Recombinant E. coli expressing Vitreoscilla haemoglobin prefers aerobic metabolism under microaerobic conditions: A proteome-level study

Enhancing recombinant growth factor and serum protein production for cultivated meat manufacturing

The commercial growth factors (GFs) and serum proteins (SPs) contribute to the high cost associated with the serum-free media for cultivated meat production. Producing recombinant GFs and SPs in scale from microbial cell factories can reduce the cost of culture media. Escherichia coli is a frequently employed host in the expression recombinant GFs and SPs. This review explores critical strategies for cost reduction in GFs and SPs production, focusing on yield enhancement, product improvement, purification innovation, and process innovation. Firstly, the review discusses the use of fusion tags to increase the solubility and yield of GFs & SPs, highlighting various studies that have successfully employed these tags for yield enhancement. We then explore how tagging strategies can streamline and economize the purification process, further reducing production costs. Additionally, we address the challenge of low half-life in GFs and SPs and propose potential strategies that can enhance their stability. Furthermore, improvements in the E. coli chassis and cell engineering strategies are also described, with an emphasis on the key areas that can improve yield and identify areas for cost minimization. Finally, we discuss key bioprocessing areas which can facilitate easier scale-up, enhance yield, titer, and productivity, and ultimately lower long-term production costs. It is crucial to recognize that not all suggested approaches can be applied simultaneously, as their relevance varies with different GFs and SPs. However, integrating of multiple strategies is anticipated to yield a cumulative effect, significantly reducing production costs. This collective effort is expected to substantially decrease the price of cultivated meat, contributing to the broader goal of developing sustainable and affordable meat.

Highly Efficient Biotransformation of Phenolic Glycosides Using a Recombinant β-Glucosidase From White Rot Fungus Trametes trogii

Phenolic glycosides are the important bioactive molecules, and their bioavailability can be influenced by enzyme hydrolysis, such as β-glucosidases (EC3.2.1.21) and other glycosyl hydrolases (GHs). Wood rotting fungi possess a superfamily of GHs, but little attention has been paid to the GHs and their potential applications in biotransformation of phenolic glycosides. In this study, two GH3 gene family members of Trametes trogii S0301, mainly expressed in the carbon sources conversion stage were cloned, and TtBgl3 coded by T_trogii_12914 showed β-glucosidase activity toward 4-nitrophenyl β-D-glucopyranoside (pNPG). The recombinant TtBgl3 preferred an intermediately neutral optimum pH with >80% of the maximum activity at pH 5.0-7.0 and was stable at a wide range of pH (5.0-10.0). Phenolic glycosides transformation experiments showed that TtBgl3 was a dual-activity enzyme with both activities of aryl-β-D-glucosidase and β-glucuronidase, and could hydrolyze the β-glucoside/glucuronide bond of phenolic glycosides. Under optimized conditions, the recombinant TtBgl3 had much higher transformation efficiency toward the β-glucoside bond of gastrodin, esculin and daidzin than β-glucuronide bond of baicalin, with the transformation rate of 100 and 50%, respectively. Our homology modeling, molecular docking, and mutational analysis demonstrated that His85 and Lys467 in the acceptor-binding pocket of TtBgl3 were the potential active sites. The point mutation of His85 and Lys467 leads to the significantly impaired catalytic activity toward pNPG and also the weak transformation efficiency toward gastrodin. These findings provide insights for the identification of novel GH3 β-glucosidases from T. trogii and other wood-rotting fungi. Furthermore, TtBgl3 might be applied as green and efficient biological catalysts in the deglycosylation of diverse phenolics to produce bioactive glycosides for drug discovery in the future.

