Les bactéries lactiques, en particulier Lactococcus lactis sont utilisées en industrie agroalimentaire. Ces bactéries sont connues pour avoir une activité réductrice, désignant leur aptitude à abaisser le potentiel redox (Eh) d’un milieu. Le génome de L. lactis MG1363 code plusieurs protéines possédant un motif CXXC potentiellement liées à une activité redox. Pour comprendre le rôle des protéines de surface riches en cystéines, deux approches ont été utilisées. Par l’approche bioinformatique, notre intérêt s'est porté sur deux protéines de surface de fonctions inconnues et à motif CX2CX10CX2C : Llmg_0524 et Llmg_0526. Leurs gènes forment un opéron induit temporairement en début de croissance. Dans les deux protéines, le motif chélate un ion de zinc par les résidus cystéines, formant un complexe très stable. Nos données suggèrent que cet opéron contribue à l'intégrité de la paroi cellulaire et que le zinc participe à la stabilité des protéines. L'identification des protéines à thiols exofaciaux par une approche biochimique indique la présente d’AhpF à la surface de L. lactis. La délétion du gène ahpF entraîne une forte sensibilité du mutant au cumène hydroperoxyde, mais aucune au peroxyde d'hydrogène. Le cumène hydroperoxyde provoque une modification de la proportion en acide gras chez le mutant ahpF, le mécanisme de cyclopropanation contribue à sa survie en réponse à un stress oxydatif. La compréhension des fonctions impliquées dans l'activité réductrice des lactocoques permettra une meilleure maîtrise du Eh dans la fabrication des produits fermentés et un meilleur contrôle des flores pathogènes et d’altérations. Le projet Food-Redox a été financé par l'ANR. / Lactic acid bacteria, particularly Lactococcus lactis are used in dairy industry. These bacteria are known to have a reducing activity, indicating their ability to lower the redox potential (Eh) of a medium. L. lactis MG1363 genome encodes several proteins with a CXXC motif, potentially linked with a redox activity. To understand the role of proteins rich in cysteine located at the surface of L. lactis, two approaches were used, one bioinformatics and biochemical another. For bioinformatic approach, interest was focused on two proteins of unknown function and CX2CX10CX2C motif: Llmg_0524 and Llmg_0526. Their corresponding genes form an operon temporarily induces in early growth phase. In these two proteins, the pattern chelate a zinc ion via its cysteine residues. The zinc-cysteine complexe is very stable, it suggests a probable role in protein stability. Data suggest that this operon contributes to the cell wall integrity. The identification of exofacial thiol proteins by a biochemical approach indicates that AhpF is present at the surface of L. lactis. The ahpF gene deletion causes a strong sensitivity to the cumene hydroperoxide, but no sensibility for hydrogen peroxide. In the mutant ahpF incubation with cumene hydroperoxide modified fatty acid proportion, cyclopropanation mechanism thus contributes to the survival in response to oxidative stress. Understanding the lactococci functions involved in the reduction activity allows a better control of redox potentiel in the fermented food production and thus a better control of foodbornes microorganisms in these products. Food-Redox project is financially supported by the French National Research Agency.

