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Aminotransferases are widely employed as biocatalysts to produce chiral amines and biologically active pharmaceuticals via asymmetric synthesis. In this study, transaminase genes in the Bacillus pumilus W3 genome were analysed, and gene ota3 encoding a putative (R)-selective transaminase was identified. The sequence of ota3 shares highest sequence identity (24.7%) with the first (R)-selective aminotransferase from Arthrobacter sp. KNK 168. Amino acid sequence and conserved domains analyses indicated that ω-BPAT encoded by ota3 belonged to the pyridoxal 5′-phosphate-dependent class IV (PLPDE_IV) superfamily. Both native and codon-optimised ω-BPAT genes were recombinantly expressed, and the purified proteins had a molecular mass of ~33.4 kDa. Furthermore, enantioselectivity tests with (S)- and (R)-α-phenethylamine revealed its (R)-selectivity. The optimal conditions for catalytic reaction were 45 °C and pH 7.0, and ω-BPAT retained stability at 20 °C and pH 7.0. Thus, ω-BPAT is a novel (R)-selective aminotransferase with great potential as a universal biocatalyst.

Multicopper oxidases (MCOs) are a pervasive family of enzymes that oxidize a wide range of phenolic and nonphenolic aromatic substrates, concomitantly with the reduction of dioxygen to water. MCOs are usually divided into two functional classes: metalloxidases and laccases. Given their broad substrate specificity and eco-friendliness (molecular oxygen from air as is used as the final electron acceptor and they only release water as byproduct), laccases are regarded as promising biological green tools for an array of applications. Among these laccases, those of bacterial origin have attracted research attention because of their notable advantages, including broad substrate spectrum, wide pH range, high thermostability, and tolerance to alkaline environments. This review aims to summarize the significant research efforts on the properties, mechanisms and structures, laccase-mediator systems, genetic engineering, immobilization, and biotechnological applications of the bacteria-source laccases and laccase-like enzymes, which principally include Bacillus laccases, actinomycetic laccases and some other species of bacterial laccases. In addition, these enzymes may offer tremendous potential for environmental and industrial applications.

Eyestalk ablation is commonly used to promote ovarian development and maturation in captive economic crustaceans. Understanding the molecular mechanism of eyestalk ablation in Procambarus clarkii is essential in finding alternative measures to trigger ovarian maturation on this species without undesirable effects. The cell division cycle 2 (Cdc2) is a catalytic subunit of the maturation-promoting factor, which is a central factor for inducing oocyte meiotic maturation. This study analyzed the Cdc2 gene expression patterns and the progesterone level in the P. clarkii ovary during its eyestalk ablation-induced maturation course with or without synthetic pcGnRH injection. The RNA interference technique was used to elucidate the role of Cdc2 in the eyestalk ablation mechanism. A combination of the present and previous results revealed that the progesterone-mediated oocyte maturation pathway could exist in the ovary. Furthermore, this pathway could play a crucial role in the eyestalk ablation-induced ovarian maturation in P. clarkii . Statement of relevance The results of this study enable the utilization of the Cdc2 function to control oocyte maturation in Procambarus clarkii.

Recently, residual plasticizer phthalate esters (PAEs) in the different environments pose a serious health threat to humans and mammals. Biodegradation has been considered a promising and eco-friendly way to eliminate PAEs. In this study, a gene (baces04) encoding the novel PAEs hydrolase, carboxylesterase (BaCEs04), was screened from the genome of Bacillus velezensis SYBC H47 via bioinformatics analysis. Then, baces04 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). BaCEs04 belonged to the esterase family VI. It contained a conserved domain (Gly159-His160-Ser161-Leu162-Gly163) and a typical serine hydrolase catalytic site (Ser161-Asp204-His261). The characterization of BaCEs04 showed that the activity was optimal at 60°C and pH 7.5. This enzyme also displayed high resistance to metal ions, organic solvents, and detergents. After treatment with BaCEs04 for 5 h, the degradation ratio of four different 1 mM PAEs, including dimethyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, dipropyl phthalate, and dibutyl phthalate, was 32.4%, 50.5%, 77.9%, and 86.8%, respectively. The degradation products of four PAEs were identified as their corresponding monoalkyl phthalates. This is the first report that family VI esterase displaying PAE-hydrolysis activity. This study also proved that BaCEs04 could be used as an ideal candidate for the application in bioremediation and industry.

