Article
Agricultural Engineering
Yifan Zhu, Shanshan Du, Yifan Yan, Fei Pan, Rui Wang, Sha Li, Hong Xu, Zhengshan Luo
Summary: A cell factory of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens for efficient synthesis of gamma-PGA has been created through systematic metabolic engineering. This involved fine regulation of metabolic pathways using phase-dependent promoters, cooptimization of glycerol utilization pathway and gamma-PGA synthesis pathway, transcription factor engineering, blocking of competitive pathways, and optimization of fermentation process.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Agronomy
Lei Zhang, Lingli Wang, Yu Sun, Xiaoyan Dong, Zhanbo Wei, Lili Zhang, Yuanliang Shi
Summary: Poly-gamma-glutamic acid (gamma-PGA) significantly improves root morphological traits and enhances the uptake of nitrogen by crops. The response of root morphology to gamma-PGA varies depending on the type of fertilizer used. Gamma-PGA promotes root growth when applied with CO(NH2)2, but inhibits it when applied with (NH4)2SO4 due to high ammonium content in the soil.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Jia-Dong Sun, Chen Tang, Jun Zhou, Ping Wei, Ya-Jun Wang, Wei An, Zhi-Ying Yan, Xiao-Yu Yong
Summary: The study evaluated xylose/glucose mixture and corncob hydrolysate as alternatives for gamma-PGA production, finding a diauxic growth pattern of glucose and xylose in B. amyloliquefaciens C1, with enhanced araE transcription alleviating the xylose transport bottleneck. When cultured in a mixed medium, xylR expression was sharply induced, ultimately achieving green production of gamma-PGA from lignocellulosic biomass.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Harshita Joshi, Shashank Kumar Mishra, Vivek Prasad, Puneet Singh Chauhan
Summary: In this study, the potential of plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium Bacillus amyloliquefaciens SN13 (SN13) in ameliorating arsenic (As) toxicity was evaluated. Results showed that SN13 inoculation improved agronomic traits and modulated micronutrient concentrations in rice seedlings under arsenic-stressed conditions. Metabolome analysis and gene expression analysis further revealed the underlying mechanisms of SN13 in enhancing growth and arsenic stress tolerance in rice seedlings.
Article
Food Science & Technology
Weijie Chen, Lu Li, Changwen Ye, Ziyue Zhao, Kuo Huang, Dian Zou, Xuetuan Wei
Summary: In this study, a high extracellular protein expression capacity host of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, named BAX-10, was developed by deleting seven important extracellular protease genes, one important intracellular protease gene, and two redundant protein genes. The alkaline protease gene aprE from Bacillus subtilis D7 was expressed in BAX-10, resulting in higher alkaline protease activity compared to the control strain. Furthermore, the deletion of the ten genes did not negatively affect the growth of B. amyloliquefaciens. Therefore, B. amyloliquefaciens BAX-10 could be a potential platform host for expressing target extracellular proteins.
LWT-FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Punam Thapa, Alina Thapa, Sujan Khadka, Sanjeep Sapkota, Om Prakash Panta, Suprina Sharma, Tika Bahadur Karki, Pramod Poudel
Summary: The study identified potential Bacillus strains as efficient producers of γ-PGA through physiological, biochemical, morphological, and molecular characterization, confirming certain Bacillus species as potent gamma-PGA producers. Under optimal conditions, these isolates exhibited excellent growth and yield of gamma-PGA.
Article
Plant Sciences
Harshita Joshi, Nikita Bisht, Shashank Kumar Mishra, Vivek Prasad, Puneet Singh Chauhan
Summary: Inoculation with Bacillus amyloliquefaciens SN13 improved the growth of rice seedlings under salt and drought stress and enhanced stress tolerance by exogenous application of abscisic acid and ethylene. The inoculated seedlings showed better performance in physio-biochemical, antioxidant enzyme activities, and nutrient analysis. B. amyloliquefaciens SN13 positively modulates plant nutrient status, stress-responsive genes, and metabolic pathways related to carbohydrate and fatty acid metabolism.
