Information about S.aureus
Wednesday, 4 November 2020
Thursday, 20 August 2020
Genetic Engineering
DNA Manipulating enzymes
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1MWkdmE8MlVDtydH0QDpOVDBIATYyOADL&authuser=1
Tuesday, 17 March 2020
Agarose gel electrophoresis
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/224829869_Principles_of_Nucleic_Acid_Separation_by_Agarose_Gel_Electrophoresis
SDS PAGE
https://ruo.mbl.co.jp/bio/e/support/method/sds-page.html
http://howbiotech.com/the-principle-and-procedure-of-polyacrylamide-gel-electrophoresis-sds-page/
https://www.creativebiomart.net/blog/principle-and-protocol-of-sodium-dodecyl-sulphate-polyacrylamide-gel-electrophoresis-sds-page/
https://vlab.amrita.edu/?sub=3&brch=186&sim=319&cnt=1
https://capricorn.bc.edu/bi204/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Chapter-14-2015.pdf
Monday, 2 March 2020
Saturday, 22 February 2020
Monday, 27 January 2020
Nitrogen
fixation by Microorganisms
Air
contains approximately 79% nitrogen, but plants cannot use it. Nitrogen is the
most limiting nutrient for plant growth. The conversion of N2 into the compound
which can be absorbed by the plants by biological means is termed as nitrogen
fixation. Nitrogen is the major part of proteins and nucleic acids which are the
basis of all life forms. It is also present in chlorophylls, alkaloids, and
cytochromes. Nitrogen from the soil is continually depleted by soil erosion,
chemical voltalisation, and denitrification etc. The bacteria present in the
root nodules of the leguminous plant helps in restoring N2 in the soil.
Significance of biological nitrogen fixation as the major mechanism of
recycling of nitrogen from the unavailable atmospheric form to available forms
in the biosphere is well documented.
Nitrogen
fixation process is also influenced by soil temperature. The optimum
temperature for nitrogen fixation is 55 to 80°C. N2 fixation takes place mainly
in the specialized cell called heterocyst of the cyanobacteria but
non-heterocystous cyanobacteria have also been reported to fix N2. The factors
which affect this process is the level of soil nitrogen, the rhizobia strain to infect the legume, amount of legume plant growth and the length of growing
season. The rate of nitrogen fixation depends upon the rate of plant growth. We
may define N2 fixation as the conversion of atmospheric N2 into nitrogenous
salt which is readily absorbed by the plant. Nitrogen present in the atmosphere
in the dinitrogen (N=N) form, therefore, the microorganism which fixes nitrogen
is called diazotrophs. Nitrogen fixation by the activity of microorganisms is
called biological N2 fixation and the microorganisms are called biofertilizers.
But N2 -fixation also occurs spontaneously due to lightening. The dinitrogen
reduction process is mediated by nitrogenase. In the case of photosynthetic
bacteria, nitrogen fixation with nitrogenase frequently involves hydrogen
generation as a byproduct. Such hydrogen production by photosynthetic bacteria
may be a viable source for fuel cells, a possible next-generation energy source
that is, independent of fossil fuels (Wakayama et al., 2000).
Aerobic diazotrophs—require
oxygen for growth and fix nitrogen in the presence of oxygen (low
concentration) (Azotobacter, methane-producing bacteria).
Free-living diazotrophs—fix
nitrogen both in aerobic and anaerobic conditions (Bacillus and Klebsiella).
Symbiotic diazotrophs—fix
nitrogen only by the formation of nodules (Rhizobium, Bradyrhizobium and
Sinorhizobium).
Biological
nitrogen fixation can be explained in two ways i.e., symbiotic and asymbiotic
N2 fixation.
Non-biological
Lightning
heats the air around it breaking the bonds of N2 starting the
formation of nitrous acid. Nitrogen can be fixed by lightning that converts
nitrogen and oxygen into NOx (nitrogen oxides). NOx may react with water to
make nitrous acid or nitric acid, which seeps into the soil, where it makes
nitrate, which is of use to plants. Nitrogen in the atmosphere is highly stable
and nonreactive due to the triple bond between atoms in the N2
molecule. Lightning produces enough energy and heat to break this bond allowing
nitrogen atoms to react with oxygen, forming NOx. These compounds cannot be
used by plants, but as this molecule cools, it reacts with oxygen to form NO2
This molecule, in turn, reacts with water to produce HNO3 (nitric
acid), or its ion NO−3 (nitrate), which is usable by plants.
