Production of arachidonic acid by Mortierella alpina using wastes from potato chips industry.

AIMS: This research aimed to determine the potential use of wastes from the potato chips industry as a carbon source to develop an economical culture medium for the production of biomass, lipids and arachidonic acid (ARA) by Mortierella alpina. METHODS AND RESULTS: A synthetic culture medium was optimized using a Plackett-Burman and central composite rotatable design, and used as a base to evaluate and characterize the potential use of wastes from the potato chips industry as carbon sources for the production of biomass, lipids and ARA by M. alpina. The waste was selected among other solid and liquid hydrolysed residues/by-products, and local low-cost alternatives for nitrogen sources were also evaluated. After 6 days of fermentation, the biomass concentration reached 20 g l-1 with 40% of total lipids, and a 35% ARA content in the lipids fraction. Savings in production were calculated using a sensitivity analysis for the alternative culture medium in different scenarios. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed a 7% savings in culture media expenses in the production of ARA-enriched biomass of M. alpina, compared to the conventional synthetic culture medium, when waste from the potato chips industry was used as an alternative source of carbon and macro/microelements, supplemented with a low-cost yeast extract alternative. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The demonstration of the use of potato chips wastes as a low-cost carbon source for the biomass, lipids and ARA production, suggesting an eco-friendly alternative for the use of agri-food wastes for valuable metabolites production.

Infecção sistêmica por Mycobacterium avium em cão: relato de caso / Systemic Mycobacterium avium infection in a dog: case report

Infecções sistêmicas causadas pelo complexo Mycobacterium avium em cães são consideradas raras. Em cães e gatos, a infecção resulta da ingestão de carne ou do contato com solo ou fômites contaminados. As manifestações clínicas de cães infectados por M. avium tendem a ser vagas ou ausentes, logo o diagnóstico in vivo torna-se difícil. A suspeita de infecção sistêmica por micobacteriose ocorreu, neste relato, após a identificação de bacilos álcool-ácido resistentes na amostra de medula óssea, os quais foram identificados como Mycobacterium avium pelo método molecular de reação em cadeia da polimerase com análise de restrição (PCR-PRA). Este animal apresentava uma aplasia de medula óssea em decorrência de Erhlichia canis, corroborando a maioria dos relatos na literatura em que se associa essa infecção a pacientes imunossuprimidos.

Systemic infections caused by Mycobacterium avium complex are considered rare in dogs. In dogs and cats, the infection comes from eating meat or being in contact with contaminated soil or fomites. Clinical manifestations of dogs infected with M. avium tend to be vague or absent, so the diagnosis "in vivo" becomes difficult. Systemic mycobacterial infection was suspected in this report, after the identification of acid-alcohol resistant bacilli in a bone marrow sample which was identified as Mycobacterium avium by the molecular method Polymerase Chain Reaction - PCR Restriction Analysis (PCR-PRA). This animal had a bone marrow aplasia due to Erhlichia canis corroborating with most reports in the literature that associate this infection with immunosuppressed patients.