-(Cellulase activity of fungi isolated from soil of the Ecological Station of Juréia-Itatins, São Paulo, Brazil). Eighty filamentous fungi strains isolated from soil of the Atlantic rainforest in the Banhado Grande, an Ecological Station region of Juréia-Itatins, São Paulo State, Brazil, were analysed concerning their potential to produce cellulolytic enzymes in response to the cellulose presence in the culture medium, as the only carbon source. For this purpose, a staining technique using congo red was employed and the cellulase activity on filter paper (FPase) and carboxymethylcellulose (CMCase) were measured. The fungi were differentiated regarding the activity of these enzymes, because such activity changed with the substrate type and with the methodology used. The best CMCase activity (1.64 U) was obtained with the cultivation of Trichoderma harzianum (V) on wheat bran medium after 4 days, at 25 ºC. The obtained results did not supply evidences to differentiate any strain that had better cellulase activity in relation to the others. However, they offer information necessary to evaluate whether Trichoderma strains: T. harzianum III and V, T. inhamatum I, T. longibrachiatum, T. pseudokoningii II, and T. viride I, are potentially good producers of cellulase or not.Key words -Atlantic rainforest, cellulase activity, soil fungi RESUMO -(Atividade da celulase de fungos isolados do solo da Estação Ecológica de Juréia-Itatins, São Paulo, Brasil). Oitenta fungos filamentosos isolados do solo da Mata Atlântica da região conhecida como Banhado Grande, Estação Ecológica de Juréia-Itatins, São Paulo, Brasil, foram analisados para avaliar seus potenciais quanto a produção de celulases em resposta à presença de celulose, como única fonte de carbono, em meio de cultura. Foi utilizada a técnica de coloração com vermelho congo e determinada a atividades da celulase em papel de filtro (FPase) e em carboximetilcelulose (CMCase). Os fungos foram diferenciados quanto à atividade dessas enzimas, pois tais atividades variaram em relação ao tipo de substrato e à metodologia aqui utilizados. A melhor atividade CMCase (1,64 U) foi obtida com o cultivo de Trichoderma harzianum (V) em meio de farelo de trigo após cultivo por 4 dias, a 25 ºC. Os resultados obtidos não forneceram evidências para diferenciar qualquer linhagem que tivesse melhor atividade da celulase em relação às demais. Contudo, sugerem que estudos mais detalhados com as linhagens de Trichoderma: T. harzianum III e V, T. inhamatum I, T. longibrachiatum, T. pseudokoningii II e T. viride I, serão necessários para avaliar se estas são potencialmente boas produtoras de celulase, sob condições adequadas de cultivo.Palavras-chave -atividade da celulase, fungos de solo, Mata Atlântica Introdução Na região do Banhado Grande, Estação Ecológica de Juréia-Itatins (EEJI), SP, Brasil, foram realizados estudos sobre fungos filamentosos de solo e da água (Attili 1994, Garlipp 1995, Grandi & Attili 1996, Prada & Pagnocca 1997, leveduras (Pinto 1999) e mais especificamente de Ap...

The yeasts are microorganisms with great potential for biotechnological applications in diverse areas. The biological control of phytopathogens by yeasts has showed satisfactory results under laboratory conditions, and it has already produced commercial formulations. With this as focus, this work aims to perform in vitro and in vivo evaluations of the action of a Torulaspora globosa yeast strain (1S112), isolated from sugarcane rhizosphere, against the phytopathogenic mold Colletotrichum sublineolum, the causative agent of anthracnose in sorghum. In vitro experiments included the antagonism test in Petri dishes with morphological hyphal evaluation; yeast killer activity; siderophore, volatile compound and hydrolytic enzyme production. In vivo experiments were conducted in greenhouse conditions with a sorghum variety susceptible to C. sublineolum by evaluating the anthracnose disease for 6 weeks. The results indicated that the yeast strain significantly controlled the fungal growth, either in vitro or in vivo. The strain of T. globosa exhibited killer activity against two sensitive strains, which is a novel capacity for this species. The yeast did not produce siderophores, volatile compounds or hydrolytic enzymes, although it has reduced the mycelial growth, resulting in hyphal deformities but not cell death. The yeast controlled the anthracnose disease in sorghum, either inoculated before or after the fungal spores, suggesting that the competition for space and nutrients to dominate the mold and killer toxin production, altering the hyphal morphology, are mechanisms utilized by the yeast in the biocontrol.

Influences of environmental variables and emulsifiers on lipase production of a Candida viswanathii strain were investigated. The highest lipase activity (101.1 U) was observed at 210 rpm, pH 6.0, and 27.5°C. Other fermentation parameters analyzed showed considerable rates of biomass yield (Y L/S = 1.381 g/g), lipase yield (Y L/S = 6.892 U/g), and biomass productivity (P X = 0.282 g/h). Addition of soybean lecithin increased lipase production in 1.45-fold, presenting lipase yield (Y L/S) of 10.061 U/g. Crude lipase presented optimal activity at acid pH of 3.5, suggesting a new lipolytic enzyme for this genus and yeast in general. In addition, crude lipase presented high stability in acid conditions and temperature between 40 and 45°C, after 24 h of incubation in these temperatures. Lipase remained active in the presence of organic solvents maintaining above 80% activity in DMSO, methanol, acetonitrile, ethanol, acetone, 1-propanol, isopropanol, and 2-propanol. Effectiveness for the hydrolysis of a wide range of natural triglycerides suggests that this new acid lipase has high potential application in the oleochemical and food industries for hydrolysis and/or modification of triacylglycerols to improve the nutritional properties.

