Psychrophilic bacteria, living at low and mild temperatures, can contribute significantly to our understanding of microbial responses to temperature, markedly occurring in the bacterial membrane. Here, a newly isolated strain, Pseudomonas sp. B14-6, was found to dynamically change its unsaturated fatty acid and cyclic fatty acid content depending on temperature which was revealed by phospholipid fatty

Activation of silent biosynthetic gene clusters in fungi remains a challenge for discovery of new useful natural products. In this work, we identify a group of silent secondary metabolite gene clusters in Aspergillus nidulans that are induced by rice (Oryza sativa). Using reverse phase HPLC purification on extracts of rice, we identified the plant hormone gibberellic acid as one compound present in

d-Limonene, a cyclized monoterpene, possesses citrus-like olfactory property and multi-physiological functions, which can be used as a bioactive compound and flavor to improve the overall quality of alcoholic beverages. In our previous study, we established an orthogonal pathway of d-limonene synthesis by introducing neryl diphosphate synthase 1 (tNDPS1) and d-limonene synthase (tLS) in Saccharomyces

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Tetanus is a fatal disease caused by Clostridium tetani infections. To prevent infections, a toxoid vaccine, developed almost a century ago, is routinely used in humans and animals. The vaccine is listed in the World Health Organisation list of Essential Medicines and can be produced and administered very cheaply in the developing world for less than one US Dollar per dose. Recent developments in both

Unfavorable cell heterogeneity is a frequent risk during bioprocess scale-up and characterized by rising frequencies of low-producing cells. Low-producing cells emerge by both non-genetic and genetic variation and will enrich due to their higher specific growth rate during the extended number of cell divisions of large-scale bioproduction. Here, we discuss recent strategies for synthetic stabilization

The properties of digestates generated through anaerobic digestion are influenced by interactions between the digester microbial communities, feedstock properties and digester operating conditions. This study investigated the effect of varying initial feedstock carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratios on digestate microbiota and predicted abundance of genes encoding lignocellulolytic activity. The C/N ratio

Organic farming has become more prevalent in recent years as consumer demand for organic food and fiber has rapidly grown. Until recently, organic fertilizers and soil amendments have largely been based on the practices of returning crop residues, manures and related agricultural wastes back to crop production areas. One rapidly growing segment in commercial organic fertilizer development is the use

Protein glycosylation, the enzymatic modification of amino acid sidechains with sugar moieties, plays critical roles in cellular function, human health, and biotechnology. However, studying and producing defined glycoproteins remains challenging. Cell-free glycoprotein synthesis systems, in which protein synthesis and glycosylation are performed in crude cell extracts, offer new approaches to address

To improve the thermostability of the lipase (r27RCL) from Rhizopus chinensis through rational design, a newly introduced buried disulfide bond F223C/G247C was proved to be beneficial to thermostability. Interestingly, F223C/G247C was also found to improve the alkali tolerance of the lipase. Subsequently, six other thermostabilizing mutations from our previous work were integrated into the mutant F223C/G247C

The aim of this study was to establish isobutanol production on chemically defined medium in Escherichia coli. By individually expressing each gene of the pathway, we constructed a plasmid library for isobutanol production. Strain screening on chemically defined medium showed successful production in the robust E. coli W strain, and expression vector IB 4 was selected as the most promising construct

A microbial production platform has been developed in Escherichia coli to synthesize d-glyceric acid from d-galacturonate. The expression of uronate dehydrogenase (udh) from Pseudomonas syringae and galactarolactone isomerase (gli) from Agrobacterium fabrum, along with the inactivation of garK, encoding for glycerate kinase, enables d-glyceric acid accumulation by utilizing the endogenous expression

Bacterial secondary metabolites play important roles in promoting survival, though few have been carefully studied in their natural context. Numerous gene clusters code for secondary metabolites in the genomes of members of the Bptm group, made up of three closely related species with distinctly different lifestyles: the opportunistic pathogen Burkholderia pseudomallei, the non-pathogenic saprophyte

The co-utilization of mixed (pentose/hexose) sugars constitutes a challenge for microbial fermentations. The fungus Ashbya gossypii, which is currently exploited for the industrial production of riboflavin, has been presented as an efficient biocatalyst for the production of biolipids using xylose-rich substrates. However, the utilization of xylose in A. gossypii is hindered by hexose sugars. Three

Amyris is a fermentation product company that leverages synthetic biology and has been bringing novel fermentation products to the market since 2009. Driven by breakthroughs in genome editing, strain construction and testing, analytics, automation, data science, and process development, Amyris has commercialized nine separate fermentation products over the last decade. This has been accomplished by

