Biological Production of Value-Added Products

A special issue of Bioengineering (ISSN 2306-5354). This special issue belongs to the section "Biochemical Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2023) | Viewed by 7767

Special Issue Editors

Department of Food Science, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Interests: synthetic biology/metabolic engineering; fermentation science; bioconversion of food and agricultural wastes to fuels and biochemicals; bioprocess design
Biotechnology Program, College of Science, The Roux Institute, Northeastern University, Portland, ME, USA
Interests: application of synthetic biology; metabolic engineering; environmental biology; bioprocess design, and bioinformatics tools to enhance the production of biofuels and bio-derived chemicals from agricultural wastes/residues

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In light of the growing impact of climate change, it has become imperative to source bulk and specialty chemicals, as well as packaging materials from renewable resources not based on fossil fuels. It is important that renewable strategies are designed to reduce net emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and, where possible, to sequester GHGs from the atmosphere, consume less water (or recover reusable water from effluents wherever possible), produce more environmentally benign wastes, and incorporate measures for efficient waste management. Moreover, renewably sourced products need to compete favorably with their fossil-derived counterparts in economic terms. Thus, among other challenges, this calls for adroit measures to convert cheap feedstock (including waste) to value-added products, increase yield and productivity, eliminate expensive additives from production systems, and minimize the cost of downstream processing. Therefore, the aim of this Special Issue is to highlight the breadth of ongoing efforts to efficiently convert assorted feedstock to value-added products. This includes the deployment of synthetic biology, metabolic perturbations, and bioprocess design as tools to increase yield and productivity. Further, the Special Issue shines light on efforts in the area of waste valorization, the bioconversion of CO2 to value-added products, and novel feats in downstream processing.

Dr. Victor Ujor
Dr. Christopher Okonkwo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • biomanufacturing
  • bioconversion
  • bioproduction
  • renewable products
  • downstream processing
  • synthetic biology
  • bioengineering
  • metabolic engineering
  • fermentation

