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Cyanide degradation by Bacillus pumilus C1 : cellular and molecular characterization

Bibliography: p. 217-233.

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Main Author: Meyers, Paul Robert
Other Authors: Woods, David R
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Molecular and Cell Biology 2016
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access_status_str Open Access
author Meyers, Paul Robert
author2 Woods, David R
author_browse Meyers, Paul Robert
Woods, David R
author_facet Woods, David R
Meyers, Paul Robert
author_sort Meyers, Paul Robert
collection Thesis
description Bibliography: p. 217-233.
format Thesis
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
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license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2016
publishDateRange 2016
publishDateSort 2016
publisher Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
publisherStr Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
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source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/21775 Cyanide degradation by Bacillus pumilus C1 : cellular and molecular characterization Meyers, Paul Robert Woods, David R Rawlings , Douglas E Molecular and Cell Biology Bibliography: p. 217-233. A cyanide-degrading, Gram-positive, aerobic, endospore-forming bacterium was isolated from a cyanide wastewater dam by an enrichment technique and was identified as a strain of Bacillus pumilus. The bacterium was routinely cultured in Oxoid nutrient broth and rapidly degraded 100 mg/1 of free cyanide in the absence of added inorganic and organic substances. The ability to degrade cyanide was linked to the growth phase and was not exhibited before late-exponential/ early-stationary phase. Cyanide-degrading activity could not be induced in early exponential phase by the addition of cyanide or acetonitrile to 20 mg/1. Production of the cyanide-degrading activity required at least 0.01 mg Mn2+ /1 in the growth medium (lower concentrations prevented the development of strong cyanide-degrading activity and also resulted in poor growth of the organism). No induction of cyanide-degrading activity occurred when Mn2+ ions were added to late-exponential-phase cells (or a cell-free extract from these cells) which had been grown with a low endogenous concentration of Mn2+. However, Mn2+ ions could be added to cultures growing in low-Mn2+ broth as late as the mid-exponential phase of growth with no apparent reduction of the cyanidedegrading activity exhibited in stationary phase. Culturing the organism in Difeo nutrient broth resulted in poor growth and very low levels of cyanide-degrading activity; addition of Mn2+ to this medium did not significantly increase the levels of activity. Production of the cyanide-degrading activity required de novo transcription and translation. Cyanide-degrading activity was located intracellularly and cell-free extracts rapidly degraded cyanide (0.27 ± 0.08 μmole cyanide/min/mg protein at 30 °C in pH 7.4 phosphate buffer). Eight strains of cyanide-utilizing fluorescent pseudomonads were also isolated from activated sewage sludge by an enrichment technique and tentatively identified as strains of P. fluorescens and P. putida. These isolates could not degrade cyanide rapidly. 2016-09-14T13:00:46Z 2016-09-14T13:00:46Z 1993 Doctoral Thesis Doctoral PhD http://hdl.handle.net/11427/21775 eng application/pdf Department of Molecular and Cell Biology Faculty of Science University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Molecular and Cell Biology
Meyers, Paul Robert
Cyanide degradation by Bacillus pumilus C1 : cellular and molecular characterization
thesis_degree_str Doctoral
title Cyanide degradation by Bacillus pumilus C1 : cellular and molecular characterization
title_full Cyanide degradation by Bacillus pumilus C1 : cellular and molecular characterization
title_fullStr Cyanide degradation by Bacillus pumilus C1 : cellular and molecular characterization
title_full_unstemmed Cyanide degradation by Bacillus pumilus C1 : cellular and molecular characterization
title_short Cyanide degradation by Bacillus pumilus C1 : cellular and molecular characterization
title_sort cyanide degradation by bacillus pumilus c1 cellular and molecular characterization
topic Molecular and Cell Biology
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/21775
work_keys_str_mv AT meyerspaulrobert cyanidedegradationbybacilluspumilusc1cellularandmolecularcharacterization