[Construction and Characterization of B850-Only LH2 Energy Transfer System in Purple Bacteria].

To seek microscopic molecular mechanism of energy transfer and complex reconstitution in the photosynthesis, the conditions for construction of B850-only peripheral light-harvesting complex (LH2) and their properties were investigated using absorption, fluorescence spectroscopy, molecular sieve chromatography, ultrafiltration and sodium dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) from the purple bacteria. The results indicated that bacteriochlorophylls (BChl) of B800 incubated in 10 mmo · L(-1) Tris-HCl (pH 8.0) buffer are selectively released from their binding sites of LH2 of Rhodobacter azotoformans (A-LH2) by 0.08% (W/V) SDS. B850-only A-LH2 was constructed after removing free BChl mixing with 10% methyl alcohol by ultrafiltration. B850 BChl was released after A-LH2 was incubated for 240 min in dark at room temperature (RT). While BChl of B800 incubated in pH 1.9 buffer were selectively released from their binding sites of LH2 of Rhodopseudomonas palustris (P-LH2). The authors acquired two components using molecular sieve chromatography. Free BChl of one component was not removed and self-assembled to P-LH2. The other removed free BChl and B850-only P-LH2 was constructed. B850 unchanged after P-LH2 was incubated. P-LH2 α and ß subunits have different molecular weights, but those of A-LH2 are in the contrary. It is concluded that B850-only P-LH2 is more stable than A-LH2. The enigmatic split of the B800 absorption band was not observed in these LH2, but we acquired two kinds of B800-released LH2 from Rhodopseudomonas palustris. The authors' results may provide a new light to separate homogeneous Apoprotein LH2.

[Influence of LDAO on the conformation and release of bacteriochlorophyll of peripheral light-harvesting complex (LH2) from Rhodobacter azotoformans].

The aim of this study is to reveal the interaction relationships between lauryl dimethylamine N-oxide (LDAO) and peripheral light-harvesting complex (LH2) as well as the influence of LDAO on structure and function of LH2. In the present work, the effects of LDAO on the conformation and release processes of bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) of LH2 when incubated under different temperature and pH in the presence and absence of LDAO were investigated by spectroscopy. The results indicated that (1) the presence of LDAO resulted in alterations in the conformation, alpha-helix content, and spectra of Tyr and B850 band of LH2 at room temperature and pH 8.0. Moreover, energy transfer efficiency of LH2 was enhanced markedly in the presence of LDAO. (2) At 60 degrees C, both the B800 and B850 band of LH2 were released and transited into free BChl at pH 8.0. However, the release rates of bacteriochlorophylls of B800 and B850 band from LH2 were slowed down and the release processes were changed when incubated in the presence of LDAO. Hence, the stability of LH2 was improved in the presence of LDAO. (3) The accelerated release processes of bacteriochlorophylls of B800 and B850 band of LH2 were induced to transform into bacteriopheophytin (BPhe) and free BChl by LDAO in strong acid and strong alkalic solution at room temperature. However, the kinetic patterns of the B800 and B850 band were remarkably different. The release and self-assemble processes of B850 in LH2 were observed in strong acid solution without LDAO. Therefore, the different release behaviors of B800 and B850 of LH2 are induced by LDAO under different extreme environmental conditions.

Molecular cloning and characterization of two major endoglucanases from Penicillium decumbens.

Two major endoglucanase genes (cel7B and cel5A) were cloned from Penicillium decumbens 114-2 using the method of modified thermal asymmetric interlaced polymerase chain reaction (TAIL-PCR). The result of Southern blotting suggested that P. decumbens has a single copy of the cel5A gene and a single copy of cel7B gene in its chromosomal DNA. The expression level of cel5A and cel7B were determined by means of real-time quantitative PCR, suggesting that two genes were coordinately expressed and repressed by glucose and induced by cellulose. Both endoglucanase genes were expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the recombinant proteins were purified. The recombinant Cel7B and Cel5A were both optimal active at 60 C and pH 4.0. The recombinant Cel7B showed more than 8-fold, 30-fold, 5-fold higher enzyme activity towards carboxymethyl cellulose, barely beta-glucan and PASC respectively in comparison with that of Cel5A. However, their activities toward pNPC and Avicel were minor difference. The result suggested that Cel7B is a strict endoglucanase, while Cel5A show processivity because of its relative higher ability to hydrolyze the crystal cellulose.

Catalytic activities of fungal oxidases in hydrophobic ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate-based microemulsion.

