Lentinula edodes lignocellulolases and lipases produced in Macaúba residue and use of the enzymatic extract in the degradation of textile dyes.

Agro-industrial residue and textile effluents have caused environmental damage to soil and water bodies. The production of fungal enzymes using agro-industrial residues and the use of these enzymes in the degradation of textile dyes can be a viable alternative to reduce these environmental damages. Lentinula edodes is a white rot fungus with high nutritional value that produces edible mushrooms and enzymes of commercial interest. Thus, the objectives of this study were to produce, purify, and biochemically characterize the lignocellulolytic enzymes and lipases produced for L. edodes in Macaúba coconut and to evaluate their potential for the degradation of textile dyes. The L. edodes UFV 73 had maximum enzymatic activity at 37 days of incubation. After the purification steps, the laccase, manganese peroxidase (MnP), cellulase, and, xylanase yields were 489.01, 264.2, 105.02, and 9.5%. The optimum temperature of cellulase activity did not change from 4 to 60 °C. The MnP, laccase, and lipase had activity directly proportional to the increase in temperature, while the cellulase and xylanase activity did not change. The optimum pH varied among analyzed enzymes. All the enzymes analyzed are according to Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The lignocellulolytic enzymes were stable up to 8 h of incubation and lipase had a reduction of activity after one hour. The discoloration rate of indigo dye by partially purified enzymatic extract (PPPE) was 40%, which shows its potential for degradation of dyes from textile industries.

Effects of environmental factors on microbiota of fruits and soil of Coffea arabica in Brazil.

In recent years, several studies have been developed to understand the impact of fermentation on the final quality of coffee and have indicated that postharvest processing could be a determinant of quality. However, a trend has appeared as a scientific counterpoint, indicating that the interactions between soil, fruit, altitude, and slope exposures with respect to the Sun are important to understand the behavior of the microbiome in coffee. Studies on the microbiota of coffee have addressed its role during the fermentation process, however the knowledge of indigenous microorganisms harbored in fruits and soil of coffee trees growing in fields are essential, as they can contribute to fermentation. Therefore, the aim of this work was to evaluate the influence of topographic and edaphic factors on the bacterial and fungal communities present in the soil and in the fruits of Coffea arabica trees. Samples of fruits and soil were collected from different growing areas at different altitudes and soil conditions. The microbial DNA was extracted and sequenced. The results showed the contribution of environmental factors in the structure of bacterial and fungal communities. The richness, evenness and diversity of the mycobiome and bacteriome were higher in the soil than in the fruits, independent of altitude. In addition, coffee trees at higher altitudes tended to have more bacteria shared between the soil and fruits. The co-occurrence/co-exclusion network showed that bacteria-bacteria connections were greater in higher altitudes. On another hand, fungi-fungi and fungi-bacteria connections were higher in low altitudes. This was the first study that evaluates in deep the influence of environmental factors in the microbiota habiting fruits and soil coffee trees, which may affect the coffee beverage quality.

Very beyond subjectivity: The limit of accuracy of Q-Graders.

When it comes to the sensory analysis of specialty coffees, it is necessary to discuss the protocol of tests of the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) and the formation of Q-Graders as reliable parameters in the sensory analysis. However, the training of these Q-Graders and the use of the SCA protocol has generated discussions in the scientific community and demonstrated the importance of talking about the level of professional precision as well as the use of the protocol. This study sought to understand the relation of accuracy and efficiency of the Q-Graders and protocol in the sensory analysis of coffees. Three experiments were carried out to evaluate and test the hypotheses regarding the level of precision in relation to the shift, the number of samples and the judgment abilities of Q-Graders due to the quality of the specialty coffee and nonspecialty coffee. These three experiments were performed by seven Q-Graders in an isolated environment during three consecutive days with 137 specialty coffee samples and 7 nonspecialty coffee samples as defined by the SCA. The results indicate that the Q-Graders present high precision when evaluating excellent and outstanding coffees, as defined by the SCA. In addition, the effect of the shift did not exert fatigue on the Q-Graders. However, evaluation errors were made by the Q-Graders on very good coffee (77.00-80.00 points), which are considered as nonspecialty by the SCA, thus allowing a more in-depth discussion on what would be the boundary between a specialty and nonspecialty coffee. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The article deals with the sensory evaluation process of coffees, and it has great importance to teaching and research institutions in Brazil, the largest producer, largest exporter and the country with the highest concentration of coffee scholars in the world. The article focuses on a new approach and a new way of looking at the sensory evaluation process of coffees, using the methodology of the Specialty Coffee Association to analyze the accuracy and efficiency of the Q-Graders.

Multi-enzyme complex of white rot fungi in saccharification of lignocellulosic material

ABSTRACT The multi-enzyme complex (crude extract) of white rot fungi Pleurotus ostreatus, Pleurotus eryngii, Trametes versicolor, Pycnosporus sanguineus and Phanerochaete chrysosporium were characterized, evaluated in the hydrolysis of pretreated pulps of sorghum straw and compared efficiency with commercial enzyme. Most fungi complexes had better hydrolysis rates compared with purified commercial enzyme.

Multi-enzyme complex of white rot fungi in saccharification of lignocellulosic material.

The multi-enzyme complex (crude extract) of white rot fungi Pleurotus ostreatus, Pleurotus eryngii, Trametes versicolor, Pycnosporus sanguineus and Phanerochaete chrysosporium were characterized, evaluated in the hydrolysis of pretreated pulps of sorghum straw and compared efficiency with commercial enzyme. Most fungi complexes had better hydrolysis rates compared with purified commercial enzyme.

Minimum cocktail of cellulolytic multi-enzyme complexes obtained from white rot fungi via solid-state fermentation.

The objective of this work was to optimize the total cellulase activity of the crude extract cocktails from five white rot fungi produced by solid-state fermentation, by means of the central composite design. The white rot fungi Pleurotus ostreatus PLO 06, Pleurotus eryngii PLE 04, Trametes versicolor TRAM 01, Pycnosporus sanguineus PYC 02 and Phanerochaete chrysosporium PC were tested. For optimization process aiming at the maximum value of total cellulase activity (FPAse), the multi-enzyme cellulase complexes (crude extracts) of each fungus were mixed simultaneously in different proportions. There was increase in FPAse activity for the cocktails formed by the extracts of the five fungi together, compared to the extracts of each fungus alone. The model presented the minimum cocktail of enzymes for maximum total cellulase activity, with 100.00 µL PYC; 100.00 µL PC; 100.00 µL PLO06; 100.00 µL PLE04 and 200 µL TRAM01. The maximum value found was of 304.86 U/L. The result of the cocktails was very relevant, showing that there is an enzymatic complementation in the extracts that should be further studied. Concentrated extract cocktails should also be evaluated for biomass saccharification.