A simple potentiostat was constructed as a strategy to enhance solvent production in a mediatorless and oxygen-exposed fermentation inoculated with the aerotolerant strain Clostridium sp. C10. Elevated n-butanol and acetone titers were recorded in all fermentations with either glucose or xylose in the presence of electrodes poised at + 500 mV (+ 814 mV vs SHE) relative to cells plus substrate only

Type IV pili (T4P) are bacterial appendages used for cell adhesion and surface motility. In metal-reducing bacteria in the genus Geobacter, they have the unique property of being conductive and essential to wire cells to extracellular electron acceptors and other cells within biofilms. These electroactive bacteria use a conserved pathway for biological assembly and disassembly of a short and aromatic

A breeding approach combining genome shuffling with multiple antibiotic-resistance including gentamicin, rifampin and lincomycin, was developed in this research to improve the poly-γ-l-diaminobutanoic acid (γ-PAB) production in Bacillus pumilus LS-1. By this unique strategy, recombinants from the third round of genome shuffling could tolerate higher concentration of compound antibiotics and exhibited

Genetically encoded biosensors are powerful tools used to screen metabolite-producing microbial strains. Traditionally, biosensor-based screening approaches also use fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). However, these approaches are limited by the measurement of intracellular fluorescence signals in single cells, rather than the signals associated with populations comprising multiple cells.

Mixed strain dynamics are still not well or easily monitored although recently molecular identification methods have improved our knowledge. This study used a chromogenic differential plating medium that allows the discrimination of four of the main selected biofuel strains that are currently under development for ethanol production from cellulosic hydrolysates. Complete fermentation of hexoses and

Phytase is an additive in animal feed that degrades phytic acid in plant material, reducing feeding costs, and pollution from fecal phosphorus excretion. A multistrategy approach was adopted to improve the expression of E. coli phytase in Pichia pastoris. We determined that the most suitable signal peptide for phytase secretion was an α-factor secretion signal with an initial enzyme activity of 153

Microbes exchange electrons with their extracellular environment via direct or indirect means. This exchange is bidirectional and supports essential microbial oxidation–reduction processes, such as respiration and photosynthesis. The microbial capacity to use electrons from insoluble electron donors, such as redox-active minerals, poised electrodes, or even other microbial cells is called extracellular

Different methods are used at Corteva® Agriscience to improve our understanding of mixing in large-scale mechanically agitated fermentors. These include (a) use of classical empirical correlations, (b) use of small-scale models, and (c) computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Each of these approaches has its own inherent strengths and limitations. Classic empirical or semi-empirical correlations can provide

The sustainable production of solvents from above ground carbon is highly desired. Several clostridia naturally produce solvents and use a variety of renewable and waste-derived substrates such as lignocellulosic biomass and gas mixtures containing H2/CO2 or CO. To enable economically viable production of solvents and biofuels such as ethanol and butanol, the high productivity of continuous bioprocesses

The biomanufacturing industry has now the opportunity to upgrade its production processes to be in harmony with the latest industrial revolution. Technology creates capabilities that enable smart manufacturing while still complying with unfolding regulations. However, many biomanufacturing companies, especially in the biopharma sector, still have a long way to go to fully benefit from smart manufacturing

γ-Glutamyl compounds have unveiled their importance as active substances or precursors of pharmaceuticals. In this research, an approach for enzymatic synthesis of γ-glutamyl compounds was developed using γ-glutamylmethylamide synthetase (GMAS) from Methylovorus mays and polyphosphate kinase (PPK) from Corynebacterium glutamicum. GMAS and PPK were co-recombined in pETDuet-1 plasmid and co-expressed

Isoprenoids are a large class of natural products with myriad applications as bioactive and commercial compounds. Their diverse structures are derived from the biosynthetic assembly and tailoring of their scaffolds, ultimately constructed from two C5 hemiterpene building blocks. The modular logic of these platforms can be harnessed to improve titers of valuable isoprenoids in diverse hosts and to produce

Corynebacterium glutamicum is an essential industrial strain that has been widely harnessed for the production of all kinds of value-added products. Efficient multiplex gene editing and large DNA fragment deletion are essential strategies for industrial biotechnological research. Cpf1 is a robust and simple genome editing tool for simultaneous editing of multiplex genes. However, no studies on effective

This study addressed the functionality of genetic circuits carrying natural regulatory elements of Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824 in the presence of the respective inducer molecules. Specifically, promoters and their regulators involved in diverse carbon source utilization were characterized using mCherryOpt or beta-galactosidase as a reporter. Consequently, most of the genetic circuits tested

In this work, a fed-batch fermentation development was performed with recombinant E. coli carrying the PhoA promoter system. The phosphate concentrations tested for this PhoA strain, 2.79 mM to 86.4 mM, were beyond the concentrations previously evaluated for cell growth and product titer. The results from the scouting work was used for design of experiments (DoE) where a range of phosphate levels from

