Bacterium coli

The previously discussed reductions by yeast of isovaleraldehyde to isoamyl alcohol, of p-xyloquinone to p-xylohydroquinone and of sodium thiosulfate to hydrogen sulfide have also been accomplished with Bacterium coli and Bacterium lactis aerogenes. Phytochemical reduction of d,l-valeraldehyde (methylethylacetaldehyde) with Termobacterium mobile Lindner Pseudomonas Lindneri) takes a practically quantitative course and yields an amyl alcohol containing 17 % excess of the dextrorotatory component. Cahill achieved especially favorable results by the reduction of isovaleraldehyde with growing bacteria instead of with their mass cultures. 

Desnuelle, P. and Fromageot, C., 1939. Anaerobic decomposition of cysteine by Bacterium coli. I. Cysteinase. Enzymologia, 6 80—87. 

Gale, E. F., The production of amines by bacteria 3. The production of putrescine from /(+)-arginine by Bacterium coli in symbiosis with Streptococcus faecalis y Biochem. J. 34 (2), 853 (1950). 

Miscellaneous Alkaloids. Stukimic acid (57) is a precursor of anthranihc acid (28) and, in yeasts and Escherichia coli (a bacterium), anthranHic acid (o-aminobenzoic acid) is known to serve as a precursor of tryptophan (26). A similar but yet unknown path is presumed to operate in higher plants. Nonetheless, anthranHic acid itself is recognized as a precursor to a number of alkaloids. Thus damascenine [483-64-7] (134), C qH NO, from the seed coats of JSHgella damascena has been shown (95) to incorporate labeled anthranHic acid when unripe seeds of the plant are incubated with labeled precursor. 

Escherichia coli. The genetics of this gram-negative bacterium are very well known. For this reason, many of the first efforts to produce recombinant products from this microorganism were successful. However, because of the importance of the other criteria Hsted above, many efforts failed. E. co/i is only used to produce the milk-clotting mammalian protease chymosin [9001-98-3] (rennin). 

Certain strains of Escherichia coli can be stimulated by irradiation with a moderate dose of ultraviolet (UV) light to stop normal growth and start producing bacteriophages that eventually lyse the bacterium. Bacteria of these so-called lysogenic strains carry the DNA of the phage integrated into their own... 

Bacteria are named according to a binomial system. The first word is the genus and the second is the species name. The most frequently referred to bacterium in the sanitary field is Escherichia coli. E. coli is a common coliform that can be used as an indicator of water s bacteriological quality. Under a microscope and magnified 1,000 times, cells appear as individual short rods. 

If a phylogenetic comparison is made of the 16S-Iike rRNAs from an archae-bacterium Halobacterium volcanii), a eubacterium E. coli), and a eukaryote (the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae), a striking similarity in secondary structure emerges (Figure 12.40). Remarkably, these secondary structures are similar despite the fact that the nucleotide sequences of these rRNAs themselves exhibit a low degree of similarity. Apparently, evolution is acting at the level of rRNA secondary structure, not rRNA nucleotide sequence. Similar conserved folding patterns are seen for the 23S-Iike and 5S-Iike rRNAs that reside in the... 

Insulin is one of the important pharmaceutical products produced commercially by genetically engineered bactera. Before this development, commercial insulin was isolated from animal pancreatic tissue. Microbial insulin has been available since 1982. The human insulin gene is introduced into a bacterium like E. coli. Two of the major advantages of insulin production by microorganisms are that the resultant insulin is chemically identical to human insulin, and it can be produced in unlimited quantities. 

If we can develop accurate quantitative models that simulate how cells respond to various enviromnental changes, we can better utilize the chemical synthesis capabilities of cells. Steps toward this goal are being taken. Models of the common gut bacterium Escherichia coli have been developed from mechanisms of subcellular processes discovered or postulated by molecular biologists. These models have progressed to the point where they can be used with experiments to discriminate among postulated mechanisms for control of subcellular processes. 

Even entrapment of entire cells within reversed micelles without loss of their functionality has been achieved. For example, mitochondria and bacteria (Actinobacter cal-coaceticus, Escherichia coli, Corynebacterium equi) have been successfully solubilized in a microemulsion consisting of isopropyl pahnitate, polyoxyethylene sorbitan trioleate [162], Enhanced hydrogen photoproduction by the bacterium Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides or by the coupled system Halobacterium halobium and chloroplasts organelles entrapped inside the aqueous core of reversed micelles with respect to the same cells suspended in normal aqueous medium has been reported [183,184],... 

Restriction enzymes are named after the bacterium from which they are isolated. For example, EcoRI is from Escherichia coli, and BamEII is from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (Table 40-2). The first three letters in the restriction enzyme name consist of the first letter of the genus (E) and the first two letters of the species (co). These may be followed by a strain designation (R) and a roman numeral (I) to indicate the order of discov-ery (eg, EcoRI, EcoRIE). Each enzyme recognizes and cleaves a specific double-stranded DNA sequence that is 4—7 bp long. These DNA cuts result in blunt ends (eg,... 

Interestingly, they report that E. coli, a normal inhabitant of the mammalian gastrointestinal tract, produces anhydro-TTX. Unidentified sodium channel blockers have also been detected in cultures of Vibrio cholerae an estuarine bacterium and human enteropathogen (54). 

The galactose, arabinose and xylose transporters of E. coli The bacterium E. coli possesses at least 7 proton-linked, active transport systems for sugars (for a recent review see [212]). Three of these transporters, which catalyze the uptake of L-arabinose, D-xylose and D-galactose by symport with protons, are related in sequence to the sugar transporters discussed above. They probably represent the best-characterized of the non-mammalian transporters, and so are discussed here in some detail. 

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