Evolution of Stability in a Cold-Active Enzyme Elicits Specificity Relaxation and Highlights Substrate-Related Effects on Temperature Adaptation

Molecular aspects of thermal adaptation of proteins were studied by following the co-evolution of temperature dependence, conformational stability, and substrate specificity in a cold-active lipase modified via directed evolution. We found that the evolution of kinetic stability was accompanied by a relaxation in substrate specificity. Moreover, temperature dependence and selectivity turned out to be mutually dependent. While the wild-type protein was strictly specific for short-chain triglycerides (C4) in the temperature range 10-50 °C and displayed highest activity in the cold, its stabilized variant was able to accept C8 and C12 molecules and its selectivity was temperature dependent. We could not detect any improvement in the overall structural robustness of the mutant when the structure was challenged by temperature or chemical denaturants. There is, however, strong evidence for local stabilization effects in the active-site region provided by two independent approaches. Differential scanning fluorimetry revealed that the exposure of hydrophobic patches (as the active site is) precedes denaturation, and molecular dynamics simulations confirmed that stability was obtained by restriction of the mobility of the lid, a flexible structure that regulates the access to the enzyme active site and influences its stability. This reduction of lid movements is suggested to be accompanied by a concomitant increase in the mobility of other protein regions, thus accounting for the observed broadening of substrate specificity.     

Crystal Structure of the Leucine Aminopeptidase from Pseudomonas putida Reveals the Molecular Basis for its Enantioselectivity and Broad Substrate Specificity

The zinc-dependent leucine aminopeptidase from Pseudomonas putida (ppLAP) is an important enzyme for the industrial production of enantiomerically pure amino acids. To provide a better understanding of its structure-function relationships, the enzyme was studied by X-ray crystallography. Crystal structures of native ppLAP at pH 9.5 and pH 5.2, and in complex with the inhibitor bestatin, show that the overall folding and hexameric organization of ppLAP are very similar to those of the closely related di-zinc leucine aminopeptidases (LAPs) from bovine lens and Escherichia coli. At pH 9.5, the active site contains two metal ions, one identified as Mn²⁺ or Zn²⁺ (site 1), and the other as Zn²⁺ (site 2). By using a metal-dependent activity assay it was shown that site 1 in heterologously expressed ppLAP is occupied mainly by Mn²⁺. Moreover, it was shown that Mn²⁺ has a significant activation effect when bound to site 1 of ppLAP. At pH 5.2, the active site of ppLAP is highly disordered and the two metal ions are absent, most probably due to full protonation of one of the metal-interacting residues, Lys267, explaining why ppLAP is inactive at low pH. A structural comparison of the ppLAP-bestatin complex with inhibitor-bound complexes of bovine lens LAP, along with substrate modelling, gave clear and new insights into its substrate specificity and high level of enantioselectivity.     

Structure‐function analysis of npr1 alleles in Arabidopsis reveals a role for its paralogs in the perception of salicylic acid

Salicylic acid (SA) is necessary for plant defence against some pathogens, whereas NPR1 is necessary for SA perception. Plant defence can be induced to an extreme by several applications of benzothiadiazole (BTH), an analogue of SA. Thus, plants that do not perceive BTH grow unaffected, whereas wild‐type plants grow stunted. This feature allows us to screen for mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana that show insensitivity to BTH in a high‐throughput fashion. Most of the mutants are npr1 alleles, with similar phenotypes in plant weight and pathogen growth. The mutations are clustered in the carboxyl‐terminal part of the protein, and no obvious null alleles were recovered. These facts have prompted a search for knockouts in the NPR1 gene. Two of these KO alleles identified are null and have an intermediate phenotype. All the evidence presented lead us to propose a redundancy in SA perception, with the paralogs of NPR1 taking part in this signalling. We show that the mutations recovered in the screening genetically interact with the paralogs preventing their function in SA signalling.     

