Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

Consistent Occurrence of Hydrocarbonoclastic Marinobacter Strains in Various Cultures of Picocyanobacteria from the Arabian Gulf: Promising Associations for Biodegradation of Marine Oil Pollution
Fifteen nonaxenic cultures of picocyanobacteria were isolated from the Arabian Gulf, from which 122 heterotrophic bacterial strains were obtained. Based on their 16S rRNA gene sequences, those strains were affiliated with 22 different species, 82.8% of which belonged to the genus Marinobacter , known to comprise hydrocarbonoclastic strains. The remaining species belonged to the genera Alcanivorax, Bacillus, Halomonas, Mesorhizobium, and Paenibacillus, and a Bacteriodetes bacterium also known to comprise hydrocarbonoclastic strains. All the picocyanobacterial cultures harbored one or more strains o...
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - July 21, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Development of Chemically Defined Media to Express Trp-Analog-Labeled Proteins in a Lactococcus lactis Trp Auxotroph
Chemically defined media for growth of Lactococcus lactis strains contain about 50 components, making them laborious and expensive growth media. However, they are crucial for metabolism studies as well as for expression of heterologous proteins labeled with unnatural amino acids. In particular, the L. lactis Trp auxotroph PA1002, overexpressing the tryptophanyl tRNA synthetase enzyme of L. lactis , is very suitable for the biosynthetic incorporation of Trp analogs in proteins because of its most relaxed substrate specificity reported towards Trp analogs. Here we present two much sim...
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - July 21, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

 Escherichia coli mazEF Toxin-Antitoxin System as a Tool to Target Cell Ablation in Plants
Conclusion: These results show that the E. coli mazEF system can be used to induce death of specific plant cell types and can provide a new tool to plant cell ablation. J Mol Microbiol Biotechnol 2016;26:277-283 (Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology)
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - July 21, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Peptide Selectivity of the Proton-Coupled Oligopeptide Transporter from Neisseria meningitidis
This study provides important novel information towards understanding how these transporters recognize their substrates.J Mol Microbiol Biotechnol 2016;26:312-319 (Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology)
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - July 20, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Expression and Biochemical Characterization of a Thermostable Branching Enzyme from Geobacillus thermoglucosidans
In this study, the Geobacillus thermoglucosidans gene-encoding branching enzyme was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) and the protein was isolated and characterized. G. thermoglucosidans branching enzyme is a thermostable enzyme with an optimal reaction temperature of nearly 60°C and a half-life at 65°C of approximately 1.1 h. The activity of the recombinant enzyme is optimal at pH 7.5, with broad stability between pH 5.5 and 9.0. Its thermostability, relatively broad pH stability and optimal temperature near the temperature at which starch begins to gelatinize may make it easy to use in industrial production. Fur...
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - July 14, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

