LC-QTOF-MS/MS metabolite profiling data from ethyl acetate extracts of Penicillium brevicompactum in modified glucose nutrient medium

This data represents the metabolites which are produced by Penicillium brevicompactum in modified glucose medium as determined by LC-QTOF-MS/MS.THIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV

Identification of free cyanide and thiocyanate degrading organisms by 16S rDNA amplicon gene sequencing

The composition of the CDO as identified by 16S rDNA amplicon gene sequencin

Biodegradation of free cyanide using Bacillus sp. consortium dominated by Bacillus safensis, lichenformis and tequilensis strains: A bioprocess supported solely with whey

Several bacterial species (n=13) were isolated from electroplating wastewater to assess their ability to biodegrade free cyanide (F-CN). A mixed culture mainly dominated by Bacillus sp (Bacillus safensis, Bacillus lichenformis and Bacillus tequilensis) was cultured in nutrient broth for 48 hours at 37°C, to which F-CN as KCN (200 to 400 mg CN-/L) was added in order to evaluate the species ability to tolerate and biodegrade the cyanide. In nutrient broth, the microorganisms were able to degrade 131(65.5%) and 177 (44.3%) mg CN-/L in cultures containing 200 and 400 mg CN-/L over a period of 8 days, respectively. Subsequently, cultures were supplemented solely with agrowaste extracts, i.e. Ananas comosus extract (1% v/v), Beta vulgaris extract (1% v/v), Ipomea batatas extract (1% v/v), spent brewer’s yeast (1% v/v) and whey (0.5% w/v), as the primary carbon sources in 200 and 400 mg CN-/L cultures. The bacterial species were able to degrade F-CN in cultures that were supplemented with whey, whereby 179 (89.5%) and 239 (59.75%) mg CN-/L was biodegraded from 200 and 400 mg CN-/L cultures, respectively

Microbial communities associated with the co-metabolism of free cyanide and thiocyanate under alkaline conditions

This study focused on the identification of free cyanide (CDO) and thiocyanate (TDO) degrading microbial communities using a culture-dependent and independent approach. Culturable microbial species were isolated from the CDOs (n = 13) and TDOs (n = 18). The CDOs were largely dominated by Bacillus sp. while the TDOs were dominated by Bacillus sp., Klebsiella oxytoca, Providencia sp. and Pseudomonas sp. However, 16S rRNA amplicon gene-sequencing revealed the complexity and diversity of the microbial communities in contrast to the organisms that were detected using culture-dependent technique. Overall, the organisms were mainly dominated by Myroides odoratimimus and Proteus sp. at 37.82 and 30.5% for CDOs, and 35.26 and 17.58% for TDOs, respectively. The co-culturing of the CDOs and TDOs resulted in biochemical changes of key metabolic enzymes, and this resulted in the complete degradation of CN− and SCN− simultaneously; a phenomenon which has not been witnessed, especially under alkaline conditions. Current ongoing studies are focused on the application of these organisms for the biodegradation of CN− and SCN− in a continuous system, under changing operational parameters, to assess their effectiveness in the biodegradation of CN− and SCN−

Assessing the effectiveness of

The mining of gold is associated with several environmental challenges such as acid mine drainage, release of toxic metals which are associated to tailing sediments and have adversely impacted human health and the ecosystem. With increasing global population that is faced with limited land resources for agricultural activities, there is need for land restoration through effective rehabilitation of contaminated soils. The introduction of Hyparrhenia hirta, an indigenous grass specie as a phytoremediation technique for in situ rehabilitation of degraded soil is not only an economically viable approach but also environmentally friendly. Hyparrhenia hirta being a tufted and wiry perennial grass that is invasive with deep root system often aid in stabilizing the ecosystem owing to their self-fertile and drought resistant potentials that support that prevalence in harsh conditions at mine dump sites. In this study, mine tailings at Gold One Mine, Ekuhurleni, South Africa were assessed for heavy metal contents at the same time analysing the uptake of such heavy metals by Hyparrhenia hirta grass specie. The total metal mean concentrations was high (4023.67 mg/kg) for Hyparrhenia hirta which absorbed more of the following mean metal concentrations: 46.10 mg/kg for Cu; 40.08 mg/kg for Zn; 859.12 mg/kg for Pb; 618.26 mg/kg for Cr; 151.70 mg/kg for Co and 2308.41 mg/kg for Ni. The tailings were strongly acidic with a pH range of 3.86 – 4.34. These heavy metals despite the acidic environments were successfully absorbed by Hyparrhenia hirta grass specie. Along these lines Hyparrhenia hirta was discovered reasonable for re-vegetation of mine tailings dump as it has the capacity to hold together tailings sediments against wind and water erosion

