| 1. |
- Coutinho, P. M., et al.
(författare)
-
Post-genomic insights into the plant polysaccharide degradation potential of Aspergillus nidulans and comparison to Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus oryzae
- 2009
-
Ingår i: Fungal Genetics and Biology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1096-0937 .- 1087-1845. ; 46:Suppl 1, s. S161-S169
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The plant polysaccharide degradative potential of Aspergillus nidulans was analysed in detail and compared to that of Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus oryzae using a combination of bioinformatics, physiology and transcriptomics. Manual verification indicated that 28.4% of the A. nidulans ORFs analysed in this study do not contain a secretion signal, of which 40% may be secreted through a non-classical method. While significant differences were found between the species in the numbers of ORFs assigned to the relevant CAZy families, no significant difference was observed in growth on polysaccharides. Growth differences were observed between the Aspergilli and Podospora anserina, which has a more different genomic potential for polysaccharide degradation, suggesting that large genomic differences are required to cause growth differences oil polysaccharides, Differences were also detected between the Aspergilli in the presence Of putative regulatory sequences in the promoters of the ORFs Of this Study and correlation of the presence Of putative XlnR binding sites to induction by xylose was detected for A. niger. These data demonstrate differences at genome content, Substrate specificity of the enzymes and gene regulation in these three Aspergilli, which likely reflect their individual adaptation to their natural biotope. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
|
|
| 2. |
|
|
| 3. |
- Göransson, Olga, et al.
(författare)
-
Mechanism of action of A-769662, a valuable tool for activation of AMP-activated protein kinase
- 2007
-
Ingår i: Journal of Biological Chemistry. - 1083-351X. ; 282:45, s. 32549-32560
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We have studied the mechanism of A- 769662, a new activator of AMP- activated protein kinase ( AMPK). Unlike other pharmacological activators, it directly activates native rat AMPK by mimicking both effects of AMP, i. e. allosteric activation and inhibition of dephosphorylation. We found that it has no effect on the isolated alpha subunit kinase domain, with or without the associated autoinhibitory domain, or on interaction of glycogen with the beta subunit glycogen- binding domain. Although it mimics actions of AMP, it has no effect on binding of AMP to the isolated Bateman domains of the gamma subunit. The addition of A- 769662 to mouse embryonic fibroblasts or primary mouse hepatocytes stimulates phosphorylation of acetyl- CoA carboxylase ( ACC), effects that are completely abolished in AMPK- alpha 1(-/-) alpha 2(-/-) cells but not in TAK1(-/-) mouse embryonic fibroblasts. Phosphorylation of AMPK and ACC in response to A- 769662 is also abolished in isolated mouse skeletal muscle lacking LKB1, a major upstream kinase for AMPK in this tissue. However, in HeLa cells, which lack LKB1 but express the alternate upstream kinase calmodulin- dependent protein kinase kinase-beta, phosphorylation of AMPK and ACC in response to A- 769662 still occurs. These results show that in intact cells, the effects of A- 769662 are independent of the upstream kinase utilized. We propose that this direct and specific AMPK activator will be a valuable experimental tool to understand the physiological roles of AMPK.
|
|
| 4. |
|
|
| 5. |
|
|
| 6. |
- Essam, Tamer, et al.
