bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cloning and expression of the fhu genes involved in iron(III)-hydroxamate uptake by Escherichia coli
Authors: Fecker L , Braun V
Published: January 2020

Each of the four hydroxamate compounds, ferrichrome, aerobactin, rhodotorulic acid, and coprogen, known to transport ferric iron into Escherichia coli requires a specific outer membrane receptor protein. In addition, common transport functions for all four ferric hydroxamate compounds have been identified in the 3.5-min region of the linkage map and designated fhu. The fhu region was cloned into pBR322. By restriction analysis, Tn5 insertion mutations, and complementation studies between plasmid fragments and chromosomal mutants at least four loci in the order fhuA fhuC fhuD fhuB were found. The genetic products were determined in maxicells and minicells. fhuA codes for the known 78,000-dalton receptor protein and the 81,000-dalton precursor in the outer membrane, fhuC codes for a 30,000-dalton protein, and fhuD encodes a 26,000-dalton protein in the cytoplasmic membrane. No protein(s) could be assigned to the fhuB region. Truncated proteins derived from partial fhuA genes (68,000, 42,000, and 39,000 daltons) and a partial fhuD gene (24,000 daltons) and the strong polar effect on the expression of the genes indicated the direction of transcription to be from fhuA to fhuD.
Characterization of ferredoxin, flavodoxin, and rubredoxin from Clostridium formicoaceticum grown in media with high and low iron contents
Authors: Ragsdale S W , Ljungdahl L G
Published: January 2020

Ferredoxin, flavodoxin, and rubredoxin were purified to homogeneity from Clostridium formicoaceticum and characterized. Variation of the iron concentration of the growth medium caused substantial changes in the concentrations of ferredoxin and flavodoxin but not of rubredoxin. The ferredoxin has a molecular weight of 6,000 and is a four iron-four sulfur protein with eight cysteine residues. The spectrum is similar to that of other ferredoxins. The molar extinction coefficients are 22.6 X 10(3) and 17.6 X 10(3) at 280 and 390 nm, respectively. From 100 g wet weight of cells grown with 3.6 microM iron and with 40 microM iron, 5 and 20 mg offerredoxin were isolated, respectively. The molecular weight of rubredoxin is 5,800 and it contains one iron and four cysteines. The UV-visible absorption spectrum is dissimilar to those of other rubredoxins in that the 373 nm absorption peak is quite symmetric, lacking the characteristic 350-nm shoulder found in other rubredoxins. The flavodoxin is a 14,500-molecular-weight protein which contains 1 mol of flavin mononucleotide per mol of protein. It forms a stable, blue semiquinone upon light irradiation in the presence of EDTA or during enzymatic reduction. When cells were grown in low-iron medium, flavodoxin constituted at least 2% of the soluble cell protein; however, it was not detected in extracts of cells grown in high-iron medium. The rubredoxin and ferredoxin expressed during growth in low-iron and high-iron media are identical as judged by iron, inorganic sulfide, and amino acid analysis, as well as light absorption spectroscopy.
Mutations affecting regulation of the Klebsiella pneumoniae nifH (nitrogenase reductase) promotor
Authors: Brown S E , Ausubel F M
Published: January 2020

Starting with plasmid pSA30 which contains an intact nifHDKY operon, we selected mutants that no longer inhibited nitrogen fixation in Klebsiella pneumoniae. Three categories of mutants were found among eight mutant plasmids examined in detail. Three mutant plasmids carried a single-base-pair (bp) change at position -12 or -14 relative to the nifH transcription start site. These mutations were located in a previously described consensus sequence found in the -10 to -15 region of nif promoters. Four of the mutant plasmids contain lesions considerably upstream from the start point of transcription. Two of these upstream mutations are identical 112-bp deletions of nucleotides -72 to -184, and two others are a single-bp change at position -136. The final plasmid does not contain a mutation within a 525-bp region which includes 289 bp upstream from the nifH ATG initiation codon and which extends 69 codons into the nifH gene. All eight of the mutant pSA30 plasmids failed to complement a chromosomal nifH mutation, suggesting that the mutations that block inhibition of nif expression also prevent transcription of the nifHDKY operon.
Isolation and analysis of aroFo mutants by using an aroF-lac operon fusion
Authors: Cobbett C S , Morrison S , Pittard J
Published: January 2020

The lac structural genes were fused to the regulatory region of the aroF-tyrA operon so that the expression of beta-galactosidase was regulated by the tyrR+ gene product. Transducing phage carrying the aroF-lac fusion were isolated, and a lambda aroF-lac lysogen was used to select for aroFo mutants. A plasmid vector was constructed onto which the aroFo mutations were transferred by recombination in vivo.
Biosynthesis of C30 to C56 fatty acids by an extract of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra
Authors: Qureshi N , Sathyamoorthy N , Takayama K
Published: January 2020

