Rubber trees were introduced into the Malay Peninsula more than a century ago. The normal economical lifespan of a rubber tree is about 25 years, and, traditionally, rubberwood was used as fi rewood by the rural community. In recent decades, rubberwood has become an important timber for wood products, particularly in the furniture manufacturing sector, due to its attractive features, cream color, and good working properties. Sapstain, mold, and wooddecaying fungi are serious threats to rubberwood. Conventional chemical control has been a successful method of preventing staining fungal growth, but the effects of these chemicals are of concern because they create problems for the environment and public health. Thus, biological control has been recognized as an alternative approach to the problem. This article reviews the properties, potential utilization, and problems of protecting rubberwood against sapstain, mold, and wood-decaying fungi, and discusses the treatment methods available. Advances in biological control, particularly biofungicides, are emphasized as an alternative method for rubberwood treatment.
This study reports the biodiversity of thermophilic cellulolytic bacterial strains that present in the north Malaysian mangrove ecosystem. Soil samples were collected at the four most northern state of Malaysia (Perak, Pulau Pinang, Kedah and Perlis). The samples obtained were first enriched in nutrient broth at 45°C and 55°C prior culturing in the carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) agar medium. Repeated streaking was performed on the CMC agar to obtain a pure culture of each isolate prior subjecting it to hydrolysis capacity testing. The isolates that showing the cellulolytic zone (halozone) were sent for 16S rRNA sequencing. Total seven isolates (two from Perak, three from Kedah, another two were from Perlis and Penang each) showed halozone. The isolate (KFX-40) from Kedah exhibited highest halozone of 3.42 ± 0.58, meanwhile, the one obtained from Perak (AFZ-0) showed the lowest hydrolysis capacity (2.61 ± 0.10). Based on 16S rRNA sequencing results, 5 isolates (AFY-40, AFZ-0, KFX-40, RFY-20, and PFX-40) were determined to be
Anoxybacillus sp
. The other two isolates were identified as
Bacillus subtilis
(KFY-40) and
Paenibacillus dendritiformis
(KFX-0). Based on growth curve, doubling time of
Anoxybacillus sp
. UniMAP-KB06 was calculated to be 32.3 min. Optimal cellulose hydrolysis temperature and pH of this strain were determined to be 55°C and 6.0 respectively. Addition of Mg
2+
and Ca
2+
were found to enhance the cellulase activity while Fe
3+
acted as an enzyme inhibitor.
Adsorption of lead [Pb(II)] ions on two different types of carbon coated monoliths (CCM 600 and CCM 8000) was investigated with variations in the parameters such as agitation speed, pH, contact time, and Pb(II) initial concentration. Optimum Pb(II) adsorption was observed at pH: 5. The observed equilibration time on CCM 600 and CCM 8000 was 470 min and 350 min, respectively while, the equilibrium adsorption capacities were 14.2 mg/g and 15.2 mg/g at 50 mg/L initial Pb(II) concentration. The adsorption capacities on CCM 600 and CCM 8000 increased to 48 mg/g and 53.5 mg/g at 250 mg/L initial Pb(II) concentration. Linear and non-linear isotherm studies showed that equilibrium data better fitted to Freundlich isotherm model. Kinetic studies showed better applicability of pseudo-second order kinetics model. It was concluded that CCM 8000 showed better performance for Pb(II) ions removal compared to CCM 600.
Two statistical tools, Plackett-Burman design (PBD) and Box-Behnken design (BBD) were used to optimize the mycelia growth of Schizophyllum commune with different nutrient components. Results showed that 32.92 g/L of biomass were produced using a medium consisting of 18.74 g/L yeast extract, 38.65 g/L glucose, and 0.59 g/L MgSO(4).7H(2)O. The experimental data fitted well with the model predicted values within 0.09 to 0.77% error. The biomass was also tested for antifungal activity against wood degrading fungi of rubberwood. Results showed that the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values for antifungal activity range from 0.16 to 5.00 μg/μL. The GC-MS analysis indicated that this fungus produced several compounds, such as glycerin, 2(3H)-furanone, 5-heptyldihydro-, 4H-pyran-4-one, 2,3-dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-, and triacetin.
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