. A pilot scale bioreactor with a total working volume of 10 liters was used to produce amylase by B. subtilis subtilis. In conclusion, B. subtilis subtilis can be used to produce amylase enzyme for various industrial purposes, and, for the first time, the amylase activities of B. subtilis can be enhanced with EMS and UV treatment.     

Regulation of valproic acid induced EMT by AKT/GSK3β/β-catenin signaling pathway in triple negative breast cancer

Molecular Biology Reports - Valproic acid (VPA) is a selective histone deacetylation (HDAC) inhibitor and exerts anti-cancer properties in different types of cancer. The epithelial-to-mesenchymal...     

Determination of Physiological Indices and Some Antioxidant Enzymes of Chard Exposed to Nitric Oxide under Drought Stress

Russian Journal of Plant Physiology - This research was carried out to determine effectiveness of nitric oxide (NO) on some physiological and biochemical reactions, and water use efficiency (WUE)...     

Typing of nitrogen-fixing Frankia strains by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) was evaluated as a technique to characterize strains of the nitrogen-fixing actinomycete Frankia. MALDI-TOF MS reliably distinguished 37 isolates within the genus Frankia and assigned them to their respective host infection groups, i.e., the Alnus/Casuarina and the Elaeagnus host infection groups. The assignment of individual strains to sub-groups within the respective host infection groups was consistent with classification based on comparative sequence analysis of nifH gene fragments, confirming the usefulness of MALDI-TOF MS as a rapid and reliable tool for the characterization of Frankia strains.     

Temporal differentiation and conditions of reproduction of chum salmon <Emphasis Type="Italic">Oncorhynchus keta</Emphasis> (Salmoniformes,Salmonidae) from the Tugur River basin (Khabarovsk Krai)

Chum salmon Oncorhynchus keta from the Tugur River of Khabarovsk krai was studied. It was found that, in the river basin, chum salmon of two ecological groups reproduces: the first spawns at river sections with a pronounced underflow and the second spawns at river sections with a groundwater outlet. In the first anadromous migration, usually three maxima of the number of approaches of migrating fish are observed. The first in time maximum is represented by early (or summer) chum salmon, the second includes migrants of early and late (or autumn) form, and the third is represented by chum salmon of only late form. Forms of chum salmon from the Tugur River basin different in dates of the run and the spawning sites differ not only in the ecology of reproduction but also in biological indices. The later chum salmon is larger; its gonads at entry into the river for spawning are less mature as compared with early chum salmon. The autumn form of chum salmon reproducing at key spawning grounds is distributed more widely than the summer form. It is found along the Asian coast from Chukotka in the north to Japan and Korea in the south. Summer chum salmon occupies only part of the range of the autumn form.     

Sex-related effects on diabetes-induced alterations in calcium release in the rat heart

The present study was designed to determine whether the properties of local Ca(2+) release and its related regulatory mechanisms might provide insight into the role of sex differences in heart functions of control and streptozotocin-induced diabetic adult rats. Left ventricular developed pressure, the rates of pressure development and decay (+/-dP/dt), basal intracellular Ca(2+) level ([Ca(2+)](i)), and spatiotemporal parameters of [Ca(2+)](i) transients were found to be similar in male and female control rats. However, spatiotemporal parameters of Ca(2+) sparks in cardiomyocytes isolated from control females were significantly larger and slower than those in control males. Diabetes reduced left ventricular developed pressure to a lower extent in females than in males, and the diabetes-induced depressions in both +dP/dt and -dP/dt were less in females than in males. Diabetes elicited a smaller reduction in the amplitude of [Ca(2+)](i) transients in females than in males, a smaller reduction in sarcoplasmic reticulum-Ca(2+) load, and less increase in basal [Ca(2+)](i). Similarly, the elementary Ca(2+) events and their control proteins were clearly different in both sexes, and these differences were more marked in diabetes. Diabetes-induced depression of the Ca(2+) spark amplitude was significantly less in females than in matched males. Levels of cardiac ryanodine receptors (RyR2) and FK506-binding protein 12.6 in control females were significantly higher than those shown in control males. Diabetes induced less RyR2 phosphorylation and FK506-binding protein 12.6 unbinding in females. Moreover, total and free sulfhydryl groups were significantly less reduced, and PKC levels were less increased, in diabetic females than in diabetic males. The present data related to local Ca(2+) release and its related proteins describe some of the mechanisms that may underlie sex-related differences accounting for females to have less frequent development of cardiac diseases.     

Saprophytic growth of inoculated Frankia sp. in soil microcosms

The potential of two Frankia strains to grow saprophytically was studied in nonsterile soil microcosms with ground leaf litter of Alnus glutinosa as the sole carbon and nitrogen sources. Strains Ag45/Mut15 and ArI3, which represent two taxonomic subgroups within the Alnus host infection group were inoculated alone, or together to investigate potential competition. Their growth was analyzed by in situ and dot-blot hybridization. A significant increase in cell numbers and filament length was observed during the first 6 weeks after inoculation for strain Ag45/Mut15, both alone and in mixed culture with strain ArI3, followed by a decrease until the end of the study after 12 weeks. The number of filaments remained unchanged. In contrast, the cell numbers and filament length of strain ArI3 were reduced significantly during the first 2 weeks and were undetectable for the remainder of the study. These results were comparable with those obtained in sterile mineral medium amended with leaf litter of A. glutinosa, although reductions in cell numbers and filament length were less pronounced than in soil microcosms. In concomitant control studies without leaf litter amendments for both experimental setups, filaments of both strains could only be detected immediately after inoculation. These results were matched in all experimental setups by concomitant shifts in the rRNA content of both strains, i.e., an immediate decline in the rRNA content for strain ArI3 after inoculation, and an increase in the rRNA content, followed by a late decline during incubation for strain Ag45/Mut15. These results demonstrated that Frankia strain Ag45/Mut15 could grow saprophytically in soil with complex carbon and nitrogen sources such as leaf litter, while the growth of strain ArI3 was not supported.     

Mitigation of salinity stress in cucumber seedlings by exogenous hydrogen sulfide

Journal of Plant Research - This research hypothesized that tolerance of cucumber seedlings to salinity stress could be increased by hydrogen sulfide (H2S) treatments. In pot experiments, the...     

Mutations in the gene PRRT2 cause paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia with infantile convulsions

Paroxysmal Kinesigenic Dyskinesia with Infantile Convulsions (PKD/IC) is an episodic movement disorder with autosomal dominant inheritance and high penetrance, but the causative gene is unknown. We have now identified four truncating mutations involving the PRRT2 gene in the vast majority (24/25) of well characterized families with PKD/IC. PRRT2 truncating mutations were also detected in 28 of 78 additional families. The PRRT2 gene encodes a proline-rich transmembrane protein of unknown function that has been reported to interact with the t-SNARE, SNAP25. PRRT2 localizes to axons but not to dendritic processes in primary neuronal culture and mutants associated with PKD/IC lead to dramatically reduced PRRT2 protein levels leading ultimately to neuronal hyperexcitability that manifests in vivo as PKD/IC.