ISRN biotechnologyPub Date : 2014-05-04eCollection Date: 2014-01-01DOI: 10.1155/2014/463074
Venkatesh Balan
{"title":"Current challenges in commercially producing biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass.","authors":"Venkatesh Balan","doi":"10.1155/2014/463074","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/463074","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Biofuels that are produced from biobased materials are a good alternative to petroleum based fuels. They offer several benefits to society and the environment. Producing second generation biofuels is even more challenging than producing first generation biofuels due the complexity of the biomass and issues related to producing, harvesting, and transporting less dense biomass to centralized biorefineries. In addition to this logistic challenge, other challenges with respect to processing steps in converting biomass to liquid transportation fuel like pretreatment, hydrolysis, microbial fermentation, and fuel separation still exist and are discussed in this review. The possible coproducts that could be produced in the biorefinery and their importance to reduce the processing cost of biofuel are discussed. About $1 billion was spent in the year 2012 by the government agencies in US to meet the mandate to replace 30% existing liquid transportation fuels by 2022 which is 36 billion gallons/year. Other countries in the world have set their own targets to replace petroleum fuel by biofuels. Because of the challenges listed in this review and lack of government policies to create the demand for biofuels, it may take more time for the lignocellulosic biofuels to hit the market place than previously projected. </p>","PeriodicalId":90878,"journal":{"name":"ISRN biotechnology","volume":"2014 ","pages":"463074"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2014/463074","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33152385","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ISRN biotechnologyPub Date : 2014-03-12eCollection Date: 2014-01-01DOI: 10.1155/2014/909601
Danyelle Alves Martins Assis, Rachel Passos Rezende, João Carlos Teixeira Dias
{"title":"Use of Metagenomics and Isolation of Actinobacteria in Brazil's Atlantic Rainforest Soil for Antimicrobial Prospecting.","authors":"Danyelle Alves Martins Assis, Rachel Passos Rezende, João Carlos Teixeira Dias","doi":"10.1155/2014/909601","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/909601","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Modern techniques involving molecular biology, such as metagenomics, have the advantage of exploiting a higher number of microorganisms; however, classic isolation and culture methods used to obtain antimicrobials continue to be promising, especially in the isolation of Actinobacteria, which are responsible for the production of many of these compounds. In this work, two methodologies were used to search for antimicrobial substances-isolation of Actinobacteria and metagenomics of the Atlantic Rainforest soil and of the cultivation of cocoa intercropped with acai berry in the Atlantic Rainforest. The metagenomic libraries were constructed with the CopyControl Fosmid Library kit EPICENTRE, resulting in a total of 2688 clones, 1344 of each soil sample. None of the clones presented antimicrobial activity against the microorganisms tested: S. aureus, Bacillus subtilis, and Salmonella choleraesuis. A total of 46 isolates were obtained from the isolation of soil Actinobacteria: 24 isolates from Atlantic Rainforest soil and 22 isolates from the intercrop cultivation soil. Of these, two Atlantic Rainforest soil isolates inhibited the growth of S. aureus including a clinical isolate of S. aureus MRSA-a promising result, since it is an important multidrug-resistant human pathogen. </p>","PeriodicalId":90878,"journal":{"name":"ISRN biotechnology","volume":"2014 ","pages":"909601"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2014/909601","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33152387","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Detection of tannery effluents induced DNA damage in mung bean by use of random amplified polymorphic DNA markers.","authors":"Abhay Raj, Sharad Kumar, Izharul Haq, Mahadeo Kumar","doi":"10.1155/2014/727623","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/727623","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Common effluent treatment plant (CETP) is employed for treatment of tannery effluent. However, the performance of CETP for reducing the genotoxic substances from the raw effluent is not known. In this study, phytotoxic and genotoxic effects of tannery effluents were investigated in mung bean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek). For this purpose, untreated and treated tannery effluents were collected from CETP Unnao (UP), India. Seeds of mung bean were grown in soil irrigated with various concentrations of tannery effluents (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100%) for 15 days. Inhibition