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1.
Production, characteristics, and biotechnological applications of microbial xylanases.
Alokika, , Singh, B
Applied microbiology and biotechnology. 2019;(21-22):8763-8784
Abstract
Microbial xylanases have gathered great attention due to their biotechnological potential at industrial scale for many processes. A variety of lignocellulosic materials, such as sugarcane bagasse, rice straw, rice bran, wheat straw, wheat bran, corn cob, and ragi bran, are used for xylanase production which also solved the great issue of solid waste management. Both solid-state and submerged fermentation have been used for xylanase production controlled by various physical and nutritional parameters. Majority of xylanases have optimum pH in the range of 4.0-9.0 with optimum temperature at 30-60 °C. For biochemical, molecular studies and also for successful application in industries, purification and characterization of xylanase have been carried out using various appropriate techniques. Cloning and genetic engineering are used for commercial-level production of xylanase, to meet specific economic viability and industrial needs. Microbial xylanases are used in various biotechnological applications like biofuel production, pulp and paper industry, baking and brewing industry, food and feed industry, and deinking of waste paper. This review describes production, characteristics, and biotechnological applications of microbial xylanases.
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2.
Biofilm reactors as a promising method for vitamin K (menaquinone-7) production.
Mahdinia, E, Demirci, A, Berenjian, A
Applied microbiology and biotechnology. 2019;(14):5583-5592
Abstract
Menaquinone-7 (MK-7) is the most potent subtype of vitamin K with extraordinarily high half-life in the circulatory system. Therefore, MK-7 plays a critical role in promoting human wellbeing today. Studies on MK-7 every year show more and more magnificent benefits of it in preventing cardiovascular diseases and osteoporosis to battling cancer cells, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Thus, it needs to be supplemented to daily diet for accumulative and long-term benefits. Chemical synthesis of MK-7 produces a significant cis-isomer form of it, which has no biological activity. Fortunately, due to its key role in electron transfer in bacteria, trans-MK-7 is biosynthesized by especially Gram-positive strains mainly Bacillus genus. Concordantly, MK-7 could be produced via solid or liquid state fermentation strategies. In either regime, when static fermentation is applied in the absence of agitation and aeration, operational issues arise such as heat and mass transfer inefficiencies. Thus, scaling up the process becomes a challenge. On the other hand, studies have indicated that biofilm and pellicle formation that occur in static fermentations are key characteristics for extracellular MK-7 secretion. Therefore, this review covers the most recent discoveries of the therapeutic properties of MK-7 and optimization attempts at increasing its biosynthesis in different media compositions and effective growth parameters as well as the cutting-edge use of biofilm reactors where B. subtilis cells have the infrastructures to form mature biofilm formations on plastic composite supports. Biofilm reactors therefore can provide robust extracellular MK-7 secretion while simultaneously enduring high agitation and aeration rates, which then address the scale-up and operational issues associated with static fermentation strategies.
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3.
Research progress and application prospect of anaerobic biological phosphorus removal.
Yang, F, Zhang, C, Rong, H, Cao, Y
Applied microbiology and biotechnology. 2019;(5):2133-2139
Abstract
Anaerobic biological phosphorus removal has proposed a new direction for the removal of phosphorus from wastewater, and the discovery of phosphate reduction makes people have a more comprehensive understanding of microbial phosphorus cycling. Here, from the perspective of thermodynamics, the bioreduction reaction of phosphate was analyzed and its mechanism was discussed. The research progress of phosphate reduction and the application prospects of anaerobic biological phosphorus removal from wastewater were introduced, pointing out the situation and guiding the further research in this field.
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4.
Recent studies on the biological production of D-mannose.
Wu, H, Zhang, W, Mu, W
Applied microbiology and biotechnology. 2019;(21-22):8753-8761
Abstract
D-Mannose is an epimer of glucose at the C-2 position and exists in nature as a component of mannan. It has 60 and 86% sweetness than that of sucrose and D-glucose, respectively. Because of its low-calorie and nontoxic features, D-mannose is used widely in food, medicine, cosmetic, and food-additive industries. Besides, it exhibits many physiologic benefits on health: immune system, diabetes mellitus, intestinal diseases, and urinary tract infections. It is used as a starting material to synthesize immunostimulatory agents, anti-tumor agents, vitamins, and D-mannitol. However, D-mannose production using chemical synthesis and plant extraction cannot meet the requirements of the industry. This article presents recent research on the biological production of D-mannose. The physiologic benefits and applications of D-mannose are summarized. Besides, different D-mannose-producing enzymes from various sources are discussed in detail with regard to their biochemical characteristics, catalytic efficiency, and reaction kinetics for D-mannose production. Furthermore, attempts to use enzymatic conversion to produce D-mannose are reviewed.
