Lichenochemicals: extraction, purification, characterization, and application as potential anticancer agents.

: To date, over 1,000 lichen secondary metabolites have been identified. Despite their promising cytotoxic properties, the number of literature reports on anticancer evaluation of lichenochemicals is limited. As cancer prevalence among the human population increases, there is growing interest in lichens as a natural source of secondary metabolites for anti-cancer drug discovery and development.

An Indian scenario on renewable and sustainable energy sources with emphasis on algae.

India is the fifth largest primary energy consumer and fourth largest petroleum consumer after USA, China, and Japan. Despite the global economic crisis, India's economy is expected to grow at 6 to 8 %/year. There is an extreme dependence on petroleum products with considerable risks and environmental issues.

Whole-genome sequence of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis strain Cp162, isolated from camel.

Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis is a pathogen of great veterinary and economic importance, since it affects livestock, mainly sheep and goats, worldwide, together with reports of its presence in camels in several Arabic, Asiatic, and East and West African countries, as well as Australia. In this article, we report the genome sequence of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis strain Cp162, collected from the external neck abscess of a camel in the United Kingdom.

Development of Bio-PORec® system for polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) production and its storage in mixed cultures of palm oil mill effluent (POME).

High PHA production and storage using palm oil mill effluent (POME) was investigated using a laboratory batch Bio-PORec® system under aerobic-feeding conditions. Results showed that maximum PHA was obtained at a specific rate (q(p)) of 0.343 C-mol/C-molh when air was supplied at 20 ml/min.

Biopharmaceutical potential of lichens.

Context: Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic association of a fungus (the mycobiont) with a photosynthetic partner (the phytobiont), usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium. The morphology, physiology and biochemistry of lichens are very different from those of the isolated fungus and alga in culture. Lichens occur in some of the most extreme environments on the Earth and may be useful to scientists in many commercial applications.

Tight controlled expression and secretion of Lactobacillus brevis SlpA in Lactococcus lactis.

Prokaryotes commonly present outer cell wall structures composed of a crystalline array of proteinaceous subunits, known as surface layers (S-layers). The ORF encoding the S-layer protein (SlpA) of Lactobacillus brevis was cloned into Lactococcus lactis under the transcriptional control of the xylose-inducible expression system (XIES). SlpA was secreted into the extracellular medium, as determined by immunoblotting, and assays on the kinetics of SlpA production revealed that repression of the system with glucose did not require the depletion of xylose from the medium that allows transitory ORF expression.

Complete genome sequence of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis strain CIP 52.97, isolated from a horse in Kenya.

In this work, we report the whole-genome sequence of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis bv. equi strain CIP 52.97 (Collection Institut Pasteur), isolated in 1952 from a case of ulcerative lymphangitis in a Kenyan horse, which has evidently caused significant losses to agribusiness.

Whole-genome sequence of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis PAT10 strain isolated from sheep in Patagonia, Argentina.

In this work, we report the complete genome sequence of a Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis PAT10 isolate, collected from a lung abscess in an Argentine sheep in Patagonia, whose pathogen also required an investigation of its pathogenesis. Thus, the analysis of the genome sequence offers a means to better understanding of the molecular and genetic basis of virulence of this bacterium.

Bioprocessing of agricultural residues to ethanol utilizing a cellulolytic extremophile.

A recently discovered thermophilic isolate, Geobacillus sp. R7, was shown to produce a thermostable cellulase with a high hydrolytic potential when grown on extrusion-pretreated agricultural residues such corn stover and prairie cord grass. At 70°C and 15-20% solids, the thermostable cellulase was able to partially liquefy solid biomass only after 36 h of hydrolysis time.

A novel extracellular protease from Pseudomonas aeruginosa MCM B-327: enzyme production and its partial characterization.

The focus of this study was on production, purification and characterization of dehairing protease from Pseudomonas aeruginosa MCM B-327, isolated from vermicompost pit soil. Optimum protease activity, 395 U mL(-1), was observed in the medium containing soybean meal and tryptone, at pH 7 and 30 °C. The crude enzyme exhibited dehairing activity.