Phytoremediation as a viable ecological and socioeconomic management strategy.

Phytoremediation is an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional remediation technologies, notably for soil restoration and agricultural sustainability. This strategy makes use of marginal areas, incorporates biofortification processes, and expands crop alternatives. The ecological and economic benefits of phytoremediation are highlighted in this review.

Innovative approaches for amino acid production via consolidated bioprocessing of agricultural biomass.

Agricultural plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia yield substantial waste, necessitating proper disposal to address environmental concerns. Yet, these wastes, rich in starch and lignocellulosic content, offer an opportunity for value-added product development, particularly amino acid production. Traditional methods often rely on costly commercial enzymes to convert biomass into fermentable sugars for amino acid production.

Harnessing Diesel-Degrading Potential of an Antarctic Microalga from Greenwich Island and Its Physiological Adaptation.

Microalgae are well known for their metal sorption capacities, but their potential in the remediation of hydrophobic organic compounds has received little attention in polar regions. We evaluated in the laboratory the ability of an Antarctic microalga to remediate diesel hydrocarbons and also investigated physiological changes consequent upon diesel exposure. Using a polyphasic taxonomic approach, the microalgal isolate, WCY_AQ5_1, originally sampled from Greenwich Island (South Shetland Islands, maritime Antarctica) was identified as sp.

Molecular Characterization and Phylogenetic Analysis of () of () Isolates in Central State of Peninsular Malaysia.

, the etiological agent of Glässer's disease, is an economically significant pathogen commonly associated with serofibrinous polyserositis, arthritis, fibrinous bronchopneumonia and/or meningitis. This study is the first attempt to molecularly characterize and provide a detailed overview of the genetic variants of present in Malaysia, in reference to its serotype, virulence-associated trimeric autotransporters () gene and outer membrane protein P2 () gene. The isolates ( = 11) from clinically sick field samples collected from two major pig producing states (Selangor and Perak) were selected for analysis.

Feather-Degrading Bacillus cereus HD1: Genomic Analysis and Its Optimization for Keratinase Production and Feather Degradation.

Keratinase is an important enzyme that is used to degrade feather wastes produced by poultry industries and slaughterhouses that accumulate rapidly over time. The search for keratinase-producing microorganisms is important to potentially substitute physicochemical treatments of feather waste. In this study, the genome of Bacillus cereus HD1 and its keratinolytic prowess was investigated.

Molecular strategies to increase keratinase production in heterologous expression systems for industrial applications.

Keratinase is an important enzyme that can degrade recalcitrant keratinous wastes to form beneficial recyclable keratin hydrolysates. Keratinase is not only important as an alternative to reduce environmental pollution caused by chemical treatments of keratinous wastes, but it also has industrial significance. Currently, the bioproduction of keratinase from native keratinolytic host is considered low, and this hampers large-scale usage of the enzyme.

Operating room nurses' self-reported knowledge and attitude on perioperative pressure injury.

Surgical patients are at risk of developing a perioperative pressure injury (ORPI) during surgery. Accurate assessment and prompt implementation of prevention strategies or treatment of ORPI are dependent on knowledge and skills of operating room (OR) nurses. The study examined the knowledge and attitude of OR nurses in identifying at-risk patients.

Development of Palm Fatty Acid Distillate-Containing Medium for Biosurfactant Production by sp. LM19.

High production costs of biosurfactants are mainly caused by the usage of the expensive substrate and long fermentation period which undermines their potential in bioremediation processes, food, and cosmetic industries even though they, owing to the biodegradability, lower toxicity, and raise specificity traits. One way to circumvent this is to improvise the formulation of biosurfactant-production medium by using cheaper substrate. A culture medium utilizing palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD), a palm oil refinery by-product, was first developed through one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) technique and further refined by means of the statistical design method of factorial and response surface modeling to enhance the biosurfactant production from sp.

