Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T13:00:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 7083796 bytes, checksum: 2aa6f174655d082d78cc059fc1eef2e0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-03-11 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Mucormycoses are infections that have high rates of morbidity and mortality. They show high resistance to antifungal agents, and there is a limited therapeutic arsenal currently available, therefore, there is a great need to give priority to testing therapeutic agents for the treatment of mucormycosis. Along this line, the use of essential oils and phytoconstituents has been emphasized as a new therapeutic approach. The objective of this work was to investigate the antifungal activity of the essential oil (EO) of Thymus vulgaris, and its constituents thymol and p-cymene against Rhizopus oryzae and Rhizopus microsporus, through microbiological screening, determination of minimal inhibitory concentration (MICs) and minimal fungicidal concentration (MFCs), effects on mycelial growth and germination of sporangiospores, fungal morphology and interaction with ergosterol. Also was evaluated the preclinical acute toxicity in mice. In microbiological screening the T. vulgaris essential oil showed antifungal potential against resistant strains of R. oryzae.The MIC of EO and thymol varied 128 512 μg/mL, but the MFC of EO and thymol varied 512 1024 μg/mL and 128 1024 μg/mL, respectively. The results also showed that EO and thymol significantly inhibited mycelial development and germination of sporangiospores of both species of Rhizopus. Investigation of the mechanism of antifungal action showed that EO and thymol interact with ergosterol. These data indicate that EO of T. vulgaris and thymol possess strong antifungal activity, which can be related to their interaction with ergosterol, supporting the possible use of these products in the treatment of mucormycosis. In preclinical acute toxicology the doses of 125, 250, 500 and 1000 mg/kg intraperitoneally (i.p.) showed depressive activity on the central nervous system (CNS). In addition to these parameters was observed that the doses of 125 and 250 mg/kg did not change the body and organs weight of the animals, but it was observed change some of the hematological parameters of the mice. The EO showed DL50 of 250 mg/kg for male and 459.6 mg/kg for female; however the thymol showed DL50 of 222.3 mg/kg for male and 1551 mg/kg for female. These data indicate that EO of T. vulgaris and thymol possess strong antifungal activity, which can be related to their interaction with ergosterol. / As mucormicoses são infecções que possuem elevadas taxas de morbidade e mortalidade, limitado arsenal terapêutico, devido a resistência aos antifúngicos. Portanto, existe uma significativa necessidade de priorizar, testar e aplicar melhorias terapêuticas para o tratamento das mucormicoses. É nesse contexto, que os óleos essenciais e fitoconstituintes vem se destacando como uma nova abordagem terapêutica. O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar a atividade antifúngica in vitro do óleo essencial (OE) de Thymus vulgaris L. e de seus componentes majoritários (timol e p-cimeno) contra Rhizopus oryzae e Rhizopus microsporus, através da triagem microbiológica, da determinação da concentração inibitória mínima (CIM) e fungicida mínima (CFM), avaliação dos efeitos dos fitoconstituintes no crescimento micelial, na germinação dos esporos fúngicos, na morfologia fúngica e interação com ergosterol. Também foi avaliada a toxicidade pré-clínica aguda em camundongos. Na triagem microbiológica o óleo essencial de T. vulgaris apresentou um dos melhores perfis antifúngicos contra cepas resistentes de R. oryzae. A CIM dos produtos variou entre 128-512 μg/mL, já as CFMs do óleo essencial e timol variaram entre 512-1024 μg/mL e 128-1024 μg/mL, respectivamente. Os resultados também mostraram que tanto o OE como o timol inibiram significativamente o desenvolvimento micelial e a germinação de esporos de ambas as espécies de Rhizopus. Em seguida foi mostrado que os produtos testados alteram a morfologia de R. oryzae e R. microsporus. Na investigação do mecanismo de ação antifúngica foi evidenciado que o OE e o timol interagem com o ergosterol, esterol presente na membrana dos fungos. No ensaio toxicológico pré-clínica agudo, as doses de 125, 250, 500 e 1000 mg/kg via intraperitoneal (i.p.) apresentaram atividade depressora do sistema nervoso central (SNC). Adicionalmente a estes parâmetros foi evidenciado que o OE e o timol nas doses de 125 e 250 mg/kg não promoveram alterações significativas na evolução ponderal e peso dos órgãos dos camundongos. Entretanto, ambas as doses das drogas-teste alteram alguns parâmetros hematológicos dos camundongos. Após 72 h de observação o OE apresentou DL50 estimada em 250 mg/kg para camundongos machos e 459,6 mg/kg para as fêmeas. Já o timol apresentou DL50 estimada em 222,3 mg/kg para os machos e 1551 mg/kg para as fêmeas. Estes dados indicam que o óleo essencial de T. vulgaris e timol, apresentam forte atividade antifúngica, que pode estar relacionada com a interação com ergosterol e consequentemente lise de membrana.

