Daptomycin inhibits the formation of UDP-N-acetylmuramyl-pentapeptide in Bacillus megaterium by inhibiting active transport of amino acids incorporated into the pentapeptide. The ability of daptomycin to inhibit active transport and peptidoglycan formation may be due to its ability to disrupt the transmembrane electrochemical gradient.

High-efficiency disruption of bacteria can be accomplished in 2 or more min by the new procedure of liquid nitrogen cryo-impacting. Release of the dipicolinic acid-Ca2+ chelate paralleled the breakage of Bacillus megaterium endospores. Lactate dehydrogenase activity was much better in supernates from liquid nitrogen cryo-impacting-broken Escherichia coli cells than in those from sonically treat...

Branched chain fatty acids are substrates for cytochrome P450(BM3) (CYP102) from Bacillus megaterium; oxidation of C15 and C17 iso and anteiso fatty acids by P450(BM3) leads to the formation of hydroxylated products that possess high levels of regiochemical and stereochemical purity.

Podophage Pascal infects Bacillus megaterium, a commonly used model organism in biochemical research and an important industrial-scale protein production system. Here, we report the sequenced and annotated genome of Pascal and describe its prominent features. Bacteriophages such as Pascal may be valuable tools for research and industry.

The wall-covered bacteria Micrococcus lysodeikticus, Bacillus megaterium, and Proteus mirabilis incorporated exogenous cholesterol into their cytoplasmic membrane in quantities resembling those incorporated by sterol-nonrequiring mycoplasmas. Cholesterol incorporation into the outer membrane of P. mirabilis was much more restricted than into the cytoplasmic membrane.