The green microalga Chromochloris zofingiensis is capable of producing high levels of triacylglycerol rich in C18 unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs). FA desaturation degree is regulated by FA desaturases (FADs). Nevertheless, it remains largely unknown regarding what FADs are involved in FA desaturations and how these FADs collaborate to contribute to the high abundance of C18 UFAs in triacylglycerol in

Endo-β-1,4-galactanases are glycoside hydrolases (GH) from the GH53 family belonging to the largest clan of GHs, clan GH-A. GHs are ubiquitous and involved in a myriad of biological functions as well as being widely used industrially. Endo-β-1,4-galactanases, in particular hydrolyse galactan and arabinogalactan in pectin, a major component of the primary plant cell wall, with important functions in

Bio-hydrogen production via dark fermentation of low-value waste is a potent and simple mean of recovering energy, maximising the harvesting of reducing equivalents to produce the cleanest fuel amongst renewables. Following several position papers from companies and public bodies, the hydrogen economy is regaining interest, especially in combination with circular economy and the environmental benefits

Raw materials composed of easily assimilated monosaccharides have been employed as carbon source for production of microbial lipids. Nevertheless, agro-industrial wastes rich in galactose-based carbohydrates have not been introduced as feedstocks for oleaginous yeasts. In this study, Aureobasidium namibiae A12 was found to efficiently accumulate lipid from soy molasses and whey powder containing galactose-based

Microalgae are coming to the spotlight due to their potential applications in a wide number of fields ranging from the biofuel to the pharmaceutical sector. However, several factors such as low productivity, expensive harvesting procedures and difficult metabolite extractability limit their full utilization at industrial scale. Similarly to the successful employment of enzymatic arsenals from lignocellulolytic

Environmental factors, such as weather extremes, have the potential to cause adverse effects on plant biomass quality and quantity. Beyond adversely affecting feedstock yield and composition, which have been extensively studied, environmental factors can have detrimental effects on saccharification and fermentation processes in biofuel production. Only a few studies have evaluated the effect of these

In terms of global demand, rapeseed is the third-largest oilseed crop after soybeans and palm, which produces vegetable oil for human consumption and biofuel for industrial production. Roots are vital organs for plant to absorb water and attain mineral nutrients, thus they are of great importance to plant productivity. However, the genetic mechanisms regulating root development in rapeseed remain unclear

To create an ideotype woody bioenergy crop with desirable growth and biomass properties, we utilized the viral 2A-meidated bicistronic expression strategy to express both PtrMYB3 (MYB46 ortholog of Populus trichocarpa, a master regulator of secondary wall biosynthesis) and PdGA20ox1 (a GA20-oxidase from Pinus densiflora that produces gibberellins) in wood-forming tissue (i.e., developing xylem). Transgenic

The efficiency of biological systems as an option for pretreating lignocellulosic biomass has to be improved to make the process practical. Fungal treatment with manganese (Mn) addition for improving lignocellulosic biomass fractionation and enzyme accessibility were investigated in this study. The broad-spectrum effect was tested on two different types of feedstocks with three fungal species. Since

Lignification of secondary cell walls is a major factor conferring recalcitrance of lignocellulosic biomass to deconstruction for fuels and chemicals. Genetic modification can reduce lignin content and enhance saccharification efficiency, but usually at the cost of moderate-to-severe growth penalties. We have developed a method, using a single DNA construct that uses CRISPR–Cas9 gene editing to knock-out

Isobutanol is an attractive biofuel with many advantages. Third-generation biorefineries that convert CO2 into bio-based fuels have drawn considerable attention due to their lower feedstock cost and more ecofriendly refining process. Although autotrophic cyanobacteria have been genetically modified for isobutanol biosynthesis, there is a lack of stable and convenient strategies to improve their production

The fermentation of lignocellulose hydrolysates to ethanol requires robust xylose-capable Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains able to operate in the presence of microbial inhibitory stresses. This study aimed at developing industrial S. cerevisiae strains with enhanced tolerance towards pretreatment-derived microbial inhibitors, by identifying novel gene combinations that confer resistance to multiple

