Interactions of thiophenes and acidophilic,thermophilic bacteria

The growth and oxygen consumption of a variety of thermophilic, acidophilic bacteria in the presence of thiophene-2-carboxylate (T2C) and dibenzothiophene (DBT) have been determined. T2C was extremely toxic to the acidophiles in comparison with neutrophiles, but appeared to be degraded by a heterotrophicSulfolobus- like thermophile. DBT proved to be unstable at high temperatures, even in the absence of bacteria, and was not a substrate for the thermophiles.     

Production of recombinant bleaching enzymes from thermophilic microorganisms in fungal hosts

Cost-effective production of enzymes for industrial processes makes the appropriate selection of the host-vector expression system critical. We have developed two systems for the bulk production of bleaching enzymes from thermophiles. Kluyveromyces lactis has been developed as a secretion host employing expression vectors based on the 2μ-like plasmid pKD1 of Kluyveromyces drosophilarium. Our second system involves the filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei. Fusion and nonfusion vectors have been constructed using the strong cellobiohydrolase 1 (cbh1) promoter. The KEX2 protease cleavage site and a 6 × HIS-tag have been incorporated to facilitate both cleavage and purification of the mature foreign proteins.     

Macroscopic mass and energy balance of a pilot plant anaerobic bioreactor operated under thermophilic conditions

Intensive poultry production generates over 100,000 t of litter annually in West Virginia and 9×10⁶ t nationwide. Current available technological alternatives based on thermophilic anaerobic digestion for residuals treatment are diverse. A modification of the typical continuous stirred tank reactor is a promising process being relatively stable and owing to its capability to manage considerable amounts of residuals at low operational cost. A 40-m³ pilot plant digester was used for performance evaluation considering energy input and methane production. Results suggest some changes to the pilot plant configuration are necessary to reduce power consumption although maximizing biodigester performance.     

Mode of sugar phosphorylation inClostridium thermocellum

Fungi were screened for important industrial enzymes produced from industrial chips and sawdust of laurel (Louro inamui, Ocotea cymbarum) and cedar (Cedro, Cedrella odorata). Seven hyphomycetes and one zygomycete were isolated and characterized. Two different media for testing the enzymatic activities were used. In general, in potato dextrose (1%) medium (M-3) a preponderancy of ligninolytic over cellulolytic enzymes was observed. In potato infusion-sawdust wood (1%) medium (M-4) the cellulolytic, xylanolytic, and lipolytic enzymes were efficiently induced. Significant modulation of enzyme production by the carbon source was found in the extracted fungi from self-heated industrial chips piles of cedar and laurel trees at the Amazonian region.     

Production and properties of a biosurfactant applied to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon solubilization

Microorganisms isolated from a soil sample collected from a gasoline filling station (located in Guwahati) were tested for their pyrene- and anthracene-degrading potential. Preliminary studies showed the ability of the organism to grow on carbon-free mineral medium (CFMM) supplemented with pyrene as the sole source of carbon. The organisms were found to produce a bioemulsifier when grown on CFMM with glucose or glycerol and/or pyrene as the carbon source. The organisms could also utilize anthracene when grown on mineral salt medium along with 2% glycerol. Within 2 d, anthracene concentration dropped less than 30% of the original concentration. Approximately 100 mg of the emulsifier was isolated from 25 mL of the 5-d-grown culture. The emulsifier was tested to produce emulsion with both an aliphatic and an aromatic group of hydrocarbons and resulting emulsions were found to be stable for a long period of time when keptat 10–15°C. The emulsifier was also quite stable in a pH range of 3.0–11.0. In a concentration range of 0.5–10 mg/mL, it resulted in a linear increment of apparent pyrene and anthracene solubility in water.     

