The Journal of General and Applied Microbiology
Online ISSN : 1349-8037
Print ISSN : 0022-1260
ISSN-L : 0022-1260
Volume 44, Issue 1
Displaying 1-14 of 14 articles from this issue
  • M. Ruhul Amin, Ryoji Onodera
    1998 Volume 44 Issue 1 Pages 1-9
    Published: 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: August 24, 2005
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    An in vitro study was conducted to examine the effects of salinomycin (SL) and vitamin B6 (B6) on the production of phenylalanine (Phe) from phenylpyruvic acid (PPY) and phenylacetic acid (PAA) and of PAA from Phe and PPY by mixed rumen bacteria (B), mixed rumen protozoa (P) and their mixture (BP). Rumen microorganisms were collected from fistulated goats fed lucerne cubes (Medicago sativa) and a concentrate mixture (3 : 1) twice a day. Microbial suspensions were anaerobically incubated at 39°C for 12 h. Phe and some other related compounds in both supernatants and microbial hydrolysates of the incubations were analyzed by HPLC. When PPY was used as a substrate, it completely disappeared without additives and converted mainly to Phe and PAA on the average by 396 and 178, 440 and 189, and 439 and 147 μM in B, P and BP, respectively, during the 12 h incubation period. The rate of disappearance showed no significant differences between the microbial suspensions with and without SL and B6 during the incubation period. The production of Phe from PPY with SL was enhanced (p<0.05) by 40, 20 and 19% in B, P and BP, respectively, while PAA production from PPY with SL was inhibited (p<0.05) by 35, 37 and 38% in B, P and BP, respectively, during the 12 h incubation period. On the other hand, with B6, the production of Phe and PAA from PPY tended to be enhanced by 14 and 17, 9 and 11, and 7 and 22% in B, P and BP, respectively, during the 12 h incubation period. When PAA added as a substrate was incubated in the incubation medium without any additives, it disappeared by 483, 462 and 507 μM and converted mainly to Phe on the average by 231, 244 and 248 μM in B, P and BP, respectively. The disappearance of PAA with SL was inhibited (p<0.05) by 16, 15 and 20%, in B, P and BP, respectively, whereas the disappearance of PAA with B6 was almost the same as that without B6 in B and BP suspensions but tended to be enhanced by more than 9% in P suspensions during the 12 h incubation period. The production of Phe from PAA with SL tended to be inhibited by 12, 11 and 8% in B, P and BP, respectively, during the 6 h incubation period, but the inhibition was weakened during the 12 h incubation period, whereas Phe production from PAA with B6 tended to be enhanced by 13, 16 and 8% in B, P and BP, respectively. When Phe was added as a substrate, the net Phe disappearance without additives was 549, 365 and 842 μM and converted mainly to PAA on the average by 254, 205 and 461 μM in B, P and BP, respectively. The net disappearance of Phe with SL was inhibited (p<0.05) by 38, 28 and 46%, whereas the net disappearance of Phe with B6 was enhanced (p<0.05) by 9, 8 and 7% in B, P and BP, respectively. The production of PAA from Phe with SL was inhibited (p<0.05) by 73, 54 and 76% in B, P and BP, respectively. On the other hand, with B6, PAA production from Phe was enhanced (p<0.05) by 19, 18 and 20% in B, P and BP, respectively. Based on these results, it seems that SL inhibited Phe disappearance and enhanced the synthesis of Phe from PPY, though not from PAA, and accumulated free Phe in the medium, whereas B6 also enhanced Phe synthesis both from PPY and PAA, which could provide additional amino N for animals.
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  • Connie Fe Cañete-Gibas, Masako Takashima, Takashi Sugita, Takas ...
    1998 Volume 44 Issue 1 Pages 11-18
    Published: 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: August 24, 2005
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Five strains of unknown ballistoconidiogenous yeasts, which were isolated from plant leaves collected in the Ogasawara Islands, Japan, were taxonomically studied. They represent three different species of the genus Kockovaella based on morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics, analysis of small subunit ribosomal RNA gene sequences, and DNA-DNA reassociation experiments. Three new species, Kockovaella machilophila (1 strain), Kockovaella phaffii (3 strains) and Kockovaella schimae (1 strain) are proposed for these five strains.
