Lipase-producing fungi for potential wastewater treatment and bioenergy production

The use of fungal biomass as a lipase biocatalyst represents an attractive approach for the treatments of oil wastewater as well as for the production of biodiesel from oil and residual grease, due to its greater  stability, possibility of reuse, and lower cost. In this work, 20 filamentous fungi were isolated from the grease trap scum of a restaurant at the Federal University of Espírito Santo, Brazil. The fungi included those belonging to the genera Aspergillus, Beauveria, Botrytis, Cladosporium, Colletotrichum, Fusarium, Geotrichum, Penicillium, Rhizomucor, and Verticillium. Fungal lipase activity and biomass production were quantified. Lipase activity ranged from 0.13 U mg-1 protein of Rhizomucor sp. ECGF18 to 18.06 U mg-1 protein of Penicillium sp. ECGF02, and the biomass production ranged from 7.61 mg mL-1 for  Cladosporium sp. ECGF19 to 12.68 mg mL-1 for Rhizomucor sp. ECGF18. In the sequence, Penicillium sp. ECGF02 and Rhizomucor sp. ECGF18, were previously select and, further evaluated in solid-state fermentation. Results confirmed the high extracellular lipase-activity of Penicillium sp.ECG02 and the high intracellular lipase activity of Rhizomucor sp. ECG18. Rhizomucor sp. ECG18 showed potential for use in future research, in the form of whole-cell lipases, wastewater treatment, and as a biocatalyst in the production of biodiesel from oil residues.Key words: Lipase-producing fungi, wastewater treatment, bioenergy

Harvesting Microalgal Biomass grown in Anaerobic Sewage Treatment Effluent by the Coagulation-Flocculation Method: Effect of pH

ABSTRACT Harvesting is a critical step in microalgal biomass production process for many reasons. Among the existing techniques available for harvesting and dewatering microalgal biomass, recovery from aqueous medium by coagulation-flocculation has been the most economically viable process, althoughit is highly dependent on pH. This study aims to assess alternative coagulants compared to the standard coagulant aluminum sulfate for microalgal biomass recovery from anaerobic effluent of domestic sewage treatment. The effluent quality was also analyzed after biomass recovery. Coagulants represented by modified tannin, cationic starch and aluminum sulfate recovered more than 90% of algae biomass, at concentrations greater than 80 mg/L, in the pH range 7-10. Cationic starch promoted higher microalgal biomass recovery with a wider pH range. Powdered seeds of Moringa oleifera and Hibiscus esculentus(okra) gum promoted biomass removal of 50%, only in the acidic range of pH. After sedimentation of the microalgal biomass, the effluents showed a removal of >80% for phosphorus and nitrogen values and >50% for BOD and COD when using aluminum sulfate, cationic starch and modified tannin as coagulants. Natural organic coagulants in a wide pH range can replace aluminum sulfate, a reference coagulant in microalgal biomass recovery, without decreasing microalgal biomass harvesting efficiency and the quality of the final effluent

The transition from Pangea amalgamation to fragmentation: Constraints from detrital zircon geochronology on West Iberia paleogeography and sediment sources

Detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology data from late Carboniferous to Triassic clastic sedimentary rocks in SW Iberia were used to investigate the regional paleogeography during the transition from Pangea amalgamation to breakup. The major U-Pb zircon age peaks are middle Devonian to Carboniferous (similar to 390-300 Ma), Cambrian Ordovician (similar to 530-440 Ma), Cryogenian-Ediacaran (similar to 750-540 Ma), Stenian-Tonian (similar to 1.2-0.9 Ga) and Paleoproterozoic (similar to 2.3-1.8 Ga). Rapid exhumation of Variscan crystalline rocks at the contact between the South Portuguese zone and Ossa Morena Zone, explains the abundance of late Paleozoic ages in the upper Carboniferous-lower Permian continental successions. The U-Pb zircon data constrain the maximum depositional age of the Santa Susana Basin to c. 304 Ma and the Viar Basin to c. 297 Ma. The Triassic sequences, despite being c. 100 Ma younger than the Variscan tectonothermal events, contain low proportions of late Paleozoic zircon. The major peaks in all zircon spectra closely resemble those found in the adjacent basement rocks, indicating small source areas, mainly located near the rift shoulders. Longer travelled fluvial systems are postulated for the eastern portions of the Algarve Basin, which was closer to the westward advancing Tethys Ocean than the rift basins of West Iberia. Sequences that contain significant proportions of similar to 1.2-0.9 Ga zircon are probably recycled from post-collisional Carboniferous-Permian continental deposits that were more extensive than those found today. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) [SFRH/BSAB/1233/2011]; Iberoamerican Santander (Banco Santander) grant; Science Foundation Ireland [12/IP/1663]

