Optimized inorganic carbon regime for enhanced growth and lipid accumulation in Chlorella vulgaris

BACKGROUND

Large-scale algal biofuel production has been limited, among other factors, by the availability of inorganic carbon in the culture medium at concentrations higher than achievable with atmospheric CO2. Life cycle analyses have concluded that costs associated with supplying CO2 to algal cultures are significant contributors to the overall energy consumption.

RESULTS

A two-phase optimal growth and lipid accumulation scenario is presented, which (1) enhances the growth rate and (2) the triacylglyceride (TAG) accumulation rate in the oleaginous Chlorophyte Chlorella vulgaris strain UTEX 395, by growing the organism in the presence of low concentrations of NaHCO3 (5 mM) and controlling the pH of the system with a periodic gas sparge of 5 % CO2 (v/v). Once cultures reached the desired cell densities, which can be "fine-tuned" based on initial nutrient concentrations, cultures were switched to a lipid accumulation metabolism through the addition of 50 mM NaHCO3. This two-phase approach increased the specific growth rate of C. vulgaris by 69 % compared to cultures sparged continuously with 5 % CO2 (v/v); further, biomass productivity (g L(-1) day(-1)) was increased by 27 %. Total biodiesel potential [assessed as total fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) produced] was increased from 53.3 to 61 % (FAME biomass(-1)) under the optimized conditions; biodiesel productivity (g FAME L(-1) day(-1)) was increased by 7.7 %. A bicarbonate salt screen revealed that American Chemical Society (ACS) and industrial grade NaHCO3 induced the highest TAG accumulation (% w/w), whereas Na2CO3 did not induce significant TAG accumulation. NH4HCO3 had a negative effect on cell health presumably due to ammonia toxicity. The raw, unrefined form of trona, NaHCO3∙Na2CO3 (sodium sesquicarbonate) induced TAG accumulation, albeit to a slightly lower extent than the more refined forms of sodium bicarbonate.

CONCLUSIONS

The strategic addition of sodium bicarbonate was found to enhance growth and lipid accumulation rates in cultures of C. vulgaris, when compared to traditional culturing strategies, which rely on continuously sparging algal cultures with elevated concentrations of CO2(g). This work presents a two-phased, improved photoautotrophic growth and lipid accumulation approach, which may result in an overall increase in algal biofuel productivity.

Direct measurement and characterization of active photosynthesis zones inside wastewater remediating and biofuel producing microalgal biofilms

Microalgal biofilm based technologies are of keen interest due to their high biomass concentrations and ability to utilize light and CO2. While photoautotrophic biofilms have long been used for wastewater remediation, biofuel production represents a relatively new and under-represented focus area. However, the direct measurement and characterization of fundamental parameters required for industrial control are challenging due to biofilm heterogeneity. This study evaluated oxygenic photosynthesis and respiration on two distinct microalgal biofilms cultured using a novel rotating algal biofilm reactor operated at field- and laboratory-scales. Clear differences in oxygenic photosynthesis and respiration were observed based on different culturing conditions, microalgal composition, light intensity and nitrogen availability. The cultures were also evaluated as potential biofuel synthesis strategies. Nitrogen depletion was not found to have the same effect on lipid accumulation compared to traditional planktonic microalgal studies. Physiological characterizations of these microalgal biofilms identify fundamental parameters needed to understand and control process optimization.

Potential role of multiple carbon fixation pathways during lipid accumulation in Phaeodactylum tricornutum

BACKGROUND

Phaeodactylum tricornutum is a unicellular diatom in the class Bacillariophyceae. The full genome has been sequenced (<30 Mb), and approximately 20 to 30% triacylglyceride (TAG) accumulation on a dry cell basis has been reported under different growth conditions. To elucidate P. tricornutum gene expression profiles during nutrient-deprivation and lipid-accumulation, cell cultures were grown with a nitrate to phosphate ratio of 20:1 (N:P) and whole-genome transcripts were monitored over time via RNA-sequence determination.