O fungo Rhizopus microsporus var. rhizopodiformis foi submetido a determinadas condições de cultivo, objetivando produzir substâncias com atividade antimicrobiana. O microorganismo foi transferido da sílica, na qual foi armazenado, e incubado por sete dias em meio aveia-ágar para o crescimento prévio. Em seguida, 4 x 106 esporos/mL de meio foram transferidos para o meio pré-fermentativo e incubado por 24 horas, seguido de transferência para meio fermentativo (meio Czapek, meio Jackson e meio Vogel) e incubado por períodos de tempo determinados. Além disso, foi incubado em meio fermentativo de arroz por 20 dias. Após a fermentação nos diferentes meios, o caldo da cultura foi obtido por filtração e submetido a partições utilizando-se solventes orgânicos: acetato de etila e n-butanol, os quais foram recuperados por evaporação a vácuo. Os extratos obtidos dessas partições foram submetidos aos testes de bioautografia para determinação das frações ostentando atividade antimicrobiana. Os extratos em acetato de etila dos quatro meios fermentativos apresentam tal atividade. As frações ativas foram submetidas a diferentes modalidades cromatográficas para isolamento das substâncias, como a cromatografia liquida em coluna de sílica e a Cromatografia Liquida de Alta Eficiência. Foram isolados quatro metabólitos secundários a partir das frações obtidas em acetato de etila dos meio liquido Jackson e do meio sólido de arroz. Foram identificadas duas dicetopiperazinas (ciclos Leu-Pro e Leu-4-OH-Pro) e um derivado aromático contendo nitrogênio na porção alifática da molécula. Foram determinadas as concentrações inibitórias mínimas (CIM) das substâncias isoladas contra os seguintes microorganismos: Kocuria rhizophila (ATCC 9341), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) Candida albicans (ATCC 10231), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) e Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853). Todos os extratos obtidos dos meios de cultura apresentaram atividade contra S. aureus e K. rhizophila, bem como o extrato metanólico dos micélios. Apenas os extratos em n-butanol não foram ativos. Nos ensaios de microdiluição, as três ix substâncias identificadas apresentaram CIMs entre 400 e 350 μg/mL. Os resultados obtidos indicam que o fungo em questão é uma fonte interessante para obtenção de metabólitos secundários. / The fungus Rhizopus microsporus var. rhizopodiformis was cultivated in different fermentative media aiming to produce secondary metabolites bearing antimicrobial activity. The conidia storage in silica gel was incubated in oat medium for conidia production. After seven days the conidia (4 x 106 conidia/mL) was transferred to a pre-fermentative medium and incubated for 24 h for mycelium production. After that, it was transferred to three fermentative media: Czapek, Jackson and Vogel, and incubated for different periods of time. After fermentation, cultures were filtered and the broth was submitted to partition using ethyl acetate and n-buthanol in sequence, which were, afterwards, recovered under vacuum. The obtained crude extracts were evaluated under bioautography assay aiming to select the most adequate medium for secondary antimicrobial metabolite production. The ethyl acetate extracts obtained from both Jackson and rice media displayed the higher activities. Therefore, they were submitted to different chromatographic means, including silica gel column and HPLC, furnishing four isolated compounds, from which three were identified: two diketopiperazines (cyclos Leu-Pro and Leu-4-OH-Pro) and one aromatic compound containing a nitrogen in the aliphatic moiety. The pure isolated compounds were submitted to microdilution tests against the following bacteria: Kocuria rhizophila (ATCC 9341), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) Candida albicans (ATCC 10231), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) e a Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), aiming to determine their Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MIC). All the ethyl acetate extracts displayed antimicrobial activity in the bioautography assays against S. aureus and K. rhizophila, as well as the mycelia methanol extracts. Only the n-butanol extracts did not display activity. Regarding the microdilution assay, three of evaluated pure compounds displayed MIC values between 400 and 350 μg/mL. The obtained results indicated that the studied fungus is an interesting source for biologically active secondary metabolites production.

