The problem of resistance to antibiotics requires the development of new classes of broad-spectrum antimicrobial drugs. The concept of pro-drugs allows researchers to look for new approaches to obtain effective drugs with improved pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties. Thiosulfinates, formed enzymatically from amino acid sulfoxides upon crushing cells of genus Allium plants, are known as antimicrobial compounds. The instability and high reactivity of thiosulfinates complicate their use as individual antimicrobial compounds. We propose a pharmacologically complementary pair: an amino acid sulfoxide pro-drug and vitamin B6 – dependent methionine γ-lyase, which metabolizes it in the patient’s body. The enzyme catalyzes the γ- and β-elimination reactions of sulfoxides, analogues of L-methionine and L-cysteine, which leads to the formation of thiosulfinates. In the present work, we cloned the enzyme gene from Clostridium sporogenes. Ionic and tautomeric forms of the internal aldimine were determined by lognormal deconvolution of the holoenzyme spectrum and the catalytic parameters of the recombinant enzyme in the γ- and β-elimination reactions of amino acids, and some sulfoxides of amino acids were obtained. For the first time, the possibility of usage of the enzyme for effective conversion of sulfoxides was established and the antimicrobial activity of thiosulfinates against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria in situ was shown.

A comparative analysis of the four commercially available and laboratory luminescent sensor strains to the toxic effect of 10 carbon-based nanomaterials (CBNs) and 10 metal nanoparticles (MNPs) was carried out in this study. The bioluminescence inhibition assays with marine Photobacterium phosphoreum and recombinant Escherichia coli strains were varied in minimal toxic concentrations and EC 50 values but led to well-correlated biotoxicity evaluation for the most active compounds, which were ranked as Cu > (MgO, CuO) > (fullerenol, graphene oxide). The novel sensor strain Bacillus subtilis EG168-1 exhibited the highest sensitivity to CBNs and MNPs, which increased significantly the number of toxic compounds causing the bacterial bioluminescence inhibition effect.

The toxic effect of strained hydrocarbon 2,2'—bis (bicyclo[2.2.1]heptane) (BBH) was studied using whole-cell bacterial lux-biosensors based on Escherichia coli cells in which luciferase genes are transcriptionally fused with stress-inducible promoters. It was shown that BBH has the genotoxic effect causing bacterial SOS response however no alkylating effect has been revealed. In addition to DNA damage, there is an oxidative effect causing the response of OxyR/S and SoxR/S regulons. The most sensitive to BBH lux-biosensor was E . coli pSoxS-lux which reacts to the appearance of superoxide anion radicals in the cell. It is assumed that the oxidation of BBH leads to the generation of reactive oxygen species, which provide the main contribution to the genotoxicity of this substance.