Comparison of Yarrowia lipolytica lipase immobilization yield of entrapment, adsorption, and covalent bond techniques.

The purpose of this study was to immobilize lipase from Yarrowia lipolytica using three methods including inclusion, adsorption, and covalent bond to study enzyme leaching, storage, and catalytic properties. Sodium alginate and chitosan were the polymers selected to immobilize lipase by inclusion. The beads of each polymer were dried by freeze drying and fluidization.

Structural polymorphism of two CPP: an important parameter of activity.

Despite numerous investigations, the important structural features of Cell Penetrating Peptides (CPPs) remain unclear as demonstrated by the difficulties encountered in designing new molecules. In this study, we focused our interest on Penetratin and Transportan and several of their variants. Penetratin W48F and Penetratin W48F/W56F exhibit a reduced and a complete lack of cellular uptake, respectively; TP07 and TP10 present a similar cellular uptake as Transportan and TP08, TP13 and TP15 display no or weak internalization capacity.

Distantly related lipocalins share two conserved clusters of hydrophobic residues: use in homology modeling.

Background: Lipocalins are widely distributed in nature and are found in bacteria, plants, arthropoda and vertebra. In hematophagous arthropods, they are implicated in the successful accomplishment of the blood meal, interfering with platelet aggregation, blood coagulation and inflammation and in the transmission of disease parasites such as Trypanosoma cruzi and Borrelia burgdorferi. The pairwise sequence identity is low among this family, often below 30%, despite a well conserved tertiary structure.

Effect of fengycin, a lipopeptide produced by Bacillus subtilis, on model biomembranes.

Fengycin is a biologically active lipopeptide produced by several Bacillus subtilis strains. The lipopeptide is known to develop antifungal activity against filamentous fungi and to have hemolytic activity 40-fold lower than that of surfactin, another lipopeptide produced by B. subtilis.

A Box-Behnken design for predicting the combined effects of relative humidity and temperature on antagonistic yeast population density at the surface of apples.

The objective of this work was to develop models predicting the combined effects of relative humidity (RH, 75-98%), temperature (5-25 degrees C), and initial applied yeast concentration (10(4)-10(8) CFU/ml) on the apple-surface population densities of two biocontrol agents fused against postharvest diseases; the antagonistic yeasts Pichia anomala strain K and Candida oleophila strain O. Experiments were carried out according to a Box-Behnken matrix. Multiple regression analyses showed that both models yielded a good prediction of yeast density.

[Cellular dynamics of pathogenesis induced by bovine leukemia virus].

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is the etiological agent of a lymphoproliferative disease in cattle. This retrovirus can also be experimentally transmitted to sheep, in which the pathology is more rapid and more frequent. This review summarizes the current knowledge on the BLV virus and more particularly on its role in lymphocyte homeostasis and induction of pathogenesis.

The biologically important surfactin lipopeptide induces nanoripples in supported lipid bilayers.

Under specific conditions, lipid membranes form ripple phases with intriguing nanoscale undulations. Here, we show using in situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) that the biologically important surfactin lipopeptide induces nanoripples of 30 nm periodicity in dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) bilayers at 25 degrees (i.e.

Acetobacter senegalensis sp. nov., a thermotolerant acetic acid bacterium isolated in Senegal (sub-Saharan Africa) from mango fruit (Mangifera indica L.).

A thermotolerant acetic acid bacterium, designated strain CWBI-B418(T), isolated in Senegal from mango fruit (Mangifera indica), was characterized in detail by means of genotypic and phenotypic methods. The novel strain was strictly aerobic and exhibited optimal growth on YGM medium at 35 degrees C. Cells were Gram-negative, motile and coccoid.

Molecular organization of surfactin-phospholipid monolayers: effect of phospholipid chain length and polar head.

Mixed monolayers of the surface-active lipopeptide surfactin-C(15) and various lipids differing by their chain length (DMPC, DPPC, DSPC) and polar headgroup (DPPC, DPPE, DPPS) were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) in combination with molecular modeling (Hypermatrix procedure) and surface pressure-area isotherms. In the presence of surfactin, AFM topographic images showed phase separation for each surfactin-phospholipid system except for surfactin-DMPC, which was in good agreement with compression isotherms. On the basis of domain shape and line tension theory, we conclude that the miscibility between surfactin and phospholipids is higher for shorter chain lengths (DMPC>DPPC>DSPC) and that the polar headgroup of phospholipids influences the miscibility of surfactin in the order DPPC>DPPE>DPPS.

Effect of incubation temperature and relative humidity on lesion diameter of Botrytis cinerea Pers. and Penicillium expansum Link. on apple fruits.

Previous studies carried out in our laboratory demonstrated that the growth of B. cinerea and P. expansum was highly influenced by water activity and temperature in 'in vitro' conditions.

Biocontrol of blue mold on apple fruits by Aureobasidium pullulans (strain Ach 1-1): in vitro and in situ evidence for the possible involvement of competition for nutrients.

Aureobasidium pullulans strain Ach1-1 was recently isolated for its biocontrol effectiveness against Penicillium expansum, the causal agent of blue mold on harvested apples. In the present study, strain Ach1-1 was found to be very effective in controlling P. expansum on apple wounds.

XPS analysis of chemical functions at the surface of Bacillus subtilis.

The surface chemical composition of nine strains of Bacillus subtilis was determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Regressions between elemental concentrations and concentrations associated with different components of C1s, N1s, and O1s peaks provided a more precise validation of the procedure used for peak decomposition and allowed the assignment of the peak components to be completed or strengthened. The component of the O1s peak appearing around 531.

