Microbial Biotechnology: The Biodiversity, Properties and Benefits of Microorganisms in Medical, Clinical, Food and Environmental Fields

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2025 | Viewed by 5807

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Bromatological Analysis, Pharmacy Faculty, Federal Univ. of Bahia, Barão of Jeremoabo Street, s/n, Ondina, Salvador 40.171-970, Bahia, Brazil
Interests: food; clinical; medical and environmental microbiology; microbial biotechnology; probiotic and psychobiotic microorganisms; biotechnology of new products/supplements for human health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Food Science Postgraduate Program, Faculty of Pharmacy, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador 40170-100, Bahia State, Brazil
Interests: food microbiology; microbial biotechnology; biotechnological use of agroindustrial waste/products; insects as a food protein source

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Microorganisms encompass a wide range of bacteria, microalgae, archaea, protists, fungi and viruses. Advances in microbial biotechnology have promoted the application of microorganisms within almost unlimited areas.

Microbial biotechnology will contribute to advancements such as new microorganisms, functional foods/beverages and supplements with probiotic and psychobiotic potential; microorganisms with antimicrobial activities against pathogens; enhanced microbial agents for the biocontrol of plant and animal pests; new fermentation microorganisms; new microorganisms for bioremediation; and superpotent microbial strains modified by genome studies. In addition to the applications of microbial strains and their metabolites in medicine, the versatility of microorganisms has enhanced the study and application of them in biotechnology, such as the food industry and environment field.

Therefore, this Special Issue aims to present research regarding the biodiversity, properties and benefits of microorganisms in the medical, clinical, food and environmental fields.

Some of its focal points include, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. Development of new food and medical products/supplements based on microorganisms and their metabolites;
  2. New microbial strains of different origins and that are genetically manipulated;
  3. Microbial biodiversity for potential biotechnological applications (food, environmental, clinical and medicine);
  4. Microbial biotechnology for the control of microbial pathogens

Dr. Karina Teixeira Magalhães-Guedes
Dr. Marcelo Andrés Umsza-Guez
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • microbial biotechnology
  • microorganism diversity
  • biotechnological applications
  • functional foods
  • pathogen control

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 3299 KiB  
Article
Novel Agrobacterium fabrum str. 1D1416 for Citrus Transformation
by Diaa Alabed, Redeat Tibebu, Menaka Ariyaratne, Min Shao, Matthew J. Milner and James G. Thomson
Microorganisms 2024, 12(10), 1999; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12101999 - 30 Sep 2024
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Abstract
Citrus is one of the world’s most important and widely produced fruit crops, with over a 100 million metric tons harvested from nearly 10 million hectares in 2023. Challenges in crop maintenance, production, and fruit quality necessitate developing new traits through Agrobacterium-mediated genetic [...] Read more.
Citrus is one of the world’s most important and widely produced fruit crops, with over a 100 million metric tons harvested from nearly 10 million hectares in 2023. Challenges in crop maintenance, production, and fruit quality necessitate developing new traits through Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation. While a few Agrobacterium strains (EHA105, GV3101, LBA4404) are known to transform citrus, many wild strains remain untested. We screened forty-one wild-type Agrobacterium strains isolated from various woody species and identified five capable of DNA transfer into citrus cells. Strain 1D1416 demonstrated the highest transient transformation frequency in Carrizo epicotyl explants (88%), outperforming the control EHA105 (84%) with comparable shoot regeneration rates (32% and 42%, respectively). Notably, 1D1416 exhibited no overgrowth and had the lowest necrosis and mortality rates in transformed tissues. It efficiently transferred the DsRed gene and induced galls in mature tissues of Mexican lime (70%), lemon (48%), Washington navel orange (25%), and clementine (6%). Genome sequencing of 1D1416 allowed for the disarming of the native T-DNA and addition of GAANTRY technology. This novel strain, combined with an optimized transformation procedure, make it a valuable tool for advancing citrus transformation. Full article
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14 pages, 1830 KiB  
Article
Production of Esters in Escherichia coli Using Citrate Synthase Variants
by Jacoby C. Shipmon, Pasupathi Rathinasabapathi, Michael L. Broich II, Hemansi and Mark A. Eiteman
Microorganisms 2024, 12(7), 1338; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12071338 - 29 Jun 2024
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Abstract
Acetate esters comprise a wide range of products including fragrances and industrial solvents. Biosynthesis of esters offers a promising alternative to chemical synthesis because such routes use renewable carbohydrate resources and minimize the generation of waste. One biochemical method for ester formation relies [...] Read more.
Acetate esters comprise a wide range of products including fragrances and industrial solvents. Biosynthesis of esters offers a promising alternative to chemical synthesis because such routes use renewable carbohydrate resources and minimize the generation of waste. One biochemical method for ester formation relies on the ATF1 gene from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which encodes alcohol-O-acyltransferase (AAT) which converts acetyl-CoA and an exogenously supplied alcohol into the ester. In this study, the formation of several acetate esters via AAT was examined in Escherichia coli chromosomally expressing citrate synthase variants, which create a metabolic bottleneck at acetyl-CoA. In shake flask cultures, variant strains generated more acetate esters than the strains expressing the wild-type citrate synthase. In a controlled bioreactor, E. coli GltA[A267T] generated 3.9 g propyl acetate in 13 h, corresponding to a yield of 0.155 g propyl acetate/g glucose, which is 18% greater than that obtained by the wild-type GltA control. These results demonstrate the ability of citrate synthase variants to redistribute carbon from central metabolism into acetyl-CoA-derived biochemicals. Full article
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Review

