Advances in Microbial Biotechnological Approaches for Carbohydrate Biosynthesis

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 739

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
National Glycoengineering Research Center, Shandong University, Jinan, China
Interests: glycosylation; glycotherapeutics; bioactive oligosaccharides; glycosaminoglycans; drug delivery

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Guest Editor Assistant
National Glycoengineering Research Center, Shandong University, Jinan, China
Interests: metabolic engineering; synthetic biology; glycoengineering; glycoconjugate vaccine; enzyme engineering

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Guest Editor Assistant
School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, China
Interests: synthetic microbial community; plant polysaccharide; microbial ecology; microbiome and metabolome

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Carbohydrates play pivotal roles in biological systems, serving as energy sources, structural components, and signaling molecules. Recent advances in microbial biotechnology have revolutionized the biosynthesis of complex carbohydrates, enabling the sustainable production of functional oligosaccharides, glycoconjugates, and polysaccharides with applications in therapeutics, vaccines, and biomaterials. This Special Issue explores cutting-edge strategies, including synthetic biology, enzyme engineering, and metabolic pathway optimization, to enhance carbohydrate production. We invite contributions investigating innovative microbial platforms (e.g., engineered E. coli, yeast, or cyanobacteria), novel enzymatic tools (e.g., glycosyltransferases, phosphorylases), and computational approaches (e.g., AI-driven glycan design) to address challenges in yield, scalability, and structural precision. Topics can span from fundamental mechanistic studies to translational applications in medicine (e.g., glyco-vaccines, glycoproteins, and glycosaminoglycans) and industry (e.g., biodegradable polymers).

Prof. Dr. Haining Tan
Guest Editor

Dr. Yuhui Wang
Dr. Lele Liu
Guest Editor Assistants

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Keywords

  • microbial carbohydrate biosynthesis
  • glycoengineering
  • synthetic biology
  • enzyme engineering
  • glycoconjugate vaccines

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

27 pages, 1565 KB  
Review
Current Scientific Advances in Vaccines Against UTIs: Challenges and Prospects
by Baoying Wang, Yuhui Wang, Haodi Liu, Mingyang Yu, Shuaishuai Wang, Lele Liu, Hailong Wang, Daizhou Zhang and Haining Tan
Microorganisms 2025, 13(12), 2714; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13122714 - 28 Nov 2025
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Abstract
Urinary Tract Infection (UTI), the second most common infectious disease globally, poses a particularly significant threat to adult female populations. Epidemiological data show that Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) is responsible for approximately 75% to 90% of UTI cases. Currently, antibiotic therapy constitutes the [...] Read more.
Urinary Tract Infection (UTI), the second most common infectious disease globally, poses a particularly significant threat to adult female populations. Epidemiological data show that Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) is responsible for approximately 75% to 90% of UTI cases. Currently, antibiotic therapy constitutes the primary treatment for UTIs. However, the rising prevalence of antimicrobial resistance, particularly among Escherichia coli strains, is increasingly compromising treatment efficacy and elevating the risk of therapeutic failure and complications. Considering this serious challenge, the urgent exploration and development of alternative therapies for UTIs, particularly vaccine therapies, to supplement or replace antibiotic use is crucial. Polysaccharide conjugate vaccines represent a highly successful strategy in bacterial vaccine development, playing a pivotal role in the prevention and control of human infectious diseases. This article aims to review the research progress on UTI vaccines and focus on the preparation methods of polysaccharide conjugate vaccines, encompassing traditional chemical conjugation techniques and emerging biosynthetic methods. Through an in-depth analysis of biosynthetic methods, this article identifies the key steps and proposes insights for further optimization strategies for polysaccharide conjugate vaccines. It is hoped that this study will provide a more comprehensive and in-depth reference for the development of UTI vaccines. Full article
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