Glucosidases specific for the cyanogenic glucoside triglochinin. Purification and characterization of beta-glucosidases from Alocasia macrorrhiza Schott]

beta-Glucosidases have been isolated from Alocasia macrorrhiza plants. The enzymes are highly specific for the hydrolysis of the cyanogenic glucoside triglochinin endogenous to this plant. Upon chromatography of protein extracts on cation exchange resins and Sephadex G-200, separation into various enzymatically active bands was observed. The main fractions possess molecular weights of approximately 310000 and 105 000, as shown by preparative ultracentrifugation in a linear saccharose gradient. The beta-glucosidases are composed of subunits (molecular weight 55 000 to 60 000), as revealed by sodium dodecylsulfate gel electrophoresis. The result of alkaline disc electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing in polyacrylamide gel suggest that the beta-glucosidase fraction with molecular weight 105 000 is a dissociation product of the 310 000 molecular-weight species. The isoelectric points of the various beta-glocusidase bands, obtained by isoelectric focusing, vary between pH 4.5 and 5.0. The beta-glucosidases show a pronounced specificity for triglochinin. The Km for this substrate (3 times 10(-5) M) is 50 to 100-fold lower than for all other substrates hydrolyzed. Of the other cyanogenic glycosides, only those with an aromatic aglycone, (S)-configuration at the asymmetric carbon atom of the aglycone and glucose as sugar moiety were hydrolyzed to a measurable extent. The pH optimum of the enzyme reaction is 5.5, the temperature optimum around 50 degrees C. Cu2 ions and glucono-1,5-lactone inhibit beta-glucosidase activity approximately 50% at a concentration of 5 times 10(-4) M, while Hg2,Ag and p-chloromercuribenzoate show the same percent inhibition at 5 times 10(-7) M. Lipophilic solvents (ethanol, ethylene glycol monomethylether) activate the beta-glucosidase activity, preferentially by influencing the V values of the enzymes.     

Identification of Mn(II)-Oxidizing Bacteria from a Low-pH Contaminated Former Uranium Mine

Biological Mn oxidation is responsible for producing highly reactive and abundant Mn oxide phases in the environment that can mitigate metal contamination. However, little is known about Mn oxidation in low-pH environments, where metal contamination often is a problem as the result of mining activities. We isolated two Mn(II)-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) at pH 5.5 (Duganella isolate AB_14 and Albidiferax isolate TB-2) and nine strains at pH 7 from a former uranium mining site. Isolate TB-2 may contribute to Mn oxidation in the acidic Mn-rich subsoil, as a closely related clone represented 16% of the total community. All isolates oxidized Mn over a small pH range, and isolates from low-pH samples only oxidized Mn below pH 6. Two strains with different pH optima differed in their Fe requirements for Mn oxidation, suggesting that Mn oxidation by the strain found at neutral pH was linked to Fe oxidation. Isolates tolerated Ni, Cu, and Cd and produced Mn oxides with similarities to todorokite and birnessite, with the latter being present in subsurface layers where metal enrichment was associated with Mn oxides. This demonstrates that MOB can be involved in the formation of biogenic Mn oxides in both moderately acidic and neutral pH environments.     

beta-Glucosidases specific for the cyanogenic glucoside triglochinin from Alocasia macrorrhiza Schott: further characterization of properties (author's transl)]

All beta-glucosidases extracted and separated from a plant of Alocasia macrorrhiza are almost entirely specific for triglochinin. The hexameric beta-glucosidase has been shown to dissociate in dimers without any alteration of activity. Reaggregation could only be demonstrated using bifunctional reagents like glutaraldehyde. Treatments of beta-glucosidase with various chemicals (e. g. glutaraldehyde, dodecyl sulfate) decreased the activity for triglochinin more than the activity for 4-nitrophenyl glucoside. On the other hand, specific reagents like bromocondurite or p-chloromercuribenzoate caused identical inactivations measured with various substrates. It seems possible that the different beta-glucosidases splitting triglochinin arose during purification from the hexameric form which occurs in the plant.     

Antimicrobial effects of microwave-induced plasma torch (MiniMIP) treatment on Candida albicans biofilms

The susceptibility of Candida albicans biofilms to a non-thermal plasma treatment has been investigated in terms of growth, survival and cell viability by a series of in vitro experiments. For different time periods, the C. albicans strain SC5314 was treated with a microwave-induced plasma torch (MiniMIP). The MiniMIP treatment had a strong effect (reduction factor (RF) = 2.97 after 50 s treatment) at a distance of 3 cm between the nozzle and the superior regions of the biofilms. In addition, a viability reduction of 77% after a 20 s plasma treatment and a metabolism reduction of 90% after a 40 s plasma treatment time were observed for C. albicans. After such a treatment, the biofilms revealed an altered morphology of their cells by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Additionally, fluorescence microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) analyses of plasma-treated biofilms showed that an inactivation of cells mainly appeared on the bottom side of the biofilms. Thus, the plasma inactivation of the overgrown surface reveals a new possibility to combat biofilms.     

