Rivers Singleton

Whole-cell antigens of members of the sulfate-reducing genus Desulfovibrio

Antisera have been developed against the wholecell antigens of Desulfovibrio africanus Benghazi and Walvis Bay, D. vulgaris Hildenborough, D. salexigens British Guiana, D. gigas, and D. desulfuricans Essex 6. An enzymelinked immunoadsorption assay (ELISA) was developed to measure the reaction of these antisera with the homologous and heterologous antigens. The ELISA method demonstrated a reaction between pre-immune sera and cells of D. africanus, D. gigas and D. desulfuricans, suggesting the presence of a lectin-like substance on these cell surfaces. Extensive cross-reactions were seen between the antisera and heterologous cells, suggesting the sharing of a number of surface antigens amongst the Desulfovibrio. However, the pattern of these cross-reactions was different from that observed for an ELISA reaction developed for the cytochrome c3 from various Desulfovibrio.

Antigenic diversity of cytochromes c3 from the anaerobic, sulfate-reducing bacteria, Desulfovibrio

An indirect enzyme-linked immunoadsorption assay (ELISA) was developed for cytochrome c3 using antisera to the cytochromes fromDesulfovibrio africanus Benghazi, Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough andDesulfovibrio salexigens British Guiana. The ELISA system was used to test for cross-reactions between these antisera and the heterologous antigens. In contrast to previous experiments using the Ouchterlony technique, all of the cytochromes c3 tested exhibited some degree of cross-reaction. Considerable variation was seen in cross-reactions for cytochromes c3 from differing strains ofD. desulfuricans. This observation raises questions about the taxonomic relatedness of these strains. No cross-reaction was seen with eukaryotic cytochrome c or withD. vulgaris cytochrome c553. The data demonstrate that cytochrome c3 is capable of undergoing nonprecipitating cross-reactions, and thus may not be as immunologically unique as was once thought.

Remembering Our Forebears: Albert Jan Kluyver and the Unity of Life

The Dutch microbiologist/biochemist Albert Jan Kluyver (1888–1956) was an early proponent of the idea of biochemical unity, and how that concept might be demonstrated through the careful study of microbial life. The fundamental relatedness of living systems is an obvious correlate of the theory of evolution, and modern attempts to construct phylogenetic schemes support this relatedness through comparison of genomes. The approach of Kluyver and his scientific descendants predated the tools of modern molecular biology by decades. Kluyver himself is poorly recognized today, yet his influence at the time was profound. Through lens of today however, it has been argued that the focus by Kluyver and others to create taxonomic and phylogenetic schemes using morphology and biochemistry distorted and hindered progress of the discipline of microbiology, because of a perception that the older approaches focused too much on a reductionist worldview. This essay argues that in contrast the careful characterization of fundamental microbial metabolism and physiology by Kluyver made many of the advances of the latter part of the twentieth century possible, by offering a framework which in many respects anticipated our current view of phylogeny, and by directly and indirectly training a generation of scientists who became leaders in the explosive growth of biotechnology.

Chapter 7 Harland Goff Wood: An American biochemist

Publisher Summary This chapter traces the life and scientific career of Harland Goff Wood. Wood achieved numerous scientific and professional successes; successes that were recognized and applauded by both his scientific and professional peers and by society in general. The chapter has two goals: to explore Woods passionate commitment to the laboratory and his contributions to the understanding of the biochemical world. Some of his major contributions to modern biochemistry include (1) the notion of heterotrophic CO 2 fixation, (2) application of isotopes to understand metabolic processes, (3) elucidation of the propionic acid cycle in the propionic acid bacteria, (4) structural and mechanistic analysis of transcarboxylase, (5) characterization of the role of pyrophosphate (PP i ) in metabolic processes, and (6) elucidation of the acetate biosynthesis pathway in Clostridium thermoaceticum . Wood was rarely fully satisfied with answers to research problems. No matter how elegant or adequate a research question might be resolved, the answer frequently raised new questions; questions that on occasion spawned an entire new avenue of research inquiry, which was only peripherally connected to its predecessor.