Heterologous Expression of Mycobacterium Alkene Monooxygenases in Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacterial Hosts.

Alkene monooxygenases (MOs) are soluble di-iron-containing enzymes found in bacteria that grow on alkenes. Here, we report improved heterologous expression systems for the propene MO (PmoABCD) and ethene MO (EtnABCD) from strain NBB4. Strong functional expression of PmoABCD and EtnABCD was achieved in mc155, yielding epoxidation activities (62 and 27 nmol/min/mg protein, respectively) higher than any reported to date for heterologous expression of a di-iron MO system.

Inhibition of the endosymbiont "Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii" during 16S rRNA gene profiling reveals potential pathogens in Ixodes ticks from Australia.

Background: The Australian paralysis tick (Ixodes holocyclus) is of significant medical and veterinary importance as a cause of dermatological and neurological disease, yet there is currently limited information about the bacterial communities harboured by these ticks and the risk of infectious disease transmission to humans and domestic animals. Ongoing controversy about the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (the aetiological agent of Lyme disease) in Australia increases the need to accurately identify and characterise bacteria harboured by I. holocyclus ticks.

Testing of novel dengue virus 2 vaccines in African green monkeys: safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy.

The immunogenicity and safety of three novel host-range vaccines containing deletions in the transmembrane domain of dengue virus serotype 2 (DV2) E glycoprotein were evaluated in African green monkeys. The shorter transmembrane domains are capable of functionally spanning an insect but not a mammalian cell membrane, resulting in production of viral mutants that have reduced infectivity in mammalian hosts but efficient growth in insect cells. Groups of four monkeys received one dose each of test vaccine candidate with no booster immunization.

Substrate range and enantioselectivity of epoxidation reactions mediated by the ethene-oxidising Mycobacterium strain NBB4.

Mycobacterium strain NBB4 is an ethene-oxidising micro-organism isolated from estuarine sediments. In pursuit of new systems for biocatalytic epoxidation, we report the capacity of strain NBB4 to convert a diverse range of alkene substrates to epoxides. A colorimetric assay based on 4-(4-nitrobenzyl)pyridine) has been developed to allow the rapid characterisation and quantification of biocatalytic epoxide synthesis.

Hydrocarbon monooxygenase in Mycobacterium: recombinant expression of a member of the ammonia monooxygenase superfamily.

The copper membrane monooxygenases (CuMMOs) are an important group of enzymes in environmental science and biotechnology. Areas of relevance include the development of green chemistry for sustainable exploitation of methane (CH(4)) reserves, remediation of chlorinated hydrocarbon contamination and monitoring human impact in the biogeochemical cycles of CH(4) and nitrogen. Challenges for all these applications are that many aspects of the ecology, physiology and structure-function relationships in the CuMMOs are inadequately understood.

Genome sequence and identification of candidate vaccine antigens from the animal pathogen Dichelobacter nodosus.

Dichelobacter nodosus causes ovine footrot, a disease that leads to severe economic losses in the wool and meat industries. We sequenced its 1.4-Mb genome, the smallest known genome of an anaerobe.

Identification of novel immunogens in Pasteurella multocida.

Unlabelled: P. multocida is a Gram-negative pathogen responsible for causing diseases in animals of economic significance to livestock industries throughout the world. Current vaccines include bacterins, which provide only limited protection against homologous serotypes.