Effect of water content on accelerated carbonation of municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ash for CO2 capture

For comparison of different water-to-solid ratio for the accelerated carbonation of municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) bottom ash for CO2 capture, it is necessary to understand the morphological changes of bottom ash as a carbonation reaction. Only the water-to-solid ratio (W/S) at atmospheric pressure was controlled from 0.3 to 10 dm3/kg and the CO2 concentration was kept constant at 30% while the reaction temperature was held at 20oC. The result of an XRD analysis indicated that portlandite, ettringite,and hydrocalumite in untreated bottom ash could combine with CO2 to form mainly an amorphous Al-material and calcite. In the case of 10 W/S, the amount of CO2 reacted with bottom ash approached the maximum value after 120 min reaction time, whereas the reaction at 0.3 S/W was scarcely carbonated after 60 min because of encapsulation effect

Comparative Transcriptomics for Genes Related to Berberine and Berbamine Biosynthesis in Berberidaceae

Berberine and berbamine are bioactive compounds of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (BIAs) present in Berberis species. The contents of berbamine are 20 times higher than berberine in leaf tissues in three closely related species: Berberis koreana, B. thunbergii and B. amurensis. This is the first report on the quantification of berberine compared to the berbamine in the Berberis species. Comparative transcriptome analyses were carried out with mRNAs from the leaf tissues of the three-species. The comparison of the transcriptomes of B. thunbergii and B. amurensis to those of B. koreana, B. thunbergii showed a consistently higher number of differentially expressed genes than B. amurensis in KEGG and DEG analyses. All genes encoding enzymes involved in berberine synthesis were identified and their expressions were variable among the three species. There was a single copy of CYP80A/berbamunine synthase in B. koreana. Methyltransferases and cytochrome P450 mono-oxidases (CYPs) are key enzymes for BIA biosynthesis. The current report contains the copy numbers and other genomic characteristics of the methyltransferases and CYPs in Berberis species. Thus, the contents of the current research are valuable for molecular characterization for the medicinal utilization of the Berberis species

Isolation and Characterization of the Genes Involved in the Berberine Synthesis Pathway in Asian Blue Cohosh, <i>Caulophyllum robustum</i>

Caulophyllum robustum, commonly named Asian blue cohosh, is a perennial herb in the family Berberidaceae. It has traditionally been used for folk medicine in China. We isolated berberine from the leaves, stem, roots, and fruits of C. robustum, and this is the first report on berberine in this species. Transcriptome analysis was conducted for the characterization of berberine biosynthesis genes in C. robustum, in which, all the genes for berberine biosynthesis were identified. From 40,094 transcripts, using gene ontology (GO) analysis, 26,750 transcripts were assigned their functions in the categories of biological process, molecular function, and cellular component. In the analysis of genes expressed in different tissues, the numbers of genes in the categories of intrinsic component of membrane and transferase activity were up-regulated in leaves versus stem. The berberine synthesis genes in C. robustum were characterized by phylogenetic analysis with corresponding genes from other berberine-producing species. The co-existence of genes from different plant families in the deepest branch subclade implies that the differentiation of berberine synthesis genes occurred early in the evolution of berberine-producing plants. Furthermore, the copy number increment of the berberine synthesis genes was detected at the species level