Comparative study of cellulolytic activity of three rumen fungi on different substrates

Anaerobic chytridiomycete fungi are found in the gastrointestinal tracts of many domesticated ruminant and nonruminant herbivores and of a wide variety of wild herbivorous mammals. They produce high levels of cellulases and hemicellulases; these enzymes are regulated by substrate (especially soluble sugars) available to the organisms. The aim of this paper was to do a comparative study of cellulolytic activity of three rumen fungi on carboxymethyl cellulose and Avicel. The capacity of enzymes was determined by monitoring the growth on carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and Avicel. Enzyme activity was detected extracellularly in culture supernatants after vegetative growth. All of the isolates degraded CMC and avicel, and exhibited cellulolytic activities (carboxymethyl cellulose-(CMC-ase) and avicelase)

Biorazgradnja otpadne vode iz procesa proizvodnje maslinova ulja s pomoću Trichosporon cutaneum i Geotrichum candidum

Olive oil production generates large volumes of wastewater. These wastewaters are characterised by high chemical oxygen demand (COD), high content of microbial growth-inhibiting compounds such as phenolic compounds and tannins, and dark colour. The aim of this study was to investigate biodegradation of olive mill wastewater (OMW) by yeasts Trichosporon cutaneum and Geotrichum candidum. The yeast Trichosporon cutaneum was used because it has a high potential to biodegrade phenolic compounds and a wide range of toxic compounds. The yeast Geotrichum candidum was used to see how successful it is in biodegrading compounds that give the dark colour to the wastewater. Under aerobic conditions, Trichosporon cutaneum removed 88 % of COD and 64 % of phenolic compounds, while the dark colour remained. Geotrichum candidum grown in static conditions reduced COD and colour further by 77 % and 47 %, respectively. This investigation has shown that Trichosporon cutaneum under aerobic conditions and Geotrichum candidum under facultative anaerobic conditions could be used successfully in a two-step biodegradation process. Further investigation of OMW treatment by selected yeasts should contribute to better understanding of biodegradation and decolourisation and should include ecotoxicological evaluation of the treated OMW.Tijekom proizvodnje maslinova ulja nastaju velike količine otpadne vode. Karakterizira je visoka kemijska potrošnja kisika (KPK), visoka koncentracija sastojaka koji inhibiraju rast mikroorganizama, poput fenolnih spojeva i tanina i tamna boja. Cilj ovog rada je bio istražiti biorazgradnju otpadne vode iz procesa proizvodnje maslinova ulja s pomoću kvasaca Trichosporon cutaneum i Geotrichum candidum. Kvasac Trichosporon cutaneum u ovom je istraživanju uporabljen zbog svog visokog potencijala za biorazgradnju fenolnih i drugih toksičnih spojeva. Kvasac Geotrichum candidum uporabljen je kako bi se istražilo koliko je uspješan u biorazgradnji spojeva koji otpadnoj vodi daju tamnu boju. Pri aerobnim uvjetima Trichosporon cutaneum uklonio je 88 % KPK i 64 % fenolnih spojeva, dok tamna boja otpadne vode preostaje. Geotrichum candidum u statičkim je uvjetima smanjio KPK i boju za 77 %, odnosno 47 %. Ovo je istraživanje pokazalo da Trichosporon cutaneum pri aerobnim uvjetima i Geotrichum candidum pri fakultativno anaerobnim uvjetima mogu biti uspješno uporabljeni u dvostupanjskom procesu biorazgradnje. Daljnje istraživanje obrade otpadne vode iz procesa proizvodnje maslinova ulja s pomoću odabranih kvasaca trebalo bi pridonijeti boljem razumijevanju biorazgradnje i uklanjanju boje i trebalo bi biti provedeno zajedno sa ekotoksikološkim vrednovanjem obrađene otpadne vode

MULTI-ELEMENT DISTRIBUTION IN ROAD AND STREET DUST IN THE BITOLA REGION, NORTH MACEDONIA

The results of the systematic study of the spatial distribution of trace metals in road and street dust collected from the streets in the city of Bitola and from the roads in the southern part of the Pelagonia Valley, North Macedonia, known for its coal mine and thermoelectrical power plant (REK Bitola) activities, are reported. The investigated region is covered by a sampling in the four main roads in the direction North-South and East-West. In total, 39 dust samples were collected. Inductively coupled plasma – atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) was applied for the determinations of 21 elements (Al, As, B, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Sr, V and Zn). Data for the elements contents were proceed using nonparametric and parametric analysis while for the data normalization the method of Box-Cox transformation was applied. The universal kriging method with linear variogram interpolation was applied for the construction of spatial distribution maps of each factor score and the analyzed elements. Based on the results of factor analyses, three geogenic associations of elements (factors) have been defined: F1 (Ni, Cr, Cu, Fe, Co, Mn, Zn, V and P), F2 (Ba, Al, Na and Sr) and F3 (Ca and Mg). The rest of the elements were eliminated from further analysis because they had a low share of communality or low tendency to form independent factors. Even typical potentially toxic elements, such as arsenic, cadmium, lead and zinc, are not isolated into anthropogenic geochemical associations by multivariate statistical methods still show some trends of local anthropogenic enrichment. Thus, the distributions of the arsenic, copper, lead and zinc have higher contents in the road dusts from the north and south parts of the city of Bitola and around of the REK Bitola, showing influence of the industrial and urban activities from the city indicating the distribution of fly ash from thermoelectrical power plant. Key words: road dust; pollution; heavy metals; thermoelectric power plant; Bitola; North Macedoni

Trio Clinical Exome Sequencing in a Patient With Multicentric Carpotarsal Osteolysis Syndrome: First Case Report in the Balkans

Exome sequencing can interrogate thousands of genes simultaneously and it is becoming a first line diagnostic tool in genomic medicine. Herein, we applied trio clinical exome sequencing (CES) in a patient presenting with undiagnosed skeletal disorder, minor facial abnormalities, and kidney hypoplasia; her parents were asymptomatic. Testing the proband and her parents led to the identification of a de novo mutation c.188C>T (p.Pro63Leu) in the MAFB gene, which is known to cause multicentric carpotarsal osteolysis syndrome (MCTO). The c.188C>T mutation lies in a hotspot amino acid stretch within the transactivation domain of MAFB, which is a negative regulator of RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis. MCTO is an extremely rare autosomal dominant (AD) disorder that typically arises spontaneously and causes carpotarsal osteolysis, often followed by nephropathy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study reporting genetically diagnosed MCTO in the Balkans

Presentation1.PDF

<p>Exome sequencing can interrogate thousands of genes simultaneously and it is becoming a first line diagnostic tool in genomic medicine. Herein, we applied trio clinical exome sequencing (CES) in a patient presenting with undiagnosed skeletal disorder, minor facial abnormalities, and kidney hypoplasia; her parents were asymptomatic. Testing the proband and her parents led to the identification of a de novo mutation c.188C>T (p.Pro63Leu) in the MAFB gene, which is known to cause multicentric carpotarsal osteolysis syndrome (MCTO). The c.188C>T mutation lies in a hotspot amino acid stretch within the transactivation domain of MAFB, which is a negative regulator of RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis. MCTO is an extremely rare autosomal dominant (AD) disorder that typically arises spontaneously and causes carpotarsal osteolysis, often followed by nephropathy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study reporting genetically diagnosed MCTO in the Balkans.</p