scholarly journals Sporulation in Bacillis subtilis. Biochemical changes

1968 ◽  
Vol 109 (5) ◽  
pp. 811-818 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. C. Warren

1. During the course of growth and sporulation of Bacillus subtilis in chemically defined media, measurements were made of 16 different parameters, including the specific activities of nine intracellular enzymes. 2. Towards the end of exponential growth, proteolytic activity increased and reached a maximum soon after growth ceased. 3. In the presence of an excess of phosphate the specific activity of alkaline phosphatase increased fivefold at the end of exponential growth. 4. The specific activity of malate dehydrogenase remained at a high constant level throughout sporulation, but the specific activity of fumarase showed a two- to three-fold increase 5–9hr. after the end of exponential growth. 5. Aconitase activity was barely detectable during exponential growth in a glucose–glutamate medium, but increased rapidly when glutamate was replaced by citrate or when the glucose in the medium was exhausted. 6. The specific activity of alanine dehydrogenase increased threefold 1–5hr. after the end of exponential growth. 7. The specific activity of soluble NADH oxidase doubled 4–6hr. after the end of exponential growth. 8. Glucose dehydrogenase was undetectable until 4hr. after the end of exponential growth, but its specific activity increased 20-fold over the next 3–4hr. 9. The onset of refractility, the synthesis of 2,6-dipicolinic acid and the appearance of heat-resistance occurred in this order some 6–12hr. after the end of exponential growth. 10. The significance of these changes is discussed in relation to the morphological development of the spore.

1994 ◽  
Vol 40 (12) ◽  
pp. 1057-1063 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy J. Brown-Peterson ◽  
Marvin L. Salin

Halobaeterium halobium, an archaebacterium that grows optimally in 4 M NaCl, was subjected to hypo-osmotic stress by growth in media containing either 1, 1.25, 1.65, or 2 M NaCl. Exponential growth occurred over a 48-h period in 2 M NaCl as well as in the standard 4 M NaCl growth medium. In growth media containing NaCl in a concentration below 2 M, exponential growth was observed after a 6-h lag. After 12 h of growth in the lowest NaCl concentrations, extracts from H. halobium showed nearly a 100-fold increase in the specific activity of catalase compared with bacteria grown at higher NaCl concentrations; superoxide dismutase activity increased 10-fold, whereas peroxidase activity increased 4- to 5-fold compared with the activities at the higher salt levels. Specific activities remained elevated throughout the 48-h period. In contrast, malate dehydrogenase activity was not affected by alterations in the salt environment. Respiration of H. halobium growing in the most hyposaline medium was significantly elevated at 12 h and remained high over the ensuing 36 h. Metabolic rates correlated with increases observed in oxy-intermediate scavenging enzymes. No additional isozymes of superoxide dismutase were induced by salt stress. However, the catalase activity emanated from a newly induced mesohalic catalase distinct from the constitutive catalase–peroxidase.Key words: Halobaeterium halobium, metabolism, oxy-intermediate, superoxide dismutase, catalase.


1993 ◽  
Vol 69 (05) ◽  
pp. 430-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Longstaff ◽  
Man-Yu Wong ◽  
Patrick J Gaffney

SummaryAn international collaborative study has been carried out to investigate the reproducibility of hirudin assays in 13 laboratories using four recombinant hirudins and one natural, sulphated product. A simple assay procedure was proposed involving the titration of α-thrombin with inhibitor and measurement of residual activity using a chromogenic substrate. A standard α-thrombin preparation was supplied to ensure that this reagent was of uniform quality throughout the study. The method appeared to present no difficulties and laboratories reported similar potencies for the 5 hirudin samples, in line with expected values. This gave 200–222 Thrombin Inhibitory Units/ampoule (TIU/ampoule) of lyophilised hirudin, with geometric coefficient of variation (gcv) values ranging from 10.15–15.97%. This corresponds to specific activities of approximately 14,300–15,900 TIU/mg protein. This is close to the upper limit of previously reported values of specific activity. We conclude that the precision of this determination compared with the wider range of values in the literature (8,000–16,000 thrombin inhibitory units [TIU]/mg) results from the use of good quality standard α-thrombin by all laboratories. This study has important implications for hirudin standardisation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 522
Author(s):  
Lyudmila V. Gromova ◽  
Elena I. Ermolenko ◽  
Anastasiya L. Sepp ◽  
Yulia V. Dmitrieva ◽  
Anna S. Alekseeva ◽  
...  

