Azri Aiman Ahmad Zulkarnain’s Post

Engineered Yeast Produces Sesquiterpenes from More Than One Carbon Source Author: Helen Siwan Jones Biologically engineering yeast strains to produce industrially important chemicals is a significant area of research with the aim, among others, of allowing the chemical industry to become less reliant on fossil resources. However, most yeasts can only be engineered to work efficiently with one substrate, greatly limiting their utility. Peng Cai, Yongjin J. Zhou, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and colleagues have succeeded in producing a strain of the yeast Pichia pastoris (reclassified as Komagataella phaffi) which can use either methanol or glucose as a substrate and can produce α-bisabolene or β-farnesene, both prime sesquiterenes. Producing sesquiterpenes is a major challenge for chemists. At present, conventional yeast strains such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae (brewer’s or baker’s yeast) are engineered to produce sesquiterpenes from glucose. However, there is a need for more diverse substrates to feed the yeasts, given that sources of glucose are in increasing demand to feed the ever-growing human population. Methanol represents another carbon source that is of great interest, especially as it can be obtained from CO2 and solar energy. This makes it sustainable, and it could even potentially be coupled to carbon sequestration from the atmosphere. The Mevalonate Pathway Many plants and fungi use the mevalonate (MVA) metabolic pathway to produce sesquiterpenes or terpenoids from various carbon sources, including methanol and glucose, via acetyl-CoA (acetyl coenzyme A). The team used two genes for enzymes that are part of the MVA pathway, a bisabolene synthase for producing α-bisabolene from the grand fir (Abies grandis), and a farnesene synthase for producing β-farnesene from sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua). They inserted these genes, using plasmids and CRISPR/Cas9 technology, into the yeast P. pastoris. The two enzyme-encoding genes were tested individually in the engineered yeasts, showing that P. pastoris can be modified relatively straightforwardly to produce either of these sesquiterpenes (pictured above) from methanol or glucose. The Importance of Constitutive Promoters Genes cannot be expressed as proteins simply by themselves and need promoters, which are segments of DNA, usually upstream of the gene in question, that call a cell’s “attention” to a gene that is to be expressed and help to bring the relevant machinery into the right position. The team, therefore, added constitutive promoters (gene promoters that are always active in a cell, rather than ones requiring a signal to switch on) for both of the enzyme-encoding genes to the P. pastoris strains. Engineering a versatile yeast platform for sesquiterpene production from glucose or methanol, Linhui Gao, Kun Zhang, Yiwei Shen, Peng Cai, Yongjin J. Zhou, Biotechnol. J. 2024. https://lnkd.in/dxYmje_c

【Microbial Diversity and Key Metabolic Pathways in Lignite-Promoted Anaerobic Fermentation with Residual Sludge】 Full article: https://lnkd.in/gtcNcjDr (Authored by Yawei Zhang, et al., from Henan Polytechnic University (China), etc.) Anaerobic digestion, a widely used sludge resourcing technology, utilizes anaerobic microorganisms to convert complex organic matter into energy sources such as volatile fatty acids and methane. In recent years, the co-fermentation of different substrates has become a hot research topic in anaerobic fermentation. This study conducts three sets of experiments with different ratios of residual sludge co-anaerobic fermentation with lignite to analyze the stages of degradation and transformation of methane, and analyzes the bacterial colony structure, metabolic pathways, and interactions between residual sludge and lignite in anaerobic methanogenic fermentation with different mass ratios using macrogenomics sequencing. 

In the work of biomanufacturing, tanks of microbes are fine-tuned to produce compounds that can be used as carbon-neutral fuels, chemicals, materials and medicines, but researchers are still learning the basics of how to turbo-charge microbes for production.

In the work of biomanufacturing, tanks of microbes are fine-tuned to produce compounds that can be used as carbon-neutral fuels, chemicals, materials and medicines, but researchers are still learning the basics of how to turbo-charge microbes for production.

Thrilled to announce the publication of our latest work, which is also my first research paper, titled “Anaerobic Digestion of a Curious VFA Complex Feed for Biomethane Production: A Study on ANN Modeling Optimized with Genetic Algorithm”, in Desalination/Desalination and Water Treatment Journals! This paper is based on my MSc thesis research and presents the findings of my investigation into the complex interplay between volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and biomethane production in anaerobic digestion and wastewater treatment. In this study, we developed a deep neural network (ANN) model optimized by a genetic algorithm (GA) to analyze the role of VFAs (including acetate, propionate, and butyrate) in the anaerobic digestion process. Interestingly, the final ANN-GA model revealed an unexpected influence of VFAs on biogas production under the unique conditions of our research. While acetate exhibited a negative impact, propionate and butyrate played positive roles. Statistical analysis confirmed the model's accuracy across a wide range of VFA concentrations. This research offers a significant leap forward in our understanding of the role of intermediates in anaerobic digestion and wastewater treatment, and provides a valuable tool for optimizing the process. I hope you find the full version of the paper insightful, which can be accessed from the link below. #Anaerobic_Digestion #Biogas #ANN_Modeling #Wastewater_Treatment #Genetic_Algorithm #Volatile_Fatty_Acids

New synthetic methodologies achieved by engineered enzymes and potential future developments in this rapidly evolving field.

