知久 和寛

In this study, the genome sequences of two Basidiomycetous yeasts, Tremella yokohamensis and Tremella fuciformis , which have very similar morphological characteristics, were determined. The genomic sequence data obtained will be useful for understanding the taxonomy and metabolic-related genes of basidiomycete yeasts.

Theaflavin, a polyphenol responsible for the bright orange color and various bioactivities of black tea exudates, is susceptible to autoxidation at neutral and mild alkaline pH, changing its color to brown. In the presence of cysteine (Cys), glutathione (GSH), or N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), the browning of theaflavin solution was inhibited concomitantly with time-dependent decreases in the concentrations of both theaflavin and thiol group. The rank order of the decrease was Cys ≅ GSH > NAC, suggesting the relevance of the nucleophilic property of the thiol group to its reaction with theaflavin. LC-MS analysis of the reaction products indicated formation of novel derivatives that were mono- or di-molecular adducts of thiol compounds. We determined the chemical structures of theaflavin-Cys and theaflavin-GSH adducts by NMR and proposed the reaction mechanisms. It was found that the theaflavin-Cys adduct was not a simple adduct, to which a new cyclic structure was added.

Wild boar meat containing radioactive cesium (Cs) of approximately 1000 Bq/kg (134Cs+137Cs) was processed into bacon, sausage, and ham. In order to understand the concentration and quantity change of radioactive Cs, processing factor (Pf) and food processing retention factor (Fr) were calculated. The radioactive Cs quantity in the meat did not reduce during smoking. The dehydration-related meat mass reduction during smoking without decrease of radioactive Cs led to Cs condensation in the bacon compared with the raw rib meat before processing, resulting in a Pf of 1.18. Soaking in liquid, such as pickling in liquid and desalting or boiling in water, effectively removed radioactive Cs by leakage into water. Therefore, the Fr value of the boiled ham produced from a loin meat block through the above-described three liquid-soaking processes was 0.27. The Pf value of the boiled ham was 0.30 due to the meat block mass reduction after boiling as the result of dehydration along with the protein thermal denaturation-related muscle tissue shrinkage. The steamed ham Fr value was 0.53 since the removal of the radioactive Cs was less efficient by steaming than by boiling. The Pf value of the steamed ham was 0.54, almost the same as the Fr value, as the mass decrease rate was the same as the radioactive Cs decrease rate by steaming. The Fr and the Pf values of the boiled sausage, of which processing did not include soaking in the pickling liquid, were 0.64 and 0.62, respectively. The steaming of the sausage meat did not remove radioactive Cs during the dehydration-related mass reduction leading to Fr and Pf values of 1.01 and 1.17, respectively. As the result of this study, processing to boiled ham was the most effective measure for reducing both radioactive Cs quantity and concentration in raw meat. Processing to bacon and steamed sausage showed no Cs quantity reduction with the moisture loss resulting in Cs condensation compared to the raw material.

In this study, we investigated the possibility of the geographical origin discrimination between Japanese and Mexican kabocha pumpkin using δ13C and δ18O in lyophilized raw flesh. Kabocha harvested in Hokkaido, the major kabocha production area in Japan, could be discriminated against not only that grown in Mexico but also that in New Zealand. However, seasoning after cooking or processing affected the δ13C and the δ18O values. Crude fiber extraction eliminated the effect of seasonings and enabled the adoption of the δ13C and δ18O values in crude fiber for the geographical origin verification of kabocha even after cooking and processing. The usage of δ13C and the δ18O in crude fiber would extend the application possibilities of stable isotope analysis in the geographical origin determination of various cooked and processed vegetables and fruits as well as raw materials.

