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Exploring Fungal Diversity: Novel Bioactive Compounds and Sustainable Bioprocesses

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A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Microbial Biotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2022) | Viewed by 9496

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. José Luis Martinez

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Guest Editor

Technical University of Denmark, Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Søltofts Plads Building 223, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
Interests: fermentation technology; yeast cell factories; metabolic engineering; protein production; stress responses; HTS and automation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Elia Tomás Pejó

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Co-Guest Editor

Unit of Biotechnological Processes, IMDEA Energy Institute, 28935 Móstoles, Spain
Interests: bioethanol; fermentation technology; biorefinery; biofuels; nonconventional yeast; bioproducts; lignocellulose; pretreatment technologies; laccase enzymes; yeast improvement; yeast robustness
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the rapid advances in high-throughput techniques for the screening and analysis of novel microbial strains, it has now become easier to explore and exploit newly isolated microbial strains from a wide array of different natural environments. This is crucial to identify novel bioactive compounds and enzymes, as well as for the search of novel cell factories in order to serve as better hosts than the classical workhorses for bio-based production processes. The increasing demand for greener and more sustainable production setups require microbes capable of tolerating harsher conditions and with an increased resistance to abiotic stresses linked to industrial production setups, namely: pH gradients, nutrient limitation, higher temperatures, osmotic pressure, etc. Fungi in general possess a wide array of traits that make them very attractive for such purposes. On one hand, fungal species are well known for their capacity of secondary metabolites production (especially filamentous fungi), and on the other hand, they can grow on a vast selection of different carbon sources, and moreover adapt very well to rapidly changing environmental conditions. All of these characteristics make them ideal candidates to be used in fermentation-based biomanufacturing processes.

The aim of this Special Issue is to provide an interdisciplinary tool for sharing the recent advances in the use of fungi as cell factories in terms of both fundamental and applied research.

As guest editors of this Special Issue, we invite you to submit research articles, review articles, and short communications related to isolation and screening, physiological characterization, recent “-omics” and bioprocess development related to the use of fungi for the production of novel bioactive compounds, and for implementing novel cell factories with superior capabilities, paying special attention to non-Saccharomyces species.

Dr. José Luis Martinez
Guest Editor
Dr. Elia Tomás Pejó
Co-Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

fungal cell factories
non-conventional yeast
sustainable bioprocess
novel bioactive compounds
stress responses

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 6033 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Enhancing Saccharomyces cerevisiae Taxane Biosynthesis and Overcoming Nutritional Stress-Induced Pseudohyphal Growth

by Laura Ellen Walls, José L. Martinez and Leonardo Rios-Solis

Microorganisms 2022, 10(1), 163; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/microorganisms10010163 - 13 Jan 2022

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2510

Abstract

The recent technological advancements in synthetic biology have demonstrated the extensive potential socio-economic benefits at laboratory scale. However, translations of such technologies to industrial scale fermentations remains a major bottleneck. The existence and lack of understanding of the major discrepancies in cultivation conditions between scales often leads to the selection of suboptimal bioprocessing conditions, crippling industrial scale productivity. In this study, strategic design of experiments approaches were coupled with state-of-the-art bioreactor tools to characterize and overcome nutritional stress for the enhanced production of precursors to the blockbuster chemotherapy drug, Taxol, in S. cerevisiae cell factories. The batch-to-batch variation in yeast extract composition was found to trigger nutritional stress at a mini-bioreactor scale, resulting in profound changes in cellular morphology and the inhibition of taxane production. The cells shifted from the typical budding morphology into striking pseudohyphal cells. Doubling initial yeast extract and peptone concentrations (2

\times

YP) delayed filamentous growth, and taxane accumulation improved to 108 mg/L. Through coupling a statistical definitive screening design approach with the state-of-the-art high-throughput micro-bioreactors, the total taxane titers were improved a further two-fold, compared to the 2

