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Through adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) of Sphingomonas sp. ATCC 31555, fermentation for production of low-molecular-weight welan gum (LMW-WG) was performed using glycerol as sole carbon source. During ALE, GPC-MALS analysis revealed a gradual decrease in WG molecular weight with the increase of adaptation cycles, accompanied by changes in solution conformation. LMW-WG was purified and structurally analyzed using GPC-MALS, monosaccharide composition analysis, infrared spectroscopy, NMR analysis, atomic force microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Subsequently, LMW-WG obtains hydration, transparency, antioxidant activity, and rheological properties. Finally, an in vitro simulation colon reactor was used to evaluate potential prebiotic properties of LMW-WG as dietary fiber. Compared with WG produced using sucrose as substrate, LMW-WG exhibited a fourfold reduction in molecular weight while maintaining moderate viscosity. Structurally, L-Rha nearly completely replaced L-Man. Furthermore, LMW-WG demonstrated excellent hydration, antioxidant activity, and high transparency. It also exhibited resistance to saliva and gastrointestinal digestion, showcasing a favorable colonization effect on Bifidobacterium, making it a promising symbiotic agent., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In Chinese medicine, fermentation is a highly important processing technology whereby medicinal herbs are fermented under appropriate temperature, humidity, and moisture conditions by means of the action of microorganisms to enhance their original characteristics and/or produce new effects. This expands the scope of such medicines and helps them to meet the stringent demands of clinical application. Since ancient times, Chinese medicine has been made into Yaoqu to reduce its toxicity and increase its efficiency. Modern fermentation technologies have been developed on the basis of traditional fermentation techniques and modern biological technology, and they can be divided into solid fermentation, liquid fermentation, and two-way fermentation technologies according to the fermentation form employed. This review serves as an introduction to traditional fermentation technology and its related products, modern fermentation technologies, and the application of fermentation technology in the field of Chinese medicine. Several problems and challenges facing the field are also briefly discussed.

: Cane molasses is one of the main by-products of sugar refineries, which is rich in sucrose. In this work, low-cost cane molasses was introduced as an alternative substrate for isomaltulose production. Using the engineered Yarrowia lipolytica, the isomaltulose production reached the highest (102.6 g L - ¹) at flask level with pretreated cane molasses of 350 g L - ¹ and corn steep liquor of 1.0 g L - ¹. During fed-batch fermentation, the maximal isomaltulose concentration (161.2 g L - ¹) was achieved with 0.96 g g - ¹ yield within 80 h. Simultaneously, monosaccharides were completely depleted, harvesting the high isomaltulose purity (97.4%) and high lipid level (12.2 g L - ¹). Additionally, the lipids comprised of 94.29% C 16 and C 18 fatty acids, were proved suitable for biodiesel production. Therefore, the bioprocess employed using cane molasses in this study was low-cost and eco-friendly for high-purity isomaltulose production, coupling with valuable lipids.

This study was conducted to study the effects of ensiled alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and red clover (Trifolium pratense) at different ratios on dynamics of fermentation parameters, N distribution, protein fractions, and protease activities during ensiling. Alfalfa and red clover were harvested and wilted to 35 and 25% dry matter, respectively, chopped to 1 cm, mixed, weighed into 1.0-L buckets at a density of 700 g/L, and ensiled for 1, 3, 7, 15, and 30 d at 30°C. The treatments were mixing ratio of alfalfa to red clover at 100:0, 70:30, 50:50, 30:70, and 0:100 (R0, R30, R50, R70, and R100, respectively; fresh weight). For each ensiling duration, 3 replicates of each treatment were prepared. With increasing proportion of red clover in silage, total N content and proportions of nonprotein N, peptide N, free amino acid N, and NH 3 -N decreased linearly, and PC (indigestible true protein, acid detergent insoluble N) proportion increased linearly after ensiling. Moreover, the final pH was lower in R50 and R100 than R0 (4.29, 4.20 vs. 4.48, respectively) on d 30. Also, lactic acid concentration on d 30 was higher in R50, R70, and R100 silage compared with R0 (7.77, 7.66, and 8.76 vs. 6.34, % of dry matter, respectively). The proportion of NH 3 -N in R50 was lower than in R0 but closer to R100 after ensiling. During ensiling, proteases including carboxypeptidase, aminopeptidase, and acid proteinase activities decreased as red clover proportion increased. However, no differences were detected in aminopeptidase and acid proteinase activities among R50, R70, and R100 during ensiling. Overall, 50:50 was the optimal mixing ratio of alfalfa with red clover, showing good fermentation quality with lower pH and higher lactic acid concentration, reduced protease activities and proteolysis compared with pure alfalfa silage, and also more total N content than pure red clover silage., (Copyright © 2018 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Forages are usually inoculated with homofermentative and facultative heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria (LAB) to enhance lactic acid fermentation of forages, but effects of such inoculants on silage quality and the performance of dairy cows are unclear. