Production of the renewable extremophile lipase: Valuable biocatalyst with potential usage in food industry

Biological modification and industrial applications of microbial lipases: A general review

With the rapid development of industrialization and modern science, lipase has garnered pervasive attention. Lipases (EC 3.1.1.3) are enzymes exhibiting strong substrate specificity, high stereoselectivity, and solvent stability, which renders them a crucial biocatalyst. However, natural lipases often cannot meet the requirements of application and research in terms of activity, enantioselectivity, or thermal stability. With the continuous advancement of genetic engineering and protein engineering technologies, exploring efficient enzyme molecular modification techniques is a major task of enzyme engineering. We here review the current research status and progress of molecular modification techniques for lipases, including directed evolution, rational design, semi-rational design, and immobilization. Additionally, this article analyses lipase application prospects in food processing, environment, medical and pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and other fields. This article provides comprehensive information for the molecular modification and application research of lipases and contributes to providing reference for researchers in relevant fields.

Plant-Derived as Alternatives to Animal-Derived Bioactive Peptides: A Review of the Preparation, Bioactivities, Structure-Activity Relationships, and Applications in Chronic Diseases

Background/Objectives: At present, a large number of bioactive peptides have been found from plant sources with potential applications for the prevention of chronic diseases. By promoting plant-derived bioactive peptides (PDBPs), we can reduce dependence on animals, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and protect the ecological environment. Methods: In this review, we summarize recent advances in sustainably sourced PDBPs in terms of preparation methods, biological activity, structure-activity relationships, and their use in chronic diseases. Results: Firstly, the current preparation methods of PDBPs were summarized, and the advantages and disadvantages of enzymatic method and microbial fermentation method were introduced. Secondly, the biological activities of PDBPs that have been explored are summarized, including antioxidant, antibacterial, anticancer and antihypertensive activities. Finally, based on the biological activity, the structure-activity relationship of PDBPs and its application in chronic diseases were discussed. All these provide the foundation for the development of PDBPs. However, the study of PDBPs still has some limitations. Conclusions: Overall, PDBPs is a good candidate for the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases in humans. This work provides important information for exploring the source of PDBPs, optimizing its biological activity, and accurately designing functional foods or drugs.

Utilization of Fusarium Solani lipase for enrichment of polyunsaturated Omega-3 fatty acids

Omega-3 fatty acids, such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), offer numerous health benefits. Enriching these fatty acids in fish oil using cost-effective methods, like lipase application, has been studied extensively. This research aimed to investigate F. solani as a potential lipase producer and compare its efficacy in enhancing polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids with commercial lipases. Submerged fermentation with coconut oil yielded Lipase F2, showing remarkable activity (215.68 U/mL). Lipase F2 remained stable at pH 8.0 (activity: 93.84 U/mL) and active between 35 and 70 °C, with optimal stability at 35 °C. It exhibited resistance to various surfactants and ions, showing no cytotoxic activity in vitro, crucial for its application in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Lipase F2 efficiently enriched EPA and DHA in fish oil, reaching 22.1 mol% DHA and 23.8 mol% EPA. These results underscore the economic viability and efficacy of Lipase F2, a partially purified enzyme obtained using low-cost techniques, demonstrating remarkable stability and resistance to diverse conditions. Its performance was comparable to highly pure commercially available enzymes in omega-3 production. These findings highlight the potential of F. solani as a promising lipase source, offering opportunities for economically producing omega-3 and advancing biotechnological applications in the food and supplements industry.

Protein-polymer bioconjugation, immobilization, and encapsulation: a comparative review towards applicability, functionality, activity, and stability

Polymer-based biomaterials have received a lot of attention due to their biomedical, agricultural, and industrial potential. Soluble protein-polymer bioconjugates, immobilized proteins, and encapsulated proteins have been shown to tune enzymatic activity, improved pharmacokinetic ability, increased chemical and thermal stability, stimuli responsiveness, and introduced protein recovery. Controlled polymerization techniques, increased protein-polymer attachment techniques, improved polymer surface grafting techniques, controlled polymersome self-assembly, and sophisticated characterization methods have been utilized for the development of well-defined polymer-based biomaterials. In this review we aim to provide a brief account of the field, compare these methods for engineering biomaterials, provide future directions for the field, and highlight impacts of these forms of bioconjugation.