RESULTS

The specific Nile Red (NR) fluorescence (NR fluorescence per cell) increased over time; however, the increase in NR fluorescence was initiated before external nitrate was completely exhausted. Exogenous phosphate was depleted before nitrate, and these results indicated that the depletion of exogenous phosphate might be an early trigger for lipid accumulation that is magnified upon nitrate depletion. As expected, many of the genes associated with nitrate and phosphate utilization were up-expressed. The diatom-specific cyclins cyc7 and cyc10 were down-expressed during the nutrient-deplete state, and cyclin B1 was up-expressed during lipid-accumulation after growth cessation. While many of the genes associated with the C3 pathway for photosynthetic carbon reduction were not significantly altered, genes involved in a putative C4 pathway for photosynthetic carbon assimilation were up-expressed as the cells depleted nitrate, phosphate, and exogenous dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) levels. P. tricornutum has multiple, putative carbonic anhydrases, but only two were significantly up-expressed (2-fold and 4-fold) at the last time point when exogenous DIC levels had increased after the cessation of growth. Alternative pathways that could utilize HCO3- were also suggested by the gene expression profiles (e.g., putative propionyl-CoA and methylmalonyl-CoA decarboxylases).

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicate that P. tricornutum continued carbon dioxide reduction when population growth was arrested and different carbon-concentrating mechanisms were used dependent upon exogenous DIC levels. Based upon overall low gene expression levels for fatty acid synthesis, the results also suggest that the build-up of precursors to the acetyl-CoA carboxylases may play a more significant role in TAG synthesis rather than the actual enzyme levels of acetyl-CoA carboxylases per se. The presented insights into the types and timing of cellular responses to inorganic carbon will help maximize photoautotrophic carbon flow to lipid accumulation.

Review--Interactions between diatoms and stainless steel: focus on biofouling and biocorrosion

There is a considerable body of information regarding bacterially enhanced corrosion, however, this review focuses on diatoms (unicellular algae) whose contribution to biocorrosion is less well studied. The reasons why diatoms have been neglected in studies of biocorrosion in natural waters are discussed and the question whether diatoms should be considered as inert with respect of electrochemical processes is considered. A particular focus is given to the case of stainless steels (SS), which are widely used in variety of applications in natural waters. Basic information on the cell biology of diatoms is included in the review, particularly with respect to their ability to 'sense' and adhere to surfaces. Investigations at the nanoscale are reviewed as these studies provide information about the behavior of cells at interfaces. Recent advances include the use of atomic force microscopy (AFM), although only a few studies have been applied to diatoms. Regarding the electrochemical behavior of SS, the mechanisms by which diatoms influence the potential ennoblement process is discussed. Such studies reveal the association of diatoms, in addition to bacteria, with biocorrosion processes.

Stimulation of bacterial DNA synthesis by algal exudates in attached algal-bacterial consortia

Algal-bacterial consortia attached to polystyrene surfaces were prepared in the laboratory by using the marine diatom Amphora coffeaeformis and the marine bacterium Vibrio proteolytica (the approved name of this bacterium is Vibrio proteolyticus [W. E. C. Moore, E. P. Cato, and L. V. H. Moore, Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 35:382-407, 1985]). The organisms were attached to the surfaces at cell densities of approximately 5 x 10 cells cm (diatoms) and 5 x 10 cells cm (bacteria). The algal-bacterial consortia consistently exhibited higher rates of [H]thymidine incorporation than did biofilms composed solely of bacteria. The rates of [H]thymidine incorporation by the algal-bacterial consortia were fourfold greater than the rates of incorporation by monobacterial biofilms 16 h after biofilm formation and were 16-fold greater 70 h after biofilm formation. Extracellular material released from the attached Amphora cells supported rates of bacterial activity (0.8 x 10 to 17.9 x 10 mol of [H]thymidine incorporated cell h) and growth (doubling time, 29.5 to 1.4 days) comparable to values reported for a wide variety of marine and freshwater ecosystems. In the presence of sessile diatom populations, DNA synthesis by attached V. proteolytica cells was light dependent and increased with increasing algal abundance. The metabolic activity of diatoms thus appears to be the rate-limiting process in biofilm development on illuminated surfaces under conditions of low bulk-water dissolved organic carbon.

