Modeling of antibiotics production in magneto three-phase airlift fermenter

A mathematical model is developed to describe the performance of a three-phase airlift reactor utilizing a transverse magnetic field. The model is based on the complete mixing model for the bulk of liquid phase and on the Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The model equations are solved by the explicit finite difference method from transient to steady state conditions. The results of the numerical simulation indicate that the magnetic field increases the degree of bioconversion. The mathematical model is experimentally verified in a three-phase airlift reactor with P. chrysogenum immobilized on magnetic beads. The experimental results are well described by the developed model when the reactor operates in the stabilized regime. At relatively high magnetic field intensities a certain discrepancy in the model solution was observed when the model over estimates the product concentration.     

Employment of a noninvasive magnetic method for evaluation of gastrointestinal transit in rats

ABSTRACT: AC Biosusceptometry (ACB) was previously employed towards recording gastrointestinal motility. Our data show a reliable and successful evaluation of gastrointestinal transit of liquid and solid meals in rats, considering the methods scarcity and number of experiments needed to endorsement of drugs and medicinal plants. ACB permits real time and simultaneous experiments using the same animal, preserving the physiological conditions employing both meals with simplicity and accuracy.     

Morphological and morphometrical analysis of Heterodera spp. populations in Jordan

Phenotypic diversity of five Jordanian populations of cyst nematodes, Heterodera spp. collected from five regions from Jordan (Ar-Ramtha, Madaba, Dana, Al-Karak, and Jerash) was investigated. Soil samples were collected from one representative field in each region. Morphological and morphometrical characteristics revealed that Heterodera latipons is dominated in cereal fields at Ar-Ramtha, Madaba, Dana and Al-Karak regions and Heterodera schachtii in Jerash. Cysts populations from all cereal fields had bifenestrate vulval cone and a strong underbridge. Wherever, cysts of the cabbage population had ambifenestrate vulval cone with long vulval slit. The bullae were absent in Ar-Ramtha, Madaba and Dana populations, but present in Al-Karak and Jerash. Based on 12 morphometrical characters, the first three functions in canonical discriminant analysis accounted 99.3% of the total variation. Distance from dorsal gland duct opening to stylet base, underbridge length, a = L/W (body length/midbody width) and length of hyaline tail tip had strong and significant contributions in the first function. While the second function was strongly influenced by length of hyaline tail, fenestral length, fenestral width and tail length. However, the third canonical discriminate function was found to be influenced by stylet length, fenestral length, a = L/W (body length/midbody width) and underbridge width. The graphical representation of the distribution of the samples showed that the first canonical discriminant function clearly separated H. schachtii from Jerash from other populations. Whereas, H. latipons collected from Madaba and Dana were clearly separated in the second function. The results indicated that differences at morphological and morphometrical levels revealed diverse populations of Heterodera spp. in Jordan.     

Cytogenetic activities of tobacco particulate matter (TPM) derived from a low to middle tar British cigarette

Tobacco particulate matter (TPM) derived from an experimental low to middle tar cigarette was tested for its cytogenetic activity upon a low passage number Chinese hamster pulmonary cell line. Examination of the mitotic profiles (after one cell cycle) revealed no interference by the agent with mitotic spindle formation and/or function. However, complete chromosomes (or parts of them) were seen to dislocate from the mitotic spindles. Such an event was probably the result of the chromosome aberrations, substantial numbers of which were observed in second division cells, or through a process of centromere inactivation. In second division cells there was a reduction in the number of diploid cells accompanied by an increase in both hypodiploidy and polyploidy and there was also a non-dose-related increase in endoreduplication. The results demonstrate that TPM was capable of inducing both structural and numerical chromosome aberrations in cultured mammalian cells.     

