An Evidence of Carbonic Anhydrase Activity in Native Microalgae for CO2 Capture Application.

A promising alternative for effective carbon capture has been found in microalgae because of their high photosynthetic capacity and quick growth. The carbon concentration mechanism of many microalgae is heavily reliant on the enzyme carbonic anhydrase (CA), which catalyze the production of bicarbonate from carbon dioxide. In this study, microalgal samples were collected, characterized, and cultured under controlled conditions for their optimal growth of cultures I-IX. The CA activity was investigated using a standard method; the Wilbur-Anderson assay was used to calculate CA activity in microalgal cultures. The comparative study was then used to measure the activity rate of the collected microalgae. Among the tested, culture I, VI, and IX showed a high enzyme activity rate of 4.15, 4.0, and 4.2 µg·mL-1, respectively. To determine the rate of carbon dioxide hydration, the method involved tracking the pH change in a reaction mixture. In addition, genetic analysis facilitates the identification of key genes involved in CA activity and other metabolic processes, which enhance the knowledge of microalgal physiology, and enables genetic engineering efforts in the future studies. Overall, this investigation emphasizes the significance of studying unknown microalgal culture and their potential CA activity for industrial and bio-energy applications.

Isolation and Characterization of Biosurfactant-Producing Soil Fungus Penicillium sp.

In this study, a fungal species was isolated from rhizospheric soil and identified as Penicillium sp. by ITS sequencing. The Penicillium sp. has been screened for the biosurfactant production, viz., haemolytic activity, oil spreading assay and emulsification index. The biosurfactant from cell-free supernatant was extracted using acid precipitation followed by solvent-solvent extraction. The physiochemical properties of the extracted biosurfactant were analysed using FTIR; the major peaks that show at 1720 cm-1, 1531 cm-1, 1419 cm-1, 1251 cm-1 and 1010 cm-1 correspond to aliphatic chains, sugars and ester carbonyl groups. The fatty acids present in the extracted biosurfactant were analysed using GCMS, in which a molecular mass of 256 and 284 m/z showed the presence of n-hexadecenoic acid and octadecanoic acid respectively which indicate the presence of rhamnolipid, which is a major biosurfactant. The biosurfactant extracted from Penicllium sp. demonstrated antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. In future perspectives, the biosurfactant extracted from the isolated species holds great potential as a broad-spectrum antibacterial agent and could be utilized in various healthcare applications.