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Search results for: antarctic
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Offshore surface waters of Antarctica are free of microplastics, as revealed by a circum-Antarctic study
PublicationIn 2018, during a circum navigation of Antarctica below 62° S by the sailing boat Katharsis II, the presence of plastics was investigated with surface sampling nets at ten evenly spaced locations (every 36° of longitude). Although fibres that appeared to be plastic (particles up to 2 cm) were found in numbers ranging from 1 particle (0.002 particles per m3) to 171 particles (1.366 particles per m3) per station, a Fourier-transform...
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Mercury concentrations in Antarctic zooplankton with a focus on the krill species, Euphausia superba
PublicationThe Antarctic is the most isolated region in the world; nevertheless, it has not avoided the negative impact of human activity, including the inflow of toxic mercury (Hg). Hg deposited in the Antarctic marine environment can be bioavailable and accumulate in the food web, reaching elevated concentrations in high-trophic-level biota, especially if methylated. Zooplankton, together with
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Genetic and biochemical characterization of yeasts isolated from Antarctic soil samples
PublicationThe Polish Arctowski Station is situated in the maritime Antarctic on the western shore ot' Admiralty Bay and encompasses terrestrial habitats which are not perma-nently covered by ice, in contrast to morę than 90% of the island's surface area. Over the past several decades, stud-ies exploring the soils of those habitats have revealed a considerable diversity of bacteria, filamentous fungi, and, to a lesser extent, yeasts; however,...
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Identification and molecular modeling of a novel lipase from an Antarctic soil metagenomic library.
PublicationIn this work, we present the construction of a metagenomic library in Escherichia coli using pUC19 vector and environmental DNA directly isolated from Antarctic topsoil and screened for lipolytic enzymes. The screening on agar supplemented with olive oil and rhodamine B revealed one clone with lipolytic activity (Lip1) out of 11,000 E. coli clones. This clone harbored a plasmid, pLip1, which has an insert of 4722 bp that has been...
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Effects of climate change on microbial community structure and function in Antarctic Glacier Lagoon
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Storm petrels as indicators of pelagic seabird exposure to chemical elements in the Antarctic marine ecosystem
PublicationData on trace element bioavailability in the south-polar marine ecosystem is still scarce, compared to that relating to temperate zones. Seabirds can be used as indicators of ecosystem health and sentinels of environmental pollution, constituting a link between marine and terrestrial environments. Here, we analysed the concentration of 17 elements (with special emphasis on mercury, Hg) in feathers of adults and chicks of two pelagic...
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Molecular characterization of a cryptic plasmid from the psychrotrophic antarctic bacterium Pseudoalteromonas sp. 643A
PublicationW ostatnich latach znacznie wzrosło zainteresowanie organizmami zimnolubnymi, głównie z powodu ich enzymów o biotechnologicznym znaczeniu. Jednak, aby wydajnie produkować takie enzymy w skali przemysłowej użyteczne jest stworzenie rekombinantowych systemów ekspresyjnych, które pozwolą na ich opłacalną produkcję. W osiągnięciu tego celu mogą pomóc odpowiednie wektory, konstruowane na bazie plazmidów pozyskiwanych z bakterii psychrofilnych/psychrotrofowych....
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Seasonal variability and morphological structure of bacteria in the Admiralty Bay (King George Island, Antarctic).
PublicationIntroduction: The aim of investigations was to state whether melting glaciers cause mass mortality of the sea stenohalyne organisms, what in consequence can lead to an increase of accumulation and growth of psychrophilic bacteria. It may be also that fresh melting water is unfavourable to the sea bacteria and front glacier's regions are not the areas of their intensive development. Methods: Field investigations were done in Admiralty...
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Antarctic marine bacterium Pseudoalteromonas sp. 22b as a source of cold adapted á-galaktosidase.
PublicationAntarktyczny morski szczep Pseudoalteromonas sp. 22b. jest źródłem wewnątrzkomórkowej beta-galaktozy. Enzym ten wykazuje wysoką aktywność hydrolizy laktozy w zakresie temperatur od 0 do 20 st. C oraz pH 6,0-8,0. W niniejszej pracy opisano metodykę uzyskania homogennego preparatu tego enzymu, oraz pełną charakterystykę jego własności enzymatycznych i kinetycznych.