A 10,800 X g supernatant fraction from disrupted cells of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra was incubated with [2-14C]malonate to produce labeled long-chain fatty acids upon saponification. These acids were derivatized to the p-bromophenacyl ester and separated into the nonmycolic saturated, monounsaturated, and multiunsaturated esters by argentation thin-layer chromatography. Each of these fractions was then analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography by using a C18-bonded silica cartridge and a mobile phase of a linear gradient of 0 to 70% p-dioxane in acetonitrile. The results showed that the cell-free system is able to synthesize both saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids of the sizes C30 to C40 and C48 to C56. This latter series was strikingly similar to meromycolic acid, a putative precursor of mycolic acid. When acetate or oleate was used as the labeled substrate, the major products were no longer than C32. When palmitate was used as the labeled substrate, the saturated acids ranged in size from C18 to C32, whereas the monounsaturated products contained C18, C26 to C30 and C40 fatty acids. Fatty acids greater than C40 were also detected. When methyl-labeled S-adenosyl-L-methionine was used as the substrate, the methyl group was incorporated into short-chain and C48 to C56 fatty acids. Unlabeled malonyl-coenzyme A was included in all of these reactions. This cell-free system was not able to synthesize mycolic acid (final product) or its keto derivative (intermediate product). However, since the meromycolate-like C48 to C56 fatty acids were synthesized, we suggest that the present system is able to take the synthesis to a point before the alpha-alkyl condensation reaction.
Control of autotrophic carbon assimilation in Alcaligenes eutrophus by inactivation and reactivation of phosphoribulokinase
Authors: Leadbeater L , Bowien B
Published: January 2020

Phosphoribulokinase in Alcaligenes eutrophus was partially inactivated when an autotrophic culture was shifted to heterotrophic growth with pyruvate as the sole source of carbon and energy. A similar response was observed on addition of various organic substrates to autotrophic cultures during the transition to mixotrophic growth. The extent of inactivation depended on the added substrate. Pyruvate or lactate caused the strongest inactivation among the tested substrates. Up to 75% of the phosphoribulokinase activity found in the autotrophic cells was lost within 30 min after supplementation of the cultures with either of these two substrates. This loss of enzyme activity was not the result of degradation of enzyme protein. Inactivation of phosphoribulokinase was accompanied by a decrease in the CO2 fixation rate of the cells. Reactivation of the enzyme occurred after exhaustion of pyruvate from the medium. Neither inactivation nor reactivation required de novo protein synthesis; however, continued energy conversion was necessary for the inactivation to occur. We suggest that the pyruvate metabolism of A. eutrophus is involved in these regulatory processes which act on phosphoribulokinase. They appear to contribute to the control of autotrophic CO2 assimilation in this organism.
Characterization and comparison of a Neurospora crassa RNase purified from cultures undergoing each of three different states of derepression
Authors: Lindberg R A , Drucker H
Published: January 2020

Extracellular RNase N4 from Neurospora crassa is derepressible by limitation of any of the three nutrient elements obtainable from RNA. We have purified and characterized the enzyme from cultures grown under each of the three states of derepression. The purification procedure consisted of an ultrafiltration step, cation-exchange chromatography, and gel filtration. We found only one enzyme (N4) that hydrolyzed RNA at pH 7.5 in the presence of EDTA in culture filtrates from nitrogen-, phosphorus-, or carbon-limited cells. In all three cases, the enzymes were identical by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (Mr approximately 9,500) and by gel filtration (Mr approximately 10,000). There were no differences in thermal stability or pH optimum; all three cross-reacted with antibody to the nitrogen-depressed enzyme in interfacial ring and in Ouchterlony tests. Digestion of homopolyribonucleotides indicated that N4 preferentially cleaved phosphodiester bonds adjacent to guanine residues. Results indicate that the enzymes are very similar or identical and are probably products of the same gene. N4 appears to be homologous to guanine-specific RNases from other fungal sources.
Physical and genetic analyses of streptococcal plasmid pAM beta 1 and cloning of its replication region
Authors: Leblanc D J , Lee L N
Published: January 2020

Plasmid pAM beta 1, originally isolated from Streptococcus faecalis DS5, mediates resistance to the MLS (macrolide, lincosamide, and streptogramin B alpha) group of antibiotics. A restriction endonuclease map of the 26.5-kilobase (kb) pAM beta 1 molecule was constructed by using the enzymes AvaI, HpaII, EcoRI, PvuII, Kpn1, BstEII, HpaI, HhaI, and HindIII. A comparison of this map to those of four independently isolated deletion derivatives of pAM beta 1 located the MLS resistance determinant within a 2-kb DNA segment and at least one conjugative function within an 8-kb region. The 5.0-kb EcoRI-B fragment from pAM beta 1 was ligated onto the 4.0-kb Escherichia coli plasmid vector, pACKC1, and used to transform E. coli HB101. The 9.0-kb chimeric plasmid was then used to transform Streptococcus sanguis Challis with concurrent expression of the E. coli kanamycin resistance determinant. The 5.0-kb EcoRI-B fragment from pAM beta 1 was subsequently used as a vector to clone a streptomycin resistance determinant from a strain of Streptococcus mutans containing no detectable plasmid DNA. Subcloning experiments, using a HindIII partial digest of pAM beta 1 DNA, narrowed the replication region of this plasmid to a 2.95-kb fragment.
Repair-defective mutants of Alteromonas espejiana, the host for bacteriophage PM2
Authors: Zerler B R , Wallace S S
Published: January 2020

