MIcrobiology news from www.synbio.org.uk

Genome sequence of the solvent-producing bacterium Clostridium carboxidivorans strain P7T.

Sat, 02 Oct 2010 23:38:48 +0100

Genome sequence of the solvent-producing bacterium Clostridium carboxidivorans strain P7T.: "Publication Date: 2010 Oct PMID: 20729368
Authors: Paul, D. - Austin, F. W. - Arick, T. - Bridges, S. M. - Burgess, S. C. - Dandass, Y. S. - Lawrence, M. L.
Journal: J Bacteriol

Clostridium carboxidivorans strain P7(T) is a strictly anaerobic acetogenic bacterium that produces acetate, ethanol, butanol, and butyrate. The C. carboxidivorans genome contains all the genes for the carbonyl branch of the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway for CO(2) fixation, and it encodes enzymes for conversion of acetyl coenzyme A into butanol and butyrate.

(Via Journal of...

Bacterial physiology: Bacillus takes the temperature

Sat, 02 Oct 2010 23:20:49 +0100

Bacterial physiology: Bacillus takes the temperature: "

Bacterial physiology: Bacillus takes the temperature

Nature Reviews Microbiology 8, 680 (2010). doi:10.1038/nrmicro2445 Author: Lucie Wootton

Bacillus subtilis uses a ruler-like mechanism to sense temperature according to membrane thickness.

(Via Nature Reviews Microbiology.)

The unique binding mode of cellulosomal CBM4 from Clostridium thermocellum cellobiohydrolase A.

Sat, 02 Oct 2010 22:54:58 +0100

The unique binding mode of cellulosomal CBM4 from Clostridium thermocellum cellobiohydrolase A.: "Publication Date: 2010 Sep 17 PMID: 20654622
Authors: Alahuhta, M. - Xu, Q. - Bomble, Y. J. - Brunecky, R. - Adney, W. S. - Ding, S. Y. - Himmel, M. E. - Lunin, V. V.
Journal: J Mol Biol

The crystal structure of the carbohydrate-binding module (CBM) 4 Ig fused domain from the cellulosomal cellulase cellobiohydrolase A (CbhA) of Clostridium thermocellum was solved in complex with cellobiose at 2.11 A resolution. This is the first cellulosomal CBM4 crystal structure reported to date. It is similar...

Imaging mass spectrometry of intraspecies metabolic exchange revealed the cannibalistic factors ...

Sat, 02 Oct 2010 22:50:58 +0100

Imaging mass spectrometry of intraspecies metabolic exchange revealed the cannibalistic factors of Bacillus subtilis.: "Publication Date: 2010 Sep 14 PMID: 20805502
Authors: Liu, W. T. - Yang, Y. L. - Xu, Y. - Lamsa, A. - Haste, N. M. - Yang, J. Y. - Ng, J. - Gonzalez, D. - Ellermeier, C. D. - Straight, P. D. - Pevzner, P. A. - Pogliano, J. - Nizet, V. - Pogliano, K. - Dorrestein, P. C.
Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

During bacterial cannibalism, a differentiated subpopulation harvests nutrients from their genetically identical siblings to allow continued...

Biogenic Insecticides

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 00:08:23 +0100

Biogenic Insecticides Decoded

ScienceDaily (Mar. 6, 2010) — In the latest issue of Science, researchers from the University of Freiburg report on their discovery of a new mode of action of insecticidal toxins from Photorhabdus luminescens, a bacterium which lives in a symbiotic relationship with nematodes.

Vast Microbial Diversity of Carnivorous Pitcher Plant Uncovered

A new study of methane-munching microbes adds weight to the idea that bacteria were producing oxygen on Earth before photosynthesis evolved.

Margaret Butler of the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology at the University of Queensland, and colleagues, report their study of a new kind of bacteria this week in the journal...

Oceans' smallest lifeforms

Sun, 18 Apr 2010 20:40:35 +0100

Microbes May Be More Networked Than You Are (Wired Op-ed)

Bio Hacking Resources

From: http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/000582.php

I've been expecting tools for basement bio hacks any day now for about...

