碱性蛋白酶生产菌——地衣芽孢杆菌(B. licheniformis)的温和噬菌体

碱性蛋白酶生产菌——地衣芽孢杆菌经丝裂霉素C或紫外线处理,均可诱导释放噬菌体,电镜观察表明噬菌体头部外廓呈六边形,有不收缩的尾部(头部40nm×40nm,尾部107×5,7nm),噬菌体BLL1 DNA对限制酶Eco R Ⅰ,HindⅢ和Bam H Ⅰ敏感,分别切割成8,15,和9个片段,经电泳法测定。噬菌体DNA分子量约相当于23.4kb,根据解链温度计算出噬菌体的G+C含量约为31.2摩尔％,噬菌体提纯的外壳蛋白经SDS-聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳呈现5条主带,其分子量分别约为78000,72000,55000,39000,35000。     

同工酶研究在嗜热脂肪芽孢杆菌分类中的应用

嗜热脂肪芽孢杆菌是一个尚未被严格定义的种,它几乎包括芽孢杆菌属内所有能在65℃以上生长的细菌。用聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳的方法对151株嗜热脂肪芽孢杆菌的9种酶(G6PDH、LDH、MDH、IDH、AlaDH、LeuDH、过氧化氢酶、过氧化物酶、酯酶)的酶谱进行测定分析。根据其酶谱的差异,可将151株菌株分成两个类型。两型之间8个酶的13或14个基因产物的相异度约为91.8％,两型间的标准遗传距离是2.55。因此这两种类型的细菌也许可以被看作为两个不同的种。     

Netropsin stimulates the formation of an extracellular proteinase and suppresses protein turnover in sporulating Bacillus megaterium

Abstract Netropsin stimulated the rate of synthesis of an extracellular metalloproteinase in Bacillus megaterium incubated in a sporulation medium. The antibiotic delayed but did not suppress the decrease in the ability to synthesize the proteinase occurring at later sporulation stages. Netropsin also stimulated the synthesis of the proteinase when added to a growing culture; it inhibited the increase of protein turnover which was switched on between the 2nd and 3rd hour in the sporulating population. No refractile spores were developed during 6 h at 35°C in the antibiotic-treated culture. In the control 60% of sporulating cells were observed under similar conditions.     

Regulatory and molecular properties of citrate synthases from methylotrophs

Abstract Gram-negative methylotrophs contain a high- M _r'large' citrate synthase. Gram-positive methylotrophs, on the other hand, contain a 'small' citrate synthase. These differences in M _r coincided partly with differences in NADH sensitivity. Citrate synthases from obligate Gram-negative and Gram-positive facultative methylotrophs were insensitive to feedback inhibition by NADH; only the enzymes from Gram-negative facultative methylotrophs were inhibited by NADH.     

Release from protoplasts of the Bacillus subtilis protease inhibitor

Abstract Conversion of Bacillus subtilis to protoplasts resulted in the release of 70–80% of the total protease inhibitor activity. Inhibitor fractions contained a polypeptide of approx. 15 kDa which reacted with inhibitor antibody. There was no release of protease inhibitor into the medium by sporulating cells, by osmotic shock of cells nor by washing with high concentrations of salt. The release of inhibitor activity was selective in that only 10–20% of the total protein, and < 10% of the glutamine synthetase activity was found in the protoplast supernatant. The inhibitor could be localized near the cell surface and function in cell protection.     

Adenine nucleotide content and energy charge of Bacillus megaterium during batch growth in low-phosphate medium

Abstract The effect of a low phosphate concentration on intracellular adenine nucleotides, oxygen consumption and poly-β-hydroxybutyric acid synthesis, was investigated with batch cultures of Bacillus megaterium . At low phosphate concentrations the cells contained much larger amounts of poly-β-hydroxybutyric acid, but displayed lower adenylate energy charge and oxygen uptake than did control cells. The ratio of ATP to ADP was much greater in the control cells. The levels of ATP and AMP were lower in low-phosphate cells.     

Determination of the complete nucleotide sequence of pNS1, a staphylococcal tetracycline-resistance plasmid propagated in Bacillus subtilis

Abstract The complete nucleotide sequence of pNS1 (3879 bp), a tetracycline-resistance (Tc^R) plasmid drived from staphylococcal plasmid pTP5, has been determined and compared with that of the staphylococcal Tc^R plasmid pT181 [6]. The nucleotide sequences of the 2 plasmids are in agreement, except for 18 nucleotides, but these differences are significant in that they give rise to new open reading frames (ORFs). A short ORF-D is found in the copy control region, and the Tc^R region contains a single large ORF-A, that encodes the Tet protein (50 kDa). The upstream region of ORF-A contains 3 inverted repeat sequences, which can generate structures very similar in conformation of the structure of the control region of the inducible erythromycin-resistance gene of pE194.     

Toxoplasma gondii: decreased resistance to intracellular bacteria in mice

The effect of sublethal inocula of Toxoplasma gondii on the course of listeriosis and salmonellosis in mice was investigated. Intravenous injection of T. gondii 24 hr after inoculation of Listeria monocytogenes increased mortality from 16% (L. monocytogenes alone) to 68% (L. monocytogenes + T. gondii) (P less than 0.001). Multiplication of L. monocytogenes in spleens also was increased significantly in mice given T. gondii. By 3 days after infection, mice that had received T. gondii and L. monocytogenes had approximately 10 times the number of L. monocytogenes per spleen compared to mice receiving L. monocytogenes alone. Similarly, mortality and the number of bacteria in spleens were increased in mice injected with Salmonella typhimurium and then inoculated with T. gondii. An in vitro assay of macrophage listeriacidal activity was used to investigate the mechanism of this decreased resistance. Peritoneal macrophages from mice injected with T. gondii were less bactericidal than macrophages from uninfected mice. Delayed hypersensitivity responses to L. monocytogenes antigen were markedly suppressed in mice injected with T. gondii. T. gondii infection appears to suppress both macrophage and T-lymphocyte function and may result in decreased resistance to infections caused by intracellular bacteria.     

Proteins of the Bacillus stearothermophilus ribosome: Crystallization of protein L6

Crystals of ribosomal protein L6 from Bacillus stearothermophilus suitable for high resolution structural studies have been obtained. Crystals are hexagonal with space group P6₁22 (or the enantiomorph P6₅22) and cell dimensions a = b = 72.7 Å, c = 124.9 Å. A search for heavy atom derivatives is in progress.