The in vivo repair processes of Alteromonas espejiana, the host for bacteriophage PM2, were characterized, and UV- and methyl methanesulfonate (MMS)-sensitive mutants were isolated. Wild-type A. espejiana cells were capable of photoreactivation, excision, recombination, and inducible repair. There was no detectable pyrimidine dimer-DNA N-glycosylase activity, and pyrimidine dimer removal appeared to occur by a pathway analogous to the Escherichia coli Uvr pathway. The UV- and MMS-sensitive mutants of A. espejiana included three groups, each containing at least one mutation involved with excision, recombination, or inducible repair. One group that was UV sensitive but not sensitive to MMS or X rays showed a decreased ability to excise pyrimidine dimers. Mutants in this group were also sensitive to psoralen plus near-UV light and were phenotypically analogous to the E. coli uvr mutants. A second group was UV and MMS sensitive but not sensitive to X rays and appeared to contain mutations in a gene(s) involved in recombination repair. These recombination-deficient mutants differed from the E. coli rec mutants, which are MMS and X-ray sensitive. The third group of A. espejiana mutants was sensitive to UV, MMS, and X rays. These mutants were recombination deficient, lacked inducible repair, and were phenotypically similar to E. coli recA mutants.
Heterocyst differentiation in the cyanobacterium Mastigocladus laminosus
Authors: Nierzwicki-Bauer S A , Balkwill D L , Stevens S E
Published: January 2020

The morphological and ultrastructural aspects of heterocyst differentiation in the branching, filamentous cyanobacterium Mastigocladus laminosus were examined with light and electron microscopy. The earliest differentiation stages involved cytoplasmic changes, including (i) rapid degradation of carboxysomes, (ii) degradation of polysaccharide granules, and (iii) accumulation of electron-dense ribosomal or protein material (or both). Intermediate differentiation stages involved synthesis of a homogeneous extra wall layer, development of necks leading to adjacent cells, and elaboration of a complex system of intracytoplasmic membranes. Late differentiation stages included further development of necks and continued elaboration of membranes. Mature heterocysts possessed a uniformly electron-dense cytoplasm that contained large numbers of closely packed membranes, some of which were arranged in lamellar stacks. Mature heterocysts lacked all of the inclusion bodies present in undifferentiated vegetative cells, but contained a number of unusual spherical inclusions of variable electron density. Cells in both narrow and wide filaments were capable of differentiating. No regular heterocyst spacing pattern was observed in the narrow filaments; the number of vegetative cells between consecutive heterocysts of any given filament varied by a factor of 10. Heterocysts developed at a variety of locations in the wide, branching filaments, although the majority of them were situated adjacent to branch points. M. laminosus displayed a marked tendency to produce sets of adjacent heterocysts or proheterocysts (or both) that were not separated from each other by vegetative cells. Groups of four or more adjacent heterocysts or proheterocysts occurred frequently in wide filaments, and in some of these filaments virtually all of the cells appeared to be capable of differentiating into heterocysts.
Insertional specificity of transposon Tn5 in Acinetobacter sp
Authors: Singer J T , Finnerty W R
Published: January 2020

Suicide plasmid pJB4JI, containing transposon Tn5 and phage Mu, was introduced from Escherichia coli 1830 into Acinetobacter sp. strain HO1-N and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus BD413. Kanamycin-resistant (Kmr) exconjugants of HO1-N and BD413, isolated on complex medium, were screened for auxotrophic requirements. Over 10,000 Kmr clones were examined, but no auxotrophs were detected. Several Kmr exconjugants of BD413 and HO1-N, obtained from independent matings, were chosen for further study. All Tn5-containing strains exhibited kanamycin phosphotransferase activity. Kmr strains lacked plasmid DNA as determined by three plasmid screening procedures, and the Kmr phenotype was not transferable by conjugal matings to kanamycin-sensitive BD413, HO1-N, or E. coli HB101. The chromosomal location of Tn5 insertions in independently isolated Kmr exconjugants of BD413 and HO1-N was characterized by restriction endonuclease mapping and hybridization studies. Results obtained from Southern hybridization studies were consistent with a single Tn5-specific insertion site in HO1-N and two such sites in BD413. Phage Mu sequences were not detected in Tn5-containing Acinetobacter sp.
Cellular location of heat-labile enterotoxin in Escherichia coli
Authors: Hirst T R , Randall L L , Hardy S J
Published: January 2020

We demonstrated that both the A and B subunits of heat-labile enterotoxin from Escherichia coli are located in the periplasm. The toxin was shown to form aggregates in Tris-EDTA buffers which are routinely used for isolating membranes. The aggregates pellet upon centrifugation, and this may explain why several previous investigators have concluded that enterotoxin is associated with membranes.
Cloning of a new low-molecular-weight spore-specific protein gene from Bacillus megaterium
Authors: Curiel-Quesada E , Setlow P
Published: January 2020

Three EcoRI fragments of Bacillus megaterium DNA hybridized only under nonrestrictive conditions on Southern blots to a probe containing the previously cloned gene for protein C, a small, acid-soluble spore protein (SASP) from B. megaterium. All three fragments were cloned in Escherichia coli cells in plasmid pBR325, and after being transferred to an E. coli expression vector, one of the fragments (C-3) directed the synthesis of a new small, acid-soluble spore protein (termed C-3) immunologically related to protein C. As previously observed with the protein C gene, protein C-3 gene expression in E. coli required an external promoter and suppression of termination of transcription. Protein C-3 was purified from induced E. coli cells, and its immunological properties, electrophoretic mobility, amino acid composition, and amino-terminal sequence were determined. These data indicated that protein C-3 was related, but not identical, to either protein C or the closely related protein A--two of the major small, acid-soluble spore proteins of B. megaterium. Detailed examination of acid extracts of B. megaterium spores showed that they contained a minor protein which comigrated with C-3 on acrylamide gel electrophoresis at low pH and reacted immunologically like C-3.
Transposon Tn5 mutagenesis in Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora and E. carotovora subsp. atroseptica
Authors: Zink R T , Kemble R J , Chatterjee A K
Published: January 2020