JOURNAL OF PLANT GROWTH REGULATION
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Dmitrii M. Bubnov, Tigran Yuzbashev, Andrey A. Khozov, Olga E. Melkina, Tatiana V. Vybornaya, Guy-Bart Stan, Sergey P. Sineoky
Summary: This study proposes a straightforward and robust approach for the markerless integration of DNA fragments encoding whole metabolic pathways into the genome of bacteria. By utilizing the Ocr antirestriction function of T7 phage, along with highly restrictive counterselection and lambda Red recombineering, the efficiency of integrating operon-sized cassettes into arbitrary genomic loci of four enterobacterial species is significantly improved, reaching 50-100%.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Chenrui Yu, Yipeng Zang, Li Wang, Mengmeng Wang, Dandan Liu, Yalan Ding, Wenjin Yue, Guangjun Nie
Summary: A new method was developed to quantify gamma-PGA content by complexing with copper ions, which showed higher accuracy and precision compared to traditional methods. This method will be utilized for determining gamma-PGA content in biological samples.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Thierry Franza, Annika Rogstam, Saravanamuthu Thiyagarajan, Matthew J. Sullivan, Aurelie Derre-Bobillot, Mikael C. Bauer, Kelvin G. K. Goh, Violette Da Cunha, Philippe Glaser, Derek T. Logan, Glen C. Ulett, Claes von Wachenfeldt, Philippe Gaudu
Summary: In the facultative aerobic Gram-positive coccus Streptococcus agalactiae, the transcription repressor Rex interacts with both oxidized and reduced forms of NAD, with NAD(+) concentration being the main effector of its DNA binding. Rex plays a key role in modulating virulence gene expression and carbon metabolism to harvest nutrients from the host, thus contributing to GBS pathogenicity.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Sam-Pin Lee, Woong-Kyu Yoon, Jinho Lee, Coralia Garcia
Summary: In this study, milk was co-fermented to produce a dairy ingredient enriched with poly-gamma-glutamic acid (gamma-PGA) and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). The first fermentation with Bacillus subtilis HA resulted in a viscous broth with a certain amount of gamma-PGA. The subsequent co-fermentation process converted gamma-PGA into GABA and produced volatiles that contributed to an aged cheese-like aroma.
FERMENTATION-BASEL
(2022)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Weijie Zhang, Huangchen Shen, Ying Li, Kai Yang, Peng Lei, Yian Gu, Liang Sun, Hong Xu, Rui Wang
Summary: In this study, a food-derived nanoparticle system based on type A gelatin/gamma-PGA was developed to preserve and deliver EGCG. The EGCG/gelatin/gamma-PGA nanoparticles demonstrated enhanced stability, sustained antioxidant activity, and improved transportation across Caco-2 cell monolayers compared to EGCG/gelatin nanoparticles. These findings suggest that EGCG/gelatin/gamma-PGA nanoparticles could serve as an effective delivery vehicle for EGCG, expanding its potential applications in the functional food field.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tzu-Yu Lin, Cheng-Wei Lu, Pei-Wen Hsieh, Kuan-Ming Chiu, Ming-Yi Lee, Su-Jane Wang
Summary: ISL inhibits glutamate release by reducing intracellular [Ca2+] increase and suppressing PKC phosphorylation through activation of GABA(B) receptors and G(βγ)-coupled inhibition of P/Q-type Ca2+ channels in rat cerebrocortical nerve terminals.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Xia Ma, Min Li, Jie Zhang, Ruiming Wang, Shuangling Jin
Summary: This study presents a novel method for the effective and selective separation of gamma-PGA from fermentation broth by using molecularly imprinted polymers, which exhibit good adsorption performance and reusability, as well as comparing parameters such as high adsorption capacity and imprinting factor.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Vahideh Mohammadzadeh, Niloufar Rahiman, Horacio Cabral, Sabina Quader, Mohammad Reza Zirak, Mohammad Ehsan Taghavizadeh Yazdi, Mahmoud Reza Jaafari, Seyedeh Hoda Alavizadeh
Summary: Vaccination is an innovative strategy for cancer treatment that uses nanoparticles as carriers and adjuvants to enhance patients' anti-tumor immune response. Poly-?-glutamic acid nanoparticles have a natural origin and can be easily taken up by cells, leading to modulation of the tumor microenvironment and promotion of systemic anti-tumor immunity.