Jordens befolkning förväntas ha överstigit 9 miljarder till 2050, vilket leder till en ökning av matbehov med 70%. Ungefär en tredjedel av all producerad mat slängs idag, speciellt grönsaker, bröd och annan mat med kort hållbarhetsdatum. Det är väldigt viktigt att hitta sätt att minska och återanvända avfallet om miljöpåverkan ska kunna minskas. Brödrester är en stor del av Sveriges totala matavfall och använt spannmål (BSG) står för den största delen av biprodukter från bryggningsindustrin. De kan tillsammans användas som substrat för att fermentera en svampburgare som är rik på näring och protein. Denna studien syftar till att bestämma vilken filamentös svamp, N. intermedia eller R. oryzae, som ger de bästa resultaten med avseende på konsistens, proteininnehåll, smak och utseende. Detta gjordes genom textur- och proteinanalys på svampburgarna. Ingen av svamparna utmärkte sig med märkvärt bättre resultat gällande konsistensen, men resultaten för studien hade en del osäkerheter i resultatet på grund av otillräcklig tillväxt. Med avseende på smak var N. intermedia att föredra, då den hade en sötare och mer behaglig smak. Vad gäller utseende så ser båda burgarna väldigt aptitliga ut, och de anses ha stor potential som köttsubstitut, men vidare forskning inom området krävs. / Earth’s population is expected to have exceeded 9 billion people by 2050, leading to a 70% increase in food demand. Today, approximately one quarter to one third of all food produced goes to waste, especially vegetables, bread and other foods with short shelf life. Finding ways to reduce and reuse the waste is very important if the impact on the environment is to be decreased. Stale bread accounts for a large part of Sweden’s total food waste and brewers spent grain (BSG) is the brewing industry’s major by-product. Combined, they can be used as a substrate to produce a fungal fermented burger, rich in nutrients and protein. This study aims to determine which fungus, N. intermedia and R. oryzae, provides the best results regarding texture, protein content, taste and appearance. This was done by performing texture analysis and protein analysis on the fermented burgers. None of the fungi showed significantly better results than the other regarding texture. However, the results from this study have a few uncertainties due to lack of growth. The fungus that was preferred when considering taste was N. intermedia, which had a sweeter and more pleasant taste in general. Regarding the appearance of the fermented burgers, they are very different but they both are equally as appealing to the eye. The fermented burgers show great potential as meat substitute, but extended research is required.

