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Biomedical subjects

B Norkrans

Publications and source records attributed to B Norkrans.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1981

Changes in free amino acid content and activities of amination and transamination enzymes in yeasts grown on different inorganic nitrogen sources, including hydroxylamine.

This study concerns inter- and intraspecific differences between yeasts at assimilation of different nitrogen sources. Alterations in the content of free amino acids in cells and media as well as in the related enzyme activities during growth were studied. The hydroxylamine (HA)-tolerant Endomycopsis lipolytica was examined and compared with the nitrate-reducing Cryptococcus albidus, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, requiring fully reduced nitrogen for growth. Special attention was paid to alanine, aspartic acid, and glutamic acid, the amino acids closely related to the Krebs cycle keto acids. The amino acids were analyzed as their n-propyl N-acetyl esters by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC). The composition of the amino acid pool was similar for the three yeasts. Glutamic acid was predominant; in early log-phase cells of E. lipolytica contents of 200-234 micromol . g(-1) dry weight were found. A positive correlation between the specific growth rate and the size of the amino acid pool was observed. The assimilation of ammonia was mediated by glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH). The NADP-GDH was the dominating enzyme in all three yeasts showing the highest specific activity in Cr. albidus grown on nitrate (6980 nmol . (min(-1)).(mg protein(-1)). Glutamine synthetase (GS) displayed a high specific activity in S. cerevisiae, which also had a high amount of glutamine. The assimilation of HA did not differ greatly from the assimilation of ammonium in E. lipolytica. The existing differences could rather be explained as provoked by the concentration of available nitrogen.

Alanine Transaminase↗
PubMed1981

The hydrophobicity of bacteria - an important factor in their initial adhesion at the air-water interface.

Bacteria isolated from the surface and the subsurface water at four stations along the Swedish west coast were assessed for their hydrophobicity with hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC). The surface bacteria were sampled by the Teflon sheet technique. [3H]-L-leucine metabolically labeled isolates were run on a column packed with Octyl-Sepharose CL-4B gel. The relative hydrophobicity of the bacteria was expressed as the ratio, g/e, between the radioactivity of the gel and the eluate. The results revealed a positive correlation between the degree of enrichment of bacteria at the surface and their hydrophobicity. The subsurface bacteria exhibited a broader spectrum of g/e-values than the surface bacteria. The initial adhesion of bacteria to the surface microlayer depends on several factors of which the hydrophobic interaction may be one of the most important.

Bacterial Physiological Phenomena↗
PubMed1977

Cellular content of the Krebs cycle keto acids in yeasts grown on different nitrogen sources, including hydroxylamine.

The cellular pool of Krebs cycle keto acids was followed as a function of growth in three yeasts. The keto acids were analyzed as silylated methoximes by quantitative gas chromatography with capillary glass columns. The 2-oxoglutaric acid content was strikingly high in the hydroxylamine (HA)-tolerant, HA-utilizing Endomycopsis lipolytica when compared to that in the nitrate-utilizing yeast Cryptococcus albidus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, requiring fully reduced nitrogen for growth. The content of E. lipolytica increased throughout the log phase to maxima of about 200-250 microgram per g dry weight in HA and ammonia media. These amounts are 20-25 times greater than those attained in the two other yeasts. The cellular content of pyruvic acid was at a maximum early in the log phase, amounting to 50-70 microgram per g dry weight for all yeasts. The oxalacetic acid content never exceeded 9 microgram per g dry weight in any of the yeasts. Oximeformation, for which keto acid production is a prerequisite, is discussed as part of the HA-tolerance.

Ammonium Sulfate↗
PubMed1976

On the mechanism of salt tolerance. Production of glycerol and heat during growth of Debaryomyces hansenii.

As glycerol was suggested as an osmotic agent in the salt tolerant Debaryomyces hansenii the concentrations of total, intracellular, and extracellular glycerol produced by this yeast was followed during growth in 4 mM, 0.68 M, and 2.7 M NaCl media. The total amount of glycerol was not directly proportional to biomass production but to the cultural salinity with maximum concentrations just prior to or at the beginning of the stationary phase. In all cultures the cells lost some glycerol to the media, at 2.7 M NaCl the extracellular glycerol even amounted maximally to 80% of the total. A distinct maximum of intracellular glycerol, related to dry weight or cell number, appeared during the log phase at all NaCl concentrations. As the intracellular calculated glycerol concentrations amounted to 0.2 M, 0.8 M, and 2.6 M in late log phase cells at 4mM, 0.68 M, and 2.7 M NaCl, respectively, whereas the corresponding analysed values for the glycerol concentrations of the media were 0.7 mM, 2.5 mM, and 3.0 mM, glycerol contributes to the osmotic balance of the cells. During the course of growth all cultures showed a decreasing heat production related to cell substance produced, most pronounced at 2.7 M NaCl. At 2.7 M NaCl the total heat production amounted to--1690 kJ per mole glucose consumed in contrast to--1200 and--1130 kJ at 4 mM and 0.68 M NaCl, respectively. The Ym-values were of an inverse order, being 129, 120, and 93 at 4 mM, 0.68 M, and 2.7 M NaCl respectively.

Ascomycota↗
PubMed1976

Surface balance study of the interaction between microorganisms and lipid monolayer at the air/water interface.

Using the surface balance technique, we have compared the interaction between Acholeplasma laidlawii and some marine bacteria towards different types of monolayered lipid films. Cells from A. laidlawii and Serratia marinorubra penetrate the film, whereas cells from Psuedomonas fluorescens form a layer underneath the film. The forces that bind microorganisms to the air/water interface are not strong enough to scatter a condensed monolayer but increase the strength of loosely packed monolayers.

Acholeplasma laidlawii↗
PubMed1969

Regulation of the potassium to sodium ratio and of the osmotic potential in relation to salt tolerance in yeasts.

By using the isotope pairs (22)Na-(24)Na and (42)K-(86)Rb, the uptake and retention of Na and K was studied in the salt-tolerant Debaryomyces hansenii and in the less tolerant Saccharomyces cerevisiae at NaCl levels of 4 mm and 0.68, 1.35, and 2.7 m in the medium. The ratio of K to Na is much higher in the cells than in the media, and higher in D. hansenii than in S. cerevisiae under comparable conditions. The difference between the two species is due to a better Na extrusion and a better uptake of K in D. hansenii. The kinetics of ion transport show that at about the time when extrusion of Na could be demonstrated in D. hansenii, K-Rb previously lost to an easily washable compartment of the cells was reabsorbed in both organisms. More H(+) was given off from S. cerevisiae than from D. hansenii in the course of these events. The findings fit the working hypothesis tested, which regards salt tolerance as partly dependent on the ability to mobilize energy to extrude Na from the cells and to take up K. The volume changes in S. cerevisiae are greater and are more slowly overcome than those in D. hansenii. The total salt level of the cells is not sufficient to counteract the osmotic potential of the medium, so that additional osmoregulatory mechanisms must be involved in determining halotolerance.

Hydrogen-Ion Concentration↗