Flower Scent and Pollination in Selected Neotropical Palms

Abstract: The flower scents of 14 palm species were collected in the field in Ecuador and Puerto Rico by head-space adsorption and analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Insect visitors were recorded in seven of the species in Ecuador. The floral scent of the different species was dominated by a variety of compounds, e.g., the fatty-acid derived 3-pentanone and the hydrocarbon series dodecane to pentadecane, the benzenoid compound 1,4-dimethoxybenzene, the isoprenoids ( E )-ocimene, myrcene, linalool, and ( E )-α-farnesene and the nitrogen-containing compound 2-methoxy- sec -butylpyrazine. Rather than mirroring the systematics of the studied palm species, the chemical composition of the floral scent reflected the pollination mode. The scent of beetle-pollinated species was characterized by large amounts of one or a few dominant compounds, whereas fly- and bee-pollinated species contained a mixture of several compounds in smaller total amounts. We suggest that specific scent compounds, as found in the beetle-pollinated species, have evolved as a response to pollinator preferences. The importance of olfactory cues in relation to visual cues is higher in beetle-pollinated species than in species pollinated by flies and bees.     

Production of ethanol from mannitol by Zymobacter palmae

Extracts from brown seaweeds could possibly be fermented to ethanol, particularly seaweeds harvested in the autumn, which contain high levels of easily extractable laminaran and mannitol. Few microorganisms are able to utilise mannitol as a substrate for ethanol production and Zymobacter palmae was tested for this purpose. Bacterial growth as well as ethanol yield depended on the amount of oxygen present. Strictly anaerobic growth on mannitol was not observed. At excessive aeration, a change in the fermentation pattern was observed with high production of acetate and propionate. Under oxygen-limiting conditions, the bacteria grew and produced ethanol in a synthetic mannitol medium with a yield of 0.38 g ethanol (g mannitol)⁻¹. Z. palmae was also successfully applied for fermentation of mannitol from Laminaria hyperborea extracts. Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology (2000) 24, 51–57. Received 27 June 1999/ Accepted in revised form 23 September 1999     

四种灌木状与四种乔木状棕榈植物热值的月变化

对 4种灌木状棕榈植物 (香棕、袖珍椰子、棕竹、江边刺葵 )与 4种乔木状棕榈植物 (假槟榔、董棕、国王椰子、大王椰子 )叶的热值和灰分含量的月变化进行了研究。结果表明 :( 1 ) 8种植物叶的灰分含量存在差异且具有不同的月变化 ;从灰分含量的比较看 ,乔木类的 4种植物叶平均灰分含量分别为 :假槟榔 1 3.64%± 2 .94%、董棕 9.74%± 1 .90 %、国王椰子 9.1 2 %± 1 .1 8%、大王椰子 8.69%± 3.5 5 % ;灌木类的 4种植物叶平均灰分含量分别为 :棕竹 8.73%± 2 .5 2 %、袖珍椰子 8.67%± 1 .1 9%、香棕 8.63%± 1 .2 0 %、江边刺葵 7.60 %± 0 .98% ,乔木类植物 (除大王椰子外 )叶平均灰分含量高于灌木类的植物 ;( 2 )从干重热值的月变化来看 ,分 3种类型 :江边刺葵与棕竹有相反的变化趋势 ;假槟榔、董棕、袖珍椰子的月变化趋势相同 ;国王椰子、香棕、大王椰子具有各自的变化趋势 ;在 8种棕榈植物中 ,除香棕外 ,灌木类的植物平均干重热值大于乔木类 ;灌木类中 ,茎单生的江边刺葵干重热值高于茎丛生的棕竹、香棕和袖珍椰子 ;( 3)假槟榔、袖珍椰子、大王椰子的干重热值与灰分含量具有极显著的线性相关 ( P<0 .0 1 ) ,棕竹的干重热值与灰分含量有显著的线性相关 ( P<0 .0 5 ) ;而香棕、董棕、江边刺葵、国王椰     

Zymobacter palmae pyruvate decarboxylase production process development: Cloning in Escherichia coli,fed‐batch culture and purification

Pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) is responsible for the decarboxylation of pyruvate, producing acetaldehyde and carbon dioxide and is of high interest for industrial applications. PDC is a very powerful tool in the enzymatic synthesis of chiral amines by combining it with transaminases when alanine is used as amine donor. However, one of the main drawback that hampers its use in biocatalysis is its production and the downstream processing on scale. In this paper, a production process of PDC from Zymobacter palmae has been developed. The enzyme has been cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. It is presented, for the first time, the evaluation of the production of recombinant PDC in a bench‐scale bioreactor, applying a substrate‐limiting fed‐batch strategy which led to a volumetric productivity and a final PDC specific activity of 6942 U L^?1h^?1 and 3677 U gDCW^?1 (dry cell weight). Finally, PDC was purified in fast protein liquid chromatography equipment by ion exchange chromatography. The developed purification process resulted in 100% purification yield and a purification factor of 3.8.     

Ethanol production from seaweed extract

Extracts from Laminaria hyperborea could possibly be fermented to ethanol commercially. In particular, seaweed harvested in the autumn contains high levels of easily extractable laminaran and mannitol. Four microorganisms were tested to carry out this fermentation, one bacterium and three yeasts. Only Pichia angophorae was able to utilise both laminaran and mannitol for ethanol production, and its substrate preferences were investigated in batch and continuous cultures. Laminaran and mannitol were consumed simultaneously, but with different relative rates. In batch fermentations, mannitol was the preferred substrate. Its share of the total laminaran and mannitol consumption rate increased with oxygen transfer rate (OTR) and pH. In continuous fermentations, laminaran was the preferred substrate at low OTR, whereas at higher OTR, laminaran and mannitol were consumed at similar rates. Optimisation of ethanol yield required a low OTR, and the best yield of 0.43 g ethanol (g substrate)⁻¹ was achieved in batch culture at pH 4.5 and 5.8 mmol O₂ l⁻¹ h⁻¹. However, industrial production of ethanol from seaweed would require an optimisation of the extraction process to yield a higher ethanol concentration. Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology (2000) 25, 249–254. Received 25 February 2000/ Accepted in revised form 05 August 2000