Ajinomoto Co., Ltd.

Kiyoshi Miwa

Konosuke Sano

Shigeru Nakamori

Masaaki Ishida

Takayasu Tsuchida

Haruo Momose

Koichi Ito

Makoto Tsuchiya

Kazuhiko Matsui

Masafumi Takiguchi

Mahito Terabe

Kenzo Yokozeki

Hiroshi Takagi

Shunichi Suzuki

Yuzuru Eto

Yoshio Kawahara

Shigeru Yamanaka

Hisashi Kawasaki

Kenichi Hashiguchi

Katsunori Kobayashi

Yuko Tanita

Hiroshi Matsui

Osamu Kurahashi

Mika Moriya

Hisayuki Uneyama

Kunio Torii

Chieko Osumi

Takaaki Sato

Tatsuro Tanaka

Shigeru Makamori

As a nutritional composition and a composition for the prophylaxis or improvement of lower gastrointestinal function, which improve lower gastrointestinal function and are effective for the prophylaxis or improvement of diarrhea, gastroesophageal reflux or misswallowing caused by administration of a liquid nutritional supplement, the present invention provides a nutritional composition and a composition for the prophylaxis or improvement of lower gastrointestinal function, which comprise at least one kind selected from glutamic acid, 5'-nucleotide and a salt thereof, wherein, when glutamic acid alone is contained, the content thereof on administration is 0.0013-1.3 w/v % as free glutamic acid.

Nutrient composition and composition for prevention/mitigation of digestive tract depression

Peptides which can induce specific CTLs for HIV, DNAs encoding for the peptides and medicaments for preventing and/or treating HIV comprising the peptides are provided. According to the present invention, peptides carrying novel CTL epitopes derived from HIV Pol or Env proteins are provided. These peptides can bind to HLA-A11, particularly HLA-A*1101 which is frequently encountered in Japanese people and induce HIV-specific cytotoxic T cells.

HIV-specific CTL inducing peptides and medicaments for preventing or treating AIDS comprising the peptides

A method for processing a protein, a non-proteinaceous amino acid polymer, or a non-proteinaceous amino acid polymer, or a peptide or derivatives thereof having a crosslinked structure, which entails contacting glutamine and lysine residues in a protein, a non-proteinaceous amino acid polymer, a peptide or derivatives thereof with a transglutaminase obtained from Bacillus subtilus to form intermolecular or intramolecular, crosslinked .epsilon.(.delta.-Glu)-Lys bonds between or in the molecules of the protein, non-proteinaceous amino acid polymer, peptide or derivatives thereof, wherein the transglutaminase has the physicochemical properties described herein.

Bacillus-derived transglutaminase

Peptides capable of inducing immune response to HIV

The present invention relates to (1) a transglutaminase (hereinafter referred to as TG) isolated from a Bacilli such as those of Bacillus subtilis, (2) a fraction having transglutaminase activity, and (3) a method for producing a protein, a non-proteinaceous amino acid polymer, a peptide or derivatives thereof having a crosslinked structure, by crosslinking the glutamine and lysine residues in the same with the TG or the fraction having TG activity to thereby form intermolecular or intramolecular, crosslinked .epsilon.-(.gamma.-Glu)-Lys bonds. The present invention also relates to (4) a DNA coding for a TG derived from a Bacilli such as Bacillus subtilis, (5) a vector comprising said DNA coding for the TG, (6) a cell transformed with the vector, and (7) a method for producing a Bacillus-derived transglutaminase by incubating the transformant. The crosslinked polymers produced using the Bacillus-derived TG of the present invention can be used in foods such as tofu (soybean curd), pudding, yogurt, cheese, ground fish meat, boiled fish paste, sausage and other fish and meat products and also in cosmetics, etc.

A DNA fragment containing a gene coding for a novel cell surface layer protein derived from Brevibacterium lactofermentum and having two sequences of: ##STR1## in the molecule, and having a molecular weight of about 63,000 dalton is introduced into Coryneform bacteria to obtain a transformant, or originate a mutant strain being sufficient in the novel cell surface layer protein, which is used for producing a useful substance such as an L-amino acid by an L-amino acid fermentation method.

DNA encoding novel cell surface protein

Mobile genetic element originated from brevibacterium strain

The present invention provides a DNA fragment derived from Coryneform bacteria and containing a gene coding for a protein having sucrase activity and a recombinant DNA vector containing said DNA fragment and capable of expression in Coryneform bacteria, The recombinant DNA is introduced into Coryneform bacteria to enhance their sucrase activity, By using the bacteria having enhanced sucrase activity a method is provided for efficiently producing L-amino acids and nucleic acids in a short period of time.

Sucrase gene derived from coryneform bacteria

Coryneform bacteria deficient in a cell surface protein

A method for producing L-tryptophan comprising culturing coryneform glutamic acid-producing bacteria transformed with an expression vector capable of replicating and expressing an operably linked anthranilic acid phosphoribosyl transferase gene isolated from a brevibacterium glutamic acid-producing bacterium, growing the transformants in culture medium allowing for the production of L-tryptophan and recovering the L-tryptophan accumulated in the culture medium.

Method for producing L-tryptophan by fermentation

A brevibacterium containing a recombinant DNA molecule constructed by operatively connecting a gene coding for shikimate kinase isolated from Brevibacterium lactofermentum to a plasmid vector capable of replicating in the Brevibacterium is disclosed along with methods of preparing this bacterium and of using it in the production of aromatic amino acids.

Coryneform bacteria carrying recombinant DNA and process for producing

A method for producing an L-amino acid, which comprises inserting a gene which codes for an enzyme which is utilized on the route of biosynthesis of an L-amino acid product into one of at least two plasmid vectors which have compatible replicating origins different from each other, inserting a second gene which codes for an enzyme different from the first enzyme on the route of biosynthesis of the L-amino acid into a second of the plasmid vectors; introducing the thus obtained recombinant plasmids into a strain of Coryneform bacteria; and culturing the thus transformed strain which is capable of producing the L-amino acid, said two enzymes being highly rate determining enzymes for the biosynthesis of L-amino acid.

Method for producing L-amino acids

A recombinant DNA molecule comprising a plasmid vector having operationally inserted therein a gene coding for homoserine kinase is disclosed along with bacteria containing this recombinant DNA molecule and methods of using these bacteria to produce amino acids in large quantities.

Recombinant DNA, bacteria carrying said recombinant DNA and a process

A process for producing L-tryptophan in which a suitable substrate such as a carbohydrate, indole or anthranilic acid is contacted with Coryneform bacteria, where the Coryneform bacteria bear recombinant DNA constructed by connecting a gene coding for tryptophan synthetase with a plasmid vector capable of proliferating in Coryneform bacteria.

Process for producing L-tryptophan

Growing community of inventors

Kawasaki, Japan

Kiyoshi Miwa