Article
Cell Biology
Kim Shortall, Edel Durack, Edmond Magner, Tewfik Soulimane
Summary: The thermophilic ALDH(Tt) has been found to possess dual enzymatic activity and broad substrate specificity, showing activity for a range of aldehydes and ester substrates. However, it may exhibit differing levels of activity towards specific substrates with para-substituted benzaldehydes being efficiently processed while ortho-substituted ones show no catalytic activity.
Article
Food Science & Technology
Lin Zhu, Zhaozhi Hou, Xinyu Hu, Xu Liu, Tian Dai, Xinyu Wang, Chunlin Zeng, Yuan Wang, Caizheng Wang, Shujing Yang, Henglin Cui, Wei Wei
Summary: Inner Mongolian cheese is a traditional dairy product in China produced without rennet, and the presence of Thermus thermophilus during the simmering process impacts the microbial community structure, texture, and flavor development of the cheese.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Vladimir I. Timofeev, Ilya V. Fateev, Maria A. Kostromina, Yuliya A. Abramchik, Irina D. Konstantinova, Vladimir V. Volkov, Dmitry D. Lykoshin, Olga O. Mikheeva, Tatiana I. Muravieva, Roman S. Esipov, Inna P. Kuranova
Summary: Two recombinant purine nucleoside phosphorylases from Thermus thermophilus HB27 were purified and characterized. TthPNPI is specific to guanosine while TthPNPII is specific to adenosine. The oligomeric structures of these enzymes, as well as the key residues in their active sites, were analyzed. The crystal structure of TthPNPII was determined and its active site cavity was examined. The hexameric structure of TthPNPII, which is different from other purine nucleoside phosphorylases, was observed for the first time.
JOURNAL OF BIOMOLECULAR STRUCTURE & DYNAMICS
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Lennart Kirchner, Volker Mueller, Beate Averhoff
Summary: In this study, the pilA4 promoter of Thermus thermophilus was characterized and found to be highly active under optimal growth conditions and downregulated at the highest growth temperature. The promoter activity was significantly increased in minimal medium compared to complex medium. Furthermore, the suitability of the pilA4 promoter for heterologous production of a thermostable enzyme was demonstrated.
MICROBIAL CELL FACTORIES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Alibek Kruglikov, Yulong Wei, Xuhua Xia
Summary: Majority of protein structure studies use model organisms like E. coli as expression systems. However, differences in cellular environment factors, particularly temperature and chaperones, can cause improper folding of native proteins in extremophiles. This study compares the effects of using E. coli as expression system on protein structures between mesophilic bacteria and a thermophile T. thermophilus, and finds significant differences, suggesting the need for unique protein expression systems in protein folding studies of extremophiles.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Teruyuki Kobayashi, Akihiko Sakamoto, Keiko Kashiwagi, Kazuei Igarashi, Toshiyuki Moriya, Tairo Oshima, Yusuke Terui
Summary: In the extreme thermophile Thermus thermophilus, changes in pH result in significant alterations in the composition and content of polyamines within the cells, particularly impacting cell growth under alkaline conditions. pH stress is exacerbated due to intracellular depletion of polyamines possessing a diaminobutane moiety induced by unusual changes in polyamine biosynthesis under high pH conditions.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rosanna Puopolo, Giovanni Gallo, Danila Limauro, Patrizia Contursi, Gabriella Fiorentino
Summary: Arsenic pollution is a global issue, and biosensors based on enzymatic inhibition have been developed for arsenic detection. The study found that both As(V) and As(III) act as non-competitive inhibitors on the phosphatase activity of TtArsC, with As(V) showing a stronger inhibitory effect. The inhibition-based biosystem is selective for As(V) and exhibits good sensitivity and a low detection limit.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tomoki Akiyama, Naoki Kunishima, Sayaka Nemoto, Kazuki Kazama, Masako Hirose, Yuki Sudo, Yoshinori Matsuura, Hisashi Naitow, Takeshi Murata
Summary: In this study, thermo-stabilization of the thermophilic rhodopsin from Thermus thermophilus JL-18 as a model membrane protein was achieved by introducing ten single mutations in the extramembrane regions. Experimental characterization and molecular dynamics simulations confirmed that four mutations improved thermal stability, highlighting the potential of this approach for improving the production of membrane proteins for structural studies.
PROTEINS-STRUCTURE FUNCTION AND BIOINFORMATICS
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Akihide Yoshihara, Yota Takamatsu, Susumu Mochizuki, Hiromi Yoshida, Ryoji Masui, Ken Izumori, Shigehiro Kamitori
Summary: In this study, the structural and biochemical characteristics of transketolase from the thermophilic bacterium Thermus thermophilus HB8 (TtTK) were investigated. TtTK showed remarkable thermostability and efficiently catalyzed the formation of 7-carbon ketoses from various sugars. The results demonstrate the potential of TtTK as an enzyme producing a rare sugar, heptulose.
APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Changjing Yuan, Jie Fang, Weiling Fu
Summary: Recent advances in prokaryotic Argonaute proteins (pAgos) have provided new insights into the development of pAgos-based nucleic acid detection platforms. However, the current challenge lies in achieving isothermal detection using pAgos. This study introduces a true isothermal amplification strategy called Thermus thermophilus Argonaute-based thermostable exponential amplification reaction (TtAgoEAR), which allows for RNA detection with ultra-sensitivity and single-nucleotide resolution at a constant temperature of 66 degrees C. The results demonstrate the potential of TtAgoEAR for reliable and easy RNA detection in point-of-care diagnosis and field analysis.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Ziqi Wang, Zitong Wang, Fan Zhang, Lingyi Wu
Summary: This study systematically explores the properties of Thermus thermophilus Argonaute (TtAgo), including its dependence on guide DNA (gDNA) length, substrates' length, and the position of gDNA complementary region on the substrate. Based on these properties, an exonuclease III-assisted target-recycled amplification system (exoAgo) was constructed for sensitive miRNA detection. The results show that exoAgo can be used for miRNA profiling with a detection limit of 12.2 pM, single-base resolution, and good performance for complex sample detection, indicating the great application potential of Ago in nucleic acid detection.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
K. Dhanalakshmi, Seiki Kuramitsu, Shigeyuki Yokoyama, Kumarevel Thirumananseri, Karthe Ponnuraj
Summary: This study reports the crystal structure of arginase from Thermus thermophilus (TtArginase), and compares it with other homologous structures. The results show that TtArginase is more stable compared to its mesophilic counterpart, Bacillus subtilis arginase (BsArginase). Additionally, the study reveals the critical role of metal ions in both the catalytic function and maintenance of proper active site geometry. These findings are important for optimizing the enzymatic action of arginase in various conditions.
JOURNAL OF BIOMOLECULAR STRUCTURE & DYNAMICS
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Josiah L. Teague, John K. Barrows, Cynthia A. Baafi, Michael W. Van Dyke
Summary: Transcription regulatory proteins, also known as transcription factors, act as molecular switches modulating gene expression at the transcription initiation stage. This study applied a reverse-genetic methodology to analyze the DNA-binding consensus sequence of TTHA1359 and identified regulatory binding sites within the T. thermophilus HB8 genome.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Eric A. Hunt, Esta Tamanaha, Kevin Bonanno, Eric J. Cantor, Nathan A. Tanner
Summary: Research on the Argonaute protein from Thermus thermophilus has revealed specific preferences for guide sequences, which can be used to enhance guide design for molecular applications. Notable preferences include a strong cleavage enhancement from a first position dT independent of target sequence, a significant decrease in activity with dA at position 12, and an impact of GC dinucleotides at positions 10 and 11. This approach could potentially be extended to characterize other variants and improve their utility in biology and genome editing applications.
FRONTIERS IN MOLECULAR BIOSCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Karl Dichtl, Oezlem Koc, Johannes Forster, Christina Scharf, Sebastian Suerbaum, Joachim Andrassy, Johannes Wagener, Ines Schroeder
Summary: In recent years, there has been an increasing incidence of invasive infections caused by rare fungi. The first reported case of an infection caused by the thermophilic mold Talaromyces thermophilus is described here. Cultivation and identification of this organism is challenging due to inadequate standard incubation conditions, but testing for fungal antigens shows promise based on retrospective analysis of patient samples and in vitro experiments.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Ana Mafalda Pinto, Alberta Faustino, Lorenzo M. Pastrana, Manuel Banobre-Lopez, Sanna Sillankorva
Summary: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major pathogen responsible for nosocomial and chronic infections, with increasing antibiotic resistance posing a challenge for treatment. Bacteriophage therapy has shown promise as an alternative, with this study highlighting the importance of careful selection and combination of phages in formulations to maximize efficacy and prevent emergence of resistant bacteria.
Article
Food Science & Technology
Sarah Azinheiro, Joana Carvalho, Pablo Fucinos, Lorenzo Pastrana, Marta Prado, Alejandro Garrido-Maestu
Summary: This study compared two sample treatment protocols, short pre-enrichment and matrix lysis, for the same-day detection of L. monocytogenes. The results showed that the short pre-enrichment method has a lower limit of detection, making it suitable for zero tolerance requirements.
LWT-FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Catia Sampaio, Ana Bourbon, Catarina Goncalves, Lorenzo M. Pastrana, Alice M. Dias, Miguel A. Cerqueira
Summary: The study successfully produced monomodal and stable thyme and lemon balm-loaded nanoemulsions, which exhibited good physical stability and radical scavenging activity, as well as inhibitory effects on certain bacteria. Cell experiments showed a dose-responsive effect of nanoemulsions on Caco-2 cells, with specific concentrations considered safe for use.
LWT-FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Marta Vinha Vieira, Igor Piotr Turkiewicz, Karolina Tkacz, Claudio Fuentes-Gruenewald, Lorenzo M. Pastrana, Pablo Fucinos, Aneta Wojdylo, Paulina Nowicka
Summary: The study evaluated the phytochemical profile, antioxidant activity, and enzymatic inhibitory effect of several microalgae species, finding that they possess important biological activities and potential to be used as functional food ingredients.