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to examine the effects of LAB inoculation on silage quality and preservation and the performance of dairy cows. A second objective was to examine the factors affecting the response to silage inoculation with LAB. The studies that met the selection criteria included 130 articles that examined the effects of LAB inoculation on silage quality and 31 articles that investigated dairy cow performance responses. The magnitude of the effect (effect size) was evaluated using raw mean differences (RMD) between inoculated and uninoculated treatments. Heterogeneity was explored by meta-regression and subgroup analysis using forage type, LAB species, LAB application rate, and silo scale (laboratory or farm-scale) as covariates for the silage quality response and forage type, LAB species, diet type [total mixed ration (TMR) or non-TMR], and the level of milk yield of the control cows as covariates for the performance responses. Inoculation with LAB (≥10 5 cfu/g as fed) markedly increased silage fermentation and dry matter recovery in temperate and tropical grasses, alfalfa, and other legumes. However, inoculation did not improve the fermentation of corn, sorghum, or sugarcane silages. Inoculation with LAB reduced clostridia and mold growth, butyric acid production, and ammonia-nitrogen in all silages, but it had no effect on aerobic stability. Silage inoculation (≥10 5 cfu/g as fed) increased milk yield and the response had low heterogeneity. However, inoculation had no effect on diet digestibility and feed efficiency. Inoculation with LAB improved the fermentation of grass and legume silages and the performance of dairy cows but did not affect the fermentation of corn, sorghum, and sugar cane silages or the aerobic stability of any silage. Further research is needed to elucidate how silage inoculated with homofermentative and facultative heterofermentative LAB improves the performance of dairy cows., (The Authors. Published by the Federation of Animal Science Societies and Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the American Dairy Science Association®. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).)

Objective: To understand the fungal community succession during the phase II of Volvariella volvacea compost and clarify the predominant fungi in different fermentation stages, to monitor the dynamic compost at the molecular level accurately and quickly, and reveal the mechanism., Methods: The 18S rDNA-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and sequencing methods were used to analyze the fungal community structure during the course of compost., Results: The DGGE profile shows that there were differences in the diversity of fungal community with the fermentation progress. The diversity was higher in the stages of high temperature. And the dynamic changes of predominant community and relative intensity was observed. Among the 20 predominant clone strains, 9 were unknown eukaryote and fungi, the others were Eurotiales, Aspergillus sp., Melanocarpus albomyces, Colletotrichum sp., Rhizomucor sp., Verticillium sp., Penicillium commune, Microascus trigonosporus and Trichosporon lactis. The 14 clone strains were detected in the stages of high and durative temperature., Conclusion: The fungal community structure and predominant community have taken dynamic succession during the phase II of Volvariella volvacea compost.

An actinomycete strain xjy was isolated from the soil of cotton field in Xinjiang against pathogenic fungus Fulvia fulva. The growth of 23 plant pathogens and 6 bacteria were strongly inhibitded by strain xjy on PDA plate. Antimicrobial spectrum of fermentation filtrate of strain xjy is extensive and selective to different pathogens. The morphology, cultural characteristics, physiological and biochemical properties, chemotaxonomy and 16S rDNA sequences of this strain were studied. The strain showed faint yellow vegetative mycelium, spiral spore-bearing filaments and column spores with smooth surface. No pigment was produced in culture. The cell wall type I and sugar type C showed the strain with streptomyces character. A phylogenetic tree was constructed by comparing with the published 16S rDNA sequences of the related species and showed 99.6% identity of nucleotide sequence of 16S rDNA with Streptomyces lavendulae. From the polyphasic taxonomical view, the strain xjy falls into Streptomyces lavendulae. The optimum fermentation condition of strain xjy for producing the most effective ferment filtrate were cultured in 2% soybean flour, 2% glucose, 0.8% NaCl, 0.2% CaCO3, 0.32% (NH4)2 SO4, the initial pH of 7.0, at 28 degrees C and shaked at 180r/mim for 6d. These results are valuable to strain application, antibiotics purification and its industrialization.