Effectiveness of cell-adsorbed bacteriocin produced by Lactobacillus curvatus CWBI-B28 and selected essential oils to control Listeria monocytogenes in pork meat during cold storage.

Aims: To study the effectiveness of a combination of cell-adsorbed bacteriocin (CAB; a suspension of producer cells on which maximum bacteriocin has been immobilized by pH adjustments) of a Lactobacillus curvatus strain with oregano or savory essential oil to control Listeria monocytogenes in pork meat at 4 degrees C.

Methods And Results: The antimicrobial activity of the CAB and six different essential oils was tested by the well diffusion assay against L. monocytogenes M, Escherichia coli 10536 and Salmonella serotype Typhi CWBI-H1.

Predictive modelling of temperature and water activity (solutes) on the in vitro radial growth of Botrytis cinerea Pers.

The objective of this work was to develop validated models predicting the 'in vitro' effect of a(w) and temperature on the radial growth of Botrytis cinerea. The growth rate (g, mm d(-1)) of B. cinerea was calculated at three incubation temperatures (25 degrees C, 15 degrees C, 5 degrees C) and six water activities (ranging from 0.

Penetration of surfactin into phospholipid monolayers: nanoscale interfacial organization.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) combined with surface pressure-area isotherms were used to probe the interfacial behavior of phospholipid monolayers following penetration of surfactin, a cyclic lipopeptide produced by Bacillus subtilis strains. Prior to penetration experiments, interfacial behavior of different surfactin molecules (cyclic surfactins with three different aliphatic chain lengths--S13, S14, and S15--and a linear surfactin obtained by chemical cleavage of the cycle of the surfactin S15) has been investigated. A more hydrophobic aliphatic chain induces greater surface-active properties of the lipopeptide.

Use of molecular techniques to elucidate the mechanisms of action of fungal biocontrol agents: a review.

Biological control of fungal plant pathogens appears as an attractive and realistic approach, and numerous microorganisms have been identified as biocontrol agents. There have been many efforts to understand the mechanisms of action of fungal biocontrol agents. Microbiological, microscopic, and biochemical techniques applied over many years have shed light on these mechanisms without fully demonstrating them.

Use of a Plackett-Burman experimental design to examine the impact of extraction parameters on yields and compositions of pectins extracted from chicory roots (Chicorium intybus L.).

Chicory root pectin was isolated by acid extraction followed by alcohol precipitation. Because the extraction conditions have important effects on the features of pectins, an experimental design was used to study the influence of 17 different extraction parameters on yield and composition of pectin: pH, temperature, time of extraction, solid/liquid ratio, and different pretreatments of the pulps before extraction. Twenty extractions were conducted and examined for their significance on yield and sugar content using the Plackett-Burman factorial design.

In vitro effects of water activity, temperature and solutes on the growth rate of P. italicum Wehmer and P. digitatum Sacc.

Aims: To evaluate the effect of water activity (a(w) 0.98-0.89, adjusted with glycerol, sorbitol, glucose, or NaCl) and temperature (5-25 degrees C) on the lag phase and radial growth rate (mm day(-1)) of the important citrus spoilage fungi, such as Penicillium italicum and Penicillium digitatum grown in potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium.

The SIV tilted peptide induces cylindrical reverse micelles in supported lipid bilayers.

Elucidation of the molecular mechanism leading to biomembrane fusion is a challenging issue in current biomedical research in view of its involvement in controlling cellular functions and in mediating various important diseases. According to the generally admitted stalk mechanism described for membrane fusion, negatively curved lipids may play a central role during the early steps of the process. In this study, we used atomic force microscopy (AFM) to address the crucial question of whether negatively curved lipids influence the interaction of the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) fusion peptide with model membranes.

Development of a biological control method against postharvest diseases of citrus fruits.

Candida oleophila strain O was previously selected for its high and reliable antagonistic activity against Botrytis cinerea and Penicillium expansum, two important wound pathogens on post-harvest apples. The application of these antagonistic strains on wound pathogens of Citrus was more recently undertaken. The efficacy of yeast (applied at several concentrations from 10(5) to 10(8) CFU/ml) was assessed against P.

Stochastic models to study the impact of mixing on a fed-batch culture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The mechanisms of interaction between microorganisms and their environment in a stirred bioreactor can be modeled by a stochastic approach. The procedure comprises two submodels: a classical stochastic model for the microbial cell circulation and a Markov chain model for the concentration gradient calculus. The advantage lies in the fact that the core of each submodel, i.

[Bovine leukemia virus as a model for studying human leukemias].

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is a retrovirus responsible for lymphoproliferative disorders in ruminants. The comprehensive study of this model system permitted the identification of genetic determinants required for leukemogenesis, the quantification of the dynamic parameters responsible for cell accumulation and the elaboration of novel therapeutic approaches in human.

Hemolytic activity of new linear surfactin analogs in relation to their physico-chemical properties.

New linear analogs of surfactin have been synthesized. Their physico-chemical parameters were determined. The results indicate that these linear products show surface activities although they are lowered compared to those of cyclic compounds.

The two-phase water/silicon oil bioreactor prospects in off-gas treatment.

Research was carried out to develop a biphasic biologic reactor able to clean the gas effluents polluted by volatile organic compounds. Initially, Rhodococcus erythropolis T 902.1 was selected on the basis of its capacity to degrade isopropylbenzene (IPB).