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The biosynthetic pathways of most alcohols are linked to intracellular redox homeostasis, which is crucial for life. This crucial balance is primarily controlled by the generation of reducing equivalents, as well as the (reduction)-oxidation metabolic cycle and the thiol redox homeostasis system. As a main oxidation pathway of reducing equivalents, the biosynthesis of most alcohols includes redox reactions, which are dependent on cofactors such as NADH or NADPH. Thus, when engineering alcohol-producing strains, the availability of cofactors and redox homeostasis must be considered. In this review, recent advances on the engineering of cellular redox homeostasis systems to accelerate alcohol biosynthesis are summarized. Recent approaches include improving cofactor availability, manipulating the affinity of redox enzymes to specific cofactors, as well as globally controlling redox reactions, indicating the power of these approaches, and opening a path towards improving the production of a number of different industriallyrelevant alcohols in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Naturally occurring microorganisms have been used therapeutically for over a century, but the advent of modern techniques for genetic manipulation has created unprecedented opportunities to develop novel bioengineered microbes with high therapeutic efficacy. Engineered bacteria can be tailored to deliver drugs, therapeutic proteins, and gene therapy vectors with great efficiency, and with a higher degree of site-specificity than conventional administration regimes. Moreover, they provide new opportunities to interfere with critical steps in disease pathogenesis. In this review, we present a cross-section of recent work on the development of bacterial-mediated treatments for inflammatory disorders, infectious diseases, and cancer. These treatments have the potential to significantly impact global morbidity and mortality if successfully translated from the laboratory into the clinic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information on the research study entitled, "Ion Channels in Microbes." Ion channels have been developed even when multicellular organisms have not yet existed based from findings which unveil that ion channels are present in prokaryotes. Microorganisms are used as subjects of experiments since they also contain ion channels like humans, plants and animals. The purpose of the study is to determine possible roles of ion channels in microorganisms in human physiology.

This paper describes the application of a genetically engineered microorganism, Pseudomonas putida mt-2 KG1206, to monitor toluene analogs in groundwater collected from petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated sites. KG1206 contains the intact TOL plasmid and a second plasmid with the Pm-lux gene allowing it to produce bioluminescence in the presence of toluene analogs and their derivatives such as toluene, xylenes, and m-toluate. The simple bioluminescence assay consisted of mixing one volume of groundwater sample with four volumes of broth culture followed by bioluminescence measurement after 30 min. The maximum bioluminescent response with pure chemicals followed the order: m-methyl benzyl alchohol>m-toluate>toluene>m-xylene>benzoate>p-xylene>o-xylene. The bioluminescence production was well correlated to the m-toluate concentrations (R2>0.97) in field samples, with concentrations predicted from the bioassay falling within 75–158% of true concentration. However, no strong correlation was observed between the bioluminescence intensity and the total inducer concentration in the groundwater. Results from this study demonstrate the potential of using recombinant bioluminescent bacteria as a rapid and simple tool for monitoring specific pollutants at contaminated sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The present study was conducted by screening zein-degrading bacteria in an attempt to obtain zein-degrading protease. Methods and Results: Soil bacteria were screened by formation of a clear zone on zein plates. Characterization of a zein-degrading bacterium indicated a taxonomic affiliation to Bacillus pumilus, and was named MS-1 strain. The strain produced two different types of extracellular proteases, BPP-A and BPP-B. In this study, we purified and characterized BPP-A because it exhibited a higher ability to hydrolyze zein than BPP-B. When casein was used as the substrate, the optimal pH for BPP-A was 11·0. In BPP-A, zein was better substrate than casein at pH 13·0, whereas casein was better one than zein at pH 11·0. The bppA gene encoded a 383-amino acid pre-pro form of BPP-A, and mature BPP-A contained 275 amino acid residues. It was concluded that BPP-A belonged to the subtilisin family. Conclusion: A zein-degrading bacterium assigned to B. pumilus produced two different types of extracellular proteases, BPP-A and BPP-B. BPP-A exhibited an ability to hydrolyze zein in an extreme alkaline condition. Significance and Impact of the Study: This is a first report on screening for zein-degrading micro-organisms. The subtilisin-like protease BPP-A is possible to utilize as an industrial enzyme for the production of zein hydrolysates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cheese whey (CW)-based growth medium efficiently protects Rhizobium loti cells during freezing and desiccation and can maintain their growth in a manner similar to that of traditional mannitol-based medium (YEM). The cheese-whey-based medium (CW) improved viability when used to re-suspend cell pellets kept at -20 °C and -80 °C and resulted in the survival of over 90% of the cells. Moreover, bacterial pellets obtained from cells grown in CW withstand desiccation better than cells grown in YEM. Survival was over 60% after 30 days at 4 °C. No differences were observed in nodulation efficiency between YEM-grown and CW-grown cells. Fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) protocols are presented for total protein profile analyses of sweet and acid cheese whey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two cultures, a yeast (Rhodorula rubra GED8) and a yogurt starter (Lactobacillus bulgaricus 2–11+Streptococcus thermophilus 15HA), were selected for associated growth in whey ultrafiltrate (WU) and active synthesis of carotenoids. In associated cultivation with the yogurt culture L bulgaricus 2–11+S. thermophilus 15HA under intensive aeration (1.3 l-1min-1 air-flow rate) in WU (45 g lactose l-1), initial pH 5.5, 30 °C, the lactose-negative strain R. rubra GED8 synthesized large amounts of carotenoids (13.09 mg l-1 culture fluid). The carotenoid yield was approximately two-fold higher in association with a mixed yogurt culture than in association with pure yogurt bacteria. The major carotenoid pigments comprising the total carotenoids were β-carotene (50%), torulene (12.3%) and torularhodin (35.2%). Carotenoids with a high β-carotene content were produced by the microbial association 36 h earlier than by Rhodotorula yeast species. No significant differences were notd in the ratio between the pigments synthesized by R. rubra GED8+L. bulgaricus 2–11, R. rubra GED8+S. thermophilus 15HA, and R.rubra GED8+yogurt culture, despite the fact that the total carotenoid concentrations were lower in the mixed cultures with pure yogurt bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the study conducted by Paolo Visca and colleagues at the Third University of Rome and the Lazzaro Spallanzani National Institute for Infectious Diseases to analyze why the frescoes in the painting "Crypt of the Original Sin" began to turn pink in Matera, Italy. It revealed that classical methods of identifying bacteria can be obtained by growing the microbes in culture. Eventhough they could see the evidence of homogeneous microbial community on the frescoes via scanning electron microscopy, they found that it is nearly impossible to cultivate the bacteria. They used genetic methods such as cloning and RNA sequencing and they found that microbes of unknown species related to Rubrobacter radiotolerans are growing on the painting.