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  • Hajime Yoshida, Yukinobu Kotani, Keiko Ochiai, Kazumi Araki
    1998 Volume 44 Issue 1 Pages 19-26
    Published: 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: August 24, 2005
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Among the bacterial strains known to contain ubiquinone-10, three strains, Agrobacterium tumefaciens KY-3085 (ATCC4452), Paracoccus denitrificans KY-3940 (ATCC19367) and Rhodobacter sphaeroides KY-4113 (FERM-P4675), were selected as excellent producers of this ubiquinone. The ubiquinone-10 production by the Agrobacterium and Rhodobacter strains was affected by aeration. An ethionine-resistant mutant (M-37) derived from A. tumefaciens KY-3085 promoted increased production of ubiquinone-10 (20% higher than the parent). Another Agrobacterium mutant (AU-55), which was induced by the successive addition of four genetic markers, showed a tolerance to the suppression of ubiquinone-10 production caused by aeration, and the fermentation time for production was remarkably shortened. The amount of ubiquinone-10 produced by this Agrobacterium mutant reached 180 mg/l in a 58 h culture. A green mutant (carotenoid-deficient mutant, Co-22-11) derived from R. sphaeroides KY-4113 produced 350 mg/l of ubiquinone-10 under culturing conditions with a limited supply of air, the ubiquinone-10 content being 8.7 mg/g-dry cell. In this case, the amount and content corresponded to 2.8 and 3.6 times larger than those given by the wild-type strain, respectively. A multiple-layer structure of cell membrane was observed in the highly ubiquinone-10 accumulating cell of the green mutant by electron microscopy. The amount of ubiquinone-10 produced by P. denitrificans was much lower than those of the other two strains.
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  • Guy H. Carvajal, Jorge Sanchez, Maria E. Ayala, Atsushi Hase
    1998 Volume 44 Issue 1 Pages 27-33
    Published: 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: August 24, 2005
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    During a period of 18 months of an epidemic of Vibrio cholerae, cultures from 450 samples of fish, shellfish and seawater were isolated. The highest frequencies of occurrence observed were 5.2% in fish from inshore waters, 3.9% in marine snails, and 1.8% in mussels and crabs. No incidents were isolated from cultures of fish in the open seas or cultures from frozen shrimp. Cultures of marine origin were compared with cultures from hospitalized patients, and these revealed marked serological and toxigenic differences. Marine strains were mainly non-O1 V. cholerae, non toxigenic. We presume fishing off-shore not to be the cause of this outbreak. However, marine species from contaminated waters could contain toxigenic V. cholerae remaining viable and potentially pathogenic. Methods used were more sensitive and specific for detecting marine strains. In this paper the need to use more specific methods is discussed.
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  • Qingxiang Meng, Rodney L. Preston
    1998 Volume 44 Issue 1 Pages 35-41
    Published: 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: August 24, 2005
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Some factors influencing bacterial attachment to the rumen epithelium were studied in vitro using mixed rumen bacteria (upper- or lower-layer bacteria formed at bacterial sediment by centrifugation), isolated from steers fed a roughage diet, and rumen epithelial cells collected from beef cattle given low-concentrate (50%; LC) and high-concentrate (90%; HC) diets. Optimal incubation conditions for bacterial attachment to rumen epithelial cells were 39°C for 30 min. The bacteria isolated from the upper layer had a higher attaching activity to the LC epithelial cells than those of the lower layer. A higher degree of bacterial attachment was observed using the rumen epithelium from steers fed the LC diet rather than the HC diet (p<0.01). Ethylenediamine dihydroiodide (EDDI) added at 10 through 40 μg I/ml increased bacterial attachment to the HC epithelial cells. Ammonia at 50 through 100 μg/ml positively affected bacterial attachment to both LC and HC epithelial cells. Bacterial attachment to the HC epithelial cells was enhanced (p<0.01) by the addition of a reducing agent (L-cysteine·HCl) but no increase was noted with LC cells. L-orD-lactate, volatile and unsaturated fatty acids markedly decreased bacterial attachment to rumen epithelial cells.