Over the last few years, valorization of lignocellulosic biomass has been expanded beyond the production of second-generation biofuels to the synthesis of numerous platform chemicals to be used instead of their fossil-based counterparts. One such well-researched example is 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), which is preferably produced by the dehydration of fructose. Fructose is obtained by the isomerization

Sugarcane bagasse (SCB) is an abundant feedstock for second-generation bioethanol production. This complex biomass requires an array of carbohydrate active enzymes (CAZymes), mostly from filamentous fungi, for its deconstruction to monomeric sugars for the production of value-added fuels and chemicals. In this study, we evaluated the repertoire of proteins in the secretome of a catabolite repressor-deficient

Biogas can be upgraded to methane biologically by adding H2 to biogas reactors. The process is called biological methanation (BM) and can be done in situ in a regular biogas reactor or the biogas can be transferred to a separate ex situ upgrading reactor. The hybrid BM concept, a combination of in situ and ex situ BM, has received little attention, and only a few studies have been reported. The hybrid

Filamentous fungi are excellent lignocellulose degraders, which they achieve through producing carbohydrate active enzymes (CAZymes). CAZyme production is highly orchestrated and gene expression analysis has greatly expanded understanding of this important biotechnological process. The thermophilic fungus Thermoascus aurantiacus secretes highly active thermostable enzymes that enable saccharifications

Rhodospirillum rubrum is a purple non-sulphur bacterium that produces H2 by photofermentation of several organic compounds or by water gas-shift reaction during CO fermentation. Successful strategies for both processes have been developed in light-dependent systems. This work explores a dark fermentation bioprocess for H2 production from water using CO as the electron donor. The study of the influence

Plants inherently display a rich diversity in cell wall chemistry, as they synthesize an array of polysaccharides along with lignin, a polyphenolic that can vary dramatically in subunit composition and interunit linkage complexity. These same cell wall chemical constituents play essential roles in our society, having been isolated by a variety of evolving industrial processes and employed in the production

The objective of this study was to evaluate the environmental impact of the production of a range of liquid biofuels produced from the combination of fermenting sorghum stalk juice (bioethanol) and the pyrolysis/hydrotreatment of residual bagasse (renewable gasoline and diesel). Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) was performed on a farm-to-wheels system that included: (i) sorghum farming, (ii) juice

As the fifth major cereal crop originated from Africa, sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) has become a key C4 model organism for energy plant research. With the development of high-throughput detection technologies for various omics data, much multi-dimensional and multi-omics information has been accumulated for sorghum. Integrating this information may accelerate genetic research and improve molecular breeding

Biomass recalcitrance is governed by various molecular and structural factors but the interplay between these multiscale factors remains unclear. In this study, hot water pretreatment (HWP) was applied to maize stem internodes to highlight the impact of the ultrastructure of the polymers and their interactions on the accessibility and recalcitrance of the lignocellulosic biomass. The impact of HWP

As a potential source of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), Schizochytrium sp. has been widely used in industry for PUFA production. Polyketide synthase (PKS) cluster is supposed to be the primary way of PUFA synthesis in Schizochytrium sp. As one of three open reading frames (ORF) in the PKS cluster, ORFC plays an essential role in fatty acid biosynthesis. However, the function of domains in ORFC

As one of the major components of lignocellulosic biomass, lignin has been considered as the most abundant renewable aromatic feedstock in the world. Comparing with thermal or catalytic strategies for lignin degradation, biological conversion is a promising approach featuring with mild conditions and diversity, and has received great attention nowadays. In this study, a consortium of white rot fungi

Fungal glucose dehydrogenases (GDHs) are FAD-dependent enzymes belonging to the glucose-methanol-choline oxidoreductase superfamily. These enzymes are classified in the “Auxiliary Activity” family 3 (AA3) of the Carbohydrate-Active enZymes database, and more specifically in subfamily AA3_2, that also includes the closely related flavoenzymes aryl-alcohol oxidase and glucose 1-oxidase. Based on sequence

