Provided are biosynthetic processes for producing sterol derivatives, and to non-naturally occurring organisms capable of producing sterol derivatives. More specifically, genetically modified non-naturally occurring organisms for producing KCEA, KCDA, and related compounds, from cholesterol, ?-sitosterol, campesterol and their analogs, are provided.

Disclosed herein are compositions, methods, and systems for enhancing cholesterol degradation in a cell, tissue, or organism. In many embodiments, the disclosure describes the use of one or more proteins, or sequences coding therefor, to enhance flow of cholesterol into the mitochondrion, where the cholesterol is degraded by one or more proteins comprising bacteria-related sequences. The compositions, methods, and systems disclosed herein are useful in the prevention or treatment of diseases, disorders, and conditions associated with high levels of cholesterol in the blood or cells of a patient.

The present invention relates to a new alga having an improved ability to produce a pigment, and when a mutant of the present invention is used, a carotenoid-based pigment, specifically, a xanthophyll can be produced by consuming less energy, so that it is possible to efficiently produce the pigment at the industrial level. Further, the pigment can be applied as a raw material for a food, a health functional food and a medicine, which include the pigment. In particular, since a DNA fragment is not likely to be inserted into a target base sequence or a base sequence other than the target, it is expected that the procedure of constructing the mutant is not regulated as a GMO, so that it is expected that the procedure of constructing the mutant can create a big economic effect in terms of an industry which produces lutein and zeaxanthin by using microalgae.

The present invention belongs to microbial technology field and relates to a strain producing toluene o-xylene monooxygenase (Arthrobacter woluwensis) HW-1 and its application in preparation of 5-methylpyrazine-2-carboxylic acid by microbial fermentation. The present invention providing a new strain HW-1 which could produce toluene o-xylene monooxygenase, and the strain is identified as Arthrobacter woluwensis. The strain is firstly found to convert 2, 5-dimethylpyrazine by bio-fermentation to obtain the medicine intermediate 5-methylpyrazine-2-carboxylic acid. The concentration of accumulated product could reach 34.19 g/L and the yield rate is 81.4% by shake flask fermentation. Compared with 20.41 g/L reported in the literature, this method has a greater advantage and could be industrialized. The conditions to prepare 5-methylpyrazine-2-carboxylic acid provided in the present invention is mild, the reaction process is controllable and has good performance in environmental protection and energy saving. So this invention has great value in industry.

The present invention belongs to microbial technology field and relates to a strain producing toluene o-xylene monooxygenase (Arthrobacter woluwensis) HW-1 and its application in preparation of 5-methylpyrazine-2-carboxylic acid by microbial fermentation. The present invention providing a new strain HW-1 which could produce toluene o-xylene monooxygenase, and the strain is identified as Arthrobacter woluwensis. The strain is firstly found to convert 2, 5-dimethylpyrazine by bio-fermentation to obtain the medicine intermediate 5-methylpyrazine-2-carboxylic acid. The concentration of accumulated product could reach 34.19 g/L and the yield rate is 81.4% by shake flask fermentation. Compared with 20.41 g/L reported in the literature, this method has a greater advantage and could be industrialized. The conditions to prepare 5-methylpyrazine-2-carboxylic acid provided in the present invention is mild, the reaction process is controllable and has good performance in environmental protection and energy saving. So this invention has great value in industry.

This invention relates to modified hydroxylases. The invention further relates to cells expressing such modified hydroxylases and methods of producing hydroxylated alkanes by contacting a suitable substrate with such cells.

This invention relates to modified hydroxylases. The invention further relates to cells expressing such modified hydroxylases and methods of producing hydroxylated alkanes by contacting a suitable substrate with such cells.

This invention relates to modified hydroxylases. The invention further relates to cells expressing such modified hydroxylases and methods of producing hydroxylated alkanes by contacting a suitable substrate with such cells.

The present invention relates to the provision of an enzymatic method for the preparation of 2,6-bis(hydroxy methyl)pyridine starting from 2,6-lutidine using a mutated xylene monooxygenase enzyme, termed ppXMO, comprising a xylM subunit and a xylA subunit from Pseudomonas putida, wherein said mutated enzymes harbor an amino acid exchange at position 116 of the amino acid sequence of XylM component. The essence of the invention is that the methionine (M) at this position is replaced with an aminoacid selected in the group consisting of asparagine (N), lysine (K), arginine (R) and glycine (G), which surprisingly results in a direct methyl hydroxylation of 6-methyl-2-pyridine methanol resulting in improved overall process yield, less side products are produced, avoidance of toxic reaction intermediates and minimizing the need for involvement of endogenous reductase enzymes as well as NADPH and its regeneration. Other enzymes related to XylM of P. putida harbouring the same amino acid exchange at the highly conserved region around position 116 or its equivalent also exhibit similar improved characteristics.

The present invention provides a method for synthesizing nicotinic acid from 3-picoline using transformed recombinant host cells with synthetically designed gene constructs as whole cell biocatalysts. Adaptive engineering of aromatic ring metabolizing genes isolated from microorganisms enables efficient metabolism of 3-picoline. Mutants with enhanced activity profiles are developed through gene-level modifications, ensuring superior catalytic efficiency and stability. Synthetic biology techniques generate tailored coding sequences for optimum expression. Synthetic constructs embedded with engineered genes, ribosomal binding sites, and spacers are co-expressed within one cellular unit. A one-pot reaction system utilizes versatile plasmid vectors like pET28a(+) for efficient co-expression, advancing the host microorganism matrix. The invention integrates immobilized whole-cell catalysts, addressing catalyst reusability, stability, and industrial scalability. Enhanced cell permeability and oxygen incorporation improve reaction efficiency and substrate accessibility, offering a scalable, cost-effective solution for industrial bioconversion processes.