For hydrophobic ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMIM][PF(6)]), an H(2)O-in-[BMIM][PF(6)] microemulsion could be formed in the presence of nonionic surfactant Triton X-100 (TX-100). In such a medium, both lignin peroxidase (LiP) and laccase could express their catalytic activity with the optimum molar ratio of H(2)O to TX-100 at 8.0 for LiP and >20 for laccase, and the optimum pH values at 3.2 for LiP and 4.2 for laccase, respectively. As compared with pure or water saturated [BMIM][PF(6)], in which the two oxidases had negligible catalytic activity due to the strong inactivating effect of [BMIM][PF(6)] on both enzymes, the use of the [BMIM][PF(6)]-based microemulsion had some advantages. Not only the catalytic activities of both fungal oxidases greatly enhanced, but also the apparent viscosity of the medium decreased.

Catalytic performance of lignin peroxidase in a novel reverse micelle.

To enhance the catalytic activity of lignin peroxidase (LiP) in a reverse micelle, a synthesized two-tail nonionic surfactant N-gluconyl glutamic acid didecyl ester (GGDE) was used to formulate a novel reverse micelle. Based on the LiP catalyzed oxidation of veratryl alcohol (VA) in this novel GGDE/TritonX-100-cyclohexane-H(2)O reverse micelle, the effects of the size of the reverse micelle, the buffer pH, and the concentration of H(2)O(2) on the catalytic activity of LiP were investigated. Under the optimized conditions, the catalytic efficiency of LiP in the GGDE/TritonX-100 reverse micelle was 40 times higher than that in the AOT reverse micelle. The full expression of catalytic activity of LiP in this medium was mainly due to the lack of electrostatic interaction between LiP and the head group of GGDE and TritonX-100 and to the size fit between LiP and the inner water cavity of the reverse micelle.

Sophorolipid produced from the new yeast strain Wickerhamiella domercqiae induces apoptosis in H7402 human liver cancer cells.

The effects of sophorolipid on the growth and apoptosis of H7402 human liver cancer cells were investigated. By treatment with sophorolipid, a dose- and time-dependent inhibition of cell proliferation was observed. The cells developed many features of apoptosis, including condensation of chromatin, nuclear fragmentation, and appearance of apoptotic bodies, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling positive cells were stained dark brown. Sophorolipid treatment induced apoptosis in H7402 cells by blocking cell cycle at G1 phase and partly at S phase, activating caspase-3, and increasing Ca2+ concentration in cytoplasm. These findings may suggest a potential use of sophorolipid for liver cancer treatment.

Degradation characteristics of two Bacillus strains on the Microcystis aeruginosa.

The degradation kinetics of strains P05 and P07 and the degradation effects of mixed strain on Microcystis aeruginosa were studied. The results showed that: (1) The degradation processes of strains P05 and P07 on Microcystis aeruginosa accorded with the first-order reaction model when the range of Chl-a concentration was from 0 to 1500 microg/L. (2) The initial bacterium densities had a strong influence on the degradation velocity. The greater the initial bacterium density was, the faster the degradation was. The degradation velocity constants of P05 were 0.1913, 0.2175 and 0.3092 respectively, when bacterium densities were 4.8 x 10(5), 4.8 x 10(6), 2.4 x 10(7) cells/ml. For strain P07, they were 0.1509, 0.1647 and 0.2708. The degradation velocity constant of strain P05 was higher than that of P07 when the bacterium density was under 4.8 x 10(5) cells/ml, but the constant increasing of P07 was quicker than that of P05. (3) The degradation effects of P05 and P07 strains did not antagonize. When the concentration of Chl-a was high, the degradation effects of mixed strain excelled that of any single strains. But with the decrease of the Chl-a concentration, this advantage was not clear. When the concentration was less than 180 microg/L, the degradation effects of mixed were consistent with that of strain P07.

[Studies on the catalytic performance of lignin peroxidase in nonionic reversed micelles].

Lignin peroxidase (LiP) hosted in Brij 30/cyclohexane/water nonionic reversed micelle could express its catalytic activity, but in Triton X-100/n-pentanol/cyclohexane/water nonionic reversed micelle LiP didn't show any catalytic activity. Some key factors that affected the catalytic activity of LiP in Brij 30 reversed micelle were studied at 20 degrees C. The optimum conditions were:omega0 = 8.5, pH = 2.2, [Brij30] = 600 mmol/L; under these conditions the half time of LiP was ca. 50 hours. As compared with the properties of LiP in aqueous solution, the activity of LiP hosted in Brij 30 reversed micelle dropped, but its stability improved greatly. To reveal the role of normal alcohol, which was a necessary component for forming Triton X-100 reversed micelles, the effect of n-pentanol on the catalytic activity of LiP in Brij 30 reversed micelle was investigated. Results indicated that high concentration of the alcohol deactivated LiP. So it was deduced that the phenomenon that LiP hosted in the Triton X-100 reversed micelles could not express its activity was mainly due to the alcohol co-surfactant.

