Hyper-production of α-amylase from agro-residual medium with high-glucose in SSF using catabolite derepressed Bacillus subtilis KCC103

Enhancing bioflavor production by solid-state fermentation using Kluyveromyces marxianus and l-phenylalanine

This study includes the utilization of sweet lemon peel (SLP) and sugarcane bagasse (SB) in solid-state fermentation using Kluyveromyces marxianus for bioflavor compounds production adopting response surface methodology. The major flavor compounds, 2-phenylethanol (2-PE) and 2-phenylethyl acetate (2-PEA) were quantified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with and without adding any supplements. Quantification of flavor compounds indicated that without adding any accessory in the substrate, the concentration of 2-PE using SLP and SB was 0.15 ± 0.003 mg/g and 0.14 ± 0.002 mg/g, respectively. Whereas 2-PEA concentration using SLP and SB was observed as 0.01 ± 0.008 mg/g and 0.02 ± 0.001 mg/g, respectively. The addition of l-phenylalanine (l-phe) in the substrates showed 30%-75% enhancement in the production of 2-PE and 2-PEA. The present study indicates that the K. marxianus is a potential microbial cell factory for the production of 2-PE and 2-PEA with the addition of synthetic l-phe having a plethora of applications in food and pharmaceutical industries.

α-Amylase and cellulase production by novel halotolerant Bacillus sp.PM06 isolated from sugarcane pressmud

A novel Bacillus sp.PM06 isolated from sugarcane waste pressmud was tested for extracellular α-amylase and cellulase enzyme production. The effect of different substrates, nitrogen sources, pH, and temperature on growth and extracellular enzyme production was examined. Bacillus sp.PM06 was able to grow with starch and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as a sole source of carbon and ammonium chloride was found to be the best nitrogen source. Maximum enzyme production was obtained at 48 H for both α-amylase and cellulase. The optimal condition for measuring enzyme activity was found to be pH 5.5 at 50 °C for α-amylase and pH 6.4 at 60 °C for cellulase respectively. It was found that Bacillus sp.PM06 exhibited halotolerance up to 2 M Sodium chloride (NaCl) and Potassium chloride (KCl). The isolate could produce α-amylase in the presence of 2 M NaCl and 1 M KCl. However, the strain produced cellulase even in the presence of 2 M NaCl and KCl. Concomitant production of both enzymes was observed when the medium was supplemented with starch and CMC. A maximum of 31 ± 1.15 U/mL of amylase and 15 ± 1.5 U/mL of cellulase was produced in 48 H. The enzyme was partially purified by Ammonium sulphate (NH₄ )₂ SO₄ precipitation with 2.2 and 2.3-fold purification.

Construction of efficient xylose utilizing Pichia pastoris for industrial enzyme production

Background

Cellulosic biomass especially agricultural/wood residues can be utilized as feedstock to cost-effectively produce fuels, chemicals and bulk industrial enzymes, which demands xylose utilization from microbial cell factories. While previous works have made significant progress in improving microbial conversion of xylose into fuels and chemicals, no study has reported the engineering of efficient xylose utilizing protein expression systems for the purpose of producing industrial enzymes.

Results

In this work, using Pichia pastoris as an example, we demonstrated the successful engineering of xylose metabolizing ability into of protein expression systems. A heterologous XI (xylose isomerase) pathway was introduced into P. pastoris GS115 by overexpressing the Orpinomyces spp. XI or/and the endogenous XK (xylulokinase) gene, and evolutionary engineering strategies were also applied. Results showed that the XI pathway could be functionally expressed in P. pastoris. After 50 generation of sequential batch cultivation, a set of domesticated recombinant P. pastoris strains with different performance metrics on xylose were obtained. One evolved strain showed the highest xylose assimilation ability, whose cell yield on xylose can even be comparable to that on glucose or glycerol. This strain also showed significantly increased β-mannanase production when cultured on xylose medium. Furthermore, transcription analysis of xylose pathway genes suggested that overexpression of XI and XK might be the key factors affecting effective xylose assimilation.

Conclusions

To our best knowledge, this study is the first work demonstrating the construction of efficient xylose utilizing P. pastoris strains, thus providing a basis for using cellulosic biomass for bulk industrial enzyme production.

