Neoaustin: a meroterpene produced by Penicillium sp.

The title meroterpene neoaustin {systematic name: (1′S,2′R,3S,7′R,9′S,11′S,12′R)-11′-hydr­oxy-2,2,2′,9′,12′-penta­methyl-6′,15′-dimethyl­ene-2,6-dihydro-13′-oxaspiro­[pyran-3,5′-tetra­cyclo­[7.5.1.01,11.02,7]penta­deca­ne]-6,10′,14′-trione}, C25H30O6, comprises five rings, three six-membered and two five-membered. The absolute configuration was established based on [αD] = +166.91° (c 1.21, CH2Cl2). In the crystal, the mol­ecules are connected into a supra­molecular helical chain via O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds reinforced by C—H⋯O contacts

A ambientalização curricular de programas de Educação Física em universidades federais do Brasil

ResumoO objetivo do artigo foi analisar evidências de ambientalização curricular em programas de educação física no contexto do ensino superior brasileiro. De acordo com esse objetivo, o "corpus" de análise foi composto pelos planos de ensino de disciplinas que abordam questões ambientais em programas de educação física de Universidades Federais do Brasil. O "corpus" foi analisado a partir da Análise Textual Discursiva, metodologia que compreende: a) desmontagem dos textos (unitarização); b) estabelecimento de relações (categorização); c) captação de um novo emergente (metatexto original). As unidades de significado destacadas na etapa de unitarização foram organizadas em categorias pré-definidas a partir das características da Rede ACES para um estudo ambientalizado. A escolha desse referencial ("benchmark") se justifica por sua representatividade diante das produções científicas no campo ambiental, constituindo-se como significativo (con)texto social atual, trazendo em suas definições o resultado de embates históricos em torno da emergência/legitimação de elementos que constituem os atuais conceitos sobre o "ambiental". Esperar-se-ia, assim, que pelo menos os conceitos chaves de cada categoria fossem contemplados pelas propostas presentes em planos de ensino de disciplinas que propõem um diálogo entre o campo ambiental e o campo da educação física. No entanto, os resultados da pesquisa mostram uma realidade bem diferente, colocando em evidência as práticas esportivas e recreativas na natureza como foco quase que exclusivo das disciplinas que abordam questões ambientais em programas de educação física de Universidades Federais do Brasil. Nos argumentos conclusivos são apresentadas significativas evidências sobre as dimensões dos discursos ambientais que estão sendo incorporados pelos currículos de educação física no âmbito do ensino (superior), assim como novas/"alternativas" perspectivas que emergem nos encontros entre o campo ambiental e o campo da educação física

Heterologous Expression and Maturation of an NADP-Dependent [NiFe]-Hydrogenase: A Key Enzyme in Biofuel Production

Hydrogen gas is a major biofuel and is metabolized by a wide range of microorganisms. Microbial hydrogen production is catalyzed by hydrogenase, an extremely complex, air-sensitive enzyme that utilizes a binuclear nickel-iron [NiFe] catalytic site. Production and engineering of recombinant [NiFe]-hydrogenases in a genetically-tractable organism, as with metalloprotein complexes in general, has met with limited success due to the elaborate maturation process that is required, primarily in the absence of oxygen, to assemble the catalytic center and functional enzyme. We report here the successful production in Escherichia coli of the recombinant form of a cytoplasmic, NADP-dependent hydrogenase from Pyrococcus furiosus, an anaerobic hyperthermophile. This was achieved using novel expression vectors for the co-expression of thirteen P. furiosus genes (four structural genes encoding the hydrogenase and nine encoding maturation proteins). Remarkably, the native E. coli maturation machinery will also generate a functional hydrogenase when provided with only the genes encoding the hydrogenase subunits and a single protease from P. furiosus. Another novel feature is that their expression was induced by anaerobic conditions, whereby E. coli was grown aerobically and production of recombinant hydrogenase was achieved by simply changing the gas feed from air to an inert gas (N2). The recombinant enzyme was purified and shown to be functionally similar to the native enzyme purified from P. furiosus. The methodology to generate this key hydrogen-producing enzyme has dramatic implications for the production of hydrogen and NADPH as vehicles for energy storage and transport, for engineering hydrogenase to optimize production and catalysis, as well as for the general production of complex, oxygen-sensitive metalloproteins

Microbiomes of ant castes implicate new microbial roles in the fungus-growing ant Trachymyrmex septentrionalis

Fungus-growing ants employ several defenses against diseases, including disease-suppressing microbial biofilms on their integument and in fungal gardens. Here, we compare the phenology of microbiomes in natural nests of the temperate fungus-growing ant Trachymyrmex septentrionalis using culture-dependent isolations and culture-independent 16S-amplicon 454-sequencing. 454-sequencing revealed diverse actinobacteria associated with ants, including most prominently Solirubrobacter (12.2–30.9% of sequence reads), Pseudonocardia (3.5–42.0%), and Microlunatus (0.4–10.8%). Bacterial abundances remained relatively constant in monthly surveys throughout the annual active period (late winter to late summer), except Pseudonocardia abundance declined in females during the reproductive phase. Pseudonocardia species found on ants are phylogenetically different from those in gardens and soil, indicating ecological separation of these Pseudonocardia types. Because the pathogen Escovopsis is not known to infect gardens of T. septentrionalis, the ant-associated microbes do not seem to function in Escovopsis suppression, but could protect against ant diseases, help in nest sanitation, or serve unknown functions