A Simple Synthesis of Alliin and allo-Alliin: X-ray Diffraction Analysis and Determination of Their Absolute Configurations.

A simple method for the isolation of the bioactive compound alliin from garlic, as well as a method for the synthesis of diastereomerically pure alliin and allo-alliin on a preparative laboratory scale, was developed. The absolute configuration of the sulfur atom in alliin and allo-alliin was assigned on the basis of enzyme reactivity, optical rotatory dispersion, and circular dichroism analyses. A comparison of the results from these analyses, in combination with an X-ray diffraction study on a protected allo-alliin derivative, revealed S and R configurations of the sulfur atoms in alliin and allo-alliin, respectively.

Leptobacterium flavescens gen. nov., sp. nov., a marine member of the family Flavobacteriaceae, isolated from marine sponge and seawater.

Six obligately aerobic, Gram-negative, non-motile, pale-yellow-pigmented, rod-shaped bacterial strains, designated YM3-301(T), HG868, 04PA2 Co4-8B, 04PA2 Co4-99A, 04PA2 018SW-3 and 04PA2 018SW-18, were isolated from a marine sponge and seawater and were subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic investigation. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the novel isolates were affiliated with the family Flavobacteriaceae (phylum Bacteroidetes) and that they showed the highest sequence similarity (90.3-90.

Marihabitans asiaticum gen. nov., sp. nov., a meso-diaminopimelic acid-containing member of the family Intrasporangiaceae.

Strain HG667(T), isolated from surface seawater collected at the Kesennuma ferry port in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, was found to be a Gram-positive, catalase-positive bacterium comprising irregular short rods and cocci. The diagnostic diamino acid in the cell-wall peptidoglycan was meso-diaminopimelic acid. The major menaquinone was MK-8(H4).

Sporosarcina saromensis sp. nov., an aerobic endospore-forming bacterium.

Two Gram-positive, endospore-forming, rod-shaped bacterial strains, HG645(T) and HG711, were respectively isolated from surface water of a brackish lake and sediment of a fishery harbour in Japan and were subsequently characterized taxonomically using a polyphasic approach. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strains HG645(T) and HG711 are affiliated phylogenetically to the genus Sporosarcina, and they exhibit sequence similarities of 95.7-97.