Marine bacteria which produce tetrodotoxin

A number of type strains of marine bacteria, including members of the family Vibrionaceae, were cultured and examined for tetrodotoxin productivity by high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Most of the Vibrionaceae strains produced tetrodotoxin, anhydrotetrodotoxin, or both.     

Production of Tubules and Bacteriophage-like Particles in Mycobacteria After Bacitracin Treatment

Bacitracin-treated mycobacteria liberated tubules and phagelike particles which had no biological activity against selected species. These structures may reflect a state of defective lysogeny.     

A novel phosphodiesterase from cultured tobacco cells.

A novel phosphodiesterase was purified from cultured tobacco cells to a state which appeared homogeneous on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme hydrolyzed various phosphodiester and pyrophosphate bonds, including p-nitrophenyl thymidine 5'-phosphate, p-nitrophenyl thymidine 3'-phosphate, cyclic nucleotides, ATP, NAD+, inorganic pyrophosphate, dinucleotides, and poly(adenosine diphosphate ribose), which is a polymer synthesized from NAD+. However, it did not hydrolyze highly polymerized polynucleotides. The molecular weight of the native enzyme was estimated as 270 000 to 280 000 by gel filtration on Sephadex G-200 and Bio-Gel A-5m. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis indicated that the enzyme was composed of subunits with molecular weights calculated to be 75 000. The enzyme did not require divalent cations for activity being fully active in the presence of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. The pH optimum for the enzyme was approximately 6 with p-ni-trophenyl thymidine 5'-phosphate or adenosine cyclic 3',5'monophosphate, and 5.3 with NAD+. Double reciprocal plots of the initial velocity against the concentration of p-nitrophenyl thymidine 5'-phosphate gave two apparent Km values of 0.17 and 1.3 mM, suggesting the presence of at least two active sites.     

Improvement of direct ethanol fermentation from woody biomasses by the Antarctic basidiomycetous yeast, Mrakia blollopis, under a low temperature condition

The Antarctic basidiomycetous yeast Mrakia blollopis SK-4 can quite uniquely ferment various sugars under low temperature conditions. When strain SK-4 fermented lignocellulosic biomass using the direct ethanol fermentation (DEF) technique, approximately 30% to 65% of the theoretical ethanol yield was obtained without and with the addition of the non-ionic surfactant Tween 80, respectively. Therefore, DEF from lignocellulosic biomass with M. blollopis SK-4 requires the addition of a non-ionic surfactant to improve fermentation efficiency. DEF with lipase converted Eucalyptus and Japanese cedar to 12.6 g/l, and 14.6 g/l ethanol, respectively. In the presence of 1% (v/v) Tween 80 and 5 U/g-dry substrate lipase, ethanol concentration increased about 1.4- to 2.4-fold compared to that without Tween 80 and lipase. We therefore consider that the combination of M. blollopis SK-4 and DEF with Tween 80 and lipase has good potential for ethanol fermentation in cold environments.     

Purification,characterization, and cloning of the gene for a biodegradable plastic-degrading enzyme from Paraphoma-related fungal strain B47-9

Paraphoma-related fungal strain B47-9 secreted a biodegradable plastic (BP)-degrading enzyme which amounted to 68 % (w/w) of the total secreted proteins in a culture medium containing emulsified poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA) as sole carbon source. The gene for this enzyme was found to be composed of an open reading frame consisting of 681 nucleotides encoding 227 amino acids and two introns. Southern blot analysis showed that this gene exists as a single copy. The deduced amino acid sequence suggested that this enzyme belongs to the cutinase (E.C.3.1.1.74) family; thus, it was named P araphoma-related fungus cutinase-like enzyme (PCLE). It degraded various types of BP films, such as poly(butylene succinate), PBSA, poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate), poly(ε-caprolactone), and poly(dl-lactic acid). It has a molecular mass of 19.7 kDa, and an optimum pH and temperature for degradation of emulsified PBSA of 7.2 and 45 °C, respectively. Ca²⁺ ion at a concentration of about 1.0 mM markedly enhanced the degradation of emulsified PBSA.     

Floristic study of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Geastrum</Emphasis> in Japan: three new records for Japanese mycobiota and reexamination of the authentic specimen of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Geastrum minus</Emphasis> reported by Sanshi Imai

Geastrum berkeleyi, G. fornicatum, and G. minimum are newly recorded from Japan. A peristome of G. fornicatum has hitherto been described as indistinct, whereas the Japanese specimens have a well-delimited, fibrillose peristome. Geastrum minus, reported for the first time from Japan by Sanshi Imai, represents G. quadrifidum. Macroscopic and microscopic features of those four taxa are described and illustrated based on Japanese specimens.