Procaryotes

Fermentation. The commercial P-lactam antibiotics which act as starting material for all of the cephalosporins ate produced by submerged fermentation. The organisms used for the commercial production of the penicillins and cephalosporins ate mutants of PenicU/in chTysogenum and Cephalosporium acremonium respectively (3,153,154). Both ate tme fungi (eucaryotes). In contrast, the cephamycins ate produced by certain species of procaryotic Streptomyces including Streptomyces clavuligerus and Streptomyces lipmanii (21,103). 

Vimses are one of the smallest biological entities (except viroids and prions) that carry all the iaformation necessary for thek own reproduction. They are unique, differing from procaryotes and eucaryotes ia that they carry only one type of nucleic acid as genetic material, which can be transported by the vims from one cell to another. Vimses are composed of a shell of proteki enclosing a core of nucleic acid, either ribonucleic acid (RNA) or deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), that codes for vkal reproduction. The outer shell serves as a protective coat to keep the nucleic acid kitact and safe from enzymatic destmction. In addition to thek proteki coat, some vimses contain an outer covering known as an outer envelope. This outer envelope consists of a Hpid or polysaccharide material. 

DNA Recognition in Procaryotes by Helix-Turn-Helix Motifs... 

Repressor and Cro proteins operate a procaryotic genetic switch region... 

The presence of this common helix-turn-helix motif poised for DNA binding in lambda Cro and repressor provided considerable stimulus for further genetic and structural studies of these and other procaryotic DNA-binding proteins. All the results essentially supported the proposed mode of binding between these regulator proteins and DNA. 

Some of the procaryotic DNA-binding proteins are activated by the binding of an allosteric effector molecule. This event changes the conformation of the dimeric protein, causing the helix-tum-helix motifs to move so that they are 34 A apart and able to bind to the major groove. The dimeric repressor for purine biosynthesis, PurR, induces a sharp bend in DNA upon binding caused by insertion of a helices in the minor groove between the two... 

Eucaryotes have many more genes and a broader range of specific transcription factors than procaryotes and gene expression is regulated by using sets of these factors in a combinatorial way. Eucaryotes have found several different solutions to the problem of producing a three-dimensional scaffold that allows a protein to interact specifically with DNA. In the next chapter we shall discuss some of the solutions that have no counterpart in procaryotes. However, the procaryotic helix-turn-helix solution to this problem (see Chapter 8) is also exploited in eucaryotes, in homeodomain proteins and some other families of transcription factors. 

The homeodomain frequently binds to DNA as a monomer, in contrast to procaryotic DNA-binding proteins containing tbe belix-turn-helix motif, which usually bind as dimers. In vitro tbe homeodomain binds specifically to... 

Figure 9.8 Schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the Antennapedia homeodomain. The structure is built up from three a helices connected by short loops. Helices 2 and 3 form a helix-turn-hellx motif (blue and red) similar to those in procaryotic DNA-binding proteins. (Adapted from Y.Q. Qian et al.. Cell 59 573-580, 1989.)...

Fi re 9.9 Comparison of the hellx-tum-helix motifs in homeodomains (a) and X repressor (b). The recognition helix (red) of the homeodomain is longer than in the procaryotic repressor motif. In addition the first helix of the homeodomain [(green in (a)] is oriented differently. 

The DNA-binding motifs discussed in this and the preceding two chapters are those most frequently found in procaryotes and eucaryotes. However, other motifs are known, for example the p sheet motif of the met repressor in Escherichia coli which binds to the major groove of DNA. No doubt others remain to be discovered. 

Procaryotic organism Microorganisms which do NOT have an organized nucleus surrounded by a nuclear membrane. Bacteria and blue-green algae fit in this category. 

The susceptibility of biological systems, including procaryotic and eucaryo-tic cultures and enzyme solutions, to the forces prevailing under normal processing conditions has been extensively studied and is the subject of comprehensive reviews [12-16], including other chapters in this volume. Downstream processing operations, as well as routine pumping, will expose cell suspensions... 

A 2-amino-2-deoxyheptose of unknown configuration is a minor component of the LPS from the photosynthetic procaryote Anacystis nidulans. ... 

The freshwater cyanophyte Aphanazomenon flos-aquae (see Chapter 6, by Carmichael), long suspected to contain saxitoxin-like compounds, has been shown to contain saxitoxin and neosaxitoxin, and has been an important tool in the elucidation of saxitoxin biosynthesis (49,50 see Chapter 2, by Shimizu). This research clearly demonstrates that the saxitoxins can be produced by a procaryote thus, the suggestion that bacteria may produce the saxitoxins becomes more plausible. 

This chapter reviews recent experimental evidence of a bacterial source of sodium channel blockers, principly TTXs. These findings support the hypothesis that procaryotic organisms produce TTXs which contaminate oceanic food chains. 

Organisms. TTX, anhydro-TTX, and STX have been reported from various procaryotic species (Table I). All of these species, with the exception of Escherichia coli, are marine organisms. 

Table L Procaryotic Organisms that Produce Sodium Channel Blockers...

Stephan I, B Tshisuaka, S Fetzer, F Lingens (1996) Quinaldine 4-oxidase from Arthrobacter sp. Ru61a, a versatile procaryotic molybdenum-containing hydroxylase active towards N-containing heterocyclic compounds and aromatic aldehydes. Eur J Biochem 236 155-162. 

Most of the bacterial viruses which have been studied in any detail infect bacteria of the enteric group, such as Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium. However, viruses are known that infect a variety of procaryotes, both eubacteria and archaebacteria. A few bacterial viruses have lipid envelopes but most do not. However,... 

Bacteria, being procaryotic, do not show compartmentation of the biosynthetic processes. The genome of a bacterium relates directly to the cytoplasm of the cell. Transcription into mRNA can lead directly to translation, and the processes of transcription and translation are not carried out in separate organelles. Animal cells, being eucaryotic, show compartmentation of the transcription and translation processes. Transcription of the genome into mRNA occurs in the nucleus, whereas translation occurs in the cytoplasm. The messenger RNA in the eucaryote is usually modified by adding to it... 

Figure 5.28 Comparison of protein synthesis processes in procaryote and eucaryote, (a) Procaryote, (b) Eucaryote.

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