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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Characterization Of Xylan Utilization And Discovery Of A New Endoxylanase In Thermoanaerobacterium Saccharolyticum Through Targeted Gene Deletions, Kara K. Podkaminer, Adam M. Guss, Heather L. Trajano, David A. Hogsett, Lee R. Lynd Sep 2012

Characterization Of Xylan Utilization And Discovery Of A New Endoxylanase In Thermoanaerobacterium Saccharolyticum Through Targeted Gene Deletions, Kara K. Podkaminer, Adam M. Guss, Heather L. Trajano, David A. Hogsett, Lee R. Lynd

Dartmouth Scholarship

The economical production of fuels and commodity chemicals from lignocellulose requires the utilization of both the cellulose and hemicellulose fractions. Xylanase enzymes allow greater utilization of hemicellulose while also increasing cellulose hydrolysis. Recent metabolic engineering efforts have resulted in a strain of Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum that can convert C5 and C6 sugars, as well as insoluble xylan, into ethanol at high yield. To better understand the process of xylan solubilization in this organism, a series of targeted deletions were constructed in the homoethanologenic T. saccharolyticum strain M0355 to characterize xylan hydrolysis and xylose utilization in this organism. While the deletion of …


Lapg, Required For Modulating Biofilm Formation By Pseudomonas Fluorescens Pf0-1, Is A Calcium-Dependent Protease, Chelsea D. Boyd, Debashree Chatterjee, Holger Sondermann, George A. O'Toole Jun 2012

Lapg, Required For Modulating Biofilm Formation By Pseudomonas Fluorescens Pf0-1, Is A Calcium-Dependent Protease, Chelsea D. Boyd, Debashree Chatterjee, Holger Sondermann, George A. O'Toole

Dartmouth Scholarship

Biofilm formation by Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf0-1 requires the cell surface adhesin LapA. We previously reported that LapG, a periplasmic cysteine protease of P. fluorescens, cleaves the N terminus of LapA, thus releasing this adhesin from the cell surface and resulting in loss of the ability to make a biofilm. The activity of LapG is regulated by the inner membrane-localized cyclic-di-GMP receptor LapD via direct protein-protein interactions. Here we present chelation and metal add-back studies demonstrating that calcium availability regulates biofilm formation by P. fluorescens Pf0-1. The determination that LapG is a calcium-dependent protease, based on in vivo and in vitro …


Structural Characterization Of A Conserved, Calcium-Dependent Periplasmic Protease From Legionella Pneumophila, Debashree Chatterjee, Chelsea D. Boyd, George A. O'Toole, Holger Sondermann Jan 2012

Structural Characterization Of A Conserved, Calcium-Dependent Periplasmic Protease From Legionella Pneumophila, Debashree Chatterjee, Chelsea D. Boyd, George A. O'Toole, Holger Sondermann

Dartmouth Scholarship

The bacterial dinucleotide second messenger c-di-GMP has emerged as a central molecule in regulating bacterial behavior, including motility and biofilm formation. Proteins for the synthesis and degradation of c-di-GMP and effectors for its signal transmission are widely used in the bacterial domain. Previous work established the GGDEF-EAL domain-containing receptor LapD as a central switch in Pseudomonas fluorescens cell adhesion. LapD senses c-di-GMP inside the cytosol and relays this signal to the outside by the differential recruitment of the periplasmic protease LapG. Here we identify the core components of an orthologous system in Legionella pneumophila. Despite only moderate sequence conservation at …


Crystal Structure Of The Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator Inhibitory Factor Cif Reveals Novel Active-Site Features Of An Epoxide Hydrolase Virulence Factor, Christopher D. Bahl, Christophe Morisseau, Jennifer M. Bomberger, Bruce A. Stanton, Bruce D. Hammock, George A. O'Toole, Dean R. Madden Jan 2010

Crystal Structure Of The Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator Inhibitory Factor Cif Reveals Novel Active-Site Features Of An Epoxide Hydrolase Virulence Factor, Christopher D. Bahl, Christophe Morisseau, Jennifer M. Bomberger, Bruce A. Stanton, Bruce D. Hammock, George A. O'Toole, Dean R. Madden

