Production of multi-fiber modifying enzyme from Mamillisphaeria sp. for refining of recycled paper pulp.

Enzymatic modification of pulp is receiving increasing interest for energy reduction at the refining step of the paper-making process. In this study, the production of a multi-fiber modifying enzyme from Mamillisphaeria sp. BCC8893 was optimized in submerged fermentation using a response-surface methodology.

Optimization of xylanase production from Aspergillus niger for biobleaching of eucalyptus pulp.

A crude endo-xylanase produced by Aspergillus niger BCC14405 was investigated for its potential in pre-bleaching of chemical pulp from eucalyptus. The optimal fermentation conditions on the basis of optimization using response surface methodology included cultivation in a complex medium comprising wheat bran, rice bran, and soybean meal supplemented with yeast extract, glucose, peptone, and lactose with a starting pH of 6.0 for 7 d.

Bioethanol production from ball milled bagasse using an on-site produced fungal enzyme cocktail and xylose-fermenting Pichia stipitis.

Sugarcane bagasse is one of the most promising agricultural by-products for conversion to biofuels. Here, ethanol fermentation from bagasse has been achieved using an integrated process combining mechanical pretreatment by ball milling, with enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation. Ball milling for 2 h was sufficient for nearly complete cellulose structural transformation to an accessible amorphous form.

Expression and characterization of Aspergillus thermostable phytases in Pichia pastoris.

Two thermostable phytases were identified from Thai isolates of Aspergillus japonicus BCC18313 (TR86) and Aspergillus niger BCC18081 (TR170). Both genes of 1404 bp length, coding for putative phytases of 468 amino acid residues, were cloned and transferred into Pichia pastoris. The recombinant phytases, r-PhyA86 and r-PhyA170, were expressed as active extracellular, glycosylated proteins with activities of 140 and 100 U mL(-1), respectively.

Menisporopsin B, a new polyester from the seed fungus Menisporopsis theobromae BCC 4162.

A new linear polyester, menisporopsin B, along with the known macrocyclic polyester, menisporopsin A, was isolated from the seed fungus Menisporopsis theobromae BCC 4162. The structure of menisposopsin B was addressed primarily by spectroscopic analyses, and the stereochemistry was established by chemical correlation. Menisporopsin B exhibited antimalarial activity with an IC(50) value of 1.

Identification of flux regulation coefficients from elementary flux modes: A systems biology tool for analysis of metabolic networks.

Within a metabolic network, the elementary flux modes enables a unique description of different operations of the network. Thus, the metabolic fluxes can be specified as convex combinations of the elementary flux modes. Here, we describe an approach to identify the set of elementary flux modes that operates in a given metabolic network through the use of measurements of macroscopic fluxes, that is, fluxes in and out of the cell.