Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Shu-Ping Zou, Kuo Zhao, Zhi-Jian Wang, Bo Zhang, Zhi-Qiang Liu, Yu-Guo Zheng
Summary: Statistical optimization techniques were used to enhance the production of D-pantothenic acid (D-PA), identifying glucose, beta-alanine and (NH4)2SO4 as having significant effects on D-PA biosynthesis. The optimized conditions led to increased D-PA titer in shake flask fermentation and fed-batch fermentation, with significant reduction in acetate accumulation. These findings highlight the importance of medium composition and cell growth rate in increasing D-PA concentration for microbial fermentation.
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Ning An, Chong Xie, Shubin Zhou, Jia Wang, Xinxiao Sun, Yajun Yan, Xiaolin Shen, Qipeng Yuan
Summary: In this study, a novel growth-coupled strategy for the efficient production of (i-arbutin using engineered Escherichia coli and glycerol was developed. By coupling E4P formation with cell growth, high levels of (i-arbutin were achieved, with the highest production ever reported through microbial fermentation. This study has significant implications for large-scale production of (i-arbutin and other important aromatic compounds.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Kyeong Rok Choi, Hye Eun Yu, Hoseong Lee, Sang Yup Lee
Summary: The fermentation process for high-level production of heme by the metabolically engineered Escherichia coli HAEM7 strain was optimized in this study. Various factors such as carbon sources, iron concentration, pH control, induction points, and iron content in the feeding solution were examined to improve heme production. Strategies of increasing cell density, regular iron supplementation, and supplying excess feeding solution were also developed. The optimized fermentation process resulted in a heme production of 1.03 g/L with a productivity of 21.5 mg/L/h. This research will expedite the establishment of industrial-scale production of heme.
BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Iram Shahzadi, Maryam A. Al-Ghamdi, Muhammad Shahid Nadeem, Muhammad Sajjad, Asif Ali, Jalaluddin Azam Khan, Imran Kazmi
Summary: The study successfully developed a predicted model using response surface methodology to optimize fermentation conditions for overproduction of recombinant endoglucanase in E. coli. The results showed that specific parameters such as media composition, temperature, pH, and agitation rate significantly influenced the enzyme yield and activity. The study also highlighted the importance of glucose and glycerol supplementation in enhancing the enzyme production.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Shuai Liu, Bing-Bing Wang, Jian-Zhong Xu, Wei-Guo Zhang
Summary: This study improved the production of L-tryptophan by metabolic engineering, optimizing the shikimate pathway and L-tryptophan branch. The resulting strain produced 53.65 g/L of L-tryptophan, with a yield of 0.238 g/g glucose, setting the basis for the development of other valuable aromatic compounds or derivatives.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Kyeong Rok Choi, Hye Eun Yu, Sang Yup Lee
Summary: This study optimized the fermentation process and strategies to achieve high-level production of ZnPPIX using the metabolically engineered Escherichia coli HAEM7 strain. The results are important for establishing industrial-scale production of ZnPPIX.
BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOENGINEERING
(2022)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Alexandros Karyolaimos, Jan-Willem de Gier
Summary: Producing recombinant proteins in the periplasm of E. coli instead of in its cytoplasm has advantages such as enabling disulfide bond formation and controlling the nature of the mature protein, but challenges like hampered protein targeting, translocation, and folding as well as protein instability exist. Strategies to enhance periplasmic protein production yields focus on increasing the capacity of the secretory apparatus and preventing proteolysis, among other approaches.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Bingjieu Yu, Wenzhe Sun, Zhen Huang, Gang Sun, Le Li, Jiawei Gu, Mengying Zheng, Xiaokun Li, ChangJu Chun, Qi Hui, Xiaojie Wang
Summary: The study successfully cloned and expressed the human aFGF gene in E. coli, reaching a high production scale of 30 L with efficient purification. Results demonstrate that rhaFGF(135) retains potent mitogenic activity and holds great potential for wide-ranging applications.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Chun-Ying Wang, Martin Lempp, Niklas Farke, Stefano Donati, Timo Glatter, Hannes Link
Summary: The study explores how to alleviate the growth burden on E. coli strains caused by synthetic pathways, highlighting the role of misregulated Cra transcription factor in impairing growth during glycerol production. Engineering Cra-binding sites in promoters maintains metabolic balance in the synthetic pathway, demonstrating a successful solution to the growth burden issue.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Guohui Li, Dixuan Huang, Li Wang, Yu Deng
Summary: The study established an effective platform for putrescine production through engineered Escherichia coli, achieving high-efficiency production of putrescine in a short period of time. Compared with the original strain, the putrescine production efficiency was significantly improved.
BIOCHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Domenico Bonanni, Mattia Litrico, Waqar Ahmed, Pietro Morerio, Tiziano Cazzorla, Elisa Spaccapaniccia, Franca Cattani, Marcello Allegretti, Andrea Rosario Beccari, Alessio Del Bue, Franck Martin
Summary: Fermentation is a widely used process in the biotechnology industry, and the yields depend heavily on critical process parameters. By using black-box machine learning methods based on recurrent neural networks (RNN) and long short-term memory (LSTM) neural networks, real-time OD600nm values can be predicted from fermentation CPP time series. The results show that RNN and LSTM are promising approaches for process yield estimation, paving the way for machine learning-based fermentation process control algorithms.
FERMENTATION-BASEL
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jun Zhang, Wen Luo, Zhiyuan Wang, Yiaoyan Chen, Junying Fu, Jingliang Xu, Pengmei Lv
Summary: Liquid lipase was used to simplify the catalysis process for the enzymatic production of biodiesel from waste cooking oils, reducing production costs. The use of an engineered Escherichia coli expressing GTL2 enzyme achieved high-level production of GTL2, which significantly increased enzyme activity compared to shake flask fermentation. Using liquid GTL2, fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) were produced from waste cooking oils under optimized conditions, providing a promising enzymatic process for biodiesel production.
APPLIED BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Albert Enrique Tafur Rangel, Luis H. Reyes, Jorge Mario Gomez Ramirez, Andres Fernando Gonzalez Barrios
Summary: The development of a culture medium is crucial for bioprocesses involving microorganisms for bioconversion of by-products, with computational methods playing an important role in identifying cellular requirements. This study proposed a computational approach to optimize glycerol consumption in Escherichia coli, resulting in increased growth and uptake rates when supplementing the medium with nitrogen and phosphorus compounds.
BIOFUELS BIOPRODUCTS & BIOREFINING-BIOFPR
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Vinh G. Tran, Somesh Mishra, Sarang S. Bhagwat, Saman Shafaei, Yihui Shen, Jayne L. Allen, Benjamin A. Crosly, Shih- Tan, Zia Fatma, Joshua D. Rabinowitz, Jeremy S. Guest, Vijay Singh, Huimin Zhao
Summary: This study presents a metabolic engineering approach to enhance the production of succinic acid (SA) by acid-tolerant yeast, achieving high titers at low pH conditions. The pilot-scale fermentation using sugarcane juice medium resulted in a SA titer of 63.1g/L with a high crystallization yield. Techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment indicate the financial viability and significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of the proposed low-pH SA production process.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Vinh G. Tran, Somesh Mishra, Sarang S. Bhagwat, Saman Shafaei, Yihui Shen, Jayne L. Allen, Benjamin A. Crosly, Shih-I Tan, Zia Fatma, Joshua D. Rabinowitz, Jeremy S. Guest, Vijay Singh, Huimin Zhao
Summary: In this study, we successfully engineered yeast to produce succinic acid at high efficiency under low pH conditions. The high titers of succinic acid obtained in the experiments, as well as the economic and environmental benefits demonstrated in the techno-economic and life cycle assessments, indicate the potential of scaling up this process for industrial applications.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Shi-Miao Ren, Feng Liu, Yin-Qi Wu, Qi Chen, Zhi-jun Zhang, Hui-Lei Yu, Jian-He Xu
Summary: The study successfully improved the catalytic efficiency of the AcCHMOM6 mutant through a targeted mutagenesis strategy based on the structural characteristics of AcCHMO. Two key residues were identified, providing insights for engineering other related enzymes.
BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Ping Du, Shuai Yan, Xiao-Long Qian, Jiang Pan, Zhi-Jun Zhang, Hui-Lei Yu, Jian-He Xu
JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY
(2020)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jianfeng Hu, Xianhao Wang, Junzhan Zhang, Jun Luo, Zhijun Zhang, Zhijian Shen
Summary: A new migration model of grain boundary is proposed, and a mathematical expression is derived to depict the general evolution of grain growth in cellular structures. The model reveals how the normal, abnormal, and stagnant behaviors of grain growth occur in polycrystalline systems. Quantitative correlation between GB roughening transition and grain growth behavior is established.
JOURNAL OF MATERIOMICS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jianfeng Hu, Junzhan Zhang, Xianhao Wang, Jun Luo, Zhijun Zhang, Zhijian Shen
Summary: The study reveals that abnormal and stagnant behaviors of grain growth may intrinsically occur in polycrystalline systems, and provides accurate guidance for microstructural design in polycrystalline materials through a new grain growth theory.
JOURNAL OF MATERIOMICS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jiacheng Ni, Qing Li, Lei Gong, Xiao-Long Liao, Zhi-Jun Zhang, Cuiluan Ma, Yucai He
Summary: This study successfully converted corncob into furfurylamine using a chemoenzymatic approach, demonstrating an environmentally friendly production method that combines chemical and biological processes.
