Four species of indole-degrading Clostridium and 3 species of skatole-degrading Clostridium were isolated from piggery or chicken manure composting processes. Since type strains of respective isolates did not degrade these compounds, the degradability of the compounds was a novel characteristic. All isolates were mesophilic. The maximum growth allowance concentrations of these isolates were 300 to 800mg/l in indole and 100 to 300mg/l in skatole. All isolates showed better growth and utilization of indolic compounds in nutrient-rich medium than in minimal medium. Skatole-degrading isolates degraded some substituted indoles tested, 3-indoleacetic acid, indole and oxindole, but did not degrade 1-methylindole, 2-methylindole, isatin or anthranilic acid. On the other hand, indole-degrading isolates degraded only oxindole. The growth of Clostridium malenominatum A-3 was inhibited by a low concentration (0.005%) of indole or skatole, even when 200-fold excess glucose was present in the medium. When 0.03% indole or skatole was added to the medium, C. malenominatum A-3 showed a lag phase for about 10 and 70h, respectively. When 0.01% of these compounds was added to the medium, the uptake of glucose was inhibited. C. malenominatum A-3 degraded these compounds under nutrient-rich and minimal conditions.

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The genes emrK and emrY were found between genes dsdA and evgA at 51min on the Escherichia coli chromosome and form an operon. EmrK and EmrY are 50.4 and 63.3% identical in amino acid sequences to EmrA and EmrB, respectively, which together make up a multidrug resistant pump. To show that the emrKY operon can be expressed, we cloned the promoter with pMC1403 and constructed an emrK-lacZ' protein fusion plasmid, pMKD1. In E. coli MC4100 containing pMKD1, its expression was increased in the presence of a subinhibitory concentration of tetracycline, chloramphenicol or salicylate, but not by carbonylcyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone, nalidixic acid or kanamycin. Furthermore, we have shown that emrKY transcription dependent on the growth phase is actually induced by tetracycline using a S1 nuclease protection assay.

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Four different intertidal estuarine sediments had distinct yeast communities. One-hundred-ninety- three yeast isolates were classified in 47 species, with 34 of these in the genus Candida. Candida tropicalis was the only ascomycetous species isolated from all four sites. Other opportunistic
pathogens including Candida glabrata, Candida guilliermondii, Candida parapsilosis and Candida krusei were present, especially at the more polluted sites. Pichia species were also frequent isolates with Pichia membranaefaciens, and its anamorph, Candida valida, and other phenotypically similar low assimilation profile species the most frequent. Kluyveromyces aestuarii was prevalent at the only site with well established mangrove vegetation, but not present at the other sites. The sediment yeast communities were distinct from each other, but more similar to each other than to the yeast communities of other ecosystems in the same geographic region.

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Bulk DNA isolated from the ectomycorrhizal basidiomycete Hebeloma circinans was treated with proteinase K and submitted to agarose gel electrophoresis. In addition to high molecular weight genomic DNA, three minor bands were detected. The band with the highest electrophoretic mobility(2.2kbp) corresponds to double-stranded RNA. The two other bands, termed pHC1 and pHC2, were shown to be dsDNA molecules of 10.3 and 9.1kbp, respectively. Treatment of the pHC elements with 3′- and 5′-specific exonucleases revealed a linear structure and proved that the 5′ ends are protected from digestion; for pHC2, linearity was confirmed by restriction mapping. A 3.2kbp Hindlll fragment of pHC2 was cloned and sequenced; it contains two open reading frames encoding putative viral B type DNA and RNA polymerases. Thus, the fungus harbors a typical linear plasmid, up to now, rarely described for basidiomycetes and hitherto unknown for mycorrhizal species.

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This study demonstrated a general reduction in photosynthesis (carbon fixation, O₂-evolution and photochemical electron transport chain), the uptake of NH4⁺, NO₃^-, urea and PO₄^3-, and activities of nitrate reductase, urease, acid phosphatase and ATPase following UV-B and copper exposure of Chlorella vulgaris in the absence or presence of 1 and 2ppm concentrations of a 4-inch-thick ozone layer. Though the effect of stressors used in combination was very detrimental to the above processes, selected concentrations of ozone not only counteracted the UV-B-induced inhibition of the above processes, but also stimulated O₂-evolution and the photochemical electron transport chain. Kinetics of nutrient uptake and enzyme activities demonstrated that UV-B causes structural change(s) in the enzymes/carriers responsible for the uptake of NH₄⁺, NO₃^-, urea and PO₄^3- as well as their assimilatory enzymes. Except for nitrate reductase, copper was found to compete for the binding sites of all the above enzymes. Synergistic inhibition of photosynthetic activity, nutrient (except NH₄⁺) uptake, and enzyme activities by UV-B+Cu seems to be due to increased Cu uptake as a consequence of altered membrane permeability brought about by the peroxidation of membrane lipids in UV-B-exposed cells.

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A chemically defined sporulation medium (AF medium) for the yeasts belonging to the genus Lipomyces was developed. The chemical composition was derived from chemical analyses of soybean extract. Some chemical modification of the AF medium indicated that the nitrogen sources (aspartic and glutamic acids) and zinc ion were essential for sporulation. The significance of medium pH was discussed.

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Three strains of thermophilic-acidophilic bacteria isolated previously from different hot springs in Japan were characterized by molecular genetic methods. The strategy taken involved PCR amplification, sequencing and restriction pattern analysis of 16S rDNA, 16S-23S rDNA spacer polymorphism analysis and genomic DNA-DNA hybridization. A phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rDNA sequences showed that the new thermoacidophilic isolates formed a genetically coherent group at the species level and fell into a major cluster together with members of the genera Alicyclobacillus and Sulfobacillus with A. acidocaldarius and A. acidoterrestris as their closest relatives. The levels of binary sequence similarity between the isolates and the two Alicyclobacillus species were 97.6 to 97.9%, values considered low enough to warrant placement of the isolates in a distinct species of the genus Alicyclobacillus. The 16S rDNA restriction pattern analysis, but not 16S-23S rDNA spacer polymorphism analysis, was useful for differentiating the isolates from the established Alicyclobacillus species. DNA-DNA hybridization assays demonstrated a distinct phylogenetic position of our isolates as a genospecies within the genus Alicyclobacillus. On the basis of these results, the thermoacidophilic isolates should be classified into a new species of Alicyclobacillus. The results of this study suggest that this new genospecies of Alicyclobacillus is widely distributed in hot springs in Japan.

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