Extremophiles and their expanding biotechnological applications

Microbial life is not restricted to any particular setting. Over the past several decades, it has been evident that microbial populations can exist in a wide range of environments, including those with extremes in temperature, pressure, salinity, and pH. Bacteria and Archaea are the two most reported types of microbes that can sustain in extreme environments, such as hot springs, ice caves, acid drainage, and salt marshes. Some can even grow in toxic waste, organic solvents, and heavy metals. These microbes are called extremophiles. There exist certain microorganisms that are found capable of thriving in two or more extreme physiological conditions simultaneously, and are regarded as polyextremophiles. Extremophiles possess several physiological and molecular adaptations including production of extremolytes, ice nucleating proteins, pigments, extremozymes and exopolysaccharides. These metabolites are used in many biotechnological industries for making biofuels, developing new medicines, food additives, cryoprotective agents etc. Further, the study of extremophiles holds great significance in astrobiology. The current review summarizes the diversity of microorganisms inhabiting challenging environments and the biotechnological and therapeutic applications of the active metabolites obtained as a response to stress conditions. Bioprospection of extremophiles provides a progressive direction with significant enhancement in economy. Moreover, the introduction to omics approach including whole genome sequencing, single cell genomics, proteomics, metagenomics etc., has made it possible to find many unique microbial communities that could be otherwise difficult to cultivate using traditional methods. These findings might be capable enough to state that discovery of extremophiles can bring evolution to biotechnology.

Study of Processing Conditions during Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Deer By-Product Tallow for Targeted Changes at the Molecular Level and Properties of Modified Fats

In most cases, the unused by-products of venison, including deer tallow, are disposed of in rendering plants. Deer tallow contains essential fatty acids and can be used to prepare products for everyday food and advanced applications. This work aimed to process deer tallow into hydrolyzed products using microbial lipases. A Taguchi design with three process factors at three levels was used to optimize the processing: amount of water (8, 16, 24%), amount of enzyme (2, 4, 6%), and reaction time (2, 4, 6 h). The conversion of the tallow to hydrolyzed products was expressed by the degree of hydrolysis. The oxidative stability of the prepared products was determined by the peroxide value and the free fatty acids by the acid value; further, color change, textural properties (hardness, spreadability, stickiness, and adhesiveness), and changes at the molecular level were observed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The degree of hydrolysis was 11.8-49.6%; the peroxide value ranged from 12.3 to 29.5 µval/g, and the color change of the samples expressed by the change in the total color difference (∆E*) was 1.9-13.5. The conditions of enzymatic hydrolysis strongly influenced the textural properties: hardness 25-50 N, spreadability 20-40 N/s, and stickiness < 0.06 N. FTIR showed that there are changes at the molecular level manifested by a decrease in ester bonds. Enzymatically hydrolyzed deer tallow is suitable for preparing cosmetics and pharmaceutical matrices.

Halophilic filamentous fungi and their enzymes: Potential biotechnological applications

Recently, interest in the study of microorganisms growing under extreme conditions, particularly halophiles, has increased due to their potential use in industrial processes. Halophiles are the class of microorganisms that grow optimally at high NaCl concentrations and are capable of producing halophilic enzymes capable of catalyzing reactions under harsh conditions. So far, fungi are the least studied halophilic microorganisms, even though they have been shown to counteract these extreme conditions by producing secondary metabolites with very interesting properties. This review highlights mechanisms that allow halophilic fungi to adapt high salinity and the specificity of their enzymes to a spectrum of action in industrial and environmental applications. The peculiarities of these enzymes justify the urgent need to apply green alternative compounds in industries.