The influence exerted by sideromycins on poly-U-directed incorporation of phenylalanine in the S-30 fraction of Staphylococcus aureus

Summary In a cell-free system obtained from Staphylococcus aureus SG 511, the sideromycin antibiotics danomycin and A 22,765 inhibit the poly U-directed incorporation of phenylalanine; albomycin has no influence on this incorporation, whereas ferrimycin A₁ actually enhances it. In the case of the antibiotic A 22,765 it has been demonstrated that S-30 extracts from A 22,765-sensitive cells of S. aureus behave in the same way as those from A 22,765-resistant cells; in no instance, however, was ferrioxamine B able to counteract the inhibitory effect of A 22,765. The sideromycins, which are regarded as a homogeneous group on the basis of their chemical and biological characteristics, possibly have differing mechanisms of action. The possibility that sideromycin permeation may be susceptible to antagonism by sideramines is discussed.

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Zusammenfassung In einem zellfreien System von Staphylococcus aureus SG 511 hemmen die Sideromycin-Antibiotica Danomycin und A 22 765 den Poly U-gesteuerten Einbau von Phenylalanin, dieser wird durch Albomycin nicht beeinflußt, durch Ferrimycin A₁ sogar gesteigert. Für das Antibioticum A 22 765 wurde gezeigt, daß sich S-30 Extrakte A 22 765-sensibler und A 22 765-resistenter Zellen von S. aureus gleich verhalten; in keinem Falle konnte jedoch die durch A 22 765 bewirkte Hemmung durch Ferrioxamin B aufgehoben werden. Die auf Grund chemischer wie biologischer Merkmale als einheitliche Gruppe charakterisierten Sideromycine besitzen möglicherweise unterschiedliche Wirkungsmechanismen. Die Möglichkeit einer Antagonisierung der Sideromycin-Permeation durch die Sideramine wird diskutiert.

     

Die Perception endlicher linearer Ereignisfolgen

Summary Postulates are discussed for adequate perception based on a definition of event-sequences. The concept of filter and interprating operators have been adapted to the given suppositions. Using the definitions an abstract software model of an event-sequences-perceptor is outlined. In addition to this a formula for information content in finite lineare event-sequences is introduced to substitute the Shannon measure in this case.

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Sehr herzlichen Dank für Anregungen und die Durchsicht des Manuskriptes sage ich Herrn Dr. Oswald Benka, Wien-Seibersdorf.     

Enthesopathies as occupational stress markers: Evidence from the upper limb

Enthesopathies—that is, “musculo‐skeletal stress markers”—are frequently used to reconstruct past lifestyles and activity patterns. Relatively little attention has been paid in physical anthropology to methodological gaps implicit in this approach: almost all methods previously employed neglect current medical insights into enthesopathies and the distinction between healthy and pathological aspects has been arbitrary. This study presents a new visual method of studying fibrocartilaginous enthesopathies of the upper limb (modified from Villotte: Bull Mém Soc Anthropol Paris n.s. 18 (2006) 65–85), and application of this method to 367 males who died between the 18th and 20th centuries, from four European identified skeletal collections: the Christ Church Spitalfields Collection, the identified skeletal collection of the anthropological museum of the University of Coimbra, and the Sassari and Bologna collections of the museum of Anthropology, University of Bologna. The analysis, using generalized estimating equations to model repeated binary outcome variables, has established a strong link between enthesopathies and physical activity: men with occupations involving heavy manual tasks have significantly (P‐value < 0.001) more lesions of the upper limbs than nonmanual and light manual workers. Probability of the presence of an enthesopathy also increases with age and is higher for the right side compared with the left. Our study failed to distinguish significant differences between the collections when adjusted for the other effects. It appears that enthesopathies can be used to reconstruct past lifestyles of populations if physical anthropologists: 1) pay attention to the choice of entheses in their studies and 2) use appropriate methods. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Biodegradation of ferrihydrite-associated organic matter

The association of organic molecules with mineral surfaces is a major mechanism to stabilize soil organic matter against biodegradation. We performed microbial incubation experiments to quantify the mineralization of soil organic matter associated with ferrihydrite by adsorption and coprecipitation. Samples were produced using either water-extractable organic matter of a Podzol forest-floor layer (FFE) or a sulfonated lignin. Incubation was carried out with an inoculum extracted from the forest-floor layer under oxic conditions at pH 4.8 over 68 days. Our data show that the association with ferrihydrite stabilized the associated organic matter: the degradation of the polysaccharide-rich FFE was slowed down, while the degradation of lignin was inhibited. Since differences in the degradability of adsorbed and coprecipitated organic matter were small, we conclude that coprecipitation did not lead to a significant formation of microbial inaccessible organic matter domains in our experiments.