Continuous bioelectricity generation through treatment of Victoria blue R: A novel microbial fuel cell operation.

A novel two-chamber microbial fuel cell (MFC) operation with a continuous anaerobic-aerobic decolorization system was developed to improve the degradation of the triphenylmethane dye, Victoria blue R (VBR). In addition, bioelectricity was generated during the VBR degradation process, and the operation parameters were optimized. The results indicated that the VBR removal efficiency and electricity generation were affected by the VBR concentration, liquid retention time (LRT), external resistance, gas retention time (GRT), and shock loading. The optimal operation parameters were as follows: VBR concentration, 600 mg L-1; LRT, 24 h; external resistance, 3300 Ω; and GRT, 60 s. Under these operating conditions, the VBR removal efficiency, COD removal efficiency, and power density were 98.2% ± 0.3%, 97.6% ± 0.5%, and 30.6 ± 0.4 mW m-2, respectively. According to our review of the relevant literature, this is the first paper to analyze the electrical characteristics of a continuous two-chamber MFC operation and demonstrate the feasibility of the simultaneous electricity generation and decolorization of VBR.

[Synthesis of surfactants by Rhodococcus erythropolis IMV Ac-5017, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus IMV B-7241 and Nocardia vaccinii IMV B-7405 on industrial waste].

The synthesis of surfactants by Rhodococcus erythropolis IMV Ac-5017, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus IMV B-7241 and Nocardia vaccinii IMV B-7405 on industrial waste (food and oil-processing industry, production of biodiesel) was investigated. The possibility of replacing the expensive substrates (n-hexadecane and ethanol) by industrial waste (oil and fat industry, fried sunflower oil, glycerol, liquid paraffin) for the surfactant biosynthesis was established. The conditional concentration of surfactants was maximal on oil containing substrates and exceeded those on n-hexadecane and ethanol 2-3 times. The highest rates of surfactants synthesis were observed on fried sunflower oil with the use of inoculum grown on carbohydrate substrates (glucose, molasses). It was established that the addition of glucose (0.1%) was accompanied by 2-4-fold intensification of surfactants synthesis by R. erythropolis IMV Ac-5017 and N. vaccinii IMV B-7405 on fried sunflower oil (2%).

[Influence of pH on synthesis of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus IMV B-7241 biosurfactants].

Synthesis of extracellular metabolites with surface-active and emulsifying properties, pH being maintained at the level of 5.8-8.0, in the process of cultivation of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus IMV B-7241 in the medium with ethanol (2%, volume part) was investigated. It is established that the neutral value of pH is optimal for synthesis of surface-active substances (SAS, biosurfactants) of A. calcoaceticus IMV B-7241. The maintenance of pH at the level of 7.0 with the help of KOH solution was accompanied by the 1.8-fold increase of the amount of synthesized SAS as compared with the process indicators without regulation of pH. The substitution of KOH by NaOH to maintain pH at the optimal level led to the 1.2-1.5-fold decrease of SAS concentration that is determined by the inhibiting effect of sodium cations on activity of biosynthesis enzymes of surface-active amino- and glycolipids of A. calcoaceticus IMV B-7241. The medium neutralization by KOH solution in the process of cultivation of the strain IMV B-7241 with further introduction of fumarate (0.01%) and citrate (0.01%) at the end of the exponential phase was accompanied by the 1.2-fold increase of the amount of synthesized SAS compared with the indicators of the analogous process without neutralization and by the 3 5-fold increase compared with bacteria cultivation on ethanol without organic acids and pH regulation.

[Effect of univalent cations on synthesis of surfactants by Acinetobacter calcoaceticus IMV B-7241].