3-O-Substituted reducing aldoses are commonly unstable under heat treatment at neutral and alkaline pH. In this study, to evaluate the decomposition products, nigerose (3-O-α-d-glucopyranosyl-d-glucose) and 3-O-methyl glucose were heated at 90 °C in 100 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.5). Decomposition via β-elimination was observed that formed a mixture of 3-deoxy-arabino-hexonic acid and 3-deoxy-ribo-hexonic acid; upon further acid treatment, it was converted to their γ-lactones. Similarly, turanose (3-O-α-d-glucopyranosyl-d-fructose), a ketose isomer of nigerose, decomposed more rapidly than nigerose under the same conditions, forming the same products. These findings indicate that 3-O-substituted reducing glucose and fructose decompose via the same 1,2-enediol intermediate. The alkoxycarbonyl elimination of 3-O-substituted reducing glucose and fructose occurs readily if an O-glycosidic bond is located on the carbon adjacent to the 1,2-enediol intermediate. Following these experiments, we proposed a kinetic model for the3- decomposition of nigerose and turanose by heat treatment under neutral pH conditions. The proposed model showed a good fit with the experimental data collected in this study. The rate constant of the decomposition for nigerose was (1.2 ± 0.1) × 10-4 s-1, whereas that for turanose [(2.6 ± 0.2) × 10-4 s-1] was about 2.2 times higher.

Elution of cesium-137 (137Cs) from tofu into water was investigated to know the behavior of 137Cs during preservation and cooking. The food processing retention factor (Fr) reached 0.55 when tofu was soaked in water at a ratio of 1:2 w/w for 24 h at 4°C. Doubling the amount of water did not further significantly decrease Fr. When tofu was held in water at a ration of 1:2 w/w at a temperature of 80℃ for 50 min, Fr was 0.72. Increasing the amount of water to 10 times the tofu weight did not further reduce Fr significantly. Cesium-137 is mostly bound to tofu and does not freely diffuse into water. Tofu was then soaked in water at a ratio of 1:2 w/w at 4℃ for 24 h, placed in new water at a ratio of 1:2 w/w, and held at 80℃ for 50 min, resulting in an Fr 0.33. This value is close to an estimated Fr calculated by multiplying the Fr of 0.55 from soaking at 4°C by the Fr of 0.72 from the hot water treatment. The calculated Fr from soybeans sequentially processing into tofu, soaking tofu at 4°C for 24 h and in hot water at 80°C for 50 min was about 0.1, indicating 90% removal of 137Cs. Degree of decrease in 137Cs during preservation and cooking of tofu demonstrated in this study will be useful for exposure assessment of 137Cs through oral intake of contaminated soybeans after processing and cooking.

Acrylamide has neurotoxicity, carcinogenicity, and genotoxicity in experimental animals and cellular systems. Fried potato is one of the major intake sources of acrylamide in food, and fried onion was reported to contain up to 100 ng/g level of acrylamide. To determine acrylamide concentration in potato and onion stir-fried prior to boiling for simmered dishes such as curry, stew, and Niku-jaga, a typical Japanese meat/potato/onion cuisine, we collected samples stir-fried at homes of volunteers who intended voluntarily to cook these simmered dishes. Acrylamide level was analyzed by GC-MS after the xanthydrol derivatization. Among 53 stir-fried potato samples, median and average values of acrylamide were found to be 2.0 ng/g and 11 ng/g, respectively. Acrylamide levels of 27 samples (51%) were less than limit of detection (LOD) (4 ng/g), and those of 13 samples (25%) were less than limit of quantification (LOQ) (10 ng/g). In cases with less than LOD and less than LOQ of acrylamide levels, one-half of LOD and average of LOD and LOQ were adopted, respectively, to calculate the median and average. This median was markedly lower than those of fried potato (180 ng/g) and potato snacks including potato chips (550 ng/g) reported in monitoring in 2013 fiscal year in Japan. Among 58 stir-fried onion samples, acrylamide level of only one sample (2%) was less than LOD (3 ng/g), and those of 15 samples (26%) were less than LOQ (8 ng/g). The median and average values in the stir-fried onion were 14 ng/g and 36 ng/g, respectively. These values are comparable to those for stir-fried onion reported by Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan (median 19 ng/g, average 25 ng/g). But the maximum value of stir-fried onion 420 ng/g in the present study is much higher than the reported maximum value (70 ng/g).

