A method for producing ergothioneine at a low cost in large quantities and a bacterium for use in said method are provided. A method for producing ergothioneine or a related substance thereof, or a mixture thereof, comprising culturing a bacterium belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae having the ergothioneine-producing ability in a culture medium, and collecting ergothioneine or a related substance thereof, or a mixture thereof, from the culture medium or from the cells obtained by culture, wherein said bacterium is the one which is modified so as to have a reduced activity of a protein comprising a core sequence region comprising 5 amino acid residues: Ser-Arg-Gly-Arg-Thr (SEQ ID NO:7) as a part thereof; and a bacterium belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae having the ergothioneine-producing ability modified so as to have a reduced activity of a protein comprising a core sequence region comprising 5 amino acid residues: Ser-Arg-Gly-Arg-Thr (SEQ ID NO:7) as a part thereof.

The invention discloses a glutamate dehydrogenase mutant and an application thereof. The mutant is one of the following: a mutation of the 402th lysine of the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO. 1 to phenylalanine or aspartic acid; a mutation of the 406th isoleucine to phenylalanine or threonine; a combined mutation of the 121th threonine and the 123th leucine; a combined mutation of the 379th alanine and the 383th leucine. In the invention, the catalytic activity of glutamate dehydrogenase derived from Pseudomonas putida to 2-carbonyl-4-(hydroxymethylphosphonoyl)butanoic acid (PPO) is significantly improved by a molecular transformation method combining directed evolution and a semi-rational design; and the issue of low glutamate dehydrogenase activity in the process of preparing L-glufosinate by reductive amination is solved.

An engineered microorganism(s) with novel pathways for the conversion of short-chain hydrocarbons to fuels and chemicals (e.g. carboxylic acids, alcohols, hydrocarbons, and their alpha-, beta-, and omega-functionalized derivatives) is described. Key to this approach is the use of hydrocarbon activation enzymes able to overcome the high stability and low reactivity of hydrocarbon compounds through the cleavage of an inert CH bond. Oxygen-dependent or oxygen-independent activation enzymes can be exploited for this purpose, which when combined with appropriate pathways for the conversion of activated hydrocarbons to key metabolic intermediates, enables the generation of product precursors that can subsequently be converted to desired compounds through established pathways. These novel engineered microorganism(s) provide a route for the production of fuels and chemicals from short chain hydrocarbons such as methane, ethane, propane, butane, and pentane.

An engineered microorganism(s) with novel pathways for the conversion of short-chain hydrocarbons to fuels and chemicals (e.g. carboxylic acids, alcohols, hydrocarbons, and their alpha-, beta-, and omega-functionalized derivatives) is described. Key to this approach is the use of hydrocarbon activation enzymes able to overcome the high stability and low reactivity of hydrocarbon compounds through the cleavage of an inert CH bond. Oxygen-dependent or oxygen-independent activation enzymes can be exploited for this purpose, which when combined with appropriate pathways for the conversion of activated hydrocarbons to key metabolic intermediates, enables the generation of product precursors that can subsequently be converted to desired compounds through established pathways. These novel engineered microorganism(s) provide a route for the production of fuels and chemicals from short chain hydrocarbons such as methane, ethane, propane, butane, and pentane.

The present invention provides methods for mineral precipitation and/or cementation of permeable or fractured non-porous materials using isolated urease.

The present invention provides methods for mineral precipitation and/or cementation of permeable or fractured non-porous materials using isolated urease.

The invention provides non-naturally occurring microbial organisms having a (2-hydroxy-3-methyl-4-oxobutoxy)phosphonate (2H3M4OP) pathway, p-toluate pathway, and/or terephthalate pathway. The invention additionally provides methods of using such organisms to produce 2H3M4OP, p-toluate or terephthalate. Also provided herein are processes for isolating bio-based aromatic carboxylic acid, in particular, p-toluic acid or terephthalic acid, from a culture medium, wherein the processes involve contacting the culture medium with sufficient carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) to lower the pH of the culture medium to produce a precipitate comprised of the aromatic carboxylic acid.

The invention provides non-naturally occurring microbial organisms having a (2-hydroxy-3-methyl-4-oxobutoxy)phosphonate (2H3M4OP) pathway, p-toluate pathway, and/or terephthalate pathway. The invention additionally provides methods of using such organisms to produce 2H3M4OP, p-toluate or terephthalate. Also provided herein are processes for isolating bio-based aromatic carboxylic acid, in particular, p-toluic acid or terephthalic acid, from a culture medium, wherein the processes involve contacting the culture medium with sufficient carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) to lower the pH of the culture medium to produce a precipitate comprised of the aromatic carboxylic acid.

The invention provides non-naturally occurring microbial organisms having a toluene, benzene, p-toluate, terephthalate, (2-hydroxy-3-methyl-4-oxobutoxy)phosphonate, (2-hydroxy-4-oxobutoxy)phosphonate, benzoate, styrene, 2,4-pentadienoate, 3-butene-1ol or 1,3-butadiene pathway. The invention additionally provides methods of using such organisms to produce toluene, benzene, p-toluate, terephthalate, (2-hydroxy-3-methyl-4-oxobutoxy)phosphonate, (2-hydroxy-4-oxobutoxy)phosphonate, benzoate, styrene, 2,4-pentadienoate, 3-butene-1ol or 1,3-butadiene.

The invention provides non-naturally occurring microbial organisms having a toluene, benzene, p-toluate, terephthalate, (2-hydroxy-3-methyl-4-oxobutoxy)phosphonate, (2-hydroxy-4-oxobutoxy)phosphonate, benzoate, styrene, 2,4-pentadienoate, 3-butene-1ol or 1,3-butadiene pathway. The invention additionally provides methods of using such organisms to produce toluene, benzene, p-toluate, terephthalate, (2-hydroxy-3-methyl-4-oxobutoxy)phosphonate, (2-hydroxy-4-oxobutoxy)phosphonate, benzoate, styrene, 2,4-pentadienoate, 3-butene-1ol or 1,3-butadiene.