BACKGROUND Laccase-like multicopper oxidases have been reported in several Aspergillus species but they remain uncharacterized. The biocatalytic potential of the Aspergillus niger fungal pigment multicopper oxidases McoA and McoB and ascomycete laccase McoG was investigated. RESULTS The laccase-like multicopper oxidases McoA, McoB and McoG from the commonly used cell factory Aspergillus niger...

Parrotfishes (family Labridae: Scarini) are regarded to have important roles for maintaining the ecosystem balance in coral reefs due to their removal of organic matter and calcic substrates by grazing. The purpose of the present study was to clarify the interspecific differences in grazing ability of five parrotfish species (Chlorurus sordidus, C. bowersi, Scarus rivulatus, S. niger and S. for...

Infections due to Aspergillus species cause significant morbidity and mortality. Most are attributed to Aspergillus fumigatus, followed by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus terreus. Aspergillus niger is a mould that is rarely reported as a cause of pneumonia. A 72-year-old female with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and temporal arteritis being treated with steroids long term presented w...

Forty-five fungal isolates from moldy supermarket foods were tested for toxicity to brine shrimp, and twenty-two of these isolates were subsequently tested for toxicity to chicken embryos. Highly toxigenic fungi were Cladosporium sphaerospermum from a bakery product, Fusarium oxysporum from carrots, F. solani from cabbage, Aspergillus niger and Penicillium corylophilum from bread, P. cyclopium ...

The Niger Delta is located in Southern Nigeria and is Africa’s largest delta, covering about 70,000 square kilometers, and with about one-third of it made up of wetlands, and the third largest world mangrove forests. The Niger Delta is unique in Nigeria because it is the home of Nigeria’s oil industry, with its attendant environmental hazards such as water, land, air pollution, etc. Human activ...

The biotransformation of sucrose to fructooligosaccharides was investigated using the catalytic action of fructosyltransferase originated from marine Aspergillus niger, using whole cell immobilization. The biomass production and enzymatic reaction were carried out in shake flask. A fructosyltransferase enzyme producing fungi locally isolated from sea water from South East cost of India, by usin...

Aspergillus niger has shown production of metal chelating compounds mainly oxalic acid and citric acid. Production of oxalic acid by Aspergillus niger was found maximum in presence of Pb, followed by Cu+Pb and Cu. With increase in concentration of Pb to 50, 100 and 250 mg/L, the production of oxalic acid was increased. Whereas increase in concentration of Cu+Pb and Cu, resulted in decreased pro...

Eleven fungal strains (4 Penicillium commune, 2 Aspergillus niger, 2 Aspergillus rugulosa, Aspergillus terricola, Aspergillus ornatus and Aspergillus fumigatus) were isolated, characterized morphologically and by their capacity to degrade tannins. Aspergillus niger Aa-20 was used as control strain. Several concentrations of hydrolysable tannin (tannic acid) were used as sole carbon source. All ...

Forty-five, day-old broiler chicks with an initial average weight of 30.25±2.40 g were divided into three groups of fifteen animals each. The first group was placed on soybean-based (control) diet; the second group on raw (unfermented) T. catappa seed meal-based diet; and the third on A. niger-fermented T. catappa seed meal-based diet, for seven (7) weeks. Feed intake, feed conversion ratio, av...

Hexane and methanolic oil extracts from five varieties of Artocarpus seeds were studied to explore its suitability for ethno medical uses. Crude hexane and methanolic oils were found to shown good to moderate activity against bacteria, in particular Gram +ve (Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-ve (Eschirichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and fungal stains...