In matings between Escherichia coli 2492(pJB4JI) and Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora Ecc71 and E. carotovora subsp. atroseptica Eca12, Kmr Gms transconjugants were obtained at high frequencies, indicating instability of the Mu-containing plasmid pJB4JI and transposition of Tn5 into the recipient genome. This was verified by Southern blot hybridization with pRZ102 DNA containing Tn5 as the 32P-labeled probe. Examination of Kmr Gms transconjugants of Ecc71 and Eca12 disclosed that a proportion (2 to 3%) were either auxotrophic or defective in catabolism of specific carbohydrates. Spontaneous prototrophic revertants were obtained for all markers with the exception of ilv, tyr, and suc. Genetic and physical data indicate that scattered insertions of Tn5 from pJb4JI into the chromosome of Ecc71 and Eca12 produced a variety of altered phenotypes due mostly to single insertions of Tn5 not accompanied by Mu DNA.
Role of the electrochemical proton gradient in genetic transformation of Haemophilus influenzae
Authors: Bremer W , Kooistra J , Hellingwerf K J , Konings W N
Published: January 2020

The uptake of homologous DNA by Haemophilus influenzae was studied as a function of the proton motive force in completely competent cultures in the pH range of 6 to 8. The composition and magnitude of the proton motive force were varied by using the ionophores valinomycin and nigericin (in the presence of various potassium ion concentrations) and by using protonophores. No interaction of the ionophores with the DNA transformation system itself was observed. Either component of the proton motive force, the electrical potential or the pH gradient, can drive the uptake of DNA, and the extent of the uptake of DNA is ultimately determined by the total proton motive force. The transformation frequency increases with the proton motive force, which reaches a maximum value at around -130 mV. These results are consistent with an electrogenic proton-DNA symport mechanism, but direct evidence for such a system is not available. The proton motive force was followed during competence development of H. influenzae at pH 8. In the initial phase (up to 50 min), the proton motive force remained constant at about -90 mV, whereas the transformation frequency rose steeply. In the second phase, the proton motive force increased. The transformation frequency in this phase increased with the proton motive force, as in completely competent cultures. These observations and the observed inhibition by NAD of both the proton motive force and the transformation frequency indicate that structural components of the competent state are formed in the initial phase of competence development, whereas the second phase is characterized by an increase of the proton motive force.
Reconstitution of maltose chemotaxis in Escherichia coli by addition of maltose-binding protein to calcium-treated cells of maltose regulon mutants
Authors: Brass J M , Manson M D
Published: January 2020

Maltose chemotaxis was reconstituted in delta malE cells lacking maltose-binding protein (MBP). Purified MBP was introduced into intact cells during incubation with 250 mM CaCl2 in Tris-hydrochloride buffer at 0 degrees C. After removal of extracellular CaCl2 and MBP, chemotaxis was measured with tethered bacteria in a flow chamber or with free-swimming cells in a capillary assay. About 20% of tethered cells responded to 10(-4) M maltose; the mean response times were about half those of CaCl2-treated wild-type cells (100 s as opposed to 190 s). In capillary tests, the maltose response of reconstituted cells was between 15 and 40% of the aspartate response, about the same percentage as in wild-type cells. The best reconstitution was seen with 0.5 to 1 mM MBP in the reconstitution mixture, which is similar to the periplasmic MBP concentration estimated for maltose-induced wild-type cells. Strains containing large deletions of the malB region and malT mutants lacking the positive regulator gene of the mal regulon also could be reconstituted for maltose chemotaxis, showing that no product of the mal regulon other than MBP is essential for maltose chemotaxis.
The dispersed, repeated family of MAL loci in Saccharomyces spp
Authors: Michels C A , Needleman R B
Published: January 2020

This report concludes our analysis of the various standard maltose-fermenting strains of Saccharomyces spp. We showed that, in addition to either the MAL2 or MAL4 functional locus present in the standard MAL2 and MAL4 strains, both strains contain two cryptic MALg genes mapping to the MAL1 and MAL3 locus positions. (Functional MAL loci appear to consist of two linked complementing gene functions, MALp and MALg. Cryptic MALg genes lack a linked functional MALp gene.) Using a probe containing a DNA fragment derived from the MAL6 locus, we detected three genomic HindIII fragments in both the MAL2 and MAL4 strains. Each of these HindIII fragments is shown to segregate in a Mendelian fashion and to be linked to one of the three MAL loci in each of the strains. We also detected additional fragments having significant sequence homology to the MAL6 probe but lacking in MAL-related functions.
Isolation and characterization of outer membranes of Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron grown on different carbohydrates
Authors: Kotarski S F , Salyers A A
Published: January 2020