The effect of univalent cations on activity of key enzymes of C2-metabolism has been investigated in the producer of biosurfactants, Acinetibacter calcoaceticus IMV B-7241 grown on ethanol. It was established that potassium cations are inhibitors of pyroquinolinequinone-dependent alcohol- and acetaldehyde dehydrogenases, the enzymes of biosynthesis of surface-active aminolipids (NADP-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase) and glycolipids (phosphoenopyruvate (PhEP)-carboxikinase), while ammonium cations are activators of these enzymes and PhEP-carboxylase. A decrease of potassium cations concentration in the cultivation medium to 1 mM and increase of the content of amine nitrogen to 10 mM as a result of potassium nitrate substitution by equimolar, as to nitrogen, urea concentration were accompanied by the increase of activity of enzymes of ethanol metabolism and SAS biosynthesis, as well as by the 2-fold increase of conditional concentration of the biosurfactants.

[Effect of surface-active substances of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus IMV B-7241, Rhodococcus erythropolis IMV Ac-5017, and Nocardia vaccinii K-8 on phytopathogenic bacteria].

The effect of surface-active substances (SAS's) of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus IMV B-7241, Rhodococcus erythropolis IMV Ac-5017, and Nocardia vaccinii K-8 on phytopathogenic bacteria has been studied. It was shown that the survival of cells (10(5)-10(7) in a milliliter) of the Pseudomonas and Xanthomonas phytopathogenic bacteria was found to be 0-33% after treatment with SAS preparations of the IMV Ac-5017 and IMV B-7241 strains for 2 h (0.15-0.4 mg/mL). In the presence of N. vaccinii K-8 SAS preparations (0.085-0.85 mg/mL), the number of cells of the majority of the studied phytopathogenic bacteria decreased by 95-100%. These data show prospects for using microbial SAS's for the construction of ecologically friendly drugs for regulating the number of phytopathogenic bacteria.

Decolorization characteristics and mechanism of Victoria Blue R removal by Acinetobacter calcoaceticus YC210.

Acinetobacter calcoaceticus YC210 has been isolated and its ability to remove Victoria Blue R (VBR) from aqueous solution was assessed. The effects of various factors on decolorization efficiency were investigated in a batch system. The decolorization efficiency was found to be optimal within a pH of 5-7 and increased with VBR concentration up to 450 mg/l with high efficiency (94.5%) in a short time. The decolorization efficiency was significantly affected by cell concentrations. The decolorization of VBR by A. calcoaceticus YC210 followed first order kinetics. The apparent kinetic parameters of the Lineweaver-Burk equation, R(VBR,max) and K(m), were calculated as 6.93 mg-VBR/g-cell/h and 175.8 mg/l, respectively. Based on the biodegradation products, VBR degradation by A. calcoaceticus YC210 involves a stepwise demethylation process to yield partially dealkylated VBR species. To our knowledge, this is the first report using microbes to remove VBR. It clearly demonstrates the dealkylation pathway of VBR degradation.

Caracterização molecular e fenotípica de amostras bacterianas pertencentes ao complexo Acinetobacter calcoaceticus-Acinetobacter baumannii / Molecular and phenotypic characterization of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus-Acinetobacter baumannii isolates

Nos últimos 30 anos, Acinetobacter tornou-se um dos patógenos de maior preocupação clínica pela falta de terapias eficazes em virtude do fenótipo de multirresistência frequentemente apresentado. Dentre as espécies do gênero Acinetobacter, A. baumannii, A. genoespécie 3 e A. genoespécie 13TU são as mais comumente encontradas a partir de amostras biológicas. Estas espécies ao lado de A. calcoaceticus constituem o complexo A. calcoaceticus-A. baumannii (ACB). Este estudo propõe um esquema composto de duas PCRs para a identificação das espécies de interesse médico que fazem parte do complexo ACB. O método é simples, rápido e, além de identificar as espécies, permite pesquisar a presença de genes de resistência. Foram identificadas 515 amostras do complexo ACB, isoladas de pacientes no período de janeiro de 2005 a dezembro de 2010. A identificação das espécies do complexo ACB foi realizada por esquema composto de duas reações de PCR. Foram avaliados os perfis de sensibilidade por disco difusão e a pesquisa da presença dos genes blaOXA-23-like, blaOXA-24-like, blaOXA-51-like, blaOXA-58-like, blaIMP, blaVIM, blaSIM, blaSPM e blaGIM foi realizada por PCR utilizando-se iniciadores específicos. No grupo de amostras estudas, 82,5% são A. baumannii (425), 11,5% A. genoespécie 13TU (59) e 6,0% A. genoespécie 3 (30), sendo A. baumannii mais isolado em pacientes internados em UTIs (p=0,0407) e A. genoespécie 13TU mais isolado em pacientes de outros ambientes hospitalares (p=0,0204). A. baumannii apresentou menor sensibilidade a todos os antimicrobianos quando comparado com A. genoespécie 13TU e A. genoespécie. 3 (p<0,05). Foi possível observar ao longo do período estudado o aumento significativo da resistência aos carbapenêmicos e da sensibilidade a gentamicina por A. baumannii entre os isolados de pacientes de UTIs (p<0.05). Nenhum dos genes codificadores para metalo-lactamases foi detectado nas amostras estudadas Dentre os cepas resistentes aos carbapenêmico...