Low-gluten rice is part of a special diet for chronic kidney disease patients, but its digestive mechanism in the gastrointestinal tract is unclear. In this study, low-gluten rice (LGR), common rice (CR), and rice starch (RS) were used as experimental samples, and their digestion and bacterial fermentation were simulated using an in vitro gastrointestinal reactor to investigate the mechanism of the effect of LGR on human health. The starch digestibility of CR was higher than that of LGR, with statistically significant differences. LGR has growth-promoting and metabolic effects on Akkermansia muciniphila. Among the beneficial metabolites, the concentration of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) from LGR reached 104.85 mmol/L, an increase of 44.94% (versus RS) and 25.33% (versus CR). Moreover, the concentration of lactic acid reached 18.19 mmol/L, an increase of 60.55% (versus RS) and 25.28% (versus CR). Among the harmful metabolites, the concentration of branched-chain fatty acids (BCFAs) in LGR was 0.29 mmol/L and the concentration of ammonia was 2.60 mmol/L, which was 79.31% and 16.15% lower than CR, respectively. A significant increase in the concentration of the beneficial intestinal bacteria Bacteroides and Bifidobacterium occurred from LGR. The 16s rDNA sequencing showed that the abundance of the Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes increased and the abundance of the Proteobacteria and Fusobacteria decreased. Thus, LGR has positive effects on digestion and gut microbiota structure and metabolism in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a mycotoxin known to impair human and animal health. It is also believed to have a deleterious effect on ruminal nutrient digestibility under in vitro batch culture systems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of increasing the dose of AFB1 on ruminal dry matter and nutrient digestibility, fermentation profile, and N flows using a dual-flow continuous culture system fed a diet formulated for lactating dairy cows. Eight fermenter vessels were used in a replicated 4 × 4 Latin square design with 10 d periods (7 d adaptation and 3 d sample collection). Treatments were randomly applied to fermenters on diet DM basis: (1) 0 μg of AFB1/kg of DM (Control); (2) 50 μg of AFB1/kg of DM (AF50); (3) 100 μg of AFB1/kg of DM (AF100); and (4) 150 μg of AFB1/kg of DM (AF150). Treatments did not affect nutrient digestibility, fermentation, and N flows. Aflatoxin B1 concentration in ruminal fluid increased with dose but decreased to undetectable levels after 4 h post-dosing. In conclusion, adding incremental doses of AFB1 did not affect ruminal fermentation, digestibility of nutrients, and N flows in a dual-flow continuous culture system fed diets formulated for lactating dairy cows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was aimed at investigating the bacterial community in lactic acid bacteria (LAB) suspensions prepared from whole-plant corn silage (LAB suspension-CS) and Elymus sibiricus silage (LAB suspension-ES) and the bacterial community succession of whole-plant corn silages inoculated with LAB suspension-CS or LAB suspension-ES during initial aerobic phase, intense fermentation phase, and stable phase. The LAB suspensions were cultured in sterile Man, Rogosa, Sharpe broth at 37°C for 24 h and used as inoculants for ensiling. The chopped whole-plant corn was treated with distilled water (CK), LAB suspension-CS (CSL), or LAB suspension-ES (ESL) and then ensiled in vacuum-sealed plastic bags containing 500 g of fresh forage. Silages were sampled at 0 h, anaerobic state (A), 3 h, 5 h, 10 h, 24 h, 2 days, 3 days, 10 days, 30 days, and 60 days of ensiling with four replicates for each treatment. The results showed that Lactobacillus , Weissella , and Lachnoclostridium _5 dominated the bacterial community in LAB suspension-CS; Lactobacillus was the most predominant bacterial genus in LAB suspension-ES. During the initial aerobic phase (from 0 h to A) of whole-plant corn silage, the pH and the abundances of Pantoea , Klebsiella , Rahnella , Erwinia , and Serratia increased. During the intense fermentation phase (from A to 3 days), the pH decreased rapidly, and the microbial counts increased exponentially; the most predominant bacterial genus shifted from Pantoea to Weissella , and then to Lactobacillus ; inoculating LAB suspensions promoted the bacterial succession and the fermentation process, and LAB suspension-CS was more effective than LAB suspension-ES. During the stable phase (from 3 to 60 days), the pH and the microbial counts decreased, and Lactobacillus dominated the bacterial community with a little decrease. The results also confirmed the existence of LAB fermentation relay during fermentation process, which was