Identification of an insecticidal toxin produced by Enterobacter sp. strain 532 isolated from diseased Bombyx mori silkworms.

Although Enterobacter sp. 532 shows pathogenicity in Bombyx mori, the insecticidal mechanisms are unclear. Here, we identified and characterised an insecticidal protein from Enterobacter.

Alkaline protease contributes to pyocyanin production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The role of the alkaline protease (AprA) in pyocyanin production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa was investigated. AprA was overproduced when a plasmid carrying the aprA gene was introduced to an aprA-deletion mutant strain, EG03; thus, aprA-complemented EG03 was used as an overproducing strain. The complemented strain produced higher pyocyanin than the mutant strain in all commercially available media evaluated.

Antithrombotic effect of taurine in healthy Japanese people may be related to an increased endogenous thrombolytic activity.

Introduction: Prevention of arterial thrombotic diseases has high priority in developed countries. Taurine (2-aminomethylsulfonic acid), which is rich in sea foods, showed antithrombotic effect in animal models of thrombosis. The present study aimed to investigate such effect in healthy human volunteers.