Understanding D-xylonic acid accumulation: a cornerstone for better metabolic engineering approaches.

The xylose oxidative pathway (XOP) has been engineered in microorganisms for the production of a wide range of industrially relevant compounds. However, the performance of metabolically engineered XOP-utilizing microorganisms is typically hindered by D-xylonic acid accumulation. It acidifies the media and perturbs cell growth due to toxicity, thus curtailing enzymatic activity and target product formation.

Engineering of xylose metabolism in for the production of valuable compounds.

The lignocellulosic sugar d-xylose has recently gained prominence as an inexpensive alternative substrate for the production of value-added compounds using genetically modified organisms. Among the prokaryotes, has become the host for the development of engineered microbial cell factories. The favored status of resulted from a century of scientific explorations leading to a deep understanding of its systems.

Enhanced glycolic acid yield through xylose and cellobiose utilization by metabolically engineered Escherichia coli.

Microbial biorefinery is a promising route toward sustainable production of glycolic acid (GA), a valuable raw material for various industries. However, inherent microbial GA production has limited substrate consumption using either D-xylose or D-glucose as carbon catabolite repression (CCR) averts their co-utilization. To bypass CCR, a GA-producing strain using D-xylose via Dahms pathway was engineered to allow cellobiose uptake.

Overexpression and characterization of a novel GH16 β-agarase (Aga1) from Cellulophaga omnivescoria W5C.

Objective: To identify and characterize a new β-agarase from Cellulophaga omnivescoria W5C capable of producing biologically-active neoagarooligosaccharides from agar.

Results: The β-agarase, Aga1, has signal peptides on both N- and C-terminals, which are involved in the type IX secretion system. It shares 75% protein sequence identity with AgaD from Zobellia galactanivorans and has a molecular weight of 54 kDa.

Correction to: A pH-responsive genetic sensor for the dynamic regulation of D-xylonic acid accumulation in Escherichia coli.

In the published version, the y-axis data of Fig. 3c was incorrectly inserted (OD600 instead of D-xylonate (g L) and the x-axes of Figs. 3b, 3d, 3e and 3f ended at 48 h instead of 72 h.

A pH-responsive genetic sensor for the dynamic regulation of D-xylonic acid accumulation in Escherichia coli.

The xylose oxidative pathway (XOP) is continuously gaining prominence as an alternative for the traditional pentose assimilative pathways in prokaryotes. It begins with the oxidation of D-xylose to D-xylonic acid, which is further converted to α-ketoglutarate or pyruvate + glycolaldehyde through a series of enzyme reactions. The persistent drawback of XOP is the accumulation of D-xylonic acid intermediate that causes culture media acidification.

Discovering a novel D-xylonate-responsive promoter: the P-driven genetic switch towards better 1,2,4-butanetriol production.

The capability of Escherichia coli to catabolize D-xylonate is a crucial component for building and optimizing the Dahms pathway. It relies on the inherent dehydratase and keto-acid aldolase activities of E. coli.

Improved cell growth and biosynthesis of glycolic acid by overexpression of membrane-bound pyridine nucleotide transhydrogenase.

The non-conventional D-xylose metabolism called the Dahms pathway which only requires the expression of at least three enzymes to produce pyruvate and glycolaldehyde has been previously engineered in Escherichia coli. Strains that rely on this pathway exhibit lower growth rates which were initially attributed to the perturbed redox homeostasis as evidenced by the lower intracellular NADPH concentrations during exponential growth phase. NADPH-regenerating systems were then tested to restore the redox homeostasis.

Everyone loves an underdog: metabolic engineering of the xylose oxidative pathway in recombinant microorganisms.

The D-xylose oxidative pathway (XOP) has recently been employed in several recombinant microorganisms for growth or for the production of several valuable compounds. The XOP is initiated by D-xylose oxidation to D-xylonolactone, which is then hydrolyzed into D-xylonic acid. D-Xylonic acid is then dehydrated to form 2-keto-3-deoxy-D-xylonic acid, which may be further dehydrated then oxidized into α-ketoglutarate or undergo aldol cleavage to form pyruvate and glycolaldehyde.

