Development of a bionematicide with Paecilomyces lilacinus to control Meloidogyne incognita

Root-knot disease caused by Meloidogyne incognita is a matter of grave concern because it affects several economically important crop plants. The use of solid-state fermentation (SSF) may help to elaborate efficient formulations with fungi to be employed in the biologic control of nematodes. Attempts were made to select low-cost substrates for spore production of a strain of Paecilomyces lilacinus with known nematicide capacity. Coffee husks, cassava bagasse, and defatted soybean cake were utilized as substrates, and sugarcane bagasse was used as support. Fermentations were carried out in flasks covered with filter paper at 28°C for 10 d. The products obtained by SSF were evaluated for their nematicide activity in pot experiments containing one seedling of the plant Coleus inoculated with the nematode M. incognita. The plants were evaluated 2 mo after inoculation. Fermented products showed a reduction in the number of nematodes. The best results were obtained with defatted soybean cake, which showed almost 100% reduction in the number of nematodes; the reduction with coffee husk was 80% and with cassava bagasse was about 60%.     

Solid-state fermentation for production of phytase by Rhizopus oligosporus

Solid-state fermentation of coconut oil cake has been carried out with Rhizopus oligosporus for the production of phytase. Phytase is used commercially in the animal feed industry to improve animal performance because there is a substantial and growing interest among swine and poultry producers in the application of phytase to improve the nutritional quality in animal feeds. Demonstrated benefits include improved feed yield ratios and reduction in the environmental costs associated with the disposal of animal wastes. We report the production of extracellular phytase by R. oligosporus under solid-state fermentation using coconut oil cake as substrate. Maximal enzyme production (14.29 U/g of dry substrate) occurred at pH 5.3, 30°C, and 54.5% moisture content after 96 h of incubation. The addition of extra nutrients to the substrate resulted in inhibition of product formation. The results indicate the scope for production of phytase using coconut oil cake as solid substrate without additional nutrients.     

Relationship between coffee husk caffeine degradation and respiration of Aspergillus sp. LPBx in solid-state fermentation

Studies were carried out in a packed-bed column fermentor using coffee husk as substrate in order to verify a relationship between caffeine degradation and the respiration of Aspergillus sp. LPBx. Fermentation conditions were optimized by using factorial design experiments. The kinetic study showed that the caffeine degradation was related to the development of mold and its respiration and also with the consumption of reducing sugars present in coffee husk. From the values obtained experimentally for oxygen uptake rate and CO₂ evolved, we determined a biomass yield of 3.811 g of biomass/g of consumed O₂ and a maintenance coefficient of 0.0031 g of consumed O₂/(g of biomass·h). The maximum caffeine degradation achieved was 90%.     

Co-Culture of Microalgae, Cyanobacteria, and Macromycetes for Exopolysaccharides Production: Process Preliminary Optimization and Partial Characterization

In this study, the biomass and exopolysaccharides (EPS) production in co-cultures of microalgae/cyanobacteria and macromycetes was evaluated as a technology for producing new polysaccharides for medical and/or industrial application. Based on biomass and EPS productivity of monocultures, two algae and two fungi were selected and cultured in different co-culture arrangements. The hydrosoluble EPS fractions from mono- and co-cultures were characterized by 13C NMR spectroscopy and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry and compared. It was found that co-cultures resulted in the production of an EPS different from those produced by monocultures, showing fungal predominance with microalgal/cyanobacterial traces. Co-cultures conditions were screened (temperature, agitation speed, fungal and microalgae inoculation rate, initial pH, illumination rate, and glucose concentration) in order to achieve maximum biomass and EPS production, resulting in an increase of 33 and 61% in exopolysaccharides and biomass productions, respectively (patent pending).     

Recent developments in microbial inulinases

Microbial inulinases are an important class of industrial enzymes that have gained much attention recently. Inulinases can be produced by a host of microorganisms, including fungi, yeast, and bacteria. Among them, however, Aspergillus sp. (filamentous fungus) and Kluyveromyces sp. (diploid yeast) are apparently the preferred choices for commercial applications. Among various substrates (carbon source) employed for their production, inulin-containing plant materials offer advantages in comparison to pure substrates. Although submerged fermentation has been universally used as the technique of fermentation, attempts are being made to develop solidstate fermentation technology also. Inulinases catalyze the hydrolysis of inulin to d-fructose (fructose syrup), which has gained an important place in human diets today. In addition, inulinases are finding other newer applications. This article reviews more recent developments, especially those made in the past decade, on microbial inulinases—its production using various microorganisms and substrates. It also describes the characteristics of various forms of inulinases produced as well as their applications.     

