Genetic Engineering In BioButanol Production And Tolerance

ABSTRACT The growing need to address current energy and environmental problems has sparked an interest in developing improved biological methods to produce liquid fuels from renewable sources. Higher-chain alcohols possess chemical properties that are more similar to gasoline. Ethanol and butanol are two products which are used as biofuel. Butanol production was more concerned than ethanol because of its high octane number. Unfortunately, these alcohols are not produced efficiently in natural microorganisms, and thus economical production in industrial volumes remains a challenge. The synthetic biology, however, offers additional tools to engineer synthetic pathways in user-friendly hosts to help increase titers and productivity of bio-butanol. Knock out and over-expression of genes is the major approaches towards genetic manipulation and metabolic engineering of microbes. Yet there are TargeTron Technology, Antisense RNA and CRISPR technology has a vital role in genome manipulation of C.acetobutylicum. This review concentrates on the recent developments for efficient production of butanol and butanol tolerance by various genetically engineered microbes.

Evaluation of antioxidant activity of cassytha filiformis.

The study was aimed to evaluate the antioxidant activity of Cassytha filliformis for the first time. The antioxidant activity of cassytha filiformis extracts in hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol were assessed based on their radical scavenging activity (RSA) using the DPPH assay. Methanolic extract showed good antioxidant activity when compared with standard Butylated hydroytoluene(BHT). Further, the methanolic extracts were evaluated by Ferric thiocyanate(FTC) method, Thiobarbituric acid(TBA) test and Superoxide anion radical scavenging assay. The results obtained suggest that methanolic extract of cassytha filiformis have promising therapeutic potential and could be considered as potential source for drug development by pharmaceutical industries.

Assessing the growth of probiotic bacteria in selected prebiotic foods rich in oligosaccharides.

The combination of both probiotic and prebiotic has the ability to heal and regulate the intestinal flora, particularly after the destruction of microorganisms following antibiotic, chemotherapy, or radiation therapies. Without the beneficial organism digestion, absorption, and manufacture of nutrients cannot take place. Probiotic bacteria were isolated from commercially available yoghurt and probiotic milk products. Lactobacillus spp. were isolated using MRS agar and incubated under anaerobic condition at 37°C for 24 hrs. MRS agar was used for the enumeration and isolation of probiotic bacteria. Both were incubated under anaerobic condition at 37°C for 24 hrs. Morphological, physiological and biochemical reactions were used to characterize the isolates. The isolated bacteria were grown in prebiotic foods such as wheat, oat and barley at varying temperature. The viability of Lactobacillus spp. in prebiotic foods under acidic condition was checked. The growth of Lactobacillus spp. were assessed in three different prebiotic foods and among the three different prebiotic foods barley served as best substrate for the growth of Lactobacillus spp.

Isolation and phylogenetic characterization of extremophiles from marakanam salterns.

Salterns are highly saline environments, where salt concentrations inhibit growth of most of the organisms. Recent studies have revealed that these environments are loaded with a variety of microbial life. In the present study, sediment samples were collected from Salterns of Marakanam, Tamil Nadu and were analyzed for presence of any halotolerant bacteria in them. Twelve isolates were obtained after processing the samples and were characterized. Two isolates among the total were selected based on unique biochemical characteristics and were further studied. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that these isolates are Pontibacillus chungwensis (P1) and Bacillus barbaricus (P2). The isolate P2 has not yet been reported to be isolated from such an environment and no reports of salt tolerance characteristics. In addition to that the 16S rRNA gene analysis results showed the sequence of strain to be located in a different domain well away from Bacillus barbaricus type strain. Further work on the bacterium might result in the strain P2 being claimed as novel. Any study on the microbial life of these salterns is helpful in extending our knowledge on the microorganisms present in such environments and their physiology which might be useful in agriculture, industry and Costal areas.