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20 pages, 4461 KiB  
Review
Biological Significance of Probiotic Microorganisms from Kefir and Kombucha: A Review
by Talita Andrade da Anunciação, Juan Diego Silva Guedes, Pedro Paulo Lordelo Guimarães Tavares, Fernando Elias de Melo Borges, Danton Diego Ferreira, Jorge Alberto Vieira Costa, Marcelo Andrés Umsza-Guez and Karina Teixeira Magalhães-Guedes
Microorganisms 2024, 12(6), 1127; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12061127 - 31 May 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2959
Abstract
(1) Background: The human microbiota is essential for maintaining a healthy body. The gut microbiota plays a protective role against pathogenic bacteria. Probiotics are live microorganisms capable of preventing and controlling gastrointestinal and balancing the immune system. They also aid in better nutrients [...] Read more.
(1) Background: The human microbiota is essential for maintaining a healthy body. The gut microbiota plays a protective role against pathogenic bacteria. Probiotics are live microorganisms capable of preventing and controlling gastrointestinal and balancing the immune system. They also aid in better nutrients and vitamins absorption. Examples of natural probiotic cultures are kefir and kombucha. (2) Methods: Therefore, the aim of this review was to address the beneficial properties of probiotic kefir and kombucha using a Boxplot analysis to search for scientific data in the online literature up to January 2024: (Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences (LILACS), PubMed, Medical Literature Analysis (MED-LINE), Science Direct, Google Scholar/Google Academic, Bioline Inter-national and Springer Link). Boxplots showed the summary of a set of data “Index Terms—Keywords” on kefir and kombucha in three languages (English, Portuguese and Spanish). (3) Results: Google Scholar was the database with the highest number of articles found, when the search for the keywords used in the study (containing ~4 × 106–~4 million articles available). This was Followed by the Science Direct database, containing ~3 × 106–~3 million articles available, and the BVS databases—Biblioteca Virtual de Saúde (Virtual Health Library) e Lilacs, both containing a value of ~2 × 106–~2 million articles available. The databases containing the smallest number of articles found were Nutrients and Medline, both containing a value of ≤0.1 × 106–≤100 thousand articles. (4) Conclusions: Scientific studies indicate that kefir and kombucha certainly contain various functional properties, such as antimicrobial, antitumor, anticarcinogenic and immunomodulatory activity, in addition to having a microbiological composition of probiotic bacteria and yeasts. Kefir and kombucha represent key opportunities in the food and clinic/medical fields. Full article
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