Biological treatment of chicken feather waste for improved biogas production

A two-stage system was developed which combines the biological degradation of keratin-rich waste with the production of biogas. Chicken feather waste was treated biologically with a recombinant Bacillus megaterium strain showing keratinase activity prior to biogas production. Chopped, autoclaved chicken feathers (4%, W/V) were completely degraded, resulting in a yellowish fermentation broth with a level of 0.51 mg/mL soluble proteins after 8 days of cultivation of the recombinant strain. During the subsequent anaerobic batch digestion experiments, methane production of 0.35 Nm³/kg dry feathers (i.e., 0.4 Nm³/kg volatile solids of feathers), corresponding to 80% of the theoretical value on proteins, was achieved from the feather hydrolyzates, independently of the pre-hydrolysis time period of 1, 2 or 8 days. Cultivation with a native keratinase producing strain, Bacillus licheniformis resulted in only 0.25 mg/mL soluble proteins in the feather hydrolyzate, which then was digested achieving a maximum accumulated methane production of 0.31 Nm³/kg dry feathers. Feather hydrolyzates treated with the wild type B. megaterium produced 0.21 Nm³ CH₄/kg dry feathers as maximum yield.     

斑马鱼p53基因结构比对分析及其在生态毒理学中的应用

斑马鱼p53基因由11个外显子和10个内含子组成,外显子1和外显子11部分序列不参与编码蛋白质．其 cDNA核苷酸序列共2089bp,包含一个1122 bp的开放阅读框(Open Reading Frame,ORF)(44 bp-1165 bp),这个 ORF编码373个氨基酸．另外在3’端有924 bp是非翻译区(3’-UTR),5’端同样也存在43 bp的非翻译区(5’- UTR);12种脊椎动物p53氨基酸序列的保守性分析结果表明,在一些特殊的区域,12种氨基酸序列表现出了很高的保守性,这些区域和p53的抑癌功能密切相关．研究结果预示斑马鱼p53基因是一种理想的环境致突变物研究分子模型,在生态毒理学研究中具有良好的应用前景．     

假单胞菌反式氯双烯内酯异构酶基因克隆和序列分析

从土壤中分离得到一株降解2,4-二氯酚能力较强的假单胞菌菌株GT241-1,从该菌株中克隆出参与降解2,4-二氯酚的反式氯双烯内酯异构酶基因(dcpE).克隆策略是采用Southern杂交对其邻近基因进行定位后构建基因组文库,再用斑点杂交从基因文库中筛选目的转化子.经序列测定得知,dcpE基因编码区1062bp.核苷酸和推测的编码氨基酸序列分析表明,dcpE与已在GenBank登记的相关基因有一定的差异.图5表1参12     

紫云英根瘤菌共生基因分布及其共生效应的多样性

从同一植株不同根瘤分离40株紫云英根瘤菌，所有菌株对10种抗生素的抗药性测定表明，该群体分为22个抗药类群，质粒检测显示所有公离株都含有质粒，质粒数1～4条，用快生型大豆根瘤菌USDA205质粒作参考，估测质粒Mr分布范围为83～226MU．根据图谱分析表明，该菌群可分为6个不同质粒型．各类型质粒通过与Dig-nodABC和Dig-nifHDK杂交，结果显示带有1条质粒的菌株其共生基因定位在染色体上．带有2条或2条以上质粒的菌株各拥有1条共生质粒，共生质粒Mr范围有差异，大约为117～220MU．研究结果也显示，不同质粒型的菌株其共生效应存在明显差异，其中第6质粒型的菌株共生固氮率最强，第1质粒型菌株共生固氮率较低．共生固氮能力最强的第6质粒型菌株，只占总菌数7．5％．     

木聚糖酶基因xynB在不同大肠杆菌表达系统中的表达比较

从黑曲霉(Aspergillus niger)nl-1中克隆获得木聚糖酶基因xynB.该基因全长745 bp,含有67 bp内含子,与公布的黑曲霉xynB基因有较高的同源性.将PCR扩增的木聚糖酶成熟肽基因和含有信号肽的基因分别连接到表达载体肠杆菌Top10 F’、DH10B和两种BL21宿主中获得重组菌株.通过IPTG诱导,xynB基因在重组菌株中获得特异性表达.表达产物以胞内可溶性蛋白和不溶性包涵体形式存在.诱导4 h,重组菌株pTrc-99a-xynB[BL21 condon plus(DE3)]表达量最高,胞内酶活达到299 IU/L.重组质粒pTrc-99a-xyn B(S)在不同宿主胞内和胞外均能分泌目的蛋白,诱导10 h,胞外酶活pTrc-99a-xynB(S)[BL21 condon plus(DE3)]达到347 IU/L.而pET-20b-xynB(S)在两种BL21宿主中均不表达.经SDS-PAGE分析,以pTrc-99a和pET-20b作为表达载体时,重组蛋白相对分子质量分别约为45×103和30×103.与pET-20b相比,pTrc-99a以及自身信号肽的引导更有利于重组木聚糖酶的表达.     

