Construction of a synthetic metabolic pathway for biosynthesis of threonine from ethylene glycol.

Ethylene glycol is a promising substrate for bioprocesses which can be derived from widely abundant CO or plastic waste. In this work, we describe the construction of an eight-step synthetic metabolic pathway enabling carbon-conserving biosynthesis of threonine from ethylene glycol. This route extends the previously disclosed synthetic threose-dependent glycolaldehyde assimilation (STEGA) pathway for the synthesis of 2-oxo-4-hydroxybutyrate with three additional reaction steps catalyzed by homoserine transaminase, homoserine kinase, and threonine synthase.

In situ Product Recovery of Microbially Synthesized Ethyl Acetate from the Exhaust Gas of a Bioreactor by Membrane Technology.

Ethyl acetate is at present exclusively produced from fossil resources. Microbial synthesis of this ester from sugar-rich waste as an alternative is an aerobic process. Ethyl acetate is highly volatile and therefore stripped with the exhaust gas from the bioreactor which enables in situ product recovery.

Engineering Komagataella phaffii for ethylene glycol production from xylose.

Ethylene glycol (EG) is a versatile molecule produced in the petrochemical industry and is widely used to manufacture plastic polymers, anti-freeze, and automotive fluids. Biotechnological production of EG from xylose, a pentose present in lignocellulose biomass hydrolysates, has been achieved by the engineering of bacteria, such as Escherichia coli and Enterobacter cloacae, and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae with synthetic pathways. In the present work, the Dahms pathway was employed to construct Komagataella phaffii strains capable of producing EG from xylose.

Smooth trends in fermium charge radii and the impact of shell effects.

The quantum-mechanical nuclear-shell structure determines the stability and limits of the existence of the heaviest nuclides with large proton numbers Z ≳ 100 (refs. ). Shell effects also affect the sizes and shapes of atomic nuclei, as shown by laser spectroscopy studies in lighter nuclides.