Correction to: High lactobionic acid production by immobilized Zymomonas mobilis cells: a great step for large-scale process

Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering - In the original publication, table captions were incorrectly published. The correct captions are given here.     

Somatic embryogenesis induction in leaves and petioles of a mature wild olive

We describe a protocol for somatic embryogenesis (SE) induction from an adult wild olive tree (Olea europaea ssp. europaea var. sylvestris. The protocol used confirms for the first time that there is no need to use juvenile or rejuvenated material for SE induction. For SE induction, petiole and leaf (proximal, intermediary and distal zones) explants were grown on Murashige and Skoog (MS) or Olive Medium (OM) media with different combinations of plant growth regulators (PGR): α- naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), Zeatin (Zea), indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), 2-isopentyl adenine (2iP), thidiazuron (TDZ) and 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP). All media had 30 g/l sucrose and 7 g/l agar, and the pH was adjusted to 5.8. Cultures were incubated in the dark and, after 3 months, they were transferred to MS medium without PGR for expression. Petiole explants gave the highest callus production, while for SE induction and expression distal blade leaf and petiole explants gave the highest rates. The best medium for SE induction was MS with 12.25 μM IBA plus 4.56 μM Zea. Histological analyses confirmed the individuality of globular somatic embryos. This is the first report of SE expression in explants without rejuvenation in Olea genus, and opens perspectives for using this strategy in SE protocols both for this wild genotype and for commercial genotypes.     

Unexpectedly higher expression levels of a chimeric 2S albumin seed protein transgene from a tandem array construct

In wild-type Arabidopsis seeds the 2S albumin seed protein gene family members are differentially expressed. In this work it is shown that as predicted by the wild type situation, the at2S2 promoter is much more effective than that of the at2S1 gene in the expression of a transgene. However, unexpectedly high expression levels were obtained using a construct in which the transgene was present as a tandem duplication in the T-DNA. Neither in this case nor in homozygous plants with either construct was epigenetic silencing observed. While transgene mRNA levels were of the same order of magnitude as the endogenous at 2S2 gene, protein levels were much lower.     

The use of microsatellites to analyze relationships and to decipher homonyms and synonyms in Azorean apples (Malus?×?domestica Borkh.)

The objective of this study was to exploit the molecular and morphological variability present in Malus domestica to clarify the confused characterization of apple plantations in the Azores. Most Azorean apples are grown in orchards. They are usually given a local name, and sometimes the same name is used for different cultivars and varieties which share morphology and should be known by different names. Two-hundred samples of apples cultivated in the Azores were analyzed by use of ten microsatellites. The total number of alleles per locus ranged from 10 to 24, with a mean of 15.2. Heterozygosity was high, reflecting the high variability of the samples. Expected heterozygosity varied within a narrow range, from 0.74 to 0.88, whereas observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.41 to 0.98. The high genetic variability contributed to the high discriminating power, which ranged between 0.84 and 0.93. These microsatellites were used to unambiguously discriminate most of the tested apple cultivars on the basis of their allelic profiles. The rooted UPGMA tree organized most of the samples into thirteen main clusters, often with high bootstrap values. We identified 60 synonyms and 32 homonyms among the samples. Moreover, it was possible to relate each individual to its originating population and detect likely parent–offspring groups.     

Larvicidal and Nematicidal Activities of the Leaf Essential Oil of Croton regelianus

The chemical composition of the leaf essential oil of Croton regelianus collected from wild plants growing in two different sites at Ceará State (Brazil) was analyzed by GC/MS and GC‐FID. Twenty monoterpenoids, representing more than 96% of the chemical composition of the oils, were identified and quantified. The oils showed similar chemical composition but considerable variation in the levels of each constituent. Ascaridole (33.9–17.0%), p‐cymene (22.3–21.6%), and camphor (13.0–3.1%) were the predominant constituents. The monoterpene ascaridole was isolated and characterized by spectroscopic data. The essential oils and the isolated compounds were tested against Aedes aegypti and Artemia sp. larvae, and the root knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita. The bioassay results show that the essential oil of C. regelianus and ascaridole were moderately active against the M. incognita, but strongly effective against both A. aegypti and Artemia sp. larvae.     

High lactobionic acid production by immobilized Zymomonas mobilis cells: a great step for large-scale process

Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering - Lactobionic acid and sorbitol are produced from lactose and fructose in reactions catalyzed by glucose–fructose oxidoreductase and...