Identification of unknown filamentous fungi from willow wood and sorghum chips

Molecular biological methods are generally applied in the identification processes of microorganisms. We aimed to isolate numerous cellulolytic filamentous fungi strains from willow wood and sorghum chips, and attempted to identify them with polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Modified Czapek-Dox medium was used with the addition of microcrystalline cellulose and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as a source of carbon, in order to isolate cellulolytic filamentous fungi strains. Through sequence-based identification, representatives of the genera Trichoderma, Aspergillus and Fusarium were identified

Happy marriage across the evolution: co-operation of methanogenic archaea and anaerobic fungi

Four anaerobic fungi (AF) strains, isolated from faeces of anoa, giraffe, bison and moose, were assessed for their ability to degrade lignocellulosic biomass. The effects on biogas production of anaerobic fungi from these animal species were determined in two step batch experiments. The hydrolysis process during the AF incubation led to an initial increase of biogas production, an accelerated degradation of dry matter and an increased concentration of volatile fatty acids. Thus, a separate hydrolytic pre-treatment phase with anaerobic fungi, represents a feasible strategy to improve biogas production from lignocellulosic substrates

Enzyme production in submerged fermentation by Aspergillus nidulans

The planet has limited resources of farmland nutrients and fossil energy. Traffic emissions will have to be reduced significantly in the coming years to help abate climate change. In these days, when humankind must face these problems, biogas is considered as one of the most important natural energy sources. Plant biomass is the largest reservoir of environmentally friendly renewable energy on Earth (1-3). However, the complex and recalcitrant structure of the lignocellulose-rich substrates is a severe limitation of biogas production. Agro-industrial processes produce large quantities of corn stalk and wheat straw as plant-waste materials each year. The production of cellulase has been reported from a wide variety of bacteria and fungi. Aspergillus nidulans was isolated from cattle rumen under anaerobic conditions. The extracellular enzymes of A. nidulans were well represented in the culture media because the specific activity of endoglucanase and β-glucosidase was high

Effect of a multivitamin preparation supplemented with phytosterol on serum lipids and infarct size in rats fed with normal and high cholesterol diet

BACKGROUND: Although complex multivitamin products are widely used as dietary supplements to maintain health or as special medical food in certain diseases, the effects of these products were not investigated in hyperlipidemia which is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, here we investigated if a preparation developed for human use containing different vitamins, minerals and trace elements enriched with phytosterol (VMTP) affects the severity of experimental hyperlipidemia as well as myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury. METHODS: Male Wistar rats were fed a normal or cholesterol-enriched (2% cholesterol + 0.25% cholate) diet for 12 weeks to induce hyperlipidemia. From week 8, rats in both groups were fed with a VMTP preparation or placebo for 4 weeks. Serum triglyceride and cholesterol levels were measured at week 0, 8 and 12. At week 12, hearts were isolated, perfused according to Langendorff and subjected to a 30-min coronary occlusion followed by 120 min reperfusion to measure infarct size. RESULTS: At week 8, cholesterol-fed rats showed significantly higher serum cholesterol level as compared to normal animals, however, serum triglyceride level did not change. VMTP treatment significantly decreased serum cholesterol level in the hyperlipidemic group by week 12 without affecting triglyceride levels. However, VMTP did not show beneficial effect on infarct size. The inflammatory marker hs-CRP and the antioxidant uric acid were also not significantly different. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first demonstration that treatment of hyperlipidemic subjects with a VMTP preparation reduces serum cholesterol, the major risk factor for cardiovascular disease; however, it does not provide cardioprotection

Transcriptomic alterations in the heart of non-obese type 2 diabetic Goto-Kakizaki rats

