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A metagenomic approach was applied using 454-pyrosequencing data analysis for the profiling of bacterial communities in the brine samples of the water reclamation plant. Some physicochemical characteristics of brine samples were also determined using standard methods. Samples ranged from being lightly alkaline to highly alkaline (pH 7.40-10.91) throughout the various treatment stages, with the salinity ranging from 1.62 to 4.53 g L−1 and dissolved oxygen concentrations ranging from 7.47 to 9.12 mg L−1. Phenotypic switching was found to occur due to these physicochemical parameters. Microbial diversities increased from those present in Stage I reactor (six taxonomic groups) to those in Reverse Osmosis (RO) stage I (17 taxonomic groups), whereas in the second phase of the treatment, it increased in Stage II clarifier (14 taxonomic groups) followed by a decrease in RO stage II (seven taxonomic groups). Overall, seven phyla were detected, apart from many bacterial sequences that were unclassified at the phylum level. The most dominant phylum found was Proteobacteria accounting for 59% of the total sequences. A blastn sequence similarity search showed that the majority of the sequences (56%) were homologous to the uncultured bacterial species, underlining the vast untapped bacterial diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Choline-based biocompatible salts were used as 'nutrients' for the growth of Staphylococcus lentus bacteria. Increase in the growth rate of bacteria was observed, compared to conventional carbon sources. In the case of the ionic liquid, choline lactate, the increase was pronounced. Bacterial growth was correlated with power-time curve in an investigation monitored online by reaction calorimetry. From the power-time curve, three phases of the growth can be distinctly seen. Heat yield coefficients estimated for the growth of S. lentus were found to match well with those reported hitherto. A comparative study of heat yields (catabolic) between glucose and choline lactate revealed significant information; the heat yield due to choline lactate ( Y) consumption and oxygen ( Y) were 23.4 kJ/g and 435 kJ/mol and whereas that for glucose with oxygen were 9.6 kJ/g and 427 kJ/mol, respectively, showing clearly the preferential affinity of choline lactate by the bacteria rather than glucose. This study also established that the use of ionic liquids as nutrients can be monitored using bioreaction calorimetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial wastewaters such as tannery and textile processing effluents are often characterized by a high content of dissolved organic dyes, resulting in large values of chemical and biological oxygen demand (COD and BOD) in the aquatic systems into which they are discharged. Such wastewater streams are of rapidly growing concern as a major environmental issue in developing countries. Hence there is a need to mitigate this challenge by effective approaches to degrade dye-contaminated wastewater. In this study, several choline-based salts originally developed for use as biocompatible hydrated ionic liquids (i.e., choline sacchrinate (CS), choline dihydrogen phosphate (CDP), choline lactate (CL), and choline tartarate (CT)) have been successfully employed as the cosubstrate with S. lentus in the biodegradation of an azo dye in aqueous solution. We also demonstrate that the azo dye has been degraded to less toxic components coupled with low biomass formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biocalorimetric experiments were performed to investigate the metabolic thermal responses of the halotolerant species Staphylococcus lentus in glucose limited mineral salt medium. Growth factors were optimized in both shaker flask and calorimetric experiments. A limiting value of 5 g/L glucose was found to be the optimum for S. lentus growth. The heat flux profiles, OUR, biomass growth, and substrate depletion profiles were compared to deduce the metabolic activity of S. lentus. Shifts in heat flux due to the shifts in substrate uptake and three distinct phases of growth are noticeable in heat profile curves. Respirogram (OUR) and heat profiles are seen to follow the biomass growth curve. Oxycalorific coefficient is validated with the theoretical studies and those noticed in published literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The objective of this research work is to study the effect of physical and chemical mutagenesis on biological treatment of tannery saline wastewater (soak liquor) employing halotolerant bacterial strains. Four halotolerant bacterial strains isolated from saline sources were used. The strains were identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus flexus, Exiguobacterium homiense and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. The isolates were found to grow well in medium containing 0–10% NaCl. At high saline concentration (>5%), the identified strains and their mixed consortia showed a low degrading efficiency of soak liquor (35–45%). UV light and nitrous acid mutagenesis were performed over the strains and the mutated strains were employed for degradation of soak liquor at high salinity level (6% by wt). Comparison of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) removal rates for both pure mutant isolates and mixed mutated consortia showed that nitrous acid mutagenesis resulted in degradation of 71% COD removal. Ultraviolet (UV) mutagenesis has no effect on degradation effectiveness. Biomass sludge (Mixed Liquor Volatile Suspended Solids) growth was also found to be high in nitrous acid treated strains. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The actual extent of fungal diversity in different environmental media is still a subject of ongoing research. Little is currently known about the diversity of fungal populations in industrial streams. This study characterized the fungal diversity of different industrial effluents using a high-throughput sequencing approach. A total of 234617 quality filtered reads were obtained from the collected wastewater samples. Phylogenetic taxonomy revealed that resident fungal communities were classified as 6 phyla, 31 classes, 79 orders, 144 families, and 192 genera. Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were the most dominant phyla whose relative abundance ranged from 23.29% to 38.31%, and 17.34% to 33.51%, respectively. Recovered operational taxonomic units (OTUs) ranged from 292 (Dixon) to 427 (Capegate). The existence of some fungal genera identifed in the industrial wastewaters correlated to physicochemical variables and had the potential to play important roles in organic decomposition, pollutant degradation, and xenobiotic transformation. Meanwhile, the occurrence of unclassified fungal sequences (22.5% to 33.09%) suggests that these effluents are a potential reservoir of as-yet uncharacterized fungal species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The aim of this work is to generate thermokinetic data for the production of proteases which would be immensely useful not only for successful scale up of a ferementor for protease production but also to monitor and control of the process by following the heat signals. The biocalorimetric studies prove that the protease production and heat generation profiles are comparable. Oxygen uptake rate was found to correlate well with both biomass growth and heat production rate at all lag, exponential and stationary growth phases. Heat yield due to biomass growth (anabolic) related reactions and substrate uptake (catabolic) related reactions were estimated from the calorimetric experiments and the results were analyzed. Crude protease secreted in calorimeter was extracted separately and characterized by Zymogram and SDS-PAGE analytical techniques. The protease was found to be an alkaline protease. This study reveals that the protease secretion by P. aeruginosa could be monitored effectively in a biological reaction calorimeter. Metabolic heat generated is correlated to protease secretion (non-growth process) for the first time in this study. The heat yields due to biomass growth, substrate uptake and oxygen uptake could help to understand the metabolic process in realistic manner and the results would be useful for bioreactor design and scale up. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: High salinity (1-10% w/v) of tannery wastewater makes it difficult to be treated by conventional biological treatment. Salt tolerant microbes can adapt to these saline conditions and degrade the organics in saline wastewater. Results: Four salt tolerant bacterial strains isolated from marine and tannery saline wastewater samples were identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus flexus, Exiguobacterium homiense and Staphylococcus aureus. Growth factors of the identified strains were optimized. Tannery saline wastewater obtained from a Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) near Chennai (southern India) was treated with pure and mixed consortia of four salt tolerant bacterial strains. Experiments with optimized conditions and varying salt content (between 2 and 10% (w/v) were conducted. Salt inhibition effects on COD removal rate were noted. Comparative analysis was made by treating the tannery saline wastewater with activated sludge obtained from CETP and with natural habitat microbes present in raw tannery saline wastewater. Conclusion: Salt tolerant bacterial mixed consortia showed appreciable biodegradation at all saline concentrations (2%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10% w/v) with 80% COD reduction in particular at 8% salinity level the consortia could be used as suitable working cultures for tannery saline wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Petrochemical plastics have become a basic requisite in today's world. Their production has increased dramatically since the last few decades owing to the increase in their demand. Sustainable green plastics produced from polylactic acid have proven to be an alternative to conventional plastics pertaining to their tendency of biodegradability; they are disintegrated by microorganisms and are utilized as carbon sources by plants and other primitive organisms. Rhizopus species is appropriate for the biosynthesis of lactic acid, which is the basic raw material of polylactic acid could be obtained from lignocellulosic biomass since the fungus has the ability to grow on and ferment various carbon sources like cellulose, starch and so on. This research paper deals with the effective biosynthesis of lactic acid from Paper Sludge (PS) through the method of simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF), along with the optimization of various parameters like temperature, pH and initial substrate concentration. An economical and an alternative methodology was opted to prepare cellulase enzyme necessary for the fermentation process, considering the fact that commercially available cellulase are exorbitant. Various combinations of the above enzymes were tested to determine the optimal cellulase cocktail suitable for these conditions. Finally, lactic acid productivity of 27 g/L was achieved when using a blended cellulase cocktail at 50:50 proportion of commercial and fabricate cellulase using a feed concentration of 75 g/L at 40 °C and 6 pH after144 hr by SSF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Elaeocarpus is considered as largest among the family Elaeocarpaceae recorded by ca. 360 species with significant distribution throughout the world except from Africa and America. This review provides elaborate and comprehensive details on taxonomy, phylogeny, Economic botany, phytochemistry, pharmacology, threats and conservation of Elaeocarpus. This genus is taxonomically significant; however, the morphological variation among the species of Elaeocarpus and its allied species were ineffectually known and not even fully monographed. Phylogenetic relationships of this genus have investigated