Microorganisms have been known to play a major role in human health since early times. The ingestion of microorganisms as probiotics to restore and/or maintain health is a widely accepted and common practice. The challenge in industry is to ensure viability of probiotics until their ingestion to their site of action, the colon, for health benefits to be realised. Microencapsulation is one of the techniques used to protect probiotic bacteria and ensure viability. A method that does not involve the use of extreme temperatures and/or solvents which would otherwise adversely affect viable cells was developed and patented. The method is solventless and is based on complexation of Food and Drug Administration-approved polymers, poly (vinylpyrrolidone) and poly (vinylacetate-co-crotonic acid) in supercritical carbon dioxide. The use of this method of encapsulation was found to be suitable in target release in earlier studies. Microparticles produced were found to have pH-dependent swellability, protecting bioactives, in this case probiotic bifidobacteria, in acid (simulated gastric acid) and only releasing them in an alkaline environment (simulated intestinal fluid). Further studies were, however, needed to investigate the suitability of the microparticles for food and pharmaceutical applications. The current study therefore aimed to characterize these microparticles in terms of size range, distribution of bacteria within the microparticles, and particle size distribution. The average size of the Bifidobacterium lactis Bb12-encapsulating microparticles was found to be within the acceptable size in food applications. High encapsulation efficiency was obtained, with live bacteria distributed evenly within the microparticles, demonstrating the potential of the microparticles to deliver high numbers of probiotic cultures as required for this type of microorganisms to deliver purpoted benefits to the consumer. Probiotic products are normally kept under refrigerated storage, yet the viability of bacterial cells still decreases. An additional benefit of encapsulation within microparticles would be protection of the encapsulated probiotics from the detrimental factors to which the probiotic products are exposed during storage. In order to investigate this for the microparticles in this study, the shelf life of encapsulated B. lactis Bb 12 powder stored in glass vials was investigated. High temperatures were used for accelerated shelf life studies. Encapsulated B. lactis Bb 12 maintained the viable levels above the therapeutic minimum for the duration of the study (12 weeks), which was 7 weeks more than was the case with unencapsulated probiotic. Thus the microparticles provided protection to the probiotic cultures at temperatures much higher than those normally used for storage of probiotic products. These results further indicate the possibility for storage of the B. lactis Bb12 encapsulated in the tested microparticles, at ambient temperatures for at least two months, without drastic loss of culture viability. Research has recently focused on the development of probiotic foods other than dairy and dairy-based foods. This has been necessitated by increasing vegetarian lifestyle and concerns of allergenicity. A maize-based traditional fermented beverage, mageu, was investigated for use as a vehicle for probiotic delivery. Although no significant difference was noted between survival of encapsulated and unencapsulated probiotic was noted, pH decrease in mageu with encapsulated B. lactis Bb 12 was less than with unencapsulated cells. This suggested that encapsulation would ensure that metabolites produced by encapsulated probiotics, if any, would not negatively affect a product in which they are incorporated. Further studies may be needed for investigation of the effect of the encapsulating microparticles in traditional fermented non-dairy products, using more acid-sensitive probiotic strains as the test strain used in the current study is well-known for its inherent resistance to acidity. This study filled gaps in knowledge in terms of the characteristics of microparticles produced using supercritical technology. The main highlights of the research findings were that the microparticles were suitable for food applications, improved probiotic viability under nonrefrigerated temperatures, and delayed browning of the probiotic powder and minimized drop in pH of the fermented product containing the probiotic encapsulated within. The results showed that microparticles encapsulating B. lactis Bb 12 are appropriate to consumers in areas where refrigeration is absent. Furthermore, the study showed that mageu is a suitable alternative vehicle to dairy-based products, for delivery of probiotic B. lactis Bb 12. This possibility extends accessibility of probiotic products to consumers who do not take dairy products for various reasons. There is also a potential increase of probiotic products on the market. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Microbiology and Plant Pathology / unrestricted

