Structural characterization of strawberry pomace.

Strawberries are a nutrient dense food rich in vitamins, minerals, non-nutrient antioxidant phenolics, and fibers. Strawberry fiber bioactive structures are not well characterized and limited information is available about the interaction between strawberry fiber and phenolics. Therefore, we analyzed commercial strawberry pomace in order to provide a detailed carbohydrate structural characterization, and to associate structures with functions.

Synthesis and spectroscopic characterization of C -labeled 4-cyano-2-oxobutyraldehyde semicarbazone: A metabolite of nitrofurazone.

Nitrofurazone usage in food-producing animals is prohibited in most countries, including the United States. Regulatory agencies regularly monitor its use in domestic, export/import animals' food products by measuring the semicarbazide (SEM) metabolite as a biomarker of nitrofurazone exposure. However, the use of SEM is controversial because it is also produced in food naturally and thus gives false positive results.

1D and 2D NMR datasets, resonance assignments and coupling constant analysis of red beet fiber and pectin.

The datasets presented in this article represent detailed NMR spectral analyses on red beet fiber, including the pomace, water-soluble and water-insoluble fractions, as well as the acid-extracted pectin. The samples were solvated in deuterium oxide and investigated by 1D-H, 1D-C NMR, and multiple 2D-NMR experiments, including gCOSY, zTOCSY, HSQC, HMBC, HSQCTOCSY, and H2BC. The NMR chemical shifts, coupling constants and spin-systems were identified for the major carbohydrate residues in each sample.

Analysis of pesticides, veterinary drugs, and environmental contaminants in goat and lamb by the QuEChERSER mega-method.

Analysis of chemical residues in foods is a big challenge for developing countries due to lack of financial and professional resources needed to meet international quality standards for trade. However, the implementation of simple multiclass, multi-residue methods in monitoring programs can provide significant benefits to save cost, time, and labor. The aim of this project was to investigate the "quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, safe, efficient, and robust" (QuEChERSER) mega-method for the fatty muscle matrices of goat and lamb.

Physiological and transcriptomic response of Medicago truncatula to colonization by high- or low-benefit arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi form a root endosymbiosis with many agronomically important crop species. They enhance the ability of their host to obtain nutrients from the soil and increase the tolerance to biotic and abiotic stressors. However, AM fungal species can differ in the benefits they provide to their host plants.

Structural characterization of pectin obtained by different purification methods.

Commercial pectin production is based on vacuum evaporation and alcohol precipitation (VEAP) using large quantities of expensive and flammable alcohol. This process has high production costs that have greatly limited the commercial use of refined pectins. This study demonstrates a new technology using a diaultrafiltration (DUF) process in a pilot plant, which is a low-cost, green, and ecologically friendly way to produce pectin.

Nutrient demand and fungal access to resources control the carbon allocation to the symbiotic partners in tripartite interactions of Medicago truncatula.

Legumes form tripartite interactions with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and rhizobia, and both root symbionts exchange nutrients against carbon from their host. The carbon costs of these interactions are substantial, but our current understanding of how the host controls its carbon allocation to individual root symbionts is limited. We examined nutrient uptake and carbon allocation in tripartite interactions of Medicago truncatula under different nutrient supply conditions, and when the fungal partner had access to nitrogen, and followed the gene expression of several plant transporters of the Sucrose Uptake Transporter (SUT) and Sugars Will Eventually be Exported Transporter (SWEET) family.

Burkholderia sacchari DSM 17165: A source of compositionally-tunable block-copolymeric short-chain poly(hydroxyalkanoates) from xylose and levulinic acid.

Burkholderia sacchari was used to produce poly-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate block copolymers from xylose and levulinic acid. Levulinic acid was the preferred substrate resulting in 3-hydroxyvalerate (3HV) contents as high as 95 mol% at 24 h. The 3HB:3HV ratios were controlled by the initial levulinic acid media concentration and fermentation length.

Cranberry Xyloglucan Structure and Inhibition of Escherichia coli Adhesion to Epithelial Cells.

Cranberry juice has been recognized as a treatment for urinary tract infections on the basis of scientific reports of proanthocyanidin anti-adhesion activity against Escherichia coli as well as from folklore. Xyloglucan oligosaccharides were detected in cranberry juice and the residue remaining following commercial juice extraction that included pectinase maceration of the pulp. A novel xyloglucan was detected through tandem mass spectrometry analysis of an ion at m/z 1055 that was determined to be a branched, three hexose, four pentose oligosaccharide consistent with an arabino-xyloglucan structure.

