Indirect pathway to pectoral fin motor neurons from nucleus ruber in the Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus.

Supraspinal motor control systems of pectoral fins remain unclear in teleosts. Nucleus ruber of Goldstein (1905; NRg), which has been identified as the probable homologue of nucleus ruber of tetrapods, is a candidate structure serving for such functions. In the present study, we investigated possible involvement of the NRg in the control of pectoral fin movement by tract-tracing experiments in the Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus.

Nucleus Ruber of Actinopterygians.

Nucleus ruber is known as an important supraspinal center that controls forelimb movements in tetrapods, and the rubral homologue may serve similar functions in fishes (motor control of pectoral fin). However, two apparently different structures have been identified as 'nucleus ruber' in actinopterygians. One is nucleus ruber of Goldstein (1905) (NRg), and the other nucleus ruber of Nieuwenhuys and Pouwels (1983) (NRnp).

System using tandem repeats of the cA peptidoglycan-binding domain from Lactococcus lactis for display of both N- and C-terminal fusions on cell surfaces of lactic acid bacteria.

Here, we established a system for displaying heterologous protein to the C terminus of the peptidoglycan-binding domain (cA domain) of AcmA (a major autolysin from Lactococcus lactis). Western blot and flow cytometric analyses revealed that the fusion proteins (cA-AmyA) of the cA domain and alpha-amylase from Streptococcus bovis 148 (AmyA) are efficiently expressed and successfully displayed on the surfaces of L. lactis cells.

Improvement in lactic acid production from starch using alpha-amylase-secreting Lactococcus lactis cells adapted to maltose or starch.

To achieve direct and efficient lactic acid production from starch, a genetically modified Lactococcus lactis IL 1403 secreting alpha-amylase, which was obtained from Streptococcus bovis 148, was constructed. Using this strain, the fermentation of soluble starch was achieved, although its rate was far from efficient (0.09 g l(-1) h(-1) lactate).

Improvement of protein production in lactic acid bacteria using 5'-untranslated leader sequence of slpA from Lactobacillus acidophilus. Improvement in protein production using UTLS.

The 5'-untranslated leader sequence (UTLS) of the slpA gene from Lactobacillus acidophilus contributes to mRNA stabilization by producing a 5' stem and loop structure, and a high-level expression system for the lactic acid bacteria was developed using the UTLS in this study. A plasmid, which expresses alpha-amylase under the control of the ldh promoter, was constructed by integrating the core promoter sequence with the UTLS. The role of the UTLS in increasing the copies of the alpha-amylase mRNA was proved by measuring alpha-amylase activity in the culture supernatant and the relative expression of alpha-amylase mRNA was determined by the quantitative real-time PCR analysis.

Display of alpha-amylase on the surface of Lactobacillus casei cells by use of the PgsA anchor protein, and production of lactic acid from starch.

We developed a new cell surface engineering system based on the PgsA anchor protein from Bacillus subtilis. In this system, the N terminus of the target protein was fused to the PgsA protein and the resulting fusion protein was expressed on the cell surface. Using this new system, we constructed a novel starch-degrading strain of Lactobacillus casei by genetically displaying alpha-amylase from the Streptococcus bovis strain 148 with a FLAG peptide tag (AmyAF).

Efficient production of L-(+)-lactic acid from raw starch by Streptococcus bovis 148.

Streptococcus bovis 148 was found to produce L-(+)-lactic acid directly from soluble and raw starch substrates at pH 6.0. Productivity was highest at 37 degrees C, with 14.

Display of active enzymes on the cell surface of Escherichia coli using PgsA anchor protein and their application to bioconversion.

We have developed a novel Escherichia coli cell surface display system by employing PgsA as an anchoring motif. In our display system, C-terminal fusion to PgsA anchor protein from Bacillus subtilis was used. The enzymes selected for display were alpha-amylase (AmyA) from Streptococcus bovis 148 and lipase B (CALB) from Candida antarctica.

Effects of anaerobic/aerobic incubation and storage temperature on preservation and deodorization of kitchen garbage.

To develop a garbage recycling system for the purpose of the production of lactic acid (LA) to use as raw material for producing biodegradable plastics, the preservation and deodorization of garbage during storage are very important. Anaerobic incubation (i.e.