Biopreservatives from yeasts with antimicrobial activity against common food, agricultural produce and beverage spoilage organisms

There are safety concerns regarding the use of chemical food preservatives for reducing microbial contamination in processed foods and post-harvest agricultural produce, and these concerns require a bioprospecting approach. Non-Saccharomyces yeasts produce antimicrobial compounds, but these compounds are not being produced nor used on a large scale due to inadequate development and understanding of process engineering systems that are required for their production. This chapter focuses on bioprospecting biopreservative potential of yeasts. A mini review on the current potential of yeasts and their extracellular compounds as biopreservatives was conducted. In an attempt to address the gaps found in current literature, and to open windows for future research on biopreservatives, a model study of growth and antimicrobial compound production kinetics from Candida pyralidae KU736785 was carried out. Results showed the potential of C. pyralidae as post-harvest biocontrol agent and as producers of biopreservation compounds. There was a broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity shown against Botrytis cinerae, Brettanomyces bruxellensis and Candida guilliermondii by the strain of C. pyralidae studied. Furthermore, a new concept for quantification of biopreservation activity was also developed to describe the efficacy of the crude biopreservative

Performance of Fusarium oxysporum EKT01/02 isolate in cyanide biodegradation system

This study reports a cyanide resistant and/or tolerant fungus, isolated from the rhizosphere of Zea mays contaminated with cyanide-based pesticides. The isolate was characterised using molecular biology. The effect of free cyanide and heavy metals on the growth of isolate in a synthetic gold mine wastewater was examined. The molecular analyses identified the isolate as Fusarium oxysporum EKT01/02 (KU985430/KU985431). The isolate had a free cyanide degradation efficiency of 77.6%. The results indicated greater growth impairment in culture containing Arsenic (optical density 1.28 and 1.458) and cyanide (optical density 1.315 and 1.385). Higher growth was observed in all cultures supplemented with extracellular polymeric substance. This study showed that the isolate possesses wide substrate utilisation mechanism that could be deployed in environmental engineering applications

Dihadronic and dileptonic resonances

The data presented in this article contains the bacterial community structure of the free cyanide (CN-) and thiocyanate (SCN-) degrading organisms that were isolated from electroplating wastewater and synthetic thiocyanate containing wastewater. PCR amplification of the 16S rRNA V1-V3 regions was undertaken using the 27F and 518R oligonucleotide primers following the metacommunity DNA extraction procedure. The PCR amplicons were processed using the illumina® reaction kits as per manufacturer's instruction and sequenced using the illumina® MiSeq-2000, using the MiSeq V3 kit. The data was processed using bioinformatics tools such as QIIME and the raw sequence files are available via NCBI's Sequence Read Archive (SRA) databas

The role of pollutants in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) and their prospective impact on phytomedicinal treatment strategies

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is the most common form of diabetes and it is characterized by high blood sugar and abnormal sera lipid levels. Although the specific reasons for the development of these abnormalities are still not well understood, traditionally, genetic and lifestyle behavior have been reported as the leading causes of this disease. In the last three decades, the number of diabetic patients has drastically increased worldwide, with current statistics suggesting the number is to double in the next two decades. To combat this incurable ailment, orthodox medicines, to which economically disadvantaged patients have minimal access to, have been used. Thus, a considerable amalgamation of medicinal plants has recently been proven to possess therapeutic capabilities to manage T2DM, and this has prompted studies primarily focusing on the healing aspect of these plants, and ultimately, their commercialization. Hence, this review aims to highlight the potential threat of pollutants, i.e., polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs), endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and heavy metals, to medicinal plants, and their prospective impact on the phytomedicinal therapy strategies for T2DM. It is further suggested that auxiliary research be undertaken to better comprehend the factors that influence the uptake of these compounds by these plants. This should include a comprehensive risk assessment of phytomedicinal products destined for the treatment of T2DM. Regulations that control the use of PFC-precursors in certain developing countries are also long overdue