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Bacterial Metabolism (bacterial + metabolism)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Life Sciences	70%
Medical Sciences	20%

Selected Abstracts

Bacterial metabolism in small temperate streams under contemporary and future climates

FRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 12 2007
KAJ SAND-JENSEN
Summary 1. We examined the detailed temperature dependence (0,40 °C) of bacterial metabolism associated with fine sediment particles from three Danish lowland streams to test if temperature dependence varied between sites, seasons and quality of organic matter and to evaluate possible consequences of global warming. 2. A modified Arrhenius model with reversible denaturation at high temperatures could account for the temperature dependence of bacterial metabolism and the beginning of saturation above 35 °C and it was superior to the unmodified Arrhenius model. Both models overestimated respiration rates at very low temperatures (<5 °C), whereas Ratkowsky's model , the square root of respiration , provided an excellent linear fit between 0 and 30 °C. 3. There were no indications of differences in temperature dependence among samples dominated by slowly or easily degradable organic substrates. Optimum temperature, apparent minimum temperature, Q10 -values for 0,40 °C and activation energies of bacterial respiration were independent of season, stream site and degradability of organic matter. 4. Q10 -values of bacterial respiration declined significantly with temperature (e.g. 3.31 for 5,15 °C and 1.43 for 25,35 °C) and were independent of site and season. Q10 -values of bacterial production behaved similarly, but were significantly lower than Q10 -values of respiration implying that bacterial growth efficiency declined with temperature. 5. A regional warming scenario for 2071,2100 (IPCC A2) predicted that mean annual temperatures will increase by 3.5 °C in the air and 2.2,4.3 °C in the streams compared with the control scenario for 1961,1990. Temperature is expected to rise more in cool groundwater-fed forest springs than in open, summer-warm streams. Mean annual bacterial respiration is estimated to increase by 26,63% and production by 18,41% among streams assuming that established metabolism,temperature relationships and organic substrate availability remain the same. To improve predictions of future ecosystem behaviour, we further require coupled models of temperature, hydrology, organic production and decomposition. [source]

Halitosis among racially diverse populations: an update

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DENTAL HYGIENE, Issue 1 2008
S Rayman
Abstract:, The aim of this paper is to highlight the cultural perceptions of halitosis to dental professionals. Halitosis (oral malodour or bad breath) is caused mainly by tongue coating and periodontal disease. Bacterial metabolism of amino acids leads to metabolites including many compounds, such as indole, skatole and volatile sulphur compounds (VSC), hydrogen sulphide, methyl mercaptan and dimethyl sulphide. They are claimed to be the main aetiological agents for halitosis. Gastrointestinal diseases are also generally believed to cause halitosis. In general, physicians and dentists are poorly informed about the causes and treatments for halitosis. The paper reviews the prevalence and distribution of halitosis, oral malodour, its aetiology, concepts of general and oral health and diseases and their perception among racially diverse population. Eating, smoking and drinking habits and understanding of halitosis as a social norm among different people has been highlighted. The treatment options have also been presented very briefly. A brief discussion about general importance within existing healthcare services has been highlighted. Oral malodour may rank only behind dental caries and periodontal disease as the cause of patient's visits to the dentist. It is a public social health problem. The perception of halitosis is different in culturally diverse populations. So the dental professionals should be aware of the cultural perceptions of halitosis among racially and culturally diverse populations. There is a need to integrate the cultural awareness and knowledge about halitosis among the dental professional for better understanding of halitosis to treat patients with the social dilemma of halitosis to improve the quality of life and well-being of individuals with the problem. It is concluded that dental professionals (especially dental hygienists) should be prepared to practice in a culturally diverse environment in a sensitive and appropriate manner, to deliver optimal oral health and hygiene care. [source]

Carbon metabolism of intracellular bacteria

CELLULAR MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2006
Ernesto J. Muñoz-Elías
Summary Bacterial metabolism has been studied intensively since the first observations of these ,animalcules' by Leeuwenhoek and their isolation in pure cultures by Pasteur. Metabolic studies have traditionally focused on a small number of model organisms, primarily the Gram negative bacillus Escherichia coli, adapted to artificial culture conditions in the laboratory. Comparatively little is known about the physiology and metabolism of wild microorganisms living in their natural habitats. For ,500,1000 species of commensals and symbionts, and a smaller number of pathogenic bacteria, that habitat is the human body. Emerging evidence suggests that the metabolism of bacteria grown in vivo differs profoundly from their metabolism in axenic cultures. [source]

Genome-scale models of bacterial metabolism: reconstruction and applications

FEMS MICROBIOLOGY REVIEWS, Issue 1 2009
Maxime Durot
Abstract Genome-scale metabolic models bridge the gap between genome-derived biochemical information and metabolic phenotypes in a principled manner, providing a solid interpretative framework for experimental data related to metabolic states, and enabling simple in silico experiments with whole-cell metabolism. Models have been reconstructed for almost 20 bacterial species, so far mainly through expert curation efforts integrating information from the literature with genome annotation. A wide variety of computational methods exploiting metabolic models have been developed and applied to bacteria, yielding valuable insights into bacterial metabolism and evolution, and providing a sound basis for computer-assisted design in metabolic engineering. Recent advances in computational systems biology and high-throughput experimental technologies pave the way for the systematic reconstruction of metabolic models from genomes of new species, and a corresponding expansion of the scope of their applications. In this review, we provide an introduction to the key ideas of metabolic modeling, survey the methods, and resources that enable model reconstruction and refinement, and chart applications to the investigation of global properties of metabolic systems, the interpretation of experimental results, and the re-engineering of their biochemical capabilities. [source]

