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Microorganisms
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Microbial Biotechnologies for Steroid Production
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Microbial Biotechnologies for Steroid Production

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Microbial Biotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2022) | Viewed by 9725

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Marina Donova

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms, Federal Research Center, Pushchino Scientific Center for Biological Research Russian Academy of Sciences (FRC PSCBR RAS) 142290 Prospect Nauki, 5, Pushchino, Russia
Interests: microbial biotechnology; steroid bioconversions

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, the production of value-added steroids using selected wild-type and engineered microorganisms has become one of the most effective and fast-growing fields of biotechnology and industrial microbiology. There is increasing evidence of growing biotechnology applications of steroid-transforming microorganisms in the pharmaceutical industry and related fields such as veterinary, agrochemistry, as well as environmental protection from endocrine-disrupting compounds. The progress in genetic and metabolic engineering has opened a new era in steroid biotechnology. Biotechnology-relevant microbial strains with improved biocatalytic capabilities are being created which are capable of selectively performing various reactions of steroid conversion. Their application may allow replacing multistage and ecologically risky chemical syntheses through environmentally friendly biotechnologies. However, the insufficient selectivity of some bioconversions, low productivity level of the strains in combination with low aquatic solubility of steroid substrates, as well as toxicity of some steroids for microorganisms are still challenges to effective industrial applications.

This Special Issue of Microorganisms  aims to collect articles and reviews on new methodologies, research, and achievements in the field of steroid microbial biotechnologies. Manuscripts relating to the discovery and engineering of microorganisms capable of producing value-added products from phytosterol and other renewable raw materials, whole-cell, and enzyme biocatalysts performing different reactions of steroid modifications with special attention to the oxyfunctionalization of inactive carbons in steroid molecules and rare steroid production are welcome. The generation of microbial strains with improved biocatalytic features using genetic and metabolic engineering, as well as synthetic biology approaches, cascade bioconversions, and new steroid bioproduction schemes, and new insights on steroid bioproduction (upstream and downstream processing) and the development of new approaches for steroid bioconversion enhancement are also welcome. Research on method development for environmental protection from endocrine disruptors is of special interest, and other fields related to steroid biotechnology may also be considered.

Dr. Marina Donova
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. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). 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

  • Microbial technology
  • Steroid bioconversion
  • Phytosterol
  • Catabolic pathway
  • Microbial engineering
  • Synthetic biology
  • White biotechnology
  • Actinobacteria
  • Mycolicibacterium
  • Steroid hydroxylation
  • Fungi
  • Environmental protection
  • Endocrine disruptor

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research

7 pages, 544 KiB  
Editorial
Microbial Steroid Production Technologies: Current Trends and Prospects
by Marina Donova
Microorganisms 2022, 10(1), 53; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10010053 - 28 Dec 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2748
Abstract
This Special Issue aims to collect articles and reviews on new methodologies, research, and achievements in the field of steroid microbial biotechnologies [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Biotechnologies for Steroid Production)
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Research