Efficient saccharification of lignocellulosic biomass requires concerted development of a pretreatment method, an enzyme cocktail and an enzymatic process, all of which are adapted to the feedstock. Recent years have shown great progress in most aspects of the overall process. In particular, increased insights into the contributions of a wide variety of cellulolytic and hemicellulolytic enzymes have

Caldicellulosiruptor bescii is the most thermophilic cellulolytic organism yet identified (Topt 78 °C). It grows on untreated plant biomass and has an established genetic system thereby making it a promising microbial platform for lignocellulose conversion to bio-products. Here, we investigated the ability of engineered C. bescii to generate alcohols from carboxylic acids. Expression of aldehyde ferredoxin

The gram-positive bacterium, Streptomyces, is noticed for its ability to produce a wide array of pharmaceutically active compounds through secondary metabolism. To discover novel bioactive secondary metabolites and increase the production, Streptomyces species have been extensively studied for the past decades. Among the cellular components, RNA molecules play important roles as the messengers for

Microbial fermentation platforms offer a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to plant cultivation and chemical synthesis for the production of many plant-derived pharmaceuticals. Plant alkaloids, particularly benzylisoquinoline alkaloids and monoterpene indole alkaloids, and recently cannabinoids have become attractive targets for microbial biosynthesis owing to their medicinal importance. Recent

Sake is a traditional Japanese alcoholic beverage brewed with the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Sake taste is affected by sugars, organic acids, and amino acids. We previously isolated mutants resistant to the proline analogue azetidine-2-carboxylate derived from a diploid sake yeast strain. Some of the mutants produced a greater amount of proline in the brewed sake. One of them (strain K-9-AZC)

While design and high-throughput build approaches in biotechnology have increasingly gained attention over the past decade, approaches to test strain performance in high-throughput have received less discussion in the literature. Here, we describe how fermentation characterization can be used to improve the overall efficiency of high-throughput DBTAL (design-build-test-analyze-learn) cycles in an industrial

Motivated by the need for improved understanding of physical processes involved in bacterial biodegradation of catastrophic oil spills, we review biophysical methods to probe bacterial motility and adhesion at oil–water interfaces. This review summarizes methods that probe bulk, average behaviors as well as local, microscopic behaviors, and highlights opportunities for future work to bridge the gap

The formation of inclusion bodies (IBs) without enzyme activity in bacterial research is generally undesirable. Researchers have attempted to recovery the enzyme activities of IBs, which are commonly known as active IBs. Tyrosine phenol-lyase (TPL) is an important enzyme that can convert pyruvate and phenol into 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl-l-alanine (L-DOPA) and IBs of TPL can commonly occur. To induce the

Lasso peptides produced by bacteria have a very unique cyclic structure (“lasso” structure) and are resistant to protease. To date, a number of lasso peptides have been isolated from proteobacteria and actinobacteria. Many lasso peptides exhibit various biological activities, such as antibacterial activity, and are expected to have various applications. Based on study of genome mining, large numbers

The presence of Burkholderia cepacia complex (BCC) strains has resulted in recalls of pharmaceutical products, since these opportunistic pathogens can cause serious infections. Rapid and sensitive diagnostic methods to detect BCC are crucial to determine contamination levels. We evaluated bacterial cultures, real-time PCR (qPCR), droplet digital PCR (ddPCR), and flow cytometry to detect BCC in nuclease-free

With the rapid development of synthetic biology and metabolic engineering technologies, yeast has been generally considered as promising hosts for the bioproduction of secondary metabolites. Sterols are essential components of cell membrane, and are the precursors for the biosynthesis of steroid hormones, signaling molecules, and defense molecules in the higher eukaryotes, which are of pharmaceutical

The shikimate pathway is indispensable for the biosynthesis of natural products with aromatic moieties. These products have wide current and potential applications in food, cosmetics and medicine, and consequently have great commercial value. However, compounds extracted from various plants or synthesized from petrochemicals no longer satisfy the requirements of contemporary industries. As a result

Yarrowia lipolytica is an oleaginous yeast that has been substantially engineered for production of oleochemicals and drop-in transportation fuels. The unique acetyl-CoA/malonyl-CoA supply mode along with the versatile carbon-utilization pathways makes this yeast a superior host to upgrade low-value carbons into high-value secondary metabolites and fatty acid-based chemicals. The expanded synthetic

Ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) compose a large structurally and functionally diverse family of natural products. The biosynthesis system of RiPPs typically involves a precursor peptide comprising of a leader and core motif and nearby processing enzymes that recognize the leader and act on the core for producing modified peptides. Interest in RiPPs has increased

