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This study investigated the synergistic effects of ammonium persulfate (PS) and ultrasound (US) on the inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in buffered peptone water (BPW) and orange juice products. A comprehensive assessment of PS concentrations ranging from 1 to 300 mM, considering not only the statistical significance but also the reliability and stability of the experimental outcomes, showed that 150 mM was the optimal PS concentration for the inactivation of E. coli O157:H7. Additionally, US output intensities varying from 30 % to 60 % of the maximum US intensity were evaluated, and 50 % US amplitude was found to be the optimal US condition. A 50 % amplitude setting on the sonicator corresponds to half of its maximum displacement, approximately 60 μm, based on a maximum amplitude of 120 μm. The inactivation level of E. coli O157:H7 was significantly enhanced by the combined treatment of PS and US, compared to each treatment of PS and US alone. In the BPW, a 10-min treatment with the combination of PS and US resulted in a significant synergistic inactivation, achieving up to a log reduction of 3.86 log CFU/mL. Similarly, in orange juice products, a 5-min treatment with the combination of PS and US yielded a significant synergistic inactivation, with a reduction reaching 5.90 log CFU/mL. Although the treatment caused a significant color change in the sample, the visual differences between the treated and non-treated groups were not pronounced. Furthermore, the combined treatment in orange juice demonstrated significantly enhanced antimicrobial efficacy relative to BPW. Despite identical 5-min treatment periods, the application in orange juice resulted in a substantially higher log reduction of E. coli O157:H7, achieving 7.16 log CFU/mL at a reduced PS concentration of 30 mM, whereas the same treatment in BPW yielded only a 2.89 log CFU/mL reduction at a PS concentration of 150 mM, thereby highlighting its significantly superior antimicrobial performance in orange juice. The mechanism underlying microbial inactivation, induced by the combined treatment of PS and US, was identified as significant cell membrane damage. This damage is mediated by sulfate radicals, generated through the sono-activation of persulfate. In addition, the low pH of orange juice, measured at 3.7, is likely to have further deteriorated the E. coli O157:H7 cells compared to BPW (pH 7.2), by disrupting their cell membranes, proton gradients, and energy metabolism. These findings underscore the effectiveness of PS and US integration as a promising approach for non-thermal pasteurization in the food industry. Further research is needed to optimize treatment parameters and fully explore the practical application of this technique in large-scale food processing operations. Sensory evaluation and nutritional assessment are also necessary to address the limitations of PS., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Identifying materials contributing to skin hydration, essential for normal skin homeostasis, has recently gained increased research interest. In this study, we investigated the potential benefits and mechanisms of action of Aspergillus oryzae -fermented wheat peptone (AFWP) on the proliferation and hydration of human skin keratinocytes, through in vitro experiments using HaCaT cell lines. The findings revealed that compared to unfermented wheat peptone, AFWP exhibited an improved amino acid composition, significantly ( p < 0.05) higher DPPH scavenging capability and cell proliferation activity, and reduced lipopolysaccharide-induced NO production in RAW 264.7 cells. Furthermore, we separated AFWP into eleven fractions, each ≤2 kDa; of these, fraction 4 (AFW4) demonstrated the highest efficacy in the cell proliferation assay and was found to be the key component responsible for the cell proliferation potential and antioxidant properties of AFWP. Additionally, AFW4 increased the expression of genes encoding natural moisturizing factors, including filaggrin, transglutaminase-1, and hyaluronic acid synthase 1-3. Furthermore, AFW4 activated p44/42 MAPK, but not JNK and p38 MAPK, whereas PD98059, a p44/42 MAPK inhibitor, attenuated the beneficial effects of AFW4 on the skin, suggesting that the effects of AFW4 are mediated via p44/42 MAPK activation. Finally, in clinical studies, AFW4 treatment resulted in increased skin hydration and reduced trans-epidermal water loss compared with a placebo group. Collectively, these data provide evidence that AFW4 could be used as a potential therapeutic agent to improve skin barrier damage induced by external stresses.

Objective: This study was conducted to enhance the production of tacrolimus in Streptomyces tsukubaensis by strain mutagenesis and optimization of the fermentation medium., Results: A high tacrolimus producing strain S. tsukubaensis FIM-16-06 was obtained by ultraviolet mutagenesis coupled with atmospheric and room temperature plasma mutagenesis.Then, nine variables were screened using Plackett-Burman experimental design, in which soluble starch, peptone and Tween 80 showed significantly affected tacrolimus production. Further studies were carried out employing central composite design to elucidate the mutual interaction between the variables and to work out optimal fermentation medium composition for tacrolimus production. The optimum fermentation medium was found to contain 61.61 g/L of soluble starch, 20.61 g/L of peptone and 30.79 g/L of Tween 80. In the optimized medium, the production of tacrolimus reached 1293 mg/L in shake-flask culture, and reached 1522 mg/L while the scaled-up fermentation was conducted in a 1000 L fermenter, which was about 3.7 times higher than that in the original medium., Conclusions: Combining compound mutation with rational medium optimization is an effective approach for improving tacrolimus production, and the optimized fermentation medium could be efficiently used for industrial production., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

In this study, chicken peptone was produced by hydrolysing inedible parts derived from chickens using endo-protease and exo-protease. The usefulness of chicken peptone as a nutrient source for bacteria was evaluated in comparison with other commercially produced peptones (animal, soy and casein-derived peptone). Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis were used as test strains to determine the effect of peptones from different sources on their growth ability. Both bacteria were successfully cultured in chicken peptone solution, which is similar to peptone solution containing commercial peptones apart from animal peptone. In chemical analysis, chicken peptone contained 12·0% nitrogen; this was similar to the nitrogen content from other commercial peptone sources, except for the 9·0% nitrogen found in soy peptones. The molecular weight of the peptone was determined by gel filtration chromatography, and those of all peptone, except animal-derived peptone, were found to be <5000 Da. In addition, when B. subtilis was cultured in a medium containing chicken peptone, it was shown that the protease activity was highest as compared with other commercial peptones. From these results, it is suggested that chicken peptone can be utilized for microbial culture, and this is an effective method to reuse chicken waste., (© 2020 The Society for Applied Microbiology.)

Bacterial cellulose produced from soybean oil refinery effluent is a good immobilization carrier because of the large pores in its fiber network, its high water-holding capacity, and its good biocompatibility. In this study, it was applied to immobilization of oleaginous yeasts for treating soybean oil refinery effluent. The immobilization percentage reached 50%, and the removal of chemical oxygen demand and oil content reached 92.1% and 93.1%, respectively, during dynamic immobilization using a mass percentage of bacterial cellulose of 30% and an immobilization time of 24 h, which were significantly higher than those of free oleaginous yeasts or yeasts immobilized by bacterial cellulose from rich medium. The immobilized oleaginous yeasts facilitated the recovery of the yeasts and effectively treated three batches of soybean oil refinery effluent. The immobilized oleaginous yeasts recovered after soybean oil refinery effluent treatment were pyrolyzed to produce bio-oil, which contributed to more alkanes and a higher calorific value of bio-oil in the pyrolysis products as compared to those of free oleaginous yeasts. As bacterial cellulose used as an oleaginous yeast cell carrier is produced from soybean oil refinery effluent, no waste of immobilization materials is involved and an efficient waste-into-oil bioprocess is developed.

