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Genetic Engineering in Microbial Biotechnology

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2024 | Viewed by 2418

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
1. Institute of Sustainable Processes, Dr. Mergelina s/n, 47011 Valladolid, Spain
2. Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology, School of Industrial Engineering, University of Valladolid, Dr. Mergelina, s/n, 47011 Valladolid, Spain
Interests: molecular biology; microbiology; degradation; bioplastics; biotechnology; secondary metabolites; antibiotics; antimicrobial resistance; Streptomyces; Bacillus

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The scope of this Special Issue involves genetic engineering and microbial biotechnology, including biotech activities (which are color-coded according to their common uses and applications, “Red”, “White”, “Yellow”, “Green”, etc.), with a special focus on gene-based technologies. We welcome papers (reviews and original research articles) reporting knowledge, bioinformatic analyses, and/or experimental studies using a genetic approach followed in order to achvieve biotechnological advances in the microorganisms of interest.

The aim of this Special Issue is to respond to the challenges of today’s society through sustainability, innovation, and research on the simplest forms of life, i.e., microorganisms. A considerable amount of research is still required for a real industrial biotechnological revolution, and genetic approaches are the most useful strategies for achieving this goal; therefore, we welcome studies focused on this.

Dr. Fernando Santos-Beneit
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • white biotechnology
  • red biotechnology
  • green biotechnology
  • yellow biotechnology
  • genetic engineering
  • microorganisms
  • bacteria
  • enzymes
  • genetics
  • bioproducts