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 2808 KiB  
Article
Enhanced Enzymatic Sugar Recovery of Dilute-Acid-Pretreated Corn Stover by Sodium Carbonate Deacetylation
by Weng Fu, Shengbo Wu, Chun Wang, Suchithra Thangalazhy-Gopakumar, Urvi Kothari, Suan Shi and Lujia Han
Bioengineering 2023, 10(10), 1197; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering10101197 - 14 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 875
Abstract
The prehydrolysate from dilute acid pretreatment of lignocellulosic feedstocks often contains inhibitory compounds that can seriously inhibit the subsequent enzymatic and fermentation processes. Acetic acid is one of the most representative toxic compounds. In this research, alkaline deacetylation of corn stover was carried [...] Read more.
The prehydrolysate from dilute acid pretreatment of lignocellulosic feedstocks often contains inhibitory compounds that can seriously inhibit the subsequent enzymatic and fermentation processes. Acetic acid is one of the most representative toxic compounds. In this research, alkaline deacetylation of corn stover was carried out using sodium carbonate under mild conditions to selectively remove the acetyl groups of the biomass and reduce the toxicity of the prehydrolysate. The deacetylation process was optimized by adjusting factors such as temperature, treatment time, and sodium carbonate concentration. Sodium carbonate solutions (2~6 wt%) at 30~50 °C were used for the deacetylation step, followed by dilute acid pretreatment with 1.5% H2SO4 at 121 °C. Results showed that the acetyl content of the treated corn stover could be reduced up to 87%, while the hemicellulose loss remained low. The optimal deacetylation condition was found to be 40 °C, 6 h, and 4 wt% Na2CO3, resulting in a removal of 80.55% of the acetyl group in corn stover and a hemicellulose loss of 4.09%. The acetic acid concentration in the acid prehydrolysate decreased from 1.38 to 0.34 g/L. The enzymatic hydrolysis of solid corn stover and the whole slurry after pretreatment increased by 17% and 16%, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biological Production of Value-Added Products)
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19 pages, 3075 KiB  
Article
Whole-Genome Sequence and Fermentation Characteristics of Enterobacter hormaechei UW0SKVC1: A Promising Candidate for Detoxification of Lignocellulosic Biomass Hydrolysates and Production of Value-Added Chemicals
by Santosh Kumar, Eric Agyeman-Duah and Victor C. Ujor
Bioengineering 2023, 10(9), 1090; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering10091090 - 16 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1162
Abstract
Enterobacter hormaechei is part of the Enterobacter cloacae complex (ECC), which is widespread in nature. It is a facultative Gram-negative bacterium of medical and industrial importance. We assessed the metabolic and genetic repertoires of a new Enterobacter isolate. Here, we report the whole-genome [...] Read more.
Enterobacter hormaechei is part of the Enterobacter cloacae complex (ECC), which is widespread in nature. It is a facultative Gram-negative bacterium of medical and industrial importance. We assessed the metabolic and genetic repertoires of a new Enterobacter isolate. Here, we report the whole-genome sequence of a furfural- and 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF)-tolerant strain of E. hormaechei (UW0SKVC1), which uses glucose, glycerol, xylose, lactose and arabinose as sole carbon sources. This strain exhibits high tolerance to furfural (IC50 = 34.2 mM; ~3.3 g/L) relative to Escherichia coli DH5α (IC50 = 26.0 mM; ~2.5 g/L). Furfural and HMF are predominantly converted to their less-toxic alcohols. E. hormaechei UW0SKVC1 produces 2,3-butanediol, acetoin, and acetol, among other compounds of industrial importance. E. hormaechei UW0SKVC1 produces as high as ~42 g/L 2,3-butanediol on 60 g/L glucose or lactose. The assembled genome consists of a 4,833,490-bp chromosome, with a GC content of 55.35%. Annotation of the assembled genome revealed 4586 coding sequences and 4516 protein-coding genes (average length 937-bp) involved in central metabolism, energy generation, biodegradation of xenobiotic compounds, production of assorted organic compounds, and drug resistance. E. hormaechei UW0SKVC1 shows considerable promise as a biocatalyst and a genetic repository of genes whose protein products may be harnessed for the efficient bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass, abundant glycerol and lactose-replete whey permeate to value-added chemicals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biological Production of Value-Added Products)
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15 pages, 1698 KiB  
Article
Endochitinase and Chitobiosidase Production by Marine Aeromonas caviae CHZ306: Establishment of Nitrogen Supplementation
by Flavio Cardozo, Valker Feitosa, Omar Pillaca-Pullo and Adalberto Pessoa
Bioengineering 2023, 10(4), 431; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering10040431 - 29 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1409
Abstract
Aeromonas caviae CHZ306, a marine-derived bacterium isolated from zooplankton, can use chitin (a polymer of a β-(1,4)-linked N-acetyl-D-glucosamine) as a carbon source. The chitin is hydrolyzed by chitinolytic enzymes, namely endochitinases and exochitinases (chitobiosidase and N-acetyl-glucosaminidase). Indeed, the chitinolytic pathway is [...] Read more.