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Aida Barreiro-Alonso, Angel Vizoso-Vazquez, Monica Lamas-Maceiras, Maria-Esperanza Cerdan
Article
Food Science & Technology
Ricardo Gomez-Garcia, Ana A. Vilas-Boas, Ana Oliveira, Manuela Amorim, Jose A. Teixeira, Lorenzo Pastrana, Maria Manuela Pintado, Debora A. Campos
Summary: The potential application of pineapple by-products (peels and stems) as a functional food was evaluated for its prebiotic and antioxidant activities. The pineapple liquid fraction was found to enhance the growth of probiotic microorganisms and exhibit antioxidant properties. During the simulated gastrointestinal process, high molecular weight polysaccharides in the pineapple liquid fraction were digested into smaller saccharides, and specific polyphenols were released. However, the prebiotic activity did not improve throughout the simulation.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Marllyn Marques da Silva, Jose Manoel Wanderley Duarte Neto, Bruno Vinicius Barros Regueira, Milena Tereza Torres do Couto, Renata Vitoria da Silva Sobral, Amanda Emmanuelle Sales Conniff, Romero Marcos Pedrosa Brandao Costa, Mariane Cajuba de Britto Lira Nogueira, Noemia Pereira da Silva Santos, Lorenzo Pastrana, Ana Cristina Lima Leite, Attilio Converti, Thiago Pajeu Nascimento, Ana Lucia Figueiredo Porto
Summary: This work reports the immobilization of a fibrinolytic protease (FP) from Mucor subtilissimus UCP 1262 on Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), which maintained more than 60% of activity at a temperature of 40 to 60 degrees C and at pH 7 to 10. MNPs/FP showed no cytotoxicity and reduced hemolysis, demonstrating its potential as an alternative strategy to treat cardiovascular diseases with targeted release.
PROTEIN EXPRESSION AND PURIFICATION
(2022)
Review
Polymer Science
Joao Ricardo Afonso Pires, Victor Gomes Lauriano Souza, Pablo Fucinos, Lorenzo Pastrana, Ana Luisa Fernando
Summary: Society is transitioning towards more sustainable alternative materials, which requires thorough biodegradability testing and consistent labeling systems to differentiate between different bioproducts. Additionally, legislation will need to be revised to support new testing standards.
Article
Microbiology
Roberto Gonzalez-Gonzalez, Pablo Fucinos, Elisa Beneventi, Olalla Lopez-Lopez, Begona Pampin, Ramon Rodriguez, Maria Isabel Gonzalez-Siso, Jacobo Cruces, Maria Luisa Rua
Summary: The thermoalkalophilic membrane-associated esterase KLEST-3S showed high thermal stability, activity in organic solvents and detergents, and catalytic ability in various reactions, indicating its potential for industrial bioconversions.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Marisol Dias, Marina Romani-Perez, Aloia Romani, Aimara de la Cruz, Lorenzo Pastrana, Pablo Fucinos, Isabel R. Amado
Summary: This review comprehensively explores the application of phenolic compounds as functional food ingredients, focusing on their role in diabetes management. It discusses methods for extracting and purifying phenolic compounds from plant sources and agro-industrial by-products, as well as the use of nanotechnology for encapsulation to improve their bioavailability. The results highlight the anti-diabetic activity of phenolic compounds and their beneficial effects on glucose homeostasis. The review summarizes the latest research and provides insights for improving the health of patients with diabetes and related conditions.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2022)
Review
Microbiology
Monica Lamas-Maceiras, Angel Vizoso-Vazquez, Aida Barreiro-Alonso, Maria Camara-Quilez, Maria Esperanza Cerdan
Summary: This article summarizes the significant role of yeasts in the field of life sciences and their utilization as research tools. The study of yeasts has provided valuable insights into cellular functions and gene expression regulation.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Maria Helena Macedo, Mafalda Neto, Lorenzo Pastrana, Catarina Goncalves, Miguel Xavier
Summary: Inflammatory bowel disease is a significant burden and effective therapies are needed. Cell-based in vitro models, such as immortalized cell lines and organoids, have been used to study intestinal inflammation. These models have shown improved physiological relevance but vary in complexity and inflammation induction methods. This review summarizes recent works on human intestinal inflammation models, aiming to assist in choosing the most suitable model for specific biological questions.
Article
Polymer Science
Artur J. Martins, Fatima Cerqueira, Antonio A. Vicente, Rosiane L. Cunha, Lorenzo M. Pastrana, Miguel A. Cerqueira
Summary: This study investigates the factors influencing the formation and stability of sterol-based oleogels and examines their characteristics and structures under different environmental conditions. The findings suggest that cooling rates and stabilization time affect the texture and formation of oleogels, and there is a relationship between ferulic acid and the tubular structure formation.