In recent years, great interest has arisen in the use of autoprobiotics (indigenous bacteria isolated from the organism and introduced into the same organism after growing). This study aimed to evaluate the effects of indigenous bifidobacteria on intestinal microbiota and digestive enzymes in a rat model of antibiotic-associated dysbiosis. Our results showed that indigenous bifidobacteria (the Bf group) accelerate the disappearance of dyspeptic symptoms in rats and prevent an increase in chyme mass in the upper intestine compared to the group without autoprobiotics (the C1 group), but significantly increase the mass of chyme in the colon compared to the C1 group and the control group (healthy animals). In the Bf group in the gut microbiota, the content of opportunistic bacteria (Proteus spp., enteropathogenic Escherichia coli) decreased, and the content of some beneficial bacteria (Bifidobacterium spp., Dorea spp., Blautia spp., the genus Ruminococcus, Prevotella, Oscillospira) changed compared to the control group. Unlike the C1 group, in the Bf group there was no decrease in the specific activities of maltase and alkaline phosphatase in the mucosa of the upper intestine, but the specific activity of maltase was decreased in the colon chyme compared to the control and C1 groups. In the Bf group, the specific activity of aminopeptidase N was reduced in the duodenum mucosa and the colon chyme compared to the control group. We concluded that indigenous bifidobacteria can protect the microbiota and intestinal digestive enzymes in the intestine from disorders caused by dysbiosis; however, there may be impaired motor function of the colon.


Genetics ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-87
Author(s):  
Daniel W Nebert ◽  
Nancy M Jensen ◽  
Hisashi Shinozuka ◽  
Heinz W Kunz ◽  
Thomas J Gill

ABSTRACT Forty-four inbred and four randombred rat strains and 20 inbred mouse strains were examined for their Ah phenotype by determining the induction of liver microsomal aryl hydrocarbon (benzo[a]pyrene) hydroxylase activity (EC 1.14.14.1) by intraperitoneal treatment with either β-naphthoflavone or 3-methylcholanthrene. All 48 rat strains were found to be Ah-responsive. The maximally induced hydroxylase specific activities of the ALB/Pit, MNR/Pit, MR/Pit, SHR/Pit, and Sprague-Dawley strains were of the same order of magnitude as the basal hydroxylase specific activities of the ACI/Pit, F344/Pit, OKA/Pit, and MNR/N strains. Six of the 20 mouse strains were Ah-nonresponsive (i.e. lacking the normal induction response and presumably lacking detectable amounts of the Ah receptor). The basal hydroxylase specific activities of the BDL/N, NFS/N, STAR/N, and ST/JN mouse strains were more than twice as high as the maximally induced hydroxylase specific activity of the CBA/HT strain.——To date, 24 Ah-nonresponsive mouse strains have been identified, out of a total of 68 known to have been characterized. The reasons for not finding a single Ah-nonresponsive inbred rat strain—as compared with about one Ah-nonresponsive inbred mouse strain found for every three examined—remain unknown.


1970 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 6-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bidur Dhungel ◽  
Manoj Subedi ◽  
Kiran Babu Tiwari ◽  
Upendra Thapa Shrestha ◽  
Subarna Pokhrel ◽  
...  