Aeromonas caviae CHZ306, a marine-derived bacterium isolated from zooplankton, can use chitin (a polymer of a β-(1,4)-linked N-acetyl-D-glucosamine) as a carbon source. The chitin is hydrolyzed by chitinolytic enzymes, namely endochitinases and exochitinases (chitobiosidase and N-acetyl-glucosaminidase). Indeed, the chitinolytic pathway is initiated by the coexpression of the enzymes endochitinase (EnCh) and chitobiosidase (ChB); however, few studies, including biotechnological production of these enzymes, have been reported, although chitosaccharide are helpful in several industries, such as cosmetics. This study demonstrates the potential to maximize the simultaneous EnCh and ChB production by nitrogen supplementation on culture media. Twelve different nitrogen supplementation sources (inorganic and organic) previously analyzed in elemental composition (carbon and nitrogen) were tested and evaluated in the Erlenmeyer flask culture of A. caviae CHZ306 for EnCh and ChB expression. None of the nutrients inhibited bacterial growth, and the maximum activity in both EnCh and ChB was observed at 12 h, using corn-steep solids and peptone A. Corn-steep solids and peptone A were then combined at three ratios (1:1, 1:2, and 2:1) to maximize the production. The high activities for EnCh (30.1 U.L−1) and ChB (21.3 U.L−1) were obtained with 2:1 corn-steep solids and peptone A, corresponding to more than 5- and 3-fold enhancement, respectively, compared to the control condition. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biological Production of Value-Added Products)
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12 pages, 3555 KiB  
Article
A Novel Strategy to Enhance Antioxidant Content in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Based on Oxygen Pressure
by Na Cui, Patrick Perré, Emilie Michiels and Victor Pozzobon
Bioengineering 2023, 10(2), 246; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering10020246 - 13 Feb 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1149
Abstract
Antioxidant foods represent a potent lever to improve diets while creating value. Yet, their cultivation is often tied to a specific area and climate, limiting availability and increasing market cost. Therefore, microorganism-based antioxidant production emerges as a promising technology to solve these problems. [...] Read more.
Antioxidant foods represent a potent lever to improve diets while creating value. Yet, their cultivation is often tied to a specific area and climate, limiting availability and increasing market cost. Therefore, microorganism-based antioxidant production emerges as a promising technology to solve these problems. In this view, a novel process was investigated for antioxidant accumulation in yeast culture. S. cerevisiae cells were exposed to various hyperbaric air conditions from 1 to 9 bar (A). Yeast cultures exhibited an increased reactive oxygen species content, which induced oxidative defense expression. After a few hours, reactive oxygen species levels decreased while antioxidant contents remained high, leading to a net increase in antioxidant power. At 6 bar (A), yeast achieved the highest net antioxidant power (phenolics content +48.3 ± 18.6 %, reducing power +120 ± 11.4 %) with an acceptable growth rate (0.27 h−1). Regarding time evolution, a 2 h exposure seems to be the optimum: cells have the lowest reactive oxygen species level while their antioxidant power is increased. From a biotechnological perspective, this finding highlights air pressure as an antioxidant-manipulating stress strategy. Moreover, the proposed process led to a patent that could potentially reduce energy and chemical consumption in such antioxidant accumulation processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biological Production of Value-Added Products)
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20 pages, 2472 KiB  
Article
Dairy and Wine Industry Effluents as Alternative Media for the Production of Bacillus-Based Biocontrol Agents
by Selena Dmitrović, Ivana Pajčin, Vanja Vlajkov, Mila Grahovac, Aleksandar Jokić and Jovana Grahovac
Bioengineering 2022, 9(11), 663; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering9110663 - 08 Nov 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2556
Abstract
Food industry effluents represent one of the major concerns when it comes to environmental impact; hence, their valorization through different chemical and biological routes has been suggested as a possible solution. The vast amount of organic and inorganic nutrients present in food industry [...] Read more.
Food industry effluents represent one of the major concerns when it comes to environmental impact; hence, their valorization through different chemical and biological routes has been suggested as a possible solution. The vast amount of organic and inorganic nutrients present in food industry effluents makes them suitable substrates for microbial growth. This study suggests two valorization routes for whey as dairy industry effluent and flotation wastewater from the wine industry through microbial conversion to biocontrol agents as value-added products. Cultivations of the biocontrol strain Bacillus sp. BioSol021 were performed in a 16 L bioreactor to monitor the bioprocess course and investigate bioprocess kinetics in terms of microbial growth, sugar substrate consumption and surfactin synthesis, as an antimicrobial lipopeptide. The produced biocontrol agents showed high levels of biocontrol activity against mycotoxigenic strains of Aspergillus flavus, followed by a significant reduction of sugar load of the investigated effluents by the producing microorganisms. With proven high potential of whey and winery flotation wastewater to be used as substrates for microbial growth, this study provides grounds for further optimization of the suggested valorization routes, mostly in terms of bioprocess conditions to achieve maximal techno-economical feasibility, energy saving and maximal reduction of effluents’ organic and inorganic burden. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biological Production of Value-Added Products)
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