The selective breeding and mutagenesis mechanism of high-yielding surfactin Bacillus subtilis strains with atmospheric and room temperature plasma

Application of Atmospheric and Room-Temperature Plasma (ARTP) to Microbial Breeding

Atmospheric and room-temperature plasma (ARTP) is an efficient microbial mutagenesis method with broad application prospects. Compared to traditional methods, ARTP technology can more effectively induce DNA damage and generate stable mutant strains. It is characterized by its simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and avoidance of hazardous chemicals, presenting a vast potential for application. The ARTP technology is widely used in bacterial, fungal, and microalgal mutagenesis for increasing productivity and improving characteristics. In conclusion, ARTP technology holds significant promise in the field of microbial breeding. Through ARTP technology, we can create mutant strains with specific genetic traits and improved performance, thereby increasing yield, improving quality, and meeting market demands. The field of microbial breeding will witness further innovation and progress with continuous refinement and optimization of ARTP technology.

Atmospheric and Room Temperature Plasma (ARTP) Mutagenesis Improved the Anti-MRSA Activity of Brevibacillus sp. SPR20

Brevibacillus sp. SPR20 produced potentially antibacterial substances against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The synthesis of these substances is controlled by their biosynthetic gene clusters. Several mutagenesis methods are used to overcome the restriction of gene regulations when genetic information is absent. Atmospheric and room temperature plasma (ARTP) is a powerful technique to initiate random mutagenesis for microbial strain improvement. This study utilized an argon-based ARTP to conduct the mutations on SPR20. The positive mutants of 40% occurred. The M27 mutant exhibited an increase in anti-MRSA activity when compared to the wild-type strain, with the MIC values of 250-500 and 500 μg/mL, respectively. M27 had genetic stability because it exhibited constant activity throughout fifteen generations. This mutant had similar morphology and antibiotic susceptibility to the wild type. Comparative proteomic analysis identified some specific proteins that were upregulated in M27. These proteins were involved in the metabolism of amino acids, cell structure and movement, and catalytic enzymes. These might result in the enhancement of the anti-MRSA activity of the ARTP-treated SPR20 mutant. This study supports the ARTP technology designed to increase the production of valuable antibacterial agents.

A comprehensive study on microbial-surfactants from bioproduction scale-up toward electrokinetics remediation of environmental pollutants: Challenges and perspectives

Currently, researchers have focused on electrokinetic (EK) bioremediation due to its potential to remove a wide-range of pollutants. Further, to improve their performance, synthetic surfactants are employed as effective additives because of their excellent solubility and mobility. Synthetic surfactants have an excessive position in industries since they are well-established, cheap, and easily available. Nevertheless, these surfactants have adverse environmental effects and could be detrimental to aquatic and terrestrial life. Owing to social and environmental awareness, there is a rising demand for bio-based surfactants in the global market, from environmental sustainability to public health, because of their excellent surface and interfacial activity, higher and stable emulsifying property, biodegradability, non- or low toxicity, better selectivity and specificity at extreme environmental conditions. Unfortunately, challenges to biosurfactants, like expensive raw materials, low yields, and purification processes, hinder their applicability to large-scale. To date, extensive research has already been conducted for production scale-up using multidisciplinary approaches. However, it is still essential to research and develop high-yielding bacteria for bioproduction through traditional and biotechnological advances to reduce production costs. Herein, this review evaluates the recent progress made on microbial-surfactants for bioproduction scale-up and provides detailed information on traditional and advanced genetic engineering approaches for cost-effective bioproduction. Furthermore, this study emphasized the role of electrokinetic (EK) bioremediation and discussed the application of BioS-mediated EK for various pollutants remediation.

Rapid Screening of High-Yield Gellan Gum Mutants of Sphingomonas paucimobilis ATCC 31461 by Combining Atmospheric and Room Temperature Plasma Mutation with Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Monitoring

In this study, an efficient mutagenesis and rapid screening method of high-yield gellan gum mutant by atmospheric and room temperature plasma (ARTP) treatment combined with Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) was proposed. A NIRS model for the on-line detection of gellan gum yield was constructed by joint interval partial least squares (siPLS) regression on the basis of chemical determination and NIRS acquisition of gellan gum yield. Five genetically stable mutant strains were screened using the on-line NIRS detection of gellan gum yield in the fermentation from approximately 600 mutant strains induced by ARTP. Remarkably, compared with the original strain, the gellan gum yield of mutant strain 519 was 9.427 g/L (increased by 133.5%) under the optimal fermentation conditions, which was determined by single-factor and response surface optimization. Therefore, the method of ARTP mutation combined with the NIRS model can be used to screen high-yield mutant strains of gellan gum and other high-yield polysaccharide strains.