1,721,218 research outputs found
Sulfolobus solfataricus as source of glycosyl hydrolases with biotechnological potential
No full textL'enzima malico dell'archeobatterio Sulfolobus solfataricus: caratteristiche cinetiche e strutturali e potenzialità applicative
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Hydropower and pumped-hydro energy storage (PHES)
No full textHydropower is a well-established and mature technology that already contributes significantly to the production of renewable electric energy. Large-scale power plants have the most important share in the sector, but there is growing interest in mini- and micro-hydropower because of the chance to take advantage of the unused hydropower potential, which has already been exploited in large water resources. This chapter wants to present the potential of the hydropower sector, with specific attention to the small-scale plants, and to discuss the pros and cons of the main technologies and installation solutions. As the main limiting factors of small hydropower are the environmental impact and the installation cost, a specific focus will be given to the most promising solutions and the novel applications that can overcome these issues. In particular, low-cost and reversible machines will be described and the most interesting research projects on these machines will be presented
Reversion of protein aggregation mediated by Sso7d in cell extracts of Sulfolobus solfataricus
No full textIn eukaryotic cells and in Escherichia coli, reversion of protein aggregation is mediated by the network of chaperones belonging to Hsp70 and Hsp100 families [Weibezahn, Bukau and Mogk
(2004) Microb. Cell Fact. 3, 1–12]. The thermophilic prokaryotes of the archaea domain lack homologues of these chaperone families,and the mechanisms they use to rescue aggregated proteins
are unknown [Macario, Malz and Conway de Macario (2004) Front. Biosci. 9, 1318–1332]. In the present study, we show that stable protein aggregates can be detected in extracts of starved cells of the thermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus, and that the protein Sso7d interacts with the aggregates and mediates the disassembly of the aggregates and the re-activation of insolubilized
β-glycosidase in the presence of ATP hydrolysis. Furthermore,we report that heat-induced protein aggregates in extracts of exponential cells of S. solfataricus contain Sso7d that rescues insolubilized proteins in the presence of ATP hydrolysis. Results of these experiments performed in cell extracts are consistent with an in vivo role of Sso7d in reverting protein aggregation
Translational recoding in archaea
No full textTranslational recoding includes a group of events occurring during gene translation, namely stop codon readthrough, programmed ±1 frameshifting, and ribosome bypassing, which have been found in organisms from all domains of life. They serve to regulate protein expression at translational level and represent a relatively less known exception to the traditional central 'dogma' of biology that information flows as DNA→RNA→protein and that it is stored in a co-linear way between the 5'→3' of nucleic acids and N→C-terminal of polypeptides. In archaea, in which translational recoding regulates the decoding of the 21st and the 22nd amino acids selenocysteine and pyrrolysine, respectively, only one case of programmed -1 frameshifting has been reported so far and further examples, although promising, have not been confirmed yet. We here summarize the current state-of-the-art of this field that, especially in archaea, has relevant implications for the physiology of life in extreme environments and for the origin of life
An intracellular protease of the crenarchaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus, which has sequence similarity to eukaryotic peptidases of the CD clan.
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Molecular biology of extremophiles: recent progress on the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus.
No full textEfficiency and environmental impacts of biogas vs. biomethane in combined heat and power applications
No full textThe increasing demand for low-carbon energy carriers is increasingly driven by the urgent need to address climate change and reduce the environmental impact of conventional energy systems. In this context, biogas and biomethane are emerging as key renewable solutions within the global energy transition. This study investigates a biogas plant located in northern Italy equipped with an Ingeniapatented system designed to reduce ammoniacal nitrogen and CO2, thereby improving biogas quality and enabling its upgrade to biomethane. A comparative energy and environmental analyses are carried out to evaluate the use of either biogas or biomethane as fuels in combined heat and power units having an electrical and thermal power output of 410 kW and 400 kW, respectively, focusing on primary energy requirements and greenhouse gas emissions comparison. Results show that biomethane, due to its higher lower heating value, requires less fuel consumption than biogas to produce the same useful energy output (both electrical and thermal), thereby improving overall system efficiency. Specifically, the lower primary energy demand of biomethane leads to annual savings of up to 1.35 GWh. Moreover, if biomethane production matches the volume of biogas needed to deliver the same useful energy, the excess biomethane, approximately 142,400 Sm3, can be injected into the gas grid, contributing to enhanced national energy self-sufficiency. From an environmental perspective, results show that biogas use achieves an annual emissions reduction of approximately 880 tCO2 equivalent, while biomethane slightly improves the performance, reaching about 900 tCO2 equivalent avoided per year. Overall, the study demonstrates that biomethane offers enhanced energy efficiency and climate benefits, confirming its role as a valuable option for integrated low-carbon energy systems
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