Provided are a microorganism having an enhanced L-histidine producing ability and a method of producing histidine using the same.

A heparin structure with increased anticoagulant activity and method of making the same are disclosed. A heparin sample is provided and treated with a heparan sulfate sulfotransferase in an enzymatic reaction to add sulfuryl groups from a sulfuryl group source to the heparin sample, resulting in a heparin structure having above about 8% more 3-O-sulfo groups relative to wild-type bovine intestinal heparin. The added sulfuryl groups modify the heparin structure and increase the sample's binding to antithrombin III and its anticoagulant activity to be more similar and a viable alternative to porcine intestinal heparin. The modified heparin exhibits an anti-FXa activity and an anti-FIIa activity greater than about 180 U/mg, and a ratio of the anti-FXa activity to the anti-FIIa activity of about 0.9 to about 1.1, consistent with U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) heparin activity specifications.

The subject invention relates to a genetically modified microorganism comprising a (R)-3-hydroxybutyric acid pathway and being able of producing (R)-3-hydroxybutyric acid, and a method of preparing (R)-3-hydroxybutyric acid or a salt thereof using the genetically modified microorganism.

The presently disclosed invention relates to a method of diagnosing Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in a patient comprising obtaining a sample from the patient, determining a level of one or more H2S generating enzymes in the sample from the patient, and diagnosing the patient with MS when the level of the one or more H2S generating enzymes is one of at least 15% higher or lower than a control level for the one or more H2S generating enzymes, and at least 10% higher or lower than a control level for the one or more H2S generating enzymes.

Disclosed are an expression cassette for isopropanol production, a recombinant vector for isopropanol production including the expression cassette, a recombinant microorganism for isopropanol production into which the vector is introduced, and a method of producing isopropanol using the recombinant microorganism. The recombinant microorganism in which a succinic acid bypass metabolic pathway is introduced to an isopropanol production pathway has very high ability to produce isopropanol. The recombinant microorganism is capable of producing isopropanol in an amount corresponding to about 100 times the maximum amount of isopropanol that is produced using known Corynebacterium glutamicum, and thus can effectively produce isopropanol and can be useful in various industrial fields where isopropanol is utilized. The use of the recombinant microorganism makes possible eco-friendly production of high-value-added isopropanol materials for manufacturing biomass-derived chemical products using glucose in lieu of petroleum.

An aspect of the present disclosure is a microbial cell that includes a genetic modification resulting in the expression of a deficient form of an endogenous dioxygenase, and a gene encoding an exogenous dioxygenase and a promoter sequence, where the endogenous dioxygenase includes PcaH and PcaG, the exogenous dioxygenase includes LigA and LigB, the microbial cell is capable of growth utilizing at least one of a cellulose decomposition molecule or a lignin decomposition molecule, and the microbial cell is capable of producing 2-hydroxy-2H-pyran-4,6-dicarboxylic acid.

The present disclosure relates to the biosynthesis of indigoid dye precursors and their conversion to indigoid dyes. Specifically, the present disclosure relates to methods of using polypeptides to produce indigoid dye precursors from indole feed compounds, and the use of the indigoid dye precursors to produce indigoid dyes.

The invention relates to a genetically modified prokaryotic cell capable of improved iron-sulfur cluster delivery, characterized by a modified gene encoding a mutant Iron Sulfur Cluster Regulator (IscR) and one or more transgenes or upregulated endogenous genes encoding iron-sulfur (Fe—S) cluster polypeptides or proteins that catalyze complex radical-mediated molecular rearrangements, electron transfer, radical or non-redox reactions, sulfur donation or perform regulatory functions. The prokaryotic cells are characterized by enhanced activity of these iron-sulfur (Fe—S) cluster polypeptides, enhancing their respective functional capacity, and facilitating enhanced yields of compounds in free and protein-bound forms, including heme, hemoproteins, tetrapyrroles, B vitamins, amino acids, δ-aminolevulinic acid, biofuels, isoprenoids, pyrroloquinoline quinone, ammonia, indigo, or their precursors, whose biosynthesis depends on their activity. The invention further relates to a method for producing said compounds or their precursors using the genetically modified prokaryotic cell of the invention, and the use of the genetically modified prokaryotic cell.

Acetate is a potent microbial inhibitor which can affect the performance of yeast in ethanolic fermentation. The present disclosure provides a recombinant microbial host cell having (i) a first genetic modification for increasing the activity of one or more proteins that function in a first metabolic pathway to convert acetate into an alcohol in the microbial host cell; (ii) a second genetic modification for increasing the activity of one or more proteins that function in a second metabolic pathway to import glycerol in the recombinant microbial host cell (iii) a third genetic modification for increasing the activity of one or more proteins that function in a third metabolic pathway to convert a C5 carbohydrate into ethanol in the microbial host cell. The recombinant microbial host cell comprises and natively expresses native proteins that function in a fourth native metabolic pathway to produce glycerol in the microbial host cell.

The present invention relates to peptides, nucleic acids and cells for use in immunotherapeutic methods. In particular, the present invention relates to the immunotherapy of cancer. The present invention furthermore relates to tumor-associated cytotoxic T cell (CTL) peptide epitopes, alone or in combination with other tumor-associated peptides that serve as active pharmaceutical ingredients of vaccine compositions that stimulate anti-tumor immune responses. The present invention relates to 11 novel peptide sequences and their variants derived from HLA class I and class II molecules of human tumor cells that can be used in vaccine compositions for eliciting anti-tumor immune responses.