Cell‐Laden Hydrogels for Multikingdom 3D Printing

Living materials are created through the embedding of live, whole cells into a matrix that can house and sustain the viability of the encapsulated cells. Through the immobilization of these cells, their bioactivity can be harnessed for applications such as bioreactors for the production of high‐value chemicals. While the interest in living materials is growing, many existing materials lack robust structure and are difficult to pattern. Furthermore, many living materials employ only one type of microorganism, or microbial consortia with little control over the arrangement of the various cell types. In this work, a Pluronic F127‐based hydrogel system is characterized for the encapsulation of algae, yeast, and bacteria to create living materials. This hydrogel system is also demonstrated to be an excellent material for additive manufacturing in the form of direct write 3D‐printing to spatially arrange the cells within a single printed construct. These living materials allow for the development of incredibly complex, immobilized consortia, and the results detailed herein further enhance the understanding of how cells behave within living material matrices. The utilization of these materials allows for interesting applications of multikingdom microbial cultures in immobilized bioreactor or biosensing technologies.     

Isolation and identification of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">thermophilic alkaline desulphuricant</Emphasis> strain

A desulfurization strain that belongs to the thermophilic alkaline desulphuricant is designated as strain GDJ-3 and isolated from Inner Mongolia, China. The colony of the strain shows tiny, yellow, or white-yellow, and it becomes henna with the protracting of cultivated time. The cells are bacilliform (0.3−0.6 × 1.0−1.2 μm), motive, and Gram negative. The strain GDJ-3 is able to utilize respectively the thiosulphate, sulfate, sulfite, or sulfide as sulfur source, utilize the carbon dioxide as the carbon source, and utilize the ammonium or nitrate as the nitrogen source. According to GenBank data, 16s RNA results of GDJ-3 are in good agreement with Alpha proteobacterrium sp. (97%) and Ochrobactrum sp. (98%). For GDJ-3, the optimum growth temperature is at 45°C, the optimum pH is at 8.5–8.8, and the optimum rocking speed of sorting table is at 150 r/min. Under the optimum culture condition, the cells of the strain can live for about 18 h. In the desulfurization solution, which is prepared according to the composition of DDS solution, the objectionable constituents of sodium thiosulphate and sodium sulfide were added factitiously, and the bacterial cell concentration was set at 10⁷/mL. After the regeneration of the above desulfurization solution by the strain cells, the concentration of sodium thiosulphate was decreased by 14.75 g/L (percentage loss of content 13.21%), the concentration of sodium sulfide was decreased by 0.76 g/L (percentage loss of content 87.36%) in the desulfurization solution in 9.5 hours, and sulfur appeared. Maybe, this kind of strain can be used as the regeneration’s bacterial source of DDS solution.     

Application of spectroscopic techniques for monitoring microbial diversity and bioremediation

Microbes are the most fascinating group, with huge diversity devising myriad functional applications in the field of medicine, pharmaceuticals, environmental remediation, and industries. Quantitative and qualitative determination of biomolecules and microbial assisted phenomena by spectroscopy is a pioneer approach. It facilitates the study of atomic and molecular geometries, energy levels, chemical bonds, and interactions between molecules and microbes. It produces fingerprints of the microbial species serving to characterize, differentiate, and identify microorganisms, in both the environment and at single-cell level. Spectroscopy-based bioremediation techniques like Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, mass spectroscopy, force spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, photoemission spectroscopy, and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy have been very well represented and linked with the microbial applications. This review summarizes the traditional spectroscopic techniques used for the study of microbes and microbial-assisted products as well as illustrates its application in the field of microbial diversity and remediation. This will provide an outlook for the intricate characterization and dimension of microbes to be used for effective application in bioremediation.     

The Microbiome and Its Implications in Cancer Immunotherapy

Cancer is responsible for ~18 million deaths globally each year, representing a major cause of death. Several types of therapy strategies such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy and more recently immunotherapy, have been implemented in treating various types of cancer. Microbes have recently been found to be both directly and indirectly involved in cancer progression and regulation, and studies have provided novel and clear insights into the microbiome-mediated emergence of cancers. Scientists around the globe are striving hard to identify and characterize these microbes and the underlying mechanisms by which they promote or suppress various kinds of cancer. Microbes may influence immunotherapy by blocking various cell cycle checkpoints and the production of certain metabolites. Hence, there is an urgent need to better understand the role of these microbes in the promotion and suppression of cancer. The identification of microbes may help in the development of future diagnostic tools to cure cancers possibly associated with the microbiome. This review mainly focuses on various microbes and their association with different types of cancer, responses to immunotherapeutic modulation, physiological responses, and prebiotic and postbiotic effects.