Preferential feeding behaviour of Daphnia magna

Preferential feeding behaviour by Daphnia magna was shown when Daphnia were fed on a mixture of ¹⁴C-labelled algae (Chlorella vulgaris or Scenedesmus quadricauda) and ³H-labelled bacteria (Escherichia coli). Daphnia consumption of bacteria was equal or higher in the presence of algae. On the other hand, in the presence of bacteria, algal consumption decreased by 40–70% compared to algal consumption in the absence of bacteria. ¹⁴C radioactive uptake was in good agreement with the chlorophyll content and demonstrates the preferential feeding behaviour of Daphnia.     

Nematode Temperature Responses: a Niche Dimension In Populations of Bacterial-Feeding Nematodes

The optimum temperatures for population development were determined for six species of bacterial-feeding nematodes from among eight temperatures, ranging from 5 to 40 C. Four of the species are cohabiting species. The range of temperatures over which population development occurs (temperature niche breadth) is different for the cohabiting species. This difference may be a means of reducing competition between species, thus increasing temperatures over which habitats can be exploited.     

Evaluation of the potential of a bead mill for the release of intracellular bacterial enzymes

The suitability of bead mills for the release of intracellular bacterial enzymes has been studied using the Dyno-Mill Model KDL. The effect of cell concentration, bead size and agitation speed on the release of beta-lactamase from Enterobacter cloacae P99 was examined. Scale-up considerations included, the best operational values for these parameters were 1 g cell paste suspended in 2.5 ml buffer, 0.25 mm diameter glass beads and 15 ms ⁻¹ agitation speed. These conditions proved suitable for the release of enzymes from other Gram-negative bacteria in both batch and continuous processes.     

Terminal deoxyribonucleotidyl transferase activity in acute undifferentiated leukemia.

Guanosine, rather than its methylated derivative, was found to be the inverted nucleoside present in the 5′ terminal capping structure of insect oocyte messenger RNA. Since methylation of the terminal guanosine at the 7 position is necessary for the initiation of protein synthesis in eukaryotes, this evidence suggests that the translational inactivity of the mRNA prior to fertilization may be associated with the absence of methylation.     

Growth‐dependent heterogeneity in the DNA damage response in Escherichia coli

In natural environments, bacteria are frequently exposed to sub‐lethal levels of DNA damage, which leads to the induction of a stress response (the SOS response in Escherichia coli). Natural environments also vary in nutrient availability, resulting in distinct physiological changes in bacteria, which may have direct implications on their capacity to repair their chromosomes. Here, we evaluated the impact of varying the nutrient availability on the expression of the SOS response induced by chronic sub‐lethal DNA damage in E. coli. We found heterogeneous expression of the SOS regulon at the single‐cell level in all growth conditions. Surprisingly, we observed a larger fraction of high SOS‐induced cells in slow growth as compared with fast growth, despite a higher rate of SOS induction in fast growth. The result can be explained by the dynamic balance between the rate of SOS induction and the division rates of cells exposed to DNA damage. Taken together, our data illustrate how cell division and physiology come together to produce growth‐dependent heterogeneity in the DNA damage response.     

Cryo-EM structure of the fatty acid reductase LuxC–LuxE complex provides insights into bacterial bioluminescence

The discovery of reduced flavin mononucleotide and fatty aldehydes as essential factors of light emission facilitated study of bacterial luminescence. Although the molecular mechanisms underlying bacterial luminescence have been studied for more than 60 years, the structure of the bacterial fatty acid reductase complex remains unclear. Here, we report the cryo-EM structure of the Photobacterium phosphoreum fatty acid reductase complex LuxC–LuxE to a resolution of 2.79 Å. We show that the active site Lys238/Arg355 pair of LuxE is >30 Å from the active site Cys296 of LuxC, implying that catalysis relies on a large conformational change. Furthermore, mutagenesis and biochemical experiments support that the L-shaped cleft inside LuxC plays an important role in substrate binding and reaction. We obtained a series of mutants with significantly improved activity as measured by in vitro bioluminescence assays and demonstrated that the double mutant W111A/F483K displayed the highest activity (370% of the WT). Our results indicated that the activity of LuxC significantly affects the bacterial bioluminescence reaction. Finally, we expressed this mutated lux operon in Escherichia coli but observed that the in vivo concentrations of ATP and NADPH limited the enzyme activity; thus, we conclude that the luminous intensity mainly depends on the level of metabolic energy.     

