Bacillus thuringiensis pesticide exposures reported to Texas poison centers

One of the most common types of microbial pesticides used is Bacillus thuringiensis. Although generally considered safe, exposures to B. thuringiensis pesticide do occur where management by healthcare providers is sought. The objective of this investigation was to describe B. thuringiensis pesticide exposures reported to Texas poison centers. Cases were all B. thuringiensis pesticide exposures reported to Texas poison centers during 2000–2010. The distribution of cases was determined for various demographic and clinical factors. Of 115 total cases, 64% occurred during May–July. The rate per 1,000,000 population was 14.3 in central Texas and 4.4 in the rest of the state. Of the patients, 56% were of an age 20 years or older and 55% were male. The exposure routes were 57% by ingestion, 30% by dermal contact, and 11% by inhalation. The patient was managed on site in 93% of the exposures and only one exposure was judged to be potentially serious. B. thuringiensis pesticide exposures reported to Texas poison centers were more frequently reported from the central region of the state. The majority of exposures occurred during April–July, involved adults and males, occurred by ingestion or dermal route, were managed on site and did not result in serious outcomes.     

Combined use of earthworm (Alma millsoni) and bacterium (Bacillus sp.) improved the bioremediation of spent engine oil contaminated soil

This study was carried out to assess the effectiveness of the combined use of earthworm (Alma millsoni) and bacterium (Bacillus sp.) in the bioremediation of spent engine oil (SEO) contaminated soils. A. millisoni were collected from the Botanical Garden of University of Ibadan, Nigeria. The stock culture of hydrocarbonoclastic Bacillus sp. was used for the bioremediation study. A set-up of eight pots containing 1000?g soil sample and 20?g of cow dung were mixed with 100, 75, 50 and 0?mL SEO respectively. Each of the set up was subjected to bioremediation agents; A. millisoni alone, Bacillus sp alone, A. millisoni and Bacillus sp, no treatment (control) in duplicate. Treatment of 100?ml SEO contaminated soil with combined A. millisoni and Bacillus sp resulted in significantly (P? bacterium > vermi-remediating agents. Earthworms exposed to 100?mLSEO-contaminated soil had higher CAT, SOD, and GPx activities compared to the control. Findings indicated that A. millisoni with Bacillus sp. can synergistically improve bioremediation of SEO contaminated soils.     

Roles of acid-producing bacteria in anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge

Three acid-producing strains, AFB-1, AFB-2 and AFB-3, were isolated during this study, and their roles in anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge (WAS) were evaluated. Data of 16S rRNA method showed that AFB-1 and AFB-2 were Bacillus coagulans, and AFB-3 was Escherichia coli. The removal in terms of volatile solids (VS) and total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD) was maximized at 42.7% and 44.7% by inoculating Bacillus coagulans AFB-1. Besides, the optimal inoculum concentration of Bacillus coagulans AFB-1 was 30% (v/v). Solubilization degree experiments indicated that solubilization ratios (SR) of WAS reached 20.8%±2.2%, 17.7%±1.48%, and 11.1%±1.53%. Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) concentrations and compositions were also explored with a gas chromatograph. The results showed that VFAs improved by 98.5%, 53.0% and 11.6% than those of the control, respectively. Biochemical methane potential (BMP) experiments revealed that biogas production increased by 90.7% and 75.3% when inoculating with Bacillus coagulans AFB-1 and AFB-2. These results confirmed that the isolated acid-producing bacteria, especially Bacillus coagulans, was a good candidate for anaerobic digestion of WAS.

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重金属抗性菌Bacillus cereus HQ-1对银离子的生物吸附-微沉淀成晶作用

发现1株对银离子有强吸附能力的蜡状芽孢杆菌HQ-1,研究了其对银离子的吸附特性及吸附机理.结果表明,菌体对银的吸附量可达91.75 mg/g,吸附过程符合Pseudo-second Order吸附动力学模型,相关系数高达0.999 9;吸附热力学很好地符合Freundlich吸附等温模型,相关系数为0.99;考察菌体浓度和温度对吸附的影响发现,菌体浓度增加有利于对银离子的吸附,温度对吸附影响较小;FTIR、SEM及EDAX实验结果表明吸附存在2种吸附机理,一为菌体表面一些含氮氧的基团对Ag⁺的络合作用,二为菌体分泌的胞外多糖等物质对Ag⁺的微沉淀成晶作用.     

六价铬还原细菌Bacillus cereus S5.4还原机理及酶学性质研究

从宝钢电镀污泥中分离得到1株六价铬还原细菌Bacillus cereus S5.4,在液体LB培养基中培养72　h完全还原2　mmol/L Cr⁶⁺.测定该菌株六价铬还原后细胞内外六价铬和总铬浓度,检测细胞各组分六价铬还原能力,并结合扫描电镜分析六价铬还原前后细胞形态的变化.结果表明,细菌的细胞壁膜能阻止六价铬进入细胞,是六价铬发生还原的主要场所,其通透性的改变将影响六价铬还原酶的作用;该菌株六价铬还原酶为非分泌型,在细菌细胞内侧发生作用.测定六价铬还原酶活性和稳定性：其最适温度范围25～37℃,最适pH 7,Cu2＋有增强六价铬还原酶活性的作用;在37℃,该菌株六价铬还原酶K_m为125.61 μmol/L,V_max为7.68 nmol/(min·mg).     