To determine whether certain outer membrane proteins are associated with growth of Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron on polysaccharides, we developed a procedure for separating outer membranes from inner membranes by sucrose density centrifugation. Cell extracts in 10% (wt/vol) sucrose-10 mM HEPES buffer (N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N'-2-ethanesulfonic acid) (pH 7.4) were separated into two fractions on a two-step (37 and 70% [wt/vol]) sucrose gradient. These fractions were further resolved into outer membranes (p = 1.21 g/cm3) and inner membranes (p = 1.14 g/cm3) on sucrose gradients. About 20 to 26% of the total 3-hydroxy fatty acids from lipopolysaccharide and 2 to 3% of the total cellular succinate dehydrogenase activity were recovered in the outer membrane preparation. The inner membrane preparation contained 22 to 49% of the total succinate dehydrogenase activity and 2 to 3% of the total 3-hydroxy fatty acids from lipopolysaccharide. Outer membranes contained a lower concentration of protein (0.34 mg/mg [dry weight]) than did the inner membranes (0.68 mg/mg [dry weight]). Molecular weights of inner membrane polypeptides ranged from 11,000 to 133,000. The most prominent polypeptides had molecular weights ranging from 11,000 to 26,000. In contrast, the molecular weights of outer membrane polypeptides ranged from 17,000 to 117,000. The most prominent polypeptides had molecular weights ranging from 42,000 to 117,000. There were several polypeptides in the outer membranes of bacteria grown on polysaccharides (chondroitin sulfate, arabinogalactan, or polygalacturonic acid) which were not detected or were not as prominent in outer membranes of bacteria grown on monosaccharide components of these polysaccharides.
Phasmid P4: manipulation of plasmid copy number and induction from the integrated state
Authors: Lagos R , Goldstein R
Published: January 2020

"Phasmid" P4 is unusual in that it is capable of (i) temperate, (ii) lytic, helper-dependent, and (iii) plasmid modes of propagation. In this report we characterize most of the known P4 genetic functions as to their essential or nonessential roles in the stable maintenance of plasmid P4 vir1 (pP4 vir1 (pP4 vir1). We also identify growth conditions that can be used to stably maintain pP4 vir1 at any one of several different copy number levels (n = 1 to 3, n = 10 to 15, or n = 30 to 40). Analyses of a temperature-sensitive alpha derivative of pP4 vir1 show that shifting the temperature from 37 to 42 degrees C allows this mutant to maintain an integrated copy of the plasmid, whereas replication of free copies is repressed because of the nonpermissive condition for their DNA synthesis. Conversely, a shift from 42 to 37 degrees C can be used to reinstate plasmid propagation. The utility of the inducible states of pP4 vir1 is discussed with respect to its attributes as a vector with the potential for cloning inserts of DNA up to 33,000 base pairs in a wide range of bacterial hosts.
Characterization of the major proteins in gamma particles, cytoplasmic organelles in Blastocladiella emersonii zoospores
Authors: Hohn T M , Lovett J S , Bracker C E
Published: January 2020

The gamma particles of Blastocladiella emersonii are 0.5-micron (diameter), electron dense, membrane-enclosed organelles in the cytoplasm of zoospores that have been reported (E.C. Cantino and G.L. Mills, in P. Lemke, ed., Viruses and Plasmids in Fungi, 1979, and R.B. Myers and E.C. Cantino, in A. Wolsky (ed.), Monographs in Developmental Biology, 1974) to store the enzyme chitin synthetase. These particles were isolated from zoospores, and the two major proteins were purified for an analysis of their composition and function. The lower-molecular-weight protein (apparent molecular weight, 41,000) was insoluble in aqueous buffers, had an unusual, very basic amino acid composition, and comprised the characteristic electron-dense inclusions seen in micrographs of sections of fixed and stained gamma particles. After dispersal of the gamma particle membranes with detergent, the higher-molecular-weight protein (apparent molecular weight, 43,000) and a third minor protein (apparent molecular weight, 45,000) sedimented through sucrose cushions with the 41 kilodalton inclusion body protein but were dissociated from it by sonication in buffer containing 7 M urea. Together, the two major proteins represent 60 to 70% of the total protein in the gamma particle and 2.9% of the total protein in zoospores. Tests with specific antisera showed that the two major proteins were not antigenically related, a result consistent with the differences in amino acid composition. When zoospore lysates were centrifuged in sucrose density gradients, the major gamma particle proteins and chitin synthetase activity migrated to regions of different density. Proteins from sporulating thalli and germinating zoospores were separated by gel electrophoresis, and the two major gamma particle proteins were detected by reaction with specific antisera after electrophoretic transfer to nitrocellulose filters. Neither protein could be found in growth phase cells; the appearance and disappearances of both proteins were correlated with the formation of the gamma particles during sporulation and their decay during zoospore germination. The results indicate that gamma particles do not store chitin synthetase in the proteinaceous inclusion, but an alternative function has not yet been identified.
Molecular cloning and expression of cellulase genes of alkalophilic Bacillus sp. strain N-4 in Escherichia coli
Authors: Sashihara N , Kudo T , Horikoshi K
Published: January 2020

The genes for cellulases of alkalophilic Bacillus sp. strain N-4 were cloned in Escherichia coli with pBR322. Plasmids pNK1 and pNK2 were isolated from the transformants producing carboxymethyl cellulase, and the carboxymethyl cellulase genes cloned were in 2.0- and 2.8-kilobase-pair HindIII fragments, respectively. On the DNA level, the pNK1 fragment had a different restriction map from that of the pNK2 fragment, but the genomic hybridization experiments showed partial homology among these fragments. A total of 74 and 34% of the enzyme activities were observed in the periplasmic space of E. coli carrying the plasmids pNK1 and pNK2 , respectively. The carboxymethyl cellulase thus produced had broad pH activity curves (pH of 5 to 10.9) and was stable up to 75 degrees C.
Extracellular siderophores from Aspergillus ochraceous
Authors: Jalal M A , Mocharla R , Barnes C L , Hossain M B , Powell D R , Eng-Wilmot D L , Grayson S L , Benson B A , van der Helm D
Published: January 2020

