Publications by authors named "Zhenghong Xu"

Nitrilase is extensively applied across diverse sectors owing to its unique catalytic properties. Nevertheless, in industrial production, nitrilases often face issues such as low catalytic efficiency, limited substrate range, suboptimal selectivity, and side reaction products, which have garnered heightened attention. With the widespread recognition that the structure of enzymes has a direct impact on their catalytic properties, an increasing number of researchers are beginning to optimize the functional characteristics of nitrilases by modifying their structures, in order to meet specific industrial or biotechnology application needs.

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Yeasts play a crucial role in determining the quality and yield of sauce-flavor Baijiu, yet the source, succession, and metabolic functions of the yeast community in fermented grains during stacking fermentation remains unclear. In this study, amplicon sequencing combined with solid-state fermentation was used to investigate the structure and function of yeast community during the first-round fermentation of sauce-flavor Baijiu. The richness and diversity of yeast community increased throughout fermentation, with 83.

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The primary function of terminators is to terminate transcription in gene expression. Although some studies have suggested that terminators also contribute positively to upstream gene expression, the extent and underlying mechanism of this effect remain largely unexplored. Here, the correlation between terminating strength and upstream mRNA stability was investigated by constructing a terminator mutation library through randomizing 5 nucleotides, assisted by FlowSeq technology, terminator variants were categorized based on the downstream fluorescence intensity, followed by high-throughput sequencing.

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Calcidiol (25(OH)VD) and calcitriol (1α,25(OH)VD) are active vitamin D with high medicinal value, which can maintain calcium and phosphorus balance and treat vitamin D deficiency. Microbial synthesis is an important method to produce high-value-added compounds. It can produce active vitamin D through the hydroxylation reaction of P450, which can reduce the traditional chemical synthesis steps, and greatly improve the production efficiency and economic benefits.

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Hyaluronan (HA), a natural high molecular weight polysaccharide, has extensive applications in cosmetology and medical treatment. Hyaluronan-degrading enzymes (Hyals) act as molecular scissors that cleave HA by breaking the glucosidic linkage. Hyals are present in diverse organisms, including vertebrates, invertebrates and microorganisms, and play momentous roles in biological processes.

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Industrial biotechnology employs cells for producing valuable products and serving as biocatalysts sustainably, addressing resource, energy, and environmental issues. is a preferred host for creating microbial chassis cells and producing industrial enzymes and functional nutritional products. In this study, a dual-module T7 integration expression system in was established.

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Vitamin K, also known as methylnaphthoquinone, is a crucial fat-soluble nutrient necessary for the human body. The biological production of Vitamin K has received widespread attention due to its environmental friendliness and maneuverability in recent years. This review provides insights into the modular metabolic pathways of Vitamin K, lays the foundation for microbial metabolic flow balancing, cofactor engineering and dynamic regulation, and realizes the production of Vitamin K by synthesizing artificial cells from scratch.

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Industrial biosynthesis of β-nicotinamide mononucleotide (β-NMN) lacks a highly active nicotinamide riboside kinase for the phosphorylation process. Cumbersome preprocessing steps and excessive ATP addition contribute to its increased cost. To tackle these challenges, a docking combination simulation (DCS) semirational mutagenesis strategy was designed in this study, combining various modification strategies to obtain a mutant NRK-TRA with 2.

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Article Synopsis
  • Bacillus subtilis is being explored as a microbial factory for producing phospholipase D (PLD), but its production levels are currently low.
  • Researchers developed an improved secretion system by optimizing the promoter and signal peptides, leading to a production peak of 4056.9 U/mL of PLD with an efficiency of 52.0 U/mL/h.
  • Additionally, they created a phosphatidic acid (PA) biosynthesis system using this PLD, achieving a record PA yield of 219.1 g/L, marking significant advancements for industrial applications in enzyme production and protein overexpression.
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Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a well-known functional marine polysaccharide. The utilization and derivative development of HA are of great interest. Hyaluronan lyase has wide application prospects in the production of HA oligosaccharides and lower molecular weight HA.

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Genomic integration of heterologous genes is the preferred approach in industrial fermentation-related strains due to the drawbacks associated with plasmid-mediated microbial fermentation, including additional growth burden, genetic instability, and antibiotic contamination. Synthetic biology and genome editing advancements have made gene integration convenient. Integrated expression is extensively used in the field of biomanufacturing and is anticipated to become the prevailing method for expressing recombinant proteins.

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The biocompatible MIL-88A metal-organic framework (MOF), synthesized from food-grade fumaric acid and ferric chloride, was introduced for the efficient one-step in situ encapsulation of capsaicinoids as a nanopreservative. The resulting MIL-88A@Caps nanoparticles can load 61.43 mg/g of capsaicinoids, surpassing conventional MOF-based encapsulation.

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Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are extensively utilized in clinical, cosmetic, and healthcare field, as well as in the treatment of thrombosis, osteoarthritis, rheumatism, and cancer. The biological production of GAGs is a strategy that has garnered significant attention due to its numerous advantages over traditional preparation methods. In this review, we embark on a journey to decode the intricate molecular symphony that orchestrates the biosynthesis of glycosaminoglycans.