利用PCR-DGGE方法分析不同鸡群的盲肠微生物菌群结构变化

研究不同品种、饲养阶段的健康和不良鸡群对盲肠细菌种群结构和多样性的影响。使用基于16S rDNA的PCR-DGGE技术,结合割胶回收DNA进行克隆和测序,分别以4、6、10、16、20、40周龄蛋鸡及1、2、4、6、7、8周龄肉鸡健康、不良鸡群盲肠内容物为样本,研究其中特定细菌类群的16S rDNA序列片段指纹图谱,并进行聚类分析,鉴定特异性和共性种群。在两品种健康鸡群盲肠内容物的细菌群落中,Lactobacillus属菌株的相似性均高于不良鸡群,并且在不同饲养阶段的健康、不良鸡群间指纹图谱平均条带数差异显著(P<0.05);而Bacteroides属菌株在健康鸡群盲肠内容物细菌的相似性与不良鸡群较为相近,健康、不良鸡群间平均条带数差异显著(P<0.05);Clostridium属菌株在蛋鸡20、40周龄的平均条带数差异不显著(P>0.05),但肉鸡各周龄健康、不良鸡群间的平均条带数差异显著(P<0.05)。序列测序结果,在蛋鸡产蛋期健康、不良鸡群样本中均检测到能动乳杆菌(Lactobacillus agilis),而育雏和育成期中均检测到鸟乳杆菌(Lactobacillus aviaries)和不可培养细菌;两品种的健康、不良鸡群样本中均检测到Bacteroides属的生酸拟杆菌(Bacteroides acidifaciens)、不可培养物细菌(Uncultured bacterium);而健康、不良蛋鸡群样本中均检测到Clostridium属不可培养的变形菌(Uncultured proteobacterium),健康肉鸡群中检测到索氏志贺菌(Shigella sonnei),而两品种不良鸡群中均缺乏此类菌种。结果显示,不同品种、饲养阶段的鸡群,其盲肠细菌群落的组成差异显著,并且细菌种群结构对鸡群的生长发育影响较大。     

Lysobacter antibioticus 13-1菌株抗菌物质鉴定及对水稻白叶枯病的防治效果

【目的】为了明确对水稻白叶枯病具有优质防效的生防细菌——抗生素溶杆菌13-1菌株抗菌物质及对白叶枯病的防治效果。【方法】研究采用高效液相色谱、质谱、13C核磁共振谱、氢核磁共振谱、电喷雾质谱等分析方法。【结果】13-1产生4种抑菌活性组分:6-甲氧基-10-氧基-1-吩嗪醇、吩嗪、吩嗪-1-羧酸及1-羟基-6-甲氧基吩嗪。4种吩嗪类物质对水稻白叶枯病原细菌均具有抑菌活性。田间小区试验表明,菌株13-1发酵液对水稻白叶枯病的防效在60%以上。【结论】研究明确了菌株13-1产生的抗菌物质为吩嗪类物质,这是国内关于吩嗪类物质控制水稻白叶枯病的首次报道。     

典型亚热带热分层水库秋季细菌群落垂直分布

水库在我国东南沿海地区是重要的饮用水水源地,对地区经济发展和社会稳定起到重要作用。选择亚热带地区典型的热分层水库——福建莆田东圳水库,于2011年秋季稳定分层期,以水体温度的垂直变化特征为依据进行分层采样。应用PCRDGGE和克隆测序的方法研究浮游细菌群落的垂直分布特征,利用多元统计分析揭示细菌群落与热分层水体理化指标之间的关系。结果显示:溶解氧、电导率、叶绿素a、总氮、氨氮及硝氮在上下层水体中的分布有显著差异,下层缺氧区细菌的ShannonWiener指数和DGGE条带数明显高于上层好氧区,表明东圳水库热分层水体中存在明显的物理、化学及生物分层现象。测序结果表明β-变形菌可能是东圳水库中占优势的细菌类群,统计结果提示溶解氧是显著影响细菌群落组成的环境因子。热分层水体的物理化学分层与水体细菌群落结构密切相关,提示水库生态学研究应对水体热分层给予重视。