Cold-adapted strains as plant growth-promoting bacteria on soybean seeds and biocontrol agents against Macrophomina phaseolina.

Aim: The aim was to characterize cold-adapted bacteria by testing their PGP features and antagonistic activity against Macrophomina phaseolina, both in vitro and coating soybean seeds (Glycine max [L.] Merr.).

Exploring Agaricomycetes from the Paranaense rainforest (Misiones, Argentina) as an unconventional source of fibrinolytic enzymes.

Fungal fibrinolytic enzymes, secreted by some Agaricomycetes, are recognized as important thrombolytic agents due to their ability to rapidly dissolve thromboembolic clots. The present work evaluated fibrinolytic and proteolytic secretion abilities of 35 Agaricomycetes isolates from the Paranaense rainforest (Misiones, Argentina). We detected proteolytic activity in 40% of the strains while nine strains showed fibrinolytic activity.

Nutritional and Bioactive Properties of an Amazon Wild Oyster Culinary-Medicinal Mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus (Agaricomycetes): Contributions to Functional Food and Human Health.

A wild Amazonian strain of Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq.: Fr.) P.

Cost-effective optimized scleroglucan production by Sclerotium rolfsii ATCC 201126 at bioreactor scale. A quantity-quality assessment.

Exopolysaccharide (EPS) secretion by Sclerotium rolfsii ATCC 201126 in submerged cultures, already identified as high-osmolarity responsive, was assessed by reducing C-source without compromising EPS yields. A designed medium with 80 g sucrose L (MOPT) was tested at 3 L-bioreactor scale at different temperature, agitation, aeration and pH (uncontrolled vs. controlled) values.

Microbial production of scleroglucan and downstream processing.

Synthetic petroleum-based polymers and natural plant polymers have the disadvantage of restricted sources, in addition to the non-biodegradability of the former ones. In contrast, eco-sustainable microbial polysaccharides, of low-cost and standardized production, represent an alternative to address this situation. With a strong global market, they attracted worldwide attention because of their novel and unique physico-chemical properties as well as varied industrial applications, and many of them are promptly becoming economically competitive.

Effect of chemical and metallic compounds on biomass, mRNA levels and laccase activity of Phlebia brevispora BAFC 633.

Nine aromatic compounds (caffeic acid, syringaldehyde, vanillic acid, guaiacol, vanillin, sinapic acid, syringol, syringic acid and ferulic acid) and four metallic compounds (CuSO4, AgNO3, MnSO4, and CaCl2) were tested for their ability to increase laccase (Lac) activity in the ligninolytic basidiomycete Phlebia brevispora BAFC 633. The addition of syringaldehyde, syringol, guaiacol, sinapic acid, vanillin, ferulic acid and CuSO4 showed a positive effect on fungal growth; however, it decreased dramatically with the addition of AgNO3 and did not undergo changes in the presence of CaCl2 or MnSO4. Lac activity increased with the addition of all the compounds tested, depending on the concentration and the day of culture.

Effects of thermal, alkaline and ultrasonic treatments on scleroglucan stability and flow behavior.

Aqueous solutions (0.2%, w/v) of scleroglucans from Sclerotium rolfsii ATCC 201126 from different cultivation time or purification protocol (EPS I, EPS II, EPSi) as well as a commercial scleroglucan (LSCL) exhibited different sensitivity against thermal (65, 95 and 150°C), ultrasonic (1, 5 and 10 min; 20% amplitude) or alkaline (0.01-0.

Scleroglucan compatibility with thickeners, alcohols and polyalcohols and downstream processing implications.

Thickening capacity and compatibility of scleroglucan with commercial thickeners (corn starch, gum arabic, carboxymethylcellulose, gelatin, xanthan and pectin), glycols (ethylene glycol and polyethylene glycol), alcohols (methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol and isopropanol) and polyalcohols (sorbitol, xylitol and mannitol) was explored. Exopolysaccharides (EPSs) from Sclerotium rolfsii ATCC 201126 and a commercial scleroglucan were compared. Compatibility and synergism were evaluated taking into account rheology, pH and sensory properties of different thickener/scleroglucan mixtures in comparison with pure solutions.

Synergistic antifungal activity of statin-azole associations as witnessed by Saccharomyces cerevisiae- and Candida utilis-bioassays and ergosterol quantification.

Background: Frequent opportunist fungal infections and the resistance to available antifungal drugs promoted the development of new alternatives for treatment, like antifungal drug combinations.

Aims: This work aimed to detect the antifungal synergism between statins and azoles by means of an agar-well diffusion bioassay with Saccharomyces cerevisiae ATCC 32051 and Candida utilis Pr(1-2) as test strains.

Methods: Synergistic antifungal effects were tested by simultaneously adding a sub inhibitory concentration (SIC) of statin (atorvastatin, lovastatin, pravastatin, rosuvastatin or simvastatin) plus a minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of azole (clotrimazole, fluconazole, itraconazole, ketoconazole or miconazole) to yeast-embedded YNB agar plates, and a positive result corresponded to a yeast growth inhibition halo higher than that produced by the MIC of the azole alone.

Removal efficiency of Cr6+ by indigenous Pichia sp. isolated from textile factory effluent.

Resistance of the indigenous strains P. jadinii M9 and P. anomala M10, to high Cr(6+) concentrations and their ability to reduce chromium in culture medium was studied.

Unraveling the decolourizing ability of yeast isolates from dye-polluted and virgin environments: an ecological and taxonomical overview.

Microcosm assays with dye-amended culture media under a shot-feeding strategy allowed us to obtain 100 yeast isolates from the wastewater outfall channel of a dyeing textile factory in Tucumán (Argentina). Meanwhile, 63 yeast isolates were obtained from Phoebe porphyria (Laurel del monte) samples collected from Las Yungas rainforest (Tucumán), via a classical isolation scheme. Isolated yeasts, both from dye-polluted and virgin environments, were compared for their textile dye decolourization ability when cultured on solid and liquid media.

Phenotypical and genetic characterization of Trichosporon sp. HP-2023. A yeast isolate from Las Yungas rainforest (Tucumán, Argentina) with dye-decolorizing ability.

A basidiomycetous yeast isolated from Las Yungas rainforest (Tucumán, Argentina) and arbitrarily named HP-2023 was selected based on its outstanding textile dye decolorizing ability. Complete decolorization of Vilmafix Red 7B-HE and Vilmafix Blue RR-BB (200 mg/l) was achieved after 16 h of cultivation. Yeast characterization was accomplished by means of both traditional and molecular methods.

Sclerotium rolfsii scleroglucan: the promising behavior of a natural polysaccharide as a drug delivery vehicle, suspension stabilizer and emulsifier.

Gel matrices of scleroglucans from Sclerotium rolfsii ATCC 201126 (EPS I and EPS II, from 48-h and 72-h fermentations, respectively) were evaluated on their release kinetics of theophylline (Th). Equivalent polymer (2%, w/w) and Th (0.2%, w/w) concentrations showed almost coincident drug release patterns, independently of polymer molecular weight or the microstructural properties of gel matrices.