Piromyces sp. strain E2, an anaerobic fungus isolated from an Indian elephant (hindgut fermenter) was tested for its ability to ferment a range of substrates. The fungus was able to use bagasse, cellobiose, cellulose, fructose, glucose, lactose, mannose, starch, wheat bran, wheat straw, xylan and xylose. Formate and acetate were the main fermentation products after growth on these substrates. T...

The filamentous fungus Aspergillus caespitosus was a good producer of intracellular and extracellular invertases under submerged (SbmF) or solid-state fermentation (SSF), using agroindustrial residues, such as wheat bran, as carbon source. The production of extracellular enzyme under SSF at 30°C, for 72h, was enhanced using SR salt solution (1:1, w/v) to humidify the substrate. The extracellula...

Imidazolinone-resistant (IR) wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was released for commercial production in portions of the USA in 2002 and has provided growers with a new technology to selectively control winter annual grass weeds. Imidazolinone herbicides inhibit acetolactate synthase (ALS) in susceptible plants; however, IR wheat has an altered target site which confers resistance to these herbicide...

Rapid and efficient enzymatic degradation of plant biomass into fermentable sugars is a major challenge for the sustainable production of biochemicals and biofuels. Enzymes that are more thermostable (up to 70°C) use shorter reaction times for the complete saccharification of plant polysaccharides compared to hydrolytic enzymes of mesophilic fungi such as Trichoderma and Aspergillus species. Th...

In this study, the effects of Funelliformis mosseae and Piriformospora indica on wheat growth, enzyme activity and gene expression of catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) in wheat leaves under different cadmium (Cd) toxicity were investigated. Cd exposure reduced plant dry mass and enzyme activities of CAT and APX, but it increased GST activity. The pre...

Bacterial strain Bacillus tequilensis BT21 isolated from marine sediments was found to produce extracellular xylanase. The xynBT21 gene encoding xylanase enzyme was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The gene encoded a protein consisting of 213 amino acid residues with calculated molecular mass of 23.3 kDa. Purified recombinant xylanase had optimum activity at 60 °C and pH=6. The enzyme w...

Molybdenum (Mo) has been reported to alleviate drought stress by enhancing antioxidant defense in plants, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here, we hypothesized that Mo mediates nitric oxide (NO)-induced antioxidant defense through Mo-enzymes, particularly by nitrate reductase (NR) in wheat under drought stress. The 30-day-old wheat seedlings cultivated in -Mo (0 μM Mo) and +Mo (1 ...

The effect of temperature on accumulation of starch was studied in grain slices of wheat (Triticum aestivum cv SUN9E), taken 15 days after anthesis. As compared with pretreatment of such slices at 25 degrees C, pretreatment at 30 or 35 degrees C reduced the subsequent conversion of sucrose to starch. In contrast to rice (Oryza sativa cv Calrose), pretreatment of wheat soluble starch synthase in...

The aim of the present investigation was to characterize a xylanaseproducing Fusarium solani isolate and to optimize cultural conditions for xylanase enzyme production from free and immobilized cells. Screening of Fusarium solani isolate was based on the diameter of the clear zone formation in oat spelt xylan agar plates. Fusarium solani isolate F7 was selected and optimized for xylanase enzyme...

Nitrate reductase (NR) activity, induced by germination in KNO3 showed a strong rhythmicity during the early stages of germination of wheat embryos. Peaks of activity occurred approximateiy every 12 h. Tbere was no relationship hetween the amounts of nitrate in tbe embryos and enzyme activity. Tbe fluctuations in enzyme activity did not appear to be due to reversible inactivation of the enzyme....