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Apidaecins are heat-stable, nonhelical antibacterial peptides isolated from lymph fluid of the honeybee (Apis mellifera). These peptides are active against a wide range of gram-negative bacteria and they are the most prominent components of the honeybee humoral defense against microbial invasion. In the present study, one isoform of apidaecin, apidaecin Ho, was expressed extracellularly in the food-grade bacterium Lactococcus lactis. Results showed that expression driven by the lactococcal nisA promoter and Usp45 signal peptide resulted in efficient secretion of apidaecin in L. lactis subsp. cremoris NZ9000. Recombinant apidaecin was purified by gel filtration and semipreparative RP-HPLC, and about 10 mg active recombinant apidaecin was obtained from 1,000 ml culture. This is the first report on the nisin-controlled extracellular production of active apidaecin in L. lacits. The expression and delivery of apidaecin in the food-grade L. lactis may provide a clue to facilitate the widespread application of apidaecin in the control and prevention of gram-negative bacteria infections of human and animals.

A pentachlorophenol(PCP)-degrading Pseudomonas sp. strain UG30 was encapsulated in κ-carrageenan for use in PCP degradation. Free and encapsulated cells were compared for their ability to dechlorinate and mineralize 100–800 μg/ml sodium pentachlorophenate in broth. Dechlorination was measured with a chloride ion electrode, and mineralization was measured by 14CO2 evolution from radiolabelled [U-14C]PCP. Free and encapsulated Pseudomonas sp. UG30 cells mineralized up to 200 μg/ml and 600 μg/ml PCP, respectively, after 21 days. Encapsulation of UG30 cells provided a protective effect, allowing dechlorination and mineralization of high levels of PCP to occur.

In order to obtain high-level expression of recombinant human neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), we constructed several types of expression plasmids and examined several cell lines for expression of the human NT-3 gene. The highest level production of the recombinant protein was attained in Chinese hamster ovary cells transfected with an expression plasmid that contains a chimera gene encoding the human nerve growth factor (NGF) prepro-region and human NT-3 mature-region under control of a murine leukemia virus-derived long terminal repeat (MuLV-LTR). This cell line can produce more than 1 mg recombinant human NT-3/1 conditioned medium. The recombinant protein was purified to apparent homogeneity with a cation exchange column, a gel filtration column and a reversed-phase HPLC column with a recovery of about 30%. The purified NT-3, at a concentration as low as 0.2 ng/ml, induced neurite out-growth in neurons prepared from 8-day-old chick embryonic dorsal root ganglia; however, it showed little neurotrophic effect on rat PC12 pheochromocytoma cells, which are known to be NGF-responding cells. In addition, this protein promoted colony formation by human peripheral blood lymphocytes in soft agar culture.

On p. 629 the time axis in Fig. 2 should read time (h) [not: (min)]. See corrected Fig. 2

Enterobacteria, especially Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium and Proteus vulgaris, are capable of forming l(-)-carnitine by hydration of the double bond of crotonobetaine under anaerobic conditions. The carnitine hydrolyase is an inducible cytosolic enzyme which catalyses either the dehydration of l-carnitine or the hydration of crotonobetaine. In growing cultures, the addition of fumarate to a complex or minimal medium stimulated l-carnitine synthesis by diminishing the reduction of crotonobetaine to γ-butyrobetaine. However, l-carnitine synthesis was repressed after addition of nitrate or under aerobic conditions. If the carnitine hydrolyase was induced by l-carnitine or crotonobetaine, these respiratory chain electron acceptors did not impair carnitine formation by resting cells, indicating an epigenetical regulation of carnitine synthesis. Using this bacterial pathway for the biosynthesis of l-carnitine, conditions for producing a high yield are described. The method has some advantages in comparison with other biochemical or microbiological procedures for the production of l-carnitine.

Control of oxygen concentration in the culture medium during growth of the yeast Hansenula anomala on l-lactate as sole carbon source allows induction of the synthesis of flavocytochrome b2 or l-lactate cytochrome-c oxydoreductase (E.C. 1.1.2.3.). This phenomenon is accompanied by an important change in the yeast doubling time.

