Production of poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) by Alcaligenes latus from maple sap.

Maple sap, an abundant natural product especially in Canada, is rich in sucrose and thus may represent an ideal renewable feedstock for the production of a wide variety of value-added products. In the present study, maple sap or sucrose was employed as a carbon source to Alcaligenes latus for the production of poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate (PHB). In shake flasks, the biomass obtained from both the sap and sucrose were 4.

Microbial resolution of baclofen by a new isolate of Streptomyces halstedii.

We attempted to isolate microorganisms able to metabolize (S)-baclofen while showing little or no activity with (R)-baclofen. A culture collection of 218 microbial isolates was established from several soil samples using various approaches. Subsequent chiral HPLC analysis revealed that only two cultures showed promise.

Evaluation of multiwavelength culture fluorescence for monitoring the aroma compound 4-hydroxy-2(or 5)-ethyl-5(or 2)-methyl-3(2H)-furanone (HEMF) production.

Fluorescence spectra of a 4-hydroxy-2(or 5)-ethyl-5(or 2)-methyl-3(2H)-furanone (HEMF) fermentation culture broth were combined with measurable process variables for off-line and on-line process monitoring. Culture broth fluorescence in UV and visible ranges was acquired by a fiber optic LCD array spectrometer. Process dynamics was followed on-line using a fiber optic probe attached to an external recirculation loop of the bioreactor.

NMR structural studies of human cystatin C dimers and monomers.

Human cystatin C undergoes dimerization before unfolding. Dimerization leads to a complete loss of its activity as a cysteine proteinase inhibitor. A similar process of dimerization has been observed in cells, and may be related to the amyloid formation seen for the L68Q variant of the protein.

Factors Affecting Yield and Safety of Protein Production from Cassava by Cephalosporium eichhorniae.

The properties of Cephalosporium eichhorniae 152 (ATCC 38255) affecting protein production from cassava carbohydrate, for use as an animal feed, were studied. This strain is a true thermophile, showing optimum growth at 45 degrees to 47 degrees C, maximum protein yield at 45 degrees C, and no growth at 25 degrees C. It has an optimum pH of about 3.

Sequential cold-sensitive mutations in Aspergillus fumigatus. II. Analysis by the parasexual cycle.

From Aspergillus fumigatus I-21 (ATCC 32722), which grows at temperatures from 12 to 50 degrees C, three multistep, independently derived, cold-sensitive mutants unable to grow at 37 degrees C or below (Cs-37) were obtained by sequential exposure to ethylmethane sulfonate (strain AT2) or N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (AT1 and AT3). These mutants and ON5, a five-step Cs-37 mutant, were marked by mutations affecting spore color and nutritional requirements and crossed in four combinations by classical parasexual means. The heterokaryons demonstrated partial complementation with respect to auxotrophic requirements (suboptimal growth on minimal medium) and cold sensitivity (growth at 37 degrees C but not at 25 degrees C).