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Selected Papers from the 8th International Conference on Biotechnology and Bioengineering (8-ICBB 2018)

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2020) | Viewed by 14129

Special Issue Editor

Istituto di Chimica Biomolecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Comprensorio Olivetti, Edificio 70, Via Campi Flegrei 34, I-80078 Pozzuoli, Napoli, Italy
Interests: biocatalysis; marine enzymes; marine glycosidases; marine biotechnology; oligosaccharides
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Dear Colleagues,

The 2018 International Conference on Biotechnology and Bioengineering (ICBB 2018) will be held in Budapest, Hungary, 24–26 October, 2018. The conference is co-organized by the Asia-Pacific Association of Science, Engineering and Technology (APASET), the Offenburg University of Applied Sciences, the Szent Istvan University, the Chinese Journal of Biologicals, the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry–Polish Academy of Sciences and the University of Catania.The conference has been designed to provide an innovative and comprehensive overview of biotechnology and bioengineering, and a focus will be given to major research advances, including New Approaches and Methods in Biotechnology; Cell and Immunology; Genomics and Molecular Biology; Biomaterials, Biopolymers and Bioenergy; Biomedicine, Pharmacology and Toxicology; Biomedical Engineering and Techniques, and other related aspects.More information about the conference can be found at http://icbb.apaset.org/Participants of the conference are cordially invited to contribute original research papers or reviews to this Special Issue of Molecules. This Special Issue welcomes submission of previously unpublished manuscripts from original work on all aspects of molecular biology, molecular medicine, natural product chemistry, etc.