The lipolytic yeast Yarrowia lipolytica produces cell-wall-associated lipases, namely Lip7p and Lip8p, that could have interesting properties as catalyst either in free (released lipase fraction-RLF) or cell-associated (cell-bound lipase fraction-CBLF) forms. Herein, a mixture of waste soybean frying oil, yeast extract and bactopeptone was found to favor the enzyme production. Best parameters for lipase activation and release from the cell wall by means of acoustic wave treatment were defined as: 26 W/cm 2 for 1 min for CBLF and 52 W/cm 2 for 2 min for RLF. Optimal pH and temperature values for lipase activity together with storage conditions were similar for both the free enzyme and cell-associated one: pH 7.0; T = 37 °C; and > 70% residual activity for 60 days at 4, - 4 °C and for 15 days at 30 °C.

Novel natural products are urgently needed to address the worldwide incidence of bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Extreme environments are a major source of novel compounds with unusual chemical structures. Pedobacter lusitanus NL19 is a new bacterial species that was isolated from one such environment and which produces compounds with potent activity against relevant microorganisms in the clinical, food, veterinary and aquaculture areas. The production of antimicrobials by P. lusitanus NL19 was identified in tryptic soy agar (TSA), but not in its equivalent broth (TSB). It was observed that in TSB medium a high concentration of casein peptone (PC) repressed the production of antibacterial compounds. HPLC, MS and MS/MS spectra with de novo sequencing revealed that the bioactivity of P. lusitanus NL19 was due to the production of pedopeptins. Hence, biosynthesis of pedopeptins is inhibited by high concentrations of PC in the broth medium. Furthermore, a nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) gene cluster was identified in the genome of NL19 encoding the biosynthesis of the peptides. qPCR analysis confirmed that the transcription of these genes is repressed in cells cultivated in high concentrations of PC. It is shown that pedopeptins are nonribosomal peptides with a broad-spectrum activity, including against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and yeasts., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Based on a biotechnological strategy, in the present work several peptones are produced from the Alcalase hydrolysis (0.1-0.2% v/w , 56-64 °C, pH 8.27-8.98, 3 h) and thermal processing (105 °C, 60 min) of wastes generated from the industrial processing of turbot, salmon, trout, seabream and seabass. These peptones were included (in the range of 2.6-11 g/L of soluble protein) as main source of organic nitrogen (protein substrates) in low-cost media for the culture of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), marine probiotic bacteria (MPB) and ubiquitous Gram+ bacteria. In most cases, batch fermentations conducted in aquaculture peptone media led to the best growth, metabolic productions and yields. Nevertheless, no significant differences between aquaculture peptones and commercial media were generally observed. Kinetic parameters from a logistic equation and used for cultures modeling were applied with the purpose of comparing the bioproduction outcomes. In economical terms, the validity of the aquaculture peptones as substitutives of the peptones (meat extract, casitone, etc.) from commercial media was also compared. The decreasing of the costs for LAB bioproductions ranged between 3-4 times and the growth costs of MPB and Gram+ bacteria were improved more than 70 and 15 times, respectively, in relation to those found in control commercial media.

Nitrobenzene (NB) is recalcitrant to microbial biodegradation due to the electron-deficient character of the nitro group (NO 2- ). Prior work has found that the reductant could enhance NB biodegradation by providing excess electron donors. However, the existing theory couldn't explain the increase-and-decrease pattern of the NB biodegradation rate with an increase in a reductant concentration. Our results suggest that the reductant affects NB biodegradation by two mechanisms: the available electron donors and the stimulation or inhibition of biomass growth, which are linked by a pseudo-first-order reaction kinetics. In addition, the results showed that directly inoculating the plain soil into the aquatic system and then allowing the synergistic effect of the organic reductant (ascorbic acid) and the substrate (peptone) enhance NB biodegradation. Employing the new method, 200 mg L -1 NB was transformed in 72 h. GC-MS analysis detected two novel intermediate metabolites, indicating that NB was degraded into aniline and further transformed into acetanilide and 9-octadecenamide before its mineralization. This study sheds light on how to exploit the synergistic effects of the availability of excess electron donors and biomass growth by controlling the reductant and a substrate in the right concentration range (e.g., ascorbic acid < 0.8 mgL -1  + peptone)., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The effect of macro and micronutrients of media components on lipase production by Bacillus sp. VITL8 was investigated using classical as well as statistical methods. Initially, the carbon source, nitrogen source, inducer and metal ions that affect lipase production were selected using the classical approach. Subsequently, selected nutrients along with other key factors (such as pH, agitation rate, gum acacia and tween 80) were investigated using Placket Burman design. Finally, three significant factors, viz., olive oil, peptone and tween 80 were studied using a 2 2 full factorial central composite design. Under optimized condition [6% (v/v) of olive oil, 0.7% peptone, 0.9% tween 80 and 25 h of incubation], the enzyme production was found to be 2.2 times higher with an overall enzyme production of 325.0 ± 1.4 U mL -1 . Laboratory scale experiment proved that the enzyme could be utilized for pretreatment of food industry effluent rich in fat and oil (dairy, bakery and poultry). The enzyme was capable of hydrolyzing more than 50% of the initial fat present in all these effluents and enabled the reduction in the levels of biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) of the effluent samples. The study thus reveals the utility of the lipase produced by the halotolerant bacterium Bacillus sp. VITL8 in the pretreatment of industrial effluents contaminated with oil and fat.HighlightsLipase production was enhanced by 2.2-fold using statistical methodsOne of the few reports on lipase production by a halotolerant bacterium, especially by Bacillus sp.Production of 325.0 ± 1.4 U mL -1 lipase within 25 h by a halotolerant bacteriumPretreatment of food industry effluents using Bacillus sp. VITL8 lipaseImprovement in effluent quality within 8 h of treatment.

Gold nanoparticles of different sizes, shapes, and decorations exert a variety of effects on biological systems. We report a novel mechanism of action of chemically modified, tryptone-stabilized gold nanoparticles (T-GNPs) in the triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell line, MDA-MB-231. The T-GNPs, synthesized using HAuCl 4 .3H 2 O and tryptone and characterized by an assortment of spectroscopy techniques combined with high-resolution electron microscopy, demonstrated strong antiproliferative and anti-clonogenic potential against MDA-MB-231 cells, arresting them at the G 1 phase of the cell cycle and promoting apoptosis. The molecular mechanism of action of these particles involved induction of unipolar clustering and hyper amplification of the supernumerary centrosomes (a distinctive feature of many tumour cells, including TNBC cells). The clustering was facilitated by microtubules with suppressed dynamicity. Mass spectrometry-assisted proteomic analysis revealed that the T-GNP-induced G 1 arrest was facilitated, at least in part, by downregulation of ribosome biogenesis pathways. Due to the presence of supernumerary centrosomes in many types of tumour cells, we propose chemical induction of their unipolar clustering as a potential therapeutic strategy.

A method using ultra high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was developed for the determination of nine B vitamins in peptone. The samples were extracted with water. The analytes were separated on a Syncronis C18 column (100 mm×2.1 mm, 1.7 μm). The nine B vitamins were detected by ESI-MS/MS under the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode, and the analysis was completed in 8 min. Quantification analysis was performed by using the external standard method. The correlation coefficients ( R 2 ) of the nine B vitamins in their linear ranges were greater than 0.999. The limits of detection were 0.09-1.67 μg/L. The relative standard deviations of the method were less than 3% ( n =6). The mean recoveries of the nine B vitamins were 80.2%-103.9% at different spiked levels. The method is simple, accurate and sensitive, and is suitable for the determination of the nine B vitamins in peptone.

