UNLABELLED BACKGROUND The enzymatic hydrolysis step converting lignocellulosic materials into fermentable sugars is recognized as one of the major limiting steps in biomass-to-ethanol process due to the low efficiency of enzymes and their cost. Xylanases have been found to be important in the improvement of the hydrolysis of cellulose due to the close interaction of cellulose and xylan. In t...

This article describes the use of cytogenomic and molecular approaches to explore the origin and evolution of Cardamine schulzii, a textbook example of a recent allopolyploid, in its ~110-year history of human-induced hybridization and allopolyploidy in the Swiss Alps. Triploids are typically viewed as bridges between diploids and tetraploids but rarely as parental genomes of high-level hybrids...

The ability of coral reefs to recover from natural and anthropogenic disturbance is difficult to predict, in part due to uncertainty regarding the dispersal capabilities and connectivity of their reef inhabitants. We developed microsatellite markers for the broadcast spawning gorgonian octocoral Eunicea (Plexaura) flexuosa (four markers) and its dinoflagellate symbiont, Symbiodinium B1 (five ma...

Most filarial parasites in the subfamilies Onchocercinae and Dirofilariinae depend on Wolbachia endobacteria to successfully carry out their life cycle. Recently published data indicate that the few Wolbachia-free species in these subfamilies were infected in the distant past and have subsequently shed their endosymbionts. We used an integrated transcriptomic and proteomic analysis of Onchocerc...

Substrate stratification is a new research area in which multiple substrates, or the same substrate with differing physical properties, are layered within container to accomplish production goal, such as decreasing water use, nutrient leaching, potentially reducing weed growth. Previous using pine ( Pinus sp.) bark screened ?1/2 3/4 inch reduced growth of bittercress Cardamine flexuosa ) by 80%...

The buriti, Mauritia flexuosa, is the most common palm in Brazil, where it has considerable ecological and economic importance. However, few data are available on the phenology of the species, mainly in coastal restinga ecosystems. The present study monitored the reproductive phenology of M. flexuosa in the restinga of Barreirinhas, in the Brazilian Northeast, and investigated the relationship ...

The aim of this study was to characterize the forest structure with H. flexuosa in Rondônia State, as a first step in developing sustainable harvest and conservation guidelines for the species. Crown attributes, total height (m) and diameter at breast height ≥ 10 (cm) of trees and palms with H. flexuosa were evaluated in three permanent plots (100 m x 150 m each) randomized in 219 ha. A total o...

Fruit from the palm Mauritia flexuosa is one of the most important species in Peru, Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, and Guyana. The present study aimed to investigate the antiplatelet and antithrombotic activities of oil extracted from Mauritia flexuosa. The fatty acid contents were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Oil extract of peel of Mauritia flexuosa was extracted ...