by several studies using plastid trnL, nuclear ITS and trnF sequences. Most of the species of Elaeocarpus are economically important as timber and fruits are edible, seeds used as beads for rosaries, bracelets, necklaces and also for their ostensible magico-religious purposes whereas, some trees also have reported with medicinal properties. Phytochemical studies on various species of Elaeocarpus indicated that it has reported with some biologically active phytoconstituents. Pharmacological studies attempted through crude extracts and individual phytoconstituent describe the biological efficiency of Elaeocarpus. For boosting sales of seeds of Elaeocarpus, the traders use legends and myths of the seeds by branding and telemarketing techniques. These demands on seeds raise the collection in wild, and affect seedling recruitment in the wild which lead to affect the natural population. About one-third of species was included under the IUCN red list and need immediate attention. Very few attempts have been undertaken on conservation by macro and micropropagation techniques. It is a first attempt on the compilation of taxonomy, phylogeny, Economic botany, phytochemistry, pharmacology, threats and conservation of Elaeocarpus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sesbania grandiflora (L.) Pers. is a common traditional medicinal plant used in bronchitis, anaemia, headache, fever, ophthalmia, nasal catarrh, leprosy, inflammation, gout and rheumatism. The present study aimed to assess plant regeneration and plantlets development in vitro using explants of S. grandiflora together with the estimation of total phenolic content and antioxidative activity of various extracts obtained from the plant. Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium added with different concentrations of plant growth regulators (PGRs) was used for plant tissue culture, whereas ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assays were used to evaluate the antioxidant potential of different extracts of the plant. In the presence of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP; 0.1 mg/l), the highest level (85.41%) of seed germination was achieved while the highest callus formation (96.6%) was recorded with 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D; 0.5 mg/l). In addition, the highest shoot induction, shoot formation and shoot elongation were observed with BAP (0.1 mg/l), indole-3-butyric acid (3 mg/l) and naphthaleacetic acid + BAP (0.4 + 0.2 mg/l) respectively. The extract of dried calluses showed highest contents of proline (110.94 mg/g), phenol (16.42 mg/g) and flavonoid (22.22 mg/g), and also highest antioxidant potential with FRAP and DPPH assays. From the present study, we may conclude that the MS basal medium supplemented with PGRs is effective for the commercial production of S. grandiflora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demand of functional and probiotic foods are on the rise and there is always a quest to develop array of the products rather than the traditional milk derived products. The current study focuses on the preparation technology, biochemical and sensory characteristics of lactic acid fermented juice developed by using prickly pears ( Opuntia sp.) as substrate. Prickly pears lacto-juice was prepared by fermenting the juice of prickly pears (diluted by appropriate factor) with a probiotic strain Lactobacillus fermentum ATCC 9338. The lacto-juice had the following compositions: total soluble solids, 5.9 °Brix; total sugar, 1.75 g/100 mL; reducing sugar, 0.20 g/100 mL; pH, 4.1; titratable acidity, 1.7 g tartaric acid/100 mL; lactic acid, 0.32 mg/100 mL; phenol, 0.41 μg/mL; ascorbic acid, 6 mg/100 mL, DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) scavenging activity, 105 μMTE (micro molar trolox equivalent)/mL. A total of nine proximate attributes loaded heavily on the dimension. Six analytical variables, i.e. titratable acidity (−), total soluble solids (+), total sugar (+), residual sugar (+), phenol (+) and DPPH (+) were loaded on PC1. Infrared spectroscopy revealed the presence of alkenes, organic acids, hydroxyl groups and nitro groups. GC-MS study indicated the disintegration of some risky organic compounds such as 4h-Pyran-4-one, 3, 5-dihydroxy-2-methyl; furfuryl alcohol; 2-propenenitrile, 2-(acetyloxy); 2, 2-diethyl-3-methyloxazolidine; acetaldehyde and furan present in the fresh fruit juice during the course of probiotic fermentation. The sensory panellists recommended the overall acceptability of the product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leucas aspera is a high value medicinal plant in India, Java, Mauritius and Philippines. The effects of plant growth regulators effects on in vitro callus biomass accumulation and root enhancement were assessed using leaf and stem explants. Leaf and stem explants were cultured on Murashige and Skoog basal medium supplemented with different concentrations of auxins and cytokinins. The highest amount of callus biomass accumulation was observed on leaf explants. Comparisons between stem and leaf explants indicated that leaf explants showed the greatest callus formation. Greatest callus formation was observed on NAA (2 mg L−1) (79.22%), followed by 2,4-D (2.0 mg L−1) (70.11%) and IBA (2.0 mg L−1) showed the least formation (36.42%). Maximum callus formation was observed on stem explants; these showed 60.70% from 2,4-D (2 mg L−1), NAA (2 mg L−1) showed 40.16%, and far less was obtained on IBA (31.60%). The greatest root formation (75.32%) was obtained on IBA (2 mg L−1) and the number of roots per shoot obtained was 26.55%; IAA (2 mg L−1) showed 66.82% root formation and the number of roots obtained was 21.22%; NAA (2 mg L−1) showed 54.33% root formation. In conclusion, root enhancement increased best under dark conditions, the conditions most suitable for regeneration of large numbers of high value clonal plants for commercial production and isolation of bioactive compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]