of seed germination was 90% by 25% untreated effluent and 75% treated effluent, compared to the control. Plant growth was inhibited by 51% and 41% when irrigated with untreated and treated effluents at 25% concentration. RAPD technique was used to evaluate the genotoxic effect of tannery effluents (untreated and treated) irrigation on the mung bean. The RAPD profiles obtained showed that both untreated and treated were having genotoxic effects on mung bean plants. This was discernible with appearance/disappearance of bands in the treatments compared with control plants. A total of 87 RAPD bands were obtained using eight primers and 42 (48%) of these showed polymorphism. Irrigating plants with untreated effluent caused 12 new bands to appear and 18 to disappear. Treated effluent caused 8 new bands and the loss of 15 bands. The genetic distances shown on the dendrogram revealed that control plants and those irrigated with treated effluent were clustered in one group (joined at distance of 0.28), whereas those irrigated with untreated effluent were separated in another cluster at larger distance (joined at distance of 0.42). This indicates that treated effluent is less genotoxic than the untreated. Nei's genetic similarity indices calculated between the treatments and the control plants showed that the control and the plants irrigated with treated tannery effluent had a similarity index of 0.75, the control and plants irrigated with untreated 0.65, and between the treatments 0.68. We conclude that both untreated and treated effluents contain genotoxic substances that caused DNA damage to mung beans. CETP Unnao removes some, but not all, genotoxic substances from tannery effluent. Consequently, use of both untreated and treated wastewater for irrigation poses health hazard to human and the environment. </p>","PeriodicalId":90878,"journal":{"name":"ISRN biotechnology","volume":"2014 ","pages":"727623"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2014/727623","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33152386","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Effect of Chitosan on Rhizome Rot Disease of Turmeric Caused by Pythium aphanidermatum.","authors":"Sathiyanarayanan Anusuya, Muthukrishnan Sathiyabama","doi":"10.1155/2014/305349","DOIUrl":"10.1155/2014/305349","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Chitosan was evaluated for its potential to induce antifungal hydrolases in susceptible turmeric plant (Curcuma longa L.). Under field conditions, the application of chitosan (crab shell) to turmeric plants by foliar spray method induces defense enzymes such as chitinases and chitosanases. Such an increase in enzyme activity was enhanced by spraying chitosan (0.1% w/v) on leaves of turmeric plants at regular intervals. Gel electrophoresis revealed new chitinase and chitosanase isoforms in leaves of turmeric plants treated with chitosan. Treated turmeric plants showed increased resistance towards rhizome rot disease caused by Pythium aphanidermatum, whereas control plants expressed severe rhizome rot disease. Increased activity of defense enzymes in leaves of chitosan treated turmeric plants may play a role in restricting the development of disease symptoms. The eliciting properties of chitosan make chitosan a potential antifungal agent for the control of rhizome rot disease of turmeric. </p>","PeriodicalId":90878,"journal":{"name":"ISRN biotechnology","volume":"2014 ","pages":"305349"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4393040/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33146734","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ISRN biotechnologyPub Date : 2013-12-22eCollection Date: 2013-01-01DOI: 10.5402/2013/170615
Nibedita Sarkar, Kaustav Aikat
{"title":"Kinetic study of Acid hydrolysis of rice straw.","authors":"Nibedita Sarkar, Kaustav Aikat","doi":"10.5402/2013/170615","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5402/2013/170615","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Rice straw is a renewable, cheap, and abundant waste in tropical countries. The pentose content of rice straw can be used as a substrate for many types of value-added products such as xylitol and biofuel. Dilute acid hydrolysis mainly releases pentose from rice straw. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of H2SO4 concentration and reaction time on the xylose production. The variation of the main product xylose with the reaction time was described by a kinetic model and kinetic parameters were calculated to describe the variation of the xylose production with time. The optimum yield (19.35 g/L) was obtained at 0.24 mol/L H2SO4 and 30 minutes. </p>","PeriodicalId":90878,"journal":{"name":"ISRN biotechnology","volume":"2013 ","pages":"170615"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.5402/2013/170615","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33300092","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ISRN biotechnologyPub Date : 2013-12-13eCollection Date: 2013-01-01DOI: 10.5402/2013/394305
