Isolation of Bacillus sp. strains capable of decomposing alkali lignin and their application in combination with lactic acid bacteria for enhancing cellulase performance

Effective biological pretreatment method for enhancing cellulase performance was investigated. Two alkali lignin-degrading bacteria were isolated from forest soils in Japan and named CS-1 and CS-2. 16S rDNA sequence analysis indicated that CS-1 and CS-2 were Bacillus sp. Strains CS-1 and CS-2 displayed alkali lignin degradation capability. With initial concentrations of 0.05–2.0 g L−1, at least 61% alkali lignin could be degraded within 48 h. High laccase activities were observed in crude enzyme extracts from the isolated strains. This result indicated that alkali lignin degradation was correlated with laccase activities. Judging from the net yields of sugars after enzymatic hydrolysis, the most effective pretreatment method for enhancing cellulase performance was a two-step processing procedure (pretreatment using Bacillus sp. CS-1 followed by lactic acid bacteria) at 68.6%. These results suggest that the two-step pretreatment procedure is effective at accelerating cellulase performance

Identification and characterization of the RNA helicase activity of Japanese encephalitis virus NS3 protein

AbstractThe NS3 protein of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) contains motifs typical of RNA helicase/NTPase but no RNA helicase activity has been reported for this protein. To identify and characterize the RNA helicase activity of JEV NS3, a truncated form of the protein with a His-tag was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified. The purified JEV NS3 protein showed an RNA helicase activity, which was dependent on divalent cations and ATP. An Asp-285-to-Ala substitution in motif II of the JEV NS3 protein abolished the ATPase and RNA helicase activities. These results indicate that the C-terminal 457 residues are sufficient to exhibit the RNA helicase activity of JEV NS3