Anthropogenic nitrogen (N) enrichment can alter N dynamics associated with decomposing plant litter. However, it is unclear to what extent these alterations occur via microbial effects (e.g., changes in gene regulation, physiology, or community composition) versus plant litter effects (e.g., changes in composition of N and C compounds). To isolate microbial effects from plant litter effects, we...

Ergosterol (a fungal membrane component) was shown to induce transient influx of protons and membrane hyperpolarization in cotyledonary cells of Mimosa pudica L. By contrast, chitosan (a fungal wall component with known elicitor properties) triggered membrane depolarization. In the processes induced by ergosterol, a specific desensitization was observed, since cells did not react to a second er...

Chitinous material was extracted from mycelia of Aspergillus niger and Mucor rouxii grown in yeast peptone dextrose broth for 15 and 21 days, respectively. The extracted material was characterized for purity, degree of acetylation, and crystallinity and tested for antibacterial and eliciting properties. The maximum glucosamine level determined in the mycelium of A. niger was 11.10% dw and in th...

The following paragraphs are reproduced from the publisher's website [1]. There is a great deal of consumer interest in natural bioactive substances due to their health benefits. Offering the potential to provide valuable nutraceuticals and functional food ingredients, marine-derived compounds are an abundant source of nutritionally and pharmacologically active agents, with both chemical divers...

Oil spills are the significant sources of hydrocarbons entering in the receiving aquatic environment. An efficient method to remove hydrocarbons from water resources is adsorption. In this study, water soluble N,O-carboxymethyl chitosan (NO-CS) was synthesized by carboxymethylation of chitosan in a hydro-alcoholic medium at 50°C by chloroacetic acid. The polymer was characterized through degree...

Worldwide every year approximately 140 million tonnes of synthetic polymers are produced. These polymers are stable and their degradation cycle in the biosphere is limited. This necessitates the need for natural biodegradable polymers which fit into the ecological cycle. Among these biopolymers, chitosan, a partially deacetylated form of biopolymer chitin has been receiving more attention due t...

Three different Aspergillus Niger MTCC strains (872, 1785 and 2208) were used for the production of chitosan. Multivariate growth mediums in varying incubation periods were analyzed for the production. The produced chitosan was characterized by its physical appearance, moisture content (by means of gravimetric method), percentage of ash and solubility (through the Association of Official Agricu...

Chitosan, a given name to a deacetylated form of chitin, is a natural biodegradable compound derived from crustaceous shells such as crabs and shrimps, whose main attributes corresponds to its polycationic nature. Chitosan has been proven to control numerous pre and postharvest diseases on various horticultural commodities. It has been reported that both soil and foliar plant pathogens fungal, ...

The effect of pre-harvest sprays of chitosan on post-harvest decay and quality of strawberries stored at 3 and 13°C was investigated. Strawberry plants were sprayed with 2, 4 and 6 g l, chitosan solutions as the fruit were turning red. A second spray was performed after 10 days. Fruit were picked 5 and 10 days after each spray. Harvested fruit from chitosan sprayed plants were challenged with B...

Fungal chitosan is one of the piezoelectric biomaterials that can be used in energy harvesting. biomass offers a sustainable source for chitosan, as an alternative to crustacean-based chitosan. However, fungal yield relatively lower than other conventional sources Therefore, this study aims review different experimental procedures chemical extraction from biomass. The selection most effective m...