Methanol-induced chain termination in poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) biopolymers: molecular weight control.

A systematic study was performed to demonstrate the impact of methanol (MeOH) on poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) synthesis and molecular weight (MW). Glycerine was used as the primary carbon source with varying concentrations of MeOH. Methanol retarded but did not completely inhibit growth and PHB production in Pseudomonas oleovorans.

Fungal nutrient allocation in common mycorrhizal networks is regulated by the carbon source strength of individual host plants.

Common mycorrhizal networks (CMNs) of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in the soil simultaneously provide multiple host plants with nutrients, but the mechanisms by which the nutrient transport to individual host plants within one CMN is controlled are unknown. Using radioactive and stable isotopes, we followed the transport of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) in the CMNs of two fungal species to plants that differed in their carbon (C) source strength, and correlated the transport to the expression of mycorrhiza-inducible plant P (MtPt4) and ammonium (1723.m00046) transporters in mycorrhizal roots.

Glycerine and levulinic acid: renewable co-substrates for the fermentative synthesis of short-chain poly(hydroxyalkanoate) biopolymers.

Glycerine (a biodiesel co-product) and levulinic acid (a pulp and paper co-product) were used as co-substrates for the fermentative synthesis of short-chain polyhydroxyalkanoate (sc-PHA) biopolymers with tunable monomer and molecular weight characteristics. Pseudomonas oleovorans NRRL B-14682 utilized glycerine alone to produce poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB). When levulinic acid was added to the media at shake-flask scale in concentrations ≤0.

Carbon availability triggers fungal nitrogen uptake and transport in arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis.

The arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis, formed between the majority of land plants and ubiquitous soil fungi of the phylum Glomeromycota, is responsible for massive nutrient transfer and global carbon sequestration. AM fungi take up nutrients from the soil and exchange them against photosynthetically fixed carbon (C) from the host. Recent studies have demonstrated that reciprocal reward strategies by plant and fungal partners guarantee a "fair trade" of phosphorus against C between partners [Kiers ET, et al.

Weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) applied to the tomato fruit metabolome.

Background: Advances in "omics" technologies have revolutionized the collection of biological data. A matching revolution in our understanding of biological systems, however, will only be realized when similar advances are made in informatic analysis of the resulting "big data." Here, we compare the capabilities of three conventional and novel statistical approaches to summarize and decipher the tomato metabolome.

Methyl-branched poly(hydroxyalkanoate) biosynthesis from 13-methyltetradecanoic acid and mixed isostearic acid isomer substrates.

Pseudomonas resinovorans, a known medium-chain-length (mcl-) poly(hydroxyalkanoate) (PHA) producer, was grown on 13-methyltetradecanoic acid (13-MTDA) and a mixture of isostearic acid (IA) isomers to produce methyl-branched mcl-PHA polymers. Shake-flask experiments revealed polymer productivities (the percent of the cell mass that is polymer) of 31 +/- 1% (n = 3) and 23 +/- 3% (n = 3) when grown in 13-MTDA and IA, respectively. Monomer content was determined by a combination of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) of the acid hydrolyzed, silylated methyl esters, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Synthesis and characterization of canola oil-stearic acid-based trans-free structured lipids for possible margarine application.

Incorporation of stearic acid into canola oil to produce trans-free structured lipid (SL) as a healthy alternative to partially hydrogenated fats for margarine formulation was investigated. Response surface methodology was used to study the effects of lipozyme RM IM from Rhizomucor miehei and Candida rugosa lipase isoform 1 (LIP1) and two acyl donors, stearic acid and ethyl stearate, on the incorporation. Lipozyme RM IM and ethyl stearate gave the best result.

Functionalization of the 6,14-bridge of the orvinols. 2. Preparation of 18- and 19-hydroxyl-substituted thevinols and their treatment with benzyl bromide.

The etheno bridge of a thevinone was treated with BH3 and H2O2 to give both the 18- and 19-hydroxyl- substituted thevinols. Selective benzylation of the primary 20-hydroxyl over the 19-hydroxyl was successful; however, benzylation of the 18-hydroxylated product led to a reaction at the more hindered alcohol. Thus, the 6,14-bridge of the Diels-Alder products of thebaine can be hydroxylated, which opens up these positions for further chemical manipulation.