Fatty acid methyl ester analysis of Aspergillus fumigatus isolated from fruit pulps for biodiesel production using GC-MS spectrometry.

In this study, a total of six fungal samples were isolated from apple, strawberry and orange pulp. DNA sequence analysis was used as molecular identification method. ITS region was aligned in DNA sequence analysis, and an algorithm sequence similarity was done using BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool) program to identify these isolates. All the six isolates were identified as Aspergillus fumigates. The total lipid content was varied in the isolates which were ranged from 29.4 to 21.0 mg/100 ml. Moreover, the obtained lipid form mycelium biomass of the isolates was transesterified by a base catalyst. The methyl esters were analyzed by using GC-MS. GC-MS Spectrometry revealed the presence of different fatty acids with long chain (C11:0, C15:0, C17:1, C18:2, C16:1). High efficiency biodiesel can be obtained using long-chain fatty acids. Fatty acid profiles of A. fumigatus isolated from different fruit pulps have confirmed its potentiality as well as showed the beneficial utilization of these fatty acids for biodiesel production.

A cytogenetics study of Hydrodroma despiciens (Müller, 1776) (Acari: Hydrachnellae: Hydrodromidae).

The karyotypes of water mites (Acari: Hydrachnellae: Hydrodromidae) are largely unknown. The present investigation is the first report of a study designed to characterize the chromosomes of water mites. The study was carried out with specimens of Hydrodroma despiciens collected from Eber Lake in Afyon, Turkey. Several different methods were tried to obtain chromosomes of this species. However, somatic cell culture proved to be the most effective for the preparation of chromosomes. In the present study, we determined the diploid chromosome number of Hydrodroma despiciens to be 2n = 16. However, a large metacentric chromosome was found in each metaphase, which we believed to be the X chromosome. We could not determine the sex chromosomes of this species. This study is the first approach to the cytogenetic characterization of this water mite group. Furthermore, these cytogenetic data will contribute to the understanding of the phylogenetic relationship among water mites. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the cytogenetics of water mites.