Production of pullulan from fuel ethanol byproducts byAureobasidium sp. strain NRRl Y-12,974

Summary Byproducts of fuel ethanol production from wet-milled corn, were tested as substrates for growth and pullulan production byAureobasidium sp. strain NRRL Y-12,974. The strain grew well on corn fiber and corn condensed distiller's solubles (CCDS), and fermented CCDS to pullulan. CCDS compared favorably with starch as a substrate for pullulan production.The use of brand or trade names may be necessary to report factually on available data. The USDA neither guarantees nor warrants the standard of the product, and the use of the name by USDA implies no approval of the product to the exclusion of others that may also be suitable. All programs and services of the USDA are offered on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, marital status, or handicap.     

Post‐eclosion temperature effects on insect cuticular hydrocarbon profiles

The insect cuticle is the interface between internal homeostasis and the often harsh external environment. Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) are key constituents of this hard cuticle and are associated with a variety of functions including stress response and communication. CHC production and deposition on the insect cuticle vary among natural populations and are affected by developmental temperature; however, little is known about CHC plasticity in response to the environment experienced following eclosion, during which time the insect cuticle undergoes several crucial changes. We targeted this crucial to important phase and studied post‐eclosion temperature effects on CHC profiles in two natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster. A forty‐eight hour post‐eclosion exposure to three different temperatures (18, 25, and 30°C) significantly affected CHCs in both ancestral African and more recently derived North American populations of D. melanogaster. A clear shift from shorter to longer CHCs chain length was observed with increasing temperature, and the effects of post‐eclosion temperature varied across populations and between sexes. The quantitative differences in CHCs were associated with variation in desiccation tolerance among populations. Surprisingly, we did not detect any significant differences in water loss rate between African and North American populations. Overall, our results demonstrate strong genetic and plasticity effects in CHC profiles in response to environmental temperatures experienced at the adult stage as well as associations with desiccation tolerance, which is crucial in understanding holometabolan responses to stress.     

Outdoor Characterization of a Plasmonic Luminescent Solar Concentrator

Plasmonics - Plasmonic luminescent solar concentrators (PLSCs) have been shown to enhance the optical performance and power conversion efficiency of LSCs, due to added plasmonic gain in the medium....