Les bactéries lactiques (BL), communément employées en industrie agroalimentaire, font à présent l’objet d’études visant à les utiliser pour de nouvelles applications telles que le développement de vaccins vivants ou la délivrance de molécules d’intérêt biothérapeutique chez l’hôte. Dans cette optique, différents systèmes de présentation de protéines à la surface des bactéries à Gram positif ont été développés. L’un d’entre eux est basé sur l’activité d’enzymes, les sortases, liant de façon covalente les protéines à la paroi bactérienne. Nous avons utilisé la BL modèle, Lactococcus lactis, afin d’étudier les sortases, jusqu’alors étudiées essentiellement chez les bactéries pathogènes. La sortase A (SrtA) est responsable de l’ancrage d’au moins cinq protéines à motif LPxTG à la surface. Une seconde sortase, de classe C (SrtC), a été identifiée et caractérisée. Nous avons mis en évidence la capacité de L. lactis à produire des pili à sa surface qui sont polymérisés par SrtC et ancrés à la paroi par SrtA. Ces pili résultent de la polymérisation de la piline majeure YhgE qui peut être surplombée par la piline mineure de coiffe YhgD. La production de pili chez L. lactis entraîne un changement de comportement des cellules résultant à des phénotypes particuliers. Nous avons pu l’associer à l’auto-agrégation des cellules en culture liquide, à la formation de biofilms hétérogènes et aériens, et à l’adhésion à la mucine gastrique de porc. Plus précisément, YhgE a été impliquée dans l’auto-agrégation et les biofilms atypiques, et une troisième piline, dont l’appartenance au pilus n’a pas été démontrée, semble aussi impliquée dans la production de biofilms atypiques. / Lactic acid bacteria (LAB), which are commonly used in food industry, are now being studied for their use in new applications such as biotherapeutic molecule delivery vehicules in human host or as live vaccines. Recently, surface protein delivery systems have been developed in Gram positive bacteria and one of them is based on enzymes, the sortases which covalently bind proteins to the cell wall. We used the LAB model, Lactococcus lactis, in order to study the sortases of these non-pathogenic bacteria. This work has functionally characterized the sortase A (SrtA) responsible for cell wall anchoring of at least five LPxTG proteins. A second sortase, from class C (SrtC), has been identified and characterized. We demonstrated the ability of L. lactis to produce pili on its surface that are polymerized by SrtC and cell wall anchored by SrtA. These pili result from polymerization of the YhgE major pilin and can be topped by the YhgD tip minor pilin. Pili production in L. lactis leads a change in cell behavior resulting in individual phenotypes. We were able to associate it with the self-aggregation of cells in liquid cultures, heterogeneous and aerial biofilm formation and bacterial adhesion onto pig gastric mucin. Specifically, YhgE was involved in both self-aggregation and atypical biofilm formation, while a third pilin, whose pilus membership has not been established, was also involved in the production of atypical biofilms.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Technology: Biotechnology, Durban University of Technology, 2001. / Kluyveromyces sp. have adapted to existence in milk due to the evolution of permeabilisation and hydrolytic systems that allow the utilisation of lactose, the sugar most abundant in milk. Lactose hydrolysis, to equimolar units of glucose and galactose, is facilitated by a glycoside hydrolase, i.e., β-galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.23). The versatility of this enzyme allows its application in numerous industrial processes, amongst the most significant of which, is its role in the alleviation of lactose intolerance, one of the most prevalent digestive ailments, globally. In this study, β-galactosidase production by Kluyveromyces lactis UOFS y-0939 was initially optimised in shake flask culture with lactose as the sole carbon source, and thereafter, production was scaled up to batch, fedbatch and continuous culture. Shake flask studies revealed optimum conditions of 30°C, pH 7 and a 10% inoculum ratio, to be most favourable for β-galactosidase synthesis, producing a maximum of 0.35 ± 0.05 U.ml-1 when cell lysates were prepared by ultrasonication with glass beads. Batch cultivation in 28.2 and 40 g.L-1 lactose revealed that elevated levels of the carbon source was not inhibitory to β-galactosidase production, as maximum enzyme activities of 1.58 and 4.08 U.ml-1, respectively, were achieved. Cell lysates prepared by ultrasonication and homogenisation were compared and homogenised cell lysates were more than 3.5 fold higher that those prepared by ultrasonication, proving homogenisation to be the superior method for cell disruption. The lactose feed rate of 4 g.L-1.h-1 in fed-batch culture operated at ± 20.4% DO, appeared to be inhibitory to biomass production, as indicated by the lower biomass productivity in fed-batch (0.82 g.L-1.h-1) than batch culture (1.27 g.L-1.h-1). Enzyme titres, however, were favoured by the low DO levels as a maximum of 8.7 U.ml-1, 5.5 fold more than that obtained in batch culture, was achieved, and would be expected to increase proportionally with the biomass. Continuous culture operated at a dilution rate of 0.2 h-1, under strictly aerobic conditions, revealed these conditions to be inhibitory to the lactose consumption rate, however, the non-limiting lactose and high DO environment was favourable for β-galactosidase synthesis, achieving an average of 8 ± 0.9 U.ml-1 in steady state.