Pichia pastoris (syn. Komagataella phaffii) is an important yeast system for heterologous protein expression. A robust P. pastoris mutant with oxidative and thermal stress cross-tolerance was acquired in our previous study. The robust mutant can express a 2.5-fold higher level of lipase than its wild type (WT) under methanol induction conditions. In this study, we found that the robust mutant not only

Population increase and industrialization has resulted in high energy demand and consumptions, and presently, fossil fuels are the major source of staple energy, supplying 80% of the entire consumption. This has contributed immensely to the greenhouse gas emission and leading to global warming, and as a result of this, there is a tremendous urgency to investigate and improve fresh and renewable energy

Brown macroalgae have attracted great attention as an alternative feedstock for biorefining. Although direct conversion of ethanol from alginates (major components of brown macroalgae cell walls) is not amenable for industrial production, significant progress has been made not only on enzymes involved in alginate degradation, but also on metabolic pathways for biorefining at the laboratory level. In

Future expansion of corn-derived ethanol raises concerns of sustainability and competition with the food industry. Therefore, cellulosic biofuels derived from agricultural waste and dedicated energy crops are necessary. To date, slow and incomplete saccharification as well as high enzyme costs have hindered the economic viability of cellulosic biofuels, and while approaches like simultaneous saccharification

Production of biodiesel from renewable sources such as inedible vegetable oils by enzymatic catalysis has been a hotspot but remains a challenge on the efficient use of an enzyme. COFs (Covalent Organic Frameworks) with large surface area and porosity can be applied as ideal support to avoid aggregation of lipase and methanol. However, the naturally low density limits its application. In this work

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is widely used in traditional brewing and modern fermentation industries to produce biofuels, chemicals and other bioproducts, but challenged by various harsh industrial conditions, such as hyperosmotic, thermal and ethanol stresses. Thus, its stress tolerance enhancement has been attracting broad interests. Recently, CRISPR/Cas-based genome editing technology offers unprecedented

The recalcitrance of lignocellulosic biomass is a major constraint to its high-value use at industrial scale. In nature, microbes play a crucial role in biomass degradation, nutrient recycling and ecosystem functioning. Therefore, the use of microbes is an attractive way to transform biomass to produce clean energy and high-value compounds. The microbial degradation of lignocelluloses is a complex

Sugarcane processing roughly generates 54 million tonnes sugarcane bagasse (SCB)/year, making SCB an important material for upgrading to value-added molecules. In this study, an integrated scheme was developed for separating xylan, lignin and cellulose, followed by production of xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) from SCB. Xylan extraction conditions were screened in: (1) single extractions in NaOH (0.25

Sugarcane is an essential crop for sugar and ethanol production. Immediate processing of sugarcane is necessary after harvested because of rapid sucrose losses and deterioration of stalks. This study was conducted to fill the knowledge gap regarding the exploration of fungal communities in harvested deteriorating sugarcane. Experiments were performed on simulating production at 30 °C and 40 °C after

Hydrogen peroxide–acetic acid (HPAA) is widely used in pretreatment of lignocellulose because it has a good capability in selective delignification. However, high concentration (more than 60%) of HPAA increases the cost of pretreatment and the risk of explosion. In this work, alkaline post-incubation was employed to decrease the HPAA loading and improve the saccharification of poplar. Pretreatment

Ascomycetous yeasts from the kingdom fungi inhabit every biome in nature. While filamentous fungi have been studied extensively regarding their enzymatic degradation of the complex polymers comprising lignocellulose, yeasts have been largely overlooked. As yeasts are key organisms used in industry, understanding their enzymatic strategies for biomass conversion is an important factor in developing

In biological cells, promoters drive gene expression by specific binding of RNA polymerase. They determine the starting position, timing and level of gene expression. Therefore, rational fine-tuning of promoters to regulate the expression levels of target genes for optimizing biosynthetic pathways in metabolic engineering has recently become an active area of research. In this study, we systematically

Lipomyces starkeyi has been widely regarded as a promising oleaginous yeast with broad industrial application prospects because of its wide substrate spectrum, good adaption to fermentation inhibitors, excellent fatty acid composition for high-quality biodiesel, and negligible lipid remobilization. However, the currently low experimental lipid yield of L. starkeyi prohibits its commercial success.