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  • Yoshio Hayashi, Tsutomu Arie, Katsuyoshi Yoneyama, Isamu Yamaguchi
    1998 Volume 44 Issue 1 Pages 43-47
    Published: 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: August 24, 2005
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The antigenic determinant of a monoclonal antibody (MAb) (AP19-2) having specific reactivity withthe fungi grouped into the genus Fusarium was analyzed. The culture supernatant of the fungi showed antigenicity against MAb AP19-2, proving that the antigen exists as an exoantigen. The heat-resistant, proteinase K-resistant and periodate oxidation-labile features of the antigenic determinant indicated its carbohydrate nature. Also, lectin affinity tests and thin-layer chromatography analysis suggested that the monosaccharide making up the antigenic determinant was mainly mannose. Considering previous reports that the antigen exists on the surface of mycelia (by immunofluorescence assay) and is a ~55 kDa molecule (by Western blotting analysis), it was concluded that the antigenic determinant of MAb AP19-2 on F. oxysporum is a mannan component existing on the surfae of mycelia.
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  • Michio Matsuhashi, Alla N. Pankrushina, Satoshi Takeuchi, Hideyuki Ohs ...
    1998 Volume 44 Issue 1 Pages 49-55
    Published: 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: August 24, 2005
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Bacterial cells enhance the proliferation of neighboring cells under stress conditions by emitting a physical signal. Continuous single sine sound waves produced by a speaker at frequencies of 6–10, 18–22, and 28–38 kHz promoted colony formation by Bacillus carboniphilus under non-permissive stress conditions of high KCl concentration and high temperature. Furthermore, sound waves emitted from cells of Bacillus subtilis at frequencies between 8 and 43 kHz with broad peaks at approximately 8.5, 19, 29, and 37 kHz were detected using a sensitive microphone system. The similarity between the frequency of the sound produced by B. subtilis and the frequencies that induced a response in B. carboniphilus and the previously observed growth-promoting effect of B. subtilis cells upon B. carboniphilus through iron barriers, suggest that the detected sound waves function as a growth-regulatory signal between cells.
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  • Naoki Ouchiyama, Shigeki Miyachi, Toshio Omori
    1998 Volume 44 Issue 1 Pages 57-63
    Published: 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: August 24, 2005
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    A new carbazole (CAR)-degrading bacterium, called strain OM1, was isolated from activated sludge obtained from sewage disposal plants in Fukuoka Prefecture, and it was identified as Pseudomonas stutzeri. Anthranilic acid (AN), 2′-aminobiphenyl-2,3-diol and its meta-cleavage product, 2-hydroxy-6-oxo-6-(2′-aminophenyl)-hexa-2,4-dienoic acid, were identified as metabolic intermediates of CAR in the ethyl acetate extract of the culture broth. Therefore, the CAR catabolic pathway to AN in strain OM1 was indicated to be identical to those found in the Pseudomonas sp. strains CA06 and CA10. The strain OM1 degraded catechol (CAT) via a meta-cleavage pathway in contrast to strains CA06 and CA10, which transform catechol into cis, cis-munonic acid. Clones containing a 6.9-kb EcoRI fragment and a 3-kb PstI-SphI fragment were isolated from colonies, forming a clear zone of CAR and a yellow ring-cleavage product from CAT, respectively. Recombinant E. coli carrying the 6.9-kb fragment degraded CAR in the L-broth and produced AN. Cell-free extract from the clone carrying a 3-kb PstI-SphI fragment had high meta-ring-cleavage dioxygenase activity for CAT. The nucleotide sequences of these fragments were determined. The 6.9-kb fragment showed a very high degree of homology with the CAR catabolic genes of strain CA10. The amino acid and nucleotide sequences of the 3-kb fragment were found to exhibit significant homology with the genes for the CAT-catabolic enzymes of TOL plasmid pWW0, plasmid NAH7, and plasmid pVI150.
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  • Mikiko Abe, Ryoichi Kawamura, Shiro Higashi, Seiichiro Mori, Motoyoshi ...
    1998 Volume 44 Issue 1 Pages 65-74
    Published: 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: August 24, 2005
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    This study examined the symbiotic properties of Agrobacterium transconjugants isolated by transferring a Tn5-mob-marked derivative of the 315 kb megaplasmid pRt4Sa from Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii 4S (wild-type strain) to Agrobacterium tumefaciens A136 as the recipient. The genetic characteristics of the AT4S transconjugant strains were ascertained by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analyses and Southern hybridization using Tn5-mob and nod genes as probes. Several of these AT4S transconjugants carrying pRt4Sa were able to nodulate roots of the normal legume host, white clover. In addition, some AT4S transconjugant strains were able to induce nodules on other leguminous plants, including alfalfa and hairy vetch. A characteristic bacteroid differentiation was observed in clover and alfalfa nodules induced by the AT4S-series strains, although nitrogen-fixing activity (acetylene reduction) was not found. Furthermore, strain H1R1, obtained by retracing transfer of the pRt4Sa::Tn5-mob from strain AT4Sa to strain H1 (pRt4Sa cured derivative of 4S), induced Fix+ nodules on clover roots. These results indicate the evidence that only nod genes can be expressed in the Agrobacterium background.