Mobile group II introns are retroelements that insert site-specifically into DNA target sites by a process called retrohoming. Retrohoming is mediated by a ribonucleoprotein particle (RNP) that contains both the intron RNA and the intronencoded protein (IEP). My dissertation focuses on two mobile group II introns: Lactococcus lactis Ll.LtrB and Escherichia coli EcI5, which belong to structural subclasses IIA and CL/IIB1, respectively. Previous studies showed that the Ll.LtrB IEP, denoted LtrA protein, is pole localized in E. coli. First, I found that active LtrA protein is associated with E. coli membrane fractions, suggesting that LtrA pole localization might reflect association with a membrane receptor. Second, I found that EcI5 is highly active in retrohoming in E. coli and obtained a comprehensive view of its DNA target site recognition by selection experiments. I found that EcI5 recognizes DNA target sequences by using both the IEP and base pairing of the intron RNA, with the IEP having different target specificity than for other mobile group II introns. A computer algorithm based on the empirically determined DNA recognition rules enabled retargeting of EcI5 to integrate at ten different sites in the chromosomal lacZ gene at frequencies up to 98% without selection. Finally, I developed methods for gene targeting in the frog Xenopus laevis by using Ll.LtrB RNPs for site-specific DNA modification in isolated sperm nuclei, followed by in vitro fertilization to generate genetically modified animals. The site-specific integrations were efficient enough to detect in fifty sperm nuclei for a multiple copy target site, the Tx1 transposon, and several hundred sperm nuclei for protein-encoding genes. Based on these results, I obtained transgenic tadpoles with sitespecific Tx1 integrations by simple screening. To facilitate screening for embryos with targeted integrations in protein-encoding genes, I constructed an intron carrying a GFPRAM (Retrotransposition-Activated Marker). By using this GFP-RAM with introns containing randomized sequences that base pair with the target DNA, I obtained tadpoles with intron integrations at different genomic locations, including protein-encoding genes. The methods for using group II introns for targeted sperm DNA modification in X. laevis may be applicable to other animals. / text

Submitted by Suzana Kotzent (su_kotzent@hotmail.com) on 2017-03-17T13:27:02Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação final 170317 Suzana Kotzent.pdf: 1627152 bytes, checksum: fb879e427474125c781d95d8fcc0faa5 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Juliano Benedito Ferreira (julianoferreira@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2017-03-23T16:43:06Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 kotzent_s_me_jabo_par.pdf: 1254030 bytes, checksum: 86a63f13335a097462b3bb9d50cce954 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-23T16:43:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 kotzent_s_me_jabo_par.pdf: 1254030 bytes, checksum: 86a63f13335a097462b3bb9d50cce954 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-17 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Os probióticos são microorganismos vivos que afetam de forma benéfica o hospedeiro ou o ambiente. Na aquicultura podem ser usados tanto na água como na ração, mas seu uso na alimentação é destacado como uma das principais medidas profiláticas. As doenças bacterianas são consideradas um dos principais entraves no crescimento da aquicultura, e assim, há a necessidade urgente no desenvolvimento de probióticos. O tambaqui Colossoma macropomum é a espécie nativa mais produzida no Brasil, e apesar de sua importância econômica, não há estudos que estabeleçam os microorganismos com potencial probiótico para esta espécie de peixe. Neste trabalho foi possível identificar e caracterizar bactérias autóctones com potencial probiótico para o tambaqui a partir de testes de: caracterização morfológica, catalase, tolerância à bile, antagonismo frente à patógenos, sensibilidade a antimicrobianos e sequenciamento do gene 16S rRNA. As cepas selecionadas foram: Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus hirae, Lactococcus lactis, Pediococcus pentosaceus, Staphylococcus hominis