Microalgae have recently attracted considerable interest worldwide, due to their extensive application potential in the renewable energy, biopharmaceutical, and nutraceutical industries. Microalgae are renewable, sustainable, and economical sources of biofuels, bioactive medicinal products, and food ingredients. Several microalgae species have been investigated for their potential as value-added products with remarkable pharmacological and biological qualities. As biofuels, they are a perfect substitute to liquid fossil fuels with respect to cost, renewability, and environmental concerns. Microalgae have a significant ability to convert atmospheric CO2 to useful products such as carbohydrates, lipids, and other bioactive metabolites. Although microalgae are feasible sources for bioenergy and biopharmaceuticals in general, some limitations and challenges remain, which must be overcome to upgrade the technology from pilot-phase to industrial level. The most challenging and crucial issues are enhancing microalgae growth rate and product synthesis, dewatering algae culture for biomass production, pretreating biomass, and optimizing the fermentation process in case of algal bioethanol production. The present review describes the advantages of microalgae for the production of biofuels and various bioactive compounds and discusses culturing parameters.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12934-018-0879-x.pdf

The promising future of microalgae: current status, challenges, and optimization of a sustainable and renewable industry for biofuels, feed, and other products

Fungal endophytes as prolific source of phytochemicals and other bioactive natural products: A review.

Virus Diseases of Peanut

Plastic film mulch for half growing-season maximized WUE and yield of potato via moisture-temperature improvement in a semi-arid agroecosystem

Cellulase production from Aspergillus niger MS82: effect of temperature and pH

Cellulases are a group of hydrolytic enzymes capable of hydrolyzing the most abundant organic polymer i.e. cellulose to smaller sugar components including glucose subunits. Cellulases have enormous potential in industries and are used in food, beverages, textile, laundry, paper and pulp industries etc. This study was aimed to screen the cellulytic ability of fungi from native environmental source. Furthermore, optimal condition for enzyme activity and induction of enzyme synthesis were also determined. Out of 115 fungal cultures isolated from environmental sources including soil, air and infected plant, 78 (67.83%) were found to possess cellulose degrading ability. Cellulytic fungi belonged to Aspergillus sp., Trichoderma sp., Fusarium sp., Alternaria sp., Penicillium sp., and Rhizopus sp. Cellulase production by fungi was measured by using enzyme assays. Highest yield of enzyme was noted at 37°C while maximum activity in the range of pH 4 4.8. Kinetics of enzyme production was also studied on selected Aspergillus isolates and mostly high enzyme production was observed after 7 days. Cellulase synthesis increased by ~10 folds in the presence of cellulose while it repressed in the presence of glucose.

Screening and characterization of fungal cellulases isolated from the native environmental source

The genus Phytopythium (Peronosporales) has been described, but a complete circumscription has not yet been presented. In the present paper we provide molecular-based evidence that members of Pythium clade K as described by Levesque & de Cock (2004) belong to Phytopythium. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of the nuclear ribosomal DNA (LSU and SSU) and mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) as well as statistical analyses of pairwise distances strongly support the status of Phytopythium as a separate phylogenetic entity. Phytopythium is morphologically intermediate between the genera Phytophthora and Pythium. It is unique in having papillate, internally proliferating sporangia and cylindrical or lobate antheridia. The formal transfer of clade K species to Phytopythium and a comparison with morphologically similar species of the genera Pythium and Phytophthora is presented. A new species is described, Phytopythium mirpurense.

/pdf/phytopythium-molecular-phylogeny-and-systematics-35pixofjzq.pdf

Phytopythium: molecular phylogeny and systematics.

Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal is known to possess medicinal properties. Medicinal plants harbour endophytic mycoflora. Only a few plants have been studied for their endophyte biodiversity and their potential to produce bioactive secondary metabolites. There is a need to understand the biodiversity of endophytic fungi and their potential of producing novel compounds of medicinal importance. A total of 643 segments (202 leaf, 391 stem, and 50 root samples) from 20 different plants were screened for their endophytic mycoflora. Thirty-three fungal strains of 24 species have been isolated, four belonged to the class Ascomycetes and 20 to class Deuteromycetes. The highest species richness as well as frequency of colonization was in stem; with the exception of Aspergillus niger, A. terreus and A. alternata, all the other fungi were found to be organ-specific. In this study most dominant endophyte was found to be A. alternata. Overall colonization frequency was measured as 14.15%. Many of the pharmaceutical compounds produced by medicinal plants are reportedly produced by their endophytic fungi. Hence, it is important to study medicinal plants for their endophytic mycoflora for biodiversity and then to determine their medicinal properties. The present work was therefore initiated to study the endophytic fungal population in Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal., a commonly used medicinal plant in the subcontinent.

Communities of endophytic fungi in medicinal plant Withania somnifera.

Mango plantations in different areas of Sindh were found to suffer from a decline disease showing symptoms of drying of branches from the tip accompanied with a heavy exudation of yellowish-brown gum from stem and its branches and browning of vascular tissues. Under severe conditions, the disease results in death of the plant. There was an invariable association of Lasiodiplodia theobromae with aerial as well as underground parts. Fusarium solani was mostly isolated from root but very rarely from the stem. Inoculation of healthy plants with L. theobromae either alone or in combination with F. solani produced typical symptoms whereas F. solani failed to produce these symptoms.

Pathogenicity of lasiodiplodia theobromae and fusarium solani on mango

One hundred and twenty eight fungi isolated from the native environments, including soil, plant, deteriorating distempered-wall and spoiled orange-juice samples and 32 isolates obtained from the culture collections were screened for hydrolytic enzyme production. A large proportion (71.25%) of fungal strains belonged to the genus Aspergillus followed by genera Alternaria, Fusarium, Penicillium, Paecilomyces, Basidiomyces, Cladosporium, Curvularia, Rhizocotonia, Trichoderma, Macrophomina, Botryodiplodia, Monilia, Gliocladium and Rhizopus. These strains were sorted on the basis of their hydrolytic potential of starch, cellulose, protein, xylan and pectin. Some selected strains that produce high levels of enzymes, grown in shake-flask and amylase, cellulase, protease, xylanase and pectinase were quantitatively evaluated. Members of the genus Aspergillus appeared to exhibit the greatest diversity in terms of high levels of all the investigated hydrolases.

Saleem Shahzad

Papers

Screening and characterization of fungal cellulases isolated from the native environmental source

Phytopythium: molecular phylogeny and systematics.

Communities of endophytic fungi in medicinal plant Withania somnifera.

Pathogenicity of lasiodiplodia theobromae and fusarium solani on mango

Distribution of hydrolytic enzymes among native fungi: Aspergillus the pre-dominant genus of hydrolase producer.