Antibiotic from the marine environment with antimicrobial fouling activity

The degradation in performance of submerged marine structures through their colonization by micro- and macrobiota is well known. Historically, toxic surface coatings have been used to control both types of fouling. Legislative requirements worldwide now require alternative non- or minimally toxic coatings to be used. Here we report on the potential for synthetic 2-pentyl-4-quinolinol (PQ), an antibiotic from an Alteromonas sp., as a candidate antifoulant. Hundred micromolar PQ reduces the growth of four marine diatoms that usually grow as biofilms. Furthermore, PQ inhibits the initial adhesive process in Amphora coffeaeformis in a logarithmic dose-dependent manner, but not the adhesion of a Navicula sp., indicating differing adhesive processes in these two diatoms. Treatment of established biofilms with PQ causes a rapid and complete loss of motility in both Amphora and Navicula and eventually, as seen by Sytox Green staining, cell death, and lysis. We conclude that PQ, or one of its chemical analogues, holds promise as an antifoulant molecule for inclusion in marine surface coating.

Modification of surface properties of a poly(dimethylsiloxane)-based elastomer, RTV11, upon exposure to seawater

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was combined with surface analytical techniques to investigate the rarely addressed issue of the effect of seawater on the surface properties of a selected fouling-release coating, silicon elastomer RTV11 (trademark of General Electric). The exposure of the RTV11 surface to seawater resulted in a modification of its morphology and mechanical properties, as confirmed by AFM and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Surface modification was dependent on sample preparation and curing process, namely, curing agent concentration and relative humidity during curing. The RTV11 surface remained largely unaltered for samples cured under 100% relative humidity. SEM and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies confirmed that the modified surface of RTV11 had the same elemental composition as the unexposed surface of the elastomer and showed excess Ca. However, the modified surface deformed plastically under load and was stiffer than the original surface. No major change was found on surfaces exposed to nanopure water during similar times of exposure as in seawater, regardless of curing conditions. The rate of increase in the aggregate formation in seawater can be described by an exponential function, with a decay constant of approximately 4.99 x 10(-)(3) min(-)(1) and a pre-exponential factor of approximately 1.77 x 10(-)(2) microm/min.

Time of Flight-Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry on isolated extracellular fractions and intact biofilms of three species of benthic diatoms

Time of Flight-Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) was used to study compositional characteristics of Extracellular Polymeric Substances (EPS) and compared these to characteristics of the EPS-matrix of intact diatom biofilms. Three benthic diatoms species were investigated, Cylindrotheca closterium, Navicula mutica and Nitzschia cf. brevissima. Comparison of the ToF-SIMS spectra of sequentially extracted EPS-fractions by cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling analysis (MDS) indicated that soluble and bound EPS were not distinguishable based on their ion spectra. On the contrary the water insoluble bicarbonate soluble (WIBS)-EPS-fraction formed a distinct cluster showing that this material was compositionally different from the other EPS-fractions. Ion spectra of the EPS-fractions were dissimilar to results obtained from intact biofilms. This suggested that during the extraction procedure, the structure of the EPS irreversibly changed, which alters the fragmentation patterns of the extracellular surface layer. Furthermore, from the examination of the positive ion spectra it was shown that the overall composition of EPS in the intact biofilms was different between diatom species. In spite of these differences, several common peak patterns were shared between different species. This suggests the presence of common structural components in the EPS of these diatoms that may play a role in building the surface EPS-layer.

