1st International Conference on Bioresource Technology for Bioenergy, Bioproducts & Environmental Sustainability (BIORESTEC)

With growing global interest in bioenergy, biobased product and environmental sustainability, the first International Conference on Bioresource Technology for Bioenergy, Bioproducts & Environmental Sustainability (BIORESTEC) was organized from October 2326, 2016 in Sitges, Barcelona in Spain. The conference was organized in association with Elseviers premier journal Bioresource Technology (BITE), with an aim to provide a shared forum for researchers, academicians, industries, and policymakers, to discuss the current state-of-the-art and the emerging trends in biotechnology, bioenergy, and biobased products. The 1st BIORESTEC conference received tremendous response from all over the globe with 754 abstracts submitted. The scientific committee consisted of 13 eminent scientists from 11 countries. The committee then screened and selected 54 abstracts for oral and 166 abtsracts for poster presentations. Besides, there were 19 invited speakers from 14 countries. Apart from the scientific presentations, a workshop on How to write a scientific paper and get published was also organized for early career researchers by Elsevier. This special issue of the journal contain 29 papers (all presented at the BIORESTEC conference) after peer-review process. These papers broadly cover areas such as biomass pretreatment, algal and lignocellulose biorefinery, biological waste treatment, white biotechnology and biomass policies, LCA and techno-economics and classified as below.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Razvoj polisaharida iz probiotika kao dodataka hrani

Microbial polysaccharides with nutraceutical potential and bioactive properties have been investigated in detail during the last few decades. There is an increasing demand in food industries for live microbes or polysaccharides produced by them which assert health benefits other than dietetic constituents. Although there are a large number of exopolysaccharide (EPS)-producing bacteria, the titers are low for commercialization. This manuscript deals with the polysaccharides produced by probiotic strains, with major emphasis on the EPSs, their properties, applications and some of the strategies adopted which would be helpful in better understanding of the process in the near future. Research on the improved EPS biosynthesis is essential for obtaining high yields. Therefore, to reach commercialization, metabolic engineering must be applied.Posljednjih su nekoliko desetljeća potanko istraživani mikrobni polisaharidi koji imaju bioaktivna, hranjiva i farmakološka svojstva. U prehrambenoj industriji postoji sve veća potreba za primjenom živih mikroorganizama ili mikrobnih polisaharida koji, osim hranjivih, imaju i ljekovita svojstva. Iako postoji mnogo vrsta bakterija koje proizvode egzopolisaharide, proizvedene su količine nedovoljne za komercijalnu uporabu. U radu su prikazani polisaharidi iz probiotičkih sojeva, a osobito egzopolisaharidi, njihova svojstva i primjena, te navedene strategije razvoja proizvodnje što bi mogle pridonijeti razumijevanju procesa. Ispitivanje biosinteze egzopolisaharida prijeko je potrebno da bi se postigli veći prinosi, što znači da se primjenom metoda metaboličkog inženjerstva može osigurati isplativa proizvodnja polisaharida

Razvoj polisaharida iz probiotika kao dodataka hrani

Microbial polysaccharides with nutraceutical potential and bioactive properties have been investigated in detail during the last few decades. There is an increasing demand in food industries for live microbes or polysaccharides produced by them which assert health benefits other than dietetic constituents. Although there are a large number of exopolysaccharide (EPS)-producing bacteria, the titers are low for commercialization. This manuscript deals with the polysaccharides produced by probiotic strains, with major emphasis on the EPSs, their properties, applications and some of the strategies adopted which would be helpful in better understanding of the process in the near future. Research on the improved EPS biosynthesis is essential for obtaining high yields. Therefore, to reach commercialization, metabolic engineering must be applied.Posljednjih su nekoliko desetljeća potanko istraživani mikrobni polisaharidi koji imaju bioaktivna, hranjiva i farmakološka svojstva. U prehrambenoj industriji postoji sve veća potreba za primjenom živih mikroorganizama ili mikrobnih polisaharida koji, osim hranjivih, imaju i ljekovita svojstva. Iako postoji mnogo vrsta bakterija koje proizvode egzopolisaharide, proizvedene su količine nedovoljne za komercijalnu uporabu. U radu su prikazani polisaharidi iz probiotičkih sojeva, a osobito egzopolisaharidi, njihova svojstva i primjena, te navedene strategije razvoja proizvodnje što bi mogle pridonijeti razumijevanju procesa. Ispitivanje biosinteze egzopolisaharida prijeko je potrebno da bi se postigli veći prinosi, što znači da se primjenom metoda metaboličkog inženjerstva može osigurati isplativa proizvodnja polisaharida