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5.
Biobased adipic acid - The challenge of developing the production host.
Skoog, E, Shin, JH, Saez-Jimenez, V, Mapelli, V, Olsson, L
Biotechnology advances. 2018;(8):2248-2263
Abstract
Adipic acid is a platform chemical, and is the most important commercial dicarboxylic acid. It has been targeted for biochemical conversion as an alternative to present chemical production routes. From the perspective of bioeconomy, several kinds of raw material are of interest including the sugar platform (derived from starch, cellulose or hemicellulose), the lignin platform (aromatics) and the fatty acid platform (lipid derived). Two main biochemical-based production schemes may be employed: (i) direct fermentation to adipic acid, or (ii) fermentation to muconic or glucaric acid, followed by chemical hydrogenation (indirect fermentation). This review presents a comprehensive description of the metabolic pathways that could be constructed and analyzes their respective theoretical yields and metabolic constraints. The experimental yields and titers obtained so far are low, with the exception of processes based on palm oil and glycerol, which have been reported to yield up to 50 g and 68 g adipic acid/L, respectively. The challenges that remain to be addressed in order to achieve industrially relevant production levels include solving redox constraints, and identifying and/or engineering enzymes for parts of the metabolic pathways that have yet to be metabolically demonstrated. This review provides new insights into ways in which metabolic pathways can be constructed to achieve efficient adipic acid production. The production host provides the chassis to be engineered via an appropriate metabolic pathway, and should also have properties suitable for the industrial production of adipic acid. An acidic process pH is attractive to reduce the cost of downstream processing. The production host should exhibit high tolerance to complex raw material streams and high adipic acid concentrations at acidic pH.
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6.
Branched-Chain Amino Acids.
Yamamoto, K, Tsuchisaka, A, Yukawa, H
Advances in biochemical engineering/biotechnology. 2017;:103-128
Abstract
Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), viz., L-isoleucine, L-leucine, and L-valine, are essential amino acids that cannot be synthesized in higher organisms and are important nutrition for humans as well as livestock. They are also valued as synthetic intermediates for pharmaceuticals. Therefore, the demand for BCAAs in the feed and pharmaceutical industries is increasing continuously. Traditional industrial fermentative production of BCAAs was performed using microorganisms isolated by random mutagenesis. A collection of these classical strains was also scientifically useful to clarify the details of the BCAA biosynthetic pathways, which are tightly regulated by feedback inhibition and transcriptional attenuation. Based on this understanding of the metabolism of BCAAs, it is now possible for us to pursue strains with higher BCAA productivity using rational design and advanced molecular biology techniques. Additionally, systems biology approaches using augmented omics information help us to optimize carbon flux toward BCAA production. Here, we describe the biosynthetic pathways of BCAAs and their regulation and then overview the microorganisms developed for BCAA production. Other chemicals, including isobutanol, i.e., a second-generation biofuel, can be synthesized by branching the BCAA biosynthetic pathways, which are also outlined.
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7.
Glutamate Fermentation-2: Mechanism of L-Glutamate Overproduction in Corynebacterium glutamicum.
Hirasawa, T, Wachi, M
Advances in biochemical engineering/biotechnology. 2017;:57-72
Abstract
The nonpathogenic coryneform bacterium, Corynebacterium glutamicum, was isolated as an L-glutamate-overproducing microorganism by Japanese researchers and is currently utilized in various amino acid fermentation processes. L-Glutamate production by C. glutamicum is induced by limitation of biotin and addition of fatty acid ester surfactants and β-lactam antibiotics. These treatments affect the cell surface structures of C. glutamicum. After the discovery of C. glutamicum, many researchers have investigated the underlying mechanism of L-glutamate overproduction with respect to the cell surface structures of this organism. Furthermore, metabolic regulation during L-glutamate overproduction by C. glutamicum, particularly, the relationship between central carbon metabolism and L-glutamate biosynthesis, has been investigated. Recently, the role of a mechanosensitive channel protein in L-glutamate overproduction has been reported. In this chapter, mechanisms of L-glutamate overproduction by C. glutamicum have been reviewed.
