The regulatory gene (degT) from Bacillus stearothermophilus NCA1503 which enhanced production of extracellular alkaline protease (Apr) was cloned in Bacillus subtilis with pTB53 as a vector. When B. subtilis MT-2 (Npr- [deficiency of neutral protease] Apr+) was transformed with the recombinant plasmid, pDT145, the plasmid carrier produced about three times more alkaline protease than did the wi...

Real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay of sputum or nasopharyngeal specimens has shown promising results in the detection of pneumococcal community-acquired pneumonia (PncCAP). We applied qPCR for the autolysin gene (lytA) and compared sputum and nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) pneumococcal loads in elderly patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), and specifically in patients with PncCAP, t...

The optical density of a culture of lactococcus lactis MG1363 was reduced more than 60% during prolonged stationary phase. Reduction in optical density (autolysis) was almost absent in a culture of an isogenic mutant containing a deletion in the major autolysin gene, acmA. An acmA mutant carrying multiple coples of a plasmid encoding AcmA lysed to a greater extent than the wild-type strain did....

Streptococcus suis serotype 2 (S. suis 2) is an important zoonotic pathogen. It causes heavy economic losses in the pig-farming industry and can be associated with severe infections in humans, e.g. streptococcal toxic shock syndrome. Understanding its pathogenesis is critical for prevention and control of diseases caused by S. suis 2. In this study, we show that deletion of a two-component syst...

The biofilm formation capacity of Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates is considered an important virulence factor for the establishment of chronic infections. Environmental conditions affect the biofilm formation capacity of S. aureus, indicating the existence of positive and negative regulators of the process. The majority of the screening procedures for identifying genes involved in biofi...

Bis-quaternary ammonium compounds (bis-QACs) have the ability to cause a rapid and abundant leakage of the turbid materials from cells, and such a bacterioclastic ability leads to a potent bactericidal activity. In order to clarify the detailed mechanism of the bactericidal action of bis-QACs, the correlation between the bacterioclastic action of 4,4'-(1,6-hexamethylenedithio)bis(1-octylpyridin...

Competence stimulating peptide (CSP) is a 17-amino acid peptide pheromone secreted by Streptococcus pneumoniae. Upon binding of CSP to its membrane-associated receptor kinase ComD, a cascade of signaling events is initiated, leading to activation of the competence regulon by the response regulator ComE. Genes encoding proteins that are involved in DNA uptake and transformation, as well as virul...