Search results for "enzyme activity"
showing 10 items of 19 documents
Drought and its legacy modulate the post-fire recovery of soil functionality and microbial community structure in a Mediterranean shrubland.
2019
The effects of drought on soil dynamics after fire are poorly known, particularly its long-term (i.e., years) legacy effects once rainfall returns to normal. Understanding this is particularly important for nutrient-poor soils in semi-arid regions affected by fire, in which rainfall is projected to decrease with climate change. Here, we studied the effects of post-fire drought and its legacy on soil microbial community structure and functionality in a Cistus-Erica shrubland (Spain). Rainfall total and patterns were experimentally modified to produce an unburned control (natural rainfall) and four burned treatments: control (natural rainfall), historical control (long-term average rainfall),…
Plant species identities and fertilization influence on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonisation and soil bacterial activities
2016
International audience; Plant species influence soil microbial communities, mainly through their functional traits. However, mechanisms underlying these effects are not well understood, and in particular how plant/ microorganism interactions are affected by plant identities and/or environmental conditions. Here, we performed a greenhouse experiment to assess the effects of three plant species on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) colonization, bacterial potential nitrification (PNA) and denitrification activities (PDA) through their functional traits related to nitrogen acquisition and turnover. Three species with contrasting functional traits and strategies (from exploitative to conservat…
The swinholide biosynthesis gene cluster from a terrestrial cyanobacterium, Nostoc sp. strain UHCC 0450
2017
ABSTRACT Swinholides are 42-carbon ring polyketides with a 2-fold axis of symmetry. They are potent cytotoxins that disrupt the actin cytoskeleton. Swinholides were discovered from the marine sponge Theonella sp. and were long suspected to be produced by symbiotic bacteria. Misakinolide, a structural variant of swinholide, was recently demonstrated to be the product of a symbiotic heterotrophic proteobacterium. Here, we report the production of swinholide A by an axenic strain of the terrestrial cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. strain UHCC 0450. We located the 85-kb trans -AT polyketide synthase (PKS) swinholide biosynthesis gene cluster from a draft genome of Nostoc sp. UHCC 0450. The swinholide …
Development and application to clinical practice of a validated HPLC method for the analysis of β-glucocerebrosidase in Gaucher disease.
2014
The main objective of our study is to develop a simple, fast and reliable method for measuring ß-glucocerebrosidase activity in Gaucher patients leukocytes in clinical practice. This measurement may be a useful marker to drive dose selection and early clinical decision making of enzyme replacement therapy. We measure the enzyme activity by high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection and 4-nitrophenyl-ß-d-glucopyranoside as substrate. A cohort of eight Gaucher patients treated with enzyme replacement therapy and ten healthy controls were tested; median enzyme activity values was 20.57mU/ml (interquartile range 19.92-21.53mU/ml) in patients and mean was 24.73mU/ml (24.12…
Toxicity assessment and biodegradation potential of water-soluble sludge containing 2,4,6-trinitrotoluen
2013
The water-soluble phase of trinitrotoluene-containing sludge (SLP) was characterized with regard to trinitrotoluene (TNT) concentration, ecotoxicity, and a model biodegradation experiment as evaluation criteria for further development of appropriate treatment technologies. SLP contained 67.8 mg TNT/l. The results of germination and root-elongation tests indicated that SLP had a species-specific phytotoxic effect. The results of a 21 day degradation experiment demonstrated TNT conversion to 4-amino-2,6-DNT and 2-amino-4,6-DNT, with a simultaneous reduction in the total concentration of nitroaromatics. Addition of inoculum stimulated the TNT degradation process. The presence of the sludge sol…
Effects of irrigation on fruit ripening behavior and metabolic changes in olive
2012
Olive (Olea europaea, cv Leccino) fruits grown under different water regimes were analyzed by metabolomics and specific transcript accumulation analyses. The fruit from non-irrigated (rain-fed) and irrigated trees cultivated under field conditions, with a seasonal water amount equivalent to the calculated crop evapotranspiration (ETc) was compared in the last developmental phase and, in particular, at commercial harvest. Metabolomics (GC-MS) analysis identified several hundred metabolites in ripe mesocarp, 46 of which showed significantly different contents in the rain-fed and irrigated samples. Some compounds involved in primary metabolism (carbohydrates, amino acids, organic acids) and se…
Impact of Pulsed Electric Fields on Enzymes
2017
International audience; Pulsed electric field (PEF) processing has emerged as a promising technology in the development of tailor-made processes to effectively control the enzyme activity. It has been proven as an effective technique for the preservation of food products as it can result in substantial inactivation of most undesirable enzymes. When compared to microbial inactivation, however, large specific energy inputs are required to inactivate enzymes. The existing evidence suggests that PEF can also stimulate the activity of beneficial enzymes at low intense treatments. The PEF affects enzyme activity by changing mainly the secondary (α-helix, β-sheets, etc.), tertiary (spatial conform…
Carbohydrate availability affects growth and metabolism in peach fruit
2008
Along with sucrose, sorbitol represents the main photosynthetic product and form of translocated carbon in peach. This study aimed at determining whether peach fruit carbohydrate metabolism is affected by changes in source-sink balance, and specifically whether sorbitol or sucrose availability regulates fruit enzyme activities and growth. In various trials, different levels of assimilate availability to growing fruits were induced in vivo, by varying crop load of entire trees, leaf:fruit ratio (L:F) of fruiting shoots, or by interrupting the phloem stream (girdling) to individual fruits. In vitro, fruit tissue was incubated in presence/absence of sorbitol and sucrose. Relative growth rate (…
Spectrophotometric and voltammetric determination of 2,5-dimethylaniline as potential product of enzymatic splitting of XY-2,5-dimethylanilide type s…
1999
A method for determination of 2,5-dimethylaniline is proposed. The procedure enables both spectrophotometrical and voltammetric measurements. The spectrophotometrical determination at λmax = 385.8 nm is possible for concentrations up to 1.25 × 10-6 mol l-1. The voltammetric method takes more time, however, due to the adsorptive enrichment of the substrate it is possible to determine concentrations in the range of 10-7 mol l-1). In the paper the optimal conditions and parameters for the determination are suggested.
Post-fire soil functionality and microbial community structure in a Mediterranean shrubland subjected to experimental drought.
2016
Fire may cause significant alterations in soil properties. Post-fire soil dynamics can vary depending, among other factors, on rainfall patterns. However, little is known regarding variations in response to post-fire drought. This is relevant in arid and semiarid areas with poor soils, like much of the western Mediterranean. Furthermore, climate change projections in such areas anticipate reduced precipitation and longer annual drought periods, together with an increase in fire severity and frequency. This research evaluates the effects of experimental drought after fire on soil dynamics of a Cistus-Erica shrubland (Central Spain). A replicated (n = 4) field experiment was conducted in whic…