A Novel Phytase Derived from an Acidic Peat-Soil Microbiome Showing High Stability under Acidic Plus Pepsin Conditions
Four novel phytases of the histidine acid phosphatase family were identified in two publicly available metagenomic datasets of an acidic peat-soil microbiome in northeastern Bavaria, Germany. These enzymes have low similarity to all the reported phytases. They were overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified. Catalytic efficacy in simulated gastric fluid was measured and compared among the four candidates. The phytase named rPhyPt4 was selected for its high activity. It is the first phytase identified from unculturable Acidobacteria. The phytase showed a longer half-life than all the gastric-stable phytases that have be...
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - June 23, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Differential CTX-M Expression from a Conserved Promoter: Role of Promoter-Associated Spacer Sequences Downstream of the blaCTX-M Regulon
Conclusion: The different spacer sequences have a significant impact on the activity of the conserved promoter. The shorter spacer sequence between the conserved promoter and the blaCTX-M gene does not specifically enhance the expression of blaCTX-M, contrary to previous reports. The expression of blaCTX-M may be regulated by changes in promoter activity caused by diverse spacer sequences.J Mol Microbiol Biotechnol 2016;26:284-290 (Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology)
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - June 7, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Escherichia colimazEF Toxin-Antitoxin System as a Tool to Target Cell Ablation in Plants
Conclusion: These results show that the E. colimazEF system can be used to induce death of specific plant cell types and can provide a new tool to plant cell ablation.J Mol Microbiol Biotechnol 2016;26:277-283 (Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology)
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - May 31, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Development of Chemically Defined Media to Express Trp-Analog-Labeled Proteins in a Lactococcus lactis Trp Auxotroph
Chemically defined media for growth of Lactococcus lactis strains contain about 50 components, making them laborious and expensive growth media. However, they are crucial for metabolism studies as well as for expression of heterologous proteins labeled with unnatural amino acids. In particular, the L. lactis Trp auxotroph PA1002, overexpressing the tryptophanyl tRNA synthetase enzyme of L. lactis, is very suitable for the biosynthetic incorporation of Trp analogs in proteins because of its most relaxed substrate specificity reported towards Trp analogs. Here we present two much simpler defined media for L. lactis, which co...
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - May 13, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Mining of Ruminant Microbial Phytase (RPHY1) from Metagenomic Data of Mehsani Buffalo Breed: Identification, Gene Cloning, and Characterization
Phytases have been widely used as animal feed supplements to increase the availability of digestible phosphorus, especially in monogastric animals fed cereal grains. The present study describes the identification of a full-length phytase gene of Prevotella species present in Mehsani buffalo rumen. The gene, designated as RPHY1, consists of 1,251 bp and is expressed into protein with 417 amino acids. A homology search of the deduced amino acid sequence of the RPHY1 phytase gene in a nonredundant protein database showed that it shares 92% similarity with the histidine acid phosphatase domain. Subsequently, the RPHY1 gene was...
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - May 12, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Consistent Occurrence of Hydrocarbonoclastic Marinobacter Strains in Various Cultures of Picocyanobacteria from the Arabian Gulf: Promising Associations for Biodegradation of Marine Oil Pollution
Fifteen nonaxenic cultures of picocyanobacteria were isolated from the Arabian Gulf, from which 122 heterotrophic bacterial strains were obtained. Based on their 16S rRNA gene sequences, those strains were affiliated with 22 different species, 82.8% of which belonged to the genus Marinobacter, known to comprise hydrocarbonoclastic strains. The remaining species belonged to the genera Alcanivorax, Bacillus, Halomonas, Mesorhizobium, and Paenibacillus, and a Bacteriodetes bacterium also known to comprise hydrocarbonoclastic strains. All the picocyanobacterial cultures harbored one or more strains of Marinobacter. Marinobacte...
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - May 11, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Methanogenic Hydrocarbon Degradation: Evidence from Field and Laboratory Studies
Microbial transformation of hydrocarbons to methane is an environmentally relevant process taking place in a wide variety of electron acceptor-depleted habitats, from oil reservoirs and coal deposits to contaminated groundwater and deep sediments. Methanogenic hydrocarbon degradation is considered to be a major process in reservoir degradation and one of the main processes responsible for the formation of heavy oil deposits and oil sands. In the absence of external electron acceptors such as oxygen, nitrate, sulfate or Fe(III), fermentation and methanogenesis become the dominant microbial metabolisms. The major end product...
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - April 28, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Carbon and Hydrogen Stable Isotope Fractionation Associated with the Aerobic and Anaerobic Degradation of Saturated and Alkylated Aromatic Hydrocarbons
Saturated hydrocarbons (alkanes) and alkylated aromatic hydrocarbons are abundant environmental compounds. Hydrocarbons are primarily removed from the environment by biodegradation, a process usually associated with moderate carbon and significant hydrogen isotope fractionation allowing monitoring of biodegradation processes in the environment. Here, we review the carbon and hydrogen stable isotope fractionation associated with the cleavage of C-H bonds at alkyl chains of hydrocarbons. Propane, n-butane and ethylbenzene were used as model components for alkyl moieties of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons with emphasis on...
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - April 28, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Stable Isotope Probing Approaches to Study Anaerobic Hydrocarbon Degradation and Degraders
Stable isotope probing (SIP) techniques have become state-of-the-art in microbial ecology over the last 10 years, allowing for the targeted detection and identification of organisms, metabolic pathways and elemental fluxes active in specific processes within complex microbial communities. For studying anaerobic hydrocarbon-degrading microbial communities, four stable isotope techniques have been used so far: DNA/RNA-SIP, PLFA (phospholipid-derived fatty acids)-SIP, protein-SIP, and single-cell-SIP by nanoSIMS (nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry) or confocal Raman microscopy. DNA/RNA-SIP techniques are most frequentl...
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - April 28, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Functional Gene Markers for Fumarate-Adding and Dearomatizing Key Enzymes in Anaerobic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Degradation in Terrestrial Environments
Anaerobic degradation is a key process in many environments either naturally or anthropogenically exposed to petroleum hydrocarbons. Considerable advances into the biochemistry and physiology of selected anaerobic degraders have been achieved over the last decades, especially for the degradation of aromatic hydrocarbons. However, researchers have only recently begun to explore the ecology of complex anaerobic hydrocarbon degrader communities directly in their natural habitats, as well as in complex laboratory systems using tools of molecular biology. These approaches have mainly been facilitated by the establishment of a s...
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - April 28, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research