The doxorubicin resistance locus from Streptomyces peucetius subsp. caesius (the doxorubicin producer, ATCC 27952) has been cloned. The sequence data over 4.4 kb regions reveals the presence of four possible open reading frames (ORFs). ORF2 and ORF3 would encode proteins containing 329 and 283 amino acids, respectively. The protein encoded by ORF2 has two almost identical ATP binding domains with p-glycoprotein, the product of a multidrug resistance gene from tumor cells, and that encoded by ORF3 has several hydrophobic domains suggesting that it is located in the bacterial membrane. These two remarkable similarities of the gene product to p-glycoprotein of mammalian tumor cells suggest that the two proteins may enable bacteria to extrude a variety of toxic agents, including daunorubicin and doxorubicin, by an ATP dependent efflux mechanism analogous to the multidurg resistance protein of cancer cells.

The gene encoding the bacteriolytic enzyme cell wall peptidoglycan hydrolase from alkalophilic Bacillus sp. was cloned in E. coli using pBR322 as a vector. A recombinant plasmid, designated pYTR451, was isolated and the size of the cloned HindIII fragment was found to be 4.8 Kb. The cell wall hydrolysis activity of an extract of the E. coli harboring the recombinant plasmid pYTR 451 was detected by SDS- polyacrylamide gel containing 0.2% (w/v) purified cell wall of Bacillus sp. The molecular weight of the enzyme was estimated to be about 27, 000 corresponding to the molecular weight of the Bacillus sp. bacteriolytic enzyme. The recombinant plasmid was found to contain the fragment originated from Bacillus sp. YJ-451 chromosomal DNA by Southern hybridization.

The expression of Bacillus subtilis $\alpha$-amylase from the phoA-amyE fusion gene in recombinant E. coli was investigated under various environmental conditions. The overexpression of cloned $\alpha$-amylase caused retardations in cell growth and synthesis of alkaline phosphatase (AP) from the chromosomal phoA gene. The change of culture temperature from $37^\circ{C}$ to $30^\circ{C}$ increased the specific activities of both $\alpha$-amylase and $\beta$-lactamase by six and two times, respectively, whereas the AP activity remained unchanged. The experiments with chlorampenicol (a translation inhibitor) suggested the enhancement of $\alpha$-amylase activity at $30^\circ{C}$, and this was partly due to the stability of $\alpha$-amylase itself. The further decrease of the temperature to $25^\circ{C}$ slowed down both the cell growth and cloned-gene expression rate. The $\alpha$-amylase activity showed a maximum at pH of 7.4 while alkaline phosphatase was most effectively produced at pH of 8.3.

The hemagglutinin-esterase glycoprotein (HE) gene of bovine coronavirus, coupled with a simian virus 40 early promoter and polyadenylation signal, was inserted into a human adenovirus transfer vector. The transfer vector was used to co-transfect 293 cells along with adenovirus genomic DNA. The hemagglutinin-esterase transcription unit was rescued into the adenovirus genome by homologous in vivo DNA recombination between the vector plasmid DNA and the adenovirus genomic DNA, and a recombinant adenovirus was isolated by several rounds of plaque assays. Thus the recombinant adenovirus carries the hemagglutinin-esterase gene in the early transcription region 3 (E3) of the adenovirus genome in the parallel orientation to the E3 transcription. The recombinant adenovirus synthesized the HE polypeptide in HeLa cells as demonstrated by immunoprecipitation with anti-coronavirus rabbit antisera. The recombinant HE polypeptide could be labelled by $[^3H]$glucosamine, demonstrating that the recombinant HE was glycosylated. Cells expressing the HE polypeptide exhibited hemadsorption activity when incubated with mouse erythrocytes. The HE was transported to the plasma membrane as shown by the cell surface immunofluorescence, indicating that the recombinant HE polypeptide retained its biological activities. Potential for the use of infectious recombinant adenovirus as a live virus-vectored vaccine candidate for bovine coronavirus disease is discussed.

A soil bacterium which produces raw starch-digesting $\beta$-amylase in culture medium, has been screened from soils. One strain, isolated and identified as Bacillus polymyxa No. 26, was selected as a $\beta$-amylase producing bacterium. Morphological and biological characteristics of the strain were found to be similar to those of a strain belonging to B. polymyxa. The electron microscopic observations of the bacterial vegetative cells and sporulated cells were extensively done to know the corelation between the enzyme synthesis and sporulation. When the bacterium was cultured on the appropriate media (3% dextrin, 0.3% beef extract, 0.5% polypeptone, 1% yeast extract and 0.3% NaCl at pH 7.0 for 4 days) raw starch-digestible $\beta$-amylase was produced extracellularly. This strain produced 130 units of $\beta$-amylase per ml in a culture medium containing 3% dextrin at $30^\circ{C}$. This value is compared to those of other $\beta$-amylase-producing strains. The optimum pH and temperature for crude enzymes were pH 6.5 to 7.0 and $50^\circ{C}$, respectively. The enzymes were stable between pH 5.5 and 9.0 for 30 min at $45^\circ{C}$.

