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Sample records for acid production plant

  1. Biotechnological applications for rosmarinic acid production in plant ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Biotechnological applications for rosmarinic acid production in plant. ... rosmarinic acid in medicinal plants, herbs and spices has beneficial and health promoting ... of rosmarinic acid starts with the amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine.

  2. Amino acid production exceeds plant nitrogen demand in Siberian tundra

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wild, Birgit; Eloy Alves, Ricardo J.; Bárta, Jiři; Čapek, Petr; Gentsch, Norman; Guggenberger, Georg; Hugelius, Gustaf; Knoltsch, Anna; Kuhry, Peter; Lashchinskiy, Nikolay; Mikutta, Robert; Palmtag, Juri; Prommer, Judith; Schnecker, Jörg; Shibistova, Olga; Takriti, Mounir; Urich, Tim; Richter, Andreas

    2018-03-01

    Arctic plant productivity is often limited by low soil N availability. This has been attributed to slow breakdown of N-containing polymers in litter and soil organic matter (SOM) into smaller, available units, and to shallow plant rooting constrained by permafrost and high soil moisture. Using 15N pool dilution assays, we here quantified gross amino acid and ammonium production rates in 97 active layer samples from four sites across the Siberian Arctic. We found that amino acid production in organic layers alone exceeded literature-based estimates of maximum plant N uptake 17-fold and therefore reject the hypothesis that arctic plant N limitation results from slow SOM breakdown. High microbial N use efficiency in organic layers rather suggests strong competition of microorganisms and plants in the dominant rooting zone. Deeper horizons showed lower amino acid production rates per volume, but also lower microbial N use efficiency. Permafrost thaw together with soil drainage might facilitate deeper plant rooting and uptake of previously inaccessible subsoil N, and thereby promote plant productivity in arctic ecosystems. We conclude that changes in microbial decomposer activity, microbial N utilization and plant root density with soil depth interactively control N availability for plants in the Arctic.

  3. Method for production of petroselinic acid and OMEGA12 hexadecanoic acid in transgenic plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohlrogge, John B.; Cahoon, Edgar B.; Shanklin, John; Somerville, Christopher R.

    1995-01-01

    The present invention relates to a process for producing lipids containing the fatty acid petroselinic acid in plants. The production of petroselinic acid is accomplished by genetically transforming plants which do not normally accumulate petroselinic acid with a gene for a .omega.12 desaturase from another species which does normally accumulate petroselinic acid.

  4. What limits production of unusual monoenoic fatty acids in transgenic plants?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suh, Mi Chung; Schultz, David J; Ohlrogge, John B

    2002-08-01

    Unusual monounsaturated fatty acids are major constituents (greater than 80%) in seeds of Coriandrum sativum L. (coriander) and Thunbergia alata Bojer, as well as in glandular trichomes (greater than 80% derived products) of Pelargonium x hortorum (geranium). These diverged fatty acid structures are produced via distinct plastidial acyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) desaturases. When expressed in Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. under strong seed-specific promoters the unusual acyl-ACP desaturases resulted in accumulation of unusual monoene fatty acids at 1-15% of seed fatty acid mass. In this study, we have examined several factors that potentially limit higher production of unusual monoenes in transgenic oilseeds. (i) Immunoblots indicated that the introduced desaturases were expressed at levels equivalent to or higher than the endogenous delta9 18:0-ACP desaturase. However, the level of unusual fatty acid produced in transgenic plants was not correlated with the level of desaturase expression. (ii) The unusual desaturases were expressed in several backgrounds, including antisense 18:0-ACP desaturase plants, in fab1 mutants, and co-expressed with specialized ACP or ferredoxin isoforms. None of these experiments led to high production of expected products. (iii) No evidence was found for degradation of the unusual fatty acids during seed development. (iv) Petroselinic acid added to developing seeds was incorporated into triacylglycerol as readily as oleic acid, suggesting no major barriers to its metabolism by enzymes of glycerolipid assembly. (v) In vitro and in situ assay of acyl-ACP desaturases revealed a large discrepancy of activity when comparing unusual acyl-ACP desaturases with the endogenous delta9 18:0-ACP desaturase. The combined results, coupled with the sensitivity of acyl-ACP desaturase activity to centrifugation and low salt or detergent suggests low production of unusual monoenes in transgenic plants may be due to the lack of, or incorrect assemble of

  5. Engineering plastid fatty acid biosynthesis to improve food quality and biofuel production in higher plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogalski, Marcelo; Carrer, Helaine

    2011-06-01

    The ability to manipulate plant fatty acid biosynthesis by using new biotechnological approaches has allowed the production of transgenic plants with unusual fatty acid profile and increased oil content. This review focuses on the production of very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLCPUFAs) and the increase in oil content in plants using molecular biology tools. Evidences suggest that regular consumption of food rich in VLCPUFAs has multiple positive health benefits. Alternative sources of these nutritional fatty acids are found in cold-water fishes. However, fish stocks are in severe decline because of decades of overfishing, and also fish oils can be contaminated by the accumulation of toxic compounds. Recently, there is also an increase in oilseed use for the production of biofuels. This tendency is partly associated with the rapidly rising costs of petroleum, increased concern about the environmental impact of fossil oil and the attractive need to develop renewable sources of fuel. In contrast to this scenario, oil derived from crop plants is normally contaminant free and less environmentally aggressive. Genetic engineering of the plastid genome (plastome) offers a number of attractive advantages, including high-level foreign protein expression, marker-gene excision and transgene containment because of maternal inheritance of plastid genome in most crops. Here, we describe the possibility to improve fatty acid biosynthesis in plastids, production of new fatty acids and increase their content in plants by genetic engineering of plastid fatty acid biosynthesis via plastid transformation. © 2011 The Authors. Plant Biotechnology Journal © 2011 Society for Experimental Biology, Association of Applied Biologists and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  6. Optimized Jasmonic Acid Production by Lasiodiplodia theobromae Reveals Formation of Valuable Plant Secondary Metabolites.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Felipe Eng

    Full Text Available Jasmonic acid is a plant hormone that can be produced by the fungus Lasiodiplodia theobromae via submerged fermentation. From a biotechnological perspective jasmonic acid is a valuable feedstock as its derivatives serve as important ingredients in different cosmetic products and in the future it may be used for pharmaceutical applications. The objective of this work was to improve the production of jasmonic acid by L. theobromae strain 2334. We observed that jasmonic acid formation is dependent on the culture volume. Moreover, cultures grown in medium containing potassium nitrate as nitrogen source produced higher amounts of jasmonic acid than analogous cultures supplemented with ammonium nitrate. When cultivated under optimal conditions for jasmonic acid production, L. theobromae secreted several secondary metabolites known from plants into the medium. Among those we found 3-oxo-2-(pent-2-enyl-cyclopentane-1-butanoic acid (OPC-4 and hydroxy-jasmonic acid derivatives, respectively, suggesting that fungal jasmonate metabolism may involve similar reaction steps as that of plants. To characterize fungal growth and jasmonic acid-formation, we established a mathematical model describing both processes. This model may form the basis of industrial upscaling attempts. Importantly, it showed that jasmonic acid-formation is not associated to fungal growth. Therefore, this finding suggests that jasmonic acid, despite its enormous amount being produced upon fungal development, serves merely as secondary metabolite.

  7. Gluconic acid production and phosphate solubilization by the plant growth-promoting bacterium Azospirillum spp.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez, Hilda; Gonzalez, Tania; Goire, Isabel; Bashan, Yoav

    2004-11-01

    In vitro gluconic acid formation and phosphate solubilization from sparingly soluble phosphorus sources by two strains of the plant growth-promoting bacteria A. brasilense (Cd and 8-I) and one strain of A. lipoferum JA4 were studied. Strains of A. brasilense were capable of producing gluconic acid when grown in sparingly soluble calcium phosphate medium when their usual fructose carbon source is amended with glucose. At the same time, there is a reduction in pH of the medium and release of soluble phosphate. To a greater extent, gluconic acid production and pH reduction were observed for A. lipoferum JA4. For the three strains, clearing halos were detected on solid medium plates with calcium phosphate. This is the first report of in vitro gluconic acid production and direct phosphate solubilization by A. brasilense and the first report of P solubilization by A. lipoferum. This adds to the very broad spectrum of plant growth-promoting abilities of this genus.

  8. Fatty acid production by four strains of Mucor hiemalis grown in plant ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    SERVER

    2007-08-06

    Aug 6, 2007 ... Four Mucor hiemalis strains (M1, M2, M3 and M4), isolated from soil at a depth of 0 - 15 ... Plant oils were inhibitors of fatty acid production by these strains. .... The procedure was adapted from Kates (1982) and Kennedy et al.

  9. Use of alkaline flyash-based products to amend acid soils: Plant growth response and nutrient uptake

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Spark, K.M.; Swift, R.S. [University of Queensland, Gatton, Qld. (Australia)

    2008-07-01

    Vast quantities of flyash are generated annually by the burning of coal in the power industry, with most of this material being stockpiled with little prospect of being utilised at present. Two alkaline flyash-based products (FAP) for use as soil amendments (FAP1 and FAP2) have been assessed using glasshouse pot trials to determine the suitability of using these products to treat acid soils. The products both contain about 80% flyash which originated from coal-fired electricity generation. The acid soils used in the study were 2 Podsols and a Ferrosol, all originating from south-east Queensland and ranging in pH (1 : 5 suspension in water) from 4 to 5.5. The flyash products when applied to the soil significantly enhanced growth of maize plants (Zea mays L.), with optimal application rates in the range 1.25-5% w/w. The FAP/soil mixtures and plants were analysed using a range of methods including extraction with DTPA, and plant biomass (aboveground dry matter). The results indicate that in addition to the liming effect, the flyash in the alkaline flyash products may enhance plant growth as a result of increasing the uptake of micro-nutrients such as copper, zinc, and manganese. The study suggests that flyash has the potential to be used as a base material in the production of soil amendment materials that can change soil pH and act as a fertiliser for certain soil micro-nutrients such as Cu, Mn, and Zn.

  10. Plant-microbe interactions: Plant hormone production by phylloplane fungi. Research report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tuomi, T.; Ilvesoksa, J.; Rosenqvist, H.

    1993-06-23

    The molds Botrytis cinerea, Cladosporium cladosporioides and the yeast Aureobasidium pullulans, isolated from the leaves of three short-rotation Salix clones, were found to produce indole-3-acetic acid (a growth promoter of plants). Abscisic acid (a growth inhibitor of plants) production was detected in B. cinerea. The contents of indole-3-acetic acid and abscisic acid in the leaves of the Salix clones and the amounts of fungal propagules in these leaves were also measured, in order to evaluate whether the amounts of plant growth regulators produced by the fungi would make a significant contribution to the hormonal quantities of the leaves. The content of abscisic acid, and to a lesser degree that of indole-3-acetic acid, showed a positive correlation with the frequency of infection by the hormone producing organisms. The amounts of hormone producing fungi on leaves that bore visible colonies were, however, not sufficiently high to support the argument that neither the fungal production of abscisic nor indole-3-acetic acid would to a significant degree contribute to the hormonal contents of the leaves of the Salix clones.

  11. 76 FR 63878 - New Source Performance Standards Review for Nitric Acid Plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-14

    ... technologies. Nitric acid production is also one of the industrial sectors for which ``white papers'' were... standards (NSPS) for nitric acid plants. Nitric acid plants include one or more nitric acid production units. These proposed revisions include a change to the nitrogen oxides (NO X ) emission limit, which applies...

  12. Genetically engineering Synechocystis sp. Pasteur Culture Collection 6803 for the sustainable production of the plant secondary metabolite p-coumaric acid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Yong; Zhang, Yan; Cheng, Dan; Daddy, Soumana; He, Qingfang

    2014-07-01

    p-Coumaric acid is the precursor of phenylpropanoids, which are plant secondary metabolites that are beneficial to human health. Tyrosine ammonia lyase catalyzes the production of p-coumaric acid from tyrosine. Because of their photosynthetic ability and biosynthetic versatility, cyanobacteria are promising candidates for the production of certain plant metabolites, including phenylpropanoids. Here, we produced p-coumaric acid in a strain of transgenic cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. Pasteur Culture Collection 6803 (hereafter Synechocystis 6803). Whereas a strain of Synechocystis 6803 genetically engineered to express sam8, a tyrosine ammonia lyase gene from the actinomycete Saccharothrix espanaensis, accumulated little or no p-coumaric acid, a strain that both expressed sam8 and lacked slr1573, a native hypothetical gene shown here to encode a laccase that oxidizes polyphenols, produced ∼82.6 mg/L p-coumaric acid, which was readily purified from the growth medium.

  13. Metabolic Conversion of l-Ascorbic Acid to Oxalic Acid in Oxalate-accumulating Plants 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Joan C.; Loewus, Frank A.

    1975-01-01

    l-Ascorbic acid-1-14C and its oxidation product, dehydro-l-ascorbic acid, produced labeled oxalic acid in oxalate-accumulating plants such as spinach seedlings (Spinacia oleracea) and the detached leaves of woodsorrel (Oxalis stricta and O. oregana), shamrock (Oxalis adenopylla), and begonia (Begonia evansiana). In O. oregana, conversion occurred equally well in the presence or absence of light. This relationship between l-ascorbic acid metabolism and oxalic acid formation must be given careful consideration in attempts to explain oxalic accumulation in plants. PMID:16659288

  14. Kainic Acid-Induced Excitotoxicity Experimental Model: Protective Merits of Natural Products and Plant Extracts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nur Shafika Mohd Sairazi

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Excitotoxicity is well recognized as a major pathological process of neuronal death in neurodegenerative diseases involving the central nervous system (CNS. In the animal models of neurodegeneration, excitotoxicity is commonly induced experimentally by chemical convulsants, particularly kainic acid (KA. KA-induced excitotoxicity in rodent models has been shown to result in seizures, behavioral changes, oxidative stress, glial activation, inflammatory mediator production, endoplasmic reticulum stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and selective neurodegeneration in the brain upon KA administration. Recently, there is an emerging trend to search for natural sources to combat against excitotoxicity-associated neurodegenerative diseases. Natural products and plant extracts had attracted a considerable amount of attention because of their reported beneficial effects on the CNS, particularly their neuroprotective effect against excitotoxicity. They provide significant reduction and/or protection against the development and progression of acute and chronic neurodegeneration. This indicates that natural products and plants extracts may be useful in protecting against excitotoxicity-associated neurodegeneration. Thus, targeting of multiple pathways simultaneously may be the strategy to maximize the neuroprotection effect. This review summarizes the mechanisms involved in KA-induced excitotoxicity and attempts to collate the various researches related to the protective effect of natural products and plant extracts in the KA model of neurodegeneration.

  15. External radiation assessment in a wet phosphoric acid production plant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bolivar, J.P.; Perez-Moreno, J.P. [Dept. Fisica Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Huelva, 21012 Huelva (Spain); Mas, J.L. [Dept. Fisica Aplicada I, Escuela Universitaria Politecnica, Universidad de Sevilla, 41012 Sevilla (Spain)], E-mail: ppmasb@us.es; Martin, J.E.; San Miguel, E.G. [Dept. Fisica Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Huelva, 21012 Huelva (Spain); Garcia-Tenorio, R. [Dept. Fisica Aplicada II, Escuela Tecnica Superior de Arquitectura, Universidad de Sevilla, 41012 Sevilla (Spain)

    2009-10-15

    The factories dedicated to the production of phosphoric acid by the so-called wet acid method are usually considered typical NORM industries, because the phosphate rock used as raw material usually contains high concentrations of {sup 238}U-series radionuclides. The magnitude and behaviour of the radionuclides involved in the production process revealed the need to determine its dosimetric impact on workers. This work aims to partially compensate this lack of knowledge through the determination of external effective dose rates at different zones in the process at a typical plant located in the southwest of Spain. To this end, two dosimetric sampling campaigns have been carried out at this phosphoric acid production plant. The first sampling was carried out when phosphate rocks originating in Morocco were processed, and the second one when phosphate rock processed came from the Kola Peninsula (Russia Federation). This differentiation was necessary because the activity concentrations are almost one order of magnitude higher in Moroccan phosphate rock than in Kola phosphate rock. The results obtained have reflected external dose rate enhancements as high as 1.4 {mu}Sv h{sup -1} (i.e., up to thirty times the external exposition due to radionuclides in unperturbed soils) at several points in the facility, particularly where the digested rock (pulp) is filtered. However, the most problematic points are characterised by a small occupation factor. That means that the increment in the annual effective external gamma dose received by the most-exposed worker is clearly below 1 mSv (European Commission limit for the general population) under normal production. Nevertheless, special care in the design and schedule of cleaning and maintaining work in the areas with high doses should be taken in order to avoid any possibility of exceeding the previously mentioned general population limit. In addition, the results of the dosimetric campaign showed no clear correlation between {sup

  16. Potential of Different Coleus blumei Tissues for Rosmarinic Acid Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosemary Vuković

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Rosmarinic acid is one of the main active components of Coleus blumei and is known to have numerous health benefi ts. The pharmacological significance of rosmarinic acid and its production through in vitro culture has been the subject of numerous studies. Here, the ability of different tissues to accumulate rosmarinic acid and sustainability in production over long cultivation have been tested. Calli, tumours, normal roots and hairy roots were established routinely by application of plant growth regulators or by transformation with agrobacteria. The differences among the established tumour lines were highly heterogeneous. Hairy root lines showed the highest mean growth rate and consistency in rosmarinic acid production. Although some tumour lines produced more rosmarinic acid than the hairy root lines, over a long cultivation period their productivity was unstable and decreased. Further, the effects of plant growth regulators on growth and rosmarinic acid accumulation were tested. 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid significantly reduced tumour growth and rosmarinic acid production. 1-Naphthaleneacetic acid strongly stimulated hairy root growth whilst abscisic acid strongly enhanced rosmarinic acid production. Hairy roots cultured in an airlift bioreactor exhibited the highest potential for mass production of rosmarinic acid.

  17. Towards an understanding of feedbacks between plant productivity, acidity and dissolved organic matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rowe, Ed; Tipping, Ed; Davies, Jessica; Monteith, Don; Evans, Chris

    2014-05-01

    The recent origin of much dissolved organic carbon (DOC) (Tipping et al., 2010) implies that plant productivity is a major control on DOC fluxes. However, the flocculation, sorption and release of potentially-dissolved organic matter are governed by pH, and widespread increases in DOC concentrations observed in northern temperate freshwater systems seem to be primarily related to recovery from acidification (Monteith et al., 2007). We explore the relative importance of changes in productivity and pH using a model, MADOC, that incorporates both these effects (Rowe et al., 2014). The feedback whereby DOC affects pH is included. The model uses an annual timestep and relatively simple flow-routing, yet reproduces observed changes in DOC flux and pH in experimental (Evans et al., 2012) and survey data. However, the first version of the model probably over-estimated responses of plant productivity to nitrogen (N) deposition in upland semi-natural ecosystems. There is a strong case that plant productivity is an important regulator of DOC fluxes, and theoretical reasons for suspecting widespread productivity increases in recent years due not only to N deposition but to temperature and increased atmospheric CO2 concentrations. However, evidence that productivity has increased in upland semi-natural ecosystems is sparse, and few studies have assessed the major limitations to productivity in these habitats. In systems where phosphorus (P) limitation prevails, or which are co-limited, productivity responses to anthropogenic drivers will be limited. We present a revised version of the model that incorporates P cycling and appears to represent productivity responses to atmospheric N pollution more realistically. Over the long term, relatively small fluxes of nutrient elements into and out of ecosystems can profoundly affect productivity and the accumulation of organic matter. Dissolved organic N (DON) is less easily intercepted by plants and microbes than mineral N, and DON

  18. Ethylene induced plant stress tolerance by Enterobacter sp. SA187 is mediated by 2-keto-4-methylthiobutyric acid production.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Axel de Zélicourt

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Several plant species require microbial associations for survival under different biotic and abiotic stresses. In this study, we show that Enterobacter sp. SA187, a desert plant endophytic bacterium, enhances yield of the crop plant alfalfa under field conditions as well as growth of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana in vitro, revealing a high potential of SA187 as a biological solution for improving crop production. Studying the SA187 interaction with Arabidopsis, we uncovered a number of mechanisms related to the beneficial association of SA187 with plants. SA187 colonizes both the surface and inner tissues of Arabidopsis roots and shoots. SA187 induces salt stress tolerance by production of bacterial 2-keto-4-methylthiobutyric acid (KMBA, known to be converted into ethylene. By transcriptomic, genetic and pharmacological analyses, we show that the ethylene signaling pathway, but not plant ethylene production, is required for KMBA-induced plant salt stress tolerance. These results reveal a novel molecular communication process during the beneficial microbe-induced plant stress tolerance.

  19. Antisera production to detect indoleacetic acid in cultures of plant-growth promoting bacteria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rojas, Marcia M; Hernandez, Annia; Rives, Narovis; Tejera, Berto; Acebo, Yanelis; Heydrich, Mayra

    2012-01-01

    Rabbit polyclonal antisera against indoleacetic acid (IAA) bound to nitrocellulose membrane were obtained, which exhibited a high titer and specificity. The dot immunobinding technique with colloidal gold was used to detect auxin production by several strains belonging to Gluconacetobacter, Herbaspirillum, Azospirillum, Pseudomonas, Burkholderia and Bacillus genera, using culture supernatants as antigens. Moreover, auxin production was quantified by the Salkowski's method to corroborate the previous results. It was found that that all the studied microorganisms produce IAA and the feasibility of using these antisera to detect the metabolite was confirmed. Taking into account the potentialities of plant growth promoting bacteria as biofertilizers, the use of these antisera for a rapid and easy detection of IAA in bacteria associated with important crops is thus recommended.

  20. Upgrading plant amino acids through cattle to improve the nutritional value for humans: effects of different production systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, M; Sonesson, U; Hessle, A

    2017-03-01

    Efficiency in animal protein production can be defined in different ways, for example the amount of human-digestible essential amino acids (HDEAA) in the feed ration relative to the amount of HDEAA in the animal products. Cattle production systems are characterised by great diversity and a wide variety of feeds and feed ration compositions, due to ruminants' ability to digest fibrous materials inedible to humans such as roughage and by-products from the food and biofuel industries. This study examined the upgrading of protein quality through cattle by determining the quantity of HDEAA in feeds and animal products and comparing different milk and beef production systems. Four different systems for milk and beef production were designed, a reference production system for milk and beef representing typical Swedish production systems today and three alternative improved systems: (i) intensive cattle production based on maize silage, (ii) intensive systems based on food industry by-products for dairy cows and high-quality forage for beef cattle, and (iii) extensive systems based on forage with only small amounts of concentrate. In all four production systems, the quantity of HDEAA in the products (milk and meat) generally exceeded the quantity of HDEAA in the feeds. The intensive production models for beef calves generally resulted in output of the same magnitude as input for most HDEAA. However, in beef production based on calves from dairy cows, the intensive rearing systems resulted in lower output than input of HDEAA. For the extensive models, the amounts of HDEAA in meat were of the same magnitude as the amounts in the feeds. The extensive models with beef calves from suckler cows resulted in higher output in meat than input in feeds for all HDEAA. It was concluded that feeding cattle plants for production of milk and meat, instead of using the plants directly as human food, generally results in an upgrading of both the quantity and quality of protein, especially

  1. Propionic acid production in a plant fibrous-bed bioreactor with immobilized Propionibacterium freudenreichii CCTCC M207015.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Fei; Feng, Xiaohai; Xu, Hong; Zhang, Dan; Ouyang, Pingkai

    2012-12-15

    A plant fibrous-bed bioreactor (PFB) was constructed for propionic acid production. Sugar cane bagasse was applied to the PFB as immobilizing material. Starting at a concentration of 80g/L of glucose, Propionibacterium freudenreichii CCTCC M207015 produced 41.20±2.03g/L of propionic acid at 108h in the PFB. The value was 21.07% higher than that produced by free cell fermentation. Intermittent and constant fed-batch fermentations were performed in the PFB to optimize the fermentation results. The highest propionic acid concentration obtained from constant fed-batch fermentation was 136.23±6.77g/L, which is 1.40 times higher than the highest concentration (97.00g/L) previously reported. Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that cells exhibited striking changes in morphology after PFB domestication. Compared with free cell fermentation, the fluxes of propionic acid synthesis and the pentose phosphate pathway in PFB fermentation increased by 84.65% and 227.62%, respectively. On the other hand, a decrease in succinic and acetic acid fluxes was also observed. The metabolic flux distributions of the two PFB fed-batch fermentation strategies also demonstrated that constant fed-batch fermentation is a more beneficial method for the immobilized production of propionic acid. The relevant key enzyme activities and metabolic flux variations of the batch cultures showed good consistency. These results suggest that the PFB was effective in high-concentration propionic acid production. Crown Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Fumaric acid: an overlooked form of fixed carbon in Arabidopsis and other plant species

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chia, D.W.; Yoder, T.J.; Reiter, W.D.; Gibson, S.I.

    2000-01-01

    Photoassimilates are used by plants for production of energy, as carbon skeletons and in transport of fixed carbon between different plant organs. Many studies have been devoted to characterizing the factors that. regulate photoassimilate concentrations in different plant species. Most studies examining photoassimilate concentrations in C(sub 3) plants have focused on analyzing starch and soluble sugars. However, work presented here demonstrates that a number of C(sub 3) plants, including the popular model organism Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh., and agriculturally important plants, such as soybean[Glycine ma (L.) Merr.], contain significant quantities of furnaric acid. In fact, furnaric acid can accumulate to levels of several mg per g fresh weight in A-abidopsis leaves, often exceeding starch and soluble sugar levels. Furnaric acid is a component of the tricarboxylic acid cycle and, like starch and soluble sugars, can be metabolized to yield energy and carbon skeletons for production of other compounds. Fumaric acid concentrations increase with plant age and light intensity in Arabidopsis leaves. Arabidopsis phloem exudates contain significant quantities of fumaric acid, raising the possibility that fumaric acid may function in carbon transport

  3. Fumaric acid: an overlooked form of fixed carbon in Arabidopsis and other plant species

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chia, D.W.; Yoder, T.J.; Reiter, W.D.; Gibson, S.I.

    2000-10-01

    Photoassimilates are used by plants for production of energy, as carbon skeletons and in transport of fixed carbon between different plant organs. Many studies have been devoted to characterizing the factors that. regulate photoassimilate concentrations in different plant species. Most studies examining photoassimilate concentrations in C{sub 3} plants have focused on analyzing starch and soluble sugars. However, work presented here demonstrates that a number of C{sub 3} plants, including the popular model organism Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh., and agriculturally important plants, such as soybean [Glycine ma (L.) Merr.], contain significant quantities of furnaric acid. In fact, furnaric acid can accumulate to levels of several mg per g fresh weight in A-abidopsis leaves, often exceeding starch and soluble sugar levels. Furnaric acid is a component of the tricarboxylic acid cycle and, like starch and soluble sugars, can be metabolized to yield energy and carbon skeletons for production of other compounds. Fumaric acid concentrations increase with plant age and light intensity in Arabidopsis leaves. Arabidopsis phloem exudates contain significant quantities of fumaric acid, raising the possibility that fumaric acid may function in carbon transport.

  4. Overexpression of Aspergillus tubingensis faeA in protease-deficient Aspergillus niger enables ferulic acid production from plant material.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zwane, Eunice N; Rose, Shaunita H; van Zyl, Willem H; Rumbold, Karl; Viljoen-Bloom, Marinda

    2014-06-01

    The production of ferulic acid esterase involved in the release of ferulic acid side groups from xylan was investigated in strains of Aspergillus tubingensis, Aspergillus carneus, Aspergillus niger and Rhizopus oryzae. The highest activity on triticale bran as sole carbon source was observed with the A. tubingensis T8.4 strain, which produced a type A ferulic acid esterase active against methyl p-coumarate, methyl ferulate and methyl sinapate. The activity of the A. tubingensis ferulic acid esterase (AtFAEA) was inhibited twofold by glucose and induced twofold in the presence of maize bran. An initial accumulation of endoglucanase was followed by the production of endoxylanase, suggesting a combined action with ferulic acid esterase on maize bran. A genomic copy of the A. tubingensis faeA gene was cloned and expressed in A. niger D15#26 under the control of the A. niger gpd promoter. The recombinant strain has reduced protease activity and does not acidify the media, therefore promoting high-level expression of recombinant enzymes. It produced 13.5 U/ml FAEA after 5 days on autoclaved maize bran as sole carbon source, which was threefold higher than for the A. tubingensis donor strain. The recombinant AtFAEA was able to extract 50 % of the available ferulic acid from non-pretreated maize bran, making this enzyme suitable for the biological production of ferulic acid from lignocellulosic plant material.

  5. Ethylene induced plant stress tolerance by Enterobacter sp. SA187 is mediated by 2‐keto‐4‐methylthiobutyric acid production

    KAUST Repository

    Zélicourt, Axel de

    2018-03-19

    Several plant species require microbial associations for survival under different biotic and abiotic stresses. In this study, we show that Enterobacter sp. SA187, a desert plant endophytic bacterium, enhances yield of the crop plant alfalfa under field conditions as well as growth of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana in vitro, revealing a high potential of SA187 as a biological solution for improving crop production. Studying the SA187 interaction with Arabidopsis, we uncovered a number of mechanisms related to the beneficial association of SA187 with plants. SA187 colonizes both the surface and inner tissues of Arabidopsis roots and shoots. SA187 induces salt stress tolerance by production of bacterial 2-keto-4-methylthiobutyric acid (KMBA), known to be converted into ethylene. By transcriptomic, genetic and pharmacological analyses, we show that the ethylene signaling pathway, but not plant ethylene production, is required for KMBA-induced plant salt stress tolerance. These results reveal a novel molecular communication process during the beneficial microbe-induced plant stress tolerance.

  6. Ethylene induced plant stress tolerance by Enterobacter sp. SA187 is mediated by 2‐keto‐4‐methylthiobutyric acid production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Yakun; Rolli, Eleonora; Guerard, Florence; Colcombet, Jean; Benhamed, Moussa; Depaepe, Thomas

    2018-01-01

    Several plant species require microbial associations for survival under different biotic and abiotic stresses. In this study, we show that Enterobacter sp. SA187, a desert plant endophytic bacterium, enhances yield of the crop plant alfalfa under field conditions as well as growth of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana in vitro, revealing a high potential of SA187 as a biological solution for improving crop production. Studying the SA187 interaction with Arabidopsis, we uncovered a number of mechanisms related to the beneficial association of SA187 with plants. SA187 colonizes both the surface and inner tissues of Arabidopsis roots and shoots. SA187 induces salt stress tolerance by production of bacterial 2-keto-4-methylthiobutyric acid (KMBA), known to be converted into ethylene. By transcriptomic, genetic and pharmacological analyses, we show that the ethylene signaling pathway, but not plant ethylene production, is required for KMBA-induced plant salt stress tolerance. These results reveal a novel molecular communication process during the beneficial microbe-induced plant stress tolerance. PMID:29554117

  7. Plant senescence and crop productivity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gregersen, Per L.; Culetic, Andrea; Boschian, Luca

    2013-01-01

    Senescence is a developmental process which in annual crop plants overlaps with the reproductive phase. Senescence might reduce crop yield when it is induced prematurely under adverse environmental conditions. This review covers the role of senescence for the productivity of crop plants....... With the aim to enhance productivity, a number of functional stay-green cultivars have been selected by conventional breeding, in particular of sorghum and maize. In many cases, a positive correlation between leaf area duration and yield has been observed, although in a number of other cases, stay...... plants, the expression of the IPT gene under control of senescence-associated promoters has been the most successful. The promoters employed for senescence-regulated expression contain cis-elements for binding of WRKY transcription factors and factors controlled by abscisic acid. In most crops...

  8. Green and economical production of propionic acid by Propionibacterium freudenreichii CCTCC M207015 in plant fibrous-bed bioreactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Xiaohai; Chen, Fei; Xu, Hong; Wu, Bo; Li, Hui; Li, Sha; Ouyang, Pingkai

    2011-05-01

    Propionic acid production by Propionibacterium freudenreichii from molasses and waste propionibacterium cells was studied in plant fibrous-bed bioreactor (PFB). With non-treated molasses as carbon source, 12.69 ± 0.40 g l(-1) of propionic acid was attained at 120 h in free-cell fermentation, whereas the PFB fermentation yielded 41.22 ± 2.06 g l(-1) at 120 h and faster cells growth was observed. In order to optimize the fermentation outcomes, fed-batch fermentation was performed with hydrolyzed molasses in PFB, giving 91.89 ± 4.59 g l(-1) of propionic acid at 254 h. Further studies were carried out using hydrolyzed waste propionibacterium cells as substitute nitrogen source, resulting in a propionic acid concentration of 79.81 ± 3.99 g l(-1) at 302 h. The present study suggests that the low-cost molasses and waste propionibacterium cells can be utilized for the green and economical production of propionic acid by P. freudenreichii. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Effects of aminoisobutyric acid on 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid uptake, ethylene production and content of ACC in water-stressed tomato plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kalantari, Kh.M.; Bolourani, P.

    2000-01-01

    The effect of water stress on the regulation of ethylene biosynthesis has not yet clearly been established. Both the formation and utilization of aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid, ACC, are considered to be major regulatory points in ethylene biosynthesis. There is evidence that ACC synthase is the key control enzyme in response to various stimuli associated with the induction of ethylene biosynthesis. It has been reported that aminoisobutyric acid, AIB, inhibits ethylene production in some plants and AIB may inhibit the conversion of ACC to ethylene. For this reason, the possibility of inhibition of ACC uptake in the presence of AIB was examined. It was observed that the rate of 14 C-ACC uptake decreased with an increase in the concentration of AIB in the solution. Calculating the percentage of ACC converted to ethylene on the basis of uptake shows that AIB inhibits the conversion of 14 C-ACC to ethylene and that this inhibition is increased with an increase in the concentration of AIB in the solution. This suggests that a portion of the inhibition of the conversion of ACC to ethylene in the presence of AIB is partly due to the competition for absorption. However, the ability of AIB to inhibit ethylene production in leaf tissue without an exogenous supply of ACC clearly indicates that AIB inhibits ethylene production. The present study was undertaken to elucidate the regulation of ethylene biosynthesis in water-stressed plants and the results are discussed

  10. Composting plant conversion for the production of bio based products; Konversion eines Kompostwerkes zur Herstellung biobasierter Produkte

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hoffmann, Marc [Universitaetsklinikum Jena (Germany). Stabsstelle Umweltschutz

    2013-03-15

    The intention behind this paper is to explore the potential of extracting bio based products such as lactic acid and further organic acid compounds during a successful composting process, by inserting an additional pre-treatment level into the existing process. The fundamental idea of extracting bio based products and biogas is based on the extension of a composting plant with an anaerobic intermediate level of maceration and a bypass reactor as a potential bio-refinery. For the extraction of carboxylic acid out of the macerated substance the principle of electrodialysis on a laboratory scale can be successfully verified by means of concentration of free acids. The concluding assessment of the composting plant Darmstadt-Kranichstein with regards to its potential shows that further examination on a large scale for the extraction of biobased products using biowaste is deemed to be appropriate on material and energetic consideration. The study demonstrates the potential for a combined aerobic/anaerobic plant with composting, renewable energy and secondary raw materials generation. (orig.)

  11. Direct effect of acid rain on leaf chlorophyll content of terrestrial plants in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du, Enzai; Dong, Dan; Zeng, Xuetong; Sun, Zhengzhong; Jiang, Xiaofei; de Vries, Wim

    2017-12-15

    Anthropogenic emissions of acid precursors in China have resulted in widespread acid rain since the 1980s. Although efforts have been made to assess the indirect, soil mediated ecological effects of acid rain, a systematic assessment of the direct foliage injury by acid rain across terrestrial plants is lacking. Leaf chlorophyll content is an important indicator of direct foliage damage and strongly related to plant productivity. We synthesized data from published literature on experiments of simulated acid rain, by directly exposing plants to acid solutions with varying pH levels, to assess the direct effect of acid rain on leaf chlorophyll content across 67 terrestrial plants in China. Our results indicate that acid rain substantially reduces leaf chlorophyll content by 6.71% per pH unit across the recorded plant species. The direct reduction of leaf chlorophyll content due to acid rain exposure showed no significant difference across calcicole, ubiquist or calcifuge species, implying that soil acidity preference does not influence the sensitivity to leaf injury by acid rain. On average, the direct effects of acid rain on leaf chlorophyll on trees, shrubs and herbs were comparable. The effects, however varied across functional groups and economic use types. Specifically, leaf chlorophyll content of deciduous species was more sensitive to acid rain in comparison to evergreen species. Moreover, vegetables and fruit trees were more sensitive to acid rain than other economically used plants. Our findings imply a potential production reduction and economic loss due to the direct foliage damage by acid rain. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Toxicity and tolerance of aluminum in plants: tailoring plants to suit to acid soils.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sade, Hemalatha; Meriga, Balaji; Surapu, Varalakshmi; Gadi, Jogeswar; Sunita, M S L; Suravajhala, Prashanth; Kavi Kishor, P B

    2016-04-01

    Aluminum (Al) stress is one of the serious limiting factors in plant productivity in acidic soils, which constitute about 50 % of the world's potentially arable lands and causes anywhere between 25 and 80 % of yield losses depending upon the species. The mechanism of Al toxicity and tolerance has been examined in plants, which is vital for crop improvement and enhanced food production in the future. Two mechanisms that facilitate Al tolerance in plants are Al exclusion from the roots and the ability to tolerate Al in the symplast or both. Although efforts have been made to unravel Al-resistant factors, many aspects remain unclear. Certain gene families such as MATE, ALMT, ASR, and ABC transporters have been implicated in some plants for resistance to Al which would enhance the opportunities for creating crop plants suitable to grow in acidic soils. Though QTLs have been identified related to Al-tolerance, no crop plant that is tolerant to Al has been evolved so far using breeding or molecular approaches. The remarkable changes that plants experience at the physiological, biochemical and molecular level under Al stress, the vast array of genes involved in Al toxicity-tolerance, the underlying signaling events and the holistic image of the molecular regulation, and the possibility of creating transgenics for Al tolerance are discussed in this review.

  13. UV-C-Induced alleviation of transcriptional gene silencing through plant-plant communication: Key roles of jasmonic acid and salicylic acid pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Wei; Wang, Ting; Xu, Shaoxin; Li, Fanghua; Deng, Chenguang; Wu, Lijun; Wu, Yuejin; Bian, Po

    2016-08-01

    Plant stress responses at the epigenetic level are expected to allow more permanent changes of gene expression and potentially long-term adaptation. While it has been reported that plants subjected to adverse environments initiate various stress responses in their neighboring plants, little is known regarding epigenetic responses to external stresses mediated by plant-plant communication. In this study, we show that DNA repetitive elements of Arabidopsis thaliana, whose expression is inhibited epigenetically by transcriptional gene silencing (TGS) mechanism, are activated by UV-C irradiation through airborne plant-plant and plant-plant-plant communications, accompanied by DNA demethylation at CHH sites. Moreover, the TGS is alleviated by direct treatments with exogenous methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and methyl salicylate (MeSA). Further, the plant-plant and plant-plant-plant communications are blocked by mutations in the biosynthesis or signaling of jasmonic acid (JA) or salicylic acid (SA), indicating that JA and SA pathways are involved in the interplant communication for epigenetic responses. For the plant-plant-plant communication, stress cues are relayed to the last set of receiver plants by promoting the production of JA and SA signals in relaying plants, which exhibit upregulated expression of genes for JA and SA biosynthesis and enhanced emanation of MeJA and MeSA. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Effects of abscisic acid, gibberellin, ethylene and their interactions on production of phenolic acids in salvia miltiorrhiza bunge hairy roots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Zongsuo; Ma, Yini; Xu, Tao; Cui, Beimi; Liu, Yan; Guo, Zhixin; Yang, Dongfeng

    2013-01-01

    Salvia miltiorrhiza is one of the most important traditional Chinese medicinal plants because of its excellent performance in treating coronary heart disease. Phenolic acids mainly including caffeic acid, rosmarinic acid and salvianolic acid B are a group of active ingredients in S. miltiorrhiza. Abscisic acid (ABA), gibberellin (GA) and ethylene are three important phytohormones. In this study, effects of the three phytohormones and their interactions on phenolic production in S. miltiorrhiza hairy roots were investigated. The results showed that ABA, GA and ethylene were all effective to induce production of phenolic acids and increase activities of PAL and TAT in S. miltiorrhiza hairy roots. Effects of phytohormones were reversed by their biosynthetic inhibitors. Antagonistic actions between the three phytohormones played important roles in the biosynthesis of phenolic acids. GA signaling is necessary for ABA and ethylene-induced phenolic production. Yet, ABA and ethylene signaling is probably not necessary for GA3-induced phenolic production. The complex interactions of phytohormones help us reveal regulation mechanism of secondary metabolism and scale-up production of active ingredients in plants.

  15. Production of cinnamic and p-hydroxycinnamic acids in engineered microbes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alejandra eVargas-Tah

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The aromatic compounds cinnamic and p-hydroxycinnamic acids are phenylpropanoids having applications as precursors for the synthesis of thermoplastics, flavoring, cosmetic and health products. These two aromatic acids can be obtained by chemical synthesis or extraction from plant tissues. However, both manufacturing processes have shortcomings such as the generation of toxic subproducts or a low concentration in plant material. Alternative production methods are being developed to enable the biotechnological production of cinnamic and p-hydroxycinnamic acids by genetically engineering various microbial hosts, including Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Pseudomonas putida and Streptomyces lividans. The natural capacity to synthesize these aromatic acids is not existent in these microbial species. Therefore, genetic modification have been performed that include the heterologous expression of genes encoding phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and tyrosine ammonia-lyase activities, which catalyze the conversion of L-phenylalanine and L-tyrosine to cinnamic acid and p-hydroxycinnamic acid, respectively. Additional host modifications include the metabolic engineering to increase carbon flow from central metabolism to the L-phenylalanine or L-tyrosine biosynthetic pathways. These strategies include the expression of feedback insensitive mutant versions of enzymes from the aromatic pathways, as well as genetic modifications to central carbon metabolism to increase biosynthetic availability of precursors phosphoenolpyruvate and erythrose-4-phosphate. These efforts have been complemented with strain optimization for the utilization of raw material, including various simple carbon sources, as well as sugar polymers and sugar mixtures derived from plant biomass. A systems biology approach to production strains characterization has been limited so far and should yield important data for future strain improvement.

  16. Ethylene induced plant stress tolerance by Enterobacter sp. SA187 is mediated by 2‐keto‐4‐methylthiobutyric acid production

    KAUST Repository

    Zé licourt, Axel de; Synek, Lukas; Saad, Maged; Alzubaidy, Hanin S.; Jalal, Rewaa Sauod Mohammed; Xie, Yakun; Andres-Barrao, Cristina; Rolli, Eleonora; Guerard, Florence; Mariappan, Kiruthiga; Daur, Ihsanullah; Colcombet, Jean; Benhamed, Moussa; Depaepe, Thomas; Van Der Straeten, Dominique; Hirt, Heribert

    2018-01-01

    of mechanisms related to the beneficial association of SA187 with plants. SA187 colonizes both the surface and inner tissues of Arabidopsis roots and shoots. SA187 induces salt stress tolerance by production of bacterial 2-keto-4-methylthiobutyric acid (KMBA

  17. Trienoic fatty acids and plant tolerance of temperature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Routaboul Jean-Marc

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available The biophysical reactions of light harvesting and electron transport during photosynthesis take place in a uniquely constructed bilayer, the thylakoid. In all photosynthetic eukaryotes, the complement of atypical glycerolipid molecules that form the foundation of this membrane are characterised by sugar head-groups and a very high level of unsaturation in the fatty acids that occupy the central portion of the thylakoid bilayer. alpha-linolenic (18:3 or a combination of 18:3 and hexadecatrienoic (16:3 acids typically account for approximately two-thirds of all thylakoid membrane fatty acids and over 90% of the fatty acids of monogalactosyl diacylglycerol, the major thylakoid lipid [1, 2]. The occurrence of trienoic fatty acids as a major component of the thylakoid membrane is especially remarkable since these fatty acids form highly reactive targets for active oxygen species and free radicals, which are often the by-products of oxygenic photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is one of the most temperature-sensitive functions of plant [3, 4]. There remains a widespread belief that these trienoic fatty acids might have some crucial role in plants to be of such universal occurrence, especially in photosynthesis tolerance of temperature [5].

  18. Controlling plant architecture by manipulation of gibberellic acid signalling in petunia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibberellic acid (GA), a plant hormone, regulates many crucial growth and developmental processes, including seed germination, leaf expansion, induction of flowering and stem elongation. A common problem in the production of ornamental potted plants is undesirably tall growth, so inhibitors of gibbe...

  19. Production of γ-aminobutyric acid by microorganisms from different food sources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudec, Jozef; Kobida, Ľubomír; Čanigová, Margita; Lacko-Bartošová, Magdaléna; Ložek, Otto; Chlebo, Peter; Mrázová, Jana; Ducsay, Ladislav; Bystrická, Judita

    2015-04-01

    γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a potentially bioactive component of foods and pharmaceuticals. The aim of this study was screen lactic acid bacteria belonging to the Czech Collection of Microorganisms, and microorganisms (yeast and bacteria) from 10 different food sources for GABA production by fermentation in broth or plant and animal products. Under an aerobic atmosphere, very low selectivity of GABA production (from 0.8% to 1.3%) was obtained using yeast and filamentous fungi, while higher selectivity (from 6.5% to 21.0%) was obtained with bacteria. The use of anaerobic conditions, combined with the addition of coenzyme (pyridoxal-5-phosphate) and salts (CaCl2 , NaCl), led to the detection of a low concentration of GABA precursor. Simultaneously, using an optimal temperature of 33 °C, a pH of 6.5 and bacteria from banana (Pseudomonadaceae and Enterobacteriaceae families), surprisingly, a high selectivity of GABA was obtained. A positive impact of fenugreek sprouts on the proteolytic process and GABA production from plant material as a source of GABA precursor was identified. Lactic acid bacteria for the production of new plant and animal GABA-rich products from different natural sources containing GABA precursor can be used. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

  20. Engineering the production of conjugated fatty acids in Arabidopsis thaliana leaves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yurchenko, Olga; Shockey, Jay M; Gidda, Satinder K; Silver, Maxwell I; Chapman, Kent D; Mullen, Robert T; Dyer, John M

    2017-08-01

    The seeds of many nondomesticated plant species synthesize oils containing high amounts of a single unusual fatty acid, many of which have potential usage in industry. Despite the identification of enzymes for unusual oxidized fatty acid synthesis, the production of these fatty acids in engineered seeds remains low and is often hampered by their inefficient exclusion from phospholipids. Recent studies have established the feasibility of increasing triacylglycerol content in plant leaves, which provides a novel approach for increasing energy density of biomass crops. Here, we determined whether the fatty acid composition of leaf oil could be engineered to accumulate unusual fatty acids. Eleostearic acid (ESA) is a conjugated fatty acid produced in seeds of the tung tree (Vernicia fordii) and has both industrial and nutritional end-uses. Arabidopsis thaliana lines with elevated leaf oil were first generated by transforming wild-type, cgi-58 or pxa1 mutants (the latter two of which contain mutations disrupting fatty acid breakdown) with the diacylglycerol acyltransferases (DGAT1 or DGAT2) and/or oleosin genes from tung. High-leaf-oil plant lines were then transformed with tung FADX, which encodes the fatty acid desaturase/conjugase responsible for ESA synthesis. Analysis of lipids in leaves revealed that ESA was efficiently excluded from phospholipids, and co-expression of tung FADX and DGAT2 promoted a synergistic increase in leaf oil content and ESA accumulation. Taken together, these results provide a new approach for increasing leaf oil content that is coupled with accumulation of unusual fatty acids. Implications for production of biofuels, bioproducts, and plant-pest interactions are discussed. © 2017 The Authors. Plant Biotechnology Journal published by Society for Experimental Biology and The Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. Engineering the production of conjugated fatty acids in Arabidopsis thaliana leaves

    Science.gov (United States)

    The seeds of many non-domesticated plant species synthesize oils containing high amounts of a single unusual fatty acid, many of which have potential usage in industry. Despite the identification of enzymes for unusual oxidized fatty acid synthesis, the production of these fatty acids in engineered ...

  2. The impact of acid soil volume of reclaimed minespoils on plant growth in minilysimeters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shahandeh, H.; Hossner, L.R.; Birkhead, J.A.

    1996-01-01

    Limited data are available to assess the influence of randomly distributed acid soil, produced from acid forming materials (AFM), on growth and productivity of crops. This study evaluated the effect of amount and volume of acid soil on the growth of an acid tolerant plant (Coastal bermudga grass, Cynodon dactylon, L.) and an acid intolerant plant (Yuchi arrowleaf clover, Trifolium vesiculosum, Savi) in greenhouse lysimeters. Acid soil (pH=2.5) volumes up to 20% for Yuchi arrowleaf clover and up to 40% for Coastal bermuda grass did not significantly decrease dry matter yield. Concentrations of Al and Mn in plant tissue of clover and bermudagrass were below the toxicity level. In the presence of randomly distributed acid soil, plant roots continued to elongate in non-acid soil, by evading localized areas of low soil pH. These results suggest that the federally mandated zero tolerance for AFM in the top 1.2 m of reclaimed lands may not be reasonable. 18 refs., 7 figs., 2 tabs

  3. Easy synthesis of graphene sheets from alfalfa plants by treatment of nitric acid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qu, Jiao; Luo, Chunqiu; Zhang, Qian; Cong, Qiao; Yuan, Xing

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► An easy method for synthesis of graphene sheets using alfalfa plants was introduced. ► An novelty formation mechanism of graphene sheets using alfalfa plants was proposed. ► This method exploits a new carbon source and provides a novel idea to synthesize graphene sheets. -- Abstract: This letter focuses on synthesis of graphene sheets from alfalfa plants by treatment of nitric acid. The transmission electron microscopy image (TEM) demonstrates that the graphene sheets are agglomerated and overlapped, the energy dispersive spectrum (EDS) indicates that the products are pure, and the Raman spectrum shows the graphene sheets are well graphitized. In addition, the formation mechanism of the graphene sheets from alfalfa plants by treatment nitric acid is discussed. These findings inspire the search for a new strategy for synthesis of graphene sheets from renewable natural products, and the lower cost of this new process and carbon source may facilitate industrial production

  4. Easy synthesis of graphene sheets from alfalfa plants by treatment of nitric acid

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qu, Jiao, E-mail: qujiao@bhu.edu.cn [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Bohai University, Jinzhou 121013 (China); School of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024 (China); Luo, Chunqiu, E-mail: fplj_lcq@163.com [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Bohai University, Jinzhou 121013 (China); Zhang, Qian; Cong, Qiao [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Bohai University, Jinzhou 121013 (China); Yuan, Xing [School of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024 (China)

    2013-04-01

    Highlights: ► An easy method for synthesis of graphene sheets using alfalfa plants was introduced. ► An novelty formation mechanism of graphene sheets using alfalfa plants was proposed. ► This method exploits a new carbon source and provides a novel idea to synthesize graphene sheets. -- Abstract: This letter focuses on synthesis of graphene sheets from alfalfa plants by treatment of nitric acid. The transmission electron microscopy image (TEM) demonstrates that the graphene sheets are agglomerated and overlapped, the energy dispersive spectrum (EDS) indicates that the products are pure, and the Raman spectrum shows the graphene sheets are well graphitized. In addition, the formation mechanism of the graphene sheets from alfalfa plants by treatment nitric acid is discussed. These findings inspire the search for a new strategy for synthesis of graphene sheets from renewable natural products, and the lower cost of this new process and carbon source may facilitate industrial production.

  5. Engineering Yarrowia lipolytica for Enhanced Production of Lipid and Citric Acid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Abghari

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Increasing demand for plant oil for food, feed, and fuel production has led to food-fuel competition, higher plant lipid cost, and more need for agricultural land. On the other hand, the growing global production of biodiesel has increased the production of glycerol as a by-product. Efficient utilization of this by-product can reduce biodiesel production costs. We engineered Yarrowia lipolytica (Y. lipolytica at various metabolic levels of lipid biosynthesis, degradation, and regulation for enhanced lipid and citric acid production. We used a one-step double gene knock-in and site-specific gene knock-out strategy. The resulting final strain combines the overexpression of homologous DGA1 and DGA2 in a POX-deleted background, and deletion of the SNF1 lipid regulator. This increased lipid and citric acid production in the strain under nitrogen-limiting conditions (C/N molar ratio of 60. The engineered strain constitutively accumulated lipid at a titer of more than 4.8 g/L with a lipid content of 53% of dry cell weight (DCW. The secreted citric acid reached a yield of 0.75 g/g (up to ~45 g/L from pure glycerol in 3 days of batch fermentation using a 1-L bioreactor. This yeast cell factory was capable of simultaneous lipid accumulation and citric acid secretion. It can be used in fed-batch or continuous bioprocessing for citric acid recovery from the supernatant, along with lipid extraction from the harvested biomass.

  6. Efficient production of human acidic fibroblast growth factor in pea (Pisum sativum L.) plants by agroinfection of germinated seeds

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Background For efficient and large scale production of recombinant proteins in plants transient expression by agroinfection has a number of advantages over stable transformation. Simple manipulation, rapid analysis and high expression efficiency are possible. In pea, Pisum sativum, a Virus Induced Gene Silencing System using the pea early browning virus has been converted into an efficient agroinfection system by converting the two RNA genomes of the virus into binary expression vectors for Agrobacterium transformation. Results By vacuum infiltration (0.08 Mpa, 1 min) of germinating pea seeds with 2-3 cm roots with Agrobacteria carrying the binary vectors, expression of the gene for Green Fluorescent Protein as marker and the gene for the human acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF) was obtained in 80% of the infiltrated developing seedlings. Maximal production of the recombinant proteins was achieved 12-15 days after infiltration. Conclusions Compared to the leaf injection method vacuum infiltration of germinated seeds is highly efficient allowing large scale production of plants transiently expressing recombinant proteins. The production cycle of plants for harvesting the recombinant protein was shortened from 30 days for leaf injection to 15 days by applying vacuum infiltration. The synthesized aFGF was purified by heparin-affinity chromatography and its mitogenic activity on NIH 3T3 cells confirmed to be similar to a commercial product. PMID:21548923

  7. Salicylic acid-independent plant defence pathways

    OpenAIRE

    Pieterse, C.M.J.; Loon, L.C. van

    1999-01-01

    Salicylic acid is an important signalling molecule involved in both locally and systemically induced disease resistance responses. Recent advances in our understanding of plant defence signalling have revealed that plants employ a network of signal transduction pathways, some of which are independent of salicylic acid. Evidence is emerging that jasmonic acid and ethylene play key roles in these salicylic acid-independent pathways. Cross-talk between the salicylic acid-dependent and the salicy...

  8. Production of 7,8-Dihydroxy Unsaturated Fatty Acids from Plant Oils by Whole Recombinant Cells Expressing 7,8-Linoleate Diol Synthase from Glomerella cingulata.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seo, Min-Ju; Kang, Woo-Ri; Shin, Kyung-Chul; Oh, Deok-Kun

    2016-11-16

    The reaction conditions for the production of 7S,8S-dihydroxy-9,12(Z,Z)-octadecadienoic acid from linoleic acid by recombinant Escherichia coli expressing 7,8-linoleate diol synthase from Glomerella cingulata were optimized using response surface methodology. The optimal reaction conditions were pH 7.0, 18.6 °C, 10.8% (v/v) dimethyl sulfoxide, 44.9 g/L cells, and 14.3 g/L linoleic acid, with agitation at 256 rpm. Under these conditions, recombinant cells produced 7,8-dihydroxy unsaturated fatty acids in the range of 7.0-9.8 g/L from 14.3 g/L linoleic acid, 14.3 g/L oleic acid, and plant oil hydrolysates such as waste oil and olive oil containing 14.3 g/L linoleic acid or oleic acid. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first report on the biotechnological production of 7,8-dihydroxy unsaturated fatty acids.

  9. Fatty acid synthesis in Escherichia coli and its applications towards the production of fatty acid based biofuels

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    The idea of renewable and regenerative resources has inspired research for more than a hundred years. Ideally, the only spent energy will replenish itself, like plant material, sunlight, thermal energy or wind. Biodiesel or ethanol are examples, since their production relies mainly on plant material. However, it has become apparent that crop derived biofuels will not be sufficient to satisfy future energy demands. Thus, especially in the last decade a lot of research has focused on the production of next generation biofuels. A major subject of these investigations has been the microbial fatty acid biosynthesis with the aim to produce fatty acids or derivatives for substitution of diesel. As an industrially important organism and with the best studied microbial fatty acid biosynthesis, Escherichia coli has been chosen as producer in many of these studies and several reviews have been published in the fields of E. coli fatty acid biosynthesis or biofuels. However, most reviews discuss only one of these topics in detail, despite the fact, that a profound understanding of the involved enzymes and their regulation is necessary for efficient genetic engineering of the entire pathway. The first part of this review aims at summarizing the knowledge about fatty acid biosynthesis of E. coli and its regulation, and it provides the connection towards the production of fatty acids and related biofuels. The second part gives an overview about the achievements by genetic engineering of the fatty acid biosynthesis towards the production of next generation biofuels. Finally, the actual importance and potential of fatty acid-based biofuels will be discussed. PMID:24405789

  10. Production of gaba (γ - aminobutyric acid by microorganisms: a review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Radhika Dhakal

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid is a four carbon non-protein amino acid that is widely distributed in plants, animals and microorganisms. As a metabolic product of plants and microorganisms produced by the decarboxylation of glutamic acid, GABA functions as an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain that directly affects the personality and the stress management. A wide range of traditional foods produced by microbial fermentation contain GABA, in which GABA is safe and eco-friendly, and also has the possibility of providing new health-benefited products enriched with GABA. Synthesis of GABA is catalyzed by glutamate decarboxylase, therefore, the optimal fermentation condition is mainly based on the biochemical properties of the enzyme. Major GABA producing microorganisms are lactic acid bacteria (LAB, which make food spoilage pathogens unable to grow and act as probiotics in the gastrointestinal tract. The major factors affecting the production of GABA by microbial fermentation are temperature, pH, fermentation time and different media additives, therefore, these factors are summarized to provide the most up-dated information for effective GABA synthesis. There has been a huge accumulation of knowledge on GABA application for human health accompanying with a demand on natural GABA supply. Only the GABA production by microorganisms can fulfill the demand with GABA-enriched health beneficial foods.

  11. Production of gaba (γ - Aminobutyric acid) by microorganisms: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhakal, Radhika; Bajpai, Vivek K; Baek, Kwang-Hyun

    2012-10-01

    GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) is a four carbon non-protein amino acid that is widely distributed in plants, animals and microorganisms. As a metabolic product of plants and microorganisms produced by the decarboxylation of glutamic acid, GABA functions as an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain that directly affects the personality and the stress management. A wide range of traditional foods produced by microbial fermentation contain GABA, in which GABA is safe and eco-friendly, and also has the possibility of providing new health-benefited products enriched with GABA. Synthesis of GABA is catalyzed by glutamate decarboxylase, therefore, the optimal fermentation condition is mainly based on the biochemical properties of the enzyme. Major GABA producing microorganisms are lactic acid bacteria (LAB), which make food spoilage pathogens unable to grow and act as probiotics in the gastrointestinal tract. The major factors affecting the production of GABA by microbial fermentation are temperature, pH, fermentation time and different media additives, therefore, these factors are summarized to provide the most up-dated information for effective GABA synthesis. There has been a huge accumulation of knowledge on GABA application for human health accompanying with a demand on natural GABA supply. Only the GABA production by microorganisms can fulfill the demand with GABA-enriched health beneficial foods.

  12. Relationship between plant growth and organic acid exudates from ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Plant–mycorrhizal interaction is an important association in the ecosystem with significant impacts on the physical, biological and chemical properties of the soil. In the present study, potential relationships that exist between organic acid production by ectomycorrhizal pine seedlings and plant parameters in the absence of ...

  13. Queensland Mines plant trials with Caro's acid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lucas, G.C.; Fulton, E.J.; Vautier, F.E.; Waters, D.J.; Ring, R.J.

    1983-01-01

    Laboratory leach tests have been carried out to compare the effectiveness of Caro's acid (permonosulphuric acid) as an alternative oxidant to pyrolusite in the leaching of uranium ores. Results demonstrated that Caro's acid reduced acid consumption in leaching and the time required for neutralisation of tailings liquor. The uranium extraction was unaffected by choice of oxidant. A plant trial confirmed that significant savings in acid and lime usage can be achieved under plant conditions. Plant operations also demonstrated that Caro's acid has a number of significant operating advantages over pyrolusite. Queensland Mines Ltd. have recently decided to convert their leaching process from pyrolusite to Caro's acid

  14. Increased production of wax esters in transgenic tobacco plants by expression of a fatty acid reductase:wax synthase gene fusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aslan, Selcuk; Hofvander, Per; Dutta, Paresh; Sun, Chuanxin; Sitbon, Folke

    2015-12-01

    Wax esters are hydrophobic lipids consisting of a fatty acid moiety linked to a fatty alcohol with an ester bond. Plant-derived wax esters are today of particular concern for their potential as cost-effective and sustainable sources of lubricants. However, this aspect is hampered by the fact that the level of wax esters in plants generally is too low to allow commercial exploitation. To investigate whether wax ester biosynthesis can be increased in plants using transgenic approaches, we have here exploited a fusion between two bacterial genes together encoding a single wax ester-forming enzyme, and targeted the resulting protein to chloroplasts in stably transformed tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana) plants. Compared to wild-type controls, transgenic plants showed both in leaves and stems a significant increase in the total level of wax esters, being eight-fold at the whole plant level. The profiles of fatty acid methyl ester and fatty alcohol in wax esters were related, and C16 and C18 molecules constituted predominant forms. Strong transformants displayed certain developmental aberrations, such as stunted growth and chlorotic leaves and stems. These negative effects were associated with an accumulation of fatty alcohols, suggesting that an adequate balance between formation and esterification of fatty alcohols is crucial for a high wax ester production. The results show that wax ester engineering in transgenic plants is feasible, and suggest that higher yields may become achieved in the near future.

  15. Studies on the Bio production of Gibberellic Acid from Fungi

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sleem, D.A.E.

    2013-01-01

    Gibberellic acid is a natural plant growth hormone which is gaining much more attention all over the world due to its effective use in agriculture and brewing industry. At present gibberellic acid is produced throughout the world by fermentation technique using the fungus Gibberella fujikuroi (recently named Fusarium moniliforme). The aim of the current study is the isolation of local F. moniliforme isolate have the ability to produce gibberellic acid on specific production media. The submerged fermentation technique for the production of gibberellic acid is influenced to a great extent by a variety of physical factors (incubation time, temperature, ph, agitation speed) also, gibberellic acid production by F. moniliforme depends upon the nature and concentrations of carbon and nitrogen sources. The optimization of these factors is prerequisite for the development of commercial process. The addition of some elements in a significant quantities to the production media stimulate gibberellic acid production. The use of seed culture inocula (24 h) age at rate of (2% v/v) also enhance the production. Working volume 50 ml in 250 ml Erlenmeyer flask was found to be the best volume for the production. Low doses of gamma radiation (0.5 kGy) stimulate gibberellic acid production and microbial growth by the local F. moniliforme isolate. Immobilized cell fermentation technique had also been developed as an alternative to obtain higher yield of gibberellic acid. Milk permeate (cheap dairy by- product) was found suitable to used as main production medium for gibberellic acid production by the fungus under investigation. The influence of gibberellic acid on enhancement growth of Aspergillus niger and chitosan production was also studied, the addition of 2 mg/l of gibberellic acid to chitosan production medium stimulate its production in comparison with media without gibberellic acid

  16. The impact of acid soil volume of reclaimed minespoils on plant growth in minilysimeters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shahandeh, H.; Hossner, L.R.; Birkhead, J.A. [Texas A & M University, College Station, TX (United States). College of Agriculture and Life Science

    1996-06-01

    Limited data are available to assess the influence of randomly distributed acid soil, produced from acid forming materials (AFM), on growth and productivity of crops. This study evaluated the effect of amount and volume of acid soil on the growth of an acid tolerant plant (Coastal bermudga grass, {ital Cynodon dactylon}, L.) and an acid intolerant plant (Yuchi arrowleaf clover, {ital Trifolium vesiculosum}, Savi) in greenhouse lysimeters. Acid soil (pH=2.5) volumes up to 20% for Yuchi arrowleaf clover and up to 40% for Coastal bermuda grass did not significantly decrease dry matter yield. Concentrations of Al and Mn in plant tissue of clover and bermudagrass were below the toxicity level. In the presence of randomly distributed acid soil, plant roots continued to elongate in non-acid soil, by evading localized areas of low soil pH. These results suggest that the federally mandated zero tolerance for AFM in the top 1.2 m of reclaimed lands may not be reasonable. 18 refs., 7 figs., 2 tabs.

  17. Novel Production Method for Plant Polyphenol from Livestock Excrement Using Subcritical Water Reaction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mayu Yamamoto

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Plant polyphenol, including vanillin, is often used as the intermediate materials of the medicines and vanilla flavoring. In agriculture generally vanillin is produced from vanilla plant and in industry from lignin of disposed wood pulp. We have recently developed a method for the production of plant polyphenol with the excrement as a natural resource of lignin, of the herbivorous animals, by using the subcritical water. The method for using the subcritical water is superior to that of the supercritical water because in the latter complete decomposition occurs. We have successfully produced the vanillin, protocatechuic acid, vanillic acid, and syringic acid in products. Our method is simpler and more efficient not only because it requires the shorter treatment time but also because it releases less amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

  18. Production process for ursolic acid%乌索酸的生产工艺

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    李开泉; 陈武; 李翔一

    2006-01-01

    Production of ursolic acid, the anti-hepatitis effective composition from natural plant,Sambucus chinensis Lindl.was carried out and the scale-up preparation technology was studied.Extraction of the herb Sambucus chinensis Lindl.was extracted in reflux with 7 volume times of refluxing ethanol at 80℃ for 1 h for two times.The extract was purified with a selt-made specific impurity remover "YCXY-1" to yield ursolic acid of high purity.A new "Extraction/Gelation" technology for the production of ursolic acid was developed. The specific impurity remover "YCXY-1" showed high effectiveness in purification. The purity of the mass-produced ursolic acid was up to 99.8%. The chemical structure of the product was confirmed by the physicochemical constants and spectroscopic identification. The production of high-purity ursolic acid was optimized with natural plant as raw material and with only ethanol as extracting solvent. The difficulties such as isolation and impurity removal were addressed effectively. The novel technology is reasonable, convenient, practical, low-cost, high-yield, suitable for mass production.

  19. [Process and mechanism of plants in overcoming acid soil aluminum stress].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Tian-Long; Xie, Guang-Ning; Zhang, Xiao-Xia; Qiu, Lin-Quan; Wang, Na; Zhang, Su-Zhi

    2013-10-01

    Aluminum (Al) stress is one of the most important factors affecting the plant growth on acid soil. Currently, global soil acidification further intensifies the Al stress. Plants can detoxify Al via the chelation of ionic Al and organic acids to store the ionic Al in vacuoles and extrude it from roots. The Al extrusion is mainly performed by the membrane-localized anion channel proteins Al(3+)-activated malate transporter (ALMT) and multi-drug and toxin extrusion (MATE). The genes encoding ABC transporter and zinc-finger protein conferred plant Al tolerance have also been found. The identification of these Al-resistant genes makes it possible to increase the Al resistance of crop plants and enhance their production by the biological methods such as gene transformation and mark-associated breeding. The key problems needed to be solved and the possible directions in the researches of plant Al stress resistance were proposed.

  20. Production of gaba (γ – Aminobutyric acid) by microorganisms: a review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhakal, Radhika; Bajpai, Vivek K.; Baek, Kwang-Hyun

    2012-01-01

    GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) is a four carbon non-protein amino acid that is widely distributed in plants, animals and microorganisms. As a metabolic product of plants and microorganisms produced by the decarboxylation of glutamic acid, GABA functions as an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain that directly affects the personality and the stress management. A wide range of traditional foods produced by microbial fermentation contain GABA, in which GABA is safe and eco-friendly, and also has the possibility of providing new health-benefited products enriched with GABA. Synthesis of GABA is catalyzed by glutamate decarboxylase, therefore, the optimal fermentation condition is mainly based on the biochemical properties of the enzyme. Major GABA producing microorganisms are lactic acid bacteria (LAB), which make food spoilage pathogens unable to grow and act as probiotics in the gastrointestinal tract. The major factors affecting the production of GABA by microbial fermentation are temperature, pH, fermentation time and different media additives, therefore, these factors are summarized to provide the most up-dated information for effective GABA synthesis. There has been a huge accumulation of knowledge on GABA application for human health accompanying with a demand on natural GABA supply. Only the GABA production by microorganisms can fulfill the demand with GABA-enriched health beneficial foods. PMID:24031948

  1. Silicon in vascular plants: uptake, transport and its influence on mineral stress under acidic conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pontigo, Sofía; Ribera, Alejandra; Gianfreda, Liliana; de la Luz Mora, María; Nikolic, Miroslav; Cartes, Paula

    2015-07-01

    So far, considerable advances have been achieved in understanding the mechanisms of Si uptake and transport in vascular plants. This review presents a comprehensive update about this issue, but also provides the new insights into the role of Si against mineral stresses that occur in acid soils. Such information could be helpful to understand both the differential Si uptake ability as well as the benefits of this mineral element on plants grown under acidic conditions. Silicon (Si) has been widely recognized as a beneficial element for many plant species, especially under stress conditions. In the last few years, great efforts have been made to elucidate the mechanisms involved in uptake and transport of Si by vascular plants and recently, different Si transporters have been identified. Several researches indicate that Si can alleviate various mineral stresses in plants growing under acidic conditions, including aluminium (Al) and manganese (Mn) toxicities as well as phosphorus (P) deficiency all of which are highly detrimental to crop production. This review presents recent findings concerning the influence of uptake and transport of Si on mineral stress under acidic conditions because a knowledge of this interaction provides the basis for understanding the role of Si in mitigating mineral stress in acid soils. Currently, only four Si transporters have been identified and there is little information concerning the response of Si transporters under stress conditions. More investigations are therefore needed to establish whether there is a relationship between Si transporters and the benefits of Si to plants subjected to mineral stress. Evidence presented suggests that Si supply and its subsequent accumulation in plant tissues could be exploited as a strategy to improve crop productivity on acid soils.

