Spirogyra cultured in fishpond wastewater for biomass generation

Algae are aquatic organisms that can be found in a wide range of water bodies. Algae, a form of aquatic organism, is found in many different water types. Besides being relatively easy to maintain, algae are also numerous, making them a good choice for biomass production. The filamentous Spirogyra sp., a common green alga, tends to grow in freshwater. It is said that this macroalga has a wide variety of biotechnological applications. Research in this area highlights biomass's creation and builds on our understanding of the composition of macroalgae generated in fish farm wastewater. A study of Spirogyra in undisturbed fish farm wastewater was conducted in this study. Various algal species were evaluated for their qualities, including biomass yields and productivity, protein, fat, and carbohydrates. This investigation has confirmed that the nutrients in fish farm effluent are suitable for cultivating algal biomass. Protein, lipid, and carbohydrate levels in unaltered fish farm effluent were the highest for Spirogyra, with percentages of 19.03, 8.38, and 45.71%, respectively. Thus, it was the most suitable organism for various biomass-based applications and nutrient removal.

Computational design of two new soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) inhibitors

ABSTRACTInhibitors of soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) enzymes have shown great potential for the treatment of neuropathic pain. However, current sEH inhibitors have poor physicochemical properties and has not been proven to be safe for human treatments yet. New inhibitor designs could have the potential to improve current drugs’ efficacy, and so in this work, chemical intuition and bioisosteric replacement were used to computationally design two novel sEH inhibitors. These new candidates showed good pharmacokinetic properties and presented better docking scores compared to a known sEH inhibitor, t-TUCB, used in the treatment of pain in horses. Homology analysis revealed that Mus musculus may not be suitable organism for preclinical trials studies of these novel inhibitors.

Gene Cloning and Characterization of Two NADH-Dependent 3-Quinuclidinone Reductases from Microbacterium luteolum JCM 9174

ABSTRACTWe used the resting-cell reaction to screen approximately 200 microorganisms for biocatalysts which reduce 3-quinuclidinone to optically pure (R)-(−)-3-quinuclidinol.Microbacterium luteolumJCM 9174 was selected as the most suitable organism. The genes encoding the protein products that reduced 3-quinuclidinone were isolated fromM. luteolumJCM 9174. ThebacCgene, which consists of 768 nucleotides corresponding to 255 amino acid residues and is a constituent of the bacilysin synthetic gene cluster, was amplified by PCR based on homology to known genes. Theqnrgene consisted of 759 nucleotides corresponding to 252 amino acid residues. Both enzymes belong to the short-chain alcohol dehydrogenase/reductase (SDR) family. The genes were expressed inEscherichia colias proteins which were His tagged at the N terminus, and the recombinant enzymes were purified and characterized. Both enzymes showed narrow substrate specificity and high stereoselectivity for the reduction of 3-quinuclidinone to (R)-(−)-3-quinuclidinol.

Investigations of the potential of bivalve molluscs as indicators of heavy metal levels in tropical marine waters

The relationships between concentrations of the heavy metals Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Co, Ni, and Ag in nine bivalve molluscs (Arca ventricosa, Chama isotoma: Lithophaga teres. Pinctada margiritifera, Pycnodonte hyotis. Spondylus ducalis. Modiolus auriculatus, Trichomya hirsuta, Ustularca renuta) and their environment were studied. The variation in heavy metal accumulation in these field samples and the effects on metal levels and condition of the organisms after relocating for 2 months four of these species (T. hirsuta, M. auriculatus, S. ducalis and C. isotoma), were also studied. The relocated animals maintained or improved condition as judged by the condition index (i.e. ratio of tissue wet weight to shell diameter or weight) during the expefimental period. Levels of Pb and Cu in relocated T. hirsuta varied directly with environmental levels but elevated levels of Zn in the environment were not indicated by this organism. Accumulation of Pb and Cd by T. hirsuta was linear with time and increased in direct proportion to the external concentration of these metals. No loss of either metal was detected after 12 days in 'normal' seawater. The results indicate that T. hirsuta would be a suitable organism for detecting increased levels of heavy metals, except Zn, in the environment.

Manual Microbiological Turbidimetric Analysis of Chlortetracycline in Feeds

The turbidimetric log-probability plots of chlortetracycline HCl (CTC-HCl) showed the same dosage-response slope for Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus faecalis, and Bacillus cereus. The slope was different for Klebsiella pneumoniae and Salmonella gallinarum. In Penassay broth at pH 7.0, S. aureus appeared to be the most suitable organism for turbidimetric assay of CTC-HCl in feeds. The useful range was between 0.04-0.14 μg CTC-HCl. Two commercial unmedicated feeds (A and B) were each fortified at finished feed levels by addition of premixes containing CTC-HCl alone or in combination with penicillin and sulfamethazine. CTC-HCl recovery from feed A was 97.5— 107.2% turbidimetrically and 99.5-123.2% by the AOAC method, 38.179-38.182. Comparable results for feed B were 87.1-93.3% (turbidimetric) and 99.4-108.3% (AOAC). For both feeds, the overall coefficient of variation was higher (9.5-23.9%) for the manual turbidimetric assay than for the plate assay (5.5— 6.0%). Comparison of the 2 methods for analysis of premix samples showed essentially the same CTC-HCl recovery and comparable precision. The main advantage of the manual turbidimetric method over the plate assay is that results can be obtained within the same day of analysis.

The role of the cytoplasm in antigen determination in Paramecium aurelia

Paramecium, because of its peculiar life cycle, is an unusually suitable organism for a study of the role of the cytoplasm in variation and development. During conjugation there is a reciprocal interchange of gamete nuclei, followed by fusion of ‘male’ and ‘female’ nuclei in each partner, but there is usually no significant passage of cytoplasm between the mates. After conjugation, therefore, each of the ex-conjugants contains identical sets of genes, but may differ cytoplasmically, if the cytoplasms of the conjugants had been different. Making use of this situation, paramecium workers, led by Dr T. M. Sonneborn, have studied the nuclear and cytoplasmic factors involved in the control of several different kinds of hereditary trait. I wish to stress here, however, that there is no overall uniformity amongst these systems. For example, the killer and antigen systems of paramecium are totally different. By contrast with the extraordinary regularity of the Mendelian system in different groups of organisms, cytoplasmic factors—in the very few cases where they have been thoroughly studied—are extremely diverse. Generalizing from one example to another is, therefore, unwise.

COMPARISON OF ESCHERICHIA COLI AND STREPTOCOCCUS FAECALIS AS A TEST ORGANISM TO DETERMINE THE SANITARY QUALITY OF FOOD1 PART I

Since the discovery of the role that bacteria play in disease, a search has been made for a suitable organism that would be indicative of dangerous bacterial contamination in food. Early work with pathogenic bacteria indicated that they would not be suitoble to serve this purpose since they were hard to isolate, were too fastidious, and died off quickly under conditions favorable for keeping food. For these and other reasons the search turned to other bacteria associated with pathogenic bacteria but which were hardier and easier to work with and identify. Fullfilling these requirements were two organisms, E. coli and Strept. faecalis, normal inhabitants of the intestinal tract and associated with many pathogenic bacteria especiallv the enteric bacteria which ore responsible for many food outbreaks. Today the presence of moderate numbers of these organisms is not considered a sure sign of dangerous contamination but rather of possible contamination. Their presence indicates that a search for the cause of the contamination should be made.