Valorization of fish waste and sugarcane bagasse for Alcalase production by Bacillus megaterium via a circular bioeconomy model

Investigating the nutritional viability of marine-derived protein for sustainable future development

Marine-derived proteins are emerging as a pivotal resource with diverse applications in food, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnological industries. The marine environment offers many protein sources, including fish, shellfish, algae, and microbes, which garnered attention due to their nutritional composition. Evaluating their protein and amino acid profiles is essential in assessing their viability as substitutes for conventional protein sources. Continuously exploiting marine ecosystems for protein extraction has led to significant environmental impacts. The optimization of aquacultural practices and implementation of innovative practices are imperative for the sustainable production of marine-based protein. This review will discuss the different sources of marine proteins, their nutritional profile, and their associated environmental impact. It also reviews the relationship between aquaculture advancements and regulatory frameworks toward attaining sustainable practices, alongside exploring the challenges and potentials in utilizing marine sources for protein production.

Bacillus genus industrial applications and innovation: First steps towards a circular bioeconomy

In recent decades, environmental concerns have directed several policies, investments, and production processes. The search for sustainable and eco-friendly strategies is constantly increasing to reduce petrochemical product utilization, fossil fuel pollution, waste generation, and other major ecological impacts. The concepts of circular economy, bioeconomy, and biorefinery are increasingly being applied to solve or reduce those problems, directing us towards a greener future. Within the biotechnology field, the Bacillus genus of bacteria presents extremely versatile microorganisms capable of producing a great variety of products with little to no dependency on petrochemicals. They are able to grow in different agro-industrial wastes and extreme conditions, resulting in healthy and environmentally friendly products, such as foods, feeds, probiotics, plant growth promoters, biocides, enzymes, and bioactive compounds. The objective of this review was to compile the variety of products that can be produced with Bacillus cells, using the concepts of biorefinery and circular economy as the scope to search for greener alternatives to each production method and providing market and bioeconomy ideas of global production. Although the genus is extensively used in industry, little information is available on its large-scale production, and there is little current data regarding bioeconomy and circular economy parameters for the bacteria. Therefore, as this work gathers several products' economic, production, and environmentally friendly use information, it can be addressed as one of the first steps towards those sustainable strategies. Additionally, an extensive patent search was conducted, focusing on products that contain or are produced by the Bacillus genus, providing an indication of global technology development and direction of the bacteria products. The Bacillus global market represented at least $18 billion in 2020, taking into account only the products addressed in this article, and at least 650 patent documents submitted per year since 2017, indicating this market's extreme importance. The data we provide in this article can be used as a base for further studies in bioeconomy and circular economy and show the genus is a promising candidate for a greener and more sustainable future.

Trends in fisheries waste utilization: a valuable resource of nutrients and valorized products for the food industry

The rise in fisheries production worldwide has caused a remarkable increase in associated anthropogenic waste. This poses significant concerns due to adverse environmental impacts and economic losses. Owing to its renewability, high abundance, and potential as a rich source of many nutrients and bioactive compounds, strategies have been developed to convert fish waste into different value-added products. Conventional and improved methods have been used for the extraction of biomolecules from fish waste. The extracted fish waste-derived value-added products such as enzymes, peptides, fish oil, etc. have been used to fortify different food products. This review aims to provide an overview of the nature and composition of fish waste, strategies for extracting biomolecules from fish waste, and the potential application of fish waste as a source of calcium and other nutrients in food fortification and animal feed has been discussed. In context to fishery waste mitigation, valorization, and circular bioeconomy approach are gaining momentum, aiming to eliminate waste while producing high-quality value-added food and feed products from fishery discards.