  2. Roles of Organic Acid Anion Secretion in Aluminium Tolerance of Higher Plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Lin-Tong; Qi, Yi-Ping; Jiang, Huan-Xin; Chen, Li-Song

    2013-01-01

    Approximately 30% of the world's total land area and over 50% of the world's potential arable lands are acidic. Furthermore, the acidity of the soils is gradually increasing as a result of the environmental problems including some farming practices and acid rain. At mildly acidic or neutral soils, aluminium(Al) occurs primarily as insoluble deposits and is essentially biologically inactive. However, in many acidic soils throughout the tropics and subtropics, Al toxicity is a major factor limiting crop productivity. The Al-induced secretion of organic acid (OA) anions, mainly citrate, oxalate, and malate, from roots is the best documented mechanism of Al tolerance in higher plants. Increasing evidence shows that the Al-induced secretion of OA anions may be related to the following several factors, including (a) anion channels or transporters, (b) internal concentrations of OA anions in plant tissues, (d) temperature, (e) root plasma membrane (PM) H+-ATPase, (f) magnesium (Mg), and (e) phosphorus (P). Genetically modified plants and cells with higher Al tolerance by overexpressing genes for the secretion and the biosynthesis of OA anions have been obtained. In addition, some aspects needed to be further studied are also discussed. PMID:23509687

  3. Risk assessment of plant food supplements and other herbal products containing aristolochic acids using the margin of exposure (MOE) approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdullah, Rozaini; Diaz, Leolean Nyle; Wesseling, Sebastiaan; Rietjens, Ivonne M C M

    2017-02-01

    After the incidences of induction of aristolochic acid nephropathy after consumption of herbal weight loss preparations that accidentally contained aristolochic acids (AAs), several countries defined national restrictions on the presence of AAs in food, including plant food supplements (PFS) and herbal products. This study investigates whether the risks associated with exposure to AAs via PFS and herbal products are at present indeed negligible. Data reported in literature on AA levels in PFS and other herbal products and also obtained from a new series of PFS in the present study were used to calculate the estimated daily intakes (EDIs) and corresponding margins of exposure (MOEs). Available literature data revealed that 206 out of 573 samples were found to contain aristolochic acid I (AAI) and/or aristolochic acid II (AAII). The results obtained from recently collected PFS revealed that both AAI and AAII were detected in three out of 18 analysed PFS at levels up to 594.8 and 235.3 µg g -1 , respectively, being in line with the levels reported in literature. The EDIs resulting from intake of these PFS resulted in MOEs that were generally below 10,000, corroborating the priority for risk management. Although these results refer to PFS collected by targeted sampling strategies, the data reveal that AA-containing PFS are still freely available. When considering that the use of these samples may be limited to shorter periods of time, the EDIs might be lower, but MOE values would still be lower than 10,000 for more than 50% of the AA-containing PFS and herbal products. In conclusion, the presence of AAs in PFS and herbal products even several years after instalment of the legal restrictions still raises concern, especially for people who frequently use the respective PFS and herbal products.

  4. Simultaneous production of l-lactic acid with high optical activity and a soil amendment with food waste that demonstrates plant growth promoting activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kitpreechavanich, Vichien; Hayami, Arisa; Talek, Anfal; Chin, Clament Fui Seung; Tashiro, Yukihiro; Sakai, Kenji

    2016-07-01

    A unique method to produce highly optically-active l-lactic acid and soil amendments that promote plant growth from food waste was proposed. Three Bacillus strains Bacillus subtilis KBKU21, B. subtilis N3-9 and Bacillus coagulans T27, were used. Strain KBKU21 accumulated 36.9 g/L l-lactic acid with 95.7% optical activity and 98.2% l-lactic acid selectivity when fermented at 43°C for 84 h in a model kitchen refuse (MKR) medium. Residual precipitate fraction (anaerobically-fermented MKR (AFM) compost) analysis revealed 4.60%, 0.70% and 0.75% of nitrogen (as N), phosphorous (as P2O5), and potassium (as K2O), respectively. Additionally, the carbon to nitrogen ratio decreased from 13.3 to 10.6. AFM compost with KBKU21 promoted plant growth parameters, including leaf length, plant height and fresh weight of Brassica rapa (Komatsuna), than that by chemical fertilizers or commercial compost. The concept provides an incentive for the complete recycling of food waste, contributing towards a sustainable production system. Copyright © 2016 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Studies on saponin production in tropical medicinal plants Maesa argentea and Maesa lanceolata

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faizal, Ahmad; Geelen, Danny

    2015-09-01

    The continuous need for new compounds with important medicinal activities has lead to the identification and characterization of various plant-derived natural products. As a part of this program, we studied the saponin production from two tropical medicinal plants Maesa argentea and M. lanceolata and evaluated several treatments to enhance their saponin production. In this experiment, we present the analyses of saponin production from greenhouse grown plants by means of TLC and HPLC-MS. We observed that the content of saponin from these plants varied depending on organ and physiological age of the plants. In addition, the impact of elicitors on saponin accumulation on in vitro grown plants was analyzed using TLC. The production of saponin was very stable and not affected by treatment with methyl jasmonate, and salicylic acid. In conclusion, Maesa saponins are constitutively produced in plants and the level of these compounds in plants is mainly affected by the developmental or physiological stage.

  6. Utilization of hydrochloric acid wastes of titanium-magnesium plants for reprocessing of rare earth mineral raw material

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nikonov, V.N.; Troyanker, L.S.; Mikhlin, E.B.

    1979-01-01

    The possibility of using hydrochloric acid wastes of gas purifying plants in rare earth production is studied in laboratory conditions. It is shown that during sorption leaching of a rare earth product using the KU-2X8 cationite instead the reactive hydrochloric acid one may use hydrochloric acid wastes; rare earth element and yttrium extraction in both cases is identical

  7. Productivity of selected plant species adapted to arid regions. [Crassulacean metabolizing plants; Agave deserti and Ferocactus acanthodes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nobel, P.S.

    1980-01-01

    The biomass potential of selected arid region species for alcohol production merits careful consideration. The basis for this interest is the current low agronomic use of arid lands and the potential productivity of certain species adapted to these lands. Plants displaying Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) are particularly interesting with reference to biomass for fuel in regions with low rainfall, because plants with this photosynthetic process are strikingly efficient in water requirements. For CAM plants, CO/sub 2/ fixation occurs primarily at night, when tissue surface temperature and hence transpirational water loss is less than daytime values. For Agave deserti in the Sonoran desert, the water-use efficiency (mass of CO/sub 2/ fixed/mass of water transpired) over an entire year is an order of magnitude or more larger than for C-3 and C-4 plants. This indicates how well adapted CAM species are to arid regions. The potential productivity per unit land area of CAM plants is fairly substantial and, therefore, of considerable economic interest for arid areas where growth of agricultural plants is minimal.

  8. Ferulic acid: an antioxidant found naturally in plant cell walls and feruloyl esterases involved in its release and their applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathew, Sindhu; Abraham, T Emilia

    2004-01-01

    Ferulic acid is the most abundant hydroxycinnamic acid in the plant world and maize bran with 3.1% (w/w) ferulic acid is one of the most promising sources of this antioxidant. The dehydrodimers of ferulic acid are important structural components in the plant cell wall and serve to enhance its rigidity and strength. Feruloyl esterases are a subclass of the carboxylic acid esterases that hydrolyze the ester bond between hydroxycinnamic acids and sugars present in plant cell walls and they have been isolated from a wide range of microorganisms, when grown on complex substrates such as cereal brans, sugar beet pulp, pectin and xylan. These enzymes perform a function similar to alkali in the deesterification of plant cell wall and differ in their specificities towards the methyl esters of cinnamic acids and ferulolylated oligosaccharides. They act synergistically with xylanases and pectinases and facilitate the access of hydrolases to the backbone of cell wall polymers. The applications of ferulic acid and feruloyl esterase enzymes are many and varied. Ferulic acid obtained from agricultural byproducts is a potential precursor for the production of natural vanillin, due to the lower production cost.

  9. Fermentative production of butyric acid from wheat straw: Economic evaluation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baroi, G. N.; Gavala, Hariklia N.; Westermann, P.

    2017-01-01

    2014) at 3.50 and 3.95 $ per kg product (for S1 and S2 respectively) and a plant capacity of 10,000 tonnes indicated an internal rate of return of 14.92% and 12.42% and payback time of 4.28 and 4.70 years for S1 and S2 respectively. Sensitivity analysis showed that under the assumptions of the present......The economic feasibility of biochemical conversion of wheat straw to butyric acid was studied in this work. Basic process steps included physicochemical pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis and saccharification, fermentation with in-situ acids separation by electrodialysis and product purification...

  10. Phosphate fertilisers and management for sustainable crop production in tropical acid soils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chien, S.H.; Friesen, D.K.

    2000-01-01

    Extensive research has been conducted over the past 25 years on the management of plant nutrients, especially N and P, for crop production on acidic infertile tropical soils. Under certain conditions, the use of indigenous phosphate rock (PR) and modified PR products, such as partially acidulated PR or compacted mixtures of PR with superphosphates, are attractive alternatives, both agronomically and economically, to the use of conventional water-soluble P fertilisers for increasing crop productivity on Oxisols and Ultisols. A combination of the effects of proper P and N management including biological N 2 fixation, judicious use of lime, and the use of acid-soil tolerant and/or P-efficient cultivars in cropping systems that enhance nutrient cycling and use efficiency, can provide an effective technology to sustainably increase crop productivity and production in tropical agro-ecosystems dominated by these acid soils. (author)

  11. Counter current extraction of phosphoric acid: Food grade acid production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shlewit, H.; AlIbrahim, M.

    2009-01-01

    Extraction, scrubbing and stripping of phosphoric acid from the Syrian wet-phosphoric acid was carried out using Micro-pilot plant of mixer settler type of 8 l/h capacity. Tributyl phosphate (TBP)/di-isopropyl ether (DIPE) in kerosene was used as extractant. Extraction and stripping equilibrium curves were evaluated. The number of extraction and stripping stages to achieve the convenient and feasible yield was determined. Detailed flow sheet was suggested for the proposed continuous process. Data obtained include useful information for the design of phosphoric acid extraction plant. The produced phosphoric acid was characterized using different analytical techniques. (author)

  12. Alteration of plant physiology by glyphosate and its by-product aminomethylphosphonic acid: an overview.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomes, Marcelo P; Smedbol, Elise; Chalifour, Annie; Hénault-Ethier, Louise; Labrecque, Michel; Lepage, Laurent; Lucotte, Marc; Juneau, Philippe

    2014-09-01

    It is generally claimed that glyphosate kills undesired plants by affecting the 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) enzyme, disturbing the shikimate pathway. However, the mechanisms leading to plant death may also be related to secondary or indirect effects of glyphosate on plant physiology. Moreover, some plants can metabolize glyphosate to aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) or be exposed to AMPA from different environmental matrices. AMPA is a recognized phytotoxin, and its co-occurrence with glyphosate could modify the effects of glyphosate on plant physiology. The present review provides an overall picture of alterations of plant physiology caused by environmental exposure to glyphosate and its metabolite AMPA, and summarizes their effects on several physiological processes. It particularly focuses on photosynthesis, from photochemical events to C assimilation and translocation, as well as oxidative stress. The effects of glyphosate and AMPA on several plant physiological processes have been linked, with the aim of better understanding their phytotoxicity and glyphosate herbicidal effects. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  13. 7 CFR 302.2 - Movement of plants and plant products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Movement of plants and plant products. 302.2 Section... INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA; MOVEMENT OF PLANTS AND PLANT PRODUCTS § 302.2 Movement of plants and plant products. Inspection or documentation of the plant health status of...

  14. Response of citrus and other selected plant species to simulated HCL - acid rain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knott, W. M.; Heagle, A. S.

    1980-01-01

    Mature valencia orange trees were sprayed with hydrochloric acid solutions (pH 7.8, 2.0, 1.0, and 0.5) in the field at the full bloom stage and at one month after fruit set. Potted valencia orange and dwarf citrus trees, four species of plants native to Merritt Island, and four agronomic species were exposed to various pH levels of simulated acid rain under controlled conditions. The acid rain was generated from dilutions of hydrochloric acid solutions or by passing water through an exhaust generated by burning solid rocket fuel. The plants were injured severely at pH levels below 1.0, but showed only slight injury at pH levels of 2.0 and above. Threshold injury levels were between 2.0 and 3.0 pH. The sensitivity of the different plant species to acid solutions was similar. Foliar injury symptoms were representative of acid rain including necrosis of young tissue, isolated necrotic spots or patches, and leaf abscission. Mature valencia orange trees sprayed with concentrations of 1.0 pH and 0.5 pH in the field had reduced fruit yields for two harvests after the treatment. All experimental trees were back to full productivity by the third harvest after treatment.

  15. Effect of Humic Acid and Organic Manure Tea on Plant Physiology and Fruit Characteristics of Pepino

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jamal Javanmardi

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Introduction Pepino (SolanummuricatumAit., a Solanaceous vegetable fruit has been recently introduced to Iran markets. Organic farming is currently the fastest growing agricultural sector worldwide. Although several investigations are available on chemical fertilization of pepino, the knowledge of organic fertilization ismostly lacking. Therefore, at the beginning of introducing pepino plant to Iranian farmers it worth to evaluate the impact of organic fertilization on the productivity, profitability, acceptability and sustainability of farming systemsto this plant. High chemical fertilization of pepinoincreases the vegetative growth over the generative and fruit production. The aim of this investigation was to introduce the possibility of organic production of pepino. Materials and Methods.A two-year experiment was carried out to assess the possibility of organic production of pepino using organic fertilizers. Humistar® organic fertilizer (containing 8.6% humic acid at 50 L/ha and sheep or cow manure teas at 1:10 and 1:5 ratios were used for production of pepino cv. Kanseola to evaluate their effects on the physiology of reproductive stage and some fruit quality characteristics. The experiments were arranged as factorial in a randomized complete block design comprised of 3 replications, each of which 10 plants. Mother plants were obtained from Mashhad Ferdowsi University and incubated in a greenhouse (mean temperature of 25 °C and 60-70% relative humidity for 1 month to proliferate. Cuttings with 2-3 leaves at the top, 3-5 healthy buds and 20 cm length were rooted for 14 days in a rooting media, ( 1:1:2 of field soil, composted leaf and perlite, respectively. Plants were transplanted into the field in 100 × 75 cm spacing after the danger of frost was over. Treatments consisted of two levels of 1:5 and 1:10 (w:w cow or sheep manure teas in combination with two levels of Humistar® organic fertilizer as 0 and 50L/ha levels. Control plants

  16. Uranium hexafluoride production plant decommissioning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santos, Ivan

    2008-01-01

    The Institute of Energetic and Nuclear Research - IPEN is a research and development institution, located in a densely populated area, in the city of Sao Paulo. The nuclear fuel cycle was developed from the Yellow Cake to the enrichment and reconversion at IPEN. After this phase, all the technology was transferred to private enterprises and to the Brazilian Navy (CTM/SP). Some plants of the fuel cycle were at semi-industrial level, with a production over 20 kg/h. As a research institute, IPEN accomplished its function of the fuel cycle, developing and transferring technology. With the necessity of space for the implementation of new projects, the uranium hexafluoride (UF 6 ) production plant was chosen, since it had been idle for many years and presented potential leaking risks, which could cause environmental aggression and serious accidents. This plant decommission required accurate planning, as this work had not been carried out in Brazil before, for this type of facility, and there were major risks involving gaseous hydrogen fluoride aqueous solution of hydrofluoric acid (HF) both highly corrosive. Evaluations were performed and special equipment was developed, aiming to prevent leaking and avoid accidents. During the decommissioning work, the CNEN safety standards were obeyed for the whole operation. The environmental impact was calculated, showing to be not relevant.The radiation doses, after the work, were within the limits for the public and the area was released for new projects. (author)

  17. Next-generation sequencing approaches for improvement of lactic acid bacteria-fermented plant-based beverages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jordyn Bergsveinson

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Plant-based beverages and milk alternatives produced from cereals and legumes have grown in popularity in recent years due to a range of consumer concerns over dairy products. These plant-based products can often have undesirable physiochemical properties related to flavour, texture, and nutrient availability and/or deficiencies. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB fermentation offers potential remediation for many of these issues, and allows consumers to retain their perception of the resultant products as natural and additive-free. Using next-generation sequencing (NGS or omics approaches to characterize LAB isolates to find those that will improve properties of plant-based beverages is the most direct way to product improvement. Although NGS/omics approaches have been extensively used for selection of LAB for use in the dairy industry, a comparable effort has not occurred for selecting LAB for fermenting plant raw substrates, save those used in producing wine and certain types of beer. Here we review the few and recent applications of NGS/omics to profile and improve LAB fermentation of various plant-based substrates for beverage production. We also identify specific issues in the production of various LAB fermented plant-based beverages that such NGS/omics applications have the power to resolve.

  18. Investigation of factors influencing biogas production in a large-scale thermophilic municipal biogas plant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weiss, Agnes; Jerome, Valerie; Freitag, Ruth [Bayreuth Univ. (Germany). Chair for Process Biotechnology; Burghardt, Diana; Likke, Likke; Peiffer, Stefan [Bayreuth Univ. (Germany). Dept. of Hydrology; Hofstetter, Eugen M. [RVT Process Equipment GmbH, Steinwiesen (Germany); Gabler, Ralf [BKW Biokraftwerke Fuerstenwalde GmbH, Fuerstenwalde (Germany)

    2009-10-15

    A continuously operated, thermophilic, municipal biogas plant was observed over 26 months (sampling twice per month) in regard to a number of physicochemical parameters and the biogas production. Biogas yields were put in correlation to parameters such as the volatile fatty acid concentration, the pH and the ammonium concentration. When the residing microbiota was classified via analysis of the 16S rRNA genes, most bacterial sequences matched with unidentified or uncultured bacteria from similar habitats. Of the archaeal sequences, 78.4% were identified as belonging to the genus Methanoculleus, which has not previously been reported for biogas plants, but is known to efficiently use H{sub 2} and CO{sub 2} produced by the degradation of fatty acids by syntrophic microorganisms. In order to further investigate the influence of varied amounts of ammonia (2-8 g/L) and volatile fatty acids on biogas production and composition (methane/CO{sub 2}), laboratory scale satellite experiments were performed in parallel to the technical plant. Finally, ammonia stripping of the process water of the technical plant was accomplished, a measure through which the ammonia entering the biogas reactor via the mash could be nearly halved, which increased the energy output of the biogas plant by almost 20%. (orig.)

  19. Acid fermentation of municipal sludge: the effect of sludge type and origin on the production and composition of volatile fatty acids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ucisik, A. S.; Schmidit, J. E.; Henze, M.

    2009-01-01

    Due to the more stringent legislations controlling discharges of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and existing problems such as high sludge production, new wastewater treatment processes resulting in considerably reduced sludge production and more effective treatment would be of great value. In this study, the feasibility of implementing acid fermentation process on different types of municipal sludge to increase soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD), especially short-chain volatile fatty acids (VFAs) was investigated by batch and semi-continuous experiments. (Author)

  20. Microbial Production of Short Chain Fatty Acids from Lignocellulosic Biomass: Current Processes and Market

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivan Baumann

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Biological production of organic acids from conversion of biomass derivatives has received increased attention among scientists and engineers and in business because of the attractive properties such as renewability, sustainability, degradability, and versatility. The aim of the present review is to summarize recent research and development of short chain fatty acids production by anaerobic fermentation of nonfood biomass and to evaluate the status and outlook for a sustainable industrial production of such biochemicals. Volatile fatty acids (VFAs such as acetic acid, propionic acid, and butyric acid have many industrial applications and are currently of global economic interest. The focus is mainly on the utilization of pretreated lignocellulosic plant biomass as substrate (the carbohydrate route and development of the bacteria and processes that lead to a high and economically feasible production of VFA. The current and developing market for VFA is analyzed focusing on production, prices, and forecasts along with a presentation of the biotechnology companies operating in the market for sustainable biochemicals. Finally, perspectives on taking sustainable product of biochemicals from promise to market introduction are reviewed.

  1. Lactic acid bacteria as a cell factory for riboflavin production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thakur, Kiran; Tomar, Sudhir Kumar; De, Sachinandan

    2016-07-01

    Consumers are increasingly becoming aware of their health and nutritional requirements, and in this context, vitamins produced in situ by microbes may suit their needs and expectations. B groups vitamins are essential components of cellular metabolism and among them riboflavin is one of the vital vitamins required by bacteria, plants, animals and humans. Here, we focus on the importance of microbial production of riboflavin over chemical synthesis. In addition, genetic abilities for riboflavin biosynthesis by lactic acid bacteria are discussed. Genetically modified strains by employing genetic engineering and chemical analogues have been developed to enhance riboflavin production. The present review attempts to collect the currently available information on riboflavin production by microbes in general, while placing greater emphasis on food grade lactic acid bacteria and human gut commensals. For designing riboflavin-enriched functional foods, proper selection and exploitation of riboflavin-producing lactic acid bacteria is essential. Moreover, eliminating the in situ vitamin fortification step will decrease the cost of food production. © 2015 The Authors. Microbial Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Society for Applied Microbiology.

  2. Suppression of jasmonic acid-dependent defense in cotton plant by the mealybug Phenacoccus solenopsis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pengjun Zhang

    Full Text Available The solenopsis mealybug, Phenacoccus solenopsis, has been recently recognized as an aggressively invasive pest in China, and is now becoming a serious threat to the cotton industry in the country. Thus, it is necessary to investigate the molecular mechanisms employed by cotton for defending against P. solenopsis before the pest populations reach epidemic levels. Here, we examined the effects of exogenous jasmonic acid (JA, salicylic acid (SA, and herbivory treatments on feeding behavior and on development of female P. solenopsis. Further, we compared the volatile emissions of cotton plants upon JA, SA, and herbivory treatments, as well as the time-related changes in gossypol production and defense-related genes. Female adult P. solenopsis were repelled by leaves from JA-treated plant, but were not repelled by leaves from SA-treated plants. In contrast, females were attracted by leaves from plants pre-infested by P. solenopsis. The diverse feeding responses by P. solenopsis were due to the difference in volatile emission of plants from different treatments. Furthermore, we show that JA-treated plants slowed P. solenopsis development, but plants pre-infested by P. solenopsis accelerated its development. We also show that P. solenopsis feeding inhibited the JA-regulated gossypol production, and prevented the induction of JA-related genes. We conclude that P. solenopsis is able to prevent the activation of JA-dependent defenses associated with basal resistance to mealybugs.

  3. Endophytic actinomycetes from spontaneous plants of Algerian Sahara: indole-3-acetic acid production and tomato plants growth promoting activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goudjal, Yacine; Toumatia, Omrane; Sabaou, Nasserdine; Barakate, Mustapha; Mathieu, Florence; Zitouni, Abdelghani

    2013-10-01

    Twenty-seven endophytic actinomycete strains were isolated from five spontaneous plants well adapted to the poor sandy soil and arid climatic conditions of the Algerian Sahara. Morphological and chemotaxonomical analysis indicated that twenty-two isolates belonged to the Streptomyces genus and the remaining five were non-Streptomyces. All endophytic strains were screened for their ability to produce indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in vitro on a chemically defined medium. Eighteen strains were able to produce IAA and the maximum production occurred with the Streptomyces sp. PT2 strain. The IAA produced was further extracted, partially purified and confirmed by thin layer chromatography (TLC) analysis. The 16S rDNA sequence analysis and phylogenetic studies indicated that strain PT2 was closely related to Streptomyces enissocaecilis NRRL B 16365(T), Streptomyces rochei NBRC 12908(T) and Streptomyces plicatus NBRC 13071(T), with 99.52 % similarity. The production of IAA was affected by cultural conditions such as temperature, pH, incubation period and L-tryptophan concentration. The highest level of IAA production (127 μg/ml) was obtained by cultivating the Streptomyces sp. PT2 strain in yeast extract-tryptone broth supplemented with 5 mg L-tryptophan/ml at pH 7 and incubated on a rotary shaker (200 rpm) at 30 °C for 5 days. Twenty-four-hour treatment of tomato cv. Marmande seeds with the supernatant culture of Streptomyces sp. PT2 that contained the crude IAA showed the maximum effect in promoting seed germination and root elongation.

  4. Salicylic acid-independent plant defence pathways

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pieterse, C.M.J.; Loon, L.C. van

    1999-01-01

    Salicylic acid is an important signalling molecule involved in both locally and systemically induced disease resistance responses. Recent advances in our understanding of plant defence signalling have revealed that plants employ a network of signal transduction pathways, some of which are

  5. Synthesis of Gibberellic Acid Derivatives and Their Effects on Plant Growth

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hao Tian

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available A series of novel C-3-OH substituted gibberellin derivatives bearing an amide group were designed and synthesized from the natural product gibberellic acid (GA3. Their activities on the plant growth regulation of rice and Arabidopsis were evaluated in vivo. Among these compounds, 10d and 10f exhibited appreciable inhibitory activities on rice (48.6% at 100 μmol/L and Arabidopsis (41.4% at 100 μmol/L, respectively. These results provide new insights into the design and synthesis of potential plant growth regulators.

  6. Withania somnifera attenuates acid production, acid tolerance and extra-cellular polysaccharide formation of Streptococcus mutans biofilms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pandit, Santosh; Song, Kwang-Yeob; Jeon, Jae-Gyu

    2014-01-01

    Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) is a plant of the Solanaceae family. It has been widely used as a remedy for a variety of ailments in India and Nepal. The plant has also been used as a controlling agent for dental diseases. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the activity of the methanol extract of W. somnifera against the physiological ability of cariogenic biofilms and to identify the components of the extract. To determine the activity of the extract, assays for sucrose-dependent bacterial adherence, glycolytic acid production, acid tolerance, and extracellular polysaccharide formation were performed using Streptococcus mutans biofilms. The viability change of S. mutans biofilms cells was also determined. A phytochemical analysis of the extract was performed using TLC and LC/MS/MS. The extract showed inhibitory effects on sucrose-dependent bacterial adherence (≥ 100 μg/ml), glycolytic acid production (≥ 300 μg/ml), acid tolerance (≥ 300 μg/ml), and extracellular polysaccharide formation (≥ 300 μg/ml) of S. mutans biofilms. However, the extract did not alter the viability of S. mutans biofilms cells in all concentrations tested. Based on the phytochemical analysis, the activity of the extract may be related to the presence of alkaloids, anthrones, coumarines, anthraquinones, terpenoids, flavonoids, and steroid lactones (withanolide A, withaferin A, withanolide B, withanoside IV, and 12-deoxy withastramonolide). These data indicate that W. somnifera may be a potential agent for restraining the physiological ability of cariogenic biofilms.

  7. Micropropagation of Salvia wagneriana Polak and hairy root cultures with rosmarinic acid production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruffoni, Barbara; Bertoli, Alessandra; Pistelli, Laura; Pistelli, Luisa

    2016-01-04

    Salvia wagneriana Polak is a tropical species native to Central America, well adapted to grow in the Mediterranean basin for garden decoration. Micropropagation has been assessed from axillary shoots of adult plants using a Murashige and Skoog basal medium, with the addition of 1.33-μM 6-benzylaminopurine for shoot proliferation; the subsequent rooting phase occurred in plant growth regulator-free medium. The plants were successfully acclimatised with high survival frequency. Hairy roots were induced after co-cultivation of leaf lamina and petiole fragments with Agrobacterium rhizogenes and confirmed by PCR. The establishment and proliferation of the selected HRD3 line were obtained in hormone-free liquid medium and the production of rosmarinic acid (RA) was evaluated after elicitation. The analysis of RA was performed by LC-ESI-DAD-MS in the hydroalcoholic extracts. The addition of casein hydrolysate increased the RA production, whereas no enrichment was observed after the elicitation with jasmonic acid.

  8. Genetic analysis of pathway regulation for enhancing branched-chain amino acid biosynthesis in plants

    KAUST Repository

    Chen, Hao

    2010-08-01

    The branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) valine, leucine and isoleucine are essential amino acids that play critical roles in animal growth and development. Animals cannot synthesize these amino acids and must obtain them from their diet. Plants are the ultimate source of these essential nutrients, and they synthesize BCAAs through a conserved pathway that is inhibited by its end products. This feedback inhibition has prevented scientists from engineering plants that accumulate high levels of BCAAs by simply over-expressing the respective biosynthetic genes. To identify components critical for this feedback regulation, we performed a genetic screen for Arabidopsis mutants that exhibit enhanced resistance to BCAAs. Multiple dominant allelic mutations in the VALINE-TOLERANT 1 (VAT1) gene were identified that conferred plant resistance to valine inhibition. Map-based cloning revealed that VAT1 encodes a regulatory subunit of acetohydroxy acid synthase (AHAS), the first committed enzyme in the BCAA biosynthesis pathway. The VAT1 gene is highly expressed in young, rapidly growing tissues. When reconstituted with the catalytic subunit in vitro, the vat1 mutant-containing AHAS holoenzyme exhibits increased resistance to valine. Importantly, transgenic plants expressing the mutated vat1 gene exhibit valine tolerance and accumulate higher levels of BCAAs. Our studies not only uncovered regulatory characteristics of plant AHAS, but also identified a method to enhance BCAA accumulation in crop plants that will significantly enhance the nutritional value of food and feed. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  9. Marsh plant response to metals: Exudation of aliphatic low molecular weight organic acids (ALMWOAs)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rocha, A. Cristina S.; Almeida, C. Marisa R.; Basto, M. Clara P.; Vasconcelos, M. Teresa S. D.

    2016-03-01

    Metal exposure is known to induce the production and secretion of substances, such as aliphatic low molecular weight organic acids (ALMWOAs), into the rhizosphere by plant roots. Knowledge on this matter is extensive for soil plants but still considerably scarce regarding marsh plants roots adapted to high salinity media. Phragmites australis and Halimione portulacoides, two marsh plants commonly distributed in European estuarine salt marshes, were used to assess the response of roots of both species, in terms of ALMWOAs exudation, to Cu, Ni and Cd exposure (isolated and in mixture since in natural environment, they are exposed to mixture of metals). As previous studies were carried out in unrealistic and synthetic media, here a more natural medium was selected. Therefore, in vitro experiments were carried out, with specimens of both marsh plants, and in freshwater contaminated with two different Cu, Ni and Cd concentrations (individual metal and in mixture). Both marsh plants were capable of liberating ALMWOAs into the surrounding medium. Oxalic, citric and maleic acids were found in P. australis root exudate solutions and oxalic and maleic acids in H. portulacoides root exudate solutions. ALMWOA liberation by both plants was plant species and metal-dependent. For instance, Cu affected the exudation of oxalic acid by H. portulacoides and of oxalic and citric acids by P. australis roots. In contrast, Ni and Cd did not stimulate any specific response. Regarding the combination of all metals, H. portulacoides showed a similar response to that observed for Cu individually. However, in the P. australis case, at high metal concentration mixture, a synergetic effect led to the increase of oxalic acid levels in root exudate solution and to a decrease of citric acid liberation. A correlation between ALMWOAs exudation and metal accumulation could not be established. P. australis and H. portulacoides are considered suitable metal phytoremediators of estuarine impacted areas

  10. Production of carboxylic acid and salt co-products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanchar, Robert J.; Kleff, Susanne; Guettler, Michael V.

    2014-09-09

    This invention provide processes for producing carboxylic acid product, along with useful salts. The carboxylic acid product that is produced according to this invention is preferably a C.sub.2-C.sub.12 carboxylic acid. Among the salts produced in the process of the invention are ammonium salts.

  11. Low removal of acidic and hydrophilic pharmaceutical products by various types of municipal wastewater treatment plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christian Gagnon

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Pharmaceutical substances represent a risk for aquatic environments and their potential impacts on the receiving environment are poorly understood. Municipal effluents are important sources of contaminants including common pharmaceuticals like anti-inflammatory and anti-convulsive substances. The removal of pharmaceuticals, particularly those highly soluble can represent a great challenge to conventional wastewater treatment processes. Hydrophilic drugs (e.g. acidic drugs have properties that can highly influence removal efficiencies of treatment plants. The performance of different wastewater treatment processes for the removal of specific pharmaceutical products that are expected to be poorly removed was investigated. The obtained results were compared to inherent properties of the studied substances. Clofibric acid, carbamazepine, diclofenac, ibuprofen and naproxen were largely found in physicochemical primary-treated effluents at concentrations ranging from 77 to 2384 ng/L. This treatment type showed removal yields lower than 30%. On the other hand, biological treatments with activated sludge under aerobic conditions resulted in much better removal rates (>50% for 5 of the 8 studied substances. Interestingly, this latter type of process showed evidence of selectivity with respect to the size (R2=0.7388, solubility (R2=0.6812, and partitioning (R2=0.9999 of the removed substances; the smallest and least sorbed substances seemed to be removed at better rates, while the persistent carbamazepine (392 ng/L and diclofenac (66 ng/L were poorly removed (<10% after biological treatment. In the case of treatment by aerated lagoons, the most abundant substances were the highly soluble hydroxy-ibuprofen (350-3321 ng/L, followed by naproxen (42-413 n/L and carbamazepine (254-386 ng/L. In order to assess the impacts of all these contaminants of various properties on the environment and human health, we need to better understand the chemical and physical

  12. Biotechnological production of caffeic acid derivatives from cell and organ cultures of Echinacea species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murthy, Hosakatte Niranjana; Kim, Yun-Soo; Park, So-Young; Paek, Kee-Yoeup

    2014-09-01

    Caffeic acid derivatives (CADs) are a group of bioactive compounds which are produced in Echinacea species especially Echinacea purpurea, Echinacea angustifolia, and Echinacea pallida. Echinacea is a popular herbal medicine used in the treatment of common cold and it is also a prominent dietary supplement used throughout the world. Caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid (5-O-caffeoylquinic acid), caftaric acid (2-O-caffeoyltartaric acid), cichoric acid (2, 3-O-dicaffeoyltartaric acid), cynarin, and echinacoside are some of the important CADs which have varied pharmacological activities. The concentrations of these bioactive compounds are species specific and also they vary considerably with the cultivated Echinacea species due to geographical location, stage of development, time of harvest, and growth conditions. Due to these reasons, plant cell and organ cultures have become attractive alternative for the production of biomass and caffeic acid derivatives. Adventitious and hairy roots have been induced in E. pupurea and E. angustifolia, and suspension cultures have been established from flask to bioreactor scale for the production of biomass and CADs. Tremendous progress has been made in this area; various bioprocess methods and strategies have been developed for constant high-quality productivity of biomass and secondary products. This review is aimed to discuss biotechnological methods and approaches employed for the sustainable production of CADs.

  13. Bioactivities, biosynthesis and biotechnological production of phenolic acids in Salvia miltiorrhiza.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Min; Huang, Fenfen; Deng, Changping; Wang, Yao; Kai, Guoyin

    2018-05-10

    Salvia miltiorrhiza (Danshen in Chinese), is a well-known traditional Chinese medicinal plant, which is used as not only human medicine but also health-promotion food. Danshen has been extensively used for the treatment of various cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. As a major group of bioactive constituents from S. miltiorrhiza, water-soluble phenolic acids such as salvianolic acid B possessed good bioactivities including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and other health-promoting activities. It is of significance to improve the production of phenolic acids by modern biotechnology approaches to meet the increasing market demand. Significant progresses have been made in understanding the biosynthetic pathway and regulation mechanism of phenolic acids in S.miltiorrhiza, which will facilitate the process of targeted metabolic engineering or synthetic biology. Furthermore, multiple biotechnology methods such as in vitro culture, elicitation, hairy roots, endophytic fungi and bioreactors have been also used to obtain pharmaceutically active phenolic acids from S. miltiorrhiza. In this review, recent advances in bioactivities, biosynthetic pathway and biotechnological production of phenolic acid ingredients were summarized and future prospective was also discussed.

  14. L-lactic acid production by Aspergillus brasiliensis overexpressing the heterologous ldha gene from Rhizopus oryzae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liaud, Nadège; Rosso, Marie-Noëlle; Fabre, Nicolas; Crapart, Sylvaine; Herpoël-Gimbert, Isabelle; Sigoillot, Jean-Claude; Raouche, Sana; Levasseur, Anthony

    2015-05-03

    Lactic acid is the building block of poly-lactic acid (PLA), a biopolymer that could be set to replace petroleum-based plastics. To make lactic acid production cost-effective, the production process should be carried out at low pH, in low-nutrient media, and with a low-cost carbon source. Yeasts have been engineered to produce high levels of lactic acid at low pH from glucose but not from carbohydrate polymers (e.g. cellulose, hemicellulose, starch). Aspergilli are versatile microbial cell factories able to naturally produce large amounts of organic acids at low pH and to metabolize cheap abundant carbon sources such as plant biomass. However, they have never been used for lactic acid production. To investigate the feasibility of lactic acid production with Aspergillus, the NAD-dependent lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) responsible for lactic acid production by Rhizopus oryzae was produced in Aspergillus brasiliensis BRFM103. Among transformants, the best lactic acid producer, A. brasiliensis BRFM1877, integrated 6 ldhA gene copies, and intracellular LDH activity was 9.2 × 10(-2) U/mg. At a final pH of 1.6, lactic acid titer reached 13.1 g/L (conversion yield: 26%, w/w) at 138 h in glucose-ammonium medium. This extreme pH drop was subsequently prevented by switching nitrogen source from ammonium sulfate to Na-nitrate, leading to a final pH of 3 and a lactic acid titer of 17.7 g/L (conversion yield: 47%, w/w) at 90 h of culture. Final titer was further improved to 32.2 g/L of lactic acid (conversion yield: 44%, w/w) by adding 20 g/L glucose to the culture medium at 96 h. This strain was ultimately able to produce lactic acid from xylose, arabinose, starch and xylan. We obtained the first Aspergillus strains able to produce large amounts of lactic acid by inserting recombinant ldhA genes from R. oryzae into a wild-type A. brasiliensis strain. pH regulation failed to significantly increase lactic acid production, but switching nitrogen source and changing culture feed

  15. Lead sulfate nano- and microparticles in the acid plant blow-down generated at the sulfuric acid plant of the El Teniente mine, Chile.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barassi, Giancarlo M; Klimsa, Martin; Borrmann, Thomas; Cairns, Mathew J; Kinkel, Joachim; Valenzuela, Fernando

    2014-12-01

    The acid plant 'blow-down' (also called weak acid) produced at El Teniente mine in Chile was characterized. This liquid waste (tailing) is generated during the cooling and cleaning of the smelter gas prior to the production of sulfuric acid. The weak acid was composed of a liquid and a solid phase (suspended solids). The liquid phase of the sample analyzed in this study mainly contained Cu (562 mg L(-1)), SO4(2-) (32 800 mg L(-1)), Ca (1449 mg L(-1)), Fe (185 mg L(-1)), As (6 mg L(-1)), K (467 mg L(-1)) and Al (113 mg L(-1)). Additionally, the sample had a pH-value and total acidity of 0.45 and 2970 mg L(-1) as CaCO3, respectively. Hence, this waste was classified as extremely acidic and with a high metal content following the Ficklin diagram classification. Elemental analysis using atomic absorption, inductively coupled plasma, X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy showed that the suspended solids were anglesite (PbSO4) nano- and microparticles ranging from 50 nm to 500 nm in diameter.

  16. Non-Edible Plant Oils as New Sources for Biodiesel Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Rafiqul Islam

    2008-02-01

    Full Text Available Due to the concern on the availability of recoverable fossil fuel reserves and the environmental problems caused by the use those fossil fuels, considerable attention has been given to biodiesel production as an alternative to petrodiesel. However, as the biodiesel is produced from vegetable oils and animal fats, there are concerns that biodiesel feedstock may compete with food supply in the long-term. Hence, the recent focus is to find oil bearing plants that produce non-edible oils as the feedstock for biodiesel production. In this paper, two plant species, soapnut (Sapindus mukorossi and jatropha (jatropha curcas, L. are discussed as newer sources of oil for biodiesel production. Experimental analysis showed that both oils have great potential to be used as feedstock for biodiesel production. Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME from cold pressed soapnut seed oil was envisaged as biodiesel source for the first time. Soapnut oil was found to have average of 9.1% free FA, 84.43% triglycerides, 4.88% sterol and 1.59% others. Jatropha oil contains approximately 14% free FA, approximately 5% higher than soapnut oil. Soapnut oil biodiesel contains approximately 85% unsaturated FA while jatropha oil biodiesel was found to have approximately 80% unsaturated FA. Oleic acid was found to be the dominant FA in both soapnut and jatropha biodiesel. Over 97% conversion to FAME was achieved for both soapnut and jatropha oil.

  17. Effects and mechanism of acid rain on plant chloroplast ATP synthase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Jingwen; Hu, Huiqing; Li, Yueli; Wang, Lihong; Zhou, Qing; Huang, Xiaohua

    2016-09-01

    Acid rain can directly or indirectly affect plant physiological functions, especially photosynthesis. The enzyme ATP synthase is the key in photosynthetic energy conversion, and thus, it affects plant photosynthesis. To clarify the mechanism by which acid rain affects photosynthesis, we studied the effects of acid rain on plant growth, photosynthesis, chloroplast ATP synthase activity and gene expression, chloroplast ultrastructure, intracellular H(+) level, and water content of rice seedlings. Acid rain at pH 4.5 remained the chloroplast structure unchanged but increased the expression of six chloroplast ATP synthase subunits, promoted chloroplast ATP synthase activity, and increased photosynthesis and plant growth. Acid rain at pH 4.0 or less decreased leaf water content, destroyed chloroplast structure, inhibited the expression of six chloroplast ATP synthase subunits, decreased chloroplast ATP synthase activity, and reduced photosynthesis and plant growth. In conclusion, acid rain affected the chloroplast ultrastructure, chloroplast ATPase transcription and activity, and P n by changing the acidity in the cells, and thus influencing the plant growth and development. Finally, the effects of simulated acid rain on the test indices were found to be dose-dependent.

  18. Microbial Propionic Acid Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Axayacatl Gonzalez-Garcia

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Propionic acid (propionate is a commercially valuable carboxylic acid produced through microbial fermentation. Propionic acid is mainly used in the food industry but has recently found applications in the cosmetic, plastics and pharmaceutical industries. Propionate can be produced via various metabolic pathways, which can be classified into three major groups: fermentative pathways, biosynthetic pathways, and amino acid catabolic pathways. The current review provides an in-depth description of the major metabolic routes for propionate production from an energy optimization perspective. Biological propionate production is limited by high downstream purification costs which can be addressed if the target yield, productivity and titre can be achieved. Genome shuffling combined with high throughput omics and metabolic engineering is providing new opportunities, and biological propionate production is likely to enter the market in the not so distant future. In order to realise the full potential of metabolic engineering and heterologous expression, however, a greater understanding of metabolic capabilities of the native producers, the fittest producers, is required.

  19. Water Relations, Diurnal Acidity Changes, and Productivity of a Cultivated Cactus, Opuntia ficus-indica1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acevedo, Edmundo; Badilla, Ignacio; Nobel, Park S.

    1983-01-01

    Physiological responses of the Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plant Opuntia ficus-indica (Cactaceae) were studied on a commercial plantation in central Chile. Young cladodes (flattened stems) and flower buds exhibited daytime stomatal opening, whereas mature cladodes and fruit exhibited the nocturnal stomatal opening characteristic of CAM plants. Severe water stress suppressed the nocturnal stomatal opening by mature cladodes, but their high water vapor conductance occurring near dawn was not affected. Nocturnal acidity increases were not as sensitive to water stress as was the nocturnal stomatal opening. The magnitude of the nocturnal acidity increases depended on the total daily photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), being 90% PAR-saturated at 27 moles per square meter per day for a mean nighttime air temperature of 5°C and at 20 moles per square meter per day for 18°C. Inasmuch as the PAR received on unshaded vertical surfaces averaged about 21 moles per square meter per day, nocturnal acidity increases by the cladodes were on the verge of being PAR-limited in the field. The net assimilation rate, which was positive throughout the year, annually averaged 3.4 grams per square meter per day for 1.0- and 2.0-year-old plants. Plants that were 5.4 years old had 7.2 square meters of cladode surface area (both sides) and an annual dry weight productivity of 13 megagrams (metric tons) per hectare per year when their ground cover was 32%. This substantial productivity for a CAM plant was accompanied by the highest nocturnal acidity increase so far observed in the field, 0.78 mole H+ per square meter. PMID:16663084

  20. Technoeconomic study of supercritical biodiesel production plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marchetti, J.M.; Errazu, A.F.

    2008-01-01

    Over the last years, biodiesel has gained more market due to its benefits and because it appears as the natural substitute for diesel. However, the highest cost of this process is associated with the raw material employed, making it a less competitive and more expensive fuel. Therefore, research is being done in order to use low price raw material, such as acid oils, frying oils or soapstocks. In this work, a biodiesel production plant was developed using supercritical methanol and acid oils as raw materials. This technology was compared with some other alternatives previously described with the aim of making a comparative study, not only on the technical aspects but also on the economic results. A process simulator was employed to produce the conceptual design and simulate each technology. Using these models, it was possible to analyze different scenarios and to evaluate productivity, raw material consumption, economic competitiveness and environmental impacts of each process. Although the supercritical alternative appears as a good technical possibility to produce biodiesel, today, it is not an economic alternative due to its high operating costs

  1. Yeast Acid Phosphatases and Phytases: Production, Characterization and Commercial Prospects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaur, Parvinder; Satyanarayana, T.

    The element phosphorus is critical to all life forms as it forms the basic component of nucleic acids and ATP and has a number of indispensable biochemical roles. Unlike C or N, the biogeochemical cycling of phosphorus is very slow, and thus making it the growth-limiting element in most soils and aquatic systems. Phosphohydrolases (e.g. acid phosphatases and phytases) are enzymes that break the C-O-P ester bonds and provide available inorganic phosphorus from various inassimilable organic forms of phosphorus like phytates. These enzymes are of significant value in effectively combating phosphorus pollution. Although phytases and acid phosphatases are produced by various plants, animals and micro organisms, microbial sources are more promising for the production on a commercial scale. Yeasts being the simplest eukaryotes are ideal candidates for phytase and phos-phatase research due to their mostly non-pathogenic and GRAS status. They have not, however, been utilized to their full potential. This chapter focuses attention on the present state of knowledge on the production, characterization and potential commercial prospects of yeast phytases and acid phosphatases.

  2. Abscisic Acid and Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Crop Plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sah, Saroj K.; Reddy, Kambham R.; Li, Jiaxu

    2016-01-01

    Abiotic stress is a primary threat to fulfill the demand of agricultural production to feed the world in coming decades. Plants reduce growth and development process during stress conditions, which ultimately affect the yield. In stress conditions, plants develop various stress mechanism to face the magnitude of stress challenges, although that is not enough to protect them. Therefore, many strategies have been used to produce abiotic stress tolerance crop plants, among them, abscisic acid (ABA) phytohormone engineering could be one of the methods of choice. ABA is an isoprenoid phytohormone, which regulates various physiological processes ranging from stomatal opening to protein storage and provides adaptation to many stresses like drought, salt, and cold stresses. ABA is also called an important messenger that acts as the signaling mediator for regulating the adaptive response of plants to different environmental stress conditions. In this review, we will discuss the role of ABA in response to abiotic stress at the molecular level and ABA signaling. The review also deals with the effect of ABA in respect to gene expression. PMID:27200044

  3. Plant amino acid-derived vitamins: biosynthesis and function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miret, Javier A; Munné-Bosch, Sergi

    2014-04-01

    Vitamins are essential organic compounds for humans, having lost the ability to de novo synthesize them. Hence, they represent dietary requirements, which are covered by plants as the main dietary source of most vitamins (through food or livestock's feed). Most vitamins synthesized by plants present amino acids as precursors (B1, B2, B3, B5, B7, B9 and E) and are therefore linked to plant nitrogen metabolism. Amino acids play different roles in their biosynthesis and metabolism, either incorporated into the backbone of the vitamin or as amino, sulfur or one-carbon group donors. There is a high natural variation in vitamin contents in crops and its exploitation through breeding, metabolic engineering and agronomic practices can enhance their nutritional quality. While the underlying biochemical roles of vitamins as cosubstrates or cofactors are usually common for most eukaryotes, the impact of vitamins B and E in metabolism and physiology can be quite different on plants and animals. Here, we first aim at giving an overview of the biosynthesis of amino acid-derived vitamins in plants, with a particular focus on how this knowledge can be exploited to increase vitamin contents in crops. Second, we will focus on the functions of these vitamins in both plants and animals (and humans in particular), to unravel common and specific roles for vitamins in evolutionary distant organisms, in which these amino acid-derived vitamins play, however, an essential role.

  4. Synthesis of novel plant oil derivatives: Furan and Diels-Alder reaction products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plant oils are useful sustainable raw materials for the development of new chemical products. In this work epoxidized soybean oil was treated with different acids, and variable amounts of furan structures were produced from the epoxidized linoleate moiety. From process studies, the highest yields of...

  5. Industrial plants for production of highly enriched nitrogen-15

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krell, E.; Jonas, C.

    1977-01-01

    A discussion is presented of the present stage of development of large-scale enrichment of 15 N. The most important processes utilized to separate nitrogen isotopes, namely chemical exchange in the NO/NO 2 /HNO 3 system and low-temperature distillation of NO at -151 0 C, are compared, especially with respect to their economics and use of energy. As examples, chemical exchange plants in the GDR are discussed, and the research activities necessary to optimize the process, especially to solve aerodynamic, hydrodynamic, interface and processing problems, are reviewed. Good results were obtained by the choice of an optimum location and the design of a plant for pre-enrichment to 10 at.% 15 N and an automatically operating two-section cascade for the high enrichment of 15 N to more than 99 at.%. The chemical industry has taken over operation of the plant with the consequence that the raw materials are all available without additional transport. All by-products (nitrous gases and sulphuric acid) are returned for use elsewhere within the industry. The technology of the plant has been chosen so that the quantity of highly enriched product can be varied within a wide range. The final product is used to synthesize more than 250 different 15 N-labelled compounds which are also produced on an industrial scale. (author)

  6. Productivity growth patterns in US dairy products manufacturing plants

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Geylani, P.C.; Stefanou, S.E.

    2011-01-01

    We analyse the productivity growth patterns in the US dairy products industry using the Census Bureau's plant-level data set. We decompose Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth into the scale and technical change components and analyse variability of plants' productivity by constructing transition

  7. Organic Acids: The Pools of Fixed Carbon Involved in Redox Regulation and Energy Balance in Higher Plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abir U Igamberdiev

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Organic acids are synthesized in plants as a result of the incomplete oxidation of photosynthetic products and represent the stored pools of fixed carbon accumulated due to different transient times of conversion of carbon compounds in metabolic pathways. When redox level in the cell increases, e.g., in conditions of active photosynthesis, the tricarboxylic acid (TCA cycle in mitochondria is transformed to a partial cycle supplying citrate for the synthesis of 2-oxoglutarate and glutamate (citrate valve, while malate is accumulated and participates in the redox balance in different cell compartments (via malate valve. This results in malate and citrate frequently being the most accumulated acids in plants. However, the intensity of reactions linked to the conversion of these compounds can cause preferential accumulation of other organic acids, e.g., fumarate or isocitrate, in higher concentrations than malate and citrate. The secondary reactions, associated with the central metabolic pathways, in particularly with the TCA cycle, result in accumulation of other organic acids that are derived from the intermediates of the cycle. They form the additional pools of fixed carbon and stabilize the TCA cycle. Trans-aconitate is formed from citrate or cis-aconitate, accumulation of hydroxycitrate can be linked to metabolism of 2-oxoglutarate, while 4-hydroxy-2-oxoglutarate can be formed from pyruvate and glyoxylate. Glyoxylate, a product of either glycolate oxidase or isocitrate lyase, can be converted to oxalate. Malonate is accumulated at high concentrations in legume plants. Organic acids play a role in plants in providing redox equilibrium, supporting ionic gradients on membranes, and acidification of the extracellular medium.

  8. Harties' two-man acid plant now fully on stream

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1979-01-01

    Hartebeesfontein gold mine is the most modern of its kind in South Africa. Only two men are required to operate this R12 million acid plant. The plant is capable of producing 140 000 t of sulphuric acid a year, and will meet its own uranium recovery process requirements as well as those of other uranium producers in the Klerksdorp and Stilfontein areas. In simplified form the process involves roasting pyrite to form sulphur dioxide. This is then cleaned, dried, heated and reacted over catalyst to produce sulphur tri-oxide which is combined with water to form sulphuric acid. Where the pyrite is gold-bearing, the resultant calcines from the roasting process are pumped to the mine's recovery plant where the residual gold is extracted. The main reason for the construction of the plant was to supply Hartebeesfontein and other uranium producers in the Klerksdorp and Stilfontein areas with sulphuric acid which is used in the uranium leaching process

  9. Historical plant cost and annual production expenses for selected electric plants, 1982

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1984-01-01

    This publication is a composite of the two prior publications, Hydroelectric Plant Construction Cost and Annual Production Expenses and Thermal-Electric Plant Construction Cost and Annual Production Expenses. Beginning in 1979, Thermal-Electric Plant Construction Cost and Annual Production Expenses contained information on both steam-electric and gas-turbine electric plant construction cost and annual production expenses. The summarized historical plant cost described under Historical Plant Cost in this report is the net cumulative-to-date actual outlays or expenditures for land, structures, and equipment to the utility. Historical plant cost is the initial investment in plant (cumulative to the date of initial commercial operation) plus the costs of all additions to the plant, less the value of retirements. Thus, historical plant cost includes expenditures made over several years, as modifications are made to the plant. Power Production Expenses is the reporting year's plant operation and maintenance expenses, including fuel expenses. These expenses do not include annual fixed charges on plant cost (capital costs) such as interest on debt, depreciation or amortization expenses, and taxes. Consequently, total production expenses and the derived unit costs are not the total cost of producing electric power at the various plants. This publication contains data on installed generating capacity, net generation, net capability, historical plant cost, production expenses, fuel consumption, physical and operating plant characteristics, and other relevant statistical information for selected plants

  10. Hanford waste vitrification plant hydrogen generation study: Preliminary evaluation of alternatives to formic acid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    King, R.B.; Bhattacharyya, N.K.; Kumar, V.

    1996-02-01

    Oxalic, glyoxylic, glycolic, malonic, pyruvic, lactic, levulinic, and citric acids as well as glycine have been evaluated as possible substitutes for formic acid in the preparation of feed for the Hanford waste vitrification plant using a non-radioactive feed stimulant UGA-12M1 containing substantial amounts of aluminum and iron oxides as well as nitrate and nitrite at 90C in the presence of hydrated rhodium trichloride. Unlike formic acid none of these carboxylic acids liberate hydrogen under these conditions and only malonic and citric acids form ammonia. Glyoxylic, glycolic, malonic, pyruvic, lactic, levulinic, and citric acids all appear to have significant reducing properties under the reaction conditions of interest as indicated by the observation of appreciable amounts of N 2 O as a reduction product of,nitrite or, less likely, nitrate at 90C. Glyoxylic, pyruvic, and malonic acids all appear to be unstable towards decarboxylation at 90C in the presence of Al(OH) 3 . Among the carboxylic acids investigated in this study the α-hydroxycarboxylic acids glycolic and lactic acids appear to be the most interesting potential substitutes for formic acid in the feed preparation for the vitrification plant because of their failure to produce hydrogen or ammonia or to undergo decarboxylation under the reaction conditions although they exhibit some reducing properties in feed stimulant experiments

  11. Nitro-fatty acids in plant signaling: New key mediators of nitric oxide metabolism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Capilla Mata-Pérez

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Recent studies in animal systems have shown that NO can interact with fatty acids to generate nitro-fatty acids (NO2-FAs. They are the product of the reaction between reactive nitrogen species and unsaturated fatty acids, and are considered novel mediators of cell signaling based mainly on a proven anti-inflammatory response. Although these signaling mediators have been described widely in animal systems, NO2-FAs have scarcely been studied in plants. Preliminary data have revealed the endogenous presence of free and protein-adducted NO2-FAs in extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO, which appear to be contributing to the cardiovascular benefits associated with the Mediterranean diet. Importantly, new findings have displayed the endogenous occurrence of nitro-linolenic acid (NO2-Ln in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and the modulation of NO2-Ln levels throughout this plant's development. Furthermore, a transcriptomic analysis by RNA-seq technology established a clear signaling role for this molecule, demonstrating that NO2-Ln was involved in plant-defense response against different abiotic-stress conditions, mainly by inducing the chaperone network and supporting a conserved mechanism of action in both animal and plant defense processes. Thus, NO2-Ln levels significantly rose under several abiotic-stress conditions, highlighting the strong signaling role of these molecules in the plant-protection mechanism. Finally, the potential of NO2-Ln as a NO donor has recently been described both in vitro and in vivo. Jointly, this ability gives NO2-Ln the potential to act as a signaling molecule by the direct release of NO, due to its capacity to induce different changes mediated by NO or NO-related molecules such as nitration and S-nitrosylation, or by the electrophilic capacity of these molecules through a nitroalkylation mechanism. Here, we describe the current state of the art regarding the advances performed in the field of NO2-FAs in plants and their

  12. Production of succinic acid from oil palm empty fruit bunch cellulose using Actinobacillus succinogenes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pasma, Satriani Aga; Daik, Rusli; Maskat, Mohamad Yusof

    2013-11-01

    Succinic acid is a common metabolite in plants, animals and microorganisms. It has been used widely in agricultural, food and pharmaceutical industries. Enzymatic hydrolysate glucose from oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) cellulose was used as a substrate for succinic acid production using Actinobacillus succinogenes. Using cellulose extraction from OPEFB can enhance the production of glucose as a main substrate for succinic acid production. The highest concentration of glucose produced from enzymatic hydrolysis is 167 mg/mL and the sugar recovery is 0.73 g/g of OPEFB. By optimizing the culture medium for succinic acid fermentation with enzymatic hydrolysate of OPEFB cellulose, the nitrogen sources could be reduced to just only 2.5 g yeast extract and 2.5 g corn step liquor. Batch fermentation was carried out using enzymatic hydrolysate of OPEFB cellulose with yeast extract, corn steep liquor and the salts mixture, 23.5 g/L succinic acid was obtained with consumption of 72 g/L glucose in enzymatic hydrolysate of OPEFB cellulose at 38 hours and 37°C. This study suggests that enzymatic hydrolysate of OPEFB cellulose maybe an alternative substrate for the efficient production of succinic acid by Actinobacillus succinogenes.

  13. AVLIS Production Plant Project Management Plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1984-01-01

    The AVLIS Production Plant is designated as a Major System Acquisition (in accordance with DOE Order 4240.IC) to deploy Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) technology at the Oak Ridge, Tennessee site, in support of the US Uranium Enrichment Program. The AVLIS Production Plant Project will deploy AVLIS technology by performing the design, construction, and startup of a production plant that will meet capacity production requirements of the Uranium Enrichment Program. The AVLIS Production Plant Project Management Plan has been developed to outline plans, baselines, and control systems to be employed in managing the AVLIS Production Plant Project and to define the roles and responsibilities of project participants. Participants will develop and maintain detailed procedures for implementing the management and control systems in agreement with this plan. This baseline document defines the system that measures work performed and costs incurred. This plan was developed by the AVLIS Production Plant Project staff of Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc. and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in accordance with applicable DOE directives, orders and notices. 38 figures, 19 tables

  14. Comparison of Lactic Acid, Peracetic Acid and Sodium Hypochlorite in Disinfection of Bovine Carcasses at a Meat Processing Plant in Bogota, Colombia

    OpenAIRE

    Valencia Montero, Verónica; Acero Plazas, Víctor

    2013-01-01

    Disinfection systems play an important role in reducing microbiological hazards in cattle carcasses. Disinfection is used in processing plants to decrease the number of pathogenic microorganisms present in the surface of the product. This study evaluated the efficacy of three disinfectants: lactic acid (0.9 ± 2%), peroxyacetic acid (100 ± 20 ppm) and sodium hypochlorite (100 ± 20 ppm) in reducing Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. in the surface of bovine carcasses within the premises of a ...

  15. UV-C-Induced alleviation of transcriptional gene silencing through plant–plant communication: Key roles of jasmonic acid and salicylic acid pathways

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu, Wei; Wang, Ting [Key Laboratory of Ion Beam Bio-engineering, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 1138, Hefei, Anhui, 230031 (China); Xu, Shaoxin [School of physics and materials science, Anhui University, Hefei, Anhui, 230601 (China); Li, Fanghua; Deng, Chenguang; Wu, Lijun; Wu, Yuejin [Key Laboratory of Ion Beam Bio-engineering, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 1138, Hefei, Anhui, 230031 (China); Bian, Po, E-mail: bianpo@ipp.ac.cn [Key Laboratory of Ion Beam Bio-engineering, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 1138, Hefei, Anhui, 230031 (China)

    2016-08-15

    Highlights: • Transcriptional gene silencing (TGS) in plants can be epigenetically alleviated by volatile signals from UV-C- irradiated neighboring plants. • Alleviation of TGS can be induced by UV-C irradiation through plant–plant–plant communication. • JA and SA signals take part in interplant communication for alleviation of TGS. - Abstract: Plant stress responses at the epigenetic level are expected to allow more permanent changes of gene expression and potentially long-term adaptation. While it has been reported that plants subjected to adverse environments initiate various stress responses in their neighboring plants, little is known regarding epigenetic responses to external stresses mediated by plant–plant communication. In this study, we show that DNA repetitive elements of Arabidopsis thaliana, whose expression is inhibited epigenetically by transcriptional gene silencing (TGS) mechanism, are activated by UV-C irradiation through airborne plant–plant and plant–plant–plant communications, accompanied by DNA demethylation at CHH sites. Moreover, the TGS is alleviated by direct treatments with exogenous methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and methyl salicylate (MeSA). Further, the plant–plant and plant–plant–plant communications are blocked by mutations in the biosynthesis or signaling of jasmonic acid (JA) or salicylic acid (SA), indicating that JA and SA pathways are involved in the interplant communication for epigenetic responses. For the plant–plant–plant communication, stress cues are relayed to the last set of receiver plants by promoting the production of JA and SA signals in relaying plants, which exhibit upregulated expression of genes for JA and SA biosynthesis and enhanced emanation of MeJA and MeSA.

  16. UV-C-Induced alleviation of transcriptional gene silencing through plant–plant communication: Key roles of jasmonic acid and salicylic acid pathways

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu, Wei; Wang, Ting; Xu, Shaoxin; Li, Fanghua; Deng, Chenguang; Wu, Lijun; Wu, Yuejin; Bian, Po

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Transcriptional gene silencing (TGS) in plants can be epigenetically alleviated by volatile signals from UV-C- irradiated neighboring plants. • Alleviation of TGS can be induced by UV-C irradiation through plant–plant–plant communication. • JA and SA signals take part in interplant communication for alleviation of TGS. - Abstract: Plant stress responses at the epigenetic level are expected to allow more permanent changes of gene expression and potentially long-term adaptation. While it has been reported that plants subjected to adverse environments initiate various stress responses in their neighboring plants, little is known regarding epigenetic responses to external stresses mediated by plant–plant communication. In this study, we show that DNA repetitive elements of Arabidopsis thaliana, whose expression is inhibited epigenetically by transcriptional gene silencing (TGS) mechanism, are activated by UV-C irradiation through airborne plant–plant and plant–plant–plant communications, accompanied by DNA demethylation at CHH sites. Moreover, the TGS is alleviated by direct treatments with exogenous methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and methyl salicylate (MeSA). Further, the plant–plant and plant–plant–plant communications are blocked by mutations in the biosynthesis or signaling of jasmonic acid (JA) or salicylic acid (SA), indicating that JA and SA pathways are involved in the interplant communication for epigenetic responses. For the plant–plant–plant communication, stress cues are relayed to the last set of receiver plants by promoting the production of JA and SA signals in relaying plants, which exhibit upregulated expression of genes for JA and SA biosynthesis and enhanced emanation of MeJA and MeSA.

  17. The effect of economic variables over a biodiesel production plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marchetti, J.M.

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → Influence of the mayor economic parameters for biodiesel production. → Variations of profitability of a biodiesel plant due to changes in the market scenarios. → Comparison of economic indicators of a biodiesel production facility when market variables are modified. - Abstract: Biodiesel appears as one of the possible alternative renewable fuels to substitute diesel fuel derived from petroleum. Several researches have been done on the technical aspects of biodiesel production in an attempt to develop a better and cleaner alternative to the conventional process. Economic studies have been carried out to have a better understanding of the high costs and benefits of different technologies in the biodiesel industry. In this work it is studied the effect of the most important economic variables of a biodiesel production process over the general economy of a conventional plant which employs sodium methoxide as catalyst. It has been analyzed the effect of the oil price, the amount of free fatty acid, the biodiesel price, the cost of the glycerin, the effect due to the modification on the methanol price, the washing water price, and several others. Small variations on some of the major market variables would produce significant effects over the global economy of the plant, making it non profitable in some cases.

  18. The effect of economic variables over a biodiesel production plant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marchetti, J.M., E-mail: jmarchetti@plapiqui.edu.ar [Planta Piloto de Ingenieria Quimica (UNS-CONICET), Camino La Carrindanga km 7, 8000 Bahia Blanca (Argentina)

    2011-09-15

    Highlights: {yields} Influence of the mayor economic parameters for biodiesel production. {yields} Variations of profitability of a biodiesel plant due to changes in the market scenarios. {yields} Comparison of economic indicators of a biodiesel production facility when market variables are modified. - Abstract: Biodiesel appears as one of the possible alternative renewable fuels to substitute diesel fuel derived from petroleum. Several researches have been done on the technical aspects of biodiesel production in an attempt to develop a better and cleaner alternative to the conventional process. Economic studies have been carried out to have a better understanding of the high costs and benefits of different technologies in the biodiesel industry. In this work it is studied the effect of the most important economic variables of a biodiesel production process over the general economy of a conventional plant which employs sodium methoxide as catalyst. It has been analyzed the effect of the oil price, the amount of free fatty acid, the biodiesel price, the cost of the glycerin, the effect due to the modification on the methanol price, the washing water price, and several others. Small variations on some of the major market variables would produce significant effects over the global economy of the plant, making it non profitable in some cases.

  19. Physiological studies on photochemical oxidant injury in rice plants. II. Effect of abscisic acid (ABA) on ozone injury and ethylene production in rice plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jeong, Y.H.; Nakamura, H.; Ota, Y.

    1981-12-01

    In order to determine the effect of ABA on ozone injury to rice plants, ethylene production, rate of chlorophyll retention and ozone-sensitivity of rice plants pretreated with ABA solution were investigated. The experiments were carried out in pots using rice plants at the 7-8 leaf stage. The results obtained are summarized as follows: ethylene production by the leaf blades exposed to ozone increased with the increase in the dosage of ozone; ethylene production was higher in cv. Nihonbare which was more sensitive to ozone than in cv. Tongil; pre-treatment with ABA solution one hour before ozone treatment reduced ethylene production by the leaf blades exposed to ozone; and the rate of chlorophyll retention decreased following injury, but increased remarkably by the pre-treatment with ABA solution. In conclusion, it could be demonstrated that ozone injury of rice plants can be reduced by the pre-treatment with ABA solution. 28 references, 5 figures, 1 table.

  20. Natural products as potential anticonvulsants: caffeoylquinic acids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hyo Geun; Oh, Myung Sook

    2012-03-01

    Current anticonvulsant therapies are generally directed at symptomatic treatment by suppressing excitability within the brain. Consequently, they have adverse effects such as cognitive impairment, dependence, and abuse. The need for more effective and less toxic anticonvulsants has generated renewed interest in natural products for the treatment of convulsions. Caffeoylquinic acids (CQs) are naturally occurring phenolic acids that are distributed widely in plants. There has been increasing interest in the biological activities of CQs in diseases of the central nervous system. In this issue, Nugroho et al. give evidence for the anticonvulsive effect of a CQ-rich extract from Aster glehni Franchet et Sckmidt. They optimized the extract solvent conditions, resulting in high levels of CQs and peroxynitrite-scavenging activity. Then, they investigated the sedative and anticonvulsive effects in pentobarbital- and pentylenetetrazole-induced models in mice. The CQ-rich extract significantly inhibited tonic convulsions as assessed by onset time, tonic extent, and mortality. They suggested that the CQ-rich extract from A. glehni has potential for treating convulsions. This report provides preclinical data which may be used for the development of anticonvulsants from natural products.

  1. Diverse captive non-human primates with phytanic acid-deficient diets rich in plant products have substantial phytanic acid levels in their red blood cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moser Ann B

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Humans and rodents with impaired phytanic acid (PA metabolism can accumulate toxic stores of PA that have deleterious effects on multiple organ systems. Ruminants and certain fish obtain PA from the microbial degradation of dietary chlorophyll and/or through chlorophyll-derived precursors. In contrast, humans cannot derive PA from chlorophyll and instead normally obtain it only from meat, dairy, and fish products. Results Captive apes and Old world monkeys had significantly higher red blood cell (RBC PA levels relative to humans when all subjects were fed PA-deficient diets. Given the adverse health effects resulting from PA over accumulation, we investigated the molecular evolution of thirteen PA metabolism genes in apes, Old world monkeys, and New world monkeys. All non-human primate (NHP orthologs are predicted to encode full-length proteins with the marmoset Phyh gene containing a rare, but functional, GA splice donor dinucleotide. Acox2, Scp2, and Pecr sequences had amino acid positions with accelerated substitution rates while Amacr had significant variation in evolutionary rates in apes relative to other primates. Conclusions Unlike humans, diverse captive NHPs with PA-deficient diets rich in plant products have substantial RBC PA levels. The favored hypothesis is that NHPs can derive significant amounts of PA from the degradation of ingested chlorophyll through gut fermentation. If correct, this raises the possibility that RBC PA levels could serve as a biomarker for evaluating the digestive health of captive NHPs. Furthermore, the evolutionary rates of the several genes relevant to PA metabolism provide candidate genetic adaptations to NHP diets.

  2. [Fatty acids in confectionery products].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daniewski, M; Mielniczuk, E; Jacórzyński, B; Pawlicka, M; Balas, J; Filipek, A; Górnicka, M

    2000-01-01

    The content of fat and fatty acids in 144 different confectionery products purchased on the market in Warsaw region during 1997-1999 have been investigated. In examined confectionery products considerable variability of both fat and fatty acids content have been found. The content of fat varied from 6.6% (coconut cookies) up to 40% (chocolate wafers). Saturated fatty acids were present in both cis and trans form. Especially trans fatty acids reach (above 50%) were fats extracted from nut wafers, coconuts wafers.

  3. Study on the extraction, purification and quantification of jasmonic acid, abscisic acid and indole-3-acetic acid in plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Feng Juan; Jin, You Ju; Xu, Xing You; Lu, Rong Chun; Chen, Hua Jun

    2008-01-01

    Jasmonic acid (JA), abscisic acid (ABA) and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) are important plant hormones. Plant hormones are difficult to analyse because they occur in small concentrations and other substances in the plant interfere with their detection. To develop a new, inexpensive procedure for the rapid extraction and purification of IAA, ABA and JA from various plant species. Samples were prepared by extraction of plant tissues with methanol and ethyl acetate. Then the extracts were further purified and enriched with C(18) cartridges. The final extracts were derivatised with diazomethane and then measured by GC-MS. The results of the new methodology were compared with those of the Creelman and Mullet procedure. Sequential elution of the assimilates from the C(18 )cartridges revealed that IAA and ABA eluted in 40% methanol, while JA subsequently eluted in 60% methanol. The new plant hormone extraction and purification procedure produced results that were comparable to those obtained with the Creelman and Mullet's procedure. This new procedure requires only 0.5 g leaf samples to quantify these compounds with high reliability and can simultaneously determine the concentrations of the three plant hormones. A simple, inexpensive method was developed for determining endogenous IAA, ABA and JA concentrations in plant tissue.

