Key role of K and Ca in high-yield ethanol production by S. Cerevisiae from concentrated sugarcane molasses.

Background: Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an important microorganism in ethanol synthesis, and with sugarcane molasses as the feedstock, ethanol is being synthesized sustainably to meet growing demands. However, high-concentration ethanol fermentation based on high-concentration sugarcane molasses-which is needed for reduced energy consumption of ethanol distillation at industrial scale-is yet to be achieved.

Results: In the present study, to identify the main limiting factors of this process, adaptive laboratory evolution and high-throughput screening (Py-Fe) based on ARTP (atmospheric and room-temperature plasma) mutagenesis were applied.

Production of Gibberellins via a Non-Natural Pathway Using Steviol as a Substrate.

Gibberellins (GAs) are plant hormones widely used in agriculture. At present, GAs are produced by fermentation of the fungus . However, fungal growth is too slow, resulting in slow fungal fermentation and a low yield.

Highly efficient bioconversion of icariin to icaritin by whole-cell catalysis.

Background: Icaritin is an aglycone of flavonoid glycosides from Herba Epimedii. It has good performance in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma in clinical trials. However, the natural icaritin content of Herba Epimedii is very low.

Enrichment and balancing of nutrients for improved methane production using three compositionally different agro-livestock wastes: Process performance and microbial community analysis.

Balanced nutrition is important for maximizing anaerobic digestion (AD) performance. Herein, the strategy of balancing sugar-fiber-nitrogen nutrients was first established for improved methane production by co-digesting two agricultural and one livestock wastes with complementary compositional properties, such as banana pseudo-stem (BPS), sugarcane baggage (SCB), and chicken manure (CM) having high sugar, fiber and nitrogen contents, respectively. The maximum methane yield was 186.

Application of β-Glucosidase in a Biphasic System for the Efficient Conversion of Polydatin to Resveratrol.

Resveratrol, an ingredient of traditional Chinese medicine, has beneficial effects on human health and huge potential for application in modern medicine. Polydatin is extracted from plants and then deglycosylated into resveratrol; enzymatic methods are preferred for this reaction. In this study, a β-D-glucosidase from showed high efficiency in transforming polydatin into resveratrol and was tolerant toward organic solvents.

Synergistic digestion of banana pseudo-stems with chicken manure to improve methane production: Semi-continuous manipulation and microbial community analysis.

This study aimed to investigate the interactions between banana pseudo-stems (BPS) and chicken manure (CM) during anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) in batch and semi-continuous experiments. The batch experiments results showed that the methane yield was the highest (193.7 mL/g VS) in AcoD with BPS: CM ratio of 4:1, which was increased by 57.

Characterization of a GH3 halophilic β-glucosidase from Pseudoalteromonas and its NaCl-induced activity toward isoflavones.

A novel β-glucosidase gene was isolated from Pseudoalteromonas sp. GXQ-1 and heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli. The activity of the encoded enzyme, PABGL, toward p-nitrophenyl-β-D-glucopyranoside was increased 8.

Development of an Innovative Process for High-Temperature Fruit Juice Extraction Using a Novel Thermophilic Endo-Polygalacturonase From .

Efficient and cost-effective production of thermophilic endo-polygalacturonase is desirable for industrial fruit juice production, because its application could shorten the processing time and lower the production cost, by eliminating the separate step of pectin degradation. However, no endo-polygalacturonase that both functions well at sufficiently high temperature and can be manufactured economically, has been reported previously. In this study, the cDNA encoding a thermophilic endo-polygalacturonase from CZ1028, was cloned and over-expressed in GS115 and BL21(DE3).

Enhanced ethanol production from sugarcane molasses by industrially engineered replacement of the gene.

Replacement of a novel candidate ethanol fermentation-associated regulatory gene, , from a fast-growing strain MC15, as determined through comparative genomics analysis among three yeast strains with significant differences in ethanol yield, is hypothesised to shorten the fermentation time and enhance ethanol production from sugarcane molasses. This study sought to test this hypothesis through a novel strategy involving the transfer of the gene from a low ethanol-producing, yet fast-growing strain MC15 to a high ethanol-producing industrial strain MF01 through homologous recombination. The results indicated that in the industrially engineered strain MF01-PHO4 displayed genomic stability with a mean maximum ethanol yield that rose to 114.

Evaluation of squeezing pretreatment for improving methane production from fresh banana pseudo-stems.

Banana pseudo-stems (BPS) are an abundant and low-lignin-content lignocellulosic biomass for methane production. However, the high-water content in BPS increases the transport costs, and the resistant structure of BPS hinders methane production. In this study, squeezing of BPS as a pretreatment was evaluated for improving anaerobic digestion (AD).

Site-saturation mutagenesis at amino acid 329 of Klebsiella pneumoniae halophilic α-amylase affects enzymatic properties.

Halophilic α-amylases possess optimal activity in high salt concentrations. Therefore, they can be used in many extreme conditions in industrialised production. In the present work, a halophilic α-amylase (KP) from Klebsiella pneumoniae was characterised, and it exhibited a high specific activity of 3512 U/mg under optimal conditions of 2 M NaCl at 50°C and pH 6.

A Convenient Fluorescence-Based Assay for the Detection of Sucrose Transport and the Introduction of a Sucrose Transporter from Potato into Strains.

