Iron-sulfur clusters are simple inorganic cofactors that are ubiquitous in living systems. The assembly of iron sulfur clusters is an essential process and must be carefully controlled in order to limit the release of toxic free iron or sulfide. Thus far there are three known protein systems for iron sulfur cluster assembly including the <i>nif, suf,</i> and <i>isc</i> systems. The <i>nif</i> system makes iron-sulfur clusters for nitrogenase production, while both the <i>suf</i> and <i>isc</i> systems provide iron-sulfur clusters for general cellular use. In <i>Azotobacter vinelandii</i> the isc operon contains eight genes which are transcribed together as a single operon: <i>iscR iscS iscU iscA hscB hscA fdx iscX</i>. The two central <i>isc</i> players include IscS, a cysteine desulfurase, and IscU the proposed site of iron-sulfur cluster assembly. Using <i>A. vinelandii</i> as a model organism, we have sought to better understand the mechanism of <i>in vivo isc</i> cluster assembly. In order test the scaffold hypothesis, we constructed strains that allowed for quick and rapid isolation of IscU. The purification of IscU with a bound [2Fe-2S] cluster strongly supports the model that IscU serves as the site of cluster synthesis <i>in vivo</i>. Additionally, using this same genetic system we isolated an IscU39DA variant with an oxygen stable bound [2Fe-2S] cluster. The IscU39^DA scaffold came in tight α₂β₂ complex with IscS and was not separated by high salt, size exclusion, or reducing conditions. On the other hand, wild-type IscU also associated with IscS in a α₂β₂ complex, but readily dissociated upon increased salt concentration. The tight association of IscU39^DA and IscS was found to occur regardless of the presence of a bound [Fe-S] cluster. We conclude that the IscU Asp-39 residue is essential for mediating the dissociation of IscU and IscS. In addition to studying IscS and IscU, we were interested to further understand how the isc system is regulated in response to external factors. Previous work has demonstrated that IscR controls expression of the isc operon in <i>Escherichia coli</i>. When IscR is holo this protein represses <i>isc</i> expression, while in its apo-form it allows <i>isc</i> expression. In <i>A. vinelandii</i> we found that ∆<i>iscR</i> strains exhibit in a 5 – 7 fold elevation of isc expression. Additionally, ∆<i>iscR</> strains reveal a small growth phenotype on plates, and a tendency to form spontaneous suppressor mutations allowing reversion to wild-type growth. Loss of apo-IscR function was found to cause a more severe effect on growth than the loss of holo-IscR function, suggesting IscR has cellular roles in addition to the regulation of the <i>isc</i> operon. / Ph. D.

