Isolation and identification of antifungal peptides from Bacillus BH072, a novel bacterium isolated from honey.

A bacterial strain BH072 isolated from a honey sample showed antifungal activity against mold. Based on morphological, biochemical, physiological tests, and analysis of 16S rDNA sequence, the strain was identified to be a new subspecies of Bacillus sp. It had a broad spectrum of antifungal activity against various mold, such as Aspergillus niger, Pythium, and Botrytis cinerea.

Ionic liquid-induced structural and activity changes in hen egg white lysozyme.

Lysozyme crystals in the presence of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([C(4)mim]BF(4)), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C(4)mim]Cl), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide([C(4)mim]Br), and 1,3-dimethylimidazolium iodine([dmim]I) were prepared, and the influence of ionic liquids (ILs) on the structure and activity change of lysozyme was investigated. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed the major secondary structures of α-helix and β-sheet for lysozyme. It was interesting to note that increases of the band near 2,935 and 1,656 cm(-1) from Raman spectroscopy are attributed to the unfolding of lysozyme molecules.