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Evidence of adaptation, niche separation and microevolution within the genus Polaromonas on Arctic and Antarctic glacial surfaces
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Immobilized preparation of cold-adapted and halotolerant Antarctic β-galactosidase as a highly stable catalyst in lactose hydrolysis
PublicationZimnolubna rekombinowana beta-galaktozydaza antarktycznej morskiej bakterii Pseudoalteromonas sp. 22b została immobilizowana na chitozanie za pomocą aldehydu glutarowego. Preparat immobilizowanego enzymu w przeciwieństwie do preparatu enzymu w buforze reakcyjnym nie był inhibowany przez glukozę. Immobilizacja enzymu wpłynęła na podwyższenie o 10°C optymalnej temperatury aktywności względem jego nieimmobilizowanego odpowiednika...
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Sizes and Shapes of Sea Ice Floes Broken by Waves–A Case Study From the East Antarctic Coast
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Antarctic, cold-adapted beta-galactosidase of Pseudoalteromonas sp. 22b as an effective tool for alkyl galactopyranosides synthesis
PublicationPrzedstawione jest zastosowanie arktycznej beta-galaktozydazy Pseudoalteromonas sp. 22b do katalizy syntezy alkilowych galaktopyranozydów. Njwyższą wydajność syntezy uzyskuje się przy pH 6-9 i 10-30% stężenia wody. Podobnie jak dla mezofilnych beta-galaktozydaz enzym antarktyczny syntetyzował najwydajniej kiedy reakcja przebiega w mieszaninie buforu i rozpuszczalnika organiczego (poniżej 50%, v/v).
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A study on the interaction of rhodamine B with methylthioadenosine phosphorylase protein sourced from an Antarctic soil metagenomic library.
PublicationThe presented study examines the phenomenon of the fluorescence under UV light excitation (312 nm) of E. coli cells expressing a novel metagenomic-derived putative methylthioadenosine phosphorylase gene, called rsfp, grown on LB agar supplemented with a fluorescent dye rhodamine B. For this purpose, an rsfp gene was cloned and expressed in an LMG194 E. coli strain using an arabinose promoter. The resulting RSFP protein was purified...
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An examination of an Antarctic soil metagenomic-derivate putative methylthioadenosine phosphorylase gene as a novel reporter gene for promoter trapping
PublicationThe rsfp gene was discovered during examination ofan Antarctic soil-derived metagenome library and encodesa bacterial methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (GenBank accession number GQ202582). In a previous study, we found that E. coli colonies expressing the rsfp gene reveal strong pink fluorescence after exposure to UV light when grown on culture medium supplemented with rhodamine B (Cieśliński et al., 2009). In contrast to that,...
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Relationship of ground-level aerosol concentration and atmospheric electric field at three observation sites in the Arctic, Antarctic and Europe
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Cloning, expression, and purification of a recombinant cold-adapted β-galactosidase from antarctic bacterium Pseudoalteromonas sp. 22b
PublicationAntarktyczny szczep, gram-ujemnych bakterii Pseudoalteromonas sp. 22b, wyizolowanych z przewodu pokarmowego kryla z gatunku Thyssanoessa macrura, jest producentem wewnątrzkomórkowej zimnolubnej beta-galaktozydazy. Białko to jest homotetramerem, w którym każda z jednostek monomeru zbudowana jest z 1028 reszt aminokwasowych. Gen kodujący ten enzym został sklonowany i eksprymowany w komórkach E. coli. Następnie z zastosowaniem procedury...
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Investigation on environmental chemistry changes in the Antarctic Special Management Area (ASMA 1): King George Island, South Shetlands Islands
PublicationThe doctoral dissertation included a review of the scientific literature that resulted in the selection of the research area, type of samples and chemical species that were marked. The published series of articles contains an in-depth description of the results of chemical analyses of surface water, sediment and snow samples from the Antarctic Specially Managed Area (ASMA 1) – King George Island. In addition, studies have been...
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A new cold-adapted beta-D-galactosidase from the Antarctic Arthrobacter sp. 32c - gene cloning, overexpression, purification and properties
PublicationThe development of a new cold-active β-D-galactosidases and microorganisms that efficiently ferment lactose is of high biotechnological interest, particularly for lactose removal in milk and dairy products at low temperatures and for cheese whey bioremediation processes with simultaneous bio-ethanol production. In this article, we present a new β-D-galactosidase as a candidate to be applied in the above mentioned biotechnological...
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A novel cold-active β-D-galactosidase with transglycosylation activity from the Antarctic Arthrobacter sp. 32cB - gene cloning, purification and characterization
PublicationA gene encoding a novel β-D-galactosidase from the psychrotolerant Antarctic bacterium Arthrobacter sp. 32cB was isolated, cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The active form of recombinant β-D-galactosidase consists of two subunits with a combined molecular weight of approximately 257 kDa. The enzyme's maximum activity towards o-nitrophenyl-β-D-galactopyranoside was determined as occurring at 28 °C and pH 8.0. However, it...