Physarum polycephalum is a plasmodial slime mold. One of the trophic stages in the life cycle of this organism is a plasmodium. In submerged culture, plasmodia are fragmented into microplasmodia. The latter both lack cell walls and are capable of rapid growth. There has been limited information on the effects of medium composition on the growth and lipid accumulation of microplasmodia. In this study, optimization of medium components by response surface methodology showed that tryptone and yeast extract concentrations had the most significant effects on lipid and biomass production; significant synergistic interactions between glucose and tryptone concentration on these responses were also recorded. The optimal medium was composed of 20 g/L of glucose, 6.59 g/L of tryptone, and 3.0 g/L of yeast extract. This medium yielded 13.86 g/L of dry biomass and 1.97 g/L of lipids. These amounts are threefold higher than those of the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) medium. In addition, biomass and lipid production reached maximal values between only 4 and 5 days. Fatty acid compositions analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) revealed that P. polycephalum lipids consisted mainly of oleic acid (40.5%), linoleic acid (10%), and octadecynoic (15.8%). This is the first report on the fatty acid composition of P. polycephalum microplasmodia. These results suggest that the biomass of microplasmodia could be used as a source of material for direct conversion into biodiesel because of the absence of cell walls or it could also be used as a supplemental source of beneficial fatty acids for humans, albeit with some further evaluation needed., (© 2019 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.)

Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) of different sizes and shapes have been investigated extensively for their therapeutic potential against several diseases including cancer. However, the mechanisms with which they affect the cells are yet to be fully comprehended. In this study, we report the strong antiproliferative potential of novel, star-shaped ("stellate") GNPs that target tubulin-the building-block protein of the cytoskeletal filaments called microtubules-and disrupt microtubule network integrity. The stellate GNPs ("sGNPs") were synthesized from tryptone-stabilized GNPs ("tGNPs") and characterized by various spectroscopy methods combined with high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Among a panel of cancer cell lines tested, they showed strong antiproliferative and anti-clonogenic efficacy against MDA-MB-231 cells. The antiproliferative mechanism of the sGNPs involves perturbation of the secondary and tertiary conformation of tubulin as evidenced by far-UV circular dichroism and anilinonaphthalene sulphate-binding assays. The structural perturbation of tubulin retarded its assembly competence as evidenced by polymer mass analysis and electron microscopy imaging of tubulin assembled in vitro and by immunofluorescence visualization of the cellular microtubules. The treated cells also induced cell cycle arrest at G1 phase. Taken together, our data suggest that sGNPs are potent, tubulin-targeted antiproliferative particles that can be evaluated further for their anticancer potential.

To contribute towards effective exploitation and utilization of natural antioxidants, response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize the medium composition for the production of exopolysaccharides from the medicinal mushroom Ganoderma lingzhi (GLEPS). An optimal medium for GLEPS production was gave through Plackett-Burman design, path of steepest ascent, and Box-Behnken design as follows: glucose (59.62 g/L), yeast extract (10.03 g/L), CaCO 3 (0.2 g/L), thiamine (45.13 mg/L), KH 2 PO 4 (1.0 g/L), peptone (1.5 g/L), Tween 80 (10.26 mL/L), ZnSO 4 (0.3 g/L), mannitol (1.5 g/L), MgSO 4 (0.5 g/L), and aspartate (8.86 g/L). The GLEPS yield obtained was 3.57 ± 0.21 g/L-3.16-fold higher than that produced in basal medium alone. The resulting GLEPS rich in uronic acid, d-mannose, l-rhamnose, and d-glucose, was a heteropolysaccharide with high-molecular weights (475,000 kDa and 21.6 kDa, 87.97%). It was demonstrated that the GLEPS with higher carbohydrate and uronic acid contents exhibited strong in vitro antioxidant activities via radical scavenging, reductive capacity, and chelation of transition metal catalysis. These findings indicated that RSM is an efficient tool to predict the composition of culture medium required for maximizing GLEPS yield, and GLEPS had potent antioxidant activities and could be explored as a novel natural antioxidant in functional food or medicine., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In 2016, USDA-Food Safety and Inspection Service began using a neutralizing buffered peptone water (nBPW) to rinse broiler carcasses for Salmonella and Campylobacter performance standard testing. The nBPW contains standard buffered peptone water (BPW) with compounds to neutralize residual antimicrobials that may be transferred from the carcass to the sample rinsate. However, a direct comparison of nBPW and BPW on carcasses commercially treated with antimicrobials has not been conducted. On 3 replicate days in a commercial broiler processing plant, an immersion chilling biomap using whole carcass rinse samples taken prior to any chilling treatment (30), after pre-chill treatment (30), after primary chill (30), after secondary chill (30), after post-chill treatment (50), and after post-chill treatment without the pre-chill treatment (49) were tested. Carcasses were rinsed with either BPW (without neutralizer) or nBPW. Rinsates were sampled for Salmonella and Campylobacter prevalence and both Enterobacteriaceae (EB) prevalence and counts. No significant differences were observed between sampling sites or rinse media for Salmonella due to an overall low prevalence (4 positive/219 samples). Campylobacter prevalence significantly decreased from prior to chilling (93%) to after all chilling steps (47%) as anticipated (P < 0.0001); however, overall significantly fewer Campylobacter positive carcasses were detected when nBPW was used (55%) in comparison to BPW (70%, P = 0.0258). Both EB prevalence and counts significantly decreased (both P < 0.0001) from prior to chilling (100%, 2.35 log10 CFU/mL) through after all chilling steps (52%, 0.47 log10 CFU/mL). The use of nBPW versus BPW did not impact EB prevalence; however, samples rinsed with nBPW had significantly higher overall counts (1.26 vs. 1.00 log10 CFU/mL, P = 0.0134). The results from this study indicate that the use of a PAA pre-chill treatment did not significantly impact bacteria recovery following all chilling steps. The use of nBPW was effective in neutralizing residual PAA in carcass rinsates when sampling for EB counts; however, nBPW may lessen the ability to detect Campylobacter in these same samples.

Peptones are accepted as one of the most favourable nitrogen sources supporting pigment synthesis in Monascus purpureus. The present study was performed to test the feasibility of chicken feather peptone (CFP) as nitrogen source for pigment production from M. purpureus ATCC16365. CFP was compared with fish peptone (FP) and protease peptone (PP) in order to elucidate its effectiveness on pigment production. CFP was prepared from waste feathers using hydrolysis (KOH) and neutralization (H 2 SO 4 ) methods. The protein content of CFP was determined as 67.2 g/100 g. Optimal concentrations of CFP and glucose for pigment production were determined as 3 and 20 g/L, respectively. A medium pH of 5.5 and an incubation period of 7-days were found to be more favourable for pigment production. In CFP, PP and FP media, yellow pigment absorbances were 2.819, 2.870 and 2.831, red pigment absorbances were 2.709, 2.304 and 2.748, and orange pigment absorbances were 2.643, 2.132 and 2.743, respectively. Sugar consumption and mycelia growth showed the similar trends in CFP, FP and PP media. This study indicates that the peptone from chicken feathers may be a good nutritional substrate for pigment production from M. purpureus., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Gold nanoparticles have been investigated extensively for their molecular mechanisms of action and anticancer potential. We report a novel, tubulin-targeted antiproliferative mechanism of action of tryptone-stabilized gold nanoparticles (TsAuNPs). TsAuNPs, synthesized using HAuCl 4 ·3H 2 O and tryptone and characterized by a variety of spectroscopic methods and transmission electron microscopy, were found to be inhibitory to viability of human pancreatic (PANC-1), cervical (HeLa), and breast (MDA-MB-231) cancer cell lines in a concentration-dependent manner, with highest efficacy against PANC-1 cells. The particles strongly inhibited the clonogenic propagation of PANC-1 cells. TsAuNPs-mediated inhibition of cell viability involved an unusual mode of cell cycle arrest (arrest at both G 0 /G 1 phase and S-phase) followed by apoptosis. In vitro, TsAuNPs bound purified tubulin, competitively inhibited anilinonaphthalene sulfonate binding to tubulin, and suppressed tubulin assembly. In cells, tubulin-TsAuNPs interactions were manifested as a disrupted microtubule network, defective reassembly of cold-disassembled microtubules, and induction of tubulin acetylation. Our data indicate that TsAuNPs inhibit cell viability by inducing differential cell cycle arrest possibly through disrupted dynamicity of cellular microtubules., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Cold-adapted superoxide dismutase (SOD) with higher catalytic activity at lower temperature has great amount of applications in many aspects as an industrial enzyme. The application of recombinant enzyme in gene engineering and microbial fermentation technology is an effective way to obtain high-yield product. In this study, to obtain the recombinant SOD in E. coli (rPsSOD) with the highest activity, the Box-Behnken design was first applied to optimize the important parameters (lactose, tryptone and Tween-80) affecting the activity of rPsSOD. The results showed that the optimal fermentation conditions were Tween-80 (0.047%), tryptone (6.16 g/L), lactose (11.38 g/L). The activity of rPsSOD was 71.86 U/mg (1.54 times) as compared with non-optimized conditions. Such an improved production will facilitate the application of the cold-adapted rPsSOD.

