Different resource allocation in a bacillus subtilis population displaying bimodal motility

To cope with sudden changes in their environment, bacteria can use a bet-hedging strategy by dividing the population into cells with different properties. This so-called bimodal or bistable cellular differentiation is generally controlled by positive feedback regulation of transcriptional activators. Due to the continuous increase in cell volume...

A fungal biofilm reactor based on metal structured packing improves the quality of a Gla::GFP fusion protein produced by Aspergillus oryzae

Fungal biofilm is known to promote the excretion of secondary metabolites in accordance with solid-staterelated physiological mechanisms. This work is based on the comparative analysis of classical submerged fermentation with a fungal biofilmreactor for the production of a Gla::green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion protein by Aspergillus oryzae...

Fiber-chimeric adenoviruses expressing fibers from serotype 16 and 50 improve gene transfer to human pancreatic adenocarcinoma

Survival of patients with pancreatic cancer is poor. Adenoviral (Ad) gene therapy employing the commonly used serotype 5 reveals limited transduction efficiency due to the low amount of coxsackie-adenovirus receptor on pancreatic cancer cells. To identify fiber-chimeric adenoviruses with improved gene transfer, a library of Ad vectors based on...

A novel screening method for cell wall mutants in Aspergillus niger identifies UDP-galactopyranose mutase as an important protein in fungal cell wall biosynthesis

To identify cell wall biosynthetic genes in filamentous fungi and thus potential targets for the discovery of new antifungals, we developed a novel screening method for cell wall mutants. It is based on our earlier observation that the Aspergillus niger agsA gene, which encodes a putative a-glucan synthase, is strongly induced in response to...

Efficient targeting of adenoviral vectors to integrin positive vascular cells utilizing a CAR-cyclic RGD linker protein

Vascular smooth muscle (VSMC) and endothelial cells (EC) are particularly resistant to infection by type 5 adenovirus (Ad) vectors. To overcome this limitation and target Ad vectors to ubiquitously expressed α Vβ3/5 integrins, we have generated a linker protein consisting of the extracellular domain of the coxsackie adenovirus receptor (CAR)...

Synthesis, processing and export of cytoplasmic endo-ß-1,4-xylanase from barley aleurone during germination

We have identified the major endo-β-l,4-xylanase (XYN-1) in the aleurone of germinating barley grain, and show that it is expressed as a precursor of Mr 61 500 with both N- and C-terminal propeptides. XYN-1 is synthesized as an inactive enzyme in the cytoplasm, and only becomes active at a late stage of germination when the aleurone ceases to...

Glucoamylasegreen fluorescent protein fusions to monitor protein secretion in Aspergillus niger

A glucoamylase::green fluorescent protein fusion (GLA::sGFP) was constructed which allows the green fluorescent protein to be used as an in vivo reporter of protein secretion in Aspergillus niger. Two secretory fusions were designed for secretion of GLA::sGFP which employed slightly different lengths of the glucoamylase protein (GLA499 and...

Glucoamylase: Green fluorescent protein fusions to monitor protein secretion in Aspergillus niger

A glucoamylase: :green fluorescent protein fusion (GLA: :sGFP) was constructed which allows the green fluorescent protein to be used as an in vivo reporter of protein secretion in Aspergillus niger. Two secretory fusions were designed for secretion of GLA: :sGFP which employed slightly different lengths of the glucoamylase protein (GLA499 and...

Study of the glucoamylase promoter in Aspergillus niger using green fluorescent protein

An Aspergillus niger strain expressing a red-shifted green fluorescent protein (GFP) in the cytoplasm under the control of the glucoamylase promoter (PglaA) was characterized with respect to its physiology and morphology. Although xylose acted as a repressor carbon source during batch cultivations, PglaA-driven GFP expression by the glucoamylase...