Partial characterization ofAspergillus fumigatus polygalacturonases for the degumming of natural fibers

Summary Aspergillus fumigatus strain 4, cultured on citrus pectin as the sole carbon source, produced polygalacturonases whose activity was optimum at 65°C and pH 3.5–4.5. The enzymes presented a bimodal thermostability for 10 min, but not 60 min, of incubation. Polygalacturonases showed pH stability between 3.0 to 9.0. The enzymes were stable when stored at 4–6°C for 90 days, but their activity was reduced by 24% when they were stored at 26–30°C. Orange pulp was the best pectic carbon source tested for the production of pectinases capable of retting ramie fibers. The reutilization of these enzymes was possible, suggesting the viability of industrial use of pectinases for degumming ramie fibers.     

Pectin lyase production by Penicillium griseoroseum grown in sugar cane juice in repeated batch cultures

Penicillium griseoroseum cultured in the presence of sucrose and yeast extract produces pectin lyase (EC 4.2.2.10) (PL) in the absence of its natural inducer pectin. This fungus was cultured in a fermenter at an aeration rate of 0.5 l/min for the first 25 h and 1.0 l/min for the remainder of the culture period, and at a stirring rate of 200 rev/min for the entire culture period. Fungal spores were inoculated directly into the fermenter at a final concentration of 5 × 10⁴ spores/ml. The fungus was cultured in minimal medium supplemented with powdered dehydrated sugar cane juice, producing PL without added yeast extract. Maximum PL activity (0.067 IU/ml) was obtained after 65 h in batch culture. Pellet morphology of the mycelia made it possible to carry out three cycles of repeated batch culture. The same medium was used for renewal as for the single batch culture. The initial cycle was 53 h, after which approximately 0.103 IU/ml of PL was obtained. After this period, the medium was renewed and fermentation continued for two more cycles, which lasted approximately 20 h. Activity of PL obtained in the second cycle was approximately 0.118 IU/ml and in the third, approximately 0.109 IU/ml.     

Growth conditions of a pectinolyticAspergillus fumigatus for degumming of natural fibres

Summary Optimum growth conditions forA. fumigatus strain 4 when citric pectin was the sole carbon source were at a temperature of 45°C, pH 4.0 and an incubation time from 36 to 42h. Under these conditions no cellulase activity was found. When orange pulp was the sole carbon source, optimum polygalacturonase activities were found when the fungus was cultured for 36 h at 45°C and a pH 3.0 to 4.5.     

Detecting structural and functional differences in activated sludge bacterial communities originating from laboratory treatment of elementally and totally chlorine-free bleaching effluents

The ability to differentiate functional and structural diversity of bacterial communities present in activated sludges adapted to elementally (ECF) and totally (TCF) chlorine-free bleaching effluents was evaluated. Community function was evaluated through substrate utilization patterns in BiologGN microplates, and taxonomic structure was evaluated by fluorescent in situ hybridization using probes targeting the Eubacteria; the alpha, beta, and gamma subclasses of the Proteobacteria; and gram-positive bacteria with high GC content. Over 6-week sampling periods, ECF-and TCF-adapted sludge bacterial communities presented reproducible substrate utilization patterns that through principal components (PCs) analysis, separated the ECF samples from the TCF samples. Application of the fluorescent in situ hybridization technique was complicated by the intense autofluorescence of the bleaching effluent sludge samples that interfered with detection of specific hybridization signals. The most notable difference in community structure detected using the chosen set of probes was the relatively greater proportion of cells of the alpha subclass in TCF sludge (27%) than in ECF sludge (6%). Nonspecific hybridization with beta and gamma probes was relatively high, but both sludges appeared to have similar proportions of cells of the beta (20-22%) and gamma (11-12%) subclasses. The two sludges presented relatively few gram-positive cells with high GC content (<0.2% of eubacterial counts). Differences in both metabolic potential and taxonomic structure of the microbial communities in the ECF- and TCF-activated sludges were detected. The kinetics of the development of these differences in treatment plants and their relationships with treatment efficiency and production process conditions should now be evaluated.