A large number of iron-chelating compounds (siderophores) were isolated from supernatants of iron-deficient cultures of a mold isolate, subsequently identified as Aspergillus ochraceous . Siderophores in their iron chelate form were purified to homogeneity by using Bio-Gel P2, silica gel, and C-18 bonded silica gel (reverse-phase) columns. Most of these compounds, as identified by 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography, belong to the ferrichrome family. The organism produces ferrirubin and ferrichrysin as the predominant and the second major compound (62 and 15% of the total siderophores), respectively. Ferrichrysin appears as the first siderophore in the medium on day 2 of growth. Several of the other siderophores are novel and ranged in quantities from 0.2 to 5% of the total. The trivial names asperchrome A, B1, B2, C, D1, D2, and D3 are proposed for these novel compounds, which are all members of the ferrichrome family, and all but the first one contain a common Orn1 - Orn2 - Orn3 - Ser1 -Ser2-Gly cyclic hexapeptide ring with three dissimilar ornithyl delta-N-acyl groups. Another compound which appeared late in the growth period was similar to fusarinine C ( fusigen ). All of these compounds showed growth factor activity to various extents in bioassays with Arthrobacter flavescens Jg-9. None of these compounds showed antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli or Bacillus megaterium.
Long repair replication patches are produced by the short-patch pathway in a uvrD252 (recL152) mutant of Escherichia coli K-12
Authors: Rothman R H , Fried B
Published: January 2020

The uvrD252 mutation leads to increased UV sensitivity, diminished dimer excision and host cell reactivation capacity, and an increase in the average patch size after repair replication. A recA56 uvrD252 double mutant was far more resistant to UV than was a recA56 uvrB5 double mutant. Its host cell reactivation capacity was identical to that of uvrD252 single mutant and was far greater than that of the uvrB5 single mutant. The strain showed no Weigle reactivation. From these results, we concluded that the double mutant has no inducible DNA repair (including long-patch excision repair) but retains dimer excision capabilities comparable to the uvrD252 single mutant. It appears, therefore, that the long patches detected in the uvrD mutant were not identical to the recA-dependent patches seen in wild-type cells.
Thioredoxin system of the photosynthetic anaerobe Chromatium vinosum
Authors: Johnson T C , Crawford N A , Buchanan B B
Published: January 2020

Chromatium vinosum, an anaerobic photosynthetic purple sulfur bacterium, resembles aerobic bacterial cells in that it has an NADP-thioredoxin system composed of a single thioredoxin which is reduced by NADPH via NADP-thioredoxin reductase. Both protein components were purified to homogeneity, and some of their properties were determined. Chromatium vinosum thioredoxin was slightly larger than other bacterial thioredoxins (13 versus 12 kilodaltons) but was similar in its specificity (ability to activate chloroplast NADP-malate dehydrogenase more effectively than chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase) and immunological properties. As in other bacteria, Chromatium vinosum NADP-thioredoxin reductase was an arsenite-sensitive flavoprotein composed of two 33.5-kilodalton subunits, that required thioredoxin for the NADPH-linked reduction of 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid). Chromatium vinosum NADP-thioredoxin reductase very effectively reduced several different bacterial-type thioredoxins (Escherichia coli, Chlorobium thiosulfatophilum (this name has not been approved by the International Committee of Systematic Bacteriology), Rhizobium meliloti) but not others (Clostridium pasteurianum, spinach chloroplast thioredoxin m). The results show that Chromatium vinosum contains an NADP-thioredoxin system typical of evolutionarily more advanced microorganisms.
Characterization of a Streptococcus pneumoniae mutant with altered electric transmembrane potential
Authors: Trombe M C , Lanéelle G , Sicard A M
Published: January 2020

It is possible to select transmembrane potential (delta psi)-altered mutants in Streptococcus pneumoniae on the basis of their resistance to the antifolate methotrexate. Comparison of such a mutant strain ( amiA9 ) with its parent was used to evaluate the role of delta psi in the uptake of certain amino acids. The delta psi-dependent uptake of isoleucine, leucine, valine, and asparagine showed a reduced maximum velocity of uptake, and decrease in the transport constant of the energy-dependent, delta psi-independent uptake of lysine, methionine, and glutamine was observed. No reduction of the intracellular pool of ATP or of lactate excretion could be detected in the mutant strain. Moreover, studies on membrane preparations suggest that the phenotype expressed by the amiA mutation is not a consequence of alteration of its ATPase activity or susceptibility to N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide. Therefore, it is unlikely that the amiA mutation affects the H+ F1F0 ATPase which is involved in the establishment of the proton motive force in anaerobic bacteria. We propose that another function contributes to delta psi in S. pneumoniae. The amiA gene may be the structural gene of that function.
Different structure-function relationships for alpha-factor-induced morphogenesis and agglutination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Authors: Baffi R A , Shenbagamurthi P , Terrance K , Becker J M , Naider F , Lipke P N
Published: January 2020

