Plastic waste is a concern that growing due to its nondegradable nature. Many species of microorganisms naturally produce polyhydroxyalkanoates, macromolecule-polyesters may be used replace conventional plastics. A variety can completely biodegrade PHAs within year, which unlike petroleum-derived plastic takes decades degrade. Carbon dioxide and water are produced during this biodegradation, re...

Currently, numerous research groups have explored the production and properties of biocomposites where the polymer matrices are derived from renewable resources such as poly lactide (PLA), thermoplastic starch (TPS), cellulose and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). This review is carried out to evaluate the development and properties of natural fibre reinforced biodegradable polymer composites. They...

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are storage compounds synthesized by numerous microorganisms and have attracted the interest of industry since they are biobased and biodegradable alternatives to fossil fuel-derived plastics. Among PHAs, poly(3-hydroxypropionate) [poly(3HP)] has outstanding material characteristics and exhibits a large variety of applications. As it is not brittle like, e.g., the b...

Elucidating the mechanisms by which the transcription machinery accesses promoters in their chromatin environment is a fundamental aspect of understanding gene regulation. The phas promoter is normally constrained by a rotationally and translationally positioned nucleosome over its TATA region except during embryogenesis when it is potentiated by the presence of Phaseolus vulgaris ABI3-like fac...

Maize anthers, the male reproductive floral organs, express two classes of phased small-interfering RNAs (phasiRNAs). PhasiRNA precursors are transcribed by RNA polymerase II and map to low-copy, intergenic regions similar to PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) in mammalian testis. From 10 sequential cohorts of staged maize anthers plus mature pollen we find that 21-nt phased siRNAs from 463 loci ap...

Bio-composites based on polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) and fibres of Posidonia oceanica (PO) were investigated to assess their processability by extrusion, mechanical properties, and potential biodegradability in a natural marine environment. PHAs were successfully compounded with PO fibres up to 20 wt % while, at 30 wt % of fibres, the addition of 10 wt % of polyethylene glycol (PEG 400) was nec...