S. HASTOWO, B.W. LAY AND M. OHBA. 1992. A total of 135 strains of Bacillus thuringiensis were isolated from soils of sericultural and natural environments of various regions in Indonesia: Sumatra, Java, Bali, Timor, Sulawesi and Kalimantan. Serologically, 63 strains were assigned to flagella (H) serotypes 3abc, 3ade, 4ac, 5ac, 6ab, 8ab, 9, 11, 17, 20ac, and 24, indicating a varied flora of B. thuringiensis in Indonesia. Of these, the serotype 3ade predominated, followed by the serotypes 3abc and 6ab. The other 72 strains (53·3%) were not sero‐reactive against any of the H antisera to B. thuringiensis H serotypes 1–24. In toxicity tests, 34 strains belonging to serotypes 3abc, 3ade, 4ac, and 8ab showed larvicidal activity to the silkworm, Bombyx mori, while 74·8% did not exhibit insecticidal activity against larvae of B. mori and the mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus. Morphotypes of parasporal inclusions were not correlated with insecticidal activities.

Bacterial heme was produced from a genetic-engineered Escherichia coli via the porphyrin pathway and it was useful as an iron resource for animal feed. The amount of the E. colisynthesized heme, however, was only few milligrams in a culture broth and it was not enough for industrial applications. To analyze heme biosynthetic pathways, an engineered E. coli artificially overexpressing ALA synthase (hemA from Rhodobacter sphaeroides) and pantothenate kinase (coaA gene from self geneome) was constructed as a bacterial heme-producing strain, and both the transcription levels of pathway genes and the intermediates concentrations were determined from batch and continuous cultures. Transcription levels of the pathway genes were not significantly changed among the tested conditions. Intracellular intermediate concentrations indicated that aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and coenzyme A (CoA) were enhanced by the hemA-coaA co-expression. Intracellular coproporphyrinogen I and protoporphyrin IX accumulation suggested that the bottleneck steps in the heme biosynthetic pathway could be the spontaneous conversion of HMB to coproporphyrinogen I and the limited conversion of protoporphyrin IX to heme, respectively. A strategy to increase the conversion of ALA to heme is discussed based on the results.

Tempe is an Indonesian fermented food prepared by fermenting dehulled cooked soybeans with Rhizopus oligosporus.Many types of bacteria are also involved during tempe fermentation, and one of these is Klebsiella spp. Some isolates of K. pneumoniae produces vitamin B12 in tempe but it has also been classified as an opportunistic pathogen. For this reason Klebsiella spp. in tempe is important to be studied. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity of Klebsiella spp. from tempe employing ERIC-PCR method. Sixty-one isolates of Klebsiella have been isolated from sixteen tempe producers in Bogor, Jakarta, Malang, Tengerang, Bandung and Cianjur. 63F and 1387R primers were used to amplify 16S rDNA sequences, and 1R and 1F primers were used for ERIC analysis. The results of this research showed that sixty-one strains of Klebsiella were clustered into 17 groups. Based on ERIC-PCR analysis, isolates of Klebsiella could be grouped into different profiles which some of these groups consisted of isolates with identical ERIC-PCR profiles. Several identical ERIC-PCR profiles were found in tempe from the same producer. There was no correlation observed between genetic similarity among isolates with the origin of tempe.

Kematian massal ikan pada budi daya ikan dalam karamba jaring apung di Waduk Ir. H. Djuanda hampir selalu terjadi setiap tahun. Deplesi oksigen merupakan faktor yang mempengaruhi kondisi tersebut. Oleh karena itu, penelitian ini dilakukan. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengkaji atau menentukan kemampuan perairan dalam menerima beban bahan organik. Penelitian dilakukan di Waduk Ir. H. Djuanda dari bulan Juni 2003 sampai dengan Mei 2004, dengan interval pengambilan contoh setiap bulan. Pengambilan contoh dilakukan di wilayah lakustrin yaitu stasiun L1, L2, dan L3 dan wilayah transisi stasiun T1, T2, dan T3. Pengambilan contoh vertikal meliputi permukaan, kedalaman 7, 15, 25, dan 35 m, dan dasar perairan. Metode dalam penelitian ini adalah survei post fakto. Analisis contoh dilakukan di laboratorium produktivitas perairan, Fakultas Perikanan dan Ilmu Kelautan, Institut Pertanian Bogor dan laboratorium kimia Loka Riset Pemacuan Stok Ikan, Jatiluhur. Parameter yang dianalisis adalah oksigen terlarut, bahan organik total, dan K2 (koefisien peluruhan), sedangkan parameter penunjang adalah suhu dan H2S. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa peningkatan bahan organik menyebabkan deplesi oksigen semakin tajam pada musim hujan di wilayah lakustrin. Konsentrasi bahan organik yang aman adalah 7,76 mg per l. Mass mortality of fishes at Ir. H. Djuanda Reservoir occurs almost every year. Oxygen depletion is one factor that affect the condition. There fore, this research should be done. The carrying capacity at Ir. H. Djuanda Reservoir to receive organic loading were determined in this study. The research conducted at Ir. H. Djuanda Reservoir from June 2003 until May 2004. Horizontal sampling station was conducted based on longitudinal gradient i.e. lacustrine zone (L1, L2, and L3), and transition zone (T1, T2, and T3). Vertical sampling points were at surface, at the depth of 7 m, 15, 25, 35, and 45 m, and at the bottom. Sample analysis carried out in physical chemical laboratory of Aquatic Resources Management Department, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, IPB and chemical laboratory Loka Jatiluhur. The methods of this research were post facto survey descriptive. Dissolved oxygen, total organic matter, and BOD were observed during research.temperature and H2S were observed to support the study. The results showed that the increasing of organic matter cause the steep of oxygen depletion in transition of wet season at lacustrine zone. Acceptable concentration of total organic matter was 7.76 mg per l.

A cry2A-type gene, designated as cry2(SKW), was cloned from Bacillus thuringiensis serovar sotto SKW01-10.2-06, and some unique features of the gene were revealed. The cry2(SKW) gene encoded a polypeptide of 635 residues with a predicted molecular mass of 71,137 Da. Cry2(SKW) had 95.4% identity with Cry2Aa in amino acid sequence and was two residues longer than Cry2Aa. Two open reading frames (ORFs), designated as orf1 and orf2, were present upstream of the cry2(SKW) and showed high homology with the corresponding ORFs in the cry2Aa operon. The Orf2 from SKW01-10.2-06 contained a region of repeated sequences. However, unlike Cry2Aa, Cry2(SKW) formed the cuboidal crystalline inclusions when the cry2(SKW) gene was expressed in an acrystalliferous B. thuringiensis strain in the absence of the upstream ORFs. Furthermore, Cry2(SKW) was less toxic to a lepidopteran species, Bombyx mori, than Cry2Aa in spite of high homology between the two proteins.