The disclosure relates to omega-hydroxylated fatty acid derivatives and methods of producing them. Herein, the disclosure encompasses a novel and environmentally friendly production method that provides omega-hydroxylated fatty acid derivatives at high purity and yield. Further encompassed are recombinant microorganisms that produce omega-hydroxylated fatty acid derivatives through selective fermentation.

Aspects of the invention include methods and compositions for microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). In particular, the invention focuses on new, efficient, economical and environmentally safe microbial methods to enhance oil recovery in existing oil reservoirs, as well as microorganisms useful in such methods.

The present disclosure relates to a novel microorganism with plastic (polystyrene)-degrading activity and its use, and newly discovered strains of Pseudomonas lini JNU 01 and Acinetobacter johnsonii JNU 01 capable of degrading plastic, especially polystyrene, and has the effect of providing a method for degrading plastic using the same.

There is provided a method of producing aminohexanoic acid and/or aminohexanoic acid ester from synthesis gas, the method comprising: A. contacting the synthesis gas with at least one bacteria capable of carrying out the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway and the ethanol-carboxylate fermentation to produce hexanoic acid; and B. contacting the hexanoic acid with a genetically modified cell to produce aminohexanoic acid and/or aminohexanoic acid ester, wherein the genetically modified cell has an increased activity, in comparison with its wild type, of alkane monooxygenase, alcohol dehydrogenase, and -transaminase.

There is provided a microbial cell expressing a mutant AlkB enzyme, the mutant AlkB enzyme comprising at least one point mutation in the wild type sequence of AlkB, wherein the point mutation is at amino acid position V129 and/or T136 of the wild type AlkB enzyme. There is also provided a method for producing omega-hydroxy carboxylic acid and/or ester thereof using this cell.

A detergent composition, preferably a manual dishwashing detergent composition, including one or more diol synthases capable of converting one or more unsaturated fatty acids into one or more oxylipins, and a surfactant system including one or more anionic surfactants and one or more co-surfactants selected from the group consisting of amphoteric surfactant, zwitterionic surfactant, and mixtures thereof. Method of using the detergent composition including a surfactant system and the diol synthases are also provided.

A liquid detergent composition, preferably a liquid manual dishwashing detergent composition, comprising one or more hydroperoxy fatty acid producing enzymes selected from the group consisting of: arachidonate lipoxygenases, alpha-dioxygenases, and mixtures thereof, preferably alpha-dioxygenases, a surfactant system and a liquid carrier (i.e., water). Methods of washing comprising the liquid detergent composition are also provided.

A surfactant containing detergent composition, preferably a manual dishwashing detergent composition, comprising either a combination of one or more hydroperoxy fatty acid producing enzymes and one or more hydroperoxy fatty acid converting enzymes, or at least one fatty acid processing fusion enzyme comprising at least two catalytic domains: a hydroperoxy fatty acid producing domain and a hydroperoxy fatty acid converting, and methods of using such compositions.

Provided are methods and compositions for inhibiting seed germination. The methods comprise exposing a seed to a composition comprising one or more enzymes, one or more bacteria, and/or an enzymatic extract, wherein the one or more enzymes, one or more bacteria, and/or the enzymatic extract isolated from one or more bacteria are exposed to seed in a quantity sufficient to inhibit seed germination.

An engineered microorganism(s) with novel pathways for the conversion of short-chain hydrocarbons to fuels and chemicals (e.g. carboxylic acids, alcohols, hydrocarbons, and their alpha-, beta-, and omega-functionalized derivatives) is described. Key to this approach is the use of hydrocarbon activation enzymes able to overcome the high stability and low reactivity of hydrocarbon compounds through the cleavage of an inert CH bond. Oxygen-dependent or oxygen-independent activation enzymes can be exploited for this purpose, which when combined with appropriate pathways for the conversion of activated hydrocarbons to key metabolic intermediates, enables the generation of product precursors that can subsequently be converted to desired compounds through established pathways. These novel engineered microorganism(s) provide a route for the production of fuels and chemicals from short chain hydrocarbons such as methane, ethane, propane, butane, and pentane.