Dr. Antonio Trincone
Guest Editor

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 1864 KiB  
Article
Unknown Areas of Activity of Human Ribonuclease Dicer: A Putative Deoxyribonuclease Activity
by Marta Wojnicka, Agnieszka Szczepanska and Anna Kurzynska-Kokorniak
Molecules 2020, 25(6), 1414; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25061414 - 20 Mar 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2766
Abstract
The Dicer ribonuclease plays a crucial role in the biogenesis of small regulatory RNAs (srRNAs) by processing long double-stranded RNAs and single-stranded hairpin RNA precursors into small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs), respectively. Dicer-generated srRNAs can control gene expression by targeting complementary [...] Read more.
The Dicer ribonuclease plays a crucial role in the biogenesis of small regulatory RNAs (srRNAs) by processing long double-stranded RNAs and single-stranded hairpin RNA precursors into small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs), respectively. Dicer-generated srRNAs can control gene expression by targeting complementary transcripts and repressing their translation or inducing their cleavage. Human Dicer (hDicer) is a multidomain enzyme comprising a putative helicase domain, a DUF283 domain, platform, a PAZ domain, a connector helix, two RNase III domains (RNase IIIa and RNase IIIb) and a dsRNA-binding domain. Specific, ~20-base pair siRNA or miRNA duplexes with 2 nucleotide (nt) 3’-overhangs are generated by Dicer when an RNA substrate is anchored within the platform-PAZ-connector helix (PPC) region. However, increasing number of reports indicate that in the absence of the PAZ domain, binding of RNA substrates can occur by other Dicer domains. Interestingly, truncated variants of Dicer, lacking the PPC region, have been found to display a DNase activity. Inspired by these findings, we investigated how the lack of the PAZ domain, or the entire PPC region, would influence the cleavage activity of hDicer. Using immunopurified 3xFlag-hDicer produced in human cells and its two variants: one lacking the PAZ domain, and the other lacking the entire PPC region, we show that the PAZ domain deletion variants of hDicer are not able to process a pre-miRNA substrate, a dsRNA with 2-nt 3ʹ-overhangs, and a blunt-ended dsRNA. However, the PAZ deletion variants exhibit both RNase and DNase activity on short single-stranded RNA and DNAs, respectively. Collectively, our results indicate that when the PAZ domain is absent, other hDicer domains may contribute to substrate binding and in this case, non-canonical products can be generated. Full article
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15 pages, 2743 KiB  
Article
Ultrasound-Assisted Mild Heating Treatment Improves the Emulsifying Properties of 11S Globulins
by Linlin Liu, Jianhua Zeng, Bingyu Sun, Na Zhang, Yinyuan He, Yanguo Shi and Xiuqing Zhu
Molecules 2020, 25(4), 875; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25040875 - 17 Feb 2020
Cited by 29 | Viewed by 2878
Abstract
Ultrasonic technology is often used to modify proteins. Here, we investigated the effects of ultrasound alone or in combination with other heating methods on emulsifying properties and structure of glycinin (11S globulin). Structural alterations were assessed with Sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS–PAGE), [...] Read more.
Ultrasonic technology is often used to modify proteins. Here, we investigated the effects of ultrasound alone or in combination with other heating methods on emulsifying properties and structure of glycinin (11S globulin). Structural alterations were assessed with Sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS–PAGE), intrinsic fluorescence spectroscopy, ultraviolet (UV) absorption spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The size distribution and zeta-potential of 11S globulin were evaluated with a particle size analyzer. An SDS-PAGE analysis showed no remarkable changes in the primary structure of 11S globulin. Ultrasound treatment disrupted the 11S globulin aggregates into small particles with uniform size, narrowed their distribution and increased their surface charge density. Fluorescent spectroscopy and second-derivative UV spectroscopy revealed that ultrasound coupled with heating induced partial unfolding of 11S globulin, increasing its flexibility and hydrophobicity. FTIR further showed that the random coil and α-helix contents were higher while β-turn and β-sheet contents were lower in ultrasound combined with heating group compared to the control group. Consequently, the oil-water interface entirely distributed protein and reduced the surface tension. Moreover, ultrasound combined with heating at 60 °C increased the emulsifying activity index and emulsifying stability index of 11S globulins by 6.49-folds and 2.90-folds, respectively. These findings suggest that ultrasound combined with mild heating modifies the emulsification properties of 11S globulin. Full article
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17 pages, 4955 KiB  
Article
Hybridization of Particulate Methane Monooxygenase by Methanobactin-Modified AuNPs
by Jia-Ying Xin, Li-Rui Sun, Hui-Ying Lin, Shuai Zhang and Chun-Gu Xia
Molecules 2019, 24(22), 4027; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24224027 - 07 Nov 2019
Viewed by 2798
Abstract
Particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO) is a characteristic membrane-bound metalloenzyme of methane-oxidizing bacteria that can catalyze the bioconversion of methane to methanol. However, in order to achieve pMMO-based continuous methane-to-methanol bioconversion, the problems of reducing power in vitro regeneration and pMMO stability need to [...] Read more.
Particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO) is a characteristic membrane-bound metalloenzyme of methane-oxidizing bacteria that can catalyze the bioconversion of methane to methanol. However, in order to achieve pMMO-based continuous methane-to-methanol bioconversion, the problems of reducing power in vitro regeneration and pMMO stability need to be overcome. Methanobactin (Mb) is a small copper-chelating molecule that functions not only as electron carrier for pMMO catalysis and pMMO protector against oxygen radicals, but also as an agent for copper acquisition and uptake. In order to improve the activity and stability of pMMO, methanobactin–Cu (Mb–Cu)-modified gold nanoparticle (AuNP)–pMMO nanobiohybrids were straightforwardly synthesized via in situ reduction of HAuCl4 to AuNPs in a membrane fraction before further association with Mb–Cu. Mb–Cu modification can greatly improve the activity and stability of pMMO in the AuNP–pMMO nanobiohybrids. It is shown that the Mb–Cu-modified AuNP–pMMO nanobiohybrids can persistently catalyze the conversion of methane to methanol with hydroquinone as electron donor. The artificial heterogeneous nanobiohybrids exhibited excellent reusability and reproducibility in three cycles of catalysis, and they provide a model for achieving hydroquinone-driven conversion of methane to methanol. Full article
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18 pages, 5274 KiB  
Article
Sampling for DUS Test of Flower Colors of Ranunculus asiaticus L. in View of Spatial and Temporal Changes of Flower Colorations, Anthocyanin Contents, and Gene Expression Levels
by Yanfang Liu, Tao Lin, Lijuan Du, Jiangmin Wang, Xiaohong Yang, Jianhua Zhang, Peng Zhang, Yangang Li, Junfeng Shi and Xuhong Yang
Molecules 2019, 24(3), 615; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24030615 - 10 Feb 2019
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5190
Abstract
Sampling for DUS test of flower colors should be fixed at the stages and sites that petals are fully colored, and besides, flower colorations are uniform among individuals and stable for a period of time to allow testers to get consistent results. It [...] Read more.
Sampling for DUS test of flower colors should be fixed at the stages and sites that petals are fully colored, and besides, flower colorations are uniform among individuals and stable for a period of time to allow testers to get consistent results. It remains a problem since spatial and temporal flower colorations are reported a lot but their change traits are little discussed. In this study, expression state, uniformity and stability of color phenotypes, anthocyanin contents, and gene expression levels were taken into account based on measurements at 12 development stages and three layers (inner, middle, and outer petals) of two varieties of Ranunculus asiaticus L. to get their best sampling. Our results showed that, outer petals of L9–L10 (stage 9–stage 10 of variety ‘Jiaoyan zhuanhong’) and C5–C6 (stage 5–stage 6 of variety ‘Jiaoyan yanghong’) were the best sampling, respectively. For DUS test, it is suggested to track flower colorations continuously to get the best sampling as well as representative colors since different cultivars had different change traits, and moreover, full expression of color phenotypes came later and lasted for a shorter duration than those of anthocyanin contents and gene expressions. Our innovation exists in following two points. Firstly, a model of change dynamic was introduced to illustrate the change traits of flower colorations, anthocyanin contents, and gene expressions. Secondly, genes used for expression analysis were screened on account of tentative anthocyanins, which were identified based on comparison between liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) results and molecular mass and mass fragment pattern (M2) of each putative anthocyanin and their fragments deduced in our previous study. Gene screening in this regard may also be interest for other non-model plant genera with little molecular background. Full article
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