BACKGROUND: There is a spectacular rise in the global prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) due to the worldwide obesity epidemic. However, a significant proportion of T2DM patients are non-obese and they also have an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. As the Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rat is a well-known model of non-obese T2DM, the goal of this study was to investigate the effect of non-obese T2DM on cardiac alterations of the transcriptome in GK rats. METHODS: Fasting blood glucose, serum insulin and cholesterol levels were measured at 7, 11, and 15 weeks of age in male GK and control rats. Oral glucose tolerance test and pancreatic insulin level measurements were performed at 11 weeks of age. At week 15, total RNA was isolated from the myocardium and assayed by rat oligonucleotide microarray for 41,012 genes, and then expression of selected genes was confirmed by qRT-PCR. Gene ontology and protein-protein network analyses were performed to demonstrate potentially characteristic gene alterations and key genes in non-obese T2DM. RESULTS: Fasting blood glucose, serum insulin and cholesterol levels were significantly increased, glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity were significantly impaired in GK rats as compared to controls. In hearts of GK rats, 204 genes showed significant up-regulation and 303 genes showed down-regulation as compared to controls according to microarray analysis. Genes with significantly altered expression in the heart due to non-obese T2DM includes functional clusters of metabolism (e.g. Cyp2e1, Akr1b10), signal transduction (e.g. Dpp4, Stat3), receptors and ion channels (e.g. Sln, Chrng), membrane and structural proteins (e.g. Tnni1, Mylk2, Col8a1, Adam33), cell growth and differentiation (e.g. Gpc3, Jund), immune response (e.g. C3, C4a), and others (e.g. Lrp8, Msln, Klkc1, Epn3). Gene ontology analysis revealed several significantly enriched functional inter-relationships between genes influenced by non-obese T2DM. Protein-protein interaction analysis demonstrated that Stat is a potential key gene influenced by non-obese T2DM. CONCLUSIONS: Non-obese T2DM alters cardiac gene expression profile. The altered genes may be involved in the development of cardiac pathologies and could be potential therapeutic targets in non-obese T2DM

Biogas production from agroindustrial waste pre-treated with lignolytic fungi

Renewable energy was never more important than in a century when energy consumption is unprecedented. Biogas is considered to be one of the most important natural energy sources. We aim to enhance biogas production through the pre-treatment of substrates, that are normally hard to digest because of their high content of cellulose, hemi- and lignocellulose. As part of fungal pre-treatment we used Aspergillus nidulans and Trichoderma reesei. Both of these filamentous fungi are well known for their ability to synthetise various enzymes – including cellulases. During our experiments A. nidulans and T. reesei filamentous fungi’s endoglucanase activities were measured by spectrophotometer and methane-producing was monitorized by gas chromatography

Plant Rho-type (Rop) GTPase-dependent activation of receptor-like cytoplasmic kinases in vitro

AbstractPlants have evolved distinct mechanisms to link Rho-type (Rop) GTPases to downstream signaling pathways as compared to other eukaryotes. Here, experimental data are provided that members of the Medicago, as well as Arabidopsis, receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase family (RLCK Class VI) were strongly and specifically activated by GTP-bound Rop GTPases in vitro. Deletion analysis indicated that the residues implicated in the interaction might be distributed on various parts of the kinases. Using a chimaeric Rop GTPase protein, the importance of the Rho-insert region in kinase activation could also be verified. These data strengthen the possibility that RLCKs may serve as Rop GTPase effectors in planta

Enhancing Biogas Production from Agroindustrial Waste Pre-Treated with Filamentous fungi

Biogas is the product of anaerobic digestion (AD) of organic waste and is considered to be one of the most valuable natural renewable energy carriers. Plant biomass represents the most abundant eco-friendly energy reservoir on Earth. However, the tenacious and heterogeneous structure of the lignocellulose-rich elements makes it difcult for the involved microbes to digest the recalcitrant substrates. Both the degradation process and the biogas production yield can be enhanced by appropriate pre-treatment of lignocellulosic materials. Filamentous fungi have been known as profcient colonizers of lignocellulosic plant tissues and have been recognized as producers of exceptionally rich and diverse hydrolytic enzymes. We tested Aspergillus nidulans, Trichoderma reesei, Rhizomucor miehei and Gilbertella persicaria flamentous fungal strains for pre-treatment of various agricultural lignocellulosic wastes. During the pre-treatment phase, the β-glucosidase and endoglucanase activity was measured spectrophotometrically. In the AD step, methane production was monitored by gas chromatography. The preliminary results showed that all the applied strains (Aspergillus nidulans, Trichoderma reesei, Rhizomucor miehei and Gilbertella persicaria) were highly effective in producing both β-glucosidase and endo-(1,4)-β-D-glucanase enzymes, which might explain the greatly improved AD results. Pre-treatment with the above-mentioned flamentous fungi positively affected the biogas production, although the effect strongly depended on the selection of the fungal partner for any given biomass substrate. Depending on the used substrate and the pre-treatment strain, overall methane yields were elevated two-fold relative to the controls