Methionine uptake and cytopathogenicity of viable but nonculturable Shigella dysenteriae type 1.

A pathogenic strain of Shigella dysenteriae type 1 was selected for study to elucidate the physiology and potential pathogenicity of organisms in the viable but nonculturable (VBNC) state in the environment. Studies in our laboratory have shown that S. dysenteriae type 1 survives in laboratory microcosms in the VBNC state for long periods of time, i.e., more than 6 months. VBNC cells of S. dysenteriae type 1 were found to retain cytopathogenicity for cultured HeLa cells. To determine whether VBNC S. dysenteriae type 1 expressed protein after loss of culturability, 35S-labelled methionine was added to suspensions of VBNC cells. Total cellular proteins were extracted and examined by autoradiography. Results indicate that VBNC S. dysenteriae type 1 is capable of both active uptake of methionine and incorporation of methionine into protein. Amino acid uptake and protein synthesis substantiate the viability of cells of S. dysenteriae type 1 in the VBNC state, i.e., although the cells are unable to be cultured on laboratory media by standard bacteriological methods, the cells remain metabolically active. Furthermore, VBNC cells of S. dysenteriae type 1 may pose a potential public health hazard that has not yet been recognized.     

一株碱性淀粉酶产生菌Bacillus flexus XJU-3的分离鉴定及酶学特性分析

[目的]从新疆石河子市一处碱性工业污水(pH11.0)分离﹑鉴定高产碱性淀粉酶菌株,并对其所产酶酶学特性进行研究.[方法]在碱性淀粉酶分离培养基上对所分离菌株进行筛选,分离到一株高产碱性淀粉酶菌株,并将其编号XJU-3.应用生理生化试验,脂肪酸含量,16S rDNA序列以及(G C) mol%含量等方法对菌株进行鉴定,同时对XJU-3所产碱性淀粉酶的生物学特性进行研究.[结果] XJU-3可在pH4.0～12.5的LB培养基上生长,最适生长温度37℃.16S rDNA序列构建的系统进化树表明XJU-3与Bacillus flexus类聚在一起,且序列同源性为99%.该菌产生的淀粉酶最适pH10.0,最适温度40℃,且在pH9.0～13.0内有较高活性和稳定性.Co2 和Mg2 能明显提高酶的活性.[结论] XJU-3被鉴定为Bacillus flexus,由于XJU-3与B. flexus DSM 1320T在尿素水解和优势脂肪酸含量上有差异,且具有宽范围pH耐受性,因此XJU-3被认为是B.flexus的一个新菌株.XJU-3所产的碱性淀粉酶酶学特性良好,具有极大的工业应用潜力.     

塔里木胡杨林可培养胡杨内生细菌多样性与群落结构的时空演变格局

阐明塔河,Kiyik河,Ugan河这3条河胡杨内生细菌多样性及群落结构时空演变格局。2011年5月上旬与9月下旬从Kiyik,Ugan古河道和塔河主河道的6个采样位点采集24棵树的胡杨茎秆内存液样,用4种培养基分离纯化了588株胡杨内生细菌。16S r DNA序列分析表明,588株细菌分别属于6大类群:γ-变形菌纲(50.17%),厚壁菌门(34.58%),放线菌门(10.17%),α-变形菌纲(4.24%),拟杆菌门(0.50%),β-变形菌纲(0.34%),47个属,114种。其中有211株菌的16S r DNA相似率98.0%,它们分别属于19个属的41个物种,是胡杨林本源的潜在新菌种。假单胞菌属(29.76%)和芽孢杆菌属(19.05%)为优势属。与Pseudomonas xinjiangensis相聚类的潜在新种(74株,12.585%)是本源优势菌种。辛普森多样性指数显示,Kiyik河多样性指数为0.931,塔河为0.935;Ugan河最高,为0.969。香农-威纳均匀度指数表明,Ugan河的分布最均匀,均匀度指数为0.8570;塔河次之,为0.8314;Kiyik河最低,为0.7937。时空变化对比分析表明:整体上塔里木胡杨林内生菌群落结构的原生态状态保持较好,较少地遭受到外来优势菌群的侵染。其中,Kiyik古河道的内生菌群落结构保持原生态最好,很少受外来菌群的清洗与取代;Ugan河次之,内生菌群落结构发生了一定程度的变迁;塔河主河道细菌群落结构发生了较大程度的改变,被人类活动带来的外来常见优势菌群生态冲刷的趋势明显。     