The genus Acinetobacter has emerged as one of the most troublesome pathogens for health care institutions globally. Its clinical significance, especially over the last 15 years, has been driven by its remarkable ability to up regulate or acquire resistance determinants, making it one of the organisms threatening the current antibiotic era. A. baumannii, A. 3 and A. 13TU are the most commonly species found from biological samples. These species beside A. calcoaceticus are very closely related and difficult to distinguish from each other by phenotypic properties. Therefore, it has been proposed to refer to these species as the A.calcoaceticus-A. baumannii complex(ACB). In the period from 2005 to 2009, the most frequent bacterial isolates among the nosocomial infection at the HU-USP was ACB (18%). Due to the frequency with which species are involved in ACB outbreaks of infection in the HU-USP and the emergency clinic because of expression of the phenotype of resistance to several classes of antibiotics, this study aimed to identify and characterize the species of complex ACB by molecular methods, to study their mechanisms of resistance and to characterize the different clones from patients admitted to different hospital areas. Furthermore, the ability to characterize biofilm formation, adhesion to different cell lines as well as the mechanisms of cell-cell communication were analyzed. From the ACB complex, 515 samples were identified, isolated from patients from January 2005 to December 2010. The identification of clinical species of the ACB was performed by molecular methods that were developed and validated for identification of Acinetobacter sp. include two reactions of PCR. The profiles of sensibility were evaluated by disc diffusion and the detection of the presence of genes blaOXA-23-like, blaOXA-24-like, blaOXA-51-like, blaOXA-58-like, blaIMP, blaVIM, blaSIM, blaGIM, and blaSPM were performed using specific primers. Molecular typing was performed using...

Enhanced surface colonization by Escherichia coli O157:H7 in biofilms formed by an Acinetobacter calcoaceticus isolate from meat-processing environments.

A meat factory commensal bacterium, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, affected the spatial distribution of Escherichia coli O157:H7 surface colonization. The biovolume of E. coli O157:H7 was 400-fold higher (1.2 x 10(6) microm(3)) in a dynamic cocultured biofilm than in a monoculture (3.0 x 10(3) microm(3)), and E. coli O157:H7 colonized spaces between A. calcoaceticus cell clusters.

[Biodegradation of surface-active substances of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus K-4].

A capacity of microorganisms of different taxonomic groups to assimilate surface-active substances (surfactants) of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus K-4 as a single source of carbon and energy has been established. It was shown that A. calcoaceticus K-4 cannot use its own surfactants as a source of carbon nutrition. The use of biocide formalin in concentration of 0.1% permits to prolong the term of preservation of A. calcoaceticus K-4 surfactants to 3.5 months without a loss of their surfactant and emulsiying properties.

[Peculiarities of ethanol oxidation by the producer of surface-active substances Acinetobacter calcoaceticus K-4].

