The low affinity glucose transporter HxtB is also involved in glucose signalling and metabolism in Aspergillus nidulans

One of the drawbacks during second-generation biofuel production from plant lignocellulosic biomass is the accumulation of glucose, the preferred carbon source of microorganisms, which causes the repression of hydrolytic enzyme secretion by industrially relevant filamentous fungi. Glucose sensing, subsequent transport and cellular signalling pathways have been barely elucidated in these organisms. This study therefore characterized the transcriptional response of the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans to the presence of high and low glucose concentrations under continuous chemostat cultivation with the aim to identify novel factors involved in glucose sensing and signalling. Several transcription factor- and transporter-encoding genes were identified as being differentially regulated, including the previously characterized glucose and xylose transporter HxtB. HxtB was confirmed to be a low affinity glucose transporter, localizing to the plasma membrane under low- and high-glucose conditions. Furthermore, HxtB was shown to be involved in conidiation-related processes and may play a role in downstream glucose signalling. A gene predicted to encode the protein kinase PskA was also identified as being important for glucose metabolism. This study identified several proteins with predicted roles in glucose metabolic processes and provides a foundation for further investigation into the response of biotechnologically important filamentous fungi to glucose

Influência da luz e da temperatura sobre a oxidação do óleo essencial de capim-limão (Cymbopogon citratus (D.C.) Stapf)

The identification of the chemical compounds of the essential oil was performed with a gas chromatograph coupled to a mass spectrometer. The oil was left in the presence and absence of light and submitted to different temperatures to evaluate its stability. The yields of the major compounds were evaluated every fifteen days. Citral and myrcene, the major compounds of the essential oil, were degraded over time in both the presence and absence of light, but temperature only influenced the degradation of myrcene

Dye-sensitized solar cells based on dimethylamino-π-bridge-pyranoanthocyanin dyes

UID/QUI/50006/2019 PTDC/QEQ-QFI/1971/2014 PD/BD/135087/2017 SFRH/BD/136556/2018 SFRH/BD/143309/2019 IF/00225/2015 DL57/2016 Program Contract (HC). UID/CTM/50025/2019 PTDC/CTM-ENE/5125/2014 CNPq 444061/2018-5 Universal grant 408181/2016-3The pyranoanthocyanins present in red wine display great potential as photosensitizers in bio-inspired Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs). Following a biomimetic approach, a series of amino-π-bridge-pyranoanthocyanin derivatives were employed as dye sensitizers in DSSCs. The dimethylamine group was selected to take advantage of its electron-donor character and the possibility of ‘dual-mode anchoring’ ([sbnd]OH vs. dimethylamino) to titanium dioxide. The increase in π-conjugation via insertion of C[dbnd]C bonds affected molecule flexibility, electron-donor ability and the pH-dependent equilibria of the pyranoanthocyanin derivatives. The current vs. potential properties of photoanodes using these dyes pointed to essential features of the relationship between power conversion efficiency and dye structure. These included the influences of the dimethylamine group, of π-conjugation and of substitution in ring B on the adsorption of the dyes to TiO2 and on the overall performance of the DSSCs prepared from them with and without added acid. An overall efficiency of 2.55% was obtained for the best performing compound, 4-(dimethylamino)-cinnamyl-pyranocyanidin-3-O-glucoside (JO3), which consolidates the importance of this family of compounds as potential dye-sensitizers for DSSC applications.authorsversionpublishe