Plant monoterpenoids with structural diversities have extensive applications in food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and biofuels. Due to the strong dependence on the geographical locations and seasonal annual growth of plants, agricultural production for monoterpenoids is less effective. Chemical synthesis is also uneconomic because of its high cost and pollution. Recently, emerging synthetic biology

The model ethanologenic bacterium Zymomonas mobilis has many advantages for diverse biochemical production. Although the impact of temperature especially high temperature on the growth and ethanol production of Z. mobilis has been reported, the transcriptional profiles of Z. mobilis grown at different temperatures have not been systematically investigated. In this study, Z. mobilis wild-type strain

Succinic acid (SA) is a crucial metabolic intermediate and platform chemical. Development of biobased processes to achieve sustainable SA production has attracted more and more attention in biotechnology industry. Yarrowia lipolytica has a strong tricarboxylic acid cycle and tolerates low pH conditions, thus making it a potential platform for SA production. However, its SA titers in glucose media remain

Identifying lignocellulose recalcitrant factors and exploring their genetic properties are essential for enhanced biomass enzymatic saccharification in bioenergy crops. Despite genetic modification of major wall polymers has been implemented for reduced recalcitrance in engineered crops, it could most cause a penalty of plant growth and biomass yield. Alternatively, it is increasingly considered to

During the dilute acid pretreatment process, the resulting pseudo-lignin and lignin droplets deposited on the surface of lignocellulose and inhibit the enzymatic digestibility of cellulose in lignocellulose. However, how these lignins interact with cellulase enzymes and then affect enzymatic hydrolysis is still unknown. In this work, different fractions of surface lignin (SL) obtained from dilute acid-pretreated

In plants, a large diversity of polysaccharides comprise the cell wall. Each major type of plant cell wall polysaccharide, including cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin, has distinct structures and functions that contribute to wall mechanics and influence plant morphogenesis. In recent years, pectin valorization has attracted much attention due to its expanding roles in biomass deconstruction, food

Salix (willow) species represent an important source of bioenergy and offer great potential for producing biofuels. Salix spp. like many hardwoods, produce tension wood (TW) characterized by special fibres (G-fibres) that produce a cellulose-rich lignin-free gelatinous (G) layer on the inner fibre cell wall. Presence of increased amounts of TW and G-fibres represents an increased source of cellulose

The carbohydrate polymers that encapsulate plants cells have benefited humans for centuries and have valuable biotechnological uses. In the past 5 years, exciting possibilities have emerged in the engineering of polysaccharide-based biomaterials. Despite impressive advances on bacterial cellulose-based hydrogels, comparatively little is known about how plant hemicelluloses can be reconstituted and

Following publication of the original article [1], it was brought to our attention that we missed and failed to cite a related paper [2] (Liu et al. Plant Cell Physiol, 2020; 61:118–129) that was published a short while before. Liu et al. [2] described the identification and molecular characterization of CeDGAT1 and CeDGAT2a/b (CeDGAT2-1 and CeDGAT2-2 in [1]) from Cyperus esculentus. Our study [1]

Biomass valorization has been suggested as a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based energy and commodities. In this context, the copper radical oxidases (CROs) from Auxiliary Activity Family 5/Subfamily 2 (AA5_2) are attractive biocatalysts for the selective oxidation of primary alcohols to aldehydes. Originally defined by the archetypal galactose 6-oxidase from Fusarium graminearum, fungal AA5_2

Cellulose is not only a common component in vascular plants, but also has great economic benefits for paper, wood, and industrial products. In addition, its biosynthesis is highly regulated by carbohydrate metabolism and allocation in plant. MdFRK2, which encodes a key fructokinase (FRK) in apple, showed especially high affinity to fructose and regulated carbohydrate metabolism. It was observed that