reflected by Weissella , Lactococcus , and Leuconostoc in the first 5 h; Weissella , Lactococcus , Leuconostoc , Lactobacillus , and Pediococcus between 5 and 24 h; and Lactobacillus from 24 h to 60 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study has been proved that statistical experimental designs offer efficient and feasible approaches for determination of culture medium and fermentation conditions of Streptomyces lavendulae Xjy. Nutrition and cultural conditions have high influence on the antibiotic production of S. lavendulae Xjy. Soya bean meal, NaCl and ( NH4)2 SO4 were identified as the best ingredients for high antifungal activity of Xjy based on single variable experiments. Using response surface methodology, the best concentrations of medium ingredients were 1.46% soya bean meal, 2.25% NaCl and 1.26% ( NH4)2 SO4. The potential components were reduced from seven to three, and the antibiotic activity was increased by 10%. The optimized conditions for Xjy in a 250-ml Erlenmeyer flask were initial pH 5, medium volume 25 ml/250 ml and inoculation volume 10% at 30°C with 200 rpm by response surface methodology. Validation experiments carried out to check the accuracy of the models indicated that the predicted values agreed with the experimental values. The extension of necrosis lesion of Botryosphaeria dothidea was impeded by the application of Xjy in apple fruit. In tomato plants, Xjy showed the 43.7-51.7% curative and protective effects against Fulvia fulva. The optimal medium not only gave a 20% increase in antifungal activity, but it provided a simpler formulation. The results will set a basis for further study on large-scale fermentation volumes using S. lavendulae Xjy and be useful for the development of more advanced control strategies on plant diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lactobacillus sakei is a heterofermentative species of lactic acid bacteria that is used in industrial meat fermentation. To investigate adaptation in a meat environment, whole-genome DNA microarrays were used to analyze the gene expression related to growth and survival of L. sakei strain La22 when grown in sarcoplasmic (S-) or myofibrillar (M-) protein-supplemented chemically defined medium (CDM). Differential expression was detected in 551 genes. Genes encoding enzymes involved in peptide hydrolysis were differentially upregulated in M-CDM or/and S-CDM, and only oppB and oppC, involved in the amino acid and peptide transport system, were upregulated. Most genes related to metabolism of peptides, amino acids and related molecules were over-expressed in M-CDM and S-CDM, except for glnA and metK. Expression of certain genes was according to the differential substrate environment. The expression of genes involved in the stress response was not induced by growth in M-CDM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND The present study was conducted to investigate the lipid-lowering effect of polysaccharides from the submerged fermentation concentrate of Hericium caput-medusae (Bull.:Fr.) Pers. (HFCP) in broilers. A total of 480 female Arbor Acres broilers were randomly divided into four dietary treatments, each consisting of six pens as replicates, and fed diets containing 0 (control), 1, 3 or 5 g kg−1 HFCP. RESULTS The results revealed that the average daily gain of broilers increased (linear (L), P < 0.01; quadratic (Q), P < 0.01) when the HFCP levels increased. The serum cholesterol, triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels decreased (Q, P < 0.05) while the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level increased (Q, P < 0.05) when the HFCP levels increased. The caecum Escherichia coli count and pH decreased (Q, P < 0.01) while the lactobacilli count and bifidobacteria count increased (L, P < 0.05; Q, P < 0.05) when the HFCP levels increased. The propionic acid and butyric acid concentrations increased (L, P < 0.001; Q, P < 0.001) while the abdominal fat rate and liver fat content decreased (L, P < 0.01; Q, P < 0.05) when the HFCP levels increased. CONCLUSION Dietary supplementation with HFCP may lead to the development of low abdominal fat of broilers as demanded by health-conscious consumers. