Ralph N. Costilow

Biology of Bacillus popilliae

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the biology of bacillus popilliae. Bacillus popilliae is a pathogen of various scarabaeid beetles. Bacillus popilliae represents a unique category among bacteria. It is gram-variable, facultatively anaerobic, catalaseless, insecticidal, and it forms endospores along with parasporal crystals. Whether parasporal crystals are toxic to larvae is not yet fully determined however, some data indicate that there is pathogenicity associated with the crystals. Also, characterization of the inclusion bodies is incomplete, regardless, it is known that they are predominantly protein and can be separated in three cathodic components when solubilized crystals are subjected to high-voltage electrophoresis. They contain no lipid or nucleic acids however, they contain glycoprotein components. Of the 17 amino acids present, glutamic acid and aspartic acid predominate, followed in order of quantity by leucine, valine, glycine, threonine, isoleucine, alanine, and arginine; no unusual amino acids are present.

Preparation and characterization of 2,4-diaminovaleric acid: An intermediate in the anaerobic oxidation of ornithine☆

Abstract 2,4-Diaminovaleric acid was purified in gram quantities, three derivatives were crystallized and characterized, and the structure was verified by infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.