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First Measurements of the Earth’s Electric Field at the Arctowski Antarctic Station, King George Island, by the New Polish Atmospheric Electricity Observation Network
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A new B-D-galactosidase with a low temperature optimum isolated from the Antarctic Arthrobacter sp. 20B: gene cloning, purification and characterization.
PublicationA psychrotrophic bacterium producing a coldadaptedB-galactosidase upon growth at low temperatureswas classiWed as Arthrobacter sp. 20B. A genomic DNAlibrary of strain 20B introduced into Escherichia coliTOP10F' and screening on X-Gal (5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-B-D-galactopyranoside)-containing agar plates ledto the isolation of B-galactosidase gene. The B-galactosidasegene (bgaS) encoding a protein of 1,053 amino acids,with a...
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An MTA-phosphorylase gene discovered in the metagenomic library derived from Antarctic top soil during screening for lipolytic active clones confers strong pink fluorescence in the presence of rhodamine B.
PublicationIn this work, we present the construction of a metagenomic library in Escherichiacoli using the pUC19 vector and environmental DNA directly isolated fromAntarctic topsoil and screened for lipolytic enzymes. Unexpectedly, the screeningon agar supplemented with olive oil and rhodamine B revealed one unusual pinkfluorescent clone (PINKuv) out of 85 000 clones. This clone harbored a plasmid,pPINKuv, which has an insert of 8317 bp that...
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Occurrences, sources, and transport of organochlorine pesticides in the aquatic environment of Antarctica
PublicationWe review information on the concentration levels of organochlorine pesticides in the abiotic aquatic environment (in seawater, sea ice, surface freshwater, snow, firn, and glacial ice) and the organisms inhabiting those, in Antarctica. Particular attention is given to the environmental fate of these pollutants, which modifies their impact on the organisms living in the Antarctic. OCPs have been delivered to the Antarctic environment...
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Examination of fresh water chemistry in maritime Antarctica during austral summer 2017
PublicationDue to the fact that Antarctica is one of the least polluted places on Earth, it is a perfect place to observe the spread of global pollution. Therefore, research conducted on this continent is important due to the possibility of investigating the type of pollution and their way of transport. This work considers presence of organic contaminants in Maritime Antarctica in unexplored until now, Lions Rump headland. Qualitative and...
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Effect of ionic liquids on the structural, thermal, andin vitrodegradation properties of poly(ε-caprolactone) synthesized in the presence ofCandida antarcticalipase B
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How Important Is Research on Pollution Levels in Antarctica? Historical Approach, Difficulties and Current Trends
PublicationDespite the fact that Antarctica is a continent notably free from large negative impact of human activities, literature data can be the basis for concluding that this is not an area free from anthropogenic pollutants. Pollutants, which are identified in various elements of the environment of Antarctica, are mostly connected with long-range atmospheric transport (LRAT) and deposition in this area. The study presents: a historical...
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First evaluation of wastewater discharge influence on marine water contamination in the vicinity of Arctowski Station (Maritime Antarctica)
PublicationIn Antarctica,waste is generatedmainly during scientific research programmes and related logistics. In this study, the impact ofwastewater on the western shore of Admiralty Baywas investigated during austral summer in 2017 and 2019. A range of physicochemical parameters and the presence of selected trace metals, formaldehyde and different groups of surfactants were determined in wastewater coming from Arctowski Station and in nearby coastal...
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Microbial community changes along the Ecology Glacier ablation zone (King George Island, Antarctica)
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Culturable bacteria community development in postglacial soils of Ecology Glacier, King George Island, Antarctica
PublicationGlacier forelands are excellent sites in which to study microbial succession because conditions change rapidly in the emerging soil. Development of the bacterial community was studied along two transects on lateral moraines of Ecology Glacier, King George Island, by culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches (denaturating gradient gel electrophoresis). Environmental conditions such as cryoturbation and soil composition...
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Pharmaceuticals and another groups of emerging contaminants: Occurrence and sources in Admiralty Bay (King George Island, Maritime Antarctica)
PublicationEveryday live activities may introduce a wide range of chemicals into wastewater systems. In this study presence of selected types of pharmaceuticals from cardiovascular system group, nervous and muscolo-skeleton system group, antimicrobial agents, genitourinary and sex hormones were tested in the wastewater from H. Arctowski Antarctic station. Moreover, the receiver of discharged wastewater (Admiralty Bay) were also studied. Considering...
