The present invention relates to polypeptide variants having alpha-amylase activity and an improved property, such as improved specific activity, as compared to the parent polypeptide. The invention further relates to use of the polypeptide variants, compositions comprising the polypeptide variants, and methods of producing the polypeptide variants.

Provided are dry-milling methods for producing an aqueous fermentation feedstock ingredient. The methods include providing a corn-processing filtration feed; filtering at least a fraction of said filtration feed on a microfiltration membrane, whereby an aqueous filtration permeate and a filtration retentate are formed; separating said filtration permeate from said filtration retentate, to form separated permeate and separated retentate; forming a fermentation feedstock comprising said separated permeate, and saccharifying and/or washing said separated retentate.

The present invention relates to variants of a parent alpha-amylase. The present invention also relates to polynucleotides encoding the variants; nucleic acid constructs, vectors, and host cells comprising the polynucleotides; and methods of using the variants.

The present application relates to a psicose-6-phosphate phosphatase comprising motif A and motif B, a composition for producing D-psicose comprising the enzyme, and a method for producing D-psicose using the enzyme.

A process for preparation of cereal fractions. The process comprises wet milling of oat grains or barley grains in the presence of an enzyme composition derived from malt; and when oat grains or barley grains are wet milled, optionally isolating, from the wet milled grains, a beta-glucan enriched fraction. Liquid and solid food products obtainable by the process.

The technical field of enzyme immobilization, and particularly, an organic-inorganic hybrid nanoflower and a preparation method thereof. The organic-inorganic hybrid nanoflower is a flower-like immobilized enzyme formed by self-assembly of a layered rare earth compound as an inorganic carrier and a biological enzyme as an organic component. The layered rare earth compound is Ln.sub.2(OH).sub.5NO.sub.3.Math.nH.sub.2O, where Ln is one or more of La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, or Y, and n=1.1-2.5. The biological enzyme is one or more of α-amylase, horseradish peroxidase, or laccase. A layered rare earth compound is used as the inorganic carrier for the organic biological enzyme to form the flower-like immobilized enzyme. The immobilized enzyme has better stability and higher catalytic performance when compared with a free enzyme.

Systems and methods that include starch derived from grain as a carbon source for propagation of microorganisms.

The present invention relates to processes for producing fermentation products from starch-containing material, wherein an alpha-amylase and a thermostable hemicellulase is present and/or added during liquefaction. The invention also relates to compositions suitable for use in processes of the invention.

A process of recovering oil, comprising (a) converting a starch-containing material into dextrins with an alpha-amylase; (b) saccharifying the dextrins using a carbohydrate source generating enzyme to form a sugar; (c) fermenting the sugar in a fermentation medium into a fermentation product using a fermenting organism; (d) recovering the fermentation product to form a whole stillage; (e) separating the whole stillage into thin stillage and wet cake; (e′) optionally concentrating the thin stillage into syrup; (f) recovering oil from the thin stillage and/or optionally the syrup, wherein a phospholipase is present and/or added during steps (a) to (c). Use of phospholipase for increasing oil recovery yields from thin stillage and/or syrup in a fermentation product production process.

The present invention relates to variants of an alpha-amylase which have an increased solubility at pH 6.0, an increased solubility at pH 10.0, a higher resistance to protein aging, and/or an increased specific activity compared to the parent alpha-amylase. The present invention also relates to methods of making the variant alpha-amylase and the use of the variant alpha-amylase in processing starch, cleaning or washing textiles, hard surfaces, or dishes, making ethanol, treating an oil well, processing pulp or paper, animal feed, syrup production, and preparing a dough or a baked product prepared from the dough.