Publications by authors named "C M Spirito"

Medium-chain carboxylates (MCCs) are used in various industrial applications. These chemicals are typically extracted from palm oil, which is deemed not sustainable. Recent research has focused on microbial chain elongation using reactors to produce MCCs, such as -caproate (C6) and -caprylate (C8), from organic substrates such as wastes.

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In summer 2019, during a survey on the health status of a hazelnut orchard located in the Tuscia area (the province of Viterbo, Latium, Italy), nuts showing symptoms, such as brown-grayish spots at the bottom of the nuts progressing upward to the apex, and necrotic patches on the bracts and, sometimes, on the petioles, were found and collected for further studies. This syndrome is associated with the nut gray necrosis (NGN), whose main causal agent is . Aiming to increase knowledge about this fungal pathogen, the whole-genome sequencing of a strain isolated from symptomatic hazelnut was performed using long Nanopore reads technology in combination with the higher precision of the Illumina reads, generating a high-quality genome assembly.

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The ANTAR domain harnesses RNA-binding activity to promote transcription attenuation. Although several ANTAR proteins have been analyzed by high-resolution structural analyses, the residues involved in RNA-recognition and transcription attenuation have not been identified. Nor is it clear how signal-responsive domains are allosterically coupled with ANTAR domains for control of gene expression.

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Volunteer monitoring in the Hudson River watershed since 2012 has identified that the Wallkill River and Rondout Creek tributary complex have elevated concentrations of the fecal indicator bacteria, enterococci. Concentrations of enterococci do not provide insight into the sources of pollution and are imperfect indicators of health risks. In 2017, the regular monthly volunteer monitoring campaign for culturable enterococci at 24 sites on the Wallkill and Rondout expanded to include: (1) culturable measurements of E.

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Syngas fermentation to ethanol and acetate has recently been coupled to microbial chain elongation to produce medium-chain carboxylates, including n-caproate and n-caprylate. These medium-chain carboxylates are relatively hydrophobic, and thus easier to extract from solution than miscible ethanol. Here, we examined the effect of 11 different ethanol-to-acetate substrate ratios (ranging from 1.

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