Eight synthetic analogs of the mating pheromone alpha-factor-induced morphogenesis and increased agglutinability in a cells. Most analogs induced increased agglutinability at lower concentrations than those at which they induced morphogenesis, but the ratio of the potencies for the two effects varied 140-fold among different analogs. Morphological response to pheromone required exposure for at least 90 min, but increased agglutinability followed exposures of 20 s. Two synthetic analogs induced neither response. In competition experiments, both of these analogs prevented induction of increased agglutinability and morphogenesis by active alpha factor. The inactive peptides blocked increased agglutinability at lower concentrations than those at which they blocked morphogenesis. alpha factors exhibited different structure-function relationships for morphogenesis as compared with agglutinability. Thus, response of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to alpha factor is complex and may be mediated by more than one receptor.
Purification and characterization of two kinds of porins from the Enterobacter cloacae outer membrane
Authors: Kaneko M , Yamaguchi A , Sawai T
Published: January 2020

Two major outer membrane proteins of Enterobacter cloacae 206 were purified and identified as porins by using reconstituted vesicles. The 37-kilodalton porin forms a channel with a radius of 0.6 nm, which prefers positively charged substances to negatively charged ones, whereas the 39- to 40-kilodalton porin forms a larger channel with a radius of 0.8 nm, which has weaker selectivity for electric charges.
Complete nucleotide sequence and start sites for transcription and translation of the Bacillus megaterium protein C gene
Authors: Fliss E R , Setlow P
Published: January 2020

The nucleotide sequence of the Bacillus megaterium protein C gene, encompassing the coding region and 341 base pairs of flanking regions, has been determined. The gene codes for a 72-residue protein whose predicted amino acid sequence is identical to that previously determined for protein C with the exception of an amino-terminal methionine predicted from the gene sequence, but not found in the mature protein. The translational initiation codon is preceded by an 11-base pair sequence highly complementary to the 3' terminus of B. megaterium 16S rRNA. Protection against S1 nuclease digestion by hybridization of a protein C gene fragment to RNA containing high levels of protein C mRNA localized the transcription initiation site 108 base pairs upstream from the translation start site. Upstream from the transcription initiation site there are no obvious homologies with conserved regions of promoters for previously described B. subtilis vegetative or sporulation genes.
Chemical modification of Streptococcus flagellar motors
Authors: Conley M P , Berg H C
Published: January 2020

Video techniques were used to record changes in motility of cells of Streptococcus sp. strain V4051 exposed to a variety of protein modification reagents. Starved cells were tethered to glass by a single flagellum, energized metabolically with glucose, or treated with valinomycin and energized artificially via shifts to media containing low concentrations of potassium ion. Experiments were devised that distinguished reagents that lowered the proton motive force from those that blocked the generation of torque (damaged the flagellar motors). Imidazole reagents blocked the generation of torque. Amino, sulfhydryl, dithiol, and disulfide reagents did not. Some of the imidazole, amino, and sulfhydryl reagents had long-term effects on the direction of flagellar rotation.
Uptake and utilization of deoxynucleoside 5'-monophosphates by Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides
Authors: Neale G A , Mitchell A , Finch L R
Published: January 2020

Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides has been shown to possess an unusual capacity for the uptake and utilization of exogenous deoxyribonucleoside 5'-monophosphates intact without prior dephosphorylation. In this study, it was found that once inside the cell, deoxyribonucleoside 5'-monophosphates were rapidly phosphorylated to the triphosphate level and incorporated into DNA. Catabolism of deoxyribonucleoside 5'-monophosphates was also observed. Competition studies indicated that a single uptake system with a higher affinity for deoxyribonucleotides mediates the uptake of nucleoside 5'-monophosphates.
Purification and characterization of the cytochrome oxidase from alkalophilic Bacillus firmus RAB
Authors: Kitada M , Krulwich T A
Published: January 2020

A cytochrome oxidase was purified 52-fold from membranes of alkalophilic Bacillus firmus RAB by extraction with Triton X-100, ion-exchange and hydroxyapatite chromatography, and gel filtration. On denaturing gels, the purified enzyme dissociated into two subunits of 56,000 and 40,000 Mr as well as a cytochrome c with an Mr of approximately 14,000. Heme contents calculated for an enzyme with a molecular weight of 110,000 were found to be 2 mol of heme a and 1 mol of heme c per mol of cytochrome oxidase; approximately 2 mol of copper per mol of purified enzyme was also found. Enzyme activity was observed in assays using reduced yeast or horse heart cytochrome c. Activity of the purified enzyme was optimal at pH 6.0 and in the presence of added lipids. Impure, membrane-associated activity exhibited a broader pH range for optimal activity extending to alkaline values.
Cloning and characterization of the Bacillus licheniformis gene coding for alkaline phosphatase
Authors: Hulett F M
Published: January 2020

The structural gene for alkaline phosphatase (orthophosphoric monoester phosphohydrolase; EC 3.1.3.1) of Bacillus licheniformis MC14 was cloned into the Pst1 site of pMK2004 from chromosomal DNA. The gene was cloned on an 8.5-kilobase DNA fragment. A restriction map was developed, and the gene was subcloned on a 4.2-kilobase DNA fragment. The minimum coding region of the gene was localized to a 1.3-kilobase region. Western blot analysis was used to show that the gene coded for a 60,000-molecular-weight protein which cross-reacts with anti-alkaline phosphatase prepared against the salt-extractable membrane alkaline phosphatase of B. licheniformis MC14 .
Regular surface layer of Azotobacter vinelandii
Authors: Bingle W H , Doran J L , Page W J
Published: January 2020

