Vitreoscilla Hemoglobin Improves Sophorolipid Production in Starmerella Bombicola O-13-1 Under Oxygen Limited Conditions.

Sophorolipids (SLs) are homologous microbial secondary metabolites produced by Starmerella bombicola and have been widely applied in many industrial fields. The biosynthesis of SLs is a highly aerobic process and is often limited by low dissolved oxygen (DO) levels. In this study, the Vitreoscilla hemoglobin (VHb) gene was transformed into S. bombicola O-13-1 by homologous recombination to alleviate oxygen limitation. VHb expression improved the intracellular oxygen utilization efficiency under either oxygen-rich or oxygen-limited conditions. In shake flask culture, the production of SLs was higher in the recombinant (VHb+) strain than in the wild-type (VHb-) strain, while the oxygen uptake rate of the recombinant (VHb+) strain was significantly lower than that of the wild-type (VHb-) strain. In a 5 L bioreactor, the production of SLs did not increase significantly, but the DO level in the fermentation broth of the VHb+ strain was 21.8% higher than that of VHb- strain under oxygen-rich conditions. Compared to wide-type strains (VHb-), VHb expression enhanced SLs production by 25.1% in the recombinants (VHb+) under oxygen-limited conditions. In addition, VHb expression raised the transcription levels of key genes involved in the electron transfer chain (NDH, SDH, COX), TCA cycle (CS, ICD, KDG1) and SL synthesis (CYP52M1 and UGTA1) in the recombinant (VHb+) strains. VHb expression in S. bombicola could enhance SLs biosynthesis and intracellular oxygen utilization efficiency by increasing ATP production and cellular respiration. Our findings highlight the potential use of VHb to improve the oxygen utilization efficiency of S. bombicola in the industrial-scale production of SLs using industrial and agricultural by-products like molasses and waste oil as fermentation feedstock.

Regional homogeneity of spontaneous brain activity in adult patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder before and after cognitive behavioural therapy.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Several neuroimaging studies have explored alterations of brain function in OCD patients as they performed tasks after CBT. However, the effects of CBT on the neural activityin OCD during rest remain unknown. Therefore, we investigated changes in regional homogeneity (ReHo) in OCD patients before and after CBT. METHODS: Twenty-two OCD patients and 22 well-matched healthy controls participated in the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. We compared differences in ReHo between the OCD and control groups before treatment and investigated the changes of ReHo in 17 OCD patients who responded to CBT. RESULTS: Compared to healthy controls, OCD patients exhibited higher ReHo in the right orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), bilateral middle frontal cortex, right precuneus, left cerebellum, and vermis, as well as lower ReHo in the bilateral caudate, right calcarine, right posterior cingulate cortex, and right middle temporal cortex. Along with the clinical improvement in OCD patients after CBT, we found decreased ReHo in the right OFC, bilateral middle frontal cortex, left cerebellum and vermis, and increased ReHo in the left caudate. Improvement of OCD symptoms was significantly correlated with the changed ReHo in the right OFC and left cerebellum. CONCLUSIONS: Although these findings are preliminary and need to be replicated in larger samples, they indicate the presence of abnormal spontaneous brain activity of the prefrontal-striatal-cerebellar circuit in OCD patients, and provide evidence that CBT can selectively modulate the spontaneous brain activity of this circuit in OCD patients.

Inositol and phosphatidylinositol mediated mediated glucose derepression, gene expression and invertase secretion in yeasts.

Glucose repression occurs in many yeast species and some filamentous fungi, and it represses the expression and secretion of many intracellular and extracellular proteins. In recent years, it has been found that many biochemical reactions in yeast cells are mediated by phosphatidylinositol (PI)-type signaling pathway. However, little is known about the relationships between PI-type signaling and glucose repression, gene expression and invertase secretion in yeasts. Many evidences in our previous studies showed that glucose repression, invertase secretion, gene expression and cell growth were mediated by inositol and PI in Saccharomyces and Schizosaccharomyces. The elucidation of the new regulatory mechanisms of protein secretion, gene expression and glucose repression would be an entirely new aspect of inositol and PI-type signaling regulation in yeasts.