Metagenomics of microbial life in extreme temperature environments

1. Download : Download high-res image (108KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

Highlights► Metagenomic microbial community characterization. ► Extreme environment microbiology. ► High and low temperature adaptation.     

Clawing back: broadening the notion of metal chelators in medicine

1. Download : Download high-res image (185KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

Highlights► Not all chelators are the same: more than metal sequestration and elimination. ► Metal chelates can redistribute metals across biological membranes. ► Metal-chelating fragments provide leads for metalloenzyme inhibition. ► Metal chelation can enhance metal reactivity and thus cytotoxicity. ► Prochelators provide site-activated metal chelation and passivation.     

Pangenomics – an avenue to improved industrial starter cultures and probiotics

1. Download : Download high-res image (167KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

Highlights► Genome sequencing is an efficient, cost-effective way of characterizing microbes. ► Pangenome analysis gives new insight into texture formation in yoghurt. ► Pangenome analysis of probiotic strains has identified new effect or molecules. ► Pangenome analysis gives insight into probiotic–host specificity. ► Future perspectives include improved strains for food fermentations and probiotics.     

Progress in understanding and engineering primary plant metabolism

1. Download : Download high-res image (52KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

Highlights► Crop yield depends on efficiency of conversion of light energy into biomass. ► Models have estimated energy conversion efficiency in photosynthesis and metabolism. ► Research is exploring strategies to modify or suppress photorespiration. ► Energy loss during conversion of photosynthate to biomass is also large ► Research is addressing uncertainties over where these losses occur.     

Enzyme and metabolic engineering for the production of novel biopolymers: crossover of biological and chemical processes

1. Download : Download high-res image (358KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

Highlights► Poly(ω-hydroxy fatty acids) are polyethylene-like biobased polyester. ► Medium-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoate homopolymers are processed to stretchy film. ► Microbial lactate-based polyesters exhibit transparent and flexible properties. ► Enzyme and metabolic engineering facilitates the expanding of bio-based polymers.     

The emerging field of transport engineering of plant specialized metabolites

1. Download : Download high-res image (122KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

Highlights► Transport engineering has the potential to increase nutritional value of crops. ► Transport engineering can increase yield of synthetic biology approaches. ► Neo-functionalization of primary metabolite transporters to specialized metabolism. ► Elimination of glucosinolate seed accumulation is achieved via transport engineering. ► Glucosinolates in Arabidopsis: a model for transport of specialized metabolites.     

Nanotechnology meets electrophysiology

1. Download : Download high-res image (107KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

Highlights► We focus on the latest developments in nanotechnology-based electrophysiology. ► Methods for extracellular recording via nanoFET-based devices are described. ► Metal nanoelectrodes for the recording of electrogenic cells are reviewed. ► The latest developments of intracellular FET-based probes are shortly covered. ► Pioneering electrical scaffold devices for the interfacing with tissues are described.     

Plant genome-scale metabolic reconstruction and modelling

1. Download : Download high-res image (205KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

Highlights► Recent advances have been made on plant genome-scale metabolic reconstruction. ► Cellular compartmentation makes plant genome-scale reconstruction challenging. ► Current reconstructions capture important features of plant metabolism. ► The models have been used to study isolated tissues and tissue interaction. ► We review the challenges and potential of plant reconstruction and modelling.     

DNA nanotechnology with one-dimensional self-assembled nanostructures

1. Download : Download high-res image (371KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

Highlights► Hybridization chain reactions for amplified DNA detection and DNA assembly. ► Rolling circle amplification-synthesized DNAzyme chains for amplified DNA detection. ► Bi-enzyme cascades and biocatalytic synthesis of metallic nanowires on DNA templates. ► Self-assembled one-dimensional DNA nanostructures for biocatalytic cascades. ► Programmed assembly of metal nanoparticles on one-dimensional DNA nanostructures.     

Engineering plant metabolism into microbes: from systems biology to synthetic biology

1. Download : Download high-res image (244KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

Highlights► Microbial production of pharmaceutical and fuel molecules. ► Systems biology tools advanced our understanding about synthetic pathway design. ► Synthetic biology led us to cell factories tailor-made for chemical production. ► Combinatorial gene assembly for synthetic pathway diversification. ► Engineering static, dynamic and spatial control for better production phenotype.     

Perspectives on the contribution of lactic acid bacteria to cheese flavor development

1. Download : Download high-res image (259KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

Highlights► This review covers current know-how on cheese flavor development. ► Proteolysis, autolysis and amino acid catabolism by lactic acid bacteria are discussed. ► Systems biology approaches will drive future technology improvements. ► Next-generation sequencing holds promise for fast increase in exploitable knowledge. ► Culture heterogeneity may be significant for industrial flavor production by LAB.     

Human milk and related oligosaccharides as prebiotics

1. Download : Download high-res image (306KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

Highlights► The intestinal microbiome is recognized as an important determinant of health. ► Galacto-oligosaccharides are non-digestible carbohydrates. ► Galacto-oligosaccharides stimulate growth and activity of gut bacteria. ► Subtle differences in structure can result in significant differences in activity. ► Less abundant oligosaccharides from bovine milk are similar to those from human milk.     

Metabolomics platforms for genome wide association studies—linking the genome to the metabolome

1. Download : Download high-res image (163KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

Highlights► Genome-wide association studies with metabolomics constitute mGWAS. ► mGWAS provide insights into genetic and environmental impact on metabolic processes. ► We review essential strategies for mGWAS. ► Examples of mGWAS in large cohort studies are discussed.     

The role of membrane transport in metabolic engineering of plant primary metabolism

1. Download : Download high-res image (94KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

Highlights► The plastidial pyruvate transporter in plants is driven by sodium symport. ► The mitochondrial pyruvate transporter MPC has been identified. ► All transporters needed for a synthetic PEP-CK/C₄ photosynthetic cycle are now known. ► The SWEET proteins define a new class of sugar efflux carriers in plants.     

The interplay between microevolution and community structure in microbial populations

1. Download : Download high-res image (129KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

Highlights► The action of industrial processes depends on microbial community structure. ► Microbes evolve very rapidly. ► Microbial evolution is affected by community structure. ► Community structure is affected by microbial evolution. ► This feedback may be crucial when considering microbial communities in industry.     

Lipid metabolism in microalgae distinguishes itself

1. Download : Download high-res image (112KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

Highlights► Triacylglycerol assembly in microalgae might occur at plastid envelopes. ► Starch-less mutants provide clues for the engineering of carbon partitioning in algae. ► New algal species emerge as models for lipid and biofuel research.     

Recent progress in the metabolic engineering of alkaloids in plant systems

1. Download : Download high-res image (179KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

Highlights► Recent metabolic engineering efforts for plant alkaloids. ► Characterizing, reconfiguring and fine-tuning metabolic ‘parts’ improves titers. ► Additional strategies are necessary to produce ‘unnatural’ natural products.     

Current algorithmic solutions for peptide-based proteomics data generation and identification

1. Download : Download high-res image (216KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

Highlights► Peptide-based proteomics algorithms for ETD, HCD, and high-resolutions MS/MS spectra. ► Algorithms for identifying proteins in complex mixtures using shotgun proteomics. ► Spectral libraries and software pipelines for improved analytical throughput. ► Cloud computing to obtain results for large data sets.     

Reengineering viruses and virus-like particles through chemical functionalization strategies

1. Download : Download high-res image (129KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

Highlights► Virus-based nanoparticles provide unique traits for nanoparticle applications. ► We discuss prevailing covalent functionalization strategies for VNPs. ► We discuss recent progress in noncanonical amino acid applications in VNPs.