Scientists visualize how bacteria talk to one another

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:25:42 +0100

Using imaging mass spectrometry, researchers at the University of California, San Diego have developed tools that will enable scientists to visualize how different cell populations of cells communicate. Their study shows how bacteria talk to one another – an understanding that may lead to new therapeutic discoveries for diseases ranging from cancer to diabetes and allergies.

In the paper published in the November 8 issue of Nature Chemical Biology, Pieter C. Dorrestein, PhD, assistant professor at UC...

Bacillus Genome Stock Center news

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 12:09:19 +0100

New acquisitions at the Bacillus Genome Stock Center

Extract from: http://www.bgsc.org/NewThisMonth.htm (Aug 2009)

New strains of B. subtilis

A collaboration from groups at University of Maryland School of Medicine (J. Ravel and W. F. Fricke), Harvard Medical School (R. Kolter and A. Earl), and Harvard University (R. Losick) is currently aiming to sequence six environmental isolates belonging to the "Bacillus subtilis group" of related species:

Bacillus...

Networked microbes

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:05:40 +0100

Microbes May Be More Networked Than You Are

Bacteria And Algae Act As Biocatalysts for Deep-sea Raw Material Deposition

ScienceDaily (June 4, 2009) — The sea floor is strewn with raw materials that could be very important in the future: Manganese and iron, but also rarer and more precious elements such as cobalt, copper, zinc and nickel, are present in great quantities in the form of deep-sea nodules and crusts. The depositions of such materials from...

New antibiotics

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 22:47:13 +0100

New Germ Busters Outwit Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

By Erin Biba

Microbial communities in industrial environment.

Maukonen J, Saarela M. Curr Opin Microbiol. 2009 May 14. [Epub ahead of print]
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, P.O. Box 1000, FI-02044 VTT, Finland.

There is a wealth of techniques that can and have been used for the characterization of industrial microbial communities. Recently, especially PCR-based methods have been starting to replace culture-based approaches, and in microbial community analysis, for example, high-throughput methods such as denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) have been utilized for analysis of industrial samples. In...

Methods for unveiling cryptic microbial partnerships in nature

Sat, 23 May 2009 07:56:59 +0100

Methods for unveiling cryptic microbial partnerships in nature.

Orphan VJ. Curr Opin Microbiol. 2009 May 15. [Epub ahead of print]
Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, United States.

Syntrophy and mutualism play a central role in carbon and nutrient cycling by microorganisms. Yet our ability to recognize these partnerships in nature or to effectively study their behavior in culture has been hindered by the inherent interdependence of syntrophic associations, their dynamic behavior, and their frequent existence at thermodynamic limits. Now solutions to...

Exosomes - vesicular carriers for intercellular communication.

Sat, 23 May 2009 07:55:20 +0100

Exosomes - vesicular carriers for intercellular communication.

Simons M, Raposo G. Curr Opin Cell Biol. 2009 May 11. [Epub ahead of print]
Max-Planck-Institute for Experimental Medicine, Hermann-Rein-Str. 3, Göttingen, Germany; Department of Neurology, Robert-Koch-Str. 40, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.

Cells release different types of vesicular carriers of membrane and cytosolic components into the extracellular space. These vesicles are generated within the endosomal system or at the plasma membrane. Among the various kinds of secreted membrane vesicles, exosomes are vesicles with a diameter of 40-100nm...

Peptide trafficking and translocation

Sat, 23 May 2009 00:47:48 +0100

Peptide trafficking and translocation across membranes in cellular signaling and self-defense strategies. Abele R, Tampé R. Curr Opin Cell Biol. 2009 May 12.

Institute of Biochemistry, Biocenter, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue Str. 9, D-60438 Frankfurt a.M., Germany.

Cells are metastable per se and a fine-tuned balance of de novo protein synthesis and degradation shapes their proteome. The primary function of peptides is to supply amino acids for de novo protein synthesis or as an energy source during starvation. Peptides are intrinsically short-lived and steadily trimmed by...