Alizarin has been reported to have an antigenotoxic activity along with an inhibitory effect on the tumor cell growth of human colon carcinoma cells. Alizarin was biotransformed into an O-methoxide derivative using O-methyltransferase from Streptomyces avermitilis MA4680 (SaOMT2) to enhance its bioefficacy. The biotransformed product was extracted, purified, and characterized using various chromatographic

l-Leucine is an essential amino acid that has wide and expanding applications in the industry. It is currently fast-growing market demand that provides a powerful impetus to further increase its bioconversion productivity and production stability. In this study, we rationally engineered the metabolic flux from pyruvate to l-leucine synthesis in Corynebacterium glutamicum to enhance both pyruvate availability

β-Alanine (β-Ala) is an important intermediate with numerous applications in food and feed additives, pharmaceuticals, polymeric materials, and electroplating industries. Its biological production routes that employ l-aspartate-α-decarboxylase (ADC) as the key enzyme are attractive. In this study, we developed an efficient and environmentally safe method for β-Ala production by co-expressing two different

Cytochrome P450 enzymes catalyse reactions of significant industrial interest but are underutilised in large-scale bioprocesses due to enzyme stability, cofactor requirements and the poor aqueous solubility and microbial toxicity of typical substrates and products. In this work, we investigate the potential for preparative-scale N-demethylation of the opium poppy alkaloid noscapine by a P450BM3 (CYP102A1)

d-Limonene, a cyclic monoterpene, possesses citrus-like olfactory property and multi-physiological functions. In this study, the d-limonene synthase (tLS) from Citrus limon was codon-optimized and heterologously expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The metabolic flux of canonical pathway based on overexpressing endogenous geranyl diphosphate synthase gene (ERG20) and its variant ERG20F96W−N127W was

Polymyxins are used as the last-line therapy against multidrug-resistant bacteria. However, their further clinical development needs to solve problems related to the presence of heterogeneous analogs, but there is still no platform or methods that can regulate the biosynthesis of polymyxin analogs. In this study, we present an approach to swap domains in the polymyxin gene cluster to regulate the production

As the effects of climate change become apparent, metabolic engineers and synthetic biologists are exploring sustainable sources for transportation fuels. The design and engineering of microorganisms to produce gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel compounds from renewable feedstocks can significantly reduce our dependence on fossil fuels as well as lower the emissions of greenhouse gases. Over the past 2

Production of esters from the acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation by Clostridium often focuses on butyl butyrate, leaving acetone as an undesired product. Addition of butyrate is also often needed because ABE fermentation does not produce enough butyrate. Here we addressed the problems using Clostridium beijerinckii BGS1 that preferred to produce isopropanol instead of acetone, and co-culturing

Yeast and microalgae are microorganisms with widely diverging physiological and biotechnological properties. Accordingly, their fields of applications diverge: yeasts are primarily applied in processes related to fermentation, while microalgae are used for the production of high-value metabolites and green technologies such as carbon capture. Heterotrophic-autotrophic systems and synthetic ecology

Sophorolipids (SLs) are surface-active molecules produced by the non-pathogenic yeast Starmerella bombicola CGMCC 1576. Several genes involved in the synthesis of SLs have been identified. However, the regulation mechanism of the synthesis pathway for SLs has not been investigated. We recently discovered a protein in S. bombicola, which is structurally related to Yarrowia lipolytica YlBro1. To identify

Past research has sought to improve the production of cyclopropane fatty acids by the oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica by heterologously expressing the E. coli fatty acid synthase gene and improving cultivation processes. Cyclopropane fatty acids display properties that hold promise for biofuel applications. The E. coli fatty acid synthase gene was introduced into several genetic backgrounds of

CRISPR-Cas9 has proven as a very powerful gene editing tool for Actinomyces, allowing scarless and precise genome editing in selected strains of these biotechnologically relevant microorganisms. However, its general application in actinomycetes has been limited due to its inefficacy when applying the system in an untested strain. Here, we provide evidence of how Cas9 levels are toxic for the model

D-Arabitol is an important pentitol that is widely used in the food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. It is mainly produced by yeasts during the biotransformation of glucose. To obtain strains with high D-arabitol production, Candida parapsilosis was mutated using atmospheric and room temperature plasma (ARTP). Among the screened mutants, mutant A6 had the highest yield at 32.92 g/L, a 53.98%

The valorization of lignin is critical for the economic viability of the bioeconomy. Microbial metabolism is advantageous for handling the myriad of aromatic compounds resulting from lignin chemical or enzymatic depolymerization. Coupling aromatic metabolism to fatty acid biosynthesis makes possible the production of biofuels, oleochemicals, and other fine/bulk chemicals derived from lignin. Our previous