  4. Chloroplast overexpression of rice caffeic acid O-methyltransferase increases melatonin production in chloroplasts via the 5-methoxytryptamine pathway in transgenic rice plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Geun-Hee; Lee, Hyoung Yool; Back, Kyoungwhan

    2017-08-01

    Recent analyses of the enzymatic features of various melatonin biosynthetic genes from bacteria, animals, and plants have led to the hypothesis that melatonin could be synthesized via the 5-methoxytryptamine (5-MT) pathway. 5-MT is known to be synthesized in vitro from serotonin by the enzymatic action of O-methyltransferases, including N-acetylserotonin methyltransferase (ASMT) and caffeic acid O-methyltransferase (COMT), leading to melatonin synthesis by the subsequent enzymatic reaction with serotonin N-acetyltransferase (SNAT). Here, we show that 5-MT was produced and served as a precursor for melatonin synthesis in plants. When rice seedlings were challenged with senescence treatment, 5-MT levels and melatonin production were increased in transgenic rice seedlings overexpressing the rice COMT in chloroplasts, while no such increases were observed in wild-type or transgenic seedlings overexpressing the rice COMT in the cytosol, suggesting a 5-MT transport limitation from the cytosol to chloroplasts. In contrast, cadmium treatment led to results different from those in senescence. The enhanced melatonin production was not observed in the chloroplast COMT lines relative over the cytosol COMT lines although 5-MT levels were equally induced in all genotypes upon cadmium treatment. The transgenic seedlings with enhanced melatonin in their chloroplasts exhibited improved seedling growth vs the wild type under continuous light conditions. This is the first report describing enhanced melatonin production in chloroplasts via the 5-MT pathway with the ectopic overexpression of COMT in chloroplasts in plants. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. From Conventional Lewis Acids to Heterogeneous Montmorillonite K10: Eco-Friendly Plant-Based Catalysts Used as Green Lewis Acids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hechelski, Marie; Ghinet, Alina; Louvel, Brice; Dufrénoy, Pierrick; Rigo, Benoît; Daïch, Adam; Waterlot, Christophe

    2018-04-25

    The concept of green chemistry began in the USA in the 1990s. Since the publication of the 12 principles of this concept, many reactions in organic chemistry have been developed, and chemical products have been synthesized under environmentally friendly conditions. Lewis acid mediated synthetic transformations are by far the most numerous and best studied. However, the use of certain Lewis acids may cause risks to environmental and human health. This Review discusses the evolution of Lewis acid catalyzed reactions from a homogeneous liquid phase to the solid phase to yield the expected organic molecules under green, safe conditions. In particular, recent developments and applications of biosourced catalysts from plants are highlighted. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  6. Glutamic acid and folic acid production in aerobic and anaerobic probiotics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zohre Taghi Abadi

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Introduction:From an industrial application or commercial point of view, glutamic acid is one of the most important amino acids and its microbial production has been reported from some bacteria. Regarding the role of probiotics to modulate human health and the ever-increasing demand of prebiotics in the food industry, in the current study, production of glutamic acid and folic acid from three probiotic bacteria (Bifidobacterium, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Sporolactobacillus was evaluated for the first time. Materials and methods: MRS broth and exclusive media was used for probiotic culture. The glutamic acid was identified using thin-layer chromatography and folic acid production was measured by folate kit. Each bacterium in terms of quality and quantity were measured by high pressure liquid chromatography. Results: Production of glutamic acid confirmed is based on the thin layer chromatography analysis and high pressure liquid chromatography results. In addition, it was observed that all three probiotics produce folic acid. The prevalence of folate in Bifidobacterium was measured as 315 mg/ml that was more than two other bacteria. Discussion and conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of microbial production of glutamic acid and folate from the probiotic bacteria. These beneficial bacteria can be used as a good source for mass production of these valuable compounds.

  7. Development of marker-free transgenic Jatropha plants with increased levels of seed oleic acid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qu Jing

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Jatropha curcas is recognized as a new energy crop due to the presence of the high amount of oil in its seeds that can be converted into biodiesel. The quality and performance of the biodiesel depends on the chemical composition of the fatty acids present in the oil. The fatty acids profile of the oil has a direct impact on ignition quality, heat of combustion and oxidative stability. An ideal biodiesel composition should have more monounsaturated fatty acids and less polyunsaturated acids. Jatropha seed oil contains 30% to 50% polyunsaturated fatty acids (mainly linoleic acid which negatively impacts the oxidative stability and causes high rate of nitrogen oxides emission. Results The enzyme 1-acyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine delta 12-desaturase (FAD2 is the key enzyme responsible for the production of linoleic acid in plants. We identified three putative delta 12 fatty acid desaturase genes in Jatropha (JcFAD2s through genome-wide analysis and downregulated the expression of one of these genes, JcFAD2-1, in a seed-specific manner by RNA interference technology. The resulting JcFAD2-1 RNA interference transgenic plants showed a dramatic increase of oleic acid (> 78% and a corresponding reduction in polyunsaturated fatty acids (Jatropha had around 37% oleic acid and 41% polyunsaturated fatty acids. This indicates that FAD2-1 is the major enzyme responsible for converting oleic acid to linoleic acid in Jatropha. Due to the changes in the fatty acids profile, the oil of the JcFAD2-1 RNA interference seed was estimated to yield a cetane number as high as 60.2, which is similar to the required cetane number for conventional premium diesel fuels (60 in Europe. The presence of high seed oleic acid did not have a negative impact on other Jatropha agronomic traits based on our preliminary data of the original plants under greenhouse conditions. Further, we developed a marker-free system to generate the transgenic Jatropha

  8. A Review of Analytical Methods for p-Coumaric Acid in Plant-Based Products, Beverages, and Biological Matrices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferreira, Paula Scanavez; Victorelli, Francesca Damiani; Fonseca-Santos, Bruno; Chorilli, Marlus

    2018-05-14

    p-Coumaric acid (p-CA), also known as 4-hydroxycinnamic acid, is a phenolic acid, which has been widely studied due to its beneficial effects against several diseases and its wide distribution in the plant kingdom. This phenolic compound can be found in the free form or conjugated with other molecules; therefore, its bioavailability and the pathways via which it is metabolized change according to its chemical structure. p-CA has potential pharmacological effects because it has high free radical scavenging, anti-inflammatory, antineoplastic, and antimicrobial activities, among other biological properties. It is therefore essential to choose the most appropriate and effective analytical method for qualitative and quantitative determination of p-CA in different matrices, such as plasma, urine, plant extracts, and drug delivery systems. The most-reported analytical method for this purpose is high-performance liquid chromatography, which is mostly coupled with some type of detectors, such as UV/Vis detector. However, other analytical techniques are also used to evaluate this compound. This review presents a summary of p-CA in terms of its chemical and pharmacokinetic properties, pharmacological effects, drug delivery systems, and the analytical methods described in the literature that are suitable for its quantification.

  9. Biological properties of nitro-fatty acids in plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mata-Pérez, Capilla; Padilla, María N; Sánchez-Calvo, Beatriz; Begara-Morales, Juan C; Valderrama, Raquel; Chaki, Mounira; Barroso, Juan B

    2018-03-27

    Nitro-fatty acids (NO 2 -FAs) are formed from the reaction between nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) and mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Knowledge concerning NO 2 -FAs has significantly increased within a few years ago and the beneficial actions of these species uncovered in animal systems have led to consider them as molecules with therapeutic potential. Based on their nature and structure, NO 2 -FAs have the ability to release nitric oxide (NO) in aqueous environments and the capacity to mediate post-translational modifications (PTM) by nitroalkylation. Recently, based on the potential of these NO-derived molecules in the animal field, the endogenous occurrence of nitrated-derivatives of linolenic acid (NO 2 -Ln) was assessed in plant species. Moreover and through RNA-seq technology, it was shown that NO 2 -Ln can induce a large set of heat-shock proteins (HSPs) and different antioxidant systems suggesting this molecule may launch antioxidant and defence responses in plants. Furthermore, the capacity of this nitro-fatty acid to release NO has also been demonstrated. In view of this background, here we offer an overview on the biological properties described for NO 2 -FAs in plants and the potential of these molecules to be considered new key intermediaries of NO metabolism in the plant field. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Postillumination burst of carbon dioxide in crassalacean Acid metabolism plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crews, C E; Vines, H M; Black, C C

    1975-04-01

    Immediately following exposure to light, a postillumination burst of CO(2) has been detected in Crassulacean acid metabolism plants. A detailed study with pineapple (Ananas comosus) leaves indicates that the postillumination burst changes its amplitude and kinetics during the course of a day. In air, the postillumination burst in pineapple leaves generally is exhibited as two peaks. The postillumination burst is sensitive to atmospheric CO(2) and O(2) concentrations as well as to the light intensity under which plants are grown. We propose that the CO(2) released in the first postillumination burst peak is indicative of photorespiration since it is sensitive to either O(2) or CO(2) concentration while the second CO(2) evolution peak is likely due to decarboxylation of organic acids involved in Crassulacean acid metabolism.In marked contrast to other higher plants, the postillumination burst in Crassulacean acid metabolism plants can be equal to or greater than the rate of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis in pineapple leaves also varies throughout a day. Both photosynthesis and the postillumination burst have a daily variation which apparently is a complex function of degree of leaf acidity, growth light intensity, ambient gas phase, and the time a plant has been exposed to a given gas.

  11. Echium acanthocarpum hairy root cultures, a suitable system for polyunsaturated fatty acid studies and production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ravelo Ángel G

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The therapeutic and health promoting role of highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs from fish, i.e. eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3 and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3 are well known. These same benefits may however be shared by some of their precursors, the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs, such as stearidonic acid (SDA, 18:4 n-3. In order to obtain alternative sources for the large-scale production of PUFAs, new searches are being conducted focusing on higher plants oils which can contain these n-3 and n-6 C18 precursors, i.e. SDA and GLA (18:3n-6, γ-linolenic acid. Results The establishment of the novel Echium acanthocarpum hairy root cultures represents a powerful tool in order to research the accumulation and metabolism of fatty acids (FAs in a plant particularly rich in GLA and SDA. Furthermore, this study constitutes the first example of a Boraginaceae species hairy root induction and establishment for FA studies and production. The dominant PUFAs, 18:2n-6 (LA, linoleic acid and 18:3n-6 (GLA, accounted for about 50% of total FAs obtained, while the n-3 PUFAs, 18:3n-3 (ALA, α-linolenic acid and 18:4n-3 (SDA, represented approximately 5% of the total. Production of FAs did not parallel hairy root growth, and the optimal productivity was always associated with the highest biomass density during the culture period. Assuming a compromise between FA production and hairy root biomass, it was determined that sampling times 4 and 5 gave the most useful FA yields. Total lipid amounts were in general comparable between the different hairy root lines (29.75 and 60.95 mg/g DW, with the major lipid classes being triacylglycerols. The FAs were chiefly stored in the hairy roots with very minute amounts being released into the liquid nutrient medium. Conclusions The novel results presented here show the utility and high potential of E. acanthocarpum hairy roots. They are capable of biosynthesizing and accumulating a large

  12. Seed and Foliar Application of Amino Acids Improve Variables of Nitrogen Metabolism and Productivity in Soybean Crop.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teixeira, Walquíria F; Fagan, Evandro B; Soares, Luis H; Soares, Jérssica N; Reichardt, Klaus; Neto, Durval D

    2018-01-01

    The application of amino acids in crops has been a common practice in recent years, although most of the time they are associated with products based on algae extracts or on fermented animal or vegetable wastes. However, little is known about the isolated effect of amino acids on the development of crops. Therefore, the objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of the application of isolated amino acids on the in some steps of the soybean nitrogen metabolism and on productivity. Experiments were carried out in a greenhouse and in the field with the application of the amino acids glutamate (Glu), phenylalanine (Phe), cysteine (Cys) and glycine (Gly) and as a set (Glu+Phe+Cys+Gly), as seed treatment (ST), as foliar application (FA) and both (ST+FA), at the V 4 growth stage. Evaluations consisted of nitrate reductase and urease activities, nitrate, ureide, total amino acids and total nitrogen content in leaves, and productivity. The application of Glu to leaves, Cys as ST and a mixture of Glu+Cys+Phe+Gly as ST+FA in the greenhouse experiment increased the total amino acids content. In the field experiment all treatments increased the amino acid content in leaves. At the V 6 stage in the field experiment, all modes of Gly application, Glu as ST and FA, Cys and Phe as ST+FA and Glu+Cys+Phe+Gly as FA increased the nitrate content in leaves. In the greenhouse, application of Cys and Phe as ST increased the production of soybean plants by at least 21%. The isolated application of Cys, Phe, Gly, Glu and the set of these amino acids as ST increased the productivity of soybean plants in the field experiment by at least 22%.

  13. Seed and Foliar Application of Amino Acids Improve Variables of Nitrogen Metabolism and Productivity in Soybean Crop

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teixeira, Walquíria F.; Fagan, Evandro B.; Soares, Luis H.; Soares, Jérssica N.; Reichardt, Klaus; Neto, Durval D.

    2018-01-01

    The application of amino acids in crops has been a common practice in recent years, although most of the time they are associated with products based on algae extracts or on fermented animal or vegetable wastes. However, little is known about the isolated effect of amino acids on the development of crops. Therefore, the objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of the application of isolated amino acids on the in some steps of the soybean nitrogen metabolism and on productivity. Experiments were carried out in a greenhouse and in the field with the application of the amino acids glutamate (Glu), phenylalanine (Phe), cysteine (Cys) and glycine (Gly) and as a set (Glu+Phe+Cys+Gly), as seed treatment (ST), as foliar application (FA) and both (ST+FA), at the V4 growth stage. Evaluations consisted of nitrate reductase and urease activities, nitrate, ureide, total amino acids and total nitrogen content in leaves, and productivity. The application of Glu to leaves, Cys as ST and a mixture of Glu+Cys+Phe+Gly as ST+FA in the greenhouse experiment increased the total amino acids content. In the field experiment all treatments increased the amino acid content in leaves. At the V6 stage in the field experiment, all modes of Gly application, Glu as ST and FA, Cys and Phe as ST+FA and Glu+Cys+Phe+Gly as FA increased the nitrate content in leaves. In the greenhouse, application of Cys and Phe as ST increased the production of soybean plants by at least 21%. The isolated application of Cys, Phe, Gly, Glu and the set of these amino acids as ST increased the productivity of soybean plants in the field experiment by at least 22%. PMID:29643860

  14. Uric acid in plants and microorganisms: Biological applications and genetics - A review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hafez, Rehab M; Abdel-Rahman, Tahany M; Naguib, Rasha M

    2017-09-01

    Uric acid increased accumulation and/or reduced excretion in human bodies is closely related to pathogenesis of gout and hyperuricemia. It is highly affected by the high intake of food rich in purine. Uric acid is present in both higher plants and microorganisms with species dependent concentration. Urate-degrading enzymes are found both in plants and microorganisms but the mechanisms by which plant degrade uric acid was found to be different among them. Higher plants produce various metabolites which could inhibit xanthine oxidase and xanthine oxidoreductase, so prohibit the oxidation of hypoxanthine to xanthine then to uric acid in the purine metabolism. However, microorganisms produce group of degrading enzymes uricase, allantoinase, allantoicase and urease, which catalyze the degradation of uric acid to the ammonia. In humans, researchers found that several mutations caused a pseudogenization (silencing) of the uricase gene in ancestral apes which exist as an insoluble crystalloid in peroxisomes. This is in contrast to microorganisms in which uricases are soluble and exist either in cytoplasm or peroxisomes. Moreover, many recombinant uricases with higher activity than the wild type uricases could be induced successfully in many microorganisms. The present review deals with the occurrence of uric acid in plants and other organisms specially microorganisms in addition to the mechanisms by which plant extracts, metabolites and enzymes could reduce uric acid in blood. The genetic and genes encoding for uric acid in plants and microorganisms are also presented.

  15. Uric acid in plants and microorganisms: Biological applications and genetics - A review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rehab M. Hafez

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Uric acid increased accumulation and/or reduced excretion in human bodies is closely related to pathogenesis of gout and hyperuricemia. It is highly affected by the high intake of food rich in purine. Uric acid is present in both higher plants and microorganisms with species dependent concentration. Urate-degrading enzymes are found both in plants and microorganisms but the mechanisms by which plant degrade uric acid was found to be different among them. Higher plants produce various metabolites which could inhibit xanthine oxidase and xanthine oxidoreductase, so prohibit the oxidation of hypoxanthine to xanthine then to uric acid in the purine metabolism. However, microorganisms produce group of degrading enzymes uricase, allantoinase, allantoicase and urease, which catalyze the degradation of uric acid to the ammonia. In humans, researchers found that several mutations caused a pseudogenization (silencing of the uricase gene in ancestral apes which exist as an insoluble crystalloid in peroxisomes. This is in contrast to microorganisms in which uricases are soluble and exist either in cytoplasm or peroxisomes. Moreover, many recombinant uricases with higher activity than the wild type uricases could be induced successfully in many microorganisms. The present review deals with the occurrence of uric acid in plants and other organisms specially microorganisms in addition to the mechanisms by which plant extracts, metabolites and enzymes could reduce uric acid in blood. The genetic and genes encoding for uric acid in plants and microorganisms are also presented.

  16. Biobased organic acids production by metabolically engineered microorganisms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chen, Yun; Nielsen, Jens

    2016-01-01

    Bio-based production of organic acids via microbial fermentation has been traditionally used in food industry. With the recent desire to develop more sustainable bioprocesses for production of fuels, chemicals and materials, the market for microbial production of organic acids has been further...... expanded as organic acids constitute a key group among top building block chemicals that can be produced from renewable resources. Here we review the current status for production of citric acid and lactic acid, and we highlight the use of modern metabolic engineering technologies to develop high...... performance microbes for production of succinic acid and 3-hydroxypropionic acid. Also, the key limitations and challenges in microbial organic acids production are discussed...

  17. Glutamic acid production from wheat by-products using enzymatic and acid hydrolysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sari, Y.W.; Alting, A.C.; Floris, R.; Sanders, J.P.M.; Bruins, M.E.

    2014-01-01

    Glutamic acid (Glu) has potential as feedstock for bulk chemicals production. It has also been listed as one of the top twelve chemicals derived from biomass. Large amounts of cheaper Glu can be made available by enabling its production from biomass by-products, such as wheat dried distillers grains

  18. Terrestrial plant methane production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mikkelsen, Teis Nørgaard; Bruhn, Dan; Møller, Ian M.

    We evaluate all experimental work published on the phenomenon of aerobic methane (CH4) generation in terrestrial plants. We conclude that the phenomenon is true. Four stimulating factors have been observed to induce aerobic plant CH4 production, i.e. cutting injuries, increasing temperature...... the aerobic methane emission in plants. Future work is needed for establishing the relative contribution of several proven potential CH4 precursors in plant material....

  19. Chemical stabilization of cadmium in acidic soil using alkaline agronomic and industrial by-products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Yao-Tsung; Hsi, Hsing-Cheng; Hseu, Zeng-Yei; Jheng, Shao-Liang

    2013-01-01

    In situ immobilization of heavy metals using reactive or stabilizing materials is a promising solution for soil remediation. Therefore, four agronomic and industrial by-products [wood biochar (WB), crushed oyster shell (OS), blast furnace slag (BFS), and fluidized-bed crystallized calcium (FBCC)] and CaCO3 were added to acidic soil (Cd = 8.71 mg kg(-1)) at the rates of 1%, 2%, and 4% and incubated for 90 d. Chinese cabbage (Brassica chinensis L.) was then planted in the soil to test the Cd uptake. The elevation in soil pH caused by adding the by-products produced a negative charge on the soil surface, which enhanced Cd adsorption. Consequently, the diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA)-extractable Cd content decreased significantly (P soil. These results from the sequential extraction procedure indicated that Cd converted from the exchangeable fraction to the carbonate or Fe-Mn oxide fraction. The long-term effectiveness of Cd immobilization caused by applying the 4 by-products was much greater than that caused by applying CaCO3. Plant shoot biomass clearly increased because of the by-product soil amendment. Cd concentration in the shoots was soil.

  20. Role Of Ascorbic Acid In Imparting Tolerance To Plants Against Oxidizing Pollutants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Priyanka Sharma

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Ascorbic acid is an antioxidant in plants which play important role in activation of many physiological and defense mechanisms. The level of ascorbic acid in plants is determinant of its tolerance against the adverse effect of oxidizing pollutants. The present study tries to relate the variation in ascorbic acid content with the tolerance and sensitivity of two selected plant species viz. Azadirachtaindica and Pongamiapinnata by calculating their Air Pollution Tolerance Index APTI during winter season from November to March in the urban city Delhi of North India. Moreover ascorbic acid is also an important part of chloroplast it protects different components of photosynthetic system from oxidative stress. Thus to understand the role of ascorbic acid in imparting tolerance to plants against oxidizing pollutants the changes in chlorophyll content of the selected plant species with variation in ambient ozone concentration was analysed. It was found that as per APTI values Azadirachta sp. came under tolerant range with highest ascorbic acid content whereas Pongamia sp. was under intermediate range with less ascorbic acid content. It was statistically established that ozone has no significant relation with chlorophyll content of Azadirachta sp. which has the highest ascorbic acid content. Whereas ambient ozone concentrations showed significant negative relation with the chlorophyll content of Pongamia sp. p 0.05. Thus it was observed that the plants with high ascorbic acid content are tolerant and have greater ability to remediate pollutants.

  1. Physiological response of marigold (calendula officinalis L.) plants to gamma radiation, gibberellic acid and kinetin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noby, M.F.A.

    2010-01-01

    This study was carried out during the two successive seasons of 2005/2006 and 2006/2007 at the Experimental Field of Plant Research Department, Nuclear Research Center, Atomic Energy Authority at Inshas in a newly reclaimed sandy loam soil. The aim of this work was to study the effect of gamma radiation, gibberellic acid or kinetin and their interaction on the growth, flowering and the productivity of pot-marigold (Calendula officinalis L.) plants. The experimental trials included two factorial experiments; the first one was to study the effect of gamma radiation and gibberellic acid and the interaction between them on pot-marigold plants. Another experiment was conducted to study the effect of gamma radiation and kinetin and the interaction between them on pot-marigold plants. Pot-marigold seeds were irradiated before sowing with gamma rays at 0, 50, 100, 150 or 200 Gray (Gy) of gamma rays. After planting, plants were sprayed with either gibberellic acid (at the concentrations of 0, 50, 100, 150 or 200 ppm) or kinetin (at the concentrations of 0, 10, 20, 30 or 40 ppm). Generally, gamma rays treatments (50, 100 and 150 Gy) increased plant height, branch number/plant, leaf area, vegetative growth and roots fresh and dry weights of pot-marigold plants. Also, the same gamma doses accelerated flowering and decreased the period from sowing until flowering while increased flower head diameter, flower number/plant and flowers fresh and dry weights per plant and per feddan. In addition, gamma rays (50 - 150 Gy) increased volatile oil yield in flowers, leaf chlorophyll content, carotenoids and beta carotene in flowers, total soluble sugars and NPK %. The best values were obtained by 50 Gy dose of gamma rays, whereas the dose of 200 Gy gave the lowest values.

  2. Dry alcohol production plant

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stanković Mirjana S.

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available The IGPC Engineering Department designed basic projects for dry alcohol production plant, using technology developed in the IGPC laboratories. Several projects were completed: technological, machine, electrical, automation. On the basis of these projects a production plant with a capacity of 40 m3/y was manufactured, at "Zorka Pharma", Šabac in 1995-1996. The product meets all quality demands, as well as environmental regulations. The dry alcohol production process is fully automatized. There is no waste in the process, neither gaseous, nor liquid. The chosen process provides safe operation according to temperature regime and resistance in the pipes, air purification columns and filters. Working at increased pressure is suitable for evaporation and condensation at increased temperatures. The production process can be controlled manually, which is necessary during start-up, and repairs.

  3. Microbial production of poly-γ-glutamic acid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sirisansaneeyakul, Sarote; Cao, Mingfeng; Kongklom, Nuttawut; Chuensangjun, Chaniga; Shi, Zhongping; Chisti, Yusuf

    2017-09-05

    Poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) is a natural, biodegradable and water-soluble biopolymer of glutamic acid. This review is focused on nonrecombinant microbial production of γ-PGA via fermentation processes. In view of its commercial importance, the emphasis is on L-glutamic acid independent producers (i.e. microorganisms that do not require feeding with the relatively expensive amino acid L-glutamic acid to produce γ-PGA), but glutamic acid dependent production is discussed for comparison. Strategies for improving production, reducing costs and using renewable feedstocks are discussed.

  4. Techno-economic assessment of Levulinic Acid Plant from Sorghum Bicolor in Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gozan, M.; Ryan, B.; Krisnandi, Y.

    2018-04-01

    The increasing need of energy is one of the main energy security issues in Indonesia. Hence, alternative energy is needed. Levulinic acid (LA) is among chemical platform used in the synthesis for avariety of high-value materials, such as fuels and commodity chemicals. It is predicted that global LA market demand to reach 3.1 tons in 2016. This study examines industrial processdesign and economic analysis for LA production in Indonesia.Sorghum bicolor was used as feed because of its high cellulose, low lignin contents and availability in Indonesia. The conventional economic problem from biomass based production was diminished sincethe valuable waste from pretreatment processwas sold to otherindustry.This plant was recommended to be built in an industrial estate area in Jawa Timur (East Java) province. Results from simulation using SuperPro Designer 9.0 was used for the techno-economic assessment.The plant assessment showed that the minimum production capacity was 7.7 ton per day to achieve an internal rate of return (IRR) and payback period (PBP) values of 19.61% and 3.93 years, respectively. Sensitivity analysis showed that product selling price was the most predominant factor for IRR, NPV, PBP and ROI. Raw material and water had low effects on those economic parameters. These values indicated that LA plant was feasible to be built in Indonesia.

  5. Evaluation of two processes for the production of phosphoric acid in pilot scale

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santos Benedetto, J. dos.

    1984-01-01

    Two processes for the production of phosphoric acid, based on dihydrate route and hemihydrate route, have been evaluated. The processes were tested in a pilot plant using the concentrate obtained from phosphorus-uraniferous mineral from Itataia mines (CE, Brazil). Results were evaluated from the data obtained from phosphorus and uranium solubilizations. Also presented, although in a summarised way, are the description of the construction of the pilot plants and the analytical methods for the follow-up of processes. (Author) [pt

  6. Towards Sustainable Production of Formic Acid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bulushev, Dmitri A; Ross, Julian R H

    2018-03-09

    Formic acid is a widely used commodity chemical. It can be used as a safe, easily handled, and transported source of hydrogen or carbon monoxide for different reactions, including those producing fuels. The review includes historical aspects of formic acid production. It briefly analyzes production based on traditional sources, such as carbon monoxide, methanol, and methane. However, the main emphasis is on the sustainable production of formic acid from biomass and biomass-derived products through hydrolysis and oxidation processes. New strategies of low-temperature synthesis from biomass may lead to the utilization of formic acid for the production of fuel additives, such as methanol; upgraded bio-oil; γ-valerolactone and its derivatives; and synthesis gas used for the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis of hydrocarbons. Some technological aspects are also considered. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  7. Plant uptake and soil retention of phthalic acid applied to Norfolk sandy loam

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dorney, J.R.; Weber, J.B.; Overcash, M.R.; Strek, H.J.

    1985-01-01

    Plant uptake and soil retention of 14 C carboxyl-labeled phthalic acid were studied at application rates of 0.6, 6.0, 60.0, and 600.0 ppm (soil dry weight) to Norfolk sandy loam (Typic Paleudult, fine loamy, kaolinitic, thermic). Height and dry weight of corn (Zea mays L. Pioneer 3368A) (21 day), tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb. Kentucky 31) (45 day) immature soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr. Altoona) (21 day) plant, mature soybean plant, and mature wheat (Triticum aestivum L. Butte) straw were not affected by phthalic acid applied to soil. In addition, soybean seed and wheat seed dry weight were unaffected. Immature wheat (40 day) height decreased at the 600 ppm rate. Plant uptake of phthalic acid ranged from 0 to 23 ppm and was significantly above background for all plants and plant materials except soybean pods. Fescue and immature plants exhibited the highest concentration of phthalic acid while mature wheat plants and wheat seeds exhibited the least. Most of the phthalic acid volatilized or was decomposed from the soil by the end of the study; an average of only 5.7% of the originally applied chemical was recovered in both soil or plants. An average of 0.02% of the originally applied phthalic acid leached out of the treated zone. Considering the low toxicity of phthalic acid and its relatively rapid disappearance from soil, it is unlikely to become a health hazard from contaminated plants. However, plant uptake of other toxic organics could potentially become a hazard on soils treated with sludge containing significant quantities of these substances

  8. Engineering oilseeds for sustainable production of industrial and nutritional feedstocks: solving bottlenecks in fatty acid flux.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cahoon, Edgar B; Shockey, Jay M; Dietrich, Charles R; Gidda, Satinder K; Mullen, Robert T; Dyer, John M

    2007-06-01

    Oilseeds provide a unique platform for the production of high-value fatty acids that can replace non-sustainable petroleum and oceanic sources of specialty chemicals and aquaculture feed. However, recent efforts to engineer the seeds of crop and model plant species to produce new types of fatty acids, including hydroxy and conjugated fatty acids for industrial uses and long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids for farmed fish feed, have met with only modest success. The collective results from these studies point to metabolic 'bottlenecks' in the engineered plant seeds that substantially limit the efficient or selective flux of unusual fatty acids between different substrate pools and ultimately into storage triacylglycerol. Evidence is emerging that diacylglycerol acyltransferase 2, which catalyzes the final step in triacylglycerol assembly, is an important contributor to the synthesis of unusual fatty acid-containing oils, and is likely to be a key target for future oilseed metabolic engineering efforts.

  9. The role of tolerant genotypes and plant nutrients in the management of acid soil infertility in upland rice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sahrawat, K.L.; Jones, M.P.; Diatta, S.

    2000-01-01

    As in other parts of the humid tropics, acid-related problems are the major constraint to crop production on low-activity clay soils in the humid and sub-humid zones of West Africa. The upland ecosystem of West Africa is very important to rice production. About 70% of upland rice is grown in the humid zone of the sub-region. To increase and stabilize rice productivity of the acid uplands at reasonable levels, a strategy is needed that integrates the use of tolerant cultivars with soil and plant-nutrient management. Research conducted on Alfisols and Ultisols of the humid-forest and savannah zones in West Africa showed that upland rice is a robust crop, possessing a wide range of tolerance to acid-soil conditions. Recent research at WARDA showed also that acid-soil tolerance can be enhanced through interspecific Oryza sativa x O. glaberrima progenies, which not only possess increased tolerance of acid-soil conditions, but also have superior overall adaptability to diverse upland environments in the sub-region. Our research on the diagnosis of acid-soil infertility problems on the Ultisols and Alfisols of the humid savannah and forest zones indicates that P deficiency is the most important nutrient disorder for upland rice. In the forest zone, response to N depended on the application of P. In the savannah and forest-savannah transition zones, N deficiency was more important than P deficiency. Among other plant nutrients, the application of Ca and Mg (as plant nutrients) did not appear initially to improve the performance of acid-tolerant upland rice cultivars. The results from a long-term study on an Ultisol with four acid-tolerant rice cultivars, revealed that they differed in agronomic and physiological P efficiencies, and the efficiencies were higher at lower rates of P. The amounts of total P removed in three successive crops were similar for all four cultivars although P-harvest index was 10 to 12% higher in the P-efficient than the inefficient cultivars. The

  10. Efficacy of fungicide combinations, phosphoric acid, and plant extract from stinging nettle on potato late blight management and tuber yield

    Science.gov (United States)

    Late blight, caused by Phytophthora infestans is a major constraint to potato production. Inadequate management of the disease has often resulted in heavy losses in various production regions. We assessed the efficacy of fungicides, phosphoric acid, and stinging nettle plant extract combinations for...

  11. Succinic acid production from Jerusalem artichoke

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gunnarsson, Ingólfur Bragi; Karakashev, Dimitar Borisov; Angelidaki, Irini

    In this work, A. succinogenes 130Z was used to produce succinic acid from Jerusalem artichoke tuber hydrolysate. Results showed that both fructose and glucose in the tuber hydrolysate were utilized for succinic acid production. The sugar utilization was found to be dependent on process control...... that Jerusalem artichoke tubers could be utilized for production of bio-succinic acid....

  12. Recycling stabilised/solidified drill cuttings for forage production in acidic soils.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kogbara, Reginald B; Dumkhana, Bernard B; Ayotamuno, Josiah M; Okparanma, Reuben N

    2017-10-01

    Stabilisation/solidification (S/S), which involves fixation and immobilisation of contaminants using cementitious materials, is one method of treating drill cuttings before final fate. This work considers reuse of stabilised/solidified drill cuttings for forage production in acidic soils. It sought to improve the sustainability of S/S technique through supplementation with the phytoremediation potential of plants, eliminate the need for landfill disposal and reduce soil acidity for better plant growth. Drill cuttings with an initial total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) concentration of 17,125 mg kg -1 and low concentrations of metals were treated with 5%, 10%, and 20% cement dosages. The treated drill cuttings were reused in granular form for growing a forage, elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum), after mixing with uncontaminated soil. The grasses were also grown in uncontaminated soil. The phytoremediation and growth potential of the plants was assessed over a 12-week period. A mix ratio of one part drill cuttings to three parts uncontaminated soil was required for active plant growth. The phytoremediation ability of elephant grass (alongside abiotic losses) reduced the TPH level (up to 8795 mg kg -1 ) in the soil-treated-drill cuttings mixtures below regulatory (1000 mg kg -1 ) levels. There were also decreased concentrations of metals. The grass showed better heights and leaf lengths in soil containing drill cuttings treated with 5% cement dosage than in uncontaminated soil. The results suggest that recycling S/S treated drill cuttings for forage production may be a potential end use of the treated waste. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Simultaneous determination of shikimic acid, salicylic acid and jasmonic acid in wild and transgenic Nicotiana langsdorffii plants exposed to abiotic stresses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scalabrin, Elisa; Radaelli, Marta; Capodaglio, Gabriele

    2016-06-01

    The presence and relative concentration of phytohormones may be regarded as a good indicator of an organism's physiological state. The integration of the rolC gene from Agrobacterium rhizogenes and of the rat glucocorticoid receptor (gr) in Nicotiana langsdorffii Weinmann plants has shown to determine various physiological and metabolic effects. The analysis of wild and transgenic N. langsdorffii plants, exposed to different abiotic stresses (high temperature, water deficit, and high chromium concentrations) was conducted, in order to investigate the metabolic effects of the inserted genes in response to the applied stresses. The development of a new analytical procedure was necessary, in order to assure the simultaneous determination of analytes and to obtain an adequately low limit of quantification. For the first time, a sensitive HPLC-HRMS quantitative method for the simultaneous determination of salicylic acid, jasmonic acid and shikimic acid was developed and validated. The method was applied to 80 plant samples, permitting the evaluation of plant stress responses and highlighting some metabolic mechanisms. Salicylic, jasmonic and shikimic acids proved to be suitable for the comprehension of plant stress responses. Chemical and heat stresses showed to induce the highest changes in plant hormonal status, differently affecting plant response. The potential of each genetic modification toward the applied stresses was marked and particularly the resistance of the gr modified plants was evidenced. This work provides new information in the study of N. langsdorffii and transgenic organisms, which could be useful for the further application of these transgenes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  14. Effect of polyacetylenic acids from Prunella vulgaris on various plant pathogens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoon, M-Y; Choi, G J; Choi, Y H; Jang, K S; Park, M S; Cha, B; Kim, J-C

    2010-11-01

    This study is aiming at characterizing antifungal substances from the methanol extract of Prunella vulgaris and at investigating those substances' antifungal and antioomycete activities against various plant pathogens. Two polyacetylenic acids were isolated from P. vulgaris as active principles and identified as octadeca-9,11,13-triynoic acid and trans-octadec-13-ene-9,11-diynoic acid. These two compounds inhibited the growth of Magnaporthe oryzae, Rhizoctonia solani, Phytophthora infestans, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. raphani, and Phytophthora capsici. In addition, these two compounds and the wettable powder-type formulation of an n-hexane fraction of P. vulgaris significantly suppressed the development of rice blast, tomato late blight, wheat leaf rust, and red pepper anthracnose. These data show that the extract of P. vulgaris and two polyacetylenic acids possess antifungal and antioomycete activities against a broad spectrum of tested plant pathogens. This is the first report on the occurrence of octadeca-9,11,13-triynoic acid and trans-octadec-13-ene-9,11-diynoic acid in P. vulgaris and their efficacy against plant diseases. The crude extract containing the two polyacetylenic acids can be used as a natural fungicide for the control of various plant diseases. © 2010 The Authors. © 2010 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  15. Synthesis of antimalarial amide analogues based on the plant serrulatane diterpenoid 3,7,8-trihydroxyserrulat-14-en-19-oic acid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Rohitesh; Duffy, Sandra; Avery, Vicky M; Davis, Rohan A

    2017-09-01

    A plant-derived natural product scaffold, 3,7,8-trihydroxyserrulat-14-en-19-oic acid (1) was isolated in high yield from the aerial parts of the endemic Australian desert plant Eremophila microtheca. This scaffold (1) was subsequently used in the generation of a series of new amide analogues via a one-pot mixed anhydride amidation using pivaloyl chloride. The structures of all analogues were characterized using MS, NMR, and UV data. The major serrulatane natural products (1-3), isolated from the plant extract, and all amide analogues (6-15) together with several pivaloylated derivatives of 3,7,8-trihydroxyserrulat-14-en-19-oic acid (16-18) were evaluated for their antimalarial activity against 3D7 (chloroquine sensitive) and Dd2 (chloroquine resistant) Plasmodium falciparum strains, and preliminary cytotoxicity data were also acquired using the human embryonic kidney cell line HEK293. The natural product scaffold (1) did not display any antimalarial activity at 10µM. Replacing the carboxylic acid of 1 with various amides resulted in moderate activity against the P. falciparum 3D7 strain with IC 50 values ranging from 1.25 to 5.65µM. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Compositions and methods relating to transgenic plants and cellulosic ethanol production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tien, Ming [State College, PA; Carlson, John [Port Matilda, PA; Liang, Haiying [Clemson, SC

    2012-04-24

    Transgenic lignocellulosic plants are provided according to embodiments of the present invention, the transgenic plants transformed with an expression cassette encoding a protein operably linked to a signal peptide which targets the protein to a cell wall of the transgenic plant, where at least 5% of the total amino acid residues of the protein are tyrosine, lysine, serine, threonine or cysteine. Methods of increasing lignin-protein bonds in a lignocellulosic plant are provided according to embodiments of the present invention which include expressing a recombinant nucleic acid in a lignocellulosic plant, the recombinant nucleic acid encoding a protein operably linked to a signal peptide which targets the protein to the cell wall of a plant, where at least 5% of the total amino acid residues of the protein are tyrosine, lysine, serine, threonine or cysteine.

  17. Compositions and methods relating to transgenic plants and cellulosic ethanol production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tien, Ming; Carlson, John; Liang, Haiying

    2015-06-02

    Transgenic lignocellulosic plants are provided according to embodiments of the present invention, the transgenic plants transformed with an expression cassette encoding a protein operably linked to a signal peptide which targets the protein to a cell wall of the transgenic plant, where at least 5% of the total amino acid residues of the protein are tyrosine, lysine, serine, threonine or cysteine. Methods of increasing lignin-protein bonds in a lignocellulosic plant are provided according to embodiments of the present invention which include expressing a recombinant nucleic acid in a lignocellulosic plant, the recombinant nucleic acid encoding a protein operably linked to a signal peptide which targets the protein to the cell wall of a plant, where at least 5% of the total amino acid residues of the protein are tyrosine, lysine, serine, threonine or cysteine.

  18. Deoxygenation of Plant Fatty Acid using NiSnK/ SiO2 as Catalyst

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chiam, L.T.; Tye, C.T.

    2013-01-01

    Environmental friendly bio-oil which offers supply reliability as a potential alternative fuel, has spurred to rapid development of bio fuels technology. Palm oil is a potential renewable energy source for bio fuels production in the future and Malaysia is one of the world largest palm oil producers. However, undesired oxygen content in the plant fatty acid that contributes to low energy density, high viscosity, and low stability, makes the palm oil not effective to be used as bio fuels directly. In the present study, the performance of silica supported trimetal catalyst, NiSnK/ SiO 2 , on deoxygenation of used palm oil was evaluated. In addition, the effects of operating parameters, such as reaction temperature and weight hourly space velocity were investigated. Conversion of palmitic acid as high as 90 % was achieved in deoxygenation of used palm oil at reaction temperature 350 degree Celsius. In order to have a better understanding on the deoxygenation reaction, model compound system using the major saturated fatty acid in the used palm oil, palmitic acid was also carried out. Palmitic acid was found mainly decarboxylated into n-pentadecane with some decarboxylation and isomerization products. (author)

  19. Wet water glass production plant

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stanković Mirjana S.

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available The IGPC Engineering Department designed basic projects for a wet hydrate dissolution plant, using technology developed in the IGPC laboratories. Several projects were completed: technological, machine, electrical, automation. On the basis of these projects, a production plant of a capacity of 75,000 t/y was manufactured, at "Zeolite Mira", Mira (VE, Italy, in 1997. and 1998, increasing detergent zeolite production, from 50,000 to 100,000 t/y. Several goals were realized by designing a wet hydrate dissolution plant. The main goal was increasing the detergent zeolite production. The technological cycle of NaOH was closed, and no effluents emitted, and there is no pollution (except for the filter cake. The wet water glass production process is fully automatized, and the product has uniform quality. The production process can be controlled manually, which is necessary during start - up, and repairs. By installing additional process equipment (centrifugal pumps and heat exchangers technological bottlenecks were overcome, and by adjusting the operation of autoclaves, and water glass filters and also by optimizing the capacities of process equipment.

  20. Chicoric acid: chemistry, distribution, and production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jungmin; Scagel, Carolyn

    2013-12-01

    Though chicoric acid was first identified in 1958, it was largely ignored until recent popular media coverage cited potential health beneficial properties from consuming food and dietary supplements containing this compound. To date, plants from at least 63 genera and species have been found to contain chicoric acid, and while the compound is used as a processing quality indicator, it may also have useful health benefits. This review of chicoric acid summarizes research findings and highlights gaps in research knowledge for investigators, industry stakeholders, and consumers alike. Additionally, chicoric acid identification and quantification methods, biosynthesis, processing improvements to increase chicoric acid retention, and potential areas for future research are discussed.

  1. New salty waffle products "Fish Krekis" with fish & plant semifinished products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fedorova Dina

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The study examines the directions of expansion of the range of wafer snack products of high nutritional value by using fish & plant semifinished products. The study scientifically grounds the benefits of using the new fish & plant semifinished products in manufacturing waffle salty snack products. The data provided in the article prove that the use of the fish & plant semifinished products & herbal ingredients enable a range of the new wafer snack products «Fish krekis» with high content of proteins, organic calcium, fiber and vitamins, with improved consumer properties, as well as more efficient use of Ukrainian raw fish materials.

  2. Plants as natural antioxidants for meat products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomović, V.; Jokanović, M.; Šojić, B.; Škaljac, S.; Ivić, M.

    2017-09-01

    The meat industry is demanding antioxidants from natural sources to replace synthetic antioxidants because of the negative health consequences or beliefs regarding some synthetic ones. Plants materials provide good alternatives. Spices and herbs, generally used for their flavouring characteristics, can be added to meat products in various forms: whole, ground, or as isolates from their extracts. These natural antioxidants contain some active compounds, which exert antioxidative potential in meat products. This antioxidant activity is most often due to phenolic acids, phenolic diterpenes, flavonoids and volatile oils. Each of these compounds often has strong H-donating activity, thus making them extremely effective antioxidants; some compounds can chelate metals and donate H to oxygen radicals, thus slowing oxidation via two mechanisms. Numerous studies have demonstrated the efficacy of natural antioxidants when used in meat products. Based on this literature review, it can be concluded that natural antioxidants are added to fresh and processed meat and meat products to delay, retard, or prevent lipid oxidation, retard development of off-flavours (rancidity), improve colour stability, improve microbiological quality and extend shelf-life, without any damage to the sensory or nutritional properties.

  3. Fumaric acid production by fermentation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Roa Engel, C.A.; Straathof, A.J.J.; Zijlmans, T.W.; Van Gulik, W.M.; Van der Wielen, L.A.M.

    2008-01-01

    Abstract The potential of fumaric acid as a raw material in the polymer industry and the increment of cost of petroleum-based fumaric acid raises interest in fermentation processes for production of this compound from renewable resources. Although the chemical process yields 112% w/w fumaric acid

  4. Hydrolytic Amino Acids Employed as a Novel Organic Nitrogen Source for the Preparation of PGPF-Containing Bio-Organic Fertilizer for Plant Growth Promotion and Characterization of Substance Transformation during BOF Production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Chenglong; Ran, Wei; Yu, Guanghui; Zhang, Yingjun; Shen, Qirong

    2016-01-01

    Opportunity costs seriously limit the large-scale production of bio-organic fertilizers (BOFs) both in China and internationally. This study addresses the utilization of amino acids resulting from the acidic hydrolysis of pig corpses as organic nitrogen sources to increase the density of TrichodermaharzianumT-E5 (a typical plant growth-promoting fungi, PGPF). This results in a novel, economical, highly efficient and environmentally friendly BOF product. Fluorescence excitation-emission matrix (EEM) spectroscopy combined with fluorescence regional integration (FRI) was employed to monitor compost maturity levels, while pot experiments were utilized to test the effects of this novel BOF on plant growth. An optimization experiment, based on response surface methodologies (RSMs), showed that a maximum T-E5 population (3.72 × 108 ITS copies g−1) was obtained from a mixture of 65.17% cattle manure compost (W/W), 19.33% maggot manure (W/W), 15.50% (V/W)hydrolytic amino acid solution and 4.69% (V/W) inoculum at 28.7°C after a 14 day secondary solid fermentation. Spectroscopy analysis revealed that the compost transformation process involved the degradation of protein-like substances and the formation of fulvic-like and humic-like substances. FRI parameters (PI, n, PII, n, PIII, n and PV, n) were used to characterize the degree of compost maturity. The BOF resulted in significantly higher increased chlorophyll content, shoot length, and shoot and root dry weights of three vegetables (cucumber, tomato and pepper) by 9.9%~22.4%, 22.9%~58.5%, 31.0%~84.9%, and 24.2%~34.1%, respectively. In summary, this study presents an operational means of increasing PGPF T-E5 populations in BOF to promote plant growth with a concomitant reduction in production cost. In addition, a BOF compost maturity assessment using fluorescence EEM spectroscopy and FRI ensured its safe field application. PMID:26974549

  5. Potential plant oil feedstock for lipase-catalyzed biodiesel production in Thailand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Winayanuwattikun, Pakorn; Kaewpiboon, Chutima; Piriyakananon, Kingkaew; Tantong, Supalak; Thakernkarnkit, Weerasak; Chulalaksananukul, Warawut; Yongvanich, Tikamporn

    2008-01-01

    Twenty-seven types of plants found to contain more than 25% of oil (w/w) were selectively examined from 44 species. Saponification number (SN), iodine value (IV), cetane number (CN) and viscosity (η) of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) of oils were empirically determined, and they varied from 182 to 262, 3.60 to 142.70, 39.32 to 65.80 and 2.29 to 3.95, respectively. Fatty acid compositions, IV, CN and η were used to predict the quality of FAMEs for use as biodiesel. FAMEs of plant oils of 15 species were found to be most suitable for use as biodiesel by meeting the major specification of biodiesel standards of Thailand, USA and European Standard Organization. The oils from these 15 species were further investigated for the conversion efficiency of biodiesel in lipase-catalyzed transesterification reaction with Novozyme 435 and Lipozyme RM IM. Oils of four species, palm (Elaeis guineensis), physic nut (Jatropha curcas), papaya (Carica papaya) and rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum), can be highly converted to biodiesel by transesterification using Novozyme 435- or Lipozyme RM IM-immobilized lipase as catalyst. Therefore, these selected plants would be economically considered as the feedstock for biodiesel production by biocatalyst

  6. Role of plant growth regulators on oil yield and biodiesel production of linseed (linum usitatissimum l)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Faizanullah, A.; Bano, A.; Nosheen, A.

    2010-01-01

    A field experiment was conducted to compare the effect of plant growth regulators (PGRs) viz. kinetin (K), chlorocholine chloride (CCC) and salicylic acid (SA) on seed yield, oil content and oil quality of Linseed (Linum usitatissimum L) cv. Chandni with a new perspective to biodiesel production. The growth regulators (10-6M) were applied as seed soaking for 10 h prior to cultivation. Kinetin significantly increased the number of capsules/plant, seed number/capsule, 1000 seed weight and total seed yield (kg/h). The growth regulators increased the seed oil content maximum being in kinetin and CCC treatments. Kinetin and CCC significantly decreased the oil acid value, free fatty acid content (% oleic acid) and increased the pH of oil. Nevertheless, SA significantly decreased the oil specific gravity and did not alter the pH. Only kinetin significantly increased the oil iodine value. The oil extracted from seeds of kinetin and CCC treated plants showed maximum conversion (% w/w) to methyl esters/biodiesel after transesterification. It can be inferred that PGRs can be utilized successfully for improving the biodiesel yield of linseed. (author)

  7. Metabolism of Mevalonic Acid in Vegetative and Induced Plants of Xanthium strumarium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bledsoe, C S

    1978-11-01

    The metabolism of mevalonic acid in Xanthium strumarium L. Chicago plants was studied to determine how mevalonate was metabolized and whether metabolism was related to induction of flowering. Leaves of vegetative, photoperiodically induced, and chemically inhibited cocklebur plants were supplied with [(14)C]mevalonic acid prior to or during a 16-hour inductive dark period. Vegetative, induced, and Tris(2-diethylaminoethyl)phosphate trihydrochloride-treated plants did not differ significantly in the amount of [(14)C]mevalonic acid they absorbed, nor in the distribution of radioactivity among the leaf blade (97%), petiole (2.3%), or shoot tip (0.7%). [(14)C]Mevalonic acid was rapidly metabolized and transported out of the leaves. Possible metabolites of mevalonate were mevalonic acid phosphates and sterols. No detectable (14)C was found in gibberellins, carotenoids, or the phytol alcohol of chlorophyll. Chemically inhibited plants accumulated (14)C compounds not found in vegetative or induced plants. When ethanol extracts of leaves, petioles, and buds were chromatographed, comparisons of chromatographic patterns did not show significant differences between vegetative and induced treatments.

  8. Dry Matter Production and Leaf Elemental Concentrations of Rambutan Grown on an Acid Ultisol

    Science.gov (United States)

    Little is known about the adaptability of rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum) to highly acidic soils rich in aluminum (Al). A 2-yr field study was conducted to determine the effects of various levels of soil Al on dry matter production, plant growth, and nutrient concentration in the leaves of four cult...

  9. Parabanic acid is the singlet oxygen specific oxidation product of uric acid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iida, Sayaka; Ohkubo, Yuki; Yamamoto, Yorihiro; Fujisawa, Akio

    2017-11-01

    Uric acid quenches singlet oxygen physically or reacts with it, but the oxidation product has not been previously characterized. The present study determined that the product is parabanic acid, which was confirmed by LC/TOFMS analysis. Parabanic acid was stable at acidic pH (acid at neutral or alkaline pH. The total yields of parabanic acid and oxaluric acid based on consumed uric acid were ~100% in clean singlet oxygen production systems such as UVA irradiation of Rose Bengal and thermal decomposition of 3-(1,4-dihydro-1,4-epidioxy-4-methyl-1-naphthyl)propionic acid. However, the ratio of the amount of uric acid consumed to the total amount of singlet oxygen generated was less than 1/180, indicating that most of the singlet oxygen was physically quenched. The total yields of parabanic acid and oxaluric acid were high in the uric acid oxidation systems with hydrogen peroxide plus hypochlorite or peroxynitrite. They became less than a few percent in peroxyl radical-, hypochlorite- or peroxynitrite-induced oxidation of uric acid. These results suggest that parabanic acid could be an in vivo probe of singlet oxygen formation because of the wide distribution of uric acid in human tissues and extracellular spaces. In fact, sunlight exposure significantly increased human skin levels of parabanic acid.

  10. Chicoric acid: chemistry, distribution, and production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jungmin eLee

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Though chicoric acid was first identified in 1958, it was largely ignored until recent popular media coverage cited potential health beneficial properties from consuming food and dietary supplements containing this compound. To date, plants from at least 63 genera and species have been found to contain chicoric acid, and while the compound is used as a processing quality indicator, it may also have useful health benefits. This review of chicoric acid summarizes research findings and highlights gaps in research knowledge for investigators, industry stakeholders, and consumers alike. Additionally, chicoric acid identification and quantification methods, biosynthesis, processing improvements to increase chicoric acid retention, and potential areas for future research are discussed.

  11. Soil Properties and Plant Biomass Production in Natural Rangeland Management Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Romeu de Souza Werner

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Improper management of rangelands can cause land degradation and reduce the economic efficiency of livestock activity. The aim of this study was to evaluate soil properties and quantify plant biomass production in four natural rangeland management systems in the Santa Catarina Plateau (Planalto Catarinense of Brazil. The treatments, which included mowed natural rangeland (NR, burned natural rangeland (BR, natural rangeland improved through the introduction of plant species after harrowing (IH, and natural rangeland improved through the introduction of plant species after chisel plowing (IC, were evaluated in a Nitossolo Bruno (Nitisol. In the improved treatments, soil acidity was corrected, phosphate fertilizer was applied, and intercropped annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum, velvet grass (Holcus lanatus, and white clover (Trifolium repens were sown. Management systems with harrowed or chisel plowed soil showed improved soil physical properties; however, the effect decreased over time and values approached those of burned and mowed natural rangelands. Natural rangeland systems in the establishment phase had little influence on soil organic C. The mowed natural rangeland and improved natural rangeland exhibited greater production of grazing material, while burning the field decreased production and increased the proportion of weeds. Improvement of the natural rangelands increased leguminous biomass for pasture.

  12. Role of indole-3-butyric acid or/and putrescine in improving productivity of chickpea (Cicer arientinum L.) plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amin, A A; Gharib, F A; Abouziena, H F; Dawood, Mona G

    2013-12-15

    The response of chickpea (Cicer arientinum L. cv. Giza 3) to treatment with two plant growth regulators putrescine (Put) and Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) at 25, 50 and 100 mg L(-1) applied either alone or in combinations was studied. Spraying of Put and IBA either individually or in combination significantly increased the plant height, number and dry weight of branches, leaves and pods/plant and leaf area/plant at the two growth stages. Total photosynthetic pigments in fresh leaves were significantly promoted as a result of application of Put or IBA. Generally, application of Put and/or IBA at 100 mg L(-1) produced the highest numbers of pods which resulted in substantially the highest seed yield. Put and IBA increased the seed yield by 21.3 and 19.2%, respectively, while the combination of Put at 100 mgL(-1) and IBA at 50 mgL(-1) increased it by 27.4%. Greatest increases in straw and biological yield/fed (38.3 and 30.4%, respectively) were noted with the combination treatment of IBA 100 mg L(-1) plus Put at 100 mg L(-1). Put and IBA significantly increased the nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, total soluble sugars and total free amino acids in chickpea seeds over control, but the effects were less marked than those of their combination. This response was greater following treatment with IBA than with Put. It could be conclude that spraying Put or/and IBA on chickpea plants have promotion effects on the seeds yield criteria which have promising potential as sources of low-cost protein and minerals for possible use as food/feed supplements.

  13. Research and Application of Lipoic Acid in Plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Renjie; Wang, Xiran; Jiang, Leiyu; Tang, Haoru

    2018-01-01

    Lipoic acid is a kind of small molecular compound with strong oxidizing properties. It has been widely used in medicine and has achieved good results since its discovery. However, it is less used in plants, and the biosynthetic pathway is not clear. The content in the plant is mainly measured by high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC). At present, it is mainly used as an additive to the culture medium for plant tissue culture and Agrobacterium-mediated plant genetic transformation, in order to reduce the browning rate of explants, improve Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation efficiency.

  14. Elevating optimal human nutrition to a central goal of plant breeding and production of plant-based foods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sands, David C; Morris, Cindy E; Dratz, Edward A; Pilgeram, Alice

    2009-11-01

    High-yielding cereals and other staples have produced adequate calories to ward off starvation for much of the world over several decades. However, deficiencies in certain amino acids, minerals, vitamins and fatty acids in staple crops, and animal diets derived from them, have aggravated the problem of malnutrition and the increasing incidence of certain chronic diseases in nominally well-nourished people (the so-called diseases of civilization). Enhanced global nutrition has great potential to reduce acute and chronic disease, the need for health care, the cost of health care, and to increase educational attainment, economic productivity and the quality of life. However, nutrition is currently not an important driver of most plant breeding efforts, and there are only a few well-known efforts to breed crops that are adapted to the needs of optimal human nutrition. Technological tools are available to greatly enhance the nutritional value of our staple crops. However, enhanced nutrition in major crops might only be achieved if nutritional traits are introduced in tandem with important agronomic yield drivers, such as resistance to emerging pests or diseases, to drought and salinity, to herbicides, parasitic plants, frost or heat. In this way we might circumvent a natural tendency for high yield and low production cost to effectively select against the best human nutrition. Here we discuss the need and means for agriculture, food processing, food transport, sociology, nutrition and medicine to be integrated into new approaches to food production with optimal human nutrition as a principle goal.

  15. Wet precipitators for sulphuric acid plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ojanpera, R.O.

    1989-01-01

    Both the service requirements and design construction details have changed considerably in recent years for wet electrostatic precipitators as used for gas cleaning ahead of metallurgical sulphuric acid plants. Increased concern over acid quality has resulted in more emphasis on dust efficiencies compared to collection of acid mist. Also, higher static operating pressures have caused large structural loads on casing and internal components. In this paper these two issues are addressed in the following ways: Recognition that all dusts do not collect similarly. The mechanism by which various dusts collect affect the design of the entire wet gas cleaning system. Use of both traditional and newer materials of construction to accommodate the higher design pressures while still maintaining corrosion resistance

  16. Opportunities, perspectives and limits in lactic acid production from waste and industrial by-products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mladenović Dragana D.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available In line with the goals of sustainable development and environmental protection today great attention is directed towards new technologies for waste and industrial by-products utilization. Waste products represent potentially good raw material for production other valuable products, such as bioethanol, biogas, biodiesel, organic acids, enzymes, microbial biomass, etc. Since the first industrial production to the present, lactic acid has found wide application in food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. In recent years, the demand for lactic acid has been increasing considerably owing to its potential use as a monomer for the production of poly-lactic acid (PLA polymers which are biodegradable and biocompatible with wide applications. Waste and industrial by-products such are whey, molasses, stillage, waste starch and lignocellulosic materials are a good source of fermentable sugars and many other substances of great importance for the growth of microorganisms, such as proteins, minerals and vitamins. Utilization of waste products for production of lactic acid could help to reduce the total cost of lactic acid production and except the economic viability of the process offers a solution of their disposal. Fermentation process depends on chemical and physical nature of feedstocks and the lactic acid producer. This review describes the characteristics, abilities and limits of microorganisms involved in lactic acid production, as well as the characteristics and types of waste products for lactic acid production. The fermentation methods that have been recently reported to improve lactic acid production are summarized and compared. In order to improve processes and productivity, fed-batch fermentation, fermentation with immobilized cell systems and mixed cultures and opportunities of open (non-sterilized fermentation have been investigated.

  17. Pharmacologically active plant metabolites as survival strategy products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Attardo, C; Sartori, F

    2003-01-01

    The fact that plant organisms produce chemical substances that are able to positively or negatively interfere with the processes which regulate human life has been common knowledge since ancient times. One of the numerous possible examples in the infusion of Conium maculatum, better known as Hemlock, a plant belonging to the family umbelliferae, used by the ancient Egyptians to cure skin diseases. The current official pharmacopoeia includes various chemical substances produced by secondary plant metabolisms. For example, the immunosuppressive drugs used to prevent organ transplant rejection and the majority of antibiotics are metabolites produced by fungal organisms, pilocarpin, digitalis, strophantus, salicylic acid and curare are examples of plant organism metabolites. For this reason, there has been an increase in research into plants, based on information on their medicinal use in the areas where they grow. The study of plants in relation to local culture and traditions is known as "ethnobotany". Careful study of the behaviour of sick animals has also led to the discovery of medicinal plants. The study of this subject is known as "zoopharmacognosy". The aim of this article is to discuss the fact that "ad hoc" production of such chemical substances, defined as "secondary metabolites", is one of the modes in which plant organisms respond to unfavourable environmental stimuli, such as an attack by predatory phytophagous animals or an excessive number of plant individuals, even of the same species, in a terrain. In the latter case, the plant organisms produce toxic substances, called "allelopathic" which limit the growth of other individuals. "Secondary metabolites" are produced by metabolic systems that are shunts of the primary systems which, when required, may be activated from the beginning, or increased to the detriment of others. The study of the manner in which such substances are produced is the subject of a new branch of learning called "ecological

  18. Production of complex multiantennary N-glycans in Nicotiana benthamiana plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagels, Bieke; Van Damme, Els J M; Pabst, Martin; Callewaert, Nico; Weterings, Koen

    2011-03-01

    In recent years, plants have been developed as an alternative expression system to mammalian hosts for the production of therapeutic proteins. Many modifications to the plant glycosylation machinery have been made to render it more human because of the importance of glycosylation for functionality, serum half-life, and the safety profile of the expressed proteins. These modifications include removal of plant-specific β1,2-xylose and core α1,3-fucose, and addition of bisecting N-acetylglucosamine, β1,4-galactoses, and sialic acid residues. Another glycosylation step that is essential for the production of complex human-type glycans is the synthesis of multiantennary structures, which are frequently found on human N-glycans but are not generated by wild-type plants. Here, we report both the magnICON-based transient as well as stable introduction of the α1,3-mannosyl-β1,4-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (GnT-IV isozymes a and b) and α1,6-mannosyl-β1,6-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (GnT-V) in Nicotiana benthamiana plants. The enzymes were targeted to the Golgi apparatus by fusing their catalytic domains to the plant-specific localization signals of xylosyltransferase and fucosyltransferase. The GnT-IV and -V modifications were tested in the wild-type background, but were also combined with the RNA interference-mediated knockdown of β1,2-xylosyltransferase and α1,3-fucosyltransferase. Results showed that triantennary Gn[GnGn] and [GnGn]Gn N-glycans could be produced according to the expected activities of the respective enzymes. Combination of the two enzymes by crossing stably transformed GnT-IV and GnT-V plants showed that up to 10% tetraantennary [GnGn][GnGn], 25% triantennary, and 35% biantennary N-glycans were synthesized. All transgenic plants were viable and showed no aberrant phenotype under standard growth conditions.

  19. Metabolic regulation of the plant hormone indole-3-acetic acid

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jerry D. Cohen

    2009-11-01

    The phytohormone indole-3-acetic acid (IAA, auxin) is important for many aspects of plant growth, development and responses to the environment yet the routes to is biosynthesis and mechanisms for regulation of IAA levels remain important research questions. A critical issue concerning the biosynthesis if IAA in plants is that redundant pathways for IAA biosynthesis exist in plants. We showed that these redundant pathways and their relative contribution to net IAA production are under both developmental and environmental control. We worked on three fundamental problems related to how plants get their IAA: 1) An in vitro biochemical approach was used to define the tryptophan dependent pathway to IAA using maize endosperm, where relatively large amounts of IAA are produced over a short developmental period. Both a stable isotope dilution and a protein MS approach were used to identify intermediates and enzymes in the reactions. 2) We developed an in vitro system for analysis of tryptophan-independent IAA biosynthesis in maize seedlings and we used a metabolite profiling approach to isolate intermediates in this reaction. 3) Arabidopsis contains a small family of genes that encode potential indolepyruvate decarboxylase enzymes. We cloned these genes and studied plants that are mutant in these genes and that over-express each member in the family in terms of the level and route of IAA biosynthesis. Together, these allowed further development of a comprehensive picture of the pathways and regulatory components that are involved in IAA homeostasis in higher plants.

  20. Effect of Salicylic acid on some Growth and Biochemical Parameters of Wheat and Maize Plants under Salt Stress in Vitro

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Z. Dashagha

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available In this study, the difference between the resistance of wheat plants (c3 and maize (c4 the salinity was investigated. Research on environmental stresses (Hakimi, 2008 show thatstresses are considered as Limiting factors in crop production.and some phenolic compounds such as salicylic acid are used to improve or alleviate the negative effects of stress. In this study, plants were grown in plastic pots and the plants treated with salicylic acid, after two weeks and seven days later salinity was exerted.The effect of salinity treatmenton both plants, for some morphological and biochemical characteristics were studied. In biochemical tests, lipid peroxidation under salinity and salicylic acid treatments has increased for weat which represents the effect of salinity on the plant and the activetion of the defense mechanism, Howweverthese factors have reduced formaize. Moreover, the increase in total chlorophyll and flavonoids in wheatchlorophyll in wheat and maize shows the role of these pigments in quenching hydrogen peroxide and other active Oxygen types. This increases has not been concideralle in maize. The effect of treatment on the weight of … and root of both plants differed under the investigated concentration.

  1. Medicinal plants: production and biochemical characterization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chunzhao Liu; Zobayed, S.M.A; Murch, S.J.; Saxena, P.K.

    2002-01-01

    Recent advances in the area of biotechnology offer some possibility for the development of new technologies for the conservation, characterization and mass production of medicinal plant species, (i.e. in vitro cell culture techniques for the mass production of sterile, consistent, standardized medicinal plant materials). This paper discussed the following subjects - plant tissue culture, de novo shoot organogenesis, de novo root organogenesis, somatic embryogenesis, large scale propagation in bioreactors and discovery of unique biomolecules

  2. Probabilistic production simulation including CHP plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Larsen, H.V.; Palsson, H.; Ravn, H.F.

    1997-04-01

    A probabilistic production simulation method is presented for an energy system containing combined heat and power plants. The method permits incorporation of stochastic failures (forced outages) of the plants and is well suited for analysis of the dimensioning of the system, that is, for finding the appropriate types and capacities of production plants in relation to expansion planning. The method is in the tradition of similar approaches for the analysis of power systems, based on the load duration curve. The present method extends on this by considering a two-dimensional load duration curve where the two dimensions represent heat and power. The method permits the analysis of a combined heat and power system which includes all the basic relevant types of plants, viz., condensing plants, back pressure plants, extraction plants and heat plants. The focus of the method is on the situation where the heat side has priority. This implies that on the power side there may be imbalances between demand and production. The method permits quantification of the expected power overflow, the expected unserviced power demand, and the expected unserviced heat demand. It is shown that a discretization method as well as double Fourier series may be applied in algorithms based on the method. (au) 1 tab., 28 ills., 21 refs.

  3. Production of L- and D-lactic acid from waste Curcuma longa biomass through simultaneous saccharification and cofermentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Cuong Mai; Kim, Jin-Seog; Nguyen, Thanh Ngoc; Kim, Seul Ki; Choi, Gyung Ja; Choi, Yong Ho; Jang, Kyoung Soo; Kim, Jin-Cheol

    2013-10-01

    Simultaneous saccharification and cofermentation (SSCF) of Curcuma longa waste biomass obtained after turmeric extraction to L- and D-lactic acid by Lactobacillus coryniformis and Lactobacillus paracasei, respectively, was investigated. This is a rich, starchy, agro-industrial waste with potential for use in industrial applications. After optimizing the fermentation of the biomass by adjusting nitrogen sources, enzyme compositions, nitrogen concentrations, and raw material concentrations, the SSCF process was conducted in a 7-l jar fermentor at 140 g dried material/L. The maximum lactic acid concentration, average productivity, reducing sugar conversion and lactic acid yield were 97.13 g/L, 2.7 g/L/h, 95.99% and 69.38 g/100 g dried material for L-lactic acid production, respectively and 91.61 g/L, 2.08 g/L/h, 90.53% and 65.43 g/100 g dried material for D-lactic acid production, respectively. The simple and efficient process described in this study could be utilized by C. longa residue-based lactic acid industries without requiring the alteration of plant equipment. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Biotechnological Production of Organic Acids from Renewable Resources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pleissner, Daniel; Dietz, Donna; van Duuren, Jozef Bernhard Johann Henri; Wittmann, Christoph; Yang, Xiaofeng; Lin, Carol Sze Ki; Venus, Joachim

    2017-03-07

    Biotechnological processes are promising alternatives to petrochemical routes for overcoming the challenges of resource depletion in the future in a sustainable way. The strategies of white biotechnology allow the utilization of inexpensive and renewable resources for the production of a broad range of bio-based compounds. Renewable resources, such as agricultural residues or residues from food production, are produced in large amounts have been shown to be promising carbon and/or nitrogen sources. This chapter focuses on the biotechnological production of lactic acid, acrylic acid, succinic acid, muconic acid, and lactobionic acid from renewable residues, these products being used as monomers for bio-based material and/or as food supplements. These five acids have high economic values and the potential to overcome the "valley of death" between laboratory/pilot scale and commercial/industrial scale. This chapter also provides an overview of the production strategies, including microbial strain development, used to convert renewable resources into value-added products.

  5. Uranium problem in production of wet phosphoric acid

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gorecka, H; Gorecki, H [Politechnika Wroclawska (Poland)

    1980-01-01

    The balance of the uranium in the wet dihydrate method was presented. This balance shows that a large quantity of the uranium compounds shift from mineral phosphate rock to liquid phase of decomposition pulp (about 70-85% U) and the rest moves to phosphogypsum (about 15-25% U). The contents of uranium in phosphate rock imported for our country and in products and by-products of the fertilizer industry, were determined. Concentration of uranium in the phosphogypsum is dependent on the type of mineral rock and the process of phosphogypsum crystallization. Analysis of the uranium contents in phosphogypsum samples and results of the sedimentation analysis indicated influence of the specific surface of phosphogypsum crystals on the uranium concentration. Investigation of the sets of samples obtained in the industrial plant proved that phosphogypsum cake washed counter-currently on the filter contained from 10 to 20 ..mu..g U/g. The radioactivity of these samples fluctuated from 35 to 60 pCi/g. Using solution sulphuric acid of concentration in range 2-4% by weight H/sub 2/SO/sub 4/ to washing and repulpation of the phosphogypsum enables to reduce its radioactivity to level below 25 pCi/g. This processing makes possible to utilize this waste material in the building industry. Extraction of uranium from the wet phosphoric acid using kerosen solution of the reaction product between octanol -1 and phosphorus pentaoxide showed possibility to recover over 80% of uranium contained in phosphate rock.

