Enzymatic reactions and pathway engineering for the production of renewable hydrocarbons.

Hydrocarbons such as alkanes and alkenes are extensively used as organic compounds for combustion reactions and as building block components for the synthesis of numerous materials. Various synthetic enzymatic cascades and engineered metabolic pathways can be used to produce alkanes and alkenes from bio-based materials. An understanding of the native reactions and pathways used by various organisms to synthesize these compounds together with novel approaches in biocatalysis and synthetic biology have been instrumental in the development of methods to produce alkanes and alkenes with reasonable yield.

Saccharomonospora colocasiae sp. nov., an actinomycete isolated from the rhizosphere of Colocasia esculenta.

A non-Streptomyces actinomycete, designated as strain S265, was isolated from rhizosphere collected under an elephant ear plant (Colocasia esculenta) in Bangkok, Thailand. The taxonomic position of this strain was determined by a polyphasic approach. Strain S265 formed single globose spores on long, branching, aerial hyphae.

1-Methoxypyrrole-2-carboxamide-A new pyrrole compound isolated from Streptomyces griseocarneus SWW368.

A new pyrrole compound, 1-methoxypyrrole-2-carboxamide, was obtained from a culture broth of Streptomyces griseocarneus SWW368, which was isolated from the rhizospheric soil under a Para rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis). The chemical structure was elucidated by 1D NMR, 2D NMR, and MS, as a pyrrole ring with a N-methoxy group and a primary amide group. It exhibited antibacterial properties against Kocuria rhizophila, Staphylococcus aureus and Xanthomonas campestris pv.