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Clinical and Molecular Analysis of Klebsiella pneumoniae Causing Liver Abscess in China
Conclusions: Compared to the string test alone, integrating rmpA and abc detection with the string test is robuster and more extensive in the identification of liver abscess-causing hvKP strains. Multiplex PCR assays may therefore accelerate the early laboratory detection of hvKP.J Mol Microbiol Biotechnol 2016;26:245-251 (Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology)
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - April 13, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Fermentative Cyclohexane Carboxylate Formation in Syntrophus aciditrophicus
Short-chain fatty acids such as acetic, propionic, butyric or lactic acids are typical primary fermentation products in the anaerobic feeding chain. Fifteen years ago, a novel fermentation type was discovered in the obligately anaerobic Deltaproteobacterium Syntrophus aciditrophicus. During fermentative growth with crotonate and/or benzoate, acetate is formed in the oxidative branch and cyclohexane carboxylate in the reductive branch. In both cases cyclohexa-1,5-diene-1-carboxyl-CoA (Ch1,5CoA) is a central intermediate that is either formed by a class II benzoyl-CoA reductase (fermentation of benzoate) or by reverse reacti...
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - March 10, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Activation of Acetone and Other Simple Ketones in Anaerobic Bacteria
Acetone and other ketones are activated for subsequent degradation through carboxylation by many nitrate-reducing, phototrophic, and obligately aerobic bacteria. Acetone carboxylation leads to acetoacetate, which is subsequently activated to a thioester and degraded via thiolysis. Two different types of acetone carboxylases have been described, which require either 2 or 4 ATP equivalents as an energy supply for the carboxylation reaction. Both enzymes appear to combine acetone enolphosphate with carbonic phosphate to form acetoacetate. A similar but more complex enzyme is known to carboxylate the aromatic ketone acetopheno...
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - March 10, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Metabolism of Hydrocarbons in n-Alkane-Utilizing Anaerobic Bacteria
The glycyl radical enzyme-catalyzed addition of n-alkanes to fumarate creates a C-C-bond between two concomitantly formed stereogenic carbon centers. The configurations of the two diastereoisomers of the product resulting from n-hexane activation by the n-alkane-utilizing denitrifying bacterium strain HxN1, i.e. (1-methylpentyl)succinate, were assigned as (2S,1′R) and (2R,1′R). Experiments with stereospecifically deuterated n-(2,5-2H2)hexanes revealed that exclusively the pro-S hydrogen atom is abstracted from C2 of the n-alkane by the enzyme and later transferred back to C3 of the alkylsuccinate formed. These results ...
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - March 10, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Structure and Function of the Unusual Tungsten Enzymes Acetylene Hydratase and Class II Benzoyl-Coenzyme A Reductase
In biology, tungsten (W) is exclusively found in microbial enzymes bound to a bis-pyranopterin cofactor (bis-WPT). Previously known W enzymes catalyze redox oxo/hydroxyl transfer reactions by directly coordinating their substrates or products to the metal. They comprise the W-containing formate/formylmethanofuran dehydrogenases belonging to the dimethyl sulfoxide reductase (DMSOR) family and the aldehyde:ferredoxin oxidoreductase (AOR) families, which form a separate enzyme family within the Mo/W enzymes. In the last decade, initial insights into the structure and function of two unprecedented W enzymes were obtained: the ...
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - March 10, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Anaerobic Degradation of Benzene and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
Aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are very slowly degraded without molecular oxygen. Here, we review the recent advances in the elucidation of the first known degradation pathways of these environmental hazards. Anaerobic degradation of benzene and PAHs has been successfully documented in the environment by metabolite analysis, compound-specific isotope analysis and microcosm studies. Subsequently, also enrichments and pure cultures were obtained that anaerobically degrade benzene, naphthalene or methylnaphthalene, and even phenanthrene, the largest PAH currently known to be ...
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - March 10, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Structure and Function of 4-Hydroxyphenylacetate Decarboxylase and Its Cognate Activating Enzyme
4-Hydroxyphenylacetate decarboxylase (4Hpad) is the prototype of a new class of Fe-S cluster-dependent glycyl radical enzymes (Fe-S GREs) acting on aromatic compounds. The two-enzyme component system comprises a decarboxylase responsible for substrate conversion and a dedicated activating enzyme (4Hpad-AE). The decarboxylase uses a glycyl/thiyl radical dyad to convert 4-hydroxyphenylacetate into p-cresol (4-methylphenol) by a biologically unprecedented Kolbe-type decarboxylation. In addition to the radical dyad prosthetic group, the decarboxylase unit contains two [4Fe-4S] clusters coordinated by an extra small subunit of ...