Depending on the previous research on LDHA gene silencing in Rhizopus oryzae CCUG 28959 through introduction of siRNA, a integral vector was constructed by inserting two copies of LDHA gene (by PCR cloning) in a fashion that it can express hpRNA in the transformed fungi, which will trigger the post transcriptional degradation of targeted mRNA through RNA degradation pathway which is known to be quelling in fungi.The vector was successfully designed with the LDHA gene, transformed in to the host organism, and also transferred to its progeny. This helps in maintaining stability of the transformed cell lines. This created vector will be advantageous at this point when compared to the use of siRNA for gene silencing, which is not a stable way. In the future, this vector can be used for down regulating other genes of interest in R. oryzae and can also be used for studying its effect on other metabolic pathways.In this study, Hygromycin resistance to the R. oryzae CCUG 28959 was shown at levels up to 1000 μg/ml, which has not been reported previously. / Program: MSc in Resource Recovery - Industrial Biotechnology

RNA silencing with direct delivery of siRNA has been used to suppress ldhA gene expression in filamentous fungus Rhizopus oryzae. Here, for the first time we show that, introducing small interfering RNA which consequently forms silencing complexes can alter the gene expression and we report a significant reduction of lactic acid production for isolates containing short (25 nt) synthetic siRNA. In all samples lactic acid production was reduced comparing with wild types. The average concentration of lactic acid production by Rhizopus oryzae during batch fermentation process where glucose has been used as a sole carbon source, diminished from 2.06 g/l in wild types to 0.36 g/l in knockdown samples which signify 5.7 times decrease. Interestingly, the average concentration of ethanol production was increased from 0.38 g/l in wild types to 0.45 g/l in knockdown samples. In some samples we were able to report even a 10 fold decrease in lactic acid production. Since R.oryzae is capable to assimilate a wide range of carbohydrates hydrolysed from lignocellulosic material in order to produce many economically valuable bulk material such as ethanol, these results suggest that RNA silencing is a useful method for industrial biotechnology to be applied in fungus Rhizopus oryzae in order to trigger the metabolism and gene expression toward a desired product.

Syftet med detta examensarbete är att finna exoenzymer från Rhizopus sp, Mucor indicus och Rhizomucor pusillus som kan användas vid förbehandling av organiskt avfall. Syftet är även att finna kolkällor/energikällor som tidigare inte använts inom forskningen i ämnet resursåtervinning vid Högskolan i Borås.För att kunna undersöka vilka kolkällor mikroorganismerna bryter ner odlas dessa upp på agarplattor innehållande minimal-medium samt en specifik kolkälla. Efter fyra dagars inkubering i 30oC studerar man agarplattorna för att se om mikroorganismerna vuxit eller inte. Kan man urskilja tillväxt har de lyckats bryta ner kolkällan samt producera motsvarande exoenzym. Då vissa resultat är oklara odlas mikroorganismerna även i skakflaskor, detta för att se om det är själva agarn i agarplattorna som påverkar mikroorganismernas tillväxt.Resultatet visar att vissa mikroorganismer växer bättre än andra. Detta kan bero på kolkällornas struktur, det vill säga om de är komplicerade eller ej. Studerar man mikroorganismerna var för sig skiljer de sig lite åt. Rhizopus sp växer bäst på galaktan vilket indikerar att den lyckas producera exoenzymet galaktas. Mikroorganismen saknar produktion av exoenzym när den odlas på kolkällorna cellulosa och kitin.Studerar man mikroorganismen Mucor indicus har den bäst tillväxt på galaktan och potatismjöl, vilket indikerar att den producerar exoenzymerna galaktas samt α-amylas. Den kolkällan som ger sämst tillväxt är cellulosa.Rhizomucor pusillus har bäst tillväxt på galaktan samt triglycerider och producerar då exoenzymerna galaktas och lipas. Den lyckas inte bryta ner cellulosa eller kitin och saknar då produktion av exoenzymen cellulas samt kitinas.Både xylan och galaktan testas var för sig för att kunna dra slutsatser om någon produktion av exoenzymet hemicellulas finns. Detta görs eftersom det inte finns tillgång till något rent ämne med hemicellulosa. Xylan testas även endast för exoenzymet xylanas.En av de kolkällorna som gett minst tillväxt för alla de testade mikroorganismerna var cellulosa. För att styrka detta resultat odlas mikroorganismerna upp i skakflaskor, där ingen tillväxt skedde. Den lilla tillväxt som erhölls på agarplattorna tyder på att mikroorganismerna växer med den tillsatta agarn som kolkälla och inte utnyttjar själva kolkällan. Varför mikroorganismerna inte kan tillgodo se sig cellulosa kan bero på att cellulosa har en komplex struktur som gör den svår att bryta ner utan förbehandling.