Improving the Thermostability of Thermomyces lanuginosus Lipase by Restricting the Flexibility of N-Terminus and C-Terminus Simultaneously via the 25-Loop Substitutions

(1) Lipases are catalysts widely applied in industrial fields. To sustain the harsh treatments in industries, optimizing lipase activities and thermal stability is necessary to reduce production loss. (2) The thermostability of Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase (TLL) was evaluated via B-factor analysis and consensus-sequence substitutions. Five single-point variants (K24S, D27N, D27R, P29S, and A30P) with improved thermostability were constructed via site-directed mutagenesis. (3) The optimal reaction temperatures of all the five variants displayed 5 °C improvement compared with TLL. Four variants, except D27N, showed enhanced residual activities at 80 °C. The melting temperatures of three variants (D27R, P29S, and A30P) were significantly increased. The molecular dynamics simulations indicated that the 25-loop (residues 24-30) in the N-terminus of the five variants generated more hydrogen bonds with surrounding amino acids; hydrogen bond pair D254-I255 preserved in the C-terminus of the variants also contributes to the improved thermostability. Furthermore, the newly formed salt-bridge interaction (R27…E56) in D27R was identified as a crucial determinant for thermostability. (4) Our study discovered that substituting residues from the 25-loop will enhance the stability of the N-terminus and C-terminus simultaneously, restrict the most flexible regions of TLL, and result in improved thermostability.

Enzyme Immobilization Technologies and Industrial Applications

Enzymes play vital roles in diverse industrial sectors and are essential components of many industrial products. Immobilized enzymes possess higher resistance to environmental changes and can be recovered/recycled easily when compared to the free forms. The primary benefit of immobilization is protecting the enzymes from the harsh environmental conditions (e.g., elevated temperatures, extreme pH values, etc.). The immobilized enzymes can be utilized in various large-scale industries, e.g., medical, food, detergent, textile, and pharmaceutical industries, besides being used in water treatment plants. According to the required application, a suitable enzyme immobilization technique and suitable carrier materials are chosen. Enzyme immobilization techniques involve covalent binding, encapsulation, entrapment, adsorption, etc. This review mainly covers enzyme immobilization by various techniques and their usage in different industrial applications starting from 1992 until 2022. It also focuses on the multiscale operation of immobilized enzymes to maximize yields of certain products. Lastly, the severe consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic on global enzyme production is briefly discussed.

Discovery of the Key Mutation Site Influencing the Thermostability of Thermomyces lanuginosus Lipase by Rosetta Design Programs

Lipases are remarkable biocatalysts and are broadly applied in many industry fields because of their versatile catalytic capabilities. Considering the harsh biotechnological treatment of industrial processes, the activities of lipase products are required to be maintained under extreme conditions. In our current study, Gibbs free energy calculations were performed to predict potent thermostable Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase (TLL) variants by Rosetta design programs. The calculating results suggest that engineering on R209 may greatly influence TLL thermostability. Accordingly, ten TLL mutants substituted R209 were generated and verified. We demonstrate that three out of ten mutants (R209H, R209M, and R209I) exhibit increased optimum reaction temperatures, melting temperatures, and thermal tolerances. Based on molecular dynamics simulation analysis, we show that the stable hydrogen bonding interaction between H198 and N247 stabilizes the local configuration of the 250-loop in the three R209 mutants, which may further contribute to higher rigidity and improved enzymatic thermostability. Our study provides novel insights into a single residue, R209, and the 250-loop, which were reported for the first time in modulating the thermostability of TLL. Additionally, the resultant R209 variants generated in this study might be promising candidates for future-industrial applications.

