Preparation and properties of starch-based colloidal microgels.

Novel starch microgels were prepared by emulsion cross-linking and characterized with respect to shape, volume, and mass density. Starch microgels appear to be negatively charged ( approximately -50 mV), with a particle size varying as a function of the type of cross-linker (ca. 0.

Dormant ascospores of Talaromyces macrosporus are activated to germinate after treatment with ultra high pressure.

Aims: Ascospores of Talaromyces macrosporus are constitutively dormant and germinate after a strong external shock, classically a heat treatment. This fungus is used as a model system to study heat resistance leading to food spoilage after pasteurization. This study evaluates the effect of high pressure on the germination behaviour of these spores.

The peptide antibiotic clavanin A interacts strongly and specifically with lipid bilayers.

In this study the interaction of the antimicrobial peptide clavanin A with phosphatidylcholine bilayers is investigated by DSC, NMR, and AFM techniques. It is shown that the peptide interacts strongly and specifically with the lipids, resulting in increased order-disorder phase transition temperatures, phase separation, altered acyl chain and headgroup packing, and a drastically changed surface morphology of the bilayer. These results are interpreted in terms of clavanin-specific interactions with lipids and are discussed in the light of the different mechanisms by which clavanin A can destroy the barrier function of biological membranes.

The role of the abundant phenylalanines in the mode of action of the antimicrobial peptide clavanin.

Clavanin A is a special antimicrobial peptide that acts at the level of the membrane via a pH-dependent mechanism. At neutral pH, clavanin disrupts biological and model membranes in a nonspecific manner, causing efflux of large molecules. At mildly acidic conditions, however, the peptide efficiently kills bacteria by permeabilizing their membrane most likely by interacting with proteins involved in proton translocation [Biochemistry 41 (2002) 7529].

Flower opening and closure: a review.

Flower opening and closure are traits of a reproductive syndrome, as it allows pollen removal and/or pollination. Various types of opening can be distinguished such as nocturnal and diurnal and single or repetitive. Opening is generally due to cell expansion.

A tomato metacaspase gene is upregulated during programmed cell death in Botrytis cinerea-infected leaves.

Programmed cell death (PCD) in plant cells is often accompanied by biochemical and morphological hallmarks similar to those of animal apoptosis. However, orthologs of animal caspases, cysteinyl aspartate-specific proteases that constitute the core component of animal apoptosis, have not yet been identified in plants. Recent studies have revealed the presence of a family of genes encoding proteins with distant homology to mammalian caspases, designated metacaspases, in the Arabidopsis thaliana genome.

Analysis of docosahexaenoic acid biosynthesis in Crypthecodinium cohnii by 13C labelling and desaturase inhibitor experiments.

The lipids of the heterotrophic microalga Crypthecodinium cohnii contain the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6) to a level of over 30%. The pathway of 22:6 synthesis in C. cohnii is unknown.

Cloning, expression and characterisation of two tyrosinase cDNAs from Agaricus bisporus.

Using primers designed on the basis of sequence homologies in the copper-binding domains for a number of plant and fungal tyrosinases, two tyrosinase encoding cDNAs were cloned from an Agaricus bisporus U1 cDNA-library. The sequences AbPPO1 and AbPPO2 were, respectively, 1.9 and 1.

Carbon dioxide action on ethylene biosynthesis of preclimacteric and climacteric pear fruit.

Ethylene production in pear fruit was studied at 2 degrees C. Several observations showed that the inhibiting effect of CO2 on ethylene production did not operate only via the binding site of the ethylene binding protein. Ethylene production of freshly harvested pears was stimulated by 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), but unaffected or inhibited by CO2 which points to different action sites for both molecules.

Hydrogen production from paper sludge hydrolysate.

The main objective of this study was to develop a system for the production of "renewable" hydrogen. Paper sludge is a solid industrial waste yielding mainly cellulose, which can be used, after hydrolysis, as a feedstock in anaerobic fermentation by (hyper)thermophilic organisms, such as Thermotoga elfii and Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus. Tests on different medium compositions showed that both bacteria were able to produce hydrogen from paper sludge hydrolysate, but the amount of produced hydrogen and the requirement for other components differed.

Endogenous prolyl 4-hydroxylation in Hansenula polymorpha and its use for the production of hydroxylated recombinant gelatin.

Several yeast systems have recently been developed for the recombinant production of gelatin and collagen. Amino acid sequence-specific prolyl 4-hydroxylation is essential for the gel-forming capacity of gelatin and for the proper folding of (pro)collagen. This post-translational modification is generally considered to be absent in microbial eukaryotic systems and therefore co-expression of heterologous (human or animal) prolyl 4-hydroxylase would be required.

Fed-batch cultivation of the docosahexaenoic-acid-producing marine alga Crypthecodinium cohnii on ethanol.

The heterotrophic marine microalga Crypthecodinium cohnii produces docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a polyunsaturated fatty acid with food and pharmaceutical applications. So far, DHA production has been studied with glucose and acetic acid as carbon sources. This study investigates the potential of ethanol as an alternative carbon source for DHA production by C.

Production by Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824 of CelG, a cellulosomal glycoside hydrolase belonging to family 9.

The genome sequence of Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824, a noncellulolytic solvent-producing strain, predicts the production of various proteins with domains typical for cellulosomal subunits. Most of the genes coding for these proteins are grouped in a cluster similar to that found in cellulolytic clostridial species, such as Clostridium cellulovorans. CAC0916, one of the open reading frames present in the putative cellulosome gene cluster, codes for CelG, a putative endoglucanase belonging to family 9, and it was cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli.

