Current Research in Biotechnology最新文献

Termites are global pest for man-made structures, and in some parts of the world, they infest agricultural crops as well. Termite control relies predominately on chemical insecticides, but the negative impacts of synthetic termiticides on the environment limit their applications. Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) are considered an environmentally friendly alternative. Nevertheless, termites have developed various defensive behavioral strategies to circumvent EPF. In this review, we summarize (1) the use of EPF as a biological control agent and strategies/defenses of termites that minimize the effectiveness of EPF, (2) the potential of integrating entomopathogenic fungi with RNA interference (RNAi) as an effective termite control strategy, (3) discussed nanoparticles (silver, chitosan, titanium, etc) which are biosynthesized from different EPF. Nanoparticles have the ability to deliver RNAi triggers (dsRNA/siRNA), so we proposed the synthesis of EPF-based nanoparticles and dsRNA/siRNA complex as potential strategy to control termite pests.

Functionalized biomaterials are important structures for wide array of applications due to their tunability, low cost of synthesis, and ease of use. The present study explores the quantitative deposition of coated Au nanoparticles (coating agents: cefaclor, glucose, citrate and NaBH₄) on the mycelium of A. niger as well as exploring the consequences of particle adsorption on the biochemistry (MTT assay, melanin, biofilm and glucan levels) of the fungus. Glucose and NaBH₄ coated Au nanoparticles were found to be denser on the mycelium as compared to cefaclor and citrate coated Au nanoparticles as evidenced by SEM-EDX and ICP-MS analysis. Although all fungal samples remained viable after growth in the presence of (10–20 µg/ml) coated gold nanoparticles stress indicators (production of melanin and biofilm formation) varied with the identity of the coated particles. Citrate coated was found to be highest stress inducing with maximum melanin and biofilm levels followed by cefaclor whereas glucose and NaBH₄ had the least effect on the fungus. This study suggests that though the fungus experiences stress under the effect of nanoparticles, it can still survive and grow in their presence to generate a mycelium with the deposited nanoparticles that could be used for various biosensing and environmental applications.

Cancer incidence and mortality are increasing globally. Cancer immunotherapies, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors and adoptive cell therapy, have been recognized as a revolutionary treatment approach to combat cancer. However, immunotherapeutic resistance and cancer recurrence after immunotherapy alarm us to further explore the underlying mechanisms and develop new immunotherapies. Experimental models hold great value in cancer research studies such as deciphering the mechanism of tumor initiation and growth, drug discovery, and evaluation of immunotherapy efficacy. The ideal model is expected to recapitulate and mimic the human tumor microenvironment, including biological, physiological, and immunologic functionality. However, each model has its pros and cons, and the selection of a model depends on many factors, such as model features, study aims, and availability of related resources. In this review, we discussed commonly used models currently used in cancer research and immunotherapy, including 2D and 3D in vitro cell culture models such as spheroid, organoid, hydrogel model, and microfluidic chip, and in vivo mouse tumor models such as genetically engineered models, chemically induced models, cell-derived xenograft (CDX) models, patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models, and humanized mouse models. Both in vitro and in vivo preclinical models are powerful tools for studying cancer immunotherapy, but all these models have their limitations. To promote the success of clinical treatment in cancer therapy, advanced model systems that can better recapitulate the human tumor environment and host immune response are preferable options for preclinical study.

The availability of potable and clean water has become a global challenge. There are many variables that affect how equally people have access to clean water. Disparities are a result of inadequate infrastructure, which includes a deficiency of suitable pipelines, sanitation systems, and water treatment facilities. The presence of pathogenic microbes such as viruses, bacteria and protozoa in water has become a global public health concern. Pathogens present in water caused various disease outbreaks, health emergencies and increased cost of treatments. To address this challenge, a variety of methods for removing microbial pathogens from water sources have been developed and implemented. This review provides a thorough exploration of diverse methods utilized for pathogen removal in water treatment, encompassing physical, chemical, and biological approaches. It delves into the efficacy of each method, scrutinizing their constraints and practical implications. Furthermore, recent advancements and emerging technologies within the domain are explored, offering insights into potential future developments and enhancements. Future research efforts should focus on addressing these challenges to enhance the efficiency, reliability, and sustainability of water treatment systems for safeguarding public health and ensuring access to safe drinking water worldwide.

The disposal of textile waste has become a growing issue worldwide. The rising consumption of clothing and textile materials has resulted in high waste generation. This could adversely impact environmental health, including humans, animals and plants. The three textile recycling methods can be divided into mechanical, chemical, and biological processes. There has been a focus on mechanical and chemical processes, pyrolysis, enzymatic hydrolysis, biological recycling, and microbial engineering in the area of textile waste managment. This review highlight the important parameters that affect the textile recycling performance and are significant for the success of the transformation process. To reach the zero-waste goal, textile recycling and converting this waste into value-added bioproducts are the necessary steps. The present review addresses the current status of textile recycling strategies, and the valorisation processes for converting textile waste materials into value-added products like biofuels, bioplastics, and others sustainable materials.

Metatranscriptomic methods involving RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) are powerful tools for evaluating the gene expression profiles of transcriptionally-active microbes that inhabit the tissues of animals. Bivalve molluscs, like all invertebrates, are holobionts and sites of interactions between host animals and both prokaryotic and eukaryotic symbionts. The present communication describes the metatranscriptomic profile of the resident microorganisms that inhabit the gut of blue mussels, Mytilus edulis, under standard laboratory conditions. Each of the eight mussels described herein were housed in isolated microcosms with routine husbandry for 14 days before their gut tissues were sampled and subjected to RNA-seq. Subsequent mRNA reads that aligned to the mussel genome were removed, and the non-host reads were annotated for function and pathway analyses. Under laboratory conditions, the resident gut microbiota expressed genes associated mostly with aerobic energy processes, with other notable contributions from metabolism and protein processing genes. At the pathway level, the most abundant complete pathways expressed in the resident gut microbial communities were related to aerobic cellular respiration, nucleotide biosynthesis, and catabolism. These data represent novel, baseline microbial gene expression information from the gut of mussels, which are crucial for future research examining the mussel holobiont and bivalve microbial ecology. Public retrieval and secondary analyses of these metatranscriptomic profiles are highly encouraged.

