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 protease and a phospholipase are present and/or added during steps (a) to (c). Use of a protease and a phospholipase for increasing oil recovery yields from thin stillage and/or syrup in a fermentation product production process.

A cleaning composition may include at least one amine oxide, at least one fatty alcohol ether sulfate, an active protein of at least one amylase having at least 90% sequence identity with the amino acid sequence recited in SEQ ID NO:1 or SEQ ID NO:2, an active protein of at least one protease having at least 90% sequence identity with the amino acid sequence recited in SEQ ID NO:3 or SEQ ID NO:4, at least one betaine, optional additional substances and/or additives, and water.

Disclosed are compositions and methods relating to variant α-amylases. The variant α-amylases are useful, for example, for starch liquefaction and saccharification, cleaning starchy stains, textile desizing, baking and brewing.

The present invention relates to polypeptide having alpha-amylase activity. The present invention also relates to polynucleotides encoding the polypeptides; nucleic acid constructs, vectors, and host cells comprising the polynucleotides; and methods of using the polypeptides.

The present invention provides methods of mashing high tannin adjuncts. More specifically, high tannin adjuncts can be refractory to exogenous enzymes used in barley malt brewing. The present invention provides enzymes which are uninhibited in tannin. In particular, tannin uninhibited, raw starch degrading α-amylases are provided in accordance with the instant invention.

Hybrid alpha-amylases are provided that share a conserved 3D structure in whole or in part with a wild-type Termamyl-like α-amylase, e.g., a Bacillus amylase. In the hybrid, an N-terminal portion of a Termamyl-like α-amylase is replaced with sequences from an archae α-amylase. The sequence similarity between the two amylase sequences may be less than 60%. Conserving the wild-type 3D structure in the hybrid facilitates obtaining enzymatically active amylases. In one embodiment, one or both amylase sequences contribute residues to the B domain, resulting in particularly advantageous properties. For instance, replacement of the Ca.sup.2+ binding site in the B domain of the Termamyl-like α-amylase with a B domain sequence of an archae α-amylase that does not bind Ca.sup.2+ can produce a hybrid that is fully active in the absence of Ca.sup.2+.

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

The invention relates to liquid compositions, in particular for cleaning textiles, containing: (a) at least one surfactant, and (b) at least one α-amylase, which is at least 89% and increasing preferably at least 90%, 90.5%, 91%, 91.5%, 92%, 92.5%, 93%, 93.5%, 94%, 94.5%, 95%, 95.5%, 96%, 96.5%, 97%, 97.5%, 98%, 98.5%, 99%, 99.5% and up to 100% identical to the sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO. 1 over the entire length thereof and has deletions at one or more of positions 180, 181, 182, 183, and 184 in the counting according to SEQ ID NO. 1, with the stipulation that the composition has a water activity (a.sub.w) between 0.3 and 0.95, in particular in a range of 0.4 to 0.95, at 25° C. and 1013 mbar, stabilize in particular the amylase.

The present invention relates to a method for identifying a pepsin resistant alpha amylase enzyme for use in a feed supplement comprising: i) providing an alpha amylase enzyme; ii) admixing said alpha amylase with com based feed and buffer solution comprising a pepsin concentration of 9000 U/ml at pH 3, 40° C., 500 rpm for al least 120 minutes and analysing alpha amylase activity on said alpha amylase compared to a control sample; wherein said control sample differs in that no pepsin is present during incubation; and iii) selecting an alpha amylase enzyme which substantially maintains alpha amylase activity under the assay conditions; feed supplements and feed stuffs comprising a pepsin resistant alpha amylase and the use of pepsin resistant alpha amylases in feed.

The disclosure encompassed herein relates, in part, to a method for increasing energy density of plant biomass that can be used for production of renewable fuel, such as biodiesel oil and/or ethanol. In an aspect, genetic engineering for enhanced sugar accumulation can be achieved by overexpressing a bacterial enzyme sucrose isomerase. Sugars or oils extracted from the plants of the disclosure encompassed herein may be used for industrial purposes such as heating, producing bio-fuels such as biodiesel fuel, or lubricating applications.