Biology of moderately halophilic aerobic bacteria

The moderately halophilic heterotrophic aerobic bacteria form a diverse group of microorganisms. The property of halophilism is widespread within the bacterial domain. Bacterial halophiles are abundant in environments such as salt lakes, saline soils, and salted food products. Most species keep their intracellular ionic concentrations at low levels while synthesizing or accumulating organic solutes to provide osmotic equilibrium of the cytoplasm with the surrounding medium. Complex mechanisms of adjustment of the intracellular environments and the properties of the cytoplasmic membrane enable rapid adaptation to changes in the salt concentration of the environment. Approaches to the study of genetic processes have recently been developed for several moderate halophiles, opening the way toward an understanding of haloadaptation at the molecular level. The new information obtained is also expected to contribute to the development of novel biotechnological uses for these organisms

Use of HT-29, a cultured human colon cancer cell line, to study the effect of fermented milks on colon cancer cell growth and differentiation.

International audienceEpidemiological and in vivo and in vitro experimental studies have suggested that fermented milks may interfere with the emergence and/or the development of colon cancer. The results, however, remain inconclusive. This prompted us to develop a new approach based on the use of HT-29, a cultured human colon cancer cell line, to study at the cellular level the effect of fermented milks on colon cancer cell growth and differentiation characteristics. Undifferentiated HT-29 cells have been grown in the continuous presence of milks fermented by one of the following bacterial populations: Lactobacillus helveticus, Bifidobacterium, L.acidophilus or a mix of Streptococcus thermophilus and L. bulgaricus. Penicillin G was added to the cell culture medium, resulting in a complete blockade of bacterial growth without significant effect on bacterial viability. One out of the four bacteria species studied, namely L.acidophilus, was without effect on both cell growth and differentiation. The three other bacterial strains induced a significant, although variable, reduction in the growth rate of HT-29 cells, which resulted in a 10-50% decrease in the cell number at steady-state (i.e. at cell confluency). The most efficient strains in lowering the HT-29 growth rate were L. helveticus and Bifidobacterium. Concomitantly, the specific activities of dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP IV), a sensitive and specific marker of HT-29 cell differentiation, and that of three other brush border enzymes (sucrase, aminopeptidase N and alkaline phosphatase) were significantly increased, thus suggesting that these cells may have entered a differentiation process. Altogether, these results indicate that the use of cultured colon cancer cells may be a useful tool to further study the effect of fermented milks on colon cancer and that bacterial strains may exert a different and specific effect on cancer cell growth and differentiation when used in fermented milk products

Enzymatic Removal of Nitric Oxide Catalyzed by Cytochrome c′ in Rhodobacter capsulatus

Cytochrome c′ from Rhodobacter capsulatus has been shown to confer resistance to nitric oxide (NO). In this study, we demonstrated that the amount of cytochrome c′ synthesized for buffering of NO is insufficient to account for the resistance to NO but that the cytochrome-dependent resistance mechanism involves the catalytic breakdown of NO, under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Even under aerobic conditions, the NO removal is independent of molecular oxygen, suggesting cytochrome c′ is a NO reductase. Indeed, we have measured the product of NO breakdown to be nitrous oxide (N(2)O), thus showing that cytochrome c′ is behaving as a NO reductase. The increased resistance to NO conferred by cytochrome c′ is distinct from the NO reductase pathway that is involved in denitrification. Cytochrome c′ is not required for denitrification, but it has a role in the removal of externally supplied NO. Cytochrome c′ synthesis occurs aerobically and anaerobically but is partly repressed under denitrifying growth conditions when other NO removal systems are operative. The inhibition of respiratory oxidase activity of R. capsulatus by NO suggests that one role for cytochrome c′ is to maintain oxidase activity when both NO and O(2) are present