e Staphylococcus saprophyticus. Todas as cepas foram tolerantes aos ácidos biliares do tambaqui e capazes de inibir o crescimento dos patógenos Enterococcus casseliflavus, Lactococcus garvieae e Aeromonas hydrophila. Todas as cepas foram parcialmente resistentes contra sete antibióticos. Como as cepas de S. saprophyticus e E. faecalis apresentaram menores valores no teste de antagonismo e por estas bactérias serem relatadas como agentes zoonóticos, concluímos este estudo selecionando quatro potenciais cepas: E. hirae, L. lactis, P. pentosaceus, S. hominis. Este é o primeiro estudo a referir o potencial uso probiótico de cepas autóctones para o tambaqui. / Probiotics are living microorganisms that beneficially affect the host or the environment. In aquaculture it can be used in both water and feed, but its use in feed is highlighted as one of the main prophylactic measures. Bacterial diseases are considered to be one of the major obstacles to the growth of aquaculture, and thus, there is an urgent need for the development of probiotics. The tambaqui Colossoma macropomum is the most produced native species in Brazil, and despite its economic importance, there are no studies that establish the microorganisms with probiotic potential for this fish species. In this study it was possible to identify and characterize autochthones bacteria with probiotic potential for tambaqui from tests of: morphological characterization, catalase, bile tolerance, antagonism of pathogens, antimicrobial susceptibility and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The selected strains were: Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus hirae, Lactococcus lactis, Pediococcus pentosaceus, Staphylococcus hominis and Staphylococcus saprophyticus. All strains were tolerant to acids bile from tambaqui and capable of inhibiting the growth of Enterococcus casseliflavus, Lactococcus garvieae and Aeromonas hydrophila pathogens. All strains were partially resistant against seven antibiotics. Since the strains of S. saprophyticus and E. faecalis presented lower values in the test of antagonism and because these bacteria were reported as zoonotic agents, we conclude this study selecting four potential strains: E. hirae, L. lactis, P. pentosaceus, S. hominis. This is the first study to mention the potential probiotic use of autochthonous strains for tambaqui.

No description available.

In this study, I analyzed the Lactococcus lactis subspecies cremoris MG1363 stress response at sub-lethal alcohol levels during exponential growth phase at transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics levels. Ethanol, 1-butanol, 1-hexanol were the selected alcohols. Manganese- transporter- and arginine catabolic pathway genes were up-regulated by all alcohols suggesting they evoked oxidative and acidic stress. ATP manganese transporter genes, histidine- and galactose genes were also up-regulated. Purine- and pyrimidine synthesis genes were down-regulated. HPLC analysis displayed decreased biomass yield and glycolytic flux, suggesting increased glycolytic energy production and slowed down overall enzymatic rate. Proteomics analysis displayed differential expressed proteins associated with heat and oxidative stress.

No description available.

Internal fruit rot, caused by Fusarium lactis, is as an important disease of greenhouse sweet pepper. Fungal growth was studied microscopically during anthesis and fruit development. Hyphae were observed on the stigmatal surface one day after inoculation (DAI), and in the transmitting tissues of the style and inside the ovary at 5 and 6 DAI. Symptomless seeds from infected fruits yielded colonies of F. lactis when cultured axenically, and typical disease symptoms were observed when fruits were dissected at 45 DAI. Isolates of F. lactis and the related species F. proliferatum and F. verticillioides, which are also associated with internal fruit rot, produced the mycotoxins beauvericin, moniliformin and fumonisin B1 in various combinations, both in infected fruits and in vitro. These findings suggest that internal fruit rot is initiated through infection of the stigma and style during anthesis, and that mycotoxin contamination of infected fruit could pose a health concern. / Plant Science