Neamin as an immunogen for the development of a generic ELISA detecting gentamicin, kanamycin, and neomycin in milk.

A broad-specific ELISA using one antibody preparation for the detection of gentamicin, kanamycin, and neomycin in milk is reported for the first time. For the immunization of rabbits, neamin was used as the generic hapten on the basis of the facts that it is a two-ring fragment of neomycin and, in shape and charge, it resembles parts of kanamycin and gentamicin. Neamin was linked to the preactivated carrier protein keyhole limpet hemocyanin by EDC coupling.

High-cell-density fed-batch cultivation of the docosahexaenoic acid producing marine alga Crypthecodinium cohnii.

The heterotrophic marine alga Crypthecodinium cohnii is known to produce docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a polyunsaturated fatty acid with food and pharmaceutical applications, during batch cultivation on complex media containing sea salt, yeast extract, and glucose. In the present study, fed-batch cultivation was studied as an alternative fermentation strategy for DHA production. Glucose and acetic acid were compared as carbon sources.

Multiple mediators of plant programmed cell death: interplay of conserved cell death mechanisms and plant-specific regulators.

Programmed cell death (PCD) is a process aimed at the removal of redundant, misplaced, or damaged cells and it is essential to the development and maintenance of multicellular organisms. In contrast to the relatively well-described cell death pathway in animals, often referred to as apoptosis, mechanisms and regulation of plant PCD are still ill-defined. Several morphological and biochemical similarities between apoptosis and plant PCD have been described, including DNA laddering, caspase-like proteolytic activity, and cytochrome c release from mitochondria.

Interactive effects of nitrogen and irradiance on growth and partitioning of dry mass and nitrogen in young tomato plants.

The interactive effects of irradiance and N on growth of young tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) were studied. Plants were grown at 70 or 300 μmol photons m s, hereafter referred to as 'low' and 'high' irradiance, and at a range of exponential N supply rates (70-370 mg g d) or at a constant concentration in the nutrient solution of 12 mM NO3.

Effect of ethylene on flower abscission: a survey.

The effect of ethylene on flower abscission was investigated in monocotyledons and eudicotyledons, in about 300 species from 50 families. In all species studied except Cymbidium, flower abscission was highly sensitive to ethylene. Flower fall was not consistent among the species in any family studied.

Does ethylene treatment mimic the effects of pollination on floral lifespan and attractiveness?

In some species pollination may result in rapid changes in perianth colour and form (petal senescence and abscission, flower closure), rendering the flowers less attractive to pollinators. It has been suggested that this effect is mediated by ethylene. Flowers from about 200 species and 50 families were exposed to ethylene (3 ppm for 24 h at 20 degrees C).

Characterization of a Listeria monocytogenes Scott A isolate with high tolerance towards high hydrostatic pressure.

An isolate of L. monocytogenes Scott A that is tolerant to high hydrostatic pressure (HHP), named AK01, was isolated upon a single pressurization treatment of 400 MPa for 20 min and was further characterized. The survival of exponential- and stationary-phase cells of AK01 in ACES [N-(2-acetamido)-2-aminoethanesulfonic acid] buffer was at least 2 log units higher than that of the wild type over a broad range of pressures (150 to 500 MPa), while both strains showed higher HHP tolerance (piezotolerance) in the stationary than in the exponential phase of growth.

Trehalose degradation and glucose efflux precede cell ejection during germination of heat-resistant ascospores of Talaromyces macrosporus.

Talaromyces macrosporus forms ascospores that survive pasteurization treatments. Ascospores were dense (1.3 g ml(-1)), relatively dry [0.

Clavanin permeabilizes target membranes via two distinctly different pH-dependent mechanisms.

The pH dependence of the antimicrobial and membrane activity of clavanin A, a peptide antibiotic that is rich in histidines and glycines, was analyzed in growth and membrane leakage experiments. Clavanin A more effectively inhibited the growth of the test organism Lactobacillus sake when the pH of the medium was lowered. Whereas the wild-type peptide efficiently released fluorophores from unilamellar vesicles at neutral pH according to a nonspecific permeabilization mechanism, it did not permeabilize model bilayers at low pH.

A critical role for ethylene in hydrogen peroxide release during programmed cell death in tomato suspension cells.

Camptothecin, a topo isomerase-I inhibitor used in cancer therapy, induces apoptosis in animal cells. In tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) suspension cells, camptothecin induces cell death that is accompanied by the characteristic nuclear morphological changes such as chromatin condensation and nuclear and DNA fragmentation that are commonly associated with apoptosis in animal systems.

The phenolic hydroxyl group of carvacrol is essential for action against the food-borne pathogen Bacillus cereus.

The natural antimicrobial compound carvacrol shows a high preference for hydrophobic phases. The partition coefficients of carvacrol in both octanol-water and liposome-buffer phases were determined (3.64 and 3.

Carbon dioxide and ethylene interactions in tulip bulbs.

The effect of CO2 on ethylene-induced gummosis (secretion of polysaccharides), weight loss and respiration in tulip bulbs (Tulipa gesneriana L.) was investigated. A pretreatment with 1-MCP prevented these ethylene-induced effects, indicating that ethylene action must have been directed via the ethylene receptor.