Priming with quinoa dehulling residues induces changes in gene expression, boosts antioxidant defense, and mitigates salt stress in Arabidopsis thaliana L.

Biostimulants help plants to cope with abiotic stresses and using those obtained by recycling waste bioproducts is an eco-friendly technology with great potential. Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is a highly nutritious grain originally cultivated in the Andes but now spreading worldwide.

Fungal Enzymes for Saccharification of Gamma-Valerolactone-Pretreated White Birch Wood: Optimization of the Production of Cellulolytic Cocktail.

Lignocellulosic biomass, the most abundant natural resource on earth, can be used for cellulosic ethanol production but requires a pretreatment to improve enzyme access to the polymeric sugars while obtaining value from the other components. γ-Valerolactone (GVL) is a promising candidate for biomass pretreatment since it is renewable and bio-based. In the present work, the effect of a pretreatment based on GVL on the enzymatic saccharification of white birch was evaluated at a laboratory scale and the importance of the washing procedure for the subsequent saccharification was demonstrated.

Depolymerisation of Kraft Lignin by Tailor-Made Alkaliphilic Fungal Laccases.

Lignins released in the black liquors of kraft pulp mills are an underutilised source of aromatics. Due to their phenol oxidase activity, laccases from ligninolytic fungi are suitable biocatalysts to depolymerise kraft lignins, which are characterised by their elevated phenolic content. However, the alkaline conditions necessary to solubilise kraft lignins make it difficult to use fungal laccases whose activity is inherently acidic.

Tailor-made alkaliphilic and thermostable fungal laccases for industrial wood processing.

Background: During the kraft process to obtain cellulosic pulp from wood, most of the lignin is removed by high-temperature alkaline cooking, released in the black liquors and usually incinerated for energy. However, kraft lignins are a valuable source of phenolic compounds that can be valorized in new bio-based products. The aim of this work is to develop laccases capable of working under the extreme conditions of high temperature and pH, typical of the industrial conversion of wood into kraft pulp and fibreboard, in order to provide extremophilic biocatalysts for depolymerising kraft lignin, and enzyme-assisted technologies for kraft pulp and fibreboard production.

Roots Essential Oil: Chemical Composition, Antioxidant Activities, and Molecular Docking Studies on Enzymes Involved in Redox Biological Processes.

is usually employed in Peruvian folk medicine in the form of infusion to treat stomach pain, and has antispasmodic, relaxing, sleep-promoting, and sedative properties, as well as is an anti-inflammatory. In this study, essential oil (VPEO) was obtained by hydrodistillation, analyzed by GC and GC/MS, and 47 compounds were identified. Major oil components were α-patchoulene (5.

Antifungal Activity and In Silico Studies on 2-Acylated Benzo- and Naphthohydroquinones.

The high rates of morbidity and mortality due to fungal infections are associated with a limited antifungal arsenal and the high toxicity of drugs. Therefore, the identification of novel drug targets is challenging due to the several resemblances between fungal and human cells. Here, we report the in vitro antifungal evaluation of two acylphenols series, namely 2-acyl-1,4-benzo- and 2-acyl-1,4-naphthohydroquinones.

Theoretical Approach for the Luminescent Properties of Ir(III) Complexes to Produce Red-Green-Blue LEC Devices.

With an appropriate mixture of cyclometalating and ancillary ligands, based on simple structures (commercial or easily synthesized), it has been possible to design a family of eight new Ir(III) complexes (, , , , , and ) useful as luminescent materials in LEC devices. These complexes involved the use of phenylpyridines or fluorophenylpyridines as cyclometalating ligands and bipyridine or phenanthroline-type structures as ancillary ligands. The emitting properties have been evaluated from a theoretical approach through Density Functional Theory and Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory calculations, determining geometric parameters, frontier orbital energies, absorption and emission energies, injection and transport parameters of holes and electrons, and parameters associated with the radiative and non-radiative decays.

Design of an improved universal signal peptide based on the α-factor mating secretion signal for enzyme production in yeast.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae plays an important role in the heterologous expression of an array of proteins due to its easy manipulation, low requirements and ability for protein post-translational modifications. The implementation of the preproleader secretion signal of the α-factor mating pheromone from this yeast contributes to increase the production yields by targeting the foreign protein to the extracellular environment. The use of this signal peptide combined with enzyme-directed evolution allowed us to achieve the otherwise difficult functional expression of fungal laccases in S.

Protein Engineering Approaches to Enhance Fungal Laccase Production in .

