Expression of bacteriocin divercin AS7 in and its functional analysis.

Bacteriocins are small peptides with antimicrobial activity, that are produced by bacteria. Four classes of bacteriocins produced by lactic acid bacteria have been defined. Class IIa bacteriocins are promising candidates for industrial applications due to their high biological activity and their physicochemical properties.

Influence of phenolic acids on indole acetic acid production and on the type III secretion system gene transcription in food-associated Pseudomonas fluorescens KM05.

The purpose of these investigations was to evaluate the reduction capability of phenolic acids (ferulic, chlorogenic, gallic, and p-coumaric acids) on indole acetic acid synthesis by food-associated Pseudomonas fluorescens KM05. Specific genetic primer for the type III secretion system (TTSS) in P. fluorescens KM05 was designed and the influence of phenolic acids on its expression was investigated.

Isolation process of industrially useful Clostridium bifermentans from natural samples.

A selective isolation procedure of clostridial strains from natural samples able to convert glycerol to 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD) and organic acids was investigated. The modified PY medium of high concentration of NaHCO(3) was shown to be highly selective for Clostridium bifermentans. Obtained isolates produced mainly 1,3-PD, lactic, acetic, and formic acids from glycerol.

Impact of DNA microarray data transformation on gene expression analysis - comparison of two normalization methods.

Two-color DNA microarrays are commonly used for the analysis of global gene expression. They provide information on relative abundance of thousands of mRNAs. However, the generated data need to be normalized to minimize systematic variations so that biologically significant differences can be more easily identified.

Evaluation of quantitative PCR measurement of bacterial colonization of epithelial cells.

Microbial colonization is an important step in establishing pathogenic or probiotic relations to host cells and in biofilm formation on industrial or medical devices. The aim of this work was to verify the applicability of quantitative PCR (Real-Time PCR) to measure bacterial colonization of epithelial cells. Salmonella enterica and Caco-2 intestinal epithelial cell line was used as a model.

Biodegradation and surfactant-mediated biodegradation of diesel fuel by 218 microbial consortia are not correlated to cell surface hydrophobicity.

In this study, we elucidated the role of cell surface hydrophobicity (microbial adhesion to hydrocarbons method, MATH) and the effect of anionic rhamnolipids and nonionic Triton X-100 surfactants on biodegradation of diesel fuel employing 218 microbial consortia isolated from petroleum-contaminated soils. Applied enrichment procedure with floating diesel fuel as a sole carbon source in liquid cultures resulted in consortia of varying biodegradation potential and diametrically different cell surface properties, suggesting that cell surface hydrophobicity is a conserved parameter. Surprisingly, no correlations between cell surface hydrophobicity and biodegradation of diesel fuel were found.

Biodegradation of diesel fuel by a microbial consortium in the presence of 1-alkoxymethyl-2-methyl-5-hydroxypyridinium chloride homologues.

Fast development of ionic liquids as gaining more and more attention valuable chemicals will undoubtedly lead to environmental pollution. New formulations and application of ionic liquids may result in contamination in the presence of hydrophobic compounds, such as petroleum mixtures. We hypothesize that in the presence of diesel fuel low-water-soluble ionic liquids may become more toxic to hydrocarbon-degrading microorganisms.

Biodegradation of diesel/biodiesel blends by a consortium of hydrocarbon degraders: effect of the type of blend and the addition of biosurfactants.

Biodegradation experiments for diesel/biodiesel blends in liquid cultures by-petroleum degrading microbial consortium showed that for low amendments of biodiesel (10%) the overall biodegradation efficiency of the mixture after seven days was lower than for petroleum diesel fuel. Preferential usage of methyl esters in the broad biodiesel concentration range and diminished biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons for 10% biodiesel blend was confirmed. Rhamnolipids improved biodegradation efficiency only for blends with low content of biodiesel.

Search for cellular partners of human papillomavirus type 16 E2 protein.

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are small, double-stranded DNA viruses that infect cutaneous and mucosal epithelia. Type 16 (HPV16) displays tropism to genital epithelia, giving rise to genital warts and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), which is a precursor lesion to invasive carcinoma of the cervix. The great majority of human cervical cancers contain integrated HPV DNA where the E2 gene is usually disrupted, suggesting that the loss of the E2 protein is an important step in HPV-induced carcinogenesis.

Orphan nuclear hormone receptor NR4A1 interacts with HPV16 E2 regulatory protein.

The human NR4A1 orphan receptor is a member of the TR3 steroid receptor superfamily, which binds DNA at the NBRE and NurRE responsive elements. The TR3 receptors are involved in the regulation of differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis. We report that NR4A1 interacts with human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) E2 protein--a key papillomavirus regulatory factor.