Influence of free amino acids on clavulanic acid production by Streptomyces clavuligerus in synthetic medium

The effect of nitrogen source on clavulanic acid production was investigated in shake flasks. Media containing asparagine plus one of several different amino acids or a combination of two amino acids was tested. The best result, ca. 180 mg/L clavulanic acid, CA, in 60 h, was obtained with the lysine-tyrosine pair In an aerated and agitated fermentor this medium led to CA concentrations of ca. 210 mg/L, a remarkable production for synthetic medium utilization. Amino acids analysis during cultivation indicated that, while asparagine was consumed rapidly, lysine and tyrosine were metabolized slowly, promoting CA production.

Eucalyptus ESTs involved in the production of 9-cis epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase, a regulatory enzyme of abscisic acid production

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Fatty acid production by four strains of Mucor hiemalis grown in plant oil and soluble carbohydrates

Four Mucor hiemalis strains (M1, M2, M3 and M4), isolated from soil at a depth of 0 - 15 cm in the Juréia-Itatins Ecology Station (JIES), in the state of São Paulo, Brazil and were evaluated for the production of γ-linolenic (GLA) and other unsaturated fatty acids. Five growth variables (temperature, pH, carbon source, nitrogen source, and vegetable oils) were studied. Liquid media containing 2% vegetable oil (palm oil, canola oil, soybean oil, sesame oil, or sunflower oil) or 2% carbohydrate (fructose, galactose, glycerol, glucose, lactose, maltose, sucrose, sorbitol or xylose) and 1% yeast extract as a nitrogen source were used. The greatest biomass production was observed with M3 and M4 strains in palm oil (91.5 g l -1) and sunflower oil (68.3 g l -1) media, respectively. Strain M4 produced greater quantities of polyunsaturated acids in medium containing glucose. The GLA production in the M4 biomass was 1,132.2 mg l -1 in glucose medium. Plant oils were inhibitors of fatty acid production by these strains. © 2007 Academic Journals.

L(+) Lactic acid production by new Lactobacillus rhamnosus B 103

L(+) Lactic acid fermentation was studied by Lactobacillus rhamnosus sp. under the effects of pH control and a lowcost nutritional medium (sugarcane juice and corn steep liquor-CSL). Central composite design (CCD) was employed to determine maximum lactic acid production at optimum values for process variables and a satisfactory fit model was realized. Statistical analysis of the results showed that the linear and quadratic terms of two variables (sugarcane juice and pH) had significant effects. The interactions between the three variables were found to contribute to the response at a significant level. A second-order polynomial regression model estimated that the maximum lactic acid production of 86.36 g/L was obtained when the optimum values of sucrose, CSL and pH were 112.65 g/L, 29.88 g/L and 6.2, respectively. Verification of the optimization showed that L(+) lactic acid production was of 85.06 g/L. Under these conditions, Y P/S and Q P values of 0.85 g/g and 1.77 g/Lh, respectively, were obtained after 48 h fermentation, with a maximal productivity of 2.2 g/L h at 30 h of process. © 2010 de Lima CJB, et al.

Lipid formation and γ-linolenic acid production by Mucor circinelloides and Rhizopus sp., grown on vegetable oil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effects of microbial inoculants and amino acid production by-product on fermentation and chemical composition of sugarcane silages

The objective of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition, fermentation patterns and aerobic stability of sugarcane silages with addition of amino acid production (monosodium glutamate) by-product (APB) and microbial inoculants. Mature sugarcane was chopped and ensiled in laboratory silos (n = 4/treatment) without additives (control) and with APB (10 g/kg), Pioneer 1174® (PIO, 1.0 mg/kg, Lactobacillus plantarum + Streptoccoccus faecium, Pioneer), Lalsil Cana (2.0 mg/kg, Lactobacillus buchineri, Lallemand) or Mercosil Maís 11C33® (1.0 mg/kg, Lactobacillus buchineri + Lactobacillus plantarum + Streptoccoccus faecium, Timac Agro). Fresh silage and silage liquor samples were obtained to assess pH, chemical composition and organic acid concentrations. Silage temperature was recorded throughout seven days to evaluate aerobic stability. The addition of APB decreased lactic acid levels, increased pH and N-NH3 and did not alter ethanol, acetic and butyric acids concentrations or dry matter (DM) losses. Microbial inoculants enhanced acetic acid levels, although only Pioneer 1174® and Mercosil Maís 11C33® lowered ethanol, butyric acid and DM losses. The addition of APB increased CP content and did not modify DM, soluble carbohydrates contents or in vitro dry matter digestibility. Additives did not alter silage maximum temperature or temperature increasing rate; however, Pioneer 1174® and Mercosil Maís 11C33® increased the time elapsed to reach maximum temperature. Monosodium glutamate production by-product does not alter fermentation patterns or aerobic stability of sugarcane silages, whereas homofermentative bacteria can provide silages of good quality.

