The characteristics of the respiratory system of Acetobacter diazotrophicus PAL5 were investigated. Increasing aeration (from 0.5 to 4.0 liters of air min−1 liter of medium−1) had a strong positive effect on growth and on the diazotrophic activity of cultures. Cells obtained from well-aerated and diazotrophically active cultures possessed a highly active, membrane-bound electron transport system with dehydrogenases for NADH, glucose, and acetaldehyde as the main electron donors. Ethanol, succinate, and gluconate were also oxidized but to only a minor extent. Terminal cytochrome c oxidase-type activity was poor as measured by reducedN,N,N,N′-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine, but quinol oxidase-type activity, as measured by 2,3,5,6-tetrachloro-1,4-benzenediol, was high. Spectral and high-pressure liquid chromatography analysis of membranes revealed the presence of cytochrome ba as a putative oxidase in cells obtained from diazotrophically active cultures. Cells were also rich inc-type cytochromes; four bands of high molecular mass (i.e., 67, 56, 52, and 45 kDa) were revealed by a peroxidase activity stain in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. KCN inhibition curves of respiratory oxidase activities were biphasic, with a highly resistant component. Treatment of membranes with 0.2% Triton X-100 solubilized c-type cytochromes and resulted in a preparation that was significantly more sensitive to cyanide. Repression of diazotrophic activity in well-aerated cultures by 40 mM (NH4)2SO4 caused a significant decrease of the respiratory activities. It is noteworthy that the levels of glucose dehydrogenase and putative oxidaseba decreased 6.8- and 10-fold, respectively. In these cells, a bd-type cytochrome seems to be the major terminal oxidase. Thus, it would seem that glucose dehydrogenase and cytochrome ba are key components of the respiratory system of A. diazotrophicus during aerobic diazotrophy.

Two Rhizobium phaseoli mutants affected in cytochrome expression were obtained by Tn5-mob mutagenesis of the wild-type strain (CE3). Mutant strain CFN031 expressed sevenfold less cytochrome o in culture, expressed cytochrome aa3 under microaerophilic culture conditions, in contrast to strain CE3, and was affected in its vegetative growth properties and proliferation inside plant host cells. Mutant CFN037 expressed cytochrome aa3 under microaerophilic culture conditions, while bacteroid development and nitrogen fixation occurred earlier than in strain CE3.

Helicobacter pylori has acquired great importance during the last two decades, after being recognized as an important pathogen that infects a great portion of the human population. This microorganism is recognized as the main causal agent of chronic gastritis and duodenal ulcers, and it is associated with the subsequent development of gastric carcinoma. The pathogenic mechanisms of H. pylori and their relation to gastric ailments have not been clearly defined. However, at present it is well established that urease, vacuolating cytotoxin VacA, and the pathogenicity island (cag PAI) gene products, are the main factors of virulence of this organism. Thus, individuals infected with strains that express these virulence factors probably develop a severe local inflammation that may induce the development of peptic ulcer and gastric cancer. The way the infection spreads throughout the world suggests the possibility that there are multiple pathways of transmission. Due to the importance that H. pylori has acquired as a human pathogen, laboratories worldwide are attempting to develop a vaccine that confers long-term immunological protection against infection by this microorganism. Hence, the objective of this review is to present the most relevant findings of the biology of H. Pylori and its interaction with the human host. The full version of this paper is available too at: http:// www.insp.mx/salud/index.html ResumenHelicobacter pylori ha adquirido gran importancia durante las últimas dos décadas, al ser reconocido como un importante patógeno que infecta una gran porción de la población humana. Este microrganismo es reconocido como el principal agente que causa la gastritis crónica y la úlcera duodenal, además de que se ha asociado con el subsecuente desarrollo del carcinoma gástrico. Los mecanismos patogé-nicos de H. pylori y su relación con los padecimientos gás-tricos no se han definido en forma clara. Sin embargo, actualmente está bien establecido que la ureasa, la citotoxina vacuolizante VacA y los productos de los genes de la isla de patogenicidad (cag PAI) son los principales factores de virulencia de este organismo. Así, los individuos infectados con cepas que expresan dichos factores de virulencia, probablemente manifiesten una marcada inflamación local que podría inducir el desarrollo de úlcera péptica y cáncer gástri-co. La manera como la infección se propaga a nivel mundial sugiere la posibilidad de múltiples vías de transmisión. A consecuencia de la importancia que H. pylori ha adquirido como patógeno humano, los laboratorios del mundo se esfuerzan para desarrollar una vacuna que confiera protección inmunológica de larga duración contra la infección por este microorganismo. El objetivo de esta revisión es presentar los hallazgos más relevantes sobre la biología de H. pylori y su interacción con su huésped humano. El texto completo de este artículo también está disponible en:

A Rhizobium phaseoli cytochrome mutant, unable to oxidize N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine (TMPD), was isolated after Mu-dl (Kan lac) mutagenesis of the wild-type strain CE-3. Mutant strain CFN4202 had sixfold less haem-c but similar levels of b type, o and aa3 cytochromes than the wild-type strain. CFN4202 strain also showed reduced NADH- and TMPD-oxidase activity than the wild-type strain. Succinate-oxidase activities were very similar. Western blot experiments, using antiserum against bovine c1 and c cytochromes, revealed that both proteins were present in CFN4202 membranes, suggesting a defect of haem binding to cytochrome c. Nodules formed by this strain in Phaseolus vulgaris did not contain bacteroids. These data suggest that the cytochrome c-aa3 chain or some other respiratory chain, containing c-type cytochromes in R. phaseoli, is essential for bacterial division during the early steps of the symbiotic interaction with the legume-host.

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