Jump to: Editorial

12 pages, 2278 KiB  
Article
Polyhydroxyalkanoate Production by Caenibius tardaugens from Steroidal Endocrine Disruptors
by Juan Ibero, Virginia Rivero-Buceta, José Luis García and Beatriz Galán
Microorganisms 2022, 10(4), 706; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10040706 - 24 Mar 2022
Viewed by 1689
Abstract
The α-proteobacterium Caenibius tardaugens can use estrogens and androgens as the sole carbon source. These compounds are steroidal endocrine disruptors that are found contaminating soil and aquatic ecosystems. Here, we show that C. tardaugens, which has been considered as a valuable biocatalyst [...] Read more.
The α-proteobacterium Caenibius tardaugens can use estrogens and androgens as the sole carbon source. These compounds are steroidal endocrine disruptors that are found contaminating soil and aquatic ecosystems. Here, we show that C. tardaugens, which has been considered as a valuable biocatalyst for aerobic steroidal hormone decontamination, is also able to produce polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), biodegradable and biocompatible polyesters of increasing biotechnological interest as a sustainable alternative to classical oil-derived polymers. Steroid catabolism yields a significant amount of propionyl-CoA that is metabolically directed towards PHA production through condensation into 3-ketovaleryl-CoA, rendering a PHA rich in 3-hydroxyvalerate. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report where PHAs are produced from steroids as carbon sources. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Biotechnologies for Steroid Production)
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13 pages, 2639 KiB  
Article
A New 3-Ketosteroid-Δ1–Dehydrogenase with High Activity and Broad Substrate Scope for Efficient Transformation of Hydrocortisone at High Substrate Concentration
by Yu Wang, Rui Zhang, Jinhui Feng, Qiaqing Wu, Dunming Zhu and Yanhe Ma
Microorganisms 2022, 10(3), 508; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10030508 - 25 Feb 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1969
Abstract
3-Ketosteroid-Δ1-dehydrogenases (KstDs [EC 1.3.99.4]) catalyze the Δ1-dehydrogenation of steroids and are a class of important enzymes for steroid biotransformations. In this study, nine putative kstD genes from different origins were selected and overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3). These [...] Read more.
3-Ketosteroid-Δ1-dehydrogenases (KstDs [EC 1.3.99.4]) catalyze the Δ1-dehydrogenation of steroids and are a class of important enzymes for steroid biotransformations. In this study, nine putative kstD genes from different origins were selected and overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3). These recombinant enzymes catalyzed the Δ1-desaturation of a variety of steroidal compounds. Among them, the KstD from Propionibacterium sp. (PrKstD) displayed the highest specific activity and broad substrate spectrum. The detailed catalytic characterization of PrKstD showed that it can convert a wide range of 3-ketosteroid compounds with diverse substituents, ranging from substituents at the C9, C10, C11 and C17 position through substrates without C4-C5 double bond, to previously inactive C6-substituted ones such as 11β,17-dihydroxy-6α-methyl-pregn-4-ene-3,20-dione. Reaction conditions were optimized for the biotransformation of hydrocortisone in terms of pH, temperature, co-solvent and electron acceptor. By using 50 g/L wet resting E. coli cells harboring PrKstD enzyme, the conversion of hydrocortisone was about 92.5% within 6 h at the substrate concentration of 80 g/L, much higher than the previously reported results, demonstrating the application potential of this new KstD. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Biotechnologies for Steroid Production)
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18 pages, 3382 KiB  
Article
Steroid Metabolism in Thermophilic Actinobacterium Saccharopolyspora hirsuta VKM Ac-666T
by Tatyana Lobastova, Victoria Fokina, Sergey Tarlachkov, Andrey Shutov, Eugeny Bragin, Alexey Kazantsev and Marina Donova
Microorganisms 2021, 9(12), 2554; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9122554 - 10 Dec 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2675
Abstract
The application of thermophilic microorganisms opens new prospects in steroid biotechnology, but little is known to date on steroid catabolism by thermophilic strains. The thermophilic strain Saccharopolyspora hirsuta VKM Ac-666T has been shown to convert various steroids and to fully degrade cholesterol. [...] Read more.
The application of thermophilic microorganisms opens new prospects in steroid biotechnology, but little is known to date on steroid catabolism by thermophilic strains. The thermophilic strain Saccharopolyspora hirsuta VKM Ac-666T has been shown to convert various steroids and to fully degrade cholesterol. Cholest-4-en-3-one, cholesta-1,4-dien-3-one, 26-hydroxycholest-4-en-3-one, 3-oxo-cholest-4-en-26-oic acid, 3-oxo-cholesta-1,4-dien-26-oic acid, 26-hydroxycholesterol, 3β-hydroxy-cholest-5-en-26-oic acid were identified as intermediates in cholesterol oxidation. The structures were confirmed by 1H and 13C-NMR analyses. Aliphatic side chain hydroxylation at C26 and the A-ring modification at C3, which are putatively catalyzed by cytochrome P450 monooxygenase CYP125 and cholesterol oxidase, respectively, occur simultaneously in the strain and are followed by cascade reactions of aliphatic sidechain degradation and steroid core destruction via the known 9(10)-seco-pathway. The genes putatively related to the sterol and bile acid degradation pathways form three major clusters in the S. hirsuta genome. The sets of the genes include the orthologs of those involved in steroid catabolism in Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv and Rhodococcus jostii RHA1 and related actinobacteria. Bioinformatics analysis of 52 publicly available genomes of thermophilic bacteria revealed only seven candidate strains that possess the key genes related to the 9(10)-seco pathway of steroid degradation, thus demonstrating that the ability to degrade steroids is not widespread among thermophilic bacteria. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Biotechnologies for Steroid Production)
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