Widespread Distribution of Poribacteria in Demospongiae

Poribacteria were found in nine sponge species belonging to six orders of Porifera from three oceans. Phylogenetic analysis revealed four distinct poribacterial clades, which contained organisms obtained from several different geographic regions, indicating that the distribution of poribacteria is cosmopolitan. Members of divergent poribacterial clades were also found in the same sponge species in three different sponge genera.Recently, a novel bacterial phylum, termed “Poribacteria,” was discovered, and members of this phylum have been found exclusively in sponges (2). Phylogenetic analyses of 16S rRNA genes indicated that poribacteria are evolutionarily deeply branching organisms and related to a superphylum composed of Planctomycetes, Verrucomicrobia, and Chlamydia (11). Poribacterial 16S rRNA genes contain 13 of 15 planctomycete signature nucleotides, but a level of sequence divergence of more than 25% compared to any other bacterial phylum, including the Planctomycetes, justifies the status of this taxon as an independent phylum. A consistent treeing pattern is difficult to resolve in comparative phylogenetic sequence analyses, making the poribacteria an unusual line of phylogenetic descent. In addition to their divergent status as a separate phylum on the basis of the 16S rRNA sequence, poribacteria are also divergent because they may have a compartmentalized cell structure, a cell plan they share only with members of the phyla Planctomycetes and Verrucomicrobia (2). They are also of interest for understanding the potential contribution of obligate sponge-associated bacteria to the sponges harboring them and as an example of a yet-to-be-cultured group of bacteria associated with invertebrate tissue apparently exclusively but for unknown reasons. This study aimed to further explore the presence and diversity of poribacteria in different marine demosponge genera using samples from around the world.The Mediterranean sponges were collected by scuba divers offshore at Banyuls sur Mer, France (42°29′N, 03°08′E). The Caribbean sponges were collected offshore at Little San Salvador Island, Bahamas (24°32′N, 75°55′W). The eastern Pacific sponge Aplysina fistularis was collected offshore at San Diego, CA (32°51′N, 117°15′W). The western Pacific sponge Theonella swinhoei was collected offshore at Palau (07°23′N, 134°38′E). All non-Great Barrier Reef (non-GBR) sponges were collected between May and July 2000, and once individual sponge specimens were brought to the surface, they were frozen in liquid nitrogen on board ship and stored at −80°C until microbiological processing (9). The GBR marine sponges were collected off Heron Island Research Station (23°27′S, 151°5′E) in April 2002 (5). Pseudoceratina clavata was collected by scuba divers at a depth of 14 m, and Rhabdastrella globostellata was collected at a depth of ca. 0.5 m after a reef walk consisting of a few hundred meters. The samples were immediately placed in plastic bags and brought to Heron Island Research Station, where they were stored at −80°C until processing. Sponge DNA was extracted as described previously (2, 5).Total sponge-derived genomic DNA was screened by PCR for the presence of poribacteria using a 16S rRNA gene primer set. Poribacterial 16S rRNA genes were amplified by employing a pair of Poribacteria-specific primers, POR389f (5′-ACG ATG CGA CGC CGC GTG-3′) and POR1130r (5′-GGC TCG TCA CCA GCG GTC-3′) (2). The poribacterial PCR products that were ca. 740 bp long derived from one sponge individual were cloned into the pGEM-T Easy vector (Promega, Madison, WI). Clone inserts were digested with restriction endonucleases MspI and HaeIII (New England Biolabs, Inc., United States), characterized to obtain restriction profiles and unique profiles, and sequenced. The compiled partial 16S rRNA gene sequences were then analyzed using BLASTN to select the most closely related poribacterial reference sequences.The sequences exhibiting levels of similarity of less than 97% were used for further analysis. Poribacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences were aligned using the ARB software package (7). The resulting alignment was imported into PAUP (10) and analyzed by using distance, maximum parsimony, and maximum likelihood algorithms together with bootstrap resamplings (3,000, 3,000, and 200 resamplings, respectively), and the resulting bootstrap values were applied to nodes on the ARB neighbor-joining tree. Signature sequences were detected using the ARB software package. A signature sequence is defined here as a short sequence that is present in a group of poribacterial sequences in a phylogenetic clade but is not found in any other clade in the poribacterial tree.Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene clone library sequences generated from sponge tissues revealed the presence of poribacteria in sponge individuals belonging to the orders Verongida, Astrophorida, Dictyoceratida, Haplosclerida, Lithistida, and Homosclerophorida, while poribacteria could not be detected in sponges belonging to the orders Hadromerida and Agelasida. In the order Halichondrida, poribacteria were detected in Xestospongia muta but not in Haliclona sp. Altogether, nine sponge species were added to the list of Poribacteria-containing sponges (Table ​(Table1).1). Three distinct clades were observed that were clearly supported by bootstrap values greater than 75 with every tree-building algorithm applied (Fig. ​(Fig.1),1), and one clade (clade I) was supported by bootstrap values of 64, 98, and 71 in distance, maximum parsimony, and maximum likelihood trees, respectively. Similarity calculations using approximately 740-bp amplified poribacterial 16S rRNA gene fragments and other poribacterial sequences from the NCBI database showed that the dissimilarity between clades was consistent with their separation in phylogenetic trees. For example, the levels of dissimilarity between members of clade I and clade II were 3 to 8%, while the levels of dissimilarity between members of clades I and III and between members of clades I and IV were 10 to 14% and 11 to 15%, respectively.Open in a separate windowFIG. 1.Neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree for poribacterial clones based on Poribacteria-specific PCR products (740 bp) of the 16S rRNA gene, showing relationships of poribacterial clones from different global regions. The poribacterial clones on the right are additional clones belonging to the same clades as strains in the tree at the same level. Bootstrap confidence values of >75% for distance, maximum parsimony, and maximum likelihood algorithm analyses are indicated by filled circles at nodes, and open circles indicate unsupported nodes. Prefixes for clones: A, Aplysina aerophoba; C, Aplysina cavernicola; F, Aplysina fistularis; L, Aplysina lacunosa; S, Ircinia sp.; P, Plakortis sp.; PC, Pseudoceratina clavata; RG, Rhabdastrella globostellata; T, Theonella swinhoei; X, Xestospongia muta. Scale bar = 0.1 nucleotide substitution per site.

