Enhancing polyethylene degradation: a novel bioprocess approach using Acinetobacter nosocomialis pseudo-resting cells.

Despite the discovery of several bacteria capable of interacting with polymers, the activity of the natural bacterial isolates is limited. Furthermore, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the development of bioprocesses for polyethylene (PE) degradation. Here, we report a bioprocess using pseudo-resting cells for efficient degradation of PE.

Efforts to install a heterologous Wood-Ljungdahl pathway in Clostridium acetobutylicum enable the identification of the native tetrahydrofolate (THF) cycle and result in early induction of solvents.

Here, we report the construction of a Clostridium acetobutylicum strain ATCC 824 (pCD07239) by heterologous expression of carbonyl branch genes (CD630_0723∼CD630_0729) from Clostridium difficile, aimed at installing a heterologous Wood-Ljungdahl pathway (WLP). As part of this effort, in order to validate the methyl branch of the WLP in the C. acetobutylicum, we performed C-tracing analysis on knockdown mutants of four genes responsible for the formation of 5-methyl-tetrahydrofolate (5-methyl-THF) from formate: CA_C3201, CA_C2310, CA_C2083, and CA_C0291.

Complete Genome Sequence of Acinetobacter nosocomialis GNU001, Isolated from a Plastic-Containing Landfill.

Due to the hazard of plastic waste exposed to the environment, microorganisms capable of degrading different polymeric pollutants have gained attention. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of Acinetobacter nosocomialis GNU001, which was isolated from a landfill. The genome was composed of a circular chromosome of 3,850,149 bp and a plasmid.

Environmental toxicity and decomposition of polyethylene.

In the more than 100 years since the invention of plastics, various plastic polymers have been developed that exhibit different characteristics and have been widely used in production and life. In 2020 alone, nearly 400 million tons of plastics were produced globally. However, while plastic such as polyethylene brings us convenience, it also threatens environmental sustainability and human health.

G-Knockdown Mutants Increase Extracellular pH in Batch Cultures.

ATPase, a key enzyme involved in energy metabolism, has not yet been well studied in . Here, we knocked down the gene encoding the ATPase gamma subunit in ATCC 824 using a mobile group II intron system and analyzed the physiological characteristics of the gene knockdown mutant, 824-2866KD. Properties investigated included cell growth, glucose consumption, production of major metabolites, and extracellular pH.

Control of the galactose-to-glucose consumption ratio in co-fermentation using engineered Escherichia coli strains.

Marine biomasses capable of fixing carbon dioxide have attracted attention as an alternative to fossil resources for fuel and chemical production. Although a simple co-fermentation of fermentable sugars, such as glucose and galactose, has been reported from marine biomass, no previous report has discussed the fine-control of the galactose-to-glucose consumption ratio in this context. Here, we sought to finely control the galactose-to-glucose consumption ratio in the co-fermentation of these sugars using engineered Escherichia coli strains.

Metabolic Engineering of for the Production of Hyaluronic Acid From Glucose and Galactose.

Hyaluronic acid is a glycosaminoglycan biopolymer widely present throughout connective and epithelial tissue, and has been of great interest for medical and cosmetic applications. In the microbial production of hyaluronic acid, it has not been established to utilize galactose enabling to be converted to UDP-glucuronic acid, which is a precursor for hyaluronic acid biosynthesis. In this study, we engineered to produce hyaluronic acid from glucose and galactose.