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Engineering analysis of continuous production of L-aspartic acid by immobilized Escherichia coli cells in fixed beds.

The reaction mechanism and decay behavior of aspartase activity for immobilized Escherichia coli cells were investigated by using a sectional packed column. Reaction within the immobilized cell column proceeded at zero-order on substrate solutions ranging in concentration from 0.1 to 1.0M, and the initial reaction rate was found to be 1.556 X 10(-2) mol/min/liter of immobilized cells. The effect of temperature on the reaction rate constant was investigated. The Arrhenius plot was a straight line at temperatures below 43 degrees C, and the activation energy for immobilized cells was calculated to be 12.36 kcal/mol. Aspartase activity in the immobilized cell column decayed exponentially and uniformly in all sections of a column. Its half-life was approximately 120 days. The rate of formation of L-aspartic acid was shown to be independent of column dimensions.

Aspartate Ammonia-Lyase↗

Altered kinetic properties of tyrosine-183 to cysteine mutation in glutamine synthetase of anabaena variabilis strain SA1 is responsible for excretion of ammonium ion produced by nitrogenase.

A L-methionine- D, L-sulfoximine-resistant mutant of the cyanobacterium Anabaena variabilis, strain SA1, excreted the ammonium ion generated from N(2) reduction. In order to determine the biochemical basis for the NH(4)(+)-excretion phenotype, glutamine synthetase (GS) was purified from both the parent strain SA0 and from the mutant. GS from strain SA0 (SA0-GS) had a pH optimum of 7.5, while the pH optimum for GS from strain SA1 (SA1-GS) was 6.8. SA1-GS required Mn(+2) for optimum activity, while SA0-GS was Mg(+2) dependent. SA0-GS had the following apparent K(m) values at pH 7.5: glutamate, 1.7 m M; NH(4)(+), 0.015 m M; ATP, 0.13 m M. The apparent K(m) for substrates was significantly higher for SA1-GS at its optimum pH (glutamate, 9.2 m M; NH(4)(+), 12.4 m M; ATP, 0.17 m M). The amino acids alanine, aspartate, cystine, glycine, and serine inhibited SA1-GS less severely than the SA0-GS. The nucleotide sequences of glnA (encoding glutamine synthetase) from strains SA0 and SA1 were identical except for a single nucleotide substitution that resulted in a Y183C mutation in SA1-GS. The kinetic properties of SA1-GS isolated from E. coli or Klebsiella oxytoca glnA mutants carrying the A. variabilis SA1 glnA gene were also similar to SA1-GS isolated from A. variabilis strain SA1. These results show that the NH(4)(+)-excretion phenotype of A. variabilis strain SA1 is a direct consequence of structural changes in SA1-GS induced by the Y183C mutation, which elevated the K(m) values for NH(4)(+) and glutamate, and thus limited the assimilation of NH(4)(+) generated by N(2) reduction. These properties and the altered divalent cation-mediated stability of A. variabilis SA1-GS demonstrate the importance of Y183 for NH(4)(+) binding and metal ion coordination.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The effect of cellobiose, glucose, and cellulose on the survival of Fibrobacter succinogenes A3C cultures grown under ammonia limitation.

The ruminal, cellulolytic bacterium, Fibrobacter succinogenes A3C, grew rapidly on cellulose, cellobiose, or glucose, but it could not withstand long periods of energy source starvation. If ammonia was limiting and either cellobiose or glucose was in excess, the viability declined even faster. The carbohydrate-excess, ammonia-limited cultures did not spill energy, but they accumulated large amounts of cellular polysaccharide. Cultures that were carbohydrate-limited had approximately 4 nmol ATP mg cell protein(-1), but ATP could not be detected in cultures that had an excess of soluble carbohydrates. However, if F. succinogenes A3C was provided with excess cellulose and ammonia was limiting, ATP did not decline, and the cultures digested the cellulose soon after additional nitrogen sources were added. From these results, it appears that excess soluble carbohydrates can promote the death of F. succinogenes, but cellulose does not.

Acids↗

Protective effects of Ca2+, Mg2+, Cu2+, and Ni2+ on mercury and methylmercury toxicity to a cyanobacterium.

Toxicological investigations of the impact of inorganic mercury (Hg2+) and methylmercury (CH3Hg+) in terms of growth, NH4+ uptake, in vivo glutamine synthetase (transferase) activity, and regulation of toxicity by Ca2+, Mg2+, Cu2+ and Ni2+ in the diazotrophic cyanobacterium Nostoc calcicola Bréb. have been completed. Photoautotrophic growth of the cyanobacterium was extremely sensitive to both mercury compounds, CH3Hg+ being 2.5 times more toxic than Hg2+. Although NH4+ uptake was 6 times more sensitive than in vivo GS activity against the two mercurials, both processes had a greater susceptibility toward CH3Hg+. On the basis of Km and Vmax, it is suggested that both mercury species inhibit such metabolic events noncompetitively. Ca2+, Mg2+, Cu2+, and Ni2+ did not change the nature of inhibition and effectively antagonized the Hg2+ and CH3Hg+ toxicities in the sequence Ca2+ greater than Mg2+ much greater than Cu2+ greater than Ni2+.