Use of fluorophore-conjugated lectins to study cell-cell interactions in model marine biofilms

Biofilms dominated by pennate diatoms are important in fields as diverse as ship biofouling and marine littoral sediment stabilization. The architecture of a biofilm depends on the fact that much of its mass consists of extracellular polymers. Although most illuminated biofilms in nature are dominated by phototrophs, they also contain heterotrophic bacteria. Given the close spatial association of the two types of organisms, cell-cell interaction is likely. Fluorophore-conjugated lectins were used to demonstrate the sites of the various extracellular polymers in three species of diatoms. Based on their lectin staining properties, the polymers in different species appeared to be similar, but their involvement in the process of attachment to a surface differed. In a coculture Pseudoalteromonas sp. strain 4 or its sterilized spent medium reduced the ability of Amphora coffeaeformis and Navicula sp. strains 1 and D to adhere, inhibited motility, and caused agglutination and eventually diatom cell lysis. Diatoms could be protected from the negative effects of the bacterial spent medium if D-galactose or mannan was included in the incubation medium. The active principle of the spent medium is probably a lectin/agglutinin that is able to bind to the extracellular polymers of the diatoms that are involved in adhesion and motility. Awareness of interactions of this type is important in the study of natural biofilms.

A novel cyanobacterium exhibiting an elevated tolerance for iron

Studies directed at cyanobacteria inhabiting iron-depositing hot springs may provide insights into the role of both ancient and contemporary cyanobacteria mediated iron transformations. Here we phylogenetically, morphologically and physiologically characterize a novel cyanobacterium isolated from an iron-depositing hot spring. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that the bacterium is a representative of a new genus, exhibiting a maximum 95.2% homology to database sequences. The isolate is a unicellular cyanobacterium with bladder-like cells typically packed as duplexes, or in extracellular polymeric substance covered clumps and small chains without the ability to produce baeocystes. No growth without added combined nitrogen occurred. While requiring relatively large amounts of iron for growth (>40microM), the isolate was shown to facilitate removal of iron from culture media. These results suggest that the isolate may be an important component of an iron-depositing microbial community. The name "Chroogloeocystis siderophila" for this cyanobacterium is proposed.

A live bioprobe for studying diatom-surface interactions

Atomic force microscopy has been employed to compare the adhesion of Navicula species I diatoms to surfaces of a hydrophobic elastomer, Intersleek, and a hydrophilic mineral, mica. This was accomplished using tipless atomic force microscopy cantilevers functionalized with live diatom cells. Both surfaces were tested with the same diatom bioprobe. Force versus distance curves generated during these experiments revealed comparable cell adhesion strengths on Intersleek and mica, indicating that Navicula diatoms secrete extracellular polymeric substances with hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties. A statistical analysis of force curves was carried out and the average values of works of detachment of a diatom from Intersleek and mica surfaces were determined.

Cell-cell and cell-surface interactions in an illuminated biofilm: implications for marine sediment stabilization

Most wetted surfaces that are illuminated support a population of phototrophs. The marine sediment is no exception and there the major component of the microphytobenthic population is diatoms. These organisms are credited with stabilizing the sediment against physical disturbance by virtue of the extracellular carbohydrate polymers that they elaborate. However, diatoms synthesize and secrete several carbohydrate polymers and it is not certain which of them is involved in the stabilization process. In order to investigate this, we have constructed small glass bead-filled flow through bioreactors to mimic marine sediments. The flow rate through the bioreactors was found to reflect the physical stability of the bead bed. Thus flow rate was measured as a function of diatom growth and the production of three operationally-defined polymers, i.e., those soluble in the medium, those soluble in 0.5 M NaHCO3 at 90 degrees C and those not soluble in either solvent (matrix polymer). Growth of the diatoms did not change the hydraulic conductivity of the bioreactors. For Amphora coffeaeformis, neither did the production of medium-soluble nor NaHCO3-soluble polymers. However, matrix polymer accumulation was directly correlated with a reduction in flow (regression coefficient R2 = 0.96) and stabilization against physical disturbance. Results with species of Navicula were not as clear. Both NaHCO3-soluble and matrix polymers were involved in producing the flow reduction. In the same manner we also measured the effect of Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis growth on bead bed hydraulic conductivity and bead bed stability. Growing alone, no effect was found, but in co-culture with a single diatom species, the bacteria reduced the diatom effect on flow through the bioreactors seen earlier, however did not reduce the extent of their growth. Confocal scanning laser microscopy of beads colonized with diatoms alone, or diatoms in co-culture with bacteria, revealed that P. haloplanktis was able to inhibit diatom adhesion to the beads. When the bacteria were present there was less matrix polymer evident. We speculate that this interference with diatom metabolic activity was either the result of less matrix polymer synthesis, or its hydrolysis by the bacteria. The results are applicable to mixed species biofilms of this type on surfaces other than sediments.