Diketopiperazines can be generated by non-enzymatic cyclization of linear dipeptides at extreme temperature or pH, and the complex medium used to culture bacteria and fungi including phytone peptone and trypticase peptone, can also produce cyclic peptides by heat sterilization. As a result, it is not always clear if many diketopiperazines reported in the literature are artifacts formed by the different complex media used in microorganism growth. An ideal method for analysis of these compounds should identify whether they are either synthesized de novo from the products of primary metabolism and deliver true diketopiperazines. A simple defined medium ( X. fastidiosa medium or XFM) containing a single carbon source and no preformed amino acids has emerged as a method with a particularly high potential for the grown of X. fastidiosa and to produce genuine natural products. In this work, we identified a range of diketopiperazines from X. fastidiosa 9a5c growth in XFM, using Ultra-Fast Liquid Chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Diketopiperazines are reported for the first time from X. fastidiosa , which is responsible for citrus variegated chlorosis. We also report here fatty acids from X. fastidiosa , which were not biologically active as diffusible signals, and the role of diketopiperazines in signal transduction still remains unknown., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

This work demonstrates the use of bacteriophage conjugated magnetic particles (Fe 3 O 4 ) for the rapid capturing and isolation of Escherichia coli. The investigation of T4 bacteriophage adsorption to silane functionalised Fe 3 O 4 with amine (NH 2 ), carboxylic (COOH) and methyl (CH 3 ) surface functional groups reveals the domination of net electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions in governing bacteriophage adsorption. The bare Fe 3 O 4 and Fe 3 O 4 -NH 2 with high T4 loading captured 3-fold more E. coli (∼70% capturing efficiency) compared to the low loading T4 on Fe 3 O 4 -COOH, suggesting the significance of T4 loading in E. coli capturing efficiency. Importantly, it is further revealed that E. coli capture is highly dependent on the incubation temperature and the presence of tryptone in the media. Effective E. coli capturing only occurs at 37°C in tryptone-containing media with the absence of either conditions resulted in poor bacteria capture. The incubation temperature dictates the capturing ability of Fe 3 O 4 /T4, whereby T4 and E. coli need to establish an irreversible binding that occurred at 37°C. The presence of tryptophan-rich tryptone in the suspending media was also critical, as shown by a 3-fold increase in E. coli capture efficiency of Fe 3 O 4 /T4 in tryptone-containing media compared to that in tryptone-free media. This highlights for the first time that successful bacteria capturing requires not only an optimum tailoring of the particle's surface physicochemical properties for favourable bacteriophage loading, but also an in-depth understanding of how factors, such as temperature and solution chemistry influence the subsequent bacteriophage-bacteria interactions., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In this present study, a newly isolated strain, Streptomyces sp. NEAE-H, capable of producing high amount of black extracellular melanin pigment on peptone-yeast extract iron agar and identified as Streptomyces glaucescens NEAE-H. Plackett-Burman statistical design was conducted for initial screening of 17 independent (assigned) variables for their significances on melanin pigment production by Streptomyces glaucescens NEAE-H. The most significant factors affecting melanin production are incubation period, protease-peptone and ferric ammonium citrate. The levels of these significant variables and their interaction effects were optimized by using face-centered central composite design. The maximum melanin production (31.650 μg/0.1 ml) and tyrosinase activity (6089.10 U/ml) were achieved in the central point runs under the conditions of incubation period (6 days), protease-peptone (5 g/L) and ferric ammonium citrate (0.5 g/L). Melanin pigment was recovered by acid-treatment. Higher absorption of the purified melanin pigment was observed in the UV region at 250 nm. It appeared to have defined small spheres by scanning electron microscopy imaging. The maximum melanin yield was 350 mg dry wt/L of production medium. In vitro anticancer activity of melanin pigment was assayed against skin cancer cell line using MTT assay. The IC 50 value was 16.34 ± 1.31 μg/ml for melanin and 8.8 ± 0.5 μg/ml for standard 5-fluorouracil., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interests.

The recovery of Campylobacter species from food and environmental sources is challenging due to the slow growth of these bacteria and the need to suppress competing organisms during the isolation procedures. The addition of multiple selective antimicrobials to growth media can negatively impact recovery of some Campylobacter spp. Here, we describe our current method for the isolation of thermotolerant Campylobacter species, mainly C. jejuni and C. coli, from food and environmental samples. We emphasize the use of membrane filtration during plating for the specific isolation of Campylobacter spp. and a reduced use of antimicrobial supplements throughout the whole isolation process.