Calcium↗

Inhibition of Clostridium perfringens phospholipase C by ammonium and sulfonium dications.

Polyamines, alkyldiammonium and alkyldisulfonium salts, inhibit the Clostridium perfringens phospholipase C-catalyzed hydrolysis of 1-S-phosphocholine-2-O-hexadecanoyl-1-mercapto-2-ethanol (1) at pH 7.5, 37 degrees C, mu = 1.0 with KCl. Simple saturation kinetics are observed as both 1 and [Ca2+] are varied and simple linear inhibition is observed. The data are consistent with a non-competitive mechanism that involves binding of the inhibitors to free enzyme, E.[Ca2+] and E.[Ca2+].[S]; the inhibition constants for decamethylenebis(trimethylammonium) and decamethylenebis(dimethylsulfonium) bromides are 90 and 0.28 mM, respectively. It is suggested that the enhanced inhibition by the alkyldisulfonium salts results from more favorable equilibrium constants for contact ion-pair formation or from the formation of tetracoordinate sulfuranes.

Ammonia↗

Different nitrogen sources modulate activity but not expression of glutamine synthetase in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.

Glutamine synthetase (GS) is a central enzyme of nitrogen metabolism that allows assimilation of nitrogen and biosynthesis of glutamine. We isolated the cDNA encoding GS from two arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, Glomus mosseae (GmGln1) and Glomus intraradices (GiGln1). The deduced protein orthologues have a high degree of similarity (92%) with each other as well as with GSs from other fungi. GmGln1 was constitutively expressed during all stages of the fungal life cycle, i.e., spore germination, intraradical and extraradical mycelium. Feeding experiments with different nitrogen sources did not induce any change in the mRNA level of both genes independent of the symbiotic status of the fungus. However, GS activity of extraradical hypahe in G. intraradices was considerably modulated in response to different nitrogen sources. Thus, in a N re-supplementation time-course experiment, GS activity responded quickly to addition of nitrate, ammonium or glutamine. Re-feeding with ammonium produced a general increase in GS activity when compared with hyphae grown in nitrate as a sole N source.

Amino Acid Motifs↗

Effect of nitrogen limitation on the ergosterol production by fed-batch culture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The diversity and content of available nitrogen sources in the growth medium both are very important in the accumulation of ergosterol in the yeast cell membrane. Growth on the good nitrogen sources such as ammonia can harvest more yeast cells than on poor ones, but ergosterol content in those yeast cells is relatively lower. Ergosterol content, one of the most variable parameters in ergosterol production by yeast cultivation, is greatly influenced by nitrogen limitation. The aim of our work was to study how the nitrogen sources affected the membrane ergosterol content and increase the total ergosterol yield. On the premise of keeping high ergosterol content in yeast cell, the ergosterol yield was enhanced by increasing the yeast biomass. Direct feed back control of glucose using an on-line ethanol concentration monitor was introduced to achieve high cell density. Ammonia, which acted as nitrogen source, was added to adjust pH during fermentation process, but its addition needed careful control. Cultivation in 5 L bioreactor was carried out under following conditions: culture temperature 30+/-1 degrees C, pH 5.5+/-0.1, agitation speed 600 rpm, controlling ethanol concentration below 1% and controlling ammonium ion concentration below 0.1 mol/L. Under these conditions the yeast dry weight reached 95.0+/-2.6 g/L and the ergosterol yield reached 1981+/-34 mg/L.

Ammonia↗

Glutamine synthetase from the marine cyanobacteria Prochlorococcus spp: characterization, phylogeny and response to nutrient limitation.

The regulation of glutamine synthetase (EC 6.3.1.2) from Prochlorococcus was previously shown to exhibit unusual features: it is not upregulated by nitrogen starvation and it is not inactivated by darkness (El Alaoui et al. (2001) Appl Environ Microbiol 67: 2202-2207). These are probably caused by adaptations to oligotrophic environments, as confirmed in this work by the marked decrease in the enzymatic activity when cultures were subjected to iron or phosphorus starvation. In order to further understand the adaptive features of ammonium assimilation in this cyanobacterium, glutamine synthetase was purified from two Prochlorococcus strains: PCC 9511 (high-light adapted) and SS120 (low-light adapted). We obtained approximately 100-fold purified samples of glutamine synthetase electrophoretically homogeneous, with a yield of approximately 30%. The estimated molecular mass of the subunits was roughly the same for both strains: 48.3 kDa. The apparent Km constants for the biosynthetic activity were 0.30 mM for ammonium, 1.29 mM for glutamate and 1.35 mM for ATP; the optimum pH was 8.0. Optimal temperature was surprisingly high (55 degrees C). Phylogenetic analysis of glnA from three Prochlorococcus strains (MED4, MIT9313 and SS120) showed they group closely with marine Synechococcus isolates, in good agreement with other studies based on 16 S RNA sequences. All of our results suggest that the structure and kinetics of glutamine synthetase in Prochlorococcus have not been significantly modified during the evolution within the cyanobacterial radiation, in sharp contrast with its regulatory properties.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Dynamic and steady-state responses of inorganic nitrogen pools and NH(3) exchange in leaves of Lolium perenne and Bromus erectus to changes in root nitrogen supply.

