Complete Genome Sequence of Bacillus thuringiensis Serovar Tolworthi Strain Pasteur Institute Standard.

The genome sequence of Bacillus thuringiensis serovar tolworthi strain Pasteur Institute Standard was determined. The genome consists of a 5.9-Mb chromosome and eight plasmids, one of which is linear. The second largest plasmid (293 kb) carries the genes encoding insecticidal proteins.

Distribution of virulence markers among Vibrio vulnificus isolates of clinical and environmental origin and regional characteristics in Japan.

BACKGROUND: Vibrio vulnificus is an opportunistic human pathogen that is widely distributed in estuarine environments and is capable of causing necrotizing fasciitis and sepsis. In Japan, based on epidemiological research, the incidences of V. vulnificus were concentrated in Kyusyu, mainly in coastal areas of the Ariake Sea. To examine the virulence potential, various genotyping methods have recently been developed. This study aimed to investigate the distribution of virulence markers among V. vulnificus isolates of clinical and environmental origin in three coastal areas with different infection incidences and to determine whether these isolates have the siderophore encoding gene viuB. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We examined the distribution of genotypes of the 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) gene, vvhA, vcg, and capsular polysaccharide (CPS), and the presence of viuB in 156 isolates collected from patients and environmental samples in Japan. The environmental samples were collected from three coastal areas: the Ariake Sea, Ise & Mikawa Bay, and Karatsu Bay. The results showed disparity in the ratios of genotypes depending on the sample origins. V. vulnificus isolates obtained from patients were classified into the clinical type for all genotypes. In the environmental isolates, the ratios of the clinical type for genotypes of the 16S rRNA gene, vvhA, and vcg were in the order of the Ariake Sea>Ise & Mikawa Bay>Karatsu Bay. Meanwhile, CPS analysis showed no significant difference. Most isolates possessed viuB. CONCLUSIONS: Many V. vulnificus belonging to the clinical type existed in the Ariake Sea. Three coastal areas with different infection incidences showed distinct ratios of genotypes. This may indicate that the distribution of clinical isolates correlates with the incidence of V. vulnificus infection.

Single amino acid mutation in an ATP-binding cassette transporter gene causes resistance to Bt toxin Cry1Ab in the silkworm, Bombyx mori.

Bt toxins derived from the arthropod bacterial pathogen Bacillus thuringiensis are widely used for insect control as insecticides or in transgenic crops. Bt resistance has been found in field populations of several lepidopteran pests and in laboratory strains selected with Bt toxin. Widespread planting of crops expressing Bt toxins has raised concerns about the potential increase of resistance mutations in targeted insects. By using Bombyx mori as a model, we identified a candidate gene for a recessive form of resistance to Cry1Ab toxin on chromosome 15 by positional cloning. BGIBMGA007792-93, which encodes an ATP-binding cassette transporter similar to human multidrug resistance protein 4 and orthologous to genes associated with recessive resistance to Cry1Ac in Heliothis virescens and two other lepidopteran species, was expressed in the midgut. Sequences of 10 susceptible and seven resistant silkworm strains revealed a common tyrosine insertion in an outer loop of the predicted transmembrane structure of resistant alleles. We confirmed the role of this ATP-binding cassette transporter gene in Bt resistance by converting a resistant silkworm strain into a susceptible one by using germline transformation. This study represents a direct demonstration of Bt resistance gene function in insects with the use of transgenesis.

Production of acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) in direct fermentation of cassava by Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum N1-4.

In this work, acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation characteristics of cassava starch and cassava chips when using Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum N1-4 was presented. The obtained results in batch mode using a 1-L fermenter showed that C. saccharoperbutylacetonicum N1-4 was a hyperamylolytic strain and capable of producing solvents efficiently from cassava starch and cassava chips, which was comparable to when glucose was used. Batch fermentation of cassava starch and cassava chips resulted in 21.0 and 19.4 g/L of total solvent as compared with 24.2 g/L of total solvent when using glucose. Solvent productivity in fermentation of cassava starch was from 42% to 63% higher than that obtained in fermentation using corn and sago starches in the same condition. In fermentation of cassava starch and cassava chips, maximum butanol concentration was 16.9 and 15.5 g/L, respectively. Solvent yield and butanol yield (based on potential glucose) was 0.33 and 0.41, respectively, for fermentation of cassava starch and 0.30 and 0.38, respectively for fermentation using cassava chips.

Denitrification activity of the bacterium Pseudomonas sp. ASM-2-3 isolated from the Ariake Sea tideland.

A new denitrifying bacterium strain ASM-2-3 was isolated from the Ariake Sea tideland, Japan. The isolate had the capability to fully remove as high as 225.8 mg nitrate-nitrogen.l(-1) under stationary culture conditions without accumulation of nitrite as an intermediate. From biochemical tests and 16S rDNA sequencing analysis, the genus of the bacterium was identified as Pseudomonas and close to stutzeri species. The nitrate removal efficiency of the isolate was faster than that of the control strain Pseudomonas stutzeri NBRC 14165, using succinate as the sole carbon source. The isolate could grow in up to 10% (w/v) of NaCl containing medium. The enzymatic tests showed that the activity of enzymes responsible for the reduction of nitrate and nitrite in strain ASM-2-3 was 1.4 and 2.3 times higher than that of the control strain. The feasibility of application of the isolate strain ASM-2-3 in a packed bed bioreactor was investigated for 40 d.

Wastewater treatment with bacteria immobilized onto a ceramic carrier in an aerated system.

Biological treatment of the wastewater discharged from a food processing factory was continuously carried out in a packed bed bioreactor under aerobic conditions. The bacterium isolated from the wastewater was immobilized onto a new type of ceramic carrier by a vacuum method and high numbers of bacteria were colonized onto the carrier (2.9 x 10(9) cfu/g of dry ceramic carrier). The effect of the hydraulic retention time (HRT) and aeration rate on the removal of the chemical oxygen demand (COD) was investigated. The system was able on average to remove more than 82% of the influent COD during 160 d of operation and more than 87% of the influent COD on average was removed when the HRT was 30.17 h and the aeration rate was 2.0 vvm. Aeration rates in the range of 0.4 to 2.0 vvm do not affect the COD removal efficiency.