CotA-laccases are potential enzymes that are widely used in decolorization of dyes and degradation of toxic substances. In this study, a novel CotA-laccase gene from Bacillus pumilus W3 was applied for rational design. After a series of site-directed genetic mutations, the mutant S208G/F227A showed a 5.1-fold higher catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km) than the wild-type CotA-laccase did. The optimal pH of S208G/F227A was 3.5 with ABTS as substrate. The residual activity of mutant S208G/F227A was more than 80% after incubated for 10 h at pH 7–11. Mutant S208G/F227A showed optimal temperature at 80°C with ABTS as substrate. The thermal stability of mutant laccase S208G/F227A was lower than that of wild-type CotA-laccase. This study showed that Gly208 and Ala227 play key roles in catalytic efficiency and it is possible to improve catalytic efficiency of CotA-laccase through site-directed mutagenesis.

Aminotransferases have attracted considerable attention due to their extraordinary potential for the biosynthesis of chiral amines. Research on transaminase genes can facilitate their application to various fields. Herein, 89 putative aminotransferase genes potentially encoding useful biocatalysts were identified in three Bacillus strains genomes by genome annotation. Enzymes encoded by genes ota3, ota8, otae6, otae21, otaf1, otaf8, and otaf26 belong to pyridoxine 5'-phosphate-dependent enzyme class IV. These seven ω-aminotransferase genes are highly conserved according to phylogenetic tree and bioinformatics analyses, as are the putative lysine catalytic residues in the corresponding enzymes (ω-BPTA 1-7). The enzymes may possess similar activity to ω-aminotransferases from Arthrobacter sp. KNK 168. The potential application of these novel enzymes for the synthesis of medicinal amino compounds will be explored in future genetic engineering studies.

In recent decades, biodegradation has been considered a promising and eco-friendly way to eliminate organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) from the environment. To enrich current biodegrading-enzyme resources, an alkaline phosphatase (AP3) from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens YP6 was characterized and utilized to test the potential for new applications in the biodegradation of five broad-spectrum OPs. Characterization of AP3 demonstrated that activity was optimal at 40 °C and pH 10.3. The activity of AP3 was enhanced by Mg

A new α-glucosidase from Shiraia sp. SUPER-H168 under solid-state fermentation was purified by alcohol precipitation and anion-exchange and by gel filtration chromatography. The optimum pH and temperature of the purified α-glucosidase were 4.5 and 60 °C, respectively, using p-nitrophenyl-α-glucopyranoside (α-pNPG) as a substrate. Ten millimoles of sodium dodecyl sulfate, Fe2+, Cu2+, and Ag+ reduced the enzyme activity to 0.7, 7.6, 26.0, and 6.2 %, respectively, of that of the untreated enzyme. The K m, V max, and k cat/K m of the α-glucosidase were 0.52 mM, 3.76 U mg−1, and 1.3 × 104 L s−1 mol−1, respectively. K m with maltose was 0.62 mM. Transglycosylation activities were observed with maltose and sucrose as substrates, while there was no transglycosylation with trehalose. DNA and its corresponding full-length cDNA were cloned and analyzed. The α-glucosidase coding region consisted of a 2997-bp open reading frame encoding a 998-amino acid protein with a 22-amino acid signal peptide; one 48-bp intron was located. The α-glucosidase was a monomeric protein with a predicted molecular mass of 108.2 kDa and a predicted isoelectric point of 5.08. A neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree demonstrated that Shiraia sp. SUPER-H168 α-glucosidase is an ascomycetes α-glucosidase. This is the first report of α-glucosidase from a filamentous fungus that had good glycoside hydrolysis with maltose and α-pNPG, transglycosylation and conversion activity of maltose into trehalose.

