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Microbial Bioconversions and Valuable Compounds Production

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A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 October 2021) | Viewed by 12753

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Martina Cappelletti

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Molecular and Applied Microbiology Lab, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Via Irnerio 42, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Interests: bacterial degradation of contaminants; mechanisms of bacterial adaptation to toxic compounds; waste bioconversion into valuable compounds; metal-based nanoparticles; bacterial resistance/tolerance to metals; biodiversity in extreme environments and bioreactors; cave microbiology; bacterial genomics; anti-microbial strategies; biofilms; drug discovery from environmental bacterial isolates
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Microorganisms are promising platforms for the production of value-added compounds and bioactive molecules such as biosurfactants, lipids, siderophores, metal-based nanostructures, antibacterial and anticancer drugs, organic acids, and biofuels. These compounds have important applications in the agriculture, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries, also in relation with the advantages that biosynthetic processes have compared to synthetic chemistry methods (e.g., environmental compatibility of the production process, high substrate selectivity, and low downstream cost). In addition to these remarkable features, the metabolic and biocatalytic potential of microorganisms can also be exploited for the production of valuable compounds from industrial wastes, residues, and even contaminants. These bioconversion processes represent cost-effective strategies for valuable resource recovery and sustainable waste disposal. In order to increase yield and productivity, recent advances in genomic studies, metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, and directed evolution have been developed to create tailor-made microorganisms (also named microbial factories) for possible industrial purposes. This Special Issue aims to include research or review papers focused on molecular, biochemical, and biotechnological aspects of microbial production of valuable compounds using cost-effective processes, economical substrates, and/or through the bioconversion of industrial wastes/residues.

Dr. Martina Cappelletti
Guest Editor

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Keywords

High value-added bioproducts
Bioconversion
Bioactive molecules
Microbial cell factory
Biosurfactants
Biofuels
Metal-based nanostructures

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 4237 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Chemical Profiling, Bioactivity Evaluation and the Discovery of a Novel Biopigment Produced by Penicillium purpurogenum CBS 113139

by Antonis D. Tsiailanis, Chrysanthi Pateraki, Mary Kyriazou, Christos M. Chatzigiannis, Maria Chatziathanasiadou, Nikolaos Parisis, Ioanna Mandala, Andreas G. Tzakos and Apostolis Koutinas

Molecules 2022, 27(1), 69; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27010069 - 23 Dec 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2535

Abstract

Biobased pigments are environmentally friendly alternatives to synthetic variants with an increased market demand. Production of pigments via fermentation is a promising process, yet optimization of the production yield and rate is crucial. Herein, we evaluated the potential of Penicillium purpurogenum to produce biobased pigments. Optimum sugar concentration was 30 g/L and optimum C:N ratio was 36:1 resulting in the production of 4.1–4.5 AU (namely Pigment Complex A). Supplementation with ammonium nitrate resulted in the production of 4.1–4.9 AU (namely Pigment Complex B). Pigments showed excellent pH stability. The major biopigments in Pigment Complex A were N-threonyl-rubropunctamin or the acid form of PP-R (red pigment), N-GABA-PP-V (violet pigment), PP-O (orange pigment) and monascorubrin. In Pigment Complex B, a novel biopigment annotated as N-GLA-PP-V was identified. Its basic structure contains a polyketide azaphilone with the same carboxyl-monascorubramine base structure as PP-V (violet pigment) and γ-carboxyglutamic acid (GLA). The pigments were not cytotoxic up to 250 μg/mL. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Bioconversions and Valuable Compounds Production)

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17 pages, 4389 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Utilization of Cassava Wastewater for Low-Cost Production of Prodigiosin via Serratia marcescens TNU01 Fermentation and Its Novel Potent α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Effect

by Lan Thi Tran, Kuaanan Techato, Van Bon Nguyen, San-Lang Wang, Anh Dzung Nguyen, Tu Quy Phan, Manh Dung Doan and Khamphe Phoungthong

Molecules 2021, 26(20), 6270; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26206270 - 16 Oct 2021