Extremophilic lipases for industrial applications: A general review

With industrialization and development in modern science enzymes and their applications increased widely. There is always a hunt for new proficient enzymes with novel properties to meet specific needs of various industrial sectors. Along with the high efficiency, the green and eco-friendly side of enzymes attracts human attention, as they form a true answer to counter the hazardous and toxic conventional industrial catalyst. Lipases have always earned industrial attention due to the broad range of hydrolytic and synthetic reactions they catalyse. When these catalytic properties get accompanied by features like temperature stability, pH stability, and solvent stability lipases becomes an appropriate tool for use in many industrial processes. Extremophilic lipases offer the same, thermostable: hot and cold active thermophilic and psychrophilic lipases, acid and alkali resistant and active acidophilic and alkaliphilic lipases, and salt tolerant halophilic lipases form excellent biocatalyst for detergent formulations, biofuel synthesis, ester synthesis, food processing, pharmaceuticals, leather, and paper industry. An interesting application of these lipases is in the bioremediation of lipid waste in harsh environments. The review gives a brief account on various extremophilic lipases with emphasis on thermophilic, psychrophilic, halophilic, alkaliphilic, and acidophilic lipases, their sources, biochemical properties, and potential applications in recent decades.

Industrial Biotechnology Based on Enzymes From Extreme Environments

Biocatalysis is crucial for a green, sustainable, biobased economy, and this has driven major advances in biotechnology and biocatalysis over the past 2 decades. There are numerous benefits to biocatalysis, including increased selectivity and specificity, reduced operating costs and lower toxicity, all of which result in lower environmental impact of industrial processes. Most enzymes available commercially are active and stable under a narrow range of conditions, and quickly lose activity at extremes of ion concentration, temperature, pH, pressure, and solvent concentrations. Extremophilic microorganisms thrive under extreme conditions and produce robust enzymes with higher activity and stability under unconventional circumstances. The number of extremophilic enzymes, or extremozymes, currently available are insufficient to meet growing industrial demand. This is in part due to difficulty in cultivation of extremophiles in a laboratory setting. This review will present an overview of extremozymes and their biotechnological applications. Culture-independent and genomic-based methods for study of extremozymes will be presented.

Effect of lipase incorporation on gelling properties of catfish (Clarias lazera) surimi and its mechanism

BACKGROUND

Recently, fatty fish have been utilized as a potential approach for the fabrication of surimi products, with the yield of fatty fish surimi being > 10 000 tons in 2019. However, the gelling properties of catfish surimi can be influenced by intermuscular lipid. Lipase could effectively enhance the gel quality of catfish surimi gels, although the chemical forces involved in gel formation and alteration in lipid and protein oxidation status are not well understood. The present study investigated the gelation-enhancing effects of lipase on catfish surimi based on changes in chemical oxidation interactions.

RESULTS

The addition of 7.5 g kg^-1 lipase significantly increased the hydrophobic interactions and disulfide bond contents, both of which facilitated gel formation, in surimi gels. The 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substance and carbonyl concentrations demonstrated that lipase promoted lipid and protein oxidations. Furthermore, an appropriate dose of malondialdehyde accelerated protein oxidation, thereby resulting in the covalent cross-linking of proteins. Consequently, the gel strength increased from 55.72 to 127.71 g × cm with lipase contents of up to 7.5 g kg^-1 , and strong chemical cross-linking and a compact network were observed via sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and scanning electron microscopy. However, excessive oxidation led to the degeneration of the gel matrix. A schematic mechanism, mainly based on the chemical changes, is proposed.

CONCLUSION

The present study revealed the gelation mechanism of catfish surimi gels with lipase, and suggested that lipase treatments may be an effective approach for improving the textural properties of fatty fish surimi gels. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Microbial halophilic lipases: A review

Microbial lipases are commercially significant due to their versatile catalytic function of hydrolysis triacylglycerol. Among these, lipases from extremophiles are optimal for industrial application. Halophilic microorganisms living in a high salinity environment, such as the ocean, salt lakes, salt wells, and so on, produce halophilic lipases. In recent decades, many remarkable achievements have been made related to the properties and application of halophilic lipases. This review offers information collected over the last decades on halophilic lipase sources as well as advances in production, factors influencing activity, stability under various conditions, structural characteristics, progress in industrial applications such as food flavor modification, biodiesel production, and waste treatment, to provide theoretical and methodological references for the research in this direction.

