Biocompatibility of Brazilian native yeast-derived sophorolipids and Trichoderma harzianum as plant-growth promoting bioformulations.

The replacement of agrochemicals by biomolecules is imperative to mitigate soil contamination and inactivation of its core microbiota. Within this context, this study aimed at the interaction between a biological control agent such as Trichoderma harzianum CCT 2160 (BF-Th) and the biosurfactants (BSs) derived from the native Brazilian yeast Starmerella bombicola UFMG-CM-Y6419. Thereafter, their potential in germination of Oryza sativa L. seeds was tested. Both bioproducts were produced on site and characterized according to their chemical composition by HPLC-MS and GC-MS for BSs and SDS-PAGE gel for BF-Th. The BSs were confirmed to be sophorolipids (SLs) which is a well-studied compound with antimicrobial activity. The biocompatibility was examined by cultivating the fungus with SLs supplementation ranging from 0.1 to 2 g/L in solid and submerged fermentation. In solid state fermentation the supplementation of SLs enhanced spore production, conferring the synergy of both bioproducts. For the germination assays, bioformulations composed of SLs, BF-Th and combined (SLT) were applied in the germination of O. sativa L seeds achieving an improvement of up to 30% in morphological aspects such as root and shoot size as well as the presence of lateral roots. It was hypothesized that SLs were able to regulate phytohormones expression such as auxins and gibberellins during early stage of growth, pointing to their novel plant-growth stimulating properties. Thus, this study has pointed to the potential of hybrid bioformulations composed of biosurfactants and active endophytic fungal spores in order to augment the plant fitness and possibly the control of diseases.

Interação entre polaridades afetivas e espaciais: preferências no futebol e compatibilidade estímulo-resposta / Interaction between affective and spatial polarities: soccer preferences and stimulus-response compatibility / Interacción entre polaridades afectivas y espaciales: preferencias futbolísticas y compatibilidad estímulo-respuesta

A valência afetiva de estímulos visuais provoca reações de aproximação e afastamento para estímulos positivos e negativos, respectivamente. Na tarefa de Simon, o tempo de reação é menor quando o estímulo e a resposta estão do mesmo lado (condição correspondente) do que quando estão em lados opostos (condição não-correspondente). A diferença entre os tempos de reação é o efeito Simon. Neste trabalho, foi investigado como as valências afetivas dos times Preferido e Rival influenciam o efeito Simon. Os resultados mostraram um maior efeito Simon para o time Preferido, indicando que a valência positiva do Preferido facilita a resposta correspondente.

The affective valence of visual stimuli elicits approach and avoidance reactions to positive and negative stimuli, respectively. In Simon task, the reaction time is shorter when the stimulus and the response are on the same side (corresponding condition) than when they are on opposite sides (non-corresponding condition). The difference between the reaction times is the Simon effect. This work investigated how the affective valences of the Favorite and Rival teams influence the Simon effect. The results showed a bigger Simon effect for the Favorite team, suggesting that the Favorite positive valence facilitates the corresponding response.

La valencia afectiva de los estímulos visuales provoca reacciones de aproximación y evitación a estímulos positivos y negativos, respectivamente. En la tarea de Simon, el tiempo de reacción es menor cuando el estímulo y la respuesta están del mismo lado (condición correspondiente) que cuando están en lados opuestos (condición no-correspondiente). La diferencia entre los tiempos de reacción es el efecto Simon. En este trabajo se investigó cómo las valencias afectivas de los equipos Favorito y Rival influyen en el efecto Simon. Los resultados mostraron que el efecto Simon para el equipo Favorito es mayor, lo que sugiere que la valencia positiva del equipo Favorito facilita la respuesta correspondiente.

Current applications and different approaches for microbial L-asparaginase production

ABSTRACT L-asparaginase (EC 3.5.1.1) is an enzyme that catalysis mainly the asparagine hydrolysis in L-aspartic acid and ammonium. This enzyme is presented in different organisms, such as microorganisms, vegetal, and some animals, including certain rodent's serum, but not unveiled in humans. It can be used as important chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of a variety of lymphoproliferative disorders and lymphomas (particularly acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and Hodgkin's lymphoma), and has been a pivotal agent in chemotherapy protocols from around 30 years. Also, other important application is in food industry, by using the properties of this enzyme to reduce acrylamide levels in commercial fried foods, maintaining their characteristics (color, flavor, texture, security, etc.) Actually, L-asparaginase catalyzes the hydrolysis of L-asparagine, not allowing the reaction of reducing sugars with this aminoacid for the generation of acrylamide. Currently, production of L-asparaginase is mainly based in biotechnological production by using some bacteria. However, industrial production also needs research work aiming to obtain better production yields, as well as novel process by applying different microorganisms to increase the range of applications of the produced enzyme. Within this context, this mini-review presents L-asparaginase applications, production by different microorganisms and some limitations, current investigations, as well as some challenges to be achieved for profitable industrial production.

Current applications and different approaches for microbial L-asparaginase production

ABSTRACT L-asparaginase (EC 3.5.1.1) is an enzyme that catalysis mainly the asparagine hydrolysis in L-aspartic acid and ammonium. This enzyme is presented in different organisms, such as microorganisms, vegetal, and some animals, including certain rodent's serum, but not unveiled in humans. It can be used as important chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of a variety of lymphoproliferative disorders and lymphomas (particularly acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and Hodgkin's lymphoma), and has been a pivotal agent in chemotherapy protocols from around 30 years. Also, other important application is in food industry, by using the properties of this enzyme to reduce acrylamide levels in commercial fried foods, maintaining their characteristics (color, flavor, texture, security, etc.) Actually, L-asparaginase catalyzes the hydrolysis of L-asparagine, not allowing the reaction of reducing sugars with this aminoacid for the generation of acrylamide. Currently, production of L-asparaginase is mainly based in biotechnological production by using some bacteria. However, industrial production also needs research work aiming to obtain better production yields, as well as novel process by applying different microorganisms to increase the range of applications of the produced enzyme. Within this context, this mini-review presents L-asparaginase applications, production by different microorganisms and some limitations, current investigations, as well as some challenges to be achieved for profitable industrial production.