\times

YP culture, to 229 mg/L. Filamentous growth was absent in nutrient-limited microscale cultures, underlining the complex and multifactorial nature of yeast stress responses. Validation of the optimal microscale conditions in 1L bioreactors successfully alleviated nutritional stress and improved the titers to 387 mg/L. Production of the key Taxol precursor, T5αAc, was improved two-fold to 22 mg/L compared to previous maxima. The present study highlights the importance of following an interdisciplinary approach combining synthetic biology and bioprocessing technologies for effective process optimization and scale-up. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Fungal Diversity: Novel Bioactive Compounds and Sustainable Bioprocesses)

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Graphical abstract

15 pages, 3147 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Several Yeast Species Induce Iron Deficiency Responses in Cucumber Plants (Cucumis sativus L.)

by Carlos Lucena, María T. Alcalá-Jiménez, Francisco J. Romera and José Ramos

Microorganisms 2021, 9(12), 2603; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/microorganisms9122603 - 16 Dec 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2338

Abstract

Iron (Fe) deficiency is a first-order agronomic problem that causes a significant decrease in crop yield and quality. Paradoxically, Fe is very abundant in most soils, mainly in its oxidized form, but is poorly soluble and with low availability for plants. In order to alleviate this situation, plants develop different morphological and physiological Fe-deficiency responses, mainly in their roots, to facilitate Fe mobilization and acquisition. Even so, Fe fertilizers, mainly Fe chelates, are widely used in modern agriculture, causing environmental problems and increasing the costs of production, due to the high prices of these products. One of the most sustainable and promising alternatives to the use of agrochemicals is the better management of the rhizosphere and the beneficial microbial communities presented there. The main objective of this research has been to evaluate the ability of several yeast species, such as Debaryomyces hansenii, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Hansenula polymorpha, to induce Fe-deficiency responses in cucumber plants. To date, there are no studies on the roles played by yeasts on the Fe nutrition of plants. Experiments were carried out with cucumber plants grown in a hydroponic growth system. The effects of the three yeast species on some of the most important Fe-deficiency responses developed by dicot (Strategy I) plants, such as enhanced ferric reductase activity and Fe²⁺ transport, acidification of the rhizosphere, and proliferation of subapical root hairs, were evaluated. The results obtained show the inductive character of the three yeast species, mainly of Debaryomyces hansenii and Hansenula polymorpha, on the Fe-deficiency responses evaluated in this study. This opens a promising line of study on the use of these microorganisms as Fe biofertilizers in a more sustainable and environmentally friendly agriculture. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Fungal Diversity: Novel Bioactive Compounds and Sustainable Bioprocesses)

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Review

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18 pages, 2936 KiB

Open AccessReview

Debaryomyces hansenii Is a Real Tool to Improve a Diversity of Characteristics in Sausages and Dry-Meat Products

by Laura Ramos-Moreno, Francisco Ruiz-Pérez, Elisa Rodríguez-Castro and José Ramos

Microorganisms 2021, 9(7), 1512; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/microorganisms9071512 - 15 Jul 2021

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3927

Abstract

Debaryomyces hansenii yeast represents a promising target for basic and applied biotechnological research It is known that D. hansenii is abundant in sausages and dry-meat products, but information regarding its contribution to their characteristics is blurry and contradictory. The main goal in this review was to define the biological contribution of D. hansenii to the final features of these products. Depending on multiple factors, D. hansenii may affect diverse physicochemical characteristics of meat products. However, there is general agreement about the significant generation of volatile and aromatic compounds caused by the metabolic activities of this yeast, which consequently provide a tendency for improved consumer acceptance. We also summarize current evidence highlighting that it is not possible to predict what the results would be after the inoculation of a meat product with a selected D. hansenii strain without a pivotal previous study. The use of D. hansenii as a biocontrol agent and to manufacture new meat products by decreasing preservatives are examples of exploring research lines that will complement current knowledge and contribute to prepare new and more ecological products. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Fungal Diversity: Novel Bioactive Compounds and Sustainable Bioprocesses)

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