Glycoside hydrolase family 130 consists of phosphorylases and hydrolases for beta-mannosides. Here, we characterized beta-1,2-mannobiose phosphorylase from Listeria innocua (Lin0857) and determined its crystal structures complexed with beta-1,2-linked mannooligosaccharides. beta-1,2-Mannotriose was bound in a U-shape, interacting with a phosphate analog at both ends. Lin0857 has a unique dimer structure connected by a loop, and a significant open-close loop displacement was observed for substrate entry. A long loop, which is exclusively present in Lin0857, covers the active site to limit the pocket size. A structural basis for substrate recognition and phosphorolysis was provided. (C) 2015 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The glycoside hydrolase family (GH) 130 is composed of inverting phosphorylases that catalyze reversible phosphorolysis of beta-D-mannosides. Here we report a glycoside hydrolase as a new member of GH130. Dfer_3176 from Dyadobacter fermentans showed no synthetic activity using alpha-D-mannose 1-phosphate but it released alpha-D-mannose from beta-1,2-mannooligosaccharides with an inversion of the anomeric configuration, indicating that Dfer_3176 is a beta-1,2-mannosidase. Mutational analysis indicated that two glutamic acid residues are critical for the hydrolysis of beta-1,2-mannotriose. The two residues are not conserved among GH130 phosphorylases and are predicted to assist the nucleophilic attack of a water molecule in the hydrolysis of the beta-D-mannosidic bond. (C) 2015 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

We characterized Teth514_1788 and Teth514_1789, belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 130, from Thermoanaerobacter sp. X-514. These two enzymes catalyzed the synthesis of 1,2-β-oligomannan using β-1,2-mannobiose and d-mannose as the optimal acceptors, respectively, in the presence of the donor α-d-mannose 1-phosphate. Kinetic analysis of the phosphorolytic reaction toward 1,2-β-oligomannan revealed that these enzymes followed a typical sequential Bi Bi mechanism. The kinetic parameters of the phosphorolysis of 1,2-β-oligomannan indicate that Teth514_1788 and Teth514_1789 prefer 1,2-β-oligomannans containing a DP ≥3 and β-1,2-Man2, respectively. These results indicate that the two enzymes are novel inverting phosphorylases that exhibit distinct chain-length specificities toward 1,2-β-oligomannan. Here, we propose 1,2-β-oligomannan:phosphate α-d-mannosyltransferase as the systematic name and 1,2-β-oligomannan phosphorylase as the short name for Teth514_1788 and β-1,2-mannobiose:phosphate α-d-mannosyltransferase as the systematic name and β-1,2-mannobiose phosphorylase as the short name for Teth514_1789.

One-pot enzymatic production of nigerose was demonstrated from abundantly available sugar resources, including maltose, cellobiose, sucrose and starch. (i) 319 mM nigerose was generated from 500 mM maltose by the combined actions of maltose phosphorylase and nigerose phosphorylase, which share the same β-D-glucose 1-phosphate, in the presence of phosphate. The yield was 62% based on the concentration of maltose as the starting material. (ii) 129 mM nigerose was produced from 250 mM cellobiose by cellobiose phosphorylase and nigerose phosphorylase in the presence of phosphate, in combination with the enzymatic pathway to convert α-D-glucose 1-phosphate to β-D-glucose 1-phosphate via D-glucose 6-phosphate by the combined actions of α-phosphoglucomutase and β-phosphoglucomutase, resulting in a yield of 52%. (iii) 350 mM nigerose was produced from 500 mM sucrose by substituting cellobiose phosphorylase with sucrose phosphorylase and adding xylose isomerase, giving a yield of 67%. (iv) 270 mM nigerose was generated from 100 mg/mL starch and 500 mM D-glucose by the concomitant actions of glycogen phosphorylase, isoamylase, α-phosphoglucomutase, β-phosphoglucomutase and nigerose phosphorylase, in the presence of phosphate. In addition, 280 mM 3-O-α-D-glucopyranosyl-D-galactose was produced by substituting D-glucose with D-galactose. Based on the concentrations of D-glucose and D-galactose as the starting materials, the yields were calculated to be 52 and 56%, respectively. These one-pot enzymatic approaches can be extended to include practical production of a variety of oligosaccharides by substituting nigerose phosphorylase with other β-D-glucose 1-phosphate-forming phosphorylases together with various carbohydrate acceptors.

