The killing effect of peppermint vapor (PMV) against pink-slime forming microorganisms, Methylobacterium mesophilicum as a bacterium and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa as a yeast, was investigated by the agar vapor assay. In this method, microbial cells were spread over the agar surface exposed to PMV in a petri dish, and then transferred into a recovery liquid. When 60μl of the peppermint liquid was...

Red yeasts ascribed to the species Rhodotorula mucilaginosa are gaining increasing attention, due to their numerous biotechnological applications, spanning carotenoid production, liquid bioremediation, heavy metal biotransformation and antifungal and plant growth-promoting actions, but also for their role as opportunistic pathogens. Nevertheless, their characterization at the 'omic' level is st...

Background: Optically active ethyl (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutyrate [(R)-HPBE] is an important chiral building block for the synthesis of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. It is reported that microbial or enzymatic reduction of ethyl 2-oxo-4-phenyl-butyrate (OPBE) is an attractive way to produce optically active (R)-HPBE. Results: The asymmetric reduction of OPBE to synthesize optic...

OBJECTIVE(S) Carotenoids which are naturally synthesized by fungi such as yeasts can act as an antioxidant which is closely related to their ability to decrease the risk of a variety of degenerative diseases. In recent years, the increase of demand for carotenoids obtained from natural sources has promoted major efforts to improve carotenoid production from biological sources such as pigmented ...

Exudates of Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, a yeast commonly found in the rhizosphere, increased hyphal length of the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi Gigaspora rosea and Gigaspora margarita. Rhodotorulic acid (RA), a siderophore compound obtained from R. mucilaginosa exudates, increased hyphal length and branching. Thus, the increase in the number of entry points and the higher AM root colonization...

PURPOSE To describe a case of fungal keratitis involving an atypical organism with confirmatory in vivo confocal microscopy and to review the literature on Rhodotorula keratitis. METHODS Case report and review of the medical literature. RESULTS A 22-year-old college student was struck in the left eye with a tree branch and subsequently developed pain, redness and photophobia. Upon presentat...