  6. Supplementation with plant extracts (carvacrol, cinnamaldehyde and capsaicin): its effects on acid-base status and productive performance in growing/finishing bull calves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernández, Joaquín; Benedito, José Luís; Vázquez, Patricia; Pereira, Victor; Méndez, Jesús; Sotillo, Juan; Castillo, Cristina

    2009-01-01

    This study investigated the in vivo effects of a commercial blend of plant extracts (carvacrol, cinnamaldehyde and capsaicin) on blood acid-base balance and serum lactate levels in a 148-day feedlot experimentwith 24 double-muscled Belgian Blue bull calves. Animals were allotted randomly to one of two experimental groups: 1) a control group (C, no supplementation; n = 10), and 2) a group receiving dietary supplementation with a combination of plant extracts (PE, 100 mg per kg DM of concentrate; n = 14). All animals received a high-grain ration, typical of diets fed commercially to feedlot cattle in Spain, consisting mainly of barley plus other components in proportions depending on the production phase. Production data (weight, DMI, ADG and feed-to-gain ratio) were recorded, and venous blood pH, pCO2, HCO3(-), Base Excess -BE- and serum L-lactate were determined. Apparently, beneficial effects of supplementation on production parameters were observed in both growing and finishing periods, though statistically significant effects were only observed in the finishing period. As regards blood parameters, no significant effects of supplementation (or the supplementation x time interaction) were observed, except for an effect on blood pH in the growing period, when supplemented animals showed significantly higher values than controls. A beneficial supplementation x time interactive effect was observed on serum L-lactate levels: from the first week of the study until the end, supplemented animals showed significantly lower levels than controls. These in vivo results support the utility of this dietary supplement in feedlot cattle receiving a barley-based high-grain diet.

  7. Lactic acid production with undefined mixed culture fermentation of potato peel waste.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Shaobo; McDonald, Armando G; Coats, Erik R

    2014-11-01

    Potato peel waste (PPW) as zero value byproduct generated from food processing plant contains a large quantity of starch, non-starch polysaccharide, lignin, protein, and lipid. PPW as one promising carbon source can be managed and utilized to value added bioproducts through a simple fermentation process using undefined mixed cultures inoculated from wastewater treatment plant sludge. A series of non-pH controlled batch fermentations under different conditions such as pretreatment process, enzymatic hydrolysis, temperature, and solids loading were studied. Lactic acid (LA) was the major product, followed by acetic acid (AA) and ethanol under fermentation conditions without the presence of added hydrolytic enzymes. The maximum yields of LA, AA, and ethanol were respectively, 0.22 g g(-1), 0.06 g g(-1), and 0.05 g g(-1). The highest LA concentration of 14.7 g L(-1) was obtained from a bioreactor with initial solids loading of 60 g L(-1) at 35°C. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Amino acid nitrosation products as alkylating agents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Santos, M del P; Calle, E; Casado, J

    2001-08-08

    Nitrosation reactions of alpha-, beta-, and gamma-amino acids whose reaction products can act as alkylating agents of DNA were investigated. To approach in vivo conditions for the two-step mechanism (nitrosation and alkylation), nitrosation reactions were carried out in aqueous acid conditions (mimicking the conditions of the stomach lumen) while the alkylating potential of the nitrosation products was investigated at neutral pH, as in the stomach lining cells into which such products can diffuse. These conclusions were drawn: (i) The alkylating species resulting from the nitrosation of amino acids with an -NH(2) group are the corresponding lactones; (ii) the sequence of alkylating power is: alpha-lactones > beta-lactones > gamma-lactones, coming respectively from the nitrosation of alpha-, beta-, and gamma-amino acids; and (iii) the results obtained may be useful in predicting the mutagenic effectiveness of the nitrosation products of amino acids.

  9. Acidity of vapor plume from cooling tower mixed with flue gases emitted from coal-fired power plant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hlawiczka, Stanislaw; Korszun, Katarzyna; Fudala, Janina

    2016-06-01

    Acidity of products resulting from the reaction of flue gas components emitted from a coal-fired power plant with water contained in a vapor plume from a wet cooling tower was analyzed in a close vicinity of a power plant (710 m from the stack and 315 m from the cooling tower). Samples of this mixture were collected using a precipitation funnel where components of the mixed plumes were discharged from the atmosphere with the rainfall. To identify situations when the precipitation occurred at the same time as the wind directed the mixed vapor and flue gas plumes above the precipitation funnel, an ultrasound anemometer designed for 3D measurements of the wind field located near the funnel was used. Precipitation samples of extremely high acidity were identified - about 5% of samples collected during 12 months showed the acidity below pH=3 and the lowest recorded pH was 1.4. During the measurement period the value of pH characterizing the background acidity of the precipitation was about 6. The main outcome of this study was to demonstrate a very high, and so far completely underestimated, potential of occurrence of episodes of extremely acid depositions in the immediate vicinity of a coal-fired power plant. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. An amino acid substitution inhibits specialist herbivore production of an antagonist effector and recovers insect-induced plant defenses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plants respond to insect herbivory through the production of biochemicals that function as either direct defenses or indirect defenses via the attraction of natural enemies. Curiously, attack by even closely related insect pests can result in distinctive levels of induced plant defenses. Despite the...

  11. The effect of diet supplemented with vegetable oils and/or monensin on the vaccenic acid production in continuous culture fermenters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mostafa Sayed A. Khattab

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Studies have shown that supplementing ruminant diets with vegetable oils modulated the rumen biohydrogenation and increased polyunsaturated fatty acid in their products. These positive values are often accompanied by a marginal loss of supplemented unsaturated fatty acids and rise in the concentrations of saturated fatty acids. This study were carried out mainly to investigate the effect of supplementing diets with sunflower oil, olive oil with or without monensin on the production and accumulation of vaccenic acid (VA in continuous culture fermenters as a long term in vitro rumen simulation technique. Eight dual-flow continuous culture fermenters were used in an 8 replication experiment lasted 10 days each (first 7 days for adaptation and last 3 days for samples collection. Supplementing diets with plant oils and monensin in the present experiment increased VA and conjugated linoleic acids (P > 0.05 in ruminal cultures. The results suggest that supplementing diets with both olive oil and sunflower oil and monensin increased VA accumulation compared to plant oils supplemented alone without affecting the rumen dry matter and organic matter digestibility.

  12. Frequent occurrence of Osteomalacia among grazing cattle caused by hydrofluoric acid contained in the flue gas discharged by a chemical plant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hupka, E; Luy, P

    1929-01-01

    In 1928 a number of animals grazing in the vicinity of a chemical plant fell ill to a disease which was diagnosed as fluorosis. But the symptoms shown by the diseased animals were in many respects different from those commonly associated with such cases. The two front legs became lame, toes and ankles were swollen. The pulse rate was higher, an increased body temperature was measured and pain was felt. In some cases the hind legs became stiff. Furthermore, an enormous loss of weight was observed and swellings appeared along the ribs. The milk production decreased. All these symptoms indicate osteomalacia. The grass on which these animals fed was examined but it was found lush and in no way lacking in Ca and phosphoric acid (osteomalacia is a deficiency of these two minerals). The toxicant was found to be the fluorine deposited on the grass and plants. Hydrofluoric acid attacks the calcium in the bones and dissolves it. The consequence is osteoporosis. The fluorine is discharged with the flue gas of the nearby chemical plant. The disease did not occur outside the range of the chemical plant. The condition of the animals visibly improved during winter time when they were fed with fodder coming from an unpolluted area. The chemical physiological examinations which were conducted showed that the calcium of the bones is used to neutralize the hydrofluoric acid. The by-product of this neutralizing process, phosphoric acid, is discharged with the urine. 12 references.

  13. Determination of fluorotelomer alcohols and their degradation products in biosolids-amended soils and plants using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Hongna; Wen, Bei; Hu, Xiaoyu; Wu, Yali; Luo, Lei; Chen, Zien; Zhang, Shuzhen

    2015-07-24

    Degradation of fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs) was recognized as an additional source of perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs). Quantification of FTOHs and their degradation products can help shed light on the sources and fates of PFCAs in the environment. In this study, an analytical method was developed for the determination of 6:2 and 8:2 FTOHs, and their degradation products of poly- and perfluorinated acids, including fluorotelomer saturated and unsaturated carboxylic acids (FTCAs and FTUCAs), secondary polyfluorinated alcohols and PFCAs in biosolids-amended soils and plants using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The extract efficiencies of different methods including ethyl acetate and methanol (MeOH) for FTOHs and acetonitrile, MeOH, methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), NaOH-MeOH and NaOH-MTBE for poly- and perfluorinated acids were tested. The results showed that 6:2 and 8:2 FTOHs and their degradation products could be simultaneously and satisfactorily extracted by MeOH, cleaned up by Envi-Carb graphitized carbon and solid phase extraction, respectively, and determined by UPLC-MS/MS separately. NaOH in the extractant caused the conversion of 6:2 FTCA and 8:2 FTCA into the corresponding FTUCAs. The selected methods have matrix recoveries ranged from 52% to 102%, and detection limits of 0.01-0.46ng/g dry weight for FTOHs and their degradation products in soil and plant. The optimized method was applied successfully to quantify FTOHs and their degradation products in two biosolids-amended soils and plants. The total concentrations of FTOHs in the soils were 44.1±5.8 and 82.6±7.1ng/g, and in plants tissues 3.58±0.25 and 8.33±0.66ng/g. The total concentrations of poly- and perfluorinated acids in the soils were 168.0±13.2 and 349.6±11.2ng/g, and in plants tissues 78.0±6.4 and 75.5±5.3ng/g. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Potential plant oil feedstock for lipase-catalyzed biodiesel production in Thailand

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Winayanuwattikun, Pakorn; Kaewpiboon, Chutima; Piriyakananon, Kingkaew; Tantong, Supalak; Thakernkarnkit, Weerasak; Yongvanich, Tikamporn [Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330 (Thailand); Biofuel Production by Biocatalyst Research Unit, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330 (Thailand); Chulalaksananukul, Warawut [Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330 (Thailand); Biofuel Production by Biocatalyst Research Unit, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330 (Thailand)

    2008-12-15

    Twenty-seven types of plants found to contain more than 25% of oil (w/w) were selectively examined from 44 species. Saponification number (SN), iodine value (IV), cetane number (CN) and viscosity ({eta}) of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) of oils were empirically determined, and they varied from 182 to 262, 3.60 to 142.70, 39.32 to 65.80 and 2.29 to 3.95, respectively. Fatty acid compositions, IV, CN and {eta} were used to predict the quality of FAMEs for use as biodiesel. FAMEs of plant oils of 15 species were found to be most suitable for use as biodiesel by meeting the major specification of biodiesel standards of Thailand, USA and European Standard Organization. The oils from these 15 species were further investigated for the conversion efficiency of biodiesel in lipase-catalyzed transesterification reaction with Novozyme 435 and Lipozyme RM IM. Oils of four species, palm (Elaeis guineensis), physic nut (Jatropha curcas), papaya (Carica papaya) and rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum), can be highly converted to biodiesel by transesterification using Novozyme 435- or Lipozyme RM IM-immobilized lipase as catalyst. Therefore, these selected plants would be economically considered as the feedstock for biodiesel production by biocatalyst. (author)

  15. Plant Adaptation to Acid Soils: The Molecular Basis for Crop Aluminum Resistance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kochian, Leon V; Piñeros, Miguel A; Liu, Jiping; Magalhaes, Jurandir V

    2015-01-01

    Aluminum (Al) toxicity in acid soils is a significant limitation to crop production worldwide, as approximately 50% of the world's potentially arable soil is acidic. Because acid soils are such an important constraint to agriculture, understanding the mechanisms and genes conferring resistance to Al toxicity has been a focus of intense research interest in the decade since the last article on crop acid soil tolerance was published in this journal. An impressive amount of progress has been made during that time that has greatly increased our understanding of the diversity of Al resistance genes and mechanisms, how resistance gene expression is regulated and triggered by Al and Al-induced signals, and how the proteins encoded by these genes function and are regulated. This review examines the state of our understanding of the physiological, genetic, and molecular bases for crop Al tolerance, looking at the novel Al resistance genes and mechanisms that have been identified over the past ten years. Additionally, it examines how the integration of molecular and genetic analyses of crop Al resistance is starting to be exploited for the improvement of crop plants grown on acid soils via both molecular-assisted breeding and biotechnology approaches.

  16. Description and drawing of a mini-plant to lead-acid batteries active material production; Descricao e desenho de uma mini-planta piloto para producao de material ativo para baterias de chumbo-acido

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    D` Alkaine, C V; Mattos, J S.D.; Machado, D M; Nart, F C [Sao Carlos Univ., SP (Brazil). Dept. de Quimica

    1985-12-31

    As a part of the UFSCAR/Solar Energy/FINEP program, a pilot plant for the production of the active material for lead-acid batteries was developed. The basic operations are: milling and lead oxidation in ball mill, classifying of lead monoxide in the proper particle size by means of a cyclone, monoxide mixture with water and sulphuric acid, thus forming the paste. The paste is then placed on grids and finally scrapped and compacted. The plates pass through a 300 deg C oven and are cured in controlled atmosphere. (author). 4 refs

  17. Toward Sustainable Amino Acid Production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Usuda, Yoshihiro; Hara, Yoshihiko; Kojima, Hiroyuki

    Because the global amino acid production industry has been growing steadily and is expected to grow even more in the future, efficient production by fermentation is of great importance from economic and sustainability viewpoints. Many systems biology technologies, such as genome breeding, omics analysis, metabolic flux analysis, and metabolic simulation, have been employed for the improvement of amino acid-producing strains of bacteria. Synthetic biological approaches have recently been applied to strain development. It is also important to use sustainable carbon sources, such as glycerol or pyrolytic sugars from cellulosic biomass, instead of conventional carbon sources, such as glucose or sucrose, which can be used as food. Furthermore, reduction of sub-raw substrates has been shown to lead to reduction of environmental burdens and cost. Recently, a new fermentation system for glutamate production under acidic pH was developed to decrease the amount of one sub-raw material, ammonium, for maintenance of culture pH. At the same time, the utilization of fermentation coproducts, such as cells, ammonium sulfate, and fermentation broth, is a useful approach to decrease waste. In this chapter, further perspectives for future amino acid fermentation from one-carbon compounds are described.

  18. Metabolism of Mevalonic Acid in Vegetative and Induced Plants of Xanthium strumarium 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bledsoe, Caroline S.; Ross, Cleon W.

    1978-01-01

    The metabolism of mevalonic acid in Xanthium strumarium L. Chicago plants was studied to determine how mevalonate was metabolized and whether metabolism was related to induction of flowering. Leaves of vegetative, photoperiodically induced, and chemically inhibited cocklebur plants were supplied with [14C]mevalonic acid prior to or during a 16-hour inductive dark period. Vegetative, induced, and Tris(2-diethylaminoethyl)phosphate trihydrochloride-treated plants did not differ significantly in the amount of [14C]mevalonic acid they absorbed, nor in the distribution of radioactivity among the leaf blade (97%), petiole (2.3%), or shoot tip (0.7%). [14C]Mevalonic acid was rapidly metabolized and transported out of the leaves. Possible metabolites of mevalonate were mevalonic acid phosphates and sterols. No detectable 14C was found in gibberellins, carotenoids, or the phytol alcohol of chlorophyll. Chemically inhibited plants accumulated 14C compounds not found in vegetative or induced plants. When ethanol extracts of leaves, petioles, and buds were chromatographed, comparisons of chromatographic patterns did not show significant differences between vegetative and induced treatments. ImagesFig. 1 PMID:16660583

  19. The influence of humic acids derived from earthworm-processed organic wastes on plant growth

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Atiyeh, R.M.; Lee, S.; Edwards, C.A.; Arancon, N.Q.; Metzger, J.D. [Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (United States). Soil Ecology Lab.

    2002-08-01

    Some effects of humic acids, formed during the breakdown of organic wastes by earthworms (vermicomposting), on plant growth were evaluated. In the first experiment, humic acids were extracted from pig manure vermicompost using the classic alkali/acid fractionation procedure and mixed with a soilless container medium (Metro-Mix 360), to provide a range of 0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 mg of humate per kg of dry weight of container medium, and tomato seedlings were grown in the mixtures. In the second experiment, humates extracted from pig manure and food wastes vermicomposts were mixed with vermiculite to provide a range of 0, 50, 125, 250, 500, 1000 and 4000 mg of humate per kg of dry weight of the container medium, and cucumber seedlings were grown in the mixtures. Both tomato and cucumber seedlings were watered daily with a solution containing all nutrients required to ensure that any differences in growth responses were not nutrient-mediated. The incorporation of both types of vermicompost-derived humic acids, into either type of soilless plant growth media, increased the growth of tomato and cucumber plants significantly, in terms of plant heights, leaf areas, shoot and root dry weights. Plant growth increased with increasing concentrations of humic acids incorporated into the medium up to a certain proportion, but this differed according to the plant species, the source of the vermicompost, and the nature of the container medium. Plant growth tended to be increased by treatments of the plants with 50-500 mg/kg humic acids, but often decreased significantly when the concentrations of humic acids derived in the container medium exceeded 500-1000 mg/kg. These growth responses were most probably due to hormone-like activity of humic acids from the vermicomposts or could have been due to plant growth hormones adsorbed onto the humates. (author)

  20. PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF DIMETHYLAMINE VAPORS EMISSION: HERBICIDE PRODUCTION PLANT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zorana Arsenijević

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available The widely used herbicide, dimethylamine salt of 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D-DMA, is usually prepared by mixing a dimethylamine (DMA aqueous solution with a solid 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D. The vapors of the both, reactants and products, are potentially hazardous for the environment. The contribution of DMA vapors in overall pollution from this process is most significant, concerning vapor pressures data of these pollutants. Therefore, the control of the air pollution in the manufacture and handling of methylamines is very important. Within this paper, the optimal air pollution control system in preparation of 2,4-D-DMA was developed for the pesticides manufacturing industry. This study employed the simple pollution prevention concept to reduce the emission of DMA vapors at the source. The investigations were performed on the pilot plant scale. To reduce the emission of DMA vapors, the effluent gases from the herbicide preparation zone were passed through the packed bed scrubber (water - scrubbing medium, and the catalytic reactor in sequence. The end result is a substantially improved air quality in the working area, as well as in the urbanized areas located near the chemical plant.

  1. Biotechnological applications for rosmarinic acid production in plant

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    STORAGESEVER

    2008-12-29

    Dec 29, 2008 ... tion and media optimization are the methods applied for improving ... lanine ammonia-lyase and tyrosine aminotransferase, the two entry point enzymes of the rosmarinic acid biosynthesis pathway. .... As determined by HPLC,.

  2. The lipoxygenase metabolic pathway in plants: potential for industrial production of natural green leaf volatiles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gigot, C.

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Lipoxygenase enzymatic pathway is a widely studied mechanism in the plant kingdom. Combined actions of three enzymes: lipase, lipoxygenase (LOX and hydroperoxide lyase (HPL convert lipidic substrates such as C18:2 and C18:3 fatty acids into short chain volatiles. These reactions, triggered by cell membrane disruptions, produce compounds known as Green Leaf Volatiles (GLVs which are C6 or C9-aldehydes and alcohols. These GLVs are commonly used as flavors to confer a fresh green odor of vegetable to food products. Therefore, competitive biocatalytic productions have been developed to meet the high demand in these natural flavors. Vegetable oils, chosen for their lipidic acid profile, are converted by soybean LOX and plant HPL into natural GLVs. However this second step of the bioconversion presents low yield due to the HPL instability and the inhibition by its substrate. This paper will shortly describe the different enzymes involved in this bioconversion with regards to their chemical and enzymatic properties. Biotechnological techniques to enhance their production potentialities will be discussed along with their implication in a complete bioprocess, from the lipid substrate to the corresponding aldehydic or alcoholic flavors.

  3. Biodiversity influences plant productivity through niche–efficiency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Jingjing; Zhou, Mo; Tobin, Patrick C.; McGuire, A. David; Reich, Peter B.

    2015-01-01

    The loss of biodiversity is threatening ecosystem productivity and services worldwide, spurring efforts to quantify its effects on the functioning of natural ecosystems. Previous research has focused on the positive role of biodiversity on resource acquisition (i.e., niche complementarity), but a lack of study on resource utilization efficiency, a link between resource and productivity, has rendered it difficult to quantify the biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationship. Here we demonstrate that biodiversity loss reduces plant productivity, other things held constant, through theory, empirical evidence, and simulations under gradually relaxed assumptions. We developed a theoretical model named niche–efficiency to integrate niche complementarity and a heretofore-ignored mechanism of diminishing marginal productivity in quantifying the effects of biodiversity loss on plant productivity. Based on niche–efficiency, we created a relative productivity metric and a productivity impact index (PII) to assist in biological conservation and resource management. Relative productivity provides a standardized measure of the influence of biodiversity on individual productivity, and PII is a functionally based taxonomic index to assess individual species’ inherent value in maintaining current ecosystem productivity. Empirical evidence from the Alaska boreal forest suggests that every 1% reduction in overall plant diversity could render an average of 0.23% decline in individual tree productivity. Out of the 283 plant species of the region, we found that large woody plants generally have greater PII values than other species. This theoretical model would facilitate the integration of biological conservation in the international campaign against several pressing global issues involving energy use, climate change, and poverty. PMID:25901325

  4. Biodiversity influences plant productivity through niche–efficiency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Jingjing; Zhou, Mo; Tobin, Patrick C.; McGuire, A. David; Reich, Peter B.

    2015-01-01

    The loss of biodiversity is threatening ecosystem productivity and services worldwide, spurring efforts to quantify its effects on the functioning of natural ecosystems. Previous research has focused on the positive role of biodiversity on resource acquisition (i.e., niche complementarity), but a lack of study on resource utilization efficiency, a link between resource and productivity, has rendered it difficult to quantify the biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationship. Here we demonstrate that biodiversity loss reduces plant productivity, other things held constant, through theory, empirical evidence, and simulations under gradually relaxed assumptions. We developed a theoretical model named niche–efficiency to integrate niche complementarity and a heretofore-ignored mechanism of diminishing marginal productivity in quantifying the effects of biodiversity loss on plant productivity. Based on niche–efficiency, we created a relative productivity metric and a productivity impact index (PII) to assist in biological conservation and resource management. Relative productivity provides a standardized measure of the influence of biodiversity on individual productivity, and PII is a functionally based taxonomic index to assess individual species’ inherent value in maintaining current ecosystem productivity. Empirical evidence from the Alaska boreal forest suggests that every 1% reduction in overall plant diversity could render an average of 0.23% decline in individual tree productivity. Out of the 283 plant species of the region, we found that large woody plants generally have greater PII values than other species. This theoretical model would facilitate the integration of biological conservation in the international campaign against several pressing global issues involving energy use, climate change, and poverty.

  5. Biodiversity influences plant productivity through niche-efficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Jingjing; Zhou, Mo; Tobin, Patrick C; McGuire, A David; Reich, Peter B

    2015-05-05

    The loss of biodiversity is threatening ecosystem productivity and services worldwide, spurring efforts to quantify its effects on the functioning of natural ecosystems. Previous research has focused on the positive role of biodiversity on resource acquisition (i.e., niche complementarity), but a lack of study on resource utilization efficiency, a link between resource and productivity, has rendered it difficult to quantify the biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationship. Here we demonstrate that biodiversity loss reduces plant productivity, other things held constant, through theory, empirical evidence, and simulations under gradually relaxed assumptions. We developed a theoretical model named niche-efficiency to integrate niche complementarity and a heretofore-ignored mechanism of diminishing marginal productivity in quantifying the effects of biodiversity loss on plant productivity. Based on niche-efficiency, we created a relative productivity metric and a productivity impact index (PII) to assist in biological conservation and resource management. Relative productivity provides a standardized measure of the influence of biodiversity on individual productivity, and PII is a functionally based taxonomic index to assess individual species' inherent value in maintaining current ecosystem productivity. Empirical evidence from the Alaska boreal forest suggests that every 1% reduction in overall plant diversity could render an average of 0.23% decline in individual tree productivity. Out of the 283 plant species of the region, we found that large woody plants generally have greater PII values than other species. This theoretical model would facilitate the integration of biological conservation in the international campaign against several pressing global issues involving energy use, climate change, and poverty.

  6. Microalgal biofactories: a promising approach towards sustainable omega-3 fatty acid production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adarme-Vega T

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA provide significant health benefits and this has led to an increased consumption as dietary supplements. Omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA are found in animals, transgenic plants, fungi and many microorganisms but are typically extracted from fatty fish, putting additional pressures on global fish stocks. As primary producers, many marine microalgae are rich in EPA (C20:5 and DHA (C22:6 and present a promising source of omega-3 fatty acids. Several heterotrophic microalgae have been used as biofactories for omega-3 fatty acids commercially, but a strong interest in autotrophic microalgae has emerged in recent years as microalgae are being developed as biofuel crops. This paper provides an overview of microalgal biotechnology and production platforms for the development of omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. It refers to implications in current biotechnological uses of microalgae as aquaculture feed and future biofuel crops and explores potential applications of metabolic engineering and selective breeding to accumulate large amounts of omega-3 fatty acids in autotrophic microalgae.

  7. Phosphatidic acid: a multifunctional stress-signalling lipid in plants.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Testerink, C.; Munnik, T.

    2005-01-01

    Phosphatidic acid (PA) has only recently been identified as an important signaling molecule in both plants and animals. Nonetheless, it already promises to rival the importance of the classic second messengers Ca(2+) and cAMP. In plants, its formation is triggered in response to various biotic and

  8. Fatty acid composition of Swedish bakery products, with emphasis on trans-fatty acids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trattner, Sofia; Becker, Wulf; Wretling, Sören; Öhrvik, Veronica; Mattisson, Irene

    2015-05-15

    Trans-fatty acids (TFA) have been associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease, by affecting blood lipids and inflammation factors. Current nutrition recommendations emphasise a limitation of dietary TFA intake. The aim of this study was to investigate fatty acid composition in sweet bakery products, with emphasis on TFA, on the Swedish market and compare fatty acid composition over time. Products were sampled in 2001, 2006 and 2007 and analysed for fatty acid composition by using GC. Mean TFA levels were 0.7% in 2007 and 5.9% in 2001 of total fatty acids. In 1995-97, mean TFA level was 14.3%. In 2007, 3 of 41 products had TFA levels above 2% of total fatty acids. TFA content had decreased in this product category, while the proportion of saturated (SFA) and polyunsaturated (PUFA) fatty acids had increased, mostly through increased levels of 16:0 and 18:2 n-6, respectively. The total fat content remained largely unchanged. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  9. Features of fatty acid synthesis in higher plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamada, M [Tokyo Univ. (Japan). Coll. of General Education; Nakamura, Y

    1975-07-01

    In the biosynthesis of fatty acid in the presence of /sup 3/H/sub 2/O, /sup 3/H is incorporated into the hydrocarbon chain of the fatty acid. The features in the fatty acid synthesis of higher plants were investigated by applying /sup 3/H/sub 2/O method to the measurement of the ability of spinach leaves synthesizing fatty acid. Sucrose, acetate, pyruvate, PGA, PEP, OAA, citrate, etc. were employed as the substrates of fatty acid synthesis to trace the process of synthesis of each fatty acid. The demand of various cofactors related to the ability of spinach chloroplast fatty acid synthesizing was also examined. Light dependence of the fatty acid synthesis of chloroplast as well as the influences of N,N'-dicyclohexyl carbodiimide, carbonylcyanide-4-trifluoromethoxy phenyl hydrazone and NH/sub 4/Cl were discussed. The results were compared with the reports on the fatty acid synthesis of avocado pear, castor bean, etc.

  10. Methods for extraction and determination of phenolic acids in medicinal plants: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arceusz, Agnieszka; Wesolowski, Marek; Konieczynski, Pawel

    2013-12-01

    Phenolic acids constitute a group of potentially immunostimulating compounds. They occur in all medicinal plants and are widely used in phytotherapy and foods of plant origin. In recent years, phenolic acids have attracted much interest owing to their biological functions. This paper reviews the extraction and determination methods of phenolic acids in medicinal plants over the last 10 years. Although Soxhlet extraction and ultrasonic assisted extraction (UAE) are commonly used for the extraction of phenolic acids from plant materials, alternative techniques such as supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), and accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) can also be used. After extraction, phenolic acids are determined usually by liquid chromatography (LC) owing to the recent developments in this technique, especially when it is coupled with mass spectrometry (MS). Also detection systems are discussed, including UV-Vis, diode array, electrochemical and fluorimetric. Other popular techniques for the analysis of this group of secondary metabolites are gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and capillary electrophoresis (CE).

  11. Hexanoic acid is a resistance inducer that protects tomato plants against Pseudomonas syringae by priming the jasmonic acid and salicylic acid pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scalschi, Loredana; Vicedo, Begonya; Camañes, Gemma; Fernandez-Crespo, Emma; Lapeña, Leonor; González-Bosch, Carmen; García-Agustín, Pilar

    2013-05-01

    Hexanoic acid-induced resistance (Hx-IR) is effective against several pathogens in tomato plants. Our study of the mechanisms implicated in Hx-IR against Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 suggests that hexanoic acid (Hx) treatment counteracts the negative effect of coronatine (COR) and jasmonyl-isoleucine (JA-Ile) on the salicylic acid (SA) pathway. In Hx-treated plants, an increase in the expression of jasmonic acid carboxyl methyltransferase (JMT) and the SA marker genes PR1 and PR5 indicates a boost in this signalling pathway at the expense of a decrease in JA-Ile. Moreover, Hx treatment potentiates 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid accumulation, which suggests that this molecule might play a role per se in Hx-IR. These results support a positive relationship between the SA and JA pathways in Hx-primed plants. Furthermore, one of the mechanisms of virulence mediated by COR is stomatal re-opening on infection with P. syringae. In this work, we observed that Hx seems to inhibit stomatal opening in planta in the presence of COR, which suggests that, on infection in tomato, this treatment suppresses effector action to prevent bacterial entry into the mesophyll. © 2012 BSPP AND BLACKWELL PUBLISHING LTD.

  12. Gluconic Acid: Properties, Applications and Microbial Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sumitra Ramachandran

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Gluconic acid is a mild organic acid derived from glucose by a simple oxidation reaction. The reaction is facilitated by the enzyme glucose oxidase (fungi and glucose dehydrogenase (bacteria such as Gluconobacter. Microbial production of gluconic acid is the preferred method and it dates back to several decades. The most studied and widely used fermentation process involves the fungus Aspergillus niger. Gluconic acid and its derivatives, the principal being sodium gluconate, have wide applications in food and pharmaceutical industry. This article gives a review of microbial gluconic acid production, its properties and applications.

  13. Evaluation of plant species for use in the control of acid sulfated soils in Paipa, Boyacá

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Angélica Bernal Figueroa

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Acid sulfated soils are characterized by high amounts of iron and sulfur, which in presence of air are oxidized and form sulfuric horizons extremely acidic, generating environmental changes ranging from water pollution to problems associated with fertility and crop production, among others. This research was conducted in order to identify suitable plant species to control the acidity of these soils in the town of Paipa, Boyacá, Colombia. A completely randomized experimental design with 6 treatments and 3 replications was implemented in potting shed; there, the response of Beta vulgaris L. (forage beet, Brassica rapa L. (forage turnip and Raphanus sativus L. (forage radish on the acidity of sulfated acid soil, contrasted with a non-sulfated soil, was evaluated, after correction with liming. To assess the effects, pH and exchangeable acidity (H+ + Al+3 cmolc/kg were measured in the two types of soil before and after seeding ; the agronomic response of plants in each treatment was determined at the end of the growing season (120 days after seeding . On acid sulfated soils, species B. rapa, R. sativus and B. vulgaris along with the complementary use of liming as corrective induced a reduction in exchangeable acidity; B. rapa and R. sativus showed better growth potential and resistance, while B. vulgaris was affected in height and root diameter.

  14. Microbial reverse-electrodialysis chemical-production cell for acid and alkali production

    KAUST Repository

    Zhu, Xiuping

    2013-06-01

    A new type of bioelectrochemical system, called a microbial reverse-electrodialysis chemical-production cell (MRCC), was developed to produce acid and alkali using energy derived from organic matter (acetate) and salinity gradients (NaCl solutions representative of seawater and river water). A bipolar membrane (BPM) was placed next to the anode to prevent Cl- contamination and acidification of the anolyte, and to produce protons for HCl recovery. A 5-cell paired reverse-electrodialysis (RED) stack provided the electrical energy required to overcome the BPM over-potential (0.3-0.6 V), making the overall process spontaneous. The MRCC reactor produced electricity (908 mW/m2) as well as concentrated acidic and alkaline solutions, and therefore did not require an external power supply. After a fed-batch cycle, the pHs of the chemical product solutions were 1.65 ± 0.04 and 11.98 ± 0.10, due to the production of 1.35 ± 0.13 mmol of acid, and 0.59 ± 0.14 mmol of alkali. The acid- and alkali-production efficiencies based on generated current were 58 ± 3% and 25 ± 3%. These results demonstrated proof-of-concept acid and alkali production using only renewable energy sources. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

  15. Biogas and mineral fertiliser production from plant residues of phytoremediation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chu, Thi Thu Ha

    2011-07-01

    The former uranium mining site in Ronneburg, Thuringia, Germany was known as a big source of uranium with more than 113,000 tons of uranium mined from 1946 to 1990. This area has been remediated since the nineties of the last century. However, nowadays the site in Ronneburg is still specially considered because of the heterogeneous contamination by many heavy metals and the vegetation can be affected. Three plant species including Indian mustard - Brassica juncea L., triticale - x. Triticosecale Wittmaek and sunflower - Helianthus annuus L. were seeded as accumulators of heavy metals and radionuclides in the phytoremediation process in 2009 and 2010 in Ronneburg. The subsequent utilization of the plant residues after phytoremediation is of special consideration. Batch fermentation of harvested plant materials under the mesophilic condition showed that all of the investigated plant materials had much higher biogas production than liquid cow manure except triticale root, of which biogas yield per volatile solid was not significantly higher than the one of sludge. The highest biogas yields (311 L{sub N}/kg FM and 807 L{sub N}/kg VS) were achieved from the spica of triticale after 42 days of retention of anaerobic digestion. Triticale shoot residues generated higher biogas and methane yields than the previously reported triticale materials that were harvested from the uncontaminated soil Triticale was considered as the highest potential species in biogas production, beside the best growth ability on the acidic soil at the test field site with highest biomass production. Biogas yield of Indian mustard shoot was also high but dramatically varied from 2009 to 2010. Digestates after anaerobic digestion of plant residues contained various macronutrients such as nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus and sulphur, and various micronutrients such as iron, manganes, zinc, etc. The accumulation levels of heavy metals in the investigated plant materials were not the hindrance factors

  16. Resins production: batch plant automation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Banti, M.; Mauri, G.

    1996-01-01

    Companies that look for automation in their plants without external resources, have at their disposal flexible, custom and easy to use DCS, open towards PLC. In this article it is explained why Hoechts has followed this way of new plants for resins production automation

  17. Properties of various plants and animals feedstocks for biodiesel production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karmakar, Aninidita; Karmakar, Subrata; Mukherjee, Souti

    2010-10-01

    As an alternative fuel biodiesel is becoming increasingly important due to diminishing petroleum reserves and adverse environmental consequences of exhaust gases from petroleum-fuelled engines. Biodiesel, the non-toxic fuel, is mono alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from renewable feedstock like vegetable oils, animal fats and residual oils. Choice of feedstocks depends on process chemistry, physical and chemical characteristics of virgin or used oils and economy of the process. Extensive research information is available on transesterification, the production technology and process optimization for various biomaterials. Consistent supply of feedstocks is being faced as a major challenge by the biodiesel production industry. This paper reviews physico-chemical properties of the plant and animal resources that are being used as feedstocks for biodiesel production. Efforts have also been made to review the potential resources that can be transformed into biodiesel successfully for meeting the ever increasing demand of biodiesel production. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. [Roles of organic acid metabolism in plant adaptation to nutrient deficiency and aluminum toxicity stress].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jianfei; Shen, Qirong

    2006-11-01

    Organic acids not only act as the intermediates in carbon metabolism, but also exert key roles in the plant adaptation to nutrient deficiency and metal stress and in the plant-microbe interactions at root-soil interface. From the viewpoint of plant nutrition, this paper reviewed the research progress on the formation and physiology of organic acids in plant, and their functions in nitrogen metabolism, phosphorus and iron uptake, aluminum tolerance, and soil ecology. New findings in the membrane transport of organic acids and the biotechnological manipulation of organic acids in transgenic model were also discussed. This novel perspectives of organic acid metabolism and its potential manipulation might present a possibility to understand the fundamental aspects of plant physiology, and lead to the new strategies to obtain crop varieties better adapted to environmental and metal stress.

  19. How to eliminate the formation of chlorogenic acids artefacts during plants analysis? Sea sand disruption method (SSDM) in the HPLC analysis of chlorogenic acids and their native derivatives in plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wianowska, Dorota; Typek, Rafał; Dawidowicz, Andrzej L

    2015-09-01

    The analytical procedures for determining plant constituents involve the application of sample preparation methods to fully isolate and/or pre-concentrate the analyzed substances. High-temperature liquid extraction is still applied most frequently for this purpose. The present paper shows that high-temperature extraction cannot be applied for the analysis of chlorogenic acids (CQAs) and their derivatives in plants as it causes the CQAs transformation leading to erroneous quantitative estimations of these compounds. Experiments performed on different plants (black elder, hawthorn, nettle, yerba maté, St John's wort and green coffee) demonstrate that the most appropriate method for the estimation of CQAs/CQAs derivatives is sea sand disruption method (SSDM) because it does not induce any transformation and/or degradation processes in the analyzed substances. Owing to the SSDM method application we found that the investigated plants, besides four main CQAs, contain sixteen CQAs derivatives, among them three quinic acids. The application of SSDM in plant analysis not only allows to establish a true concentration of individual CQAs in the examined plants but also to determine which chlorogenic acids derivatives are native plant components and what is their concentration level. What is even more important, the application of SSDM in plant analysis allows to eliminate errors that may arise or might have arisen in the study of chlorogenic acids and their derivatives in plant metabolism. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Metabolic engineering of the omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid biosynthetic pathway into transgenic plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruiz-López, Noemi; Sayanova, Olga; Napier, Johnathan A; Haslam, Richard P

    2012-04-01

    Omega-3 (ω-3) very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLC-PUFAs) such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5 Δ5,8,11,14,17) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6 Δ4,7,10,13,16,19) have been shown to have significant roles in human health. Currently the primary dietary source of these fatty acids are marine fish; however, the increasing demand for fish and fish oil (in particular the expansion of the aquaculture industry) is placing enormous pressure on diminishing marine stocks. Such overfishing and concerns related to pollution in the marine environment have directed research towards the development of a viable alternative sustainable source of VLC-PUFAs. As a result, the last decade has seen many genes encoding the primary VLC-PUFA biosynthetic activities identified and characterized. This has allowed the reconstitution of the VLC-PUFA biosynthetic pathway in oilseed crops, producing transgenic plants engineered to accumulate ω-3 VLC-PUFAs at levels approaching those found in native marine organisms. Moreover, as a result of these engineering activities, knowledge of the fundamental processes surrounding acyl exchange and lipid remodelling has progressed. The application of new technologies, for example lipidomics and next-generation sequencing, is providing a better understanding of seed oil biosynthesis and opportunities for increasing the production of unusual fatty acids. Certainly, it is now possible to modify the composition of plant oils successfully, and, in this review, the most recent developments in this field and the challenges of producing VLC-PUFAs in the seed oil of higher plants will be described.

  1. Exo-metabolites of mycelial fungi isolated in production premises of cheese-making and meat-processing plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kozlovsky, A G; Zhelifonova, V P; Antipova, T V; Baskunov, B P; Ivanushkina, N E; Ozerskaya, S M

    2014-01-01

    Data were obtained on the species composition of mycelial fungi isolated from the air of workrooms and production premises in cheese-making and meat-processing plants. The strains studied were shown to be capable of producing various low molecular weight compounds. Many of them are mycotoxins such as α-cyclopiazonic acid (CPA), mycophenolic acid (MPA), citrinin, cladosporin, roquefortine and ergot alkaloids. The profiles of the secondary metabolites were used to elucidate the species' names of the isolated strains.

  2. The long-term effect of zinc soil contamination on selected free amino acids playing an important role in plant adaptation to stress and senescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavlíková, Daniela; Zemanová, Veronika; Procházková, Dagmar; Pavlík, Milan; Száková, Jiřina; Wilhelmová, Naďa

    2014-02-01

    Increased endogenous plant cytokinin (CK) content through transformation with an isopentyl transferase (ipt) gene has been associated with improved plant stress tolerance. The objective of this study is to determine amino acid changes associated with elevated CK production in ipt transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L., cv. Wisconsin 38). Nontransformed (WT) and transformed tobacco plants with ipt gene controlled by senescence-activated promoter (SAG) were exposed to zinc soil contamination (tested levels Zn1=250, Zn2=500, Zn3=750 mg kg(-1) soil). The Zn effect on plant stress metabolism resulted in changes in levels of selected free amino acids playing an important role in adaptation to stress and plant senescence (alanine, leucine, proline, methionine and γ-aminobutyrate) and differed for transformed and nontransformed tobacco plants. Analyses of amino acids confirmed that SAG tobacco plants had improved zinc tolerance compared with the WT plants. The enhanced Zn tolerance of SAG plants was associated with the maintenance of accumulation of proline, methionine and γ-aminobutyrate. The concentrations of leucine and alanine did not show significant differences between plant lines. © 2013 Published by Elsevier Inc.

  3. Seasonal evaluation of disinfection by-products throughout two full-scale drinking water treatment plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, Xin; Cui, Chongwei; Yu, Shuili

    2017-07-01

    Carbonyl compounds can occur alpha-hydrogens or beta-diketones substitution reactions with disinfectants contributed to halogenated by-products formation. The objective of this research was to study the occurrence and fate of carbonyl compounds as ozonation by-products at two full-scale drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) using different disinfectants for one year. The quality of the raw water used in both plants was varied according to the season. The higher carbonyl compounds concentrations were found in raw water in spring. Up to 15 (as the sum of both DWTPs) of the 24 carbonyl compounds selected for this work were found after disinfection. The dominant carbonyl compounds were formaldehyde, glyoxal, methyl-glyoxal, fumaric, benzoic, protocatechuic and 3-hydroxybenzoic acid at both DWTPs. In the following steps in each treatment plant, the concentration patterns of these carbonyl compounds differed depending on the type of disinfectant applied. Benzaldehyde was the only aromatic aldehyde detected after oxidation with ozone in spring. As compared with DWTP 1, five new carbonyl compounds were formed (crotonaldehyde, benzaldehyde, formic, oxalic and malonic acid) disinfection by ozone, and the levels of the carbonyl compounds increased. In addition, pre-ozonation (PO) and main ozonation (OZ) increased the levels of carbonyl compounds, however coagulation/flocculation (CF), sand filtration (SF) and granular activated carbon filtration (GAC) decreased the levels of carbonyl compounds. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Production of extracellular fatty acid using engineered Escherichia coli

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liu Hui

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background As an alternative for economic biodiesel production, the microbial production of extracellular fatty acid from renewable resources is receiving more concerns recently, since the separation of fatty acid from microorganism cells is normally involved in a series of energy-intensive steps. Many attempts have been made to construct fatty acid producing strains by targeting genes in the fatty acid biosynthetic pathway, while few studies focused on the cultivation process and the mass transfer kinetics. Results In this study, both strain improvements and cultivation process strategies were applied to increase extracellular fatty acid production by engineered Escherichia coli. Our results showed overexpressing ‘TesA and the deletion of fadL in E. coli BL21 (DE3 improved extracellular fatty acid production, while deletion of fadD didn’t strengthen the extracellular fatty acid production for an undetermined mechanism. Moreover, the cultivation process controls contributed greatly to extracellular fatty acid production with respect to titer, cell growth and productivity by adjusting the temperature, adding ampicillin and employing on-line extraction. Under optimal conditions, the E. coli strain (pACY-‘tesA-ΔfadL produced 4.8 g L−1 extracellular fatty acid, with the specific productivity of 0.02 g h−1 g−1dry cell mass, and the yield of 4.4% on glucose, while the ratios of cell-associated fatty acid versus extracellular fatty acid were kept below 0.5 after 15 h of cultivation. The fatty acids included C12:1, C12:0, C14:1, C14:0, C16:1, C16:0, C18:1, C18:0. The composition was dominated by C14 and C16 saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. Using the strain pACY-‘tesA, similar results appeared under the same culture conditions and the titer was also much higher than that ever reported previously, which suggested that the supposedly superior strain did not necessarily perform best for the efficient production of desired

  5. Overexpression of NtWRKY50 Increases Resistance to Ralstonia solanacearum and Alters Salicylic Acid and Jasmonic Acid Production in Tobacco.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Qiuping; Liu, Ying; Tang, Yuanman; Chen, Juanni; Ding, Wei

    2017-01-01

    WRKY transcription factors (TFs) modulate plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. Here, we characterized a WRKY IIc TF, NtWRKY50, isolated from tobacco ( Nicotiana tabacum ) plants. The results showed that NtWRKY50 is a nuclear-localized protein and that its gene transcript is induced in tobacco when inoculated with the pathogenic bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum . Overexpression of NtWRKY50 enhanced bacterial resistance, which correlated with enhanced SA and JA/ET signaling genes. However, silencing of the NtWRKY50 gene had no obvious effects on plant disease resistance, implying functional redundancy of NtWRKY50 with other TFs. In addition, it was found that NtWRKY50 can be induced by various biotic or abiotic stresses, such as Potato virus Y, Rhizoctonia solani, Phytophthora parasitica , hydrogen peroxide, heat, cold, and wounding as well as the hormones salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA), and ethylene (ET). Importantly, additional analysis suggests that NtWRKY50 overexpression markedly promotes SA levels but prevents pathogen-induced JA production. These data indicate that NtWRKY50 overexpression leads to altered SA and JA content, increased expression of defense-related genes and enhanced plant resistance to R. solanacearum. These probably due to increased activity of endogenous NtWRKY50 gene or could be gain-of-function phenotypes by altering the profile of genes affected by NtWRKY50 .

  6. Retrofit of distillation columns in biodiesel production plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nguyen, Nghi; Demirel, Yasar

    2010-01-01

    Column grand composite curves and the exergy loss profiles produced by the Column-Targeting Tool of the Aspen Plus simulator are used to assess the performance of the existing distillation columns, and reduce the costs of operation by appropriate retrofits in a biodiesel production plant. Effectiveness of the retrofits is assessed by means of thermodynamics and economic improvements. We have considered a biodiesel plant utilizing three distillation columns to purify biodiesel (fatty acid methyl ester) and byproduct glycerol as well as reduce the waste. The assessments of the base case simulation have indicated the need for modifications for the distillation columns. For column T202, the retrofits consisting of a feed preheating and reflux ratio modification have reduced the total exergy loss by 47%, while T301 and T302 columns exergy losses decreased by 61% and 52%, respectively. After the retrofits, the overall exergy loss for the three columns has decreased from 7491.86 kW to 3627.97 kW. The retrofits required a fixed capital cost of approximately $239,900 and saved approximately $1,900,000/year worth of electricity. The retrofits have reduced the consumption of energy considerably, and leaded to a more environmentally friendly operation for the biodiesel plant considered.

  7. Metal binding by humic acids isolated from water hyacinth plants (Eichhornia crassipes [Mart.] Solm-Laubach: Pontedericeae) in the Nile Delta, Egypt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ghabbour, Elham A.; Davies, Geoffrey; Lam, Y.-Y.; Vozzella, Marcy E.

    2004-01-01

    Humic acids (HAs) are animal and plant decay products that confer water retention, metal and organic solute binding functions and texture/workability in soils. HAs assist plant nutrition with minimal run-off pollution. Recent isolation of HAs from several live plants prompted us to investigate the HA content of the water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes [Mart.] Solm-Laubach: Pontedericeae), a delicately flowered plant from Amazonian South America that has invaded temperate lakes, rivers and waterways with devastating economic effects. Hyacinth thrives in nutrient-rich and polluted waters. It has a high affinity for metals and is used for phytoremediation. In this work, HAs isolated from the leaves, stems and roots of live water hyacinth plants from the Nile Delta, Egypt were identified by chemical and spectral analysis and by comparison with authentic soil and plant derived HAs. Similar carbohydrate and amino acid distributions and tight metal binding capacities of the HAs and their respective plant components suggest that the presence of HAs in plants is related to their metal binding properties

  8. Guaiacol production from ferulic acid, vanillin and vanillic acid by Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Witthuhn, R Corli; van der Merwe, Enette; Venter, Pierre; Cameron, Michelle

    2012-06-15

    Alicyclobacilli are thermophilic, acidophilic bacteria (TAB) that spoil fruit juice products by producing guaiacol. It is currently believed that guaiacol is formed by Alicyclobacillus in fruit juices as a product of ferulic acid metabolism. The aim of this study was to identify the precursors that can be metabolised by Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris to produce guaiacol and to evaluate the pathway of guaiacol production. A. acidoterrestris FB2 was incubated at 45°C for 7days in Bacillus acidoterrestris (BAT) broth supplemented with ferulic acid, vanillin or vanillic acid, respectively. The samples were analysed every day to determine the cell concentration, the supplement concentration using high performance liquid chromatography with UV-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) and the guaiacol concentration, using both the peroxidase enzyme colourimetric assay (PECA) and HPLC-DAD. The cell concentration of A. acidoterrestris FB2 during the 7days in all samples were above the critical cell concentration of 10(5)cfu/mL reportedly required for guaiacol production. The guaiacol produced by A. acidoterrestris FB2 increased with an increase in vanillin or vanillic acid concentration and a metabolic pathway of A. acidoterrestris FB2 directly from vanillin to guaiacol was established. The high concentration of vanillic acid (1000mg/L) resulted in an initial inhibitory effect on the cells, but the cell concentration increased after day 2. Guaiacol production did not occur in the absence of either a precursor or A. acidoterrestris FB2 and guaiacol was not produced by A. acidoterrestris FB2 in the samples supplemented with ferulic acid. The presence of Alicyclobacillus spp. that has the ability to produce guaiacol, as well as the substrates vanillin or vanillic acid is prerequisite for production of guaiacol. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Good and bad protons: genetic aspects of acidity stress responses in plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shavrukov, Yuri; Hirai, Yoshihiko

    2016-01-01

    Physiological aspects of acidity stress in plants (synonymous with H(+) rhizotoxicity or low-pH stress) have long been a focus of research, in particular with respect to acidic soils where aluminium and H(+) rhizotoxicities often co-occur. However, toxic H(+) and Al(3+) elicit different response mechanisms in plants, and it is important to consider their effects separately. The primary aim of this review was to provide the current state of knowledge regarding the genetics of the specific reactions to low-pH stress in growing plants. A comparison of the results gleaned from quantitative trait loci analysis and global transcriptome profiling of plants in response to high proton concentrations revealed a two-stage genetic response: (i) in the short-term, proton pump H(+)-ATPases present the first barrier in root cells, allocating an excess of H(+) into either the apoplast or vacuole; the ensuing defence signaling system involves auxin, salicylic acid, and methyl jasmonate, which subsequently initiate expression of STOP and DREB transcription factors as well as chaperone ROF; (2) the long-term response includes other genes, such as alternative oxidase and type II NAD(P)H dehydrogenase, which act to detoxify dangerous reactive oxygen species in mitochondria, and help plants better manage the stress. A range of transporter genes including those for nitrate (NTR1), malate (ALMT1), and heavy metals are often up-regulated by H(+) rhizotoxicity. Expansins, cell-wall-related genes, the γ-aminobutyric acid shunt and biochemical pH-stat genes also reflect changes in cell metabolism and biochemistry in acidic conditions. However, the genetics underlying the acidity stress response of plants is complicated and only fragmentally understood. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  10. Ruminal Methane Production on Simple Phenolic Acids Addition in in Vitro Gas Production Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Jayanegara

    2009-04-01

    Full Text Available Methane production from ruminants contributes to total global methane production, which is an important contributor to global warming. In this experiment, six sources of simple phenolic acids (benzoic, cinnamic, phenylacetic, caffeic, p-coumaric and ferulic acids at two different levels (2 and 5 mM added to hay diet were evaluated for their potential to reduce enteric methane production using in vitro Hohenheim gas production method. The measured variables were gas production, methane, organic matter digestibility (OMD, and short chain fatty acids (SCFA. The results showed that addition of cinnamic, caffeic, p-coumaric and ferulic acids at 5 mM significantly (P p-coumaric > ferulic > cinnamic. The addition of simple phenols did not significantly decrease OMD. Addition of simple phenols tends to decrease total SCFA production. It was concluded that methane decrease by addition of phenolic acids was relatively small, and the effect of phenolic acids on methane decrease depended on the source and concentration applied.

  11. Metabolism of 2-deoxyglyconic acid in plants and bakers yeast

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gakhokidze, R.A.; Beriashvili, L.T.; Chigvinadze, T.D.

    1996-01-01

    During photosynthesis in Phaseolus vulgaris haricot bean and Zea mays leaves, assimilated carbon 14 CO 2 is rapidly incorporated into aldonic acids including 2-deoxygluconic acid whose radioactivity was relatively high. In these plants, radioactive carbon of 2-deoxy-D-gluconic acid prepared from 1-6 14 C-D-glucose is actively involved in the formation of sugars, organic acids, and amino acids. In baking yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the rate of respiration-dependent oxidation of 2-deoxy-D-gluconic acid differs versus the rate of D-glucose oxidation [ru

  12. Cytoplasmic Acidification and Secondary Metabolite Production in Different Plant Cell Suspensions (A Comparative Study).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hagendoorn, MJM.; Wagner, A. M.; Segers, G.; Van Der Plas, LHW.; Oostdam, A.; Van Walraven, H. S.

    1994-10-01

    In this study, a correlation is described between low cytoplasmic pH, measured with the fluorescent probes 2[prime],7[prime]-bis-(2-carboxyethyl)-5-(and-6)-carboxyfluorescein (acetoxymethyl ester) and bis- [3-propyl-5-oxoisoxazol-4-yl]pentamethine oxonol, and the production of secondary metabolites for several plant cell-suspension systems. Anthraquinone production in Morinda citrifolia suspensions is negligible in the presence of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), whereas with naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) a significant accumulation is realized. NAA-grown cells showed a lower cytoplasmic pH than did 2,4-D-grown cells. Addition of 2,4-D or parachlorophenoxy acetic acid to NAA-grown cells resulted in an inhibition of anthraquinone production and an increase of the cytoplasmic pH, whereas addition of parachlorophenyl acetic acid had no effect on either parameter. Lignin production in Petunia hybrida cells could be induced by subculturing them in a medium without iron. These cells showed a lower cytoplasmic pH than control cells. Addition of Fe3+ led to a decreased lignin content and an increased cytoplasmic pH. Two cell lines of Linum flavum showed a different level of coniferin and lignin concentration in their cells. Cells that accumulated coniferin and lignin had a lower cytoplasmic pH than cells that did not accumulate these secondary metabolites. Apparently, in different species and after different kinds of treatment there is a correlation between acidification of the cytoplasm and the production of different secondary metabolites. The possible role of this acidification in secondary metabolite production is discussed.

  13. Interactive Effects of Jasmonic Acid, Salicylic Acid, and Gibberellin on Induction of Trichomes in Arabidopsis1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Traw, M. Brian; Bergelson, Joy

    2003-01-01

    Leaf trichomes protect plants from attack by insect herbivores and are often induced following damage. Hormonal regulation of this plant induction response has not been previously studied. In a series of experiments, we addressed the effects of artificial damage, jasmonic acid, salicylic acid, and gibberellin on induction of trichomes in Arabidopsis. Artificial damage and jasmonic acid caused significant increases in trichome production of leaves. The jar1-1 mutant exhibited normal trichome induction following treatment with jasmonic acid, suggesting that adenylation of jasmonic acid is not necessary. Salicylic acid had a negative effect on trichome production and consistently reduced the effect of jasmonic acid, suggesting negative cross-talk between the jasmonate and salicylate-dependent defense pathways. Interestingly, the effect of salicylic acid persisted in the nim1-1 mutant, suggesting that the Npr1/Nim1 gene is not downstream of salicylic acid in the negative regulation of trichome production. Last, we found that gibberellin and jasmonic acid had a synergistic effect on the induction of trichomes, suggesting important interactions between these two compounds. PMID:14551332

  14. Production of tannase through submerged fermentation of tannin-containing plant extracts by Bacillus licheniformis KBR6.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Das Mohapatra, Pradeep K; Mondal, Keshab C; Pati, Bikas R

    2006-01-01

    Tannins are water-soluble polyphenolic compounds found in plants as secondary metabolites. The presence of these substances in the barks of eight different plants was initially examined and their crude extracts were used separately as a substrate for production of tannase through submerged fermentation by Bacillus licheniformis KBR6. Tannase production as well as biodegradation of the substrate reached a maximum within 15 to 18 h against crude tannin extract obtained from Anacardium occidentale. Among different concentrations of the crude tannin tested, 0.5% (w/v) induced maximum synthesis of enzyme. Tannase production was higher by almost two-fold in the presence of crude tannin compared to pure tannic acid used as a substrate. It seems that industrial production of tannase, using bark extract of A. occidentale can be a very simple and suitable alternative to presently used procedures.

  15. Heat integration of an ethanol polygeneration plant based on lignocellulose: Comparing weak acid hydrolysis and enzymatic hydrolysis; Energiintegrerat etanolkombinat baserat paa lignocellulosa - Jaemfoerelse mellan svagsyrahydrolys och enzymhydrolys

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Olsson, Marcus; Nordman, Roger; Taherzadeh, Mohammad

    2011-07-01

    Plants for bioethanol production have been planned in several cities in Sweden, including Boraas. This report provides answers to general questions regarding how such a facility's energy demand is affected by the external integration with a heat and power plant and the internal energy integration between process units. Heat integration of a bioethanol plant means that energy is reused as much as is technically possible; this sets a practical minimum level for the energy demand of the plant. In the study, ethanol production from cellulose has been simulated using Aspen Plus. Weak acid hydrolysis and enzymatic hydrolysis have been simulated, each with 50,000 and 100,000 tonnes of ethanol per year, resulting in four simulation cases. In all cases, heat integration is evaluated using pinch analysis. The steam in the ethanol plant has been covered by steam from a heat and power plant similar to that found today in Boraas. It is important to note that the energy quotas reported here includes energy use for upgrading the residual products. This leads to lower energy quotas than would be the case if the upgrading of residuals were allocated outside of the ethanol production. The conclusions from the project are: - The steam demand of the ethanol plant leads to a reduction in both the electricity and heat production of the heat and power plant. For the weak acid hydrolysis, the electricity loss is relatively high, 26-98%, which will affect the revenue significantly. The loss of electricity production is lower for the enzymatic process: 11-47%. - The difference in decreased electricity between the theoretical case of heating the raw material and the two alternative heating cases is about a factor of two, so the design of the heating of raw material is extremely important. - The reduced heat output of the power plant can, in most cases, be balanced by the surplus heat from the ethanol plant, but to completely balance the shortage, heat over 100 deg C must be used

  16. Gamma amino butyric acid accumulation in medicinal plants without stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anju, P; Moothedath, Ismail; Rema Shree, Azhimala Bhaskaranpillai

    2014-01-01

    Gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) is an important ubiquitous four carbon nonprotein amino acid with an amino group attached to gamma carbon instead of beta carbon. It exists in different organisms including bacteria, plants, and animals and plays a crucial role in humans by regulating neuronal excitability throughout the nervous system. It is directly responsible for the regulation of muscle tone and also effective in lowering stress, blood pressure, and hypertension. The aim of the study was to develop the fingerprint profile of selected medicinally and economically important plants having central nervous system (CNS) activity and to determine the quantity of GABA in the selected plants grown under natural conditions without any added stress. The high-performance thin layer chromatography analysis was performed on precoated silica gel plate 60F-254 plate (20 cm × 10 cm) in the form of bands with width 8 mm using Hamilton syringe (100 μl) using n-butanol, acetic acid, and water in the proportion 5:2:2 as mobile phase in a CAMAG chamber which was previously saturated for 30 min. CAMAG TLC scanner 3 was used for the densitometric scanning at 550 nm. Specific marker compounds were used for the quantification. Among the screened medicinal plants, Zingiber officinale and Solanum torvum were found to have GABA. The percentage of GABA present in Z. officinale and S. torvum were found to be 0.0114% and 0.0119%, respectively. The present work confirmed that among the selected CNS active medicinal plants, only two plants contain GABA. We found a negative correlation with plant having CNS activity and accumulation of GABA. The GABA shunt is a conserved pathway in eukaryotes and prokaryotes but, although the role of GABA as a neurotransmitter in mammals is clearly established, its role in plants is still vague.

  17. An amino acid substitution inhibits specialist herbivore production of a competitive antagonist effector and recovers insect-induced plant defenses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plants respond to insect herbivory through the production of biochemicals that function as either direct defenses or indirect defenses via the attraction of natural enemies. Curiously, attack by even closely related insect pests can result in distinctive levels of induced plant defenses. Despite the...

  18. Biochemical precursor effects on the fatty acid production in cell suspension cultures of Theobroma cacao L.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parra, O; Gallego, A M; Urrea, A; Rojas, L F; Correa, C; Atehortúa, L

    2017-02-01

    Cocoa butter (CB) is composed of 96% palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic and linolenic fatty acids that are responsible for the hardness, texture and fusion properties of chocolate. Through in vitro plant cell culture it is possible to modify CB lipid profiles and to study the fatty acid biosynthesis pathway on a subcellular level, evaluating fundamental aspects to enhance in vitro fatty acid production in a specific and controlled way. In this research, culture media was supplemented with acetate, biotin, pyruvate, bicarbonate and glycerol at three different concentrations and the effects on the biomass production (g/L), cell viability, and fatty acids profile and production was evaluated in in vitro cell suspensions culture. It was found that biotin stimulated fatty acid synthesis without altering cell viability and cell growth. It was also evident a change in the lipid profile of cell suspensions, increasing middle and long chain fatty acids proportion, which are unusual to those reported in seeds; thus implying that it is possible to modify lipid profiles according to the treatment used. According to the results of sucrose gradients and enzyme assays performed, it is proposed that cacao cells probably use the pentose phosphate pathway, mitochondria being the key organelle in the carbon flux for the synthesis of reductant power and fatty acid precursors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  19. Efficacy of different methanolic plant extracts on anti-methanogenesis, rumen fermentation and gas production kinetics in vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sirohi, S K; Goel, N; Pandey, P

    2012-01-01

    The present study was carried out to evaluate the effect of methanolic extracts of three plants, mehandi (Lawsonia inermis), jaiphal (Myristica fragrans) and green chili (Capsicum annuum) on methanogenesis, rumen fermentation and fermentation kinetic parameters by in vitro gas production techniques. Single dose of each plant extract (1 ml / 30 ml buffered rumen fluid) and two sorghum fodder containing diets (high and low fiber diets) were used for evaluating the effect on methanogenesis and rumen fermentation pattern, while sequential incubations (0, 1, 2, 3, 6 9, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72 and 96 h) were carried out for gas production kinetics. Results showed that methane production was reduced, ammonia nitrogen was increased significantly, while no significant effect was found on pH and protozoal population following addition of different plant extracts in both diets except mehandi. Green chili significantly reduced digestibility of dry matter, total fatty acid and acetate concentration at incubation with sorghum based high and low fiber diets. Among all treatments, green chili increased potential gas production, while jaiphal decreased the gas production rate constant significantly. The present results demonstrate that methanolic extracts of different plants are promising rumen modifying agents. They have the potential to modulate the methane production, potential gas production, gas production rate constant, dry matter digestibility and microbial biomass synthesis.

  20. Determination of phenolic acids in seeds of black cumin, flax, pomegranate and pumpkin and their by-products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krimer-Malešević Vera M.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Ten phenolic acids, contained in the seeds of black cumin (Nigella sativa L., flax (Linum usitatissimum L., pomegranate (Punica granatum L. and pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L. and their oil industry by-products, separated into the free, esterified, and insoluble-bound forms, were quantitatively analysed by reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detector. The chromatographic data were interpreted using Principal Component Analysis (PCA. The PCA model with three principal components (PC1-PC2-PC3 fitted well with 12 examined plant samples, allowing their division into groups according to their origin. The total phenolic variables could be represented by two PCs and for the pattern recognition of the analysed samples, 13 phenolic variables are sufficient, including: free, esterified and insoluble-bound forms of gallic and syringic acids, free vanillic, insoluble bound p-coumaric, esterified p-hydroxybenzaldehide, and free and insoluble-bound forms of p-hydroxybenzoic and trans-synapic acids. This might have potential application in simplified screening of phenolic compounds in seeds and their oil industry by-products or in food component analysis or authenticity detection in such plant materials.[Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. III 46010

  1. Effects of Plant Secondary Metabolites on Methane Production and Fermentation Parameters in In vitro Ruminal Cultures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mihaela Giuburunca

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Enteric fermentation process is of concern worldwide for its contribution to global warming. It is known that ruminant animals, due to natural fermentation process contribute substantially to the increase in methane production. Methanogenesis process represents besides its contribution to greenhouse gases emissions an energy loss to the animal. To reduce ruminal methane productions in an ecologically and sustainable way, many attempts have been initiated, such as: uses of chemicals additives or ionophore antibiotics, defaunation process or immunization against ruminal methanogenesis. In the last years, a new strategy has been evaluated whether plant secondary metabolites can be used as natural additives to reduce ruminal methane emissions. The present study has been conducted to investigate the effects of trans-cinnamic, caffeic, p-coumaric acids and catechin hydrate, four plant secondary metabolites (PSMs on methane production and fermentation in in vitro ruminal cultures. The four PSMs were added anaerobically in a 6 mM concentration to 100 ml serum bottles containing 500 mg grass hay as a substrate, 10 ml rumen fluid collected from a fistulated sheep before morning feeding and 40 ml 141 DSM culture medium. The bottles were incubated at 39 ̊C. After 24 h, the following variables were measured: total gas volume, pH, methane and volatile fatty acids (VFAs production. The results showed that caffeic (p = 0.058 and p-coumaric (p = 0.052 acids tended to decrease methane production in comparison to control but the decrease was not statistic significantly at α= 0.05. The other two PSMs had no significant effect on methane production. Addition of PSMs did not affected the total gas volume, the pH and VFAs profile (P>0.05 in relation to the control (no PSM added. In conclusion, caffeic and p-coumaric acids in 6 mM concentration showed some promising effects for decreasing ruminal methane emissions without affecting ruminal fermentation parameters but

  2. 9 CFR 590.24 - Egg products plants requiring continuous inspection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Egg products plants requiring..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE EGG PRODUCTS INSPECTION INSPECTION OF EGGS AND EGG PRODUCTS (EGG PRODUCTS INSPECTION ACT) Scope of Inspection § 590.24 Egg products plants requiring continuous inspection. No plant in...

  3. Editorial: from plant biotechnology to bio-based products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stöger, Eva

    2013-10-01

    From plant biotechnology to bio-based products - this Special Issue of Biotechnology Journal is dedicated to plant biotechnology and is edited by Prof. Eva Stöger (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria). The Special Issue covers a wide range of topics in plant biotechnology, including metabolic engineering of biosynthesis pathways in plants; taking advantage of the scalability of the plant system for the production of innovative materials; as well as the regulatory challenges and society acceptance of plant biotechnology. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  4. Official control of plant protection products in Poland: detection of illegal products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miszczyk, Marek; Płonka, Marlena; Stobiecki, Tomasz; Kronenbach-Dylong, Dorota; Waleczek, Kazimierz; Weber, Roland

    2018-04-03

    Market presence of illegal and counterfeit pesticides is now a global problem. According to data published in 2012 by the European Crop Protection Association (ECPA), illegal products represent over 10% of the global market of plant protection products. Financial benefits are the main reason for the prevalence of this practice. Counterfeit and illegal pesticides may contain substances that may pose a threat to the environment, crops, animals, and humans, inconsistent with the label and registration dossier. In Poland, action against illegal and counterfeit plant protection products is undertaken by the Main Inspectorate of Plant Health and Seed Inspection (PIORiN), the police, the prosecution, and the pesticide producers. Results of chemical analyses carried out by the Institute of Plant Protection - National Research Institute Sośnicowice Branch, Pesticide Quality Testing Laboratory (PQTL IPP-NRI Sosnicowice Branch) indicate that a majority of illegal pesticides in Poland are detected in the group of herbicides. Products from parallel trade tend to have the most irregularities. This article describes the official quality control system of plant protection products in Poland and presents the analytical methods for testing pesticides suspected of adulteration and recent test results.

  5. Interannual variability of plant phenology in tussock tundra: modelling interactions of plant productivity, plant phenology, snowmelt and soil thaw

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wijk, van M.T.; Williams, M.; Laundre, J.A.; Shaver, G.R.

    2003-01-01

    We present a linked model of plant productivity, plant phenology, snowmelt and soil thaw in order to estimate interannual variability of arctic plant phenology and its effects on plant productivity. The model is tested using 8 years of soil temperature data, and three years of bud break data of

  6. Above- and Belowground Development of a Fast-Growing Willow Planted in Acid-Generating Mine Technosol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guittonny-Larchevêque, M; Lortie, S

    2017-11-01

    Surface metal mining produces large volumes of waste rocks. If they contain sulfide minerals, these rocks can generate a flow of acidic water from the mining site, known as acid mine drainage (AMD), which increases trace metals availability for plant roots. Adequate root development is crucial to decreasing planting stress and improving phytoremediation with woody species. However, techniques to improve revegetation success rarely take into account root development. An experiment was conducted at a gold mine in Quebec, Canada, to evaluate the establishment ability over 3 yr of a fast-growing willow ( Sx64) planted in acid-generating waste rocks. The main objective was to study root development in the soil profile and trace element accumulation in leaves among substrates varying in thickness (0, 20, and 40 cm of soil) and composition (organic carbon [OC] and alkaline AMD treatment sludge). Trees directly planted in waste rocks survived well (69%) but had the lowest productivity (lowest growth in height and diameter, aerial biomass, total leaf area, and root-system size). By contrast, the treatment richer in OC showed the greatest aerial biomass and total leaf area the first year; the thicker treatment resulted in the greatest growth in height and diameter, aboveground biomass, and root-system size in both the first and third years. Willow root development was restricted to soil layers during the first year, but this restriction was overcome in the third year after planting. Willow accumulation factors in leaves were below one for all investigated trace metals except for zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), and strontium. For Cd and Zn, concentrations increased with time in willow foliage, decreasing the potential of this willow species use for phytostabilization, despite its ability to rapidly develop extensive root systems in the mine Technosol. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

  7. Modifying plants for biofuel and biomaterial production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Furtado, Agnelo; Lupoi, Jason S; Hoang, Nam V; Healey, Adam; Singh, Seema; Simmons, Blake A; Henry, Robert J

    2014-12-01

    The productivity of plants as biofuel or biomaterial crops is established by both the yield of plant biomass per unit area of land and the efficiency of conversion of the biomass to biofuel. Higher yielding biofuel crops with increased conversion efficiencies allow production on a smaller land footprint minimizing competition with agriculture for food production and biodiversity conservation. Plants have traditionally been domesticated for food, fibre and feed applications. However, utilization for biofuels may require the breeding of novel phenotypes, or new species entirely. Genomics approaches support genetic selection strategies to deliver significant genetic improvement of plants as sources of biomass for biofuel manufacture. Genetic modification of plants provides a further range of options for improving the composition of biomass and for plant modifications to assist the fabrication of biofuels. The relative carbohydrate and lignin content influences the deconstruction of plant cell walls to biofuels. Key options for facilitating the deconstruction leading to higher monomeric sugar release from plants include increasing cellulose content, reducing cellulose crystallinity, and/or altering the amount or composition of noncellulosic polysaccharides or lignin. Modification of chemical linkages within and between these biomass components may improve the ease of deconstruction. Expression of enzymes in the plant may provide a cost-effective option for biochemical conversion to biofuel. © 2014 Society for Experimental Biology, Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Non-pathogenic rhizobacteria interfere with the attraction of parasitoids to aphid-induced plant volatiles via jasmonic acid signalling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pineda, Ana; Soler, Roxina; Weldegergis, Berhane T; Shimwela, Mpoki M; VAN Loon, Joop J A; Dicke, Marcel

    2013-02-01

    Beneficial soil-borne microbes, such as mycorrhizal fungi or rhizobacteria, can affect the interactions of plants with aboveground insects at several trophic levels. While the mechanisms of interactions with herbivorous insects, that is, the second trophic level, are starting to be understood, it remains unknown how plants mediate the interactions between soil microbes and carnivorous insects, that is, the third trophic level. Using Arabidopsis thaliana Col-0 and the aphid Myzus persicae, we evaluate here the underlying mechanisms involved in the plant-mediated interaction between the non-pathogenic rhizobacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens and the parasitoid Diaeretiella rapae, by combining ecological, chemical and molecular approaches. Rhizobacterial colonization modifies the composition of the blend of herbivore-induced plant volatiles. The volatile blend from rhizobacteria-treated aphid-infested plants is less attractive to an aphid parasitoid, in terms of both olfactory preference behaviour and oviposition, than the volatile blend from aphid-infested plants without rhizobacteria. Importantly, the effect of rhizobacteria on both the emission of herbivore-induced volatiles and parasitoid response to aphid-infested plants is lost in an Arabidopsis mutant (aos/dde2-2) that is impaired in jasmonic acid production. By modifying the blend of herbivore-induced plant volatiles that depend on the jasmonic acid-signalling pathway, root-colonizing microbes interfere with the attraction of parasitoids of leaf herbivores. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  9. Optimisation of a wet FGD pilot plant using fine limestone and organic acids

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frandsen, Jan; Kiil, Søren; Johnsson, Jan Erik

    2001-01-01

    , but the residual limestone content in the gypsum increased to somewhere between 19 and 30 wt%, making this pH range unsuitable for use in a full-scale plant. The investigations have shown that both the addition of organic acids and the use of a limestone with a fine PSD can be used to optimise wet FGD plants. (C......The effects of adding an organic acid or using a limestone with a fine particle size distribution (PSD) have been examined in a wet flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) pilot plant. Optimisation of the plant with respect to the degree of desulphurisation and the residual limestone content of the gypsum...... has been the aim of the work. In contrast to earlier investigations with organic acids, all essential process parameters (i.e. gas phase concentration profiles of SO(2), slurry pH profiles. and residual limestone in the gypsum) were considered. Slurry concentrations of adipic acid in the range of 0...