We discovered a potassium ion-dependent trehalose phosphorylase (Bsel_1207) belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 65 from halophilic Bacillus selenitireducens MLS10. Under high potassium ion concentrations, the recombinant Bsel_1207 produced in Escherichia coli existed as an active dimeric form that catalyzed the reversible phosphorolysis of trehalose in a typical sequential bi bi mechanism releasing beta-D-glucose 1-phosphate and D-glucose. Decreasing potassium ion concentrations significantly reduced thermal and pH stabilities, leading to formation of inactive monomeric Bsel_1207. Structured summary of protein interactions: Bsel_1207 and Bsel_1207 bind by molecular sieving (View interaction) (C) 2013 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.

Flagellin is a principal component of the flagellum filament. Previously, we reported that the flagellin of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 6605 (Pta6605) was glycosylated by oligosaccharides composed of two or three L-rhamnosyl (L-Rha) residues and a terminal 4,6-dideoxy-4-(3-hydroxybutanamide)-2-O-methylglucopyranosyl residue. In this study, we characterized the chemical structure of flagellin glycans in P. syringae pathovars glycinea race 4 (Pgl4), phaseolicola 1448A (Pph1448A), tomato DC3000 (PtoDC3000), and syringae B728a (PsyB728a). Flagellin glycans were released by hydrazinolysis, labeled on the reducing ends with 2-aminopyridine (PA), and the PA-labeled oligosaccharides were isolated by high-performance liquid chromatography. The purified PA-labeled glycans were analyzed by mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy. The results showed that the glycans on flagellin of Pgl4, PtoDC3000, and Pph1448A were identical to those of Pta6605, which were characterized previously. The flagellin of PsyB728a is O-glycosylated with a novel trisaccharide identified as 2-acetamide-2-deoxy-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 -> 2)-3-O-methyl-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 -> 2)-L-rhamnose. Our data indicate that flagellin glycosylation of P. syringae pathovars has universality with little diversity. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

D-rhamnose (D-Rha) residue is a major component of lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) in strains of the phytopathogen Pseudomonas syringae pathovar glycinea. To investigate the effects of a deficiency in GDP-D-rhamnose biosynthetic genes on LPS structure and pathogenicity, we generated three mutants defective in D-Rha biosynthetic genes, encoding proteins GDP-D-mannose 4,6-dehydratase (GMD), GDP-4-keto-6-deoxy-D-mannose reductase (RMD), and a putative alpha-D-rhamnosyltransferase (WbpZ) in P. syringae pv. glyeinea race 4. The Delta gmd, Delta rmd, and Delta wbpZ mutants had a reduced O-antigen polysaccharide consisting of D-Rha residues as compared with the wild type (WT). The swarming motility of the Delta gmd, Delta rmd, and Delta wbpZ mutant strains decreased and hydrophobicity and adhesion ability increased as compared with WT. Although the mutants had truncated O-antigen polysaccharides, and altered surface properties, they showed virulence to soybean, as WT did.

Campylobacter jejuni is the most common bacterium that causes diarrhea worldwide, and chickens are considered the main reservoir of this pathogen. This study investigated the effects of serial truncation of lipooligosaccharide (LOS), a major component of the outer membrane of C. jejuni, on its bile resistance and intestinal colonization ability in chickens. Genes encoding manno-heptose synthetases or glycosyltransferases were inactivated to generate isogenic mutants. Serial truncation of the LOS core oligosaccharide caused a stepwise increase in susceptibilities of two C. jejuni strains, NCTC 11168 and 81-176, to bile acids. Inactivation of hldE, hldD, or waaC caused severe truncation of the core oligosaccharide, which greatly increased the susceptibility to bile acids. Both wild-type strains grew normally in chicken intestinal extracts, whereas the mutants with severe oligosaccharide truncation were not detected 12 h after inoculation. These mutants attained viable bacterial counts in the bile acid-free extracts 24 h after inoculation. The wild-type strain 11-164 was present in the cecal contents at &gt 107 CFU/g on 5 days after challenge infection and after this time period, whereas its hldD mutant was present at &lt 103 CFU/g throughout the experimental period. Trans-complementation of the hldD mutant with the wild-type hldD allele completely restored the in vivo colonization level to that of the wild-type strain. Mutants with a shorter LOS had higher hydrophobicities. Thus, the length of the LOS core oligosaccharide affected the surface hydrophobicity and bile resistance of C. jejuni as well as its ability to colonize chicken intestines. © 2013 Iwata et al.

