Described herein are variant, novel cannabinoid synthases, nucleic acids encoding same, and various uses thereof. In one aspect, a variant cannabinoid synthase or an active fragment thereof is provided comprising a non-naturally occurring amino acid sequence relative to a wild-type cannabinoid synthase or an active fragment thereof which acts on a substrate to produce an altered amount of a cannabinoid relative to an amount of the cannabinoid produced by the wild-type cannabinoid synthase or active fragment thereof.

The present disclosure provides methods for utilizing genetically modified microbes to co-produce 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) and acetyl-CoA, and derivatives thereof from malonate semialdehyde as a common single intermediate. The disclosure further provides modified microbe that co-produce the 3-HP and acetyl-CoA derivatives from malonate semialdehyde.

Microbial starter cultures. More specifically, a method for preparing a microbial culture such as a lactic acid bacteria (LAB) starter culture wherein at least one microbial strain such as a lactic acid bacteria and at least one inactivated yeast strain is inoculated in a culture medium.

Various examples according to the present disclosure provide a fermentation method. The fermentation method includes producing at least about 10 g/L of a bioproduct and one or more heterologous polypeptides by fermenting a medium using an engineered microorganism. About 2 wt % to about 100 wt % of the one or more heterologous polypeptides are encapsulated intercellularly in the engineered microorganism. The method further includes isolating the engineered microorganism including the encapsulated one or more heterologous polypeptides. About 50 wt % to about 100 wt % of the one or more heterologous polypeptides retain functionality following isolation of the engineered microorganism.

Methods of and system for growing and maintaining an optimized/ideal active yeast solution in the yeast tank and fermenter tank during the fermentation filling cycle are provided. A new yeast stage tank is used between the yeast tank and the fermenter tank allowing yeast to rapidly produce a huge amount of active young yeast cells for a fermenter during the filling period. A measurable and useful controlling factor, % DT/% Yeast by weight ratio (or “food” to yeast ratio), is used (e.g., % DT=glucose), which offers information on the health status of the yeast. The controlling factor is used to control the status of the yeast throughout the entire process.

A method for producing metabolites that are heavy alcohols, and particularly branched-chain alcohols is provided, involving contacting a suitable substrate with recombinant microorganisms. The microorganisms contain at least one deletion, disruptions, or mutations from the GLN gene family, VPS gene family, GNP gene family, AVT gene family, GCN gene family, or YDR391C, and combinations thereof, and overproduce the heavy alcohol as compared to a wild-type yeast strain.

The disclosure discloses construction of recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae for synthesizing carminic acid and application thereof and belongs to the technical field of genetic engineering and bioengineering. The disclosure obtains recombinant S. cerevisiae CA-B2 capable of synthesizing carminic acid by heterologously expressing cyclase Zhul, aromatase ZhuJ, OKS of Octaketide synthase 1, C-glucosyltransferase UGT2, monooxygenase aptC and 4′-phosphopantetheinyl transferase npgA in S. cerevisiae. The recombinant S. cerevisiae can be used for synthesizing carminic acid by taking self-synthesized acetyl-CoA and malonyl-CoA as a precursor. On this basis, OKS, cyclase, aromatase, C-glucosyltransferase and monooxygenase relevant to carminic acid are integrated to a high copy site, which can remarkably improve the yield of carminic acid. The yield of carminic acid can be increased to 2664.6 .Math.g/L by optimizing fermentation conditions, and the fermentation time is shortened significantly. Therefore, the recombinant S. cerevisiae plays an important role in the fields of cosmetics, textiles and food.

The present invention addresses the issues of finding a novel mutation effective for the improvement of transglutaminase and providing a highly useful modified transglutaminase. Disclosed is a highly useful modified transglutaminase having an amino acid substitution that results in an increase of high temperature reactivity or a lowering in pH stability in a weakly acidic region.

The present invention relates to microbial cells comprising triacylglycerol (TAG) with short chain fatty acids (SCFA), as well as methods of using these cells to produce lipid comprising TAG with SCFAs.

Described herein are Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains MBG5038 and MBG5012 deposited under the Budapest Treaty and having accession Nos. NRRL Y67549 and NRRL Y67700, respectively, or a derivatives of strains NRRL Y67549 or Y67700 which exhibit one or more properties or defining characteristics of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains MBG5038 or MBG5012. Also described are compositions comprising the Saccharomyces yeast and naturally occurring and/or non-naturally occurring components, as well as are processes for producing ethanol from starch-containing material using the strains.