Influence of calcium and other cations on surface adhesion of bacteria and diatoms: A review

Association with a surface is an important aspect of survival for microorganisms in natural and manmade environments/Both bacteria and diatoms are involved in such associations. In many cases, this leads to surface fouling, which often results in surface deterioration and mechanical failure in industrial systems. We now know that microorganisms exploit many strategies to establish associations with surfaces. As in the case of other cellular processes, calcium ions seem to play an important role in adhesion of cells to surfaces. Calcium is involved in non-specific interactions such as neutralization of the electrical double layer between cell and substratum surface as well as specific adhesive interactions that cannot be replaced by other cations. The unique properties of calcium ions promote both specific and non-specific interactions with protein and polysaccha-ride adhesin molecules at the cell surface. As important, but less well understood, calcium ions also influence the way microbial cells interact with different substrata.

A Computer-based image analysis system for biocide screening

A computer-based image analysis system that measures the behavioral response of the marine diatom Amphora coffeaeformis to potentially toxic challenges is described. At any one time the system is capable of measuring in a population of about 80 cells, changes in the number motile, their speed, direction, and if they are turning, their angular velocity and acceleration. Chemical compounds that interfere with the generation of energy, protein or glycoprotein synthesis, calcium homeostasis and cytoskeletal activity, change the motile behavior of the cell. A pre-requisite of motility is that the cells be attached to a substratum. It is proposed that the system, which requires only a 1-2 minute data collection period per replicate, could be used to screen for potential antifouling activity in chemical agents, and it is speculated that it could be used also for measuring the physicochemical interaction between attached motile organisms and their substratum, as well as in environment toxicology measurements.

Influence of Physical Disruption on Growth of Attached Bacteria

Attached bacterial populations cultured without an exogenous carbon source or grown in conjunction with attached diatoms incorporated [ 3 H]thymidine at a rate between four and five times lower than that of replicate bacterial populations which were dispersed before being assayed.

Influence of a Calcium-Specific Chelant on Biofilm Removal

This paper describes the influence of ethylene glycol-bisβ-aminoethyl ether)- N, N-tetraacetic acid (EGTA) on biofilm removal. The addition of EGTA resulted in the immediate detachment of biofilm which suggests that the chelant removed essential calcium from the biofilm, causing it to detach.

Regulation of asparaginase, glutamine synthetase, and glutamate dehydrogenase in response to medium nitrogen concentrations in a euryhaline chlamydomonas species