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Article Synopsis
  • * RNA-sequencing indicated that an HMD led to increased lipid synthesis, cholesterol metabolism, and inflammation-related pathways in the liver.
  • * Gut microbial analysis showed harmful shifts in the microbiome and decreased levels of beneficial bioactive lipids, suggesting that while methionine is necessary, too much can harm gut and liver health.
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Diet is a key player in gut-liver axis. However, the effect of different dietary patterns on gut microbiota and liver functions remains unclear. Here, we used rodent standard chow and purified diet to mimic two common human dietary patterns: grain and plant-based diet and refined-food-based diet, respectively and explored their impacts on gut microbiota and liver.

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Qu-aroma is of great significance for evaluation the quality of Daqu starter. This study aimed to decode the Qu-aroma of medium-temperature Daqu (MT-Daqu) via "top-down" and "bottom-up" approaches. Firstly, 52 aroma descriptors were defined to describe the MT-Daqu aroma by quantitative descriptive analysis.

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Article Synopsis
  • Probiotics, specifically lactic acid bacteria (LAB), can help protect against liver damage from alcohol by regulating gut health and the gut-liver connection.
  • The study tested various LAB strains on mice and found that pretreatments significantly reduced harmful liver enzymes and improved liver health markers.
  • Some strains, particularly JN-8, showed the best results in reducing inflammation, improving the intestinal barrier, and correcting gut microbiota and bile acid issues.
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Innovating food additives stands as a cornerstone for the sustainable evolution of future food systems. Peptides derived from food proteins exhibit a rich array of physicochemical and biological attributes crucial for preserving the appearance, flavor, texture, and nutritional integrity of foods. Leveraging these peptides as raw materials holds great promise for the development of novel food additives.

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Colorectal cancer (CRC), a major global health concern, may be influenced by dietary protein digestibility impacting gut microbiota and metabolites, which is crucial for cancer therapy effectiveness. This study explored the effects of a casein protein diet (CTL) versus a free amino acid (FAA)-based diet on CRC progression, gut microbiota, and metabolites using carcinogen-induced (AOM/DSS) and spontaneous genetically induced ( mice) CRC mouse models. Comprehensive approaches including 16s rRNA gene sequencing, transcriptomics, metabolomics, and immunohistochemistry were utilized.

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  • Pathogenic bacterial membrane proteins (MPs) are important targets for vaccines and antibiotics, though their hydrophobic nature complicates proper folding in cells.
  • A new method has been developed to enhance the solubility of MP antigens by creating multi-epitope chimeric antigens (ChA) and using protein folding helpers.
  • The engineered strain produced a high yield of highly soluble ChA, which is significant for its potential application in vaccine development and industrial processes.
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Daqu is the saccharifying, fermenting, and aroma-producing agent used in Baijiu brewing, and its maturation is crucial for obtaining high-quality Daqu. Previous studies have explored the microbial community composition and diversity before and after maturation. However, little is known about the changes in the functions of microbial community.

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S-Adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) is a substrate for many enzyme-catalyzed reactions and provides methyl groups in numerous biological methylations, and thus has vast applications in the agriculture and medical field. Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been engineered as a platform with significant potential for producing SAM, but the current production has room for improvement. Thus, a method that consists of a series of metabolic engineering strategies was established in this study.

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Article Synopsis
  • Hyaluronate lyase (HA lyase) has industrial potential for processing hyaluronan, and a specific variant, HylP from Streptococcus pyogenes phage, was expressed in Bacillus subtilis.
  • Signal peptide engineering improved HylP's enzyme activity significantly, boosting it from 1.0 to 1.86 × 10 U/mL in shake flasks and reaching 1.07 × 10 U/mL in a 20 L fermenter.
  • HylP displayed strong thermal and pH stability, optimal activity at 40 °C and pH 6, and effectively degraded hyaluronan into unsaturated disaccharides, highlighting its industrial
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Sisomicin is a broad-spectrum aminoglycoside antibiotic and is the precursor of netilmicin and plazomicin. However, the fermentation level of sisomicin is still low compared with other antibiotics, which restricts the application of sisomicin and its derivatives. In this study, to improve sisomicin production, breeding of high-yielding sisomicin strains was conducted with chemical mutagenesis using Micromonospora inyoensis OG-1 (titer, 1042 U·mL) as the starting strain.

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  • Many traditional fermented foods need multi-species starter cultures, which can change due to external factors during fermentation.
  • A new method using single-cell Raman spectroscopy (SCRS) and machine learning was developed to identify and monitor the Oceanobacillus species in Daqu starter, vital for making Chinese baijiu.
  • The study successfully detected six Oceanobacillus species, created a reference database, and validated a machine learning model (SVM) that accurately predicts these species' abundance in just 60 minutes, providing a fast and reliable way to ensure high-quality fermentation products.
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