AMAZONIA CAMTRAP: A data set of mammal, bird, and reptile species recorded with camera traps in the Amazon forest

The Amazon forest has the highest biodiversity on Earth. However, information on Amazonian vertebrate diversity is still deficient and scattered across the published, peer-reviewed, and gray literature and in unpublished raw data. Camera traps are an effective non-invasive method of surveying vertebrates, applicable to different scales of time and space. In this study, we organized and standardized camera trap records from different Amazon regions to compile the most extensive data set of inventories of mammal, bird, and reptile species ever assembled for the area. The complete data set comprises 154,123 records of 317 species (185 birds, 119 mammals, and 13 reptiles) gathered from surveys from the Amazonian portion of eight countries (Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela). The most frequently recorded species per taxa were: mammals: Cuniculus paca (11,907 records); birds: Pauxi tuberosa (3713 records); and reptiles: Tupinambis teguixin (716 records). The information detailed in this data paper opens up opportunities for new ecological studies at different spatial and temporal scales, allowing for a more accurate evaluation of the effects of habitat loss, fragmentation, climate change, and other human-mediated defaunation processes in one of the most important and threatened tropical environments in the world. The data set is not copyright restricted; please cite this data paper when using its data in publications and we also request that researchers and educators inform us of how they are using these data

Brazilian Flora 2020: Leveraging the power of a collaborative scientific network

International audienceThe shortage of reliable primary taxonomic data limits the description of biological taxa and the understanding of biodiversity patterns and processes, complicating biogeographical, ecological, and evolutionary studies. This deficit creates a significant taxonomic impediment to biodiversity research and conservation planning. The taxonomic impediment and the biodiversity crisis are widely recognized, highlighting the urgent need for reliable taxonomic data. Over the past decade, numerous countries worldwide have devoted considerable effort to Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which called for the preparation of a working list of all known plant species by 2010 and an online world Flora by 2020. Brazil is a megadiverse country, home to more of the world's known plant species than any other country. Despite that, Flora Brasiliensis, concluded in 1906, was the last comprehensive treatment of the Brazilian flora. The lack of accurate estimates of the number of species of algae, fungi, and plants occurring in Brazil contributes to the prevailing taxonomic impediment and delays progress towards the GSPC targets. Over the past 12 years, a legion of taxonomists motivated to meet Target 1 of the GSPC, worked together to gather and integrate knowledge on the algal, plant, and fungal diversity of Brazil. Overall, a team of about 980 taxonomists joined efforts in a highly collaborative project that used cybertaxonomy to prepare an updated Flora of Brazil, showing the power of scientific collaboration to reach ambitious goals. This paper presents an overview of the Brazilian Flora 2020 and provides taxonomic and spatial updates on the algae, fungi, and plants found in one of the world's most biodiverse countries. We further identify collection gaps and summarize future goals that extend beyond 2020. Our results show that Brazil is home to 46,975 native species of algae, fungi, and plants, of which 19,669 are endemic to the country. The data compiled to date suggests that the Atlantic Rainforest might be the most diverse Brazilian domain for all plant groups except gymnosperms, which are most diverse in the Amazon. However, scientific knowledge of Brazilian diversity is still unequally distributed, with the Atlantic Rainforest and the Cerrado being the most intensively sampled and studied biomes in the country. In times of “scientific reductionism”, with botanical and mycological sciences suffering pervasive depreciation in recent decades, the first online Flora of Brazil 2020 significantly enhanced the quality and quantity of taxonomic data available for algae, fungi, and plants from Brazil. This project also made all the information freely available online, providing a firm foundation for future research and for the management, conservation, and sustainable use of the Brazilian funga and flora