Subcellular localization of proteins labeled with GFP in Xanthomonas citri ssp citri: targeting the division septum

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Estudo da produção de biossurfactante em caldo de fermentação

A bacterium isolated from soil contaminated by hydrocarbon was studied and, by biochemical tests and analysis of PCR, the presence of Bacillus pumilus was identified. The production of biosurfactant was optimized, test of oil degradation and antimicrobial activity determination. The results showed that pH 5.0 and 7.0, 72 h of fermentation, sucrose and sugar cane juice (2%) had best yields. The bacterium is able to degrade crude oil and displays bacteriostatic and fungistatic activity. From the analysis of proximate composition of biosurfactant found the presence of biopolymer formed by a lipopolysaccharide-protein complex.

Gene expression modulation by chalcopyrite and bornite in Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Differential proteomic analysis of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans cells maintained in contact with bornite or chalcopyrite: Proteins involved with the early bacterial response

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Aplicação de técnicas eletroquímicas no estudo da dissolução oxidativa da covelita (CuS) por Thiobacillus ferrooxidans

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Kinetic parameters for thermal decomposition of microcrystalline, vegetal, and bacterial cellulose

Cellulose can be obtained from innumerable sources such as cotton, trees, sugar cane bagasse, wood, bacteria, and others. The bacterial cellulose (BC) produced by the Gram-negative acetic-acid bacterium Acetobacter xylinum has several unique properties. This BC is produced as highly hydrated membranes free of lignin and hemicelluloses and has a higher molecular weight and higher crystallinity. Here, the thermal behavior of BC, was compared with those of microcrystalline (MMC) and vegetal cellulose (VC). The kinetic parameters for the thermal decomposition step of the celluloses were determined by the Capela-Ribeiro non-linear isoconversional method. From data for the TG curves in nitrogen atmosphere and at heating rates of 5, 10, and 20 A degrees C/min, the E(alpha) and B(alpha) terms could be determined and consequently the pre-exponential factor A(alpha) as well as the kinetic model g(alpha). The pyrolysis of celluloses followed kinetic model g(alpha) = [-ln(1 - alpha)](1.63) on average, characteristic for Avrami-Erofeev with only small differences in activation energy. The fractional value of n may be related to diffusion-controlled growth, or may arise from the distributions of sizes or shapes of the reactant particles.

Comparison of histological and molecular diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori in benign lesions and gastric adenocarcinoma

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Gama de hospedeiros e reação de genótipos de tomateiro a Pseudomonas cichorii

Em 2005, foi constatada em dois campos comerciais de tomate no Estado de São Paulo, a ocorrência da queima bacteriana, causada por Pseudomonas cichorii. em vista disso, foram desenvolvidos estudos visando a determinação da gama de hospedeiros de isolados de Pseudomonas cichorii (IBSBF 2309 e IBSBF 2323), obtidos de tomateiro, provenientes de campos comerciais localizados nos municípios de Bragança Paulista e Mogi Guaçú, SP. Plantas de abobrinha, alface, beldroega, berinjela, beterraba, cenoura, couvebrócolo, datura, fumo, girassol, jiló, melão, pepino, petúnia, pimentão, rabanete, repolho, rúcula, salsa e tomateiro foram inoculadas por pulverização, separadamente, com os dois isolados de P. cichorii de tomateiro e um isolado de girassol (GIR-1). Os isolados IBSBF 2309 e IBSBF 2323 foram patogênicos à beldroega, datura, girassol, pimentão e tomate; GIR-1 foi patogênico apenas à beldroega, datura e girassol, não sendo patogênico ao pimentão e ao tomateiro. No Brasil não se conhecem fontes de resistência dentro do gênero Lycopersicon ou a reação de cultivares de tomateiros a esta bactéria. Vinte e oito genótipos de tomateiro provenientes do Banco de Germoplasma da empresa Sakata Seed Sudamerica Ltda., foram avaliados quanto a reação aos isolados IBSBF 2309 e IBSBF 2323 de P. cichorii, pelo método de inoculação nas folhas. Os maiores níveis de resistência foram observados em AF 11768, AF 2521, AF 11766, AF 11772, AF 229, AF 5719-1 e AF 8162. O genótipo AF 5719-1, que possui o gene Pto, que confere resistência a P. syringae pv. tomato, apresentou um bom nível de resistência a P. cichorii. A identificação de genótipos que apresentem bons níveis de resistência a este patógeno é importante para utilização em programas de melhoramento genético do tomateiro, visando a incorporação de genes de resistência a P. cichorii.