Bacterial metabolism in small temperate streams under contemporary and future climates

The impact of metabolic state on Cd adsorption onto bacterial cells

GEOBIOLOGY, Issue 3 2007
K. J. JOHNSON
ABSTRACT This study examines the effect of bacterial metabolism on the adsorption of Cd onto Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial cells. Metabolically active Gram-positive cells adsorbed significantly less Cd than non-metabolizing cells. Gram-negative cells, however, showed no systematic difference in Cd adsorption between metabolizing and non-metabolizing cells. The effect of metabolism on Cd adsorption to Gram-positive cells was likely due to an influx of protons in and around the cell wall from the metabolic proton motive force, promoting competition between Cd and protons for adsorption sites on the cell wall. The relative lack of a metabolic effect on Cd adsorption onto Gram-negative compared to Gram-positive cells suggests that Cd binding in Gram-negative cells is focused in a region of the cell wall that is not reached, or is unaffected by this proton flux. Thermodynamic modeling was used to estimate that proton pumping causes the pH in the cell wall of metabolizing Gram-positive bacteria to decrease from the bulk solution value of 7.0 to approximately 5.7. [source]

Metabolism of Maillard reaction products by the human gut microbiota , implications for health

MOLECULAR NUTRITION & FOOD RESEARCH (FORMERLY NAHRUNG/FOOD), Issue 9 2006
Kieran M. Tuohy
Abstract The human colonic microbiota imparts metabolic versatility on the colon, interacts at many levels in healthy intestinal and systemic metabolism, and plays protective roles in chronic disease and acute infection. Colonic bacterial metabolism is largely dependant on dietary residues from the upper gut. Carbohydrates, resistant to digestion, drive colonic bacterial fermentation and the resulting end products are considered beneficial. Many colonic species ferment proteins but the end products are not always beneficial and include toxic compounds, such as amines and phenols. Most components of a typical Western diet are heat processed. The Maillard reaction, involving food protein and sugar, is a complex network of reactions occurring during thermal processing. The resultant modified protein resists digestion in the small intestine but is available for colonic bacterial fermentation. Little is known about the fate of the modified protein but some Maillard reaction products (MRP) are biologically active by, e. g. altering bacterial population levels within the colon or, upon absorption, interacting with human disease mechanisms by induction of inflammatory responses. This review presents current understanding of the interactions between MRP and intestinal bacteria. Recent scientific advances offering the possibility of elucidating the consequences of microbe-MRP interactions within the gut are discussed. [source]

Profiling human gut bacterial metabolism and its kinetics using [U- 13C]glucose and NMR

NMR IN BIOMEDICINE, Issue 1 2010
Albert A. de Graaf
Abstract This study introduces a stable-isotope metabolic approach employing [U- 13C]glucose that, as a novelty, allows selective profiling of the human intestinal microbial metabolic products of carbohydrate food components, as well as the measurement of the kinetics of their formation pathways, in a single experiment. A well-established, validated in vitro model of human intestinal fermentation was inoculated with standardized gastrointestinal microbiota from volunteers. After culture stabilization, [U- 13C]glucose was added as an isotopically labeled metabolic precursor. System lumen and dialysate samples were taken at regular intervals. Metabolite concentrations and isotopic labeling were determined by NMR, GC, and enzymatic methods. The main microbial metabolites were lactate, acetate, butyrate, formate, ethanol, and glycerol. They together accounted for a 13C recovery rate as high as 91.2%. Using an NMR chemical shift prediction approach, several minor products that showed 13C incorporation were identified as organic acids, amino acids, and various alcohols. Using computer modeling of the 12C contents and 13C labeling kinetics, the metabolic fluxes in the gut microbial pathways for synthesis of lactate, formate, acetate, and butyrate were determined separately for glucose and unlabeled background substrates. This novel approach enables the study of the modulation of human intestinal function by single nutrients, providing a new rational basis for achieving control of the short-chain fatty acids profile by manipulating substrate and microbiota composition in a purposeful manner. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Metabolic effects of static magnetic fields on streptococcus pyogenes

BIOELECTROMAGNETICS, Issue 6 2007
A.C. Morrow
Abstract This study aimed to develop a simple experimental system utilising bacterial cells to investigate the dose responses resulting from exposures to static magnetic flux densities ranging from 0.05 to 0.5 T on viability, bacterial metabolism and levels of DNA damage in Streptococcus pyogenes. Exposure of S. pyogenes to a field of 0.3 T at 24 °C under anaerobic conditions resulted in a significant (P,<,0.05) decrease in growth rate, with an increased mean generation time of 199,±,6 min compared to the control cells at 165,±,6 min (P,<,0.05). Conversely, exposure to magnetic fields of 0.5 T significantly accelerated the growth rate at 24 °C compared to control cells, with a decreased mean generation time of 147,±,4 min (P,<,0.05). The patterns of metabolite release from cells incubated in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) at 24 °C and exposed to different magnetic flux densities (0.05,0.5 T) were significantly (P,<,0.05) altered, compared to non-exposed controls. Concentrations of metabolites, with the exception of aspartic acid (r,=,0.44), were not linearly correlated with magnetic flux density, with all other r,<,0.20. Instead, "window" effects were observed, with 0.25,0.3 T eliciting the maximal release of the majority of metabolites, suggesting that magnetic fields of these strengths had significant impacts on metabolic homeostasis in S. pyogenes. The exposure of cells to 0.3 T was also found to significantly reduce the yield of 8-hydroxyguanine in extracted DNA compared to controls, suggesting some possible anti-oxidant protection to S. pyogenes at this field strength. Bioelectromagnetics 28:439,445, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]