JOURNAL OF CONTROLLED RELEASE
(2023)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Mingfeng Cao, Meirong Gao, Miguel Suastegui, Yanzhen Mei, Zengyi Shao
METABOLIC ENGINEERING
(2020)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Carmen Lopez, Mingfeng Cao, Zhanyi Yao, Zengyi Shao
Summary: The study highlights the importance of plasmid stability for gene expression and the relevance of cargo dependency in plasmid stability. It reveals the unique structure of ARSs from Yarrowia lipolytica, with a previously unannotated spacer playing a critical role in plasmid behavior.
APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yajie Wang, Pu Xue, Mingfeng Cao, Tianhao Yu, Stephan T. Lane, Huimin Zhao
Summary: Directed evolution aims to accelerate the natural evolution process of biological molecules and systems through gene diversification and library screening, serving as a powerful tool for engineering improved functions in proteins, metabolic pathways, and whole genomes. Common strategies include gene diversification, screening/selection methods, and continuous evolution, with applications in nucleic acids, proteins, pathways, genetic circuits, viruses, and cells. Challenges and future perspectives in directed evolution are also discussed.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jun Feng, Jie Zhang, Yuechao Ma, Yiming Feng, Shangjun Wang, Na Guo, Haijiao Wang, Pixiang Wang, Pablo Jimenez-Bonilla, Yanyan Gu, Junping Zhou, Zhong-Tian Zhang, Mingfeng Cao, Di Jiang, Shuning Wang, Xian-Wei Liu, Zengyi Shao, Ilya Borovok, Haibo Huang, Yi Wang
Summary: The study developed microbial strains capable of producing high-value and easily-separable derivatives like butyl acetate and butyl butyrate, by leveraging pathways in solventogenic clostridia. This improvement in bioproduction efficiency and economic competitiveness was achieved through systematic metabolic engineering, including the elimination of putative prophages.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Deon Ploessl, Yuxin Zhao, Mingfeng Cao, Saptarshi Ghosh, Carmen Lopez, Maryam Sayadi, Siva Chudalayandi, Andrew Severin, Lei Huang, Marissa Gustafson, Zengyi Shao
Summary: By developing a new CRISPR platform, the limitations caused by NHEJ repair have been successfully addressed, improving the accuracy of genome editing technology. While preserving NHEJ, it is also possible to effectively optimize microbial factories for the production of target compounds.
NATURE CHEMICAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Editorial Material
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Jian-Ming Liu, Csaba Feher, Mingfeng Cao, Fuping Lu, Peter Ruhdal Jensen
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Guoxiang Chi, Yiyuan Xu, Xingyu Cao, Zhipeng Li, Mingfeng Cao, Yusuf Chisti, Ning He
Summary: Dietary consumption of omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 LC-PUFA), especially docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), has various health benefits. Traditional sources of these fatty acids, such as fish oil, are limited and of variable quality. Therefore, alternative sources are being sought. DHA derived from certain marine protists (heterotrophic thraustochytrids) has been commercially produced for high-value dietary use, but it is too expensive for use in aquaculture feeds. Aquaculture is currently dependent on wild-caught fish oil as a source of omega-3 LC-PUFA, which restricts sustainable expansion. Schizochytrium spp. (now Aurantiochytrium spp.) is of particular interest as it has shown to be a good producer of DHA and EPA. Various strategies have been developed to improve the production and economics of omega-3 PUFA in Schizochytrium spp.