Ponnuswamy Vijayaraghavan, R Raja Primiya, Samuel Gnana Prakash Vincent
{"title":"Thermostable Alkaline Phytase from Alcaligenes sp. in Improving Bioavailability of Phosphorus in Animal Feed: In Vitro Analysis.","authors":"Ponnuswamy Vijayaraghavan, R Raja Primiya, Samuel Gnana Prakash Vincent","doi":"10.5402/2013/394305","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5402/2013/394305","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A bacterial isolate, Alcaligenes sp. secreting phytase (EC 3.1.3.8), was isolated and characterized. The optimum conditions for the production of phytase included a fermentation period of 96 h, pH 8.0, and the addition of 1% (w/v) maltose and 1% (w/v) beef extract to the culture medium. This enzyme was purified to homogeneity and had an apparent molecular mass of 41 kDa. The optimum pH range and temperature for the activity of phytase were found to be 7.0-8.0 and 60°C, respectively. This enzyme was strongly inhibited by 0.005 M of Mn(2+), Mg(2+), and Zn(2+). In vitro studies revealed that the phytase from Alcaligenes sp. released inorganic phosphate from plant phytates. Phytase released 1930 ± 28, 1740 ± 13, 1050 ± 31, 845 ± 7, 1935 ± 32, and 1655 ± 21 mg inorganic phosphate/kg plant phytates, namely, chick pea, corn, green pea, groundnut, pearl pea, and chick feed, respectively. </p>","PeriodicalId":90878,"journal":{"name":"ISRN biotechnology","volume":"2013 ","pages":"394305"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4417553/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33300093","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ISRN biotechnologyPub Date : 2013-11-13eCollection Date: 2013-01-01DOI: 10.5402/2013/169510
Rafael Zárate, Elena Cequier-Sánchez, Covadonga Rodríguez, Roberto Dorta-Guerra, Nabil El Jaber-Vazdekis, Ángel G Ravelo
{"title":"Improvement of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Production in Echium acanthocarpum Transformed Hairy Root Cultures by Application of Different Abiotic Stress Conditions.","authors":"Rafael Zárate, Elena Cequier-Sánchez, Covadonga Rodríguez, Roberto Dorta-Guerra, Nabil El Jaber-Vazdekis, Ángel G Ravelo","doi":"10.5402/2013/169510","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5402/2013/169510","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Fatty acids are of great nutritional, therapeutic, and physiological importance, especially the polyunsaturated n-3 fatty acids, possessing larger carbon chains and abundant double bonds or their immediate precursors. A few higher plant species are able to accumulate these compounds, like those belonging to the Echium genus. Here, the novel E. acanthocarpum hairy root system, which is able to accumulate many fatty acids, including stearidonic and α-linolenic acids, was optimized for a better production. The application of abiotic stress resulted in larger yields of stearidonic and α-linolenic acids, 60 and 35%, respectively, with a decrease in linoleic acid, when grown in a nutrient medium consisting of B5 basal salts, sucrose or glucose, and, more importantly, at a temperature of 15°C. The application of osmotic stress employing sorbitol showed no positive influence on the fatty acid yields; furthermore, the combination of a lower culture temperature and glucose did not show a cumulative boosting effect on the yield, although this carbon source was similarly attractive. The abiotic stress also influenced the lipid profile of the cultures, significantly increasing the phosphatidylglycerol fraction but not the total lipid neither their biomass, proving the appropriateness of applying various abiotic stress in this culture to achieve larger yields. </p>","PeriodicalId":90878,"journal":{"name":"ISRN biotechnology","volume":"2013 ","pages":"169510"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4393039/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33273619","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ISRN biotechnologyPub Date : 2013-10-01eCollection Date: 2013-01-01DOI: 10.5402/2013/986361
R Mogana, K Teng-Jin, C Wiart
{"title":"The Medicinal Timber Canarium patentinervium Miq. (Burseraceae Kunth.) Is an Anti-Inflammatory Bioresource of Dual Inhibitors of Cyclooxygenase (COX) and 5-Lipoxygenase (5-LOX).","authors":"R Mogana, K Teng-Jin, C Wiart","doi":"10.5402/2013/986361","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5402/2013/986361","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The barks and leaves extracts of Canarium patentinervium Miq. (Burseraceae Kunth.) were investigated for cyclooxygenase (COX) and 5-lipoxygenase (LOX) inhibition via in vitro models. The corresponding antioxidative power of the plant extract was also tested via nonenzyme and enzyme in vitro assays. The ethanolic extract of leaves inhibited the enzymatic activity of 5-LOX, COX-1, and COX-2 with IC50 equal to 49.66 ± 0.02 μg/mL, 0.60 ± 0.01 μg/mL, and 1.07 ± 0.01 μg/mL, respectively, with selective COX-2 activity noted in ethanolic extract of barks with COX-1/COX-2 ratio of 1.22. The