Summary: The marked trend and consumers growing interest in natural and healthy products have forced researches and industry to develop novel products with functional ingredients. Microalgae have been recognized as source of functional ingredients with positive health effects since these microorganisms produce polyunsaturated fatty acids, polysaccharides, natural pigments, essential minerals, vitamins, enzymes and bioactive peptides. For this reason, the manuscript reviews two of the main high‐value metabolites which can be obtained from microalgae: pigments and essential lipids. Therefore, the extraction and purification methods for polyunsaturated fatty acids, astaxanthin, phycoerythrin and phycocyanin are described. Also, the effect that environmental growth conditions have in the production of these metabolites is described. This review summarizes the existing methods to extract and purify such metabolites in order to develop a feasible and sustainable algae industry.

Mexico ranks 9th in the world in crude oil reserves, 4th in natural gas reserves in America and it is also highly rich in renewable sources (solar, wind, biomasss, hydropower and geothermal), however its potential has not been fully exploited. Hydropower is the renewable energy source with the highest installed capacity within the country (11,603 MW), while geothermal power capacity (958 MW) makes Mexico to be ranked 4th in the use of this energy worldwide. Wind energy potential is concentrated in five different zones, mainly in the state of Oaxaca, and solar energy has a high potential due to Mexico’s ideal location in the so called Solar Belt. Biomass energy has the highest potential (2,635 to 3,771 PJ/year) and also the highest research publications in the country during the last 30 years (1982-2012). Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico has led research publications in hydropower, wind, solar and biomass energy and Instituto de Investigaciones Electricas in geothermal energy during this period. According to General Law for Climate Change the country has set the goal of 35% of energy generated should come from renewable sources by 2024.This paper presents an overview of the renewable energy options available in Mexico, current status, main positive results to date and future potential. It also analyses barriers hindering improvements and proposes pertinent solutions.JRC.F.7-Renewables and Energy Efficienc

In this study, the purification and characterization of two thermostable laccases produced by Pycnoporus sanguineus CS43 (LacI and LacII) were performed. Also, their biotechnological potential was assessed through the degradation of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Laccases were purified by ultrafiltration, ion exchange (IEX) and hydrophobic interaction chromatography achieving specific activities close to 285Umg−1. The molecular weights of LacI and LacII, determined by SDS-electrophoresis, were 68 and 66kDa, respectively. Both laccases showed high amino acid sequence similarity (91%) between them and high thermostability, at 50 and 60°C (half-lives of 277.7 and 18h for LacI, 35.8 and 2.25h for LacII). The isoforms oxidized common laccase substrates such as 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonate (ABTS), 2,6-dimethoxyphenol (DMP) and guaiacol at acidic pH conditions. ABTS was the most efficient substrate, showing high specificity constants of 74,816 and 36,746mM−1s−1 for Lac I and LacII, and Michaelis constants (Km) of 6.9 and 12.2μM respectively at pH 3. Both purified laccases remained active at high concentrations of organic solvents (acetonitrile, ethanol and acetone), with an IC50 (v/v) of >64%, 55% and 47% for LacI, and 33%, 52% and 31% for LacII, respectively. LacI and LacII were tested to degrade EDCs, nonylphenol and triclosan, with more than 95% removal after 8h of treatment with 100U/L at pH 5 as determined by means of HPLC. The high thermostability, unique Michaelis–Menten kinetic parameters, and organic solvent tolerance demonstrated for the isoforms produced by P. sanguineus CS43 render them promising candidates for industrial applications. LacI exerted a higher thermal and pH stability, tolerance against inhibitors and was a more efficient catalyst for ABTS and DMP than LacII

The biodegradation of organic compounds present in water at trace concentration has become a critical environmental problem. In particular, enzymatic oxidation by fungal laccases offers a promising alternative for efficient and sustainable removal of organic pollutants in water. In this work, the biocatalytic ability of laccases from the Pycnoporus sanguineus CS43 fungus was evaluated. A filtered culture supernatant (laccase cocktail) evidenced an enhanced biotransformation capability to remove common endocrine-disruptor compounds (EDCs), such as bisphenol A, 4-nonylphenol, 17-α-ethynylestradiol and triclosan. A biodegradation of around 89–100 % was achieved for all EDCs using synthetic samples (10 mg L⁻¹) and after the enzymatic treatment with 100 U L⁻¹ (50.3 U mg ⁻¹). The biodegradation rates obtained were fitted to a first order reaction. Furthermore, enzymatic biocatalytic activity was also evaluated in groundwater samples coming from northwestern Mexico, reaching biotransformation percentages between 55 and 93 % for all tested compounds. As far as we know this is the first study on real groundwater samples in which the enzymatic degradation of target EDCs by a laccase cocktail from any strain of Pycnoporus sanguineus was evaluated. In comparison with purified laccases, the use of cocktail offers operational advantages since additional purification steps can be avoided.

The objective of this study was to integrate data on the effect of water activity ( a _w ; 0.995–0.93) and temperature (20–35°C) on activation of the biosynthetic FUM genes, growth and the mycotoxins fumonisin (FB ₁ , FB ₂ ) by Fusarium verticillioides in vitro . The relative expression of nine biosynthetic cluster genes ( FUM1 , FUM7 , FUM10 , FUM11 , FUM12 , FUM13 , FUM14 , FUM16 and FUM19 ) in relation to the environmental factors was determined using a microarray analysis. The expression was related to growth and phenotypic FB ₁ and FB ₂ production. These data were used to develop a mixed-growth-associated product formation model and link this to a linear combination of the expression data for the nine genes. The model was then validated by examining datasets outside the model fitting conditions used (35°C). The relationship between the key gene ( FUM1 ) and other genes in the cluster ( FUM11, FUM13, FUM9, FUM14 ) were examined in relation to a _w , temperature, FB ₁ and FB ₂ production by developing ternary diagrams of relative expression. This model is important in developing an integrated systems approach to develop prevention strategies to control fumonisin biosynthesis in staple food commodities and could also be used to predict the potential impact that climate change factors may have on toxin production.