Fundamental features of microbial cellulose utilization are examined at successively higher levels of aggregation encompassing the structure and composition of cellulosic biomass, taxonomic diversity, cellulase enzyme systems, molecular biology of cellulase enzymes, physiology of cellulolytic microorganisms, ecological aspects of cellulase-degrading communities, and rate-limiting factors in nature. The methodological basis for studying microbial cellulose utilization is considered relative to quantification of cells and enzymes in the presence of solid substrates as well as apparatus and analysis for cellulose-grown continuous cultures. Quantitative description of cellulose hydrolysis is addressed with respect to adsorption of cellulase enzymes, rates of enzymatic hydrolysis, bioenergetics of microbial cellulose utilization, kinetics of microbial cellulose utilization, and contrasting features compared to soluble substrate kinetics. A biological perspective on processing cellulosic biomass is presented, including features of pretreated substrates and alternative process configurations. Organism development is considered for "consolidated bioprocessing" (CBP), in which the production of cellulolytic enzymes, hydrolysis of biomass, and fermentation of resulting sugars to desired products occur in one step. Two organism development strategies for CBP are examined: (i) improve product yield and tolerance in microorganisms able to utilize cellulose, or (ii) express a heterologous system for cellulose hydrolysis and utilization in microorganisms that exhibit high product yield and tolerance. A concluding discussion identifies unresolved issues pertaining to microbial cellulose utilization, suggests approaches by which such issues might be resolved, and contrasts a microbially oriented cellulose hydrolysis paradigm to the more conventional enzymatically oriented paradigm in both fundamental and applied contexts.

/pdf/microbial-cellulose-utilization-fundamentals-and-4yec12qx1c.pdf

Microbial cellulose utilization: fundamentals and biotechnology.

Technology development for the production of biobased products from biorefinery carbohydrates—the US Department of Energy’s “Top 10” revisited

Plant secondary metabolites are unique sources for pharmaceuticals, food additives, flavors, and industrially important biochemicals. Accumulation of such metabolites often occurs in plants subjected to stresses including various elicitors or signal molecules. Secondary metabolites play a major role in the adaptation of plants to the environment and in overcoming stress conditions. Environmental factors viz. temperature, humidity, light intensity, the supply of water, minerals, and CO2 influence the growth of a plant and secondary metabolite production. Drought, high salinity, and freezing temperatures are environmental conditions that cause adverse effects on the growth of plants and the productivity of crops. Plant cell culture technologies have been effective tools for both studying and producing plant secondary metabolites under in vitro conditions and for plant improvement. This brief review summarizes the influence of different abiotic factors include salt, drought, light, heavy metals, frost etc. o...

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.4161/psb.6.11.17613

Influence of abiotic stress signals on secondary metabolites in plants

The human gut microbiota ferments dietary non-digestible carbohydrates into short-chain fatty acids (SCFA). These microbial products are utilized by the host and propionate and butyrate in particular exert a range of health-promoting functions. Here an overview of the metabolic pathways utilized by gut microbes to produce these two SCFA from dietary carbohydrates and from amino acids resulting from protein breakdown is provided. This overview emphasizes the important role played by cross-feeding of intermediary metabolites (in particular lactate, succinate and 1,2-propanediol) between different gut bacteria. The ecophysiology, including growth requirements and responses to environmental factors, of major propionate and butyrate producing bacteria are discussed in relation to dietary modulation of these metabolites. A detailed understanding of SCFA metabolism by the gut microbiota is necessary to underpin effective strategies to optimize SCFA supply to the host.

https://sfamjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1462-2920.13589

Formation of propionate and butyrate by the human colonic microbiota

http://www.biotek.lu.se/fileadmin/bioteknik/Utbildning/Kurser/KKKA05/ProgressETOHprocess.pdf

Progress in bioethanol processing

Novel pathway engineering design of the anaerobic central metabolic pathway in Escherichia coli to increase succinate yield and productivity

Metabolic Engineering of Escherichia coli: Increase of NADH Availability by Overexpressing an NAD+-Dependent Formate Dehydrogenase

Metabolic engineering through cofactor manipulation and its effects on metabolic flux redistribution in Escherichia coli.

An integrated approach is presented for the on-line estimation of the state of a biochemical reactor from presently attainable real-time measurements. Elemental and macroscopic balances are used for the determination of the total rate of growth and state-of-the-art estimation techniques are subsequently employed for the elimination of process and measurement noises and the estimation of state variables and unknown culture parameters. The proposed approach is very flexible in that as new sensors become available they can be easily incorporated within the present framework to estimate new variables or improve the accuray of the old ones. The method does not require any model for the growth kinetics and is very successful in accurately estimating the above variables in the presence of intense noise and under both steady-state and transient conditions. State estimates obtained by the presented method can be used for the development of adaptive optimal control schemes as well as for basic studies of the characteristic properties of microbial cultures.

Studies on on-line bioreactor identification. I. Theory.

Metabolic engineering of aerobic succinate production systems in Escherichia coli to improve process productivity and achieve the maximum theoretical succinate yield

Ka-Yiu San

Papers

Novel pathway engineering design of the anaerobic central metabolic pathway in Escherichia coli to increase succinate yield and productivity

Metabolic Engineering of Escherichia coli: Increase of NADH Availability by Overexpressing an NAD+-Dependent Formate Dehydrogenase

Metabolic engineering through cofactor manipulation and its effects on metabolic flux redistribution in Escherichia coli.

Studies on on-line bioreactor identification. I. Theory.

Metabolic engineering of aerobic succinate production systems in Escherichia coli to improve process productivity and achieve the maximum theoretical succinate yield