Tuber melanosporum (Ascomycota, Pezizales) is an ectomycorrhizal fungus that produces highly appreciated hypogeous fruiting bodies called black truffles. The aim of this paper was to research the composition ectomycorrhiza-associated fungal and bacterial communities in T. oak plantations. Results showed competitive effect on other species, especially mycorrhizal pathogenic species. shown be ass...

Milk produced in udder cells is sterile but due to its high nutrient content, it can be a good growth substrate for contaminating bacteria. The quality of milk is monitored via somatic cell counts and total bacterial counts, with prescribed regulatory limits to ensure quality and safety. Bacterial contaminants can cause disease, or spoilage of milk and its secondary products. Aerobic spore-form...

Thirty-nine Bacillus strains obtained from a variety of environmental and food sources were screened by PCR for the presence of five gene targets (hblC, hblD, hblA, nheA, and nheB) in two enterotoxin operons (HBL and NHE) traditionally harbored by Bacillus cereus. Seven isolates exhibited a positive signal for at least three of the five possible targets, including Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, B....

Bacillus pasteurii UreE (BpUreE) is a putative chaperone assisting the insertion of Ni(2+) ions in the active site of urease. The x-ray structure of the protein has been determined for two crystal forms, at 1.7 and 1.85 A resolution, using SIRAS phases derived from a Hg(2+)-derivative. BpUreE is composed of distinct N- and C-terminal domains, connected by a short flexible linker. The structure ...

The influence of ammonium and urea on the components of the proton electrochemical potential (delta p) and de novo synthesis of ATP was studied with Bacillus pasteurii ATCC 11859. In washed cells grown at high urea concentrations, a delta p of -56 +/- 29 mV, consisting of a membrane potential (delta psi) of -228 +/- 19 mV and of a transmembrane pH gradient (delta pH) equivalent to 172 +/- 38 mV...

In the past, enzymatic activity has always been expected to be dependent on overall protein rigidity, necessary for substrate recognition and optimal orientation. However, increasing evidence is now accumulating, revealing that some proteins characterized by intrinsic disorder are actually able to perform catalysis. Among them, the only known natural intrinsically disordered enzyme is UreG, a G...

It is also noteworthy that the maximum phosphorylation potential that may be generated by the vesicles (approx. 53.8kJ/mol) (Kell et al., 1978~) was not altered when the rate of NADH oxidation was inhibited by up to 60 %. The corollary of this result is that if Ap is poised at equilibrium with the phosphorylation potential then, as the phosphorylation potential does not decline when NADH oxidat...

OBJECTIVES To show molecular similarity between two sequences of Proteus mirabilis (haemolysin--ESRRAL; urease--IRRET) with HLA-DR antigens (EQRRAA) which are associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and type XI collagen (LRREI), respectively; and, in patients with RA, to measure levels of antibody against a 16-mer synthetic peptide containing the ESRRAL sequence, and the haemolysin and urease...