(författare)
-
Biological treatment of industrial wastes in a photobioreactor
- 2006
-
Ingår i: Water Science and Technology. - : IWA Publishing. - 0273-1223 .- 1996-9732. ; 53:11, s. 117-125
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- An algal-bacterial consortium was tested for the treatment from a coke factory. A Chlorella vulgaris strain and a phenol-degrading Alcaligenes sp. were first isolated from the wastewater treatment plant to serve as inocula in the subsequent biodegradation tests. Batch tests were then conducted with samples from the real wastewater or using a synthetic wastewater containing 325 mg phenol/l and 500 mg NH4+/l as target pollutants. Direct biological treatment of-the real wastewater was not possible due to the toxicity of organic compounds. Activated carbon adsorption and UV(A-B)-irradiation were efficient in detoxifying the effluent for subsequent biological treatment as inoculation of pretreated samples with the algal-bacterial consortium was followed by complete phenol removal and NH4+ removal of 45%. Complete phenol removal and 33% NH4+ removal were achieved during the fed-batch treatment of artificial wastewater. at 6 d hydraulic retention time (HRT). Under continuous feeding at 3.6 d HRT, phenol and NH4+ removal dropped to 58 and 18%, respectively. However, complete phenol removal and 29% NH4+ removal were achieved when 8 g NaHCO3/1 was added to the artificial wastewater to enhance algal growth. This study confirms the potential of solar-based industrial wastewater treatment based on solar-based UV pretreatment followed by algal-bacterial biodegradation.
|
|
| 7. |
- Essam, Tamer, et al.
(författare)
-
Sequential UV–biological degradation of chlorophenols
- 2006
-
Ingår i: Chemosphere. - : Elsevier BV. - 1879-1298 .- 0045-6535. ; 63:2, s. 277-284
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The sequential UV–biological degradation of a mixture of 4-chlorophenol (CP), 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP), 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP), and pentachlorophenol (PCP) was first tested with each pollutant supplied at an initial concentration of 50 mg l−1. Under these conditions, the chlorophenols were photodegraded in the following order of removal rate: PCP > TCP > DCP > CP with only CP and DCP remaining after 40 h of irradiation. The remaining CP (41 mg l−1) and DCP (13 mg l−1) were then completely removed by biological treatment with an activated sludge mixed culture. Biodegradation did not occur in similar tests conducted with a non-irradiated mixture due to the high microbial toxicity of the solution. UV treatment lead to a significant reduction of the phytotoxicity to Lipedium sativum but no further reduction of phytotoxicity was observed after biological treatment. Evidence was found that the pollutants were partially photodegraded into toxic and non-biodegradable products. When the pollutants were tested individually (initial concentration of 50 mg l−1), PCP, TCP, DCP, 4-CP were photodegraded according to first order kinetic model (r2 > 99) with half-lives of 2.2, 3.3, 5.7, and 54 h, respectively. The photoproducts were subsequently biodegraded. This study illustrates the potential of UV as pre-treatment for biological treatment in order to remove toxicity and enhance the biodegradability of organic contaminants. However, it also shows that UV treatment must be carefully optimized to avoid the formation of toxic and/or recalcitrant photoproducts and results from studies conducted on single contaminants cannot be extrapolated to mixtures.
|
|
| 8. |
- Lugmaier, Robert A, et al.
(författare)
-
Dynamic restacking of Escherichia coli P-pili
- 2008
-
Ingår i: European Biophysics Journal. - New York : Springer-Verlag New York. - 0175-7571 .- 1432-1017. ; 37:2, s. 111-120
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- P-pili of uropathogenic Escherichia coli mediate the attachment to epithelial cells in the human urinary tract and kidney and therefore play an important role in infection. A better understanding of this mechanism could help to prevent bacteria from spreading but also provides interesting insights into molecular mechanics for future nanotech applications. The helical rod design of P-pili provides an efficient design to withstand hydrodynamic shear forces. The adhesive PapG unit at the distal end of the P-pilus forms a specific bond with the glycolipid Galabiose. This bond has a potential width Delta x = 0.7 (+/-) 0.15 nm and a dissociation rate K-Off = 8.0 center dot 10(-4) +/- 5.0 center dot 10(-4) s(-1). It with-stands a force of similar to 49 pN under physiological conditions. Additionally, we analyzed the behavior of unstacking and restacking of the P-pilus with dynamic force spectroscopy at velocities between 200 and 7,000 nm/s. Up to a critical extension of 66% of the totally stretched P-pilus, un/restacking was found to be fully reversible at velocities up to 200 nm/s. If the P-pilus is stretched beyond this critical extension a characteristic hysteresis appears upon restacking. This hysteresis originates from a nucleation process comparable to a first-order phase transition in an under-cooled liquid. Analysis of the measurement data suggests that 20 PapA monomers are involved in the formation of a nucleation kernel.
|
|
| 9. |
- Munoz, Raul, et al.
