[Polyphasic Taxonomic Analysis of Carotene-Synthesizing Strain Bacillus sp. 1.1, Perspective for the Creation of Probiotic].

It was done the polyphasic taxonomic analysis of carotene synthesizing strain Bacillus sp. 1.1, perspective for the creation of probiotic. The investigated strain was referred to the species Bacillus subtilis based on of cultural-morphological, physiological and biochemical features. Despite this the fatty acid profile of the cell walls of this strain is predominantly presented by branched derivatives of iso- and antiiso C15:0 and C17:0 compounds (over 70 %), which is typical for the species Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. Based on the nucleotide sequence of 16S rRNA gene, and the profile of polymorphic nucleotides strain was referred to the species Bacillus amyloliquefaciens.

Complex Identifcation of Red Yeast Isolate from Gastrointestinal Tract of Hucul Long-Liver (Carpathians, Ukraine).

The red yeasts are currently widely discussed and controversial group of yeasts because of the growing number of reports of their ability to become opportunistic pathogens of plants, animals and humans. The aim of this work was complex identifcation of the red yeast culture isolated from gastrointestinal tract of healthy Hucul long-liver from the Carpathians highland region of Ukraine. Torularhodin was found to be a major component within yeast culture carotenoids complex. According to conventional biochemical and morphological approaches as well as to molecular biological investigation of internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) of ribosomal operon it was concluded that isolate belonged to species Rhodotorula mucilaginosa.

The polyphasic taxonomic analysis of the strain Bacillus sp. C6 ­ phytopathogenic microorganisms antagonist.

The polyphasic taxonomic analysis of the strain-antagonist of phytopathogenic bacteria and micromycetes was carried. It was found that the combination of culture-morphological, physiological and biochemical properties allowed to attribute the strain to the group Bacillus subtilis. It was shown that fatty acids of the cell walls of the strain were represented mainly by branched derivatives of iso- and anti iso- C15:0 and C17:0 fatty acids (85%) which was typical for the Bacillus amyloliquefaciens species. After molecular genetic analysis of the nucleotide sequence of the 16S rRNA gene and studying the profile of polymorphic nucleotides the strain was attributed to subspecies Bacillus amyloliquefaciens subsp. plantarum.

[The taxonomic study of the strain Bacillus sp. UCM B-7404--phytopathogenic fungae antagonist].

The polyphasic taxonomic analysis of strain Bacillus sp. UCM B-7404 active against phytopathogenic fungi and producing extracellular phytohormones, lytic enzymes and lipopeptide antifungal compounds has been carried out. The basic cell wall fatty acids presented by branched iso- and anteiso- C15:0 and C17:0 acids, contained 65-77% of the average pool. Phylogenetic assay of 16S rRNA gene nucleotide sequence, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics proved the attachment of strain Bacillus sp. UCM B-7404 to Bacillus amyloliquefaciens subsp. plantarum.

Taxonomic analysis of the Streptomyces sp. 2435 strain, a producer of antimicrobial substances.

The study of the taxonomic status of the antimicrobial substances producer strain Streptomyces sp. 2435 was conducted The nucleotide sequence of 16S rRNA gene of the strain was determined and deposited in the Genbank (No JN129837) database. Results of morphological, biochemical and cell wall fatty acids content analyses, evaluation of biosynthesis features of Streptomyces sp 2435, together with the phylogenetic analysis have provided the basis to identify this strain as Streptomyces albus.

Does the applicability of Bacillus strains in probiotics rely upon their taxonomy?

The taxonomic position and biological activities of two Bacillus strains used in veterinary probiotics were studied in this work. These microorganisms inhibit growth of a broad spectrum of pathogenic cultures. They synthesize proteolytic enzymes and other biologically active metabolites, and to some extent, supplement each other with probiotic activities. It is not clear whether these versatile activities are properties of individual strains or bacterial taxa as whole. 16S rRNA comparisons were conducted and illustrated the relatedness of these strains to Bacillus amyloliquefaciens . Their cell wall fatty acid contents were consequently analysed and specified a relation to the " Bacillus velezensis " ecomorph. On account of the previous observations, a simple method of 16S rRNA profiling by polymorphic nucleotides was proposed to determine a group of organisms closely related to "B. velezensis" and B. amyloliquefaciens subsp. plantarum, for they are biologically active strains suitable for use in biotechnology. The extreme genetic plasticity of these bacteria endowed each strain with a unique spectrum of antagonistic activity.

