Microbial Biopolymers: Molecular Insights and Functional Innovations

Dear Colleagues,

Microbial biopolymers are emerging as sustainable and versatile biomolecules with significant applications in biotechnology, environmental management, medicine, and industry. Produced by diverse microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, and algae, these biopolymers exhibit unique structural and functional properties that make them attractive alternatives to synthetic polymers. Moreover, recent advances in molecular biology, omics technologies, metabolic engineering, and bioinformatics have significantly enhanced understanding of their biosynthetic pathways, genetic regulation, and functional characteristics of microbial biopolymers.

This Special Issue aims to highlight recent progress in the discovery, molecular characterisation, biosynthesis, and functional modification of microbial biopolymers. We invite submissions on topics related to microbial biopolymer production, optimisation and scaling-up processes of biopolymers, integration of multi-omics to uncover the mechanisms underlying biopolymer production, and innovative production strategies such as synthetic biology, metabolic pathway engineering, and machine learning-assisted optimisation.

The aim of this Special Issue is to present cutting-edge research on the molecular mechanisms, biosynthetic pathways, functional properties, and innovative applications of microbial biopolymers, with a focus on advancing sustainable biotechnology and industrial bioprocesses.

This Special Issue welcomes original research articles and reviews covering, but not limited to, the following topics:

• Discovery and characterisation of novel microbial biopolymers;
• Molecular mechanisms and genetic regulation of microbial biopolymer biosynthesis;
• Omics-based approaches (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics) in biopolymer research;
• Metabolic engineering and synthetic biology for enhanced biopolymer production;
• Machine learning and computational tools for optimisation of microbial biopolymer production;
• Structural characterisation of microbial biopolymers;
• Functional innovations and industrial applications (e.g., wastewater treatment, biomedical materials, pharmaceuticals, food, agriculture).

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Tsolanku Sidney Maliehe
Dr. Ofentse Jacob Pooe
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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