Cross-linked enzyme aggregates of polyethylene terephthalate hydrolyse (PETase) from Ideonella sakaiensis for the improvement of plastic degradation.

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is one of the most produced plastics globally and its accumulation in the environment causes harm to the ecosystem. Polyethylene terephthalate hydrolyse (PETase) is an enzyme that can degrade PET into its monomers. However, free PETase lacks operational stabilities and is not reusable.

Biochemical and in silico structural characterization of a cold-active arginase from the psychrophilic yeast, Glaciozyma antarctica PI12.

Glaciozyma antarctica PI12 is a psychrophilic yeast isolated from Antarctica. In this work, we describe the heterologous production, biochemical properties and in silico structure analysis of an arginase from this yeast (GaArg). GaArg is a metalloenzyme that catalyses the hydrolysis of L-arginine to L-ornithine and urea.

Structure of the Reductase Domain of a Fungal Carboxylic Acid Reductase and Its Substrate Scope in Thioester and Aldehyde Reduction.

The synthesis of aldehydes from carboxylic acids has long been a challenge in chemistry. In contrast to the harsh chemically driven reduction, enzymes such as carboxylic acid reductases (CARs) are considered appealing biocatalysts for aldehyde production. Although structures of single- and didomains of microbial CARs have been reported, to date no full-length protein structure has been elucidated.

The Lichen Flavin-Dependent Halogenase, DnHal: Identification, Heterologous Expression and Functional Characterization.

Enzymatic halogenation captures scientific interest considering its feasibility in modifying compounds for chemical diversity. Currently, majority of flavin-dependent halogenases (F-Hals) were reported from bacterial origin, and as far as we know, none from lichenized fungi. Fungi are well-known producers of halogenated compounds, so using available transcriptomic dataset of Dirinaria sp.

Draft Genome Sequence of the Drought-Tolerant Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacterium Bacillus altitudinis UKM RB11, Isolated from Upland Paddy Rhizosphere.

Asia's paddy areas endure tropical and equatorial monsoon climates and are prone to drought stress. The drought-tolerant plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium (PGPR) strain Bacillus altitudinis UKM RB11 was isolated from upland paddy soil in Malaysia. Its 3.

Antibiotic resistance of airborne bacterial populations in a hospital environment.

Bacteria in a hospital environment potentially cause hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), particularly in immunocompromised individuals. Treatments of HAIs with antibiotics, however, are ineffective due to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB). This study aims to identify airborne bacteria in a tertiary hospital in Malaysia and screen for their resistance to commonly used broad-spectrum antibiotics.

Cross-linked cyclodextrin glucanotransferase aggregates from Bacillus lehensis G1 for cyclodextrin production: Molecular modeling, developmental, physicochemical, kinetic and thermodynamic properties.

Type of cross-linking agents influence the stability and active cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEA) immobilization. The information of molecular interaction between enzyme-cross linker is not well explored thus screening wide numbers of cross-linker is crucial in CLEA development. This study combined the molecular modeling and experimental optimization to investigate the influences of different cross-linking agents in developing CLEA of cyclodextrin glucanotranferase G1 (CGTase G1) for cyclodextrins (CDs) synthesis.

Review Update on the Life Cycle, Plant-Microbe Interaction, Genomics, Detection and Control Strategies of the Oil Palm Pathogen .

Plant pathogens are key threats to agriculture and global food security, causing various crop diseases that lead to massive economic losses. Palm oil is a commodity export of economic importance in Southeast Asia, especially in Malaysia and Indonesia. However, the sustainability of oil palm plantations and production is threatened by basal stem rot (BSR), a devastating disease predominantly caused by the fungus Pat.

Characterization and immobilization of Pycnoporus cinnabarinus carboxylic acid reductase, PcCAR2.

Carboxylic acid reductases (CARs) are well-known for their eminent selective one-step synthesis of carboxylic acids to aldehydes. To date, however, few CARs have been identified and characterized, especially from fungal sources. In this study, the CAR from the white rot fungus Pycnoporus cinnabarinus (PcCAR2) was expressed in Escherichia coli.

Metagenomic datasets of air samples collected during episodes of severe smoke-haze in Malaysia.

Transboundary emissions of smoke-haze from land and forest fires have recurred annually during the dry period (June to October, over the past few decades) in South East Asia. Hazardous air quality has been recorded in Malaysia during these episodes. Agricultural practices such as slash-and-burn of biomass and peat fires particularly in Sumatera and Kalimantan, Indonesia, have been implicated as the major causes of the haze.

Structural and functional characterisation of a cold-active yet heat-tolerant dehydroquinase from Glaciozyma antarctica PI12.

Dehydroquinase or 3-dehydroquinate dehydratase (DHQD) reversibly cleaves 3-dehydroquinate to form 3-dehydroshikimate. Here, we describe the functional and structural features of a cold active type II 3-dehydroquinate dehydratase from the psychrophilic yeast, Glaciozyma antarctica PI12 (GaDHQD). Functional studies showed that the enzyme was active at low temperatures (10-30 °C), but displayed maximal activity at 40 °C.

Functional characterisation and product specificity of Endo-β-1,3-glucanase from alkalophilic bacterium, Bacillus lehensis G1.

Endo-β-1,3-glucanase from alkalophilic bacterium, Bacillus lehensis G1 (Blg32) composed of 284 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 31.6 kDa is expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. Herein, Blg32 characteristics, substrates and product specificity as well as structural traits that might be involved in the production of sugar molecules are analysed.

In-Silico Characterization of Glycosyl Hydrolase Family 1 β-Glucosidase from UPM1.

