The glycogen branching enzyme (EC 2.4.1.18), which catalyses the formation of α-1,6-glycosidic branch points in glycogen structure, is often used to enhance the nutritional value and quality of food and beverages. In order to be applicable in industries, enzymes that are stable and active at high temperature are much desired. Using genome mining, the nucleotide sequence of the branching enzyme ...

Antibiotic resistance in bacterial pathogens poses an ever-increasing risk to human health. In antibiotic-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus this resistance often resides in extra-chromosomal plasmids, such as those of the pT181 family, which replicate via a rolling-circle mechanism mediated by a plasmid-encoded replication initiation protein. Currently, there is no structural informati...

We studied the segregational stability of plasmids based on pTB913, a 4.5-kb rolling-circle plasmid derived from the thermophilic Bacillus plasmid pTB19. In Bacillus stearothermophilus the stability of pTB913 derivatives appeared to be strain-dependent. In strain CU21 large amounts of single-stranded pTB913 DNA were found and the plasmid was highly unstable at 57 degrees C. In strain NUB3621, h...

The DNA methyltransferase M.BseC1 from B. stearothermophilus methylates the N6 atom of the 3' adenine in the sequence 5'-ATCGAT-3'. The 579-residue protein has been isolated and crystallized using seeding and microdialysis techniques. The crystals are monoclinic, space group P2(1) with cell dimensions a = 53.7, b = 85.7, c = 151.8 A and beta = 95.1 degrees, two molecules in the asymmetric unit ...

Partially denatured 16S and 23S rRNAs from the thermophile Bacillus stearothermophilus show characteristic loop patterns when observed by electron microscopy. The patterns are very similar to those seen in rRNAs from Escherichia coli. At least 2 of 4 most stable interactions in 16S rRNA and 8 of 12 interactions in 23S rRNA are in common for the two species. These interactions correspond well to...

The translational specificity of Bacillus stearothermophilus ribosomes was studied by determining the effectiveness of various synthetic RNAs as templates at 37 degrees and at higher temperatures. The effectiveness of poly(G,U) was maximal at a G:U ratio of 1:3; it declined with lower G content because of reduced ribosomal affinity for the RNA and, with higher G, because of interference by seco...

A protein factor which produces in vitro dissociation of 70S particles into 30S and 50S subunits has been obtained from Bacillus stearothermophilus and Escherichia coli. The factor could be extracted from ribosomes, polyribosomes, and S100 supernatant. The kinetics and temperature curve of the dissociation process in the B. stearothermophilus system have been studied and compared with the react...

Laccases are multicopper-containing oxidases (EC 1.10.3.2.) and they are widely found in fungi, higher plants and bacteria. Because of their high pH stability and thermostability, laccases from this strain have a potential for the treatment of textile bleaching effluents. In this research, the thermophilic test strain isolated from the Manikaran thermal springs, in Himachal Pradesh, were subjec...

BACKGROUND Lactic acid is an important biorefinery platform chemical. The use of thermophilic amylolytic microorganisms to produce lactic acid by fermentation constitutes an efficient strategy to reduce operating costs, including raw materials and sterilization costs. RESULTS A process for the thermophilic production of lactic acid by Geobacillus stearothermophilus directly from potato starch...