Biogenic and lithogenic silica, silicic acid, production of biogenic silica, and irradiance measurements during the Ross Sea Bloom Project 1994-1996

The development of the seasonal phytoplankton bloom in the Ross Sea was studied during two cruises. The first, conducted in November-December 1994, investigated the initiation and rapid growth of the bloom, whereas the second (December 1995-January 1996) concentrated on the bloom's maximum biomass period and the subsequent decline in biomass. Central to the understanding of the controls of growth and the summer decline of the bloom is a quantitative assessment of the growth rate of phytoplankton. Growth rates were estimated over two time scales with different methods. The first estimated daily growth rates from isotropic incorporation under simulated in situ conditions, including 14C, 15N and 32Si uptake measurements combined with estimates of standing stocks of particulate organic carbon, nitrogen and biogenic silica. The second method used daily to weekly changes in biomass at selected locations, with net growth rates being estimated from changes in standing stocks of phytoplankton. In addition, growth rates were estimated in large-volume experiments under optimal irradiances. Growth rates showed distinct temporal patterns. Early in the growing season, short-term estimates suggested that growth rates of in situ assemblages were less than maximum (relative to the temperature-limited maximum) and were likely reduced due to low irradiance regimes encountered under the ice. Growth rates increased thereafter and appeared to reach their maximum as biomass approached the seasonal peak, but decreased markedly in late December. Differences between the major taxonomic groups present were also noted, especially from the isotopic tracer experiments. The haplophyte Phaeocystic antarctica was dominant in 1994 throughout the growing season, and it exhibited the greatest growth rates (mean 0.41/day) during spring. Diatom standing stocks were low early in the growing season, and growth rates averaged 0.100/day. In summer diatoms were more abundant, but their growth rates remained much lower (mean of 0.08/day) than the potential maximum. Understanding growth rate controls is essential to the development of predictive models of the carbon cycle and food webs in Antarctic waters.

Light-mediated retinoic acid production.

Retinoids serve two main functions in biology: retinaldehyde forms the chromophore bound to opsins, and retinoic acid (RA) is the activating ligand of transcription factors. These two functions are linked in the vertebrate eye: we describe here that illumination of the retina results in an increase in RA synthesis, as detected with a RA bioassay and by HPLC. The synthesis is mediated by retinaldehyde dehydrogenases which convert some of the chromophore all-trans retinaldehyde, released from bleached rhodopsin, into RA. As the eye contains high levels of retinaldehyde dehydrogenases, and as the oxidation of retinaldehyde is an irreversible reaction, RA production has to be considered an unavoidable by-product of light. Through RA synthesis, light can thus directly influence gene transcription in the eye, which provides a plausible mechanism for light effects that cannot be explained by electric activity. Whereas the function of retinaldehyde as chromophore is conserved from bacteria to mammals, RA-mediated transcription is fully evolved only in vertebrates. Invertebrates differ from vertebrates in the mechanism of chromophore regeneration: while in the invertebrate visual cycle the chromophore remains bound, it is released as free all-trans retinaldehyde from illuminated vertebrate rhodopsin. RA synthesis occurring as corollary of dark regeneration in the vertebrate visual cycle may have given rise to the expansion of RA-mediated transcriptional regulation.

Microbial hyaluronic acid production

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a commercially valuable medical biopolymer increasingly produced through microbial fermentation. Viscosity limits product yield and the focus of research and development has been on improving the key quality parameters, purity and molecular weight. Traditional strain and process optimisation has yielded significant improvements, but appears to have reached a limit. Metabolic engineering is providing new opportunities and HA produced in a heterologous host is about to enter the market. In order to realise the full potential of metabolic engineering, however, greater understanding of the mechanisms underlying chain termination is required.

Chemistry of acid production in black coal mine washery wastes

Column leaching tests on black coal mine washery wastes were performed, to determine the chemistry of acid generation. Coal mine coarse rejects and tailings were subjected to wet and dry cycle dissolution and subsequently column leached. The rates of iron sulphide oxidation and carbonate mineral dissolution were determined based on the drainage chemistry. The kinetic data from column leach experiments are used to predict the time required to deplete the acid producing and acid consuming minerals in the mine wastes. The acid production in the mine rejects was found to depend upon iron chemistry, carbonate chemistry, diffusion of oxygen, and permeability. The chemistry of the drainage from two different coal mines is compared. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.