Batch Fermentation Model of Propionic Acid Production by Propionibacterium acidipropionici in Different Carbon Sources

Propionic acid (PA) is widely used as additive in animal feed and also in the manufacturing of cellulose-based plastics, herbicides, and perfumes. Salts of propionic acid are used as preservative in food. PA is mainly produced by chemical synthesis. Nowadays, PA production by fermentation of low-cost industrial wastes or renewable sources has been an interesting alternative. In the present investigation, PA production by Propionibacterium acidipropionici ATCC 4965 was studied using a basal medium with sugarcane molasses (BMSM), glycerol or lactate (BML) in small batch fermentation at 30 and 36 degrees C. Bacterial growth was carried out under low dissolved oxygen concentration and without pH control. Results indicated that P. acidipropionici produced more biomass in BMSM than in other media at 30 degrees C (7.55 g l(-1)) as well as at 36 degrees C (3.71 g l(-1)). PA and biomass production were higher at 30 degrees C than at 36 degrees C in all cases studied. The best productivity was obtained by using BML (0.113 g l(-1) h(-1)), although the yielding of this metabolite was higher when using glycerol as carbon source (0.724 g g(-1)) because there was no detection of acetic acid. By the way, when using the other two carbon sources, acetic acid emerged as an undesirable by-product for further PA purification.     

Production of Potential Vaccine Against Dermatobia hominis for Cattle

The present study aimed to detect and characterize antigenic proteins and to assess their activity as preventive vaccines against dermatobiosis. Polyclonal antibodies were produced against three larval instars (L₁, L₂, L₃), and their antigenic proteins were assessed for reactivity. Polyclonal antibodies produced in animals immunized with extracts were analyzed, and L₃-derived antibodies showed proteins with better antigenic responses. The study of reactivity using immunodetection showed that the 50-kDa protein had the highest antigenicity. This protein was purified and subjected to mass spectrometry, and the sequences obtained were compared with those in the databases available. No similarities were found with existing sequences. Subsequently, large quantities of purified protein were used to immunize cattle. Vaccine effectiveness was evaluated by comparing the number of cutaneous nodules formed in the control group and immunized animals. The antigen produced proved a promising candidate for vaccine production, with 90.67?% efficacy. Immunohistochemistry of antigen?Cantibody reaction in larval sections showed epitopes all over larval tissues.     

Metallation of Ligands with Biological Activity: Synthesis and X‐ray Characterization of the New Sulfathiazolato Complexes of Gold(I) and Silver(I): [(sulfathiazolato)AuPPh3] and [Ag(sulfathiazolato)]2 (sulfathiazole = N1‐2‐thiazolyl‐sulfanilamide)

Sulfathiazole reacts with [Ph₃PAu(CH₃COO)] in benzene and with Ag(CH₃COO) in methanol giving [(sulfathiazolato)AuPPh₃] ( 1 ) and {[Ag(sulfathiazolato)]₂}_n ( 2 ). While the lattice of 1 contains single molecules with linear N–Au–P bonds, compound 2 performs a polymeric, one‐dimensional assembling of [Ag(sulfathiazolato)]₂ dimers linked through intermolecular Ag···O=S=O interactions along the crystallographic axis b. The silver atoms achieve a tetrahedral configuration through Ag–Ag contacts which measure 2.8427(4) Å, considerably shorter than the normal bonding distance of metallic silver.     

Comparison of citric acid production by solid-state fermentation in flask, column, tray, and drum bioreactors

Studies were conducted to evaluate citric acid production by solid-state fermentation (SSF) using cassava bagasse as substrate employing a fungal culture of Aspergillus niger LPB 21 at laboratory and semipilot scale. Optimization of the process parameters temperature, pH, initial humidity, aeration, and nutritive composition was conducted in flasks and column fermentors. The results showed that thermal treatment of cassava bagasse enhanced fungal fermentation efficacy, resulting in 220 g of citric acid/kg of dry cassava bagasse with only treated cassava bagasse as substrate. The results obtained from the factorial experimental design in a column bioreactor showed that an aeration rate of 60 mL/min (3 mL/[g·min]) and 60% initial humidity were optimum, resulting in 265.7 g/kg of dry cassava bagasse citric acid production. This was almost 1.6 times higher than the quantities produced under unoptimized conditions (167.4 g of citric acid/kg of dry cassava bagasse). The defined parameters were transferred to semipilot scale, which showed high promise for large-scale citric acid production by SSF with cassava bagasse. Respirometry assays were carried out in order to follow indirectly the biomass evolution of the process. Citric acid production reached 220, 309, 263, and 269 g/kg of dry cassava bagasse in Erlenmeyer flasks, column fermentors, a tray bioreactor, and a horizontal drum bioreactor, respectively.     

On the Search of Metallated Sulfonamides: Synthesis and X‐ray Characterization of the New Sulfathiazolato Nickel(II)‐Chelate Complex [Ni(STZ)2(Py)2]·2Py (STZ = Sulfathiazolato Anion; Sulfathiazole = N1‐2‐thiazolyl‐sulfanilamide; Py = Pyridine)

Sulfathiazole (HSTZ) reacts with triethylamine and Ni(CH₃COO)₂·4H₂O in methanol and further with pyridine to give the sulfathiazolato complex [Ni(STZ)₂(Py)₂]·2Py. In the new chelate complex the deprotonated sulfonamidic nitrogen atom does not take part in the coordination process, apparently retaining the negative charge. Two (STZ)^? moieties are symmetrically bonded to the Ni²⁺ ion through a thiazolyl nitrogen atom and an oxygen atom of the S(O)₂ group. Two pyridine molecules accomplish the fairly distorted octahedral coordination at the metal centre.