ACS SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yi-Ke Qi, Yu-Cong Zheng, Qi Chen, Yucai He, Zhi-Jun Zhang, Jian-He Xu
Summary: In this study, structure-guided engineering was performed on a lipoxygenase enzyme, resulting in a mutant with increased activity towards unsaturated fatty acids. The mutant successfully synthesized a high-yield hydroperoxy fatty acid, demonstrating the practicability of engineered biocatalysts, especially those that require gaseous molecules as cosubstrates.
ACS SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Qiao Jia, Yu-Cong Zheng, Hai-Peng Li, Xiao-Long Qian, Zhi-Jun Zhang, Jian-He Xu
Summary: This study improved the thermostability and catalytic activity of IPADH and successfully switched its cofactor preference from NAD(H) to NADP(H). The resulting variants showed great potential for cofactor regeneration and the engineering strategy could be applied to other oxidoreductases in the future.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Kun Shi, Ju-Mou Li, Zhi-Jun Zhang, Qi Chen, Jian-He Xu, Hui-Lei Yu
Summary: This study describes a protein structure prediction-based virtual screening method for the discovery of new carboxylic acid reductases (CARs). Five new CARs with broad substrate scope and high activity towards various di- and omega-aminated carboxylic acids were identified through virtual screening and functional detection. KiCAR showed high specificity towards adipic acid without detectable activity towards 6-ACA, indicating its potential for 6-ACA biosynthesis.
BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Ru-Yi Ye, Juan Song, Zhi-Jun Zhang, Hui-Lei Yu
Summary: CYP120As are unique non-membrane P450 enzymes that play a significant role in the biodegradation of retinoids, with promising catalytic potential.
APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zihan Zhang, Longhao Huang, Zhi-Jun Zhang, Jian-He Xu, Hui-Lei Yu
Summary: CYP450s play a crucial role in the biosynthesis of natural products, but the low activity of plant-derived CYP450s limits the heterologous biosynthesis of these products. Traditional enzyme engineering methods are not applicable to CYP450s due to the lack of crystal structures and high-throughput screening methods. By constructing ancestral enzymes, we identified key amino acids that affect the in vivo activity of CYP725A4 and obtained positive mutants with improved yield of hydroxylated products, providing guidance for modifying other CYP450s involved in natural product biosynthesis.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Cheng-Dong Wei, Hong-Tao Xue, Ruo-Jiao Yin, Hong-Yi Zhang, Zhi-Jun Zhang, Fu-Ling Tang
Summary: The sulfur cathode host Fe1-xMxS2 (M=transition-metal; x=0, 0.125, and 0.25) is crucial for the fast charge-discharge kinetics of lithium-sulfur-batteries (LSBs). First-principles calculations were used to investigate the various properties of Fe1-xMxS2, including formation energy, conductivity, work function, charge redistribution, chemical adsorption, and catalytic performance. Ti/V-doped FeS2 exhibits low lattice distortion and formation energy, facilitating Li+ diffusion and showing better conductivity and chemical adsorption. Furthermore, Li2S deposition and decomposition are influenced by the Fe0.875Ti0.125S2(001) surface. Overall, Ti/V-doped FeS2 as a sulfur cathode host material is more beneficial for the cycle performance of LSBs.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xing Yu, Xin-Yi Chen, Hui-Lei Yu, Jian-He Xu, Zhi-Jun Zhang
Summary: A three-step one-pot multienzyme cascade was developed for the asymmetric synthesis of d-amino acids from renewable fatty acids. This method enables the regioselective oxyfunctionalization and reductive amination of fatty acids, efficiently converting them into valuable chiral chemicals. The study demonstrates the potential for synthesizing high-value chiral chemicals from inexpensive renewable feedstocks.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Ya-Jing Li, Yu-Cong Zheng, Qiang Geng, Feng Liu, Zhi-Jun Zhang, Jian-He Xu, Hui-Lei Yu
Summary: The extracellular production of CHMOAcineto-Mut by a methylotrophic yeast, Pichia pastoris, resulted in a higher flavin occupation rate and 3.2-fold increase in catalytic efficiency compared to expression in Escherichia coli. Directly employing the pH adjusted supernatant as a biocatalyst enabled the almost complete transformation of pyrmetazole into (S)-sulfoxide with > 99% enantiomeric excess.
BIORESOURCES AND BIOPROCESSING
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Min Zhang, Pengfei Hu, Yu-Cong Zheng, Bu-Bing Zeng, Qi Chen, Zhi-Jun Zhang, Jian-He Xu
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS
(2020)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Lei Liu, Dong-Hao Wang, Fei-Fei Chen, Zhi-Jun Zhang, Qi Chen, Jian-He Xu, Zhi-Long Wang, Gao-Wei Zheng
CATALYSIS SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2020)