Dartmouth Scholarship

Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) inhibitory factor (Cif) is a virulence factor secreted by Pseudomonas aeruginosa that reduces the quantity of CFTR in the apical membrane of human airway epithelial cells. Initial sequence analysis suggested that Cif is an epoxide hydrolase (EH), but its sequence violates two strictly conserved EH motifs and also is compatible with other alpha/beta hydrolase family members with diverse substrate specificities. To investigate the mechanistic basis of Cif activity, we have determined its structure at 1.8-A resolution by X-ray crystallography. The catalytic triad consists of residues Asp129, His297, and Glu153, which are conserved across the …


Identification Of The [Fefe]-Hydrogenase Responsible For Hydrogen Generation In Thermoanaerobacterium Saccharolyticum And Demonstration Of Increased Ethanol Yield Via Hydrogenase Knockout, A. Joe Shaw, David A. Hogsett, Lee R. Lynd Oct 2009

Identification Of The [Fefe]-Hydrogenase Responsible For Hydrogen Generation In Thermoanaerobacterium Saccharolyticum And Demonstration Of Increased Ethanol Yield Via Hydrogenase Knockout, A. Joe Shaw, David A. Hogsett, Lee R. Lynd

Dartmouth Scholarship

Three putative hydrogenase enzyme systems in Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum were investigated at the genetic, mRNA, enzymatic, and phenotypic levels. A four-gene operon containing two [FeFe]-hydrogenase genes, provisionally termed hfs (hydrogenase-Fe-S), was found to be the main enzymatic catalyst of hydrogen production. hfsB, perhaps the most interesting gene of the operon, contains an [FeFe]-hydrogenase and a PAS sensory domain and has several conserved homologues among clostridial saccharolytic, cellulolytic, and pathogenic bacteria. A second hydrogenase gene cluster, hyd, exhibited methyl viologen-linked hydrogenase enzymatic activity, but hyd gene knockouts did not influence the hydrogen yield of …


Transposon Disruption Of The Complex I Nadh Oxidoreductase Gene (Snod) In Staphylococcus Aureus Is Associated With Reduced Susceptibility To The Microbicidal Activity Of Thrombin-Induced Platelet Microbicidal Protein 1, Arnold S. Bayer, Peter Mcnamara, Michael R. Yeaman, Natalie Lucindo, Tiffanny Jones, Ambrose L. Cheung Jan 2006

Transposon Disruption Of The Complex I Nadh Oxidoreductase Gene (Snod) In Staphylococcus Aureus Is Associated With Reduced Susceptibility To The Microbicidal Activity Of Thrombin-Induced Platelet Microbicidal Protein 1, Arnold S. Bayer, Peter Mcnamara, Michael R. Yeaman, Natalie Lucindo, Tiffanny Jones, Ambrose L. Cheung

Dartmouth Scholarship

The cationic molecule thrombin-induced platelet microbicidal protein 1 (tPMP-1) exerts potent activity against Staphylococcus aureus. We previously reported that a Tn551 S. aureus transposon mutant, ISP479R, and two bacteriophage back-transductants, TxA and TxB, exhibit reduced in vitro susceptibility to tPMP-1 (tPMP-1(r)) compared to the parental strain, ISP479C (V. Dhawan, M. R. Yeaman, A. L. Cheung, E. Kim, P. M. Sullam, and A. S. Bayer, Infect. Immun. 65:3293-3299, 1997). In the current study, the genetic basis for tPMP-1(r) in these mutants was identified. GenBank homology searches using sequence corresponding to chromosomal DNA flanking Tn551 mutant strains showed that the fourth gene …


Microbial Cellulose Utilization: Fundamentals And Biotechnology, Lee R. Lynd, Paul J. Weimer, Willem H. Van Zyl, Isak S. Pretorius Sep 2002

Microbial Cellulose Utilization: Fundamentals And Biotechnology, Lee R. Lynd, Paul J. Weimer, Willem H. Van Zyl, Isak S. Pretorius

Dartmouth Scholarship

Fundamental features of microbial cellulose utilization are examined at successively higher levels of aggregation encompassing the structure and composition of cellulosic biomass, taxonomic diversity, cellulase enzyme systems, molecular biology of cellulase enzymes, physiology of cellulolytic microorganisms, ecological aspects of cellulase-degrading communities, and rate-limiting factors in nature. The methodological basis for studying microbial cellulose utilization is considered relative to quantification of cells and enzymes in the presence of solid substrates as well as apparatus and analysis for cellulose-grown continuous cultures. Quantitative description of cellulose hydrolysis is addressed with respect to adsorption of cellulase enzymes, rates of enzymatic hydrolysis, bioenergetics of microbial …