Microbiological quality of raw milk produced in Estonia

Aims: The microbial quality of farm bulk‐tank raw milk produced in Estonia during years 2004–2007 was investigated. Methods and Results: Bulk‐tank milk samples were analysed for lactic acid bacteria count (LABC), psychrotrophic bacteria count (PBC), aerobic spore‐forming bacteria count (ASFBC), total bacterial counts using BactoScan and somatic cell count (SCC) using Fossomatic. Randomly selected psychrotrophic isolates were subjected to 16S–23S PCR‐ribotyping. LABC remained below 10⁴ CFU ml^?1 in most samples, while psychrotrophic micro‐organisms dominated in 60% of farms. PBC ranged from 4·2 × 10² to 6·4 × 10⁴ CFU ml^?1, and ASFBC varied from 5 to 836 CFU ml^?1. Conclusions: In general, the microbiological quality of the farm bulk‐tank milk was good – more than 91% of samples contained <50 000 CFU ml^?1, and SCC in the majority of samples did not exceed the internationally recommended limits. Genus Pseudomonas spp. was the dominating spoilage flora with Pseudomonas fluorescens as the prevailing species. Significance and Impact of the Study: Specific bacterial groups (LABC, PBC and ASFBC), not analysed routinely by dairies, were determined in bulk‐tank raw milk of numerous dairy farms during 4‐year period. Based on the survey, dairy plants can better control their supply chains and select farms (milk) for the production of specific products, i.e. milk with low PBC and high LABC for cheesemaking.     

Multi-strain co-cultures surpass blends for broad spectrum biological control of maladies of potatoes in storage

Pseudomonas fluorescens strains S11:P:12, P22:Y:05, and S22:T:04 and Enterobacter cloacae strain S11:T:07 have been documented to suppress four important storage potato maladies – dry rot, late blight, pink rot, and sprouting. This research investigates the efficacy and consistency of strain mixtures produced by co-culturing strains together in one vessel or by blending them together after separate cultivations in pure cultures. Pure and co-cultures were produced in flask or fermentor cultures, viable cell concentrations were assessed using a nutrient-based selective plating method to identify and enumerate strains, and the efficacy of treatments was assessed with respect to dry rot, pink rot, late blight or sprout suppression. Experiments were designed to analyze dry rot suppression versus all strain combinations and the combination method (co-culture or blend). Results of a two-way analysis of variance of disease with strain composition and combination method showed that significantly better dry rot suppression was obtained by co-cultures (30.3±2.4% relative disease) than by similar strain blends of pure cultures (41.3±2.4%) (P<0.001). During a 3-year study, both biocontrol efficacy and consistency were assessed in 16 laboratory and small pilot trials simulating commercial storages. Three-strain co-culture had a lower mean disease rating than the blend in 9 of 16 experiments examining control of the three diseases and sprouting. The co-culture led other treatments in incidences of significant malady reduction relative to the control: 14 of 16 attempts for co-culture, 11 of 16 attempts for blend, 10 of 13 attempts for pure S11:P:12, 8 of 13 attempts for S22:T:04, and 9 of 13 attempts for P22:Y:05. Using relative performance indices to rank treatment performance across all experiments, the co-culture treatment ranked significantly higher than the blend. A synergy analysis suggested that co-culturing strains stimulated inter-strain activities to boost biocontrol efficacy and consistency, a feature not developed in strains grown separately and mixed just prior to addition to potatoes.     

