Metaprofiling of the Bacterial Community in Colonized Compost Extracts by Agaricus subrufescens.

It is well-known that bacteria and fungi play important roles in the relationships between mycelium growth and the formation of fruiting bodies. The sun mushroom, Agaricus subrufescens, was discovered in Brazil ca. 1960 and it has become known worldwide due to its medicinal and nutritional properties. This work evaluated the bacterial community present in mushroom-colonized compost extract (MCCE) prepared from cultivation of A. subrufescens, its dynamics with two different soaking times and the influence of the application of those extracts on the casing layer of a new compost block for A. subrufescens cultivation. MCCEs were prepared through initial submersion of the colonized compost for 1 h or 24 h in water followed by application on casing under semi-controlled conditions. Full-length 16S rRNA genes of 1 h and 24 h soaked MCCE were amplified and sequenced using nanopore technology. Proteobacteria, followed by Firmicutes and Planctomycetes, were found to be the most abundant phyla in both the 1 h and 24 h soaked MCCE. A total of 275 different bacterial species were classified from 1 h soaked MCCE samples and 166 species from 24 h soaked MCCE, indicating a decrease in the bacterial diversity with longer soaking time during the preparation of MCCE. The application of 24 h soaked MCCE provided increases of 25% in biological efficiency, 16% in precociousness, 53% in the number of mushrooms and 40% in mushroom weight compared to control. Further investigation is required to determine strategies to enhance the yield and quality of the agronomic traits in commercial mushroom cultivation.

Fungal bioassays for environmental monitoring.

Environmental pollutants are today a major concern and an intensely discussed topic on the global agenda for sustainable development. They include a wide range of organic compounds, such as pharmaceutical waste, pesticides, plastics, and volatile organic compounds that can be found in air, soil, water bodies, sewage, and industrial wastewater. In addition to impacting fauna, flora, and fungi, skin absorption, inhalation, and ingestion of some pollutants can also negatively affect human health. Fungi play a crucial role in the decomposition and cycle of natural and synthetic substances. They exhibit a variety of growth, metabolic, morphological, and reproductive strategies and can be found in association with animals, plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. There are fungal strains that occur naturally in soil, sediment, and water that have inherent abilities to survive with contaminants, making the organism important for bioassay applications. In this context, we reviewed the applications of fungal-based bioassays as a versatile tool for environmental monitoring.

Evaluation of Phenolic Compound Toxicity Using a Bioluminescent Assay with the Fungus Gerronema viridilucens.

Basidiomycetes (phylum Basidiomycota) are filamentous fungi characterized by the exogenous formation of spores on a club-shaped cell called a basidium that are often formed on complex fruiting bodies (mushrooms). Many basidiomycetes serve an important role in recycling lignocellulosic material to higher trophic levels, and some show symbiotic relationships with plants. All known bioluminescent fungi are mushroom-forming basidiomycetes in the order Agaricales. Hence, the disruption of the basidiomycete community can entirely compromise the carbon cycle in nature from fungi to higher trophic levels. The fungus Gerronema viridilucens was used in the present study to investigate the toxicity of a phenolic compound series based on the inhibition of its bioluminescence. The median effect concentration (EC50) obtained from curves of bioluminescence inhibition versus log [phenolic compound] showed that 2,4,6-trichlorophenol was the most toxic compound in the series. The log EC50 values of all phenolic compounds were then used for the prediction of their toxicity. The univariate correlation of log EC50 values obtained from 6 different phenolic compounds was stronger with the dissociation constant (pKa ) than with 1-octanol/water partition coefficient (KOW ). Nevertheless, the toxicity can be better predicted by using both parameters, suggesting that the phenol-driven uncoupling of fungus mitochondrial adenosine triphosphate synthesis is the origin of phenolic compound toxicity to the test fungus. Environ Toxicol Chem 2020;39:1558-1565. © 2020 SETAC.

Immunoassay for Human IgG Using Antibody-functionalized Silver Nanoparticles.

A simple colorimetric immunoassay for quantification of human immunoglobulin G (hIgG) is herein described. The assay is based on the aggregation inhibition of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) functionalized with hIgG antibody (anti-hIgG) on the surface. The aggregation is measured in terms of attenuance values ratio at 400 and 530 nm (A400/A530). A linear response between A400/A530 and hIgG concentration is observed in the range 25 - 200 ng mL-1, and the detection limit is estimated as 11 ng mL-1 hIgG.

Effects of EDTA on signal stability during electrochemical detection of acetaminophen.

The use of EDTA in the medium to avoid the passivation of a solid electrode during electrochemical analysis of acetaminophen is presented in this work. The performance of this system was investigated with respect to pH, applied potential and supporting electrolyte concentration. The major advantage in using EDTA in the supporting electrolyte is the significant increase in sensitivity, precision and stability of the measurements, when compared to the system in absence of the chelating agent. The sensitivity increases 5.5 times (21.5 and 3.9 mA l mol(-1) in the presence and the absence of EDTA, respectively), the repeatability (n=20) is 3.5 times better, expressed by within-run-precision of 4.0% for 6.0 x 10(-5) mol l(-1) acetaminophen in the presence of EDTA while, in its absence, the within-run-precision was higher than 14%. Moreover, the system showed excellent stability, allowing more than 120 measurements with no significant changes.

Electrochemical behavior of the bis(2,2'-bipyridyl)copper(II) complex immobilized on a self-assembled monolayer modified electrode for L-ascorbic acid detection.

Modification of a gold electrode has been achieved by immobilizing a bis(2,2'-bipyridyl)copper(II) complex in a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of 3-mercaptopropionic acid. The electrostatic interaction of the negatively charged SAM with a di-positive copper complex allowed the attachment. The modified electrode exhibited excellent redox behavior. The dependence of the modified electrode response was investigated in terms of pH, supporting electrolyte and ionic strength. Moreover, it showed good electrocatalytic activity for ascorbic acid oxidation, allowing convenient quantification at levels down to 8.1 x 10(-8) mol l(-1). The [Cu(bipy)2]/SAM modified electrode under optimized operational conditions (PIPES buffer 0.01 mol l(-1) at pH 6.8 and 200 mV vs. SCE) presented a linear response range between 1.0 micromol l(-1) and 100.0 micromol l(-1) for ascorbic acid. This modified electrode also presented an excellent repeatability, showing a relative standard deviation of 2.1% for a series of 12 successive measurements of a 5.0 micromol l(-1) ascorbic acid solution. Furthermore, the electroactivity was maintained over a long period (e.g., 92% after 100 determinations).