Draft Genome Sequence of Newly Isolated Agarolytic Bacteria Cellulophaga omnivescoria sp. nov. W5C Carrying Several Gene Loci for Marine Polysaccharide Degradation.

The continued research in the isolation of novel bacterial strains is inspired by the fact that native microorganisms possess certain desired phenotypes necessary for recombinant microorganisms in the biotech industry. Most studies have focused on the isolation and characterization of strains from marine ecosystems as they present a higher microbial diversity than other sources. In this study, a marine bacterium, W5C, was isolated from red seaweed collected from Yeosu, South Korea.

Engineering Escherichia coli for glycolic acid production from D-xylose through the Dahms pathway and glyoxylate bypass.

Glycolic acid (GA) is an ⍺-hydroxy acid used in cosmetics, packaging, and medical industries due to its excellent properties, especially in its polymeric form. In this study, Escherichia coli was engineered to produce GA from D-xylose by linking the Dahms pathway, the glyoxylate bypass, and the partial reverse glyoxylate pathway (RGP). Initially, a GA-producing strain was constructed by disrupting the xylAB and glcD genes in the E.

Performance evaluation of poly-urethane foam packed-bed chemical scrubber for the oxidative absorption of NH and HS gases.

The feasibility of open-pore polyurethane (PU) foam as packing material for wet chemical scrubber was tested for NH and HS removals. The foam is inexpensive, light-weight, highly porous (low pressure drop) and provides large surface area per unit volume, which are desirable properties for enhanced gas/liquid mass transfer. Conventional HCl/HOCl (for NH) and NaOH/NaOCl (for HS) scrubbing solutions were used to absorb and oxidize the gases.

Identification and characterization of a thermostable endolytic β-agarase Aga2 from a newly isolated marine agarolytic bacteria Cellulophaga omnivescoria W5C.

Research on the enzymatic breakdown of seaweed-derived agar has recently gained attention due to the progress in green technologies for marine biomass utilization. The enzymes known as agarases catalyze the cleavage of glycosidic bonds within the polysaccharide. In this study, a new β-agarase, Aga2, was identified from Cellulophaga omnivescoria W5C.

Enhanced yield of ethylene glycol production from d-xylose by pathway optimization in Escherichia coli.

The microbial production of renewable ethylene glycol (EG) has been gaining attention recently due to its growing importance in chemical and polymer industries. EG has been successfully produced biosynthetically from d-xylose through several novel pathways. The first report on EG biosynthesis employed the Dahms pathway in Escherichia coli wherein 71% of the theoretical yield was achieved.

SH003 selectively induces p73‑dependent apoptosis in triple‑negative breast cancer cells.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a breast cancer subtype that has an aggressive phenotype, is highly metastatic, has limited treatment options and is associated with a poor prognosis. In addition, metastatic TNBC has no preferred standard chemotherapy due to resistance to anthracyclines and taxanes. The present study demonstrated that a herbal extract, SH003, reduced cell viability and induced apoptosis in TNBC without cell cytotoxicity.

Combined treatment with vitamin C and sulindac synergistically induces p53- and ROS-dependent apoptosis in human colon cancer cells.

Sulindac has anti-neoplastic properties against colorectal cancers; however, its use as a chemopreventive agent has been limited due to toxicity and efficacy concerns. Combinatorial treatment of colorectal cancers has been attempted to maximize anti-cancer efficacy with minimal side effects by administrating NSAIDs in combination with other inhibitory compounds or drugs such as l-ascorbic acid (vitamin C), which is known to exhibit cytotoxicity towards various cancer cells at high concentrations. In this study, we evaluated a combinatorial strategy utilizing sulindac and vitamin C.

