2-Ketogluconate Kinase from Cupriavidus necator H16: Purification, Characterization, and Exploration of Its Substrate Specificity

Advances in the Synthesis and Analysis of Biologically Active Phosphometabolites

Phosphorus-containing metabolites cover a large molecular diversity and represent an important domain of small molecules which are highly relevant for life and represent essential interfaces between biology and chemistry, between the biological and abiotic world. The large but not unlimited amount of phosphate minerals on our planet is a key resource for living organisms on our planet, while the accumulation of phosphorus-containing waste is associated with negative effects on ecosystems. Therefore, resource-efficient and circular processes receive increasing attention from different perspectives, from local and regional levels to national and global levels. The molecular and sustainability aspects of a global phosphorus cycle have become of much interest for addressing the phosphorus biochemical flow as a high-risk planetary boundary. Knowledge of balancing the natural phosphorus cycle and the further elucidation of metabolic pathways involving phosphorus is crucial. This requires not only the development of effective new methods for practical discovery, identification, and high-information content analysis, but also for practical synthesis of phosphorus-containing metabolites, for example as standards, as substrates or products of enzymatic reactions, or for discovering novel biological functions. The purpose of this article is to review the advances which have been achieved in the synthesis and analysis of phosphorus-containing metabolites which are biologically active.

Emerging technologies for genetic modification of solventogenic clostridia: From tool to strategy development

Solventogenic clostridia has been considered as one of the most potential microbial cell factories for biofuel production in the biorefinery industry. However, the inherent shortcomings of clostridia strains such as low productivity, by-products formation and toxic tolerance still strongly restrict the large-scale application. Therefore, concerns regarding the genetic modification of solventogenic clostridia have spurred interests into the development of modern gene-editing tools. In this review, we summarize the latest advances of genetic tools involved in modifying solventogenic clostridia. Following a systematic comparison on their respective characteristics, we then review the corresponding strategies for overcoming the obstacles to the enhanced production. Discussing the progress of other microbial cell factories for solventogenesis, we finally describe the key challenges and trends with valuable recommendations for future large-scale biosolvent industrial application.