O LEARY L1 Flashcards
What causes the smell of rain?
Geosmin which is produced by a type of Actinobacteria
Production of ethanol?
Ethanol -from yeast- converted to acetic acid by acetic acid bacteria
What does geosmin do?
-causes a ‘muddy’ flavour off of freshwater fish
-geosmin then degrades to odourless compounds in the presence of acid
What causes the scent given off by Agarwood/Oud?
The fragrance is the result of a fungal infection which causes several Aquilaria tree species to produce a complex resin to defend itself
What is indole from and what is it used for?
-Indole is one of the compounds found in Oud
-Used as a fragrance fixer in perfume industry- produced from coal tar (220-260 C fraction)
What happens in the gut with regards to Indole?
Microorganisms in the gut like E.coli degrade the amino acid Tryptophan to Indole and 3-methyl Indole (Skatole)
What happens skatole?
Small amounts of skatole used in perfume but increasing concentrations make sewage odour
What does Skatole attract and what does this mean?
Skatole is an attractant for flies and mosquitoes
Sewage overflow into rivers can thus have short and long range impacts e.g virus spread
What catalyses the conversion of indole to commercial dye indigo?
Bacterial “oxygenase” enzymes
-same oxygenases can convert Indene to precursors of Indinivar
What is Indinivar?
An antiretroviral therapeutic agent (protease inhibitor)
Who proposed theory of evolution?
Charles darwin and Alfred Russell Wallace
