Biosensor for branched-chain amino acid metabolism in yeast and applications in isobutanol and isopentanol production.

Branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) metabolism fulfills numerous physiological roles and can be harnessed to produce valuable chemicals. However, the lack of eukaryotic biosensors specific for BCAA-derived products has limited the ability to develop high-throughput screens for strain engineering and metabolic studies. Here, we harness the transcriptional regulator Leu3p from Saccharomyces cerevisiae to develop a genetically encoded biosensor for BCAA metabolism.

Cellulosic biofuel production using emulsified simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (eSSF) with conventional and thermotolerant yeasts.

Background: 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 and fermentation (SSF) and the use of thermotolerant microorganisms can enhance production, further improvements are needed.

Design and Characterization of Rapid Optogenetic Circuits for Dynamic Control in Yeast Metabolic Engineering.

The use of optogenetics in metabolic engineering for light-controlled microbial chemical production raises the prospect of utilizing control and optimization techniques routinely deployed in traditional chemical manufacturing. However, such mechanisms require well-characterized, customizable tools that respond fast enough to be used as real-time inputs during fermentations. Here, we present OptoINVRT7, a new rapid optogenetic inverter circuit to control gene expression in .

Optogenetics and biosensors set the stage for metabolic cybergenetics.

Cybergenetic systems use computer interfaces to enable feed-back controls over biological processes in real time. The complex and dynamic nature of cellular metabolism makes cybergenetics attractive for controlling engineered metabolic pathways in microbial fermentations. Cybergenetics would not only create new avenues of research into cellular metabolism, it would also enable unprecedented strategies for pathway optimization and bioreactor operation and automation.

Genetic manipulation of microalgae for the production of bioproducts.

Microalgae have been used during the past four decades in the Bio-industries for the production of high added value products and development of useful approaches with environmental applications. The fast growing rate, simple growth requirements and using sunlight as the major source of energy are the key factors for usage of algae. In the past 15 years, a considerable progress has been made regarding the use of microalgae for production of proteins, nutraceuticals, food supplements, molecular tags for diagnostics and fixation of greenhouse gases.

TETX: a novel nuclear selection marker for Chlamydomonas reinhardtii transformation.

Background: Transformation of microalgae to obtain recombinant proteins, lipids or metabolites of economic value is of growing interest due to low costs associated with culture growth and scaling up. At present there are only three stable nuclear selection markers for the transformation of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, which is the most commonly transformed microalgae, specifically: the aminoglycoside phosphotransferaseses aph7and aphVIII and the phleomycin resistance ble gene. As several microalgae are resistant to some of the antibiotics associated with the mentioned resistance genes, we have developed another alternative, tetX, a NADP-requiring Oxidoreductase that hydroxylates tetracycline substrates.

An influenza A/H1N1/2009 hemagglutinin vaccine produced in Escherichia coli.

Background: The A/H1N1/2009 influenza pandemic made evident the need for faster and higher-yield methods for the production of influenza vaccines. Platforms based on virus culture in mammalian or insect cells are currently under investigation. Alternatively, expression of fragments of the hemagglutinin (HA) protein in prokaryotic systems can potentially be the most efficacious strategy for the manufacture of large quantities of influenza vaccine in a short period of time.

Specific recognition of influenza A/H1N1/2009 antibodies in human serum: a simple virus-free ELISA method.

Background: Although it has been estimated that pandemic Influenza A H1N1/2009 has infected millions of people from April to October 2009, a more precise figure requires a worldwide large-scale diagnosis of the presence of Influenza A/H1N1/2009 antibodies within the population. Assays typically used to estimate antibody titers (hemagglutination inhibition and microneutralization) would require the use of the virus, which would seriously limit broad implementation.

Methodology/principal Findings: An ELISA method to evaluate the presence and relative concentration of specific Influenza A/H1N1/2009 antibodies in human serum samples is presented.