Pigment Production Improvement in <i>Rhodotorula mucilaginosa</i> AJB01 Using Design of Experiments

The discovery of biopigments has received considerable attention from the industrial sector, mainly for potential applications as novel molecules with biological activity, in cosmetics or if aquaculture food supplements. The main objective of this study was to increase the production of carotenoid pigments in a naturally pigmented yeast by subjecting the yeast to various cellular stresses using design of experiments. The fungal strain Rhodotorula mucilaginosa AJB01 was isolated from a food sample collected in Barranquilla, Colombia, and one of the pigments produced was β-carotene. This strain was subjected to various stress conditions, including osmotic stress using different salts, physical stress by ultraviolet (UV) light, and light stress using different photoperiods. The optimal growth conditions for carotenoid production were determined to be 1 min of UV light, 0.5 mg/L of magnesium sulfate, and an 18:6 h light/dark period, which resulted in a carotenoid yield of 118.3 µg of carotenoid per gram of yeast

Gene Expression Datasets for Two Versions of the <i>Saccharum spontaneum</i> AP85-441 Genome

Sugarcane is a species of tall grass with high biomass and sucrose production, and the world’s largest crop by production quantity. Its evolutionary environment adaptation and anthropogenic breeding response have resulted in a complex autopolyploid genome. Few efforts have been reported in the literature to document this organism’s gene co-expression and annotation, and, when available, use different gene identifiers that cannot be easily associated across studies. This data descriptor paper presents a dataset that consolidates expression matrices of two Saccharum spontaneum AP85-441 genome versions and an algorithm implemented in Python to mechanically obtain this dataset. The data are processed from the allele-level information of the two sources, with BLASTn used bidirectionally to suggest feasible mappings between the two sets of alleles, and a graph-matching optimization algorithm to maximize global identity and uniqueness of genes. Association tables are used to consolidate the expression values from alleles to genes. The contributed expression matrices comprise 96 experiments and 109,050 and 35,516 from the two genome versions. They can represent significant computational cost reduction for further research on, e.g., sugarcane co-expression network generation, functional annotation prediction, and stress-specific gene identification

Dataset of Nile Red Fluorescence Readings with Different Yeast Strains, Solvents, and Incubation Times

We used Nile red to estimate lipid content in oleaginous yeasts using a high-throughput approach. We measured the fluorescence intensity of Nile red using different solvents, yeast strains, and incubation times in optimized excitation/emission wavelengths. The data show the relative fluorescence units (RFU) for Nile red excitation, using 1× PBS, 1× PBS and 5% v/v isopropyl alcohol, 50% v/v glycerol, culture medium A-gly broth, and A-gly broth supplemented with 5% v/v DMSO. In addition, we showed the RFU for the Nile red dye for different oleaginous and non-oleaginous yeast strains, such as Meyerozyma guilliermondii BI281A, Yarrowia lipolytica QU21 and Saccharomyces cerevisiae MRC164. Other measurements of lipid accumulation kinetics were shown for the above and additional yeast strains. These datasets provide the guidelines to obtain the optimal solvent system and the minimal interaction time for the Nile red dye to enter in the cells and obtain a stable readout

Wild <i>Saccharomyces</i> Produced Differential Aromas of Fermented Sauvignon Blanc Must

Nine Saccharomyces strains, previously isolated from vineyards in Southern Brazil, were used as starter cultures in fermentations of Sauvignon Blanc (SB) must at laboratory scale, to study inter-strain differences in aroma profiles. The molecular profiles differentiated the following isolates from the reference strain (SC2048), which is typically used in wine production: 06CE, 11CE, 33CE, 01PP, 12M, 13PP, 26PP, 28AD, and 41PP. Under the same conditions, each of these strains produced different concentrations and combinations of metabolites, which significantly influenced the aroma of the fermented SB must. Volatile compounds such as octanoic acid, diethyl succinate, and ethyl lactate were associated with the strains 26PP, 41PP, 01PP, and 12M, while strains 33CE, 28AD, 13PP, and 06CE were associated with the production of ethyl acetate and 1-hexanol. Strain 06CE produced 592.87 ± 12.35 µg/L 1-hexanol. In addition, the olfactory activity values (OAVs; we considered only values >1) allowed us to evaluate the participation of each compound in the aroma of the final fermented SB. In conclusion, the selected wild strains are promising candidates for improving the regional characteristics of wine

