Understanding the Molecular Mechanism Underlying the High Catalytic Activity of -Hydroxybenzoate Hydroxylase Mutants for Producing Gallic Acid.

-Hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase (PHBH) is a flavoprotein monooxygenase that catalyzes the hydroxylation of -hydroxybenzoate (-OHB) to 3,4-dihydroxybenzoate (3,4-DOHB). PHBH can bind to other benzoate derivatives in addition to -OHB; however, hydroxylation does not occur on 3,4-DOHB. Replacement of Tyr385 with Phe forms a mutant, which enables the production of 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzonate (gallic acid) from 3,4-DOHB, although the catalytic activity of the mutant is quite low.

2,3-Dihydroxybenzoate meta-Cleavage Pathway is Involved in o-Phthalate Utilization in Pseudomonas sp. strain PTH10.

Pseudomonas sp. strain PTH10 can utilize o-phthalate which is a key intermediate in the bacterial degradation of some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In this strain, o-phthalate is degraded to 2,3-dihydroxybenzoate and further metabolized via the 2,3-dihydroxybenzoate meta-cleavage pathway.

Complete genome sequence and comparative analysis of Shewanella violacea, a psychrophilic and piezophilic bacterium from deep sea floor sediments.

Remineralization of organic matter in deep-sea sediments is important in oceanic biogeochemical cycles, and bacteria play a major role in this process. Shewanella violacea DSS12 is a psychrophilic and piezophilic gamma-proteobacterium that was isolated from the surface layer of deep sea sediment at a depth of 5110 m. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of S.

A reporter assay for G-protein-coupled receptors using a B-cell line suitable for stable episomal expression.

We have established a cAMP response element (CRE)-mediated reporter assay system for G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) using an oriP-based estrogen-inducible expression vector and the B-cell line (GBC53 or GBCC71) that expresses EBNA-1 and is adapted to serum-free culture. GBC53 harbors a GAL4-ER expression unit and a CRE-luciferase gene in the genome, and GBCC71 also harbors expression units for two chimeric Galphas proteins (Gs/q and Gs/i). Introduction of a GPCR expression plasmid into GBC53 or GBCC71 creates polyclonal stable transformants in 2 weeks, and these are easily expanded and used for assays after induction of the GPCR expression.

HPLC Retention time prediction for metabolome analysi.

Liquid Chromatography Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (LC-TOF-MS) is widely used for profiling metabolite compounds. LC-TOF-MS is a chemical analysis technique that combines the physical separation capabilities of high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) with the mass analysis capabilities of Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (TOF-MS) which utilizes the difference in the flight time of ions due to difference in the mass-to-charge ratio. Since metabolite compounds have various chemical characteristics, their precise identification is a crucial problem of metabolomics research.

Characterization of orphan monooxygenases by rapid substrate screening using FT-ICR mass spectrometry.

Characterization of orphan enzymes, for which the catalytic functions and actual substrates are still not elucidated, is a significant challenge in the postgenomic era. Here, we describe a general strategy for exploring the catalytic potentials of orphan monooxygenases based on direct infusion analysis by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR/MS). Eight cytochromes P450 from Bacillus subtilis were recombinantly expressed in Escherichia coli and subjected to a reconstitution system containing appropriate electron transfer components and many potential substrates.

GeneLook: a novel ab initio gene identification system suitable for automated annotation of prokaryotic sequences.

With the rapid increases in the amounts of sequence data for prokaryotic genomes, it has become important to develop systems for automated and accurate genome annotation. We present herein a novel ab initio gene identification system, GeneLook, that predicts protein-coding open reading frames (ORFs) with high sensitivity and specificity with no prior knowledge of the sequence composition. The system predicts protein-coding ORFs in two stages, seed ORF selection and main prediction.

Complete sequencing and characterization of 21,243 full-length human cDNAs.

As a base for human transcriptome and functional genomics, we created the "full-length long Japan" (FLJ) collection of sequenced human cDNAs. We determined the entire sequence of 21,243 selected clones and found that 14,490 cDNAs (10,897 clusters) were unique to the FLJ collection. About half of them (5,416) seemed to be protein-coding.