Pectic-Oligosaccharides (POS) have a growing potential in food and feed industries. To satisfy the demand of worldwide markets from POS and avoid the shortcomings of currently applied methodologies encountered in their preparation, the present study highlights a novel robust approach for POS biosynthesis. In the current approach, Aspergillus sp.section Flavi strain EGY1 DSM 101520 was grown on citrus pectin-based medium as a core POS production medium. POS' levels accumulated in the fungal fermentation broth were optimized through a three step sequential statistical mathematical methodology; Plackett-Burman design (PBD), Box-Behnken design (BBD) and canonical analysis. Three key determinants namely citrus pectin, peptone and NaH2PO4 were pointed out by PBD to impose significant consequences (P<0.05) on the process outcome (POS' levels). Optimal levels of these key determinants along with maximal of POS' levels were set by BBD and canonical analysis to be 2.28% (w/v) citrus pectin, 0.026% (w/v) peptone and 0.28% (w/v) NaH2PO4 to achieve a net amount of 1.3 g POS /2.28 g citrus pectin. Through this approach, a yield of 57% (w/w) POS of the total citrus pectin was obtained after 24 h of fungal growth on optimized citrus pectin-based medium. A fold enhancement of 13 times in POS' levels released in the fermentation fungal broth was realized by the end of the optimization strategy. This novel robust approach is considered a new insight towards POS biosynthesis via efficient, rapid and non-cumbersome procedure. To the best of authors' knowledge, the present work is the first article underlining detailed POS production from the fermentation broth of a fungus growing on citrus pectin-based medium., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Endoinulinase is an inulolytic enzyme which is used for the production of fructooligosaccharides from inulin. A new endoinulinase producing fungal strain BGPUP6 was identified as Aspergillus tritici on the basis of its molecular characterization. Response surface methodology was used to optimize the endoinulinase production at shake-flask level from Aspergillus tritici BGPUP6 using raw Asparagus inulin as carbon source. Four independent variables (raw inulin, 2-4%; peptone, 0.3-0.7%; (NH 4 )H 2 PO 4 , 0.3-0.7% and pH, 4.5-6.5) were selected for the study based on the CCRD model of RSM. The other media supplements (FeSO 4 ·7H 2 O, 0.001%; MgSO 4 ·7H 2 O, 0.05% and KCl, 0.02%) were kept constant in the production medium, throughout the study. Endoinulinase production and biomass yield were selected as dependent responses. The optimal combination of media ingredients obtained from the study was 3% raw inulin, 0.5% peptone, 0.5% (NH 4 )H 2 PO 4 and pH 5.5. Using the optimized media constituents, maximum endoinulinase production (25.01 IU/mL) and biomass yield (0.514g dry weight/50 mL) obtained were in good agreement with the predicted values. Crude enzyme produced was also used for the hydrolysis of inulin. The hydrolysate showed the presence of a mixture of fructooligosaccharides with varied degree of polymerization. This is the first report on the production of an endoinulinase from Aspergillus tritici., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In this study, lactic acid fermentation by Rhizopus oryzae was investigated using the two different fermentation strategies of one-step fermentation (OSF) and conventional fermentation (CF). Compared to CF, OSF reduced the demurrage of the production process and increased the production of lactic acid. However, the qp was significantly lower than during CF. Based on analysis of μ, qs and qp, a novel modified OSF strategy was proposed. This strategy aimed to achieve a high final concentration of lactic acid, and a high qp by R. oryzae. In this strategy, the maximum lactic acid concentration and productivity of the lactic acid production stage reached 158g/l and 5.45g/(lh), which were 177% and 366% higher, respectively, than the best results from CF. Importantly, the qp and yield did not decrease. This strategy is a convenient and economical method for l-lactic acid fermentation by R. oryzae., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The effects of four types of dissolved organic matters (DOM) on the bioconcentration of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in Chironomus plumosus larvae have been studied. The PFASs included perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnA), and perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoA). The DOM included humic acid (HA), fulvic acid (FA), tannic acid (TA), and a protein, peptone (PEP), and their concentrations ranged from 0 to 50 mg L(-1). The results showed that, upon bioconcentration equilibrium, the body burdens of longer perfluoroalkyl chain PFASs (PFOS, PFDA, PFUnA and PFDoA) decreased with PEP and HA concentrations while increased with FA and TA concentrations. When FA and TA concentrations increased from 0 to 50 mg L(-1), body burdens of these PFASs increased by 7.5%-148.8% and 5.7%-37.1%, respectively. However, the DOM had no significant impact on the body burdens of shorter perfluoroalkyl chain PFASs (PFOA and PFNA). All of the four types of DOM lowered not only the uptake rate constants (ku) of PFASs due to the decrease of freely dissolved PFAS concentrations, but also the elimination rate constants (ke) due to the inhibition effect of DOM on the PFAS elimination from the larvae. The reduction in the two constants varied with both DOM and PFAS types. In the presence of PEP and HA with larger molecular weights, the ku values decreased more than ke, leading to the decreased body burdens of longer perfluoroalkyl chain PFASs. As for FA and TA with smaller molecular weights, the ke values decreased more than ku, resulting in increased body burdens of longer perfluoroalkyl chain PFASs. This study suggests that the effects of DOM on PFAS bioconcentration depend not only on the concentration but also on the molecule weight of DOM, which should be considered in the bioavailability assessment of PFASs., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The production of carboxymethyl cellulase (CMCase) by Bacillus halodurans IND18 under solid substrate fermentation (SSF) using cow dung was optimized through two level full factorial design and second order response surface methodology (RSM). The central composite design (CCD) was employed to optimize the vital fermentation parameters, such as pH of the substrate, concentration of nitrogen source (peptone) and ion (sodium dihydrogen phosphate) sources in medium for achieving higher enzyme production. The optimum medium composition was found to be 1.46% (w/w) peptone, 0.095% (w/w) sodium dihydrogen phosphate and pH 8.0. The model prediction of 4210IU/g enzyme activity at optimum conditions was verified experimentally as 4140IU/g. The enzyme was active over a broad temperature range (40-60±1°C) and pH (7.0-9.0) with maximal activity at 60±1°C and pH 8.0. This study demonstrated the potential of cow dung as novel substrate for CMCase production., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Iron sulfide (FeS) nanoparticles have been recognized as effective scavengers for multi-valent metal ions. However, the aggregation of FeS nanoparticles in aqueous solution greatly restricts their application in real work. Herein, different biomaterial-FeS nanoparticles were developed for the in-situ immobilization of uranium(VI) in radioactive waste management. TEM images suggested that sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and gelatin can effectively suppress the aggregation of FeS nanoparticles in aqueous solutions. The resulting CMC-FeS and gelatin-FeS were stable in aqueous solutions and showed high adsorption capacity for U(VI). Specially, gelatin-FeS showed the best performance in U(VI) adsorption-reduction immobilization under experimental conditions. The maximum enrichment capacity of U(VI) on CMC-FeS and gelatin-FeS at pH 5.0 and 20 °C achieved to ∼430 and ∼556 mg/g, respectively. Additionally, gelatin-FeS and CMC-FeS nanoparticles presented excellent tolerance to environmental salinity. The immobilized U(VI) on the surfaces of CMC-FeS and gelatin-FeS remained stable more than one year. These findings highlight the possibility of using ggelatin-FeS for efficient immobilization of U(VI) from radioactive wastewater., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This study evaluated the effects of changing the composition of the pre-enrichment medium buffered peptone water (BPW) on the growth of stressed and unstressed Gram-negative foodborne pathogens in a one-broth enrichment strategy. BPW supplemented with an available iron source and sodium pyruvate, along with low levels of 8-hydroxyquinoline and sodium deoxycholate (BPW-S) improved the recovery of desiccated Cronobacter spp. from powdered infant formula. Growth of Salmonella and STEC was comparable in all BPW variants tested for different food matrices. In products with high levels of Gram-negative background flora (e.g. sprouts), the target organisms could not be reliably detected by PCR in any of the BPW variants tested unless the initial level exceeded 10(3) cfu/10 g of sprouts. Based on these results we suggest BPW-S for a one-broth enrichment strategy of stressed Gram-negative foodborne pathogens from dry products. However, a one-broth enrichment strategy based on BPW variants tested in this evaluation is not recommended for produce with a high level of Gram-negative background flora due to very high detection limits., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In this study, a moderate thermophile Clostridium thermobutyricum is shown to ferment the sugars in sweet sorghum juice treated with invertase and supplemented with tryptone (10 g L(-1)) and yeast extract (10 g L(-1)) at 50°C to 44 g L(-1) butyrate at a calculated highest volumetric productivity of 1.45 g L(-1)h(-1) (molar butyrate yield of 0.85 based on sugars fermented). This volumetric productivity is among the highest reported for batch fermentations. Sugars from acid and enzyme-treated sweet sorghum bagasse were also fermented to butyrate by this organism with a molar yield of 0.81 (based on the amount of cellulose and hemicellulose). By combining the results from juice and bagasse, the calculated yield of butyric acid is approximately 90 kg per tonne of fresh sweet sorghum stalk. This study demonstrates that C. thermobutyricum can be an effective microbial biocatalyst for production of bio-based butyrate from renewable feedstocks at 50°C., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Salmonella is a human pathogen that can accompany live broilers to the slaughter plant, contaminating fully processed carcasses. Feed is one potential source of Salmonella to growing broilers. Monitoring feed for the presence of Salmonella is part of good agricultural practice. The first step in culturing feed for Salmonella (which may be at low numbers and sub-lethally stressed) is to add it to a pre-enrichment broth which is incubated for 24 h. During the course of pre-enrichment, extraneous bacteria metabolize carbohydrates in some feed and excrete acidic byproducts, causing the pH to drop dramatically. An acidic pre-enrichment pH can injure or kill Salmonella resulting in a failure to detect, even if it is present and available to infect chickens. The objective of this study was to test an array of buffering chemistries to prevent formation of an injurious acidic environment during pre-enrichment of feed in peptone water. Five grams of feed were added to 45 mL of peptone water buffered with carbonate, Tris pH 8, and phosphate buffering ingredients individually and in combination. Feed was subjected to a pre-enrichment at 35°C for 24 h; pH was measured at 0, 18, and 24 h. Standard phosphate buffering ingredients at concentrations up to 4 times the normal formulation were unable to fully prevent acidic conditions. Likewise, carbonate and Tris pH 8 were not fully effective. The combination of phosphate, carbonate, and Tris pH 8 was the most effective buffer tested. It is recommended that a highly buffered pre-enrichment broth be used to examine feed for the presence of Salmonella., (Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Poultry Science Association 2015. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.)