Ethidium monoazide (EMA) quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), propidium monoazide (PMA)-qPCR and DNase treatment in combination with qPCR were compared for the determination of microbial cell viability. Additionally, varying EMA and PMA concentrations were analysed to determine which dye and concentration allowed for the optimal identification of viable cells. Viable, heat treated (70 °C for 15 min) and autoclaved cultures of Legionella pneumophila, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis were utilised in the respective viability assays. Analysis of the viable and heat-treated samples indicated that variable log reductions were recorded for both EMA [log reductions ranging from 0.01 to 2.71 (viable) and 0.27 to 2.85 (heat treated)], PMA [log reductions ranging from 0.06 to 1.02 (viable) and 0.62 to 2.46 (heat treated)] and DNase treatment [log reductions ranging from 0.06 to 0.82 (viable) and 0.70 to 2.91 (heat treated)], in comparison to the no viability treatment controls. Based on the results obtained, 6 μM EMA and 50 μM PMA were identified as the optimal dye concentrations as low log reductions were recorded (viable and heat-treated samples) in comparison to the no viability treatment control. In addition, the results recorded for the 6 μM EMA concentration were comparable to the results obtained for both the 50 μM PMA and the DNase treatment. The use of EMA-qPCR (6 μM) may therefore allow for the rapid identification and quantification of multiple intact opportunistic pathogens in water sources, which would benefit routine water quality monitoring following disinfection treatment.

This study focuses on sirtuins, which catalyze the reaction of NAD+-dependent protein deacetylase, for riboflavin production in A. gossypii. Nicotinamide, a known inhibitor of sirtuin, made the color of A. gossypii colonies appear a deeper yellow at 5 mM. A. gossypii has 4 sirtuin genes (AgHST1, AgHST2, AgHST3, AgHST4) and these were disrupted to investigate the role of sirtuins in riboflavin production in A. gossypii. AgHST1∆, AgHST3∆, and AgHST4∆ strains were obtained, but AgHST2∆ was not. The AgHST1∆ and AgHST3∆ strains produced approximately 4.3- and 2.9-fold higher amounts of riboflavin than the WT strain. The AgHST3∆ strain showed a lower human sirtuin 6 (SIRT6)-like activity than the WT strain and only in the AgHST3∆ strain was a higher amount of acetylation of histone H3 K9 and K56 (H3K9ac and H3K56ac) observed compared to the WT strain. These results indicate that AgHst3 is SIRT6-like sirtuin in A. gossypii and the activity has an influence on the riboflavin production in A. gossypii. In the presence of 5 mM hydroxyurea and 50 µM camptothecin, which causes DNA damage, especially double-strand DNA breaks, the color of the WT strain colonies turned a deeper yellow. Additionally, hydroxyurea significantly led to the production of approximately 1.5 higher amounts of riboflavin and camptothecin also enhanced the riboflavin production even through the significant difference was not detected. Camptothecin tended to increase the amount of H3K56ac, but the amount of H3K56ac was not increased by hydroxyurea treatment. This study revealed that AgHst1 and AgHst3 are involved in the riboflavin production in A. gossypii through NAD metabolism and the acetylation of H3, respectively. This new finding is a step toward clarifying the role of sirtuins in riboflavin over-production by A. gossypii. Key points • Nicotinamide enhanced the riboflavin production in Ashbya gossypii. • Disruption of AgHST1 or AgHST3 gene also enhanced the riboflavin production in Ashbya gossypii. • Acetylation of H3K56 led to the enhancement of the riboflavin production in Ashbya gossypii.

Pre-harvest and post-harvest contamination of maize, peanuts, cotton, and tree nuts by members of the genus Aspergillus and subsequent contamination with the mycotoxin aflatoxin pose a widespread food safety problem for which effective and inexpensive control strategies are lacking. Since the discovery of aflatoxin as a potently carcinogenic food contaminant, extensive research has been focused on identifying compounds that inhibit its biosynthesis. Numerous diverse compounds and extracts containing activity inhibitory to aflatoxin biosynthesis have been reported. Only recently, however, have tools been available to investigate the molecular mechanisms by which these inhibitors affect aflatoxin biosynthesis. Many inhibitors are plant-derived and a few may be amenable to pathway engineering for tissue-specific expression in susceptible host plants as a defense against aflatoxin contamination. Other compounds show promise as protectants during crop storage. Finally, inhibitors with different modes of action could be used in comparative transcriptional and metabolomic profiling experiments to identify regulatory networks controlling aflatoxin biosynthesis.