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whole-plant corn silage is a predominant forage for livestock that is processed in Heilongjiang province (Daqing city and Longjiang county), Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (Helin county and Tumet Left Banner) and Shanxi province (Taigu and Shanyin counties) of North China; it was sampled at 0, 5, 14, 45 and 90 days after ensiling. Bacterial community and fermentation quality were analysed. During fermentation, the pH was reduced to below 4.0, lactic acid increased to above 73 g/kg DM (p < 0.05) and Lactobacillus dominated the bacterial community and had a reducing abundance after 14 days. In the final silages, butyric acid was not detected, and the contents of acetic acid and ammonia nitrogen were below 35 g/kg DM and 100 g/kg total nitrogen, respectively. Compared with silages from Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia, silages from Shanxi contained less Lactobacillus and more Leuconostoc (p < 0.05), and had a separating bacterial community from 14 to 90 days. Lactobacillus was negatively correlated with pH in all the silages (p < 0.05), and positively correlated with lactic and acetic acid in silages from Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia (p < 0.05). The results show that the final silages had satisfactory fermentation quality. During the ensilage process, silages from Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia had similar bacterial-succession patterns; the activity of Lactobacillus formed and maintained good fermentation quality in whole-plant corn silage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the effects of chopping or chopping + blender maceration of red clover or lucerne on pre-fermented juice (PFJ) and determined the effects of PFJs on the quality of red clover silage or lucerne silage. The PFJs from chopping red clover (PFJ-RC) or lucerne (PFJ-LC) had a higher lactic acid bacteria (LAB) count than that from chopping + blender maceration (p < 0.05) and were used as additives. Compared with the Control of both silages, adding PFJ increased LAB, lactic acid (LA), and in vitro digestibility of dry matter (IVDMD) (p < 0.05), while pH, acetic acid (AA), and ammonia nitrogen/total nitrogen (NH3-N/TN) were decreased (p < 0.05). For red clover silages, the PFJ-RC treatment contained the greatest LAB and LA and the lowest pH and NH3-N/TN among treatments (p < 0.05); similar results were observed in PFJ-LC treatment for lucerne silages (p < 0.05). The IVDMD of both silages correlated negatively with pH, AA, and NH3-N/TN and positively with LA (p < 0.05). Overall, chopping alone was a better method for preparing PFJ. Adding PFJ at ensiling increased LA and decreased the pH, AA, and NH3-N/TN of both silages. Ensiling lucerne or red clover with PFJ from the ensiling material had a more positive effect on the fermentation parameters mentioned above. Satisfactory fermentation parameters detected in the present study contributed to improving the IVDMD of both silages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Bacteriocins produced by lactic acid bacteria are considered good alternatives for feed antibiotics because of inhibiting spoilage microorganisms in silage and non-drug resistance in animals. Owing to the narrow antibacterial spectrum, class I bacteriocin-producing lactic acid bacteria are considered to have limitations as silage inoculants. The research was conducted to evaluate the effects of two class IIa bacteriocin-producing Lactobacillus on silage fermentation, microbial population, chemical composition, and aerobic stability. The strains results showed that class IIa bacteriocin-producing lactic acid bacteria could improve silage fermentation quality, reduce counts of molds and yeasts, and improve aerobic stability to a greater extent than inoculation with Lactobacillus plantarum MTD/1, a proven, widely used inoculant, which does not produce bacteriocin. The findings of this research are of great value for current understandings and onwards to conduct further research and for possible practical implementation of class IIa bacteriocin-producing lactic acid bacteria as silage inoculants. The effects of two strains of class IIa bacteriocin-producing lactic acid bacteria, Lactobacillus delbrueckii F17 and Lactobacillus plantarum (BNCC 336943), or a non-bacteriocin Lactobacillus plantarum MTD/1 (NCIMB 40027), on fermentation quality, microbial counts, and aerobic stability of alfalfa silage were investigated. Alfalfa was harvested at the initial flowering stage, wilted to a dry matter concentration of approximately 32%, and chopped to 1 to 2 cm length. Chopped samples were treated with nothing (control, CON), Lactobacillus delbrueckii F17 (F17), Lactobacillus plantarum (BNCC 336943) (LPB), or Lactobacillus plantarum MTD/1 (NCIMB 40027) (LPN), each at an application rate of 1 × 106 colony-forming units/g of fresh weight. Each treatment was ensiled in quadruplicate in vacuum-sealed polyethylene bags packed with 500 g of fresh alfalfa per bag and ensiled at ambient temperature (25 ± 2 °C) for 3, 7, 14, 30, and 60 days. The samples were then subjected to an aerobic stability test after 60 days of ensiling. Compared with the CON silage, the inoculants reduced the pH after 14 days of ensiling. After 60 days, pH was lowest in the LPB-treated silage, followed