Effect of hot water extraction and liquid hot water pretreatment on the fungal degradation of biomass feedstocks.

Exhaustive hot water extraction (HWE) and liquid hot water (LHW) pretreatment were evaluated for their effects on degradation of biomass feedstocks (i.e., corn stover, wheat straw, and soybean straw) by Ceriporiopsis subvermispora.

Solid-state anaerobic digestion of spent wheat straw from horse stall.

The spent wheat straw from horse stall bedding has lower cellulose and hemicellulose contents, but higher volatile fatty acid content than raw wheat straw. Biogas production from solid-state anaerobic digestion (SS-AD) of spent wheat straw and raw wheat straw was compared in this study. The SS-AD tests were conducted at 22% total solids (TS) content using inoculum from a liquid AD system at three feedstock-to-inoculum (F/I) ratios of 2.

Enhancing the solid-state anaerobic digestion of fallen leaves through simultaneous alkaline treatment.

Previous studies have shown that alkali pretreatment prior to anaerobic digestion (AD) can increase the digestibility of lignocellulosic biomass and methane yield. In order to simplify the process and reduce the capital cost, simultaneous alkali treatment and anaerobic digestion was evaluated for methane production from fallen leaves. The highest methane yield of 82 L/kg volatile solids (VS) was obtained at NaOH loading of 3.

Cloning and characterization of mariner-like elements in the soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura.

Soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is currently the most important insect pest of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) in the United States and causes significant economic damage worldwide, but little is known about the aphid at the molecular level.

Effectiveness of microbial pretreatment by Ceriporiopsis subvermispora on different biomass feedstocks.

Different types of feedstocks, including corn stover, wheat straw, soybean straw, switchgrass, and hardwood, were tested to evaluate the effectiveness of fungal pretreatment by Ceriporiopsis subvermispora. After 18-d pretreatment, corn stover, switchgrass, and hardwood were effectively delignified by the fungus through manganese peroxidase and laccase. Correspondingly, glucose yields during enzymatic hydrolysis reached 56.

Semi-continuous anaerobic co-digestion of thickened waste activated sludge and fat, oil and grease.

Co-digestion of thickened waste activated sludge (TWAS) and fat, oil and grease (FOG) was conducted semi-continuously under mesophilic conditions. The results showed that daily methane yield at the steady state was 598L/kg VS(added) when TWAS and FOG (64% of total VS) were co-digested, which was 137% higher than that obtained from digestion of TWAS alone. The biogas composition was stabilized at a CH(4) and CO(2) content of 66.

Development of soybean aphid genomic SSR markers using next generation sequencing.

Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) or microsatellites are very useful molecular markers, owing to their locus-specific codominant and multiallelic nature, high abundance in the genome, and high rates of transferability across species. The soybean aphid (Aphis glycines Matsumura) has become the most damaging insect pest of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.

Distribution of SUN, OVATE, LC, and FAS in the tomato germplasm and the relationship to fruit shape diversity.

Phenotypic diversity within cultivated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is particularly evident for fruit shape and size. Four genes that control tomato fruit shape have been cloned. SUN and OVATE control elongated shape whereas FASCIATED (FAS) and LOCULE NUMBER (LC) control fruit locule number and flat shape.

Liquid hot water and alkaline pretreatment of soybean straw for improving cellulose digestibility.

Soybean straw was pretreated with either liquid hot water (LHW) (170-210°C for 3-10 min) or alkaline soaking (4-40 g NaOH/100g dry straw) at room temperature to evaluate the effects on cellulose digestibility. Nearly 100% cellulose was recovered in pretreated solids for both pretreatment methods. For LHW pretreatment, xylan dissolution from the raw material increased with pretreatment temperature and time.

Lactic acid production from corn stover using mixed cultures of Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus brevis.

Mixed cultures of Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus brevis was studied for improving utilization of both cellulose- and hemicellulose-derived sugars from corn stover for lactic acid production. During simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of NaOH-treated corn stover by the mixed cultures, a lactic acid yield of 0.70 g/g was obtained, which was about 18.

Molecular characterization and expression of DERL1 in bovine ovarian follicles and corpora lutea.

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a major site of protein synthesis and facilitates the folding and assembly of newly synthesized proteins. Misfolded proteins are retrotranslocated across the ER membrane and destroyed at the proteasome. DERL1 is an important protein involved in the retrotranslocation and degradation of a subset of misfolded proteins from the ER.

Phytoplasma PMU1 exists as linear chromosomal and circular extrachromosomal elements and has enhanced expression in insect vectors compared with plant hosts.

Phytoplasmas replicate intracellularly in plants and insects and are dependent on both hosts for dissemination in nature. Phytoplasmas have small genomes lacking genes for major metabolic pathways. Nevertheless, their genomes harbour multicopy gene clusters that were named potential mobile units (PMUs).

Molecular characterization of mariner-like elements in emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis (Coleoptera, Polyphaga).

