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Response surface methodology was used to evaluate optimal time, temperature and oxalic acid concentration for simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of corncob particles by Pichia stipitis CBS 6054. Fifteen different conditions for pretreatment were examined in a 23 full factorial design with six axial points. Temperatures ranged from 132 to 180ºC, time from 10 to 90 min and oxalic acid loadings from 0.01 to 0.038 g/g solids. Separate maxima were found for enzymatic saccharification and hemicellulose fermentation, respectively, with the condition for maximum saccharification...

Brown-rot fungi such as Postia placenta are common inhabitants of forest ecosystems and are also largely responsible for the destructive decay of wooden structures. Rapid depolymerization of cellulose is a distinguishing feature of brown-rot, but the biochemical mechanisms and underlying genetics are poorly understood. Systematic examination of the P. placenta genome, transcriptome, and secretome revealed unique extracellular enzyme systems, including an unusual repertoire of extracellular glycoside hydrolases. Genes encoding exocellobiohydrolases and cellulose-binding domains, typical of...

An extracellular peroxygenase of Agrocybe aegerita catalyzed the H2O2-dependent hydroxylation of the multi-function beta-adrenergic blocker propranolol (1-naphthalen-1-yloxy-3-(propan-2-ylamino)-propan-2-ol) and the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac (2-[2-[(2,6-dichloro-phenyl)amino]phenyl]acetic acid) to give the human drug metabolites 5-hdroxypropranolol (5-OHP) and 4'-hydroxydiclofenac (4'-OHD). The reactions proceeded regioselectively with high isomeric purity and gave the desired 5-OHPand 4'-OHD in yields up to 20% and 65% respectively. 18O-labeling experiments showed...

We isolated an activation-tagged Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) line, constitutive disease susceptibility2-1D (cds2-1D), that showed enhanced bacterial growth when challenged with various Pseudomonas syringae strains. Systemic acquired resistance and systemic PATHOGENESIS-RELATED GENE1 induction were also compromised in cds2-1D. The T-DNA insertion adjacent to NINE-CIS-EPOXYCAROTENOID DIOXYGENASE5 (NCED5), one of six genes encoding the abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthetic enzyme NCED, caused a massive increase in transcript level and enhanced ABA levels >2-fold. Overexpression of NCED...

A pyranose 2-oxidase gene from the brown-rot basidiomycete Gloeophyllum trabeum was isolated using homology-based degenerate PCR. The gene structure was determined and compared to that of several pyranose 2-oxidases cloned from white-rot fungi. The G. trabeum pyranose 2-oxidase gene consists of 16 coding exons with canonical promoter CAAT and TATA elements in the 5’UTR. The corresponding G. trabeum cDNA was cloned and contains an ORF of 1,962 base pairs encoding a 653 amino acid polypeptide with a predicted molecular weight of 72 kDa. A Hisx6 tagged recombinant G. trabeum pyranose 2-oxidase...

Genome sequencing and subsequent global gene expression studies have advanced our understanding of the lignocellulose-fermenting yeast Pichia stipitis. These studies have provided an insight into its central carbon metabolism, and analysis of its genome has revealed numerous functional gene clusters and tandem repeats. Specialized physiological traits are often the result of several gene products acting together. When coinheritance is necessary for the overall physiological function, recombination and selection favor colocation of these genes in a cluster. These are particularly evident in...

Fibers tilted in z-direction by hydraulic forces associated with rushing or dragging the sheet can bond multiple strata together, resulting in improved out-of-plane shear strengths. Tilted fibers are difficult to identify microscopically; however, their presence can result in different measurements of Scott internal bond when tests are carried out in the two opposing machine directions. These tests identified differing fiber tilts that correlated with differing amounts of out of-plane shear strengths in three otherwise comparable linerboard samples. The effect was duplicated in handsheets...

In this study, we use the same model, together with the results of pulping and bleaching experiments on southern U.S. red oak chips, to compare the bleachability characteristics of a conventional kappa number 15 pulp with that of an acid-prehydrolyzed pulp having, after 25% kappa number reduction by prehydrolysis, a similar kappa number. After the (EO) stage, the prehydrolyzed pulp had a lower extracted kappa number, but its brightness was lower than that of the control pulp. Both observations may be interpreted in terms of the relative amounts of residual lignin and hexenuronic acid...

In the structural analysis of lignins by 13C-NMR, signal overlap limits definitive assignment and accurate intensity measurement. Selective labeling by 13C-enrichment of a specific carbon in lignin enhances its signal intensity in the spectrum. Further enhancement of the specifically labeled carbons can be realized via difference spectra created from the enriched and unenriched samples. Difference 2D 13C-1H correlation (HSQC) NMR spectra, derived from the spectra of specifically 13C-enriched lignin model polymers (so-called dehydrogenation polymers) and their unenriched counterparts, take...

Migration of surfactants in water-based, pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) films exposed to static and cyclic relative humidity conditions was investigated using confocal Raman microscopy (CRM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Studied PSA films contain monomers n-butyl acrylate, vinyl acetate, and methacrylic acid and an equal mass mixture of anionic and nonionic nonylphenol ethoxylate emulsifiers. A leveling of surfactant concentration distributions is observed via CRM after films stored at 50% relative humidity (RH) are exposed to a 100% RH for an extended time period, while relatively...