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...

Pyrosequencinq analysis of the oral microflora of healthy adults

A good definition of commensal microflora and an understanding of its relation to health are essential in preventing and combating disease. We hypothesized that the species richness of human oral microflora is underestimated. Saliva and supragingival plaque were sampled from 71 and 98 healthy adults, respectively. Amplieons from the V6...

Transcriptional activity around bacterial cell death reveals molecular biomarkers for cell viability

Background: In bacteriology, the ability to grow in selective media and to form colonies on nutrient agar plates is routinely used as a retrospective criterion for the detection of living bacteria. However, the utilization of indicators for bacterial viability-such as the presence of specific transcripts or membrane integrity-would overcome bias...

Analysis of temporal gene expression during Bacillus subtilis spore germination and outgrowth

Bacillus subtilis forms dormant spores upon nutrient depletion. Under favorable environmental conditions, the spore breaks its dormancy and resumes growth in a process called spore germination and outgrowth. To elucidate the physiological processes that occur during the transition of the dormant spore to an actively growing vegetative cell, we...

Identification of glucose-fermenting bacteria present in an in vitro model of the human intestine by RNA-stable isotope probing

16S rRNA-based stable isotope probing (SIP) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy-based metabolic profiling were used to identify bacteria fermenting glucose under conditions simulating the human intestine. The TIM-2 in vitro model of the human intestine was inoculated with a GI tract microbiota resembling that of the small intestine...

Quenching of microbial samples for increased reliability of microarray data

Messenger RNA levels change on a minutes scale due to both degradation and de novo transcription. Consequently, alterations in the transcript profiles that are not representative for the condition of interest are easily introduced during sample harvesting and work-up. In order to avoid these unwanted changes we have validated a - 45°C methanol...

Paracoccus zeaxanthinifaciens sp. nov., a zeaxanthin-producing bacterium

A comprehensive taxonomic re-evaluation was performed on the marine, zeaxanthin-producing bacterium formerly classified as [Flavobacterium] sp. strain R-1512 (ATCC 21588). This strain, together with two other previously described marine isolates, [Flavobacterium] strain R-1506 and Paracoccus sp. strain MBIC 3966, were found to comprise a new...

Synthesis of lactococcin 972, a bacteriocin produced by Lactococcus lactis IPLA 972, depends on the expression of a plasmid-encoded bicistronic operon

Synthesis of lactococcin 972 is plasmid-encoded. An operon composed of two genes that encode pre-bacteriocin and a putative immunity protein has been identified. The first gene encodes a 91-residue polypeptide that is exported via a sec-dependent system to give the mature 66-aa bacteriocin. The immunity protein is a 563-residue polypeptide with...

The Lactobacillus acidophilus S-layer protein gene expression site comprises two consensus promoter sequences, one of which directs transcription of stable mRNA

S-proteins are proteins which form a regular structure (S-layer) on the outside of the cell walls of many bacteria. Two S-protein-encoding genes are located in opposite directions on a 6.0-kb segment of the chromosome of Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 4356 bacteria. Inversion of this chromosomal segment occurs through recombination between two...

Interchange of the active and silent S-layer protein genes of Lactobacillus acidophilus by inversion of the chromosomal sip segment

The most-dominant surface-exposed protein in many bacterial species is the S-protein. This protein crystallises into a regular monolayer on the outside surface of the bacteria: the S-layer. Lactobacillus acidophilus harbours two S-protein-encoding genes, slpA and slpB, only one of which (slpA) is expressed. In this study, we show by polymerase...

Escherichia coli mutant strain with altered expression of the tryptophan operon: Isolation and preliminary characterization

Chemicals/CAS: tryptophan, 6912-86-3, 73-22-3; Anthranilate Synthase, EC 4.1.3.27; Lactose, 63-42-3; RNA, Bacterial; RNA, Messenger; Tryptophan Synthase, EC 4.2.1.20; Tryptophan, 73-22-3

Escherichia coli mutant strain with altered expression of the tryptophan operon: Ribonucleic acid synthesis in vitro

Chemicals/CAS: tryptophan, 6912-86-3, 73-22-3; Antibiotics, Aminoglycoside; DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases, EC 2.7.7.6; Heparin, 9005-49-6; Rifampin, 13292-46-1; RNA, Bacterial; Tryptophan, 73-22-3

A transcriptional barrier in the regulatory region of the tryptophan operon of Escherichia coli: Its role in the regulation of repressor independent RNA synthesis

Chemicals/CAS: tryptophan, 6912-86-3, 73-22-3; RNA, Bacterial; RNA, Viral; Tryptophan, 73-22-3; Tryptophan-tRNA Ligase, EC 6.1.1.2