Washing Azotobacter vinelandii UW1 with Burk buffer or heating cells at 42 degrees C exposed a regular surface layer which was effectively visualized by freeze-etch electron microscopy. This layer was composed of tetragonally arranged subunits separated by a center-to-center spacing of approximately 10 nm. Cells washed with distilled water to remove an acidic major outer membrane protein with a molecular weight of 65,000 did not possess the regular surface layer. This protein, designated the S protein, specifically reattached to the surface of distilled-water-washed cells in the presence of the divalent calcium, magnesium, strontium, or beryllium cations. All of these cations except beryllium supported reassembly of the S protein into a regular tetragonal array. Although the surface localization of the S protein has been demonstrated, radioiodination of exposed envelope proteins in whole cells did not confirm this. The labeling behavior of the S protein could be explained on the basis of varying accessibilities of different tyrosine residues to iodination.
Isolation and characterization of nonspreading mutants of the gliding bacterium Cytophaga johnsonae
Authors: Chang L E , Pate J L , Betzig R J
Published: January 2020

Three approaches were taken to isolate a total of 153 nonspreading mutants derived from our laboratory strain of Cytophaga johnsonae, UW101, or from its auxotrophic derivative, UW10538. Characterization of 109 of these mutants led to their placement in five general categories: (i) motile, nonspreading (MNS) mutants whose cells are motile to various degrees but whose colonies fail to spread on agar gels under any conditions of incubation; (ii) conditional nonspreading (CNS) mutants with motile cells whose colonies require more moisture to spread on agar gels than do those of wild-type cells; (iii) filamentous conditional motility (FCM) mutants whose cells grow as nonmotile filaments or as motile cells with wild-type morphology, depending on conditions of incubation; (iv) short, tumbling, nonspreading (STN) mutants with short cells that tumble constantly; and (v) truly nonmotile (TNM) mutants whose cells never move and whose colonies never spread under any conditions tested. All TNM mutants exhibited a remarkable pleiotropy not seen in the other four classes of mutants: all were resistant to 39 phages to which wild-type cells are sensitive, and all were unable to digest chitin, which is digested by wild-type cells. The correlation between ability to move and phage sensitivity was strengthened further by showing that 150 additional TNM mutants derived from UW101 and 43 TNM mutants derived from 29 independent isolates of C. johnsonae were resistant to all phages to which their parents were sensitive. Furthermore, motile revertants of TNM mutants became phage sensitive, and temperature-sensitive mutants were motile and phage sensitive at 25 degrees C and nonmotile and phage resistant at 32 degrees C. Evidence supports the conclusion that any mutation rendering cells truly nonmotile invariably alters cell surface-associated properties such as phage sensitivity and chitin digestion merely as a consequence of changing a moving cell surface to a static surface.
Molecular cloning of chromosome I DNA from Saccharomyces cerevisiae: isolation of the ADE1 gene
Authors: Crowley J C , Kaback D B
Published: January 2020

The ADE1 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was isolated by complementation in S. cerevisiae from a yeast genomic DNA library carried on plasmid YEp13. Electron microscopy of R-loop-containing DNA indicated the location of the ADE1 gene on the plasmid insert. Gene disruption and gene replacement were used to demonstrate that the ade1-complementing sequence was the actual ADE1 gene that maps on chromosome I. ade1 strains which normally form red colonies form white ones when transformed with the cloned ADE1 gene. This property should be very useful, since it enables detection of plasmids carrying this gene under nonselective conditions.
Patterns of electrochemical proton gradient formation by membrane vesicles from an obligately acidophilic bacterium
Authors: Guffanti A A , Mann M , Sherman T L , Krulwich T A
Published: January 2020

Isolated membrane vesicles from the obligately acidophilic bacterium Bacillus acidocaldarius generated an electrochemical gradient of protons (delta mu- H+) upon energization with ascorbate-phenazine methosulfate at pH 6.0 or 3.0. At pH 6.0, there was little or no transmembrane pH gradient (delta pH), but a transmembrane electrical potential (delta psi) of ca. -77 mV, positive out, was observed. At pH 3.0, a delta pH equivalent to - 100 mV, acid out, and a delta psi of -73 mV, positive out, were observed upon energization. The total magnitude of the delta mu- H+ was higher than that of whole cells at acid pH, but the very large delta pHs and the reversed delta psi s, i.e., inside positive, that are typical of acidophile cells were not observed in the vesicles. The vesicles exhibited energy-dependent accumulation of alpha-aminoisobutyric acid that was inhibited by both nigericin and valinomycin (plus K+) at pH 3.0 but was inhibited little by nigericin at pH 6.0.
Spontaneous Nif- mutants of Rhodopseudomonas capsulata
Authors: Wall J D , Love J , Quinn S P
Published: January 2020

Revertible, spontaneous Nif- mutants of Rhodopseudomonas capsulata have been shown to accumulate in cultures growing photosynthetically with an amino acid as the nitrogen source such that H2 is maximally produced. The majority of such strains carry mutations which are clustered in a short region of the chromosome, probably representing one or two genes. Because this cluster includes temperature-sensitive mutations, it is also likely that it identifies the structural gene of a polypeptide. The phenotypic characterization of these spontaneous mutants showed (i) an inability to grow with N2 as the nitrogen source, no measurable nitrogenase activity, a reduction or absence of the three polypeptides of the MoFe and Fe proteins of the nitrogenase complex, a faster growth rate on glutamate as the nitrogen source under saturating light, and frequently a small increase in glutamine synthetase activity relative to that of the wild type when grown with glutamate as the nitrogen source. Alterations in other ammonium-assimilatory enzyme activities were not observed. Taken together, these properties suggest that the mutations have affected a regulatory protein necessary for nitrogen fixation.