The ocean is considered to be a great reservoir of biodiversity. Microbial communities in marine environments are ecologically relevant as intermediaries of energy, and play an important role in nutrient regeneration cycles as decomposers of dead and decaying organic matter. In this sense, marine-derived fungi can be considered as a source of enzymes of industrial and/or environmental interest. Fungal strains isolated from different substrates, such as invertebrates, decaying wood, seawater, sediments, and mangrove detritus, have been reported to be producers of hydrolytic and/or oxidative enzymes, with alginate lyase, amylase, cellulase, chitinase, glucosidase, inulinase, keratinase, ligninase, lipase, nuclease, phytase, protease, and xylanase being among the enzymes produced by fungi of marine origin. These enzymes present temperature and pH optima ranging from 35 to 70∘C, and 3.0 to 11.0, respectively. High-level production in bioreactors is mainly performed using submerged-state fermentation. Certain marine-derived fungal strains present enzymes with alkaline and cold-activity characteristics, and salinity is considered an important condition in screening and production processes. The adaptability of marine-derived fungi to oceanic conditions can be considered an attractive point in the field of fungal marine biotechnology. In this review, we focus on the advances in discovering enzymes from marine-derived fungi and their biotechnological relevance.

Abstract Twenty-three hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria strains were isolated from gas station leaking-contaminated groundwater located in the Southern Amazon, Brazil. Based on hydrocarbon (diesel, hexadecane, benzene, toluene and xylene) degradation ability, two strains were selected for further study. The amplification and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene showed that these two strains belonged to the genus Bacillus (Bacillus sp. L26 and Bacillus sp. L30). GC-MS analysis showed that strain L30 was the most effective in degrading n-alkane (C10-C27) from diesel after 7 days of cultivation in mineral medium. Both strains produced biosurfactants and showed emulsification activity, specially the strain L30. Alkane hydroxylase gene (group III), which is important for alkane biodegradation, was present in strains. As a result, this study indicated that these bacteria could have promising applications in hydrocarbon bioremediation.

Pressmud is a substrate derived from sugarcane juice filtrate, and around 26-40 kg of this residue are produced per ton of sugarcane. It is mainly used as fertilizer in crops, and its application in the field is often made without any prior treatment, but, in this research, it was studied for the risk this practice poses for human health. This research was stimulated by previous results indicating the presence of opportunistic pathogens in residues used in various composting systems and the extensive use of fresh pressmud in agriculture. Here, It was assessed the fungal diversity present in both fresh and composting pressmud using 454 pyrosequencing. In addition, heat-tolerant fungi were isolated and surveyed for their enzymatic repertoire of biomass-degrading enzymes (cellulase, xylanase, laccase and polygalacturonase). A wide range of opportunistic pathogens was found among the most abundant taxa in the fresh pressmud, such as Lomentospora prolificans (43.13 %), Trichosporon sp. (10.07 %), Candida tropicalis (7.91 %), and Hormographiella aspergillata (8.19 %). This indicates that fresh pressmud might be a putative source of human pathogenic fungi, presenting a potential threat to human health if applied as fertilizer without any treatment. With regard to the heat-tolerant fungi found in this substrate, all the 110 isolates screened were able to produce at least one of the tested enzymes. The pressmud composting process not only effectively reduces the load of pathogenic fungi, but also creates an interesting environment for fungi able to produce thermostable hydrolytic and oxidative enzymes with biotechnological applications.

No abstract

Saccharomyces cerevisiae biomass was activated chemically, and its ibuprofen (IBP) biosorption capabilities were assessed regarding IBP removal from an aqueous solution. The effects of pH (2-10), contact time (0-90 min), IBP concentration (5-35 mg L-1), and temperature (20, 30, 40°C) were evaluated in batch studies. Higher removal rates of IBP were found at pH 2.0. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model best described the experimental data. Both the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models described the equilibrium data satisfactorily. The maximum biosorption capacity for IBP onto chemically activated Saccharomyces cerevisiae biomass (CA-YB) was estimated at 13.39 mg g-1 at 40°C. The activation energy calculated by the Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm model was 9.129 kJ mol-1, indicating that a chemical process mediated the biosorption of IBP onto CA-YB. According to thermodynamic studies, IBP biosorption is spontaneous and endothermic. FTIR analysis revealed that the carboxyl, hydroxyl, phosphoryl, and amino groups were involved in the biosorption process of IBP. These findings indicated that CA-YB could be an alternative biosorbent for IBP removal from aqueous media. Keywords: isotherms, kinetic, microbial biomass, pharmaceutical drugs, thermodynamic study.

RESUMO Neste estudo, biomassa da casca de Castanha-do-Brasil suportada com nanopartículas de ferro (BCB-NPsFe) foi utilizada para a descoloração do corante rodamina B (RdB) via reação catalítica de Fenton. A maior taxa de descoloração foi de 94,5% obtida nas condições: solução contendo 20 mg/L de RdB, 1,0 g/L de BCB-NPsFe, 200 mM de H2O2, pH 4,0, temperatura de 45 °C e tempo de reação de 240 minutos. A taxa de mineralização da RdB nessas mesmas condições foi de 61,3%. Por meio da equação de Arrhenius a energia de ativação da descoloração da RdB foi estimada em 36,25 kJ/mol, um valor baixo se comparado a outros estudos. A reutilização da BCB-NPsFe em cinco ciclos de descoloração mostrou que a descoloração da RdB não foi afetada. A BCB-NPsFe também foi eficiente na descoloração dos corantes verde Malaquita (97,1%), violeta cristal (87,0%), preto reativo B (91,2%) e vermelho reativo 239 (89,1%). Estes resultados indicaram que a BCB-NPsFe pode ser uma alternativa econômica e ambientalmente sustentável para o tratamento de águas residuárias contendo corantes.