Recent applications of Vitreoscilla hemoglobin technology in bioproduct synthesis and bioremediation

Since its first use in 1990 to enhance production of α-amylase in E. coli, engineering of heterologous hosts to express the hemoglobin from the bacterium Vitreoscilla (VHb) has become a widely used strategy to enhance production of a variety of bioproducts, stimulate bioremediation, and increase growth and survival of engineered organisms. The hosts have included a variety of bacteria, yeast, fungi, higher plants, and even animals. The beneficial effects of VHb expression are presumably the result of one or more of its activities. The available evidence indicates that these include oxygen binding and delivery to the respiratory chain and oxygenases, protection against reactive oxygen species, and control of gene expression. In the past 4 to 5 years, the use of this "VHb technology" has continued in a variety of biotechnological applications in a wide range of organisms. These include enhancement of production of an ever wider array of bioproducts, new applications in bioremediation, a possible role in enhancing aerobic waste water treatment, and the potential to enhance growth and survival of both plants and animals of economic importance.

Exploiting the proteomics revolution in biotechnology: from disease and antibody targets to optimizing bioprocess development

Recent advancements in proteomics have enabled the generation of high-quality data sets useful for applications ranging from target and monoclonal antibody (mAB) discovery to bioprocess optimization. Comparative proteomics approaches have recently been used to identify novel disease targets in oncology and other disease conditions. Proteomics has also been applied as a new avenue for mAb discovery. Finally, CHO and Escherichia coli cells represent the dominant production hosts for biopharmaceutical development, yet the physiology of these cells types has yet to be fully established. Proteomics approaches can provide new insights into these cell types, aiding in recombinant protein production, cell growth regulation, and medium formulation. Optimization of sample preparations and protein database developments are enhancing the quantity and accuracy of proteomic results. In these ways, innovations in proteomics are enriching biotechnology and bioprocessing research across a wide spectrum of applications.

Proteomic analysis of sulfur-nitrogen-carbon removal by Pseudomonas sp. C27 under micro-aeration condition

Pseudomonas sp. C27 is a facultative autotrophic bacterium (FAB) that can effectively conduct mixotrophic and heterotrophic denitrifying sulfide removal (DSR) reactions under anaerobic condition using organic matters and sulfide as electron donors. Micro-aeration was proposed to enhance DSR reaction by FAB; however, there is no experimental proof on the effects of micro-aeration on capacity of denitrifying sulfide removal of FAB on proteomic levels. The proteome in total C27 cell extracts was observed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Differentially expressed protein spots and specifically expressed protein spots were identified by MALDI TOF/TOF MS. We identified 55 microaerobic-responsive protein spots, representing 55 unique proteins. Hierarchical clustering analysis revealed that 75% of the proteins were up-regulated, and 5% of the proteins were specifically expressed under micro-aerobic conditions. These enzymes were mainly involved in membrane transport, protein folding and metabolism. The noted expression changes of the microaerobic-responsive proteins suggests that C27 strain has a highly efficient enzyme system to conduct DSR reactions under micro-aerobic condition. Additionally, micro-aeration can increase the rates of protein synthesis and cell growth, and enhance cell defensive system of the strain.

Pathogen induced changes in the protein profile of human tears from Fusarium keratitis patients

Fusarium is the major causative agent of fungal infections leading to corneal ulcer (keratitis) in Southern India and other tropical countries. Keratitis caused by Fusarium is a difficult disease to treat unless antifungal therapy is initiated during the early stages of infection. In this study tear proteins were prepared from keratitis patients classified based on the duration of infection. Among the patients recruited, early infection (n = 35), intermediate (n = 20), late (n = 11), samples from five patients in each group were pooled for analysis. Control samples were a pool of samples from 20 patients. Proteins were separated on difference gel electrophoresis (DIGE) and the differentially expressed proteins were quantified using DeCyder software analysis. The following differentially expressed proteins namely alpha-1-antitrypsin, haptoglobin α2 chain, zinc-alpha-2-glycoprotein, apolipoprotein, albumin, haptoglobin precursor - β chain, lactoferrin, lacrimal lipocalin precursor, cystatin SA III precursor, lacritin precursor were identified using mass spectrometry. Variation in the expression level of some of the proteins was confirmed using western blot analysis. This is the first report to show stage specific tear protein profile in fungal keratitis patients. Validation of this data using a much larger sample set could lead to clinical application of these findings.