β-glucosidases (Bgl) are widely utilized for releasing non-reducing terminal glucosyl residues. Nevertheless, feedback inhibition by glucose end product has limited its application. A noticeable exception has been found for β-glucosidases of the glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 1, which exhibit tolerance and even stimulation by glucose.

Novel cross-linked enzyme aggregates of levanase from Bacillus lehensis G1 for short-chain fructooligosaccharides synthesis: Developmental, physicochemical, kinetic and thermodynamic properties.

Short-chain fructooligosaccharides (scFOSs) can be produced from the levan hydrolysis using levanase. Levanase from Bacillus lehensis G1 (rlevblg1) is an enzyme that specifically converts levan to scFOSs. However, the use of free levanase presents a lack of stability and reusability, thus hindering the synthesis of scFOSs for continuous reactions.

Entrapment of porous cross-linked enzyme aggregates of maltogenic amylase from Bacillus lehensis G1 into calcium alginate for maltooligosaccharides synthesis.

Maltooligosaccharides (MOSs) are emerging oligosaccharides in food-based applications and can be synthesized through the enzymatic synthesis of maltogenic amylase from Bacillus lehensis G1 (Mag1). However, the lack of enzyme stability makes this approach unrealistic for industrial applications. The formation of cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) is a promising tool for improving enzyme stability, and the substrate accessibility problem of CLEA formation was overcome by the addition of porous agents to generate porous CLEAs (p-CLEAs).

Functional and structural analyses of an expansin-like protein from the antarctic yeast Glaciozyma antarctica PI12 reveal strategies of nutrient scavenging in the sea ice environment.

Genome data mining of the Antarctic yeast, Glaciozyma antarctica PI12 revealed an expansin-like protein encoding sequence (GaEXLX1). The GaEXLX1 protein is 24.8 kDa with a high alkaline pI of 9.

Protein engineering of GH11 xylanase from Aspergillus fumigatus RT-1 for catalytic efficiency improvement on kenaf biomass hydrolysis.

Enzyme hydrolysis faces a bottleneck due to the recalcitrance of the lignocellulose biomass. The protein engineering of GH11 xylanase from Aspergillus fumigatus RT-1 was performed near the active site and at the N-terminal region to improve its catalytic efficiency towards pretreated kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus) hydrolysis. Five mutants were constructed by combined approaches of error-prone PCR, site-saturation and site-directed mutagenesis.

A functionally-distinct carboxylic acid reductase PcCAR4 unearthed from a repertoire of type IV CARs in the white-rot fungus Pycnoporus cinnabarinus.

Carboxylic acid reductases (CARs) are attracting burgeoning attention as biocatalysts for organic synthesis of aldehydes and their follow-up products from economic carboxylic acid precursors. The CAR enzyme class as a whole, however, is still poorly understood. To date, relatively few CAR sequences have been reported, especially from fungal sources.

Structural and functional insights into TRiC chaperonin from a psychrophilic yeast, Glaciozyma antarctica.

Studies on TCP1-1 ring complex (TRiC) chaperonin have shown its indispensable role in folding cytosolic proteins in eukaryotes. In a psychrophilic organism, extreme cold temperature creates a low-energy environment that potentially causes protein denaturation with loss of activity. We hypothesized that TRiC may undergo evolution in terms of its structural molecular adaptation in order to facilitate protein folding in low-energy environment.

Functional characterisation of cellobiohydrolase I (Cbh1) from Trichoderma virens UKM1 expressed in Aspergillus niger.

Cellobiohydrolases catalyze the processive hydrolysis of cellulose into cellobiose. Here, a Trichoderma virens cDNA predicted to encode for cellobiohydrolase (cbhI) was cloned and expressed heterologously in Aspergillus niger. The cbhI gene has an open reading frame of 1518 bp, encoding for a putative protein of 505 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular mass of approximately 54 kDa.

transcriptome resources of the lichens, sp. UKM-J1 and UKM-K1 collected from Jerantut and Klang, Malaysia.

Lichen is a symbiotic organism that exists as a single composite body consisting of a mycobiont (fungus) and a photobiont (algae or a cyanobacterium). Many lichen species are considered as extremophiles due to their tolerance to radiation, desiccation, temperature and pollution. However, not all lichen species are tolerant to harsh environmental conditions as several species are sensitive for example to nitrogen, sulphur, acidity, heavy metals, halogens ( fluoride) and ozone.

Secretome analysis of alkaliphilic bacterium Bacillus lehensis G1 in response to pH changes.

Bacillus lehensis G1 is an alkaliphilic bacterium that is capable of surviving in environments up to pH 11. Secretome related to bacterial acclimation in alkaline environment has been less studied compared to cytoplasmic and membrane proteome. The aim of this study was to gain better understanding of bacterial acclimation to alkaline media through analyzing extracellular proteins of B.

Transcriptome datasets of oil palm pathogen .

is known to be the causal agent for basal stem rot (BSR) affecting the oil palm industry worldwide thus cumulating to high economic losses every year. Several reports have shown that a compatible monokaryon pair needs to mate; producing dikaryotic mycelia to initiate the infection towards the oil palm. However, the molecular events occurs during mating process are not well understood.

Unravelling the adaptation strategies employed by Glaciozyma antarctica PI12 on Antarctic sea ice.

Glaciozyma antarctica PI12, is a psychrophilic yeast isolated from Antarctic sea. In this work, Expressed Sequence Tags (EST) from cells exposed to three different temperatures; 15 °C, 0 °C and -12 °C were generated to identify genes associated with cold adaptation. A total of 5376 clones from each library were randomly picked and sequenced.