These two possibilities could be distinguished by the use of pure preparations of glucose isomers. In the laboratory, selected eukaryotes,

bacteria, and archaea consumed only D-glucose, not L-glucose, while permanganate oxidized both isomers. On Mars, selective consumption of either D- or L-glucose would constitute evidence for biological activity.”
“The thick peptidoglycan layers of Gram-positive bacteria are connected to polyanionic glycopolymers selleck chemical called wall teichoic acids (WTA). Pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, or Enterococcus faecalis produce WTA with diverse, usually strain-specific structure. Extensive studies on S. aureus WTA mutants revealed important functions of WTA in cell division, growth, morphogenesis, resistance

to antimicrobials, and interaction with host or phages. While most of the S. aureus WTA-biosynthetic genes have been identified it remained unclear for long how and why S. aureus glycosylates WTA with alpha or beta-linked N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc). Only recently the discovery of two WTA glycosyltransferases, TarM and TarS, yielded fundamental insights into the roles of S. aureus WTA glycosylation. Mutants lacking WTA GlcNAc are resistant towards most of the S. aureus phages and, surprisingly, TarS-mediated WTA beta-O-GlcNAc modification is essential for beta-lactam CAL-101 inhibitor resistance in methicillin-resistant S. aureus. Notably, S. aureus WTA GlcNAc residues are major antigens and activate the complement system contributing to opsonophagocytosis. WTA glycosylation with a variety of sugars and corresponding glycosyltransferases were also identified in other Gram-positive bacteria, which paves the way for detailed investigations on the diverse roles of WTA modification with sugar residues. (C) 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All CYT387 JAK/STAT inhibitor rights reserved.”
“Sapindus mukorossi Gaerten., as a rich source of saponins, is an important agricultural economic tree in tropical and subtropical regions. Its fruit pericarp has a high content of triterpenoid 123 saponins of high surface activity and important biological

activities. Thus the current work adopted a two-stage foam fractionation technology to separate the saponins from the pericarp. A spiral internal component and elevated temperature were utilized to improve enrichment ratio. Using this technology, the enrichment ratio of the sapindus saponins reached 133.4 with a recovery of over 36.4% and the separated saponins had a high purity of 90.3%. The product was analyzed by FTIR and HPLC-MS to determine its ingredients, including plentiful triterpenoid saponins and bits of sesquiterpene glucosides. The subsequent bioactivity analysis made sure that the product had moderate but long-term antimicrobial activity. Therefore the current work had industrial implication in producing high-purity saponins for food, cosmetics and even pharmaceutical fields.