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  • Takashi Iizuka, Shigeru Yamanaka, Tohru Nishiyama, Akira Hiraishi
    1998 Volume 44 Issue 1 Pages 75-84
    Published: 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: August 24, 2005
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Free-living, aerobic, copiotrophic ultramicrobacteria (UMB) that passed through a 0.45 μm membrane filter and had a cell volume of less than 0.3 μm3 were isolated from polluted urban soil by using both the direct plating method and the membrane-filter enrichment technique. The efficiency of recovering UMB from the soil was much higher in the latter method than in the former. All of the UMB isolates grew well with a doubling time of less than 6 h either in a complex nutrient medium or a chemically defined medium. The average cell volumes of the UMB isolates, as measured by scanning electron microscopy and epifluorescent microscopy with an image analysis, ranged from 0.07 to 0.22 μm3. The cell size was larger at the exponential phase of growth than at the stationary growth stage in general. Ultrathin-section electron microscopy of representatives of the UMB isolates showed that they had complete cell wall structures like typical Gram-negative or -positive bacteria. Phenotypic studies and phylogenetic analyses on the basis of 16S rDNA sequences showed that the UMB isolates were classified into three major groups, the beta and gamma subdivisions of the Proteobacteria and the Actinobacteria (the high G+C DNA group of Gram-positives). However, none of these isolates were assigned to any previously known species. These results demonstrate that free-living, relatively fast-growing, copiotrophic UMB strains undescribed so far are widely distributed in terrestrial environments, including urban soil.
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  • Katsunori Kobayashi, Shun-ichi Suzuki, Yuko Izawa, Kenzo Yokozeki, Kiy ...
    1998 Volume 44 Issue 1 Pages 85-91
    Published: 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: August 24, 2005
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    We screened various Bacillus species producing transglutaminase (TGase), measured as labeled putrescine incorporated into N,N-dimethylcasein. As a result, we detected TGase activity in sporulating cells of B. subtilis, B. cereus, B. alvei and B. aneurinolyticus, and found TGase activity related to sporulation. TGase activity of Bacillus subtilis was detected in lysozyme-treated sporulating cells during late sporulation, but not in cells without lysozyme treatment or the supernatant of the culture broth. TGase was found to be localized on spores. TGase was preliminarily purified by gel filtration chromatography for characterization. Its activity was eluted in the fractions indicating a molecular weight of approximately 23 kDa. TGase could cross-link and polymerize a certain protein. The enzyme was strongly suggested to form ε-(γ-glutamyl)lysine bonds, which were detected in the spore coat proteins of B. subtilis. The activity was Ca2+-independent like the TGases derived from Streptoverticillium or some plants. It is suggested that TGase is expressed during sporulation and plays a role in the assembly of the spore coat proteins of the genus Bacillus.
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  • Toshiki Uchiumi, Mikiko Abe, Shiro Higashi
    1998 Volume 44 Issue 1 Pages 93-99
    Published: 1998
    Released on J-STAGE: August 24, 2005
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The plasmid pCI6, carrying the attP site of the temperate phage φU, integrates into the attB site on the chromosome of Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar trifolii strain 4S. The 4 kb EcoRI-HindIII region of pCI6 involved in site-specific integration was subcloned as the attP fragment of phage φU and sequenced. The attL fragment, one of the new DNA junctions generated from the insertion of pCI6 into the chromosome of the host Rhizobium, was used as a hybridization probe for isolation of the attB fragment of strain 4S. The nucleotide sequence of the 2 kb PstI fragment of strain 4S, which hybridized with the attL fragment, was decided and compared with that of the attP fragment. A 53 bp common sequence was expected to be the core sequence of site-specific integration between phage φU and strain 4S. One of the ORFs on the attP fragment, which was located adjacent to the core sequence, had structural homology to the integrase family. However, the attB fragment showed high homology with the tRNA genes of Agrobacterium tumefaciens and E. coli. A 47 bp sequence of the 53 bp core sequence overlapped with this tRNA-like sequence. This indicates that the target site of phage φU integration is the putative tRNA gene on the chromosome of the Rhizobium host.
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