Overexpression and secretion of AgaA7 from Pseudoalteromonas hodoensis sp. nov in Bacillus subtilis for the depolymerization of agarose.

Interest in agar or agarose-based pharmaceutical products has driven the search for potent agarolytic enzymes. An extracellular β-agarase (AgaA7) recently isolated from Pseudoalteromonas hodoensis sp. nov was expressed in Bacillus subtilis, which was chosen due to its capability to overproduce and secrete functional enzymes.

SAHA, an HDAC inhibitor, overcomes erlotinib resistance in human pancreatic cancer cells by modulating E-cadherin.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal cancers and remains a major unsolved health problem. Less than 20 % of patients are surgical candidates, and the median survival for non-resected patients is approximately 3 to 4 months. Despite the existence of many conventional cancer therapies, few targeted therapies have been developed for pancreatic cancer.

Identification of aldehyde reductase catalyzing the terminal step for conversion of xylose to butanetriol in engineered Escherichia coli.

Biosynthetic pathways for the production of biofuels often rely on inherent aldehyde reductases (ALRs) of the microbial host. These native ALRs play vital roles in the success of the microbial production of 1,3-propanediol, 1,4-butanediol, and isobutanol. In the present study, the main ALR for 1,2,4-butanetriol (BT) production in Escherichia coli was identified.

Monascus pilosus-fermented black soybean inhibits lipid accumulation in adipocytes and in high-fat diet-induced obese mice.

Objective: To explore the anti-obesity effects and the mechanism of action of Monascus pilosus(M. pilosus)-fermented black soybean (MFBS) extracts (MFBSE) and MFBS powders (MFBSP) in adipocytes and high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice, respectively.

Methods: Black soybean was fermented with M.

Combining De Ley-Doudoroff and methylerythritol phosphate pathways for enhanced isoprene biosynthesis from D-galactose.

An engineered Escherichia coli strain was developed for enhanced isoprene production using D-galactose as substrate. Isoprene is a valuable compound that can be biosynthetically produced from pyruvate and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P) through the methylerythritol phosphate pathway (MEP). The Leloir and De Ley-Doudoroff (DD) pathways are known existing routes in E.

L-arabonate and D-galactonate production by expressing a versatile sugar dehydrogenase in metabolically engineered Escherichia coli.

The production of L-arabonate and D-galactonate employing a versatile l-arabinose dehydrogenase (AraDH) from Azospirillum brasilense is presented. The promiscuity of AraDH is manifested by its appreciable activity towards L-arabinose and D-galactose as substrates, and NAD(+) and NADP(+) as cofactors. The AraDH was introduced into an engineered Escherichia coli with inactive L-arabinose or D-galactose metabolism, resulting in strains EMA2 and EWG4, respectively.

Combination of Entner-Doudoroff pathway with MEP increases isoprene production in engineered Escherichia coli.

Embden-Meyerhof pathway (EMP) in tandem with 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate pathway (MEP) is commonly used for isoprenoid biosynthesis in E. coli. However, this combination has limitations as EMP generates an imbalanced distribution of pyruvate and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P).

Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli for biosynthesis of D-galactonate.

D-galactose is an attractive substrate for bioconversion. Herein, Escherichia coli was metabolically engineered to convert D-galactose into D-galactonate, a valuable compound in the polymer and cosmetic industries. D-galactonate productions by engineered E.

Restoration of ASC expression sensitizes colorectal cancer cells to genotoxic stress-induced caspase-independent cell death.

Apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase recruitment domain (ASC), an essential component of the inflammasome complex, is frequently silenced by epigenetic methylation in many tumor cells. Here, we demonstrate that restoration of ASC expression in human colorectal cancer DLD-1 cells, in which ASC is silenced by aberrant methylation, potentiated cell death mediated by DNA damaging agent. Contrarily, ASC knockdown in HT-29 cells rendered cells less susceptible to etoposide toxicity.