&beta, 1,3-Glucanase is considered as a useful enzymatic tool for &beta, 1,3-glucan degradation to produce (1&rarr, 3)-linked &beta, glucan oligosaccharides with pharmacological activity properties. To validly isolate &beta, 1,3-glucanase-producing microorganisms, the soil of Wolfiporia extensa, considered an environment rich in &beta, 1,3-glucan-degrading microorganisms, was subjected to high throughput sequencing. The results demonstrated that the genera Streptomyces (1.90%) and Arthrobacter (0.78%) belonging to the order Actinomycetales (8.64%) in the phylum Actinobacteria (18.64%) were observed in soil for P. cocos cultivation (FTL1). Actinomycetes were considered as the candidates for isolation of glucan-degrading microorganisms. Out of 58 isolates, only 11 exhibited &beta, 1,3-glucan-degrading activity. The isolate SYBCQL belonging to the genus Kitasatospora with &beta, 1,3-glucan-degrading activity was found and reported for the first time and the isolate SYBC17 displayed the highest yield (1.02 U/mg) among the isolates. To check the &beta, 1,3-glucanase contribution to &beta, 1,3-glucan-degrading activity, two genes, 17-W and 17-Q, encoding &beta, 1,3-glucanase in SYBC17 and one gene QLK1 in SYBCQL were cloned and expressed for verification at the molecular level. Our findings collectively showed that the isolates able to secrete &beta, 1,3-glucanase could be obtained with the assistance of high-throughput sequencing and genes expression analysis. These methods provided technical support for isolating &beta, 1,3-glucanase-producing microorganisms.

Light is a very important signal for fungi since it influences many different physiological responses. The effects of dark or light at different wavelengths on growth, reproduction and hypocrellins of Shiraia sp. SUPER-H168 were studied: dark, white, red, yellow, green, blue and purple. All incubations under different light conditions had significant stimulating effects on aerial hyphae and suppressing effects on hypocrellin biosynthesis compared with dark incubation. Under blue and purple light especially blue light, the colonies with profuse growth of aerial mycelium were formed. Hypocrellin production reached 13.73 mg per dish under dark condition, and decreased to 4.01 mg and 2.83 mg per dish under white and blue light, respectively. Light condition not only influenced hypocrellin production but also influenced the composition of hypocrellins. Four types of hyphae, namely surface, aerial, biofilm and penetrative hyphae, were observed by light microscopy and SEM. This study found that biofilm hyphae was so closely connected with production of secondary metabolites, and hypocrellins were only produced by biofilm hyphae. Light promoted sexual development and inhibited asexual reproduction, especially blue light strongly inhibited asexual development.

Shiraia bambusicola is an important and valuable macrofungus and hypocrellins are its main secondary metabolites which have been widely applied in many medical fields. However, during SSF process of this filamentous fungus, use ratio of corn substrate and dissolved oxygen supply are two main limiting factors, which influence production cost, yield and product quality. To solve these problems, overexpressions of amy365-1 and vgb in S. bambusicola were investigated and three overexpression transformants were constructed. Results demonstrated that expressions and coexpression of AMY365-1 and VHb not only increased the productions of biomass, amylase, hypocrellin, but also up-regulated relative expression levels of four central carbon metabolism genes (pdc, ald, acs, acc) and seven hypocrellin biosynthesis genes (fad, mono, zftf, omef, msf, pks, mco). Furthermore, expression of VHb decreased SSF period. When amy365-1 and vgb were coexpressed, relative expression levels of zftf and pks reached their highest levels at 72 h under liquid fermentation, hypocrellin production reached the highest level 75.85 mg/gds which was 2.99-fold compared with wild type strain within 11 days under SSF, and residual starch of solid substrates was decreased from 35.47 to 14.57%. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13568-018-0597-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Bacterial laccases are potential enzymes for biotechnological applications, such as detoxification of industrial effluents, decolorization of textile, and dimerization of phenolic acids, due to their remarkable advantages, including broad substrate spectrum, high thermostability, wide pH scope, and tolerance to alkaline environments. L386W/G417L/G57F (abbreviated as WLF), a good mutant of CotA-laccase from Bacillus pumilus W3, has been constructed and reported by our laboratory with highly improved catalytic efficiency. However, the low-functional expression level of mutant WLF in Escherichia coli was a shortcoming. Three mutants, namely, K317N/WLF, D501G/WLF, and K317N/D501G/WLF, were constructed through site-directed mutagenesis to improve the functional expression of WLF in this study. The soluble and active expression of D501G/WLF and K317N/D501G/WLF in E. coli enhanced 4.48-fold and 3.63-fold level, respectively. The K317N/WLF failed to increase the soluble expression level, but slightly improved the stability of CotA-laccase. Results showed that not only the position 501 is significant for functional expression of B. pumilus W3 CotA, but also these mutants still remained its high thermostability, resistance of alkaline with salt, and conspicuous decolorizing efficiency. This work is the first to improve the soluble expression of B. pumilus CotA-laccase in E. coli by site-directed mutagenesis. The D501G/WLF and K317N/D501G/WLF will be suitable candidates for biotechnological applications.

