BACKGROUND Starch-degrading amylase enzyme is important in biotechnological applications as food, fermentation, textile, paper and pharmaceutical purposes. The aim of current study to isolate alkaline thermostable α-amylase bacteria and then study the composition of medium and culture conditions to optimize cells growth and a-amylase production. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thermophilic amylase prod...

Background: Considering natural thermal stability, Geobacillus stearothermophilus amylase and Cel5E from Clostridium thermocellum are good candidates for industrial applications. To be compatible with the industrial applications, this enzyme should be stable in the high temperatures, so any improvement in their thermal stability is valuable.Objectives: Us...

Global warming is projected to continue, leading to intense fluctuations in precipitation and heat waves and thereby affecting the productivity and the relevant biological processes of grassland ecosystems. Here, we determined the functional responses to warming and altered precipitation in both typical and desert steppes. The results showed that watering markedly increased the aboveground net ...

Biological soil crusts are diverse assemblages of bacteria, cyanobacteria, algae, fungi, lichens, and mosses that cover much of arid land soils. The objective of this study was to quantify protozoa associated with biological soil crusts and test the response of protozoa to increased temperature and precipitation as is predicted by some global climate models. Protozoa were more abundant when ass...

Cele Oasis on the southern edge of Tarim Basin was used to investigate the impact of human activity on the soil environment of the oasis–desert ecotone during the oasis expansion process. Since farmland is extending into the oasis–desert ecotone during oasis expansion, reclaimed farmland and control plots within the ecotone were investigated. The variations in soil moisture, soil nutrients and ...

Soil moisture is a key limiting resource in arid and semi-arid environments for woody shrub species. We assessed if three arid communities differed in their level of dry season soil moisture content and if the dominant species in these communities differed in their ability to use soil moisture. Water potential of all of the dominant woody plant species occurring in chaparral, coastal sage, and ...

Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus brevis 47-5, carrying the Bacillus stearothermophilus alpha-amylase gene on pUB110 (pBAM101), synthesized the same alpha-amylase as the donor strain as determined by the enzyme's thermal stability and NH2-terminal amino acid sequence. Regardless of the host, the 34-amino acid signal peptide of the enzyme was processed at exactly the same site between two alanine r...