Biological
Biological
nitrogen fixation was discovered by German agronomist Hermann Hellriegel and
Dutch microbiologist Martinus Beijerinck. Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF)
occurs when atmospheric nitrogen is converted to ammonia by a nitrogenase
enzyme. The overall reaction for BNF is:
The process is coupled to the hydrolysis of 16 equivalents of ATP and is accompanied by the co-formation of one equivalent of H2. The conversion of N2 into ammonia occurs at a metal cluster called FeMoco, an abbreviation for the iron-molybdenum cofactor. The mechanism proceeds via a series of protonation and reduction steps wherein the FeMoco active site hydrogenates the N2 substrate. In free-living diazotrophs, nitrogenase-generated ammonia is assimilated into glutamate through the glutamine synthetase/glutamate synthase pathway. The microbial nif genes required for nitrogen fixation are widely distributed in diverse environments. Nitrogenases are rapidly degraded by oxygen. For this reason, many bacteria cease the production of the enzyme in the presence of oxygen. Many nitrogen-fixing organisms exist only in anaerobic conditions, respiring to draw down oxygen levels, or binding the oxygen with a protein such as leghemoglobin.
N2+6e-+12ATP+12H2O
2NH4++12ADP+12Pi+4H+
Nitrogenase
complex
The process is coupled to the hydrolysis of 16 equivalents of ATP and is accompanied by the co-formation of one equivalent of H2. The conversion of N2 into ammonia occurs at a metal cluster called FeMoco, an abbreviation for the iron-molybdenum cofactor. The mechanism proceeds via a series of protonation and reduction steps wherein the FeMoco active site hydrogenates the N2 substrate. In free-living diazotrophs, nitrogenase-generated ammonia is assimilated into glutamate through the glutamine synthetase/glutamate synthase pathway. The microbial nif genes required for nitrogen fixation are widely distributed in diverse environments. Nitrogenases are rapidly degraded by oxygen. For this reason, many bacteria cease the production of the enzyme in the presence of oxygen. Many nitrogen-fixing organisms exist only in anaerobic conditions, respiring to draw down oxygen levels, or binding the oxygen with a protein such as leghemoglobin.
Microorganisms
Diazotrophs
are widespread within domain Bacteria including cyanobacteria (e.g. the highly
significant Trichodesmium and Cyanothece), as well as green sulfur bacteria,
Azotobacteraceae, rhizobia and Frankia. Several obligately anaerobic bacteria
fix nitrogen including many (but not all) Clostridium spp. Some archaea also
fix nitrogen, including several methanogenic taxa, which are significant
contributors to nitrogen fixation in oxygen-deficient soils.
Cyanobacteria
inhabit nearly all illuminated environments on Earth and play key roles in the
carbon and nitrogen cycle of the biosphere. In general, cyanobacteria can use
various inorganic and organic sources of combined nitrogen, such as nitrate,
nitrite, ammonium, urea, or some amino acids. Several cyanobacteria strains are
also capable of diazotrophic growth, an ability that may have been present in
their last common ancestor in the Archean eon. Nitrogen fixation by
cyanobacteria in coral reefs can fix twice as much nitrogen as on land—around
660 kg/ha/year. The colonial marine cyanobacterium Trichodesmium is thought to fix nitrogen on such a scale that it
accounts for almost half of the nitrogen fixation in marine systems globally.
Marine
surface licing[check spelling] and non-photosynthetic bacteria belonging in
Proteobacteria and Planctomycetes fixate significant atmospheric nitrogen.
Root nodule symbioses
Legume family
Plants
that contribute to nitrogen fixation include those of the legume
family—Fabaceae— with taxa such as kudzu, clover, soybean, alfalfa, lupin,
peanut and rooibos. They contain symbiotic rhizobia bacteria within nodules in
their root systems, producing nitrogen compounds that help the plant to grow and
compete with other plants. When the plant dies, the fixed nitrogen is released,
making it available to other plants; this helps to fertilize the soil. The
great majority of legumes have this association, but a few genera (e.g.,
Styphnolobium) do not. In many traditional and organic farming practices,
fields are rotated through various types of crops, which usually include one
consisting mainly or entirely of clover or buckwheat (non-legume family
Polygonaceae), often referred to as "green manure".
Non-leguminous
Other
nitrogen fixing families include:
- Parasponia,
a tropical genus in the family Cannabaceae, which are able to interact
with rhizobia and form nitrogen-fixing nodules.
- Actinorhizal
plants such as alder and bayberry can form nitrogen-fixing nodules, thanks to a symbiotic association with Frankia bacteria. These plants belong to
25 genera distributed across eight families.
The
ability to fix nitrogen is present in other families that belong to the orders
Cucurbitales, Fagales, and Rosales, which together with the Fabales form a clade
of eurosids. The ability to fix nitrogen is not universally present in these
families. For example, of 122 Rosaceae genera, only four fix nitrogen. Fabales
were the first lineage to branch off this nitrogen-fixing clade; thus, the
ability to fix nitrogen may be plesiomorphic and subsequently lost in most
descendants of the original nitrogen-fixing plant; however, it may be that the
basic genetic and physiological requirements were present in an incipient state
in the most recent common ancestors of all these plants, but only evolved to
full function in some of them.