Glucose isomerase (EC 5.3.1.5) was extracted from Streptomyces spp., isolated from Mt. Everest soil sample, and purified by ammonium sulfate fractionation and Sepharose-4B chromatography. A 7.1 fold increase in specific activity of the purified enzyme over crude was observed. Using glucose as substrate, the Michaelis constant (KM<) and maximal velocity (Vmax) were found to be 0.45M and 0.18U/mg. respectively. The optimum substrate (glucose) concentration, optimum enzyme concentration, optimum pH, optimum temperature, and optimum reaction time were 0.6M, 62.14μg/100μl, 6.9, 70ºC, and 30 minutes, respectively. Optimum concentrations of Mg2+ and Co2+ were 5mM and 0.5mM, respectively. The enzyme was thermostable with half-life 30 minutes at 100ºC.DOI: 10.3126/ijls.v1i0.2300 Int J Life Sci 1 : 6-10


1982 ◽  
Vol 208 (3) ◽  
pp. 611-618 ◽  
Author(s):  
M R Grigor ◽  
A Geursen ◽  
M J Sneyd ◽  
S M Warren

1. The rate of mammary-gland lipogenesis measured in vivo from 3H2O was suppressed after decreasing the milk demand by decreasing the number of pups from ten to two or three, as well as by giving diets containing lipid [Grigor & Warren (1980) Biochem. J. 188, 61-65]. 2. The specific activities of the lipogenic enzymes fatty acid synthase, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase and ‘malic’ enzyme increased between 6- and 10-fold in the mammary gland and between 2- and 3-fold in the livers during the first 10 days of lactation. The increases in specific activity coupled with the doubling of liver mass which occurred during pregnancy and lactation resulted in considerable differences in total liver activities when compared with virgin animals. 3. Although consumption of a diet containing 20% peanut oil suppressed the activities of the three lipogenic enzymes in the livers, only the ‘malic’ enzyme was affected in the mammary glands. 4. In contrast, decreased milk demand did not affect the specific activities of any of the liver enzymes, whereas it resulted in suppression of all three lipogenic enzymes of the mammary glands. There was no effect on either the cytoplasmic malate dehydrogenase or the lactate dehydrogenase of the mammary gland. 5. In all the experiments performed, the activity of the fatty acid synthase correlated with the amount of material precipitated by the rabbit antibody raised against rat fatty acid synthase.


1982 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
G P Miljanich ◽  
A R Brasier ◽  
R B Kelly

During transmitter release, synaptic vesicle membrane is specifically inserted into the nerve terminal plasma membrane only at specialized sites or "active zones." In an attempt to obtain a membrane fraction enriched in active zones, we have utilized the electric organ of the marine ray. From this organ, a fraction enriched in nerve terminals (synaptosomes) was prepared by conventional means. These synaptosomes were bound to microscopic beads by an antiserum to purified electric organ synaptic vesicles (anti-SV). The success of this immunoadsorption procedure was demonstrated by increased specific activities of bead-bound nerve terminal cytoplasmic markers and decreased specific activities of markers for contaminating membranes. To obtain a presynaptic plasma membrane (PSPM) fraction, we lysed the bead-bound synaptosomes by hypoosmotic shock and sonication, resulting in complete release of cytoplasmic markers. When the synaptosomal fraction was surface-labeled with iodine before immunoadsorption, 10% of this label remained bead-bound after lysis, compared with 2% of the total protein, indicating an approximately fivefold enrichment of bead-bound plasma membrane. Concomitantly, the specific activity of bead-bound anti-SV increased approximately 30-fold, indicating an enrichment of plasma membrane which contained inserted synaptic vesicle components. This PSPM preparation is not simply synaptic vesicle membrane since two-dimensional electrophoresis revealed that the polypeptides of the surface-iodinated PSPM preparation include both vesicle and numerous nonvesicle components. Secondly, antiserum to the PSPM fraction is markedly different from anti-SV and binds to external, nonvesicle, nerve terminal components.