Halotolerant, acid-alkali stable, chelator resistant and raw starch digesting α-amylase from a marine bacterium Bacillus subtilis S8-18

A halotolerant α-amylase having the ability of digesting the insoluble raw starches was characterized from Bacillus subtilis S8-18, a marine sediment isolate from Palk Bay region. The electrophoresis techniques unveiled that the α-amylase was indeed a monomer with a molecular weight of 57 kDa. The optimum temperature and pH for the enzyme activity were 60 °C and 6.0 respectively. The enzyme was highly stable for 24 h over a wide range of pH from 4.0 to 12.0 by showing 84-94% activity. Interestingly, by retaining 72% activity even after 24 h, the enzyme also showed tolerance towards 28% NaCl. The α-amylase retained a minimum of 93% residual activity in 1 mM concentration for the selected divalent metal ions. The enzyme was found to be chelator resistant as it remained unaffected by 1 mM of EDTA and exhibited 96% activity even at 5 mM concentration. Furthermore, though 1% SDS caused remarkable reduction (68%) in amylase activity, the enzyme showed tolerance towards other detergents (1% of Triton-X and Tween 80) with 85% activity. Additionally, the α-amylase enzyme is capable of hydrolyzing the insoluble raw starch substrates which was evident from the scanning electron microscopic (SEM) and spectrophotometric analyses.

A novel glucoamylase activated by manganese and calcium produced in submerged fermentation by Aspergillus phoenicis

This study investigates the production of glucoamylase from Aspergillus phoenicis in Machado Benassi (MB) medium using 1% maltose as carbon source. The maximum amylase activity was observed after four days of cultivation, on static conditions at 30 °C. Glucoamylase production was induced by maltose and inhibited by different glucose concentrations. The optimum of temperature and pH were 60-65 °C, and 4.5 or 5.0 to sodium acetate and Mcllvaine buffers, respectively. It was observed that the enzyme was totally stable at 30-65 °C for 1 h, and the pH range was 3.0-6.0. The enzyme was mainly activated by manganese (176%), and calcium (130%) ions. The products of starch hydrolysis were analyzed by thin layer chromatography and after 3 h, only glucose was detected, characterizing the amylolytic activity as a glucoamylase.

Identification and functional characterization of an α-amylase with broad temperature and pH stability from Paenibacillus sp

Amylases are important industrial enzymes that have been applied widely in the food, detergent, and pulp industries and fermentation processes. In the present study, a gene encoding an alpha-amylase from the genomic DNA library of Paenibacillus sp. was identified and characterized. The amylase gene designated amy1 was shown to consist of 1,980 bp and shared sequence identity towards α-amylase genes from other Bacillus sp. The deduced amino acid sequence for Amy1 indicated 80 % sequence identity with other Bacillus strains. Heterologous expression of recombinant Amy1 in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) facilitated the recovery of this protein in soluble form. Enzyme kinetic data revealed Amy1 to have a K m of 23.83 mg/mL and K cat of 48.74 min(-1) and K cat /K m of 2 min(-1) mg(-1) mL(-1) for starch. The activity of this protein was found to be enhanced by Mn(2+), and furthermore, Amy1 remained active at a broad pH range (4-10) and temperature (30-90 °C). The ability of Amy1 to act on food waste under broad temperature and pH conditions, together with its ability to produce simple sugars, shows many advantages for further application in the food industry.

Effect of carbon and nitrogen sources on simultaneous production of α-amylase and green food packaging polymer by Bacillus sp. CFR 67

In this paper, effect of different carbon and nitrogen sources, including hydrolysates of rice bran and wheat bran, on simultaneous production of α-amylase (for hydrolysis of starch in food systems) and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA, a green biopolymer, which can be used as a packing material for foods) by Bacillus sp. CFR 67 was studied by submerged fermentation. Amongst various carbon sources tested, glucose and sucrose supported production of significantly (P < 0.05) higher amount of α-amylase (66 U/ml) and PHA (444 mg/l), respectively. Of the nitrogen sources tested, ammonium acetate and beef extract led to the production of maximum amount of amylase (36 U/ml) and PHA (592 mg/l), respectively. Supplementation of the production medium with wheat bran hydrolysate (50 ml/l) produced significantly higher amounts of amylase (73 U/ml) and PHA (524 mg/l). Thus this study indicated the potential of agro-residues for the production of value added biomolecules, which can reduce the cost of production of these molecules and enables to reduce the pollution mainly caused by the use of non biodegradable plastics.