A $\alpha$-l, 4-D-glucan maltohydrolase $(\beta$-amylase), secreted by the mesophilic aerobic bacterium Bacillus polymyxa No.26, was purified and characterized. The enzyme production was increased after a logarithmic phase of bacterial growth and paralleled with the onset of bacterial sporulation. By applying anion exchange chromatography and gel filtration the enzyme was purified 16.7-fold and had a specific activity of 285.7 units/mg. Two enzyme activities were eluted on a column of DEAE-Sephadex chromatography, and they were designated as E-I for a major enzyme peak and E-II for a minor peak. Of them, E-I enzyme peak was further purified by using gel chromatography. The molecular mass of this enzyme was determined to be 64, 000 daltons and consisted of a single subunit, showing an isoelectric point of 8.9. The enzyme was able to attack specifically the $\alpha$-l, 4-glycosidic linkages in soluble starch and caused its complete hydrolysis to maltose and $\beta$-limited dextrin. This amylolytic enzyme displayed a temperature optimum at $45^\circ{C}$ and a pH optimum at 7.0. The amino acid composition of the purified enzyme was quite similar to the other bacterial $\beta$-amylases reported. Surprisingly, the purified enzyme from this aerobe only exhibited hydrolytic activity on soluble starch, not on starch granules. The degradation of from starch by $\beta$-amylase was greatly stimulated by pullulanase addition. These results differentiated from other $\beta$-amylases reported. Based on a previous result that showed the enzyme system involves in effective degradation of raw starch granules, this result strongly suggested that the purified enzyme (E-I) can be a synergistic part of starch granule-digestion and E-II plays a crucial role in digestion of starch granules.

Studies of the pretreatment of chitin and its subsequent hydrolysis by Aspergillus carneus chitinase are reported. Ball milling was found to be the most effective way among the pretreatment methods tested. Data are presented describing the effect of enzyme and substrate concentrations on the rate and extent of the hydrolysis process. It was found that the successive addition of enzyme improved the saccharification yield. Significant product inhibition of the chitinase was observed when N-acetylglucosamine concentration was 3.6％ or higher. Adsorption of enzymes to the substrate occurred during a 24 hr hydrolysis period. An initial rapid and extensive adsorption occurred, followed by gradual desorption which increased during the time of reaction. Intermediate removal of the hydrolyzate and continuation of the hydrolysis by adsorbed enzyme on the residual chitin was also investigated. A total of 75.4 g/l reducing sugars, corresponding to 69.2％ saccharificaton yield (as N-acetylglucosamine) was obtained. In addition an increase in the amount of recoverable enzymes was observed under these conditions. Evidence presented here suggests that the technique, whereby the free enzymes in the recovered hydrolyzate are re-adsorbed onto the new substrate, may provide a means of recirculating the dissolved enzymes.

Six kinds of oligosaccharides were obtained from the hydrolysate of copra galactomannan by a purified extracellular $beta$-mannanase from Penicillium purpurogenum. These oligosaccharides were identified as M-M, M-M-M, M-M, M-M-M-M, M-M-M-M-M and M-M-M-M-M-M; where G- and M- represent $\alpha$-l,6-D-galactosidic and $beta$-l,4-mannosidic linkages, respectively. The mode of action of mannanase on galactomannan is discussed on the basis of the structure of these oligosaccharides.

Serratia marcescens co-cultured with various phytopathogenic fungi, including Rhizopus stolonifer, Helminthosporium allii, Pyricularia oryzae, Fusarium oxysporium and Collectothricom cassiicola, in an LB- agar medium containing 1.5% swollen chitin, significantly inhibitied fungal growth. Fungal hyphae grew rapidly outward from the culture dish center, but the hyphal extensions of the pathogenic fungi were significantly inhibited in a perimetric contact area with S. marcescens. This was especially evident in pathogenic fungi which have a high chitin content in their cell walls. The extracellular chitinase activities of S. marcescens were increased seven fold by the addition of 1.5% swollen chitin to the LB-broth, compared to chitinase activities in a culture medium without chitin. The type of induction was dependent on the various forms of chitin used. When the culture supernatant of S. marcescens or the chitinases of Streptomyces griceus purchased from Sigma Chemical Co., were incubated with the mycelium of F. oxysporium, the mycelium gradually burst as cultivation time progressed and completely lysed after incubation for 2 days. On the other hand, E. coli extract did not hydrolyze the F. oxysporium mycelium at all. These data showed that the chitinolytic activities of S. marcescens play important roles in the biochemical control of phytopathogenic fungi.

Biodegradation of azo dyes such as Amaranth, Sudan III and Congo-Red by Aspergillus sojae B-10 was demonstrated using Aspergillus sojae B-10. Aspergillus sojae B-10 showed the greatest decolorization ability when it was cultivated in a nitrogen-limited medium containing, azo dyes(10 mg/l), 2.0% glucose, 0.06% sodium nitrate, 0.1% $KH_PO_4$, 0.5% MgSO_4$ㆍ$7H_2O$ at pH 5.0 and $37^\circ{C}$ for 5 days. Under optimal conditions, Amaranth started being decolorized within 24 hr and was almost complete after decolorization of 4 days incubation. Sudan III was completely decolorized after a cultivation of 5 days. However, Congo-Red was not completely decolorized until 5 days of cultivation.

Chemotaxonomic and numerical identification were carried out for an isolate of Streptomyces strain SMF13 producing thiol protease inhibitor. Fifty taxonomic unit characters were tested and the data were analyzed numerically using the TAXON program. The isolate SMF13 was identified to be a member of the cluster 5 of Streptomyces and best matched to Streptomyces omiyaensis which is a synonym of Streptomyces exfoliatus. Therefore. it was concluded that the isolate was identified to be a strain of Streptomyces exfoliatus.

An ethanol tolerant mutant was selected by successive transfers of Clostridium thermohydrosulfuricum ATCC 33223 into the media with progressively higher ethanol concentrations. The growth kinetics of the mutant were characterized under various growth conditions. Physiological differences such as enhanced growth, tolerance to various solvents, alteration of the optimum temperature and the ratio of end products during fermentation were noticed in the mutant.