醌介导染料脱色菌株的分离鉴定及特性

实验分离获得1株能够利用醌化合物使磺酸化偶氮染料脱色的菌株JL,通过形态特征、16S rDNA与16S-23S区间序列分析表明,该菌株为蜡状芽孢杆菌(命名为Bacillus cereus JL).菌株JL使酸性大红3R脱色的最佳条件为葡萄糖浓度1g/L, pH值为5~7,温度30℃,接种量0.25g/L.蒽醌-2-磺酸(AQS)、蒽醌-2,6-二磺酸(AQDS)和2-羟基-1,4-萘醌(Lawsone)均能显著提高酸性大红3R的脱色速率,其中AQS的促进作用最为明显.研究发现, 0.1mmol/L AQS能够使菌株JL对2.0mmol/L酸性大红3R保持较高的脱色速率,而且能使多种偶氮染料脱色,表现出较好的底物广谱性.利用高效液相色谱-质谱鉴定了AQS介导的酸性大红3R脱色产物,表明酸性大红3R的偶氮键发生断裂, AQS在这一过程中仅起到电子传递的作用.     

苏云金芽孢杆菌新基因cry1Ab17的克隆和生物信息学

利用高效克隆PCR产物的专用载体pMD18T,直接从苏云金芽孢杆菌WB9的PCR产物中克隆了cry1Ab17新基因.测序结果表明,该基因(GenBank登录号为AY646166)由3471个碱基组成,其编码的蛋白质含有1156个氨基酸残基,其中亲水性氨基酸占30.8%,疏水性氨基酸占45.2%,酸性氨基酸占12.9%,碱性氨基酸占11.1%.氨基酸序列的同源性分析结果表明,Cry1Ab17蛋白与已报道的Cry1Ab蛋白同源性为95.4%～99.7%,该蛋白的4个氨基酸残基———Pro170、Gly449、Gly796和Gly863与其它已报道Cry1Ab蛋白相应位置的氨基酸残基均不同.在核苷酸序列和氨基酸序列多重比较的基础上,应用PAUP4.0构建了Cry1A蛋白家族的系统发育树.SignalP分析结果显示,Cry1Ab17蛋白中不含信号肽序列.此外,对Cry1Ab17蛋白的二级结构和3个结构域也进行了预测和分析.图4表2参15     

近海养虾场底泥中产芽孢细菌的生态特征

通过对近海养虾场底泥中的细菌数量和类群的调查，发现有超过50％的细菌生物量是产芽孢细菌，因此对底泥中的产芽孢细菌进行了分离和纯化，通过对细胞形态、生理生化等特征的研究和对部分菌株的16S rRNA基因的ARDRA分型、序列分析等，鉴定了67株产芽孢细菌，其中62株属于芽孢杆菌属，5株属于短芽孢杆菌属．进一步对62株芽孢杆菌属的细菌在底泥不同深度的分布进行研究，结果表明，巨大芽孢杆菌主要分布在底泥深度0～6cm左右的区域，海洋芽孢杆菌、短小芽孢杆菌和蜡状芽孢杆菌主要分布于底泥6cm以下的区域，与坚强芽孢杆菌性状相近的菌分布在底泥2～8cm深度；与耐碱芽孢杆菌性状相近的芽孢菌广泛分布在0～12cm区域．讨论认为，应用这些产芽孢细菌资源在修复海洋环境和开发海水养殖微生态制剂方面具有一定可能性．图3表3参15     

一株抑制油菜核盘菌菌核形成的解淀粉芽孢杆菌

检测了从不同土壤中分离的17株芽孢杆菌对油菜核盘菌的抑制效果，发现4株菌株具有不同程度的抑制菌丝生长的能力，其中地衣芽孢杆菌菌株AJH-1和解淀粉芽孢杆菌菌株CH-2的抑菌效果最好．CH-2菌株不仅能抑制菌丝的生长，而且能抑制菌核的形成．CH-2菌株培养液经硫酸铵沉淀后具有抑制核盘菌生长的效果，且稀释10倍后仍具有抗菌活性．初步认为CH-2菌株的抑菌活性可能是抗菌蛋白或多肽的作用．图1表5参12     

产α-淀粉酶菌株液体培养条件的探讨

目的是探讨在液体培养条件下枯草芽胞杆菌(B.subtilis HY-02)降解淀粉的影响因素。方法是设0、0.5%、1%、1.75%四种淀粉浓度的培养基,接种细菌后,在32℃的温箱、水浴、振荡三种条件下培养,连续检测α-淀粉酶活性及淀粉浓度。结果为温箱、水浴培养:96h后,1%淀粉瓶α-淀粉酶活性、分解淀粉最明显,1.75%淀粉瓶存在抑制酶活性的现象。振荡培养:1.75%淀粉瓶优于其他组。结论是初始淀粉浓度、培养方式对枯草芽胞杆菌α-淀粉酶活性影响较大,也直接影响了淀粉的分解。