  10. Significant thermal energy reduction in lactic acid production process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mujtaba, Iqbal M.; Edreder, Elmahboub A.; Emtir, Mansour

    2012-01-01

    Lactic acid is widely used as a raw material for the production of biodegradable polymers and in food, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The global market for lactic acid is expected to reach 259 thousand metric tons by the year 2012. For batch production of lactic acid, the traditional process includes the following steps: (i) esterification of impure lactic acid with methanol in a batch reactor to obtain methyl lactate (ester), (ii) separation of the ester in a batch distillation, (iii) hydrolysis of the ester with water in a batch reactor to produce lactic acid and (iv) separation of lactic acid (in high purity) in a batch distillation. Batch reactive distillation combines the benefit of both batch reactor and batch distillation and enhances conversion and productivity (Taylor and Krishna, 2000 ; Mujtaba and Macchietto, 1997 ). Therefore, the first and the last two steps of the lactic acid production process can be combined together in batch reactive distillation () processes. However, distillation (batch or continuous) is an energy intensive process and consumes large amount of thermal energy (via steam). This paper highlights how significant (over 50%) reduction in thermal energy consumption can be achieved for lactic acid production process by carefully controlling the reflux ratio but without compromising the product specification. In this paper, only the simultaneous hydrolysis of methyl lactate ester and the separation of lactic acid using batch reactive distillation is considered.

  11. Inhibitory effects of salicylic acid on Meloidogyne javanica reproduction in tomato plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moslemi, F.; Fatemy, S.; Bernard, F.

    2016-11-01

    Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.), play a major role in loss of agricultural production. Natural substances, such as salicylic acid (SA) could possibly be involved in inducing host plant resistance against nematodes. The present study is concerned with exploring the effects of varying concentrations of SA as seed priming and soil drench on tomato growth parameters and the reproduction of the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne javanica. SA at 50 μM concentration caused only 2% of juvenile mortality under in vitro conditions. SA applied as 50 μM seed treatment caused 95% and, as a soil drench, 78% reduction in the number of egg masses that formed on tomato plants. The numbers of galls were reduced to a lesser extent. Final nematode density per gram of soil was reduced to less than 1 by the 50 μM SA seed treatment, and in other treatments decreased by between 70 and 88% compared with control plants. Our results indicate SA has potential to lower root knot nematode reproduction in tomato, and seed priming is a fairly easy method to work with. (Author)

  12. Biotechnological Production of Lactic Acid and Its Recent Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Young-Jung Wee

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Lactic acid is widely used in the food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries and has received increased attention for use as a monomer for the production of biodegradable poly(lactic acid. It can be produced by either biotechnological fermentation or chemical synthesis, but the former route has received considerable interest recently, due to environmental concerns and the limited nature of petrochemical feedstocks. There have been various attempts to produce lactic acid efficiently from inexpensive raw materials. We present a review of lactic acid-producing microorganisms, raw materials for lactic acid production, fermentation approaches for lactic acid production, and various applications of lactic acid, with a particular focus on recent investigations. In addition, the future potentials and economic impacts of lactic acid are discussed.

  13. Optimization of Citric Acid Production through Manipulation of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    An Aspergillus niger isolate was screened for citric acid production from glucose and the cultural conditions were manipulated for optimum citric acid production. Optimization studies improved citric acid yield by 13.34% from 12.81 g/l obtained during the screening test to 14.52 g/l obtained at the end of the optimization ...

  14. Environmental Growth Conditions of Trichoderma spp. Affects Indole Acetic Acid Derivatives, Volatile Organic Compounds, and Plant Growth Promotion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nieto-Jacobo, Maria F.; Steyaert, Johanna M.; Salazar-Badillo, Fatima B.; Nguyen, Dianne Vi; Rostás, Michael; Braithwaite, Mark; De Souza, Jorge T.; Jimenez-Bremont, Juan F.; Ohkura, Mana; Stewart, Alison

    2017-01-01

    Trichoderma species are soil-borne filamentous fungi widely utilized for their many plant health benefits, such as conferring improved growth, disease resistance and abiotic stress tolerance to their hosts. Many Trichoderma species are able to produce the auxin phytohormone indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and its production has been suggested to promote root growth. Here we show that the production of IAA is strain dependent and diverse external stimuli are associated with its production. In in vitro assays, Arabidopsis primary root length was negatively affected by the interaction with some Trichoderma strains. In soil experiments, a continuum effect on plant growth was shown and this was also strain dependent. In plate assays, some strains of Trichoderma spp. inhibited the expression of the auxin reporter gene DR5 in Arabidopsis primary roots but not secondary roots. When Trichoderma spp. and A. thaliana were physically separated, enhancement of both shoot and root biomass, increased root production and chlorophyll content were observed, which strongly suggested that volatile production by the fungus influenced the parameters analyzed. Trichoderma strains T. virens Gv29.8, T. atroviride IMI206040, T. sp. “atroviride B” LU132, and T. asperellum LU1370 were demonstrated to promote plant growth through volatile production. However, contrasting differences were observed with LU1370 which had a negative effect on plant growth in soil but a positive effect in plate assays. Altogether our results suggest that the mechanisms and molecules involved in plant growth promotion by Trichoderma spp. are multivariable and are affected by the environmental conditions. PMID:28232840

  15. Role of salicylic acid in resistance to cadmium stress in plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Zhouping; Ding, Yanfei; Wang, Feijuan; Ye, Yaoyao; Zhu, Cheng

    2016-04-01

    We review and introduce the importance of salicylic acid in plants under cadmium stress, and provide insights into potential regulatory mechanisms for alleviating cadmium toxicity. Cadmium (Cd) is a widespread and potentially toxic environmental pollutant, originating mainly from rapid industrial processes, the application of fertilizers, manures and sewage sludge, and urban activities. It is easily taken up by plants, resulting in obvious toxicity symptoms, including growth retardation, leaf chlorosis, leaf and root necrosis, altered structures and ultrastructures, inhibition of photosynthesis, and cell death. Therefore, alleviating Cd toxicity in plants is a major aim of plant research. Salicylic acid (SA) is a ubiquitous plant phenolic compound that has been used in many plant species to alleviate Cd toxicity by regulating plant growth, reducing Cd uptake and distribution in plants, protecting membrane integrity and stability, scavenging reactive oxygen species and enhancing antioxidant defense system, improving photosynthetic capacity. Furthermore, SA functions as a signaling molecule involved in the expression of several important genes. Significant amounts of research have focused on understanding SA functions and signaling in plants under Cd stress, but several questions still remain unanswered. In this article, the influence of SA on Cd-induced stress in plants and the potential regulation mechanism for alleviating Cd toxicity are reviewed.

  16. Modular Engineering of Production Plants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Miller, Thomas Dedenroth

    1998-01-01

    Based on a case-study on design of pharmaceutical production plants, this paper suggests that modularity may support business efficiency for companies with one-of-a-kind production and without in-house manufacturing. Modularity may support efficient management of design knowledge and may facilitate...

  17. γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) signalling in plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramesh, Sunita A; Tyerman, Stephen D; Gilliham, Matthew; Xu, Bo

    2017-05-01

    The role of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) as a signal in animals has been documented for over 60 years. In contrast, evidence that GABA is a signal in plants has only emerged in the last 15 years, and it was not until last year that a mechanism by which this could occur was identified-a plant 'GABA receptor' that inhibits anion passage through the aluminium-activated malate transporter family of proteins (ALMTs). ALMTs are multigenic, expressed in different organs and present on different membranes. We propose GABA regulation of ALMT activity could function as a signal that modulates plant growth, development, and stress response. In this review, we compare and contrast the plant 'GABA receptor' with mammalian GABA A receptors in terms of their molecular identity, predicted topology, mode of action, and signalling roles. We also explore the implications of the discovery that GABA modulates anion flux in plants, its role in signal transduction for the regulation of plant physiology, and predict the possibility that there are other GABA interaction sites in the N termini of ALMT proteins through in silico evolutionary coupling analysis; we also explore the potential interactions between GABA and other signalling molecules.

  18. High temperature abatement of acid gases from waste incineration. Part I: experimental tests in full scale plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biganzoli, Laura; Racanella, Gaia; Rigamonti, Lucia; Marras, Roberto; Grosso, Mario

    2015-02-01

    In recent years, several waste-to-energy plants in Italy have experienced an increase of the concentration of acid gases (HCl, SO2 and HF) in the raw gas. This is likely an indirect effect of the progressive decrease of the amount of treated municipal waste, which is partially replaced by commercial waste. The latter is characterised by a higher variability of its chemical composition because of the different origins, with possible increase of the load of halogen elements such as chlorine (Cl) and fluorine (F), as well as of sulphur (S). A new dolomitic sorbent was then tested in four waste-to-energy plants during standard operation as a pre-cleaning stage, to be directly injected at high temperature in the combustion chamber. For a sorbent injection of about 6 kg per tonne of waste, the decrease of acid gases concentration downstream the boiler was in the range of 7-37% (mean 23%) for HCl, 34-95% (mean 71%) for SO2 and 39-80% (mean 63%) for HF. This pre-abatement of acid gases allowed to decrease the feeding rate of the traditional low temperature sorbent (sodium bicarbonate in all four plants) by about 30%. Furthermore, it was observed by the plant operators that the sorbent helps to keep the boiler surfaces cleaner, with a possible reduction of the fouling phenomena and a consequent increase of the specific energy production. A preliminary quantitative estimate was carried out in one of the four plants. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Amino acids production focusing on fermentation technologies - A review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Este, Martina; Alvarado-Morales, Merlin; Angelidaki, Irini

    Amino acids are attractive and promising biochemicals with market capacity requirements constantly increasing. Their applicability ranges from animal feed additives, flavour enhancers and ingredients in cosmetic to specialty nutrients in pharmaceutical and medical fields. This review gives an overview of the processes applied for amino acids production and points out the main advantages and disadvantages of each. Due to the advances made in the genetic engineering techniques, the biotechnological processes, and in particular the fermentation with the aid of strains such as Corynebacterium glutamicum or Escherichia coli, play a significant role in the industrial production of amino acids. Despite the numerous advantages of the fermentative amino acids production, the process still needs significant improvements leading to increased productivity and reduction of the production costs. Although the production processes of amino acids have been extensively investigated in previous studies, a comprehensive overview of the developments in bioprocess technology has not been reported yet. This review states the importance of the fermentation process for industrial amino acids production, underlining the strengths and the weaknesses of the process. Moreover, the potential of innovative approaches utilizing macro and microalgae or bacteria are presented. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Reclamation of acid, toxic coal spoils using wet flue gas desulfurization by-product, fly ash and sewage sludge. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kost, D.A.; Vimmerstedt, J.P.; Stehouwer, R.C.

    1997-03-01

    Establishment of vegetation on acid abandoned minelands requires modification of soil physical and chemical conditions. Covering the acid minesoil with topsoil or borrow soil is a common practice but this method may be restricted by availability of borrow soil and cause damage to the borrow site. An alternative approach is to use waste materials as soil amendments. There is a long history of using sewage sludge and fly ash as amendments for acid minesoils. Flue gas desulfurization (FGD) by-products are newer materials that are also promising amendments. Most flue gas sludges are mixtures of Calcium sulfate (CaSO{sub 4}), calcium sulfite (CaSO{sub 3}), calcium carbonate (CaCO{sub 3}), calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH){sub 2}], and fly ash. Some scrubbing processes produce almost pure gypsum (CaSO{sub 4}2H{sub 2}O). The primary purpose of the project is to evaluate two wet FGD by-products for effects on vegetation establishment and surface and ground water quality on an acid minesoil. One by-product from the Conesville, OH power plant (American Electric Power Service Corporation) contains primarily calcium sulfite and fly ash. The other by-product (Mg-gypsum FGD) from an experimental scrubber at the Zimmer power plant (Cincinnati Gas and Electric Company) is primarily gypsum with 4% magnesium hydroxide. These materials were compared with borrow soil and sewage sludge as minesoil amendments. Combinations of each FGD sludge with sewage sludge were also tested. This report summarizes two years of measurements of chemical composition of runoff water, ground water at two depths in the subsoil, soil chemical properties, elemental composition and yield of herbaceous ground cover, and elemental composition, survival and height of trees planted on plots treated with the various amendments. The borrow soil is the control for comparison with the other treatments.

  1. Reclamation of acid, toxic coal spoils using wet flue gas desulfurization by-product, fly ash and sewage sludge. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kost, D.A.; Vimmerstedt, J.P.; Stehouwer, R.C.

    1997-03-01

    Establishment of vegetation on acid abandoned minelands requires modification of soil physical and chemical conditions. Covering the acid minesoil with topsoil or borrow soil is a common practice but this method may be restricted by availability of borrow soil and cause damage to the borrow site. An alternative approach is to use waste materials as soil amendments. There is a long history of using sewage sludge and fly ash as amendments for acid minesoils. Flue gas desulfurization (FGD) by-products are newer materials that are also promising amendments. Most flue gas sludges are mixtures of Calcium sulfate (CaSO 4 ), calcium sulfite (CaSO 3 ), calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ), calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH) 2 ], and fly ash. Some scrubbing processes produce almost pure gypsum (CaSO 4 2H 2 O). The primary purpose of the project is to evaluate two wet FGD by-products for effects on vegetation establishment and surface and ground water quality on an acid minesoil. One by-product from the Conesville, OH power plant (American Electric Power Service Corporation) contains primarily calcium sulfite and fly ash. The other by-product (Mg-gypsum FGD) from an experimental scrubber at the Zimmer power plant (Cincinnati Gas and Electric Company) is primarily gypsum with 4% magnesium hydroxide. These materials were compared with borrow soil and sewage sludge as minesoil amendments. Combinations of each FGD sludge with sewage sludge were also tested. This report summarizes two years of measurements of chemical composition of runoff water, ground water at two depths in the subsoil, soil chemical properties, elemental composition and yield of herbaceous ground cover, and elemental composition, survival and height of trees planted on plots treated with the various amendments. The borrow soil is the control for comparison with the other treatments

  2. New insights into the metabolism of aspartate-family amino acids in plant seeds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Wenyi; Xu, Mengyun; Wang, Guoping; Galili, Gad

    2018-02-05

    Aspartate-family amino acids. Aspartate (Asp)-family pathway, via several metabolic branches, leads to four key essential amino acids: Lys, Met, Thr, and Ile. Among these, Lys and Met have received the most attention, as they are the most limiting amino acid in cereals and legumes crops, respectively. The metabolic pathways of these four essential amino acids and their interactions with regulatory networks have been well characterized. Using this knowledge, extensive efforts have been devoted to augmenting the levels of these amino acids in various plant organs, especially seeds, which serve as the main source of human food and livestock feed. Seeds store a number of storage proteins, which are utilized as nutrient and energy resources. Storage proteins are composed of amino acids, to guarantee the continuation of plant progeny. Thus, understanding the seed metabolism, especially with respect to the accumulation of aspartate-derived amino acids Lys and Met, is a crucial factor for sustainable agriculture. In this review, we summarized the Asp-family pathway, with some new examples of accumulated Asp-family amino acids, particularly Lys and Met, in plant seeds. We also discuss the recent advances in understanding the roles of Asp-family amino acids during seed development.

  3. Safety concerns of herbal products and traditional Chinese herbal medicines: dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids and aristolochic acid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stegelmeier, Bryan L; Brown, Ammon W; Welch, Kevin D

    2015-12-01

    In many countries, including the United States, herbal supplements, tisanes and vegetable products, including traditional Chinese medicines, are largely unregulated and their content is not registered, monitored or verified. Consequently, potent plant toxins including dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids and other potential carcinogens can contaminate these products. As herbal and food supplement producers are left to their own means to determine the safety and purity of their products prior to marketing, disturbingly often good marketing practices currently in place are ignored and content is largely undocumented. Historical examples of poisoning and health issues relating to plant material containing dehydopyrrolizidine alkaloids and aristolochic acids were used as examples to demonstrate the risk and potential toxicity of herbal products, food supplements, or traditional medicines. More work is needed to educate consumers of the potential risk and require the industry to be more responsible to verify the content and insure the safety of their products. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  4. The humic acids from vermicompost protect rice (Oryza sativa L.) plants against a posterior hidric stress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guridi-Izquierdo, Fernando; Martínez-Balmori, Dariellys; Rosquete-Bassó, Mayelín; Calderín-García, Andrés; Louro-Berbara, Ricardo L.

    2017-01-01

    The humic acids (HA) from two different vermicompost were extracted, isolated, purified and partially characterized, to evaluate their possible protection in rice (Oryza sativa L.) plants against an hydric stress. Differences in elemental composition, as the coagulation threshold value and E4/E6 relation in their UV-Vis spectra were found. Two concentrations (40 and 60 mg L-1) of both HA were included in the nutritive solutions for rice plants in controlled conditions. It was verified that the previous treatment with the HA during six days stimulated the root biomass production. Later the HA were excluded and was an hydric deficit induced by adding polietilenglicol (PEG-6000) in the initially treated plants and in a group of those used as control. After 96 hours of this final condition the net radical biomass, the photosynthetic pigments content and the root membrane permeability were evaluated. In the plants previously treated with HA (at the concentration 60 mg HA L-1), the root membrane permeability, the net radical biomass production and the “a” chlorophyll content had no differences when compared with those without stress. It was concluded that the previous treatment with the HA protected the rice plants against a posterior hydric stress that was induced. (author)

  5. Nitric oxide production by necrotrophic pathogen Macrophomina phaseolina and the host plant in charcoal rot disease of jute: complexity of the interplay between necrotroph-host plant interactions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tuhin Subhra Sarkar

    Full Text Available M. phaseolina, a global devastating necrotrophic fungal pathogen causes charcoal rot disease in more than 500 host plants. With the aim of understanding the plant-necrotrophic pathogen interaction associated with charcoal rot disease of jute, biochemical approach was attempted to study cellular nitric oxide production under diseased condition. This is the first report on M. phaseolina infection in Corchorus capsularis (jute plants which resulted in elevated nitric oxide, reactive nitrogen species and S nitrosothiols production in infected tissues. Time dependent nitric oxide production was also assessed with 4-Amino-5-Methylamino-2',7'-Difluorofluorescein Diacetate using single leaf experiment both in presence of M. phaseolina and xylanases obtained from fungal secretome. Cellular redox status and redox active enzymes were also assessed during plant fungal interaction. Interestingly, M. phaseolina was found to produce nitric oxide which was detected in vitro inside the mycelium and in the surrounding medium. Addition of mammalian nitric oxide synthase inhibitor could block the nitric oxide production in M. phaseolina. Bioinformatics analysis revealed nitric oxide synthase like sequence with conserved amino acid sequences in M. phaseolina genome sequence. In conclusion, the production of nitric oxide and reactive nitrogen species may have important physiological significance in necrotrophic host pathogen interaction.

  6. Endohyphal bacterium enhances production of indole-3-acetic acid by a foliar fungal endophyte.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michele T Hoffman

    Full Text Available Numerous plant pathogens, rhizosphere symbionts, and endophytic bacteria and yeasts produce the important phytohormone indole-3-acetic acid (IAA, often with profound effects on host plants. However, to date IAA production has not been documented among foliar endophytes -- the diverse guild of primarily filamentous Ascomycota that live within healthy, above-ground tissues of all plant species studied thus far. Recently bacteria that live within hyphae of endophytes (endohyphal bacteria have been detected, but their effects have not been studied previously. Here we show not only that IAA is produced in vitro by a foliar endophyte (here identified as Pestalotiopsis aff. neglecta, Xylariales, but that IAA production is enhanced significantly when the endophyte hosts an endohyphal bacterium (here identified as Luteibacter sp., Xanthomonadales. Both the endophyte and the endophyte/bacterium complex appear to rely on an L-tryptophan dependent pathway for IAA synthesis. The bacterium can be isolated from the fungus when the symbiotic complex is cultivated at 36°C. In pure culture the bacterium does not produce IAA. Culture filtrate from the endophyte-bacterium complex significantly enhances growth of tomato in vitro relative to controls and to filtrate from the endophyte alone. Together these results speak to a facultative symbiosis between an endophyte and endohyphal bacterium that strongly influences IAA production, providing a new framework in which to explore endophyte-plant interactions.

  7. [CONTENT OF TRANS FATTY ACIDS IN FOOD PRODUCTS IN SPAIN].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robledo de Dios, Teresa; Dal Re Saavedra, M Ángeles; Villar Villalba, Carmen; Pérez-Farinós, Napoleón

    2015-09-01

    trans fatty acids are associated to several health disorders, as ischemic heart disease or diabetes mellitus. to assess the content of trans fatty acids in products in Spain, and the percentage of trans fatty acids respecting total fatty acids. 443 food products were acquired in Spain, and they were classified into groups. The content in fatty acids was analyzed using gas chromatography. Estimates of central tendency and variability of the content of trans fatty acids in each food group were computed (in g of trans fatty acids/100 g of product). The percentage of trans fatty acids respecting total fatty acids was calculated in each group. 443 products were grouped into 42 groups. Median of trans fatty acids was less than 0.55 g / 100 g of product in all groups except one. 83 % of groups had less than 2 % of trans fatty acids, and 71 % of groups had less than 1 %. the content of trans fatty acids in Spain is low, and it currently doesn't play a public health problem. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

  8. Gibberellic Acid: A Key Phytohormone for Spikelet Fertility in Rice Grain Production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwon, Choon-Tak; Paek, Nam-Chon

    2016-05-23

    The phytohormone gibberellic acid (GA) has essential signaling functions in multiple processes during plant development. In the "Green Revolution", breeders developed high-yield rice cultivars that exhibited both semi-dwarfism and altered GA responses, thus improving grain production. Most studies of GA have concentrated on germination and cell elongation, but GA also has a pivotal role in floral organ development, particularly in stamen/anther formation. In rice, GA signaling plays an important role in spikelet fertility; however, the molecular genetic and biochemical mechanisms of GA in male fertility remain largely unknown. Here, we review recent progress in understanding the network of GA signaling and its connection with spikelet fertility, which is tightly associated with grain productivity in cereal crops.

  9. Influence of fine process particles enriched with metals and metalloids on Lactuca sativa L. leaf fatty acid composition following air and/or soil-plant field exposure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schreck, Eva; Laplanche, Christophe; Le Guédard, Marina; Bessoule, Jean-Jacques; Austruy, Annabelle; Xiong, Tiantian; Foucault, Yann; Dumat, Camille

    2013-08-01

    We investigate the effect of both foliar and root uptake of a mixture of metal(loid)s on the fatty acid composition of plant leaves. Our objectives are to determine whether both contamination pathways have a similar effect and whether they interact. Lactuca sativa L. were exposed to fine process particles enriched with metal(loid)s in an industrial area. Data from a first experiment were used to conduct an exploratory statistical analysis which findings were successfully cross-validated by using the data from a second one. Both foliar and root pathways impact plant leaf fatty acid composition and do not interact. Z index (dimensionless quantity), weighted product of fatty acid concentration ratios was built up from the statistical analyses. It provides new insights on the mechanisms involved in metal uptake and phytotoxicity. Plant leaf fatty acid composition is a robust and fruitful approach to detect and understand the effects of metal(loid) contamination on plants. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Production of Plant Phthalate and its Hydrogenated Derivative from Bio-Based Platform Chemicals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Rui; Lu, Fang; Si, Xiaoqin; Jiang, Huifang; Huang, Qianqian; Yu, Weiqiang; Kong, Xiangtao; Xu, Jie

    2018-04-06

    Direct transformation of bio-based platform chemicals into aromatic dicarboxylic acids and their derivatives, which are widely used for the manufacture of polymers, is of significant importance for the sustainable development of the plastics industry. However, limited successful chemical processes have been reported. This study concerns a sustainable route for the production of phthalate and its hydrogenated derivative from bio-based malic acid and erythritol. The key Diels-Alder reaction is applied to build a substituted cyclohexene structure. The dehydration reaction of malic acid affords fumaric acid with 96.6 % yield, which could be used as the dienophile, and 1,3-butadiene generated in situ through erythritol deoxydehydration serves as the diene. Starting from erythritol and dibutyl fumarate, a 74.3 % yield of dibutyl trans-4-cyclohexene-1,2-dicarboxylate is obtained. The palladium-catalyzed dehydrogenation of the cycloadduct gives a 77.8 % yield of dibutyl phthalate. Dibutyl trans-cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylate could be formed in nearly 100 % yield under mild conditions by hydrogenation of the cycloadduct. Furthermore, fumaric acid and fumarate, with trans configurations, were found to be better dienophiles for this Diels-Alder reaction than maleic acid and maleate, with cis configuration, based on the experimental and computational results. This new route will pave the way for the production of environmental friendly plastic materials from plants. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  11. Benzoic acid fermentation from starch and cellulose via a plant-like β-oxidation pathway in Streptomyces maritimus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noda Shuhei

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Benzoic acid is one of the most useful aromatic compounds. Despite its versatility and simple structure, benzoic acid production using microbes has not been reported previously. Streptomyces are aerobic, Gram-positive, mycelia-forming soil bacteria, and are known to produce various kinds of antibiotics composed of many aromatic residues. S. maritimus possess a complex amino acid modification pathway and can serve as a new platform microbe to produce aromatic building-block compounds. In this study, we carried out benzoate fermentation using S. maritimus. In order to enhance benzoate productivity using cellulose as the carbon source, we constructed endo-glucanase secreting S. maritimus. Results After 4 days of cultivation using glucose, cellobiose, or starch as a carbon source, the maximal level of benzoate reached 257, 337, and 460 mg/l, respectively. S. maritimus expressed β-glucosidase and high amylase-retaining activity compared to those of S. lividans and S. coelicolor. In addition, for effective benzoate production from cellulosic materials, we constructed endo-glucanase-secreting S. maritimus. This transformant efficiently degraded the phosphoric acid swollen cellulose (PASC and then produced 125 mg/l benzoate. Conclusions Wild-type S. maritimus produce benzoate via a plant-like β-oxidation pathway and can assimilate various carbon sources for benzoate production. In order to encourage cellulose degradation and improve benzoate productivity from cellulose, we constructed endo-glucanase-secreting S. maritimus. Using this transformant, we also demonstrated the direct fermentation of benzoate from cellulose. To achieve further benzoate productivity, the L-phenylalanine availability needs to be improved in future.

  12. Biosynthesis of 14C-labelled erucic acid by means of rape plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meisgeier, G.; Eckert, H.; Mueller, H.

    1991-01-01

    For the biosynthetic preparation of 14 C-erucic adid (C 21 H 41 COOH) by means of rape plants cv. sollux the plants were supplied with 14 CO 2 and additionally fed with 14 C-Sodium acetate after anthesis. After saponification of the extracted lipids the erucic acid was isolated and purified. The substance was identified by gas chromatography. The incorporation of the applied radioactive (34 MBq 14 CO 2 ; 37 MBq 14 C-natrium acetate) into the fatty acids amounted to 1,2 per cent. The erucic acid could be isolated from the fatty acids mixture with a specific radioactivity of 1,001 MBq/mmol and a purity of 97,2 per cent. (orig.) [de

  13. Availability of lignocellulosic feedstocks for lactic acid production - Feedstock availability, lactic acid production potential and selection criteria

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bakker, R.R.C.

    2013-01-01

    The overall objective of this study is to assess the worldwide availability and suitability of agricultural residues for lactic acid production, based on fermentation of carbohydrates. The study focuses on lignocellulosic biomass that is produced as a by-product of agricultural production. The

  14. Assimilation and transformation of benzene by higher plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Durmishidze, S V; Ugrekhelidze, D Sh; Dzhikiya, A N

    1974-01-01

    Higher plants are capable of assimilating benzene, the molecules of which are subjected to deep chemical transformations; the products of its metabolism move along the plant. Taking part in total metabolism, carbon atoms of benzene molecules incorporate into composition of low-molecular compounds of the plant cell. The bulk of benzene carbon incorporates into composition of organic acids and a comparatively small part - into composition of amino acids. In the metabolism process benzene carbon localizes mainly in the chloroplasts. Phenol, muconic acid and CO/sub 2/ are isolated and identified from the products of benzene enzymatic oxidation. A range of benzene assimilation by higher plants is extremely wide. 9 references, 5 tables.

  15. Lactic acid Production with in situ Extraction in Membrane Bioreactor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hamidreza Ghafouri Taleghani

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Background and Objective: Lactic acid is widely used in the food, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The major problems associated with lactic acid production are substrate and end-product inhibition, and by-product formation. Membrane technologyrepresents one of the most effective processes for lactic acid production. The aim of this work is to increase cell density and lactic acid productivity due to reduced inhibition effect of substrate and product in membrane bioreactor.Material and Methods: In this work, lactic acid was produced from lactose in membrane bioreactor. A laboratory scale membrane bioreactor was designed and fabricated. Five types of commercial membranes were tested at the same operating conditions (transmembrane pressure: 500 KPa and temperature: 25°C. The effects of initial lactose concentration and dilution rate on biomass growth, lactic acid production and substrate utilization were evaluated.Results and Conclusion: The high lactose retention of 79% v v-1 and low lactic acid retention of 22% v v-1 were obtained with NF1 membrane; therefore, this membrane was selected for membrane bioreactor. The maximal productivity of 17.1 g l-1 h-1 was obtainedwith the lactic acid concentration of 71.5 g l-1 at the dilution rate of 0.24 h−1. The maximum concentration of lactic acid was obtained at the dilution rate of 0.04 h−1. The inhibiting effect of lactic acid was not observed at high initial lactose concentration. The critical lactose concentration at which the cell growth severely hampered was 150 g l-1. This study proved that membrane bioreactor had great advantages such as elimination of substrate and product inhibition, high concentration of process substrate, high cell density,and high lactic acid productivity.Conflict of interest: There is no conflict of interest.

  16. 78 FR 15753 - Maintenance, Testing, and Replacement of Vented Lead-Acid Storage Batteries for Nuclear Power Plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-12

    ...-Acid Storage Batteries for Nuclear Power Plants AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Draft...-Acid Storage Batteries for Nuclear Power Plants.'' The draft guide describes methods that the NRC staff..., testing, and replacement of vented lead-acid storage batteries in nuclear power plants. DATES: Submit...

  17. Pinellas Plant facts. [Products, processes, laboratory facilities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1986-09-01

    This plant was built in 1956 in response to a need for the manufacture of neutron generators, a principal component in nuclear weapons. The neutron generators consist of a miniaturized linear ion accelerator assembled with the pulsed electrical power supplies required for its operation. The ion accelerator, or neutron tube, requires ultra clean, high vacuum technology: hermetic seals between glass, ceramic, glass-ceramic, and metal materials: plus high voltage generation and measurement technology. The existence of these capabilities at the Pinellas Plant has led directly to the assignment of the lightning arrester connector, specialty capacitor, vacuum switch, and crystal resonator. Active and reserve batteries and the radioisotopically-powered thermoelectric generator draw on the materials measurement and controls technologies which are required to ensure neutron generator life. A product development and production capability in alumina ceramics, cermet (electrical) feedthroughs, and glass ceramics has become a specialty of the plant; the laboratories monitor the materials and processes used by the plant's commercial suppliers of ferroelectric ceramics. In addition to the manufacturing facility, a production development capability is maintained at the Pinellas Plant.

  18. Planning product quality: An example - ornamental plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kovačević Miodrag

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available The industry of ornamental plants is a subject of quality planning. The quality plan is a document setting out the specific quality practices in ornamental plants production. That plan introduce organizational structure procedures, processes and resources needed to implement quality in life cycle of product chain. For engineers it represents a new tool.

  19. PLANT-MICROBIAL INTERACTIONS IN THE RHIZOSPHERE – STRATEGIES FOR PLANT GROWTH-PROMOTION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marius Stefan

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR are a group of bacteria that can actively colonize plant rootsand enhance plant growth using different mechanisms: production of plant growth regulators like indoleacetic acid,gibberellic acid, cytokinins and ethylene(Zahir et al., 2003, providing the host plant with fixed nitrogen, solubilizationof soil phosphorus, enhance Fe uptake, biocontrol, reducing the concentration of heavy metals. PGPR are perfectcandidates to be used as biofertilizers – eco-friendly alternative to common applied chemical fertilizer in today’sagriculture. The most important benefit of PGPR usage is related to the reduction of environmental pollution in conditionof increasing crop yield. This review presents the main mechanisms involved in PGPR promotion of plant growth.

  20. Uranium production from phosphates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ketzinel, Z.; Folkman, Y.

    1979-05-01

    According to estimates of the world's uranium consumption, exploitation of most rich sources is expected by the 1980's. Forecasts show that the rate of uranium consumption will increase towards the end of the century. It is therefore desirable to exploit poor sources not yet in use. In the near future, the most reasonable source for developing uranium is phosphate rock. Uranium reserves in phosphates are estimated at a few million tons. Production of uranium from phosphates is as a by-product of phosphate rock processing and phosphoric acid production; it will then be possible to save the costs incurred in crushing and dissolving the rock when calculating uranium production costs. Estimates show that the U.S. wastes about 3,000 tons of uranium per annum in phosphoric acid based fertilisers. Studies have also been carried out in France, Yugoslavia and India. In Israel, during the 1950's, a small plant was operated in Haifa by 'Chemical and Phosphates'. Uranium processes have also been developed by linking with the extraction processes at Arad. Currently there is almost no activity on this subject because there are no large phosphoric acid plants which would enable production to take place on a reasonable scale. Discussions are taking place about the installation of a plant for phosphoric acid production utilising the 'wet process', producing 200 to 250,000 tons P 2 O 5 per annum. It is necessary to combine these facilities with uranium production plant. (author)

  1. Improvement of pea biomass and seed productivity by simultaneous increase of phloem and embryo loading with amino acids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Lizhi; Garneau, Matthew G; Majumdar, Rajtilak; Grant, Jan; Tegeder, Mechthild

    2015-01-01

    The development of sink organs such as fruits and seeds strongly depends on the amount of nitrogen that is moved within the phloem from photosynthetic-active source leaves to the reproductive sinks. In many plant species nitrogen is transported as amino acids. In pea (Pisum sativum L.), source to sink partitioning of amino acids requires at least two active transport events mediated by plasma membrane-localized proteins, and these are: (i) amino acid phloem loading; and (ii) import of amino acids into the seed cotyledons via epidermal transfer cells. As each of these transport steps might potentially be limiting to efficient nitrogen delivery to the pea embryo, we manipulated both simultaneously. Additional copies of the pea amino acid permease PsAAP1 were introduced into the pea genome and expression of the transporter was targeted to the sieve element-companion cell complexes of the leaf phloem and to the epidermis of the seed cotyledons. The transgenic pea plants showed increased phloem loading and embryo loading of amino acids resulting in improved long distance transport of nitrogen, sink development and seed protein accumulation. Analyses of root and leaf tissues further revealed that genetic manipulation positively affected root nitrogen uptake, as well as primary source and sink metabolism. Overall, the results suggest that amino acid phloem loading exerts regulatory control over pea biomass production and seed yield, and that import of amino acids into the cotyledons limits seed protein levels. © 2014 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. Fumaric acid production using renewable resources from biodiesel and cane sugar production processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papadaki, Aikaterini; Papapostolou, Harris; Alexandri, Maria; Kopsahelis, Nikolaos; Papanikolaou, Seraphim; de Castro, Aline Machado; Freire, Denise M G; Koutinas, Apostolis A

    2018-04-13

    The microbial production of fumaric acid by Rhizopus arrhizus NRRL 2582 has been evaluated using soybean cake from biodiesel production processes and very high polarity (VHP) sugar from sugarcane mills. Soybean cake was converted into a nutrient-rich hydrolysate via a two-stage bioprocess involving crude enzyme production via solid state fermentations (SSF) of either Aspergillus oryzae or R. arrhizus cultivated on soybean cake followed by enzymatic hydrolysis of soybean cake. The soybean cake hydrolysate produced using crude enzymes derived via SSF of R. arrhizus was supplemented with VHP sugar and evaluated using different initial free amino nitrogen (FAN) concentrations (100, 200, and 400 mg/L) in fed-batch cultures for fumaric acid production. The highest fumaric acid concentration (27.3 g/L) and yield (0.7 g/g of total consumed sugars) were achieved when the initial FAN concentration was 200 mg/L. The combination of VHP sugar with soybean cake hydrolysate derived from crude enzymes produced by SSF of A. oryzae at 200 mg/L initial FAN concentration led to the production of 40 g/L fumaric acid with a yield of 0.86 g/g of total consumed sugars. The utilization of sugarcane molasses led to low fumaric acid production by R. arrhizus, probably due to the presence of various minerals and phenolic compounds. The promising results achieved through the valorization of VHP sugar and soybean cake suggest that a focused study on molasses pretreatment could lead to enhanced fumaric acid production.

  3. Experimental and kinetic modelling studies on the acid-catalysed hydrolysis of the water hyacinth plant to levulinic acid

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Girisuta, B.; Danon, B.; Manurung, R.; Janssen, L. P. B. M.; Heeres, H. J.

    2008-01-01

    A comprehensive experimental and modelling study on the acid-catalysed hydrolysis of the water hyacinth plant (Eichhornia crassipes) to optimise the yield of levulinic acid (LA) is reported (T = 150-175 degrees C, C-H2SO4 - 0.1-1 M, water hyacinth intake = 1-5 wt%). At high acid concentrations (>

  4. Strain-related acid production by oral streptococci

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    de Soet, JJ; Nyvad, Bente; Kilian, Mogens

    2000-01-01

    Acid production, in particular at low pH, is thought to be an important ecological determinant in dental caries. The aim of the present study was to determine the acid producing capability at different pH levels of 47 streptococcal strains, representing 9 species, isolated from human dental plaque....... The bacteria were grown until mid log-phase under anaerobic conditions and acid production was measured in a pH-stat system at pH 7.0, 6.0, 5.5 and 5.0. At all pH values, the mean velocity of acid production (V(ap)) by Streptococcus mutans and S. sobrinus was significantly higher (p... that of the other oral streptococci, including S. mitis, S. oralis, S. gordonii, S. sanguis, S. intermedius, S. anginosus, S. constellatus, and S. vestibularis. However, the V(ap) of some strains of S. mitis biovar 1 and S. oralis, particularly at pH values of 7.0 and 6.0, exceeded that of some strains of S. mutans...

  5. Plants for water recycling, oxygen regeneration and food production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bubenheim, D. L.

    1991-01-01

    During long-duration space missions that require recycling and regeneration of life support materials the major human wastes to be converted to usable forms are CO2, hygiene water, urine and feces. A Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) relies on the air revitalization, water purification and food production capabilities of higher plants to rejuvenate human wastes and replenish the life support materials. The key processes in such a system are photosynthesis, whereby green plants utilize light energy to produce food and oxygen while removing CO2 from the atmosphere, and transpiration, the evaporation of water from the plant. CELSS research has emphasized the food production capacity and efforts to minimize the area/volume of higher plants required to satisfy all human life support needs. Plants are a dynamic system capable of being manipulated to favour the supply of individual products as desired. The size and energy required for a CELSS that provides virtually all human needs are determined by the food production capacity. Growing conditions maximizing food production do not maximize transpiration of water; conditions favoring transpiration and scaling to recycle only water significantly reduces the area, volume, and energy inputs per person. Likewise, system size can be adjusted to satisfy the air regeneration needs. Requirements of a waste management system supplying inputs to maintain maximum plant productivity are clear. The ability of plants to play an active role in waste processing and the consequence in terms of degraded plant performance are not well characterized. Plant-based life support systems represent the only potential for self sufficiency and food production in an extra-terrestrial habitat.

  6. Uric acid disrupts hypochlorous acid production and the bactericidal activity of HL-60 cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carvalho, Larissa A C; Lopes, João P P B; Kaihami, Gilberto H; Silva, Railmara P; Bruni-Cardoso, Alexandre; Baldini, Regina L; Meotti, Flavia C

    2018-06-01

    Uric acid is the end product of purine metabolism in humans and is an alternative physiological substrate for myeloperoxidase. Oxidation of uric acid by this enzyme generates uric acid free radical and urate hydroperoxide, a strong oxidant and potentially bactericide agent. In this study, we investigated whether the oxidation of uric acid and production of urate hydroperoxide would affect the killing activity of HL-60 cells differentiated into neutrophil-like cells (dHL-60) against a highly virulent strain (PA14) of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. While bacterial cell counts decrease due to dHL-60 killing, incubation with uric acid inhibits this activity, also decreasing the release of the inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF- α). In a myeloperoxidase/Cl - /H 2 O 2 cell-free system, uric acid inhibited the production of HOCl and bacterial killing. Fluorescence microscopy showed that uric acid also decreased the levels of HOCl produced by dHL-60 cells, while significantly increased superoxide production. Uric acid did not alter the overall oxidative status of dHL-60 cells as measured by the ratio of reduced (GSH) and oxidized (GSSG) glutathione. Our data show that uric acid impairs the killing activity of dHL-60 cells likely by competing with chloride by myeloperoxidase catalysis, decreasing HOCl production. Despite diminishing HOCl, uric acid probably stimulates the formation of other oxidants, maintaining the overall oxidative status of the cells. Altogether, our results demonstrated that HOCl is, indeed, the main relevant oxidant against bacteria and deviation of myeloperoxidase activity to produce other oxidants hampers dHL-60 killing activity. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Succinic acid production from acid hydrolysate of corn fiber by Actinobacillus succinogenes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Kequan; Jiang, Min; Wei, Ping; Yao, Jiaming; Wu, Hao

    2010-01-01

    Dilute acid hydrolysate of corn fiber was used as carbon source for the production of succinic acid by Actinobacillus succinogenes NJ113. The optimized hydrolysis conditions were obtained by orthogonal experiments. When corn fiber particles were of 20 mesh in size and treated with 1.0% sulfuric acid at 121 degrees C for 2 h, the total sugar yield could reach 63.3%. It was found that CaCO(3) neutralization combined with activated carbon adsorption was an effective method to remove fermentation inhibitors especially furfural that presented in the acid hydrolysate of corn fiber. Only 5.2% of the total sugar was lost, while 91.9% of furfural was removed. The yield of succinic acid was higher than 72.0% with the detoxified corn fiber hydrolysate as the carbon source in anaerobic bottles or 7.5 L fermentor cultures. It was proved that the corn fiber hydrolysate could be an alternative to glucose for the production of succinic acid by A. succinogenes NJ113.

  8. New CHP plant for a rubber products manufacturer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vila, R.; Martí, C.

    2016-01-01

    At the end of 2014 the company Industrias de Hule Galgo decided to undertake the installation project of an efficient CHP plant for its production plant, with the aim of bringing down energy costs and improving the company’s competitive position in the market. The new plant has already started its first operational phase. The project has comprised the installation of a single cycle with gas-powered gensets providing a total electrical capacity of 6.6 MW. This provides the necessary thermal oil for the production plant; covers 100% of the electrical power consumed by the industrial complex; and also generates cooling water, giving improved production capacity by supercooling the extrusion system. To execute these works, Industrias de Hule Galgo contracted the services of engineering company AESA to provide the engineering, procurement and construction of the CHP plant. (Author)

  9. Production and Recovery of Pyruvic Acid: Recent Advances

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pal, Dharm; Keshav, Amit; Mazumdar, Bidyut; Kumar, Awanish; Uslu, Hasan

    2017-12-01

    Pyruvic acid is an important keto-carboxylic acid and can be manufactured by both chemical synthesis and biotechnological routes. In the present paper an overview of recent developments and challenges in various existing technique for the production and recovery of pyruvic acid from fermentation broth or from waste streams has been presented. The main obstacle in biotechnological production of pyruvic acid is development of suitable microorganism which can provide high yield and selectivity. On the other hand, technical limitation in recovery of pyruvic acid from fermentation broth is that, it could not be separated as other carboxylic acid in the form of salts by addition of alkali. Besides, pyruvic acid cannot be crystallized. Commercial separation by distillation is very expensive because pyruvic acid decomposes at higher temperature. It is also chemically reactive due to its peculiar molecular structure and has tendency to polymerize. Thus, at high concentration the various type of reaction leads to lower yield of the product, and hence, conventional methods are not favorable. Alternate separation technologies viable to both synthetic and biological routes are the current research areas. Latest techniques such as reactive extraction is new to the field of recovery of pyruvic acid. Recent development and future prospects in downstream processing of biochemically produced pyruvic acids has been discussed in this review article.

  10. The identification of aluminium-resistance genes provides opportunities for enhancing crop production on acid soils.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryan, P R; Tyerman, S D; Sasaki, T; Furuichi, T; Yamamoto, Y; Zhang, W H; Delhaize, E

    2011-01-01

    Acid soils restrict plant production around the world. One of the major limitations to plant growth on acid soils is the prevalence of soluble aluminium (Al(3+)) ions which can inhibit root growth at micromolar concentrations. Species that show a natural resistance to Al(3+) toxicity perform better on acid soils. Our understanding of the physiology of Al(3+) resistance in important crop plants has increased greatly over the past 20 years, largely due to the application of genetics and molecular biology. Fourteen genes from seven different species are known to contribute to Al(3+) tolerance and resistance and several additional candidates have been identified. Some of these genes account for genotypic variation within species and others do not. One mechanism of resistance which has now been identified in a range of species relies on the efflux of organic anions such as malate and citrate from roots. The genes controlling this trait are members of the ALMT and MATE families which encode membrane proteins that facilitate organic anion efflux across the plasma membrane. Identification of these and other resistance genes provides opportunities for enhancing the Al(3+) resistance of plants by marker-assisted breeding and through biotechnology. Most attempts to enhance Al(3+) resistance in plants with genetic engineering have targeted genes that are induced by Al(3+) stress or that are likely to increase organic anion efflux. In the latter case, studies have either enhanced organic anion synthesis or increased organic anion transport across the plasma membrane. Recent developments in this area are summarized and the structure-function of the TaALMT1 protein from wheat is discussed.

  11. Succinic acid production by escherichia coli under anaerobic fermentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El Shafey, H.M.; Meleigy, S.A.

    2009-01-01

    The effect of alteration of growth conditions, addition of different sodium salts, and irradiation by gamma rays on succinic acid production by E. coli was studied. Twenty one isolates were obtained from buffalo's rumen, and anaerobic screening of the isolated bacterial strains showed the abilities of seventeen strains to produce succinic acid. The two bacterial strains having highest succinic acid production were identified as escherichia coli SP9 and SP16, and were selected for further studies. Results showed that growth conditions yielded highest succinic acid production for the two isolates were: 72 hours incubation, 37 degree c incubation temperature, initial ph of the fermentation medium 6.0,and 3% (v/v)inoculum size. Addition of 5 mm of nine different sodium salts to the fermentation medium showed stimulating effect on succinic acid production of the nine tried sodium salts, sodium carbonate was found to have the highest enhancing effect, especially if used at 15 mm concentration. Gamma irradiation doses tried were in the range of (0.25-1.50 kGy). An enhancing effect on succinic acid production was shown in the range of 0.25-0.75 kGy with a maximal production at 0.75 kGy (giving 8.36% increase) for e.coli SP9, and in the range of 0.25-1.00 kGy with a maximal production at 1.0 kGy (7.60% increase) for e.coli SP16. higher gamma doses led to a decrease in the enhancing effect. An overall increase in the succinic acid yield of 79.45% and 94.26% for e. coli SP9 and SP16, respectively, was achieved in implicating all optimized factors for succinic acid production in one time

  12. Application of plant cell and tissue culture for the production of phytochemicals in medicinal plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pant, Bijaya

    2014-01-01

    Approximately 80% of the world inhabitants depend on the medicinal plants in the form of traditional formulations for their primary health care system well as in the treatment of a number of diseases since the ancient time. Many commercially used drugs have come from the information of indigenous knowledge of plants and their folk uses. Linking of the indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants to modern research activities provides a new reliable approach, for the discovery of novel drugs much more effectively than with random collection. Increase in population and increasing demand of plant products along with illegal trade are causing depletion of medicinal plants and many are threatened in natural habitat. Plant tissue culture technique has proved potential alternative for the production of desirable bioactive components from plants, to produce the enough amounts of plant material that is needed and for the conservation of threatened species. Different plant tissue culture systems have been extensively studied to improve and enhance the production of plant chemicals in various medicinal plants.

  13. PRODUCTION OF TRIFLUOROACETIC ACID COMPOUNDS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haworth, W.N.; Stacey, M.

    1949-08-30

    A process is described for the preparation of trifluoroacetic acid. Acetone vapor diluted wlth nitrogen and fluorine also diluted with nltrogen are fed separately at a temperature of about 210 deg C into a reaction vessel containing a catalyst mass selected from-the group consisting of silver and gold. The temperature in the reaction vessel is maintained in the range of 200 deg to 250 deg C. The reaction product, trifluoroacetyl fluoride, is absorbed in aqueous alkali solution. Trifluoroacetic acid is recovered from the solution by acidification wlth an acid such as sulfuric followed by steam distillation.

  14. Plant Natural Products Calycosin and Gallic Acid Synergistically Attenuate Neutrophil Infiltration and Subsequent Injury in Isoproterenol-Induced Myocardial Infarction: A Possible Role for Leukotriene B4 12-Hydroxydehydrogenase?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Yuanyuan; Tse, Hung Fat; Le, X. Chris; Rong, Jianhui

    2015-01-01

    Leukotriene B4 12-hydroxydehydrogenase (LTB4DH) catalyzes the oxidation of proinflammatory LTB4 into less bioactive 12-oxo-LTB4. We recently discovered that LTB4DH was induced by two different natural products in combination. We previously isolated gallic acid from Radix Paeoniae through a bioactivity-guided fractionation procedure. The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that LTB4DH inducers may suppress neutrophil-mediated inflammation in myocardial infarction. We first isolated the active compound(s) from another plant, Radix Astragali, by the similar strategy. By evaluating LTB4DH induction, we identified calycosin and formononetin from Radix Astragali by HPLC-ESI-MS technique. We confirmed that gallic acid and commercial calycosin or formononetin could synergistically induce LTB4DH expression in HepG2 cells and human neutrophils. Moreover, calycosin and gallic acid attenuated the effects of LTB4 on the survival and chemotaxis of neutrophil cell culture. We further demonstrated that calycosin and gallic acid synergistically suppressed neutrophil infiltration and protected cardiac integrity in the isoproterenol-induced mice model of myocardial infarction. Calycosin and gallic acid dramatically suppressed isoproterenol-induced increase in myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) level. Collectively, our results suggest that LTB4DH inducers (i.e., calycosin and gallic acid) may be a novel combined therapy for the treatment of neutrophil-mediated myocardial injury. PMID:26265982

  15. Production of highly unsaturated fatty acids using agro-processing by-products

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Jacobs, A

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available The South African agro-processing industry generates millions of tons of cereal derived by-products annually. The by-products from biofuel production are expected to increase these volumes dramatically. Highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA...

  16. Amino acid-sensing ion channels in plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Spalding, Edgar P. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)

    2014-08-12

    The title of our project is “Amino acid-sensing ion channels in plants”. Its goals are two-fold: to determine the molecular functions of glutamate receptor-like (GLR) proteins, and to elucidate their biological roles (physiological or developmental) in plants. Here is our final technical report. We were highly successful in two of the three aims, modestly successful in the third.

  17. Microbial Production of Malic Acid from Biofuel-Related Coproducts and Biomass

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas P. West

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The dicarboxylic acid malic acid synthesized as part of the tricarboxylic acid cycle can be produced in excess by certain microorganisms. Although malic acid is produced industrially to a lesser extent than citric acid, malic acid has industrial applications in foods and pharmaceuticals as an acidulant among other uses. Only recently has the production of this organic acid from coproducts of industrial bioprocessing been investigated. It has been shown that malic acid can be synthesized by microbes from coproducts generated during biofuel production. More specifically, malic acid has been shown to be synthesized by species of the fungus Aspergillus on thin stillage, a coproduct from corn-based ethanol production, and on crude glycerol, a coproduct from biodiesel production. In addition, the fungus Ustilago trichophora has also been shown to produce malic acid from crude glycerol. With respect to bacteria, a strain of the thermophilic actinobacterium Thermobifida fusca has been shown to produce malic acid from cellulose and treated lignocellulosic biomass. An alternate method of producing malic acid is to use agricultural biomass converted to syngas or biooil as a substrate for fungal bioconversion. Production of poly(β-l-malic acid by strains of Aureobasidium pullulans from agricultural biomass has been reported where the polymalic acid is subsequently hydrolyzed to malic acid. This review examines applications of malic acid, metabolic pathways that synthesize malic acid and microbial malic acid production from biofuel-related coproducts, lignocellulosic biomass and poly(β-l-malic acid.

  18. Bioengineering of the Plant Culture of Capsicum frutescens with Vanillin Synthase Gene for the Production of Vanillin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chee, Marcus Jenn Yang; Lycett, Grantley W; Khoo, Teng-Jin; Chin, Chiew Foan

    2017-01-01

    Production of vanillin by bioengineering has gained popularity due to consumer demand toward vanillin produced by biological systems. Natural vanillin from vanilla beans is very expensive to produce compared to its synthetic counterpart. Current bioengineering works mainly involve microbial biotechnology. Therefore, alternative means to the current approaches are constantly being explored. This work describes the use of vanillin synthase (VpVAN), to bioconvert ferulic acid to vanillin in a plant system. The VpVAN enzyme had been shown to directly convert ferulic acid and its glucoside into vanillin and its glucoside, respectively. As the ferulic acid precursor and vanillin were found to be the intermediates in the phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathway of Capsicum species, this work serves as a proof-of-concept for vanillin production using Capsicum frutescens (C. frutescens or hot chili pepper). The cells of C. frutescens were genetically transformed with a codon optimized VpVAN gene via biolistics. Transformed explants were selected and regenerated into callus. Successful integration of the gene cassette into the plant genome was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction. High-performance liquid chromatography was used to quantify the phenolic compounds detected in the callus tissues. The vanillin content of transformed calli was 0.057% compared to 0.0003% in untransformed calli.

  19. Biofilm formation and indole-3-acetic acid production by two rhizospheric unicellular cyanobacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmed, Mehboob; Stal, Lucas J; Hasnain, Shahida

    2014-08-01

    Microorganisms that live in the rhizosphere play a pivotal role in the functioning and maintenance of soil ecosystems. The study of rhizospheric cyanobacteria has been hampered by the difficulty to culture and maintain them in the laboratory. The present work investigated the production of the plant hormone indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and the potential of biofilm formation on the rhizoplane of pea plants by two cyanobacterial strains, isolated from rice rhizosphere. The unicellular cyanobacteria Chroococcidiopsis sp. MMG-5 and Synechocystis sp. MMG-8 that were isolated from a rice rhizosphere, were investigated. Production of IAA by Chroococcidiopsis sp. MMG-5 and Synechocystis sp. MMG-8 was measured under experimental conditions (pH and light). The bioactivity of the cyanobacterial auxin was demonstrated through the alteration of the rooting pattern of Pisum sativum seedlings. The increase in the concentration of L-tryptophan and the time that this amino acid was present in the medium resulted in a significant enhancement of the synthesis of IAA (r > 0.900 at p = 0.01). There was also a significant correlation between the concentration of IAA in the supernatant of the cyanobacteria cultures and the root length and number of the pea seedlings. Observations made by confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed the presence of cyanobacteria on the surface of the roots and also provided evidence for the penetration of the cyanobacteria in the endorhizosphere. We show that the synthesis of IAA by Chroococcidiopsis sp. MMG-5 and Synechocystis sp. MMG-8 occurs under different environmental conditions and that the auxin is important for the development of the seedling roots and for establishing an intimate symbiosis between cyanobacteria and host plants.

  20. Production of caffeoylmalic acid from glucose in engineered Escherichia coli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Tianzhen; Zhou, Wei; Bi, Huiping; Zhuang, Yibin; Zhang, Tongcun; Liu, Tao

    2018-07-01

    To achieve biosynthesis of caffeoylmalic acid from glucose in engineered Escherichia coli. We constructed the biosynthetic pathway of caffeoylmalic acid in E. coli by co-expression of heterologous genes RgTAL, HpaBC, At4CL2 and HCT2. To enhance the production of caffeoylmalic acid, we optimized the tyrosine metabolic pathway of E. coli to increase the supply of the substrate caffeic acid. Consequently, an E. coli-E. coli co-culture system was used for the efficient production of caffeoylmalic acid. The final titer of caffeoylmalic acid reached 570.1 mg/L. Microbial production of caffeoylmalic acid using glucose has application potential. In addition, microbial co-culture is an efficient tool for producing caffeic acid esters.

  1. Coordinations between gene modules control the operation of plant amino acid metabolic networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Galili Gad

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Being sessile organisms, plants should adjust their metabolism to dynamic changes in their environment. Such adjustments need particular coordination in branched metabolic networks in which a given metabolite can be converted into multiple other metabolites via different enzymatic chains. In the present report, we developed a novel "Gene Coordination" bioinformatics approach and use it to elucidate adjustable transcriptional interactions of two branched amino acid metabolic networks in plants in response to environmental stresses, using publicly available microarray results. Results Using our "Gene Coordination" approach, we have identified in Arabidopsis plants two oppositely regulated groups of "highly coordinated" genes within the branched Asp-family network of Arabidopsis plants, which metabolizes the amino acids Lys, Met, Thr, Ile and Gly, as well as a single group of "highly coordinated" genes within the branched aromatic amino acid metabolic network, which metabolizes the amino acids Trp, Phe and Tyr. These genes possess highly coordinated adjustable negative and positive expression responses to various stress cues, which apparently regulate adjustable metabolic shifts between competing branches of these networks. We also provide evidence implying that these highly coordinated genes are central to impose intra- and inter-network interactions between the Asp-family and aromatic amino acid metabolic networks as well as differential system interactions with other growth promoting and stress-associated genome-wide genes. Conclusion Our novel Gene Coordination elucidates that branched amino acid metabolic networks in plants are regulated by specific groups of highly coordinated genes that possess adjustable intra-network, inter-network and genome-wide transcriptional interactions. We also hypothesize that such transcriptional interactions enable regulatory metabolic adjustments needed for adaptation to the stresses.

  2. Experiences from the acid stimulation of geothermal aquifers and plants; Erfahrungen bei der Saeurestimulation geothermaler Aquifere und Anlagen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wolfgramm, Markus; Birner, Johannes; Lenz, Gerhard; Hoffmann, Frank; Rinke, Manfred [Geothermie Neubrandenburg GmbH, Berlin (Germany)

    2012-10-16

    In the course of the exploration of geothermal aquifers up to the operation of geothermal power plants, the utilization of acids and other substances such as inhibitors or powerful oxidants to secure enhanced productivities are of great significance. At the molasses basin, drillings which explore the carbonates of the Malm are stimulated repeatedly by means of hydrochloric acid after the sinking. Information from the drilling operation such as mud losses and cutting analyses are the basis for the design of stimulations. The subsequent implementation of test operations (cleaning lift, casing-lift-test in several stages) is used to estimate the short production run and the efficiency of the specific acidification. It also can be decided whether further acidifications are reasonable. Within the operation of geothermal power plants, different failures occur in the drillings as well as in the aboveground facility components. Failures can be minimized by means of the production management and inhibitors. Nevertheless, not all reasons of the scaling can be excluded fully so that regular measures are necessary in order to eliminate the failures. These measures range from mechanical methods through the combined utilization of mechanical-chemical procedures up to different methods of acidification. Beside the so-called soft acidification, stimulations via 'coiled tubing' or via utilization of acid threads with 'packer' also are possible. The investigation of the causes of the operational disturbances as well as the correct planning of the measures are significant for the application of the said stimulation processes.

  3. Occurrence and fate of perfluorinated acids in two wastewater treatment plants in Shanghai, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Chaojie; Yan, Hong; Li, Fei; Zhou, Qi

    2015-02-01

    Perfluorinated acids (PFAs) have drawn much attention due to their environmental persistence, ubiquitous existence, and bioaccumulation potential. The discharge of wastewater effluent from municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is a significant source of PFAs to the environment. In this study, wastewater and sludge samples were collected from two WWTPs in Shanghai, China, to investigate the contamination level and fate of PFAs in different stages of processing. The total concentrations of PFAs (∑PFAs) in influent from plants A and B were 2,452 and 292 ng L(-1), respectively. Perfluoropentanoic acid (1,520 ± 80 ng L(-1) in plant A and 89.2 ± 12.1 ng L(-1) in plant B) was the predominant PFA in influent waters, followed by perfluorooctanoic acid. The concentration of ∑PFAs ranged from 75.0 to 126.0 ng g(-1) dry weight in sludge samples from plant B, with perfluorooctanesulfonic acid as the predominant contaminant. The concentrations and fate of PFAs in different WWTPs vary. The ∑PFAs entering plant A decreased significantly in the final effluent of activated sludge process, while that in plant B increased significantly in the final effluent of sequencing batch reactor system. The concentration changes could be due to the sorption onto sludge, or the degradation of PFAs precursors.

  4. Diverse urban plantings managed with sufficient resource availability can increase plant productivity and arthropod diversity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonathon eMuller

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Buildings structures and surfaces are explicitly being used to grow plants, and these ‘urban plantings’ are typically designed for aesthetic value. Urban plantings also have the potential to contribute significant ‘ecological values’ by increasing urban habitat for animals such as arthropods and by increasing plant productivity. In this study, we evaluated how the provision of these additional ecological values is affected by plant species richness; the availability of essential resources for plants, such as water, light, space; and soil characteristics. We sampled 33 plantings located on the exterior of three buildings in the urban centre of Brisbane, Australia (subtropical climatic region over two, six week sampling periods characterised by different temperature and rainfall conditions. Plant cover was estimated as a surrogate for productivity as destructive sampling of biomass was not possible. We measured weekly light levels (photosynthetically active radiation, plant CO2 assimilation, soil CO2 efflux, and arthropod diversity.Differences in plant cover were best explained by a three-way interaction of plant species richness, management water regime and sampling period. As the richness of plant species increased in a planter, productivity and total arthropod richness also increased significantly - likely due to greater habitat heterogeneity and quality. Overall we found urban plantings can provide additional ecological values if essential resources are maintained within a planter such as water, light and soil temperature. Diverse urban plantings that are managed with these principles in mind can contribute to the attraction of diverse arthropod communities, and lead to increased plant productivity within a dense urban context.

  5. [Hydrocyanic acid content in cerals and cereal products].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lehmann, G; Zinsmeister, H D; Erb, N; Neunhoeffer, O

    1979-03-01

    In the above paper for the first time a systematic study of the amount of hydrocyanic acid in grains and cereal products is reported. Among 24 analysed wheat, rye, maize and oats types, the presence of hydrocyanic acid could be identified in 19 cases in their Karyopses. Similar is the result with 28 among 31 analysed cereal products. The content of hydrocyanic acid lies between 0.1 and 45 microgram/100 gr dried mass.

  6. Gibberellic Acid: A Key Phytohormone for Spikelet Fertility in Rice Grain Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Choon-Tak Kwon

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The phytohormone gibberellic acid (GA has essential signaling functions in multiple processes during plant development. In the “Green Revolution”, breeders developed high-yield rice cultivars that exhibited both semi-dwarfism and altered GA responses, thus improving grain production. Most studies of GA have concentrated on germination and cell elongation, but GA also has a pivotal role in floral organ development, particularly in stamen/anther formation. In rice, GA signaling plays an important role in spikelet fertility; however, the molecular genetic and biochemical mechanisms of GA in male fertility remain largely unknown. Here, we review recent progress in understanding the network of GA signaling and its connection with spikelet fertility, which is tightly associated with grain productivity in cereal crops.

  7. Harnessing indigenous plant seed oil for the production of bio-fuel by an oleaginous fungus, Cunninghamella blakesleeana- JSK2, isolated from tropical soil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sukrutha, S K; Janakiraman, Savitha

    2014-01-01

    Cunninghamella blakesleeana- JSK2, a gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) producing tropical fungal isolate, was utilized as a tool to evaluate the influence of various plant seed oils on biomass, oleagenicity and bio-fuel production. The fungus accumulated 26 % total lipid of their dry biomass (2 g/l) and 13 % of GLA in its total fatty acid. Among the various plant seed oils tested as carbon sources for biotransformation studies, watermelon oil had an effect on biomass and total lipid increasing up to 9.24 g/l and 34 % respectively. Sunflower, pumpkin, and onion oil increased GLA content between 15-18 %. Interestingly, an indigenous biodiesel commodity, Pongamia pinnata oil showed tremendous effect on fatty acid profile in C. blakesleeana- JSK2, when used as a sole source of carbon. There was complete inhibition of GLA from 13 to 0 % and increase in oleic acid content, one of the key components of biodiesel to 70 % (from 20 % in control). Our results suggest the potential application of indigenous plant seed oils, particularly P. pinnata oil, for the production of economically valuable bio-fuel in oleaginous fungi in general, and C. blakesleeana- JSK2, in particular.

  8. Analysis of supply chain, scale factor, and optimum plant capacity for the production of ethanol from corn stover

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leboreiro, Jose; Hilaly, Ahmad K.

    2013-01-01

    A detailed model is used to perform a thorough analysis on ethanol production from corn stover via the dilute acid process. The biomass supply chain cost model accounts for all steps needed to source corn stover including collection, transportation, and storage. The manufacturing cost model is based on work done at NREL; attainable conversions of key process parameters are used to calculate production cost. The choice of capital investment scaling function and scaling parameter has a significant impact on the optimum plant capacity. For the widely used exponential function, the scaling factors are functions of plant capacity. The pre-exponential factor decreases with increasing plant capacity while the exponential factor increases as the plant capacity increases. The use of scaling parameters calculated for small plant capacities leads to falsely large optimum plants; data from a wide range of plant capacities is required to produce accurate results. A mathematical expression to scale capital investment for fermentation-based biorefineries is proposed which accounts for the linear scaling behavior of bio-reactors (such as saccharification vessels and fermentors) as well as the exponential nature of all other plant equipment. Ignoring the linear scaling behavior of bio-reactors leads to artificially large optimum plant capacities. The minimum production cost is found to be in the range of 789–830 $ m −3 which is significantly higher than previously reported. Optimum plant capacities are in the range of 5750–9850 Mg d −1 . The optimum plant capacity and production cost are highly sensitive to farmer participation in biomass harvest for low participation rates. -- Highlights: •A detailed model is used to perform a technoeconomic analysis for the production of ethanol from corn stover. •The capital investment scaling factors were found to be a function of plant capacity. •Bio-reactors (such as saccharification vessels and fermentors) in large size

  9. State regulation and power plant productivity: background and recommendations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1980-09-01

    This report was prepared by representatives of several state regulatory agencies. It is a guide to some of the activities currently under way in state agencies to promote increased availability of electrical generating power plants. Standard measures of plant performance are defined and the nature of data bases that report such measures is discussed. It includes reviews of current state, federal, and industry programs to enhance power plant productivity and provides detailed outlines of programs in effect in California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas. A number of actions are presented that could be adopted by state regulatory agencies, depending on local conditions. They include: develop a commission position or policy statement to encourage productivity improvements by utilities; coordinate state efforts with ongoing industry and government programs to improve the acquisition of power plant performance data and the maintenance of quality information systems; acquire the capability to perform independent analyses of power plant productivity; direct the establishment of productivity improvement programs, including explicit performance objectives for both existing and planned power plants, and a performance program; establish a program of incentives to motivate productivity improvement activities; and participate in ongoing efforts at all levels and initiate new actions to promote productivity improvements

  10. Alleviating soil acidity through plant organic compounds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anderson R. Meda

    2001-06-01

    Full Text Available A laboratory experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of water soluble plant extracts on soil acidity. The plant materials were: black oat, oil seed radish, white and blue lupin, gray and dwarf mucuna, Crotalaria spectabilis and C. breviflora, millet, pigeon pea, star grass, mato grosso grass, coffee leaves, sugar cane leaves, rice straw, and wheat straw. Plant extracts were added on soil surface in a PVC soil column at a rate of 1.0 ml min-1. Both soil and drainage water were analyzed for pH, Ca, Al, and K. Plant extracts applied on the soil surface increased soil pH, exchangeable Ca ex and Kex and decreased Al ex. Oil seed radish, black oat, and blue lupin were the best and millet the worst materials to alleviate soil acidity. Oil seed radish markedly increased Al in the drainage water. Chemical changes were associated with the concentrations of basic cations in the plant extract: the higher the concentration the greater the effects in alleviating soil acidity.Foram conduzidos experimentos de laboratórios para avaliar os efeitos de extratos de plantas solúveis em água na acidez do solo. Os materiais de plantas foram: aveia preta, nabo, tremoço branco e azul, mucuna cinza e anã, Crotalaria spectabilis e C. breviflora, milheto, guandu, grama estrela, grama mato grosso, folhas de café, folhas de cana-de-açúcar, palhada de arroz e palhada de trigo. Foi utilizado o seguinte procedimento para o extrato da planta solúvel em água: pesar 3g de material de planta, adicionar 150 ml de água, agitar por 8h e filtrar. Os extratos de plantas foram adicionados na superfície do solo em uma coluna de PVC (1 ml min-1. Após, adicionou-se água deionizada em quantidade equivalente a três volumes de poros. Os extratos de plantas aumentaram o pH, Ca e K trocável e diminuíram Al. Nabo, aveia preta e tremoço azul foram os melhores e milheto o pior material para amenizar a acidez do solo. Nabo aumentou Al na água de drenagem. As altera

  11. Novel Method of Lactic Acid Production by Electrodialysis Fermentation

    OpenAIRE

    Hongo, Motoyoshi; Nomura, Yoshiyuki; Iwahara, Masayoshi

    1986-01-01

    In lactic acid fermentation by Lactobacillus delbrueckii, the produced lactic acid affected the lactic acid productivity. Therefore, for the purpose of alleviating this inhibitory effect, an electrodialysis fermentation method which can continuously remove produced lactic acid from the fermentation broth was applied to this fermentation process. As a result, the continuation of fermentation activity was obtained, and the productivity was three times higher than in non-pH-controlled fermentati...