1961 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 1393-1407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Shaw

Wang (Can. J. Botany, 38, 635–642 (1960)) concluded that the accumulation of radioactivity observed on radioautographs at infection sites on rusted leaves fed with C14-labelled substances was 'apparent' rather than real. The ‘accumulation ratio’ is defined as the ratio of the specific activities (c.p.m./mg dry weight of intact tissue) of rust-infected to uninfected areas of infected leaves. Theoretical considerations relating to the radioautography of leaves labelled with C14 and to the measurement of ‘accumulation ratios’ by extraction of C14-labelled substances from rusted and uninfected segments of infected leaves, as well as experimental data, show that Wang's conclusion is not generally applicable.Experimentally, it was shown using polymethacrylate C14 sources that differences in distance between sources and X-ray film of the order of 100 μ had no effect on the intensity of autoradiographs. Rust-infected leaves, fed with radioactive glucose, were radiographed between X-ray plates. Localization of radioactivity at infection sites was observed on both ‘dorsal’ and ‘ventral’ radiographs, indicating a real accumulation per unit area. Ventral were more radioactive than dorsal surfaces. The main development of the fungus occurred on the former. Radioautography revealed that C14 from glucose-1-C14, glucose-6-C14, and uniformly labelled glucose fed to excised wheat leaves became localized at 10-day-old rust infections in 2 hours. ‘Accumulation ratios’ calculated from the specific activity of leaf segments remained close to 1.0 for at least 6 hours after introduction of the tracer, but increased to more than 2 after 24 hours. When ‘accumulation ratios’ were calculated from the specific activities of individual pustules (excised with a punch 1 mm in diameter) and interpustular disks, values greater than 1 were observed in 2 hours, thus confirming the results of autoradiography. Differences between the ‘accumulation ratios’ observed with glucose-6-C14 and glucose-1-C14 were consistent with an increased role of the pentose phosphate pathway at infection sites. Incorporation of C14 from uniformly labelled glucose into the alcohol-insoluble fraction of rusted leaf segments was 2.5-fold that in uninfected segments in 6 hours and 3.65-fold in 24 hours. The humin formed during hydrochloric acid hydrolysis accounted for approximately 50% of the activity of the alcohol-insoluble material. The ‘accumulation ratio’ for the alcohol-soluble material was only 1.56 after 24 hours.All the results support the view (Shaw and Samborski, Can. J. Botany, 34, 389–405 (1956)) that there is a quantitative, metabolically dependent accumulation of C14 from radioactive glucose at vigorous rust infections. The relative roles of fungus and host in this process are discussed briefly.


1998 ◽  
Vol 180 (7) ◽  
pp. 1814-1821 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Yang ◽  
Ho-Ching Tiffany Tsui ◽  
Tsz-Kwong Man ◽  
Malcolm E. Winkler

ABSTRACT pdxK encodes a pyridoxine (PN)/pyridoxal (PL)/pyridoxamine (PM) kinase thought to function in the salvage pathway of pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP) coenzyme biosynthesis. The observation that pdxK null mutants still contain PL kinase activity led to the hypothesis that Escherichia coli K-12 contains at least one other B6-vitamer kinase. Here we support this hypothesis by identifying the pdxY gene (formally, open reading frame f287b) at 36.92 min, which encodes a novel PL kinase. PdxY was first identified by its homology to PdxK in searches of the complete E. coli genome. Minimal clones of pdxY + overexpressed PL kinase specific activity about 10-fold. We inserted an omega cassette intopdxY and crossed the resultingpdxY::ΩKanr mutation into the bacterial chromosome of a pdxB mutant, in which de novo PLP biosynthesis is blocked. We then determined the growth characteristics and PL and PN kinase specific activities in extracts ofpdxK and pdxY single and double mutants. Significantly, the requirement of the pdxB pdxK pdxY triple mutant for PLP was not satisfied by PL and PN, and the triple mutant had negligible PL and PN kinase specific activities. Our combined results suggest that the PL kinase PdxY and the PN/PL/PM kinase PdxK are the only physiologically important B6vitamer kinases in E. coli and that their function is confined to the PLP salvage pathway. Last, we show thatpdxY is located downstream from pdxH (encoding PNP/PMP oxidase) and essential tyrS (encoding aminoacyl-tRNATyr synthetase) in a multifunctional operon.pdxY is completely cotranscribed with tyrS, but about 92% of tyrS transcripts terminate at a putative Rho-factor-dependent attenuator located in thetyrS-pdxY intercistronic region.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document