Current knowledge on biotechnological interesting seaweeds from the Magellan Region, Chile

Cascaded valorization of brown seaweed to produce l-lysine and value-added products using Corynebacterium glutamicum streamlined by systems metabolic engineering

Seaweeds emerge as promising third-generation renewable for sustainable bioproduction. In the present work, we valorized brown seaweed to produce l-lysine, the world's leading feed amino acid, using Corynebacterium glutamicum, which was streamlined by systems metabolic engineering. The mutant C. glutamicum SEA-1 served as a starting point for development because it produced small amounts of l-lysine from mannitol, a major seaweed sugar, because of the deletion of its arabitol repressor AtlR and its engineered l-lysine pathway. Starting from SEA-1, we systematically optimized the microbe to redirect excess NADH, formed on the sugar alcohol, towards NADPH, required for l-lysine synthesis. The mannitol dehydrogenase variant MtlD D75A, inspired by 3D protein homology modelling, partly generated NADPH during the oxidation of mannitol to fructose, leading to a 70% increased l-lysine yield in strain SEA-2C. Several rounds of strain engineering further increased NADPH supply and l-lysine production. The best strain, SEA-7, overexpressed the membrane-bound transhydrogenase pntAB together with codon-optimized gapN, encoding NADPH-dependent glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, and mak, encoding fructokinase. In a fed-batch process, SEA-7 produced 76 g L^-1l-lysine from mannitol at a yield of 0.26 mol mol^-1 and a maximum productivity of 2.1 g L^-1 h^-1. Finally, SEA-7 was integrated into seaweed valorization cascades. Aqua-cultured Laminaria digitata, a major seaweed for commercial alginate, was extracted and hydrolyzed enzymatically, followed by recovery and clean-up of pure alginate gum. The residual sugar-based mixture was converted to l-lysine at a yield of 0.27 C-mol C-mol^-1 using SEA-7. Second, stems of the wild-harvested seaweed Durvillaea antarctica, obtained as waste during commercial processing of the blades for human consumption, were extracted using acid treatment. Fermentation of the hydrolysate using SEA-7 provided l-lysine at a yield of 0.40 C-mol C-mol^-1. Our findings enable improvement of the efficiency of seaweed biorefineries using tailor-made C. glutamicum strains.

A novel biodegradable film based on κ-carrageenan activated with olive leaves extract

This research focused on the development of carrageenan based biodegradable films incorporated with olive leaves extract (OLE). OLE microbial inhibition and its total phenolics (TP) were evaluated. Carrageenan films were produced by casting technique and were characterized by thickness, water vapor permeability (WVP), color, mechanical properties, and infrared spectroscopy. In order to apply as lamb meat packaging, the antimicrobial effect of the films was investigated. Results showed that OLE inhibited E. coli growth and presented excellent TP (41.40 mgGAE/g). Thicknesses of the film with OLE (CAR-OLE) were approximately 28% higher than film without OLE. Addition of OLE reduced the WVP by approximately 54%. CAR-OLE was less resistant to breakage and more flexible showing darker color. FTIR showed interaction of carrageenan with OLE. Results revealed that CAR-OLE promoted 167-fold reduction in initial count of aerobic mesophiles indicating shelf-life extension of lamb meat and promising use as antimicrobial food packaging.

Phytochemical components and amino acid profile of brown seaweed Durvillaea antarctica as affected by air drying temperature

The effects of different drying temperatures between 40 and 80 °C on bioactive constituents and antioxidant activity of edible sub Antarctic brown seaweed, Durvillaea antarctica were studied. Dietary fibre, amino acids profile, pigments (chlorophyll and carotenoids), vitamin E, total phenolics and total flavonoids as well as antioxidant activity were determined, beside a measurement of the chromatic coordinates. The brown seaweed D. antarctica had a high content of dietary fibre and was rich in essential amino acids and drying between 40 and 80 °C did not influence significantly dietary fibre content nor the level of essential amino acids that remained around 44%. However, a significant degradation of the chlorophyll pigments was observed with the lowest level of the initial chlorophyll content occurring at 60 °C (59%). Total carotenoids content was stable during drying between 50 and 70 °C. Vitamin E showed no significant loss during drying at any of the assayed temperatures, which could be due to its occurrence within the lipid fraction. Drying at 40 °C imparted a darker brown colour to the seaweed, while a lighter brown colour was acquired as drying temperature increased. The greatest loss in total phenolics content occurred at 60 °C, while total flavonoids content showed a significant reduction, which declined as drying temperature increased. According to the experimental results, phenolics and flavonoids could be considered as an important source of bioactive compounds with relatively high antioxidant activity. Thus D. antarctica may satisfy the requirements for development of functional foods.