Compositions and methods are provided comprising acetolactate decarboxylase (ALDC) enzyme variants having higher specific activity. Composition and method are provided where the ALDC variants are used in combination with metal ions to further increase stability and/or activity.

The present invention provides a consortium of resistant microorganisms for biodegrading carbohydrates in the organic fraction of any source of solid waste. The genetic, metabolic and morphological structure of these resistant microorganisms works efficiently by biodegrading and mineralising solid biodegradable waste from municipal or harvest solid waste, reducing the production of gases and leachates. This compound enriches and increases the concentration of beneficial microorganisms, generating high-quality biological fertilisers suitable for use in agricultural production, in land recovery and conservation, under the parameters established in sustainable organic farming, which seeks to conserve, recover and use nature or the environment without generating the least negative impact.

The present invention relates to a method for recovering a protein of interest from a bacterial fermentation broth, wherein the bacterial cells in the fermentation broth exhibit a high degree of lysis, comprising the steps of adding to the fermentation broth comprising the protein of interest at least one flocculant in an amount of 0.5 to 50 g/l of the fermentation broth; separating the protein of interest from at least the bacterial cells by filtration, preferably by dead-end filtration or microfiltration; and thereby obtaining the protein of interest in the filtrate; wherein the bacterial cells are Bacillus cells. Further, the invention relates to the use of a flocculant for recovering a protein of interest from a bacterial fermentation broth comprising a high degree of lysed cells.

A method for controlling self-propelled particles includes providing the particles to a liquid crystalline medium having predesigned local ordering. The method may control at least one of: a local concentration, trajectory, and net flow of self-propelled particles.

Compositions and methods are provided comprising acetolactate decarboxylase (ALDC) enzyme variants having higher specific activity. Composition and method are provided where the ALDC variants are used in combination with metal ions to further increase stability and/or activity.

Methods of processing municipal solid wastes (MSW) are provided whereby concurrent enzymatic hydrolysis and microbial fermentation of wastes results in liquefaction of biodegradable components as well as accumulation of microbial metabolites. Liquefied biodegradable components are then separated from nondegradable solids to produce a bioliquid characterized in comprising a large percentage of dissolved solids of which a large fraction comprises some combination of acetate, ethanol, butyrate, lactate, formate or propionate. This bioliquid is, itself, a novel biomethane substrate composition, which permits very rapid conversion to biomethane. Methods of biomethane production are further provided using this bioliquid and using other biomethane substrate compositions produced by concurrent enzymatic hydrolysis and microbial fermentation of organic materials.

The present invention provides a consortium of resistant microorganisms for biodegrading carbohydrates in the organic fraction of any source of solid waste. The genetic, metabolic and morphological structure of these resistant microorganisms works efficiently by biodegrading and mineralising solid biodegradable waste from municipal or harvest solid waste, reducing the production of gases and leachates. This compound enriches and increases the concentration of beneficial microorganisms, generating high-quality biological fertilisers suitable for use in agricultural production, in land recovery and conservation, under the parameters established in sustainable organic farming, which seeks to conserve, recover and use nature or the environment without generating the least negative impact.

The invention provides a method of processing MSW comprising the steps ofproviding a stream of unsorted MSW to a microbial fermentation reactor in which the MSW is fermented with agitation at a non-water content of between 10 and 50% by weight and at a temperature of between 35 and 75 degrees for a period of between 1 and 72 hours under conditions sufficient to maintain a live lactic acid bacteria concentration of at least 10,000,000,000 CFU/L, andremoving a stream of fermented unsorted MSW from the reactor and subjecting it to a separation step whereby non-degradable solids are removed to provide a slurry of biodegradable components. Further, a slurry of bio-degradable components prepared according to said method is provided.

The present invention provides a method for producing a recombinant protein, which can increase the cell growth rate in culture while stably maintaining plasmids in the cells, thereby improving the recombinant protein yield. The present invention provides a method for producing a recombinant protein, including a high-temperature culture step of culturing at 32 C. or higher a Brevibacillus bacterium that contains a gene encoding a recombinant protein, and a low-temperature culture step of culturing the Brevibacillus bacterium at a temperature lower than 32 C. after the high-temperature culture step.

The invention relates to bioactive polypeptides from strains of Brevibacillus laterosporus which have useful activity including pesticidal activity such as insecticidal activity, compositions comprising said polypeptides, and methods for using the polypeptides and compositions, for example in methods of controlling agriculturally-important pests including insect pests.