Described herein are engineered cells, enzymes, methods of use, and bee bread incorporating engineered cells and enzymes as described herein. In certain aspects, described herein are a bacterium containing therein one or more stably-expressing expression vectors for exogenous expression of one or more recombinant carboxylesterase enzymes or oxalate decarboxylase enzymes, thereby providing the engineered cell an exogenous pathway for hydrolyzing ester bonds or removing a carboxyl group. Engineered cells and recombinant enzymes as described herein can be incorporated into bee bread to be fed to a member of the Apidae family of bees or of the Apis or Bombus genus. In additional aspects, such bacteria can also be selected and amplified from the milieu of the hive microorganisms and in some cases they can be molecularly bred to enhance their metabolic capabilities without genetic engineering.

The present invention relates to a new process for the preparation of ammeline and/or ammelide from melamine by a solid-to-solid reaction in an aqueous reaction mixture comprising a biocatalyst, wherein the biocatalyst comprises at least one enzyme belonging to the amidohydrolase superfamily and having aminohydrolase activity towards 1,3,5-triazine compounds. The invention further relates a product obtainable by the process according to the invention, wherein the product comprises ammeline and/or ammelide.

Herbicide-detoxifying enzymes, compositions containing one or more of the enzymes, and plant seeds treated with the enzymes are provided. The enzymes can be used in methods for detoxifying auxin herbicides or degrading auxin plant regulators, including in methods for decontaminating surface of an apparatus used in agriculture or pesticide manufacturing, methods for decontaminating water, soil, soilless media, or sludge, and methods for protecting a plant from an auxin herbicide, improving a plant's tolerance to an auxin herbicide, or removing an auxin herbicide from the surface of a plant.

Disclosed herein are compositions, methods, and systems useful in remediating contaminants, for example environmental contaminants. In many embodiments, the contaminant is selected from atrazine and chlorothalonil, and the remediation is accomplished with a biomaterial. In many embodiments, the biomaterial comprises an enzyme that catalyzes the contaminant remediation and a gel, for example a biogel or sol-gel. In some embodiments, the enzyme is triazine hydrolase (TrzN) for example TrzN from Arthrobacter aurescens TC1. The gel may be in the form of beads, for example alginate beads, and the beads may be coated, for example in chitosan. The disclosed sol-gel may be comprised of tetramethylorthosilicate (TMOS). The disclosed compositions, methods, and systems may increase enzymatic activity and/or protect the enzyme from activity degradation due to pH, temperature, proteolysis, dehydration, etc.

Herbicide-detoxifying enzymes, compositions containing one or more of the enzymes, and plant seeds treated with the enzymes are provided. The enzymes can be used in methods for detoxifying auxin herbicides or degrading auxin plant regulators, including in methods for decontaminating surface of an apparatus used in agriculture or pesticide manufacturing, methods for decontaminating water, soil, soilless media, or sludge, and methods for protecting a plant from an auxin herbicide, improving a plant's tolerance to an auxin herbicide, or removing an auxin herbicide from the surface of a plant.

The present invention relates to a new process for the preparation of ammeline and/or ammelide from melamine by a solid-to-solid reaction in an aqueous reaction mixture comprising a biocatalyst, wherein the biocatalyst comprises at least one enzyme belonging to the amidohydrolase superfamily and having aminohydrolase activity towards 1,3,5-triazine compounds. The invention further relates a product obtainable by the process according to the invention, wherein the product comprises ammeline and/or ammelide.