Short- and long-term responses of inorganic N pools and plant-atmosphere NH(3) exchange to changes in external N supply were investigated in 11-week-old plants of two grass species, Lolium perenne and Bromus erectus, characteristic of N-rich and N-poor grassland ecosystems, respectively. A switch of root N source from NO(-)(3)to NH(4)(+) caused within 3 h a 3- to 6-fold increase in leaf apoplastic NH(4)(+) concentration and a simultaneous decrease in apoplastic pH of about 0.4 pH units in both species. The concentration of total extractable leaf tissue NH(4)(+) also increased two to three times within 3 h after the switch. Removal of exogenous NH(4)(+) caused the apoplastic NH(4)(+) concentration to decline back to the original level within 24 h, whereas the leaf tissue NH(4)(+)concentration decreased more slowly and did not reach the original level in 48 h. After growing for 5 weeks with a steady-state supply of NO(-)(3)or NH(4)(+), L. perenne were in all cases larger, contained more N, and utilized the absorbed N more efficiently for growth than B. erectus, whereas the two species behaved oppositely with respect to tissue concentrations of NO(-)(3), NH(4)(+), and total N. Ammonia compensation points were higher for B. erectus than for L. perenne and were in both species higher for NH(4)(+)- than for NO(-)(3)-grown plants. Steady-state levels of apoplastic NH(4)(+), tissue NH(4)(+), and NH(3) emission were significantly correlated. It is concluded that leaf apoplastic NH(4)(+) is a highly dynamic pool, closely reflecting changes in the external N supply. This rapid response may constitute a signaling system coordinating leaf N metabolism with the actual N uptake by the roots and the external N availability.

Ammonia↗

A mutant lacking the glutamine synthetase gene (glnA) is impaired in the regulation of the nitrate assimilation system in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803.

The existence in the unicellular cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 of two genes (glnA and glnN) coding for glutamine synthetase (GS) has been recently reported (J.C. Reyes and F.J. Florencio, J. Bacteriol. 176:1260-1267, 1994). In the current work, the regulation of the nitrate assimilation system was studied with a glnA-disrupted Synechocystis mutant (strain SJCR3) in which the only GS activity is that corresponding to the glnN product. This mutant was unable to grow in ammonium-containing medium because of its very low levels of GS activity. In the SJCR3 strain, nitrate and nitrite reductases were not repressed by ammonium, and short-term ammonium-promoted inhibition of nitrate uptake was impaired. In Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803, nitrate seems to act as a true inducer of its assimilation system, in a way similar to that proposed for the dinitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria. A spontaneous derivative strain from SJCR3 (SJCR3.1), was able to grow in ammonium-containing medium and exhibited a fourfold-higher level of GS activity than but the same amount of glnN transcript as its parental strain (SJCR3). Taken together, these finding suggest that SJCR3.1 is a mutant affected in the posttranscriptional regulation of the GS encoded by glnN. This strain recovered regulation by ammonium of nitrate assimilation. SJCR3 cells were completely depleted of intracellular glutamine shortly after addition of ammonium to cells growing with nitrate, while SJCR3.1 cells maintained glutamine levels similar to that reached in the wild-type Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803. Our results indicate that metabolic signals that control the nitrate assimilation system in Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 require ammonium metabolism through GS.

Amino Acids↗

Optimum growth requirements of nitrifying consortia developed from treated sewage.

The optimum growth requirements of two nitrifying consortia developed from treated sewage by enrichment technique were determined by a series of experiments. There was total inhibition of nitrification at above 2.75 g l(-1) NH4(+)- N and 2.5 g l(-1) NO2(-)-N and the ammonia oxidizing consortium preferred a pH at 8.5 and the nitrite oxidizing consortium a pH of 7.5 as the optima for nitrification. Optimum temperatures were between 20 degrees and 30 degrees C for both the groups. As the rate of airflow was increased from 1 to 7 l/min, the build-up of NO2(-)-N increased 10-fold and the consumption of NO2(-)-N increased by a factor of 28.8 implying that the ammonia oxidizing consortium in a bioreactor required three times more aeration than that for nitrite oxidizers for expressing their full nitrifying potential. These data directly contribute for developing a fermentation process for the mass production of nitrifiers as well as for designing bioreactors for nitrifying sewage.

Ammonia↗