AFN-1252 is a potent inhibitor of enoyl-ACP reductase from Burkholderia pseudomallei—Crystal structure,mode of action,and biological activity

Melioidosis is a tropical bacterial infection caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei (B. pseudomallei; Bpm), a Gram-negative bacterium. Current therapeutic options are largely limited to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and β-lactam drugs, and the treatment duration is about 4 months. Moreover, resistance has been reported to these drugs. Hence, there is a pressing need to develop new antibiotics for Melioidosis. Inhibition of enoyl-ACP reducatase (FabI), a key enzyme in the fatty acid biosynthesis pathway has shown significant promise for antibacterial drug development. FabI has been identified as the major enoyl-ACP reductase present in B. pseudomallei. In this study, we evaluated AFN-1252, a Staphylococcus aureus FabI inhibitor currently in clinical development, for its potential to bind to BpmFabI enzyme and inhibit B. pseudomallei bacterial growth. AFN-1252 stabilized BpmFabI and inhibited the enzyme activity with an IC₅₀ of 9.6 nM. It showed good antibacterial activity against B. pseudomallei R15 strain, isolated from a melioidosis patient (MIC of 2.35 mg/L). X-ray structure of BpmFabI with AFN-1252 was determined at a resolution of 2.3 Å. Complex of BpmFabI with AFN-1252 formed a symmetrical tetrameric structure with one molecule of AFN-1252 bound to each monomeric subunit. The kinetic and thermal melting studies supported the finding that AFN-1252 can bind to BpmFabI independent of cofactor. The structural and mechanistic insights from these studies might help the rational design and development of new FabI inhibitors.     

生物经济与生物技术之浅析

生物经济是由生物技术高度产业化推动的人类历史上将达到的第四次经济浪潮,当前我们正处于生物经济的成长阶段。生物经济具有资源依赖性强,产品多样化但垄断性差,生物技术通用性强的显著特点。生物技术产业的崛起将促进新经济发展,对农业、工业、医药、环境保护、新能源开发以及生物战剂的抵御能力产生重要影响。通过总结生物经济的发展态势及现状,指出我国发展生命科学与生物技术的成果和面临的问题,探讨发展对策,以期为推动生命科学和生物技术产业化提供参考。     

Glucose oxidase immobilization on a novel cellulose acetate-polymethylmethacrylate membrane

Glucose oxidase (GOD) was immobilized on cellulose acetate-polymethylmethacrylate (CA-PMMA) membrane. The immobilized GOD showed better performance as compared to the free enzyme in terms of thermal stability retaining 46% of the original activity at 70 degrees C where the original activity corresponded to that obtained at 20 degrees C. FT-IR and SEM were employed to study the membrane morphology and structure after treatment at 70 degrees C. The pH profile of the immobilized and the free enzyme was found to be similar. A 2.4-fold increase in Km value was observed after immobilization whereas Vmax value was lower for the immobilized GOD. Immobilized glucose oxidase showed improved operational stability by maintaining 33% of the initial activity after 35 cycles of repeated use and was found to retain 94% of activity after 1 month storage period. Improved resistance against urea denaturation was achieved and the immobilized glucose oxidase retained 50% of the activity without urea in the presence of 5M urea whereas free enzyme retained only 8% activity.     

Listening to Puns Elicits the Co-Activation of Alternative Homophone Meanings during Language Production

Recent evidence suggests that lexical-semantic activation spread during language production can be dynamically shaped by contextual factors. In this study we investigated whether semantic processing modes can also affect lexical-semantic activation during word production. Specifically, we tested whether the processing of linguistic ambiguities, presented in the form of puns, has an influence on the co-activation of unrelated meanings of homophones in a subsequent language production task. In a picture-word interference paradigm with word distractors that were semantically related or unrelated to the non-depicted meanings of homophones we found facilitation induced by related words only when participants listened to puns before object naming, but not when they heard jokes with unambiguous linguistic stimuli. This finding suggests that a semantic processing mode of ambiguity perception can induce the co-activation of alternative homophone meanings during speech planning.     