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8.
Toward Sustainable Amino Acid Production.
Usuda, Y, Hara, Y, Kojima, H
Advances in biochemical engineering/biotechnology. 2017;:289-304
Abstract
Because the global amino acid production industry has been growing steadily and is expected to grow even more in the future, efficient production by fermentation is of great importance from economic and sustainability viewpoints. Many systems biology technologies, such as genome breeding, omics analysis, metabolic flux analysis, and metabolic simulation, have been employed for the improvement of amino acid-producing strains of bacteria. Synthetic biological approaches have recently been applied to strain development. It is also important to use sustainable carbon sources, such as glycerol or pyrolytic sugars from cellulosic biomass, instead of conventional carbon sources, such as glucose or sucrose, which can be used as food. Furthermore, reduction of sub-raw substrates has been shown to lead to reduction of environmental burdens and cost. Recently, a new fermentation system for glutamate production under acidic pH was developed to decrease the amount of one sub-raw material, ammonium, for maintenance of culture pH. At the same time, the utilization of fermentation coproducts, such as cells, ammonium sulfate, and fermentation broth, is a useful approach to decrease waste. In this chapter, further perspectives for future amino acid fermentation from one-carbon compounds are described.
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9.
Lysine Fermentation: History and Genome Breeding.
Ikeda, M
Advances in biochemical engineering/biotechnology. 2017;:73-102
Abstract
Lysine fermentation by Corynebacterium glutamicum was developed in 1958 by Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co. Ltd. (current Kyowa Hakko Bio Co. Ltd.) and is the second oldest amino acid fermentation process after glutamate fermentation. The fundamental mechanism of lysine production, discovered in the early stages of the process's history, gave birth to the concept known as "metabolic regulatory fermentation," which is now widely applied to metabolite production. After the development of rational metabolic engineering, research on lysine production first highlighted the need for engineering of the central metabolism from the viewpoints of precursor supply and NADPH regeneration. Furthermore, the existence of active export systems for amino acids was first demonstrated for lysine in C. glutamicum, and this discovery has resulted in the current recognition of such exporters as an important consideration in metabolite production. Lysine fermentation is also notable as the first process to which genomics was successfully applied to improve amino acid production. The first global "genome breeding" strategy was developed using a lysine producer as a model; this has since led to new lysine producers that are more efficient than classical industrial producers. These advances in strain development technology, combined with recent systems-level approaches, have almost achieved the optimization of entire cellular systems as cell factories for lysine production. In parallel, the continuous improvement of the process has resulted not only in fermentation processes with reduced load on downstream processing but also in commercialization of various product forms according to their intended uses. Nowadays lysine fermentation underpins a giant lysine demand of more than 2 million metric tons per year.
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10.
Early History of the Breeding of Amino Acid-Producing Strains.
Nakamori, S
Advances in biochemical engineering/biotechnology. 2017;:35-53
Abstract
Amino acid production started in Japan in 1908 with the extraction of monosodium glutamate (MSG) from acid hydrolysates of proteins. In addition to extraction, other methods of amino acid production include chemical synthesis, fermentation, and enzymatic synthesis both for glutamic acid and other amino acids. In this chapter, we review the historical transition of these production methods; currently, fermentation is the chief production method of amino acids. All wild-type microorganisms possess a negative feedback control system (feedback inhibition and repression) on the enzymes within the amino acid biosynthetic pathways. Therefore, techniques for the development of amino acid-overproducing strains and also for the establishment of enzymatic processes for the synthesis of amino acids were developed to artificially release these feedback controls. The key techniques used to bypass these controls are as follows: (a) artificial acceleration of the easy efflux of intracellularly synthesized amino acids outside of cells; (b) limitation of the concentration level of feedback inhibitors (amino acids) using auxotrophic mutants; (c) genetic desensitization of key enzymes to feedback inhibition by mutation and selection of amino acid analog-resistant mutants; (d) amplification of genes coding for desensitized biosynthetic enzymes; (e) disruption of amino acid degradation activity; and (f) application of enzyme reactions free from feedback controls for amino acid synthesis. Selection and breeding of amino acid producers by the application of these techniques is described.