The present disclosure provides approaches for reducing tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) in tobacco. Some of these approaches include genetically engineering tobacco plants to increase one or more antioxidants, increase oxygen radicle absorbance capacity (ORAC), or reduce nitrite. Also provided are methods and compositions for producing modified tobacco plants and tobacco products therefrom comprising reduced TSNAs.

A method of demethylizing an opioid to a nor-opioid is provided. The method comprises contacting an opioid with at least one enzyme. Contacting the opioid with the at least one enzyme converts the opioid to a nor-opioid. A method of converting a nor-opioid to a nal-opioid is provided. The method comprises contacting a nor-opioid with at least one enzyme. Contacting the nor-opioid with the at least one enzyme converts the nor-opioid to a nal-opioid.

Described herein are an immobilized enzyme, and a preparation method therefor and a use thereof. The immobilized enzyme includes activated PEI and an enzyme covalently bonded to the activated PEI, where the enzyme is selected from any one of a transaminase, a ketoreductase, a monooxygenase, an ammonia lyase, an ene-reductase, an imine reductase, an amino acid dehydrogenase and a nitrilase.

A system for the production of high value chemicals includes (a) an input selected from the group consisting of ethylene glycol, glycerol, ethanol methanol or a combination thereof. In addition, the system includes (b) an oxidation biocatalyst including an alcohol oxidase, a copper radical oxidase, a glycerol oxidase, an alditol oxidase or a combination thereof. Further, the system includes (c) an oxidized intermediate. The system also includes (d) a finishing catalyst including a supported metal catalyst, a carboligating catalyst, an amine oxidase, a glyoxalase, an acid catalyst, a base catalyst, an isomerization catalyst or a combination thereof. Still further, the system includes (e) an output.

Industrial fermentation for the production of lactic acid from organic waste combined with chemical recycling of polylactic acid are provided, to obtain lactic acid at high yields.

Described herein are processes and enzymes for the enzymatic production of glucaric acid from glucuronic acid, and more specifically the enzymatic production of substituted glucaric acid from substituted glucuronic acid. Advantageously, the process and enzymes described herein make preferential use substituted glucuronic acid obtained from natural sources, such as underutilized hemicellulose stream from wood and agricultural biorefineries, to produce substantially enantiomerically pure substituted D-glucaric acid.

The present disclosure provides methods and compositions for producing rotundone. In various aspects, the present disclosure provides enzymes, polynucleotides encoding said enzymes, and recombinant microbial host cells (or microbial host strains) for the production of rotundone. In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides microbial host cells for producing rotundone at high purity and/or yield, from either enzymatic transformation of α-guaiene, or from sugar or other carbon source. The present disclosure further provides methods of making products containing rotundone, including flavor or fragrance products, among others.

The biological production of beta-hydroxyisovalerate (βHIV) using a non-natural microorganism. The non-natural microorganism for the biologically-derived βHIV provides more beta-hydroxyisovalerate synthase activity than the wild-type parent. The non-natural microorganism can host a non-natural enzyme, such as the non-natural enzyme expressed in a yeast or bacteria, wherein the non-natural microorganism comprises an active βHIV metabolic pathway for the production of βHIV. The biological derivation of βHIV eliminates toxic by-products and impurities that result from the chemical production of βHIV, such that βHIV produced by a non-natural microorganism prior to any isolation or purification process has not been in substantial contact with any halogen-containing component.

Provided is a method for screening a Corynebacterium constitutive expression vector promoter on the basis of transcriptome sequencing; and further provided are the Corynebacterium constitutive expression vector promoter screened on the basis of transcriptome sequencing, an expression vector comprising the promoter, a recombination strain obtained by transforming a host cell Corynebacterium glutamicum using the expression vector, and applications thereof.

Provided is a technique of predicting prognosis of skin cancer. A method for prognosis prediction of skin cancer includes: a step of obtaining a correlation amount correlated with an expression level of a glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in a sample collected from a patient with the skin cancer; and a step of determining that the prognosis of the skin cancer is poorer when the correlation amount is large than that when the correlation amount is small.