Emerald ash borer (EAB, Agrilus planipennis), an exotic invasive pest, has killed millions of ash trees (Fraxinus spp.) in North America and continues to threaten the very survival of the entire Fraxinus genus. Despite its high-impact status, to date very little knowledge exists for this devastating insect pest at the molecular level.

Enhanced solid-state anaerobic digestion of corn stover by alkaline pretreatment.

Alkaline pretreatment was applied to enhance biogas production from corn stover through solid-state anaerobic digestion. Different NaOH loadings (1%, 2.5%, 5.

Microbial pretreatment of corn stover with Ceriporiopsis subvermispora for enzymatic hydrolysis and ethanol production.

The feasibility of concurrent wet storage and microbial pretreatment of corn stover with Ceriporiopsis subvermispora for ethanol production was investigated in this study. The effects of particle size (5-15 mm), moisture content (45-85%), pretreatment time (18-35 d), and temperature (4-37 degrees C) on lignin degradation and enzymatic hydrolysis yield were studied. The results showed that C.

CBF gene copy number variation at Frost Resistance-2 is associated with levels of freezing tolerance in temperate-climate cereals.

Frost Resistance-1 (FR-1) and FR-2 are two loci affecting freezing tolerance and winter hardiness of the temperate-climate cereals. FR-1 is hypothesized to be due to the pleiotropic effects of VRN-1. FR-2 spans a cluster of C-Repeat Binding Factor (CBF) genes.

Bean pod mottle virus Spread in Insect-Feeding-Resistant Soybean.

Bean pod mottle virus (BPMV) infection reduces yield and seed quality in soybean. To test the hypothesis that virus incidence and movement within plots would be reduced in soybean with resistance to feeding by the virus' bean leaf beetle (Cerotoma trifurcata) vector, BPMV spread was evaluated in five soybean genotypes at two inoculum levels over 2 years at two locations in Ohio. Soybean genotypes included two insect-feeding-susceptible genotypes (Williams 82 and Resnik), two insect-feeding-resistant, semidwarf genotypes (HC95-15 and HC95-24), and an insect-feeding-susceptible, semidwarf genotype (Troll).

Development and bin mapping of a Rosaceae Conserved Ortholog Set (COS) of markers.

Background: Detailed comparative genome analyses within the economically important Rosaceae family have not been conducted. This is largely due to the lack of conserved gene-based molecular markers that are transferable among the important crop genera within the family [e.g.

In planta expression screens of Phytophthora infestans RXLR effectors reveal diverse phenotypes, including activation of the Solanum bulbocastanum disease resistance protein Rpi-blb2.

The Irish potato famine pathogen Phytophthora infestans is predicted to secrete hundreds of effector proteins. To address the challenge of assigning biological functions to computationally predicted effector genes, we combined allele mining with high-throughput in planta expression. We developed a library of 62 infection-ready P.

The effect of fibroblast growth factor 2 on the in vitro expression of syndecan-4 and glypican-1 in turkey satellite cells.

The membrane-associated heparan sulfate proteoglycan families, consisting of the syndecans and glypicans, are low-affinity receptors for fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) that are essential in regulating the cellular response to FGF2. Fibroblast growth factor 2 is a potent stimulator of skeletal muscle cell proliferation and a strong inhibitor of differentiation. The regulation of the expression of the syndecans and glypicans will likely play a role in modulating the effects of FGF2 on cellular growth properties.

A retrotransposon-mediated gene duplication underlies morphological variation of tomato fruit.

Edible fruits, such as that of the tomato plant and other vegetable crops, are markedly diverse in shape and size. SUN, one of the major genes controlling the elongated fruit shape of tomato, was positionally cloned and found to encode a member of the IQ67 domain-containing family. We show that the locus arose as a result of an unusual 24.

Comparative genomic sequence and expression analyses of Medicago truncatula and alfalfa subspecies falcata COLD-ACCLIMATION-SPECIFIC genes.

In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) the low-temperature induction of genes encoding the C-REPEAT BINDING FACTOR (CBF) transcriptional activators is a key step in cold acclimation. CBFs in turn activate a battery of downstream genes known as the CBF regulon, which collectively act to increase tolerance to low temperatures. Fundamental questions are: What determines the size and scope of the CBF regulon, and is this is a major determinant of the low-temperature tolerance capacity of individual plant species? Here we have begun to address these questions through comparative analyses of Medicago truncatula and Medicago sativa subsp.

Expression and regulation of functional oxytocin receptors in bovine T lymphocytes.

The corpus luteum (CL) produces oxytocin (OXT), which has been proposed to regulate the pulsatile release of prostaglandin F2alpha during luteolysis in ruminants. This action of OXT is mediated via oxytocin receptors (OXTRs) present on uterine epithelial cells. It is hypothesized that luteal OXT acts as a paracrine regulator of resident immune cells.