A role for β‐sitosterol to stigmasterol conversion in plant–pathogen interactions

Upon inoculation with pathogenic microbes, plants induce an array of metabolic changes that potentially contribute to induced resistance or even enhance susceptibility. When analysing leaf lipid composition during the Arabidopsis thaliana–Pseudomonas syringae interaction, we found that accumulation of the phytosterol stigmasterol is a significant plant metabolic process that occurs upon bacterial leaf infection. Stigmasterol is synthesized from β‐sitosterol by the cytochrome P450 CYP710A1 via C22 desaturation. Arabidopsis cyp710A1 mutant lines impaired in pathogen‐inducible expression of the C22 desaturase and concomitant stigmasterol accumulation are more resistant to both avirulent and virulent P. syringae strains than wild‐type plants, and exogenous application of stigmasterol attenuates this resistance phenotype. These data indicate that induced sterol desaturation in wild‐type plants favours pathogen multiplication and plant susceptibility. Stigmasterol formation is triggered through perception of pathogen‐associated molecular patterns such as flagellin and lipopolysaccharides, and through production of reactive oxygen species, but does not depend on the salicylic acid, jasmonic acid or ethylene defence pathways. Isolated microsomal and plasma membrane preparations exhibited a similar increase in the stigmasterol/β‐sitosterol ratio as whole‐leaf extracts after leaf inoculation with P. syringae, indicating that the stigmasterol produced is incorporated into plant membranes. The increased contents of stigmasterol in leaves after pathogen attack do not influence salicylic acid‐mediated defence signalling but attenuate pathogen‐induced expression of the defence regulator flavin‐dependent monooxygenase 1. P. syringae thus promotes plant disease susceptibility through stimulation of sterol C22 desaturation in leaves, which increases the stigmasterol to β‐sitosterol ratio in plant membranes.     

荧光假单胞杆菌P13菌株对油菜化感作用的研究

通过化感试验研究荧光假单胞杆菌P13菌株对油菜种子萌发、幼苗生长的影响及其在油菜根际土壤和根部定植的能力。结果表明,P13菌株发酵液对油菜种子萌发没有明显的促进作用,稀释10倍的菌体发酵液处理种子与对照组无显著差异,而低浓度和高浓度都抑制种子萌发;田间试验发现P13菌株能促进植物幼苗生长,根长、苗高、干重和长1片叶子的株数均与对照组差异显著;1周内P13菌株在油菜根际土壤和根部定植良好,定植数量均达到107cfu/g以上。说明P13菌株可被开发为微生物菌剂,但在施用时不宜用作种子处理剂。     

铜绿假单胞菌对11种抗生素的耐药性差异

目的探讨不同标本分离铜绿假单胞菌对11种抗生素耐药性的差异,指导临床合理使用抗生素。方法按常规方法培养分离后,经VITEK-AMS60或VITEK-II自动微生物鉴定分析仪的鉴定,用Kirty-Bauer法做药物敏感试验。结果尿液与血液之间,以及尿液与伤口分泌物之间,分离株均对所检测的11种抗生素的耐药性差异有非常显著性（P〈0.01）,尿液与穿刺液分离菌对除亚胺培南和美洛培南外的9种抗生素的耐药性差异有非常显著性（P〈0.01）,血液与穿刺液、血液与伤口分泌物和穿刺液与伤口分泌物间,除穿刺液与伤口分泌物分离菌对美洛培南的耐药性差异有显著性（P〈0.05）外,其他差异均无显著性（P〉0.05）。结论不同标本来源铜绿假单胞菌对哌拉西林等11种抗生素存在耐药性差异。     

1株拮抗植物病原真菌的细菌筛选及其抑菌机理的初步研究

从上海市郊农作物根际土壤中共分离纯化得到276株细菌,利用平板对峙法筛选出1株对多种植物病原真菌具有较强拮抗作用的菌株。经过形态学观察、生理生化特征以及16S rDNA的同源性分析,初步鉴定该菌株为桔黄假单胞菌(Pseudomonas aurantiaca),该菌株的16S rDNA序列已在GenBank中注册,登录号为GQ358919。通过显微镜观察,发现JD37菌株的主要抑菌机理是通过产生拮抗物质造成病原真菌菌丝体断裂、扭曲、畸形等异常生长现象。该菌产生的拮抗物质对酸、碱较为稳定,但对高温敏感。