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A catalog of the diversity and ubiquity of bacterial microcompartments

Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are organelles that segregate segments of metabolic pathways which are incompatible with surrounding metabolism. BMCs consist of a selectively permeable shell, composed of three types of structurally conserved proteins, together with sequestered enzymes that vary among functionally distinct BMCs. Genes encoding shell proteins are typically clustered with those for the encapsulated enzymes…. [Read More]

Anaerobic gut fungi are an untapped reservoir of natural products

Anaerobic fungi (class Neocallimastigomycetes) thrive as low-abundance members of the herbivore digestive tract. The genomes of anaerobic gut fungi are poorly characterized and have not been extensively mined for the biosynthetic enzymes of natural products such as antibiotics. Here, we investigate the potential of anaerobic gut fungi to synthesize natural products that could regulate membership… [Read More]

High Potential for Biomass-Degrading Enzymes Revealed by Hot Spring Metagenomics

Enzyme stability and activity at elevated temperatures are important aspects in biotechnological industries, such as the conversion of plant biomass into biofuels. In order to reduce the costs and increase the efficiency of biomass conversion, better enzymatic processing must be developed. Hot springs represent a treasure trove of underexplored microbiological and protein chemistry diversity. Herein,… [Read More]

Ecology and molecular targets of hypermutation in the global microbiome

Changes in the sequence of an organism’s genome, i.e., mutations, are the raw material of evolution. The frequency and location of mutations can be constrained by specific molecular mechanisms, such as diversity-generating retroelements (DGRs). DGRs have been characterized from cultivated bacteria and bacteriophages, and perform error-prone reverse transcription leading to mutations being introduced in specific… [Read More]

A new-to-nature carboxylation module to improve natural and synthetic CO2 fixation

The capture of CO2 by carboxylases is key to sustainable biocatalysis and a carbon-neutral bio-economy, yet currently limited to few naturally existing enzymes. Here, we developed glycolyl-CoA carboxylase (GCC), a new-to-nature enzyme, by combining rational design, high-throughput microfluidics and microplate screens. During this process, GCC’s catalytic efficiency improved by three orders of magnitude to match… [Read More]

Engineering promiscuity of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase for microbial designer ester biosynthesis

Robust and efficient enzymes are essential modules for metabolic engineering and synthetic biology strategies across biological systems to engineer whole-cell biocatalysts. By condensing an acyl-CoA and an alcohol, alcohol acyltransferases (AATs) can serve as interchangeable metabolic modules for microbial biosynthesis of a diverse class of ester molecules with broad applications as flavors, fragrances, solvents, and… [Read More]

Fungal community response to long-term soil warming with potential implications for soil carbon dynamics

The direction and magnitude of climate warming effects on ecosystem processes such as carbon cycling remain uncertain. Soil fungi are central to these processes due to their roles as decomposers of soil organic matter, as mycorrhizal symbionts, and as determinants of plant diversity. Yet despite their importance to ecosystem functioning, we lack a clear understanding… [Read More]

A multiomic approach to understand how pleurotus eryngii transforms non-woody lignocellulosic material

Pleurotus eryngii is a grassland-inhabiting fungus of biotechnological interest due to its ability to colonize non-woody lignocellulosic material. Genomic, transcriptomic, exoproteomic, and metabolomic analyses were combined to explain the enzymatic aspects underlaying wheat–straw transformation. Up-regulated and constitutive glycoside–hydrolases, polysaccharide–lyases, and carbohydrate–esterases active on polysaccharides, laccases active on lignin, and a surprisingly high amount of constitutive/inducible… [Read More]