Pseudomonas batumici sp. nov., the antibiotic-producing bacteria isolated from soil of the Caucasus Black Sea coast.

Four novel strains of saprophytic bacteria were isolated from the soil samples collected in the moist subtropics region (the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus) and studied using methods of polyphasic taxonomic analysis. Microorganisms were Gram-negative, oxidase positive, aerobic, rod-shaped motile bacteria that produced antibiotic named batumin with high and selective activity against staphylococci; its total formula was C30H48N2O7 Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences (1376 bp, accession number in Genbank--JF306642) indicated that the isolates belonged to the gamma-Proteobacteria formed a separate branch within the genus Pseudomonas and had 98% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with Pseudomonas gingeri. The latter essentially differed from the studied strains in its phenotypic characteristics. The predominant cellular fatty acids of isolates were similar and included Cl6:0, C16:1, C18:1, and up to 22.9% of deltaC17:0; their DNA G+C content was 64.0 mol%. An analysis of taxonomic data indicated that the studied isolates represented a novel species, for which the name Pseudomonas batumici sp. nov. is proposed with the type strain UCM B-321 (Ukrainian Collection of Microorganisms).

[Intraspecies variability of bifidobacteria colonizing human gastro-intestinal tract].

The results of intraspecies heterogeneity analysis of 4 bifidobacterial species, B. longum, B. animalis subsp. lactics, B. bifidum and B. dentium colonizing intestines of people of different age groups are presented in the paper. A high level of intraspecies variability has been revealed for all species using PCR with primers to short nucleotide repeats. The dendrogram of genetic relationships between bifidobacteria has been constructed on the basis of results of PCR-analysis with the unweighted pair group method of arithmetic mean (UPGMA). Strains analyzed have formed groups according to their species designation.

[Identification of Enterococci strains].

Species identification of enterococci strains isolated from human intestinal tract has been conducted with microbiological and molecular-genetic methods. Results of the phenotypic differentiation have been compared with PCR-analysis results. Accuracy of species identification obtained with the use of 4 traditional test schemes of differentiation and API 20 Strep ranged from 77% to 100% for strains of E. faecium, 11-83% for E. durans strains and 56% for E. hirae strains.

[Characteristics of gene expression in morphologically abnormal needles of Scots pine].

Expression of 373 genes in Scots pine morphologically abnormal needles has been analyzed with microarray analysis. It was found microarray technique allows detecting the minor changes in gene expression. The results obtained showed that changes in expression of 42 genes occur during the process of abnormal morphogenesis in the Pinus sylvestris needles. The increasing of expression level of genes encoding ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme and L-ascorbate peroxidase was revealed for all samples analyzed.

Indications of limited altered gene expression in Pinus sylvestris trees from the Chernobyl region.

To evaluate the consequences of irradiation on the vegetation of the Chernobyl region, gene expression was compared in morphologically normal and dwarf needles from the same Pinus sylvestris trees in a region where the absorbed dose was 3-5 Gy. To compare the levels of gene expression, arrays consisting of 373 Pinus taeda cDNAs were hybridized with labeled cDNA derived from normal and dwarf needles of P. sylvestris. Twelve genes were significantly (P<0.01) up- or down-regulated between normal and dwarf needles for all five trees taken together. Five of these, related to stress or development, were up- or down-regulated 1.25-1.7-fold in the dwarf needles. There were no significant differences in (137)Cs content in the normal and dwarf needles, or in elongation growth rate of seedlings raised under controlled conditions from seed derived from trees in the region that had received a radiation dose over the range 2-12 Gy.