Activity of key-enzymes of C2-metabolism was determined in the cells of strain-producer of surface-active substances Acinetobacter calcoaceticus K-4 grown on ethanol. It is shown that ethanol and acetaldehyde oxidation in the strain K-4 is performed by pyroquinolinquinon (PQQ) and 4-nitroso-N,N-dimethylaniline (NDMA)-dependent dehydrogenases. Activity of NDMA-dependent enzymes was maximum (100-300 nmol min(-1) mg(-1) of protein) in the early exponential growth phase of A. calcoaceticus K-4. Availability of NDMA-dependent alcohol and acetaldehyde dehydrogenases in gram-negative bacteria was established for the first time. Acetate is involved in metabolism in the strain K-4 with participation of both acetate kinase and acetate-KoA-synthetase; replenishment of the pool of C4-dicarbonic acids is performed in glioxylate cycle (activity of isocytrate lyase is 600 nmol min(-1) mg(-1) of protein) and in phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase reaction (1600 nmol min(-1) mg(-1) of protein). Both key enzymes of gluconeogenesis take place in synthesis of carbohydrates: FEP-carboxykinase and FEP-synthetase (1200 and 4400 nmol min(-1) mg(-1) of protein, respectively). Enzymatic investigations have confirmed the capacity of strain K-4 to synthesis of surface-active trehalosemycolates (activity of trehalosephosphate synthase is 150-160 nmol min(-1) mg(-1) of protein).

Reverse transcription of 16S rRNA to monitor ribosome-synthesizing bacterial populations in the environment.

Identification and quantification of phylogenetically defined bacterial populations in the environment are often performed using molecular tools targeting 16S rRNA. Fluorescence in situ hybridization has been used to monitor the expression and processing of rRNA by targeting the 3' tail of precursor 16S rRNA. To expand this approach, we employed reverse transcription of total RNA using primer S-D-Bact-0338-a-A-18. Length heterogeneity detected by slab gel analysis, denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) was used to differentiate the 5' tail of the precursor from mature 16S rRNA, and the relative abundance of the precursor compared to the abundance of mature 16S rRNA was shown to be a sensitive indicator of the physiologic state of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus ATCC 23055(T). Our results demonstrate that this is a sensitive and reliable method with a detection limit of 10 ng of single-stranded DNA. The assay was also used to differentiate among precursor 16S rRNA levels with mixed pure cultures, as well as to examine the response of a mixed activated sludge culture exposed to fresh growth medium and the antibiotic chloramphenicol. The results of this study demonstrate that this assay is a novel reverse transcription assay that simultaneously measures the mature and precursor 16S rRNA pools for mixed bacterial populations in an engineered environment. Furthermore, collection of the reverse transcription products derived from activated sludge samples by the DHPLC approach enabled identification of the active bacterial genera. Comparison of 16S and precursor 16S rRNA clone library results indicated that the precursor 16S rRNA library is a more sensitive indicator for active bacteria in engineered environmental samples.

[The influence of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus K-4 surface-active substances on the efficiency of microbial destruction of oil pollutants].

The possibility of the use of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus K-4 surface-active substances (SAS) for water purification from oil was shown. The efficiency of oil degradation (2.6 g/l) in the presence of SAS preparations (5-15 %) in the form of postfermentation of cultural liquid or its supernatant was established to be 81-95 %. Intensification of oil destruction was determined by SAS affecting the activity of oil-oxidizing microbial population.

Genes involved in the benzoate catabolic pathway in Acinetobacter calcoaceticus PHEA-2.

A putative benM gene encoding a LysR-type regulator located upstream from the benA gene was found in Acinetobacter calcoaceticus PHEA-2. Disruption of benM or benA destroyed the ability of PHEA-2 to utilize benzoate. The benM mutant was used to construct a genomic library for isolation of the complete gene cluster responsible for benzoate degradation. Sequence analysis showed that the cluster has three putative operons: benM, benABCDE, and benKP. Unlike many well-characterized benzoate-degrading bacteria, muconate is unable to induce in vivo transcription of the PHEA-2 ben cluster. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) results showed that the benABCDE operon is activated by the BenM protein in the presence of benzoate. Moreover, a gel-retardation assay demonstrated that BenM binds to the promotor region of the benA gene. The activities of catechol 1,2-dioxygenase (C12O) and catechol 2,3-dioxygenase (C23O) showed that PHEA-2 converted benzoate to catechol for further degradation, possibly via an ortho-cleavage pathway.

