Biological sources

Unlike the geological sources, biology does not appear to be a large direct source of particles to the atmosphere, unless we consider forest fires to be a biological source. Table 3.2 shows that forest fires are quite an important source of carbon (C), i.e. soot particles. 

Although forests are obvious as sources of gas, it is the microorganisms that are especially important in generating atmospheric trace gases. Methane, which we have already discussed, is generated by reactions in anaerobic systems. Damp soils, as found in marshes or rice paddies, are important micro-biologically dominated environments, as are the digestive tracts of ruminants such as cattle. 

If the soil where this hydrolysis occurs is alkaline (Box 3.3), gaseous NH3 can be released, although in acidic conditions it will react to form the non-volatile ammonium ion (NHJ)  

Plants can absorb soil NH3 or NH4 directly and some microorganisms, such as Nitrosomonas, oxidize NH3, using it as an energy source for respiration, in the same way that other cells use reduced carbon compounds. One possible reaction would be  

Here we can see a biological source for nitrous oxide (N20), an important and rather stable trace gas in the troposphere. In nature there are many other 

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The protein sequence database is also a text-numeric database with bibliographic links. It is the largest public domain protein sequence database. The current PIR-PSD release 75.04 (March, 2003) contains more than 280 000 entries of partial or complete protein sequences with information on functionalities of the protein, taxonomy (description of the biological source of the protein), sequence properties, experimental analyses, and bibliographic references. Queries can be started as a text-based search or a sequence similarity search. PIR-PSD contains annotated protein sequences with a superfamily/family classification. 

Textile dyes were, until the nineteenth century invention of aniline dyes, derived from biological sources plants or animals, eg, insects or, as in the case of the highly prized classical dyestuff Tyrian purple, a shellfish. Some of these natural dyes are so-caUed vat dyes, eg, indigo and Tyrian purple, in which a chemical modification after binding to the fiber results in the intended color. Some others are direct dyes, eg, walnut sheU and safflower, that can be apphed directly to the fiber. The majority, however, are mordant dyes a metal salt precipitated onto the fiber facUitates the binding of the dyestuff Aluminum, iron, and tin salts ate the most common historical mordants. The color of the dyed textile depends on the mordant used for example, cochineal is crimson when mordanted with aluminum, purple with iron, and scarlet with tin (see Dyes AND DYE INTERMEDIATES). 

L W. Suthedand, in D. Byrom., ed.. Biomaterials, Novel Materialsfrom Biological Sources, Stockton Press, New York, 1991, pp. 307—331. 

Noncrystalline aromatic polycarbonates (qv) and polyesters (polyarylates) and alloys of polycarbonate with other thermoplastics are considered elsewhere, as are aHphatic polyesters derived from natural or biological sources such as poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), poly(glycoHde), or poly(lactide) these, too, are separately covered (see Polymers, environmentally degradable Sutures). Thermoplastic elastomers derived from poly(ester—ether) block copolymers such as PBT/PTMEG-T [82662-36-0] and known by commercial names such as Hytrel and Riteflex are included here in the section on poly(butylene terephthalate). Specific polymers are dealt with largely in order of volume, which puts PET first by virtue of its enormous market volume in bottie resin. 

Many carotenoids function in humans as vitamin A precursors however, not all carotenoids have provitamin A activity (Table 3). Of the biologically active carotenoids, -carotene has the greatest activity. Despite the fact that theoretically one molecule of -carotene is a biological source of two molecules of vitamin A, this relationship is not observed and 6 p.g -carotene is equivalent to 1 p. vitamin A. Although -carotene and vitamin A have complementary activities, they caimot totally replace each other. Because the conversion of -carotene to vitamin A is highly regulated, toxic quantities of vitamin A cannot accumulate and -carotene can be considered as a safe form of vitamin A (8). 

Some hydrogen cyanide is formed whenever hydrocarbons (qv) are burned in an environment that is deficient in air. Small concentrations are also found in the stratosphere and atmosphere. It is not clear whether most of this hydrogen cyanide comes from biological sources or from high temperature, low oxygen processes such as coke production, but no accumulation has been shown (3). 

The hydrocarbon methane (CH,) is the major component of natural gas (around 90 percent) that is found in oil and gas wells throughout the world. Since the begiiitiiiig of time, methane has also been produced by a number of biological sources—both natural and huiiiaii—by the decoiiipositioii of organ-... 

Methane from renewable biological sources will never be a major energy resource, yet it can be a valuable addition to the energy supply mix. Nevertheless, whether methane comes from fossil fuel reservoirs or from bioconversions, it is certain to provide useful energy for many years to come. 

For more than two decades Woodward s total synthesis1 1 "d of chlorophyll a was in fact the only total synthetic approach to a chlorin. When, in the early eighties, new chlorin-type natural products were isolated from different biological sources, a systematic investigation of selective synthetic approaches leading to chlorins was induced.4... 

Figure 7.5 Production of xanthan gum in batch culture using X. campestris. Bacterial dry weight ( ) xanthan gum ( ) residual glucose ( ) residual glutamate (A). Adapted from Microbial exopolysaccharide, Yenton etai pp 217-261. In biomaterials Novel Materials from Biological Sources, D Byrom (Ed), MacMillan Academic Professional Ltd, 1991.

Table 3-6 Biological sources of Earth s major atmospheric gases"...

Gas Principal biological source Residence time in the atmosphere... 

Xanthine oxidase (XO) is not only an important biological source of ROS but also the enzyme responsible for the formation of uric acid associated with gout leading to painful inflammation in the joints. The XO inhibition effect by the enzymatically synthesized poly(catechin) increased as an increasing concentration of catechin units, while the monomeric catechin showed almost negligible inhibition effect in the same concentration range. ° This markedly amplified XO inhibition activity of poly(catechin) was considered to be due to effective multivalent interaction between XO and the condensed catechin units in the poly (catechin). 

Steinbuchel A (1991) Polyhydroxyalkanoic acid. In Byrom D (ed) Biomaterials. Novel materials from biological sources. Macmillan, Basingstoke, p 123... 

Byrom D (1991) Biomaterials novel materials from biological sources. Stockton, New York... 

Naturally occurring phospholipids can be isolated from a variety of sources. One of the most common phospholipid raw materials is egg yolk. However, since the composition of egg phospholipid is from a biological source and can vary considerably depending on age of the eggs, the diet of the chickens, and the method of processing, newer enzymatic and synthetic chemical methods now are being employed to manufacture the required phospholipid derivatives in higher purity and yield. 

Atmospheric constituents whose concentrations require a biological source. 

Traditionally, carotenoids have been given trivial names derived usually from the biological source from which they are isolated, but a semisystematic scheme has been devised that allows carotenoids to be named unambiguously and in a way that defines and describes their structure (Table 7.2). Specific names are based on the stem name carotene preceded by the Greek-letter prefixes that designate the two end groups. For example, 3-carotene is correctly referred to as p, p-carotene, and a-carotene as p, e-carotene. 

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