Natural-abundance 13C nuclear magnetic resonance studies of regulation and overproduction of L-lysine by Brevibacterium flavum

Natural-abundance 13C NMR spectroscopy has been used to study the metabolism of the L-lysine-producing bacterium, Brevibacterium flavum. Relationships of biomass formation, precursor uptake, and product excretion, as a function of culture medium, oxygen supply and specific cell membrane permeability, were rapidly determined using 67.89-MHz 13C NMR. The induction of lysine production throughout the growth cycle was studied. Intracellular and extracellular levels of free metabolites and unconsumed precursor were quantitatively measured as a function of growth culture conditions. Limited availability of oxygen resulted in accumulation and excretion of unfavorable products: lactate, succinate, alanine and valine. However, under optimal aeration conditions L-lysine was the sole metabolite detected extracellularly. Various important long-lived intermediates and storage compounds were detected in the intact cells (by NMR measurements). Carbon resonances of carbohydrates and amino acids were resolved and easily identified. Of particular interest are those of trehalose carbons, a storage carbohydrate. Natural-abundance 13C NMR spectroscopy seems most suitable for biotechnological processes where high concentrations of intermediates and end-products can be observed. We anticipate that this approach will be employed to screen overproducing bacterial strains.     

Biomimics of fungal cell-cell recognition by use of lectin-coated nylon fibers.

When the mycoparasitic, biocontrol fungus Trichoderma harzianum was allowed to grow on nylon fibers treated with concanavalin A or Sclerotium rolfsii lectin, it coiled around the nylon fibers and produced hooks in a pattern similar to that observed with the real host hyphae. The incidence of interaction between T. harzianum and S. rolfsii lectin-treated fibers was significantly higher than that of the controls (untreated or blocked activated fibers). These findings provide direct evidence for the role of lectins in mycoparasitism.     

Difference in microviscosity induced by different cholesterol levels in the surface membrane lipid layer of normal lymphocytes and malignant lymphoma cells

Microviscosity ($\text{}\text{?}$gh) in the surface membrane lipid layer of normal lymphocytes and malignant lymphoma cells, and in liposomes prepared from their lipid extracts, was determined with the aid of the fluorescence polarization properties of 1,6-diphenyl 1,3,5-hextriene embedded in it. The $\text{}\text{?}$gh values, both in intact cells and in the liposomes, are distinctively greater for normal lymphocytes than for the lymphoma cells, whereas the fusion activation energy in both types of cells and liposomes is 8 ± 0.5 kcal/mol. Determination of cholesterol revealed that its relative amount in a lymphoma cell is about half of that of a normal lymphocyte, a difference that may account for the above difference in fluidity. This thesis is supported by the observed changes in $\text{}\text{?}$gh, which follow artificial changes in cholesterol contents in the surface membrane of both cell types. Introduction of exogeneous cholesterol into the cell surface membranes was performed with lecithin-cholesterol (1:1) liposomes, and in lymphoma cells resulted in an increase of $\text{}\text{?}$gh to a level of normal lymphocytes. Extraction of native cholesterol from the cell surface membranes was carried out with lecithin liposomes, and in normal lymphocytes results in a decrease of $\text{}\text{?}$gh to a value similar to that of lymphoma cells. The induced changes in cholesterol contents are practically reversible for both cell types. By virtue of controlling the microviscosity of lipid layers, the level of cholesterol in cell surface membranes may play an important role in determining biological activities of normal and malignant cells.     

Differences in lipid fluidity among isolated plasma membranes of normal and leukemic lymphocytes and membranes exfoliated from their cell surface

The fluorescence polarization technique with 1,6-diphenyl 1,3,5-hexatriene as a probe was used to determine the lipid microviscosity, $\text{η}$, of isolated plasma membranes of mouse thymus-derived ascitic leukemia (GRSL) cells and of extracellular membraneous vesicles exfoliated from these cells and occurring in the ascites fluid. For comparison, $\text{η}$ was also determined in isolated plasma cell supernatants.For isolated plasma membranes of thymocytes and GRSL cells $\text{η}$ values at 25° C amounted to 4.67 and 3.28 P, respectively, which were higher than the microviscosities of the corresponding intact cells, 3.24 and 1.73 P, respectively.Microviscosities inextracellular membranes of thymocytes and GRSL cells were 5.96 and 5.83 P, respectively. The fluidity difference between these membranes and plasma membranes was most pronounced for the leukemic cells and was thereby correlated with a large difference in cholesterol/phospholipid molar ratio (1.19 for extracellular membranes and 0.37 for plasma membranes). It is proposed that extracellular membraneous vesicles are shed from the surface of GRSL cells similar to the budding process of viruses, that is by selection of the most rigid parts of the host cell membrane.Liposomes of total lipid extracts of plasma membranes and extracellular membranes of both cell types exhibited about the same microviscosity as the corresponding intact membranes, indicating virtually no contribution of (glyco)-protein to the lipid fluidity as measured by the fluorescence polarization technique. For both cell types $\text{η}$ (25° C) values of liposomes consisting of membrane phospholipids varied between 1.5 and 1.9 P, much lower than the values for total lipids, indicating a significant rigidizing effect of cholesterol in each type of membrane.     

Rewinding the process of mammalian extinction

With only three living individuals left on this planet, the northern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) could be considered doomed for extinction. It might still be possible, however, to rescue the (sub)species by combining novel stem cell and assisted reproductive technologies. To discuss the various practical options available to us, we convened a multidisciplinary meeting under the name “Conservation by Cellular Technologies.” The outcome of this meeting and the proposed road map that, if successfully implemented, would ultimately lead to a self‐sustaining population of an extremely endangered species are outlined here. The ideas discussed here, while centered on the northern white rhinoceros, are equally applicable, after proper adjustments, to other mammals on the brink of extinction. Through implementation of these ideas we hope to establish the foundation for reversal of some of the effects of what has been termed the sixth mass extinction event in the history of Earth, and the first anthropogenic one. Zoo Biol. 35:280–292, 2016. © 2016 The Authors. Zoo Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.