Melatonin Induces Follicle Maturation in Danio rerio

Most organisms modulate their reproductive activity responding to day length by the nocturnal release of melatonin by the pineal gland. This hormone is also responsible for synchronizing reproduction with specific external environment stimuli in order to optimize reproductive success

Fungal chitinases: diversity, mechanistic properties and biotechnological potential

Chitin derivatives, chitosan and substituted chito-oligosaccharides have a wide spectrum of applications ranging from medicine to cosmetics and dietary supplements. With advancing knowledge about the substrate-binding properties of chitinases, enzyme-based production of these biotechnologically relevant sugars from biological resources is becoming increasingly interesting. Fungi have high numbers of glycoside hydrolase family 18 chitinases with different substrate-binding site architectures. As presented in this review, the large diversity of fungal chitinases is an interesting starting point for protein engineering. In this review, recent data about the architecture of the substrate-binding clefts of fungal chitinases, in connection with their hydrolytic and transglycolytic abilities, and the development of chitinase inhibitors are summarized. Furthermore, the biological functions of chitinases, chitin and chitosan utilization by fungi, and the effects of these aspects on biotechnological applications, including protein overexpression and autolysis during industrial processes, are discussed in this review

Advanced oxidation of orange G using phosphonic acid stabilised zerovalent iron

Orange G (OG) is an important chemical for the textile industry but also a major water contaminant. It is also a model compound representing more toxic azo dyes and degradation products. Activation of persulphate (PS) by zerovalent iron nanoparticles (nZVI) has been proposed as an effective technique to degrade OG even at neutral pH conditions. However, particle agglomeration leads to diminished reactivity and remains a crucial challenge for nZVI applications. This work evaluates the performance of three different nZVI that are each stabilised with one of three phosphonic acids, ATMP, DTPMP or HTPMP. While ATMP- and DTPMP-stabilised nZVI were practically inert to OG solution in the absence of PS, HTPMP-stabilised nZVI achieved ∼15% total carbon (TC) reduction under similar conditions. However, in the presence of PS, ATMP- and DTPMP-stabilised nZVI resulted in degradation rate constants that were double the rate constant obtained for HTPMP-stabilised nZVI under similar conditions. These results highlight the important role of both stabilisers and PS in modulating nZVI activity with potential niche application. A desirable feature of the PS-nZVI degradation mechanism is the rapid destruction of both the azo bond and benzene ring in OG, resulting in fewer, and less toxic, degradation products than have been previously reported. Significant mineralisation was recorded in longer term experiments, where 90% organic carbon reduction was achieved in 48 h for the three stabilised nZVI. Hence, phosphonate-stabilised nZVI activation of PS is an effective means to achieve complete OG degradation and significant mineralisation with non-toxic major degradation product