Estudios sobre el indumento de las especies ibéricas y baleáricas del género "Teucrium" L. ("Lamiaceae")

The indumentum of fifty-one taxa (species and sub-species level) of Teucrium L. is studied with a scanning electron microscope. Five different basic types of trichomes are defined, and a key is given to illustrate the degree of differentiation that can be achieved through the exclusive use of indumentum characters.Utilizando microscopía electrónica de barrido se estudia el indumento de cincuenta y un táxones (nivel especie y subespecie) ibéricos y baleáricos del género Teucrium L. Se definen cinco tipos básicos de tricomas, y se da una clave para ilustrar el grado de discriminación a que puede llegarse en base exclusivamente a los caracteres del indumento

Residual biomass potential in olive tree cultivation and olive oil industry in Spain: valorization proposal in a biorefinery context

Olive crop and olive oil industry generates several residues, i.e., olive tree pruning biomass (OTPB), extracted olive pomace (EOP) and olive leaves (OL) that could be used to produce high-added value products in an integrated biorefinery. OTPB is generated in the field as a result of pruning operation to remove old branches; EOP is the main residue of the pomace olive oil extracting industry after extraction with hexane of residual oil contained in olive pomace; and OL comes from the olive cleaning process carried out at olive mills, where small branches and leaves are separated by density. In this work, an analysis of the potential of OTPB, EOP and OL residues was addressed by estimating the production volumes at national level and the spatial distribution of these residues using geographic information system software. Information provided by public institutions and personal surveys to the industries was evaluated. Moreover, chemical analysis of the residues was undertaken and the results used to make a first assessment of valorization into biofuels such as bioethanol and bio based chemicals. Results show that close to 4.2 million tons/year of EOP, OL and OTPB derived from olive oil industry and olive tree cultivation in Spain could be available as a raw material for biorefineries in Spain. The analysis of the chemical characteristics indicates the relevant potential of these feedstocks for the production of bioethanol and other compounds such as phenols based on suitable processing and conversion routes, although techno-economic evaluations must be tackled to refine this approach

Purification and characterization of a GH43 β-xylosidase from Enterobacter sp. identified and cloned from forest soil bacteria

The use of lignocellulosic biomass for second generation biofuels requires optimization of enzymatic breakdown of plant cell walls. In this work, cellulolytic bacteria were isolated from a native and two cultivated forest soil samples. Amplification of glycosyl hydrolases was attempted by using a low stringency-degenerate primer PCR strategy, using total soil DNA and bulk DNA pooled from positive colonies as template. A set of primers was designed based on Acidothermus cellulolyticus genome, by search of conserved domains of glycosyl hydrolases (GH) families of interest. Using this approach, a fragment containing an open reading frame (ORF) with 98% identity to a putative GH43 beta-xylosidase coding gene from Enterobacter cloacae was amplified and cloned. The full protein was expressed in Escherichia coli as N-terminal or C-terminal His-tagged fusions and purified under native conditions. Only N-terminal fusion protein, His-Xyl43, presented beta-xylosidase activity. On pNPX, optimal activity was achieved at pH 6 and 40°C and Km and Kcat values were 2.92mM and 1.32seg-1, respectively. Activity was also demonstrated on xylobiose (X2), with Km 17.8mM and Kcat 380s-1. These results demonstrated that Xyl43 is a functional beta-xylosidase and it is the first evidence of this activity for Enterobacter sp.Fil: Campos, Eleonora. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Biotecnología; ArgentinaFil: Negro Alvarez, María José. Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas; EspañaFil: Sabarís Di Lorenzo, Gonzalo Julián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Biotecnología; ArgentinaFil: González, Sergio Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Biotecnología; ArgentinaFil: Rorig, Marcela. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación de Recursos Naturales. Instituto de Suelos; ArgentinaFil: Talia, Paola. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Biotecnología; ArgentinaFil: Grasso, Daniel Hector. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación de Recursos Naturales. Instituto de Suelos; ArgentinaFil: Sáez, Felicia. Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas; EspañaFil: Manzanares Secades, Paloma. Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas; EspañaFil: Ballesteros Perdices, Mercedes. Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas; EspañaFil: Cataldi, Ángel Adrián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Biotecnología; Argentin

Purification and characterization of a GH43 β-xylosidase from Enterobacter sp. identified and cloned from forest soil bacteria

The use of lignocellulosic biomass for second generation biofuels requires optimization of enzymatic breakdown of plant cell walls. In this work, cellulolytic bacteria were isolated from a native and two cultivated forest soil samples. Amplification of glycosyl hydrolases was attempted by using a low stringency-degenerate primer PCR strategy, using total soil DNA and bulk DNA pooled from positive colonies as template. A set of primers was designed based on Acidothermus cellulolyticus genome, by search of conserved domains of glycosyl hydrolases (GH) families of interest. Using this approach, a fragment containing an open reading frame (ORF) with 98% identity to a putative GH43 beta-xylosidase coding gene from Enterobacter cloacae was amplified and cloned. The full protein was expressed in Escherichia coli as N-terminal or C-terminal His-tagged fusions and purified under native conditions. Only N-terminal fusion protein, His-Xyl43, presented beta-xylosidase activity. On pNPX, optimal activity was achieved at pH 6 and 40 °C and Km and Kcat values were 2.92 mM and 1.32 seg−1, respectively. Activity was also demonstrated on xylobiose (X2), with Km 17.8 mM and Kcat 380 s−1. These results demonstrated that Xyl43 is a functional beta-xylosidase and it is the first evidence of this activity for Enterobacter sp.Instituto de BiotecnologíaFil: Campos, Eleonora. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Biotecnología; ArgentinaFil: Negro Alvarez, María José. Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT). Unidad Biocarburantes; EspañaFil: Sabaris Di Lorenzo, Gonzalo Julián. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Biotecnología; ArgentinaFil: Gonzalez, Sergio Alberto. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Biotecnología; ArgentinaFil: Rorig, Marcela Laura. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Suelos; ArgentinaFil: Talia, Paola Mónica. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Biotecnología; ArgentinaFil: Grasso, Daniel Horacio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Suelos; ArgentinaFil: Sáez, Felicia. Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT). Unidad Biocarburantes; EspañaFil: Manzanares Secades, Paloma. Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT). Unidad Biocarburantes; EspañaFil: Ballesteros Perdices, Mercedes. Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT). Unidad Biocarburantes; EspañaFil: Cataldi, Angel Adrian. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Biotecnología; Argentin