头孢噻肟钠与重金属对AmpC β-内酰胺酶类抗性基因转移的影响

为探究抗生素和重金属对抗性转移及接合子抗性基因丰度的影响,借助绿色荧光蛋白标记质粒,采用滤膜接合配对方法研究了胁迫条件对细菌接合频率的影响,定量检测了转移后的AmpC β-内酰胺酶类抗性基因丰度的变化.结果表明,头孢噻肟钠及重金属共胁迫促进了AmpC β-内酰胺酶类抗性基因从复杂群落到Escherichia coli BL21的转移.3μg·L~(-1)头孢噻肟钠胁迫下,细菌接合频率为空白组的2.06倍,其中,接合子耐药基因CIT、FOX和EBC的相对丰度分别升高了7.47、4.30和1.60倍.同时,以3μg·L~(-1)头孢噻肟钠胁迫组为对照,研究了重金属汞、铜和锌共胁迫对抗性转移的影响,考虑到头孢噻肟钠的水解特性和接合子克隆性扩增,接合时间定为3 h.结果发现,汞、铜、锌与头孢噻肟钠共胁迫组的细菌接合频率分别比对照组增长了2.57、1.60和1.74倍.汞共胁迫对接合子中7种AmpC β-内酰胺酶类抗性基因丰度无显著影响;铜共胁迫效应因抗生素抗性基因(ARGs)种类不同而不同,其中,对抗性基因EBC相对丰度的影响最大;锌共胁迫效应受锌离子浓度和ARGs种类影响,100 mg·L~(-1)锌共胁迫使得EBC和CIT丰度比对照组分别增加3.56和2.76倍.可见,抗生素与重金属共胁迫条件可促进环境中AmpC β-内酰胺酶类抗性基因的转移,值得关注.     

生物强化技术及其在废水生物处理中的应用

生物强化技术广泛应用于废水生物处理中,而竞争力和适应性强的高效菌株筛选是生物强化技术的决定性因素.论述了利用具有代谢性能的可移动基因片段强化、基因工程菌强化和常规微生物学手段分离菌株的生物强化技术,并阐述了生物强化技术在废水生物处理过程中去除难降解有机物,去除过量的氮、磷等营养物质,维持生物系统稳定性中的应用.     

Dynamic changes of microbial community diversity in a photohydrogen producing reactor monitored by PCR-DGGE

A PCR-DGGE (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of polymerase chain reaction) protocol was used for monitoring the dynamic changes in the microbial population during photohydrogen production. Total DNA was extracted directly from the mixed bacterial community in the reactor and subjected to PCR with V3-16S rDNA and pufM gene primers, and the amplifications were then analyzed by DGGE. The DGGE patterns demonstrated the dynamics of community structure and the shift of microbial diversity, which correspond...     

Risk Assessment of Inbreeding and Outbreeding Depression in a Captive‐Breeding Program

Captive‐breeding programs can be implemented to preserve the genetic diversity of endangered populations such that the controlled release of captive‐bred individuals into the wild may promote recovery. A common difficulty, however, is that programs are founded with limited wild broodstock, and inbreeding can become increasingly difficult to avoid with successive generations in captivity. Program managers must choose between maintaining the genetic purity of populations, at the risk of inbreeding depression, or interbreeding populations, at the risk of outbreeding depression. We evaluate these relative risks in a captive‐breeding program for 3 endangered populations of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). In each of 2 years, we released juvenile F₁ and F₂ interpopulation hybrids, backcrosses, as well as inbred and noninbred within‐population crosstypes into 9 wild streams. Juvenile size and survival was quantified in each year. Few crosstype effects were observed, but interestingly, the relative fitness consequences of inbreeding and outbreeding varied from year to year. Temporal variation in environmental quality might have driven some of these annual differences, by exacerbating the importance of maternal effects on juvenile fitness in a year of low environmental quality and by affecting the severity of inbreeding depression differently in different years. Nonetheless, inbreeding was more consistently associated with a negative effect on fitness, whereas the consequences of outbreeding were less predictable. Considering the challenges associated with a sound risk assessment in the wild and given that the effect of inbreeding on fitness is relatively predictable, we suggest that risk can be weighted more strongly in terms of the probable outcome of outbreeding. Factors such as genetic similarities between populations and the number of generations in isolation can sometimes be used to assess outbreeding risk, in lieu of experimentation. Evaluación del Riesgo de Depresión por Endogamia y Exogamia en un Programa de Reproducción en Cautiverio