Advances in Recombinant Lipases: Production, Engineering, Immobilization and Application in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Lipases are one of the most used enzymes in the pharmaceutical industry due to their efficiency in organic syntheses, mainly in the production of enantiopure drugs. From an industrial viewpoint, the selection of an efficient expression system and host for recombinant lipase production is highly important. The most used hosts are Escherichia coli and Komagataella phaffii (previously known as Pichia pastoris) and less often reported Bacillus and Aspergillus strains. The use of efficient expression systems to overproduce homologous or heterologous lipases often require the use of strong promoters and the co-expression of chaperones. Protein engineering techniques, including rational design and directed evolution, are the most reported strategies for improving lipase characteristics. Additionally, lipases can be immobilized in different supports that enable improved properties and enzyme reuse. Here, we review approaches for strain and protein engineering, immobilization and the application of lipases in the pharmaceutical industry.

Immobilized microbial lipases in the food industry: a systematic literature review

Several studies describe the immobilization of microbial lipases aiming to evaluate the mechanical/thermal stability of the support/enzyme system, the appropriate method for immobilization, acid and alkaline stability, tolerance to organic solvents and specificity of fatty acids. However, literature reviews focus on application of enzyme/support system in food technology remains scarce. This current systematic literature review aimed to identify, evaluate and interpret available and relevant researches addressing the type of support and immobilization techniques employed over lipases, in order to obtain products for food industry. Fourteen selected articles were used to structure the systematic review, in which the discussion was based on six main groups: (i) synthesis/enrichment of polyunsaturated fatty acids; (ii) synthesis of structured lipids; (iii) flavors and food coloring; (iv) additives, antioxidants and antimicrobials; (v) synthesis of phytosterol esters and (vi) synthesis of sugar esters. In general, the studies discussed the synthesis of the enzyme/support system and the characteristics: surface area, mass transfer resistance, activity, stability (pH and temperature), and recyclability. Each immobilization technique is applicable for a specific production, depending mainly on the sensitivity and cost of the process.

Discovery of thermophilic Bacillales using reduced-representation genotyping for identification

Background

This study demonstrates the use of reduced-representation genotyping to provide preliminary identifications for thermophilic bacterial isolates. The approach combines restriction enzyme digestion and PCR with next-generation sequencing to provide thousands of short-read sequences from across the bacterial genomes. Isolates were obtained from compost, hot water systems, and artesian bores of the Great Artesian Basin. Genomic DNA was double-digested with two combinations of restriction enzymes followed by PCR amplification, using a commercial provider of DArTseq™, Diversity Arrays Technology Pty Ltd. (Canberra, Australia). The resulting fragments which formed a reduced-representation of approximately 2.3% of the genome were sequenced. The sequence tags obtained were aligned against all available RefSeq bacterial genome assemblies by BLASTn to identify the nearest reference genome.

Results

Based on the preliminary identifications, a total of 99 bacterial isolates were identified to species level, from which 8 isolates were selected for whole-genome sequencing to assess the identification results. Novel species and strains were discovered within this set of isolates. The preliminary identifications obtained by reduced-representation genotyping, as well as identifications obtained by BLASTn alignment of the 16S rRNA gene sequence, were compared with those derived from the whole-genome sequence data, using the same RefSeq sequence database for the three methods. Identifications obtained with reduced-representation sequencing agreed with the identifications provided by whole-genome sequencing in 100% of cases. The identifications produced by BLASTn alignment of 16S rRNA gene sequence to the same database differed from those provided by whole-genome sequencing in 37.5% of cases, and produced ambiguous identifications in 50% of cases.