The ammonium assimilatory enzymes glutamine synthetase (EC 6.3.1.2) and glutamate dehydrogenase (EC 1.4.1.3) were investigated for a possible role in the regulation of asparaginase (EC 3.5.1.1) in a Chlamydomonas species isolated from a marine environment. Cells grown under nitrogen limitation (0.1 millimolar NH(4) (+), NO(3) (-), or l-asparagine) possessed 6 times the asparaginase activity and approximately one-half the protein of cells grown at high nitrogen levels (1.5 to 2.5 millimolar). Biosynthetic glutamine synthetase activity was 1.5 to 1.8 times greater in nitrogen-limited cells than cells grown at high levels of the three nitrogen sources.Conversely, glutamate dehydrogenase (both NADH- and NADPH-dependent activities) was greatest in cells grown at high levels of asparagine or ammonium, while nitrate-grown cells possessed little activity at all concentrations employed. For all three nitrogen sources, glutamate dehydrogenase activity was correlated to the residual ammonium concentration of the media after growth (r = 0.88 and 0.94 for NADH- and NADPH-dependent activities, respectively).These results suggest that glutamate dehydrogenase is regulated in response to ambient ammonium levels via a mechanism distinct from asparaginase or glutamine synthetase. Glutamine synthetase and asparaginase, apparently repressed by high levels of all three nitrogen sources, are perhaps regulated by a common mechanism responding to intracellular nitrogen depletion, as evidenced by low cellular protein content.

Acute impact of an organophosphorus insecticide on microbes and small invertebrates of a mangrove estuary

The effects of 24 to 72-hr exposure to fenthion (10(1)-10(3) ppb) were determined for a fungal community, nitrogen-fixing microbes, and representative meiofaunal and zooplankton invertebrates of a mangrove ecosystem. Also tested were the abilities of a benthic diatom and of fungi to grow in the presence of fenthion. Acute lethal, growth-inhibiting, or process-disrupting effects were not detected for exposures to less than 500 ppb fenthion. Results are compared with the findings of several other investigations of the impact of fenthion and other organophosphorus insecticides on non-target organisms.

Regulation of L-asparaginase in a Chlamydomonas species in response to ambient concentrations of combined nitrogen

Cellular levels of an L-asparaginase in a Chlamydomonas species were found to be greater in nitrogen-limited batch cultures than in batch cultures grown in ample nitrogen. Cells grown in high nitrogen medium (5 mM NH4Cl) and suspended in nitrogen-free medium showed a 2- to 3.5-fold increase in activity after 24 to 48 h. This increase in activity was inhibited by cycloheximide and by the addition of high levels of combined nitrogen (5 mM NH4Cl, NaNO3, or L-asparagine), suggesting repression by ambient nitrogen levels as the mode of regulation of this enzyme. Derepressed L-asparaginase activity did not disappear in the presence of high concentrations of medium nitrogen, indicating the absence of an asparaginase-degrading system. Derepression of asparaginase by this organism was light dependent and inhibited by 3-(3',4'-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea suggesting a requirement for photosynthetic energy.

Requirement for Calcium in Adhesion of a Fouling Diatom to Glass

An assay for the adhesion of Amphora coffeaeformis ( Bacillariophyceae ) to glass is described. Ca 2+ and Sr 2+ promoted adhesion, but Ba 2+ and Mn 2+ were ineffective. Adhesion was inhibited by cycloheximide, carbonyl cyanide 3-chlorophenyl hydrazone, and α-isopropyl-α-[( N -methyl- N -homoveratryl)-γ-amino- propyl]-3,4,5-trimethyoxy phenyl acetonitrile (D-600), but not by 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1, 1-dimethyl urea or darkness. The assay has potential use in comparing chemical antifoulants.

Calcium is Necessary for Motility in the Diatom Amphora coffeaeformis

The marine diatom Amphora coffeaeformis required Ca(2+) and bicarbonate for motility. Movement was inhibited by the Ca(2+)-blocking agents ruthenium red and alpha-isopropyl-alpha-[(N-methyl-N-homoveratryl)-alpha- aminopropyl]-3,4,5-trimethoxy phenyl acetonitrile and the metabolic energy uncoupler, carbonyl cyanide 3-chlorophenylhydrazone. 3-(3',4-Dichlorophenyl)-1,1-Dimethyl urea was without effect on cells at a concentration that prevented O(2) production in the light. Although Sr(2+) could replace Ca(2+) in the attachment of cells to glass, it did not substitute for Ca(2+) in motility.