Potential effects and relevant lead compounds of Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper seeds against bacterial infection,helminthiasis, thrombosis and neuropharmacological disorders

Multidrug-resistant bacterial infections, helminthiasis, thrombosis, anxiety and insomnia are some of the major global health concerns. Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper (VM) has been used traditionally to treat microbial infection, helminthic disorder, schizophrenia, memory loss, and blood circulatory problem. This research aims to discover antibacterial, anthelmintic, thrombolytic and neuropharmacological effects of the methanol extract of Vigna mungo seeds (MESVM), and also in-silico prediction of relevant lead compounds by molecular docking and ADME/T analysis. The crude extracts and subsequent fractions of MESVM were investigated for antibacterial activity by disc diffusion method, anthelmintic activity by paralysis and death test on earthworms, and thrombolytic activity by in vitro blood clot dissolution test. Open-field test and elevated plus maze test were performed for evaluating anxiolytic activity of the extracts. Using molecular docking, ligand poses of selected VM seeds’ phytoconstituents were predicted targeting tubulin, GlcN-6-P synthase, and human tissue plasminogen activator proteins for anthelmintic, antibacterial, and thrombolytic activity, respectively. In the antibacterial activity test, the MESVM at 10000 μg/mL concentration created highest and significant (P < 0.001) zone of inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus (15.42 mm) and Escherichia coli (12 mm) compared with tetracycline. The MESVM exhibited remarkable anthelmintic activity at 50 mg/mL concentration with 35.4 min paralysis time, 75.2 min death time and were closer to the durations of standard drug albendazole. No test extract showed anxiolytic activity. In thrombolytic activity test, all concentrations of MESVM produced clot lytic activity with high significance (P < 0.001) in comparison with the blank. In docking, 2′-hydroxygenistein, cyclokievitone hydrate, and aureol displayed maximum affinity to the target proteins for anthelmintic, antibacterial, and thrombolytic activity, respectively. This research revealed that the MESVM demonstrated potential anthelmintic, antibacterial and thrombolytic effects that confirmed the folkloric uses of VM and the found relevant lead compounds might be further optimized in future drug development.     

Characterization of a xylose containing oligosaccharide,an inhibitor of multidrug resistance in Staphylococcus aureus,from Ipomoea pes-caprae

Pescaprein XVIII (1), a type of bacterial efflux pump inhibitor, was obtained from the CHCl₃-soluble resin glycosides of beach morning glory (Ipomoea pes-caprae). The glycosidation sequence for pescaproside C, the glycosidic acid core of the lipophilic macrolactone 1 containing d-xylose and l-rhamnose, was characterized by means of several NMR techniques and FAB mass spectrometry. Recycling HPLC also yielded eight non-cytotoxic bacterial resistance modifiers, the two pescapreins XIX (2) and XX (3) as well as the known murucoidin VI (4), pecapreins II (6) and III (7), and stoloniferins III (5), IX (8) and X (9), all of which contain simonic acid B as their oligosaccharide core. Compounds 1–9 were tested for in vitro antibacterial and resistance-modifying activity against strains of Staphylococcus aureus possessing multidrug resistance efflux mechanisms. All of the pescapreins potentiated the action of norfloxacin against the NorA over-expressing strain by 4-fold (8 μg/mL from 32 μg/mL) at a concentration of 25 μg/mL.     

Adsorption characteristics of malachite green on activated carbon derived from rice husks produced by chemical-thermal process

Phosphoric acid (H(3)PO(4)) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) treated rice husks, followed by carbonization in a flowing nitrogen were used to study the adsorption of malachite green (MG) in aqueous solution. The effect of adsorption on contact time, concentration of MG and adsorbent dosage of the samples treated or carbonized at different temperatures were investigated. The results reveal that the optimum carbonization temperature is 500 degrees C in order to obtain adsorption capacity that is comparable to the commercial activated carbon for the husks treated by H(3)PO(4). It is interesting to note that MG adsorbed preferably on carbon-rich than on silica rich-sites. It is found that the behaviour of H(3)PO(4) treated absorbent followed both the Langmuir and Freundlich models while NaOH treated best fitted to only the Langmuir model.