Conclusions

Previously, this method has been successfully demonstrated for use in bacterial identification for medical microbiology. This study demonstrates the first successful use of DArTseq™ for preliminary identification of thermophilic bacterial isolates, providing results in complete agreement with those obtained from whole-genome sequencing of the same isolates. The growing database of bacterial genome sequences provides an excellent resource for alignment of reduced-representation sequence data for identification purposes, and as the available sequenced genomes continue to grow, the technique will become more effective.

Optimization of novel halophilic lipase production by Fusarium solani strain NFCCL 4084 using palm oil mill effluent

Among different sources of lipases, fungal lipases have continued to attract a wide range of applications. Further, halophilic lipases are highly desirable for biodiesel production due to the need to mitigate environmental pollution caused as result of extensive use of fossil fuels. However, currently, the high production cost limits the industrial application of lipases. In order to address this issue, we have attempted to optimize lipase production by Fusarium solani NFCCL 4084 and using palm oil mill effluent (POME) based medium. The production was optimized using a combinatory approach of Plackett-Burman (PB) design, one factor at a time (OFAT) design and face centred central composite design (FCCCD). The variables (malt extract, (NH4)2SO4, CaCl2, MgSO4, olive oil, peptone, K2HPO4, NaNO3, Tween-80, POME and pH) were analyzed using PB design and the variables with positive contrast coefficient were found to be K2HPO4, NaNO3, Tween-80, POME and pH. The significant variables selected were further analyzed for possible optimum range by using OFAT approach and the findings revealed that K2HPO4, NaNO3, and Tween-80 as the most significant medium components, and thus were further optimized by using FCCCD. The optimum medium yielded a lipase with an activity of 7.8 U/ml, a significant 3.2-fold increase compared to un-optimized medium. The present findings revealed that POME is an alternative and suitable substrate for halophilic lipase production at low cost. Also, it is clearly evident that the combinatory approach employed here proved to be very effective in producing high activity halophilic lipases, in general.

Parametric optimization of polycaprolactone synthesis catalysed by Candida antarctica lipase B using response surface methodology

A statistical approach with D-optimal design was used to optimize the process parameters for polycaprolactone (PCL) synthesis. The variables selected were temperature (50°C-110°C), time (1-7 h), mixing speed (50-500 rpm) and monomer/solvent ratio (1:1-1:6). Molecular weight was chosen as response and was determined using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight (MALDI TOF). Using the D-optimal method in design of experiments, the interactions between parameters and responses were analysed and validated. The results show a good agreement with a minimum error between the actual and predicted values.

Enhanced halophilic lipase secretion by Marinobacter litoralis SW-45 and its potential fatty acid esters release

An approach was made to enhance the halophilic lipase secretion by a newly isolated moderate halophilic Marinobacter litoralis SW-45, through the statistical optimization of Plackett-Burman (PB) experimental design and the Face Centered Central Composite Design (FCCCD). Initially, PB statistical design was used to screen the medium components and process parameters, while the One-factor-at-a-time technique was availed to find the optimum level of significant parameters. It was found that MgSO₄  · 7H₂ O, NaCl, agitation speed, FeSO₄  · 7H₂ O, yeast extract and KCl positively influence the halophilic lipase production, whereas temperature, carbon source (maltose), inducer (olive oil), inoculum size, and casein-peptone had a negative effect on enzyme production. The optimum level of halophilic lipase production was obtained at 3.0 g L^-1 maltose, 1% (v/v) olive oil, 30 °C growth temperature and 4% inoculum volume (v/v). Further optimization by FCCCD was revealed 1.7 folds improvement in the halophilic lipase production from 0.603 U ml^-1 to 1.0307 U ml^-1 . Functional and biochemical characterizations displayed that the lipase was significantly active and stable in the pH ranges of 7.0-9.5, temperature (30-50 °C), and NaCl concentration (0-21%). The lipase was maximally active at pH 8.0, 12% (w/v) NaCl, and 50 °C temperature. Besides, M. litoralis SW-45 lipase was found to possess the promising industrial potential to be utilized as a biocatalyst for the esterification.