by the F17 and LPN-treated silages. Inoculation of F17 increased concentrations of lactic acid in silages fermented for 7, 14, 30, and 60 days relative to other treatments, except for the LPN-treated silages ensiled for 30 and 60 days, in which the lactic acid concentrations were similar to that of F17 silage. Application of F17 and LPB decreased the number of yeast and mold relative to CON and LPN-treated silages. Compared with the CON silage, inoculant-treated silages had greater aerobic stability, water-soluble carbohydrate, and crude protein concentrations, and lower neutral detergent fiber, amino acid nitrogen, and ammonia nitrogen concentrations. The LPB-treated silage had the greatest aerobic stability followed by the F17-treated silage. Both class IIa bacteriocin producing inoculants improved alfalfa silage fermentation quality, reduced the growth of yeasts and molds, and improved the aerobic stability of the ensiled forage to a greater extent than the proven LPN inoculant. However, higher crude protein concentration and lower ammonia nitrogen concentration were observed in LPN-treated silage relative to other treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of inoculation with Lactobacillus hilgardii with or without Lactobacillus buchneri on the fermentation, chemical composition, and aerobic stability of sorghum and corn silage after 2 ensiling durations. Sorghum forage was harvested at 27% dry matter (DM; experiment 1), and different corn hybrids were harvested at late (43.8% DM; experiment 2) or normal maturity (34% DM; experiment 3). All harvested forages were chopped and ensiled in quadruplicate in vacuum-sealed nylon-polyethylene bags (40 × 61 cm) for 30 and 90 d after treatment with (1) deionized water (uninoculated) or (2) L. buchneri (1.5 × 105 cfu/g of fresh weight; LB); (3) L. hilgardii (1.5 × 105 cfu/g of fresh weight; LH); or (4) L. buchneri and L. hilgardii (1.5 × 105 cfu/g of fresh weight of each inoculant). Data for each experiment were analyzed separately accounting for the 2 × 2 × 2 factorial treatment arrangement. Inoculating sorghum forage with LB or LH separately increased acetate and 1,2 propanediol concentration, tended to increase DM loss, reduced lactate concentration and the lactate-to-acetate ratio, and increased aerobic stability after 90 but not after 30 d of ensiling. Inoculating late-harvested corn silage with LB or LH separately increased and decreased DM loss, respectively, increased 1,2 propanediol concentration, reduced lactate-to-acetate ratio and yeast counts but did not affect aerobic stability. Inoculating normal-harvested corn silage with LH reduced DM loss and increased 1,2 propanediol concentration and yeast counts; LB reduced lactate concentration, lactate-to-acetate ratio, and total acids. Either inoculant alone increased aerobic stability after 30 or 90 d. The main benefit of combining LB with LH was prevention of increases in DM losses by LH or LB separately. No improvement in aerobic stability resulted from applying LH instead of LB separately or from combining them. Application of LB or LH separately improved aerobic stability of sorghum silage after 90 d and normal-harvested corn silage after 30 or 90 d but did not affect that of late-harvested corn silage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, various grains such as rice, millet, corn, barley and wheat were used as raw materials for monacolin K production by solid-state fermentation of Monascus ruber . Among these substrates, millet was found to be the best one for monacolin K production, by which the yield reached 7.12 mg/g. For enhanced monacolin K production, the effects of fermentation time, charge amount, initial moisture content and inoculum volume were systematically investigated in the solid-state fermentation of M . ruber . Moreover, complementary carbon source and nitrogen source were added for further improving the production of monacolin K. Results showed that the maximum production of monacolin K (19.81 mg/g) could be obtained at the optimal conditions. Compared with the traditional red mold rice, using millet as substrate is promising for high production of monacolin K in the solid-state fermentation of M . ruber . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, research on the influence of food nutrition and medicine on the metabolism and diversity of the human gut microbiota is of considerable interest. In this study, a new in-vitro simulation colon reactor (SCR), an important tool for simulating the colon conditions of the human body, was designed to evaluate food function. The key parameters of crush evaluation, peristaltic patterns, anaerobic and parthenogenic aerobic bacterial growth, and fecal microbiota colonization were analyzed and compared with those of static reactor to evaluate colonization and the effectiveness of the new bioreactor. The results prove that SCR has a better ability to break up semisolids, and it could be used to simulate the digestion of semisolid foods. It could also successfully simulate two classical human gut peristaltic patterns, with the intestinal pressure reaching 60–90 (peristaltic frequency, six per min) and 100–150 mmHg (peristaltic frequency, 10 per min). SCR is suitable for fermentation colonization culture of Akkermansia muciniphila , Bifidobacteria , and fecal microbiota. The gut microbiota could be maintained in a healthy and stable growth state throughout the fermentation process. SCR could also increase the productivity of gut microbiota, and it has a good effect on fecal colonization. This study provides a novel and valuable tool for evaluating the structure and function of the gut microbiota. [Display omitted] • A novel in vitro whole process visual fermentation simulation colon reactor (SCR) was developed. • The SCR can simulate the actual pH of human gut media. • The SCR can simulate the colonization of fecal microbiota in the human gut. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recycling waste carbon source for fermentation is of great interests and high practical value. However, the process suffered some problems like unclear carbohydrate composition, low nutrition content, presence of various contaminants and high cost for pretreatment. Currently, the high-fructose syrup (HFS) production industry in China generates a large amount of waste liquid containing miscellaneous waste carbohydrates (MWC), which has a notable environmental impact. To recycle MWC for Pichia pastoris fermentation, the composition of MWC was analyzed and the fermentation processes were optimized. The composition of MWC was determined as 802.3 g L−1 total carbohydrate, 480 g L−1 glucose, 92 g L−1 fructose, 103.6 g L−1 maltose, 36.8 g L−1 maltotriose and 89.9 g L−1 other oligosaccharides with different degrees of polymerization (DPs 4–16). After the fermentation medium and conditions for pGAP/pAOX 1 - P. pastoris were optimized, MWC were employed as the alternative carbon source to culture the two strains to produce endo-β-1,3-glucanase in 7-L bioreactors. Using MWC for pGAP -P. pastoris culture, the dry cell weight (DCW) and endo-β-1,3-glucanase activity reached 69.1 g L−1 and 171.8 U mL−1, respectively, which were the same levels as in the batch using glucose as the carbon source. When using MWC and the self-designed DO-Stat-Time feeding strategy for pAOX 1 - P. pastoris culture, the maximum DCW and enzyme activity reached 83.6 g L−1 and 212.3 U mL−1, which improved 41.4% and 34.9%, respectively compared with the control group. This study established cleaner production procedures for both HFS and P. pastoris fermentation industries by considerably reducing environmental pollution and decreasing the production cost. [Display omitted] • Miscellaneous waste carbohydrates were determined with rich carbon source. • The waste carbohydrates were recycled directly for pGAP- P. pastoris fermentation. • The waste carbohydrates and novel feeding were used for pAOX 1 - P. pastoris culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Error-prone PCR technology was implemented for endo -β-1,3-glucanase expression. • The mutant enzyme exhibited high activity towards curdlan and scleroglucan. • A coupled fermentation system of P. pastoris and S. rolfsii was established. • Branched β-oligoglucosides were produced directly by the coupled fermentation. Endo-β-1,3-glucanase with high specific activity is a prerequisite for enzymatic preparation of valuable β-oligoglucosides. Heterologous expression in Pichia pastoris GS115 with error-prone PCR technology was implemented, and the mutant strain 7 N12 was obtained. The mutant endo -β-1,3-glucanase showed efficient specific activities for degrading curdlan (366 U mg−1) and scleroglucan (274.5 U mg−1). Thereafter, one-step production of functional branched oligoglucosides was established with coupled fermentation of Pichia pastoris and Sclerotium rolfsii. During the fermentation process, the endo -β-1,3-glucanase secreted by Pichia pastoris GS115 can efficiently hydrolyse scleroglucan metabolized by Sclerotium rolfsii WSH-G01. The maximum yields of β-oligoglucosides in the shake flasks and 7-L bioreactor reached 1.73 g L−1 and 12.71 g L−1, respectively, with polymerization degrees of 2–17. The successful implementation of heterologous expression with error-prone PCR and the coupled fermentation simplified the multi-step enzymatic β-oligoglucoside preparation procedures, which makes it a potential strategy for industrial production of functional oligosaccharides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]