Hydrophobic ultrasmall nanoparticles synthesized in nonpolar solvents exhibit great potential in biomedical applications. However, a major challenge when applying these nanomaterials in biomedical research is the lack of a versatile strategy to render them water dispersible while preserving the hydrodynamic diameter (HD) to be less than 8 nm for efficient renal clearance. To address this problem, tryptone is employed as the novel ligand to fabricate a simple, versatile, and inexpensive strategy for transferring hydrophobic NaGdF(4) nanodots (3 nm in diameter) from organic phase into aqueous phase without any complicated organic synthesis. The paramagnetic properties of NaGdF(4) nanodots are well retained after the phase transfer process. In particular, the tryptone-NaGdF(4) nanodots have ultrasmall HD (ca., 7.5 nm), which greatly improves their tumor accumulation and facilitates renal clearance within 24 h postinjection. The as-prepared tryptone-NaGdF(4) nanodots can also be further functionalized with other molecules for extensively biomedical and bioanalytical applications. Furthermore, the proposed strategy can easily be extended to transfer other types of inorganic nanoparticles from hydrophobic to hydrophilic for facilitating biomedical applications., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Microbial biomarkers that indicate aspects of an organism's growth conditions are important targets of forensic research. In this study, we examined fatty acid composition as a signature for the types of complex nutrients in the culturing medium. Bacillus cereus T-strain spores were grown in medium formulations supplemented with one of the following: peptone (meat protein), tryptone (casein protein), soy protein, and brain-heart infusion. Cellular biomass was profiled with fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) analysis. Results showed peptone cultures produced spores enriched in straight-chained lipids. Tryptone cultures produced spores enriched in branched-odd lipids when compared with peptone, soy, and brain-heart formulations. The observed FAME variation was used to construct a set of discriminant functions that could help identify the nutrients in a culturing recipe for an unknown spore sample. Blinded classification tests were most successful for spores grown on media containing peptone and tryptone, showing 88% and 100% correct identification, respectively., (© 2015 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.)

Natural melanin is of great potential value and application in the fields of pharmacology, cosmetics, and functional foods. In the present study, statistically designed experiments were conducted for the optimization of the media to enhance the production of melanin by submerged culture of Auricularia auricula. Glucose, tyrosine, peptone, and CaCO3 were found to have significant effects (P < 0.015) on melanin biosynthesis by a Plackett-Burman experimental design and subsequently optimized using response surface methodology. Optimal media were obtained at the following concentrations: glucose, 0.90 g/L; tyrosine, 6.68 g/L; peptone, 6.99 g/L; and CaCO3, 6.75 g/L. The validity of the optimum media was verified in separate experiments in which the melanin yield of 1008.08 mg/L was obtained under optimum conditions, compared with 306.52 mg/L at other conditions, i.e., a 3.29-fold increase. Furthermore, the important physical and chemical properties of A. auricula melanin were determined. The findings from the present study indicate that large-scale production of natural melanin by submerged culture of A. auricular could be a useful approach.

The discovery of novel bacterial cyclodextrin glucanotransferase (CGTase) enzyme could provide advantages in terms of its production and relative activity. In this study, eight bacterial strains isolated from soils of a biodiversity-rich vegetation in Egypt based on their hydrolyzing activity of starch, were screened for CGTase activity, where the most active strain was identified as Bacillus lehensis. Optimization process revealed that the using of rice starch (25%) and a mixture of peptone/yeast extract (1%) at pH 10.5 and 37 °C for 24 h improved the bacterial growth and enzyme activity. The bacterial CGTase was successively purified by acetone precipitation, gel filtration chromatography in a Sephadex G-100 column and ion exchange chromatography in a DEAE-cellulose column. The specific activity of the CGTase was increased approximately 274-fold, from 0.21 U/mg protein in crude broth to 57.7 U/mg protein after applying the DEAE-cellulose column chromatography. SDS-PAGE showed that the purified CGTase was homogeneous with a molecular weight of 74.1 kDa. Characterization of the enzyme exhibited optimum pH and temperature of 7 and 60 °C, respectively. CGTase relative activity was strongly inhibited by Mg(2+), Zn(2+), Al(3+) and K(+), while it was slightly enhanced by 5 and 9% with Cu(2+) and Fe(2+) metal ions, respectively.

Feature objects aided strategy was used to predict and evaluate the biomethane production of food waste and corn stalk anaerobic co-digestion. The kinetics of co-digestion and mono-digestion of food waste and/or corn stalk was also analyzed. The results indicated that the compositions of food waste and corn stalk were significantly different. The anaerobic digestion of three feature objects at different mixing ratios showed the different biomethane yields and kinetic constants. Food waste and corn stalk co-digestion enhanced the digestion rate and achieved 22.48% and 41.55% higher biomethane production than those of food waste and corn stalk mono-digestion, respectively., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The production of cell-associated camptothecin (CPT) from an endophytic fungus Fusarium oxysporum NFX06 isolated from Nothapodytes foetida and its kinetics studies were proposed. Response surface methodology (RSM) based on central composite design (CCD) was used to construct a model to describe the effects of substrate concentration. Three independent variables (dextrose, peptone, and MgSO4) were successfully employed to study the yield of CPT under submerged fermentation. The maximum yield of CPT obtained from CCD was about 598.0 ng/g biomass. The model-validated optimum predicted CPT yield and experimental CPT yield from the biomass were found to be 628.08 ng/g and 610.09 ng/g at the concentrations of dextrose 42.64 (g/L), peptone 9.23 (g/L), and MgSO4 0.26 (g/L) respectively. The predicted yield of CPT was 4.90% higher than the value obtained from CCD and 2.85% higher than the value obtained from experiment conducted at optimum conditions. The kinetic parameters, maximum specific growth rate μmax=1.212 day(-1), growth-associated CPT production coefficient (α=29.35 ng/g biomass), and non-growth-associated CPT production coefficient (β=0.03 ng CPT/g biomass-day) were obtained. The logistic model was found suitable to predict mycelial growth with a high determination coefficient (R2). Luedeking-Piret and modified Luedeking-Piret models were employed to represent the product kinetics and substrate consumption kinetics. A good concurrence was found between the experimental and predicted values, representing that the unstructured models were able to illustrate the fermentation profile effectively.