A resonant frequency cavity was used to determine the dielectric properties of various preparations of Azotobacter vinelandii ATTC 12837. It was found that the bacteria investigated did interact with microwave radiation in the absence of free water. The data presented here indicate that bacteria demonstrate frequency specific dielectric properties. The techniques employed in these experiments may also be used to determine microwave spectra of other species of bacteria in different physiological stages.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:23:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-02-19Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:50:10Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 silva_an_me_sjrp.pdf: 5773853 bytes, checksum: 8d32b3256460ece4e4901a20da094ab8 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O alginato é um polissacarídeo normalmente extraído de paredes celulares de algas marrons utilizado nas indústrias de alimentos, farmacêuticas e biotecnológicas. A produção é concentrada no cultivo de algas marinhas marrons, mas várias bactérias do gênero Pseudomonas e Azotobacter produzem alginato. A estrutura química dos alginatos produzidos por algas é similar aos sintetizados pela A. vinelandii. Esta bactéria também produz polímeros intracelulares como o poli-hidroxibutirato (PHB), conhecido como bioplástico. Neste trabalho estudou-se a produção simultânea do alginato e PHB pela A. vinelandii utilizando sacarose, glicose e melaço de cana-de-açúcar como fontes de carbono, além de diferentes parâmetros de fermentação em agitador orbital rotatório. Os valores ótimos para a produção destes compostos foram determinados pela metodologia de superfície de resposta (MSR). O 1º experimento realizado para as três fontes de carbono foi um planejamento fatorial fracionado 26-2 (variáveis independentes: concentração da fonte de carbono; concentração de acetato de amônio; concentração de citrato de amônio e ferro (III); pH; temperatura de incubação e tempo de incubação). O 2º experimento baseou-se nos valores ótimos de produção de PHB para cada fonte de carbono e resultou em um planejamento fatorial completo 33-0 (variáveis independentes: concentração da fonte de carbono; temperatura de incubação e tempo de incubação). Verificou-se que a maior produtividade de PHB (100 mg/g de célula/h) utilizando o melaço de cana-de-açúcar ocorreu no tempo de incubação de aproximadamente 10 h, a 60,0ºC e nas concentrações de sólidos solúveis entre 14,0 - 25,0%. A glicose apresentou uma maior produtividade de PHB (60 mg/g de célula/h) no tempo de incubação de aproximadamente 10 h, entre 23,0-26,0ºC e concentração de glicose... / The alginate is a polysaccharide extracted from cell walls of brown seaweed used in the industries of food, pharmaceutical and biotechnology. The production is concentrated in the brown seaweed cultivation, but several bacteria, Pseudomonas and Azotobacter genus, produce alginate. The chemical structure of alginate produced by algae is similar to those synthesized by A. vinelandii. This bacterium also produces intracellular polymers such as polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), known as bioplastic. In this work the simultaneous alginate and PHB production by A. vinelandii using sucrose, glucose and sugar cane molasses as carbon source, and different fermentation parameters in orbital shaker was studied. The optimum values for the production of these compounds were determined by the response surface methodology (RSM). The 1st experiment conducted for the three carbon sources was a fractionated factorial design 26-2 (independent variables: the carbon source concentration; ammonium acetate concentration; ammonium citrate and iron (III) concentration; pH; temperature and incubation time). The 2nd experiment was based on optimum values for the production of PHB for each carbon source and resulted in a full factorial design 33-0 (independent variables: the carbon source concentration; temperature and incubation time). The highest PHB yield (100 mg/g cell/h) using sugar cane molasses as a carbon source was found in 10 h at 60.0 ºC and solids soluble concentrations between 14.0 and 25.0%. The glucose showed the highest PHB yield (60 mg/g cell/h) in approximately 10 h, at temperature between 23.0 – 26.0 ºC and glucose concentration between 48.0 and 62.0 g/L. The sucrose, showed the highest PHB yield (45 mg/g cell/h) in approximately 18 h, 60.0 ºC and sucrose concentration of 10.0 g/L. For the alginate productivity using the glucose was observed that the yield was more... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Azotobacter and various fungi were grown together in nitrogen-free media. Maximal fungal growth in the medium used was possible only at the expense of Azotobacter cells and growth was always accompanied by acid production. When the medium reached a pH of 2, the bacterial cells were aggregated on fungal hyphae and the culture fluid appeared to be free of Azotobacter. Aspergillus niger grew well at the expense of viable bacteria and other fungi grew well on heat-killed cells of A. vinelandii. Members of the genus Hormodendrum, although not causing significant decrease in pH, were also able to clear turbid cultures of Azotobacter. However, clearing, which involved the attachment of bacteria to fungal hyphae, was dependent on acid production by the fungi. Bacterial aggregation was followed by hyphal attachment, bacterial inactivation, and finally, bacterial cell lysis.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1986 C58 / Master of Science / Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics Interdepartmental Program

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Biological Sciences. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

Olive Mill Wastewater (OMW), by-product of oil industry, is a dark liquid with a characteristic fetid smell, bitter taste and bright appearance / having a high pollution potential, creating serious problems in countries producing olive oil. Azotobacter chroococcum as a Nitrogen-fixing bacteria can bioremediate OMW, by degrading its toxic constituents. With the help of this detoxification process OMW can be used as biofertilizer. In this study, the dynamics of growth and nitrogen fixation at different physiological conditions and nutrient requirements of A. chroococcum in chemically defined N-free medium was determined. These parameters were cultivation conditions such as pH, temperature and aeration and some additives such as inorganic salts, boric acid and nitrogen. Consequently, the maximum cell concentration were obtained when A. chroococcum was grown at neutral pH, 35&amp / #61616 / C, 150 rpm and in medium supplemented with manganese salt at 0.01% concentration. The maximum nitrogen fixation products were attained when A. chroococcum was grown under the same conditions except at pH 8. Further, bioremediation of OMW by A. chroococcum was examined. When A. chroococcum was cultivated in OMW containing basal medium at 10% OMW concentration, a cell density 12 times higher than in the OMW free medium was achieved. Also, it was found to have maximum increase in extracellular protein concentration (112 mg/l) at 10% OMW containing medium and maximum increase in ammonia concentration (9.05 mg/l) at 5% OMW containing medium.