ethanol extract of barks confronted oxidation in the ABTS, DPPH, and FRAP assay with EC50 values equal to 0.93 ± 0.01 μg/mL, 2.33 ± 0.02 μg/mL, and 67.00 ± 0.32 μg/mL, respectively, while the ethanol extract of leaves confronted oxidation in β-carotene bleaching assay and superoxide dismutase (SOD) assay with EC50 value of 6.04 ± 0.02 μg/mL and IC50 value of 3.05 ± 0.01 μg/mL. The ethanol extract acts as a dual inhibitor of LOX and COX enzymes with potent antioxidant capacity. The clinical significance of these data is quite clear that they support a role for Canarium patentinervium Miq. (Burseraceae Kunth.) as a source of lead compounds in the management of inflammatory diseases. </p>","PeriodicalId":90878,"journal":{"name":"ISRN biotechnology","volume":"2013 ","pages":"986361"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4393036/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33146733","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ISRN biotechnologyPub Date : 2013-09-24eCollection Date: 2013-01-01DOI: 10.5402/2013/341974
Jorge Carlos Ruiz Ruiz, Maira Rubí Segura Campos, David Abram Betancur Ancona, Luis Antonio Chel Guerrero
{"title":"Encapsulation of Phaseolus lunatus Protein Hydrolysate with Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitory Activity.","authors":"Jorge Carlos Ruiz Ruiz, Maira Rubí Segura Campos, David Abram Betancur Ancona, Luis Antonio Chel Guerrero","doi":"10.5402/2013/341974","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5402/2013/341974","url":null,"abstract":"The objective of recent research has been to seek alternative therapeutic treatments; for this reason, the use of protein hydrolysates from diverse sources has been studied. A way to guarantee that these treatments reach the site of action is through protection with covers, such as microcapsules. Therefore, proteins from the legume Phaseolus lunatus were hydrolyzed and encapsulated with a blend of Delonix regia carboxymethylated gum/sodium alginate (50 : 50 w/w). Hydrolysis release conditions in a simulated gastrointestinal system were obtained using CaCl2 concentrations as the main factor, indicating that lower CaCl2 concentrations lead to an increased hydrolysis release. Beads obtained with 1.0 mM of CaCl2 exhibited a better hydrolysate release rate under intestinal simulated conditions and the proteins maintained an IC50 of 2.9 mg/mL. Capsules obtained with the blend of Delonix regia carboxymethylated gum/sodium alginate would be used for the controlled delivery of hydrolysates with potential use as nutraceutical or therapeutic agents.","PeriodicalId":90878,"journal":{"name":"ISRN biotechnology","volume":"2013 ","pages":"341974"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4393043/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33273624","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ISRN biotechnologyPub Date : 2013-09-23eCollection Date: 2013-01-01DOI: 10.5402/2013/162645
Anna V Piterina, J Tony Pembroke
{"title":"Use of PCR-DGGE Based Molecular Methods to Analyse Microbial Community Diversity and Stability during the Thermophilic Stages of an ATAD Wastewater Sludge Treatment Process as an Aid to Performance Monitoring.","authors":"Anna V Piterina, J Tony Pembroke","doi":"10.5402/2013/162645","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5402/2013/162645","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>PCR and PCR-DGGE techniques have been evaluated to monitor biodiversity indexes within an ATAD (autothermal thermophilic aerobic digestion) system treating domestic sludge for land spread, by examining microbial dynamics in response to elevated temperatures during treatment. The ATAD process utilises a thermophilic population to generate heat and operates at elevated pH due to degradation of sludge solids, thus allowing pasteurisation and stabilisation of the sludge. Genera-specific PCR revealed that Archaea, Eukarya and Fungi decline when the temperature reaches 59°C, while the bacterial lineage constitutes the dominant group at this stage. The bacterial community at the thermophilic stage, its similarity index to the feed material, and the species richness present were evaluated by PCR-DGGE. Parameters such as choice of molecular target (16S rDNA or rpoB genes), and electrophoresis condition, were optimised to maximise the resolution of the method for ATAD. Dynamic analysis of microbial communities was best observed utilising PCR-DGGE analysis of the V6-V8 region of 16S rDNA, while rpoB gene profiles were less informative. Unique thermophilic communities were shown to quickly adapt to process changes, and shown to be quite stable during the process. Such techniques may be used as a monitoring technique for process health and efficiency. </p>","PeriodicalId":90878,"journal":{"name":"ISRN biotechnology","volume":"2013 ","pages":"162645"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.5402/2013/162645","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33273618","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}