Type IV pilin (PilA) is a major constituent of pilus and is required for bacterial biofilm formation, surface motility and virulence. It is known that mature PilA is produced by cleavage of the short leader sequence of the pilin precursor, followed by methylation of N-terminal phenylalanine. The molecular mass of the PilA mature protein from the tobacco bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 6605 (Pta 6605) has been predicted to be 12 329 Da from its deduced amino acid sequence. Previously, we have detected PilA as an approximately 13-kDa protein by immunoblot analysis with anti-PilA-specific antibody. In addition, we found the putative oligosaccharide-transferase gene tfpO downstream of pilA. These findings suggest that PilA in Pta 6605 is glycosylated. The defective mutant of tfpO (?tfpO) shows reductions in pilin molecular mass, surface motility and virulence towards host tobacco plants. Thus, pilin glycan plays important roles in bacterial motility and virulence. The genetic region around pilA was compared among P. syringae pathovars. The tfpO gene exists in some strains of pathovars tabaci, syringae, lachrymans, mori, actinidiae, maculicola and P. savastanoi pv. savastanoi. However, some strains of pathovars tabaci, syringae, glycinea, tomato, aesculi and oryzae do not possess tfpO, and the existence of tfpO is independent of the classification of pathovars/strains in P. syringae. Interestingly, the PilA amino acid sequences in tfpO-possessing strains show higher homology with each other than with tfpO-nonpossessing strains. These results suggest that tfpO and pilA might co-evolve in certain specific bacterial strains.

A novel phosphorylase from Clostridium phytofermentans belonging to the glycoside hydrolase family (GH) 65 (Cphy1874) was characterized. The recombinant Cphy1874 protein produced in Escherichia coli showed phosphorolytic activity on nigerose in the presence of inorganic phosphate, resulting in the release of d-glucose and beta-d-glucose 1-phosphate (beta-G1P) with the inversion of the anomeric configuration. Kinetic parameters of the phosphorolytic activity on nigerose were k (cat) = 67 s(-1) and K (m) = 1.7 mM. This enzyme did not phosphorolyze substrates for the typical GH65 enzymes such as trehalose, maltose, and trehalose 6-phosphate except for a weak phosphorolytic activity on kojibiose. It showed the highest reverse phosphorolytic activity in the reverse reaction using d-glucose as the acceptor and beta-G1P as the donor, and the product was mostly nigerose at the early stage of the reaction. The enzyme also showed reverse phosphorolytic activity, in a decreasing order, on d-xylose, 1,5-anhydro-d-glucitol, d-galactose, and methyl-alpha-d-glucoside. All major products were alpha-1,3-glucosyl disaccharides, although the reaction with d-xylose and methyl-alpha-d-glucoside produced significant amounts of alpha-1,2-glucosides as by-products. We propose 3-alpha-d-glucosyl-d-glucose:phosphate beta-d-glucosyltransferase as the systematic name and nigerose phosphorylase as the short name for this Cphy1874 protein.

Previously we revealed that flagellin proteins in Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 6605 (Pta 6605) were glycosylated with a trisaccharide, modified viosamine (mVio)-rhamnose-rhamnose and that glycosylation was required for virulence. We further identified some glycosylation-related genes, including vioA, vioB, vioT, fgt1, and fgt2. In this study, we newly identified vioR and vioM in a so-called viosamine island as biosynthetic genes for glycosylation of mVio in Pta 6605 by the mass spectrometry (MS) of flagellin glycan in the respective mutants. Furthermore, characterization of the mVio-related genes and MS analyses of flagellin glycans in other pathovars of P. syringae revealed that mVio-related genes were essential for mVio biosynthesis in flagellin glycans, and that P. syringae pv. syringae B728a, which does not possess a viosamine island, has a different structure of glycan in its flagellin protein.

