Browsing by Author "Spakowicz, Daniel"

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An endophytic Myrothecium inundatum producing volatile organic compounds
(2010) Banerjee, Debdulal; Strobel, Gary A.; Booth, B.; Sears, Joe; Spakowicz, Daniel; Busse, S.
Myrothecium inunduatum was isolated as an endophyte from a euphorbeacean herb, Acalypha indica in NE India. This fungus when grown in shake culture produced an abundance of foam. Contained in the foam was a mixture of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) some of which were hydrocarbons and hydrocarbon derivatives. The most prevalent compounds were 3-octanone, 3-octanol, and 7-octen-4-ol. Numerous other volatile organic compounds were also produced including many terpenes, organic acids, ketones, and alcohols. The VOCs of this fungus demonstrated growth inhibitory activity against a number of plant pathogenic fungi including Pythium ultimum and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. However, when grown in microaerophilic conditions, the organism produced a number of hydrocarbons of interest as fuel related hydrocarbons including octane and tentatively identified- 1,4- cyclohexadiene, 1-methyl- and cyclohexane, (1-ethylpropyl) and others. An NMR method was used to measure VOC production which peaked at day 15 in a time course experiment. Numerous substrates can serve to support the production of VOCs by this fungus including potato broth and beet pulp extracts.
The production of myco-diesel hydrocarbons and their derivatives by the endophytic fungus Gliocladium roseum (NRRL 50072)
(2010-12) Strobel, Gary A.; Knighton, W. Berk; Kluck, Katreena; Ren, Yuhao; Livinghouse, Tom; Griffin, Meghan; Spakowicz, Daniel; Sears, Joe
An endophytic fungus, Gliocladiun roseum (NRRL 50072), produced a series of volatile hydrocarbons and hydrocarbon derivatives on an oatmeal-based agar under microaerophilic conditions as analysed by solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME)-GC/MS. As an example, this organism produced an extensive series of the acetic acid esters of straight-chained alkanes including those of pentyl, hexyl, heptyl, octyl, sec-octyl and decyl alcohols. Other hydrocarbons were also produced by this organism, including undecane, 2,6-dimethyl; decane, 3,3,5-trimethyl; cyclohexene, 4-methyl; decane, 3,3,6-trimethyl; and undecane, 4,4-dimethyl. Volatile hydrocarbons were also produced on a cellulose-based medium, including heptane, octane, benzene, and some branched hydrocarbons. An extract of the host plant, Eucryphia cordifolia (ulmo), supported the growth and hydrocarbon production of this fungus. Quantification of volatile organic compounds, as measured by proton transfer mass spectrometry (PTR-MS), indicated a level of organic substances in the order of 80 p.p.m.v. (parts per million by volume) in the air space above the oatmeal agar medium in an 18 day old culture. Scaling the PTR-MS profile the acetic acid heptyl ester was quantified (at 500 p.p.b.v.) and subsequently the amount of each compound in the GC/MS profile could be estimated; all yielded a total value of about 4.0 p.p.m.v. The hydrocarbon profile of G. roseum contains a number of compounds normally associated with diesel fuel and so the volatiles of this fungus have been dubbed ‘myco-diesel’. Extraction of liquid cultures of the fungus revealed the presence of numerous fatty acids and other lipids. All of these findings have implications in energy production and utilization.