The present invention relates to a method of producing itaconic acid. Further the present invention relates to nucleic acids encoding an aconitate-delta-isomerase (ADI) and trans-aconitate decarboxylase (TAD) and uses of such nucleic acids. Provided is additionally a recombinant host cell engineered to overexpress nucleic acids of the present invention. Furthermore an expression cassette and a vector are provided which include the respective nucleic acid.

The invention provides humanized mouse anti-human IL-31 antibodies and antibody fragments that are capable of binding IL-31 and thereby neutralizing, inhibiting, limiting, or reducing the proinflammatory or pro-pruritic effects of IL-31.

In accordance with the invention, isolated nucleic acids, expression methods, host cells, expression vectors, and DNA constructs for producing proteins, and proteins produced using the expression methods are described. More particularly, nucleic acids isolated from Pichia pastoris wherein the nucleic acids have promoter activity are described. The invention also relates to expression methods, host cells, expression vectors, and DNA constructs, for using the Pichia pastoris promoters to produce proteins, and to the proteins produced using the expression methods.

The present invention relates to genes conferring acetic acid tolerance in yeast. More specifically, the invention relates to the use of DOT5, preferably in combination with CUP2 and/or HAA1 to obtain acid tolerance in yeast. Even more preferably, the invention relates to specific alleles of said genes, and to yeast strains comprising said specific alleles.

Inducible promoters for the coordinated expression of at least one heterologous gene in yeast and methods of using them are disclosed. In particular, the invention relates to sets of inducible promoters derived from S. cerevisiae and related species that can be induced in the presence of nonfermentable carbon sources.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for producing a low-molecular-weight antibody such as a Fab-type antibody, using yeast as a host, wherein the method is able to produce the low-molecular-weight antibody with high productivity. According to the present invention, there is provided a gene comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding an amino acid or an amino acid sequence capable of increasing the secretion amount of a Fab-type antibody at the 3-terminus of a nucleotide sequence encoding the amino acid sequence of the Fd chain or L chain of an antibody.

The present invention relates to a recombinant microbial host for the production of xylitol, the recombinant microbial host containing a nucleic acid sequence encoding an NAD+-specific D-arabitol 4-oxidoreductase (EC 1.1.1.11) using D-arabitol as substrate and producing D-xylulose as product, and a nucleic acid sequence encoding an NADPH-specific xylitol dehydrogenase using D-xylulose as substrate and producing xylitol as product.

The present invention relates to: a novel Pichia kudriavzevii microorganism NG7 showing heat resistance and acid resistance; a composition, for producing organic acid or alcohol, which comprises the microorganism and a culture of the same; and a method, for producing an organic acid or alcohol, which comprises culturing the microorganism.

The present invention relates to a method for obtaining a mutant strain of oleaginous yeast which is useful as a template strain of yeast for obtaining other mutant strains of oleaginous yeast which are capable of producing an unusual fatty acid. The present invention also relates to the mutant strains of yeast obtained by said method.

The present invention provides for a genetically modified yeast host cell capable of producing one or more fatty acids, or fatty acid-derived compounds, or a mixture thereof, comprising: (a) increased expression of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (such as ACC1), (b) increased expression of one or more fatty acid synthases (such as FAS1 and FAS2), and (c) optionally reduced expression of one or more enzymes involved in or in the ?-oxidation pathway (such as peroxisomal transporters PXA1 and PXA2, and ?-oxidation enzymes POX1, POX2, and POX3).