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High Resolution Sea Ice Floe Size and Shape Data from Knox Coast, East Antarctica
PublicationThis dataset contains floe size distribution data from a very high resolution (pixel size: 0.3 m) optical satellite image of sea ice, acquired on 16 Feb. 2019 off the Knox Coast (East Antarctica). The image shows relatively small ice floes produced by wave-induced breakup of landfast ice between Mill Island and Bowman Island. The ice floes are characterised by a narrow size distribution and angular, polygonal shapes, typical...
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Analysis of air mass back trajectories with present and historical volcanic activity and anthropogenic compounds to infer pollution sources in the South Shetland Islands (Antarctica)
PublicationThis work analyses atmospheric transport of natural and anthropogenic pollution to the South Shetland Islands (SSI), with particular reference to the period September 2015 – August 2017. Based on data from the Global Volcanism Program database and air mass back trajectories calculated using the HySPLIT model, it was found that it is possible that in the analysed period volcanic pollution was supplied via long-range transport from...
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Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and other organic pollutants in freshwaters on the western shore of Admiralty Bay (King George Island, Maritime Antarctica).
PublicationOrganic contamination in freshwater samples has never been investigated at the western shore of Admiralty Bay. Therefore, the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in five different sites distributed along a shore running from the Arctowski Station to the Baranowski Glacier was studied. Moreover, organic compounds such as n-alkanes, toluene and ethylbenzene were also noted. Increased ΣPAHs in late Austral summer 2016...
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Sources and composition of chemical pollution in Maritime Antarctica (King George Island), part 1: Sediment and water analysis for PAH sources evaluation in the vicinity of Arctowski station
PublicationThe paper presents a study regarding the identification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in fresh waters and surface sediments on the western shore of Admiralty Bay over four sampling seasons from 2017 to 2018. The results were compared to literature data from 2016 to provide a more comprehensive image of the environmental fate of PAHs over the years. The highest value of Σ PAHs was 82.9 ng/L and 445 ng/g dw in water...
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Sources and composition of chemical pollution in Maritime Antarctica (King George Island), part 2: Organic and inorganic chemicals in snow cover at the Warszawa Icefield
PublicationThe study area is located on King George Island, where 90% of the area is permanently glaciated. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the inorganic and organic chemistry of snow cover in the icefield and a comparison against previous results obtained in fresh water. Snow samples were collected in the summer of 2017 in the Warszawa Icefield area. Sampling points are located along two transects: between the Arctowski Polish...
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Seashore sediment and water chemistry at the Admiralty Bay (King George Island, Maritime Antarctica) – geochemical analysis and correlations between the concentrations of chemical species
PublicationThis study covers water and sediment chemical characteristics by the western shore of Admiralty Bay (King George Island, Antarctica) in 2016. Chemical processes between sediment and water have been described based on the determination of ions, metals, non-metals, and TOC concentrations. Rock weathering is an important source of Fe, Ni, Co, Al in the seashore area. The PCA shows the impact of acidification in the release metals...
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Impact of a newly-formed periglacial environment and other factors on fresh water chemistry at the western shore of Admiralty Bay in the summer of 2016 (King George Island, Maritime Antarctica)
PublicationThis study provides a comprehensive analysis of the inorganic chemistry of flowing water at the western shore of Admiralty Bay. In the water samples, ions, and major and trace metals (and B)were detected and quantified. Additionally, the parameters of pH, specific electrolytic conductivity (SEC25) and total organic carbon (TOC) were determined. Moreover, multivariate data set was created and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was...
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WSPÓŁCZESNE OCHŁODZENIE REJONU SZETLANDÓW POŁUDNIOWYCH I PÓŁNOCO-ZACHODNICH KRAŃCÓW PÓŁWYSPU ANTARKTYCZNEGO
PublicationThe paper discusses changes of hydro-climatic conditions occurring in the South Shetland Islands and in NW parts of the Antarctic Peninsula in the 1979–2016 years period. These changes are important for evaluation of the transformation of marine and coastal ecosystems. The general feature of these changes was a transition from the strong warming phase to the cooling phase, which took place around the year 2000. The paper presents...
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The influence of global climate change on the environmental fate of anthropogenic pollution released from the permafrost
PublicationThis article presents a review of information related to the influence of potential permafrost degradation on the environmental fate of chemical species which are relased and stored, classified as potential influence in future Antarctic environment. Considering all data regarding climate change prediction, this topic may prove important issue for the future state of the Antarctic environment. A detailed survey on soil and permafrost...
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Interspecific and intraspecific variation in organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls using non-destructive samples from Pygoscelis penguins
PublicationAs humans are present in Antarctica only for scientific and tourism-related purposes, it is often described as a pristine region. However, studies have identified measurable levels of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), such as organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), in the Antarctic region. These are highly toxic anthropogenic compounds with tendency to travel long distances and reach remote environments, where...