TABLE 1.

Distribution of poribacteria in different demosponge orders

The effects of ventilation and the dilution of smoke upon the clastogenic and aneugenic activity of tobacco particulate matter in cultured mammalian cells

We demonstrate here that tobacco particulate matter (TPM) produced from both non-ventilated and ventilated cigarettes of varying tar contents induced structural and numerical aberrations in cultured Chinese hamster cells. Our data indicate that TPM from ventilated cigarettes is of lower potency in inducing both clastogenic and aneugenic effects compared with TPM from non-ventilated cigarettes. These observations provide support for the concept that the genotoxic activity (to cultured Chinese hamster cells) of cigarette smoke is reduced by increased ventilation to a greater extent than a 1:1 ratio between yield reduction and smoke dilution.     

Pyrosequencing reveals highly diverse and species-specific microbial communities in sponges from the Red Sea

Marine sponges are associated with a remarkable array of microorganisms. Using a tag pyrosequencing technology, this study was the first to investigate in depth the microbial communities associated with three Red Sea sponges, Hyrtios erectus, Stylissa carteri and Xestospongia testudinaria. We revealed highly diverse sponge-associated bacterial communities with up to 1000 microbial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and richness estimates of up to 2000 species. Altogether, 26 bacterial phyla were detected from the Red Sea sponges, 11 of which were absent from the surrounding sea water and 4 were recorded in sponges for the first time. Up to 100 OTUs with richness estimates of up to 300 archaeal species were revealed from a single sponge species. This is by far the highest archaeal diversity ever recorded for sponges. A non-negligible proportion of unclassified reads was observed in sponges. Our results demonstrated that the sponge-associated microbial communities remained highly consistent in the same sponge species from different locations, although they varied at different degrees among different sponge species. A significant proportion of the tag sequences from the sponges could be assigned to one of the sponge-specific clusters previously defined. In addition, the sponge-associated microbial communities were consistently divergent from those present in the surrounding sea water. Our results suggest that the Red Sea sponges possess highly sponge-specific or even sponge-species-specific microbial communities that are resistant to environmental disturbance, and much of their microbial diversity remains to be explored.     

