Isolation and characterization of Alicycliphilus denitrificans strain BC, which grows on benzene with chlorate as the electron acceptor

A bacterium, strain BC, was isolated from a benzene-degrading chlorate-reducing enrichment culture. Strain BC degrades benzene in conjunction with chlorate reduction. Cells of strain BC are short rods that are 0.6 μm wide and 1 to 2 μm long, are motile, and stain gram negative. Strain BC grows on benzene and some other aromatic compounds with...

Bromobenzene-induced hepatotoxicity at the transcriptome level

Rats were exposed to three levels of bromobenzene, sampled at 6, 24, and 48 h, and liver gene expression profiles were determined to identify dose and time-related changes. Expression of many genes changed transiently, and dependent on the dose. Few changes were identified after 6 h, but many genes were differentially expressed after 24 h, while...

Complement-resistant Moraxella catarrhalis forms a genetically distinct lineage within the species

Moraxella catarrhalis is a bacterial species that has been implicated in 15^20% of all cases of otitis media in the USA and the complementresistantvariant of M. catarrhalis has been considered particularly pathogenic. A collection of geographically diverse, complement-sensitive (n = 28) and -resistant strains (n = 47) of M. catarrhalis was...

Identification and genetic analysis of a common molecular variant of histidine-rich glycoprotein with a difference of 2KD in apparent molecular weight

Two forms of histidine-rich glycoprotein (HRG) were detected on SDS-PAGE by silver staining and immunoblotting after isolation of the protein from pooled plasma using immune-affinity chromatography followed by chromatography with heparin-Sepharose. Both forms were single-chain molecules and the apparent molecular weights of form 1 and form 2...

Molecular basis for fibrinogen Dusart (Aα 554 Arg → Cys) and its association with abnormal fibrin polymerization and thrombophilia

The molecular defect in the abnormal fibrinogen Dusart (Paris V) that is associated with thrombophilia was determined by sequence analysis of genomic DNA that had been amplified using the polymerase chain reaction. The propositus was heterozygous for a single base change (C → T) in the Aα- chain gene, resulting in the amino acid substitution Aα...

Glucoamylase overexpression in Aspergillus niger: Molecular genetic analysis of strains containing multiple copies of the glaA gene

A strategy, based on the usage of the amdS selection marker and a cosmid vector containing four copies of the glucoamylase gene (glaA), was developed to obtain glucoamylase (GLA)-overproducing A. niger strains. With this strategy, fungal strains carrying up to 200 copies of the glaA gene could be isolated at a relatively high frequency. In each...

A congenitally abnormal fibrinogen (Vlissingen) with a 6-base deletion in the gamma-chain gene, causing defective calcium binding and impaired fibrin polymerization

A congenitally abnormal fibrinogen (Vlissingen) was isolated from the blood of a young woman suffering from massive pulmonary embolism. Fibrinogen Vlissingen showed an abnormal clotting time with both thrombin and Reptilase(TM). The release of the fibrino-peptides A and B by thrombin was normal, but fibrin polymerization was impaired both in the...