Publications by authors named "Kristina M Mahan"

Here, we report the annotated genome sequence for a heterokont alga from the class Xanthophyceae. This high-biomass-producing strain, Tribonema minus UTEX B 3156, was isolated from a wastewater treatment plant in California. It is stable in outdoor raceway ponds and is a promising industrial feedstock for biofuels and bioproducts.

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Improvement in biorefining technologies coupled with development of novel fermentation strategies and analysis will be paramount in establishing supplementary and sustainable biofuel pathways. Oleaginous microorganisms that are capable of accumulating triacylglycerides (TAGs) and fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs), such as Rhodococcus and Yarrowia species, can be used to produce second-generation biofuels from non-food competing carbon sources. These "microbiorefineries" provide a pathway to upgrade agricultural and industrial waste streams to fungible fuels or precursors to chemicals and materials.

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Livestock and fish farming are rapidly growing industries facing the simultaneous pressure of increasing production demands and limited protein required to produce feed. Bacteria that can convert low-value non-food waste streams into singe cell protein (SCP) present an intriguing route for rapid protein production. The oleaginous bacterium Rhodococcus opacus serves as a model organism for understanding microbial lipid production.

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Use of oleaginous microorganisms as "micro-factories" for accumulation of single cell oils for biofuel production has increased significantly to mitigate growing energy demands, resulting in efforts to upgrade industrial waste, such as second-generation lignocellulosic residues, into potential feedstocks. Dilute-acid pretreatment (DAP) is commonly used to alter the physicochemical properties of lignocellulosic materials and is typically coupled with simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) for conversion of sugars into ethanol. The resulting DAP residues are usually processed as a waste stream, e.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Nitramines, like nitroglycine (NNG), are harmful contaminants from explosives that affect soil and groundwater, posing risks to ecosystems and human health.
  • - Researchers isolated a soil bacterium, sp. strain JS1663, capable of degrading NNG, identifying a key enzyme involved in this process which has a unique domain previously not associated with denitration.
  • - The findings on NNG biodegradation could lead to advancements in breaking down other nitramine explosives, aiding environmental remediation efforts.
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Streptomyces vitaminophilus produces pyrrolomycins, which are halogenated polyketide antibiotics. Some of the pyrrolomycins contain a rare nitro group located on the pyrrole ring. The 6.

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Acidovorax sp. strain JS42 uses 2-nitrotoluene as a sole source of carbon and energy. The first enzyme of the degradation pathway, 2-nitrotoluene 2,3-dioxygenase, adds both atoms of molecular oxygen to 2-nitrotoluene, forming nitrite and 3-methylcatechol.

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In Chlamydomonas growing under 24 h light-dark cycles, chloroplast transcription is under circadian clock control, and peaks early in the morning. The peak (but not trough) requires ongoing cytoplasmic translation, as it is sensitive to cycloheximide (CH). The chloroplast transcriptional apparatus in Chlamydomonas is simpler than in land plants, with only one type of RNA polymerase (RNAP, bacterial) and apparently only one sigma factor (RPOD).

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