Carbon sources to enhance the biosynthesis of useful secondary metabolites in Fusarium verticillioides submerged cultures.

Fusarium verticillioides is a prolific producer of useful secondary metabolites such as naphthoquinone pigments, monoterpenes, and sesquiterpenes, as well as the harmful mycotoxins fumonisins. A strategy to increase their production includes creating a proper nutritional environment that enables the fungus to produce the compounds of interest. The aim of the present work was to study the effect of different carbon sources (glucose, fructose, xylose, sucrose, and lactose) on secondary metabolites biosynthesis in F. verticillioides submerged cultures. The production of volatile terpenes was evaluated through gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. The quantification and identification of pigments was conducted using a UV/VIS spectrophotometer and NMR spectrometer, respectively. The quantification of fumonisin B1 and fumonisin B2 was performed by high-performance liquid chromatography. Our results showed that the biosynthesis of naphthoquinone pigments, monoterpenes, and sesquiterpenes was highest in cultures with fructose (13.00 ± 0.71 mmol/g), lactose [564.52 × 10-11 ± 11.50 × 10-11 µg/g dry weight (DW)], and xylose (54.41 × 10-11 ± 1.55 × 10-11 µg/g DW), respectively, with fumonisin being absent or present in trace amounts in the presence of these carbon sources. The highest biosynthesis of fumonisins occurred in sucrose-containing medium (fumonisin B1: 7.85 × 103 ± 0.25 × 103 µg/g DW and fumonisin B2: 0.38 × 103 ± 0.03 × 103 µg/g DW). These results are encouraging since we were able to enhance the production of useful fungal metabolites without co-production with harmful mycotoxins by controlling the carbon source provided in the culture medium.

Structure characterization of the non-crystalline complexes of copper salts with native cyclodextrins.

The characterization of non-crystalline complexes is particularly difficult when techniques like X-ray diffraction or NMR cannot be used. We propose a simple procedure to characterize the physicochemical properties of amorphous new coordination compounds between cyclodextrins (CD) and Cu(2+) salts, by means of the integration of the information provided by several techniques including elemental analysis, flame atomic absorption, TGA, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance, colorimetry, FT-IR and EPR. On the basis of these procedures, we suggest geometrical and structural approximations resulting in an octahedral or distorted octahedral geometry with diverse positions for the metallic centre. According to the EPR spectrum, only one of the complexes may have rhombic symmetry. We also analyzed enthalpy-entropy compensation and the isokinetic effect. In addition, general trends in thermal stability, spectroscopic properties and inclusion in the cavity were analysed. This complete characterization methodology becomes essential for their future application as catalysts.