Reduction of d-lactate content in sauerkraut using starter cultures of recombinant Leuconostoc mesenteroides expressing the ldhL gene
Qing Jin, Ling Li, Jin Seok Moon, Seung Kee Cho, Yu Jin Kim, Soo Jin Lee, Nam Soo Han

Discovery and characterization of a second extremely thermostable (+)-γ-lactamase from Sulfolobus solfataricus P2
Shaozhou Zhu, Rong Huang, Shuaihua Gao, Xinxin Li, Guojun Zheng

Environment-induced conformational and functional changes of l-2-haloacid dehalogenase
Yayue Wang, Xupeng Cao, Yanbin Feng, Song Xue

Highlights

・The environment-induced conformational and functional changes of l-2-haloacid dehalogenase were firstly studied by CD spectroscopy.
・Decreased α-helix and increased β-sheet contents were observed along with activity loss caused by pH, temperature and inhibitors.
・More than 65.0% of the enzyme activity could be remained if its α-helix content was over 12.0%.
・The maintenance of α-helical structure is indispensable to the enzymatic activity, while β-sheet increase restricts the activity.

Epistasis effects of multiple ancestral-consensus amino acid substitutions on the thermal stability of glycerol kinase from Cellulomonas sp. NT3060
Yasuhisa Fukuda, Asuka Abe, Takashi Tamura, Takahide Kishimoto, Atsushi Sogabe, Satoshi Akanuma, Shin-ichi Yokobori, Akihiko Yamagishi, Katsumi Imada, Kenji Inagaki

Purification and characterization of a thermophilic 1,3-1,4-β-glucanase from Bacillus methylotrophicus S2 isolated from booklice
Qiuhong Niu, Guo Zhang, Lin Zhang, Yali Ma, Qian Shi, Weiwei Fu

Screening of natural yeast isolates under the effects of stresses associated with second-generation biofuel production
Rajni Dubey, Shaik Jakeer, Naseem A. Gaur

Purification and characterization of solvent tolerant lipase from Bacillus sp. for methyl ester production from algal oil
Ramachandran Sivaramakrishnan, Aran Incharoensakdi

Highlights

・Isolation of solvent tolerant lipase from Bacillus sp.
・Efficiency of isolated lipase activity with wide pH and temperature range.
・Satisfactory lipase activity towards the solvents and metal ions.
・Good operational stability of immobilized lipase.
・Isolated enzyme showed high transesterification activity.

Two glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase isogenes from Candida versatilis SN-18 play an important role in glycerol biosynthesis under osmotic stress
Daiki Mizushima, Hisashi Iwata, Yuki Ishimaki, Jun Ogihara, Jun Kato, Takafumi Kasumi

Thermophile-fermented compost as a fish feed additive modulates lipid peroxidation and free amino acid contents in the muscle of the carp, Cyprinus carpio
Ryusuke Tanaka, Hirokuni Miyamoto, Shin-ichi Inoue, Kazuhiro Shigeta, Masakazu Kondo, Toshiyuki Ito, Hiroaki Kodama, Hisashi Miyamoto, Teruo Matsushita

Adaptation of a mixed culture of acidophiles for a tank biooxidation of refractory gold concentrates containing a high concentration of arsenic
Jeongsik Hong, Rene A. Silva, Jeonghyun Park, Eunseong Lee, Jayhyun Park, Hyunjung Kim

Highlights

・Tank biooxidation was used for gold concentrates with high arsenic (As) content.
・Synergistic effects from each culture lead to better performance in As leaching.
・Adaptation of mixed culture of Acidophiles increased As removal.
・Adapted culture achieved a biooxidation higher than 72% at high As concentrations.

Soluble Moringa oleifera leaf extract reduces intracellular cadmium accumulation and oxidative stress in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Kittikhun Kerdsomboon, Supinda Tatip, Sattawat Kosasih, Choowong Auesukaree

Highlights

・Moringa oleifera leaf extract (MOLE) protected yeast cells against oxidative stress.
・The co-administration and the pretreatment with MOLE reduce cadmium uptake rate.
・The extract may have an effect on reducing Fet4p-mediated cadmium uptake.
・The extract decreased intracellular iron accumulation in a Fet4p-independent manner.

Fine-scale monitoring of shifts in microbial community composition after high organic loading in a pilot-scale membrane bioreactor
Yuya Sato, Tomoyuki Hori, Ronald R. Navarro, Hiroshi Habe, Hiroshi Yanagishita, Atsushi Ogata

Impacts of inoculum pre-treatments on enzyme activity and biochemical methane potential
Bing Wang, Sten Strömberg, Ivo Achu Nges, Mihaela Nistor, Jing Liu

Highlights

・Inoculum pre-treatments affect kinetic profiles of substrates significantly.
・Methane yield of substrate correlate positively to the enzyme activity of inoculum.
・Inoculum filtration should be avoided to prevent the loss of microorganisms.
・Use of fresh inoculum in biochemical methane potential test is recommended.

Modified harvest system for enhancing Factor VIII yield in alternating tangential flow perfusion culture
Seung-Chul Kim, Sora An, Hyun-Ki Kim, Beom-Soo Park, Kyu-Heum Na, Byung-Gee Kim

Highlights

・We developed a novel harvest system for ATF perfusion culture as an alternative method to replace a peristaltic pump.
・The novel harvest system consists of a check valve, pinch valve and timer.
・The system achieved the enhancement of the yield of Factor VIII activity and Factor VIII antigen.
・The yield enhancement was due to the increase of transmembrane pressure across hollow fiber filter using the system.
・The system offers the possibility to overcome the fouling problem in ATF perfusion culture.

Evaluation of methane generation and process stability from anaerobic co-digestion of sugar beet by-product and cow manure
Kaoutar Aboudi, Carlos José Álvarez-Gallego, Luis Isidoro Romero-García

UDP-galactose transporter gene hUGT1 expression in tobacco plants leads to hyper-galactosylated cell wall components
Tayebeh Abedi, Mohamed Farouk Mohamed Khalil, Toshihiko Asai, Nami Ishihara, Kenji Kitamura, Nobuhiro Ishida, Nobukazu Tanaka

Clusters of neural stem/progenitor cells cultured on a soft poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel crosslinked by gamma irradiation
Hideki Mori, Masayuki Hara

Highlights

・We prepared the gamma-crosslinked poly(vinylalcohol) (PVA) hydrogels.
・Neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) from the fetal mouse brain was cultured on the PVA hydrogels.
・Cells adhered to the surface and then proliferated forming a cluster of cells in the DMEM/F12 medium to keep the immature undifferentiated state.
・Gamma-crosslinked PVA hydrogel is a useful substrate to amplify the NSPCs.

Pyrrhocoricin, a proline-rich antimicrobial peptide derived from insect, inhibits the translation process in the cell-free Escherichia coli protein synthesis system
Masayuki Taniguchi, Akihito Ochiai, Hiroshi Kondo, Shun Fukuda, Yohei Ishiyama, Eiichi Saitoh, Tetsuo Kato, Takaaki Tanaka