An equation for biomimicking macromolecular crowding using Escherichia coli MG1655 strain

On-demand biomanufacturing through synthetic biology approach

Biopharmaceuticals including protein therapeutics, engineered protein-based vaccines and monoclonal antibodies, are currently the mainstay products of the biotechnology industry. However, the need for specialized equipment and refrigeration during production and distribution poses challenges for the delivery of these technologies to the field and low-resource area. With the development of synthetic biology, multiple studies rewire the cell-free system or living cells to impact the portable, on-site and on-demand manufacturing of biomolecules. Here, we review these efforts and suggest future directions.

Enhanced production of violacein by Chromobacterium violaceum using agro-industrial waste soybean meal

AIMS

The research is aimed at developing an economic and sustainable growth medium using abundantly available and highly nutritive agro-industrial waste soybean meal as the substrate for the production of violacein by Chromobacterium violaceum.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Violacein produced using soybean meal medium was compared with the commercial complex growth media. Upon utilization of 2% w/v soybean meal (SM2 ) medium, 496 mg/L crude violacein was achieved after 48-hr incubation time, which was 1.62-fold higher than the crude violacein produced in Luria-Bertani (LB) broth. Additionally, supplementation of 100 mg/L L-tryptophan to 1% and 2% w/v soybean meal (SMT1 and SMT2 ) medium yielded 1217 mg/L (3.96-fold higher as compared to LB) and 1198 mg/L (3.90-fold higher as compared to LB) crude violacein respectively. Optimization of culture conditions and concentration of L-tryptophan using Box-Behnken design (BBD) model produced as high as 1504.5 mg/L crude violacein. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest crude violacein produced to date using agro-industrial-based waste as a substrate with minimal supplementation in a shake flask.

CONCLUSIONS

The study signifies the potentiality of soybean meal as a cost-effective growth medium for the production of violacein. Optimization of the fermentation parameters clearly demonstrated a surge in violacein production.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

Utilization of soybean meal as an alternative to the expensive commercial media would surely promote the large-scale synthesis of this multifaceted compound.

Exploring the Potential of Cell-Free Protein Synthesis for Extending the Abilities of Biological Systems

Cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) system is a simple, rapid, and sensitive tool that is devoid of membrane-bound barriers, yet contains all the mandatory substrates, biomolecules, and machineries required for the synthesis of the desired proteins. It has the potential to overcome loopholes in the current in vivo production systems and is a promising tool in both basic and applied scientific research. It facilitates a simplified organization of desired experiments with a variety of reaction conditions, making CFPS a powerful tool in biological research. It has been used for the expansion of genetic code, assembly of viruses, and in metabolic engineering for production of toxic and complex proteins. Subsequently, CFPS systems have emerged as potent technology for high-throughput production of membrane proteins, enzymes, and therapeutics. The present review highlights the recent advances and uses of CFPS systems in biomedical, therapeutic, and biotechnological applications. Additionally, we highlight possible solutions to the potential biosafety issues that may be encountered while using CFPS technology.