Disclosed are a nucleic acid molecule, a polypeptide having epoxy group-removing catalytic activity and use thereof. According to the invention, by means of genetic engineering, the nucleic acid molecule encoding a de-epoxidation protein is expressed in a plant, so that an epoxy group of a trichothecene mycotoxin is removed, and the toxin amount in the plant is reduced. The polypeptide of the invention is capable of catalyzing a reaction between vomitoxin and glutathione under mild conditions to remove epoxy groups to produce a glutathionylated derivative.

The present invention provides compositions comprising chimeric polypeptides that bind to free ubiquitin proteins or free ubiquitin-like proteins with high affinity, as well as chimeric polypeptides that bind to both free and conjugated ubiquitin proteins or free and conjugated ubiquitin-like proteins, and methods of using the chimeric polypeptides to determine the amount of free or total ubiquitin or free or total ubiquitin-like proteins in various types of samples.

Variants of chymosin with improved milk-clotting properties are disclosed.

A method for recovering polyhydroxyalkanoates from a biomass is disclosed. According to the method, polynucleotide chains are cleaved by addition of an endonuclease. A lysing agent is used to disrupt cell walls of the microorganism cells and release the intracellular polyhydroxyalkanoates from the cells. Proteins are also degraded by addition of a peptidase. The polyhydroxyalkanoates are then separated from cellular debris of the cells. According to the present disclosure, this method is carried out without the use of organic solvents in the cleaving, lysing, and degrading steps.

A method for recovering polyhydroxyalkanoates from a biomass is disclosed. According to the method, polynucleotide chains are cleaved by addition of an endonuclease. A lysing agent is used to disrupt cell walls of the microorganism cells and release the intracellular polyhydroxyalkanoates from the cells. Proteins are also degraded by addition of a peptidase. The polyhydroxyalkanoates are then separated from cellular debris of the cells. According to the present disclosure, this method is carried out without the use of organic solvents in the cleaving, lysing, and degrading steps.

A production method for a crystal of a crystalline protein, the method including a step of inducing expression of a crystalline protein in Escherichia coli into which an expression construct of the crystalline protein has been introduced, and incubating the Escherichia coli for a predetermined time until a crystal of the crystalline protein is formed inside the Escherichia coli, and a crystal structure analysis method including a step of subjecting a crystal produced by the above-described production method to an X-ray crystal structure analysis together with the Escherichia coli, are useful as technologies for conveniently producing and analyzing a crystal of a protein.

The present disclosure relates to microbial stem cell technology that enables a growing microbial culture to stably maintain two or more distinct cell types in a ratio that can be genetically programmed and/or dynamically controlled during cultivation. It is contemplated that embodiments described herein can be utilized to increase product yield in microbial fermentations and advanced engineering of biomaterials using genetically engineered microbial cells, among others.

A connecting polypeptide has SEQ ID NO:73. A proinsulin polypeptide includes a mature insulin A-chain, a mature insulin B-chain, and a connecting peptide comprising SEQ ID NO: 73 linking the mature A-chain and the mature B-chain, wherein the connecting peptide is not a native human proinsulin C-peptide. The proinsulin polypeptides according to the invention can be made in high titers and in high purity.

The present invention provides mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and extracellular vesicles comprising exogenous membrane embedded proteins. Pharmaceutical compositions comprising MSCs and extracellular vesicles are also provided. The present invention further provides a method of treating, preventing or ameliorating a viral infection, inflammation, and/or tissue fibrosis.

A red blood cell (RBC) having an agent linked thereto, wherein the agent is linked to at least one endogenous, non-engineered membrane protein of the RBC by a sortase-mediated reaction, preferably by a sortase-mediated glycine conjugation and/or a sortase-mediated lysine side chain ε-amino group conjugation, which may occurring at least on glycine (n) and/or lysine ε-amino group at internal sites of the extracellular domain of at least one endogenous, non-engineered membrane protein, preferably n being 1 or 2, as well as the use of the RBC for delivering drugs and probes.