Attenuated total reflectance (ATR) Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has been used to probe the binding of bacteria to hematite (α-Fe2O3) and goethite (α-FeOOH). In situ ATR-FTIR experiments with bacteria (Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli), mixed amino acids, polypeptide extracts, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), and a suite of model compounds were conducted. These compounds represent carboxyl, catecholate, amide, and phosphate groups present in siderophores, amino acids, polysaccharides, phospholipids, and DNA. Due in part to the ubiquitous presence of carboxyl groups in biomolecules, numerous IR peaks corresponding to outer-sphere or unbound (1400 cm(-1)) and inner-sphere (1310-1320 cm(-1)) coordinated carboxyl groups are noted following reaction of bacteria and biomolecules with α-Fe2O3 and α-FeOOH. However, the data also reveal that the presence of low-level amounts (i.e., 0.45-0.79%) of biomolecular phosphorous groups result in strong IR bands at ∼1043 cm(-1), corresponding to inner-sphere Fe-O-P bonds, underscoring the importance of bacteria associated P-containing groups in biomolecule and cell adhesion. Spectral comparisons also reveal slightly greater P-O-Fe contributions for bacteria (Pseudomonad, E. coli) deposited on α-FeOOH, as compared to α-Fe2O3. This data demonstrates that slight differences in bacterial adhesion to Fe oxides can be attributed to bacterial species and Fe-oxide minerals. However, more importantly, the strong binding affinity of phosphate in all bacteria samples to both Fe-oxides results in the formation of inner-sphere Fe-O-P bonds, signifying the critical role of biomolecular P in the initiation of bacterial adhesion., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Aims: To investigate and compare the bactericidal activity (BA) of active bromine and chlorine compounds in the absence and presence of protein load., Methods and Results: Quantitative killing tests against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were performed both in the absence and in the presence of peptone with pairs of isosteric active chlorine and bromine compounds: hypochlorous and hypobromous acid (HOCl and HOBr), dichloro- and dibromoisocyanuric acid, chlorantine and bromantine (1,3-dibromo- and 1,3 dichloro-5,5-dimethylhydantoine), chloramine T and bromamine T (N-chloro- and N-bromo-4-methylbenzenesulphonamide sodium), and N-chloro- and N-bromotaurine sodium. To classify the bactericidal activities on a quantitative basis, an empirical coefficient named specific bactericidal activity (SBA), founded on the parameters of killing curves, was defined: SBA= mean log reductions/(mean exposure times x concentration) [mmol 1(-1) min (-1)]. In the absence of peptone, tests with washed micro-organisms revealed a throughout higher BA of bromine compounds with only slight differences between single substances. This was in contrast to chlorine compounds, whose killing times differed by a factor of more than four decimal powers. As a consequence, also the isosteric pairs showed according differences. In the presence of peptone, however, bromine compounds showed an increased loss of BA, which partly caused a reversal of efficacy within isosteric pairs., Conclusions: In medical practice, weakly oxidizing active chlorine compounds like chloramines have the highest potential as topical anti-infectives in the presence of proteinaceous material (mucous membranes, open wounds). Active bromine compounds, on the other hand, have their chance at insensitive body regions with low organic matter, for example skin surfaces., Significance and Impact of the Study: The expected protein load is one of the most important parameters for selection of a suited active halogen compound., (© 2014 The Society for Applied Microbiology.)

Species of actinobacteria previously isolated from Tyume River in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa and identified by 16S rDNA sequence as Cellulomonas and Streptomyces species were evaluated as a consortium for the production of bioflocculant. Sucrose, peptone and magnesium chloride were the nutritional sources which supported optimal production of bioflocculant resulting in flocculation activities of 91%, 82% and 78% respectively. Response surface design revealed sucrose, peptone and magnesium chloride as critical media components following Plackett-Burman design, while the central composite design showed optimum concentration of the critical nutritional source as 16.0 g/L (sucrose), 1.5 g/L (peptone) and 1.6g/L (magnesium chloride) yielding optimal flocculation activity of 98.9% and bioflocculant yield of 4.45 g/L. FTIR spectrometry of the bioflocculant indicated the presence of carboxyl, hydroxyl and amino groups, typical for heteropolysaccharide, while SEM imaging revealed an interwoven clump-like structure. The molecular weight distribution of the constituents of the bioflocculants ranged 494.81-18,300.26 Da thus, an indication of heterogeneity in composition. Additionally, the chemical analyses of the purified bioflocculant revealed the presence of polysaccharides and proteins with neutral sugar, amino sugar and uronic acids in the following concentration: 5.7 mg, 9.3mg and 17.8 mg per 100mg. The high flocculation activity of the bioflocculant suggests commercial potential., (Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Sorption and desorption of phenanthrene (PHE) onto black carbon (BC) extracted from sediments were studied in the presence of three types of dissolved organic matter (DOM), including L-phenylalanine (L-PH), peptone and citric acid. The nonlinearity of the sorption isotherms increased in the presence of DOM. The presence of L-PH reduced the sorption capacity and desorption hysteresis because of the solubilization of PHE in L-PH solution. Peptone at 50-500 mg/L also led to a decrease in sorption attributed to solubilization, although the sorbed peptone on the BC surface could slightly increase PHE sorption. Unlike L-PH and peptone, citric acid enhanced the sorption capacity and irreversibility of PHE on BC mainly due to the strong sorption of citric acid on the BC surface. Our results may help to understand the different impacts of DOM on the distribution and transport of PAH in the environment.

Objective: To investigate and optimize microbial media that substitute peptone agar using brebra seed defatted flour., Methods: Defatted process, inoculums preparation, evaluation of bacterial growth, preparation of cooked and hydrolyzed media and growth turbidity of tested bacteria were determined., Results: Two percent defatted flour was found to be suitable concentration for the growth of pathogenic bacteria: Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) (E. coli), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), Salmonella (NCTC 8385) and Shigella flexneri (ATCC 12022) (S. flexneri), while 3% defatted flour was suitable for Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) (S. aureus). E. coli (93±1) and S. flexneri (524±1) colony count were significantly (P≤0.05) greater in defatted flour without supplement than in supplemented medium. E. coli [(3.72×10(9)±2) CFU/mL], S. aureus [(7.4×10(9)±2) CFU/mL], S. flexneri [(4.03×10(9)±2) CFU/mL] and Salmonella [(2.37×10(9)±1) CFU/mL] in non-hydrolyzed sample were statistically (P≤0.05) greater than hydrolyzed one and commercial peptone agar. Colony count of Salmonella [(4.55×10(9)±3) CFU/mL], S. flexneri [(5.40×10(9)±3) CFU/mL] and Lyesria moncytogenes (ATCC 19116) [(5.4×10(9)±3) CFU/mL] on raw defatted flour agar was significantly (P≤0.05) greater than cooked defatted flour and commercial peptone agar. Biomass of E. coli, S. aureus, Salmonella and Enterococcus faecalis in non-hydrolyzed defatted flour is highly increased over hydrolyzed defatted flour and commercial peptone broth., Conclusions: The defatted flour agar was found to be better microbial media or comparable with peptone agar. The substances in it can serve as sources of carbon, nitrogen, vitamins and minerals that are essential to support the growth of microorganisms without any supplements. Currently, all supplements of peptone agar are very expensive in the market., (Copyright © 2013 Asian Pacific Tropical Biomedical Magazine. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are sometimes regarded as proteinophilic compounds, however, there is no research report about the effect of environmental protein on the bioaccumulation of PFASs in waters. In the present study we investigated influences of protein on the bioaccumulation of six kinds of PFASs by Daphnia magna in water; it included perfluorooctane sulfonate, perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorononanoic acid, perfluorodecanoic acid, perfluoroundecanoic acid, and perfluorododecanoic acid. Two types of protein including bovine albumin from animal and soy peptone from plant were compared and the effects of protein concentration were investigated. Both types of protein at high concentrations (10 and 20 mg L(-1)) suppressed the bioaccumulation of PFASs. When protein concentration increased from 0 to 20 mg L(-1), the decreasing ratios of the PFAS body burden (35.3-52.9%) in Daphnia magna induced by bovine albumin were significantly higher than those (22.0-36.6%) by soy peptone. The dialysis bag experiment results showed that the binding of PFASs to protein followed the Freundlich isotherm, suggesting it is not a linear partitioning process but an adsorption-like process. The partition coefficients of PFASs between bovine albumin and water were higher compared to soy peptone; this resulted in higher reducing rates of freely dissolved concentrations of PFASs with increasing bovine albumin concentration, leading to a stronger suppression of PFAS bioaccumulation. However, the presence of both types of protein with a low concentration (1 mg L(-1)) enhanced the bioaccumulation of PFASs. Furthermore, the water-based bioaccumulation factor based on the freely dissolved concentrations of PFASs even increased with and the depuration rate constants of PFASs from Daphnia magna decreased with protein concentration, suggesting that protein would not only reduce the bioavailable concentrations and uptake rates of PFASs but also lower the elimination rates of PFASs in Daphnia magna. Because these two opposite effects would change with different protein concentrations in water, the net effect of protein on PFAS bioaccumulation would also vary with protein concentration.