Wild Saccharomyces Produced Differential Aromas of Fermented Sauvignon Blanc Must

Nine Saccharomyces strains, previously isolated from vineyards in Southern Brazil, were used as starter cultures in fermentations of Sauvignon Blanc (SB) must at laboratory scale, to study inter-strain differences in aroma profiles. The molecular profiles differentiated the following isolates from the reference strain (SC2048), which is typically used in wine production: 06CE, 11CE, 33CE, 01PP, 12M, 13PP, 26PP, 28AD, and 41PP. Under the same conditions, each of these strains produced different concentrations and combinations of metabolites, which significantly influenced the aroma of the fermented SB must. Volatile compounds such as octanoic acid, diethyl succinate, and ethyl lactate were associated with the strains 26PP, 41PP, 01PP, and 12M, while strains 33CE, 28AD, 13PP, and 06CE were associated with the production of ethyl acetate and 1-hexanol. Strain 06CE produced 592.87 &plusmn; 12.35 &micro;g/L 1-hexanol. In addition, the olfactory activity values (OAVs; we considered only values &gt;1) allowed us to evaluate the participation of each compound in the aroma of the final fermented SB. In conclusion, the selected wild strains are promising candidates for improving the regional characteristics of wine

Molecular Epidemiology of Agents of Human Chromoblastomycosis in Brazil with the Description of Two Novel Species

The human mutilating disease chromoblastomycosis is caused by melanized members of the order Chaetothyriales. To assess population diversity among 123 clinical strains of agents of the disease in Brazil we applied sequencing of the rDNA internal transcribed spacer region, and partial cell division cycle and β-tubulin genes. Strains studied were limited to three clusters divided over the single family Herpotrichiellaceae known to comprise agents of the disease. A Fonsecaea cluster contained the most important agents, among which F. pedrosoi was prevalent with 80% of the total set of strains, followed by 13% for F. monophora, 3% for F. nubica, and a single isolate of F. pugnacius. Additional agents, among which two novel species, were located among members of the genus Rhinocladiella and Cyphellophora, with frequencies of 3% and 1%, respectively

Multilocus tree of <i>Rhinocladiella</i> based on ITS and partial <i>BT2</i> sequences.

<p>Constructed with maximum likelihood implemented in MEGA 7. Bootstrap values of >80% from 100 resampled data sets are shown with branches. <i>Cladophialophora yegresii</i> and <i>C</i>. <i>carrionii</i> comprised the outgroup. Novel species causing chromoblastomycosis are indicated with red branches. Type strain in bold.</p

Phylogeny of a representative selection of species in Chaetothyriales, based on confidently aligned LSU sequences.

<p>Constructed with Maximum likelihood implemented in MEGA 7. Bootstrap values > 80% from 100 resampled datasets are shown with branches. Coloured boxes represent species complexes taken from de Hoog et al. [<a href="http://www.plosntds.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005102#pntd.0005102.ref021" target="_blank">21</a>], Feng et al. [<a href="http://www.plosntds.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005102#pntd.0005102.ref022" target="_blank">22</a>], and Vicente et al. [<a href="http://www.plosntds.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005102#pntd.0005102.ref023" target="_blank">23</a>]. Clades with species causing chromoblastomycosis analysed in this study are indicated with arrows. Type strain in bold.</p

<i>Rhinocladiella tropicalis</i>, microscopic morphology.

<p>(A) Colonies on SGA; (B, C) twisted hyphae and conidia; (D-G) conidiophores with conidia produced in sympodial order; (H-O) conidial apparatus with conidia. Scale bars 10 μm.</p