Asparagine metabolism and asparaginase activity in a euryhaline Chlamydomonas species

A Chlamydomonas species isolated from a marine environment possesses an L-asparaginase, an enzyme not yet reported in the microalgae. This enzyme enabled the organism to grow as well with asparagine as sole nitrogen source as with inorganic nitrogen sources (NO3-, NH4+). Only the amide nitrogen was used for growth since growth did not occur on aspartate and aspartate accumulated in the media when cells were either grown on asparagine or during short-term incubations with L-[U-14C]asparagine. Cells grown on NO3-, NH4+, or L-asparagine in batch culture possessed equivalent asparaginase activities. However, nitrogen-limited cells possessed four times the activity of cells grown with sufficient nitrogen for normal growth, regardless of the possessed the lowest activity per cell, while lag phase and stationary phase cells possessed greater activity. The enzyme behaved like a periplasmic space enzyme since (1) breaking the cells did not release into solution more activity than was shown by whole cells and (2) whole cells converted L-[U-14C]asparagine to [14C]aspartate with little intracellular accumulation of radioactivity. Cell-free preparations of the enzyme possessed a Km value for asparagine of 1.1 x 10-4 M, with no glutaminase activity.

Mannose transport in Amphora coffeaeformis var. perpusilla (Bacillariophyceae)

Amphora coffeaeformis var. perpusilla is able to concentrate but not metabolize mannose. The sugar, which can be accumulated against a concentration gradient, is taken up only after a short lag. Preincubation with glucose allows immediate mannose uptake. Substances that reduce the ATP content of the diatom cells also inhibit mannose uptake as do sugars of similar stereochemical configuration. Mannose appears to act as a non-metabolizable analogue of glucose in these respects.

The metabolism of organic acids by a marine pennate diatom

Cocconeis diminuta, a marine benthic diatom, metabolizes acetate and lactate-(14)C. In the light, the major product was lipid, whereas in the dark, CO(2) was the major product. Analysis of proteins synthesized in the presence of acetate or lactate showed that radioactivity was incorporated predominantly into the glutamate family of amino acids and those amino acids related directly to the substrate. Light and dark assimilation of substrate was inhibited slightly by 3-(3',4'-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea and 2,4-dinitrophenol. 3-(3',4'-Dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea caused a pattern of metabolism of acetate in the light characteristic of that which occurs in the dark. Monofluoroacetic acid inhibited assimilation considerably in the dark, but less in the light. The level of enzymes of the tricarboxylic acid cycle and NADH-oxidase were found to be about the same as those in other autotrophs. The metabolism of acetate and lactate is discussed in relation to the autotrophic mode of nutrition of Cocconeis diminuta.

Glycolate: Dichlorophenolindophenol Oxidoreductase in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

GLYCOLATE: dichlorophenolindophenol oxidoreductase levels in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii are not under the immediate control of the CO(2) tension to which the cells are exposed. The enzyme is synthesized initially in 5% CO(2) in air at a similar rate to that in air. It disappears from the cell under nitrogen-limitation.

Purification of a protein from Bacillus thuringiensis toxic to larvae of lepidoptera

The protein toxin of the parasporal body or crystal of Bacillus thuringiensis (Mattés isolate) has been purified severalfold by a combination of Sephadex G-200 gel filtration and ammonium sulphate precipitation. It has been shown that the use of highly alkaline conditions for dissolution of the crystals does not lead to serious artifacts. The crystal toxin has been shown to be quantitatively related to the crystal antigen. It is possible that there is a second distinct toxin present in the crystal and this too can be detected by its antigenic reaction. Purified toxic protein has been hydrolysed in vitro by regurgitated Pieris brassicae gut enzymes, chymotrypsin, trypsin and subtilisin. In each case the digest contained a product that was still antigenic, had mol.wt. about 40000 and was toxic to P. brassicae larvae. Smaller toxic molecules (mol.wt. approx. 10000) that did not react as antigens were also produced by proteolysis. It is possible that these smaller molecules were hydrolytic products of the larger digestion product.