Efficient degradation of various emerging pollutants by wild type and evolved fungal DyP4 peroxidases

The accumulation of emerging pollutants in the environment remains a major concern as evidenced by the increasing number of reports citing their potential risk on environment and health. Hence, removal strategies of such pollutants remain an active area of investigation. One way through which emerging pollutants can be eliminated from the environment is by enzyme-mediated bioremediation. Enzyme-based degradation can be further enhanced via advanced protein engineering approaches. In the present study a sensitive and robust bioanalytical liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LCMSMS)-based approach was used to investigate the ability of a fungal dye decolorizing peroxidase 4 (DyP4) and two of its evolved variants—that were previously shown to be H2O2 tolerant—to degrade a panel of 15 different emerging pollutants. Additionally, the role of a redox mediator was examined in these enzymatic degradation reactions. Our results show that three emerging pollutants (2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT), paracetamol, and furosemide) were efficiently degraded by DyP4. Addition of the redox mediator had a synergistic effect as it enabled complete degradation of three more emerging pollutants (methyl paraben, sulfamethoxazole and salicylic acid) and dramatically reduced the time needed for the complete degradation of MBT, paracetamol, and furosemide. Further investigation was carried out using pure MBT to study its degradation by DyP4. Five potential transformation products were generated during the enzymatic degradation of MBT, which were previously reported to be produced during different bioremediation approaches. The current study provides the first instance of the application of fungal DyP4 peroxidases in bioremediation of emerging pollutants.

Effect of uncontrolled fermentation and soaking on antinutrients of Tacca leontopetaloides (L) Kuntze (Taccaceae) tuber flour

Soaking and fermentation are two food technologies that are used by households or agro-industrial establishments. These practices aim at improving food nutritional acceptability and sensorial parameters. Tacca leontopetaloides tuber was used to study alleviation of antinutrients by solubilization and leaching through soaking, or by enzymatic degradation through fermentation. Soaking has lasted 72 hrs, and fermentation 48 hrs. Chemical methods have been used to determinate antinutrient levels in processed and unprocessed T. leontopetaloides tubers slices. A statistical analysis by means of XLSTAT was purchased for principal components and correlations between variables. Results show that the major antinutrients have exhibited resistance to microbial enzymes during fermentation or to solubilization in water. Levels of most antinutrients have increased instead of lowering when tacca tuber slices were soaked or fermented. The increase of components during soaking and fermentation is linked to the decrease of soluble components in T. leontopetaloides slices. Phytate is an antinutrient which resists to both food technologies, and saponins can be leached by 43.4 % through soaking or by 50.7 % during fermentation. These powerful antinutrients in T. leontopetaloides tuber necessitate food technologies combinations to eliminate them. Further investigations are necessary to succeed in antinutrient levels alleviation in T. leontopetaloides tuber.

Insight into Enzymatic Degradation of Physically Crosslinked Hydrogels Anchored by Functionalized Carbon Nanofillers

The effect of different geometries of functional carbon nanofillers has been studied to understand the nature of enzymatic degradation of physically crosslinked hydrogels. The noncovalent interactions between polymer and fillers...

An enzyme-based system for the extraction of small extracellular vesicles from plants

Plant-derived nanovesicles (NVs) and extracellular vesicles (EVs) are considered to be the next generation of nanocarrier platforms for biotherapeutics and drug delivery. However, EVs exist not only in the extracellular space, but also within the cell wall. Due to the limitation of isolation methods, the extraction efficiency is low, resulting in the waste of a large number of plants, especially rare and expensive medicinal plants.There are few studies comparing EVs and NVs. To overcome these challenges, we proposed and validated a novel method for the isolation of plant EVs by degrading the plant cell wall with enzymes to release the EVs in the cell wall, making it easier for EVs to break the cell wall barrier and be collected. We extracted EVs from the roots of Morinda officinalis by enzymatic degradation(MOEVs) and nanoparticles by grinding method (MONVs) as a comparison group. The results showed smaller diameter and higher yield of MOEVs.Both MOEVs and MONVs were readily absorbed by endothelial cells without cytotoxicity and promoted the expression of miR-155. The difference is that the promotion of miR-155 by MOEVs is dose-effective. More importantly, MOEVs and MONVs are naturally characterized by bone enrichment. These results support that EVs in plants can be efficiently extracted by enzymatic cell wall digestion and also confirm the potential of MOEVs as therapeutic agents and drug carriers.

Experimental assessment on preparation of biodegradable polythylene/polylatic acid-chithosan composite from renewable resources

Due to poor degradability and contamination risk of synthetic plastics, utilization of renewable resources is encouraged. Biobased thermoplastic polymers from renewable resource that is inexpensive, biodegradable, compostable and renewably non-toxic, is focused. In this paper mixtures of synthetic and natural polymers were used as a potential option to reduce pollution by plastic waste. The study is aimed at assessing utilization of sweet potato waste as a source of bioplastic for package application, the polymer was modified with a biopolymer chitosan to obtain polylactic acid-chitosan plastic. The developed polymer matrix was blended with polyethylene to obtain biodegradable packaging material. The bioplastic was characterized using Fourier Transformed Infra-Red Spectroscopy (FTIR) and scaning electron microscope (SEM). Physical and mechanical properties of the composites were evaluated by measuring enzymatic degradation, tensile strength, and elongation at break. The results have shown that the film obtained have homogeneous surface by (SEM). Mechanical properties of the bio plastics revealed that tensile strength increases with increases in the concentration of chitosan and hence, the elongation at break decreases with increase in chitosan content. While the fastest enzymatic degradation was observed to have high microbial growth on the bio plastics with high content of Chitosan-Polylactic acid.

Influence of grain physical characteristics on functional value of poultry feed

The purpose of this investigation was to analyze the scientific literature concerning the influence of grain physical characteristics on functional value of poultry feed. The review considers the role of grain feed particle size and its shape in ensuring optimal development and functioning of digestive tract and increasing productivity of birds. The results showed that compared to the feeding with smaller particles, the use of coarse feed increased stomach weight in broilers, enhanced enzymatic degradation of feed in digestive tract and improved nutrient bioavailability. The study found that increase in the level of coarse corn in the diet increased the number of Lactobacillus spp. and Bifidobacteria spp. beneficial bacteria in digestive tract. Meanwhile, number of opportunistic pathogenic microorganisms decreased. In birds which were given granular feed we found insufficient development of stomach, mainly due to the lack of mechanical stimulation. We assume that in order to improve stomach function and health of birds, it is necessary to apply a source of dietary fiber to their diet. The results of studies suggest that adding 2-3% of insoluble source of fiber to the routine diets of young chickens based on high-protein soy flour and corn can improve their digestive tract development and growth characteristics.