3). As shown previously, Ala-Gln

could be produced by a metabolically engineered E. coli without any modification of an efflux system (Tabata & Hashimoto, 2007). Regulation of the gene expression such as an induction by intracellular accumulation of Ala-Gln or the redundancy of dipeptide transporters may be involved in Ala-Gln production. To elucidate the role of dipeptide transporters in Ala-Gln fermentation, functional analyses of individual genes, such as transcription analyses or characterization of a deletion mutant, are required. Considering that dipeptide accumulation is inhibitory to E. coli, dipeptide transporters are promising MAPK inhibitor tools to develop a dipeptide-producing strain. We thank Yumi Takahashi and Mayumi Fukano for their technical assistance. We also thank Shin-ichi Hashimoto and Satoshi Koizumi for helpful discussions. Table S1. The spectra of dipeptides to which dipeptide transporter candidates conferred resistance. Please note: Wiley-Blackwell is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting materials supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing material) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article. “
“Two strains of aerobic, non-spore-forming, Gram-negative,

rod-shaped bacteria (ND5 and MY14T), previously isolated from urban soil using the membrane-filter enrichment technique, were characterized. Analysis of their 16S rRNA gene sequence grouped strains ND5 and MY14T within the family

Oxalobacteraceae (Betaproteobacteria). The highest pairwise sequence similarities for strain ND5 were found with members of the genus Herminiimonas, SB203580 manufacturer namely with Herminiimonas saxobsidens NS11T (99.8%) and Herminiimonas glaciei UMB49T (99.6%). Although some fatty acid profiles, physiological and biochemical differences exist between strain ND5 and the respective Herminiimonas-type strains, DNA–DNA hybridization experiments confirm that strain ND5 is 5-FU nmr a member of the H. glaciei genospecies. Taxonomical analyses revealed a wider range of variability within this genus than considered previously. The highest pairwise nucleotide similarity for strain MY14T was found with Oxalicibacterium flavum (96.8%). Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA and cpn60 gene sequences, DNA–DNA hybridization, fatty acid profiles, physiological and biochemical tests allowed genotypic and phenotypic differentiation of strain MY14T from other Oxalicibacterium species representing a new species, for which the name Oxalicibacterium solurbis sp. nov. (type strain MY14T=NBRC 102665T,=CCM 7664T) is proposed. Extremely small free-living bacteria, showing biovolumes generally lower than 0.3 μm3in situ (Koch, 1996), are known to be present in a wide variety of natural environments and have been classified with terms such as ultramicrobacteria (UMB), nanobacteria or picobacteria (Koch, 1996).