Fourier transform infrared difference spectroscopy has been used to obtain the vibrational modes. in the chro-*mophore and apoprotein 'that change in intensity or position between light-adapted bacteriorhodopsin and the K and M-intermediates in its photocycle and between dark-adapted and lightadapted bacteriorhodopsin. Our infrared' measurements provide independent verification of resonance Raman results that in lightadapted bacteriorhodopsin the protein-chromophore linkage is a protonated Schiff base and in the M state the Schiff base is un-,protonated. Although we cannot unambiguously identify the Schiff base stretching frequency in the K state, the most'likely interpretation of deuterium shifts of the chromophore hydrogen out-ofplane vibrations is that the Schiff base in K is protonated. The intensity of the hydrogen out-of-plane vibrations in the K state compared with the intensities of.those in light-adapted and'darkadapted bacteriorhodopsin shows that the conformation of the chromophore in K is considerably distorted. In addition, we find evidence that the conformation of the protein changes during the photocycle.Bacteriorhodopsin (bR) is the light-energy transducing protein found in the purple membrane (PM) of the extreme halophile Halobacterium halobium (1-4). The chromophore in bacteriorhodopsin is a single molecule of retinal, covalently bound to the £-amino group of a lysine (Lys-216) via a Schiffbase linkage (Fig 1). Upon absorption of light, the light-adapted form of bR (bR ) undergoes a photocycle, bRLA +--* K --L --M -O 0 bRLA, during which protons are pumped from the inside of the cell to the extracellular medium. The resulting proton gradient is used by the cell to generate chemical energy in the form ofATP and drive other energy-requiring processes. In the dark, bRLA thermally converts to the dark-adapted form of bR (bRDA).The mechanism of this light driven proton pump has been studied by using visible and ultraviolet, resonance Raman (5), and infrared (IR) (6-8) spectroscopies and chemical extraction techniques. These investigations strongly suggest that during the photocycle changes occur in both the isomeric state of the chromophore and the state ofprotonation of the Schiff'base. In particular, chemical extraction experiments have provided evidence that the chromophore in bRLA is in an all-trans configuration, that in the L and M states it is in a 13-cis configuration, and that in bRDA the chromophore exists in two isomeric forms, all-trans and 13-cis, in a ratio of approximately 1: 1 (9-11).Evidence for the conformation of the chromophore in situ comes primarily from comparisons between the resonance Raman vibrational spectra in both 'H20 and 2H20 of native bR, bR in which analogs ofretinal have been incorporated, and retinal 'Schiff bases. Analysis of the results from such work is dif-CH3 CH3
BackgroundBiosurfactants are a structurally diverse group of secondary metabolites with lots of potential to serve mankind. Depending upon the structure and composition they may exhibit properties that make them suitable for a particular application. Structural and compositional diversity of biosurfactant is unambiguously substrate dependent. The present study investigates the qualitative and quantitative effect of different water soluble carbon source on the biosurfactant produced by Bacillus amylofaciens strain AR2.ResultsStrain AR2 produced lipopeptide type biosurfactant while growing on water soluble carbon sources. Maximum biosurfactant production was observed in the sucrose supplemented minimal salt medium (MSM). Strain AR2 exhibited carbon source dependent surface tension reduction in the range of 30-37 mN/m, critical micelle concentration (CMC) in the range 80-110 mg/l and emulsification index (EI24 kerosene) in the range of 32-66%. In dextrose, sucrose and glycerol supplemented MSM, strain AR2 produced lipopeptides as a mixture of surfactin, iturin and fengycin. However, in the presence of maltose, lactose and sorbitol only iturin was produced. This substrate dependent compositional variation in the lipopeptides significantly influenced antifungal activity. Lipopeptides produced by strain AR2 while growing on sucrose and dextrose based MSM was observed to be most efficient as an antifungal agent.ConclusionsThese results suggest that carbon source provided for the growth and biosurfactant production not only influences the yield but also the type of biosurfactant. Sucrose is the most suitable carbon source for production of lipopeptide biosurfactant with antifungal activity.
Summary Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) adaptation to hypoxia is considered crucial to its prolonged latent persistence in humans. Mtb lesions are known to contain physiologically heterogeneous microenvironments that bring about differential responses from bacteria. Here we exploit metabolic variability within biofilm cells to identify alternate respiratory polyketide quinones (PkQs) from both Mycobacterium smegmatis (Msmeg) and Mtb. PkQs are specifically expressed in biofilms and other oxygen-deficient niches to maintain cellular bioenergetics. Under such conditions, these metabolites function as mobile electron carriers in the respiratory electron transport chain. In the absence of PkQs, mycobacteria escape from the hypoxic core of biofilms and prefer oxygen-rich conditions. Unlike the ubiquitous isoprenoid pathway for the biosynthesis of respiratory quinones, PkQs are produced by type III polyketide synthases using fatty acyl-CoA precursors. The biosynthetic pathway is conserved in several other bacterial genomes, and our study reveals a redox-balancing chemicocellular process in microbial physiology.
This study describes the potential application of lipopeptide biosurfactants in removal of petroleum hydrocarbons and heavy metals from the soil samples collected from industrial dumping site. High concentrations of heavy metals (like iron, lead, nickel, cadmium, copper, cobalt and zinc) and petroleum hydrocarbons were present in the contaminated soil samples. Lipopeptide biosurfactant, consisting of surfactin and fengycin was obtained from Bacillus subtilis A21. Soil washing with biosurfactant solution removed significant amount of petroleum hydrocarbon (64.5 %) and metals namely cadmium (44.2 %), cobalt (35.4 %), lead (40.3 %), nickel (32.2 %), copper (26.2 %) and zinc (32.07 %). Parameters like surfactant concentration, temperature, agitation condition and pH of the washing solution influenced the pollutant removing ability of biosurfactant mixture. Biosurfactant exhibited substantial hydrocarbon solubility above its critical micelle concentration. During washing, 50 % of biosurfactant was sorbed to the soil particles decreasing effective concentration during washing process. Biosurfactant washed soil exhibited 100 % mustard seed germination contradictory to water washed soil where no germination was observed. The results indicate that the soil washing with mixture of lipopeptide biosurfactants at concentrations above its critical micelle concentration can be an efficient and environment friendly approach for removing pollutants (petroleum hydrocarbon and heavy metals) from contaminated soil.
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