  12. Role of ascorbic acid and α tocopherol in alleviating salinity stress on flax plant (Linum usitatissimum L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mervat Sh. Sadak

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Salinity is one of the environmental challenges in the world affecting on several physiological processes and the most limiting factor of plant productivity and quality. Two pot experiments were conducted at the wire house of National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt during two successive seasons of 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 to assess the efficiency of two antioxidant vitamins (ascorbic acid at 1.13 and 2.27 mM or α tocopherol at 0.46 and 0.93 mM and/or salinity stress at (0.0, 3.08, 6.16, 9.23 ds/m on photosynthetic pigments, protein, carbohydrate, minerals, oil contents and yield as well as fatty acids composition of the yielded oils of three flax cultivars (Sakha 3, Giza 8 and Ariane. The data revealed that salinity stress caused significant and gradual decreases in total photosynthetic pigments, polysaccharides, total carbohydrates, total proteins and the uptake of Mg, K, Ca and P in the leaves of three flax cultivars with increasing salinity levels (3.08, 6.16, 9.23 ds/m. Otherwise, significant and gradual increase appeared in both Na and Cl. Ascorbic acid and α tocopherol at different concentrations caused significant increases in photosynthetic pigments, total carbohydrates and protein contents in the leaves of flax plants irrigated either with tap water or saline solution as compared with their corresponding controls. Exogenous application of ascorbic and α tocopherol at different concentrations exhibited decreases in Na and Cl whereas increases appeared in Mg, K, Ca and P relative to their corresponding control. Ascorbic acid (1.13 and 2.27 mM and α tocopherol (0.46 and 0.93 mM caused marked increases in yield and yield attributes of three flax cultivars either in plants irrigated with tap water or saline solution as compared to corresponding control. Ascorbic acid effects were more pronounced than α tocopherol effects. In addition, the higher level of two vitamins was more pronounced than the lower level. Regarding plants irrigated

  13. On the role of salicylic acid in plant responses to environmental stresses

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hernández, José A.; Diaz-Vivancos, Pedro; Barba Espin, Gregorio

    2017-01-01

    (NPR1), which is one of the few known redox-regulated proteins in plants. Different synthetic chemicals are able to mimic the ability of SA to activate resistance to various stresses, both biotic and abiotic, in plants with agronomic interest. Among these chemicals, 2,6-dichloroisonicotinic acid (INA......Salicylic acid (SA) is a plant hormone more commonly known by its role in human medicine than in the field of plant physiology. However, in the last two decades, SA has been described as an important signalling molecule in plants regulating growth, development and response to a wide number...... of biotic and abiotic stresses. Indeed, actually, it is well known that SA is a key signalling molecule involved in systemic acquired resistance (SAR), and recent works reported a role for SA in the response to salt or drought stresses. The precise mode of the stress hormone SA action is unclear, although...

  14. STUDY OF PLANT-WIDE CONTROL IMPLEMENTATION IN PRODUCTION PROCESS OF GEOTHERMAL POWER PLANT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    KATHERIN INDRIAWATI

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The design of plant-wide control system to optimize electricity production in geothermal power plant is proposed in this research. The objective is to overcome the deficiency due to changes in the characteristics of production well and fluctuation in electricity demand load. The proposed plant-wide control system has two main tasks; to maintain production process at optimum value and to increase efficiency. The pressure in separator and condenser is maintained at the respective set points under electrical load fluctuations in order to ensure optimum efficiency. The control system also reduce the usage of auxialiary electrical power and increase efficiency. The task was performed by controlling inlet cooling water temperatures to the condenser. It was concluded that the proposed control structure was able to increase efficiency and maintain production.

  15. Production of novel antioxidative phenolic amides through heterologous expression of the plant’s chlorogenic acid biosynthesis genes in yeast

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Moglia, A.; Comino, C.; Lanteri, S.; Vos, de C.H.; Waard, de P.; Beek, van T.A.; Goitre, L.; Retta, S.F.; Beekwilder, M.J.

    2010-01-01

    Phenolic esters like chlorogenic acid play an important role in therapeutic properties of many plant extracts. We aimed to produce phenolic esters in baker’s yeast, by expressing tobacco 4CL and globe artichoke HCT. Indeed yeast produced phenolic esters. However, the primary product was identified

  16. Bioengineered Plants Can Be a Useful Source of Omega-3 Fatty Acids

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Waleed Amjad Khan

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Omega-3 fatty acids have proven to be very essential for human health due to their multiple health benefits. These essential fatty acids (EFAs need to be uptaken through diet because they are unable to be produced by the human body. These are important for skin and hair growth as well as for proper visual, neural, and reproductive functions of the body. These fatty acids are proven to be extremely vital for normal tissue development during pregnancy and infancy. Omega-3 fatty acids can be obtained mainly from two dietary sources: marine and plant oils. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; C20:5 n-3 and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; C22:6 n-3 are the primary marine-derived omega-3 fatty acids. Marine fishes are high in omega-3 fatty acids, yet high consumption of those fishes will cause a shortage of fish stocks existing naturally in the oceans. An alternative source to achieve the recommended daily intake of EFAs is the demand of today. In this review article, an attempt has, therefore, been made to discuss the importance of omega-3 fatty acids and the recent developments in order to produce these fatty acids by the genetic modifications of the plants.

  17. Hydrolyzable tannins of tamaricaceous plants. IV: Micropropagation and ellagitannin production in shoot cultures of Tamarix tetrandra.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orabi, Mohamed A A; Taniguchi, Shoko; Terabayashi, Susumu; Hatano, Tsutomu

    2011-11-01

    Shoot cultures of Tamarix tetrandra on Linsmaier-Skoog (LS) agar medium with 30 g l(-1) sucrose, 2.13 mg l(-1) indoleacetic acid and 2.25 mg l(-1) benzyl adenine produced ellagitannins found in intact plants of the Tamaricaceae. This was demonstrated by the isolation of 14 monomeric-tetrameric ellagitannins from the aq. Me2CO extract of the cultured tissues. This is the first report on the production of ellagitannin tetramers by plant tissue culture. The effects of light and certain medium constituents on tissue growth and ellagitannin production were examined. The contents of representative tannins of different types [i.e., tellimagrandin II (monomer), hirtellin A (linear GOG-type dimer), hirtellin B (hellinoyl-type dimer), hirtellin C (macrocyclic-type dimer), and hirtellin T1 (linear GOG-type trimer)] in the resultant tissues in response to these factors were estimated by HPLC, and the optimal condition for production of these tannins were established. Shoots cultured on LS hormone-free medium promoted root development, and regenerated plants could adapt to ordinary soil and climate. Acclimatized and intact T. tetrandra plants that were collected in November and May, respectively, demonstrated seasonal differences in individual ellagitannin contents. HPLC comparison of individual ellagitannin contents in different plant materials (i.e., leaves, stems, and roots) of intact T. tetrandra plants is also reported. The results are discussed with respect to cellular deposition and biosynthetic relationship of tannins. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Processes for manufacture of products from plants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2010-01-01

    Disclosed herein is a process for inhibiting browning of plant material comprising adding a chelating agent to a disrupted plant material and adjusting the pH to a value of 2.0 to 4.5. Processes for manufacture of soluble and insoluble products from a plant material are also disclosed. Soluble...

  19. Production Planning and Planting Pattern Scheduling Information System for Horticulture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vitadiar, Tanhella Zein; Farikhin; Surarso, Bayu

    2018-02-01

    This paper present the production of planning and planting pattern scheduling faced by horticulture farmer using two methods. Fuzzy time series method use to predict demand on based on sales amount, while linear programming is used to assist horticulture farmers in making production planning decisions and determining the schedule of cropping patterns in accordance with demand predictions of the fuzzy time series method, variable use in this paper is size of areas, production advantage, amount of seeds and age of the plants. This research result production planning and planting patterns scheduling information system with the output is recommendations planting schedule, harvest schedule and the number of seeds will be plant.

  20. Use of a plant-derived enzyme template for the production of the green-note volatile hexanal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schade, Frank; Thompson, John E; Legge, Raymond L

    2003-11-05

    Hexanal is a key organoleptic element of green-note that is found in both fragrances and flavors. We report a novel process for the production of hexanal using immobilized enzyme templates extracted from different plant sources in combination with hollow-fiber ultrafiltration for in situ separation. Enzyme templates, known to be responsible for the synthesis of hexanal from linoleic acid (18:2), were isolated from naturally enriched tissues including carnation petals, strawberry and tomato leaves. These templates were immobilized in an alginate matrix and used as a biocatalyst in a packed-bed bioreactor. Continuous product recovery was achieved using a hollow-fiber ultrafiltration unit. The effects of pH, reaction temperature, and substrate and enzyme concentrations were studied and their effects on hexanal generation identified and optimized. Utilizing optimized conditions, hexanal production 112-fold higher than endogenous steady-state levels in a corresponding amount of plant tissue could be achieved over a 30-minute period. Based on the reactor studies, product inhibition also appears to be an important factor for bioreactor-based hexanal production. Copyright 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  1. Reactivity of tributyl phosphate degradation products with nitric acid: Relevance to the Tomsk-7 accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barney, G.S.; Cooper, T.D.

    1995-01-01

    The reaction of a degraded tributyl phosphate (TBP) solvent with nitric acid is thought to have caused the chemical explosion at the Tomsk-7 reprocessing plant at Tomsk, Russia in 1993. The estimated temperature of the organic layer was not high eneough to cause significant reaction of nitric acid with TBP or hydrocarbon diluent compounds. A more reactive organic compound was likely present in the organic layer that reacted with sufficient heat generation to raise the temperature to the point where an autocatalytic oxidation of the organic solvent was initiated. Two of the most likely reactive compounds that are present in degraded TBP solvents are n-butanol and n-butyl nitrate. The reactions of these compounds with nitric acid are the subject of this study. The objective of laboratory-scale tests was to identify chemical reactions that occur when n-butanol and n-butyl nitrate contact heated nitric acid solutions. Reaction products were identified and quantitified, the temperatures at which these reactions occur and heats of reaction were measured, and reaction variables (temperature, nitric acid concentration, organic concentration, and reaction time) were evaluated. Data showed that n-butyl nitrate is less reactive than n-butanol. An essentially complete oxidation reaction of n-butanol at 110-120 C produced four major reaction products. Mass spectrometry identified the major inorganic oxidation products for both n-butanol and n-butyl nitrate as nitric oxide and carbon dioxide. Calculated heats of reaction for n-butanol and n-butyl nitrate to form propionic acid, a major reaction product, are -1860 cal/g n-butanol and -953 cal/g n-butyl nitrate. These heats of reaction are significant and could have raised the temperature of the organic layer in the Tomsk-7 tank to the point where autocatalytic oxidation of other organic compounds present resulted in an explosion

  2. improving citric acid production from some carbohydrates by-products using irradiated aspergillus niger

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Farag, S.S.

    2011-01-01

    Twenty strains of A. niger were isolated from different sources, screened for their capacity to produce citric acid. All the isolated strains were able to produce citric acid in different quantities at different time intervals i.e. 4, 8 and 12 days on indicator medium. The best incubation period for production for all isolates was 12 days. The most potent strains for production were A 1 , A 4 and A 5 , while A 8 , A 1 6, A 18 and A 19 recorded weak production on that medium. Citric acid productivity were obtained by all strains when using different concentrations of four carbohydrate by-products (maize straw, potato peel wastes, sugar beet pulp and molasses) when each used alone without any additions after 12 days incubation and the production enhanced when the fermentation medium amended with the same concentrations of the mentioned substrates. Type and concentration of carbohydrate by-product affect the production of citric acid by A. niger strains under the study. Increasing substrate concentration led to increase in production, the best concentration for production was 25% for all carbohydrate by-products. As recorded with indicator medium, A 1 , A 4 and A 5 are also the most potent strains for production when growing on the four carbohydrate by-products supplemented to the basal medium, while A 8 , A 6 , A 18 and A 19 recorded the weak production with the carbohydrate by-products used.production of the parental isolates A 1 , A 4 and A 5 on indicator medium were: 0.96, 0.95 and 0.99 (mg/ml) respectively after 12 days incubation, while maximum production by the obtaining resulting isolates (Treated by UV irradiation) were: 1.78, 1.70 and 1.73 (mg/ml) from A 4 T 2 (5 min.), A 4 T 1 (10 min.) and A 1 T 1 (5 min.), respectively.

  3. Membrane engineering via trans unsaturated fatty acids production improves Escherichia coli robustness and production of biorenewables.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Zaigao; Yoon, Jong Moon; Nielsen, David R; Shanks, Jacqueline V; Jarboe, Laura R

    2016-05-01

    Constructing microbial biocatalysts that produce biorenewables at economically viable yields and titers is often hampered by product toxicity. For production of short chain fatty acids, membrane damage is considered the primary mechanism of toxicity, particularly in regards to membrane integrity. Previous engineering efforts in Escherichia coli to increase membrane integrity, with the goal of increasing fatty acid tolerance and production, have had mixed results. Herein, a novel approach was used to reconstruct the E. coli membrane by enabling production of a novel membrane component. Specifically, trans unsaturated fatty acids (TUFA) were produced and incorporated into the membrane of E. coli MG1655 by expression of cis-trans isomerase (Cti) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa. While the engineered strain was found to have no increase in membrane integrity, a significant decrease in membrane fluidity was observed, meaning that membrane polarization and rigidity were increased by TUFA incorporation. As a result, tolerance to exogenously added octanoic acid and production of octanoic acid were both increased relative to the wild-type strain. This membrane engineering strategy to improve octanoic acid tolerance was found to require fine-tuning of TUFA abundance. Besides improving tolerance and production of carboxylic acids, TUFA production also enabled increased tolerance in E. coli to other bio-products, e.g. alcohols, organic acids, aromatic compounds, a variety of adverse industrial conditions, e.g. low pH, high temperature, and also elevated styrene production, another versatile bio-chemical product. TUFA permitted enhanced growth due to alleviation of bio-product toxicity, demonstrating the general effectiveness of this membrane engineering strategy towards improving strain robustness. Copyright © 2016 International Metabolic Engineering Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Integrating nitric oxide into salicylic acid and jasmonic acid/ ethylene plant defense pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mur, Luis A J; Prats, Elena; Pierre, Sandra; Hall, Michael A; Hebelstrup, Kim H

    2013-01-01

    Plant defense against pests and pathogens is known to be conferred by either salicylic acid (SA) or jasmonic acid (JA)/ethylene (ET) pathways, depending on infection or herbivore-grazing strategy. It is well attested that SA and JA/ET pathways are mutually antagonistic allowing defense responses to be tailored to particular biotic stresses. Nitric oxide (NO) has emerged as a major signal influencing resistance mediated by both signaling pathways but no attempt has been made to integrate NO into established SA/JA/ET interactions. NO has been shown to act as an inducer or suppressor of signaling along each pathway. NO will initiate SA biosynthesis and nitrosylate key cysteines on TGA-class transcription factors to aid in the initiation of SA-dependent gene expression. Against this, S-nitrosylation of NONEXPRESSOR OF PATHOGENESIS-RELATED PROTEINS1 (NPR1) will promote the NPR1 oligomerization within the cytoplasm to reduce TGA activation. In JA biosynthesis, NO will initiate the expression of JA biosynthetic enzymes, presumably to over-come any antagonistic effects of SA on JA-mediated transcription. NO will also initiate the expression of ET biosynthetic genes but a suppressive role is also observed in the S-nitrosylation and inhibition of S-adenosylmethionine transferases which provides methyl groups for ET production. Based on these data a model for NO action is proposed but we have also highlighted the need to understand when and how inductive and suppressive steps are used.

  5. A new approach to microbial production of gallic acid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bajpai, Bhakti; Patil, Shridhar

    2008-10-01

    In a new approach to microbial gallic acid production by Aspergillus fischeri MTCC 150, 40gL(-1) of tannic acid was added in two installments during the bioconversion phase of the process (25gL(-1) and 15gL(-1) at 32 and 44h respectively). The optimum parameters for the bioconversion phase were found to be temperature: 35°C, pH: slightly acidic (3.3-3.5), aeration: nil and agitation: 250 rpm. A maximum of 71.4% conversion was obtained after 71h fermentation with 83.3% product recovery. The yield was 7.35 g of gallic acid per g of biomass accumulated and the fermenter productivity was 0.56 g of gallic acid produced per liter of medium per hour.

  6. Vinegar production from post-distillation slurry deriving from rice shochu production with the addition of caproic acid-producing bacteria consortium and lactic acid bacterium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Hua-Wei; Tan, Li; Chen, Hao; Sun, Zhao-Yong; Tang, Yue-Qin; Kida, Kenji

    2017-12-01

    To establish a zero emission process, the post-distillation slurry of a new type of rice shochu (NTRS) was used for the production of health promoting vinegar. Since the NTRS post-distillation slurry contained caproic acid and lactic acid, the effect of these two organic acids on acetic acid fermentation was first evaluated. Based on these results, Acetobacter aceti CICC 21684 was selected as a suitable strain for subsequent production of vinegar. At the laboratory scale, acetic acid fermentation of the NTRS post-distillation slurry in batch mode resulted in an acetic acid concentration of 41.9 g/L, with an initial ethanol concentration of 40 g/L, and the acetic acid concentration was improved to 44.5 g/L in fed-batch mode. Compared to the NTRS post-distillation slurry, the vinegar product had higher concentrations of free amino acids and inhibition of angiotensin I converting enzyme activity. By controlling the volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient to be similar to that of the laboratory scale production, 45 g/L of acetic acid was obtained at the pilot scale, using a 75-L fermentor with a working volume of 40 L, indicating that vinegar production can be successfully scaled up. Copyright © 2017 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Plants with modified lignin content and methods for production thereof

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Qiao; Chen, Fang; Dixon, Richard A.

    2014-08-05

    The invention provides methods for decreasing lignin content and for increasing the level of fermentable carbohydrates in plants by down-regulation of the NST transcription factor. Nucleic acid constructs for down-regulation of NST are described. Transgenic plants are provided that comprise reduced lignin content. Plants described herein may be used, for example, as improved biofuel feedstock and as highly digestible forage crops. Methods for processing plant tissue and for producing ethanol by utilizing such plants are also provided.

  8. In vitro propagation and withaferin A production in Withania ashwagandha, a rare medicinal plant of India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mir, Bilal Ahmad; Mir, Shabir Ahmad; Koul, Sushma

    2014-07-01

    Withania ashwagandha, belonging to the family Solanaceae, is an important medicinal herb of India with restricted geographic distribution. It is a rich source of withaferin A (WA) and other bioactive withanolides. In the present study a rapid in vitro mass propagation protocol of W. ashwagandha was developed from nodal explants. Nodal explants were cultured on MS medium supplemented with various concentrations and combinations of plant growth regulators (PGRs). The highest number of regenerated shoots per ex-plant (33 ± 2.7) and highest WA (13.4 ± 1.15 mg/g of DW) production was obtained on MS medium supplemented with 5.0 μM 6-benzyladenine (BA) and 1.0 μM Kinetin (Kn). In vitro raised shoots were further rooted on half-strength MS medium containing 2.0 μM Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and analyzed for WA production. The rooted plantlets when transferred to poly bags in the greenhouse showed 90 % survival frequency. Levels of WA were higher in the in vitro and ex vitro derived shoot and root tissues as compared to field grown mother plants. In an attempt to further maximize WA production, shoot cultures were further grown in liquid MS medium supplemented with 5.0 μM 6-benzyladenine (BA) and 1.0 μM Kinetin (Kn). Root cultures were grown on half strength MS liquid medium fortified with 2.0 μM of IBA. WA production in the liquid cultures was significantly higher compared to the static composition of the same media. This protocol, first of its kind in this plant, can be successfully employed for conservation, proliferation and large-scale production of WA. The regenerated plants can also be used in traditional medicine as an alternative to naturally collected plants.

  9. Rational modular design of metabolic network for efficient production of plant polyphenol pinosylvin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Junjun; Zhang, Xia; Zhu, Yingjie; Tan, Qinyu; He, Jiacheng; Dong, Mingsheng

    2017-05-03

    Efficient biosynthesis of the plant polyphenol pinosylvin, which has numerous applications in nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals, is necessary to make biological production economically viable. To this end, an efficient Escherichia coli platform for pinosylvin production was developed via a rational modular design approach. Initially, different candidate pathway enzymes were screened to construct de novo pinosylvin pathway directly from D-glucose. A comparative analysis of pathway intermediate pools identified that this initial construct led to the intermediate cinnamic acid accumulation. The pinosylvin synthetic pathway was then divided into two new modules separated at cinnamic acid. Combinatorial optimization of transcriptional and translational levels of these two modules resulted in a 16-fold increase in pinosylvin titer. To further improve the concentration of the limiting precursor malonyl-CoA, the malonyl-CoA synthesis module based on clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats interference was assembled and optimized with other two modules. The final pinosylvin titer was improved to 281 mg/L, which was the highest pinosylvin titer even directly from D-glucose without any additional precursor supplementation. The rational modular design approach described here could bolster our capabilities in synthetic biology for value-added chemical production.

  10. Effect of two different plant growth regulators on production traits of sunflower

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dávid ERNST

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The plant growth regulators (PGR are an organic compounds that modify plant physiological processes. PGR applied to the field crops promotes photosynthesis, stimulates plant growth, improves flowering and protects plants against unfavourable year weather conditions. Listed is an assumption to the yield of high quality. The effects of year weather conditions, biological material (hybrids and foliar application of two different PGR (Terra-Sorb® Foliar – containing free amino acids and Unicum® – containing Abiestins® on the yield-forming parameters, seed yield and the oil content in seeds of three selected hybrids of sunflower (NK Brio, NK Neoma, NK Ferti were studied in this paper. The field poly-factorial experiments were realized during two growing seasons of 2012 and 2013. The experimental area is situated in the maize-growing region (climatic region: warm; climatic sub-region: mild dry or dry; climatic zone: warm and dry, with mild winter and long sunshine and soil is silt loam Haplic Luvisol. The climatic conditions in chosen experimental years were different in quantities and distribution of precipitation at main growth period of sunflower plants (June to August and allows evaluating the yield stability between used hybrids and foliar treatments. The results showed that the application of selected PGR has contributed to an increase of sunflower seed yield, mainly through increase the weight of thousand seeds (rp = 0.761; P < 0.001. Similarly, oil content in seeds was significantly higher in treatments with PGR, especially with preparation Terra-Sorb® Foliar containing free amino acids. The study describes the relationship between quality (oil content in seeds and quantity (seed yield of sunflower production (rp = ‒0.41; P < 0.01. Results showed that PGR can be an important rationalization tool of the sunflower cultivation technology.

  11. Integrating nitric oxide into salicylic acid and jasmonic acid/ethylene plant defense pathways

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mur, Luis A J; Prats, Elena; Pierre, Sandra

    2013-01-01

    to be tailored to particular biotic stresses. Nitric oxide (NO) has emerged as a major signal influencing resistance mediated by both signalling pathways but no attempt has been made to integrate NO into established SA/JA/ET interactions. NO has been shown to act as an inducer or suppressor of signalling along......Plant defence against pests and pathogens is known to be conferred by either salicylic acid (SA) or jasmonic acid (JA)/ethylene (ET) pathways, depending on infection or herbivore-grazing strategy. It is well attested that SA and JA/ET pathways are mutually antagonistic allowing defence responses...

  12. Acid-digestion plant for plutonium-contaminated waste at the Swiss Federal Institute for Reactor Research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guentensperger, M.A.

    1981-01-01

    At the Swiss Federal Institute for Reactor Research (EIR), plutonium-contaminated material (PCM) is accumulated in the ''hot-laboratory''. Acid digestion has been chosen for conditioning the combustible PCM at EIR. The acid-digestion process is based on the carbonization and oxidative decomposition of the PCM by means of concentrated sulphuric and nitric acids at temperatures around 250 0 C. The design study for the acid-digestion plant (ADA) for EIR has almost been completed, and the detailed design has begun. The shredded waste will be fed batchwise on to the surface of hot sulphuric acid in the digester tray where carbonization occurs. The oxidation of the carbonized particles to gaseous products occurs in the heater vessel where nitric acid is added to accelerate the reaction. The inorganic residues of the digested PCM accumulate in the heater vessel as suspended particles. Periodically the acid is drained and the solid residue is separated. The gaseous effluents pass through a battery of oxidation/absorption columns where SO 2 and NOsub(x) are oxidized to sulphuric and nitric acids, respectively. These acids are almost entirely absorbed in the washing solution which is fed continuously to the acid-rectification system. The separated and reconcentrated acids are reused. For safety reasons the ADA will be semi-automatic; the principal alarms are transmitted to a control centre. Automatic shut-down is achieved by cutting off the heater current and adding cold sulphuric acid. (author)

  13. Influence of boron fertiIization on productivity of grape plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Batukaev Abdulmalik

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this article is to study the content of micronutrients in the soil of Terek sands region of the Chechen Republic and to identify the physiological response of the grape plants on micronutrients fertilization. The obtained data of the boron total content in the studied sandy soil showed that in 0–60 cm layer of the soil the boron total content ranges from 0.4 to 0.5 mg/kg, in 60–150 cm soil layer – from 0.75 to 0.78 mg/kg. The boron content in the sandy soils of studied area varies within wide limits and characterizes as insufficient. Fertilizing with boron is an effective agricultural technique for up-frost plants and productivity of grapes. This technique allows to increase the sugar content of the berries up to 0.8– 1.4 g/cm3, while substantially reducing the acidity of the juice. The yield of grape crystal grade in the variant with background + N90 P90 K90 + 2 kg of active boron addition was 76.8 t/ha, which is higher than in the control at 34.2 t/ha. The increasing of sugar berries in this variant was from 0.8 up to 1.4 g/cm3. The highest rates for plants productivity were observed by introducing a complex of boron micronutrients, cobalt, manganese, molybdenum, zinc in the form VIII, wherein the yield totally was 89.4 c/ha.

  14. Why plants grow poorly on very acid soils: are ecologists missing the obvious?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kidd, P S; Proctor, J

    2001-04-01

    Factors associated with soil acidity are considered to be limiting for plants in many parts of the world. This work was undertaken to investigate the role of the toxicity of hydrogen (H(+)) which seems to have been underconsidered by ecologists as an explanation of the reduced plant growth observed in very acid soils. Racial differences are reported in plant growth response to increasing acidity in the grass Holcus lanatus L. (Yorkshire-fog) and the tree Betula pendula Roth (Silver Birch). Soils and seeds were collected from four Scottish sites which covered a range of soils from acid (organic and mineral) to more base-rich. The sites and their pH (1:2.5 fresh soil:0.01 M CaCl(2)) were: Flanders Moss (FM), pH 3.2+/-0.03; Kippenrait Glen (KP), pH 4.8+/- 0.05; Kinloch Rannoch (KR), pH 6.1+/-0.16; and Sheriffmuir (SMM), pH 4.3+/-0.11. The growth rates of two races of H. lanatus, FM and KP, and three races of B. pendula (SMM, KP and KR) were measured in nutrient solution cultures at pH 2.0 (H. lanatus only), 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, and 5.6. Results showed races from acid organic soils (FM) were H(+)-tolerant while those from acid mineral soils (SMM) were Al(3+)-tolerant but not necessarily H(+)-tolerant. These results confirmed that populations were separately adapted to H(+) or Al(3+) toxicity and this was dependent upon the soil characteristics at their site of collection. The fact of plant adaptation to H(+) toxicity supports the view that this is an important factor in very acid soils.

  15. Production of Complex Multiantennary N-Glycans in Nicotiana benthamiana Plants1[W][OA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagels, Bieke; Van Damme, Els J.M.; Pabst, Martin; Callewaert, Nico; Weterings, Koen

    2011-01-01

    In recent years, plants have been developed as an alternative expression system to mammalian hosts for the production of therapeutic proteins. Many modifications to the plant glycosylation machinery have been made to render it more human because of the importance of glycosylation for functionality, serum half-life, and the safety profile of the expressed proteins. These modifications include removal of plant-specific β1,2-xylose and core α1,3-fucose, and addition of bisecting N-acetylglucosamine, β1,4-galactoses, and sialic acid residues. Another glycosylation step that is essential for the production of complex human-type glycans is the synthesis of multiantennary structures, which are frequently found on human N-glycans but are not generated by wild-type plants. Here, we report both the magnICON-based transient as well as stable introduction of the α1,3-mannosyl-β1,4-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (GnT-IV isozymes a and b) and α1,6-mannosyl-β1,6-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (GnT-V) in Nicotiana benthamiana plants. The enzymes were targeted to the Golgi apparatus by fusing their catalytic domains to the plant-specific localization signals of xylosyltransferase and fucosyltransferase. The GnT-IV and -V modifications were tested in the wild-type background, but were also combined with the RNA interference-mediated knockdown of β1,2-xylosyltransferase and α1,3-fucosyltransferase. Results showed that triantennary Gn[GnGn] and [GnGn]Gn N-glycans could be produced according to the expected activities of the respective enzymes. Combination of the two enzymes by crossing stably transformed GnT-IV and GnT-V plants showed that up to 10% tetraantennary [GnGn][GnGn], 25% triantennary, and 35% biantennary N-glycans were synthesized. All transgenic plants were viable and showed no aberrant phenotype under standard growth conditions. PMID:21233332

  16. Overexpression of SmMYC2 Increases the Production of Phenolic Acids in Salvia miltiorrhiza

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Na Yang

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available MYC2 is a core transcription factor in the plant response to jasmonates. It also functions in secondary metabolism and various processes for growth and development. However, the knowledge about its role in Salvia miltiorrhiza is still very limited. We determined that the biosynthesis of salvianolic acid B (Sal B was strongly induced in 2-month-old transgenic plants that over-expressed SmMYC2. In the roots of transgenic line 12 that over-expressed SmMYC2 (OEM-12, the Sal B concentration was as high as 5.95 ± 0.07 mg g-1, a level that was 1.88-fold higher than that in control plants that had been transformed with an empty vector. Neither tanshinone IIA nor cryptotanshinone was detected by high-performance liquid chromatography in any of the genotypes. Global transcriptomic analysis using RNA sequencing revealed that most enzyme-encoding genes for the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway were up-regulated in the overexpression lines. Furthermore, both the phenylalanine and tyrosine biosynthesis pathways were activated in those transgenics. Our data demonstrate that overexpression of SmMYC2 promotes the production of phenolic acids by simultaneously activating both primary and secondary pathways for metabolism in S. miltiorrhiza.

  17. Polyhydroxyalkanoate Production on Waste Water Treatment Plants: Process Scheme, Operating Conditions and Potential Analysis for German and European Municipal Waste Water Treatment Plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Timo Pittmann

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available This work describes the production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA as a side stream process on a municipal waste water treatment plant (WWTP and a subsequent analysis of the production potential in Germany and the European Union (EU. Therefore, tests with different types of sludge from a WWTP were investigated regarding their volatile fatty acids (VFA production-potential. Afterwards, primary sludge was used as substrate to test a series of operating conditions (temperature, pH, retention time (RT and withdrawal (WD in order to find suitable settings for a high and stable VFA production. In a second step, various tests regarding a high PHA production and stable PHA composition to determine the influence of substrate concentration, temperature, pH and cycle time of an installed feast/famine-regime were conducted. Experiments with a semi-continuous reactor operation showed that a short RT of 4 days and a small WD of 25% at pH = 6 and around 30 °C is preferable for a high VFA production rate (PR of 1913 mgVFA/(L×d and a stable VFA composition. A high PHA production up to 28.4% of cell dry weight (CDW was reached at lower substrate concentration, 20 °C, neutral pH-value and a 24 h cycle time. A final step a potential analysis, based on the results and detailed data from German waste water treatment plants, showed that the theoretically possible production of biopolymers in Germany amounts to more than 19% of the 2016 worldwide biopolymer production. In addition, a profound estimation regarding the EU showed that in theory about 120% of the worldwide biopolymer production (in 2016 could be produced on European waste water treatment plants.

  18. Salicylic acid, a plant defense hormone, is specifically secreted by a molluscan herbivore.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kästner, Julia; von Knorre, Dietrich; Himanshu, Himanshu; Erb, Matthias; Baldwin, Ian T; Meldau, Stefan

    2014-01-01

    Slugs and snails are important herbivores in many ecosystems. They differ from other herbivores by their characteristic mucus trail. As the mucus is secreted at the interface between the plants and the herbivores, its chemical composition may play an essential role in plant responses to slug and snail attack. Based on our current knowledge about host-manipulation strategies employed by pathogens and insects, we hypothesized that mollusks may excrete phytohormone-like substances into their mucus. We therefore screened locomotion mucus from thirteen molluscan herbivores for the presence of the plant defense hormones jasmonic acid (JA), salicylic acid (SA) and abscisic acid (ABA). We found that the locomotion mucus of one slug, Deroceras reticulatum, contained significant amounts of SA, a plant hormone that is known to induce resistance to pathogens and to suppress plant immunity against herbivores. None of the other slugs and snails contained SA or any other hormone in their locomotion mucus. When the mucus of D. reticulatum was applied to wounded leaves of A. thaliana, the promotor of the SA-responsive gene pathogenesis related 1 (PR1) was activated, demonstrating the potential of the mucus to regulate plant defenses. We discuss the potential ecological, agricultural and medical implications of this finding.

  19. Salicylic acid, a plant defense hormone, is specifically secreted by a molluscan herbivore.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julia Kästner

    Full Text Available Slugs and snails are important herbivores in many ecosystems. They differ from other herbivores by their characteristic mucus trail. As the mucus is secreted at the interface between the plants and the herbivores, its chemical composition may play an essential role in plant responses to slug and snail attack. Based on our current knowledge about host-manipulation strategies employed by pathogens and insects, we hypothesized that mollusks may excrete phytohormone-like substances into their mucus. We therefore screened locomotion mucus from thirteen molluscan herbivores for the presence of the plant defense hormones jasmonic acid (JA, salicylic acid (SA and abscisic acid (ABA. We found that the locomotion mucus of one slug, Deroceras reticulatum, contained significant amounts of SA, a plant hormone that is known to induce resistance to pathogens and to suppress plant immunity against herbivores. None of the other slugs and snails contained SA or any other hormone in their locomotion mucus. When the mucus of D. reticulatum was applied to wounded leaves of A. thaliana, the promotor of the SA-responsive gene pathogenesis related 1 (PR1 was activated, demonstrating the potential of the mucus to regulate plant defenses. We discuss the potential ecological, agricultural and medical implications of this finding.

  20. The beryllium production at Ulba metallurgical plant (Ust-Kamenogrsk, Kazakhstan)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dvinskykh, E.M.; Savchuk, V.V.; Tuzov, Y.V. [Ulba Metallurgical Plant (Zavod), Ust-Kamenogorsk, Abay prospect 102 (Kazakhstan)

    1998-01-01

    The Report includes data on beryllium production of Ulba metallurgical plant, located in Ust-Kamenogorsk (Kazakhstan). Beryllium production is showed to have extended technological opportunities in manufacturing semi-products (beryllium ingots, master alloys, metallic beryllium powders, beryllium oxide) and in production of structural beryllium and its parts. Ulba metallurgical plant owns a unique technology of beryllium vacuum distillation, which allows to produce reactor grades of beryllium with a low content of metallic impurities. At present Ulba plant does not depend on raw materials suppliers. The quantity of stored raw materials and semi-products will allow to provide a 25-years work of beryllium production at a full capacity. The plant has a satisfactory experience in solving ecological problems, which could be useful in ITER program. (author)

  1. Trichoderma virens PDR-28: a heavy metal-tolerant and plant growth-promoting fungus for remediation and bioenergy crop production on mine tailing soil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Babu, A Giridhar; Shim, Jaehong; Bang, Keuk-Soo; Shea, Patrick J; Oh, Byung-Taek

    2014-01-01

    A heavy metal-tolerant fungus, Trichoderma virens PDR-28, was isolated from rhizosphere soil and evaluated for use in remediating mine tailing soil and for plant biomass production. PDR-28 exhibited plant growth-promoting traits, including 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase, acid phosphatase and phytase activity, siderophore production, and P solubilization. HMs were more available in mine tailing soil inoculated soil with PDR-28 than in uninoculated soil; the order of HM bioleaching was Cd > As > Zn > Pb > Cu. PDR-28 effectively removed HMs in the order of Pb > Cd > As > Zn > Cu from liquid media containing 100 mg HM L(-1). Inoculating HM-contaminated mine tailing soil with the fungus significantly increased the dry biomass of maize roots (64%) and shoots (56%). Chlorophyll, total soluble sugars (reducible and nonreducible), starch, and protein contents increased by 46%, 28%, 30%, and 29%, respectively, compared to plants grown in uninoculated soil. Inoculation increased heavy metal concentrations in maize roots by 25% (Cu) to 62% (Cd) and in shoots by 35% (Cu) to 64% (Pb) compared to uninoculated plants. Results suggest that PDR-28 would be beneficial for phytostabilization and plant biomass production as a potential source of biofuel in the quest for renewable energy. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  2. [Modeling of lactic acid fermentation of leguminous plant juices].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shurkhno, R A; Validov, Sh Z; Boronin, A M; Naumova, R P

    2006-01-01

    Lactic acid fermentation of leguminous plant juices was modeled to provide a comparative efficiency assessment of the previously selected strains of lactic acid bacteria as potential components of starter cultures. Juices of the legumes fodder galega, red clover, and alfalfa were subjected to lactic acid fermentation in 27 variants of experiment. Local strains (Lactobacillus sp. RS 2, Lactobacillus sp. RS 3, and Lactobacillus sp. RS 4) and the collection strain Lactobacillus plantarum BS 933 appeared the most efficient (with reference to the rate and degree of acidogenesis, ratio of lactic and acetic acids, and dynamics of microflora) in fermenting fodder galega juice; Lactobacillus sp. RS 1, Lactobacillus sp. RS 2, Lactobacillus sp. RS 3, Lactobacillus sp. RS 4, and L. plantarum BS 933 were the most efficient for red clover juice. Correction of alfalfa juice fermentation using the tested lactic acid bacterial strains appeared inefficient, which is explainable by its increased protein content and a low level of the acids produced during fermentation.

  3. Biodegradable bags for the production of plant seedlings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Paula Bilck

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The production of plant seedlings has traditionally used polyethylene bags, which are thrown out in the soil or burned after transplant because the large amount of organic material attached to the bags makes recycling difficult. Additionally, when a seedling is taken from the bag for transplant, there is the risk of root damage, which compromises the plant’s development. In this study, we developed biodegradable bags to be used in seedling production, and we verify their influence on the development of Brazilian ginseng (Pfaffia glomerata (Spreng Pedersen, when the plant is planted without being removed from the bag. Both black and white biodegradable bags remained intact throughout the seedling production period (60 days. After being transplanted into containers (240 days, they were completely biodegraded, and there was no significant difference between the dry mass of these plants and that of plants that were transplanted without the bags. The plants that were cultivated without being removed from the polyethylene bags had root development difficulties, and the wrapping showed no signs of degradation. The use of biodegradable films is an alternative for the production of bags for seedlings, as these can then be transplanted directly into the soil without removing the bag, reducing the risk of damage to the roots during the moment of transplant.

  4. Transcription activator-like effector nucleases mediated metabolic engineering for enhanced fatty acids production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    KAUST Repository

    Aouida, Mustapha; Li, Lixin; Mahjoub, Ali; Alshareef, Sahar; Ali, Zahir; Piatek, Agnieszka Anna; Mahfouz, Magdy M.

    2015-01-01

    Targeted engineering of microbial genomes holds much promise for diverse biotechnological applications. Transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/Cas9 systems are capable of efficiently editing microbial genomes, including that of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here, we demonstrate the use of TALENs to edit the genome of S.cerevisiae with the aim of inducing the overproduction of fatty acids. Heterodimeric TALENs were designed to simultaneously edit the FAA1 and FAA4 genes encoding acyl-CoA synthetases in S.cerevisiae. Functional yeast double knockouts generated using these TALENs over-produce large amounts of free fatty acids into the cell. This study demonstrates the use of TALENs for targeted engineering of yeast and demonstrates that this technology can be used to stimulate the enhanced production of free fatty acids, which are potential substrates for biofuel production. This proof-of-principle study extends the utility of TALENs as excellent genome editing tools and highlights their potential use for metabolic engineering of yeast and other organisms, such as microalgae and plants, for biofuel production. © 2015 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan.

  5. Transcription activator-like effector nucleases mediated metabolic engineering for enhanced fatty acids production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    KAUST Repository

    Aouida, Mustapha

    2015-04-01

    Targeted engineering of microbial genomes holds much promise for diverse biotechnological applications. Transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/Cas9 systems are capable of efficiently editing microbial genomes, including that of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here, we demonstrate the use of TALENs to edit the genome of S.cerevisiae with the aim of inducing the overproduction of fatty acids. Heterodimeric TALENs were designed to simultaneously edit the FAA1 and FAA4 genes encoding acyl-CoA synthetases in S.cerevisiae. Functional yeast double knockouts generated using these TALENs over-produce large amounts of free fatty acids into the cell. This study demonstrates the use of TALENs for targeted engineering of yeast and demonstrates that this technology can be used to stimulate the enhanced production of free fatty acids, which are potential substrates for biofuel production. This proof-of-principle study extends the utility of TALENs as excellent genome editing tools and highlights their potential use for metabolic engineering of yeast and other organisms, such as microalgae and plants, for biofuel production. © 2015 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan.

  6. EFFECT OF SOME PLANT OILS ON THE FATTY ACIDS OF HUMP BEETLE GIBBIUM PSYLLOIDES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    ABBASY, S.A.; ALY, W.M.; REZK, S.A.

    2008-01-01

    The efficiency of some plant oils (sesame oil, camphor oil, castor oil and camomile oil) as insecticides were studied on newly emerged males and females Gibbium psylloids and also the effect of LC50 of each plant oils on fatty acids composition and relative concentration were determined. The obtained results showed that sesame oil had proved to be more effective with it's advantage over other tested oils of being used at lower concentration and it followed by chamomile oil then camphor oil and finally castor oil. The susceptibility of the males and females to plant oils was the same. There were differences in the number and relative concentration of fatty acids between males and females. Nine fatty acids were detected by the analysis of the whole body of untreated males , these fatty acids are capric (C10) , lauric (C12) , myristic (C14), palmiloleic (C16), margic (C17), stearic (C18) , oleic (C18:1) , linoleic (C18:2) and linolenic (C18:3) . Treatments of males with LC50 sesame oil lead to the appearance of ten fatty acids with increase of caprylic acid (C8) while LC50 chamomile oil lead to the appearance of six fatty acids and fatty acid with C10 , C18:1 and C18:2 were disappeared as compared to control. LC50 of camphor oil lead to the appearance of ten fatty acids and castor oil lead to the appearance of six fatty acids. In untreated females, five fatty acids with C12 , C16 , C17 , C18 and C18:1 were detected. Treatments with sesame oil lead to the appearance of new fatty acid with C18:2 and chamomile oil lead to the appearance of nine fatty acids with increase of C8 , C10 , C14 and C18:2 as compared with untreated females. Camphor oil treatment lead to the appearance of nine fatty acids with increase of four fatty acids with C6 , C8 , C10 and C18:2 as compared to untreated females and fatty acid with C18:1 was disappeared in the treatments. Castor oil leads to the appearance of seven fatty acids. The relative concentration of C12 was the highest fatty acid in

  7. Kinetic study on ferulic acid production from banana stem waste via mechanical extraction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zainol, Norazwina; Masngut, Nasratun; Khairi Jusup, Muhamad

    2018-04-01

    Banana is the tropical plants associated with lots of medicinal properties. It has been reported to be a potential source of phenolic compounds such as ferulic acid (FA). FA has excellent antioxidant properties higher than vitamin C and E. FA also have a wide range of biological activities, such as antioxidant activities and anti-microbial activities. This paper presents an experimental and kinetic study on ferulic acid (FA) production from banana stem waste (BSW) via mechanical extraction. The objective of this research is to determine the kinetic parameters in the ferulic acid production. The banana stem waste was randomly collected from the local banana plantation in Felda Lepar Hilir, Pahang. The banana stem juice was mechanically extracted by using sugarcane press machine (KR3176) and further analyzed in high performance liquid chromatography. The differential and integral method was applied to determine the kinetic parameter of the extraction process and the data obtained were fitted into the 0th, 1st and 2nd order of extraction process. Based on the results, the kinetic parameter and R2 value from were 0.05 and 0.93, respectively. It was determined that the 0th kinetic order fitted the reaction processes to best represent the mechanical extraction.

  8. Actual state of plant decline phenomena due to acid rain and others

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yokobori, Makoto

    1992-01-01

    Recently, Japanese mass communication earnestly reports on the effect that acid rain exerts to natural environment. Also the researches have been carried out on the present state of rainwater acidification, the mechanism of the effect of acid rain to plants, the experiment using artificial acid rain, and the foreign theories on the cause of the decline of forests. But the example of the damage of trees and plants in fields, of which the true cause is understood to be acid rain, is not found. The author has engaged in the research on forest protection for long years, and according to his experience, in the present Japanese research on acid rain, there are a number of important pitfalls. Acid rain theory is only one of many hypotheses. It must be verified by the proper research, and this point is important. Ibaraki Prefectural Forest Experiment station has carried out the consultation on the diagnosis and restoration of tree conditions, and the decline of trees and its cause are reported according to the examples of investigation. In the consultation in the last nine years, the decline of trees caused by acid rain was not confirmed. (K.I.)

  9. Optimisation of trans-cinnamic acid and hydrocinnamyl alcohol production with recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae and identification of cinnamyl methyl ketone as a by-product.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gottardi, Manuela; Grün, Peter; Bode, Helge B; Hoffmann, Thomas; Schwab, Wilfried; Oreb, Mislav; Boles, Eckhard

    2017-12-01

    Trans-cinnamic acid (tCA) and hydrocinnamyl alcohol (HcinOH) are valuable aromatic compounds with applications in the flavour, fragrance and cosmetic industry. They can be produced with recombinant yeasts from sugars via phenylalanine after expression of a phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) and an aryl carboxylic acid reductase. Here, we show that in Saccharomyces cerevisiae a PAL enzyme from the bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens was superior to a previously used plant PAL enzyme for the production of tCA. Moreover, after expression of a UDP-glucose:cinnamate glucosyltransferase (FaGT2) from Fragaria x ananassa, tCA could be converted to cinnamoyl-D-glucose which is expected to be less toxic to the yeast cells. Production of tCA and HcinOH from glucose could be increased by eliminating feedback-regulated steps of aromatic amino acid biosynthesis and diminishing the decarboxylation step of the competing Ehrlich pathway. Finally, an unknown by-product resulting from further metabolisation of a carboligation product of cinnamaldehyde (cinALD) with activated acetaldehyde, mediated by pyruvate decarboxylases, could be identified as cinnamyl methyl ketone providing a new route for the biosynthesis of precursors, such as (2S,3R) 5-phenylpent-4-ene-2,3-diol, necessary for the chemical synthesis of specific biologically active drugs such as daunomycin. © FEMS 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  10. Induction of gentisic acid 5-O-beta-D-xylopyranoside in tomato and cucumber plants infected by different pathogens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fayos, Joaquín; Bellés, José María; López-Gresa, M Pilar; Primo, Jaime; Conejero, Vicente

    2006-01-01

    Tomato plants infected with the citrus exocortis viroid exhibited strongly elevated levels of a compound identified as 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (gentisic acid, GA) 5-O-beta-D-xylopyranoside. The compound accumulated early in leaves expressing mild symptoms from both citrus exocortis viroid-infected tomato, and prunus necrotic ringspot virus-infected cucumber plants, and progressively accumulated concomitant with symptom development. The work presented here demonstrates that GA, mainly associated with systemic infections in compatible plant-pathogen interactions [Bellés, J.M., Garro, R., Fayos, J., Navarro, P., Primo, J., Conejero, V., 1999. Gentisic acid as a pathogen-inducible signal, additional to salicylic acid for activation of plant defenses in tomato. Mol. Plant-Microbe Interact. 12, 227-235], is conjugated to xylose. Notably, this result contrasts with those previously found in other plant-pathogen interactions in which phenolics analogues of GA as benzoic or salicylic acids, are conjugated to glucose.

  11. Control of Listeria monocytogenes in food production plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dimitrijević Mirjana

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available L. monocytogenes has been established in different plants for the production of food, including dairy plants, abattoirs, plants for the processing of fish, as well as those for the production of ready-to-eat (RTE food and this fact is being considered as the primary mechanism of food contamination with this bacteria. There is also the factor of numerous and diverse contaminated production equipment, because it has certain parts that are inaccessible for the necessary cleaning and disinfection. The temperature, position, as well as the material of the work surface are also linked to the contamination of plants with this bacteria. Investigations carried out so far have helped toward the better understanding of the manner and time of contamination of food items in the course of the production process, but there are still unresolved problems, including most certainly the biggest one - the adherence of bacteria and the creation of a biofilm, when the bacteria is in that condition more resistant to so-called stress factors which are usually used in the food industry for the purpose of decontamination of the surfaces with which foods come into contact. The control of L. monocytogenes in food production plants is possible primarily by using an integrated programme, compatible with the systems Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP and Good Hygiene Practice (GHP, necessary in the production of food that is safe for the consumer. Essentially, the control measures that can contribute to reducing the incidence of findings of L.monocytogenes in the finished product, as well as the reducing of the level of contamination with this bacteria are linked, on the one hand, with hygiene procedures in the production process, and, on the other, with the applied technological procedures.

  12. What about improving the productivity of electric power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lawroski, H.; Knecht, P.D.; Prideaux, D.L.; Zahner, R.R.

    1976-01-01

    The FEA in April of 1974 established an Interagency Task Group on Power Plant Reliability, which was charged with the broad objective of improving the productivity of existing and planned large fossil-fueled and nuclear power plants. It took approximately 11 months for the task force to publish a report, ''Report on Improving the Productivity of Electrical Power Plants'' (FEA-263-G), a detailed analysis and comparison of successful and below-average-performance power plants. The Nuclear Service Corp. portion of this study examined four large central-station power plants: two fossil (coal) and two nuclear plants. Only plants with electrical generation capacities greater than 400 MWe were considered. The study included the following: staff technical skill, engineering support, QA program, plant/corporate coordination, operation philosophy, maintenance programs, federal/state regulations, network control, and equipment problems. Personnel were interviewed, and checklists providing input from some 21 or more plant and corporate personnel of each utility were utilized. Reports and other documentation were also reviewed. It was recognized early that productivity is closely allied to technical skills and positive motivation. For this reason, considerable attention was given to people in this study

  13. Isolation and Fatty Acid Profile of Selected Microalgae Strains from the Red Sea for Biofuel Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khalid M. Abu-Salah

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available The isolation of lipid-rich autochthonous strains of microalgae is a crucial stage for the development of a microalgae-based biofuel production plant, as these microalgae already have the necessary adaptations to withstand competition, predation and the temperatures observed at each production site. This is particularly important in extreme climates such as in Saudi Arabia. Resorting to fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS we screened for and isolated several microalgal strains from samples collected from the Red Sea. Relying on the fluorescence of BODIPY 505/515 (4,4-difluoro-1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-4-bora-3a,4a-diazasindacene and growth performance, four promising candidates were identified and the total lipid content and fatty acid profile was assessed for biofuels production. Selected isolates were classified as chlorophytes, belonging to three different genera: Picochlorum, Nannochloris and Desmochloris. The lipid contents were assessed microscopically by means of BODIPY 505/515-associated fluorescence to detect intracellular lipid bodies, which revealed several lipid drops in all selected strains. This result was confirmed by lipid gravimetric determination, which demonstrated that all strains under study presented inner cell lipid contents ranging from 20% to 25% of the biomass dry weight. Furthermore, the fatty acid methyl esters profile of all strains seems ideal for biodiesel production due to a low degree of polyunsaturated fatty acid methyl esters and high amount of palmitic and oleic acids.

  14. Root traits contributing to plant productivity under drought

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Louise eComas

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Geneticists and breeders are positioned to breed plants with root traits that improve productivity under drought. However, a better understanding of root functional traits and how traits are related to whole plant strategies to increase crop productivity under different drought conditions is needed. Root traits associated with maintaining plant productivity under drought include small fine root diameters, long specific root length (SRL, and considerable root length density, especially at depths in soil with available water. In environments with late season water deficits, small xylem diameters in targeted seminal roots save soil water deep in the soil profile for use during crop maturation and result in improved yields. Capacity for deep root growth and large xylem diameters in deep roots may also improve root acquisition of water when ample water at depth is available. Xylem pit anatomy that makes xylem less ‘leaky’ and prone to cavitation warrants further exploration holding promise that such traits may improve plant productivity in water-limited environments without negatively impacting yield under adequate water conditions. Rapid resumption of root growth following soil rewetting may improve plant productivity under episodic drought. Genetic control of many of these traits through breeding appears feasible. Several recent reviews have covered methods for screening root traits but an appreciation for the complexity of root systems (e.g. functional differences between fine and coarse roots needs to be paired with these methods to successfully identify relevant traits for crop improvement. Screening of root traits at early stages in plant development can proxy traits at mature stages but verification is needed on a case by case basis that traits are linked to increased crop productivity under drought. Examples in lesquerella (Physaria and rice (Oryza show approaches to phenotyping of root traits and current understanding of root trait

  15. 78 FR 58574 - Maintenance, Testing, and Replacement of Vented Lead-Acid Storage Batteries for Nuclear Power Plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-24

    ...-Acid Storage Batteries for Nuclear Power Plants AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION... for Nuclear Power Plants.'' The guide describes methods that the NRC staff considers acceptable for... replacement of vented lead-acid storage batteries in nuclear power plants. ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket...

  16. Further Studies on Oxalic Acid Biosynthesis in Oxalate-accumulating Plants 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nuss, Richard F.; Loewus, Frank A.

    1978-01-01

    l-Ascorbic acid functions as a precursor of oxalic acid in several oxalate-accumulating plants. The present study extends this observation to include Rumex crispus L. (curly dock), Amaranthus retroflexus L. (red root pigweed), Chenopodium album L. (lamb's-quarters), Beta vulgaris L. (sugar beet), Halogeton glomeratus M. Bieb. (halogeton), and Rheum rhabarbarum L. (rhubarb). Several species with low oxalate content are also examined. When l-[1-14C]ascorbic acid is supplied to young seedlings of R. crispus or H. glomeratus, a major portion of the 14C is released over a 24-hour period as 14CO2 and only a small portion is recovered as [14C]oxalate, unlike cuttings from 2- or 4-month-old plants which retain a large part of the 14C as [14C]oxalic acid and release very little 14CO2. Support for an intermediate role of oxalate in the release of 14CO2 from l-[1-14C]ascorbic acid is seen in the rapid release of 14CO2 by R. crispus and H. glomeratus seedlings labeled with [14C]oxalic acid. The common origin of oxalic acid carbon in the C1 and C2 fragment from l-ascorbic acid is demonstrated by comparison of 14C content of oxalic acid in several oxalate-accumulators after cuttings or seedlings are supplied equal amounts of l-[1-14C]- or l-[UL-14C]ascorbic acid. Theoretically, l-[1-14C]ascorbic acid will produce labeled oxalic acid containing three times as much 14C as l-[UL-14C]ascorbic acid when equal amounts of label are provided. Experimentally, a ratio of 2.7 ± 0.5 is obtained in duplicate experiments with six different species. PMID:16660342

  17. Metabolic inhibitors as stimulating factors for citric acid production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adham, N.Z.; Ahmed, E.M.; Refai, H.A.E.

    2008-01-01

    The effect of some metabolic inhibitors on citric acid (CA) production by Aspergillus niger in cane molasses medium was investigated. Addition of 0.01-0.1 mM iodoacetic acid and sodium arsenate, 0.05-1.0 mM sodium malonate, 0.01 mM sodium azide, 0.01-0.05 mM sodium fluoride, 0.1-1.0 mM EDTA stimulated CA production (5-49%). Higher concentrations (10 mM) of iodoacetic acid, sodium malonate and 0.5 mM sodium azide caused a complete inhibition of fungal growth, Iodoacetic acid, sodium arsenate and sodium fluoride (0.2 mM) caused a remarkable inhibition of CA production. The implications of those preliminary functions was discussed. (author)

  18. Ecological trade-offs between jasmonic acid-dependent direct and indirect plant defences in tritrophic interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Jianing; Wang, Lizhong; Zhao, Jiuhai; Li, Chuanyou; Ge, Feng; Kang, Le

    2011-01-01

    Recent studies on plants genetically modified in jasmonic acid (JA) signalling support the hypothesis that the jasmonate family of oxylipins plays an important role in mediating direct and indirect plant defences. However, the interaction of two modes of defence in tritrophic systems is largely unknown. In this study, we examined the preference and performance of a herbivorous leafminer (Liriomyza huidobrensis) and its parasitic wasp (Opius dissitus) on three tomato genotypes: a wild-type (WT) plant, a JA biosynthesis (spr2) mutant, and a JA-overexpression 35S::prosys plant. Their proteinase inhibitor production and volatile emission were used as direct and indirect defence factors to evaluate the responses of leafminers and parasitoids. Here, we show that although spr2 mutant plants are compromised in direct defence against the larval leafminers and in attracting parasitoids, they are less attractive to adult flies compared with WT plants. Moreover, in comparison to other genotypes, the 35S::prosys plant displays greater direct and constitutive indirect defences, but reduced success of parasitism by parasitoids. Taken together, these results suggest that there are distinguished ecological trade-offs between JA-dependent direct and indirect defences in genetically modified plants whose fitness should be assessed in tritrophic systems and under natural conditions. © The Authors (2010). Journal compilation © New Phytologist Trust (2010).

  19. Nitric Oxide Mediates the Hormonal Control of Crassulacean Acid Metabolism Expression in Young Pineapple Plants1[W][OA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freschi, Luciano; Rodrigues, Maria Aurineide; Domingues, Douglas Silva; Purgatto, Eduardo; Van Sluys, Marie-Anne; Magalhaes, Jose Ronaldo; Kaiser, Werner M.; Mercier, Helenice

    2010-01-01

    Genotypic, developmental, and environmental factors converge to determine the degree of Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) expression. To characterize the signaling events controlling CAM expression in young pineapple (Ananas comosus) plants, this photosynthetic pathway was modulated through manipulations in water availability. Rapid, intense, and completely reversible up-regulation in CAM expression was triggered by water deficit, as indicated by the rise in nocturnal malate accumulation and in the expression and activity of important CAM enzymes. During both up- and down-regulation of CAM, the degree of CAM expression was positively and negatively correlated with the endogenous levels of abscisic acid (ABA) and cytokinins, respectively. When exogenously applied, ABA stimulated and cytokinins repressed the expression of CAM. However, inhibition of water deficit-induced ABA accumulation did not block the up-regulation of CAM, suggesting that a parallel, non-ABA-dependent signaling route was also operating. Moreover, strong evidence revealed that nitric oxide (NO) may fulfill an important role during CAM signaling. Up-regulation of CAM was clearly observed in NO-treated plants, and a conspicuous temporal and spatial correlation was also evident between NO production and CAM expression. Removal of NO from the tissues either by adding NO scavenger or by inhibiting NO production significantly impaired ABA-induced up-regulation of CAM, indicating that NO likely acts as a key downstream component in the ABA-dependent signaling pathway. Finally, tungstate or glutamine inhibition of the NO-generating enzyme nitrate reductase completely blocked NO production during ABA-induced up-regulation of CAM, characterizing this enzyme as responsible for NO synthesis during CAM signaling in pineapple plants. PMID:20147491

  20. Effects of cadmium stress on growth and amino acid metabolism in two Compositae plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Guangxu; Xiao, Huayun; Guo, Qingjun; Zhang, Zhongyi; Zhao, Jingjing; Yang, Dan

    2018-08-30

    Cadmium, a high toxic heavy metal, is one of the most serious contaminants in soil and a potential threat to plant growth and human health. Amino acid metabolism has the central role in heavy metal stress resistance of plants. In this paper, a pot experiment was carried out to study the effects of different concentrations of cadmium (0, 3, 6, 12, 30 mg kg -1 ) on the growth, Cd accumulation and amino acid metabolism in two Compositae plants (Ageratum conyzoides L. and Crassocephalum crepidioides). The results showed that under cadmium stress, C. crepidioides accumulated more Cd in its shoot and was tolerant to Cd, whereas its low Cd-accumulating relative, A. conyzoides, suffered reduced growth. The Cd content in the aerial part of C. crepidioides exceeded the threshold of Cd-hyperaccumulator. Furthermore, the bioaccumulation factor (BCF) and biological transfer factor (BTF) values for Cd in C. crepidioides were > 1. Thus, C. crepidioides can be regarded as Cd-hyperaccumulator. The comparison between both studied plants indicated that Cd stress resulted in a differential but coordinated response of amino acid levels, which are playing a significant role in plant adaptation to Cd stress. Glu, Gln, Asp, Asn, Gaba, Val and Ala dominated the major amino acids. Higher Cd tolerance and Cd accumulation in C. crepidioides was associated with greater accumulation of free amino acids, especially for Gln and Asn, in C. crepidioides than in A. conyzoides. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Production costs: U.S. hydroelectric power plants, 4th Edition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1993-01-01

    The book provides 1991 operation and maintenance expenses for over 800 conventional and pumped-storage hydroelectric power plants. Report shows operator and plant name, plant year-in-service, installed capacity, 1991 net generation, O ampersand M expenses, total production costs and current plant capitalization. Fifty eight percent of the utility-owned hydroelectric plants in the US are covered by this report. Data diskette provides additional capital and production cost accounts and number of employees for each plant

  2. Amino acids production focusing on fermentation technologies – A review

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    D'Este, Martina; Alvarado-Morales, Merlin; Angelidaki, Irini

    2018-01-01

    Amino acids are attractive and promising biochemicals with market capacity requirements constantly increasing. Their applicability ranges from animal feed additives, flavour enhancers and ingredients in cosmetic to specialty nutrients in pharmaceutical and medical fields. This review gives...... an overview of the processes applied for amino acids production and points out the main advantages and disadvantages of each. Due to the advances made in the genetic engineering techniques, the biotechnological processes, and in particular the fermentation with the aid of strains such as Corynebacterium...... glutamicum or Escherichia coli, play a significant role in the industrial production of amino acids. Despite the numerous advantages of the fermentative amino acids production, the process still needs significant improvements leading to increased productivity and reduction of the production costs. Although...

  3. Pipecolic Acid Orchestrates Plant Systemic Acquired Resistance and Defense Priming via Salicylic Acid-Dependent and -Independent Pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernsdorff, Friederike; Döring, Anne-Christin; Gruner, Katrin; Schuck, Stefan; Bräutigam, Andrea; Zeier, Jürgen

    2016-01-01

    We investigated the relationships of the two immune-regulatory plant metabolites, salicylic acid (SA) and pipecolic acid (Pip), in the establishment of plant systemic acquired resistance (SAR), SAR-associated defense priming, and basal immunity. Using SA-deficient sid2, Pip-deficient ald1, and sid2 ald1 plants deficient in both SA and Pip, we show that SA and Pip act both independently from each other and synergistically in Arabidopsis thaliana basal immunity to Pseudomonas syringae. Transcriptome analyses reveal that SAR establishment in Arabidopsis is characterized by a strong transcriptional response systemically induced in the foliage that prepares plants for future pathogen attack by preactivating multiple stages of defense signaling and that SA accumulation upon SAR activation leads to the downregulation of photosynthesis and attenuated jasmonate responses systemically within the plant. Whereas systemic Pip elevations are indispensable for SAR and necessary for virtually the whole transcriptional SAR response, a moderate but significant SA-independent component of SAR activation and SAR gene expression is revealed. During SAR, Pip orchestrates SA-dependent and SA-independent priming of pathogen responses in a FLAVIN-DEPENDENT-MONOOXYGENASE1 (FMO1)-dependent manner. We conclude that a Pip/FMO1 signaling module acts as an indispensable switch for the activation of SAR and associated defense priming events and that SA amplifies Pip-triggered responses to different degrees in the distal tissue of SAR-activated plants. © 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved.

  4. Aspergillus oryzae-based cell factory for direct kojic acid production from cellulose.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamada, Ryosuke; Yoshie, Toshihide; Wakai, Satoshi; Asai-Nakashima, Nanami; Okazaki, Fumiyoshi; Ogino, Chiaki; Hisada, Hiromoto; Tsutsumi, Hiroko; Hata, Yoji; Kondo, Akihiko

    2014-05-18

    Kojic acid (5-Hydroxy-2-(hydroxymethyl)-4-pyrone) is one of the major secondary metabolites in Aspergillus oryzae. It is widely used in food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. The production cost, however, is too high for its use in many applications. Thus, an efficient and cost-effective kojic acid production process would be valuable. However, little is known about the complete set of genes for kojic acid production. Currently, kojic acid is produced from glucose. The efficient production of kojic acid using cellulose as an inexpensive substrate would help establish cost-effective kojic acid production. A kojic acid transcription factor gene over-expressing the A. oryzae strain was constructed. Three genes related to kojic acid production in this strain were transcribed in higher amounts than those found in the wild-type strain. This strain produced 26.4 g/L kojic acid from 80 g/L glucose. Furthermore, this strain was transformed with plasmid harboring 3 cellulase genes. The resultant A. oryzae strain successfully produced 0.18 g/L of kojic acid in 6 days of fermentation from the phosphoric acid swollen cellulose. Kojic acid was produced directly from cellulose material using genetically engineered A. oryzae. Because A. oryzae has efficient protein secretion ability and secondary metabolite productivity, an A. oryzae-based cell factory could be a platform for the production of various kinds of bio-based chemicals.

  5. Pilot plant study for ethanol production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, J S [Korea Inst. of Science and Technology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    1996-02-01

    Most of domestic alcohol fermentation factory adopt batch process of which productivity is lower than continuous fermentation process. They have made great effort to increase productivity by means of partial unit process automatization and process improvement with their accumulated experience but there is technical limitation in productivity of batch fermentation process. To produce and supply fuel alcohol, economic aspects must be considered first of all. Therefore, development of continuous fermentation process, of which productivity is high, is prerequisite to produce and use fuel alcohol but only a few foreign company possess continuous fermentation technic and use it in practical industrial scale fermentation. We constructed pilot plant (5 Stage CSTR 1 kl 99.5 v/v% ethanol/Day scale) to study some aspects stated below and our ultimate aims are production of industrial scale fuel alcohol and construction of the plant by ourselves. Some study concerned with energy saving separation and contamination control technic were entrusted to KAIST, A-ju university and KIST respectively. (author) 67 refs., 100 figs., 58 tabs.

  6. Abscisic Acid Regulation of Root Hydraulic Conductivity and Aquaporin Gene Expression Is Crucial to the Plant Shoot Growth Enhancement Caused by Rhizosphere Humic Acids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olaetxea, Maite; Mora, Verónica; Bacaicoa, Eva; Garnica, María; Fuentes, Marta; Casanova, Esther; Zamarreño, Angel M; Iriarte, Juan C; Etayo, David; Ederra, Iñigo; Gonzalo, Ramón; Baigorri, Roberto; García-Mina, Jose M

    2015-12-01

    The physiological and metabolic mechanisms behind the humic acid-mediated plant growth enhancement are discussed in detail. Experiments using cucumber (Cucumis sativus) plants show that the shoot growth enhancement caused by a structurally well-characterized humic acid with sedimentary origin is functionally associated with significant increases in abscisic acid (ABA) root concentration and root hydraulic conductivity. Complementary experiments involving a blocking agent of cell wall pores and water root transport (polyethylenglycol) show that increases in root hydraulic conductivity are essential in the shoot growth-promoting action of the model humic acid. Further experiments involving an inhibitor of ABA biosynthesis in root and shoot (fluridone) show that the humic acid-mediated enhancement of both root hydraulic conductivity and shoot growth depended on ABA signaling pathways. These experiments also show that a significant increase in the gene expression of the main root plasma membrane aquaporins is associated with the increase of root hydraulic conductivity caused by the model humic acid. Finally, experimental data suggest that all of these actions of model humic acid on root functionality, which are linked to its beneficial action on plant shoot growth, are likely related to the conformational structure of humic acid in solution and its interaction with the cell wall at the root surface. © 2015 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

  7. Cultivation characteristics of immobilized Aspergillus oryzae for kojic acid production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwak, M Y; Rhee, J S

    1992-04-15

    Aspergillus oryzae in situ grown from spores entrapped in calcium alginate gel beads was used for the production of kojic acid. The immobilized cells in flask cultures produced kojic acid in a linear proportion while maintaining the stable metabolic activity for a prolonged production period. Kojic acid was accumulated up to a high concentration of 83 g/L, at which the kojic acid began to crystallize, and, thus, the culture had to be replaced with fresh media for the next batch culture. The overall productivities of two consecutive cultivations were higher than that of free mycelial fermentation. However, the production rate of kojic acid by the immobilized cells was suddenly decreased with the appearance of central cavernae inside the immobilized gel beads after 12 days of the third batch cultivation.

  8. Acid-deposition research program. Volume 2. Effects of acid-forming emissions on soil microorganisms and microbially-mediated processes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Visser, S.; Danielson, R.M.; Parr, J.F.

    1987-02-01

    The interactions of soil physical, chemical, and biological processes are ultimately expressed in a soil's fertility and its capacity for plant production. Consequently, much of the research conducted to date regarding the impact of acid-forming pollutants on soil properties has been geared towards possible effects on plant productivity. This trend continues in this paper where the effects of acidic deposition on microbial communities are reviewed in relation to potential impact on plant growth. The objectives of the review are to discuss: (1) The effects of acid-forming emissions (primarily S-containing pollutants) on microbial community structure with emphasis on qualitative and quantitative aspects; (2) The effects of acidic deposition on microbially mediated processes (i.e., community functions); (3) Acidification effects of pollutants on symbiotic and disease-causing microorganisms. The symbionts discussed include ectomycorrhizal fungi, vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and N/sub 2/-fixing bacteria, particularly Rhizobium, while the disease-causing microorganisms will include those responsible for foliage, stem, and root diseases.