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2835

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to reuse cassava wastewater (CW) for scaled-up production, via the fermentation of prodigiosin (PG), and to conduct an evaluation of its bioactivities. PG was produced at the yield of high 6150 mg/L in a 14 L-bioreactor system, when the designed novel medium (7 L), containing CW and supplemented with 0.25% casein, 0.05% MgSO₄, and 0.1% K₂HPO₄, was fermented with Serratia marcescens TNU01 at 28 °C in 8 h. The PG produced and purified in this study was assayed for some medical effects and showed moderate antioxidant, high anti-NO (anti-nitric oxide), and potential α-glucosidase inhibitory activities. Notably, PG was first reported as a novel effective α-glucosidase inhibitor with a low IC50 value of 0.0183 µg/mL. The commercial anti-diabetic drug acarbose was tested for comparison and had a lesser effect with a high IC50 value of 328.4 µg/mL, respectively. In a docking study, the cation form of PG (cation-PG) was found to bind to the enzyme α-glucosidase by interacting with two prominent amino acids, ASP568 and PHE601, at the binding site on the target enzyme, creating six linkages and showing a better binding energy score (−14.6 kcal/mol) than acarbose (−10.5 kcal/mol). The results of this work suggest that cassava wastewater can serve as a low-cost raw material for the effective production of PG, a potential antidiabetic drug candidate. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Bioconversions and Valuable Compounds Production)

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14 pages, 2486 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimization of Multiparameters for Increased Yields of Cytochrome B5 in Bioreactors

by Ricardo F. S. Pereira and Carla C. C. R. de Carvalho

Molecules 2021, 26(14), 4148; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26144148 - 8 Jul 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2461

Abstract

The production of recombinant proteins is gaining increasing importance as the market requests high quality proteins for several applications. However, several process parameters affect both the growth of cells and product yields. This study uses high throughput systems and statistical methods to assess the influence of fermentation conditions in lab-scale bioreactors. Using this methodology, it was possible to find the best conditions to produce cytochrome b5 with recombinant cells of Escherichia coli. Using partial least squares, the height-to-diameter ratio of the bioreactor, aeration rate, and PID controller parameters were found to contribute significantly to the final biomass and cytochrome concentrations. Hence, we could use this information to fine-tune the process parameters, which increased cytochrome production and yield several-fold. Using aeration of 1 vvm, a bioreactor with a height-to-ratio of 2.4 and tuned PID parameters, a production of 72.72 mg/L of cytochrome b5 in the culture media, and a maximum of product to biomass yield of 24.97 mg/g could be achieved. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Bioconversions and Valuable Compounds Production)

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Review

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30 pages, 2630 KiB

Open AccessReview

Rhodococcus as Biofactories for Microbial Oil Production

by Héctor M. Alvarez, Martín A. Hernández, Mariana P. Lanfranconi, Roxana A. Silva and María S. Villalba

Molecules 2021, 26(16), 4871; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26164871 - 11 Aug 2021

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 3931

Abstract

Bacteria belonging to the Rhodococcus genus are frequent components of microbial communities in diverse natural environments. Some rhodococcal species exhibit the outstanding ability to produce significant amounts of triacylglycerols (TAG) (>20% of cellular dry weight) in the presence of an excess of the carbon source and limitation of the nitrogen source. For this reason, they can be considered as oleaginous microorganisms. As occurs as well in eukaryotic single-cell oil (SCO) producers, these bacteria possess specific physiological properties and molecular mechanisms that differentiate them from other microorganisms unable to synthesize TAG. In this review, we summarized several of the well-characterized molecular mechanisms that enable oleaginous rhodococci to produce significant amounts of SCO. Furthermore, we highlighted the ability of these microorganisms to degrade a wide range of carbon sources coupled to lipogenesis. The qualitative and quantitative oil production by rhodococci from diverse industrial wastes has also been included. Finally, we summarized the genetic and metabolic approaches applied to oleaginous rhodococci to improve SCO production. This review provides a comprehensive and integrating vision on the potential of oleaginous rhodococci to be considered as microbial biofactories for microbial oil production. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Bioconversions and Valuable Compounds Production)

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