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 1516 KiB  
Article
Efficient Production of 9,22-Dihydroxy-23,24-bisnorchol-4-ene-3-one from Phytosterols by Modifying Multiple Genes in Mycobacterium fortuitum
by Suwan Han, Xiangcen Liu, Beiru He, Xinghui Zhai, Chenyang Yuan, Yixin Li, Weichao Lin, Haoyu Wang and Baoguo Zhang
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(7), 3579; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25073579 - 22 Mar 2024
Viewed by 454
Abstract
C19 steroids and C22 steroids are vital intermediates for the synthesis of steroid drugs. Compared with C19 steroids, C22 steroids are more suitable for synthesizing progesterone and adrenocortical hormones, albeit less developed. 9,22-dihydroxy-23,24-bisnorchol-4-ene-3-one(9-OHBA), due to its substituents at positions C-9 and C-22, is [...] Read more.
C19 steroids and C22 steroids are vital intermediates for the synthesis of steroid drugs. Compared with C19 steroids, C22 steroids are more suitable for synthesizing progesterone and adrenocortical hormones, albeit less developed. 9,22-dihydroxy-23,24-bisnorchol-4-ene-3-one(9-OHBA), due to its substituents at positions C-9 and C-22, is a beneficial and innovative steroid derivative for synthesizing corticosteroids. We focused on the C22 pathway in Mycobacterium fortuitum ATCC 35855, aiming to develop a productive strain that produces 9-OHBA. We used a mutant strain, MFΔkstD, that knocked out kstds from Mycobacterium fortuitum ATCC 35855 named MFKD in this study as the original strain. Hsd4A and FadA5 are key enzymes in controlling the C19 metabolic pathway of steroids in Mycobacterium fortuitum ATCC 35855. After knocking out hsd4A, MFKDΔhsd4A accumulated 81.47% 9-OHBA compared with 4.13% 9-OHBA in the strain MFKD. The double mutant MFKDΔhsd4AΔfadA5 further improved the selectivity of 9-OHBA to 95.13%, and 9α-hydroxy-4-androstenedione (9-OHAD) decreased to 0.90% from 4.19%. In the end, we obtained 6.81 g/L 9-OHBA from 10 g/L phytosterols with a molar yield of 80.33%, which showed the best performance compared with formerly reported strains. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetic Engineering in Microbial Biotechnology)
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22 pages, 2187 KiB  
Article
Gut Microbiota and Inflammation Modulation in a Rat Model for Ulcerative Colitis after the Intraperitoneal Administration of Apigenin, Luteolin, and Xanthohumol
by Patricia Magadán-Corpas, Álvaro Pérez-Valero, Suhui Ye, Sandra Sordon, Ewa Huszcza, Jarosław Popłoński, Claudio J. Villar and Felipe Lombó
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(6), 3236; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25063236 - 12 Mar 2024
Viewed by 975
Abstract
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory disorder affecting the colon, with symptomatology influenced by factors including environmental, genomic, microbial, and immunological interactions. Gut microbiota dysbiosis, characterized by bacterial population alterations, contributes to intestinal homeostasis disruption and aberrant immune system activation, thereby exacerbating [...] Read more.
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory disorder affecting the colon, with symptomatology influenced by factors including environmental, genomic, microbial, and immunological interactions. Gut microbiota dysbiosis, characterized by bacterial population alterations, contributes to intestinal homeostasis disruption and aberrant immune system activation, thereby exacerbating the inflammatory state. This study assesses the therapeutic efficacy of intraperitoneal (IP) injected flavonoids (apigenin, luteolin, and xanthohumol) in the reduction of inflammatory parameters and the modulation of the gut microbiota in a murine model of ulcerative colitis. Flavonoids interact with gut microbiota by modulating their composition and serving as substrates for the fermentation into other anti-inflammatory bioactive compounds. Our results demonstrate the effectiveness of luteolin and xanthohumol treatment in enhancing the relative abundance of anti-inflammatory microorganisms, thereby attenuating pro-inflammatory species. Moreover, all three flavonoids exhibit efficacy in the reduction of pro-inflammatory cytokine levels, with luteolin strongly demonstrating utility in alleviating associated physical UC symptoms. This suggests that this molecule is a potential alternative or co-therapy to conventional pharmacological interventions, potentially mitigating their adverse effects. A limited impact on microbiota is observed with apigenin, and this is attributed to its solubility constraints via the chosen administration route, resulting in its accumulation in the mesentery. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetic Engineering in Microbial Biotechnology)
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14 pages, 1589 KiB  
Article
Use of 3-Deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonic acid 7-phosphate Synthase (DAHP Synthase) to Enhance the Heterologous Biosynthesis of Diosmetin and Chrysoeriol in an Engineered Strain of Streptomyces albidoflavus
by Álvaro Pérez-Valero, Juan Serna-Diestro, Claudio J. Villar and Felipe Lombó
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(5), 2776; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25052776 - 28 Feb 2024
Viewed by 625
Abstract
Flavonoids are a large family of polyphenolic compounds with important agro-industrial, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical applications. Among the structural diversity found in the flavonoid family, methylated flavonoids show interesting characteristics such as greater stability and improved oral bioavailability. This work is focused on the [...] Read more.
Flavonoids are a large family of polyphenolic compounds with important agro-industrial, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical applications. Among the structural diversity found in the flavonoid family, methylated flavonoids show interesting characteristics such as greater stability and improved oral bioavailability. This work is focused on the reconstruction of the entire biosynthetic pathway of the methylated flavones diosmetin and chrysoeriol in Streptomyces albidoflavus. A total of eight different genes (TAL, 4CL, CHS, CHI, FNS1, F3′H/CPR, 3′-OMT, 4′-OMT) are necessary for the heterologous biosynthesis of these two flavonoids, and all of them have been integrated along the chromosome of the bacterial host. The biosynthesis of diosmetin and chrysoeriol has been achieved, reaching titers of 2.44 mg/L and 2.34 mg/L, respectively. Furthermore, an additional compound, putatively identified as luteolin 3′,4′-dimethyl ether, was produced in both diosmetin and chrysoeriol-producing strains. With the purpose of increasing flavonoid titers, a 3-Deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonic acid 7-phosphate synthase (DAHP synthase) from an antibiotic biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC) from Amycolatopsis balhimycina was heterologously expressed in S. albidoflavus, enhancing diosmetin and chrysoeriol production titers of 4.03 mg/L and 3.13 mg/L, which is an increase of 65% and 34%, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the de novo biosynthesis of diosmetin and chrysoeriol in a heterologous host. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetic Engineering in Microbial Biotechnology)
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