  9. Effect of the New Plant Growth Biostimulants Based on Amino Acids on Yield and Grain Quality of Winter Wheat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Popko, Małgorzata; Michalak, Izabela; Wilk, Radosław; Gramza, Mateusz; Chojnacka, Katarzyna; Górecki, Henryk

    2018-02-21

    Field and laboratory experiments were carried out in 2012-2013, aimed at evaluating the influence of new products stimulating plant growth based on amino acids on crop yield, characteristics of grain and content of macro- and micronutrients in winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.). The tests included two formulations produced in cooperation with INTERMAG Co. (Olkusz, Poland)-AminoPrim and AminoHort, containing 15% and 20% amino acids, respectively, and 0.27% and 2.1% microelements, respectively. Field experiments showed that the application of products based on amino acids influenced the increase of grain yield of winter wheat (5.4% and 11%, respectively, for the application of AminoPrim at a dose 1.0 L/ha and AminoHort at dose 1.25 L/ha) when compared to the control group without biostimulant. Laboratory tests showed an increase of technological characteristics of grain such as ash content, Zeleny sedimentation index and content of protein. The use of the tested preparations at different doses also contributed to the increase of the nutrients content in grains, in particular copper (ranging 31-50%), as well as sodium (35-43%), calcium (4.3-7.9%) and molybdenum (3.9-16%). Biostimulants based on amino acids, tested in the present study, can be recommended for an efficient agricultural production.

  10. Management and conservation of tropical acid soils for sustainable crop production. Proceedings of a consultants meeting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-06-01

    acid tolerant and P-efficient plant genotypes, (ii) addressing issues of soil acidity and infertility, and (iii) management and conservation of acid soils. The state of the art reports presented at the meeting are contained in this publication, which, as the first comprehensive treatment of the subject, is expected to serve as an invaluable source of reference to underpin future research on management practices for sustainable crop production systems on tropical acid soils. (author)

  11. Influence of fine process particles enriched with metals and metalloids on Lactuca sativa L. leaf fatty acid composition following air and/or soil-plant field exposure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schreck, Eva; Laplanche, Christophe; Le Guédard, Marina; Bessoule, Jean-Jacques; Austruy, Annabelle; Xiong, Tiantian; Foucault, Yann; Dumat, Camille

    2013-01-01

    We investigate the effect of both foliar and root uptake of a mixture of metal(loid)s on the fatty acid composition of plant leaves. Our objectives are to determine whether both contamination pathways have a similar effect and whether they interact. Lactuca sativa L. were exposed to fine process particles enriched with metal(loid)s in an industrial area. Data from a first experiment were used to conduct an exploratory statistical analysis which findings were successfully cross-validated by using the data from a second one. Both foliar and root pathways impact plant leaf fatty acid composition and do not interact. Z index (dimensionless quantity), weighted product of fatty acid concentration ratios was built up from the statistical analyses. It provides new insights on the mechanisms involved in metal uptake and phytotoxicity. Plant leaf fatty acid composition is a robust and fruitful approach to detect and understand the effects of metal(loid) contamination on plants. -- Highlights: •The study compares foliar and root transfers of metal(loid)s and their effects on plants. •Field experiments are performed combining ecotoxicological and statistical analyses. •The use of leaf fatty acid composition is a relevant indicator of exposure pathway. •The uptake pathways are independent, with an additive effect in terms of phytotoxicity. -- Metal uptake via both foliar and root pathways alters in a distinctive manner the fatty acid composition of lettuce leaves

  12. Chemical and biological relationships relevant to the effect of acid rainfall on the soil-plant system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marvin Nyborg

    1976-01-01

    This paper deals with problems of measuring acidity in rainfall and the interpretation of these measurements in terms of effects on the soil-plant system. Theoretical relationships of the carbon-dioxide-bicarbonate equalibria and its effect on rainfall acidity measurements are given. The relationship of a cation-anion balance model of acidity in rainfall to plant...

  13. Plant response-based sensing for control starategies in sustainable greenhouse production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kacira, M.; Sase, S.; Okushima, L.; Ling, P.P.

    2005-01-01

    The effect of environmental variability is one of the major concerns in experimental design for both research in plant systems and greenhouse plant production. Microclimates surrounding plants are not usually uniform. Therefore, many samples and sensors are required to obtain a true representation of the plant population. A plant monitoring system capable of reducing the required number of samples by reducing environmental variability would be more advantageous. To better understand plant-environment interaction, it is essential to study plants, microclimate surrounding the plants and the growth media. To achieve this, the monitoring system must be equipped with proper instrumentation. To achieve proper management practices and sustainable greenhouse production, it is essential first to understand plants and their interactions with their surroundings and then establish plant response-based sensing and control strategies for greenhouse processes. Therefore, an effort was conducted to review and discuss current sensing and control strategies in greenhouse research and plant production and provide recommendations on plant response-based sensing and control strategies for sustainable greenhouse production

  14. Comparative research of international exchange of plant products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Đorović Milutin T.

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available The well known events which had taken place in our country over the period 1989-2001 provoked adverse effects on foreign trade exchange of the total economy, agriculture and commodities of plant origin. These effects and changes were analyzed using corresponding indices for the sub periods 1989-1992 and 1998-2001. The foreign trade exchange balance was substantially negative in both sub periods over the analyzed period showing an aggravating trend. Export covering import declined from 78.09% to only 47.71%. The positive balance of exchange of agricultural, especially commodities of plant origin in the first four years was turned into a negative balance of exchange in the second four years. Export covering import at the agricultural level declined from 164.79% to 78.58% and at the level of commodities of plant origin from 201,76% to 87.35%. There was a significant disturbance of commodity and regional structure exchange. The share of agriculture in the total export of the country was raised from 13.82% to 18.16%. The share of plant originating commodities in the total export of agriculture was raised from 71,96% to 86,34%. Basic agricultural products predominated in the export. In addition, in the domestic export the share of developed countries decreased which contributed to poor export results and increased the import dependence of the country. Considering the above said, the need arises to increase substantially agricultural production, i.e. commodities of plant origin. The structure and output of these productions should meet the needs of both domestic and foreign markets. International standards need to be applied in order to take hold of new foreign markets, exporting high technology processed products, using intensive and efficient promotive activities. Subsequently, greater investments and a planned production are needed, liberalization and especially the system of import control in foreign trade exchange of agricultural products, i

  15. Production of sugars and levulinic acid from marine biomass Gelidium amansii.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeong, Gwi-Taek; Park, Don-Hee

    2010-05-01

    This study focused on optimization of reaction conditions for formation of sugars and levulinic acid from marine algal biomass Gelidium amansii using acid catalyst and by using statistical approach. By this approach, optimal conditions for production of sugars and levulinic acid were found as follows: glucose (reaction temperature of 139.4 degrees C, reaction time of 15.0 min, and catalyst concentration of 3.0%), galactose (108.2 degrees C, 45.0 min, and 3.0%), and levulinic acid (160.0 degrees C, 43.1 min, and 3.0%). While trying to optimize the conditions for the production of glucose and galactose, levulinic acid production was found to be minimum. Similarly, the production of glucose and galactose were found to be minimum while optimizing the conditions for the production of levulinic acid. In addition, optimized production of glucose required a higher reaction temperature and shorter reaction time than that of galactose. Levulinic acid was formed at a high reaction temperature, long reaction time, and high catalyst concentration. The combined results of this study may provide useful information to develop more economical and efficient systems for production of sugars and chemicals from marine biomass.

  16. Liquid biofuel production from volatile fatty acids

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Steinbusch, K.J.J.

    2010-03-19

    The production of renewable fuels and chemicals reduces the dependency on fossil fuels and limits the increase of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere only if a sustainable feedstock and an energy efficient process are used. The thesis assesses the possibility to use municipal and industrial waste as biomass feedstock to have little of no competition with food production, and to save greenhouse gasses emissions. Waste is a complex substrate with a diverse composition and high water content. It can be homogenized without losing its initial energy value by anaerobic conversion to volatile fatty acids (VFA). Using VFA gives the opportunity to process cheap and abundantly present biomass residues to a fuel and chemical instead of sugar containing crops or vegetable oil. This thesis describes the feasibility to convert VFA to compounds with a higher energy content using mixed culture fermentations by eliminating of oxygen and/or increasing the carbon and hydrogen content. At high hydrogen pressure, protons and electrons release via the reduction of organic products such as VFA becomes thermodynamically more attractive. Three VFA reduction reactions were studied: hydrogenation to an alcohol with (1) hydrogen and (2) an electrode as electron donor, and (3) by chain elongation with hydrogen and ethanol. Based on concentration, production rate and efficiency, elongation of acetate with hydrogen and/or ethanol was the best technique to convert VFA into a fuel. In a CSTR (Continuous-flow stirred-tank reactor), 10.5 g L{sup -1} caproic acid and 0.48 g L{sup -1} caprylic acid were produced with ethanol and/or hydrogen at a specific MCFA (medium-chain fatty acids) production activity of 2.9 g caproate and 0.09 g caprylate per gram VSS d{sup -1} (volatile suspended solids). The products were selectively removed by calcium precipitation and solvent extraction with ethyl hexanoate and petroleum ether. Microbial characterization revealed that the microbial populations were stable and

  17. Use of PSA for design of emergency mitigation systems in a hydrogen production plant using General Atomics SI cycle technology. Section 2: Sulphuric acid decomposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mendoza, A.; Nelson, P.F.; Francois, J.L.

    2010-01-01

    Throughout the past decades, the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has prompted the development of technologies for the production of clean fuels through the use of zero emissions primary energy resources, such as heat from high temperature nuclear reactors. One of the most promising of these technologies is the generation of hydrogen by the sulphur-iodine cycle coupled to a high temperature nuclear reactor, initially proposed by General Atomics. By its nature and because these will have to be large-scale plants, development of these technologies from its current phase to its procurement and construction phase, will have to incorporate emergency mitigation systems in all its sections and nuclear-chemical 'tie-in points' to prevent unwanted events that can compromise the integrity of the plant and the nearby population centres. For the particular case of the SI thermochemical cycle, a large number of safety studies have been developed; however, most of these studies have focused on hydrogen explosions and failures in the primary cooling system. While these are the most catastrophic events, it is also true that there are many other events that without having a direct impact on the nuclear-chemical coupling, could jeopardise plant operations, safety of people in nearby communities and bring economic consequences. This study examined one of these events, which is the formation of a toxic cloud driven by an uncontrolled leakage of concentrated sulphuric acid in the second section of the General Atomics SI cycle. In this section, the concentration of sulphuric acid is close to 90% in conditions of high temperature and positive pressure. Under these conditions, sulphuric acid and sulphur oxides from the reactor would immediately form a toxic cloud, that in contact with operators could cause fatalities, or could produce choking, respiratory problems and eye irritation to people in neighbouring towns. The methodology used for this analysis is the design based on

  18. Value Added Products from Hemicellulose Utilization in Dry Mill Ethanol Plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rodney Williamson, ICPB; John Magnuson, PNNL; David Reed, INL; Marco Baez, Dyadic; Marion Bradford, ICPB

    2007-03-30

    The Iowa Corn Promotion Board is the principal contracting entity for this grant funded by the US Department of Agriculture and managed by the US Department of Energy. The Iowa Corn Promotion Board subcontracted with New Jersey Institute of Technology, KiwiChem, Pacific Northwest National Lab and Idaho National Lab to conduct research for this project. KiwiChem conducted the economic engineering assessment of a dry-mill ethanol plant. New Jersey Institute of Technology conducted work on incorporating the organic acids into polymers. Pacific Northwest National Lab conducted work in hydrolysis of hemicellulose, fermentation and chemical catalysis of sugars to value-added chemicals. Idaho National Lab engineered an organism to ferment a specific organic acid. Dyadic, an enzme company, was a collaborator which provided in-kind support for the project. The Iowa Corn Promotion Board collaborated with the Ohio Corn Marketing Board and the Minnesota Corn Merchandising Council in providing cost share for the project. The purpose of this diverse collaboration was to integrate the hydrolysis, the conversion and the polymer applications into one project and increase the likelihood of success. This project had two primary goals: (1) to hydrolyze the hemicellulose fraction of the distillers grain (DG) coproduct coming from the dry-mill ethanol plants and (2) convert the sugars derived from the hemicellulose into value-added co-products via fermentation and chemical catalysis.

  19. High-resolution gas chromatography/mas spectrometry method for characterization and quantitative analysis of ginkgolic acids in ginkgo biloba plants, extracts, and dietary supplements

    Science.gov (United States)

    A high resolution GC/MS with Selected Ion Monitor (SIM) method focusing on the characterization and quantitative analysis of ginkgolic acids (GAs) in Ginkgo biloba L. plant materials, extracts and commercial products was developed and validated. The method involved sample extraction with (1:1) meth...

  20. Sulfate metabolism. I. Sulfate uptake and redistribution of acid rain sulfate by edible plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dallam, R.D.

    1987-01-01

    Sulfur is the major component of polluted air in industrialized societies. Atmospheric sulfur is converted to sulfuric acid through a series of chemical reactions which can eventually reenter many ecosystems. When edible plants are grown in soils containing varying amounts of sulfate, the roots take up and transport inorganic sulfate to the stems and leaves. The sulfate taken up by the roots and the amount transported to the stem and leaves was found to be a function of the concentration of sulfate in the soil. Inorganic sulfate taken up by a corn plant seedling can be rapidly converted to organic sulfate by the root system. Nine days after one of a pair of pea plants was inoculated with artificial acid rain sulfate (dilute H 2 35 SO 4 ) it was found that the sulfate was translocated not only in the inoculated plant, but also to the uninoculated pea plant in the same container. Also, when the leaves of a mature potato plant were inoculated with artificial acid rain sulfate it was found that the sulfate was translocated into the edible potatoes. Fractionation of the potatoes showed that most of the sulfate was water soluble of which 30% was inorganic sulfate and 70% was in the form of organic sulfur. One third of the non-water soluble translocated acid rain sulfate was equally divided between lipid and non-lipid organic sulfur of the potato. 9 references, 2 figures, 5 tables

  1. Plant Design Nuclear Fuel Element Production Capacity Optimization to Support Nuclear Power Plant in Indonesia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bambang Galung Susanto

    2007-01-01

    The optimization production capacity for designing nuclear fuel element fabrication plant in Indonesia to support the nuclear power plant has been done. From calculation and by assuming that nuclear power plant to be built in Indonesia as much as 12 NPP and having capacity each 1000 MW, the optimum capacity for nuclear fuel element fabrication plant is 710 ton UO 2 /year. The optimum capacity production selected, has considered some aspects such as fraction batch (cycle, n = 3), length of cycle (18 months), discharge burn-up value (Bd) 35,000 up 50,000 MWD/ton U, enriched uranium to be used in the NPP (3.22 % to 4.51 %), future market development for fuel element, and the trend of capacity production selected by advances country to built nuclear fuel element fabrication plant type of PWR. (author)

  2. Phytase Activity of Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from Dairy and Pharmaceutical Probiotic Products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zohreh Khodaii

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Phytate, the major storage form of phosphorus in plant seeds, can form insoluble complexes with minerals such as iron, zinc and calcium thus reducing their bioavailability. Phytase enzymes are often used to upgrade the nutritional quality of phytate-rich foods and feeds such as grains. The phytate-degrading activity of 43 lactic acid bacteria including isolates from commercial probiotic preparations, dairy products and type strains were measured. The phytate-degrading activity of bifidobacteria and lactobacillus isolates from pharmaceutical probiotics, dairy products and type strains were determined. The enzyme activity of probotic bacteria ranged between 1.1-5.4 mU and was strain not species specific. Phytase activity may thus be a useful additional attribute of probiotics to be used as food supplements.

  3. Genetic analysis of pathway regulation for enhancing branched-chain amino acid biosynthesis in plants

    KAUST Repository

    Chen, Hao; Saksa, Kristen; Zhao, Feiyi; Qiu, Joyce; Xiong, Liming

    2010-01-01

    The branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) valine, leucine and isoleucine are essential amino acids that play critical roles in animal growth and development. Animals cannot synthesize these amino acids and must obtain them from their diet. Plants

  4. Accumulation of gentisic acid as associated with systemic infections but not with the hypersensitive response in plant-pathogen interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellés, José M; Garro, Rafael; Pallás, Vicente; Fayos, Joaquín; Rodrigo, Ismael; Conejero, Vicente

    2006-02-01

    In the present work we have studied the accumulation of gentisic acid (2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, a metabolic derivative of salicylic acid, SA) in the plant-pathogen systems, Cucumis sativus and Gynura aurantiaca, infected with either prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV) or the exocortis viroid (CEVd), respectively. Both pathogens produced systemic infections and accumulated large amounts of the intermediary signal molecule gentisic acid as ascertained by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) coupled on line with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The compound was found mostly in a conjugated (beta-glucoside) form. Gentisic acid has also been found to accumulate (although at lower levels) in cucumber inoculated with low doses of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato, producing a nonnecrotic reaction. In contrast, when cucumber was inoculated with high doses of this pathogen, a hypersensitive reaction occurred, but no gentisic-acid signal was induced. This is consistent with our results supporting the idea that gentisic-acid signaling may be restricted to nonnecrotizing reactions of the host plant (Bellés et al. in Mol Plant-Microbe Interact 12:227-235, 1999). In cucumber and Gynura plants, the activity of gentisic acid as inducing signal was different to that of SA, thus confirming the data found for tomato. Exogenously supplied gentisic acid was able to induce peroxidase activity in both Gynura and cucumber plants in a similar way as SA or pathogens. However, gentisic-acid treatments strongly induced polyphenol oxidase activity in cucumber, whereas pathogen infection or SA treatment resulted in a lower induction of this enzyme. Nevertheless, gentisic acid did not induce other defensive proteins which are induced by SA in these plants. This indicates that gentisic acid could act as an additional signal to SA for the activation of plant defenses in cucumber and Gynura plants.

  5. Some biochemical reactions of strawberry plants to infection with Botrytis cinerea and salicylic acid treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Urszula Małolepsza

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The reactions of strawberry plants to infection with B. cinerea and treatment with salicylic acid has been studied. Infection of leaves with B. cinerea resulted in early increases in active oxygen species generation, superoxide dismutase and peroxidase activities and phenolic compounds content. Some increases of the above reactions were noticed in plants treated with salicylic acid but not in the plants treated with SA and then later infected with B. cinerea.

  6. Biological determinants of plant and crop productivity of flax (Linum usitatissimum L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tadeusz Zając

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available In Poland the cultivation of the fibrous form of flax (Linum usitatissimum L. is dying out, but the acreage of its oilseed form, linseed, which provides seed (Semen lini used in therapy and being a source of -linolenic acid, is expanding. Nowadays, linseed is grown in 64 countries of the world, but yield levels in these countries vary greatly. Under European conditions, seed yield of linseed shows high variation, which is evidence of little knowledge of the biology of this plant and the lack of precise cultivation solutions in agricultural technologies used. A major reason is the difficulty in obtaining optimal crop density. A sparse crop results in low above-ground biomass yield, which is translated into insufficient crop yields. The selection of highly productive domestic and foreign varieties can partially increase linseed yield; apart from some domestic varieties, the Canadian cultivar 'Flanders' and the Hungarian cultivar 'Barbara' are positive examples in this respect. There is a possibility of effective selection at early stages of linseed breeding, which bodes well for the prospect of obtaining highly productive varieties with normal or very low -linolenic acid content.

  7. Natural products – learning chemistry from plants

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Staniek, A.; Bouwmeester, H.J.; Fraser, P.D.; Kayser, O.; Martens, S.; Tissier, A.; Krol, van der A.R.; Wessjohann, L.; Warzecha, H.

    2014-01-01

    Plant natural products (PNPs) are unique in that they represent a vast array of different structural features, ranging from relatively simple molecules to very complex ones. Given the fact that many plant secondary metabolites exhibit profound biological activity, they are frequently used as

  8. Mass spectrometry of oil sands naphthenic acids : degradation in OSPW and wetland plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Headley, J. [Environment Canada, Saskatoon, SK (Canada). Water Science and Technology Directorate

    2009-07-01

    This presentation discussed mass spectrometry of oil sands naphthenic acids and the degradation in OSPW and wetland plants. It presented background information on the Athabasca oil sands and naphthenic acids which involve a mixture of alkanes and cycloalkane carboxylic acids with aliphatic side chains. The presentation also discussed mass spectrometry with electrospray operating in negative ion modes. Loop injection, external standard methods and solid phase extraction were reviewed along with improved analysis by removing background ions. Other topics that were presented included hydroponic test systems and wetland plant toxicity, growth and transpiration. It was concluded that dissipation included species containing oxygen, ozone, O{sub 4}, and O{sub 5}. tabs., figs.

  9. Procedure of Destructive Chemical Recovery of Precious Metals in Nitric Acid Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ljubičić, M.

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available The heart of the nitric acid production process is the chemical reactor containing a platinum-based catalyst pack and an associated catchment system, which allows the ammonia oxidation reaction to take place efficiently. Under the severe operating conditions imposed by the high-pressure ammonia oxidation process, the catalyst gauzes experience progressive deterioration, as shown by the restricted surface of the catalyst wires, the loss of catalytic activity and the loss of catalytic materials. The higher the pressure of gaseous ammonia oxidation, the greater the loss of platinum group metals from the surface of the applied selective heterogeneous catalysts. Total losses for one batch over the whole period of using selective heterogeneous catalysts may account in the range from 20 to 40 % of the total installed quantity of precious metals. An important part of the platinum removed from the platinum-rhodium alloy wires can be recovered at the outlet of the reactor by means of palladium catchment gauzes. However, this catchment process, which is based on the great ability of palladium to alloy with platinum, is not 100 % effective and a fraction of the platinum and practically all of the rhodium lost by the catalyst wires, evades the catchment package and is then deposited in other parts of the plant, especially heat exchangers. From the above mentioned operating equipment, the retained mass of precious metals can be recovered by the technical procedure of non-destructive and destructive chemical solid-liquid extraction.Shown is the technical procedure of destructive chemical recovery of preheater and boiler for preheating and production of steam by applying sulfuric acid (w = 20 % and subsequent procedure of raffination of derived sludge, to the final recovery of precious metals. The technical procedure of destructive chemical recovery of precious metals from preheater and boiler for preheating and production of steam in nitric acid production is

  10. Accumulation and phytotoxicity of perfluorooctanoic acid in the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Xinping; Ye, Chengchen; Liu, Yu; Zhao, Fang-Jie

    2015-01-01

    Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is widely used in the manufacture of many industrial and household products. To assess the potential environmental risk of PFOA, its accumulation, translocation and phytotoxic effects were investigated using the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana. Exposure to 18 μM PFOA-F in agar plates did not affect plant growth, but 181–1811 μM PFOA-F inhibited root and shoot growth. PFOA was more phytotoxic on shoot growth than NaF at the equivalent F concentration, with the latter having 3.9–7.6 times higher EC50 for shoot biomass than PFOA. PFOA was efficiently translocated from roots to shoots, where it existed as intact PFOA molecules without transformation evidenced by the 19 F NMR spectra. PFOA caused a significant increase in the concentration of H 2 O 2 and malondialdehyde (MDA) in shoots, indicating that oxidative stress is a likely cause of PFOA phytotoxicity. - Highlights: • PFOA is more phytotoxic on shoot growth than NaF at the equivalent F concentration. • PFOA is readily taken up and translocated from roots to shoots. • PFOA exists as intact molecules without transformation in Arabidopsis shoots. • PFOA causes oxidative stress in Arabidopsis shoots. - Perfluorooctanoic acid causes oxidative stress and is more phytotoxic on shoot growth than inorganic fluoride at the equivalent F concentration.

  11. Soil amino acid composition across a boreal forest successional sequence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nancy R. Werdin-Pfisterer; Knut Kielland; Richard D. Boone

    2009-01-01

    Soil amino acids are important sources of organic nitrogen for plant nutrition, yet few studies have examined which amino acids are most prevalent in the soil. In this study, we examined the composition, concentration, and seasonal patterns of soil amino acids across a primary successional sequence encompassing a natural gradient of plant productivity and soil...

  12. Biotechnological production of pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals in plant cell and organ cultures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hidalgo, Diego; Sanchez, Raul; Lalaleo, Liliana; Bonfill, Mercedes; Corchete, Purificacion; Palazon, Javier

    2018-03-09

    Plant biofactories are biotechnological platforms based on plant cell and organ cultures used for the production of pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals, although to date only a few of these systems have successfully been implemented at an industrial level. Metabolic engineering is possibly the most straightforward strategy to boost pharmaceutical production in plant biofactories, but social opposition to the use of GMOs means empirical approaches are still being used. Plant secondary metabolism involves thousands of different enzymes, some of which catalyze specific reactions, giving one product from a particular substrate, whereas others can yield multiple products from the same substrate. This trait opens plant cell biofactories to new applications, in which the natural metabolic machinery of plants can be harnessed for the bioconversion of phytochemicals or even the production of new bioactive compounds. Synthetic biological pipelines involving the bioconversion of natural substrates into products with a high market value may be established by the heterologous expression of target metabolic genes in model plants. To summarize the state of the art of plant biofactories and their applications for the pipeline production of cosme-, pharma- and biopharmaceuticals. In order to demonstrate the great potential of plant biofactories for multiple applications in the biotechnological production of pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals, this review broadly covers the following: plant biofactories based on cell and hairy root cultures; secondary metabolite production; biotransformation reactions; metabolic engineering tools applied in plant biofactories; and biopharmaceutical production. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  13. Conversion of Ulba Metallurgy Plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Onoprienko, O.

    1996-01-01

    General Information 'Ulba Metallurgical plant' Joint Stock Company successfully operates for more than 46 years. The plant was established by MINSREDMASH, USSR and at the present moment has finished complexes for production of nuclear fuel for atomic power stations, tantalum and superconducting materials production, beryllium, hydrofluoric acid manufacture and engineering production. Problem Essence In spite of the monopoly possession of tantalum manufacture, beryllium and uranium fuel, superconducting materials in Commonwealth of Independent States countries, company has serious financial problems due to the critical situation in Commonwealth of Independent States countries, production ties collapse and fast market demand decrease for the Ulba Metallurgical Plant Joint Stock Company products. The alternative decision is to create substitute productions, conversion integrating and introducing new products to the world market

  14. Transgenic barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) expressing the wheat aluminium resistance gene (TaALMT1) shows enhanced phosphorus nutrition and grain production when grown on an acid soil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delhaize, Emmanuel; Taylor, Phillip; Hocking, Peter J; Simpson, Richard J; Ryan, Peter R; Richardson, Alan E

    2009-06-01

    Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), genetically modified with the Al(3+) resistance gene of wheat (TaALMT1), was compared with a non-transformed sibling line when grown on an acidic and highly phosphate-fixing ferrosol supplied with a range of phosphorus concentrations. In short-term pot trials (26 days), transgenic barley expressing TaALMT1 (GP-ALMT1) was more efficient than a non-transformed sibling line (GP) at taking up phosphorus on acid soil, but the genotypes did not differ when the soil was limed. Differences in phosphorus uptake efficiency on acid soil could be attributed not only to the differential effects of aluminium toxicity on root growth between the genotypes, but also to differences in phosphorus uptake per unit root length. Although GP-ALMT1 out-performed GP on acid soil, it was still not as efficient at taking up phosphorus as plants grown on limed soil. GP-ALMT1 plants grown in acid soil possessed substantially smaller rhizosheaths than those grown in limed soil, suggesting that root hairs were shorter. This is a probable reason for the lower phosphorus uptake efficiency. When grown to maturity in large pots, GP-ALMT1 plants produced more than twice the grain as GP plants grown on acid soil and 80% of the grain produced by limed controls. Expression of TaALMT1 in barley was not associated with a penalty in either total shoot or grain production in the absence of Al(3+), with both genotypes showing equivalent yields in limed soil. These findings demonstrate that an important crop species can be genetically engineered to successfully increase grain production on an acid soil.

  15. Changes of organic acid exudation and rhizosphere pH in rice plants under chromium stress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zeng Fanrong; Chen Song; Miao Ying; Wu Feibo; Zhang Guoping

    2008-01-01

    The effect of chromium (Cr) stress on the changes of rhizosphere pH, organic acid exudation, and Cr accumulation in plants was studied using two rice genotypes differing in grain Cr accumulation. The results showed that rhizosphere pH increased with increasing level of Cr in the culture solution and with an extended time of Cr exposure. Among the six organic acids examined in this experiment, oxalic and malic acid contents were relatively higher, and had a significant positive correlation with the rhizosphere pH, indicating that they play an important role in changing rhizosphere pH. The Cr content in roots was significantly higher than that in stems and leaves. Cr accumulation in plants was significantly and positively correlated with rhizosphere pH, and the exudation of oxalic, malic and citric acids, suggesting that an increase in rhizosphere pH, and exudation of oxalic, malic and citric acid enhances Cr accumulation in rice plants. - Rhizosphere pH and organic acid exudation of rice roots are markedly affected by chromium level in culture solution

  16. Feasibility study of microalgal and jatropha biodiesel production plants: Exergy analysis approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ofori-Boateng, Cynthia; Keat, Teong Lee; JitKang, Lim

    2012-01-01

    The exergy analyses performed in this study are based on three thermodynamic performance parameters namely exergy destruction, exergy efficiency and thermodynamic improvement potentials. After mathematical analysis with Aspen Plus software, the results showed that 64% and 44% of the total exergy content of the input resources into microalgal methyl ester (MME) and jatropha methyl ester (JME) production plants were destroyed respectively for 1 ton of biodiesel produced. This implies that only 36% and 56% (for MME and JME production plants respectively) useful energy in the products is available to do work. The highest and lowest exergy destructions were recorded in the oil extraction units (38% and 39% of the total exergy destroyed for MME and JME plants respectively) and transesterification units (5% and 2% of total exergy destroyed for MME and JME plants respectively) respectively for 1 ton biodiesel produced. Since sustainable biodiesel production depends on cultivation of feedstock, oil extraction and transesterification processes, exergy analysis which is carried out on only the transesterification unit cannot justify the thermodynamic feasibility of the whole biodiesel production plant unless a complete thermodynamic assessment has been done for the whole plant. Thus, according to this study which considers all the biodiesel production processes, MME and JME production plants are not thermodynamically feasible. - Highlights: ► 64% of exergy content of input resources into MME production plant is destroyed. ► 44% of exergy content of input resources into JME production plant is destroyed. ► Exergetic efficiencies of MME and JME production plants are far less than 1. ► Thermodynamically, MME and JME production plants are unsustainable. ► Exergy loss can be reduced by using heat integrated reactive distillation process.

  17. Folic Acid Production by Engineered Ashbya gossypii.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serrano-Amatriain, Cristina; Ledesma-Amaro, Rodrigo; López-Nicolás, Rubén; Ros, Gaspar; Jiménez, Alberto; Revuelta, José Luis

    2016-11-01

    Folic acid (vitamin B 9 ) is the common name of a number of chemically related compounds (folates), which play a central role as cofactors in one-carbon transfer reactions. Folates are involved in the biosynthesis and metabolism of nucleotides and amino acids, as well as supplying methyl groups to a broad range of substrates, such as hormones, DNA, proteins, and lipids, as part of the methyl cycle. Humans and animals cannot synthesize folic acid and, therefore, need them in the diet. Folic acid deficiency is an important and underestimated problem of micronutrient malnutrition affecting billions of people worldwide. Therefore, the addition of folic acid as food additive has become mandatory in many countries thus contributing to a growing demand of the vitamin. At present, folic acid is exclusively produced by chemical synthesis despite its associated environmental burdens. In this work, we have metabolically engineered the industrial fungus Ashbya gossypii in order to explore its potential as a natural producer of folic acid. Overexpression of FOL genes greatly enhanced the synthesis of folates and identified GTP cyclohydrolase I as the limiting step. Metabolic flux redirection from competing pathways also stimulated folic acid production. Finally, combinatorial engineering synergistically increased the production of different bioactive forms of the folic vitamin. Overall, strains were constructed which produce 146-fold (6595µg/L) more vitamin than the wild-type and by far represents the highest yield reported. Copyright © 2016 International Metabolic Engineering Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Production of Odd-Carbon Dicarboxylic Acids in Escherichia coli Using an Engineered Biotin-Fatty Acid Biosynthetic Pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haushalter, Robert W; Phelan, Ryan M; Hoh, Kristina M; Su, Cindy; Wang, George; Baidoo, Edward E K; Keasling, Jay D

    2017-04-05

    Dicarboxylic acids are commodity chemicals used in the production of plastics, polyesters, nylons, fragrances, and medications. Bio-based routes to dicarboxylic acids are gaining attention due to environmental concerns about petroleum-based production of these compounds. Some industrial applications require dicarboxylic acids with specific carbon chain lengths, including odd-carbon species. Biosynthetic pathways involving cytochrome P450-catalyzed oxidation of fatty acids in yeast and bacteria have been reported, but these systems produce almost exclusively even-carbon species. Here we report a novel pathway to odd-carbon dicarboxylic acids directly from glucose in Escherichia coli by employing an engineered pathway combining enzymes from biotin and fatty acid synthesis. Optimization of the pathway will lead to industrial strains for the production of valuable odd-carbon diacids.

  19. The occurrence of p-coumaric acid and ferulic acid in fossil plant materials and their use as UV-proxy.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Blokker, P.; Boelen, P.; Broekman, R.A.

    2006-01-01

    The applicability of p-coumaric acid and ferulic acid concentrations or ratios in (sub)fossil plant remnant as UV-B proxies relies on various aspects, which are discussed in this paper and will be illustrated with some experimental data. A newly developed THM-micropyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass

  20. Effect of inhibitors on acid production by baker's yeast.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sigler, K; Knotková, A; Kotyk, A

    1978-01-01

    Glucose-induced acid extrusion, respiration and anaerobic fermentation in baker's yeast was studied with the aid of sixteen inhibitors. Uranyl(2+) nitrate affected the acid extrusion more anaerobically than aerobically; the complexing of Mg2+ and Ca2+ by EDTA at the membrane had no effect. Inhibitors of glycolysis (iodoacetamide, N-ethylmaleimide, fluoride) suppressed acid production markedly, and so did the phosphorylation-blocking arsenate. Fluoroacetate, inhibiting the citric-acid cycle, had no effect. Inhibition by uncouplers depended on their pKa values: 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (pKa 0.4) less than 2,4-dinitrophenol (4.1) less than azide (4.7) less than 3-chlorophenylhydrazonomalononitrile (6.0). Inhibition by trinitrophenol was only slightly increased by its acetylation. Cyanide and nonpermeant oligomycin showed practically no effect; inhibition by dicyclohexylcarbodiimide was delayed but potent. The concentration profiles of inhibition of acid production differed from those of respiration and fermentation. Thus, though the acid production is a metabolically dependent process, it does not reflect the intensity of metabolism, except partly in the first half of glycolysis.

  1. Transgenic plants as green factories for vaccine production | Vinod ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Edible vaccine technology represents an alternative to fermentation based vaccine production system. Transgenic plants are used for the production of plant derived specific vaccines with native immunogenic properties stimulating both humoral and mucosal immune responses. Keeping in view the practical need of new ...

  2. Food-Energy Interactive Tradeoff Analysis of Sustainable Urban Plant Factory Production Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li-Chun Huang

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available This research aims to analyze the food–energy interactive nexus of sustainable urban plant factory systems. Plant factory systems grow agricultural products within artificially controlled growing environment and multi-layer vertical growing systems. The system controls the supply of light, temperature, humidity, nutrition, water, and carbon dioxide for growing plants. Plant factories are able to produce consistent and high-quality agricultural products within less production space for urban areas. The production systems use less labor, pesticide, water, and nutrition. However, food production of plant factories has many challenges including higher energy demand, energy costs, and installation costs of artificially controlled technologies. In the research, stochastic optimization model and linear complementarity models are formulated to conduct optimal and equilibrium food–energy analysis of plant factory production. A case study of plant factories in the Taiwanese market is presented.

  3. Microbial production of citric acid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luciana P. S Vandenberghe

    1999-01-01

    Full Text Available Citric acid is the most important organic acid produced in tonnage and is extensively used in food and pharmaceutical industries. It is produced mainly by submerged fermentation using Aspergillus niger or Candida sp. from different sources of carbohydrates, such as molasses and starch based media. However, other fermentation techniques, e.g. solid state fermentation and surface fermentation, and alternative sources of carbon such as agro-industrial residues have been intensively studied showing great perspective to its production. This paper reviews recent developments on citric acid production by presenting a brief summary of the subject, describing micro-organisms, production techniques, and substrates, etc.O ácido cítrico é o ácido mais produzido em termos de tonagem e é extensivamente utilizado pelas indústrias alimentícia e farmacêutica. É produzido principalmente por fermentação submersa utilizando o fungo Aspergillus niger e leveduras do gênero Candida sp. à partir de diferentes fontes de carbono, como a glicose e meios à base de amido. No entanto, outras técnicas de fermentação, e.g. fermentação no estado sólido e em superfície, e fontes alternativas de carbono tem sido intensamente estudadas mostrando grande perspectivas para o processo. O presente trabalho apresenta um resumo dos últimos avanços sobre a produção do ácido cítrico, descrevendo de maneira sucinta os trabalhos mais recentes, descrevendo microrganismos, técnicas de produção e substratos empregados, etc.

  4. Potential Use of Gelidium amansii Acid Hydrolysate for Lactic Acid Production by Lactobacillus rhamnosus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sung-Soo Jang

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Galactose and glucose are the main monosaccharides produced from the saccharification of Gelidium amansii. They were hydrolysed with 3 % (by volume H2SO4 at 140 °C for 5 min and obtained at concentrations of 19.60 and 10.21 g/L, respectively. G. amansii hydrolysate (5 %, by mass per volume was used as a substrate for L(+-lactic acid production by Lactobacillus rhamnosus. The maximum lactic acid yield (YP/S was 42.03 % with optical purity of 84.54 %. Lactic acid produced from G. amansii hydrolysate can be applicable, among others, for the production of lactic acid esters, like ethyl or methyl lactate, and disinfectant in seaweed cultivation.

  5. Antioxidant Capacity Determination in Plants and Plant-Derived Products: A Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pop, Aneta; Cimpeanu, Carmen; Predoi, Gabriel

    2016-01-01

    The present paper aims at reviewing and commenting on the analytical methods applied to antioxidant and antioxidant capacity assessment in plant-derived products. Aspects related to oxidative stress, reactive oxidative species' influence on key biomolecules, and antioxidant benefits and modalities of action are discussed. Also, the oxidant-antioxidant balance is critically discussed. The conventional and nonconventional extraction procedures applied prior to analysis are also presented, as the extraction step is of pivotal importance for isolation and concentration of the compound(s) of interest before analysis. Then, the chromatographic, spectrometric, and electrochemical methods for antioxidant and antioxidant capacity determination in plant-derived products are detailed with respect to their principles, characteristics, and specific applications. Peculiarities related to the matrix characteristics and other factors influencing the method's performances are discussed. Health benefits of plants and derived products are described, as indicated in the original source. Finally, critical and conclusive aspects are given when it comes to the choice of a particular extraction procedure and detection method, which should consider the nature of the sample, prevalent antioxidant/antioxidant class, and the mechanism underlying each technique. Advantages and disadvantages are discussed for each method. PMID:28044094

  6. Lipid and fatty acid metabolism in Ralstonia eutropha: relevance for the biotechnological production of value-added products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riedel, Sebastian L; Lu, Jingnan; Stahl, Ulf; Brigham, Christopher J

    2014-02-01

    Lipid and fatty acid metabolism has been well studied in model microbial organisms like Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. The major precursor of fatty acid biosynthesis is also the major product of fatty acid degradation (β-oxidation), acetyl-CoA, which is a key metabolite for all organisms. Controlling carbon flux to fatty acid biosynthesis and from β-oxidation allows for the biosynthesis of natural products of biotechnological importance. Ralstonia eutropha can utilize acetyl-CoA from fatty acid metabolism to produce intracellular polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA). R. eutropha can also be engineered to utilize fatty acid metabolism intermediates to produce different PHA precursors. Metabolism of lipids and fatty acids can be rerouted to convert carbon into other value-added compounds like biofuels. This review discusses the lipid and fatty acid metabolic pathways in R. eutropha and how they can be used to construct reagents for the biosynthesis of products of industrial importance. Specifically, how the use of lipids or fatty acids as the sole carbon source in R. eutropha cultures adds value to these biotechnological products will be discussed here.

  7. Isolation of 14C labelled amino acids by biosynthesis in maize plants (Zea mais L.)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carreras, N.; Mazon, M.P.

    1983-01-01

    A method of obtaining 14 C labelled amino acids by biosynthesis in maize plants which had assimilated 14CO 2 , has been assayed. The plants were labelled for 60 minutes with 14 C O2 produced from Ba 14 C O3 (specific activity of 148 KBq/μmol). An extract of the soluble compounds was obtained with 80% ethanol and the amino acids were separated from the rest of the soluble compounds by ion exchange chromatography on column of Dowex 50-X8 resin. Finally, seventeen amino acids were isolated and identified from the purified extract. The acid amino acids were separated in anionic column (Dowex 1-X8) and the neutral and basic amino acids in cationic column (Dowex 50-X4). (Author) 56 refs

  8. Isolation of carbon 14 labelled amino acids by biosynthesis in maize plants (zea mais L.)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carreras, N.; Mazon, M.P.

    1983-01-01

    A method of obtaining 14 C labelled amino acids by biosynthesis in maize plants which had assimilated 14 CO 2 , has been assayed. The plants were labelled for 60 minutes with 14 CO 2 produced from Ba 14 CO 3 (specific activity of 148 KBq/μmol). An extract of the soluble compounds was obtained with 80% ethanol and the amino acids were separated from the rest of the soluble compounds by ion exchange chromatography on column of Dowex 50-X8 resin. Finally, seventeen amino acids were isolated and identified from the purified extract. The acid amino acids were separated in anionic column (Dowex 1-X8) and the neutral and basic amino acids in cationic columns (Dowex 50-X4). (author)

  9. Rapid in vitro production of cloned plants of Uraria picta (Jacq.) DC-A rare medicinal herb in long-term culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rai, Santosh Kumar; Sharma, Meena; Jain, Madhu; Awasthi, Abhishek; Purshottam, Dharmendra Kumar; Nair, Narayanan Kuttanpillai; Sharma, Ashok Kumar

    2010-11-01

    An efficient in vitro process for rapid production of cloned plants of Uraria picta has been developed employing nodal stem segments taken from field-grown plants. Explants showed bud-break followed by regeneration of shoots with restricted growth within 12 days on modified Murashige and Skoog's medium supplemented with 0.25 mg l(-1) each of 6-benzylaminopurine and indole-3-acetic acid and 25 mg l(-1) adenine sulfate. Normal growth of shoots with good proliferation rate was achieved by reducing the concentrations of 6-benzylaminopurine and indole-3-acetic acid to 0.1 mg l(-1) each and incorporating 0.5 mg l(-1) gibberellic acid in the medium in which, on an average, 19.6 shoots per explant were produced. Further, during successive subcultures, increased concentrations of adenine sulfate (50 mg l(-l)) and gibberellic acid (2 mg l(-l)) along with the addition of 20 mg l(-l)  DL: -tryptophan were found conducive to control the problem of necrosis of shoots. In this treatment, several "crops" of shoots were obtained from single culture by repeated subculturing of basal portion of stalk in long-term. Isolated shoots rooted 100% in 0.25 mg l(-1) indole-3-butyric acid. In vitro-raised plants after hardening in inorganic salt solution grew normally in soil and came to flowering. Genetic fidelity of in vitro-raised plants was ascertained by rapid amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Also, quantitative estimation of two isoflavonones in their root extracts further confirmed true-to-type nature of plantlets.

  10. Survival and Growth of Probiotic Lactic Acid Bacteria in Refrigerated Pickle Products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Sicun; Breidt, Fred; Price, Robert; Pérez-Díaz, Ilenys

    2017-01-01

    We examined 10 lactic acid bacteria that have been previously characterized for commercial use as probiotic cultures, mostly for dairy products, including 1 Pediococcus and 9 Lactobacilli. Our objectives were to develop a rapid procedure for determining the long-term survivability of these cultures in acidified vegetable products and to identify suitable cultures for probiotic brined vegetable products. We therefore developed assays to measure acid resistance of these cultures to lactic and acetic acids, which are present in pickled vegetable products. We used relatively high acid concentrations (compared to commercial products) of 360 mM lactic acid and 420 mM acetic acid to determine acid resistance with a 1 h treatment. Growth rates were measured in a cucumber juice medium at pH 5.3, 4.2, and 3.8, at 30 °C and 0% to 2% NaCl. Significant differences in acid resistance and growth rates were found among the 10 cultures. In general, the acid resistant strains had slower growth rates than the acid sensitive strains. Based on the acid resistance data, selected cultures were tested for long-term survival in a simulated acidified refrigerated cucumber product. We found that one of the most acid resistant strains (Lactobacillus casei) could survive for up to 63 d at 4 °C without significant loss of viability at 10 8 CFU/mL. These data may aid in the development of commercial probiotic refrigerated pickle products. © 2016 Institute of Food Technologists®.

  11. Plant Products for Innovative Biomaterials in Dentistry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena M. Varoni

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Dental biomaterials and natural products represent two of the main growing research fields, revealing plant-derived compounds may play a role not only as nutraceuticals in affecting oral health, but also in improving physico-chemical properties of biomaterials used in dentistry. Therefore, our aim was to collect all available data concerning the utilization of plant polysaccharides, proteins and extracts rich in bioactive phytochemicals in enhancing performance of dental biomaterials. Although compelling evidences are suggestive of a great potential of plant products in promoting material-tissue/cell interface, to date, only few authors have investigated their use in development of innovative dental biomaterials. A small number of studies have reported plant extract-based titanium implant coatings and periodontal regenerative materials. To the best of our knowledge, this review is the first to deal with this topic, highlighting a general lack of research findings in an interesting field which still needs to be investigated.

  12. Screening of Gibberellic Acid Production by Pseudomonas SPP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khine Zar Wynn Myint; Khin Mya Lwin; Myo Myint

    2010-12-01

    The microbial gibberellic acid (GA3) production of Pseudomonas spp., was studied and qualitatively indentified by UV spectrophotometer. 20 strains of Pseudomonas spp., were isolated and screened the gibberellic acid productivily in King's B medium. Among them, only four strains can produce microbial gibberellic acid. The Rf values and colour appearance under UV were the same as authentic gibberellic acid. Moreover, the gibberellic acid producer strains were identified as Pseudomonas spp., by cultural, biochemical and drug sensitivity pattern.

  13. Batch fermentative production of lactic acid from green- sugarcane juices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liliana Serna Cock

    2004-07-01

    Full Text Available Juice from the CC85-92 variety of green (unburned sugar cane was tested as a suitable substrate in lactic-acid production. Fermentations were carried out with a homo-fermentative strain isolated from crops of the same variety of cane. Both the centrifugation pre-treatment and concentrated-nitrogen effects on substrate conversion, lactic-acid concentration and yield were evaluated. After a fermentation time of 48 h at 32° C with 5% of yeast extract as nitrogen source, 40,78 g/L of lactic-acid concentration, 0.58 g/g of product yield and 33% of substrate conversion were obtained. Centrifugation did not affect lactic acid production. Key words: Lactic acid, green sugar cane, Lactococcus lactis subs. lactis.

  14. 21 CFR 573.500 - Condensed, extracted glutamic acid fermentation product.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 6 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Condensed, extracted glutamic acid fermentation product. 573.500 Section 573.500 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND... fermentation product. Condensed, extracted glutamic acid fermentation product may be safely used in animal feed...

  15. Lipid production in aquatic plant Azolla at vegetative and reproductive stages and in response to abiotic stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miranda, Ana F; Liu, Zhiqian; Rochfort, Simone; Mouradov, Aidyn

    2018-03-01

    The aquatic plant Azolla became increasingly popular as bioenergy feedstock because of its high growth rate, production of biomass with high levels of biofuel-producing molecules and ability to grow on marginal lands. In this study, we analysed the contribution of all organs of Azolla to the total yield of lipids at vegetative and reproductive stages and in response to stress. Triacylglycerol-containing lipid droplets were detected in all (vegetative and reproductive) organs with the highest level in the male microsporocarps and microspores. As a result, significantly higher total yields of lipids were detected in Azolla filiculoides and Azolla pinnata at the reproductive stage. Starving changed the yield and composition of the fatty acid as a result of re-direction of carbon flow from fatty acid to anthocyanin pathways. The composition of lipids, in regard the length and degree of unsaturation of fatty acids, in Azolla meets most of the important requirements for biodiesel standards. The ability of Azolla to grow on wastewaters, along with their high productivity rate, makes it an attractive feedstock for the production of biofuels. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  16. Ethylene production throughout growth and development of plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wheeler, Raymond M.; Peterson, Barbara V.; Stutte, Gary W.

    2004-01-01

    Ethylene production by 10 or 20 m2 stands of wheat, soybean, lettuce, potato, and tomato was monitored throughout growth and development in an atmospherically closed plant chamber. Chamber ethylene levels varied among species and rose during periods of canopy expansion and rapid growth for all species. Following this, ethylene levels either declined during seed fill and maturation for wheat and soybean, or remained relatively constant for potato and tomato (during flowering and early fruit development). Lettuce plants were harvested during rapid growth and peak ethylene production. Chamber ethylene levels increased rapidly during tomato ripening, reaching concentrations about 10 times that measured during vegetative growth. The highest ethylene production rates during vegetative growth ranged from 1.6 to 2.5 nmol m-2 d-1 during rapid growth of lettuce and wheat stands, or about 0.3 to 0.5 nmol g-1 fresh weight per hour. Estimates of stand ethylene production during tomato ripening showed that rates reached 43 nmol m-2 d-1 in one study and 93 nmol m-2 d-1 in a second study with higher lighting, or about 50x that of the rate during vegetative growth of tomato. In a related test with potato, the photoperiod was extended from 12 to 24 hours (continuous light) at 58 days after planting (to increase tuber yield), but this change in the environment caused a sharp increase in ethylene production from the basal rate of 0.4 to 6.2 nmol m-2 d-1. Following this, the photoperiod was changed back to 12 h at 61 days and ethylene levels decreased. The results suggest three separate categories of ethylene production were observed with whole stands of plants: 1) production during rapid vegetative growth, 2) production during climacteric fruit ripening, and 3) production from environmental stress.

  17. Cleaner production of citric acid by recycling its extraction wastewater treated with anaerobic digestion and electrodialysis in an integrated citric acid-methane production process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Jian; Su, Xian-Feng; Bao, Jia-Wei; Chen, Yang-Qiu; Zhang, Hong-Jian; Tang, Lei; Wang, Ke; Zhang, Jian-Hua; Chen, Xu-Sheng; Mao, Zhong-Gui

    2015-01-01

    To solve the pollution problem of extraction wastewater in citric acid production, an integrated citric acid-methane production process was proposed. Extraction wastewater was treated through anaerobic digestion and the anaerobic digestion effluent (ADE) was recycled for the next batch of citric acid fermentation, thus eliminating wastewater discharge and reducing water consumption. Excessive Na(+) contained in ADE could significantly inhibit citric acid fermentation in recycling and was removed by electrodialysis in this paper. Electrodialysis performance was improved after pretreatment of ADE with air stripping and activated carbon adsorption to remove precipitable metal ions and pigments. Moreover, the concentrate water was recycled and mixed with feed to improve the water recovery rate above 95% in electrodialysis treatment, while the dilute water was collected for citric acid fermentation. The removal rate of Na(+) in ADE was above 95% and the citric acid production was even higher than that with tap water. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Enterobacter sp. I-3, a bio-herbicide inhibits gibberellins biosynthetic pathway and regulates abscisic acid and amino acids synthesis to control plant growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Radhakrishnan, Ramalingam; Park, Jae-Man; Lee, In-Jung

    2016-12-01

    Very few bacterial species were identified as bio-herbicides for weed control. The present research was focused to elucidate the plant growth retardant properties of Enterobacter sp. I-3 during their interaction by determining the changes in endogenous photosynthetic pigments, plant hormones and amino acids. The two bacterial isolates I-4-5 and I-3 were used to select the superior bacterium for controlling weed seeds (Echinochloa crus-galli L. and Portulaca oleracea L.) germination. The post-inoculation of I-3 (Enterobacter sp. I-3) significantly inhibited the weeds seed germination than their controls. The mechanism of bacterium induced plant growth reduction was identified in lettuce treated with I-3 bacterium and compared their effects with known chemical herbicide, trinexapac-ethyl (TE). The treatment of I-3 and TE showed a significant inhibitory effect on shoot length, leaf number, leaf length, leaf width, shoot weight, root weight and chlorophyll content in lettuce seedlings. The endogenous gibberellins (GAs) and abscisic acid (ABA) analysis showed that Enterobacter sp. I-3 treated plants had lower levels of GAs (GA 12 , GA 19 , GA 20 and GA 8 ) and GAs/ABA ratio and then, the higher level of ABA when compared to their controls. Indeed, the individual amino acids ie., aspartic acid, glutamic acid, glycine, threonine, alanine, serine, leucine, isoleucine and tyrosine were declined in TE and I-3 exposed plants. Our results suggest that the utilization of Enterobacter sp. I-3 inhibits the GAs pathway and amino acids synthesis in weeds to control their growth can be an alternative to chemical herbicides. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  19. Nitrogenous compounds stimulate glucose-derived acid production by oral Streptococcus and Actinomyces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norimatsu, Yuka; Kawashima, Junko; Takano-Yamamoto, Teruko; Takahashi, Nobuhiro

    2015-09-01

    Both Streptococcus and Actinomyces can produce acids from dietary sugars and are frequently found in caries lesions. In the oral cavity, nitrogenous compounds, such as peptides and amino acids, are provided continuously by saliva and crevicular gingival fluid. Given that these bacteria can also utilize nitrogen compounds for their growth, it was hypothesized that nitrogenous compounds may influence their acid production; however, no previous studies have examined this topic. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the effects of nitrogenous compounds (tryptone and glutamate) on glucose-derived acid production by Streptococcus and Actinomyces. Acid production was evaluated using a pH-stat method under anaerobic conditions, whereas the amounts of metabolic end-products were quantified using high performance liquid chromatography. Tryptone enhanced glucose-derived acid production by up to 2.68-fold, whereas glutamate enhanced Streptococcus species only. However, neither tryptone nor glutamate altered the end-product profiles, indicating that the nitrogenous compounds stimulate the whole metabolic pathways involving in acid production from glucose, but are not actively metabolized, nor do they alter metabolic pathways. These results suggest that nitrogenous compounds in the oral cavity promote acid production by Streptococcus and Actinomyces in vivo. © 2015 The Societies and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  20. Effect of salicylic acid on the growth photosynthesis and carbohydrate metabolism in salt stressed maize plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moussa, H.R.; Khodary, S.E.A.

    2003-01-01

    Aqueous solutions of salicylic acid as a spray to Na CI-treated corn (Zea mays L,) significantly increased the growth of shoots and roots as measured after seven days of treatment. Spraying of salicylic acid caused significant increases in the activity of both ribulose 1,5 bisphosphate carboxylase (rubisco) enzyme and photosynthetic pigments. Moreover, salicylic acid treatment induced high values of soluble carbohydrate fractions in salt stressed plants as compared with salicylic acid treated samples. These data suggest that salicylic acid might improve the growth pattern of NaCl-treated maize plants via increasing the rate of photosynthesis and carbohydrate metabolism

  1. Application of Modern Technologies for Nuclear Power Plant Productivity Improvements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joseph, A. Naser

    2011-01-01

    The nuclear power industry in several countries is concerned about the ability to maintain current high plant performance levels due to aging and obsolescence, knowledge drain, fewer plant staff, new requirements and commitments, unnecessary workloads and stress levels, and human errors. Current plant operations are labor-intensive due to the vast number of operational and support activities required by the commonly used technology in most plants. These concerns increase as plants extend their operating life. In addition, there is the desire by many plants to further improve performance while reducing human errors and increasingly focus on reducing operations and maintenance costs. New productivity improvement capabilities with measurable economic benefits are needed so that a successful business case can be made for their use. Improved and new instrumentation and control, human-system interface, information and communications technologies used properly can address concerns about cost-effectively maintaining current performance levels and enable shifts to even higher performance levels. This can be accomplished through the use of new technology implementations to improve productivity, reduce costs of systemic inefficiencies and avoid unexpected costs. Many of the same type of productivity improvements for operating plants will be applicable for new plants. As new plants are being built, it is important to include these productivity improvements or at least provide the ability to implement them easily later

  2. 2012: no trans fatty acids in Spanish bakery products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ansorena, Diana; Echarte, Andrea; Ollé, Rebeca; Astiasarán, Iciar

    2013-05-01

    Trans fatty acids (TFA) are strongly correlated with an increased risk of cardiovascular and other chronic diseases. Current dietary recommendations exclude bakery products from frequent consumption basically due to their traditionally high content of TFA. The aim of this work was to analyse the lipid profile of different bakery products currently commercialised in Spain and with a conventionally high fat and TFA content. Premium and store brands for each product were included in the study. No significant amounts of TFA were found in any of the analysed products, regardless the brand. TFA content ranged between 0.17 g and 0.22 g/100 g product (mean=0.19 g/100 g product). Expressed on percentage of fatty acids, the maximum value was 0.87 g/100 g fatty acids and the mean value was 0.68%. These data are significantly lower than those observed in previously published papers for these types of products, and highlighted the importance of updating food composition databases in order to accurately estimate the real and current intake of TFA. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. ruminants by amino acid analysis of the products of

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    reveals that in all cases histidine is the limiting amino acid for milk production. Comparison of the milk production potential predicted from the duodenal amino acid supply with that predicted from ... also recognized, in ruminants, as'a critical point in the chain .... be used to model the in vivo situation and measurement of.

  4. The effects of surface-applied jasmonic and salicylic acids on caterpillar growth and damage to tomato plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aaron L. Iverson; Louis R. Iverson; Steve Eshita

    2001-01-01

    We tested the role of salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA) in altering the tomato plant's defense against herbivory by tobacco hornworm. Treatments of SA or JA were topically applied to tomato plants, hornworm consumption was allowed to proceed for 12 days, and harvest analyses were performed Measurements taken included a subjective plant rating (1-10 score...

  5. Pb-induced responses in Zygophyllum fabago plants are organ-dependent and modulated by salicylic acid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    López-Orenes, Antonio; Martínez-Pérez, Ascensión; Calderón, Antonio A; Ferrer, María A

    2014-11-01

    Zygophyllum fabago is a promising species for restoring heavy metal (HM) polluted soils, although the mechanisms involved in HM tolerance in this non-model plant remain largely unknown. This paper analyses the extent to which redox-active compounds and enzymatic antioxidants in roots, stems and leaves are responsible for Pb tolerance in a metallicolous ecotype of Z. fabago and the possible influence of salicylic acid (SA) pretreatment (24 h, 0.5 mM SA) in the response to Pb stress. SA pretreatment reduced both the accumulation of Pb in roots and even more so the concentration of Pb in aerial parts of the plants, although a similar drop in the content of chlorophylls and in the maximum quantum yield of photosystem II was observed in both Pb- and SA-Pb-treated plants. Pb increased the endogenous free SA levels in all organs and this response was enhanced in root tissues upon SA pretreatment. Generally, Pb induced a reduction in catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and glutathione reductase specific activities, whereas dehydroascorbate reductase was increased in all organs of control plants. SA pretreatment enhanced the Pb-induced H2O2 accumulation in roots by up-regulating Fe-superoxide dismutase isoenzymes. Under Pb stress, the GSH redox ratio remained highly reduced in all organs while the ascorbic acid redox ratio dropped in leaf tissues where a rise in lipid peroxidation products and electrolyte leakage was observed. Finally, an organ-dependent accumulation of proline and β-carboline alkaloids was found, suggesting these nitrogen-redox-active compounds could play a role in the adaptation strategies of this species to Pb stress. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

  6. Increased sensitivity of the respiratory system of plants grown in Gibberellic acid toward fluoride

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lustinec, J; Pokorna, V; Ruzicka, J

    1962-01-01

    Gibberellic acid in concentrations between 2 and 80 mg/l does not affect the ratio of radioactivities of /sup 14/CO/sub 2/ liberated from glucose-6-/sup 14/C and -1-/sup 14/C(C/sub 6//C/sub 1/) when acting for several hours on sliced wheat leaves, and that at a concentration of 10 mg/l it does not alter the degree of inhibition of respiration due to fluoride, iodoacetate and malonate or the consumption of oxygen. A linear relationship was established between the decrease in /sup 14/CO/sub 2/ liberation from glucose-/sup 14/C and the concentration of gibberellic acid. The C/sub 6//C/sub 1/ ratio as well as the absolute values of radioactivity decrease more rapidly in the course of several days after the germination of plants grown in a solution of gibberellic acid (10-20 mg/l) than in the water-grown controls. Fluoride inhibits the respiration of plants grown in gibberellic acid more than of those grown in water, its tissue concentration being either equal or less in the gibberellic -grown plants; the effect of iodoacetate and malonate is the same with plants of equal age (4 days) in both variants. 11 references, 1 figure, 4 tables.

  7. 9 CFR 355.21 - Products entering inspected plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATION CERTIFIED PRODUCTS FOR DOGS, CATS, AND OTHER CARNIVORA; INSPECTION... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Products entering inspected plants. 355.21 Section 355.21 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF...

  8. The effect of the fast neutron current on the amino acid contents and nucleic acid synthesis in maize plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akhundova, N.I.

    2001-01-01

    At the present time the effects of external influences on the genetic structures of the plant cells and the transmission of the accepted signals to other cellular structures and then to the whole organism have actively been studied. According to the opinion of a number of authors the gene expression and repression are immediate responses to the environment changes. To affect the plant genetic apparatus it is quite enough to expose it to some factors such as gamma rays, X- rays, neutron currents, saline-, temperature- or osmotic stresses. At the current stage of the research of the molecular mechanisms of the plant adaptation to the environment changes the priority goal is to ascertain the nature of the influence of the above mentioned factors on the processes of DNA replication and transcription, as the nucleic acids are the targets for external effects. The fast neutron current is one of the factors that influence the plant growth and development. Unlike gamma rays, the mechanism of the neutron irradiation on the plant genetic apparatus is very poorly studied. The objective of our research was the study of the fast neutron current effects on the DNA replication and transcription processes and amino acid synthesis in the irradiated maize plants

  9. Lactic acid production from potato peel waste by anaerobic sequencing batch fermentation using undefined mixed culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Shaobo; McDonald, Armando G; Coats, Erik R

    2015-11-01

    Lactic acid (LA) is a necessary industrial feedstock for producing the bioplastic, polylactic acid (PLA), which is currently produced by pure culture fermentation of food carbohydrates. This work presents an alternative to produce LA from potato peel waste (PPW) by anaerobic fermentation in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) inoculated with undefined mixed culture from a municipal wastewater treatment plant. A statistical design of experiments approach was employed using set of 0.8L SBRs using gelatinized PPW at a solids content range from 30 to 50 g L(-1), solids retention time of 2-4 days for yield and productivity optimization. The maximum LA production yield of 0.25 g g(-1) PPW and highest productivity of 125 mg g(-1) d(-1) were achieved. A scale-up SBR trial using neat gelatinized PPW (at 80 g L(-1) solids content) at the 3 L scale was employed and the highest LA yield of 0.14 g g(-1) PPW and a productivity of 138 mg g(-1) d(-1) were achieved with a 1 d SRT. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Glucose-stimulated acrolein production from unsaturated fatty acids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Medina-Navarro, R; Duran-Reyes, G; Diaz-Flores, M; Hicks, J J; Kumate, J

    2004-02-01

    Glucose auto-oxidation may be a significant source of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and also be important in the lipid peroxidation process, accompanied by the release of toxic reactive products. We wanted to demonstrate that acrolein can be formed directly and actively from free fatty acids in a hyperglycemic environment. A suspension of linoleic and arachidonic acids (2.5 mM) was exposed to different glucose concentrations (5, 10 and 15 mmol/L) in vitro. The samples were extracted with organic solvents, partitioned, followed at 255-267 nm, and analysed using capillary electrophoresis and mass spectroscopy. The total release of aldehydes significantly (P products, acrolein (5% of total) and its condensing product, 4-hydroxy-hexenal, were identified. From the results presented here, it was possible to demonstrate the production of acrolein, probably as a fatty acid product, due to free radicals generated from the glucose auto-oxidation process. The results led us to propose that acrolein, which is one of the most toxic aldehydes, is produced during hyperglycemic states, and may lead to tissue injury, as one of the initial problems to be linked to high levels of glucose in vivo.

  11. Alert Systems for production Plants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Thomas Dyhre; Jensen, Finn Verner

    2005-01-01

    We present a new methodology for detecting faults and abnormal behavior in production plants. The methodology stems from a joint project with a Danish energy consortium. During the course of the project we encountered several problems that we believe are common for projects of this type. Most...

  12. A broad-spectrum, efficient and nontransgenic approach to control plant viruses by application of salicylic acid and jasmonic acid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shang, Jing; Xi, De-Hui; Xu, Fei; Wang, Shao-Dong; Cao, Sen; Xu, Mo-Yun; Zhao, Ping-Ping; Wang, Jian-Hui; Jia, Shu-Dan; Zhang, Zhong-Wei; Yuan, Shu; Lin, Hong-Hui

    2011-02-01

    Plant viruses cause many diseases that lead to significant economic losses. However, most of the approaches to control plant viruses, including transgenic processes or drugs are plant-species-limited or virus-species-limited, and not very effective. We introduce an application of jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA), a broad-spectrum, efficient and nontransgenic method, to improve plant resistance to RNA viruses. Applying 0.06 mM JA and then 0.1 mM SA 24 h later, enhanced resistance to Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and Turnip crinkle virus (TCV) in Arabidopsis, tobacco, tomato and hot pepper. The inhibition efficiency to virus replication usually achieved up to 80-90%. The putative molecular mechanism was investigated. Some possible factors affecting the synergism of JA and SA have been defined, including WRKY53, WRKY70, PDF1.2, MPK4, MPK2, MPK3, MPK5, MPK12, MPK14, MKK1, MKK2, and MKK6. All genes involving in the synergism of JA and SA were investigated. This approach is safe to human beings and environmentally friendly and shows potential as a strong tool for crop protection against plant viruses.

  13. Methods and materials for deconstruction of biomass for biofuels production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoeniger, Joseph S; Hadi, Masood Zia

    2015-05-05

    The present invention relates to nucleic acids, peptides, vectors, cells, and plants useful in the production of biofuels. In certain embodiments, the invention relates to nucleic acid sequences and peptides from extremophile organisms, such as SSO1949 and Ce1A, that are useful for hydrolyzing plant cell wall materials. In further embodiments, the invention relates to modified versions of such sequences that have been optimized for production in one or both of monocot and dicot plants. In other embodiments, the invention provides for targeting peptide production or activity to a certain location within the cell or organism, such as the apoplast. In further embodiments, the invention relates to transformed cells or plants. In additional embodiments, the invention relates to methods of producing biofuel utilizing such nucleic acids, peptides, targeting sequences, vectors, cells, and/or plants.

  14. Malic acid production from thin stillage by Aspergillus species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    West, Thomas P

    2011-12-01

    The ability of Aspergillus strains to utilize thin stillage to produce malic acid was compared. The highest malic acid was produced by Aspergillus niger ATCC 9142 at 17 g l(-1). Biomass production from thin stillage was similar with all strains but ATCC 10577 was the highest at 19 g l(-1). The highest malic acid yield (0.8 g g(-1)) was with A. niger ATCC 9142 and ATCC 10577 on the stillage. Thus, thin stillage has the potential to act as a substrate for the commercial production of food-grade malic acid by the A. niger strains. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

  15. Fungal cultures of tar bush and creosote bush for production of two phenolic antioxidants (pyrocatechol and gallic acid).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ventura, J; Gutiérrez-Sanchez, G; Rodríguez-Herrera, R; Aguilar, C N

    2009-01-01

    'Tar bush' and 'creosote bush' were substrates of fungal cultivation for tannase production and gallic acid and pyrocatechol accumulation. Aspergillus niger GH1 grew similarly on both plant materials under solid state culture conditions, reaching maximal levels after 4 d. Fungal strain degraded all tannin content of creosote bush after 4 d of fermentation and >75 % of tar bush after 5 d. Higher level of tannase activity was detected in tar bush fermentation. Biotransformation of tannins to gallic acid was high (93 % in creosote bush and 89 % in tar bush). Pyrocatechol was released poorly. Kinetic parameters of tannin conversion were calculated.

  16. Continuous butyric acid fermentation coupled with REED technology for enhanced productivity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baroi, George Nabin; Skiadas, Ioannis; Westermann, Peter

    strains, C.tyrobutyricum seems the most promising for biological production of butyric acid as it is characterised by higher selectivity and higher tolerance to butyric acid. However, studies on fermentative butyric production from lignocellulosic biomasses are scarce in the international literature...... of continuous fermentation mode and in-situ acids removal by Reverse Enhanced Electro Dialysis (REED) resulted to enhanced sugars consumption rates when 60% PHWS was fermented. Specifically, glucose and xylose consumption rate increased by a factor of 6 and 39, respectively, while butyric acid productivity...

  17. Plant Products for Pharmacology: Application of Enzymes in Their Transformations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marie Zarevúcka

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Different plant products have been subjected to detailed investigations due to their increasing importance for improving human health. Plants are sources of many groups of natural products, of which large number of new compounds has already displayed their high impact in human medicine. This review deals with the natural products which may be found dissolved in lipid phase (phytosterols, vitamins etc.. Often subsequent convenient transformation of natural products may further improve the pharmacological properties of new potential medicaments based on natural products. To respect basic principles of sustainable and green procedures, enzymes are often employed as efficient natural catalysts in such plant product transformations. Transformations of lipids and other natural products under the conditions of enzyme catalysis show increasing importance in environmentally safe and sustainable production of pharmacologically important compounds. In this review, attention is focused on lipases, efficient and convenient biocatalysts for the enantio- and regioselective formation / hydrolysis of ester bond in a wide variety of both natural and unnatural substrates, including plant products, eg. plant oils and other natural lipid phase compounds. The application of enzymes for preparation of acylglycerols and transformation of other natural products provides big advantage in comparison with employing of conventional chemical methods: Increased selectivity, higher product purity and quality, energy conservation, elimination of heavy metal catalysts, and sustainability of the employed processes, which are catalyzed by enzymes. Two general procedures are used in the transformation of lipid-like natural products: (a Hydrolysis/alcoholysis of triacylglycerols and (b esterification of glycerol. The reactions can be performed under conventional conditions or in supercritical fluids/ionic liquids. Enzyme-catalyzed reactions in supercritical fluids combine the

  18. Comparison of Authorization/Registration/Notification Processes among Biocidal Products, Cosmetics, Plant Protection Products and Human Medicinal Products

    OpenAIRE

    Söyleriz, Yüksel

    2015-01-01

    In this study, comparison of the authorization/registration/notification processes of biocidal products, cosmetics, plant protection products and medicinal products are made and in this respect, the situation in EU is assessed.

