[USAGE OF FUMARATE BY SULPHATE-REDUCING BACTERIA DESULFOMICROBIUM SP. CrR3 AND DESULFOTOMACULUM SP].

Sulphate-reducing bacteria Desulfomicrobium sp. CrR3 and Desulfotomaculum. sp. are able to use fumarate as electron donor and acceptor. When they use fumarate as an electron acceptor succinate accumulates in the medium. If fumarate serves as electron donor, minor amounts of citrate, isocitrate and acetate are detected except succinate. In the case of simultaneous introduction of fumarate, SO4(2-) and Cr2O7(2-), the last inhibits usage of fumarate and SO4(2-).

[Influence of transition metal compounds on superoxide dismutase activity of sulfur reducing Desulfuromonas acetoxidans bacteria].

Superoxide dismutase, as one of the enzymes of cells' antioxidant defensive system, catalyzes superoxide anion-radical (O2-) dismutation with O2 and H2O2 forming. The influence of such transition metal compounds, as FeSO4, FeCl3, MnCl2, NiCl2, and CoCl2 on superoxide dismutase activity of sulfur-reducing Desulfuromonas acetoxidans bacteria has been investigated. Maximal activity of the investigated enzyme has been observed accordingly under the influence of 1.0 mM of NiCl2, 2.0 mM of CoCl2 and MnCl2 on the second day and under the influence of 1.0 mM of FeCl3 and FeSO4 respectively, on the third day of growth in comparison with control samples. An increase of incubation time and concentration of metal compound in the medium caused the inhibition of superoxide dismutase activity.

[Regulation of sulfates, hydrogen sulfide and heavy metals in technogenic reservoirs by sulfate-reducing bacteria].

Sulfate-reducing bacteria Desulfovibrio desulfuricans Ya-11 in the presence of sulfates and organic compounds in the medium reduce sulfates to hydrogen sulfide (dissimilatory sulfate reduction). Heavy metals in concentration over 2 mM inhibit this process. Pb2+, Zn2+, Ni2+, Co2+, Fe2+ and Cd2+ ions in concentration 1-1.5 mM display insignificant inhibiting effect on sulfate reduction process, and metals precipitate in the form of sulfides. At concentrations of heavy metals 2-3 mM one can observe a decrease of sulfates reduction intensity, and a percent of metals binding does not exceed 72%. Obtained results give reason to confirm, that sulfate-reducing bacteria play an important role in regulation of the level of sulfates, hydrogen sulfide and heavy metals in reservoirs and they may be used for purification of water environment from these compounds.

Glutathione level of Desulfovibrio desulfuricans IMV K-6 under the influence of heavy metal salts.

Glutathione is the metal stress protector and changes of its level in the sulfate-reducing bacteria cells under the influence of heavy metal salts have not been studied yet. CdCl2, Pb(NO3)2, CuCl2, and ZnCl2 influence on the total glutathione level in cell-free extracts of sulfate-reducing bacteria Desulfovibrio desulfuricans IMV K-6 was studied. The research has been carried out using Ellman, Lowry methods, statistical processing of the results. It was shown that the glutathione level depends on the heavy metal salts concentration in the medium. The total glutathione level was the highest under the influence of Pb(NO3)2. Other salts were also toxic to bacteria because glutathione level increased in bacterial cells after addition of these salts to the medium. On the basis of the results of our work the range of heavy metal salts influence on D. desulfuricans IMV K-6 cells glutathione level has been formed for the first time: Pb(NO3)2 > CuCl2 > CdCl2 > ZnCl2.

[Physilogical and biochemical properties of bacteria of Chromatium genus, isolated from water bodies enriched with hydrogen sulfide].

Pure cultures of purple sulfur bacteria, which were attributed to genus Chromatium, were isolated from water bodies of the Yavoriv sulfur deposit. Both cultures perform anoxygenic photosynthesis and contain bacteriochlorophyll a and carotenoids of spirilloxanthin group. Isolated bacteria grow photolithoauthotrophically, photolithoheterotrophically and photoorganoheterotrophically. Hydrogen sulphide, sulfur and thiosulfate were used as inorganic electron donors. Bacteria were resistant to high hydrogen sulphide concentrations and assimilated it effectively in the process of anoxygenic photosynthesis. Isolated bacteria are considered as promising models for creation of biotechnologic ecosystems, which will be used for treatment of media polluted with sulfur compounds.

[Metabolism of carbohydrates in the cells of green sulphur bacteria Chlorobium limicola Ya-2002].

