Culturing S. glucoliberatum PABB004 under conditions effective for the S. glucoliberatum PABB004 to secrete simple sugars into culture medium. In one or more embodiments, the conditions include a pH of 6.0 to 8.5. In some cases, the culture can include a second organism. A co-culture includes S. glucoliberatum PABB004 and a second organism, wherein the co-culture has a pH of 6.0 or greater. In one or more embodiments, the second organism is selected to produce a product of interest such as, for example, ethanol.

Processes are disclosed for photosynthetic cyanobacterial production of selected proteins and biochemicals within an evolving alkaliphilic microbial consortium.

The present invention provides a novel method for improving microbial laccase production, which relates to the field of microbial fermentation. The present invention is to add β-carotene and other types of carotenoids, or microorganisms that produce carotenoids, or mixtures comprising carotenoids into a fermentation system during fermentation of Pleurotus ferulae and other higher fungi. The present invention can improve the laccase production 12 times more than before, with the advantages of a simple process and high yield.

The present invention provides a novel method for improving microbial laccase production, which relates to the field of microbial fermentation. The present invention is to add β-carotene and other types of carotenoids, or microorganisms that produce carotenoids, or mixtures comprising carotenoids into a fermentation system during fermentation of Pleurotus ferulae and other higher fungi. The present invention can improve the laccase production 12 times more than before, with the advantages of a simple process and high yield.

A method for treating biomass including lignocellulosic polymers. The biomass is treated in a mixture of water with at least one oxidizing agent and steam at a temperature in a range of from about 130° C. to about 220° C. for a period from about 5 seconds to about 10 hours. The pH of the mixture is periodically measured for substantially an entire duration of the treating step. As necessary, based on the measured pH of the mixture, adjusting the pH of the mixture into a range of from about pH 4.5 to about pH 7.5 by adding a base to the mixture.

A method for treating biomass including lignocellulosic polymers. The biomass is treated in a mixture of water with at least one oxidizing agent and steam at a temperature in a range of from about 130° C. to about 220° C. for a period from about 5 seconds to about 10 hours. The pH of the mixture is periodically measured for substantially an entire duration of the treating step. As necessary, based on the measured pH of the mixture, adjusting the pH of the mixture into a range of from about pH 4.5 to about pH 7.5 by adding a base to the mixture.

A system and method for the production of microbial consortiums and by-product material is provided. A physical containment system comprising phase spaces arranged in a discrete order to favor specific biological reactions is also provided. Phase profiles and phase data sets include the pre-determined physical and biological parameters for the phase space transitions. Movement of material from one phase to the next is hydraulically balanced enabling working fluid to continuously move in a fixed direction and rate of flow. Continuous monitoring of phase profiles and phase data sets provide feedback to the system enabling alteration of the conditions in the system to control reactions therein.

A system and method for the production of microbial consortiums and by-product material is provided. A physical containment system comprising phase spaces arranged in a discrete order to favor specific biological reactions is also provided. Phase profiles and phase data sets include the pre-determined physical and biological parameters for the phase space transitions. Movement of material from one phase to the next is hydraulically balanced enabling working fluid to continuously move in a fixed direction and rate of flow. Continuous monitoring of phase profiles and phase data sets provide feedback to the system enabling alteration of the conditions in the system to control reactions therein.

Disclosed are methods related to culturing anaerobic bacteria in a microaerobic environment. The method comprises culturing in a microaerobic environment an anaerobic bacteria with an aerobic microorganism. The microaerobic environment may not require gas pre-treatment to remove trace O.sub.2. Also disclosed are methods related to producing a product, syngas fermentation, and gas valorization. The method comprises culturing in a microaerobic environment an anaerobic bacteria with an aerobic microorganism.

Microbial consortia exert great influence over the physiology of humans, animals, plants, and ecosystems. However, difficulty in controlling their composition and population dynamics have limited their application in medicine, agriculture, biotechnology, and the environment. The approach disclosed herein provides an effective method to dynamically control population compositions in microbial consortia, which we demonstrate in the context of co-culture fermentations for chemical production. Co-culture fermentations can improve chemical production from complex biosynthetic pathways over monocultures by distributing enzymes across multiple strains, thereby reducing metabolic burden, overcoming endogenous regulatory mechanisms, or exploiting natural traits of different microbial species. However, stabilizing and optimizing microbial sub-populations for maximal chemical production remains a major obstacle in the field. An optogenetic circuit, called OptoTA, is disclosed for regulating a toxin-antitoxin system, which enables tunability of, e.g., Escherichia coli growth using only blue light. With the disclosed system, one can control population ratios of co-cultures of, e.g., E. coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae containing different metabolic modules of biosynthetic pathways. Results reveal that intermediate light duty cycles improve chemical production by establishing optimal co-culture populations.