A chemoenzymatic process for the preparation of 2,5-furan dicarboxylic acid includes contacting D-glucose with (i) at least two enzymes selected from the group consisting essentially of galactose oxidase, pyranose 2-oxidase, glucarate dehydratase, catalase and a combination thereof to produce an intermediate; and (ii) a heterogeneous metal catalyst to form 2,5-furan dicarboxylic acid.

The present invention comprises a novel method to engineer soil bacteria to produce powerful chlorinated auxins. While chlorinated auxins were only found in few plant species, this technology will allow the construction of soil bacterial strains capable of producing chlorinated derivatives of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). A select halogenase can be expressed in soil bacteria by inserting it into the genome or through an expression vector. The engineered strains can then be applied to any plants to promote growth, thus having promising applications in agriculture.

The present invention discloses a method for purifying indole-3-lactic acid from a Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation supernatant, using a fermentation supernatant of Lactobacillus plantarum ZJ316 with a deposit number CCTCC NO: M 208077, including the following steps: adsorbing the fermentation supernatant with a macroporous resin XAD-16 first, then performing elution, collecting an eluate corresponding to 50% methanol with a pH of 7, and concentrating the eluate to obtain a concentrate; performing separation on the concentrate through dextrangel G25 to obtain a G25-2 fraction; and purifying the G25-2 fraction by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography, and concentrating the collected eluate to obtain the indole-3-lactic acid. The indole-3-lactic acid obtained in the present invention has a purity of 99.00%, and has broad-spectrum antibacterial activity.

The present invention discloses a method for purifying indole-3-lactic acid from a Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation supernatant, using a fermentation supernatant of Lactobacillus plantarum ZJ316 with a deposit number CCTCC NO: M 208077, including the following steps: adsorbing the fermentation supernatant with a macroporous resin XAD-16 first, then performing elution, collecting an eluate corresponding to 50% methanol with a pH of 7, and concentrating the eluate to obtain a concentrate; performing separation on the concentrate through dextrangel G25 to obtain a G25-2 fraction; and purifying the G25-2 fraction by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography, and concentrating the collected eluate to obtain the indole-3-lactic acid. The indole-3-lactic acid obtained in the present invention has a purity of 99.00%, and has broad-spectrum antibacterial activity.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a method for producing selenoneine that allows production of selenoneine at higher yields as compared with a conventional technology, and, therefore, enables selenoneine production on an industrial scale. This purpose can be achieved by a method for producing selenoneine, comprising the step of applying histidine and a selenium compound to a transformant that has a gene encoding an enzyme of (1) below introduced therein and that can overexpress the introduced gene, to obtain selenoneine. (1) An enzyme that catalyzes a reaction in which hercynylselenocysteine is produced from histidine and selenocysteine in the presence of S-adenosylmethionine and iron (II).

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a method for producing selenoneine that allows production of selenoneine at higher yields as compared with a conventional technology, and, therefore, enables selenoneine production on an industrial scale. This purpose can be achieved by a method for producing selenoneine, comprising the step of applying histidine and a selenium compound to a transformant that has a gene encoding an enzyme of (1) below introduced therein and that can overexpress the introduced gene, to obtain selenoneine. (1) An enzyme that catalyzes a reaction in which hercynylselenocysteine is produced from histidine and selenocysteine in the presence of S-adenosylmethionine and iron (II).

The present invention comprises a novel method to engineer microbes to efficiently produce the plant auxin indole-3-acetic acid. While some microorganisms including soil bacteria are known to produce indole-3-acetic acid, the yields are often very low. This technology allows the engineering of selected microbes for a strong ability to produce indole-3-acetic acid. Specifically, indole-3-acetic acid biosynthetic genes and a tryptophan transporter are expressed in a microbial host to efficiently convert tryptophan into indole-3-acetic acid. The engineered strains can be used in industry to produce this plant auxin or directly applied in agriculture to promote plant growth.

The present invention comprises a novel method to engineer microbes to efficiently produce the plant auxin indole-3-acetic acid. While some microorganisms including soil bacteria are known to produce indole-3-acetic acid, the yields are often very low. This technology allows the engineering of selected microbes for a strong ability to produce indole-3-acetic acid. Specifically, indole-3-acetic acid biosynthetic genes and a tryptophan transporter are expressed in a microbial host to efficiently convert tryptophan into indole-3-acetic acid. The engineered strains can be used in industry to produce this plant auxin or directly applied in agriculture to promote plant growth.

Disclosed herein are prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes, including E. coli and S. cerevisiae, genetically altered to biosynthesize tryptamine and tryptamine derivatives. The microbes of the disclosure may be engineered to contain plasmids and stable gene integrations containing sufficient genetic information for conversion of an anthranilate or an indole to a tryptamine. The fermentative production of substituted tryptamines in a whole-cell biocatalyst may be useful for cost effective production of these compounds for therapeutic use.

Disclosed herein are prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes, including E. coli and S. cerevisiae, genetically altered to biosynthesize tryptamine and tryptamine derivatives. The microbes of the disclosure may be engineered to contain plasmids and stable gene integrations containing sufficient genetic information for conversion of an anthranilate or an indole to a tryptamine. The fermentative production of substituted tryptamines in a whole-cell biocatalyst may be useful for cost effective production of these compounds for therapeutic use.