Microbial cellulases - Production, applications and challenges

832-844Microbial cellulases find applications in various industries and constitute a major group of the industrial enzymes. Recently, there is resurgence in utilization of biomass for fuel production employing cellulases and hence forth in obtaining better yields and novel activities. Improving the economics of such processes will involve cost reduction in cellulase production which may be achieved by better bioprocesses and genetic improvement of cellulase producers to yield more of the enzyme. The review discusses the current knowledge on cellulase production by microorganisms and the genetic controls exercised on it. It discusses the industrial applications of cellulases and the challenges in cellulase research especially in the direction of improving the process economics of enzyme production

Genetic modification: A tool for enhancing beta-glucosidase production for biofuel application

Beta-glucosidase (BGL) is a rate-limiting enzyme for cellulose hydrolysis as it acts in the final step of lignocellulosic biomass conversion to convert cellobiose into glucose, the final end product. Most of the fungal strains used for cellulase production are deficient in BGL hence BGL is supplemented into cellulases to have an efficient biomass conversion. Genetic engineering has enabled strain modification to produce BGL optimally with desired properties to be employed for biofuel applications. It has been cloned either directly into the host strains lacking BGL or into another expression system, to be overexpressed so as to be blended into BGL deficient cellulases. In this article, role of genetic engineering to overcome BGL limitations in the cellulase cocktail and its significance for biofuel applications has been critically reviewed. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Improved cellulase production by <i>Penicillium janthinellum</i> mutant

436-440Economic and sustainable production of bioethanol from biomass through enzymatic route depends on economics of cellulase availability, the key factor for the success of the technology. It has been realized that the bottleneck of the technology lies in obtaining highly efficient cellulase which could result in an economically feasible technology. In this study, we compared cellulase production by Penicillium janthinellum EMS UV-8 in shake flask in two different medium; modified Mandel and Weber (M &amp; W) and the corn steep liquor (CSL) based medium. In CSL based medium, 3.02 FPU/mL was produced compared to 1.25 FPU/mL in modified r M &amp; W medium. Hence, CSL based medium was employed in bioreactor for cellulase production. In cellulase production, Penicillium sp. is comparable to the widely acclaimed Trichoderma sp. Changing the production medium from modified M &amp; W medium to CSL based medium, increased cellulase production by two fold. In the bioreactor, controlled monitoring of DO and pH resulted in increase in the cellulase activity upto 5.44±0.3 FPU/ml at 168 h

Progress in research on fungal cellulases for lignocellulose degradation

898-907Fungal cellulases offer advantages of a secreted enzyme complex and relative easiness and economy of producing enzyme. Considerable amount of work has been done on fungal cellulases, especially with resurgence of interest in biomass-ethanol and concept of bio-refineries. Significant information has also been gained on basic biology of organisms producing cellulases, and in process development for enzyme production and biomass saccharification. This review addresses developments in the field of fungal cellulases for lignocellulose degradation

Genetic modification: a tool for enhancing cellulase secretion

Lignocellulosic (LC) biomass is abundantly available as a low-cost resource on the Earth. LC conversion into energy carriers is the most accepted alternative energy production policy because it is non-competitor to food or feed. LC ethanol has brought cellulases to the forefront which was otherwise lost in oblivion during last decades. LC biomass can be converted into value added products or into sugars by various routes, e.g., thermo-chemical, chemical, or biological methods. Biological route via enzymes is one of the most eco-friendly and feasible method. Both fungi and bacteria are known to degrade biomass. Fungi have been greatly exploited for cellulase production due to their inherent properties of secreting extracellular cellulase. These microorganisms are known as cellulase producers for many decades, however, to bring the enzymatic biomass conversion to an economically feasible status, extensive research efforts have been made in last decade to enhance cellulase titers. Mutations and genetic interventions along with bioprocess development have played a very important role for enhancing cellulase production. This review will present a critical overview of the on-going research towards improving cellulase production for biofuel industry via genetic modification, which will include mutation and genetic engineering employed to exert changes at genetic level in microorganisms

Polysaccharides from Probiotics: New Developments as Food Additives

Microbial polysaccharides with nutraceutical potential and bioactive properties have been investigated in detail during the last few decades. There is an increasing demand in food industries for live microbes or polysaccharides produced by them which assert health benefits other than dietetic constituents. Although there are a large number of exopolysaccharide (EPS)-producing bacteria, the titers are low for commercialization. This manuscript deals with the polysaccharides produced by probiotic strains, with major emphasis on the EPSs, their properties, applications and some of the strategies adopted which would be helpful in better understanding of the process in the near future. Research on the improved EPS biosynthesis is essential for obtaining high yields. Therefore, to reach commercialization, metabolic engineering must be applied