Insights into the phylogeny and transcriptional response of serine proteases in a halotolerant cyanobacterium Halothece sp. PCC7418

Peptide Biomarkers - An Emerging Diagnostic Tool and Current Applicable Assay

In the past few decades, impressive progress achieved in technology development and improvement has accelerated the application of peptides as diagnostic biomarkers for various diseases. We outline the advantages of peptides as good diagnostic targets, since they serve as molecular surrogates of enzyme activities, much more specific biomarkers than proteins, and also play vital roles in many biological processes. On the basis of an extensive literature survey, peptide markers with high specificity and sensitivity that are currently applied in clinical tests, as well as recently identified, are summarized for the following four major categories of diseases: neurodegenerative disease, heart failure, infectious disease, and cancer. In addition, we summarize a few prevalent techniques used in peptide biomarker discovery and analysis, such as immunoassays, nanopore-based and nanoparticle-based peptide detection, and also MS-based peptide analysis techniques, and their pros and cons. Currently, there are plenty of analytical technologies available to achieve fast, sensitive and reliable peptide analyses, benefiting from the developments of hardware and instrumentation, as well as data analysis software and databases. Thus, with peptides emerging as sensitive, specific and reliable biomarkers for early detection of diseases, therapeutic monitoring, clinical treatment decisions and disease prognosis, the medical need for peptide biomarkers will increase strongly in the future.

Microbial-derived salt-tolerant proteases and their applications in high-salt traditional soybean fermented foods: a review

Different microorganisms can produce different proteases, which can adapt to different industrial requirements such as pH, temperature, and pressure. Salt-tolerant proteases (STPs) from microorganisms exhibit higher salt tolerance, wider adaptability, and more efficient catalytic ability under extreme conditions compared to conventional proteases. These unique enzymes hold great promise for applications in various industries including food, medicine, environmental protection, agriculture, detergents, dyes, and others. Scientific studies on microbial-derived STPs have been widely reported, but there has been little systematic review of microbial-derived STPs and their application in high-salt conventional soybean fermentable foods. This review presents the STP-producing microbial species and their selection methods, and summarizes and analyzes the salt tolerance mechanisms of the microorganisms. It also outlines various techniques for the isolation and purification of STPs from microorganisms and discusses the salt tolerance mechanisms of STPs. Furthermore, this review demonstrates the contribution of modern biotechnology in the screening of novel microbial-derived STPs and their improvement in salt tolerance. It highlights the potential applications and commercial value of salt-tolerant microorganisms and STPs in high-salt traditional soy fermented foods. The review ends with concluding remarks on the challenges and future directions for microbial-derived STPs. This review provides valuable insights into the separation, purification, performance enhancement, and application of microbial-derived STPs in traditional fermented foods.

Halotolerance mechanisms in salt‑tolerant cyanobacteria

Cyanobacteria are ubiquitously distributed in nature and are the most abundant photoautotrophs on Earth. Their long evolutionary history reveals that cyanobacteria have a remarkable capacity and strong adaptive tendencies to thrive in a variety of conditions. Thus, they can survive successfully, especially in harsh environmental conditions such as salty environments, high radiation, or extreme temperatures. Among others, salt stress because of excessive salt accumulation in salty environments, is the most common abiotic stress in nature and hampers agricultural growth and productivity worldwide. These detrimental effects point to the importance of understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the salt stress response. While it is generally accepted that the stress response mechanism is a complex network, fewer efforts have been made to represent it as a network. Substantial evidence revealed that salt-tolerant cyanobacteria have evolved genomic specific mechanisms and high adaptability in response to environmental changes. For example, extended gene families and/or clusters of genes encoding proteins involved in the adaptation to high salinity have been collectively reported. This chapter focuses on recent advances and provides an overview of the molecular basis of halotolerance mechanisms in salt‑tolerant cyanobacteria as well as multiple regulatory pathways. We elaborate on the major protective mechanisms, molecular mechanisms associated with halotolerance, and the global transcriptional landscape to provide a gateway to uncover gene regulation principles. Both knowledge and omics approaches are utilized in this chapter to decipher the mechanistic insights into halotolerance. Collectively, this chapter would have a profound impact on providing a comprehensive understanding of halotolerance in salt‑tolerant cyanobacteria.