(författare)
-
Sequential removal of heavy metals ions and organic pollutants using an algal-bacterial consortium
- 2006
-
Ingår i: Chemosphere. - : Elsevier BV. - 1879-1298 .- 0045-6535. ; 63:6, s. 903-911
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The residual algal-bacterial biomass from photosynthetically supported, organic pollutant biodegradation processes, in enclosed photobioreactors, was tested for its ability to accumulate Cu(II), Ni(II), Cd(II), and Zn(II). Salicylate was chosen as a model contaminant. The algal-bacterial biomass combined the high adsorption capacity of microalgae with the low cost of the residual biomass, which makes it an attractive biosorbent for environmental applications. Cu(II) was preferentially taken-up from the medium when the metals were present both separately and in combination. There was no observed competition for adsorption sites, which suggested that Cu(II), Ni(II), Cd(II), and Zn(II) bind to different sites and that active Ni(II), Cd(II) and Zn(II) binding groups were present at very low concentrations. Therefore, special focus was given to Cu(II) biosorption. Cu(II) biosorption by the algal-bacterial biomass was characterized by an initial fast cell surface adsorption followed by a slower metabolically driven uptake. pH, Cu(II), and algal-bacterial concentration significantly affected the biosorption capacity for Cu(II). Maximum Cu(II) adsorption capacities of 8.5 +/- 0.4 mg g(-1) were achieved at an initial Cu(II) concentration of 20 mg l(-1) and at pH 5 for the tested algal-bacterial biomass. These are consistent with values reported for other microbial sorbents under similar conditions. The desorption of Cu(II) from saturated biomass was feasible by elution with a 0.0125 M HCl solution. Simultaneous Cu(II) and salicylate removal in a continuous stirred tank photobioreactor was not feasible due to the high toxicity of Cu(H) towards the microbial culture. The introduction of an adsorption column, packed with the algal-bacterial biomass, prior to the photobioreactor reduced Cu(II) concentration, thereby allowing the subsequent salicylate biodegradation in the photobioreactor.
|
|
| 10. |
- Normand, Philippe, et al.
(författare)
-
Genome characteristics of facultatively symbiotic Frankia sp. strains reflect host range and host plant biogeography.
- 2007
-
Ingår i: Genome Research. - : Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. - 1088-9051. ; 17:1, s. 7-15
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Soil bacteria that also form mutualistic symbioses in plants encounter two major levels of selection. One occurs during adaptation to and survival in soil, and the other occurs in concert with host plant speciation and adaptation. Actinobacteria from the genus Frankia are facultative symbionts that form N2-fixing root nodules on diverse and globally distributed angiosperms in the "actinorhizal" symbioses. Three closely related clades of Frankia sp. strains are recognized; members of each clade infect a subset of plants from among eight angiosperm families. We sequenced the genomes from three strains; their sizes varied from 5.43 Mbp for a narrow host range strain (Frankia sp. strain HFPCcI3) to 7.50 Mbp for a medium host range strain (Frankia alni strain ACN14a) to 9.04 Mbp for a broad host range strain (Frankia sp. strain EAN1pec.) This size divergence is the largest yet reported for such closely related soil bacteria (97.8%–98.9% identity of 16S rRNA genes). The extent of gene deletion, duplication, and acquisition is in concert with the biogeographic history of the symbioses and host plant speciation. Host plant isolation favored genome contraction, whereas host plant diversification favored genome expansion. The results support the idea that major genome expansions as well as reductions can occur in facultative symbiotic soil bacteria as they respond to new environments in the context of their symbioses.
|
|