β-d-Galactopyranosyl-(1→3)-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-d-glucose (LNB) and β-d-galactopyranosyl-(1→3)-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-d-galactose (GNB) decompose rapidly upon heating into d-galactose and mono-dehydrated derivatives of the corresponding 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-d-hexoses, including 2-acetamido-2,3-dideoxy-hex-2-enofuranoses and bicyclic 2-acetamido-3,6-anhydro-2-deoxy-hexofuranoses. The decomposition is conducted under neutral conditions where glycosyl linkages are generally believed to be stable. The half-lives of LNB and GNB were 8.1 min and 20 min, respectively, at 90 °C and pH 7.5. The pH dependency of decomposition rates suggests that the instabilities are an extension of the conditions for the peeling reaction, often observed with glycans of O-linked glycoproteins under alkaline conditions. Such decomposition under the neutral conditions is commonly observed with 3-O-linked reducing aldoses.

Malic enzyme (ME) was purified as an electrophoretically homogenous protein from Rhodopseudomonas palustris No. 7. The molecular weight of ME was estimated to be 650 kDa and that of its subunit, 86 kDa. ME activity was remarkably enhanced by di- and mono-valent cations, and the K-a values for Mg2+ and NH4+ were 0.26 and 0.56 mM respectively. Purified ME used both NAD(+) and NADP(+) as electron acceptors, with K-m values of 0.11 and 1.8 mM. The K-m value for L-malate was 1.7 mM using NAD(+) as electron acceptor. Gene cloning of the ME indicated that the ME from R. palustris strain No. 7 was composed of 774 amino acids encompassing the ME and phosphotransacetylase domains, although purified ME displayed no phosphotransacetylase activity. ME activity was inhibited by acetyl-CoA, oxaloacetate, and fructose-6-phosphate. These results suggest that ME plays an important role in the metabolic regulation of R. palustris No. 7 under photoheterotrophic conditions.

We have purified and characterized an oligoxylosyl transfer enzyme (OxtA) from Bacillus sp. strain KT12. In the present study, a N-terminally His-tagged recombinant form of the enzyme, OxtA(H)E, was overproduced in Escherichia coli and applied to the reaction with xylan and hydroquinone to produce 4-hydroxyphenyl β-D-oligoxylosides, β-(Xyl)n-HQ (n=1–4), by one step reaction. The obtained β-(Xyl)n-HQ inhibited mushroom tyrosinase, which catalyzes the oxidation of L-DOPA to L-DOPA quinine, and the IC50 values of β-Xyl-HQ, β-(Xyl)2-HQ, β-(Xyl)3-HQ, and β-(Xyl)4-HQ were 3.0, 0.74, 0.48, and 0.18 mM respectively. β-(Xyl)4-HQ showed 35-fold more potent inhibitory activity than β-arbutin (4-hydroxyphenyl β-D-glucopyranoside), of which the IC50 value was measured to be 6.3 mM. Kinetic analysis revealed that β-(Xyl)2-HQ, β-(Xyl)3-HQ, and β-(Xyl)4-HQ competitively inhibited the enzyme, and the corresponding K i values were calculated to be 0.20, 0.29, and 0.057 mM respectively.

A culture filtrate of Bacillus sp. KT12 was used to prepare polyphenyl beta-oligoxylosides from xylan and polyphenols in a one-step reaction. One oligoxyloside transfer enzyme was purified from multiple xylanolytic enzymes in the culture filtrate. N-terminal amino acid sequence determination classified the enzyme as a glycosyl hydrolase family 11 (endo-xylanase). The xylanolytic enzyme activities could be markedly altered; its hydrolytic activity was almost entirely inhibited at acidic pH, whereas near constant transxylosylation activity was observed at pH 4-11. Further, metal ions activated transxylosylation and almost completely inhibited hydrolysis. The enzyme specifically induced a beta-xylosyl transfer reaction to acceptor molecules, such as divalent and trivalent phenolic hydroxyl groups, and displayed no activity toward alcoholic compounds. The Bacillus sp. KT12 xylanolytic enzyme was a suitable enzyme for the synthesis of polyphenyl beta-oligoxylosides.