Enzyme-activated inhibition of bacterial D-amino acid transaminase by beta-cyano-D-alanine

beta-Cyano-D-alanine is an efficient suicide substrate (Ki = 10 microM) of D-amino acid transaminase. This apparent inactivation is temperature dependent: it is irreversible at 10 degrees C or below and becomes progressively reversible at higher temperatures. Since at higher temperatures the apparent reactivation process predominates over the inactivation reaction, the reactivation process is considered to be endothermic. The nature of this reversibility suggests the formation of a heat labile bond between the inhibitor molecule and a nucleophilic group on the enzyme.     

基于微生物同化作用的D-丙氨酸生产工艺研究

以L-丙氨酸为唯一碳氮源,从采集的若干土壤中初筛出能够降解L-丙氨酸的菌株;再以D-丙氨酸为唯一碳氮源,复筛出降解L-丙氨酸而不降解D-丙氨酸的菌株。依据菌种对DL-丙氨酸的不对称降解活性,筛选出具有最高的L-丙氨酸降解活性的菌株,并对菌株同化L-丙氨酸的反应条件进行了研究。结果表明:编号为ALA-D82的菌株具有最高的降解L-丙氨酸的能力,经鉴定为酵母菌属。在30℃,控制pH6.0,通气比1:1(V/V)和转速900 r.min-1的条件下,L-丙氨酸降解的速度最大。在最适条件下,1500 g DL-丙氨酸分两部分添加入7 L的反应液中。反应72 h后溶液中的L-丙氨酸被完全降解,提取得到D-丙氨酸晶体,产率和光学纯度分别达到92.13%和99%。     

Enterococcus faecalis cytolysin and lactocin S of Lactobacillus sake

Strains of Enterococcus faecalis and Lactobacillus sake have been found to express lantibiotics with unusual properties. The enterococcal lantibiotic is unusual in that it consists of two dissimilar subunits, both putatively containing modifications consistent with those found in other lantibiotics. The enterococal lantibiotic is also unusual in the number of proteolytic steps involved in secretion signal removal and activation. Moreover, it has been observed to contribute to enterococcal disease in humans and in animal models. Structrural studies of lactocin S, expressed by a strain of L. sake highlight unique properties including the presence of D-alanine within its structure, and a protease putatively responsible for lactocin S secretion signal peptide removal which, itself, lacks a signal or propeptide sequence. Despite the unusual properties of each of these lantibiotics, the operons encoding each, and accompanying auxiliary functions, are collinear suggeting a common ancestry. The accretion of interdigitating DNA sequences between genes encoded within the lactocin S determinant are unique to that determinant, however, and are of unknown function.     

Galactosyltransferase: confirmation of equilibrium-ordered mechanism.

A thermostable protein that strongly inhibits the soluble $\text{E. coli}$ D-alanine carboxypeptidase was isolated from a cell-free extract of $\text{E. coli B}$. The inhibitor was purified 140-fold by heat treatment, selective precipitation at pH 4.5, ion exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and gel chromatography on Sephadex G-100. Inhibition of soluble D-alanine carboxypeptidase by this inhibitor is reversed by cations such as Mg⁺⁺ or Na⁺ and abolished by digestion of the inhibitor with proteolytic enzymes. The inhibitor does not affect either the particulate D-alanine carboxypeptidase of $\text{E. coli}$ or the growth of the bacteria.     

The influence of manufacture on the free D-amino acid content of Cheddar cheese

Summary. The changes in the concentration and those of composition of alanine, aspartic acid and glutamic acid enantiomers were investigated during manufacture of Cheddar cheese. The amount of D-alanine increased continuously during ripening following the liberation of L-alanine originated from the proteolysis of milk proteins. There was slightly more D-aspartic and D-glutamic acid in the dry matter of curd after pressing than before pressurization. The D-amino acid content and the ratio of the D-enantiomers related to the total amount of free amino acids differed significantly among cheeses produced with different single-strain starters. The D-amino acid composition changed during manufacture, but the influence of the strain selection was not significant on the D-amino acid pattern.     

The biosynthesis and functionality of the cell-wall of lactic acid bacteria

The cell wall of lactic acid bacteria has the typical Gram-positive structure made of a thick, multilayered peptidoglycan sacculus decorated with proteins, teichoic acids and polysaccharides, and surrounded in some species by an outer shell of proteins packed in a paracrystalline layer (S-layer). Specific biochemical or genetic data on the biosynthesis pathways of the cell wall constituents are scarce in lactic acid bacteria, but together with genomics information they indicate close similarities with those described in Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis, with one notable exception regarding the peptidoglycan precursor. In several species or strains of enterococci and lactobacilli, the terminal D-alanine residue of the muramyl pentapeptide is replaced by D-lactate or D-serine, which entails resistance to the glycopeptide antibiotic vancomycin. Diverse physiological functions may be assigned to the cell wall, which contribute to the technological and health-related attribut es of lactic acid bacteria. For instance, phage receptor activity relates to the presence of specific substituents on teichoic acids and polysaccharides; resistance to stress (UV radiation, acidic pH) depends on genes involved in peptidoglycan and teichoic acid biosynthesis; autolysis is controlled by the degree of esterification of teichoic acids with D-alanine; mucosal immunostimulation may result from interactions between epithelial cells and peptidoglycan or teichoic acids.     

抗菌药物靶标丙氨酸消旋酶及其抑制剂研究进展

抗生素的滥用和人口的大量流动使得病原菌耐药性增强并与其他病原体产生共感染等问题,严重威胁人类的生命安全,因此,研发新型抗菌药物成为人类亟待解决的问题。丙氨酸消旋酶是以磷酸吡哆醛为辅酶催化L-丙氨酸与D-丙氨酸旋光结构互换的一类异构酶,其消旋产物D-丙氨酸对细菌细胞壁的形成具有决定性作用,与细菌性疾病密切相关。抑制丙氨酸消旋酶的活性会影响细菌的生存,近年来成为设计抗菌药物的一个理想靶位,其抑制剂的开发已成为抗菌药物研发的热点。本文从丙氨酸消旋酶的来源、结构、功能、应用及抑制剂等方面进行系统阐述,并对丙氨酸消旋酶的研究提出新的策略,为进一步研究丙氨酸消旋酶与致病菌的关系及抗菌药物候选靶标的研究提供理论基础。