This disclosure provides an E. coli strain, which lacks thioredoxin reductase activity encoded by trxB and thioredoxin 1 activity encoded by trxA, and glutathione reductase activity encoded by gor. Said E. coli strain expresses a mutated AhpC protein having glutathione reductase activity and a cytosolic prokaryotic disulfide isomerase. The E. coli strain has an oxidative cytosol and can be used to efficiently produce proteins having disulfide bonds.

The invention is directed to novel probiotic bacterial strains that colonize animal tissues, and in particular the gastrointestinal (GI) tract of aquatic animals grown in aquaculture environments and may further be engineered to express and deliver interfering RNA molecules configured to downregulate expression of one or more pathogen, or endogenous host genes.

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel composition which suppresses or improves depression. The present invention provides a composition for use in suppressing or improving depression, comprising Lactobacillus paracasei as an active ingredient. In the present invention, the depression can be a condition which occurs in daily life. The composition of the present invention can be provided as a food composition and a supplement, and can be provided to a human so that Lactobacillus paracasei is ingested in a daily amount of 1 mg or more in terms of dry cell mass or 10 to 10.sup.11 cells.

The present invention deals with the formation of Natural Organic Nano-Fertilizers with the chelated nano-nutrients to balance plant nutrition; improve water holding capacity, soil health improvement, sustainable productivity and quality improvement. The present invention involves production of eco-friendly and low cost process for the synthesis of nanoparticles of nano-nutrients by utilizing microorganisms comprising of two lab adapted strains of Aspergillus species, one lab adapted strain of Lactobacillus sp. and lactate, gluconate and proteinate salts as a source of nutrient leads to formation of metal nanoparticles (Zn, Mg, Fe and P) with the size of <20 nms. The present invention increases 12-20% of crop yield, stress tolerance of the crops, nutrient mobilization increases and 3 fold increase in nutrient use efficiency.

Methods for improving the ability of a population of biological agents to compete and survive in a field setting are provided. By improving the population of biological agents, the modified population of agents is able to grow, compete with other microbial strains and fungi, and provide protection for plants from pathogens. In particular, modified biological agents and modified populations of such agents that are herbicide tolerant or resistant are selected or engineered. In this manner, the protection from disease-causing agents is enhanced. Such modified populations of biological agents can be added to soils to prevent fungal pathogens and the diseases they cause promoting plant growth. Therefore, the present invention is useful for enhancing the competitiveness of modified biological agents particularly over other microbial agents which are not herbicide resistant. Compositions of the invention include selected or engineered herbicide resistant biological agents and modified populations of biocontrol agents. These modified biological agents can be used as an inoculant or as a seed coating for plants and seeds.

The probiotic composition comprises at least one lactic acid bacteria strain, preferably Lactobacillus with intestinal tropism, for use in promoting juvenile growth in livestock, with stimulation of linear growth and/or of IGF-1 level. Exemplary lactic acid bacteria include Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus paracasei and Lactobacillus rhamnosus. The strains can be selected in a mouse model. The invention also relates to a probiotic treatment method using this composition.

The present invention relates to processes to make neosaxitoxin, and analogues and variants thereof, and intermediates in the production of neosaxitoxin in recombinant host cells. Neosaxitoxin and the analogues and variants thereof may be used in the production of pharmaceutical compositions.

The subject invention provides compositions and methods for treating human dermatological conditions by employing a microbiome-centered treatment approach. Preferred embodiments of the invention provide pharmaceutical and cosmetic compositions, and the methods of using the same, comprising a strain of Lactobacillus fermentum bacterium, or bioactive extracts thereof, derived from human microbiota and capable of growing in biofilm phenotype.

The present invention is directed to a method of producing a Streptococcus thermophilus strain comprising the steps of a) Providing a mother strain in the form of Streptococcus thermophilus DSM32502, b) Growing a culture of the mother strain in the presence of a bacteriophage, to which the mother strain is not resistant, to obtain a number of mutant strains, which are resistant to the said bacteriophage, c) Measuring the acidification time of the bacteriophage-resistant mutant strains and the mother strain in a milk base and selecting at least one mutant strain with a reduced acidification time as compared to the mother strain to obtain a fast-acidifying mutant strain.

Methods and systems are provided for generating and utilizing a bacterial composition that comprises at least one genetically engineered bacterial strain that fixes atmospheric nitrogen in an agricultural system that has been fertilized with more than 20 lbs of Nitrogen per acre.