Studies on the cytoplasmic protein tyrosine kinase activity of the Antarctic psychrotrophic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae

The Antarctic psychrotrophic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae contains a 66-kDa cytoplasmic protein which was found to by phosphorylated on a tyrosine residue [Ray, M.K. et al. (1994) FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 122, pp. 49-54]. To investigate the nature of the cytoplasmic protein tyrosine kinase and its role in the bacterial physiology, we carried out some biochemical studies of the enzyme in vitro in the presence of exogenous peptide substrates and expression studies in vivo at low and high temperature during various phases of growth. The results suggest that the protein tyrosine kinase associated with the cytoplasmic fraction of the bacterium has certain similarities and dissimilarities with the known eukaryotic tyrosine kinases. The protein tyrosine kinase could phosphorylate exogenous substrate corresponding to the N-terminal peptide of p34cdc2 kinase but could not do so on poly(Glu:Tyr). The enzyme could not be inhibited by genistein, staurosporine and dimethyl aminopurine, but could be inhibited by piceatannol which is a known competitive inhibitor of the peptide binding site of mammalian protein tyrosine kinases. The enzyme activity in the cytoplasm is uniquely inhibited by sodium orthovanadate (IC50 = 20 microM) which is a known protein tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor. The expression studies show that the enzyme is produced more at a higher temperature (22 degrees C) of growth than at lower temperature (4 degrees C) and during the stationary phase of growth of P. syringae.     

Extracellular protease activity of different Pseudomonas strains: dependence of proteolytic activity on culture conditions

AIMS: This study investigated the effect of growth conditions on proteolytic activity of a Pseudomonas strain, named Pseudomonas sp. LBSA1, isolated from bulk raw milk. It was compared with three Pseudomonas chlororaphis and one Pseudomonas fluorescens strain from culture collections. METHODS AND RESULTS: Bacteriae were grown in a minimal salt medium. For all the strains, addition of 1% (v/v) skim milk to the growth medium was sufficient to induce protease production in 48-h culture. Addition of 1 mmol l(-1) calcium chloride permitted the detection of proteolytic activity of four strains in 48-h cultures but not for Pseudomonas sp. LBSA1. The five strains presented two patterns of proteolytic activity when grown in the minimal salt medium supplemented with 2% (v/v) skim milk at various temperatures for 48 h. Two electrophoretic protease patterns were also obtained from the zymogram of extracellular medium for the five strains. CONCLUSIONS: The growth conditions permitting protease production are variable and do not depend on the genus of the producing strain. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: For the first time a study on proteolytic activity of P. chlororaphis strains is reported. Among the tested criteria, zymograms of extracellular medium were the only ones that permitted distinguishing the P. chlororaphis strains from the P. fluorescens strain.     

嗜冷菌研究进展

对嗜冷菌的概念、分布与分类进行了介绍 ,同时从嗜冷菌的细胞结构及其生物大分子的特点出发 ,阐述了嗜冷菌的耐低温机制 ,并对嗜冷菌的应用及理论研究前景进行了展望     

南极耐冷 Pseudomonas sp. 7323低温脂肪酶的性质及基因克隆

 南极微生物是筛选低温酶的良好来源,但尚未得到充分的研究与开发.低温脂肪酶具有广阔的应用前景,其基因结构特征也具有重要的研究意义. 本文对南极微生物开展了低温脂肪酶产生菌的筛选、基因克隆及特征分析.采用功能筛选的方法,从南极普里兹湾深海沉积物中获得一株产低温脂肪酶的菌株7323,其最适温度和最高生长温度分别为20℃和30℃,属于耐冷菌.16S rDNA序列分析表明,该菌属于假单胞菌属（Pseudomonas）.通过设计引物扩增出的脂肪酶基因全长为1854　bp,该基因编码一个由617氨基酸、分子量预计为64466的蛋白质.氨基酸序列分析表明,该酶与Pseudomonas sp. UB48 的脂肪酶有89%的相似性,在催化区和C末端信号肽中存在高度保守的序列.纯化后的酶学性质研究表明,该脂肪酶的最适温度为35℃,最适pH值为9.0,为碱性低温酶.     

Aerobic biodegradation of nonylphenol by cold-adapted bacteria

Three strains capable of mineralizing nonylphenol as sole carbon source were isolated from a sample of contaminated soil and characterized as two Pseudomonas spp. and a Stenotrophomonas sp. The two Pseudomonas spp. expressed characteristics typical of psychrophiles growing optimally of 10 °C and capable of growing at 0 °C. The Stenotrophomonas sp. was more likely psychrotrophic because it had an optimal temperature between 14 and 22 °C although it was not capable of growing at 4 °C. At 14 °C, one of the Pseudomonas spp. exhibited the highest rate of degradation of nonylphenol (4.4 mg l^–1 d^–1), when compared with axenic or mixed cultures of the isolates. This study represents, to the best of our knowledge, the first reported case of cold-adapted microorganisms capable of mineralizing nonylphenol.