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Phytoplankton communities of polar regions–Diversity depending on environmental conditions and chemical anthropopressure
PublicationThe polar regions (Arctic and Antarctic) constitute up to 14% of the biosphere and offer some of the coldest and most arid Earth's environments. Nevertheless several oxygenic phototrophs including some higher plants, mosses, lichens, various algal groups and cyanobacteria, survive that harsh climate and create the base of the trophic relationships in fragile ecosystems of polar environments. Ecosystems in polar regions are characterized...
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Polish Polar Research: Green-and-White Paper under the aegis of the Polish Polar Consortium (PPC)
PublicationPolar research is a colloquial term for cross-area, cross-domain and interdisciplinary research in the Arctic and Antarctic. Polar research is mainly the domain of natural sciences, but technical sciences and humanities also grow in importance. Being vulnerable to climate change, polar regions are commonly considered as a kind of litmus paper of changes in geosystems, hence the importance of research done there. It aims at a better...
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Purification and biochemical characteristic of a cold-active recombinant esterase from Pseudoalteromonas sp. 643A under denaturing conditions.
PublicationIn this paper production of a cold-active esterase EstA from the Antarctic bacterium Pseudoalteromonas sp. 643A in E. coli expression system was described. The purification and biochemical characteristic of EstA were performed in the presence of urea and then compared with results obtained for the esterase with no addition of urea and isolated from the native source. In both cases the cold-active enzyme displayed similar properties....
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A New Expression System Based on Psychrotolerant Debaryomyces macquariensis Yeast and Its Application to the Production of Cold-Active β-D-Galactosidase from Paracoccus sp. 32d
PublicationYeasts provide attractive host/vector systems for heterologous gene expression. The currently used yeast-based expression platforms include mesophilic and thermotolerant species. A eukaryotic expression system working at low temperatures could be particularly useful for the production of thermolabile proteins and proteins that tend to form insoluble aggregates. For this purpose, an expression system based on an Antarctic psychrotolerant...
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Identyfikacja i izolacja genu kodującego zaadaptowaną do zimna β-galaktozydazę Paracoccus sp. = Identification and izolation of the gene encoding cold-active β-galactosidase from paracoccus sp.
PublicationZaprezentowane badania były prowadzone u eehi wyizolowania ze środo¬wiska organizmu psychrofilnego, zdolnego do hydrolizy laktozy w niskiej tempe¬raturze, oraz zidentyfikowania genu kodującego (i-galaktozydazę zaadaptowaną do zimna.Poszukiwan gen został w izolowany z psychrofilnego szczepu autarkicz¬nego Paracoccus sp. 321). Na podstawie sekwencji nukleotydowej genu kodują¬cego fS-galaktozdaze ustalono skład aminokwasów),...
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Investigation of interaction between xanthene dye rhodamine B and metagenomic-derivated methylthioadenosine phosphorylase RSFP
PublicationIn the previous study we found that the expression of the metagenomic - derived methylthioadenosine phosphorylase gene (rsfp) in E. coli cells and the presence of rhodamine B in the growth medium were crucial for the pink fluorescence of one E. coli colony from Antarctic soil metagenomic library (Cieśliński et al., 2009). In this study, rsfp gene expression was induced by an arabinose promoter in an LMG194 E. coli strain and the...
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BIODIVERSITY OF YEASTS ISOLATED FROM CAVES OF THE POLISH TATRA MOUNTAINS, AND ITS BIOTECHNOLOGICAL POTENTIAL
PublicationMost of the Earth’s biosphere is permanently or periodically exposed to temperatures below 5°C. Cold habitats harbor a wide diversity of psychrophiles. For many years Antarctica has been the geographic area preferred for studying the diversity and properties of cold-adapted microorganisms. However, the non-Antarctic habitats like Himalayas or Alps are also extensively explored. The Tatra Mountains are Europe’s second-highest massif...
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A method for the production of D-tagatose using a recombinant Pichia pastoris strain secreting beta-D-galactosidase from Arthrobacter chlorophenolicus and a recombinant L-arabinose isomerase from Arthrobacter sp. 22c
PublicationD-Tagatose is a natural monosaccharide which can be used as a low-calorie sugar substitute in food, beverages and pharmaceutical products. It is also currently being tested as an anti-diabetic and obesity control drug. D-Tagatose is a rare sugar, but it can be manufactured by the chemical or enzymatic isomerization of D-galactose obtained by a beta-D-galactosidase-catalyzed hydrolysis of milk sugar lactose and the separation of...