  19. Glycine betaine and salicylic acid induced modification in productivity of two different cultivars of wheat grown under water stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heshmat S. Aldesuquy

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available A pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the beneficial effect of foliar application of glycine betaine (10mM, grain presoaking in salicylic acid (0.05 M and their interaction on drought tolerance of two wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cultivars (sensitive, Sakha 94 and resistant, Sakha 93. Water stress decreased wheat yield components (spike length, number of spikelets / main spike, 100 kernel weight, grain number / spike, grain yield / spike, grain yield / plant, straw yield / plant, crop yield / plant, harvest, mobilization and crop indices and the biochemical aspects of grains(grain biomass, carbohydrates, total protein, total phosphorus, ions content and amino acids in both wheat cultivars. The applied chemicals appeared to alleviate the negative effects of water stress on wheat productivity (particularly the sensitive one and the biochemical aspects of yielded grains. The effect was more pronounced with GB+SA treatment. This improvement would result from the repairing effect of the provided chemicals on growth and metabolism of wheat plants grown under water deficit condition. In response to the applied water stress and the used chemicals, the grain yield of the sensitive and resistant wheat cultivars was strongly correlated with all the estimated yield components (shoot length, spike length, plant height, main spike weight, number of spikelets per main spike, 100 kernel weight, grain number per spike, grain weight per plant, straw weight per plant, crop yield per plant, harvest, mobilization and crop indices.

  20. Evaluation of the Morpho-physiology characteristics of maize inbred lines introduced from CIMMYT to identify the best candidates for planting in acidic soil in Jasinga, Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lubis, K.; Sutjahjo, S. H.; Syukur, M.; Trikoesoemaningtyas

    2016-08-01

    Technological developments and climate change have affected crop planting strategies. For example, maize production has expanded to sub-optimal lands, including acidic soil common in areas like Indonesia. Breeding programs have created inbred lines of maize introduced from CIMMYT; they were tested locally in acidic soils to determine their adaptability and tolerance mechanisms. Breeds CLA 46 and NEI 9008 were found to be excellent candidates for acidic soil due to their ASI, high number of grains per year, and suitable dry seed weight.

  1. A farm-scale pilot plant for biohydrogen and biomethane production by two-stage fermentation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Oberti

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Hydrogen is considered one of the possible main energy carriers for the future, thanks to its unique environmental properties. Indeed, its energy content (120 MJ/kg can be exploited virtually without emitting any exhaust in the atmosphere except for water. Renewable production of hydrogen can be obtained through common biological processes on which relies anaerobic digestion, a well-established technology in use at farm-scale for treating different biomass and residues. Despite two-stage hydrogen and methane producing fermentation is a simple variant of the traditional anaerobic digestion, it is a relatively new approach mainly studied at laboratory scale. It is based on biomass fermentation in two separate, seuqential stages, each maintaining conditions optimized to promote specific bacterial consortia: in the first acidophilic reactorhydrogen is produced production, while volatile fatty acids-rich effluent is sent to the second reactor where traditional methane rich biogas production is accomplished. A two-stage pilot-scale plant was designed, manufactured and installed at the experimental farm of the University of Milano and operated using a biomass mixture of livestock effluents mixed with sugar/starch-rich residues (rotten fruits and potatoes and expired fruit juices, afeedstock mixture based on waste biomasses directly available in the rural area where plant is installed. The hydrogenic and the methanogenic reactors, both CSTR type, had a total volume of 0.7m3 and 3.8 m3 respectively, and were operated in thermophilic conditions (55 2 °C without any external pH control, and were fully automated. After a brief description of the requirements of the system, this contribution gives a detailed description of its components and of engineering solutions to the problems encountered during the plant realization and start-up. The paper also discusses the results obtained in a first experimental run which lead to production in the range of previous

  2. Concepts in production ecology for analysis and design of animal and plant-animal production systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ven, van de G.W.J.; Ridder, de N.; Keulen, van H.; Ittersum, van M.K.

    2003-01-01

    The use of a hierarchy in growth factors (defining, limiting and reducing growth factors), as developed for plant production has shown its usefulness in the analysis and design of plant production systems. This hierarchy presents a theoretical framework for the analysis of biophysical conditions in

  3. Expansion of plants with Crassulacean Acid Metabolism under global environment change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, K.; D'Odorico, P.; Collins, S. L.; Carr, D.

    2016-12-01

    The abundance of plants with Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM) has increased in many drylands worldwide. This is hypothesized to occur because CAM plants store water, take up CO2 at night, exhibit photosynthetic plasticity, and have high water use efficiency. The increased dominance of CAM plants, however, also depends on their competitive relationship with other functional groups, an aspect of CAM plant sensitivity to global environmental change that has remained largely understudied. Here, we investigated the response of CAM plants and their competitive relationships with C3 and C4 plants under global environmental change. We focused on two pairs of CAM and non-CAM species, namely Cylindropuntia imbricata (a constitutive CAM species) and Bouteloua eriopoda (C4 grass), which co-occur in desert grasslands in northern Mexico, and invasive Mesembryanthemum crystallinum (a facultative CAM species) and Bromus mollis (a C3 invasive grass), which coexist in California's coastal grasslands. A set of growth chamber experiments under altered CO2 and water conditions show that C. imbricata outcompeted B. eriopoda under drought conditions, while in well-watered conditions B. eriopoda was a stronger competitor for soil water than C. imbricata. Under drought conditions a more positive response to CO2 enrichment by C. imbricata indirectly disfavored B. eriopoda, which suggests that interspecific competition can outweigh the favorable direct effect of CO2 enrichment on plant growth. A set of greenhouse experiments under water, N, and soil salinity manipulations showed that drought, N deposition, and/or increased soil salinity served as important drivers for success of M. crystallinum invasion, while B. mollis exerted strong competitive effects on M. crystallinum for light and soil nutrients in well-watered conditions. M. crystallinum switched from C3 photosynthesis to CAM photosynthesis as an adaptive strategy in response to moderate intensity of competition from B. mollis, in

  4. Top value platform chemicals: bio-based production of organic acids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Becker, Judith; Lange, Anna; Fabarius, Jonathan; Wittmann, Christoph

    2015-12-01

    Driven by the quest for sustainability, recent years have seen a tremendous progress in bio-based production routes from renewable raw materials to commercial goods. Particularly, the production of organic acids has crystallized as a competitive and fast-evolving field, related to the broad applicability of organic acids for direct use, as polymer building blocks, and as commodity chemicals. Here, we review recent advances in metabolic engineering and industrial market scenarios with focus on organic acids as top value products from biomass, accessible through fermentation and biotransformation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Shikimic acid production in Escherichia coli: From classical metabolic engineering strategies to omics applied to improve its production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Andrés Martínez

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Shikimic acid (SA is an intermediate of the SA pathway that is present in bacteria and plants. SA has gained great interest because it is a precursor in the synthesis of the drug oseltamivir phosphate (OSF, an efficient inhibitor of the neuraminidase enzyme of diverse seasonal influenza viruses, the avian influenza virus H5N1, and the human influenza virus H1N1. For the purposes of OSF production, SA is extracted from the pods of Chinese star anise plants (Illicium spp., yielding up to 17% of SA (dry basis content. The high demand for OSF necessary to manage a major influenza outbreak is not adequately met by industrial production using SA from plants sources. As the SA pathway is present in the model bacteria Escherichia coli, several intuitive metabolically engineered strains have been applied for its successful overproduction by biotechnological processes, resulting in strains producing up to 71 g/L of SA, with high conversion yields of up to 0.42 (mol SA/mol Glc, in both batch and fed-batch cultures using complex fermentation broths, including glucose as a carbon source and yeast extract. Global transcriptomic analyses have been performed in SA producing strains, resulting in the identification of possible key target genes for the design of a rational strain improvement strategy. Because possible target genes are involved in the transport, catabolism and interconversion of different carbon sources and metabolic intermediates outside the central carbon metabolism and SA pathways, as genes involved in diverse cellular stress responses, the development of rational cellular strain improvement strategies based on omics data constitutes a challenging task to improve SA production in currently overproducing engineered strains. In this review, we discuss the main metabolic engineering strategies that have been applied for the development of efficient SA producing strains, as the perspective of omics analysis has focused on further strain improvement

  6. Detoxification of acidic biorefinery waste liquor for production of high value amino acid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christopher, Meera; Anusree, Murali; Mathew, Anil K; Nampoothiri, K Madhavan; Sukumaran, Rajeev Kumar; Pandey, Ashok

    2016-08-01

    The current study evaluates the detoxification of acid pretreatment liquor (APL) using adsorbent (ADS 400 & ADS 800) or ion-exchange (A-27MP & A-72MP) resins and its potential for amino acid production. The APL is generated as a by-product from the pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass and is rich monomeric sugars as well as sugar degradation products (fermentation inhibitors) such as furfural and hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF). Of the four resins compared, ADS 800 removed approximately 85% and 60% of furfural and HMF, respectively. ADS 800 could be reused for up to six cycles after regeneration without losing its adsorption properties. The study was further extended by assessing the fermentability of detoxified APL for l-lysine production using wild and mutant strains of Corynebacterium glutamicum. The detoxified APL was superior to APL for l-lysine production. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Plant-based fertilizers for organic vegetable production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Jørn Nygaard; Thorup-Kristensen, Kristian

    2011-01-01

    To ensure high yield and quality in organic vegetable production, crops often require additional fertilizer applied during the season. Due to the risk of contamination of edible plant products from slurry, plant-based fertilizers may be used as an alternative. The purpose of our work was to develop...... fertility, the term “mobile green manures” is used for green-manure crops that are harvested in one field and then moved as a whole and used as fertilizer in other fields. To further investigate mobile-green-manure crops for use as efficient fertilizers, pot and field experiments were conducted...... with cauliflower (Brassica oleracea botrytis) and kale (Brassica oleracea sabellica) supplied with organic matter consisting of a wide range of plant species with varying nutrient concentrations. Further, field experiments were conducted with leek (Allium porrum) and celery (Apium graveolens dulce) supplied...

  8. Fermentation of aqueous plant seed extracts by lactic acid bacteria

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schafner, D.W.; Beuchat, R.L.

    1986-05-01

    The effects of lactic acid bacterial fermentation on chemical and physical changes in aqueous extracts of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), peanut (Arachis hypogea), soybean (Glycine max), and sorghum (Sorghum vulgare) were studied. The bacteria investigated were Lactobacillus helveticus, L. delbrueckii, L. casei, L. bulgaricus, L. acidophilus, and Streptococcus thermophilus. Organisms were inoculated individually into all of the seed extracts; L. bulgaricus and S. thermophilus were also evaluated together as inocula for fermenting the legume extracts. During fermentation, bacterial population and changes in titratable acidity, pH, viscosity, and color were measured over a 72 h period at 37 degrees C. Maximum bacterial populations, titratable acidity, pH, and viscosity varied depending upon the type of extract and bacterial strain. The maximum population of each organism was influenced by fermentable carbohydrates, which, in turn, influenced acid production and change in pH. Change in viscosity was correlated with the amount of protein and titratable acidity of products. Color was affected by pasteurization treatment and fermentation as well as the source of extract. In the extracts inoculated simultaneously with L. bulgaricus and S. thermophilus, a synergistic effect resulted in increased bacterial populations, titratable acidity, and viscosity, and decreased pH in all the legume extracts when compared to the extracts fermented with either of these organisms individually. Fermented extracts offer potential as substitutes for cultured dairy products. 24 references.

  9. By-products from the biodiesel chain as a substrate to citric acid production by solid-state fermentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Manuella; Zimmer, Gabriela F; Cremonese, Ezequiel B; de C de S Schneider, Rosana; Corbellini, Valeriano A

    2014-07-01

    In this study, we propose the use of tung cake for the production of organic acids, with an emphasis on citric acid by solid-state fermentation. We evaluated the conditions of production and the by-products from the biodiesel chain as raw materials involved in this bioprocess. First, we standardized the conditions of solid-state fermentation in tung cake with and without residual fat and with different concentrations of glycerine using the fungus Aspergillus niger The solid-state fermentation process was monitored for 7 days considering the biomass growth and pH level. Citric acid production was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Fungal development was better in the crude tung cake, consisting of 20% glycerine. The highest citric acid yield was 350 g kg(-1) of biomass. Therefore, the solid-state fermentation of the tung cake with glycerine led to citric acid production using the Aspergillus niger fungus. © The Author(s) 2014.

  10. Enhanced production of phenolic acids in cell suspension culture of Salvia leriifolia Benth. using growth regulators and sucrose.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Modarres, Masoomeh; Esmaeilzadeh Bahabadi, Sedigheh; Taghavizadeh Yazdi, Mohammad Ehsan

    2018-04-01

    Salvia leriifolia Benth. (Lamiaceae) is an endangered medicinal plant with hypoglycemic, anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. Many of the beneficial effects of Salvia spp. are attributed to the phenolic compounds. In the present study, an efficient procedure has been developed for establishment of cell suspension culture of S. leriifolia as a strategy to obtain an in vitro phenolic acids producing cell line for the first time. The effect of growth regulators and various concentrations of sucrose have been analyzed, to optimize biomass growth and phenolic acids production. The callus used for this purpose was obtained from leaves of 15-day-old in vitro seedlings, on Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium supplemented with different hormone balances including benzylaminopurine (BAP) and indole butyric acid (IBA); 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and kinetin (KIN); naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and BAP. Modified MS medium supplemented with 5 mg/L BAP and 5 mg/L NAA was the optimal condition for callus formation with the highest induction rate (100%), the best callus growth and the highest phenolic acids content. No callus induction was observed in combinations of IBA and BAP. Cell suspension cultures were established by transferring 0.5 g of callus to 30 mL liquid MS medium supplemented with 5 mg/L BAP and 5 mg/L NAA. Dynamics of phenolic acids production has been investigated during the growth cycle of the suspension cultures. The maximum content of caffeic acid and salvianolic acid B were observed on the 15th day of the cultivation cycle while the highest amount of rosmarinic acid was observed on the first day. In response to various sucrose concentrations, cell cultures with 40 g/L sucrose not only produced the highest dry biomass but also the highest induction of caffeic acid and salvianolic acid B. The highest amount of rosmarinic acid was observed in media containing 50 g/L sucrose. These prepared cell suspension cultures provided a useful

  11. Water management and productivity in planted forests

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. E. Nettles

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available As climate variability endangers water security in many parts of the world, maximizing the carbon balance of plantation forestry is of global importance. High plant water use efficiency is generally associated with lower plant productivity, so an explicit balance in resources is necessary to optimize water yield and tree growth. This balance requires predicting plant water use under different soil, climate, and planting conditions, as well as a mechanism to account for trade-offs in ecosystem services. Several strategies for reducing the water use of forests have been published but there is little research tying these to operational forestry. Using data from silvicultural and biofuel feedstock research in pine plantation ownership in the southeastern USA, proposed water management tools were evaluated against known treatment responses to estimate water yield, forest productivity, and economic outcomes. Ecosystem impacts were considered qualitatively and related to water use metrics. This work is an attempt to measure and compare important variables to make sound decisions about plantations and water use.

  12. Phenolic acids inhibit the formation of advanced glycation end products in food simulation systems depending on their reducing powers and structures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Hengye; Virk, Muhammad Safiullah; Chen, Fusheng

    2016-06-01

    The concentration of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in foods, which are formed by Maillard reaction, has demonstrated as risk factors associated with many chronic diseases. The AGEs inhibitory activities of five common phenolic acids (protocatechuic acid, dihydroferulic acid, p-coumaric acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid and salicylic acid) with different chemical properties had been investigated in two food simulation systems (glucose-bovine serum albumin (BSA) and oleic acid-BSA). The results substantiated that the AGEs inhibitory abilities of phenolic acids in the oleic acid BSA system were much better than the glucose-BSA system for their strong reducing powers and structures. Among them, dihydrogenferulic acid showed strong inhibition of AGEs formation in oleic acid-BSA system at 0.01 mg/mL compared to nonsignificant AGEs inhibitory effect in oleic acid-BSA system at 10-fold higher concentration (0.1 mg/mL). This study suggests that edible plants rich in phenolic acids may be used as AGEs inhibitor during high-fat cooking.

  13. PROCESSING RED DEVIL SERMO RESERVOIR INTO AMINO ACID AS SOURCE OF DURIAN PLANT NUTRITION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rahilla Apria Fatma1

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Sermo Reservoir is a reservoir known Kulonprogro, but behind its beauty tucked a problem that until now no one can control, namely the problem of pest fish Red Devil whose population continues to increase and can not be controlled, Fish Red Devil is a predator fish other fish that have economic value, such as Tilapia, carp and Bawal, so that not a few people who use the fish for a wide range of food products, such as fish and chips fodder. The purpose of this study is utilizing Red Devil Fish pests that are more creative and high economic value. Fish Red Devil has a high protein content is 35 percent so it can be processed into an amino acid which is a substance that is helping plant growth durian is a typical farming village Hargowilis. with a mixture of amino acids obtained from fish processed Red Devil can produce Durian fruit is of good quality. The method used by mixing a solution of EM4 to Red Devil fish batter and then allowed to stand for seven days for the formation of amino acids.

  14. High production of D-tagatose by the addition of boric acid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Byung-Chul; Kim, Hye-Jung; Oh, Deok-Kun

    2007-01-01

    An L-arabinose isomerase mutant enzyme from Geobacillus thermodenitrificans was used to catalyze the isomerization of D-galactose to D-tagatose with boric acid. Maximum production of D-tagatose occurred at pH 8.5-9.0, 60 degrees C, and 0.4 molar ratio of boric acid to D-galactose, and the production increased with increasing enzyme concentration. Under the optimum conditions, the enzyme (10.8 units/mL) converted 300 g/L D-galactose to 230 g/L D-tagatose for 20 h with a yield of 77% (w/w); the production and conversion yield with boric acid were 1.5-fold and 24% higher than without boric acid, respectively. In 24 h, the enzyme produced 370 g/L D-tagatose from 500 g/L D-galactose with boric acid, corresponding to a conversion yield of 74% (w/w) and a production rate of 15.4 g/L.h. The production and yield of D-tagatose obtained in this study are unprecedented.

  15. Biotechnology for improved hHydroxy fatty acid production in oilseed lesquerella

    Science.gov (United States)

    The conventional source of hydroxy fatty acid (HFA) is from castor (Ricinus communis), 90% of castor oil is ricinoleic acid (18:1OH). Ricinoleic acid and its derivatives are used as raw materials for numerous industrial products, such as lubricants, plasticizers and surfactants. The production of ca...

  16. Endophyte-assisted promotion of biomass production and metal-uptake of energy crop sweet sorghum by plant-growth-promoting endophyte Bacillus sp. SLS18

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Luo, Shenglian; Xu, Taoying; Chen, Liang [Hunan Univ., Changsha (China). College of Environmental Science and Engineering] [and others

    2012-02-15

    The effects of Bacillus sp. SLS18, a plant-growth-promoting endophyte, on the biomass production and Mn/Cd uptake of sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.), Phytolacca acinosa Roxb., and Solanum nigrum L. were investigated. SLS18 displayed multiple heavy metals and antibiotics resistances. The strain also exhibited the capacity of producing indole-3-acetic acid, siderophores, and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid deaminase. In pot experiments, SLS18 could not only infect plants effectively but also significantly increase the biomass of the three tested plants in the presence of Mn/Cd. The promoting effect order of SLS18 on the biomass of the tested plants was sweet sorghum > P. acinosa > S. nigrum L. In the presence of Mn (2,000 mg kg{sup -1}) and Cd (50 mg kg{sup -1}) in vermiculite, the total Mn/Cd uptakes in the aerial parts of sweet sorghum, P. acinosa, and S. nigrum L. were increased by 65.2%/40.0%, 55.2%/31.1%, and 18.6%/25.6%, respectively, compared to the uninoculated controls. This demonstrates that the symbiont of SLS18 and sweet sorghum has the potential of improving sweet sorghum biomass production and its total metal uptake on heavy metal-polluted marginal land. It offers the potential that heavy metal-polluted marginal land could be utilized in planting sweet sorghum as biofuel feedstock for ethanol production, which not only gives a promising phytoremediation strategy but also eases the competition for limited fertile farmland between energy crops and food crops. (orig.)

  17. Mineral concentrations of forage legumes and grasses grown in acidic soil amended with flue gas desulfurization products

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Clark, R.B.; Baligar, V.C. [USDA ARS, Beltsville, MD (USA). Beltsville Agricultural Research Center West

    2003-07-01

    Considerable quantities of flue gas desulfurization products (FGDs) are generated when coal is burned for production of electricity, and these products have the potential to be reused rather than discarded. Use of FGDs as soil amendments could be important in overall management of these products, especially on acidic soils. Glasshouse studies were conducted to determine shoot concentrations of calcium (Ca), sulfur (S), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), phosphorus (P), boron (B), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), aluminum (Al), sodium (Na), molybdenum (Mo), nickel (Ni), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), and lead (Pb) in alfalfa (Medicago sativa), white clover (Trifolium repens), orchardgrass (Dacrylis glomerata), tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea), switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), and eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides) grown in acidic (pH 4) soil (Typic Hapludult) amended with various levels of three FGDs and the control compounds CaCO{sub 3}, CaSO{sub 3}, and CaSO{sub 4}. Shoot concentrations of Ca, S, Mg, and B generally increased as levels of soil applied FGD increased. Concentrations of Mn, Fe, Zn, Cu were lower in shoots, especially when soil pH was high ({gt}7). Shoot concentrations of the trace elements Mo, Ni, Cd, Cr, and Pb were not above those reported as normal for foliage. Overall concentrations of most minerals remained near normal for shoots when plants were grown in FGD amended acidic soil.

  18. Post-Harvest Induced Production of Salvianolic Acids and Significant Promotion of Antioxidant Properties in Roots of Salvia miltiorrhiza (Danshen

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guo-Jun Zhou

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Danshen, the dried roots of Salvia miltiorrhiza, is an extremely valued Traditional Chinese Medicine. Previously, we have demonstrated that salvianolic acid B (SaB, the important bioactive ingredient in this herb, was a post-harvest product. Here, we further reported that all salvianolic acids (SAs in the roots were post-harvest products of the drying process. In addition, the results of various radical scavenging activity assays, including lipid peroxidation (1, DPPH (2, hydroxyl (3 and superoxide (4, were significantly increased along with the accumulation of total salvianolic acids in the process. The contents of chemical targets and antioxidant activities both reached the highest value under thermal treatment at 130 °C for 80 min. In this dehydration period, contents of SaB, and sum of nine SAs increased from 0.01% to 5.51%, and 0.20% to 6.61%; and IC50 of antioxidant activity decreased from 4.85 to 2.69 (1; 7.75 to 0.43 (2; 2.57 to 1.13 (3 and 17.25 to 1.10 mg/mL. These results further supported the hypothesis that the newly harvested plant roots were still physiologically active and the secondary metabolites might be produced due to dehydration stress after harvest. Our findings supplied an important and useful theoretical basis for promoting the quality of Danshen and other medicinal plant materials.

  19. Pharmaceuticals and Personal-Care Products in Plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartrons, Mireia; Peñuelas, Josep

    2017-03-01

    Pharmaceuticals and personal-care products (PPCPs) derived from agricultural, urban, and industrial areas accumulate in plants at concentrations (ng to μg kg -1 ) that can be toxic to the plants. Importantly, the dietary intake of these PPCP-contaminated plants may also pose a risk to human health, but currently little is known about the fate of PPCPs in plants and their effect on or risk to the ecosystem. In this Opinion article we propose that in-depth research on the use of plants as a monitoring device for assessing the use and environmental presence of PPCPs is warranted. The toxicity of PPCPs to plants and their microbiota needs to be established, as well as any toxic effects on herbivores including humans. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Massive production of butanediol during plant infection by phytopathogenic bacteria of the genera Dickeya and Pectobacterium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Effantin, Géraldine; Rivasseau, Corinne; Gromova, Marina; Bligny, Richard; Hugouvieux-Cotte-Pattat, Nicole

    2011-11-01

    Plant pathogenic bacteria of the genera Dickeya and Pectobacterium are broad-host-range necrotrophs which cause soft-rot diseases in important crops. A metabolomic analysis, based on (13)C-NMR spectroscopy, was used to characterize the plant-bacteria interaction. Metabolic profiles revealed a decline in plant sugars and amino acids during infection and the concomitant appearance of a compound identified as 2,3-butanediol. Butanediol is the major metabolite found in macerated tissues of various host plants. It is accumulated during the symptomatic phase of the disease. Different species of Dickeya or Pectobacterium secrete high levels of butanediol during plant infection. Butanediol has been described as a signalling molecule involved in plant/bacterium interactions and, notably, able to induce plant systemic resistance. The bud genes, involved in butanediol production, are conserved in the phytopathogenic enterobacteria of the genera Dickeya, Pectobacterium, Erwinia, Pantoea and Brenneria. Inactivation of the bud genes of Dickeya dadantii revealed that the virulence of budA, budB and budR mutants was clearly reduced. The genes budA, budB and budC are highly expressed during plant infection. These data highlight the importance of butanediol metabolism in limiting acidification of the plant tissue during the development of the soft-rot disease caused by pectinolytic enterobacteria. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  1. Effects of intermittent acid rain on proline and antioxidant content on medicinal plant “Pereskia bleo”

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sulandjari; Dewi, W. S.

    2018-03-01

    Global warming due to CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions from human activities have led to climate change and environmental degradation. The acid rain, with the pH of rainwater below 5.6, is a serious environmental problem. Arising from air pollution and potentially harmful to health, it can damage old buildings and distract the growth and physiological metabolism of sensitive plants. How does the influence of climate change on medicinal plants such as Pereskia bleo? The leaf of Pereskia bleo (Kunth) DC. contains high antioxidants with benefits for anti-cancer, anti-tumor, anti-rheumatic, and anti-inflammatory. This research aims to investigate the influence of acid rain on the proline level and antioxidant content of Pereskia bleo. Having been carried out from June to August in Jogjakarta, this study was conducted through the use of artificial acid rain with pH 5.8, 4.9, 3.7 and 2.9, by adding sulfate acid (H2SO4) to rainwater. The interval of intermittent watering acid rain to the plants is once a day, twice a day, and once in three days with three replications for six weeks. The results showed that Acid rain with a pH less than 4.9 and the intermittent interval of acid rain twice a day and once in three days significantly suppresses growth and chlorophyll content. In contrast, it increases the proline and antioxidant levels as a tolerant action of the plant.

  2. Acidic organic compounds in beverage, food, and feed production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quitmann, Hendrich; Fan, Rong; Czermak, Peter

    2014-01-01

    Organic acids and their derivatives are frequently used in beverage, food, and feed production. Acidic additives may act as buffers to regulate acidity, antioxidants, preservatives, flavor enhancers, and sequestrants. Beneficial effects on animal health and growth performance have been observed when using acidic substances as feed additives. Organic acids could be classified in groups according to their chemical structure. Each group of organic acids has its own specific properties and is used for different applications. Organic acids with low molecular weight (e.g. acetic acid, lactic acid, and citric acid), which are part of the primary metabolism, are often produced by fermentation. Others are produced more economically by chemical synthesis based on petrochemical raw materials on an industrial scale (e.g. formic acid, propionic and benzoic acid). Biotechnology-based production is of interest due to legislation, consumer demand for natural ingredients, and increasing environmental awareness. In the United States, for example, biocatalytically produced esters for food applications can be labeled as "natural," whereas identical conventional acid catalyst-based molecules cannot. Natural esters command a price several times that of non-natural esters. Biotechnological routes need to be optimized regarding raw materials and yield, microorganisms, and recovery methods. New bioprocesses are being developed for organic acids, which are at this time commercially produced by chemical synthesis. Moreover, new organic acids that could be produced with biotechnological methods are under investigation for food applications.

  3. Synthesis Of 2- (1- Naphthyl) Ethanoic Acid ( Plant Growth Regulator ) From Coal Tar And Its Application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khin Mooh Theint; Tin Myint Htwe

    2011-12-01

    Plant growth regulators, which are commonly called as plant hormones, naturally produced non-nutrient chemical compounds involved in growth and development. Among the various kinds of plant growth regulators, 2- (1- Naphthyl ) ethanoic acid especially encourages the root development of the plant. In this work, NAA was successfuly synthesized from naphthalene which was extracted from coal tar. The purity of naphthalene, -Chloromethyl naphthalene, -Naphthyl acetonitrile, - Naphthyl acetic acid or 2 - ( 1-Naphthyl ) ethanoic acid were also confirmed by Thin Layer Chromatography, and by spectroscopy methods. The yield percent of NAA based on naphthalene was found to be 2.1%. The yield percent of naphthaleneFrom coal tar is found to be 4.09%. The effect of NAA on root development was also studied in different concentrations of soy bean (Glycine max)and cow pea (Vigna catjang walp).

  4. Effect of Pyruvate Decarboxylase Knockout on Product Distribution Using Pichia pastoris (Komagataella phaffii) Engineered for Lactic Acid Production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melo, Nadiele T M; Mulder, Kelly C L; Nicola, André Moraes; Carvalho, Lucas S; Menino, Gisele S; Mulinari, Eduardo; Parachin, Nádia S

    2018-02-16

    Lactic acid is the monomer unit of the bioplastic poly-lactic acid (PLA). One candidate organism for lactic acid production is Pichia pastoris , a yeast widely used for heterologous protein production. Nevertheless, this yeast has a poor fermentative capability that can be modulated by controlling oxygen levels. In a previous study, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity was introduced into P. pastoris, enabling this yeast to produce lactic acid. The present study aimed to increase the flow of pyruvate towards the production of lactic acid in P. pastoris . To this end, a strain designated GLp was constructed by inserting the bovine lactic acid dehydrogenase gene (LDHb) concomitantly with the interruption of the gene encoding pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC). Aerobic fermentation, followed by micro-aerophilic culture two-phase fermentations, showed that the GLp strain achieved a lactic acid yield of 0.65 g/g. The distribution of fermentation products demonstrated that the acetate titer was reduced by 20% in the GLp strain with a concomitant increase in arabitol production: arabitol increased from 0.025 g/g to 0.174 g/g when compared to the GS115 strain. Taken together, the results show a significant potential for P. pastoris in producing lactic acid. Moreover, for the first time, physiological data regarding co-product formation have indicated the redox balance limitations of this yeast.

  5. Low nitrogen stress stimulating the indole-3-acetic acid biosynthesis of Serratia sp. ZM is vital for the survival of the bacterium and its plant growth-promoting characteristic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ouyang, Liming; Pei, Haiyan; Xu, Zhaohui

    2017-04-01

    Serratia sp. ZM is a plant growth-promoting (PGP) bacterial strain isolated from the rhizospheric soil of Populus euphratica in northwestern China. In this study, low nitrogen supply significantly stimulated the production of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in Serratia sp.ZM. The inoculation of the bacterium to wheat seedlings improved plant growth compared with the uninoculated group, and the stimulating effect was more prominent under low nitrogen stress. Inactivation of the predicted key gene in the IAA biosynthesis pathway impaired IAA production and significantly hampered mutant growth in poor medium. Furthermore, the IAA-deficient mutant lost the PGP effect under either normal or low nitrogen conditions in plant experiments. This study revealed the significant impact of environmental nitrogen levels on IAA production in the PGP strain and the vital effect of IAA on resistance physiology of both the bacterium and host plant. The characteristics of Serratia sp. ZM also indicated its application potential as a biofertilizer for plants, especially those suffering from poor nitrogen soil.

  6. Food-Energy Interactive Tradeoff Analysis of Sustainable Urban Plant Factory Production Systems

    OpenAIRE

    Li-Chun Huang; Yu-Hui Chen; Ya-Hui Chen; Chi-Fang Wang; Ming-Che Hu

    2018-01-01

    This research aims to analyze the food–energy interactive nexus of sustainable urban plant factory systems. Plant factory systems grow agricultural products within artificially controlled growing environment and multi-layer vertical growing systems. The system controls the supply of light, temperature, humidity, nutrition, water, and carbon dioxide for growing plants. Plant factories are able to produce consistent and high-quality agricultural products within less production space for urban a...

  7. Friend or foe? Reactive oxygen species production, scavenging and signaling in plant response to environmental stresses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Czarnocka, Weronika; Karpiński, Stanisław

    2018-01-10

    In the natural environment, plants are exposed to a variety of biotic and abiotic stress conditions that trigger rapid changes in the production and scavenging of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The production and scavenging of ROS is compartmentalized, which means that, depending on stimuli type, they can be generated and eliminated in different cellular compartments such as the apoplast, plasma membrane, chloroplasts, mitochondria, peroxisomes, and endoplasmic reticulum. Although the accumulation of ROS is generally harmful to cells, ROS play an important role in signaling pathways that regulate acclimatory and defense responses in plants, such as systemic acquired acclimation (SAA) and systemic acquired resistance (SAR). However, high accumulations of ROS can also trigger redox homeostasis disturbance which can lead to cell death, and in consequence, to a limitation in biomass and yield production. Different ROS have various half-lifetimes and degrees of reactivity toward molecular components such as lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Thus, they play different roles in intra- and extra-cellular signaling. Despite their possible damaging effect, ROS should mainly be considered as signaling molecules that regulate local and systemic acclimatory and defense responses. Over the past two decades it has been proven that ROS together with non-photochemical quenching (NPQ), hormones, Ca 2+ waves, and electrical signals are the main players in SAA and SAR, two physiological processes essential for plant survival and productivity in unfavorable conditions. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  8. Citric acid production from whey by fermentation using Aspergillus spp.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Óscar Julián Sánchez Toro

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available Whey has become the main dairy-industry waste product, despite continuous efforts aimed at finding a way to use it. The aim of this research was to investigate citric acid production by submerged fermentation using Aspergillus genus fungi, using whey as substrate to take economical advantage of it and to reduce the environmental impact caused by discharging this by-product into nearby streams. The following three strains were used: A. carbonarius NRRL 368, A. carbonarius NRRL 67 and A. niger NRRL 3. The best adaptation medium for inoculum propagation was selected. Proposed experimental design for evaluating citric acid biosynthesis from whey modified through different treatments showed that the two A. carbonarius strains did not present significant differences in acid production whereas A. niger NRRL 3 reached higher concentration when evaporated, deproteinised and p-galactosidase lactose-hydrolysed whey was used. However, A. carbonarius gave higher average citric acid titres than those found for A. niger. This suggests the need for carrying out further research on it as a potential producing strain. Cell growth, substrate consumption and acid production kinetics in a 3-L stirred-tank bioreactor with aeration were developed in the case of A. niger; kinetics were simulated through non-structured mathematical models. Key words: Aspergilluscarbonarius, Aspergillus niger, bioreactor, simulation, p-galactosidase.

  9. Effects of culture conditions on acetic acid production by bacteria ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    SARAH

    2015-11-30

    Nov 30, 2015 ... acid under certain culture conditions similar to cocoa fermentation stress. However ... Keywords: Acetic acid bacteria, acetic acid production, Cocoa fermentation, culture conditions ..... American Society Microbiology Press, pp.

  10. Secondary metabolites in fungus-plant interactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pusztahelyi, Tünde; Holb, Imre J.; Pócsi, István

    2015-01-01

    Fungi and plants are rich sources of thousands of secondary metabolites. The genetically coded possibilities for secondary metabolite production, the stimuli of the production, and the special phytotoxins basically determine the microscopic fungi-host plant interactions and the pathogenic lifestyle of fungi. The review introduces plant secondary metabolites usually with antifungal effect as well as the importance of signaling molecules in induced systemic resistance and systemic acquired resistance processes. The review also concerns the mimicking of plant effector molecules like auxins, gibberellins and abscisic acid by fungal secondary metabolites that modulate plant growth or even can subvert the plant defense responses such as programmed cell death to gain nutrients for fungal growth and colonization. It also looks through the special secondary metabolite production and host selective toxins of some significant fungal pathogens and the plant response in form of phytoalexin production. New results coming from genome and transcriptional analyses in context of selected fungal pathogens and their hosts are also discussed. PMID:26300892

  11. Effect of some metabolic inhibitors on citric acid production Aspergillus niger

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Agrawal, P.K.; Bhatt, C.S.; Viswanathan, L.

    1983-09-01

    Stationary cultures of Aspergillus niger grown on a synthetic medium have been used to study the effect of some metabolic inhibitors on citric acid production. Addition of 0.05 to 1 mM sodium malonate or 0.01 to 0.1 mM potassium ferricyanide, iodoacetate, sodium azide, soldium arsenate or sodium fluoride stimulated citric acid production (3.6 to 45%), but not total titratable acids. Addition of higher concentrations (0.2 to 10 mM) of later inhibitors caused a marked inhibition of fungal growth and citric acid production. The implications of these preliminary findings are discussed. (Refs. 25).

  12. Recovery of fission products from acidic waste solutions thereof

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carlin, W.W.; Darlington, W.B.; Dubois, D.W.

    1975-01-01

    Fission products, e.g., palladium, ruthenium and technetium, are removed from aqueous, acidic waste solutions thereof. The acidic waste solution is electrolyzed in an electrolytic cell under controlled cathodic potential conditions and technetium, ruthenium, palladium and rhodium are deposited on the cathode. Metal deposit is removed from the cathode and dissolved in acid. Acid insoluble rhodium metal is recovered, dissolved by alkali metal bisulfate fusion and purified by electrolysis. In one embodiment, the solution formed by acid dissolution of the cathode metal deposit is treated with a strong oxidizing agent and distilled to separate technetium and ruthenium (as a distillate) from palladium. Technetium is separated from ruthenium by organic solvent extraction and then recovered, e.g., as an ammonium salt. Ruthenium is disposed of as waste by-product. Palladium is recovered by electrolysis of an acid solution thereof under controlled cathodic potential conditions. Further embodiments wherein alternate metal recovery sequences are used are described. (U.S.)

  13. Phosphatidic acid produced by phospholipase D promotes RNA replication of a plant RNA virus.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kiwamu Hyodo

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Eukaryotic positive-strand RNA [(+RNA] viruses are intracellular obligate parasites replicate using the membrane-bound replicase complexes that contain multiple viral and host components. To replicate, (+RNA viruses exploit host resources and modify host metabolism and membrane organization. Phospholipase D (PLD is a phosphatidylcholine- and phosphatidylethanolamine-hydrolyzing enzyme that catalyzes the production of phosphatidic acid (PA, a lipid second messenger that modulates diverse intracellular signaling in various organisms. PA is normally present in small amounts (less than 1% of total phospholipids, but rapidly and transiently accumulates in lipid bilayers in response to different environmental cues such as biotic and abiotic stresses in plants. However, the precise functions of PLD and PA remain unknown. Here, we report the roles of PLD and PA in genomic RNA replication of a plant (+RNA virus, Red clover necrotic mosaic virus (RCNMV. We found that RCNMV RNA replication complexes formed in Nicotiana benthamiana contained PLDα and PLDβ. Gene-silencing and pharmacological inhibition approaches showed that PLDs and PLDs-derived PA are required for viral RNA replication. Consistent with this, exogenous application of PA enhanced viral RNA replication in plant cells and plant-derived cell-free extracts. We also found that a viral auxiliary replication protein bound to PA in vitro, and that the amount of PA increased in RCNMV-infected plant leaves. Together, our findings suggest that RCNMV hijacks host PA-producing enzymes to replicate.

  14. PLANT PROTECTION PRODUCT RESIDUES IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS OF SLOVENE ORIGIN FOUND IN 2008

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helena BAŠA ČESNIK

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available In the year 2008, 166 apple, bean, carrot, cucumber, lettuce, pear, potato and spinach samples from Slovene producers were analysed for plant protection product residues. The samples were analysed for the presence of 158 different active compounds using three analytical methods. In two samples (1.2% exceeded maximum residue levels (MRLs were determined which is better than the results of the monitoring of pesticide residues in the products of plant origin in the 27 European Union, Member States (EU MS and 2 European Free Trade Association (EFTA States: Norway and Iceland in 2008 (2.2%. The most frequently found active substance in agricultural products was dithiocarbamates. Products which contained 4 or more active substances per sample were apples and pears.

  15. Genotoxicity of the disinfection by-products resulting from peracetic acid- or hypochlorite-disinfected sewage wastewater.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crebelli, R; Conti, L; Monarca, S; Feretti, D; Zerbini, I; Zani, C; Veschetti, E; Cutilli, D; Ottaviani, M

    2005-03-01

    Wastewater disinfection is routinely carried out to prevent the spread of human pathogens present in wastewater effluents. To this aim, chemical and physical treatments are applied to the effluents before their emission in water bodies. In this study, the influence of two widely used disinfectants, peracetic acid (PAA) and sodium hypochlorite (NaClO), on the formation of mutagenic by-products was investigated. Wastewater samples were collected before and after disinfection, in winter and in summer, at a pilot plant installed in a municipal wastewater-treatment plant. Samples were adsorbed using silica C18 cartridges and the concentrates were tested for mutagenicity in the Salmonella typhimurium reversion test with strains TA98 and TA100. Non-concentrated water samples were tested with two plant genotoxicity assays (the Allium cepa root anaphase aberration test and the Tradescantia/micronucleus test). Mutagenicity assays in bacteria and in Tradescantia showed borderline mutagenicity in some of the wastewater samples, independent of the disinfection procedure applied. Negative results were obtained in the A. cepa anaphase aberration test. These results indicate that, in the conditions applied, wastewater disinfection with PAA and NaClO does not lead to the formation of significant amounts of genotoxic by-products.

  16. Plant diversity surpasses plant functional groups and plant productivity as driver of soil biota in the long term.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nico Eisenhauer

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available One of the most significant consequences of contemporary global change is the rapid decline of biodiversity in many ecosystems. Knowledge of the consequences of biodiversity loss in terrestrial ecosystems is largely restricted to single ecosystem functions. Impacts of key plant functional groups on soil biota are considered to be more important than those of plant diversity; however, current knowledge mainly relies on short-term experiments.We studied changes in the impacts of plant diversity and presence of key functional groups on soil biota by investigating the performance of soil microorganisms and soil fauna two, four and six years after the establishment of model grasslands. The results indicate that temporal changes of plant community effects depend on the trophic affiliation of soil animals: plant diversity effects on decomposers only occurred after six years, changed little in herbivores, but occurred in predators after two years. The results suggest that plant diversity, in terms of species and functional group richness, is the most important plant community property affecting soil biota, exceeding the relevance of plant above- and belowground productivity and the presence of key plant functional groups, i.e. grasses and legumes, with the relevance of the latter decreasing in time.Plant diversity effects on biota are not only due to the presence of key plant functional groups or plant productivity highlighting the importance of diverse and high-quality plant derived resources, and supporting the validity of the singular hypothesis for soil biota. Our results demonstrate that in the long term plant diversity essentially drives the performance of soil biota questioning the paradigm that belowground communities are not affected by plant diversity and reinforcing the importance of biodiversity for ecosystem functioning.

  17. Relationship of Melatonin and Salicylic Acid in Biotic/Abiotic Plant Stress Responses

    OpenAIRE

    Josefa Hernández-Ruiz; Marino B. Arnao

    2018-01-01

    Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) was discovered in plants in 1995, while salicylic acid was the name given to the active ingredient of willow in 1838. From a physiological point of view, these two molecules present in plants have never been compared, even though they have a great number of similarities, as we shall see in this work. Both molecules have biosynthesis pathways that share a common precursor and both play a relevant role in the physiology of plants, especially in aspects r...

  18. The effects of reactants ratios, reaction temperatures and times on Maillard reaction products of the L-ascorbic acid/L-glutamic acid system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yong-Yan ZHOU

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The transformation law of the Maillard reaction products with three different reactants ratios - equimolar reactants, excess L-glutamic acid and excess L-ascorbic acid reaction respectively, five different temperatures, and different time conditions for the L-ascorbic acid / L-glutamic acid system were investigated. Results showed that, the increase of the reaction time and temperature led to the increase of the browning products, uncoloured intermediate products, as well as aroma compounds. Compared with the equimolar reaction system, the excess L-ascorbic acid reaction system produced more browning products and uncoloured intermediate products, while the aroma compounds production remained the same. In the excess L-glutamic acid system, the uncoloured intermediate products increased slightly, the browning products remained the same, while the aroma compounds increased.

  19. Co-production of furfural and acetic acid from corncob using ZnCl2 through fast pyrolysis in a fluidized bed reactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oh, Seung-Jin; Jung, Su-Hwa; Kim, Joo-Sik

    2013-09-01

    Corncob was pyrolyzed using ZnCl2 in a pyrolysis plant equipped with a fluidized bed reactor to co-produce furfural and acetic acid. The effects of reaction conditions, the ZnCl2 content and contacting method of ZnCl2 with corncob on the yields of furfural and acetic acid were investigated. The pyrolysis was performed within the temperature range between 310 and 410°C, and the bio-oil yield were 30-60 wt% of the product. The furfural yield increased up to 8.2 wt%. The acetic acid yield was maximized with a value of 13.1 wt%. A lower feed rate in the presence of ZnCl2 was advantageous for the production of acetic acid. The fast pyrolysis of a smaller corncob sample mechanically mixed with 20 wt% of ZnCl2 gave rise to a distinct increase in furfural. A high selectivity for furfural and acetic acid in bio-oil would make the pyrolysis of corncob with ZnCl2 very economically attractive. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Enhanced plant regeneration in lemna minor by amino acids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, L.; Han, H.; Zhou, K.; Ren, C.; Zhu, Y.

    2014-01-01

    In present study we investigated the effects of different L-amino acids on the plant regeneration from callus of Lemna minor, and established an efficient protocol. Among the 20 L-amino acids, only L-Ser and L-Gly showed significant improving effect, with the optimal concentration being 1 mM and 1.5 mM, respectively. A regeneration frequency of 46% was observed when the callus transferred to the regeneration medium with addition of 1 mM L-Ser for 11 days. After 26 days of cultivation, the frond regeneration achieved 100% and 94% for 1 mM L-Ser and 1.5 mM L-Gly treatment, respectively. (author)

  1. Interleukin-2 stimulates osteoclastic activity: Increased acid production and radioactive calcium release

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ries, W.L.; Seeds, M.C.; Key, L.L.

    1989-01-01

    Recombinant human interleukin-2 (IL-2) was studied to determine effects on acid production by individual osteoclasts in situ on mouse calvarial bones. This analysis was performed using a microspectrofluorimetric technique to quantify acid production in individual cells. Radioactive calcium release was determined using calvarial bones in a standard tissue culture system. This allowed us to correlate changes in acid production with a measure of bone resorption. IL-2 stimulated acid production and bone resorbing activity. Both effects were inhibited by calcitonin. No stimulation of bone resorption occurred when IL-2-containing test media was incubated with a specific anti-IL-2 antibody and ultrafiltered. Our data demonstrated a correlation between acid production and bone resorbing activity in mouse calvaria exposed to parathyroid hormone (PTH). The data obtained from cultured mouse calvaria exposed to IL-2 demonstrated similar stimulatory effects to those seen during PTH exposure. These data suggest that calvaria exposed to IL-2 in vitro have increased osteoclastic acid production corresponding with increased bone resorption. (author)

  2. Production of Citric Acid from Solid State Fermentation of Sugarcane ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Aspergillus niger is the leading microorganism of choice for citric acid production. Sugarcane waste was used as substrate under solid state fermentation to comparatively evaluate the citric acid production capacity of Aspergillus niger isolates and the indigenous microflora in the sugarcane waste. Known optimal cultural ...

  3. Production and analysis of organic acids in hairy-root cultures of Isatis indigotica Fort. (indigo woad).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Tiefeng; Zhang, Lei; Sun, Xiaofen; Zhang, Hanming; Tang, Kexuan

    2004-02-01

    Hairy roots were induced from both cotyledon and hypocotyl explants of Isatis indigotica Fort. (indigo woad) through transformation with Agrobaterium rhizogenes strain A4, R1601 and ATCC15834. The results showed that the cotyledons were the preferred explants to hypocotyls and A4 was the most suitable A. rhizogenes strain for the transformation and induction of hairy roots of I. indigotica. High-voltage paper electrophoresis (HVPE) analysis demonstrated the production of mannopine in hairy roots and confirmed the successful transfer of Ri T-DNA (root-inducing transferred DNA) of A. rhizogenes into the I. indigotica genome. Five organic acids, namely CPQ [3-(2-carboxyphenol)-4(3 H )-quinazolinone], syringic acid, salicylic acid, benzoic acid and 2-aminobenzoic acid, which were considered as main antiviral components of I. indigotica, were detected in natural roots, hairy roots and liquid media with high-performance capillary electrophoresis. The results showed CPQ production in hairy roots was significantly higher than that in natural roots. Our results also revealed that all the five organic acids could be excreted from hairy roots into liquid media, and the concentrations of organic acids in the liquid media paralleled those in hairy roots. The hairy roots of I. indigotica grew fast and showed an S-shaped growth curve that reached its apex on the day 24 of culture with a 20-fold increase in fresh weight compared with the starting inoculums. The accumulation of the two organic acids CPQ and syringic acid in liquid media paralleled the growth of hairy roots. MS [Murashige, T. and Skoog, F. (1962) Physiol. Plant. 15, 473-497] medium or half-strength MS medium supplemented with 30 g/l maltose was found to be best for hairy-root culture and accumulation of CPQ.

  4. The Effects of Plant Growth Regulators on Cell Growth, Protein, Carotenoid, PUFAs and Lipid Production of Chlorella pyrenoidosa ZF Strain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huanmin Du

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available In the present study, eight kinds plant growth regulators—salicylic acid (SA, 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA, gibberellic acid (GA3, 6-benzylaminopurine (6-BA, 2, 4-epi-brassinolide (EBR, abscisic acid (ABA, ethephon (ETH, and spermidine (SPD—were used to investigate the impact on microalgal biomass, lipid, total soluble protein, carotenoids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAS production of Chlorella pyrenoidosa ZF strain. The results showed the quickest biomass enhancement was induced by 50 mg·L−1 NAA, with a 6.3-fold increase over the control; the highest protein content was increased by 0.005 mg·L−1 ETH, which produced 3.5-fold over the control; total carotenoids content was induced most effectively by 1 mg·L−1 NAA with 3.6-fold higher production than the control; the most efficient elicitor for lipid production was 5 mg·L−1 GA3 at 1.9-fold of the control; 0.2 mg·L−1 ETH induced the abundant production of 1.82 ± 0.23% linoleic acid; 0.65 ± 0.01% linolenic acid was induced by 1 mg·L−1 NAA; 2.53 ± 0.15% arachidonic acid and 0.44 ± 0.05% docosahexaenoic acid were induced by 5 mg·L−1 GA3. Transcriptional expression levels of seven lipid-related genes, including ACP, BC, FAD, FATA, KAS, MCTK, and SAD, were studied by real-time RT-q-PCR. 5 mg·L−1 GA3 was the most effective regulator for transcriptional expressions of these seven genes, producing 23-fold ACP, 31-fold BC, 25-fold FAD, 6-fold KAS, 12-fold MCTK compared with the controls, respectively.

  5. Recombinant Plants Provide a New Approach to the Production of Bacterial Polysaccharide for Vaccines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Claire M.; Fry, Stephen C.; Gough, Kevin C.; Patel, Alexandra J. F.; Glenn, Sarah; Goldrick, Marie; Roberts, Ian S.; Andrew, Peter W.

    2014-01-01

    Bacterial polysaccharides have numerous clinical or industrial uses. Recombinant plants could offer the possibility of producing bacterial polysaccharides on a large scale and free of contaminating bacterial toxins and antigens. We investigated the feasibility of this proposal by cloning and expressing the gene for the type 3 synthase (cps3S) of Streptococcus pneumoniae in Nicotinia tabacum, using the pCambia2301 vector and Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated gene transfer. In planta the recombinant synthase polymerised plant-derived UDP-glucose and UDP-glucuronic acid to form type 3 polysaccharide. Expression of the cps3S gene was detected by RT-PCR and production of the pneumococcal polysaccharide was detected in tobacco leaf extracts by double immunodiffusion, Western blotting and high-voltage paper electrophoresis. Because it is used a component of anti-pneumococcal vaccines, the immunogenicity of the plant-derived type 3 polysaccharide was tested. Mice immunised with extracts from recombinant plants were protected from challenge with a lethal dose of pneumococci in a model of pneumonia and the immunised mice had significantly elevated levels of serum anti-pneumococcal polysaccharide antibodies. This study provides the proof of the principle that bacterial polysaccharide can be successfully synthesised in plants and that these recombinant polysaccharides could be used as vaccines to protect against life-threatening infections. PMID:24498433

  6. Effects of rare sugar D-allulose on acid production and probiotic activities of dairy lactic acid bacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kimoto-Nira, H; Moriya, N; Hayakawa, S; Kuramasu, K; Ohmori, H; Yamasaki, S; Ogawa, M

    2017-07-01

    It has recently been reported that the rare sugar d-allulose has beneficial effects, including the suppression of postprandial blood glucose elevation in humans, and can be substituted for sucrose as a low-calorie food ingredient. To examine the applications of d-allulose in the dairy industry, we investigated the effects of d-allulose on the acid production of 8 strains of yogurt starter (Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus) and 4 strains of lactococci, including potential probiotic candidates derived from dairy products. Acid production by 2 L. delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus yogurt starter strains in milk was suppressed by d-allulose, but this phenomenon was also observed in some strains with another sugar (xylose), a sugar alcohol (sorbitol), or both. In contrast, among the dairy probiotic candidates, Lactococcus lactis H61, which has beneficial effects for human skin when drunk as part of fermented milk, was the only strain that showed suppression of acid production in the presence of d-allulose. Strain H61 did not metabolize d-allulose. We did not observe suppression of acid production by strain H61 with the addition of xylose or sorbitol, and xylose and sorbitol were not metabolized by strain H61. The acid production of strain H61 after culture in a constituted medium (tryptone-yeast extract-glucose broth) was also suppressed with the addition of d-allulose, but growth efficiency and sugar fermentation style were not altered. Probiotic activities-such as the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitory activity of H61-fermented milk and the superoxide dismutase activity of H61 cells grown in tryptone-yeast extract-glucose broth-were not affected by d-allulose. d-Allulose may suppress acid production in certain lactic acid bacteria without altering their probiotic activity. It may be useful for developing new probiotic dairy products from probiotic strains such as Lactococcus lactis H61. Copyright © 2017 American Dairy Science

  7. Application of Tecnomatix Plant Simulation for Modeling Production and Logistics Processes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julia Siderska

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The main objective of the article was to present the possibilities and examples of using Tecnomatix Plant Simulation (by Siemens to simulate the production and logistics processes. This tool allows to simulate discrete events and create digital models of logistic systems (e.g. production, optimize the operation of production plants, production lines, as well as individual logistics processes. The review of implementations of Tecnomatix Plant Simulation for modeling processes in production engineering and logistics was conducted and a few selected examples of simulations were presented. The author’s future studies are going to focus on simulation of production and logistic processes and their optimization with the use of genetic algorithms and artificial neural networks.

  8. Plant species richness regulates soil respiration through changes in productivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dias, André Tavares Corrêa; van Ruijven, Jasper; Berendse, Frank

    2010-07-01

    Soil respiration is an important pathway of the C cycle. However, it is still poorly understood how changes in plant community diversity can affect this ecosystem process. Here we used a long-term experiment consisting of a gradient of grassland plant species richness to test for effects of diversity on soil respiration. We hypothesized that plant diversity could affect soil respiration in two ways. On the one hand, more diverse plant communities have been shown to promote plant productivity, which could increase soil respiration. On the other hand, the nutrient concentration in the biomass produced has been shown to decrease with diversity, which could counteract the production-induced increase in soil respiration. Our results clearly show that soil respiration increased with species richness. Detailed analysis revealed that this effect was not due to differences in species composition. In general, soil respiration in mixtures was higher than would be expected from the monocultures. Path analysis revealed that species richness predominantly regulates soil respiration through changes in productivity. No evidence supporting the hypothesized negative effect of lower N concentration on soil respiration was found. We conclude that shifts in productivity are the main mechanism by which changes in plant diversity may affect soil respiration.

  9. The COP9 signalosome controls jasmonic acid synthesis and plant responses to herbivory and pathogens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hind, Sarah R; Pulliam, Sarah E; Veronese, Paola; Shantharaj, Deepak; Nazir, Azka; Jacobs, Nekaiya S; Stratmann, Johannes W

    2011-02-01

    The COP9 signalosome (CSN) is a multi-protein complex that regulates the activities of cullin-RING E3 ubiquitin ligases (CRLs). CRLs ubiquitinate proteins in order to target them for proteasomal degradation. The CSN is required for proper plant development. Here we show that the CSN also has a profound effect on plant defense responses. Silencing of genes for CSN subunits in tomato plants resulted in a mild morphological phenotype and reduced expression of wound-responsive genes in response to mechanical wounding, attack by Manduca sexta larvae, and Prosystemin over-expression. In contrast, expression of pathogenesis-related genes was increased in a stimulus-independent manner in these plants. The reduced wound response in CSN-silenced plants corresponded with reduced synthesis of jasmonic acid (JA), but levels of salicylic acid (SA) were unaltered. As a consequence, these plants exhibited reduced resistance against herbivorous M. sexta larvae and the necrotrophic fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea. In contrast, susceptibility to tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) was not altered in CSN-silenced plants. These data demonstrate that the CSN orchestrates not only plant development but also JA-dependent plant defense responses. © 2011 The Authors. The Plant Journal © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  10. Endophytic fungal association via gibberellins and indole acetic acid can improve plant growth under abiotic stress: an example of Paecilomyces formosus LHL10

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khan Abdul

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Endophytic fungi are little known for exogenous secretion of phytohormones and mitigation of salinity stress, which is a major limiting factor for agriculture production worldwide. Current study was designed to isolate phytohormone producing endophytic fungus from the roots of cucumber plant and identify its role in plant growth and stress tolerance under saline conditions. Results We isolated nine endophytic fungi from the roots of cucumber plant and screened their culture filtrates (CF on gibberellins (GAs deficient mutant rice cultivar Waito-C and normal GAs biosynthesis rice cultivar Dongjin-byeo. The CF of a fungal isolate CSH-6H significantly increased the growth of Waito-C and Dongjin-byeo seedlings as compared to control. Analysis of the CF showed presence of GAs (GA1, GA3, GA4, GA8, GA9, GA12, GA20 and GA24 and indole acetic acid. The endophyte CSH-6H was identified as a strain of Paecilomyces formosus LHL10 on the basis of phylogenetic analysis of ITS sequence similarity. Under salinity stress, P. formosus inoculation significantly enhanced cucumber shoot length and allied growth characteristics as compared to non-inoculated control plants. The hypha of P. formosus was also observed in the cortical and pericycle regions of the host-plant roots and was successfully re-isolated using PCR techniques. P. formosus association counteracted the adverse effects of salinity by accumulating proline and antioxidants and maintaining plant water potential. Thus the electrolytic leakage and membrane damage to the cucumber plants was reduced in the association of endophyte. Reduced content of stress responsive abscisic acid suggest lesser stress convened to endophyte-associated plants. On contrary, elevated endogenous GAs (GA3, GA4, GA12 and GA20 contents in endophyte-associated cucumber plants evidenced salinity stress modulation. Conclusion The results reveal that mutualistic interactions of phytohormones secreting endophytic

  11. Globe Artichoke Callus as an Alternative System for the Production of Dicaffeoylquinic Acids

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Moglia, A.; Menin, B.; Comino, C.; Lanteri, S.; Beekwilder, M.J.

    2012-01-01

    Globe artichoke leaves are highly rich in phenolic acids, in particular chlorogenic acid and dicaffeoylquinic acids. The latter are of particular interest since they can exert a stronger antioxidant activity, due to the presence of two adjacent hydroxyl groups on each of their phenolic rings. Plant

  12. Optimized production planning model for a multi-plant cultivation system under uncertainty

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ke, Shunkui; Guo, Doudou; Niu, Qingliang; Huang, Danfeng

    2015-02-01

    An inexact multi-constraint programming model under uncertainty was developed by incorporating a production plan algorithm into the crop production optimization framework under the multi-plant collaborative cultivation system. In the production plan, orders from the customers are assigned to a suitable plant under the constraints of plant capabilities and uncertainty parameters to maximize profit and achieve customer satisfaction. The developed model and solution method were applied to a case study of a multi-plant collaborative cultivation system to verify its applicability. As determined in the case analysis involving different orders from customers, the period of plant production planning and the interval between orders can significantly affect system benefits. Through the analysis of uncertain parameters, reliable and practical decisions can be generated using the suggested model of a multi-plant collaborative cultivation system.

  13. Anaerobic Fermentation for Production of Carboxylic Acids as Bulk Chemicals from Renewable Biomass.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jufang; Lin, Meng; Xu, Mengmeng; Yang, Shang-Tian

    Biomass represents an abundant carbon-neutral renewable resource which can be converted to bulk chemicals to replace petrochemicals. Carboxylic acids have wide applications in the chemical, food, and pharmaceutical industries. This chapter provides an overview of recent advances and challenges in the industrial production of various types of carboxylic acids, including short-chain fatty acids (acetic, propionic, butyric), hydroxy acids (lactic, 3-hydroxypropionic), dicarboxylic acids (succinic, malic, fumaric, itaconic, adipic, muconic, glucaric), and others (acrylic, citric, gluconic, pyruvic) by anaerobic fermentation. For economic production of these carboxylic acids as bulk chemicals, the fermentation process must have a sufficiently high product titer, productivity and yield, and low impurity acid byproducts to compete with their petrochemical counterparts. System metabolic engineering offers the tools needed to develop novel strains that can meet these process requirements for converting biomass feedstock to the desirable product.

  14. Over-expression of SlJA2 decreased heat tolerance of transgenic tobacco plants via salicylic acid pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Zhong-Ming; Yue, Meng-Meng; Yang, Dong-Yue; Zhu, Shao-Bo; Ma, Na-Na; Meng, Qing-Wei

    2017-04-01

    Over-expression of SlJA2 decreased the accumulation of SA, which resulted in significant physiological and gene expression changes in transgenic tobacco plants, leading to the decreased heat tolerance of transgenic tobacco. NAC family, the largest transcription factors in plants, responses to different environmental stimuli. Here, we isolated a typical NAC transcription factor (SlJA2) from tomato and got transgenic tobacco with SlJA2 over-expression. Expression of SlJA2 was induced by heat stress (42 °C), chilling stress (4 °C), drought stress, osmotic stress, abscisic acid, and salicylic acid. Over-expression of SlJA2 decreased the accumulation of salicylic acid by regulating expression of salicylic acid degradation gene under heat stress. Compared to WT plants, stomatal apertures and water loss increased in transgenic plants, and the damage of photosynthetic apparatus and chlorophyll breakdown were more serious in transgenic plants under heat stress. Meanwhile, more H 2 O 2 and O 2 ·- were accumulated transgenic plants and proline synthesis was restricted, which resulted in more serious oxidative damage compared to WT. qRT-PCR analysis showed that over-expression of SlJA2 could down-regulate genes involved in reactive oxygen species scavenging, proline biosynthesis, and response to heat stress. All the above results indicated that SlJA2 may be a negative regulator responded to plant's heat tolerance. Thus, this study provides new insight into roles of NAC family member in plant response to abiotic stress.

  15. Genetic variation in jasmonic acid- and spider mite-induced plant volatile emission of cucumber accessions and attraction of the predator Phytoseiulus persimilis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kappers, Iris F; Verstappen, Francel W A; Luckerhoff, Ludo L P; Bouwmeester, Harro J; Dicke, Marcel

    2010-05-01

    Cucumber plants (Cucumis sativus L.) respond to spider-mite (Tetranychus urticae) damage with the release of specific volatiles that are exploited by predatory mites, the natural enemies of the spider mites, to locate their prey. The production of volatiles also can be induced by exposing plants to the plant hormone jasmonic acid. We analyzed volatile emissions from 15 cucumber accessions upon herbivory by spider mites and upon exposure to jasmonic acid using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Upon induction, cucumber plants emitted over 24 different compounds, and the blend of induced volatiles consisted predominantly of terpenoids. The total amount of volatiles was higher in plants treated with jasmonic acid than in those infested with spider mites, with (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene, (E,E)-alpha-farnesene, and (E)-beta-ocimene as the most abundant compounds in all accessions in both treatments. Significant variation among the accessions was found for the 24 major volatile compounds. The accessions differed strongly in total amount of volatiles emitted, and displayed very different odor profiles. Principal component analysis performed on the relative quantities of particular compounds within the blend revealed clusters of highly correlated volatiles, which is suggestive of common metabolic pathways. A number of cucumber accessions also were tested for their attractiveness to Phytoseiulus persimilis, a specialist predator of spider mites. Differences in the attraction of predatory mites by the various accessions correlated to differences in the individual chemical profiles of these accessions. The presence of genetic variation in induced plant volatile emission in cucumber shows that it is possible to breed for cucumber varieties that are more attractive to predatory mites and other biological control agents.

  16. Production of gluconic acid by using some irradiated microorganisms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ashraf S. Ahmed

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to isolate the potential fungal isolates have the ability for gluconic acid production by using some agro industrial byproducts as sugarcane molasses, banana-must and grape-must. The effect of gamma-irradiation on the most potent isolates and the fermentation conditions as pH, incubation temperature and incubation period was also investigated. Results showed that the most potential fungal isolates were Aspergillus niger, Penicillium puberulum and Penicillium frequentans whereas their gluconic acid production was 62.17, 56.25 and 39.69 g/L, respectively on Czapek's Dox media at 28 ± 1 °C, pH 6 for 7 days fermentation period. Irradiation of the three most potential isolates at 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5 kGy doses of gamma ray showed that 0.1 kGy dose caused an increase in gluconic acid production whereas it was 69.35, 60.17 and 40.31 g/L by the three potential isolates respectively. Data showed that utilization of sugarcane molasses, banana-must and grape-must as a sole carbon source in gluconic acid production by the three potential (0.1 kGy irradiated isolates at pH 6, 30 °C for a 7 days incubation period caused increasing in gluconic acid production whereas the productivity of the three (0.1 kGy irradiated isolates (A. niger, P. puberulum and P. frequentans was 69.87, 63.14 and 51.28 g/L by utilizing sugarcane molasses, 61.28, 56.37, 47.15 g/L by utilizing banana-must and 54.25, 52.75 and 44.75 g/L by utilizing grape-must.

  17. Catalytic amino acid production from biomass-derived intermediates

    KAUST Repository

    Deng, Weiping

    2018-04-30

    Amino acids are the building blocks for protein biosynthesis and find use in myriad industrial applications including in food for humans, in animal feed, and as precursors for bio-based plastics, among others. However, the development of efficient chemical methods to convert abundant and renewable feedstocks into amino acids has been largely unsuccessful to date. To that end, here we report a heterogeneous catalyst that directly transforms lignocellulosic biomass-derived α-hydroxyl acids into α-amino acids, including alanine, leucine, valine, aspartic acid, and phenylalanine in high yields. The reaction follows a dehydrogenation-reductive amination pathway, with dehydrogenation as the rate-determining step. Ruthenium nanoparticles supported on carbon nanotubes (Ru/CNT) exhibit exceptional efficiency compared with catalysts based on other metals, due to the unique, reversible enhancement effect of NH3 on Ru in dehydrogenation. Based on the catalytic system, a two-step chemical process was designed to convert glucose into alanine in 43% yield, comparable with the well-established microbial cultivation process, and therefore, the present strategy enables a route for the production of amino acids from renewable feedstocks. Moreover, a conceptual process design employing membrane distillation to facilitate product purification is proposed and validated. Overall, this study offers a rapid and potentially more efficient chemical method to produce amino acids from woody biomass components.

  18. Production of lysosomal enzymes in plant-based expression systems

    OpenAIRE

    1996-01-01

    The invention relates to the production of enzymatically active recombinant human and animal lysosomal enzymes involving construction and expression of recombinant expression constructs comprising coding sequences of human or animal lysosomal enzymes in a plant expression system. The plant expression system provides for post-translational modification and processing to produce a recombinant gene product exhibiting enzymatic activity. The invention is demonstrated by working examples in which ...

  19. Performance optimization of the Växtkraft biogas production plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thorin, Eva; Lindmark, Johan; Nordlander, Eva; Odlare, Monica; Dahlquist, Erik; Kastensson, Jan; Leksell, Niklas; Pettersson, Carl-Magnus

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Pre-treatment of ley crop can increase the biogas plant performance. ► Membrane filtration can increase the capacity of the biogas plant. ► Mechanical pre-treatment of the ley crop shows the highest energy efficiency. ► Using a distributor to spread the residues as fertilizer show promising results. -- Abstract: All over the world there is a strong interest and also potential for biogas production from organic residues as well as from different crops. However, to be commercially competitive with other types of fuels, efficiency improvements of the biogas production process are needed. In this paper, results of improvements studies done on a full scale co-digestion plant are presented. In the plant organic wastes from households and restaurants are mixed and digested with crops from pasture land. The areas for improvement of the plant addressed in this paper are treatment of the feed material to enhance the digestion rate, limitation of the ballast of organics in the water stream recirculated in the process, and use of the biogas plant residues at farms. Results from previous studies on pre-treatment and membrane filtration of recirculated process water are combined for an estimation of the total improvement potential. Further, the possibility of using neural networks to predict biogas production using historical data from the full-scale biogas plant was investigated. Results from an investigation using the process residues as fertilizer are also presented. The results indicate a potential to increase the biogas yield from the process with up to over 30% with pre-treatment of the feed and including membrane filtration in the process. Neural networks have the potential to be used for prediction of biogas production. Further, it is shown that the residues from biogas production can be used as fertilizers but that the emission of N 2 O from the fertilized soil is dependent on the soil type and spreading technology.

  20. Determination of rare earth elements in products of Chadormalu iron ore concentrator plant (Iran) from beneficiation point of view

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jorjani, E.; Bagherieh, A. H.; Rezai, B.

    2007-01-01

    :Different samples have been prepared from different products in Chadormalu iron ore concentrator plant: Low intensity magnetite separators concentrate (magnetite concentrate), reverse flotation tail (final hematite concentrate), flotation concentrate (apatite concentrate), final tail (L.I. M.S. tail + reverse flotation concentrate + apatite flotation tail). The samples were used for rare earth elements (REEs) distribution and origin studies. The assay of REEs was determined by ICP-MS spectrometry. The amount of total (light and heavy) REEs were 9631, 291, 199, 2236 ppm and the distributions were 19.3, 3.6, 10.1, 67% in flotation concentrate (apatite concentrate), reverse flotation tail (hematite concentrate), magnetite concentrate and total tail respectively. About 19.3% of total REEs were distributed in apatite concentrate with an assay of 9631 ppm. Therefore, further studies have been conducted on this product. According to the Xray studies the minerals of fluoroapatite, ankerite and calcite are the main mineral phases in apatite concentrate which the apatite is dominant among them. The scanning electron microscopy studies were shown that the high amount of REEs distributed on fluoroapatite mineral. The results have clearly shown that the apatite concentrate that is a by product of iron dressing in Chadormalu plant, with a low economical value and left without any further treatment, can be used as a significant source of REEs. According to this characterization studies, the recovery of a mixed rare earth oxide from fluoroapatite is possible either with the treatment of liquors from the total dissolution of the ore in nitric acid or with the proposed treatment of the phosphogypsum by-product from the conventional sulphuric acid route and the recovery of rare earth oxides from phosphoric acid sludges that the detailed flowsheet needs further extraction work