Ethanol organosolv (EOS) pretreatment is one of the most efficient methods for boosting biomass saccharification as it can achieve an efficient fractionation of three major constituents in lignocellulose. However, lignin repolymerization often occurs in acid EOS pretreatment, which impairs subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis. This study investigated acid EOS pretreatment assisted by carbocation scavenger

Pretreatment is a critical step required for efficient conversion of woody biomass into biofuels and platform chemicals. Fungal pretreatment is regarded as one of the most promising technology for woody biomass conversion but remains challenging for industrial application. The exploration of potential fungus strain with high efficient delignification and less processing time for woody biomass pretreatment

Cellodextrin phosphorylase (CdP; EC 2.4.1.49) catalyzes the iterative β-1,4-glycosylation of cellobiose using α-d-glucose 1-phosphate as the donor substrate. Cello-oligosaccharides (COS) with a degree of polymerization (DP) of up to 6 are soluble while those of larger DP self-assemble into solid cellulose material. The soluble COS have attracted considerable attention for their use as dietary fibers

Microalgae-based high-density fuels offer an efficient and environmental pathway towards decarbonization of the transport sector and could be produced as part of a globally distributed network without competing with food systems for arable land. Variations in climatic and economic conditions significantly impact the economic feasibility and productivity of such fuel systems, requiring harmonized technoeconomic

Microalgae can contribute to more than 40% of global primary biomass production and are suitable candidates for various biotechnology applications such as food, feed products, drugs, fuels, and wastewater treatment. However, the primary limitation for large-scale algae production is the fact that algae requires large amounts of fresh water for cultivation. To address this issue, scientists around the

Biomass-degrading enzymes with improved activity and stability can increase substrate saccharification and make biorefineries economically feasible. Filamentous fungi are a rich source of carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) for biomass degradation. The newly isolated LPH172 strain of the thermophilic Ascomycete Thielavia terrestris has been shown to possess high xylanase and cellulase activities

Some microorganisms can respire with extracellular electron acceptors using an extended electron transport chain to the cell surface. This process can be applied in bioelectrochemical systems in which the organisms produce an electrical current by respiring with an anode as electron acceptor. These organisms apply flavin molecules as cofactors to facilitate one-electron transfer catalyzed by the terminal

The overwhelming concerns due to over exploitation of fossil resources necessitate the utilization of alternative energy resources. Biodiesel has been considered as one of the most adaptable alternative to fossil-derived diesel with similar properties and numerous environmental benefits. Although there are various approaches for biodiesel production, development of cost-effective and robust catalyst

Dye-decolorizing peroxidases (DyPs) represent a novel family of heme peroxidases that use H2O2 as the final electron acceptor to catalyze the oxidation of various organic compounds. A DyP from Irpex lacteus F17 (Il-DyP4, corresponding to GenBank MG209114), obtained by heterologous expression, exhibits a high catalytic efficiency for phenolic compounds and a strong decolorizing ability toward various

Nowadays there is a strong trend towards a circular economy using lignocellulosic biowaste for the production of biofuels and other bio-based products. The use of enzymes at several stages of the production process (e.g., saccharification) can offer a sustainable route due to avoidance of harsh chemicals and high temperatures. For novel enzyme discovery, physically linked gene clusters targeting carbohydrate

β-Glucosidases are essential for cellulose hydrolysis by catalyzing the final cellulolytic degradation of cello-oligomers and cellobiose to glucose. D2-BGL is a fungal glycoside hydrolase family 3 (GH3) β-glucosidase isolated from Chaetomella raphigera with high substrate affinity, and is an efficient β-glucosidase supplement to Trichoderma reesei cellulase mixtures for the saccharification of lignocellulosic

During the acetogenic step of anaerobic digestion, the products of acidogenesis are oxidized to substrates for methanogenesis: hydrogen, carbon dioxide and acetate. Acetogenesis and methanogenesis are highly interconnected processes due to the syntrophic associations between acetogenic bacteria and hydrogenotrophic methanogens, allowing the whole process to become thermodynamically favorable. The aim