Anaerobic Microbial Degradation of Hydrocarbons: From Enzymatic Reactions to the Environment

Hydrocarbons are abundant in anoxic environments and pose biochemical challenges to their anaerobic degradation by microorganisms. Within the framework of the Priority Program 1319, investigations funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft on the anaerobic microbial degradation of hydrocarbons ranged from isolation and enrichment of hitherto unknown hydrocarbon-degrading anaerobic microorganisms, discovery of novel reactions, detailed studies of enzyme mechanisms and structures to process-oriented in situ studies. Selected highlights from this program are collected in this synopsis, with more detailed information provided by theme-focused reviews of the special topic issue on 'Anaerobic biodegradation of hydrocarbons' [this issue, pp. 1-244]. The interdisciplinary character of the program, involving microbiologists, biochemists, organic chemists and environmental scientists, is best exemplified by the studies on alkyl-/arylalkylsuccinate synthases. Here, research topics ranged from in-depth mechanistic studies of archetypical toluene-activating benzylsuccinate synthase, substrate-specific phylogenetic clustering of alkyl-/arylalkylsuccinate synthases (toluene plus xylenes, p-cymene, p-cresol, 2-methylnaphthalene, n-alkanes), stereochemical and co-metabolic insights into n-alkane-activating (methylalkyl) succinate synthases to the discovery of bacterial groups previously unknown to possess alkyl-/arylalkylsuccinate synthases by means of functional gene markers and in situ field studies enabled by state-of-the-art stable isotope probing and fractionation approaches. Other topics are Mo-cofactor-dependent dehydrogenases performing O-2-independent hydroxylation of hydrocarbons and alkyl side chains (ethylbenzene, p-cymene, cholesterol, n-hexadecane), degradation of p-alkylated benzoates and toluenes, glycyl radical-bearing 4-hydroxyphenylacetate decarboxylase, novel types of carboxylation reactions (for acetophenone, acetone, and potentially also benzene and naphthalene), W-cofactor-containing enzymes for reductive dearomatization of benzoyl-CoA (class II benzoyl-CoA reductase) in obligate anaerobes and addition of water to acetylene, fermentative formation of cyclohexanecarboxylate from benzoate, and methanogenic degradation of hydrocarbons

Analysis of the Aspergillus fumigatus Proteome Reveals Metabolic Changes and the Activation of the Pseurotin A Biosynthesis Gene Cluster in Response to Hypoxia

The mold Aspergillus fumigatus is the most important airborne fungal pathogen. Adaptation to hypoxia represents an important virulence attribute for A. fumigatus. Therefore, we aimed at obtaining a comprehensive overview about this process on the proteome level. To ensure highly reproducible growth conditions, an oxygen-controlled, glucose-limited chemostat cultivation was established. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis analysis of mycelial and mitochondrial proteins as well as two-dimensional Blue Native/SDS-gel separation of mitochondrial membrane proteins led to the identification of 117 proteins with an altered abundance under hypoxic in comparison to normoxic conditions. Hypoxia induced an increased activity of glycolysis, the TCA-cycle, respiration, and amino acid metabolism. Consistently, the cellular contents in heme, iron, copper, and zinc increased. Furthermore, hypoxia induced biosynthesis of the secondary metabolite pseurotin A as demonstrated at proteomic, transcriptional, and metabolite levels. The observed and so far not reported stimulation of the biosynthesis of a secondary metabolite by oxygen depletion may also affect the survival of A. fumigatus in hypoxic niches of the human host. Among the proteins so far not implicated in hypoxia adaptation, an NO-detoxifying flavohemoprotein was one of the most highly up-regulated proteins which indicates a link between hypoxia and the generation of nitrosative stress in A. fumigatus

Der Staat, die Spieler und das Glueck Lotterien im Deutschland des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts

UuStB Koeln(38)-920106047 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman

In the Shadow of the State. Public Debts, Credit Market, and the Formation of Private Wealth in Italy After 1945

Between the 1960s and 1980s in West Germany the state grew and expanded to an extent unprecedented in the history of the country. This willingness to accept more state proved to be a turning point in West German society and had significant consequences, predominantly financial, such as the soaring expansion of public expenditure and the dramatic increase in public debt. A unique combination of stakeholders was required to bring about the expansion of state duties and expenditure. This broad and at the same time highly diverse and wide-ranging expansion coalition hoped to solve the problems confronting the Federal Republic in the post-war period. Its formation in the 1960s and subsequent disintegration and partial replacement in the 1970s by an only slightly less heterogeneous consolidation coalition can be analysed using the methodical tools of the concept developed as the Advocacy Coalition Framework

Die Interessenverbände klein- und mittelbetrieblicher Industrieller im Wilhelminischen Deutschland

The "Great Depression" (1873 - 1895) caused structural changes within German industry, especially in the branches with primarily small and mediumscaled systems of production. These branches remained backward in both their development and the advancement of their interests. In an attempt to meet these problems, industrialists organized their own pressure groups, but due to the heterogeneity of the branches, the pressure groups remained organizationally unstable, financially weak, and initially without political influence. Greater success was first achieved through a new, forward-looking parliamentary strategy (the "Stresemann concept") and through close cooperation with rapid-growing branches of industry. This "counteroffensive of light industry" turned into a defensive policy of stability before the first world war due to the success of the workers' movement

Zur Funktionsweise amerikanischer Arbeitsmaerkte im beschaeftigungsstrukturellen Wandel

Available from Bibliothek des Instituts fuer Weltwirtschaft, ZBW, Duesternbrook Weg 120, D-24105 Kiel Mb 568 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman

Groupes de pression économiques en Allemagne entre la fin du XIXe siècle et le début du XXe siècle

[eng] Abstract Between the end of the 19th Century and the beginning of the 20th Century, not only the formation of a vast and structured system of pressure groups was witnessed in Germany, but also the reinforcement of the organisation of interest groups. This was accompanied by an increase in their political influence and the considerable extension of their role in the political system. What was to be a decisive phase in the story of German economical pressure groups in the subject treated in this article. [fre] Résumé Entre la fin du XIXe siècle et le début du XXe siècle, on assiste en Allemagne non seulement à la formation d'un vaste système structuré de groupes de pression, mais aussi au renforcement de l'organisation des groupements d'intérêts, à l'accroissement de leur influence sur la vie politique et à l'extension sensible de leur rôle dans le système politique. C'est cette phase décisive dans l'histoire des groupes de pression économiques allemands qu'étudie l'article.