The Primary Structure Of A Fungal Chitin Deacetylase Reveals The Function For Two Bacterial Gene Products., Dimitris Kafetzopoulos, George Thireos, John N. Vournakis, Vassilis Bouriotis Sep 1993

The Primary Structure Of A Fungal Chitin Deacetylase Reveals The Function For Two Bacterial Gene Products., Dimitris Kafetzopoulos, George Thireos, John N. Vournakis, Vassilis Bouriotis

Dartmouth Scholarship

Chitin deacetylase (EC 3.5.1.41) hydrolyzes the N-acetamido groups of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine residues in chitin. A cDNA to the Mucor rouxii mRNA encoding chitin deacetylase was isolated, characterized, and sequenced. Protein sequence comparisons revealed significant similarities of the fungal chitin deacetylase to rhizobial nodB proteins and to an uncharacterized protein encoded by a Bacillus stearothermophilus open reading frame. These data suggest the functional homology of these evolutionarily distant proteins. NodB is a chitooligosaccharide deacetylase essential for the biosynthesis of the bacterial nodulation signals, termed Nod factors. The observed similarity of chitin deacetylase to the B. stearothermophilus gene product suggests that this gene …


Physiological Basis For Differential Sensitivities Of Plant Species To Protoporphyrinogen Oxidase-Inhibiting Herbicides, Timothy D. Sherman, José M. Becerril, Hiroshi Matsumoto, Mary V. Duke, Judy M. Jacobs, Nicholas J. Jacobs, Stephen O. Duke Sep 1991

Physiological Basis For Differential Sensitivities Of Plant Species To Protoporphyrinogen Oxidase-Inhibiting Herbicides, Timothy D. Sherman, José M. Becerril, Hiroshi Matsumoto, Mary V. Duke, Judy M. Jacobs, Nicholas J. Jacobs, Stephen O. Duke

Dartmouth Scholarship

With a leaf disc assay, 11 species were tested for effects of the herbicide acifluorfen on porphyrin accumulation in darkness and subsequent electrolyte leakage and photobleaching of chlorophyll after exposure to light. Protoporphyrin IX (Proto IX) was the only porphyrin that was substantially increased by the herbicide in any of the species. However, there was a wide range in the amount of Proto IX accumulation caused by 0.1 millimolar acifluorfen between species. Within species, there was a reduced effect of the herbicide in older tissues. Therefore, direct quantitative comparisons between species are difficult. Nevertheless, when data from different species and …


Interleukin-1 Or Phorbol Induction Of The Stromelysin Promoter Requires An Element That Cooperates With Ap-1., Karen Sirum-Connolly, Constance E. Brinckerhoff Jan 1991

Interleukin-1 Or Phorbol Induction Of The Stromelysin Promoter Requires An Element That Cooperates With Ap-1., Karen Sirum-Connolly, Constance E. Brinckerhoff

Dartmouth Scholarship

Interieukin-1, a mediator of inflammation, or tumor promoting phorbol esters induce transcription of stromelysin, a metalloproteinase that degrades extracellular matrix molecules and that is overexpressed in diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Sequences required for induction of transcription of the human stromelysin promoter are contained on a 46 base pair fragment. This fragment contains a sequence with a high degree of similarity to the binding site for the transcription factor activator protein-1 (AP-1) and indeed, the AP-1 sequence of this fragment is necessary but not sufficient for the maximal response to phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (phorbol) or interleukin-1. Maximal induction requires functional …


Simian Virus 40 Host Range/Helper Function Mutations Cause Multiple Defects In Viral Late Gene Expression., Terryl Stacy, Michele Chamberlain, Charles N. Cole Dec 1989

Simian Virus 40 Host Range/Helper Function Mutations Cause Multiple Defects In Viral Late Gene Expression., Terryl Stacy, Michele Chamberlain, Charles N. Cole

Dartmouth Scholarship

Simian virus 40 (SV40) deletion mutants dlA2459 and dlA2475 express T antigens that lack the normal carboxy terminus. These mutants are called host range/helper function (hr/hf) mutants because they form plaques at 37 degrees C on BSC-1 and Vero monkey kidney cell lines but not on CV-1p monkey kidney cells. Wild-type SV40 can provide a helper function to permit growth of human adenoviruses in monkey kidney cells; the hr/hf mutants cannot. Progeny yields of hr/hf mutants are also cold sensitive in all cell lines tested. Patterns of viral macromolecular synthesis in three cell lines (Vero, BSC-1, and CV-1) at three …