Existe uma crescente demanda por alternativas de controle de doenças para se reduzir o uso do controle químico, como por exemplo, o estudo da indução de resistência em plantas, através de fitotoxinas como a taxtomina A e outras substâncias. O vírus do mosaico do pepino (Cucumber mosaic virus - CMV) e o vírus do mosaico amarelo da abobrinha (Zucchini yellow mosaic virus - ZYMV) têm causado grandes prejuízos em culturas importantes, assim como o fungo Rhizopus stolonifer, que pode atacar diversos hospedeiros. Este trabalho foi conduzido com o objetivo de se avaliar os efeitos do uso da taxtomina A como indutor de resistência em plantas. Como resultado preliminar a produção de taxtomina A pode ser aumentada utilizando-se como fonte de inóculo amostra de uma cultura liquida pré-estabelecida de Streptomyces scabies. Foram testados a aspersão de taxtomina A em plantas de abobrinha de moita, para se avaliar a proteção contras os vírus CMV e ZYMV. Também foi aspergida taxtomina A em bagas de uva \"Itália\" para se avaliar o desenvolvimento da podridão pós-colheita causada por R. stolonifer. As plantas de abobrinha de moita, mantidas em casa de vegetação, tratadas com taxtomina A não apresentaram sintomas de mosaico característico do CMV. O teste ELISA apresentou resultados negativos indicando a não presença de partículas virais em níveis detectáveis nas plantas. Com relação ao ZYMV, a taxtomina A não foi capaz de controlar o desenvolvimento da doença, pois apareceram sintomas em todas as plantas. A taxtomina A apresentou efeito in vitro sobre R. stolonifer retardando o crescimento do fungo principalmente nas duas maiores concentrações usadas. Porém, a aplicação de taxtomina A não foi capaz de proteger as bagas de uva contra o patógeno. Finalizando a taxtomina A foi capaz de controlar em 100% a incidência de CMV em abobrinha, porém não foi capaz de controlar o ZYMV em abobrinha e a podridão nas uvas causada por R. stolonifer. / There is an increasing demand for alternative control of diseases to reduce the use of chemical control, for example the induced resistance studies on plants with phytotoxins like thaxtomin A and other substances. The Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) and the Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) cause a lot of losses on important crops and also the fungus Rhizopus stolonifer that can cause disease in different hosts. This work was carried out to evaluate the use of thaxtomin A to induce resistance. Thus, as a preliminary result, the thaxtomin A production could be increased by using as inoculum an established Streptomyces scabies liquid culture. It was tested the spraying of thaxtomin A on zucchini plants to evaluate the protection against the viruses CMV e ZYMV. On the other hand, grape berries cv \"Italia\" were also sprayed with thaxtomin A to evaluate the development of the postharvest rot caused by R. stolonifer. The zucchini plants were maintained in the greenhouse and the treatment with thaxtomin A inhibited mosaic symptom development by the CMV. The ELISA test showed negative results indicating that there was no detectable virus particles inside the plants. The thaxtomin A was not able to control the ZYMV development since all plants exhibited symptoms. The thaxtomin A showed in vitro control of R. stolonifer as it reduced the fungal growing at the two highest concentrations used. However, the thaxtomin A was not able to control the postharvest rot in grapes. Finally, the thaxtomin A was able of controlling 100% of the incidence of CMV on zucchini plants, but was not able of controlling ZYMV in zucchini and the grape berrie rot caused by R. stolonifer.

