Bacillus stearothermophilus BR219, isolated from river sediment, degraded phenol at levels to 15 mM at a rate of 0.85 mumol/h (4 x 10(6) cells). The solubilized phenol hydroxylase was NADH dependent, exhibited a 55 degrees C temperature optimum for activity, and was not inhibited by 0.5 mM phenol.

The 5 A resolution crystal structure analysis of ribosomal protein L30 from Bacillus stearothermophilus is described. The molecule is shown to be compact and extend to about 25-30 A in each dimension.

Crystals of ribosomal protein L6 from Bacillus stearothermophilus suitable for high resolution structural studies have been obtained. Crystals are hexagonal with space group P6122 (or the enantiomorph P6522) and cell dimensions a = b = 72.7 A, c = 124.9 A. A search for heavy atom derivatives is in progress.

The potential advantages of biological production of chemicals or fuels from biomass at high temperatures include reduced enzyme loading for cellulose degradation, decreased chance of contamination, and lower product separation cost. In general, high temperature production of compounds that are not native to the thermophilic hosts is limited by enzyme stability and the lack of suitable expressi...

The aim of the present study was to analyse sequences of 16S-23S internal transcribed spacer regions of different Geobacillus species, identify structural elements of these regions and evaluate the possibility to use these structural elements in the taxonomy of the genus Geobacillus. GEOBAC-PCR was used in order to obtain 16S-23S rRNA internal transcribed spacer sequences. Certain structural el...

The lantibiotic nisin has been used as an effective food preservative to combat food-borne pathogens for over 40 y. Despite this successful use, nisin's stability at pH 7 is limited. Herein, we describe a nisin analog encoded on the genome of the thermophilic bacterium Geobacillus thermodenitrificans NG80-2. This analog termed geobacillin I was obtained by heterologous expression in Escherichia...

An obligately thermophilic strain ZY-10 was isolated from the crude oil in a high-temperature oilfield, which was capable of degrading heavy crude oil. Phenotypic and phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the isolate should be grouped in the genus Geobacillus, which shared thd highest similarity (99%) of the 16S rDNA sequence to Geobacillus stearothermophilus. However, the major cellular fatt...

Catalysis by dihydrofolate reductase from the moderately thermophilic bacterium Geobacillus stearothermophilus (BsDHFR) was investigated by isotope substitution of the enzyme. The enzyme kinetic isotope effect for hydride transfer was close to unity at physiological temperatures but increased with decreasing temperatures to a value of 1.65 at 5 °C. This behavior is opposite to that observed for...

Three strains of Geobacillus stearothermophilus (designated A1, P3, and D1) were isolated from a New Zealand milk powder manufacturing plant. Here, we describe their draft genome sequences. This information provided the first genomic insights into the nature of G. stearothermophilus strains present in the milk powder manufacturing environment.

Geobacillus stearothermophilus is the main thermophilic spore former involved in flat sour spoilage of canned foods. Three typing methods were tested and applied to differentiate strains at intra-species level: panC sequence analysis, REP-PCR and M13-PCR. panC gene was highly conserved within the studied strains, suggesting a low intra-specific diversity. This was supported by REP-PCR primary a...