The gummosis disease is caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea (Moug. ex. Fr) Ces. et de Not., and it is one of the most important diseases of stone fruits worldwide. The use of biocontrol as an alternative approach to synthetic chemical fungicides has aroused general concern about how to control plant diseases that are caused by phytopathogens. The aim of this study is to isolate Bacillus strains from raw honeys with the capacity to inhibit B. dothidea and to explore the mechanisms by which they could be used in the biocontrol of peach gummosis. Bacillus amyloliquefaciens SYBC H47 was isolated and identified on the basis of its physiological and biochemical characteristics and its 16S rRNA and gyrB gene sequences. The cell suspension and the cell-free supernatant of its culture showed significant antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger, Mucor racemosus, Fusarium oxysporum, Penicillium citrinum, and Candida albicans by agar-diffusion assays. The primary antifungal substances were bacillomycin L, fengycin, and surfactin, which were analyzed by HPLC LC/ESI-MS/MS. Bacillomycin L showed the best inhibitory effect against conidial germination of B. dothidea, followed by fengycin and surfactin. Surfactin had limited effects on mycelial growth, contrary to those of bacillomycin L and fengycin. However, a mixture of the three lipopeptides had a synergistic effect that disrupted the structure of the conidia and mycelia. In order to reduce the production cost, the use of waste frying peanut oil and soy oil as the sole carbon source increased the lipopeptide yield levels by approximately 17% (2.42 g/L) and 110% (4.35 g/L), respectively. In a field trial, the decreases in the infected gummosis rate (IGR) and the disease severity index (DSI) through cell suspension treatments were 20% and 57.5% (in 2014), respectively, and 40% and 57.5% (in 2015), respectively, in comparison with the control. In conclusion, B. amyloliquefaciens SYBC H47 could inhibit the germination of conidia and the growth of mycelia from B. dothidea; therefore, this strain behaves as a potential biocontrol agent against the gummosis disease.

Relative expression levels of twenty-four amylase genes in Shiraia sp. SUPER-H168 were investigated by real-time quantitative PCR when various carbohydrates, including glucose, sucrose, maltose, amylose, amylopectin and corn flour, were used as carbon source. Genes, including an α-glucosidase gene Amy33 (2997 bp), an α-amylase gene Amy365-1 (1749 bp) and a glycogen debranching enzyme gene Amy130 (2487 bp), were overexpressed, and four overexpression transformants were constructed, respectively. When Amy365-1 and Amy130 were co-overexpressed, relative expression levels of seven hypocrellin biosynthesis genes and four related genes in central carbon catabolism were all increased. Expression of Amy33 was also increased along with increase of Amy365-1 and Amy130. Under liquid state fermentation, biomasses and hypocrellin productions were both gradually increased in four overexpression strains than those of wild type strain. Under SSF, hypocrellin production of Amy365-1 and Amy130 co-expression strain reached 71.85 mg/gds, which was 2.83 fold than that of wild type strain, and residual sugar was decreased from 35.47% to 16.68%. These results can provide a practical approach for other secondary metabolites by filamentous fungi under SSF when raw starch material is used as carbon source.