■　REVIEW

Lantibiotics: Insight and Foresight for New Paradigm.
Jun-ichi Nagao, Sikder M. Asaduzzaman, Yuji Aso, Ken-ichi Okuda, Jiro Nakayama, and Kenji Sonomoto

Gene Structure and Regulation of Alkane Monooxygenases in Propane-Utilizing Mycobacterium sp. TY-6 and Pseudonocardia sp. TY-7.
Tetsuya Kotani, Yui Kawashima, Hiroya Yurimoto, Nobuo Kato, and Yasuyoshi Sakai

Modulation of talA Gene in Pentose Phosphate Pathway for Overproduction of Poly-β-Hydroxybutyrate in Transformant Escherichia coli Harboring phbCAB Operon.
Byoung-Geun Song, Tae-Kwon Kim, Young-Mi Jung, and Yong-Hyun Lee

Acidolysis and Glyceride Synthesis Reactions Using Fatty Acids with Two Pseudomonas Lipases Having Different Substrate Specificities.
Yuzo Kojima, Eiji Sakuradani, and Sakayu Shimizu

Purification and Characterization of Enzyme Responsible for N-Myristoylation of Octapeptide in Aqueous Solution without ATP and Coenzyme A from Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Takahiro Jyomoto, Masayuki Azuma, Nazneen Naher Islam, Ryo Fujinami, Toshifumi Takao, Takayuki Ogawa, Masaki Tabuchi, Koichi Igarashi, Jyoji Kato, and Hiroshi Ooshima

Alteration of Substrate Specificity of Fructosyl-Amino Acid Oxidase from Ulocladium sp. JS-103.
Maki Fujiwara, Jun-ichi Sumitani, Shinji Koga, Issei Yoshioka, Takuji Kouzuma, Shigeyuki Imamura, Takashi Kawaguchi, and Motoo Arai

MICROBIAL PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY

Statistical Approach to Optimization of Fermentative Production of Gellan Gum from Sphingomonas paucimobilis ATCC 31461.
Ishwar B. Bajaj, Parag S. Saudagar, Rekha S. Singhal, and Ashok Pandey

Expression Analysis of Alternative Oxidase Gene (aox1) with Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein as Marker in Citric Acid-Producing Aspergillus niger.
Kohtaro Kirimura, Satoshi Ogawa, Takasumi Hattori, and Kuniki Kino

Production System for Biodegradable Polyester Polyhydroxybutyrate by Corynebacterium glutamicum.
Sung-Jin Jo, Michihisa Maeda, Toshihiko Ooi, and Seiichi Taguchi

BREWING AND FOOD TECHNOLOGY

Simple Improvement in Freeze-Tolerance of Bakers' Yeast with Poly-γ-Glutamate.
Kumio Yokoigawa, Machiko Sato, and Kenji Soda

Production of Equol from Daidzein by Gram-Positive Rod-Shaped Bacterium Isolated from Rat Intestine.
Kimiko Minamida, Michiko Tanaka, Ayumi Abe, Teruo Sone, Fusao Tomita, Hiroshi Hara, and Kozo Asano

ENVIRONMENTAL BIOTECHNOLOGY

Effects of Long-Term Heavy Metal Contamination on Soil Microbial Characteristics.
Adilia Oliveira and Maria Elisa Pampulha

Degradation of Cyanuric Acid in Soil by Pseudomonas sp. NRRL B-12227 Using Bioremediation with Self-Immobilization System.
Naofumi Shiomi, Yutaka Yamaguchi, Hiroaki Nakai, Tomoko Fujita, Tomohisa Katsuda, and Shigeo Katoh

Racemization of L-Lactic Acid in pH-Swing Open Fermentation of Kitchen Refuse by Selective Proliferation of Lactobacillus plantarum.
Kenji Sakai, Norihisa Fujii, and Ekachai Chukeatirote

Archaeal Population on Supporting Material in Methanogenic Packed-Bed Reactor.
Kengo Sasaki, Shin Haruta, Yoshiyuki Ueno, Masaharu Ishii, and Yasuo Igarashi

BIOCHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Optimal Aerobic Cultivation Method for 1,4-Dihydroxy-2-Naphthoic Acid Production by Propionibacterium freudenreichii ET-3.
Keisuke Furuichi, Atsuko Amano, Yoshio Katakura, Kazuaki Ninomiya, and Suteaki Shioya

PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY

Development of Simple and Efficient in Planta Transformation Method for Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Using Agrobacterium tumefaciens.
Putu Supartana, Tsutomu Shimizu, Masahiro Nogawa, Hidenari Shioiri, Tadashi Nakajima, Naoyuki Haramoto, Masayuki Nozue, and Mineo Kojima

METHODS

New Detection Method for Hydrogen Gas for Screening Hydrogen-Producing Microorganisms Using Water-Soluble Wilkinson's Catalyst Derivative.
Tomohisa Katsuda, Hiroshi Ooshima, Masayuki Azuma, and Jyoji Kato

MISCELLANEOUS

Quantification of Structural Properties of Cell-Sized Individual Liposomes by Flow Cytometry.
Kanetomo Sato, Kei Obinata, Tadashi Sugawara, Itaru Urabe, and Tetsuya Yomo