Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Chuo Kenkyusho

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Masana Hirai

Takao Imaeda

Minoru Yamamoto

Jiro Sakata

Nobuhiro Ishida

Kenro Tokuhiro

Osamu Asami

Yukio Yamada

Tsutomu Kajino

Fumihiko Hoshino

Hidehiko Sugiyama

Kiyoko Sarai

Chie Idekoba

Haruo Takahashi

Noriko Yasutani

Satoshi Saitoh

Osamu Saotome

Eiji Nagamori

Tohru Ohnishi

Satoshi Saito

Yasuo Matsuo

Chikara Miyazaki

The present invention provides a transformant into which has been incorporated DNA for coding a foreign protein having lactate dehydrogenase activity and provided with pyruvic acid substrate affinity that equals or exceeds the pyruvic acid substrate affinity of the pyruvate decarboxylase inherent in the host organism. Said transformant can stably mass-produce lactic acid inside a host organism having the pyruvate decarboxylase gene.

Method of controlling ethanol production and mass production of lactic acid and transformant therefor

This invention provides a polynucleotide that encodes a protein having lactate dehydrogenase activity and such protein that can be used for producing D-lactic acid. This polynucleotide has the nucleotide sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 (a), and it hybridizes under stringent conditions with a probe comprising all or part of the nucleotide sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 or a complementary strand thereof and encodes a protein having D-lactate dehydrogenase activity (b).

DNA encoding a protein having D-lactate dehydrogenase activity and uses thereof

A method for detecting or quantitating a mutagenic substance in a sample includes culturing a host microorganism transformed with a recombinant gene comprising an SOS gene and genes expressing luciferase activity and optionally genes expressing an enzyme which catalyzes the production of a substrate for luciferase, positioned downstream of the SOS gene, in a medium to which the sample is added; and measuring a luminescence generated by expression of the gene expressing luciferase activity. The method is sensitive, accurate and non-time consuming; and gene systems used for said method, i.e., a recombinant gene comprising an SOS gene expressed when a DNA is damaged and a gene expressing luciferase activity positioned downstream of the SOS gene, and a host microorganism transformed with said recombinant gene. Preferably the recombinant gene further comprises a gene expressing an enzyme which catalyses the production of a substrate for the luciferase in the down stream of the SOS gene.

Methods for detection of mutagens using luminescence gene

A highly thermostable polypeptide possessing protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) activity, a gene coding for the polypeptide and a process for producing the polyeptide are provided. The polypeptide possessing PDI activity is characterized by A) having a capability of catalyzing a disulfide exchange in proteins, B) recognizing mainly ribonuclease A as a substrate, C) having a suitable active temperature of 20.degree. to 70.degree. C., D) being stable at a pH value of 6 to 9, and E) having a molecular weight of about 60,000 to 62,000. Since it has a higher thermostability and exhibits a stable activity in a wider dithiothreitol concentration range as compared with the conventional PDI, it is possible to provide a novel enzyme active protein which can be advantageously used for a refolding reaction of certain proteins. Further, a process which enables the polylpeptide possessing PDI activity to be efficiently produced using Humicola insolens or a transformant transformed with an expression vector containing the above-described gene is also provided.

Polypeptide possessing protein disulfide isomerase activity gene

A highly thermostable polypeptide possessing protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) activity, a gene coding for the polypeptide and a process for producing the polypeptide are provided. The polypeptide possessing PDI activity is characterized by A) having a capability of catalyzing a disulfide exchange in proteins, B) recognizing mainly ribonuclease A as a substrate, C) having a suitable active temperature of 20.degree. to 70.degree. C., D) being stable at a pH value of 6 to 9, and E) having a molecular weight of about 60,000 to 62,000. Since it has a higher thermostability and exhibits a stable activity in a wider dithiothreitol concentration range as compared with the conventional PDI, it is possible to provide a novel enzyme active protein which can be advantageously used for a refolding reaction of certain proteins. Further, a process which enables the polypeptide possessing PDI activity to be efficiently produced using Humicola insolens or a transformant transformed with an expression vector containing the above-described gene is also provided.

Polypeptide from Humicola insolens possessing protein disulfide

Method and apparatus for determination of the concentration of a component in a solution, such as ethyl alcohol in gasohol, acetic acid in hexane-acetic acid solution, or the like. Such determination is made with ease and accuracy based on a rate of pressure change caused in a closed container due to mass transfer occurring between two liquids through porous material.

Method and apparatus for detecting the concentration of a component in a

A gas separating member of the present invention comprises a porous substrate in the form of a film, wall or hollow fiber and a polymer film formed on a surface of the substrate by plasma polymerization. The gas separation factor (O.sub.2 /N.sub.2) ranges from 2.3 to 3.9 with the corresponding gas permeability ranging from 12 to 0.16 liter/min. m.sup.2 atm. pres.-air. A modified gas separating member of the present invention, which comprises a porous substrate in the aforementioned form and two polymer films formed on a surface of the substrate by plasma polymerization, has the gas separation factor (He/H.sub.2) ranging from 14 to 45.

Gas separating members and a method of making the same

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Seto, Japan

Masana Hirai