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - March 10, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Anaerobic Degradation of p-Alkylated Benzoates and Toluenes
The anaerobic degradation of 4-alkylbenzoates and 4-alkyltoluenes is to date a rarely reported microbial capacity. The newly isolated Alphaproteobacterium Magnetospirillum sp. strain pMbN1 represents the first pure culture demonstrated to degrade 4-methylbenzoate completely to CO2 in a process coupled to denitrification. Differential proteogenomic studies in conjunction with targeted metabolite analyses and enzyme activity measurements elucidated a specific 4-methylbenzoyl-coenzyme A (CoA) pathway in this bacterium alongside the classical central benzoyl-CoA pathway. Whilst these two pathways are analogous, in the former t...
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - March 10, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Ethylbenzene Dehydrogenase and Related Molybdenum Enzymes Involved in Oxygen-Independent Alkyl Chain Hydroxylation
Ethylbenzene dehydrogenase initiates the anaerobic bacterial degradation of ethylbenzene and propylbenzene. Although the enzyme is currently only known from a few closely related denitrifying bacterial strains affiliated to the Rhodocyclaceae, it clearly marks a universally occurring mechanism used for attacking recalcitrant substrates in the absence of oxygen. Ethylbenzene dehydrogenase belongs to subfamily 2 of the DMSO reductase-type molybdenum enzymes together with paralogous enzymes involved in the oxygen-independent hydroxylation of p-cymene, the isoprenoid side chains of sterols and even possibly n-alkanes; the subf...
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - March 10, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Structure and Function of Benzylsuccinate Synthase and Related Fumarate-Adding Glycyl Radical Enzymes
We present an overview on the biochemical properties of benzylsuccinate synthase, as well as its recently solved structure, and present the results of an initial structure-based modeling study on the reaction mechanism. Moreover, we compare the structure of benzylsuccinate synthase with those predicted for different clades of fumarate-adding enzymes, in particular the paralogous enzymes converting p-cresol, 2-methylnaphthalene or n-alkanes.J Mol Microbiol Biotechnol 2016;26:29-44 (Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology)
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - March 10, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Anaerobic Microbial Degradation of Hydrocarbons: From Enzymatic Reactions to the Environment
Hydrocarbons are abundant in anoxic environments and pose biochemical challenges to their anaerobic degradation by microorganisms. Within the framework of the Priority Program 1319, investigations funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft on the anaerobic microbial degradation of hydrocarbons ranged from isolation and enrichment of hitherto unknown hydrocarbon-degrading anaerobic microorganisms, discovery of novel reactions, detailed studies of enzyme mechanisms and structures to process-oriented in situ studies. Selected highlights from this program are collected in this synopsis, with more detailed information provid...
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - March 10, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Contents Vol. 25, 2015
J Mol Microbiol Biotechnol 2015;25:I-IV (Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology)
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - February 18, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Genetic Interaction between HOG1 and SLT2 Genes in Signalling the Cellular Stress Caused by Sulphuric Acid in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
In fuel ethanol production, recycling of yeast biomass includes treatment of cells with diluted sulphuric acid in order to control bacterial population. However, this strategy might lead to a loss of cell viability, with potential negative consequences to the fermentation yield. In a recent paper we showed that the proteins Slt2 and Hog1 are essential for yeast tolerance to sulphuric acid. As a complement of the aforementioned work, we used DNA microarray technology to search for differentially expressed genes in hog1#x0394; and slt2#x0394; deletion mutants after treatment with sulphuric acid. Our results show how Slt2p an...
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - February 4, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

The Escherichia coli yjfP Gene Encodes a Carboxylesterase Involved in Sugar Utilization during Diauxie
Conclusion: Our results suggest that YjfP controls the intracellular concentration of acetyl sugars by redirecting them to the main metabolic circuits. Instead of detoxification, we propose that sugar acetylation is utilized by the cell for protection and to prevent the metabolism of a necessary minimal intracellular sugar pool. Those sugars can eventually be exported as a side effect of these mechanisms.J Mol Microbiol Biotechnol 2015;25:412-422 (Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology)
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - January 29, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Purification and Characterization of a Novel Cold-Active Lipase from the Yeast Candida zeylanoides
Cold-active lipases have attracted attention in recent years due to their potential applications in reactions requiring lower temperatures. Both bacterial and fungal lipases have been investigated, each having distinct advantages for particular applications. Among yeasts, cold-active lipases from the genera Candida, Yarrowia, Rhodotorula, and Pichia have been reported. In this paper, biosynthesis and properties of a novel cold-active lipase from Candida zeylanoides isolated from refrigerated poultry meat are described. Heat-sterilized olive oil was found to be the best lipase biosynthesis inducer, while nonionic detergents...
Source: Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology - January 28, 2016 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research