Friday, 24 January 2020
Cellulose decomposition
Microbial decomposition of
cellulose in soil
Cellulose decomposition:
·
Cellulose is relatively
resistant polysaccharide, found in the cell wall of plant cell.
·
Cellulose is a linear
polymer of β-D-glucose in which glucose units are linked together by
β-1,4-glycosidic bond.
·
It is the most abundant
organic matter found in nature. In plant it occurs in association with lignin
and hemicellulose.
Mechanism of cellulose
decomposition:
·
Pathway of cellulose
decomposition follows series of enzymatic reactions.
·
Enzymes responsible for
cellulose decomposition is cellulase.
·
Cellulase is a complex
of three enzymes (ie. C1 enzyme, β-1,4-glucanase and β-1,4-glucosidase).
·
Series of enzymatic
reaction occurs outside the microbial cell in which complex cellulose is
decomposed into free glucose molecules by extracellular enzymes.
Step I: hydrolysis by C1 enzymes:
C1 enzyme hydrolyses native cellulose
polymer to form smaller fragments.
C1 enzyme is only found in true
cellulolytic microorganisms.
Step II: hydrolysis by
β-1,4-glucanase enzyme:
β-1,4-glucanase hydrolyze the smaller
fragments of cellulose to form even smaller fragments such as disaccharides,
tri-saccharides etc.
There are two types of glucanase ie.
Endo-glucanase and Exo-glucanase.
Endo-glucanase randomly cuts the
fragments somewhere in the middle whereas exo-glucanase sequentially release
glucose molecule from one end of the fragment.
Some free glucose unit as well as
disaccharides, tri-saccharides and other oligosaccharides are produced by the
action of β-1,4-glucanase.
Step III: hydrolysis by
β-1,4-glucosidase enzyme:
β-1,4-glucosidase hydrolyses di, tri and
oligosaccharides to form free glucose molecules.
Step IV: metabolism of glucose:
Free glucose molecules then enter into
microbial cell and metabolized by glycolysis to form pyruvate.
Depending upon types of microorganisms
and the condition of environment, pyruvate is converted into CO2 and water or
ethanol or any organic acids
Examples of Cellulolytic microorganisms;
Cellulose decomposers
Bacteria:
Bacillus, Cellulomonas, Clostridium, Cytophaga, Polyangium, Pseudomonas etc
Fungi: Aspergillus,
Alterneria, Fomes, Fusarium, Myrothecium etc
Actinomycetes:
Micromonospora, Nocardia, Streptomyces, Streptosporangium etc.
Factors affecting cellulose
decomposition in soil:
Various environmental and other factors
affects rate of cellulose decomposition in soil by microorgansims, some of them
are;
i. Addition of available Nitrogen:
Additionof inorganic nitrogen compounds
such as ammonia, nitrite or easily decomposable nitrogen compounds like
aminoacids and proteins increase the rate of cellulose decomposition by
microorganisms.
Microorganisms require both carbon and
nitrogen for biosynthesis of their cellular materials. Therefore, microbial
decomposition of cellulose cannot occurs without nitrogenous sources.
ii. Temperature:
Cellulose decomposition can occurs from
temperature near freezing to above 65°C because both psychrophiles and
thermophiles are involved in cellulose degradation.
But rate of cellulose decomposition is
maximum in mesophilic range of temperature of 25-30°C because most cellulolytic
microbes are mesophiles.
iii. Aeration:
In anaerobic soil, anaerobic bacteria
like Clostridium decompose cellulose and in aerobic soli mainly fungi and
aerobic bacteria take part in decomposition of cellulose.
Rate of cellulose is higher in aerobic
soil.
iv. Moisture:
Excessive moisture brings anaerobic
condition in soil. Therefore, rate of cellulose decomposition is slower in
water logged soil.
v. pH:
In neutral to alkaline soil, bacteria
and actinomycetes mainly take part in cellulose decomposition.
In acidic soil, fungi are dominant
cellulose decomposers.
Rate of cellulose decomposition is
slightly higher in acidic soil than alkaline and neutral.
vi. Addition of organic matter:
Addition of easily decomposable organic
matters increase the rate of cellulose decomposition.
If only cellulose is present in soil,
microorganisms cannot multiply fast so that the rate of decomposition become
slower.
If small amount of easily decomposable
organic matter is added initially in soil, microorganisms rapidly multiplies
and grow their numbers. Furthermore cellulose is degraded rapidly when the
easily decomposable organic matter is exhausted.
vii. Lignin:
Lignin slows the rate of cellulose
decomposition.
Lignin itself is not toxic to
cellulolytic microbes. Inhibition of cellulose decomposition by lignin is due
to its close association to cellulose in cell wall.
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