01980nas a2200181 4500008004100000022001400041245010600055210006900161260011000230300001400340490000600354520122700360100002001587700002001607700001701627700002601644856012801670 2015 eng d a2046-206900aBiocatalyst development for lactic acid production at acidic pH using inter-generic protoplast fusion0 aBiocatalyst development for lactic acid production at acidic pH  aTHOMAS GRAHAM HOUSE, SCIENCE PARK, MILTON RD, CAMBRIDGE CB4 0WF, CAMBS, ENGLANDbROYAL SOC CHEMISTRYcDEC a2024-20310 v53 a

Global warming and environmental problems force us to develop sustainable processes based on the use of biocatalysts that are eco-friendly with the least potential toxicity. Lactic acid fermentation at neutral pH generates a large amount of gypsum during down-stream processing. Hence it is essential to develop Lactobacillus strains which produce lactic acid at acidic pH thus making the whole downstream process environmentally friendly. Fusant F3 was generated using protoplast fusion between Lactobacillus delbrueckii Mut Uc-3 and Acetobacter pasteurianus NCIM 2314 on solid media at pH 4.0. Fusant F3 was further treated by UV irradiation to generate a mutant, FM1, with improvements in acid tolerance which produced five-fold more lactic acid than the parent strain at acidic pH. The molecular studies using RAPD markers demonstrated that the fusant is derived from both the parental strains, Acetobacter and Lactobacillus and the mutant is derived from the fusant. The utilization of such acid tolerant strains could be able to produce free lactic acid at acidic pH without using neutralizing agents and will offer an effective means for designing environmentally benign processes for lactic acid production.

1 aSinghvi, Mamata1 aGurjar, Gayatri1 aGupta, Vidya1 aGokhale, Digambar, V. uhttp://library.ncl.res.in/content/biocatalyst-development-lactic-acid-production-acidic-ph-using-inter-generic-protoplast-002562nas a2200229 4500008004100000245012400041210006900165260000800234300001400242490000700256520177300263100002602036700001702062700001702079700001502096700001702111700001902128700001702147700002402164700001702188856012702205 2016 eng d00aBiosynthesis of anti-proliferative gold using endophytic fusarium oxysporum strain isolated from neem (A-indica) leaves0 aBiosynthesis of antiproliferative gold using endophytic fusarium cJAN a2036-20420 v163 a

Here we report a simple, rapid, environment friendly approach for the synthesis of gold nanoparticles using neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss.) fungal endophyte, which based upon morphological and cultural characteristics was eventually identified as Fusarium oxysporum. The aqueous precursor (HAuCl4) solution when reacted with endophytic fungus resulted in the biosynthesis of abundant amounts of well dispersed gold nanoparticles of 10-40 nm with an average size of 22nm. These biosynthesized gold nanoparticles were then characterized by standard analytical techniques such as UV-Visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Transmission Electron Microscopy and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. Cytotoxic activity of these nanoparticles was checked against three different cell types including breast cancer (ZR-75-1), Daudi (Human Burkitt's lymphoma cancer) and normal human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), where it was found that our gold nanoparticles are anti-proliferative against cancer cells but completely safe toward normal cells. In addition to this, assessment of toxicity toward human RBC revealed less than 0.1 % hemolysis as compared to Triton X-100 suggesting safe nature of our biosynthesized gold nanoparticles on human cells. Also, our nanoparticles exhibited no anti-fungal (against Aspergillus niger) or anti-bacterial [against Gram positive (Bacillus subtilis & Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram negative (Escherichia coli & Pseudomonas aeruginosa) bacteria] activity thus suggesting their non-toxic, biocompatible nature. The present investigation opens up avenues for eco-friendly, biocompatible nanomaterials to be used in a wide variety of application such as drug delivery, therapeutics, theranostics and so on.

1 aSiddiqui, Ejaz, Ahmad1 aAhmad, Absar1 aJulius, Anju1 aSyed, Asad1 aKhan, Shadab1 aKharat, Mahesh1 aPai, Kalpana1 aKadoo, Narendra, Y.1 aGupta, Vidya uhttp://library.ncl.res.in/content/biosynthesis-anti-proliferative-gold-using-endophytic-fusarium-oxysporum-strain-isolated02637nas a2200253 4500008004100000022001400041245013500055210006900190260000800259300001200267490000800279520176200287653002702049653001602076653002302092653001502115653002802130100002102158700002202179700001702201700002002218700002002238856012502258 2019 eng d a0964-830500aBiodegradation of squalene and n-hexadecane by Gordonia amicalis HS-11 with concomitant formation of biosurfactant and carotenoids0 aBiodegradation of squalene and nhexadecane by Gordonia amicalis  cAUG a172-1810 v1423 a

Gordonia amicalis HS-11 has been enriched from a hydrocarbon contaminated tropical soil sample. The ability of this organism to utilize a triterpenic polyunsaturated hydrocarbon, squalene (2,6,10,15,19,23-hexamethyl-6,6,10,14,18,20-tetracosahexane) and the model saturated hydrocarbon n-hexadecane is described here. The isolate degraded squalene and n-hexadecane (79 +/- 3.02 and 96 +/- 4.11%, respectively) after eight days of incubation. The isolate produced an extracellular biosurfactant that reduced surface tension from 69 +/- 2.83 to 40 +/- 1.63 and 35 +/- 2.34 mN m(-1) with squalene and n-hexadecane as carbon sources, respectively, after 6 days. The Actinomycete cleaved squalene to geranylacetone and famesyl acetaldehyde that were further utilized for supporting growth. n-Hexadecane was degraded via monoterminal oxidation and activities of important enzymes (alkane hydroxylase and alcohol dehydrogenase) were highest (215 +/- 8.76 and 169 +/- 6.02 units mg(-1) protein, respectively) after four days. Cells grown on squalene were short and with n-hexadecane there were clumps of longer cells. Squalene and n-hexadecane-grown cell surfaces were smooth possibly due to extracellular surface active compounds. While growing on hydrophobic substrates, some cells were seen adhering to droplets and others were in the free form. The culture was able to simultaneously degrade hydrocarbons and produce two commercially relevant value-added products. The yield of the extracellular biosurfactant on n-hexadecane was 480 mg l(-1) and cells grown on squalene and n-hexadecane also yielded carotenoids (2.3 +/- 0.14 and 2.9 +/- 0.10 mg g(-1) dry cell weight, respectively). This is the first report on the utilization of squalene by Gordonia.

10aAerobic biodegradation10aCarotenoids10aCatabolic pathways10aEmulsifier10aGordonia amicalis HS-111 aSowani, Harshada1 aDeshpande, Ashish1 aGupta, Vidya1 aKulkarni, Mohan1 aZinjarde, Smita uhttp://library.ncl.res.in/content/biodegradation-squalene-and-n-hexadecane-gordonia-amicalis-hs-11-concomitant-formation