Yeast cells having a reductive TCA pathway from pyruvate or phosphoenolpyruvate to succinate, and which include at least one exogenous gene overexpressing an enzyme in that pathway, further contain an exogenous transhydrogenase gene.

The present invention provides (1) a composition for improving pulmonary hypertension, comprising at least one substance capable of normalizing gut microbiota in a patient with pulmonary hypertension as an active ingredient; (2) a method for predicting the prognosis of a patient with pulmonary hypertension, or a method for assisting the determination of the severity of a patient with pulmonary hypertension, the method comprising detecting one or more types of bacteria selected from bacteria belonging to the family Micrococcaceae, Streptococcaceae, Pasteurellaceae, Veillonellaceae or Lactobacillaceae in gut microbiota in the patient with pulmonary hypertension; and (3) a method for assisting the diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension, the method comprising comparing the IgA level in feces of a subject to that of a healthy subject.

A device and process for using the device are provided for the production of commodity, specialty, performance or fine chemicals by redox enzyme systems which require the addition of reducing equivalents. The device allows operating conditions to be conveniently altered to achieve maximal electrochemical efficiencies for a given enzymatically mediated redox reaction or series of reactions.

The object is to provide a novel enzyme exhibiting cholesterol dehydrogenase activity. Provided is a mutant enzyme having an amino acid sequence of a microorganism-derived cholesterol oxidase, which is composed of: (1) an amino acid corresponding to the amino acid at the position 113 of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1; (2) an amino acid corresponding to the amino acid at the position 362 of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1; (3) an amino acid corresponding to the amino acid at the position 402 of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1; (4) an amino acid corresponding to the amino acid at the position 412 of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1; (5) an amino acid corresponding to the amino acid at the position 468 of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1; and others.

The present invention provides a pharmaceutical composition containing 10 mg to about 100 g KRED and/or a long-acting alcohol dehydrogenase as an active ingredient and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. Moreover, provided herein methods for lowering blood alcohol level, methods for preventing a symptom or a risk arising from alcohol consumption and methods for treating a subject afflicted with alcoholism by the administration of the pharmaceutical composition of the invention.

The invention provides processes for the conversion of pyruvate obtained from sugars or other carbon sources, to valuable C5 materials such as levulinic acid, levulinate esters, valerolactone, and derivatives thereof.

The present disclosure provides recombinant bacterial cells that have been engineered with genetic circuitry which allow the recombinant bacterial cells to sense a patient's internal environment and respond by turning an engineered metabolic pathway on or off. When turned on, the recombinant bacterial cells complete all of the steps in a metabolic pathway to achieve a therapeutic effect in a host subject. These recombinant bacterial cells are designed to drive therapeutic effects throughout the body of a host from a point of origin of the microbiome. Specifically, the present disclosure provides recombinant bacterial cells comprising a heterologous gene encoding a branched chain amino acid catabolism enzyme. The disclosure further provides pharmaceutical compositions comprising the recombinant bacteria, and methods for treating disorders involving the catabolism of branched chain amino acids using the pharmaceutical compositions disclosed herein.

The disclosure relates to fatty diols and recombinant microorganisms for producing them. More particularly, the disclosure relates to recombinant microorganisms engineered to produce fatty diols via fermentation. Further encompassed is a process that uses the microorganisms to produce fatty diols from a simple carbon source.

Recombinant microorganisms comprising at least one exogenous nucleic acid sequence and capable of producing adipate semialdehyde are provided. Adipate semialdehyde may be produced in a synthesis pathway utilizing a single thiolase reaction. Adipate semialdehyde may also be produced from intermediates consisting of alpha, omega difunctional aliphatic organic molecules. Methods of using recombinant microorganisms to produce 6-aminocaproic acid, adipic acid, hexamethylenediamine and 1.6-hexanediol are also provided.

The invention relates to a method for preparing a yeast which is capable of simultaneously fermenting a pentose and a hexose sugar, the method comprising providing a yeast which comprises: one or more heterologous genes encoding an enzyme of a pentose metabolic pathway, a disruption of a gene encoding a ribulose-phosphate 3-epimerase and a disruption of a gene encoding a glucose-6-phosphate isomerase, and one or more overexpressed endogenous genes encoding an enzyme of the pentose phosphate pathway; and subjecting the yeast to evolutionary engineering on a medium comprising a hexose sugar and at least one pentose sugar, selecting for a yeast with improved growth rate when grown on a media comprising a hexose and at least one pentose sugar, so as to obtain an evolved yeast.