Comparative analysis of differentially expressed sequence tags of sweet orange and mandarin infected with Xylella fastidiosa

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Semi-selective culture medium for Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens pv. flaccumfaciens isolation from bean seeds

Curtobacterium wilt has become an important disease of beans in several localities in the country. Its causal agent, Curtobacterium flaccumfacciens pv. flaccumfaciens (Cff), survives and is disseminated through seeds. To date, few studies have been conducted with the objective of developing an effective and low-cost culture medium to isolate this bacterium from bean seeds, for health analysis purposes. Usually, the culture media employed for coryneform bacteria isolation contain specific carbon sources and antimicrobial products not available in the Brazilian market. A culture medium known as MSCFF was developed (peptone - 5 g, meat extract - 3 g, sucrose - 5 g, agar 15 g, skim milk powder* - 5 g. Congo red* - 0.05 g-, chlorothalonil* - 0.01 g, thiophanate methyl* - 0.01 g, nalidixic acid* - 0.01 g, nitrofurantoin* - 0.01 g. oxacillin* 0.001 g, sodium azide* - 0.001 g and distilled water q.s. 1L; *added after autoclaving the basal medium), which has the ability to inhibit growth of a large amount of saprophytic bacteria, but with low supressivity to Cff isolates. The MSCFF medium was highly effective for Cff isolation from naturally infected bean seeds and could be used for routine detection of this bacterium in bean seeds.

Oxidative dissolution of chalcopyrite by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans analyzed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy

The microbiological leaching of chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) is of great interest because of its potential application to many CuFeS2-rich ore materials. However, the efficiency of the microbiological process is very limited because this mineral is one of the most refractory to bacterial attack. Knowledge of bacterial role during chalcopyrite oxidation is very important in order to improve the efficiency of bioleaching operation. The oxidative dissolution of a massive chalcopyrite electrode by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans was evaluated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). A massive chalcopyrite electrode was utilized in a Tait-type electrochemical cell in acid medium for different immersion times in the presence or absence of bacterium. The differences observed in the impedance diagrams were correlated with the adhesion process of bacteria on the mineral surface. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Candidatus Liberibacter americanus, associated with citrus huanglongbing (greening disease) in São Paulo State, Brazil

Symptoms of huanglongbing (HLB) were reported in São Paulo State (SPS), Brazil, in March 2004. In Asia, HLB is caused by 'Candidatus Liberibacterasiaticus'and in Africa by 'Candidatus Liberibacter africanus'. Detection of the liberibacters is based on PCR amplification of their 16S rRNA gene with specific primers. Leaves with blotchy mottle symptoms characteristic of HLB were sampled in several farms of SIPS and tested for the presence of liberibacters. 'Ca. L. asiaticus' was detected in a small number of samples but most samples gave negative PCR results. Therefore, a new HLB pathogen was suspected. Evidence for an SPS-HLB bacterium in symptomatic leaves was obtained by PCR amplification with universal primers for prokaryotic 16S rRNA gene sequences. The amplified 16S rRNA gene was cloned and sequenced. Sequence analysis and phylogeny studies showed that the 16S rRNA gene possessed the oligonucleotide signatures and the secondary loop structure characteristic of the alpha-Proteobacteria, including the liberibacters. The 16S rRNA gene sequence phylogenetic tree showed that the SPS-HLB bacterium clustered within the a-Proteobacteria, the liberibacters being its closest relatives. For these reasons, the SPS-HLB bacterium is considered a member of the genus 'Ca. Liberibacter'. However, while the 16S rRNA gene sequences of 'Ca. L. asiaticus' and 'Ca. L. africanus' had 98-4% similarity, the 16S rRNA gene sequence of the SPS-HLB liberibacter had only 96(.)0% similarity with the 16S rRNA gene sequences of 'Ca. L. asiaticus'or'Ca. L. africanus'. This lower similarity was reflected in the phylogenetic tree, where the SPS-HLB liberibacter did not cluster within the 'Ca. L asiaticus'/'Ca. L. africanus group', but as a separate branch. Within the genus 'Candidatus Liberibacter' and for a given species, the 16S/23S intergenic region does not vary greatly. The intergenic regions of three strains of 'Ca. L. asiaticus', from India, the People's Republic of China and Japan, were found to have identical or almost identical sequences. In contrast, the intergenic regions of the SPS-HLB liberibacter, 'Ca. L. asiaticus' and 'Ca. L. africanus' had quite different sequences, with similarity between 66(.)0 and 79(.)5%. These results confirm that the SPS-HLB liberibacter is a novel species for which the name 'Candidatus Liberibacter americanus' is proposed. Like the African and the Asian liberibacters, the 'American' liberibacter is restricted to the sieve tubes of the citrus host. The liberibacter could also be detected by PCR amplification of the 16S rRNA gene in Diaphorina citri, the psyllid vector of 'Ca. L. asiaticus', suggesting that this psyllid is also a vector of 'Ca. L. americanus' in SPS. 'Ca. L. americanus' was detected in 216 of 218 symptomatic leaf samples from 47 farms in 35 municipalities, while 'Ca. L. asiaticus' was detected in only 4 of the 218 samples, indicating that 'Ca. L. americanus' is the major cause of HLB in SIPS.

Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens pv. Flaccumfaciens detection in bean seeds using a semi-selective culture medium

The bacterial wilt caused by Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens pv. flaccumfaciens is currently considered one of the most important bacterial bean disease in Brazil. One of the most effective control methods against this disease is the use of healthy seeds. However, no methods are known that could be routinely used to detect this bacterium in bean seeds under Brazilian condition. The aim of this work was to evaluate qualitative and quantitative detection methods for Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens pv. flaccumfaciens in naturally-infected bean seeds, and the detection of this pathogen in thirty bean seed samples, by sowing onto a semi- selective culture medium the leachate obtained from soaked bean seeds. Both the qualitative and quantitative methods were effective for detecting the presence of the bacteria in the seeds samples analysed. The qualitative method proved more practical for rotine use; of the thirty bean seed samples analyzed by this method, fifty percent were infected with Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens pv. flaccumfaciens.

Electrochemical noise analysis of bioleaching of bornite (Cu5FeS4) by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans

Electrochemical noise (EN) is a generic term describing the phenomenon of spontaneous fluctuations of potential or current noise of electrochemical systems. Since this technique provides a non-destructive condition for investigating corrosion processes, it can be useful to study the electrochemical oxidation of mineral sulfides by microorganisms, a process known as bacterial leaching of metals. This technique was utilized to investigate the dissolution of a bornite electrode in the absence (first 79 h) and after the addition of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans (next 113 h) in salts mineral medium at pH 1.8, without addition of the energy source (Fe2+ ions) for this chemolithotrophic bacterium. Potential and current noise data have been determined simultaneously with two identical working bornite electrodes which were linked by a zero resistance ammeter (ZRA). The mean potential, E-coup, coupling current, I-coup, standard deviations of potential and current noise fluctuations and noise resistance, R-n, have been obtained for coupled bornite electrodes. Noise measurements were recorded twice a day in an unstirred solution at 30 degrees C. Significant changes in these parameters were observed when the A. ferrooxidans suspension was added, related with bacterial activity on reduced species present in the sulfide moisture (Fe2+, S2-). ENA was a suitable tool for monitoring the changes of the corrosion behavior of bornite due to the presence of bacterium. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Rhodocyclus gelatinosus biomass for egg yolk pigmentation

Biomass of the photosynthetic bacterium Rhodocyclus gelatinosus was used at different levels in laying hens' rations as a xanthophyll source. Sixty-four hens were used in the experiment that investigated the effects of different biomass concentrations on weight gain, egg production, egg weight, and yolk color as compared with a control group that received no biomass supplementation in the ration. Yolk color was scored by means of a color fan. All concentrations tested were able to provide yolk color scores higher than those provided by the control group. The pigment deposition began after 24 h of administration and reached a plateau around the twentieth day. Each increase in the supplementation level led to an additional increase on yolk color scores. Yolk colors of all treatments that received R. gelatinosus biomass differed significantly from the control group and from each other, corroborating that the increase in the biomass supplementation had a positive effect on color increase. Body weight loss occurred in all treatments. Egg production did not increase with the biomass addition, while a significant increase in egg weight was observed in the treatments that received the product.