A review on the applications of portable near-infrared spectrometers in the agro-food industry.

Industry has created the need for a cost-effective and nondestructive quality-control analysis system. This requirement has increased interest in near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, leading to the development and marketing of handheld devices that enable new applications that can be implemented in situ. Portable NIR spectrometers are powerful instruments offering several advantages for nondestructive, online, or in situ analysis: small size, low cost, robustness, simplicity of analysis, sample user interface, portability, and ergonomic design.

Experimental and modeling analysis of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 growth.

Background/aims: The influence of different parameters such as temperature, irradiance, nitrate concentration, pH, and an external carbon source on Synechocystis PCC 6803 growth was evaluated.

Methods: 4.5-ml cuvettes containing 2 ml of culture, a high-throughput system equivalent to batch cultures, were used with gas exchange ensured by the use of a Parafilm™ cover.

Culture-dependent characterization of cyanobacterial diversity in the intertidal zones of the Portuguese coast: a polyphasic study.

Cyanobacteria are important primary producers, and many are able to fix atmospheric nitrogen playing a key role in the marine environment. However, not much is known about the diversity of cyanobacteria in Portuguese marine waters. This paper describes the diversity of 60 strains isolated from benthic habitats in 9 sites (intertidal zones) on the Portuguese South and West coasts.

Construction of a chassis for hydrogen production: physiological and molecular characterization of a Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 mutant lacking a functional bidirectional hydrogenase.

Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic prokaryotes that are promising 'low-cost' microbial cell factories due to their simple nutritional requirements and metabolic plasticity, and the availability of tools for their genetic manipulation. The unicellular non-nitrogen-fixing Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 is the best studied cyanobacterial strain and its genome was the first to be sequenced.