Hydrogen production by hup− mutant and wild-type strains of Rhodobacter capsulatus from dark fermentation effluent of sugar beet thick juice in batch and continuous photobioreactors

Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering - Photofermentative production of hydrogen is a promising and sustainable process; however, it should be coupled to dark fermentation to become cost effective....     

Radionuclides content in grape molasses soil samples from Central Black Sea region of Turkey

The activity concentrations of radionuclides in grape molasses soil samples collected from Zile (Tokat) plain in the Central Black Sea region of Turkey were measured by using gamma spectrometer with a NaI(Tl) detector. Also, the concentrations of ²²²Rn in soil samples and air were estimated essentially taking the activity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra measured in soil samples. Grape molasses soil samples with calcium carbonate content are used for sedimentation for making molasses in this region. The average activity concentrations of ²³²Th, ²²⁶Ra, ⁴⁰K, and ¹³⁷Cs were found as 62 ± 2, 68 ± 3, 479 ± 35, and 8.0 ± 0.3 Bq kg^?1, respectively. The average concentrations of ²²²Rn in soil samples and air were estimated to be 50 kBq m^?3 and 144 Bq m^?3. From the activity concentrations, absorbed gamma dose rate in outdoor air (D), annual effective dose from external exposure (E_E), annual effective dose from inhalation of radon (E_I), and excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) were estimated in order to assess radiological risks. The average values of D, E_E, E_I, and ELCR were found to be 90 nGy h^?1, 110 μSv y^?1, 1360 μSv y^?1, and 4 × 10^?4, respectively.     

iPBS-Retrotransposons-based genetic diversity and relationship among wild annual Cicer species

Lack of requisite genetic variation in cultivated species has necessitated systematic collection, documentation and evaluation of wild Cicer species for use in chickpea variety improvement programs. Cicer arietinum has very narrow genetic variation, and the use of a wild relative in chickpea breeding could provide a good opportunity for increasing the available genetic variation of cultivated chickpea. Genetic diversity and the relationship of 71 accessions, from the core area of chickpea origin and domestication (Southeastern Turkey), belonging to five wild annual species and one cultivated species (Cicer arietinum) were analysed using iPBS-retrotransposon and ISSR markers. A total of 136 scorable bands were detected using 10 ISSR primers among 71 accessions belonging to 6 species, out of which 135 were polymorphic (99.3 %), with an average of 13.5 polymorphic fragments per primer, whereas iPBS detected 130 bands with 100 % polymorphism with an average of 13.0 bands per primer. C. echinospermum and C. pinnatifidum were the most diverse among species, whereas C. arietinum exhibited lower polymorphism. The average polymorphism information contents (PIC) value for both marker systems was 0.91. The clustering of the accessions and species within groups was almost similar, when iPBS and ISSR NeighborNet (NNet) planar graphs were compared. Further detailed studies are indispensable in order to collect Cicer germplasm, especially C. reticulatum, from southeastern Turkey particularly, from Karacada? Mountain for preservation, management of this species, and to study their genetic diversity at molecular level. This study also demonstrates the utility and role of iPBS-retrotransposons, a dominant and ubiquitous part of eukaryotic genomes, for diversity studies in wild chickpea and in cultivated chickpea.