The nature of carbohydrates that accumulate in the cells of photosynthetic green sulphur bacteria of Chlorobium limicola Ya-2002 has been investigated. It is shown by infra-red spectrometry, that carbohydrates accumulated in the cells of bacteria are identical (by 90-95%) to glycogen of the bull liver. Exogenous glucose, saccharose, maltose, did not stimulate formation of glycogen. Growth of glycogen level in the cells of bacteria was observed at addition of acetate or piruvate in the conditions of bacteria cultivation in the light and in the presence CO2 and H2S in the environment. Washed cells of C. limicola Ya-2002 did not use glucose of the environment neither in the conditions of illumination nor in darkness, however acetate and piruvate are actively used in the light. During incubation of the washed cells in darkness the level of glycogen fell down approximately three times. Its amount during cells incubation in the light did not change. The decline of glycogen level in cells during their incubation in darkness was accompanied by piling up of carbonic acids in the environment acetate prevailing among them.

[Ethanol into acetaldehyde bioconversion by mutant strains of Hansenula polymorpha Felcao de Morais & Dália Maia].

The influence of some factors (tris-HCl buffer, pH 8.0, concentration, use of different binding agents aeration modes, genetically determined peroxisome degradation damage) on biotransformation efficiency of 0.217 M (1%) ethanol to acetaldehyde at 30 degrees C by Hansenula polymorpha 7-4A (gcrl EAO) strain cells with glucose repression block was investigated. Optimal cultivation conditions for cells were selected. Bioconversion efficiency using 1 M tris-HCl buffer, pH 8.0, was found the highest one as compared with using the buffer in concentrations from 0.1 M to 3 M. The process efficiency when using tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane as binding acetaldehyde agent proved much higher than when using sodium bisulfite both at aeration by air stream and incubation on shaker. Using 146 and 179 mutants cells for bioconversion with defects in alcohol oxidase inactivation during macropexophagy stimulated efficiency increase by 5.58% and 8.10%, respectively, as compared with the use of parental 7-4A strain cells.

[Sulfate-reducing bacteria in reservoirs of the Yavoriv sulfur field].

Fifteen cultures of bacteria which perform dissimilation sulfate reduction have been isolated from the reservoirs of the Yavoriv sulfur deposit. Electron-microscopic investigations have shown that the cells of all cultures are of vibroid, spiral and bacillary form. They form no spores. They grow in the medium with sulfates and lactates and do not use propionate and acetate. In the medium with lactate all the cultures accumulated acetate in the medium. Cells of all the studied bacteria contain desulfoviridine. On the basis of obtained characteristics the isolated bacteria are referred to genus Desulfovibrio.

[Pigments of green sulfur bacteria isolated from reservoirs of Iavoriv sulfur deposit]. / Pihmenty zelenykh sirkobakterii, vydilenykh iz vodoim Iavorivs'koho sirchanoho rodovishcha.

The enormous amount of hydrogen sulfide (up to 11 mg/ml) is present in the Yavoriv sulfur deposit reservoirs owing to sulfur reductive bacteria activity. As a consequence the ecological situation is badly affected and requires recovering. The biological H2S decomposition by photosynthetic sulfur bacteria, which use the hydrogen sulfide as electron donor during photosynthesis, can be one of the possible ways of this toxic substance destruction. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of photosynthetic pigments composition that derived from green photosynthesizing sulfur bacteria from reservoirs of Yavoriv sulfur deposit is carried out. It was fixed that Pelodictyon sp., Chlorobium sp. and isolated consortia "Pelochromatium sp." contain the bacteriochlorophyll c and d. All the isolated cultures contained bacteriochlorophyll a in trace amounts. The obtained photosynthetic pigments (bacteriochlorophylls, carotenoids) were recognized by their absorption spectra in the visible and far-red region and by their quantity. The difference was not essential. All investigated cultures of isolated bacteria contain some carotenoid the Chlorobium sp. and obtained consortia possesses isorenieratene. The absorption maxima of extracted pigments from young cultures of isolated green sulfur bacteria are more definitely displayed than those from old cultures. Investigations of phototrophic sulfur bacteria were carried out in Ukraine up to now. Ecological problem that occurred in the Yavoriv sulfur deposit as a result of the deposit exploitation caused a necessity of the investigation of photosynthetic sulfur bacteria and bacterial photosynthesis mechanism. The photosynthetic pigments nature identification will promote the fast and precise identification of the new forms of photosynthetic sulfur bacteria and will extend our knowledge about their role in the anoxygenic photosynthesis.