Effective production of keratinase by gellan gum-immobilised sp. AQ05-001 using heavy metal-free and polluted feather wastes as substrates.

The ability of gellan gum-immobilised cells of the heavy metal-tolerant bacterium sp. AQ05-001 to utilise both heavy metal-free and heavy metal-polluted feathers (HMPFs) as substrates to produce keratinase enzyme was studied. Optimisation of the media pH, incubation temperature and immobilisation parameters (bead size, bead number, gellan gum concentration) was determined for the best possible production of keratinase using the one-factor-at-a-time technique.

Chicken feather valorization by thermal alkaline pretreatment followed by enzymatic hydrolysis for protein-rich hydrolysate production.

A huge amount of feathers is generated as a waste every year. Feathers can be a protein source if it is treated with an appropriate method. The present study investigates feasibility of autoclave alkaline and microwave alkaline pretreatments to be combined with enzymatic treatment for feather solubilization and protein production.

Pre-treatment of Oil Palm Biomass for Fermentable Sugars Production.

Malaysia is the second largest palm oil producer in the world and this industry generates more than 80 million tonnes of biomass every year. When considering the potential of this biomass to be used as a fermentation feedstock, many studies have been conducted to develop a complete process for sugar production. One of the essential processes is the pre-treatment to modify the lignocellulosic components by altering the structural arrangement and/or removing lignin component to expose the internal structure of cellulose and hemicellulose for cellulases to digest it into sugars.

Culture Medium Development for Microbial-Derived Surfactants Production-An Overview.

Surfactants are compounds that can reduce the surface tension between two different phases or the interfacial tension of the liquid between water and oil, possessing both hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties. Biosurfactants have traits that have proven to be advantageous over synthetic surfactants, but these compounds do not compete economically with synthetic surfactants. Different alternatives increase the yield of biosurfactants; development of an economical production process and the usage of cheaper substrates during process have been employed.

Phylogenetic characterization of genes encoding for viral envelope glycoprotein (ORF5) and nucleocapsid protein (ORF7) of porcine reproductive & respiratory syndrome virus found in Malaysia in 2013 and 2014.

Background: Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is one of the most expensive diseases of modern swine production & results in annual economic losses and cost the industry over 600 million USD in U.S. alone and billions of dollars worldwide.

Keratinase production and biodegradation of polluted secondary chicken feather wastes by a newly isolated multi heavy metal tolerant bacterium-Alcaligenes sp. AQ05-001.

Biodegradation of agricultural wastes, generated annually from poultry farms and slaughterhouses, can solve the pollution problem and at the same time yield valuable degradation products. But these wastes also constitute environmental nuisance, especially in Malaysia where their illegal disposal on heavy metal contaminated soils poses a serious biodegradation issue as feather tends to accumulate heavy metals from the surrounding environment. Further, continuous use of feather wastes as cheap biosorbent material for the removal of heavy metals from effluents has contributed to the rising amount of polluted feathers, which has necessitated the search for heavy metal-tolerant feather degrading strains.

Harnessing the potential of ligninolytic enzymes for lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment.

Abundant lignocellulosic biomass from various industries provides a great potential feedstock for the production of value-added products such as biofuel, animal feed, and paper pulping. However, low yield of sugar obtained from lignocellulosic hydrolysate is usually due to the presence of lignin that acts as a protective barrier for cellulose and thus restricts the accessibility of the enzyme to work on the cellulosic component. This review focuses on the significance of biological pretreatment specifically using ligninolytic enzymes as an alternative method apart from the conventional physical and chemical pretreatment.

Observation of risk factors, clinical manifestations and genetic characterization of recent Newcastle Disease Virus outbreak in West Malaysia.

Background: Newcastle disease virus remains a constant threat in commercial poultry farms despite intensive vaccination programs. Outbreaks attributed to ND can escalate and spread across farms and states contributing to major economic loss in poultry farms.