ABSTRACT PURIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF HEXOKINASE ISOENZYMES FROM Rhizopus oryzae Dedeoglu, Didem MS., Department of Biotechnology Supervisor: Prof.Dr. Haluk Hamamci Co-supervisor: Dr. Seyda A&ccedil / ar February 2007, 116 pages Glycolysis is the central metabolic pathway for living organisms. Its regulation is important for the yield of the end products which are industrially important. These end products, like lactic acid produced by Rhizopus oryzae, are industrially important. Rhizopus oryzae is a filamentous fungus producing lactic acid and ethanol. The lactic acid yield of R. oryzae is low (&amp / #61566 / 70 %) compared to that of lactic acid bacteria (&amp / #61502 / 95 %) still it is noteworthy because R. oryzae produces only the L (+) form of lactic acid which can be metabolized in the human body. The yield of an industrial process should be high for the feasibility of the production of a particular product. If a way can be found increase the flux through the glycolysis the yield of lactic acid may increase as well. Keeping this in mind we wanted to focus on the first step of glycolysis, hexokinase of R. oryzae. Hexokinase catalyzes the reaction that converts glucose to glucose-6-phosphate. In this study for the first time the two isoenzymes of hexokinase of R. oryzae were purified and characterized by biochemically and kinetically Hexokinase has two isoenzymes. The purified enzymes (isoenzymes1 &amp / isoenzymes2) obeyed Michealis-Menten Kinetics. The Km value of purified isoenzyme 1 is 0.16 mM and isoenzyme 2, 0.21 mM at pH 7.70 for glucose. The Km value of isoenzyme1 for fructose was 28.8 mM. Essentially isoenzyme 2 can not utilize fructose. None of the isoenzymes were inhibited by trehalose-6-phophate.The monomer moleculer weight of isoenzymes were estimated SDS PAGE analysis. There were two different values for molecular weight of isoenzmye 1 / 62.9 and 42.5 kDa and two values for isoenzyme 2 / 56.2 and 41.6 kDa

Rhizopus oryzae is a filamentous fungus, which can produce high amounts of L(+)-lactic acid and produces ethanol as the main by-product. In an effort to understand the pyruvate branch point of this organism, fermentations under different inoculum and glucose concentrations were carried out. At low inoculum size (1x103 spores ml-1), high amount of lactate (78 g l-1) was produced, whereas high ethanol concentration (37 g l-1) was obtained at high inoculum sizes (1x106 spores ml-1). Decreasing working volume increased lactate production significantly at high inoculum sizes (1x105 and 1x106 spores ml-1), but did not influenced the physiology at low inoculum sizes (1x103 and 1x104 spores ml-1). In shake flask cultures, at low initial glucose concentrations biomass yield was high and lactate and ethanol yields were low. Higher lactate and ethanol and lower biomass yields were obtained by increasing the initial glucose concentrations. In alginate immobilized, semi-continuous cultures with cell retention, glucose level in the medium was kept at low values. Like in shake flask cultures, as the glucose concentration decreased lactate and ethanol yields decreased and biomass yields increased. Increasing the glucose concentration by a pulse of glucose caused increases in branch point enzyme activities, as well as in concentrations of the metabolites. In fed batch cultures higher biomass yield (0.25 g DCW g glucose-1) could be obtained. Lactate dehydrogenase was influenced by the inoculum size and glucose concentration more than pyruvate decarboxylase and alcohol dehydrogenase. It showed higher activity at lactate producing fermentations. Unlike lactate dehydrogenase, pyruvate decarboxylase and alcohol dehydrogenase showed high activity even at low glucose concentrations.

Presented as Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1920. / Cover title. "Reprinted from the Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters, Vol. XXI." Includes bibliographical references (p. 376-377).