Novel cellulase profile of Trichoderma reesei strains constructed by cbh1 gene replacement with eg3 gene expression cassette.

To construct strains of the filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei with low cellobiohydrolases while high endoglucanase activity, the P(cbh1)-eg3-T(cbh1) cassette was constructed and the coding sequence of the cellobiohydrolase I (CBHI) gene was replaced with the coding sequence of the eg3 gene by homologous recombination. Disruption of the cbh1 gene was confirmed by PCR, Southern dot blot and Western hybridization analysis in two transformants denoted as L13 and L29. The filter paper-hydrolyzing activity of strain L29 was 60% of the parent strain Rut C30, and the CMCase activity was increased by 33%. This relatively modest increase suggested that the eg3 cDNA under the control of the cbh1 promoter was not efficiently transcribed as the wild type cbhl gene. However our results confirmed that homologous recombination could be used to construct strains of the filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei with novel cellulase profile. Such strains are of interest from the basic science perspective and also have potential in ustrial applications.

Establishment of a xylose metabolic pathway in an industrial strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

To produce an industrial strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae that metabolizes xylose, we constructed a rDNA integration vector and YIp integration vector, containing the xylose-utilizing genes, XYL1 and XYL2, which encode xylose reductase (XR) and xylitol dehydrogenase (XDH) from Pichia stipitis, and XKS1, which encodes xylulokinase (XK) from S. cerevisiae, with the G418 resistance gene KanMX as a dominant selectable marker. The rDNA results in integration of multiple copies of the target genes. The industrial stain of S. cerevisiae NAN-27 was transformed with the two integration vectors to produce two recombinant strains, S. cerevisiae NAN-127 and NAN-123. Upon transformation, multiple copies of the xylose-utilizing genes were integrated into the genome rDNA locus of S. cerevisiae. Strain NAN-127 consumed twice as much xylose and produced 39% more ethanol than the parent strain, while NAN-123 consumed 10% more xylose and produced 10% more ethanol than the parent strain over 94 h.

A high-throughput model for screening anti-tumor agents capable of promoting polymerization of tubulin in vitro.

AIM: To establish a high-throughput model for screening anti-tumor agents capable of promoting the polymerization of tubulin in vitro. METHODS: Tubulin was prepared in different purity for two screening steps. The first step was a high-throughput screening (HTS) for a set of 1500 samples using the GTP-containing tubulin and the end-reading method. The second step was performed on 119 hits from the first screening by a kinetic assay with GTP-lacking tubulin. RESULTS: The HTS for 1500 samples was accomplished in less than 3 h. From the screening, 108 samples were identified with >20 % promotion activity at 10 mg/L. Five of 108 were further confirmed by the kinetic assay using the purified tubulin subsequently. Three of the hit compounds were Epothilone A or its analogs, the other two compounds had new structures with a common pharmacophore for cytotoxic natural products that stabilize microtubules. In an MTT test, the five selected samples from the screening showed a minimal IC(50) at 0.28+/-0.06 nmol/L to Hela cells. CONCLUSION: The two-step screening method is a high-throughtput, cost-effective, and efficient approach to identify microtubule-stabilizing agents.

Highly efficient conversion of lactate to pyruvate using whole cells of Acinetobacter sp.

On an industrial scale, the production of pyruvate at a high concentration from the cheaper lactate substrate is a valuable process. To produce pyruvate from lactate by whole cells, various lactate-utilizing microorganisms were isolated from soil samples. Among them, strain WLIS, identified as Acinetobacter sp., was screened as a pyruvate producer. For the pyruvate preparation from lactate, the preparative conditions were optimized with whole cells of the strain. The cells cultivated in the medium containing 100 mM of l-lactate showed the highest biotransformation efficiency from lactate to pyruvate. The optimized dry-cell concentration, pH, and temperature of reaction were 6 g/L, pH 7.0-7.5, and 30 degrees C, respectively. The influences of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and aeration on a biotransformation reaction were carried out under the test conditions. Under the optimized reaction conditions, l-lactate at concentrations of 200 and 500 mM were almost totally stoichiometrically converted into pyruvate in 8 and 12 h, respectively. About 60% of 800 mM of l-lactate was transformed into pyruvate in 24 h. This reduced conversion rate is probably due to the high substrate inhibition in biotransformation.

