An object of the present invention is to provide a protein having dipeptide synthesizing activity with improved substrate specificity, and a method in which the protein or a microorganism having ability to produce the protein is used to efficiently produce a target dipeptide while reducing a by-product dipeptide produced in addition to the target dipeptide. According to the present invention, a protein consisting of an amino acid sequence obtained by substituting, with other amino acid residues, amino acid residues corresponding to one or more amino acid residues selected from the group consisting of amino acid residues at positions 107, 108, and 110 in an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 2, or a mutant protein or a homologous protein of a protein consisting of the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 2 is provided, and a microorganism producing the protein can be used to efficiently produce a dipeptide.

A genetically modified diazotrophic microbe is genetically modified to produce ?-polyglutamic acid (?-PGA). In one or more embodiments, the diazotrophic microbe is Azotobacter vinelandii. In one or more embodiments, the diazotrophic microbe is genetically modified to use a non-sugar carbon source.

The present invention relates to the use of an inhibitor of Rad18 expression or activity, in treating a tumor or in sensitizing a patient affected with a tumor, to a treatment with an antineoplastic agent that is a DNA damaging chemotherapeutic agent so to both reduce the self renewal of cancer stem cells and increase the DNA damage response thus boosting apoptotic cell death.

In certain embodiments, the present invention comprises compositions and methods useful in the generation of acyl amino acids. In certain embodiments, the present invention provides an engineered polypeptide comprising a peptide synthetase domain; in some such embodiments, the engineered polypeptide comprises only a single peptide synthetase domain. In some embodiments, the present invention provides an engineered peptide synthetase that is substantially free of a thioesterase domain, and/or a reductase domain. In certain embodiments, the present invention provides an acyl amino acid composition comprising a plurality of different forms of an acyl amino acid. In some such compositions, substantially all of the acyl amino acids within the composition contain the same amino acid moiety and differ with respect to acyl moiety. We also described populations where the fatty acid is for example 95% one length (C14, myristic).

Provided are bacterial cells genetically modified to improve their tolerance to certain commodity chemicals, such as polyamines, and methods of preparing and using such bacterial cells for production of polyamines and other compounds.

In certain embodiments, the present invention comprises compositions and methods useful in the generation of acyl amino acids. In certain embodiments, the present invention provides an engineered polypeptide comprising a peptide synthetase domain; in some such embodiments, the engineered polypeptide comprises only a single peptide synthetase domain. In some embodiments, the present invention provides an engineered peptide synthetase that is substantially free of a thioesterase domain, and/or a reductase domain. In certain embodiments, the present invention provides an acyl amino acid composition comprising a plurality of different forms of an acyl amino acid. In some such compositions, substantially all of the acyl amino acids within the composition contain the same amino acid moiety and differ with respect to acyl moiety. We also described populations where the fatty acid si for example 95% one length (C14, myristic).

This present technology relates to the use of inflammation-enabling polypeptides (or their coding sequences) to screen for agents useful for the prevention, treatment and/or alleviations of symptoms associated with an inflammatory disorder, to identify individuals susceptible of developing an exacerbated inflammatory response as well as to determine if a therapeutic regimen is capable of preventing, treating or alleviating the symptoms associated to an inflammatory disorder in an individual. The present technology also provides methods for preventing, treating and/or alleviating the symptoms associated to an inflammatory condition based on the inhibition of expression or activity of the inflammation-enabling targets.

The present invention concerns a novel method for the modification and/or custom-made design of artificial non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) from naturally available NRPSs. The artificial NRPSs are of predetermined length and amino acid composition and sequence. Via fusion of well-defined NRPS units (so-called exchange units) in a certain manner, using a specific sequence motif in the linker areas it is possible to construct artificial and/or modified NRPS assembly lines, which have the ability of synthesizing peptides of a desired structure.

The invention provides methods and compositions for enhancing the efficacy of cancer therapies through modulation of BAL1 and/or BBAP. Also provided are methods for predicting the efficacy of cancer therapies or treating cancer in a subject through modulation of BAL1 and/or BBAP. Further provided are methods for identifying compounds that are capable of modulating BAL1-BBAP complexes.

The present invention relates to the use of neutral lipids, including triglycerides, diglycerides and monoglycerides which may be used to increase neutral lipids (lipid stores and/or lipid droplets) and neutral lipid stores in order to regulate (in particular, induce) autophagy and treat and/or prevent autophagy related disease states and/or conditions. In one embodiment, the invention relates to the use of neutral lipids and/or TRIM proteins which may be used to regulate (in particular, induce) autophagy, target autophagic substrates and treat and/or prevent autophagic disease states and/or conditions.