Recebido em 9/5/07; aceito em 30/11/07; publicado na web em 21/7/08Extracts obtained from 57 marine-derived fungal strains were analyzed by HPLC-PDA, TLC and 1 H NMR. The analyses showed that the growth conditions affected the chemical profile of crude extracts. Furthermore, the majority of fungal strains which produced either bioactive of chemically distinctive crude extracts have been isolated from sediments or marine algae. The chemical investigation of the antimycobacterial and cytotoxic crude extract obtained from two strains of the fungus Beauveria felina have yielded cyclodepsipeptides related to destruxins. The present approach constitutes a valuable tool for the selection of fungal strains that produce chemically interesting or biologically active secondary metabolites.

The search for new microbial strains that are able to withstand inhibitors released from hemicellulosic hydrolysis and are also still able to convert sugars in ethanol/xylitol is highly desirable. A yeast strain isolated from sugarcane juice and identified as Meyerozyma guilliermondii was evaluated for the ability to grow and ferment pentoses in synthetic media and in sugarcane bagasse hydrolysate. The yeast grew in xylose, arabinose and glucose at the same rate at an initial medium pH of 5.5. At pH 4.5, the yeast grew more slowly in arabinose. There was no sugar exhaustion within 60 h. At higher xylose concentrations with a higher initial cell concentration, sugar was exhausted within 96 h at pH 4.5. An increase of 350 % in biomass was obtained in detoxified hydrolysates, whereas supplementation with 3 g/L yeast extract increased biomass production by approximately 40 %. Ethanol and xylitol were produced more significantly in supplemented hydrolysates regardless of detoxification. Xylose consumption was enhanced in supplemented hydrolysates and arabinose was consumed only when xylose and glucose were no longer available. Supplementation had a greater impact on ethanol yield and productivity than detoxification; however, the product yields obtained in the present study are still much lower when compared to other yeast species in bagasse hydrolysate. By the other hand, the fermentation of both xylose and arabinose and capability of withstanding inhibitors are important characteristics of the strain assayed.

In this study, the potential for using an inoculum composed of a mixed-culture of bacteria and fungi, isolated from a landfarming at the Paulínia Oil Refinery, Brazil, to degrade oil residues generated in the process of petroleum refinement was investigated. The isolation of these microorganisms was carried out beforehand, assuming that they would be better adapted to petroleum hydrocarbons, as the landfarming consisted of an area impacted by the deposit of such compounds. The Bartha and Pramer respirometric test was used to measure the rate of biodegradation of the hydrocarbons by the mixed-culture of microorganisms via the evolution of CO 2 . The results obtained with respect to the efficiency of biodegradation showed no significant differences (P>0.05), indicating no increase in the biodegradation process using the inoculum. The addition of nutrients (N, P, K) also did notcontribute to an increase in biodegradation of the oil residue studied.

The Atlantic Rainforest is a Brazilian ecosystem that is being rapidly being destroyed, along with the abiotic and biotic factors present in it. Among the biotic factors, the fungi are found in the soil which, besides being of major importance in terms of ecological niches, also have broad and significant applications in biotechnology. In order to assess the biodiversity of these microorganisms in this type of ecosystem, the Banhado Grande region was chosen at the Jureia-Itatins Ecology Station, in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Within this region, two areas were delimited for study, one covered with natural (primary) vegetation and the other containing vegetation that regenerated following the planting of rice crops, referred to here as secondary. Collection of compound soil samples were taken (depth 0-15 cm) over a period of two and a half years, with the litter first being removed, during dry/cold and humid/hot periods. After sifting the samples, they were appropriately processed using the serial dilution technique to isolate the fungi from the soil. Six different culture media were used, having pHs of 4.5, 7.0 and 9.0. Altogether, 1,211 strains were isolated, divided into the following groups: Hyphomycetes, the most abundant followed by Ascomycetes, Zygomycetes, Coelomycetes, and Oomycetes. From these, 112 species were identified, 8 down to the genus level, and those that did not produce conidia were grouped as Mycelia sterilia. Among the strains, 67 were cellulolytic, 32 originated solely in soil under natural vegetation, and 26 originated solely in soil under secondary vegetation.

Trichoderma is one of the fungi genera that produce important metabolites for industry. The growth of these organisms is a consequence of the nutritional sources used as also of the physical conditions employed to cultivate them. In this work, the automated Bioscreen C system was used to evaluate the influence of different nutritional sources on the growth of Trichoderma strains (T. hamatum, T. harzianum, T. viride, and T. longibrachiatum) isolated from the soil in the Juréia-Itatins Ecological Station (JIES), São Paulo StateBrazil. The cultures were grown in liquid culture media containing different carbon-(2%; w/v) and nitrogen (1%; w/v) sources at 28ºC, pH 6.5, and agitated at 150 rpm for 72 h. The results showed, as expected, that glucose is superior to sucrose as a growth-stimulating carbon source in the Trichoderma strains studied, while yeast extract and tryptone were good growth-stimulating nitrogen sources in the cultivation of T. hamatum and T. harzianum.