I'm excited to announce the publication of our manuscript titled "Review on the Downstream Purification of the Biologically Produced 1,3-Propanediol" in Applied Microbiology: Theory & Technology. This open-access paper is now available for everyone to read at the following link: https://lnkd.in/gsiaxhbw. Our review paper addresses the increasing availability of fermentable carbon sources for 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) production due to the booming biodiesel, oleochemical, and agricultural industries. Despite these sustainable feedstocks, the downstream purification process of the bio-based 1,3-PDO, which accounts for 50-70% of the total production cost, remains a significant challenge for economic viability. Given the complex nature of the fermented broth, the low volatility, and the polar nature of 1,3-PDO, achieving highly purified 1,3-PDO requires multiple refining steps. Our article provides a comprehensive overview of these downstream processes, with a focus on resin adsorption and ion-exchange chromatography as the primary polishing steps. We hope our findings contribute valuable insights to the field and encourage further advancements in biotechnological processes. #Research #Biotechnology #OpenAccess #Microbiology #Publication #Science #Sustainability #IndustrialBiotechnology

Learning from Process Development (5) Innovations in Tetrazole Synthesis: Safer and More Efficient Approaches Tetrazoles are energy-rich, thermodynamically unstable compounds, often used in organic synthesis due to their versatile properties. However, one of the most common methods of generating these compounds involves sodium azide, which poses potential safety concerns. Specifically, when used in acidic reaction media, sodium azide can lead to the formation of hazardous hydrazoic acid (HN3)—a volatile and explosive substance. In 1958, Finnegan, Henry, and Lofquist reported a reaction using sodium azide (NaN3) in the presence of ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) in DMF for the conversion of aryl nitriles to 5-aryltetrazoles. While effective, the reaction was slow (requiring >40 hours at 120°C) and raised safety concerns due to the formation of ammonium azide (NH4N3), which can sublimate and is explosive. 🔑 Safer and Faster Alternative: To mitigate these risks, recent developments have introduced alternative protocols. In a notable advancement, Daniel S. Treitler and colleagues replaced ammonium chloride with benzylamine hydrochloride, preventing the formation of volatile ammonium azide. They also optimized the reaction rate by introducing water and buffered the reaction mixture with benzylamine to reduce the generation of hydrazoic acid in the headspace. Ref: https://lnkd.in/daP47tEN Key safety considerations in azide chemistry include: Keeping all sodium azide solutions above pH 7. Thoroughly washing equipment with aqueous base after use. Collecting and disposing of azide-containing waste separately while maintaining a basic environment. #OrganicSynthesis #Tetrazoles #SafetyInChemistry #ChemicalInnovation #AzideChemistry #SustainableChemistry #Research #Science

Verdazyl radicals are well investigated organic compounds, but can you use them for aqueous organic redox-flow-batteries? Earlier this year, we published a paper in #ChemSusChem on the interaction of separating membranes and verdazyl cations as active materials necessary to answer the question. The match between polybenzimidazole membranes and verdazyl cations was shown, leading to a low capacity fading in symmetrical aqueous redox-flow-cells. I am very grateful for the collaboration with Dirk Henkensmeier and Trung Tuyen Bui from KIST(Korea Institute of Science and Technology), Daniel Schröder and Dominik Emmel from Technische Universität Braunschweig and InES - Institute of Energy and Process Systems Engineering (Energie- und Systemverfahrenstechnik) and Jürgen Janek from Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen leading to a successful publication. Check out the open access publication and reach out to me for further discussions if you like. https://lnkd.in/ejf5qQvW Special thanks to the funding agencies of the DAAD Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst and Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy through Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT), which made the research possible. #energystorage #redoxflow #batteries

Direct Synthesis of High-Purity Benzaldehyde Chemicals Prof. Tierui Zhang and Prof. Run Shi from the Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have successfully synthesized high-purity benzaldehyde compounds directly from the selective electrooxidation of benzyl alcohol, as described in a study published in Science Advances. Compared to traditional H-type electrochemical cells, the organic-solid-water (OSW) three-phase reaction system has demonstrated unique benefits in lowering ohmic losses and streamlining the procedures involved in product separation and purification. Water is a clean hydrogen and oxygen resource. Hence, electrocatalysis in an aqueous electrolyte has been acknowledged as a green technique for organic redox processes. However, due to the low solubility of many organics in the aqueous phase, most dilution-reaction-purification methods require several steps. As a result, there is still a barrier to the widespread use of electrocatalysis in the organic synthesis community.