The present description is related to the field of protein production. It introduces novel host cells with low protease activity, a novel protease regulator, its use in expression systems and protein production, and a method of producing host cells for protein production.

The present invention relates to compositions comprising a polymeric matrix or a gel containing functional enzymes capable of re-creating under culture conditions the cell microenvironment existing in vivo. The present invention also relates to devices for cell cultures comprising such compositions, in particular hydrogel and the use thereof to control the chemical microenvironment of a cell culture or mimic physiological or pathological conditions of the in vivo cells. The compositions and the devices described herein could be also used in vitro for evaluating the therapeutic effect of a compound on a determined cell line or on primary cells.

Disclosed are pharmaceutical compositions comprising a drug with a laccase-reactive functional group and a laccase (EC.10.3.2) and methods for manufacturing such compositions.

The present invention relates to water-soluble modified lignins preparable by enzymatic reaction of at least one water-insoluble lignin with at least one organic compound which possesses at least one group selected from primary or secondary amino group, hydroxyl group and phenyl group and has an average molecular weight in the range from 75 to 2500 g/mol. The water-soluble modified lignins are preparable under mild conditions in a simple process. They can be used as dispersants for mineral binder compositions, where they act as plasticizers and in so doing prolong the setting time to much less of an extent than the water-insoluble lignins used in their preparation.

A process is provided for preparing a compound having the formula (I):

##STR00001##

said process being conducted by:

a) the addition of an oxygen source into a solution of a compound of formula (II)

##STR00002##

in a water-miscible solvent,

b) the addition of a laccase in the solution obtained in a); and

c) the possible recovering of the compound of formula (I) thus obtained.

This application relates to laccase variants and uses thereof as eco-friendly biocatalysts in various industrial processes. More in particular, the disclosure relates to a polypeptide with laccase activity comprising an amino acid sequence that is more than 80% identical to the amino acid sequence according to SEQ ID NO: 1, wherein the polypeptide comprises a non-polar amino acid, preferably an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of proline, alanine, glycine and valine at a position corresponding to amino acid 113 of SEQ ID NO: 1.

The present invention relates to fungal enzymes, more in particular of polyphenoloxidases (PPOs), and is based on a newly discovered enzymatic activity of a class of PPOs, i.e. de-methylation of R-substituted mono- or di-methoxyphenolsuch as present in lignin, lignin derived compounds and/or in lignocellulosic biomass. This newly discovered enzymatic activity renders these enzymes highly suitable for a plethora of applications in industry. Provided herein are methods of demethylation, processes to increase the reactivity of lignin or lignin-comprising biomass, processes of conversion lignin or lignin comprising biomass to value added products, processes for degrading and/or modifying (hemi-)cellulose in a hemicellulose-comprising substrate, and expression vectors, host cells and liquids, pastes or solid formulations and compositions for use in the demethylation method of the invention.

The present invention is in the field of paper production, more in particular it relates to the process of wood pulping. It provides useful biological methods and compounds for reducing the energy requirements of the production of wood pulp. It describes a method for reducing the energy requirement of a thermo-mechanical pulping (TMP) process wherein cellulose fibers are recovered from a biomass comprising lignocellulosic material, wherein the lignocellulosic material is treated with a CotA laccase before recovering the cellulose from the lignocellulosic material.

Methods to reduce sticky and fluff induced rewinder breaks by reducing the adhesive character of adhesive materials, fluff and sticky contaminants in fibers are described. One method involves contacting the fibers with a composition containing at least one of each of a cellulase, a hemicellulase, a -glucosidase, a lipase, an esterase, a pectinase, a pectate lyase and a laccase for a sufficient time and in a sufficient amount to control the removal or controlling adhesive materials, fluff and sticky contaminants present in the fibers. Preferably, the fibers are recycled fibers originating from a variety of sources such as old corrugated containers, old newsprint, mixed office waste, and the like. Resulting paper products formed from the processed fibers are also described as well as methods to make them.

Provided is a laccase that exhibits excellent activity in pH ranges including the alkaline range. According to the present invention, a laccase having an amino acid sequence of a laccase derived from Paramyrothecium sp., and a laccase having a sequence that is similar thereto and that includes said amino acid sequence as the basic backbone exhibit excellent activity in pH ranges including the alkaline range.