Determination of specific growth rate by measurement of specific rate of ribosome synthesis in growing and nongrowing cultures of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus.

RT-RiboSyn measures the specific rate of ribosome synthesis in distinct microbial populations by measuring the generation rate of precursor 16S rRNA relative to that of mature 16S rRNA when precursor 16S rRNA processing is inhibited. Good agreement was demonstrated between specific rate of ribosome synthesis and specific growth rate of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus.

Differential response of etiolated pea seedlings to inoculation with rhizobacteria capable of utilizing 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate or L-methionine.

The majority of soil microorganisms can derive ethylene from L-methionine (L-MET), while some rhizobacteria can hydrolyze 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) due to their ACC-deaminase activity. In this study, three strains having either ACC-deaminase activity (Pseudomonas putida biotype A, A7), or the ability to produce ethylene from L-MET (Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, M9) or both (Pseudomonas fluorescens, AM3) were used for inoculation. The highly ethylene specific bioassay of a classical "triple" response in pea seedlings was used to investigate the effect of the inoculation with the rhizobacteria in the presence of 10 mM ACC or L-MET. The exogenous application of ACC had a concentration-dependent effect on the etiolated pea seedlings in creating the classical "triple" response. The inoculation with P. putida diluted the effect of ACC, which was most likely due to its ACC-deaminase activity. Similarly, the application of Co2+ reduced the ACC-imposed effect on etiolated pea seedlings. In contrast, the inoculation of A. calcoaceticus or P. fluorescens in the presence of L-MET caused a stronger classical "triple" response in etiolated pea seedlings; most likely by producing ethylene from L-MET. This is the first study, to our knowledge, reporting on the comparative effect of rhizobacteria capable of utilizing ACC vs L-MET on etiolated pea seedlings.

Culturability of stream bacteria assessed at the assemblage and population levels.

Lotic bacterial communities can be examined at multiple levels: from the assemblage level to populations of individual species. In stream environments, as in many other systems, the percentage of bacteria that are culturable is quite low. In this study, the culturability of the overall bacterial assemblage, as well as the culturability of three common species (Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, Burkholderia cepacia, and Pseudomonas putida), was determined in samples collected from four streams on three dates. Colony hybridization (colonies were grown on modified nutrient agar) and fluorescent in situ hybridization were used to calculate the percentage of cells of a given species that were culturable. Approximately half of the overall assemblage was estimated to be viable but nonculturable cells (VBNC). The culturability of two of the species was low (0.29% for A. calcoaceticus and 0.46% for P. putida), whereas the value for B. cepacia (2.48%) exceeded the overall assemblage level culturability (0.90%). Overall, both bacterial assemblages and populations were dominated by VBNC. These results show quantitatively that not all members of a species that has culturable representatives are culturable when retrieved from natural populations, likely because of interspecific phenotypic and genotypic variability. Thus, the large pool of nonculturable cells includes representatives of species that are, under some circumstances, culturable.

Sulfoacetaldehyde is excreted quantitatively by Acinetobacter calcoaceticus SW1 during growth with taurine as sole source of nitrogen.