University, Diss., 1998--Braunschweig.

Orientador: Crispin Humberto Garcia-Cruz / Banca: Eleni Gomes / Banca: José Roberto Ernandes / Banca: Mário Antônio Alves da Cunha / Banca: Vanildo Luiz Del Bianchi / Resumo: Atualmente a destinação do lixo é uma das grandes preocupações da organização urbana e os problemas ambientais causados pela produção e acúmulo de materiais plásticos de origem petroquímica têm incentivado muitos países a realizarem estudos de gerenciamento do volume de lixo sólido, incluindo a diminuição de resíduos plásticos por meio do desenvolvimento de bioplásticos. Os bioplásticos possuem propriedades semelhantes às dos plásticos convencionais e apresentam a vantagem de serem facilmente degradados pela ação de microrganismos no ambiente, podendo citar como exemplo os poli-hidroxialcanoatos (PHA), dentre eles o poli-hidroxibutirato (PHB). Estes polímeros podem representar até 80% da massa seca total da célula, tendo como característica principal a biodegradabilidade em solos e a biocompatibilidade com o tecido animal. Entre os microrganismos produtores de PHAs, a bactéria Azotobacter vinelandii pode acumular grandes quantidades de PHB intracelular com a vantagem de utilizar durante seu crescimento uma ampla variedade de açúcares como os encontrados em melaço de cana-de-açúcar, beterraba e xarope de milho, além de resíduos da suinocultura, agroindustriais, etc. Além do PHB, a bactéria A. vinelandii é capaz de produzir alginato, composto muito empregado na área de análogos de frutas ou produtos tipo imitação como: fatias de pimentão para recheios de azeitonas, imitação de anéis de cebola, imitações de caviar, carne, pescados, produtos marinhos, etc. Tendo em vista que os principais fatores limitantes para a produção de biopolímeros estão associados, principalmente, com os custos dos substratos e ao fato de que muitos microrganismos são patogênicos dificultando a sua aceitação pela comunidade em geral, este trabalho teve como objetivo utilizar... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Currently, the waste disposal is a major concern of urban organization and the environmental problems caused by production and accumulation of petrochemical plastics have encouraged many countries to management studies of the solid waste volume, including the waste plastics reduction through the bioplastics development. Bioplastics have similar properties to conventional plastics and the advantage of being easily degraded by the microorganisms action in the environment, for example, poly-hydroxyalcanoatos (PHA), including poly-hydroxybutyrate (PHB). These polymers can represent up to 80% of total dry mass of the cell, having as main feature the biodegradability in soil and the biocompatibility with animal tissue. Among the microorganisms producing PHAs, the bacterium Azotobacter vinelandii can accumulate large amounts of intracellular PHB with the advantage that they grow a wide sugars variety like those found in molasses cane sugar, beet sugar and corn syrup, and swine waste, agribusiness, etc.. Besides the PHB, the bacterium A. vinelandii is able to produce alginate, a very useful compound in the similar area of type of fruit and imitation as sliced peppers for stuffing olives, onion rings imitation, caviar, meat, fish and marine products imitation, etc.. Given that the main limiting factors for the biopolymers production are mainly associated with the substrates costs and the fact that many microorganisms are pathogenic hindering its acceptance by the community in general, this study aimed to use the pollutant by-products environment (residual oil frying, glycerin, cassava wastewater - "manipueira", vinasse and wastewater industry carbonated beverages or soft drinks) as a substrate for the poly-hydroxybutyrate and alginate production by non-pathogenic bacterium Azotobacter vinelandii. Fermentations... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor