Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Magister Technologiae: Chemical Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2014 / The legislative requirements for handling cyanide containing wastewater have become stringent internationally. Cyanide properties make it indispensable in the mining industry especially for gold recovery. The resultant wastewater generated is discarded to tailing ponds. Any leakages or total collapse of tailing ponds can result in the contamination of surface water bodies; endangering aquatic organisms’ and humans’ alike. The over reliance on physical and/or chemical treatment methods for cyanide wastewater treatment is not sustainable due to high input costs and the generation of by-products. A feasible alternative treatment method for cyanide contaminated wastewater is the biodegradation method, as a wide range of microorganisms can degrade cyanide. In this study, the cyanide biodegradation ability of Fusarium oxysporum was assessed in two stages. Firstly, optimal operating conditions for maximum cyanide biodegradation were determined using a central composite design (CCD) at an elevated cyanide concentration, i.e. 500 mg F-CN/L. Thereafter, using the optimum conditions obtained, (i.e temperature 22°C and pH 11), cyanide biodegradation kinetics and microbial growth kinetics in the cultures at lower cyanide concentrations of 100, 200 and 300 mg F-CN/L were assessed. This was followed by the assessment of cyanide biodegradation at a temperature of 5°C, which was used to simulate winter conditions. In general, lower cyanide concentrations are used in the extraction of gold, therefore, the resultant wastewater will contain free cyanide concentration less than 300 mg F-CN/L. For the first stage of experiments, an isolate, Fusarium oxysporum from cyanide containing pesticides was cultured on potato dextrose agar (PDA) plates, followed by incubation at 25°C for 5 days. A response surface methodology (RSM) was used to evaluate design parameters for the biodegradation of cyanide by this fungus. The temperature evaluated at this stage ranged from 9°C to 30°C and pH range of 6 to 11 in cultures solely supplemented with agrowaste, i.e Beta vulgaris waste. Beta vulgaris is commonly known as Beetroot. The Fusarium oxysporum inoculum (2% v/v) was grown on a Beta vulgaris waste solution (20% v/v), as the sole carbon source in a synthetic gold mine wastewater (39% v/v) containing heavy metals; arsenic (7.1 mg/L), iron (4.5 mg/L), copper (8 mg/L), lead (0.2 mg/L) and zinc (0.2 mg/L), for 48 hours using a rotary shaker at 70 rpm. Thereafter, free cyanide as a potassium cyanide solution (39% v/v), was added to the cultures to make a final cyanide concentration of 500 mg F-CN/L in the culture medium which was incubated for a further 72 hours at 70 rpm. Optimal operating conditions for the biodegradation of cyanide were then determined using a numerical option in the Design-Expert® software version 6.0.8 (Stat-Ease Inc., USA). Subsequently, using the optimal pH obtained (pH =11) and a preselected temperature of 5°C (to represent winter conditions), cyanide biodegradation rates and microbial growth kinetic studies were carried out using Beta vulgaris waste containing a Fusarium oxysporum (0.7% v/v; grown overnight) inoculum in wastewater (32.7% v/v) and potassium cyanide in phosphate buffer (53.7% v/v). The cultures contained 100, 200 and 300 mg F-CN/L. The cultures were incubated in an orbital shaker at 70 rpm for 144 hours and samples taking every 24 hours. An Ordinary Differential Equation (ODE) solver (Polymath) was used for modelling cyanide degradation kinetics while the Monod’s growth kinetic model was used to monitor the microbial growth parameters of the cultures. For the first stage, the optimum operating conditions were determined as a temperature of 22°C and a pH of 11 for maximum cyanide biodegradation of 277 mg F-CN/L from an initial cyanide concentration of 500 mg F-CN/L over a 72 hour period, with residual ammonium-nitrogen and nitrate-nitrogen of 150 mg NH4+-N/L and 37 mg NO3--N/L, respectively. Although, the residual ammonium-nitrogen inhibited cyanide biodegradation, it was consumed as a nitrogen source for microbial growth. The Beta vulgaris waste was determined to be a suitable substrate for cyanide degradation. From the biodegradation response quadratic model, temperature was determined to influence cyanide biodegradation. For the cyanide degradation kinetics, at an optimum temperature of 22°C, the biodegradation efficiency was 77%, 58% and 62% with the corresponding maximum microbial population of 1.56 x 107, 1.55 x 107 and 1.57 x 107 CFU/mL for 100, 200 and 300 mg F-CN/L, being achieved. An indication that the F. oxysporum cultures were efficient at lower cyanide concentration. Furthermore, at a temperature of 5°C, the biodegradation efficiency, although slightly lower, was 51%, 43% and 44% with the corresponding maximum microbial population of 1.21 x107, 1.11 x 107 and 1.12 x 107 CFU/mL for 100, 200 and 300 mg F-CN/L cultures, respectively, with minimal differences observed for cultures with 200 and 300 mg F-CN/L. The cyanide biodegradation rates increased with temperature increases and varied with different cyanide concentrations below 500 mg F-CN/L. The estimated energy of activation for cyanide degradation for a change in temperature from 5°C to 22°C using the Arrhenius model was 19.6, 12.7 and 14.9 kJ/mol for 100, 200 and 300 mg F-CN/L, respectively. The means and standard deviations for rate of degradation of cyanide at 5°C and 22°C for the ODE models was 0.0052 (± 0.0011) h-1 and 0.0084 (± 0.0027) h-1, respectively. The inhibitory effect of the cyanide was quantitatively pronounced under cold temperature as the heavy metals, residual ammonium-nitrogen and nitrate-nitrogen hindered the cyanide degradation. Similarly, microbial growth rates increased with a temperature rise (from 5°C to 22°C), resulting with a reduction in the microbial populations’ doubling time. When compared with the simulated winter conditions, the specific population growth rate increased 4-fold, 5-fold and 6-fold in 100, 200 and 300 mg F-CN/L, respectively, for higher temperatures; an indication that the Fusarium oxysporum isolate prefers higher temperature. The estimated energy of activation for cellular respiration was 44.9, 54 and 63.5 kJ/mol for 100, 200 and 300 mg F-CN/L cultures, respectively, for the change in temperature from 5°C to 22°C. The means and standard deviations of microbial growth rate at 5°C and 22°C were: 0.0033 (± 0.0013) h-1 and 0.0151 (± 0.0027) h-1, respectively. The difference in error (standard deviation) of the cyanide biodegradation rate and microbial growth rate was insignificant (0.02% at 5°C) especially at temperature 22°C where there were minimal differences, indicating the reliability and reproducibility of this biodegradation system in batch operated bioreactors.

Orientador: Ian Castro-Gamboa / Banca: Isabele Rodrigues Nascimento / Banca: Flávia Talarico Saia / Resumo: A cada ano vem crescendo a busca por novas fontes de produtos naturais, na qual os micr o - organismos recebem uma grande atenção, sendo eles de extrema importância na descoberta de compostos bioativos e promissores a novos fármacos. Esse trabalho teve como foco o estudo de fungos filamentosos da rizo sfera de Senna spectabilis . F oram testadas suas viabilid ad es e a pós esse processo, dez fungos foram escolhidos para esse trabalho e submetidos a os testes biológicos como citotóxico, anti colinesterásico e antifúngico e t ambém foram obtidos seus perfis cromatográficos e químicos por CLAE - DAD e RMN, além da identificação filogenética. A pós esses resultados iniciais, dois fungos foram escolhidos para desenvolver o método de desreplicação, sendo eles Fusarium solani e F . oxysporum . Esses fungos apresentaram atividade antifúngica contra C. cladosporioides e C. sphaerospermun e também apresentaram atividade anticolinesterásica, além disso, F. oxysporum apresentou também atividade antitumoral contra câncer do colorretal. Através das téc n icas CG - EM, CLAE - EM, CLAE - EM/EM e RMN foram propostas estruturas moleculares interessantes para substâncias produzidas por e sses micro - organismos, sendo que para o extrato de Fusarium solani foram identificados 1 2 metabólitos: ácido fumárico, ácido málico, tirosol, ácido p - hidroxibenzóico, ácido azelaico, ácido fusárico, ( - ) - ácido jasmônico/ácido (+) - 7 - iso - jasmônico, 10 - hidroxicaptotecina, C - 16 - esfinganina, xestoaminol C, armilarina/armilaripina e beauvericina e para o extrato d o fungo Fusarium oxysporum foram observados 14 metabólitos: ácido succínico, ácido p - hidroxibenzóico, ácido hexadecanó i co, ácido octadecanóico, ácido fusárico e três de seus derivados, integracídeo C, fusagerina C/D, C - 16 - esfinganina, xextoaminol C, armila rina/armilaripina e beauver i cina . Além desses... / Abstract: T he search for new sources of natural products has been increasing to the rational exploration of microorganisms as great sources for the discovery of bioactives and promising compounds as well as new drugs. This work focused on the study of filamentous fungi, isolated from Senna spectabilis's rhizosphere from which were tested its viabilities. Thereon, ten fungi were chosen for this work and were s ubmitted to biological tests, such as cytotoxic, anticholinesterase and antifungal. In addition, their chemical profiles were obtained for HPLC and NMR, besides phylogenetic identification. Finally, tw o fungi were chosen to develop dereplication method, being them Fusarium solani and F . oxysporum. Th ese fungi howed anticholinesterase activity and antifungal activity aga in st C. cladosporioides and C. sphaerospermun . Additionally, F. oxysporum showed antitumor activity against colorectal cancer. Through the GC - MS, HPLC - MS, HPLC - MS/MS and NMR, we were able to obtained interesting molecular chem o types for these microorganisms; for F. solani we identified 12 metabolites, fumaric acid, malic acid, tyrosol, p - hydroxybenzoic acid, azelaic acid, fusaric acid, (+) - 7 - iso - jasmonic acid/( - ) - jasmonic acid, 10 - hydroxycamptotecin, C16 - sphinganine, xestoaminol C, armillarin/armillaripin and beauvericin and for F. oxysporum was observed 14 metabolites, succinic acid, p - hydroxybenzoic acid, hexadecanoic acid, octadecanoic acid, fusaric acid and its three derivatives, integracide C, fusagerin C/D, C - 16 - sphinganine, xestoaminol C, armillarin/armillaripin and beauvericin . Besides these compounds, others 5 metabolites common to both species ( solani and ox y sporum ) couldn't be structurally characterized thorough LC - MS/MS, but they were accounted in several Fusarium species. / Mestre

Levando-se em conta as vantagens dos FMA, este trabalho foi desenvolvido tendo por objetivo avaliar a utilização destes microrganismos no desenvolvimento vegetativo e no controle biológico da fusariose, em porta-enxertos de videira oriundos de micropropagação.

Submitted by Chaylane Marques (chaylane.marques@ufpe.br) on 2015-03-13T18:48:26Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação Carolina Barbosa Malafaia.pdf: 821341 bytes, checksum: 4b8e456f19c8ffafa204bbf76f242dea (MD5) license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-13T18:48:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação Carolina Barbosa Malafaia.pdf: 821341 bytes, checksum: 4b8e456f19c8ffafa204bbf76f242dea (MD5) license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / CAPES / O tomate (Solanum lycopersicum) é uma hortaliça de grande importância econômica no Brasil que apresenta diversos problemas fitossanitários que reduzem a sua produtividade, destacando-se, dentre eles, a murcha de fusário causada pelo fungo Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (Fol). As quitinases são descritas em muitas plantas como participantes na defesa contra patógenos e o seu acúmulo em tecidos vegetais inoculados poderá servir como marcador bioquímico para seleção de progênie resistente no programa de melhoramento do tomateiro. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a resistência de genótipos de tomate em relação ao isolado da raça fisiológica 2 de Fol, bem como acompanhar a influência durante a interação planta-patógeno sobre a atividade de proteínas relacionadas à patogênese (RP) das classes das quitinases. Mudas com 30 dias de idade dos genótipos Ourovivo, Viradouro, Redenção, Belmonte, BHRS e IPA-06 foram inoculadas pelo método dipping que consiste no corte de raízes e imersão na suspensão de conídios do patógeno. A avaliação foi realizada 21 dias após inoculação (dai) e os genótipos agrupados em resistentes ou sensíveis. Apenas o genótipo BHRS se comportou como resistente ao isolado da raça 2 de Fol. Para o acompanhamento da secreção de quitinases durante o processo de interação tomateiro x Fol dois genótipos, BHRS (resistente) e IPA-6 (sensível), foram avaliados quanto a secreção desta enzima extraídas dos tecido foliar e radicular com 1, 2, 4, 6, 9 e 11 dai. Observou-se maior atividade da enzima em plantas desafiadas do genótipo BHRS, principalmente no tecido radicular aos 6 dai. O genótipo BHRS poderá servir como fonte de genes de resistência à raça 2 de Fol.

Submitted by Amanda Silva (amanda.osilva2@ufpe.br) on 2015-04-08T13:05:05Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação_Tulio_Diego_da_Silva.pdf: 899273 bytes, checksum: fa3051c19d26c20f1582174ad9033bfb (MD5) license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-08T13:05:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação_Tulio_Diego_da_Silva.pdf: 899273 bytes, checksum: fa3051c19d26c20f1582174ad9033bfb (MD5) license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / O tomateiro (Solanum lycopersicum) é uma das principais hortaliças de valor econômico no mundo e é a segunda solanácea mais cultivada, sendo superada apenas pela batata. Essa espécie está sujeita a várias doenças que comprometem seu desenvolvimento, dentre elas está a murcha de fusário, causada pelo fungo de solo Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (Fol). Para está doença o controle químico não é eficiente, assim o uso de cultivares resistentes representa um dos melhores recursos para evitar o prejuízo causado pelo fungo. A proteômica é uma grande ferramenta no estudo de diversos estresses, permitindo a identificação de proteínas alvo no melhoramento genético, a fim de se obter genótipos resistentes. Neste contexto, analisou-se o perfil das proteínas secretadas pelo tomateiro frente ao Fol, para se identificar aquelas que estejam relacionadas com a defesa ao fitopatógeno. Para isso utilizou-se o genótipo BHRS, resistente a isolados da raça 2 do Fol. Coletou-se o tecido radicular da planta, nos tempos 1, 2, 4 e 6 dias após inoculação (DAI). Em seguida as proteínas totais foram extraídas, solubilizadas e separadas por eletroforese bidimensional (2-DE), para posterior identificação via espectrometria de massas. As proteínas do tomateiro apresentam um caráter ácido, não apresentando boa resolução na faixa de pH 3-10. Por isso utilizou-se tiras de pH 4-7 na primeira dimensão da 2-DE. Pode-se reconhecer aproximadamente 500 proteínas diferentes em cada gel e 34 proteinas com expressão diferenciada no experimento. Estas proteínas foram analisadas pelo espectrômetro do tipo MALDITOF/ TOF. As proteínas identificadas foram agrupadas de acordo com os grupos funcionais, para melhor descrever seu papel no metabolismo durante a infecção. Encontraram-se proteínas relacionadas com patogenicidade e relacionadas com a reação de hipersensibilidade. Também foram encontrados proteínas de sinalização, relacionadas com outros mecanismos de defesa e de metabolismo primário. A presença de grupos protéicos relacionados com a resistência a patógenos evidencia alguns dos mecanismos que confere ao genótipo de tomateiro BHRS a qualidade de resistente a fusariose. Entretanto mais estudos são necessários, principalmente nas proteínas de membrana e parede celular, a fim de obter informações sobre a interação inicial entre a planta e o fungo.

Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-24T12:05:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 tese_11833_DISSERTAÇÃO DÉBORA_CRISTINA_GONÇALVES_AGROQQUIMICA_2018.pdf: 1153022 bytes, checksum: 81a5e783c37833c235d8cee08e0683fe (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-02-23 / O tomateiro pode ser cultivado em várias regiões devido à aceitabilidade da cultura a diferentes tipos de clima. Todavia, a cultura é suscetível a uma série de doenças que acarreta na redução da produção e produtividade, dentre as quais se destaca a murcha de Fusarium causada pelo agente etiológico Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici. O plantio de cultivares resistentes tem se mostrado eficiente contra as raças 1 e 2 desse patógeno, entretanto o surgimento da raça 3 tem comprometido a eficiência do controle genético. Assim, o objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar o potencial uso do óleo essencial de Origanum vulgare L. e do carvacrol no tratamento de sementes visando inibir a incidência da murcha de Fusarium em mudas de tomateiro. O O. vulgare L. e o carvacrol foram caracterizados por CG-DIC e CG-EM. Nos testes in vitro, o OE de O. vulgare L. (50, 85, 140, 240 e 400 µg mL-1) e o carvacrol (50, 85, 140, 240 e 400 µg mL-1) foram avaliados para determinar as concentrações efetivas mínimas para inibir 50 e 100% (CE50 e CE100) do crescimento micelial do patógeno. Os testes de fitotoxicidade com o OE O. vulgare L. e com o carvacrol foram realizados em sementes de tomateiro. Ensaios in vivo foram realizados em casa de vegetação com sementes tratadas com o OE de O. vulgare L. e do carvacrol nas concentrações de 100, 200, 400, 600, 1.200 µg mL-1, onde foram avaliadas as variáveis índice de velocidade de emergência (IVE), altura das mudas de tomateiro e área abaixo da curva de progresso da doença (AACPD). Os componentes majoritários do OE de O. vulgare L. foram carvacrol (67,67%), o-cimeno (11,60%) e timol (3,91%). Nos testes in vitro o OE de O. vulgare L. e o carvacrol inibiram 100% de PIC nas concentrações de 400 e 200 µg mL-1, respectivamente. O OE de O. vulgare L. apresentou ação fungicida contra F. oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici na concentração de 400 µg mL-1, enquanto o carvacrol apresentou efeito fungistático em todas as concentrações testadas (200-1.000). As CE50 e CE100 para o OE de orégano foram 134,5 e 323 µg mL-1 e para o carvacrol 62,6 e 166 µg mL-1, respectivamente. Não houve fitotoxidez nas sementes nem em plântulas de tomateiro. Para os testes in vivo, o OE de O. vulgare L. e o carvacrol não apresentaram diferença significativa entre osdois; porém houve diferença entre as concentrações, à medida em que as concentrações foram aumentando, a incidência da doença diminuía. A AACPD foi reduzida em 68% na concentração de 1.200 µg mL-1. Portanto, o OE de O. vulgare L. e o carvacrol podem ser uma alternativa para o tratamento de sementes de tomateiro, e fazer parte de um programa de manejo integrado da murcha de Fusarium em mudas de tomateiro.

Orientador: Glaucia Maria Pastore / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-06T21:40:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Prazeres_JanainaNicanuziados_D.pdf: 4737437 bytes, checksum: ec3f9eaf0835996e8527fb6b9970354f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Resumo: Recentemente, a aplicação industrial de lipases microbianas tem sido estendida a muitas áreas, como por exemplo, na modificação de triglicerídeos, síntese de vários compostos de ésteres e detergentes. As lipases podem ser aplicadas na limpeza de maquinários industriais ou em detergentes como sabões em pó na remoção de manchas de lipídeos em tecidos. A linhagem de fungo Fusarium oxysporum 152B foi selecionada entre 216 linhagens de microrganismos isolados de amostras de frutas e solo do Nordeste do Brasil, como maior produtora de lipase alcalina extracelular em meio de cultura. Os efeitos da composição do meio, pH e temperatura foram investigados para a produção de lipase alcalina de Fusarium oxysporum. A máxima quantidade de atividade lipolítica produzida foi 7,12 U.mL-1 em meio contendo óleo de oliva, peptona e extrato de levedura como fontes de carbono e nitrogênio, em pH 10,0 e 30 °C. Um desenho experimental 22 com configuração estrela, totalizando 11 experimentos, foi desenvolvido para estudar os efeitos do pH e temperatura de incubação e o máximo de atividade encontrada foi de 33 U.mL-1 em pH 6,0 e a 30 °C. Um segundo desenho experimental 22 foi desenvolvido para estudar duas variáveis, composição do meio e a concentração de óleo de oliva. Máxima atividade enzimática foi produzida em meio de cultura suplementado com óleo de oliva (2% m/v). A atividade enzimática da lipase de Fusarium oxysporum foi avaliada na presença de diferentes detergentes comerciais e surfactantes, através de ensaios com pnitrofenilpalmitato (pNPP). A enzima foi compatível com vários surfactantes iônicos e não-iônicos como também com detergentes comerciais. Atividade lipolítica foi fortemente inibida por SDS, mas não por Triton X-100 e Triton X-114. A enzima mostrou-se estável em pH alcalino e manteve 93% da atividade durante 1 h de incubação a 60°C. A maior atividade lipolítica foi medida com triglicerídeos de ácidos graxos de cadeia média e longa (C8-C18). Esta enzima mostrou ampla especificidade hidrolítica para várias gorduras e óleos. Todas estas propriedades e sua resistência a vários surfactantes e detergentes comerciais fazem desta lípase um aditivo em potencial para formulação de detergentes. Esta lipase alcalina extracelular foi purificada cerca de 20 vezes através de cromatografia em colunas de DEAE-Sepharose e Sephacyl-200. A preparação de lipase purificada apresentou três isoenzimas em gel IEF-PAGE, com pontos isoelétricos 7,15, 6,84 e 4,55. As massas moleculares das lipases Lip 1 e Lip 2 foram verificadas em gel SDS-PAGE, 30 e 29 kDa, respectivamente. Comparandose as seqüências de aminoácidos, confirmou-se que as lipases Lip 1 e Lip 2 são isoenzimas que apresentam alta similaridade com a lipase de F. heterosporum. A lipase purificada apresentou atividade ótima em pH 8,0 e 40°C, utilizando o substrato p-nitrofenilpalmitato. A lipase purificada mostrou-se termoestável, perdendo cerca de 50% de atividade durante 1h de incubação a 40°C em pH 8,0. Um método de separação e purificação foi estudado para a obtenção da lipase do meio de cultura. Os experimentos foram desenvolvidos com o surfactante nãoiônico Triton X-114. Dois parâmetros foram estudados, pH e taxa de fluxo de nitrogênio. A máxima recuperação desta lipase foi verificada em pH 8,5 e fluxo de 60 mL N2 min-1. Após otimização, uma taxa de enriquecimento de 8,77 e um fator de purificação de 5,86 foram atingidos para esta enzima com uma recuperação de 93,56%. O fracionamento com espuma foi aplicado com sucesso para a concentração da lipase do meio de cultivo / Abstract: Recently, industrial application of the microbial lipases has been extended in many areas, exemplified by their use in modification of triglycerides, synthesis of various ester compounds and additives in detergents. Lipases are potentially suitable for lipid stain removal applications in washing industrial machine and household detergents. One strain Fusarium oxysporum 152B was isolated from fruit and soil samples from Northeast of Brazil, which produced the largest amount of extracellular alkaline lipase in the culture media. The effects of medium composition, pH and incubation temperature conditions were investigated to alkaline lipase production. The maximum amount of lipolytic activity produced was 7.12 U.mL-1 in medium containing olive oil, peptone and yeast extract, as carbon and nitrogen sources, at pH 10.0 and 30 °C. A 22 factorial design with star configuration, totaling 11 experiments, was carried out to study the effect of pH and incubation temperature conditions and the maximum lipase activity was found of pH 6.0 and 30 °C conditions (33 U.mL-1). A second experimental design, 22 factorial was developed to study two variables, medium composition and olive oil concentration. Maximum enzyme activity was produced in culture medium supplemented with olive oil (2% w/v). Enzymatic activities of lipase from Fusarium oxysporum were compared through spectrophotometric p-nitrophenylpalmitate (pNPP) assay at different commercial detergents and surfactants. The enzyme was compatible with various ionic and nonionic surfactants as well as commercial detergents. Lipase activity was strongly inhibited by SDS, but not by Triton X-100 and Triton X-114. The enzyme was stable at alkaline pH and remained 93% of activity during 1 h incubation at 60°C. The highest lipase activity was measured with triglycerides of middle and long chain fatty acids (C8-C18). This enzyme showed a broad specificity/hydrolytic activity towards various fats and oils. All these properties and its resistance towards various surfactants and detergents make this lipase a potential additive for detergent formulation. The extracellular alkaline lipase from Fusarium oxysporum was purified 20-fold, using DEAE-Sepharose and Sephacyl-200 chromatography. The purified lipase presented three isoenzymes in IEF-PAGE, with the following isoelectric points 7.15, 6.84 and 4.55. The molecular mass were determined to Lip 1 and Lip 2 in SDSPAGE as 30 and 29 kDa, respectively. Comparing the amino acids sequences, Lip 1 and Lip 2 were confirmed to be isoenzymes and high similarity with the lipase from F. heterosporum. The purified lipase showed optimum activity in pH 8.0 and 40°C, using p-nitrophenylpalmitate as substrate. The purified lipase showed to be termostable, losing around 50% of activity under 1h incubation at 40°C in pH 8.0. A separation method was performed to recover alkaline lipase from F. oxysporum cultures. Experiments were carried out with non-ionic surfactant Triton X-114. Two parameters were studied, pH and nitrogen flow rate. The maximal recovery of this lipase was verified at pH 8.5 and 60 mL N2 min-1 conditions. After optimization, an enrichment ratio of 8.77 and a purification factor of 5.86 were achieved for this enzyme along with 93.56 % recovery. Foam fractionation showed to be an efficient method for lipase recovery from culture broths / Doutorado / Doutor em Ciência de Alimentos

Fusarium oxysporum is a ubiquitous soil-borne fungus that includes pathogenic and non-pathogenic members. The pathogenic members are best known for causing Fusarium wilt diseases of many economically important agricultural crops. One such a crop is banana (Musa spp.), which is affected by a special form of the fungus known as F. oxysporum f.sp. cubense (Foc). Fusarium wilt was responsible for devastating losses of Gros Michel export bananas in Central America during the first half of the 20th century, and is now, once again, threatening world banana production that is primarily based on the sweet Cavendish varieties, both in the tropics and subtropics. To effectively manage Fusarium wilt, adequate knowledge of the pathogen, plant and environment is required. With this thesis I hope to contribute to the current knowledge available on the pathogen. Previous studies investigated the phenotypic and genotypic diversity, the spread and distribution, and the phylogeny of Foc. Some aspects related to the biology, physiology, diversity and pathogenicity of Foc, however, appeared to be unresolved. These aspects are important in order to develop a sustainable management strategy for Fusarium wilt to ensure continued banana production. Chapter 1 depicts a general review on F. oxysporum as the causal agent of Fusarium wilt of various fundamental crops, and gives a broad overview of the biology, taxonomy, physiology and pathogenicity of the pathogen. Through the application of modern molecular genetic techniques, a lot of progress has been made in the identification of genes and processes involved in the biology and pathogenesis of Fusarium wilt pathogens. The review concludes that some work, however, still needs to be conducted before topics such as race designation and pathogenesis in Foc are fully understood. Temperature, pH and nutrition are all factors contributing to the pathogenesis of F. oxysporum. The different factors can either favour or suppress the pathogen, or they can have a stimulating or inhibiting effect on the host plant. In Chapter 2 the pathogenicity and phenotypic characteristics of a genotypically uniform population of Foc was investigated. Physiological studies included determining the minimum, maximum and optimum temperatures and pH at which Foc grows in vitro, and what nitrogen sources stimulate and inhibit growth of Foc. Knowledge on these aspects could contribute to the management of the pathogen in the field. Differentiation among species of Fusarium can be problematic. To resolve questions related to the nomenclature in Fusarium, our research focus has shifted to the use of molecular tools for identification and determination of evolutionary relationships among and within species. In the past, phylogenetic studies on Foc were conducted using molecular tools such as sequencing, Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms, Random Amplified Polymorhic DNA and DNA Amplification Fingerprinting, with varying amounts of success. In Chapter 3 the usefulness of Amplified Fragment Length Polymorhism (AFLP) analysis to study diversity inFoc isolates was investigated. Of the 21 vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs) of Foc identified around the world, only VCG 0120 is found in South Africa. Chapter 4 aimed to identify an AFLP polymorphic DNA fragment unique to VCG 0120, and to develop a molecular marker of this fragment. Such a marker would be extremely valuable to distinguish between VCG 0120 and other isolates of F. oxysporum in terms of identification and confirmation of Fusarium wilt of banana in South Africa. Several pathogenicity-related genes have been identified in F. oxysporum. In Chapter 5, the presence of three pathogenicity-related genes (fmk1, pg1 and xyl3) in F. oxysporum isolates pathogenic and non-pathogenic to banana were verified by means of PCR amplification. The value of pathogenicity genes such as fmk1 and pg1 in comparative phylogenetic analysis was further substantiated. / Dissertation (MSc (Microbiology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Microbiology and Plant Pathology / unrestricted

Fusarium oxysporum is a filamentous fungus that is known to invade over a hundred different hosts and poses a major threat to the economy and food supply world-wide. Poly (Adenosine diphosphate-Ribose) Polymerase (PARP) is a family of regulatory proteins that affect change in the cell through transfer of ADP-Ribose moieties onto target molecules. The most well-studied PARP protein is the human PARP1, a PARylating nuclear protein that serves as our model PARP protein. F. oxysporum was found to contain a large expansion of PARP catalytic-domain-containing proteins compared to other filamentous fungi. We utilized in silico multiple sequence alignments and domain predictions to identify a human PARP1 homolog termed foPARP1 that was conserved within the core chromosomes in all three strains within our comparative system. Our in silico predictions also stated that only one strain, an Arabidopsis pathogen, Fo5176, contained several other predicted catalytically active PARP homologs within the accessory chromosome. To test the effect that foPARP1 knockout would have on DNA damage tolerance, we created a foParp1 knockout and found that only strains Fol4287 and Fo5176 had a significant reduction in tolerance upon being plated with methyl methanesulfonate (MMS), a DNA alkylating agent. To test how global PARylation trends would be affected by foParp1 knockout, we utilized immunodot-blotting with PAR antibodies to assess PARylation in total protein extracts. We found that all strains of the comparative system had the capacity to catalyze the synthesis of long PAR chains, while only Fo47 and Fo5176 had a significant PARylation increase when exposed to MMS, and no samples had a significant increase in PARylation within the foParp1 knockouts. Finally, we utilized RNA-Sequencing to determine the transcriptional impacts that foParp1 knockout would have and found aberrant DNA repair pathways and disruptions in stress responses. Taken together, we conclude that foPARP1 is in fact a functional PARP1 homolog and exhibits similar post-transcriptional modification and transcriptional impacts as its human counterpart. However, we were not able to correlate PARP copy number with DNA stress tolerance, and further research would be needed to assess the full function of the PARP expansion.

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