A convenient and effective sucrose transport assay for strains is needed. Traditional methods, such as C-sucrose isotope labelling, use radioactive materials and are not convenient for many laboratories. Here, a sucrose transporter from potato was introduced into , and a fluorescence assay based on esculin was used for the analysis of sucrose transport in strains.

A novel hydraulic biogas digester controlling the scum formation in batch and semi-continuous tests using banana stems.

Scum formation is a widespread phenomenon and causes serious damage in straw biogas digesters. A 10-L novel hydraulic conical digester for controlling scum was developed in this work and compared with a hydraulic cylindrical digester that simulated the conventional digester. After 30 d of batch and 120 d of semi-continuous fermentations using banana stems, the scum volumes of in cylindrical digesters were 4.

Influence of Calcium Ions on the Thermal Characteristics of α-amylase from Thermophilic Anoxybacillus sp. GXS-BL.

Background: α-Amylases are starch-degrading enzymes and used widely, the study on thermostability of α-amylase is a central requirement for its application in life science and biotechnology.

Objective: In this article, our motivation is to study how the effect of Ca2+ ions on the structure and thermal characterization of α-amylase (AGXA) from thermophilic Anoxybacillus sp.GXS-BL.

Inhibition of α-amylase Activity by Zn: Insights from Spectroscopy and Molecular Dynamics Simulations.

Background: Inhibition of α-amylase activity is an important strategy in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. An important treatment for diabetes mellitus is to reduce the digestion of carbohydrates and blood glucose concentrations. Inhibiting the activity of carbohydrate-degrading enzymes such as α-amylase and glucosidase significantly decreases the blood glucose level.

Identification of an acidic endo-polygalacturonase from Penicillium oxalicum CZ1028 and its broad use in major tropical and subtropical fruit juices production.

Endo-polygalacturonases play an important role on depectinization in fruit juices industry. A putative endo-polygalacturonase gene PoxaEnPG28A was cloned from Penicillium oxalicum CZ1028. PoxaEnPG28A consisted of a putative signal peptide and a catalytic domain belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 28, and it shared 72% identity with that of a functionally characterized endo-polygalacturonase from Trichoderma harzianum.

Enhanced enzymatic hydrolysis of sugarcane bagasse with ferric chloride pretreatment and surfactant.

A FeCl pretreatment methodology was developed to convert raw sugarcane bagasse to highly digestible pretreated solid and selectively extract up to ∼100% of the hemicellulose from lignocellulosic biomass. FeCl pretreated solids yielded a quite high fermentable sugar yield compared to the native material. In addition, characterization of raw material and pretreated solid by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermogravimetric (TG) analysis was carried out to better understand how hemicellulose removal affected subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis.

A Novel Acid-Stable Endo-Polygalacturonase from Penicillium oxalicum CZ1028: Purification, Characterization, and Application in the Beverage Industry.

Acidic endo-polygalacturonases are the major part of pectinase preparations and extensively applied in the clarification of fruits juice, vegetables extracts, and wines. However, most of the reported fungal endo-polygalacturonases are active and stable under narrow pH range and low temperatures. In this study, an acidic endo-polygalacturonase (EPG4) was purified and characterized from a mutant strain of Penicillium oxalicum.

[Expression and characterization of a neutral Enterobacter cloacae GX-3 invertase].

Objective: To characterize a neutral invertase from Enterobacter cloacae GX-3.

Methods: By searching GenBank database, we found the genes encoding invertase from the same genus Enterobacter. These sequences were aligned and analyzed.

Selective production of rubusoside from stevioside by using the sophorose activity of β-glucosidase from Streptomyces sp. GXT6.

In order to produce rubusoside, enzymes with preferential specificity for the saccharide sophorose were tested for ability to produce rubusoside from stevioside. We identified BGL1, a β-glucosidase from Streptomyces sp. GXT6, as an enzyme for rubusoside production.

Direct ethanol production from lignocellulosic sugars and sugarcane bagasse by a recombinant Trichoderma reesei strain HJ48.

Trichoderma reesei can be considered as a candidate for consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) microorganism. However, its ethanol yield needs to be improved significantly. Here the ethanol production of T.

A β-glucosidase from Novosphingobium sp. GX9 with high catalytic efficiency toward isoflavonoid glycoside hydrolysis and (+)-catechin transglycosylation.

In view of the important role of isoflavonoids and their related glycoconjugates in human health, there is considerable interest in their enzymatic conversion. SBGL, a novel β-glucosidase isolated from Novosphingobium sp. GX9, was expressed in Escherichia coli and found to have high activity for hydrolysis of daidzin and genistin.

Expression and characterization of a novel highly glucose-tolerant β-glucosidase from a soil metagenome.

A β-glucosidase gene unbgl1A was isolated by the function-based screening of a metagenomic library and the enzyme protein was expressed in Escherichia coli, purified, and biochemically characterized. The enzyme Unbgl1A had a Km value of 2.09 ± 0.

Sucrose hydrolytic enzymes: old enzymes for new uses as biocatalysts for medical applications.

Sucrose hydrolytic enzymes, widely used in a variety of food industries, employ sucrose as a substrate. In addition to their hydrolysis activities, they have other recently discovered characteristics that should make them useful for medical applications. Here, the two enzymes sucrose phosphorylase and invertase are discussed.