Laccases secreted by saprotrophic basidiomycete fungi are versatile biocatalysts able to oxidize a wide range of aromatic compounds using oxygen as the sole requirement. is a preferred host for engineering fungal laccases. To assist the difficult secretion of active enzymes by yeast, the native signal peptide is usually replaced by the preproleader of alfa mating factor (MFα1).

New 2-Acetyl-3-aminophenyl-1,4-naphthoquinones: Synthesis and Antiproliferative Activities on Breast and Prostate Human Cancer Cells.

The reaction of 2-acyl-1,4-naphthoquinones with ,-dimethylaniline and 2,5-dimethoxyaniline, promoted by catalytic amounts of CeCl·7HO under "open-flask" conditions, produced a variety of 2-acyl-3-aminophenyl-1,4-naphthoquinones structurally related to the cytotoxic 2-acetyl-3-phenyl-1,4-naphthoquinone, an inhibitor of the heat shock chaperone protein Hsp90. The members of the 2-acyl-3-aminophenyl-1,4-naphthoquinone series were isolated in good yields (63-98%). The cyclic voltammograms of the 2-acyl-3-aminophenyl-1,4-naphthoquinone exhibit two one-electron reduction waves to the corresponding radical-anion and dianion and two quasireversible oxidation peaks.

Structural and biochemical insights into an engineered high-redox potential laccase overproduced in Aspergillus.

Fungal laccases have great potential as biocatalysts oxidizing a variety of aromatic compounds using oxygen as co-substrate. Here, the crystal structure of 7D5 laccase (PDB 6H5Y), developed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and overproduced in Aspergillus oryzae, is compared with that of the wild type produced by basidiomycete PM1 (Coriolopsis sp.), PDB 5ANH.

A highly stable laccase obtained by swapping the second cupredoxin domain.

The robustness of a high-redox potential laccase has been enhanced by swapping its second cupredoxin domain with that from another fungal laccase, which introduced a pool of neutral mutations in the protein sequence without affecting enzyme functionality. The new laccase showed outstanding stability to temperature, pH (2-9) and to organic solvents, while maintaining the ability to oxidize high-redox potential substrates. By engineering the signal peptide, enzyme secretion levels in Saccharomyces cerevisiae were increased, which allowed to purify the engineered enzyme for further characterization.

Ascorbate Attenuates Oxidative Stress and Increased Blood Pressure Induced by 2-(4-Hydroxyphenyl) Amino-1,4-naphthoquinone in Rats.

Quinone derivatives like 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl) amino-1,4-naphthoquinone (Q7) are used as antitumor agents usually associated with adverse effects on the cardiovascular system. The objective of this study was to evaluate the cardioprotective effect of ascorbate on Q7-induced cardiovascular response in Wistar rats. In this study, blood pressure, vascular reactivity, and intracellular calcium fluxes were evaluated in cardiomyocytes and the rat aorta.

Inhibition of Growth by Redox Cycling Phenylaminojuglones.

Infection by increases 10 times the risk of developing gastric cancer. Juglone, a natural occurring 1,4-naphthoquinone, prevents growth by interfering with some of its critical metabolic pathways. Here, we report the design, synthesis, and evaluation of a series of juglone derivatives, namely, 2/3-phenylaminojuglones, as potential growth inhibitors.

High-Throughput Screening Assay for Laccase Engineering toward Lignosulfonate Valorization.

Lignin valorization is a pending issue for the integrated conversion of lignocellulose in consumer goods. Lignosulfonates (LS) are the main technical lignins commercialized today. However, their molecular weight should be enlarged to meet application requirements as additives or dispersing agents.

Advanced Synthesis of Conductive Polyaniline Using Laccase as Biocatalyst.

Polyaniline is a conductive polymer with distinctive optical and electrical properties. Its enzymatic synthesis is an environmentally friendly alternative to the use of harsh oxidants and extremely acidic conditions. 7D5L, a high-redox potential laccase developed in our lab, is the biocatalyst of choice for the synthesis of green polyaniline (emeraldine salt) due to its superior ability to oxidize aniline and kinetic stability at the required polymerization conditions (pH 3 and presence of anionic surfactants) as compared with other fungal laccases.

Quorum-Sensing Mechanisms Mediated by Farnesol in Ophiostoma piceae: Effect on Secretion of Sterol Esterase.

Ophiostoma piceae CECT 20416 is a dimorphic wood-staining fungus able to produce an extracellular sterol-esterase/lipase (OPE) that is of great biotechnological interest. In this work, we have studied the morphological change of this fungus from yeast to hyphae, which is associated with the cell density-related mechanism known as quorum sensing (QS), and how this affects the secretion of OPE. The data presented here confirm that the molecule E,E-farnesol accumulates as the cell number is growing within the population.