The production of D-lactic acid by Lactobacillus lactis RM2-24 was investigated using modified media to increase the efficiency of the fermentation process. The results indicated that the addition of 5 g/l peptone and 1 g/l (NH4)2HPO4 enhanced D-lactic acid production by 32%, as compared to that obtained from non supplemented media, with a productivity of 3.0 g/l/h. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) expression profile in these different media was studied which resulted in appearance of additional LDH isoform produced by cells when they were grown in HSYE supplemented with (NH4)2HPO4. The additional LDH appears to be L-LDH contributing to production of L-lactic acid in the fermented broth. This is totally new information in the lactic acid fermentation and could be very useful to industries engaged in D-lactic acid production., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The Karmali agar was modified by supplementation with a high concentration of polymyxin B. The goal of the study was to evaluate the effect of a high concentration of polymyxin B on the ability and selectivity of the modified Karmali agar to isolate Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli from whole chicken carcass rinse. A total of 80 whole chickens were rinsed with 400 mL of buffer peptone water. The rinsed samples were incubated with 2× blood-free modified Bolton enrichment broth for 48 h, and then streaked onto unmodified Karmali agar and modified Karmali agar supplemented with 100000 IU/L polymixin B (P-Karmali agar). The suspected colonies were finally confirmed by colony PCR. The P-Karmali agar exhibited a significantly better (P < 0.05) isolation rate than the unmodified Karmali agar (P-Karmali agar, 73.8%; unmodified Karmali agar, 33.8%). Moreover, the selectivity of the P-Karmali agar was also better (P < 0.05) than that of the other selective agar when comparing the number of contaminated plates (P-Karmali agar, 68.8%; unmodified Karmali agar, 87.5%) and growth index of competing flora (P-Karmali agar, 1.4; unmodified Karmali agar, 2.7). The improved selective agar excluded competing flora resistant to antibiotic agents in unmodified Karmali agar, increasing isolation rate and selectivity for C. jejuni and C. coli., (© 2013 Institute of Food Technologists®)

Proteases are shown to have greener mode of application in leather processing for dehairing of goat skins and cow hides. Production of protease by submerged fermentation with potent activity is reported using a new isolate P. aeruginosa MTCC 10501. The production parameters were optimized by statistical methods such as Plackett-Burman and response surface methodology. The optimized production medium contained (g/L); tryptone, 2.5; yeast extract, 3.0; skim milk 30.0; dextrose 1.0; inoculum concentration 4%: initial pH 6.0; incubation temperature 30 degrees C and optimum production at 48 h with protease activity of 7.6 U/mL. The protease had the following characteristics: pH optima, 9.0; temperature optima 50 degrees C; pH stability between 5.0-10.0 and temperature stability between 10-40 degrees C. The protease was observed to have high potential for dehairing of goat skins in the pre- tanning process comparable to that of the chemical process as evidenced by histology. The method offers cleaner processing using enzyme only instead of toxic chemicals in the pre-tanning process of leather manufacture.

A sweet potato medium (SPM) was formed with extract from baked sweet potatoes supplemented with 0, 4, or 8 g/L of each nitrogen source (beef extract, yeast extract, and proteose peptone #3) to form SPM1, SPM2, and SPM3 respectively. Lactobacilli MRS was used as control medium. Ten Lactobacillus strains containing an average of 2.34 ± 0.29 log CFU/mL were inoculated individually into batches of MRS, SPM1, SPM2, and SPM3. The growth patterns for the tested Lactobacillus strains growing in SPM2 and SPM3 were found to be similar to that in MRS. The average final population after 24 h of incubation in MRS, SPM2, and SPM3 reached 10.41 ± 0.35, 10.59 ± 0.27, and 10.72 ± 0.19 log CFU/mL respectively. SPM2 and SPM3 maintained higher pH values throughout the incubation period than MRS. These findings indicate that SPM2 can be a suitable medium for the growth of Lactobacillus and can provide an alternative at low-cost.

Medium optimization was carried out to enhance laccase production from a novel Rheinheimera species, isolated from industrial effluent. Out of the 15 variables tested by Placket-Burman design (PBD)-yeast extract, soyabean meal, and peptone were the positively significant ones, enhancing laccase production. Both simple and complex sugars showed a negative effect on laccase production. Central composite design (CCD) of experiments, using the three positively significant variables in combinations, showed that laccase production was not affected by molar carbon, molar nitrogen levels or molar C/N ratio. Maximum laccase yield of 2.5 × 10(5) nkat L(-1) , 31 fold enhancement over the unoptimized medium, was achieved when soyabean meal (0.6%) was used alone as medium showing that laccase production was substrate dependent. Laccase was used, in the presence of 2 mM ABTS, for the biobleaching of eucalyptus kraft pulp resulting in kappa number reduction by 20% and brightness increase by 2.9%. Biobleaching improved further by sequential application of an alkalophilic xylanase (X) and laccase-ABTS system (LAS) that decreased kappa number by 10, 15, and 35%, increased brightness by 2.7, 3.2, and 5.9% as compared to X treated, LAS treated and untreated control, respectively. XLAS treatment resulted in 15, 13, 10.9% increase in burst factor, tear factor, and viscosity with a 20% reduced consumption of elemental chlorine and hypochlorite., (Copyright © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).)

Aims:   To investigate the influence of yeast extract, peptone, temperature and pH upon protease productivity by Bacillus sp. HTS102--a novel wild strain isolated from wool of a Portuguese sheep breed (Merino)., Methods and Results:   A 2(4) full factorial, central composite design together with response surface methodology was used to carry out the experiments and analyse the results, respectively. Among the individual parameters tested, temperature and peptone concentration produced significant effects upon protease productivity. A high correlation coefficient (R(2 ) = 0·994, P < 0·01) indicated that the empiric second-order polynomial model postulated was adequate to predict said productivity, with the optimum loci characterized by: temperature of 43°C, peptone content of 1·4 g l(-1) , pH of 5·1 and yeast extract concentration of 10·0 g l(-1) ., Conclusions:   Protease synthesis depends chiefly on temperature and peptone level. The maximum protease activity was more than twice that obtained with the basal medium, so the experimental design and analysis undertaken were effective towards process optimization., Significance and Impact of the Study:   Rational choice of processing conditions for maximum protease productivity will be relevant if an economically feasible fermentation process based on Bacillus sp. HTS102 is intended., (© 2012 The Authors. Journal of Applied Microbiology © 2012 The Society for Applied Microbiology.)