Pichia pastoris is one of the most commonly used hosts for producing heterologous proteins, whereas production levels vary depending on the protein of interest and are also regulated by regulatory factors. We conducted RNA-seq by expressing the reporter EGFP and observed significant upregulation of certain subunits (Sec61p, Sbh1p, Sss1p, Sec66p and Sec72p) of the Sec complex in the high-expression recombinant GS115 stains. The overexpression of these genes may increase the expression levels of heterogeneous proteins. In this study, the endogenous promoters of the Sec complex subunits Sbh1p, Sss1p, Sec66p and Sec72p were isolated and verified their activity using the Lac-Z reporter gene. Sss1, Sbh1, Sec66 and Sec72 were overexpressed under the control of their own promoters in Pichia pastoris, respectively. The overexpression of Sss1, Sbh1, Sec66 and Sec72 in cells was confirmed by fluorescent microscope and Western blot analysis. The α-amylase was employed to evaluate the effect of overexpression of the Sec subunits on the heterologous protein expression. The results demonstrated that the α-amylase activity increased by 16%, 58%, 16% and 17% in the strains overexpressing Sss1, Sbh1, Sec66 and Sec72, respectively. Engineering the protein translocation pathway can be an alternative to enhance heterogeneous proteins in Pichia pastoris expression system.

The river Ganges in India has faced considerable issues due to water quality degradation caused by various anthropogenic activities. This study employs metagenomic analysis to comprehensively characterize bacterial communities, explore functional genomics, and investigate the prevalence of virulence factors and antibiotic resistant genes (ARGs) within the sediment environment of the river Ganges. Taxonomic profiling revealed that Proteobacteria were the most dominating phyla found in all samples, whereas the abundance of Pseudomonas at the genus level was the highest in all the samples. Functional annotation and pathway analysis uncover the genomic potential of sediment associated bacteria, shedding light on metabolic pathways, biogeochemical processes, human diseases and adaptive mechanisms within the riverine ecosystem. Moreover, identifying the highest number of genes related to virulence factors was observed in K1 samples (3), and the highest number of genes related to ARGs found in K3 (25) samples emphasizes the need to understand potential pathogenicity in these environments. Characterization of ARGs provides crucial insights into the prevalence of resistance determinants, their genetic contexts, and potential sources of antibiotic resistance in this vital aquatic ecosystem. Overall metagenomics analysis in different sampling sites of river Ganga observed nearly the same OTUs at microbial communities at the taxonomic level but not at a functional level. This research can be a critical foundation for assessing the ecological implications of microbial communities, functional genomics, and the resistome in the river Ganges sediments. The findings underscore the importance of metagenomic approaches in elucidating the intricate microbial ecology and the prevalence of genetic elements relevant to environmental health and antimicrobial resistance in aquatic ecosystems. Further investigation would be required to understand the underlying cause behind the restoration of microbial functional profiles, including ARGs and VFs, to unravel the rejuvenation aspects of this unique ecosystem.

The adhesive properties of microorganisms on the surface of minerals play an important role in the biooxidation efficiency of sulfidic refractory gold ores. In this research, the simultaneous effects of monosaccharides, ore content, pyrite content, and time on the activity and growth rate of Ferroplasma acidiphilum-from native Acid Mine Drainage (AMD)- was investigated during biooxidization alongside finding the best machine learning approach for the prediction of process efficiency using the independent variables. The results revealed that the optimum condition for reaching the highest pyrite dissolution (∼75 %) is 15 days of operating time, pyrite content of 7.2 wt%, and ore content of 5 wt%, pH of 1.47, and D-+-sucrose, D-+-galactose, and D-+-fructose concentrations of 0.52, 0.09, and 0.12 wt%, respectively. The results of the model comparison indicated that the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model was able to predict the experimental results of this study with acceptable accuracy and better than Genetic Programming (GP) and Polynomial Regression informed by Response Surface Methodology (PR-RSM) from experimental data. Finally, the results showed that the change in D-+-fructose and D-+-galactose concentration has no significant effect on ferric ions concentration and pyrite dissolution content, while the influence of alteration in D-+-sucrose concentration is significantly high.

In present times, there is increasing potential of algal-based membrane bioreactors (MBRs) considering the removal of hazardous and toxic contaminants from different wastewater sources. The article summarizes on various types of contaminants that can be effectively removed using algal-based MBRs, including heavy metals and emerging contaminants. The selection criteria, advantages and limitations of different algal species used in algal-based MBRs are also discussed. For optimal performance of algal-based MBRs, operating parameters viz. hydraulic retention time, organic loading rate, nutrient levels, light intensity and duration are essential. The review further highlights the efficient removal of hazardous and toxic contaminants, biomass productivity, and membrane fouling as critical performance indicators. Various applications of algal-based MBRs, particularly in the treatment of municipal and industrial discharges, landfill leachate treatment, and bioremediation of contaminated sites, are also discussed. Finally, the current review identifies the technological limitations, scale-up challenges, and economic feasibility of algal-based MBRs and provides directions of future researches. On the whole, algal-based MBRs offer a sustainable and worthwhile solution in the eradication of harmful and lethal contaminants from various effluent sources.