Enhanced production of bacterial cellulose by using Gluconacetobacter hansenii NCIM 2529 strain under shaking conditions.

Bacterial cellulose (BC), a biopolymer, due to its unique properties is valuable for production of vital products in food, textile, medicine, and agriculture. In the present study, the optimal fermentation conditions for enhanced BC production by Gluconacetobacter hansenii NCIM 2529 were investigated under shaking conditions. The investigation on media components and culture parameters revealed that 2 % (w/v) sucrose as carbon source, 0.5 % (w/v) potassium nitrate as nitrogen source, 0.4 % (w/v) disodium phosphate as phosphate source, 0.04 % (w/v) magnesium sulfate, and 0.8 % (w/v) calcium chloride as trace elements, pH5.0, temperature 25 °C, and agitation speed 170 rpm with 6 days of fermentation period are optimal for maximum BC production. Production of BC using optimized media components and culture parameters was 1.66 times higher (5.0 g/l) than initial non optimized media (3.0 g/l). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectrum and comparison with the available literature suggests that the produced component by G. hansenii in the present study is pure bacterial cellulose. The specific action of cellulase out of the investigated hydrolytic enzymes (cellulase, amylase, and protease) further confirmed purity of the produced BC. These findings give insight into conditions necessary for enhanced production of bacterial cellulose, which can be used for a variety of applications.

Isolation of a distinct Mycobacterium tuberculosis mannose-capped lipoarabinomannan isoform responsible for recognition by CD1b-restricted T cells.

Mannose-capped lipoarabinomannan (ManLAM) is a complex lipoglycan abundantly present in the Mycobacterium tuberculosis cell envelope. Many biological properties have been ascribed to ManLAM, from directly interacting with the host and participating in the intracellular survival of M. tuberculosis, to triggering innate and adaptive immune responses, including the activation of CD1b-restricted T cells. Due to its structural complexity, ManLAM is considered a heterogeneous population of molecules which may explain its different biological properties. The presence of various modifications such as fatty acids, succinates, lactates, phosphoinositides and methylthioxylose in ManLAM have proven to correlate directly with its biological activity and may potentially be involved in the interactions between CD1b and the T cell population. To further delineate the specific ManLAM epitopes involved in CD1b-restricted T cell recognition, and their potential roles in mediating immune responses in M. tuberculosis infection, we established a method to resolve ManLAM into eight different isoforms based on their different isoelectric values. Our results show that a ManLAM isoform with an isoelectric value of 5.8 was the most potent in stimulating the production of interferon-γ in different CD1b-restricted T-cell lines. Compositional analyses of these isoforms of ManLAM revealed a direct relationship between the overall charge of the ManLAM molecule and its capacity to be presented to T cells via the CD1 compartment.

APHO1 from the yeast Arxula adeninivorans encodes an acid phosphatase of broad substrate specificity.

The extracellular acid phosphatase-encoding Arxula adeninivorans APHO1 gene was isolated using degenerated specific oligonucleotide primers in a PCR screening approach. The gene harbours an ORF of 1449 bp encoding a protein of 483 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 52.4 kDa. The sequence includes an N-terminal secretion sequence of 17 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence exhibits 54% identity to phytases from Aspergillus awamori, Asp. niger and Asp. ficuum and a more distant relationship to phytases of the yeasts Candida albicans and Debaryomyces hansenii (36-39% identity). The sequence contains the phosphohistidine signature and the conserved active site sequence of acid phosphatases. APHO1 expression is induced under conditions of phosphate limitation. Enzyme isolates from wild and recombinant strains with the APHO1 gene expressed under control of the strong A. adeninivorans-derived TEF1 promoter were characterized. For both proteins, a molecular mass of approx. 350 kDa, corresponding to a hexameric structure, a pH optimum of pH 4.8 and a temperature optimum of 60 degrees C were determined. The preferred substrates include p-nitrophenyl-phosphate, pyridoxal-5-phosphate, 3-indoxyl-phosphate, 1-naphthylphosphate, ADP, glucose-6-phosphate, sodium-pyrophosphate, and phytic acid. Thus the enzyme is a secretory acid phosphatase with phytase activity and not a phytase as suggested by strong homology to such enzymes.

A Mycobacterium tuberculosis gene cluster encoding proteins of a phosphate transporter homologous to the Escherichia coli Pst system.

We report the cloning and sequencing of three M. tuberculosis genes encoding proteins homologous to E. coli PstA, PstC and PstB. They are tentatively called pstA-2, pstC-1 and pstB. They encode proteins of 302, 336 and 275 amino acids, respectively. In E. coli, PstB is the ATP binding component and PstA/PstC are the two hydrophobic subunits of a phosphate permease belonging to the family of ABC (ATP-binding cassette) transporters. In mycobacteria, PstS-1, the phosphate binding subunit (Andersen and Hansen, 1989), is encoded by a gene directly surrounded by pstB, pstC-1 and pstA-2 within a potential operon (pstB, pstS-1, pstC-1, pstA-2). Phosphate uptake by whole, suspension grown, M. bovis BCG cells was measured and could be inhibited by a monoclonal antibody directed against the PstS-1 subunit, suggesting that these genes encode subunits of a functional mycobacterial phosphate permease.

An improved assay for UDPglucose pyrophosphorylase and other enzymes that have nucleotide products.

UDPglucose pyrophosphorylase catalyses the interconversion UDPglucose plus pyrophosphate and glucose 1-phosphate plus UTP. Several assay methods for this enzyme have been described but the only one that can be used to investigate the specificity with respect to various UDPsugars is based on coupling to UTP formation. This assay employs phosphoglycerate kinase to catalyse the formation 1,3- bisphosphoglycerate which is then used to oxidise NADH in the presence of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase. We have found that the activity of phosphoglycerate kinase towards UTP is low which limits the usefulness of the assay to very low rates, in agreement with the published recommendation of Hansen et al. Here it is shown that the dynamic range of the assay is increased by more than five fold on addition of nucleoside diphosphate kinase and ADP, which convert UTP to the preferred phosphoglycerate kinase substrate, ATP. It is also shown that the improved assay is suitable for enzymes with other nucleotide triphosphate products.

Measurement of ATP generation and decay in Mycobacterium leprae in vitro.

The intracellular ATP content of Mycobacterium leprae isolated from armadillo tissue was approximately 1.5 X 10(-16) g per bacillus. During in vitro incubation of bacilli at 4 degrees C, 33 degrees C or 37 degrees C there was an exponential decrease in ATP content, the rate depending on the medium and the temperature. M. leprae incorporated phosphate into ATP and into other nucleotide materials during in vitro incubation.

Phosphate uptake in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Hansen wild type and phenotypes exposed to space flight irradiation.

Rates of phosphate uptake were approximately twice as great for Saccharomyces cerevisiae single-cell phenotypic isolates exposed to space parameters as for the wild-type ground control. Quantitative determination of 32P was performed by liquid scintillation spectrometry utilizing Cerenkov radiation counting techniques.