The Genome of Ganderma lucidum Provide Insights into Triterpense Biosynthesis and Wood Degradation

BACKGROUND: Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi or Ling Zhi) is one of the most famous Traditional Chinese Medicines and has been widely used in the treatment of various human diseases in Asia countries. It is also a fungus with strong wood degradation ability with potential in bioenergy production. However, genes, pathways and mechanisms of these functions are still unknown. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The genome of G. lucidum was sequenced and assembled into a 39.9 megabases (Mb) draft genome, which encoded 12,080 protein-coding genes and ∼83% of them were similar to public sequences. We performed comprehensive annotation for G. lucidum genes and made comparisons with genes in other fungi genomes. Genes in the biosynthesis of the main G. lucidum active ingredients, ganoderic acids (GAs), were characterized. Among the GAs synthases, we identified a fusion gene, the N and C terminal of which are homologous to two different enzymes. Moreover, the fusion gene was only found in basidiomycetes. As a white rot fungus with wood degradation ability, abundant carbohydrate-active enzymes and ligninolytic enzymes were identified in the G. lucidum genome and were compared with other fungi. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The genome sequence and well annotation of G. lucidum will provide new insights in function analyses including its medicinal mechanism. The characterization of genes in the triterpene biosynthesis and wood degradation will facilitate bio-engineering research in the production of its active ingredients and bioenergy

Effect of Ethylene Glycol Monobutyl Ether on Skin Layer Formation Kinetics of Asymmetric Membranes

The present work was concerned with skin layer formation kinetics of Polyethersulfone with Cardo (PES-C) asymmetric membranes by the phase inversion method. Gelation process was observed using an online optical microscope-CCD camera experimental system, the result indicated that a single linear correlation between square value of precipitation front move (X(2)) and time (t) did not exist for the whole gelation process, which was different from the traditional conclusion. The effect of Ethylene glycol monobutyl ether (EGME) on skin layer gelation process was investigated, and the skin layer formation kinetics equation was determined, which could be described with gelation rate constant equation. The gelation rate constant decreased with the increase of concentration of EGME. EGME concentrations affected the viscous flow activation energy, and the increase of viscous flow activation energy led to the decrease of gelation rate. The change trend of the gelation rate was exactly the same as that of the flux. The results helped to understand the asymmetric membrane skin layer formation process better, which was important for controlling the membrane separation properties and designing the membranes for a specific application. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 113: 2392-2396, 200

n-Octyltrichlorosilane Modified SAPO-34/PDMS Mixed Matrix Membranes for Propane/Nitrogen Mixture Separation

In this study, zeolite molecular sieve SAPO-34/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) were prepared to recover propane. n-Octyltrichlorosilane (OTCS) was introduced to improve compatibility between SAPO-34 and PDMS, and enhance the separation performance of the MMMs. Physicochemical properties of the MMMs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and water contact angle (WCA). Results showed that, after modification, alkyl chains were successfully grafted onto SAPO-34 without changing its crystal structure, particles in the MMMs were evenly distributed in the base film, and the hydrophobicity of the MMMs was enhanced. Moreover, the effects of SAPO-34 filling content, operating pressure, and feed gas concentration on the separation performance was explored. This indicated that the modification with OTCS effectively enhanced the separation performance of SAPO-34/PDMS MMMs. When the filling content of modified SAPO-34 was 15%, the maximal separation factor of 22.1 was achieved, and the corresponding propane permeation rate was 101 GPU

Correction to Preparation and Characterization of Poly(phthalazinone ether sulfone) Hollow Fiber Ultrafiltration Membranes

Correction to Preparation and Characterization of Poly(phthalazinone ether sulfone) Hollow Fiber Ultrafiltration Membrane