Deep Sequencing of Myxilla (Ectyomyxilla) methanophila, an Epibiotic Sponge on Cold-Seep Tubeworms, Reveals Methylotrophic, Thiotrophic, and Putative Hydrocarbon-Degrading Microbial Associations

The encrusting sponge Myxilla (Ectyomyxilla) methanophila (Poecilosclerida: Myxillidae) is an epibiont on vestimentiferan tubeworms at hydrocarbon seeps on the upper Louisiana slope of the Gulf of Mexico. It has long been suggested that this sponge harbors methylotrophic bacteria due to its low δ ¹³C value and high methanol dehydrogenase activity, yet the full community of microbial associations in M. methanophila remained uncharacterized. In this study, we sequenced 16S rRNA genes representing the microbial community in M. methanophila collected from two hydrocarbon-seep sites (GC234 and Bush Hill) using both Sanger sequencing and next-generation 454 pyrosequencing technologies. Additionally, we compared the microbial community in M. methanophila to that of the biofilm collected from the associated tubeworm. Our results revealed that the microbial diversity in the sponges from both sites was low but the community structure was largely similar, showing a high proportion of methylotrophic bacteria of the genus Methylohalomonas and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-degrading bacteria of the genera Cycloclasticus and Neptunomonas. Furthermore, the sponge microbial clone library revealed the dominance of thioautotrophic gammaproteobacterial symbionts in M. methanophila. In contrast, the biofilm communities on the tubeworms were more diverse and dominated by the chemoorganotrophic Moritella at GC234 and methylotrophic Methylomonas and Methylohalomonas at Bush Hill. Overall, our study provides evidence to support previous suggestion that M. methanophila harbors methylotrophic symbionts and also reveals the association of PAH-degrading and thioautotrophic microbes in the sponge.     

Close relationship of RNase P RNA in Gemmata and anammox planctomycete bacteria

The relationship of RNase P RNA from anammox bacteria 'Candidatus Brocadia anammoxidans' and 'Candidatus Kuenenia stuttgartiensis' with that from other Planctomycetes was investigated. Newly identified rnpB gene sequences were aligned against existing planctomycete RNase P RNA sequences and secondary structures deduced by a comparative approach. Deduced secondary structures were similar in both anammox bacteria and both possessed an insert within the P13 helix analogous to that present in all Gemmata isolates. Phylogenetic analysis also revealed a possible relationship between the RNase P RNA molecules of the two anammox organisms and the genus Gemmata.     

Bioinformatics analysis of ubiquitin expression protein gene from Heterodera latipons

Ubiquitin expression protein DNA clone (Hl-UBI) was isolated from Heterodera latipons collected from North Jordan. Its sequence of 285 nucleotides was also determined and deposited in the GeneBank. The 285-bp open reading frame coded for 76-amino acid protein having two domains; the ubiquitin domain and the C terminal extension. The first 59 amino acids were predicted with the ubiquitin domain with identity percentages of 78% to ubiquitin of H. schachtii, 77% to polyubiquitin of Globodera pallida, 74% to ubiquitin of Globodera rostochiensis and 72% to ubiquitin of Heterodera glycines. The other domain at the C-terminus, containing 17 amino acids, showed no homology to any known protein. Sequence analysis showed a calculated encoding amino acids molecular weight of 8.77 kDa, theoretical isoelectric point = 4.76, negatively charged residues = 12, positively charged residues = 9, extinction coefficient = 1490, estimated half-life = 30 h, instability index = 32.51 and grand average of hydropathicity = ?0.537. The demonstrated subcellular localization analysis of cytoplasm, cell nucleus, mitochondrion, cell skeleton and plasma membrane of Hl-UBI protein occupied about 52.20, 21.70, 17.40, 4.30 and 4.30%, respectively. Sequence, homology and structural analysis confirmed that Hl-UBI gene was highly conserved during evolution and belonged to ubiquitin gene family.