Eighteen enrichment cultures with taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonate) as the sole source of combined nitrogen under aerobic conditions were all successful, and 24 pure cultures were obtained. Only three of the cultures yielded an inorganic product, sulfate, from the sulfonate moiety of taurine, and the others were presumed to yield organosulfonates. Sulfoacetate, known from Rhodopseudomonas palustris CGA009 under these conditions, was not detected in any culture, but sulfoacetaldehyde (as a hydrazone derivative) was tentatively detected in the outgrown medium of nine isolates. The compound was stable under these conditions and the identification was confirmed by MALDI-TOF-MS. Most sulfoacetaldehyde-releasing isolates were determined to be strains of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, and a representative organism, strain SW1, was chosen for further work. A quantitative enzymic determination of sulfoacetaldehyde and its bisulfite addition complex was developed: it involved the NAD-coupled sulfoacetaldehyde dehydrogenase from R. palustris. A. calcoaceticus SW1 utilized taurine quantitatively and concomitantly with growth in, for example, an adipate-salts medium, and the release of sulfoacetaldehyde was stoichiometric. The deamination reaction involved a taurine dehydrogenase. Enrichment cultures to explore the possible release of organophosphonates from the analogous substrate, 2-aminoethanephosphonate, led to 33 isolates, all of which released inorganic phosphate quantitatively.

Physiological conditions conducive to high cyanophycin content in biomass of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus strain ADP1.

The effects of the inorganic medium components, the initial pH, the incubation temperature, the oxygen supply, the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, and chloramphenicol on the synthesis of cyanophycin (CGP) by Acinetobacter calcoaceticus strain ADP1 were studied in a mineral salts medium containing sodium glutamate and ammonium sulfate as carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively. Variation of all these factors resulted in maximum CGP contents of only about 3.5% (wt/wt) of the cell dry matter (CDM), and phosphate depletion triggered CGP accumulation most substantially. However, addition of arginine to the medium as the sole carbon source for growth promoted CGP accumulation most strikingly. This effect was systematically studied, and an optimized phosphate-limited medium containing 75 mM arginine and 10 mM ammonium sulfate yielded a CGP content of 41.4% (wt/wt) of the CDM at 30 degrees C. The CGP content of the cells was further increased to 46.0% (wt/wt) of the CDM by adding 2.5 microg of chloramphenicol per ml of medium in the accumulation phase. These contents are by far the highest CGP contents of bacterial cells ever reported. CGP was easily isolated from the cells by using an acid extraction method, and this CGP contained about equimolar amounts of aspartic acid and arginine and no detectable lysine; the molecular masses ranged from 21 to 29 kDa, and the average molecular mass was about 25 kDa. Transmission electron micrographs of thin sections of cells revealed large CGP granules that frequently had an irregular shape with protuberances at the surface and often severely deformed the cells. A cphI::OmegaKm mutant of strain ADP1 with a disrupted putative cyanophycinase gene accumulated significantly less CGP than the wild type accumulated, although the cells expressed cyanophycin synthetase at about the same high level. It is possible that the intact CphI protein is involved in the release of CGP primer molecules from initially synthesized CGP. The resulting lower concentration of primer molecules could explain the observed low rate of accumulation at similar specific activities.

Mechanism of lipid-body formation in prokaryotes: how bacteria fatten up.

Neutral lipid accumulation is frequently observed in some Gram-negative prokaryotes like Acinetobacter sp. and most actinomycetes, including the pathogenic Mycobacterium tuberculosis and antibiotic producing streptomycetes. We examined the formation of wax ester- and triacylglycerol (TAG)-bodies in Acinetobacter calcoaceticus and Rhodococcus opacus using microscopic, immunological and biophysical methods. A general model for prokaryotic lipid-body formation is proposed, clearly differing from the current models for the formation of lipid inclusions in eukaryotes and of poly(hydroxyalkanoic acid) (PHA) inclusions in prokaryotes. Formation of lipid-bodies starts with the docking of wax ester synthase/acyl-CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (WS/DGAT) to the cytoplasm membrane. Both, analyses of in vivo and in vitro lipid-body synthesis, demonstrated the formation of small lipid droplets (SLDs), which remain bound to the membrane-associated enzyme. SLDs conglomerated subsequently to membrane-bound lipid-prebodies which are then released into the cytoplasm. The formation of matured lipid-bodies in the cytoplasm occurred by means of coalescence of SLDs inside the lipid prebodies, which are surrounded by a half-unit membrane of phospholipids.