Tunicamycin-resistant mutants of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens are deficient in amylase, protease and penicillinase synthesis and have altered sensitivity to antibiotics and autolysis

Mutants of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens resistant to at least 10 micrograms/ml of tunicamycin were isolated and shown to be pleiotropic. The mutants were more resistant to streptomycin, chloramphenicol, kanamycin and neomycin than was the parent strain but less resistant to penicillin G and tetracycline. They were more autolytic, presumably due to an altered cell wall. The mutants produced reduced levels of amylase, penicillinase and both metal and serine protease besides having an enhanced sporulation frequency and being more motile.     

Control of the growth of Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris in industrialized orange juice using rosemary essential oil and nisin

The use of rosemary essential oil (RO) and its combination with nisin (RO+N) in preventing the multiplication of Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris in orange juice was evaluated. The minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations (MIC and MBC) for RO were both 125 μg ml⁻¹ while RO+N displayed a synergistic effect. The use of RO and RO+N at concentrations of 1, 4 and 8× MIC in orange juice for 96 h was evaluated in terms of their sporicidal effectiveness. With regard to the action against A. acidoterrestris spores, RO at 8× MIC was sporostatic, whereas RO+N at 1× MIC was sporicidal. Morphological changes in the structure of the micro-organism after treatment were also observed by microscopy. Furthermore, flow cytometric analysis showed that most cells were damaged or killed after treatment. In general, the antioxidant activity after addition of RO+N decreased with time. The results demonstrate that using the combination of RO and nisin can prevent the A. acidoterrestris growth in orange juice.     

The change of behaviour of two strains of Leishmania after cultivation in a defined medium

Attempts have been made to characterize two strains of Leishmania that became infective to golden hamsters only after they had been maintained for several years in a chemically defined culture medium. Observations were made on the growth rates of promastigotes in vitro, course of infection in hamsters, morphology of amastigotes, and electrophoretic mobility patterns of eight isoenzymes. Information was obtained about the buoyant densities of n-DNA and k-DNA, and one strain was tested against monoclonal antibodies. The identity of both strains remains obscure.     

A note on the use of cross-linked starch in microbiology with special reference to detecting amylase production

Anilogel-E, a cross-linked starch, can be used with distinct advantages where native starch or soluble starch are conventionally used, e.g. in scoring for amylolytic organisms, as an ingredient of fermentation media, and in enhancing protoplast regeneration. It is particularly useful for the direct visualization of amylase producing micro-organisms on solid media, making prior replication of colonies unnecessary.     

Sphaerotilus Growing in a Continuous-Flow Apparatus: Calcium Nutrition of1

Sphaerotilus natans required calcium for the production of sheaths and probably requires calcium for growth as well, though at a lower concentration. Neither strontium nor barium substituted for calcium. S. natans grew attached to the culture vessels of the continuous-flow apparatus even when no sheaths were produced. Tentative evidence showed that the requirement for calcium is shared by the manganese-oxidizing species S. discophorus.     

Growth-promoting Activity of Spent Sulfite Liquor for Sphaerotilus natans Growing in a Continuous-Flow Apparatus

The calcium in ammonia-base spent sulfite liquor, unlike that in calcium-base spent liquor, is not available for growth of Sphaerotilus natans. It has not been possible to obtain a mixed slime with Sphaerotilus as the dominant organism in a continuous-flow apparatus fed spent sulfite liquor.     

Utilization of Inorganic Nitrogen Compounds by Sphaerotilus natans Growing in a Continuous-Flow Apparatus

Sphaerotilus natans was grown, attached, in a continuous-flow apparatus with inorganic nitrogen compounds (NH₄Cl, NaNO₂, or NaNO₃) as the only sources of nitrogen. The growth rate with NH₄⁺-containing medium did not differ from that with media containing glutamate or Casitone as the nitrogen source.     

Histochemical and structural characteristics of the testis of the vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus rotundus, Geoffrey, 1810)

The testicular stroma of the vampire bat including the testicular capsula and the lamina propria of the seminiferous tubuli, was strongly PAS-positive. This observation was a possible indication of great amounts of structural glycogen and other glycoconjugates at the level of smooth muscle cells; elongated contractile cells and/or collagen frameworks of the tunica albuginea and tubular lamina propria. In the last the basement membranes of the seminiferous tubules were particularly strongly PAS positive, as an indication of their neutral mucosubstances structural composition, previously described (Malmi et al., 1987). The epithelium lining from the cavitary and surface rete testis complex showed low reactivities to mucosubstances; total proteins and lipids and oxidative enzymes studied. Although the apical granulation at the rete testis epithelium showed an intense PAS reactivity with hypothesis of glycoprotein secretion, through the rete. The PAS, Sudan Black B, NADH, MDH and LDH reactions of the testicular interstitium seem correlate to steroid metabolism (biosynthesis and secretion), at the Leydig cells level. The seminiferous epithelium generally had low reactions to all the histochemical studies realized. Particularly in the adbasal compartment the histochemical localizations of NADH diaphorase and LDH were possible related to glycolytic activities and general carbohydrates metabolism, both enzymes, and hydrogen transport, the NADH. The strong PAS, diastase and PAS, and alcian blue pH 2.5 and PAS reactions observed in the adluminal seminiferous epithelium compartment were directly related to the spermatids acrosomal glycoconjugates structuration. Also the SDH localization at this level seems to be related to the mitochondrial activities at the middle piece level in the late spermatids.