16S-23S ribosomal DNA intergenic spacer regions in cellulolytic myxobacteria and differentiation of closely related strains.

The diversity of 16S-23S rDNA intergenic spacer regions (ISR) among cellulolytic myxobacterial strains was assayed. Agarose gel electrophoresis of PCR amplification products from ten strains shows that there are at least four copies of rRNA operons in the genus Sorangium, based on their size and restriction enzymatic digest maps. There are two sequence organization patterns: tRNA(Ile)-tRNA(Ala)-containing ISR and tRNA-lacking ISR. The tRNA-containing ISRs are highly similar among strains and within a strain (more than 98% similarity) and contain the essential functional regions, such as a ribonuclease III recognition site and an antiterminator recognition site boxA. The tRNA-lacking ISR has no such functional sites that are important for yielding mature rRNA, which suggests that this type of rRNA operons might be degenerate. The tRNA-lacking ISR is divided into two types based on their sizes and sequences, which exhibits about 90% similarity within each type. Thus, the tRNA-lacking ISR polymorphisms can be used to discriminate among different strains of sorangial species.

[Progress in the pathway engineering of ethanol fermentation from xylose utilising recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae].

Pathway engineering was the third generation of gene engineering. Its main goals were to change metabolic flux and open a new metabolic pathway in organism. Application of recombinant DNA methods to restructure metabolic networks can improve production of metabolite and protein products by altering pathway distributions and rates. Ethanol is the most advanced liquid fuel because it is environmentally friendly. Enhancing fuel ethanol production will require developing lower-cost feedstock, and only lignocellulosic feedstock is available in sufficient quantities to substitute for corn starch. Xylose is the major pentose found in lignocellulosic materials and after glucose the most abundant sugar available in nature. Recently a lot of attentions have been focused on designing metabolic pathway of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in order to expand the substrate of ethanol fermentation, because it is a traditional ethanol producing strain and has wonderful properties for ethanol industry. However, it can not utilize xylose but convert the isomer, xylulose. Many attempts are based on introducing the genes in the pathway of xylose metabolism. The further research includes overexpressing the key enzyme or decreasing the unimportant flux. The sugars in lignocellulose hydrolyzates, therefore, could be efficiently utilized. Here, we describe the ethanol pathway engineering progress in ethanol fermentation from xylose with recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

[Hydrogen photoproduction from acetate by Rhodopseudomonas palustris].

Based on the characteristics of metabolism of photosynthetic bacteria and the major kinds of organic compounds produced in wastewater degradation, eleven kinds of organic compounds were chosen for hydrogen photoproduction using Rhodopseudomonas palustris Z strain. The maximal volumetric H2 productivity was obtained using acetate as the sole carbon source and electron donor. The kinetics of cell growth and H2 liberation, and the influences of several major limiting factors on photoevolution of H2 were examined using acetate as carbon source. It was shown that hydrogen production was partially correlated with cell growth. The medium composition of the preculture, the preculture time, and inoculation volume were confirmed to have big effects on hydrogen photoevolution. The time delay of H2 production was evidently shortened using the inoculum of late exponential growth phase or stationary phase using ammonium sulfate as nitrogen source or with the inoculum of middle exponential growth phase using glutamate as the nitrogen source. The identity of temperature and light intensity for H2 evolution and cell growth has significant potential application in the technology of splitting organic acid into H2 by photosynthetic bacteria. The concentrations of acetate and glutamate in the medium affected hydrogen photoevolution and cell growth significantly. The productivity of H2 increased with substrate concentrations when substrate concentrations of sodium acetate and sodium glutamate were lower than 70 mmol/L and 15 mmol/L, respectively. Hydrogen production was inhibited but the cell growth was faster when the concentration of sodium glutamate over 15 mmol/L due to forming free NH4+. The highest rate of hydrogen production was 19.4 mL.L-1.h-1 using 30 mmol/L of sodium acetate as hydrogen donor under the standard conditions, respectively. The optimal conditions for hydrogen production were 35-37 degrees C, 6000-8000 lx and pH 7.3-8.3. The effects of oxygen and inoculation volume on photoproduction of hydrogen were also discussed.