BIOTECHNOLOGY ADVANCES
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Yiyuan Xu, Lijie Yang, Haiyan Wang, Xiaoyu Wei, Yanyan Shi, Dafeng Liang, Mingfeng Cao, Ning He
Summary: In this study, the biosynthesis mechanism of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and its effects on bacterial growth and morphology were investigated. By overexpressing the epsK gene, it was found that EPS production was reduced and bacterial cell shape became slender. Further analysis suggested that epsK might be involved in the synthesis of teichuronic acid, a substitute cell wall component, under phosphate limitation. Additionally, either phosphate limitation or the overexpression of other teichuronic acid synthesis genes could lead to EPS reduction.
SYNTHETIC AND SYSTEMS BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Mingfeng Cao, Vinh G. Tran, Jiansong Qin, Andrew Olson, Shekhar Mishra, John C. Schultz, Chunshuai Huang, Dongming Xie, Huimin Zhao
Summary: This study demonstrates the metabolic engineering of Rhodotorula toruloides to achieve high production of the plant-sourced polyketide triacetic acid lactone (TAL). By introducing relevant genes and optimizing metabolic pathways, TAL production was significantly increased. The findings highlight the potential of Rhodotorula toruloides as a host for the production of TAL and other polyketides from low-cost carbon sources.
BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Guoxiang Chi, Xingyu Cao, Qi Li, Chuanyi Yao, Fuping Lu, Yihan Liu, Mingfeng Cao, Ning He
Summary: This study used molecular dynamics simulations and biochemical assays to elucidate the specificity-conferring residues and catalytic mechanism within the MAT domain of Schizochytrium. By altering these residues, the yield and quality of PUFA production can be improved, providing important insights for protein engineering studies of MAT and understanding the molecular mechanisms of other PUFA-related catalytic domains.
JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Shuaizhen Zhou, Zia Fatma, Pu Xue, Shekhar Mishra, Mingfeng Cao, Huimin Zhao, Jonathan Sweedler
Summary: To meet the increasing need for high-throughput screening in metabolic engineering, a fast and information-rich screening method is required. Liquid extraction surface analysis coupled with mass spectrometry (LESA-MS) is an efficient approach that directly samples and introduces metabolites from a surface to MS. In this study, LESA-MS combined with an acoustic liquid handler and stable isotope-labeled internal standards, enabling absolute quantitation of target chemicals and high-throughput screening for microbial metabolites.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Yixin Li, Mingfeng Cao, Vijai Kumar Gupta, Yuanpeng Wang
Summary: Microbial electrosynthesis (MES) is a promising technology to convert CO2 into value-added chemicals using microbial cells and electrons from the cathode. Genetic tools are crucial in MES to enhance electron transfer rate and production diversity. Nanomaterials and genetic tools can be combined to increase MES efficiency, although they still face challenges with transformation and low expression levels.
CRITICAL REVIEWS IN BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Yixin Li, Qingliu Luo, Jiaying Su, Guowen Dong, Mingfeng Cao, Yuanpeng Wang
Summary: In this study, the performance of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 in microbial electrosynthesis (MES) was enhanced through the regulation and overexpression of key genes involved in extracellular electron uptake (EEU) and intracellular CO2 conversion processes. The results revealed the mechanism of MES in S. oneidensis MR-1 and provided insights for genetic improvements in the further application of MES.
METABOLIC ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Jingya Song, Jian Fan, Cong Fan, Nike He, Xixi Ye, Mingfeng Cao, Jifeng Yuan
Summary: Researchers repurposed the galactose-regulated system in yeast to respond to cyanamide, allowing for precise control of protein function and yeast metabolism.
ACS SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
J. Carl Schultz, Mingfeng Cao, Andrea Mejia, Huimin Zhao
Summary: The study used CUT&RUN method to identify genomic regions associated with centromeric histone H3 protein Cse4 in Rhodotorula toruloides IFO0880. Fifteen putative centromeres were identified, with four tested for ARS activity but did not show. These centromeric sequences had below average GC content, corresponded to transcriptional cold spots, and were primarily nonrepetitive.
FEMS YEAST RESEARCH
(2021)