Valorization of soybean pulp for sustainable α-ketoisocaproate production using engineered Bacillus subtilis whole-cell biocatalyst

The disposal of soybean pulp (okara) (∼14 M tons annually) represents a global concern. α-ketoisocaproate (KIC) is an intrinsic l-leucine metabolite boosting mammalian muscle growth and has great potential in animal husbandry. However, the use of pure l-leucine (5000 USD/kg) for KIC (22 USD/kg) bioproduction is cost-prohibitive in practice, while okara rich in l-leucine (10%) could serve as an economical alternative. Following the concept of a circular bioeconomy, we managed to develop a cost-efficient platform to valorize okara into KIC. In this study, proteolytic Bacillus subtilis strain 168 capable of utilizing okara as a comprehensive substrate was employed as the whole-cell biocatalyst for KIC bioproduction. First, we elucidated the function of genes involved in KIC downstream metabolism in strain 168, including those encoding 2-oxoisovalerate dehydrogenase (bkdAA), 2-oxoisovalerate decarboxylase (bkdAB), enoyl-CoA hydratase (fadB), and bifunctional enoyl-CoA hydratase/3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase (fadN). Among those KIC downstream metabolizing mutants of strain 168, the 2-oxoisovalerate decarboxylase gene knockout strain (ΔbkdAB) was found to have a better accumulation of KIC. To further improve the KIC yield, a soluble l-amino acid deaminase (LAAD) from Proteus vulgaris was heterologously expressed in the ΔbkdAB strain and a ∼50% conversion of total l-leucine contained in okara was catalyzed into KIC, along with a ∼50% reduction of CO₂ emission compared to the wild-type cultures. Altogether, this renovated biocatalytic system provides an alternative platform to valorize okara for producing value-added chemicals in an eco-friendly manner.

Intensification of Waste Valorization Techniques for Biogas Production on the Example of Clarias gariepinus Droppings

This study aims to evaluate the process of biogas production from the droppings of Clarias gariepinus under intensification of methanogenesis using electrolysis pretreatment and electro-fermentation in comparison with the addition of stimulating substances (humates and zeolites). For the realization of a series of experiments, laboratory installations of electrolysis and electro-fermentation were developed. The following parameters were monitored: biogas composition, chemical oxygen demand, redox potential, hydrogen potential, nitrates, ammonia–ammonium, and nitrites. A taxonomic classification and review of the metabolic pathways were performed using the KEGG, MetaCyc, and EzTaxon databases. The stimulation of biomethanogenesis in the utilization of catfish droppings by the introduction of additional electron donors—exogenous hydrogen (electro-fermentation)—was confirmed. The electro-fermentation process released 4.3 times more methane compared to conventional conditions and stimulant additives and released 1.7 times more with electrolysis pretreatment. The main metabolic pathways of electron acceptor recruitment using bioinformatic databases are highlighted, and models of CO2 transformation involving exogenous hydrogen along the chain of metabolic reactions of methanogenesis are generated. The summary model of metabolic pathways of methanogenesis are also proposed. Based on the results of the present and previous studies, two technological solutions are proposed to implement the process of anaerobic treatment intensification of excreta of the clariid catfish. Additional studies should include the optimization of the operation mode of electro-fermentation and electrolysis pretreatment of the substrate during the aquacultivation process.

Use of Yarrowia lipolytica to Obtain Fish Waste Functional Hydrolysates Rich in Flavoring Compounds

Fishery processing industries generate large amounts of by-products. These by-products come from fish heads, skin, bones, thorns, and viscera. The disposal of these wastes represents an increasing environmental and health problem. Nowadays, there is a growing interest in how to utilize fish materials that are not used for human consumption. Among the different solutions proposed, the use of proteolytic and lipolytic microorganisms represents a green solution for waste valorization. In this work, first we screened several conventional and non-conventional microorganisms for their proteolytic and lipolytic functions. Then, the most promising strains (Yarrowia lipolytica YL2, Y. lipolytica YL4, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens B5M and B. subtilis B5C) were tested on a fish waste-based solution. After 72 h incubation at room temperature, the supernatants obtained using the strains of Y. lipolytica showed the highest degree of hydrolysis (10.03 and 11.80%, respectively, for YL2 and YL4), the strongest antioxidant activity (86.4% in DPPH assay for YL2) and the highest formation of aldehydes (above 50% of the total volatile compounds detected). Hydrolysates of fish waste obtained with Y. lipolytica may be reused in feed and food formulations for their functional and flavoring characteristics.