Production of (R)‐1‐phenylethanols through bioreduction of acetophenones by a new fungus isolate Trichothecium roseum

A total of 120 fungal strains were isolated from soil samples and evaluated in the bioreduction of substituted acetophenones to the corresponding (R)‐alcohols. Among these strains, isolate Trichothecium roseum EBK‐18 was highly effective in the production of (R)‐alcohols with excellent enantioselectivity (ee > 99%). Gram scale preparation of (R)‐1‐phenylethanol is reported. Chirality 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Mechanism of activation of Sepharose and Sephadex by cyanogen bromide

The mechanism of CNBr activation of polysaccharide resins like Sepharose and Sephadex has been elucidated using recently published analytical procedures for the determination of cyanate esters and imido carbonates. It was found that on agarose-based resins coupling of ligand occurs predominantly via cyanate esters, and not via imidocarbonates as in the case of Sephadex. This explains the different behaviours of Sepharose and Sephadex during CNBr activation.     

Exploring the potential of some yeast strains in the stereoselective synthesis of aldol reaction products and its reduced 1,3-dialcohol derivatives

The behavior of two yeast strains has been studied under different conditions. Both microorganims catalyzed the aldol reaction between activated aldehydes and acetone when a large amount of the latter was present in the reaction medium producing, with moderate stereoselectivity, the aldol product with the R configuration. No reduction of any of the products present in the medium was detected. On the other hand, the carbonyl group of the racemic aldol was reduced to produce chiral 1,3-dialcohol derivatives when water was employed as the only solvent. In this case, the resolution of the racemic starting material was also possible with one of the biocatalysts, and the aldol was recovered with the S configuration. A complementary enantioselectivity was shown by both microorganisms in the generation of the new stereogenic center, which allowed access to 3 of the 4 possible diastereomeric diols with high enantiomerical purity.     

Mg2+ accelerates plastoquinone reduction in chloroplasts

The transient fluorescence quenching induced by the addition of a small amount of an oxidant to illuminated chloroplasts can be used to estimate the rate of electron transported by the oxidant. Using this technique, it is found that the reduction of plastoquinone by the primary acceptor of Photosystem II is sensitive to salt depletion.     

The functioning of cytochrome b in the electron transport to fumarate in Propionibacterium freudenreichii and Propionibacterium pentosaceum

Fumarase-free electron particles from Propionibacterium freudenreichii and P. pentosaceum were prepared by discontinuous sucrose gradient centrifugation, and the influence of 2-n-heptyl-4-hydroxy-quinoline-N-oxide (HQNO) and ultraviolet irradiation on the reduction of menaquinone and cytochrome b with l-lactate or glycerol-3-phosphate and the reoxidation by fumarate was studied. In the presence of HQNO the steady state reduction level of menaquinone during fumarate reduction was increased whereas the steady state reduction level of cytochrome b was decreased as compared with the reduction levels measured in the absence of HQNO. The steady state reduction level of menaquinone during electron transport to fumarate was not influenced by ultraviolet irradiation and the steady state reduction level of cytochrome b was decreased at increasing irradiation times. The data indicate that cytochrome b is involved in the electron transport to fumarate.Abbreviations HQNO 2-n-heptyl-4-hydroxyquinoline-N-oxide - NQNO 2-n-nonyl-4-hydroxyquinoline-N-oxide Visiting Professor at the Biological Laboratory     

Flavonoid diversity and endemism in Arnica subgenus Austromontana

Eighty-seven populations, representing eight species of Amica subgenus Austromontana, were examined for flavonoids. A total of 22 compounds, including simple and methylated flavone and flavonol glycosides as well as methylated aglycones, were isolated and identified. The two widespread species, A. cordifolia and its presumed early derivative A. latifolia, are ancestral species of the subgenus. From these two species, major evolutionary diversification within the subgenus has taken place largely in the Klamath region of Oregon and California, resulting in the formation of several rare, endemic species. These endemics are generally characterized by reduced flavonoid profiles and/or an increase in the number of methylated aglycones while, in contrast, the wider ranging species have few methylated aglycones and more glycosides. However, one species, A. viscosa, a rare volcanic endemic, exhibits the most elaborate and specialized flavonoid profile within the subgenus.     

Plausibility of inferred ancestral phenotypes and the evaluation of alternative models of limb evolution in scincid lizards

Phylogenetic approaches to inferring ancestral character states are becoming increasingly sophisticated; however, the potential remains for available methods to yield strongly supported but inaccurate ancestral state estimates. The consistency of ancestral states inferred for two or more characters affords a useful criterion for evaluating ancestral trait reconstructions. Ancestral state estimates for multiple characters that entail plausible phenotypes when considered together may reasonably be assumed to be reliable. However, the accuracy of inferred ancestral states for one or more characters may be questionable where combined reconstructions imply implausible phenotypes for a proportion of internal nodes. This criterion for assessing reconstructed ancestral states is applied here in evaluating inferences of ancestral limb morphology in the scincid lizard clade Lerista. Ancestral numbers of digits for the manus and pes inferred assuming the models that best fit the data entail ancestral digit configurations for many nodes that differ fundamentally from configurations observed among known species. However, when an alternative model is assumed for the pes, inferred ancestral digit configurations are invariably represented among observed phenotypes. This indicates that a suboptimal model for the pes (and not the model providing the best fit to the data) yields accurate ancestral state estimates.     

Chemical and biological mobilization of Fe(III) in marsh sediments

Iron reduction in marine sulfitic environments may occur via a mechanism involving direct bacterial reduction with the use of hydrogen as an electron donor, direct bacterial reduction involving carbon turnover, or by indirect reduction where sulfide acts to reduce iron. In the presented experiments, the relative importance of direct and indirect mechanisms of iron reduction, and the contribution of these two mechanisms to overall carbon turnover has been evaluated in two marsh environments. Sediments collected from two Northeastern US salt marshes each having different Fe (III) histories were incubated with the addition of reactive iron (as amorphous oxyhydroxide). These sediments were either incubated alone or in conjunction with sodium molybdate. Production of both inorganic and organic pore water constituents and a calculation of net carbon production were used as measures to compare the relative importance of direct bacterial reduction and indirect bacterial reduction. Results indicate that in the environments tested, the majority of the reduced iron found results from indirect reduction mediated by hydrogen sulfide, a result of dissolution and precipitation phenomena, or is a result of direct bacterial reduction using hydrogen as an electron donor. Direct iron reduction plays a minor role in carbon turnover in these environments.