Results: Phylogenetic analysis in our study showed that eleven of the samples belonged to genotype VIId.

Mini review: hydrogen and ethanol co-production from waste materials via microbial fermentation.

The simultaneous production of hydrogen and ethanol by microorganisms from waste materials in a bioreactor system would establish cost-effective and time-saving biofuel production. This review aims to present the current status of fermentation processes producing hydrogen accompanied by ethanol as a co-product. We outlined the microbes used and their fundamental pathways for hydrogen and ethanol fermentation.

Effect of physical and chemical properties of oil palm empty fruit bunch, decanter cake and sago pith residue on cellulases production by Trichoderma asperellum UPM1 and Aspergillus fumigatus UPM2.

The effect of cultivation condition of two locally isolated ascomycetes strains namely Trichoderma asperellum UPM1 and Aspergillus fumigatus UPM2 were compared in submerged and solid state fermentation. Physical evaluation on water absorption index, solubility index and chemical properties of lignin, hemicellulose and cellulose content as well as the cellulose structure on crystallinity and amorphous region of treated oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) (resulted in partial removal of lignin), sago pith residues (SPR) and oil palm decanter cake towards cellulases production were determined. Submerged fermentation shows significant cellulases production for both strains in all types of substrates.

Bioconversion of glycerol for bioethanol production using isolated Escherichia coli ss1.

Bioconverting glycerol into various valuable products is one of glycerol's promising applications due to its high availability at low cost and the existence of many glycerol-utilizing microorganisms. Bioethanol and biohydrogen, which are types of renewable fuels, are two examples of bioconverted products. The objectives of this study were to evaluate ethanol production from different media by local microorganism isolates and compare the ethanol fermentation profile of the selected strains to use of glucose or glycerol as sole carbon sources.

Oil palm empty fruit bunch as alternative substrate for acetone-butanol-ethanol production by Clostridium butyricum EB6.

Acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) production from renewable resources has been widely reported. In this study, Clostridium butyricum EB6 was employed for ABE fermentation using fermentable sugar derived from treated oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB). A higher amount of ABE (2.

Molecular characterisation of phaCAB from Comamonas sp. EB172 for functional expression in Escherichia coli JM109.

In this study, PHA biosynthesis operon of Comamonas sp. EB172, an acid-tolerant strain, consisting of three genes encoding acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase (phaA(Co) gene, 1182 bp), acetoacetyl-CoA reductase (phaB(Co) gene, 738 bp) and PHA synthase, class I (phaC(Co) gene, 1694 bp) were identified. Sequence analysis of the phaA(Co), phaB(Co) and phaC(Co) genes revealed that they shared more than 85%, 89% and 69% identity, respectively, with orthologues from Delftia acidovorans SPH-1 and Acidovorax ebreus TPSY.

Recovery and purification of intracellular polyhydroxyalkanoates from recombinant Cupriavidus necator using water and ethanol.

A new halogen-free and environmental-friendly method using water and ethanol is developed as an alternative for the recovery of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) from recombinant Cupriavidus necator in comparison to the established chloroform extraction method. After optimisation, our results showed that the halogen-free method produced a PHA with 81% purity and 96% recovery yield, in comparison to the chloroform extraction system which resulted in a highly pure PHA with 95% yield. Although the purity of the PHA using the new method is lower, the molecular weight of the extracted PHA is not compromised.

Nitrification of high-strength ammonium landfill leachate with microbial community analysis using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH).

Nitrification of mature sanitary landfill leachate with high-strength of N-NH(4) + (1080-2350 mg L(-1)) was performed in a 10 L continuous nitrification activated sludge reactor. The nitrification system was acclimatized with synthetic leachate during feed batch operation to avoid substrate inhibition before being fed with actual mature leachate. Successful nitrification was achieved with an approximately complete ammonium removal (99%) and 96% of N-NH(4) + conversion to N-NO(-) (3) .