Advances in the adenylation domain: discovery of diverse non-ribosomal peptides.

Non-ribosomal peptide synthetases are mega-enzyme assembly lines that synthesize many clinically useful compounds. As a gatekeeper, they have an adenylation (A)-domain that controls substrate specificity and plays an important role in product structural diversity. This review summarizes the natural distribution, catalytic mechanism, substrate prediction methods, and in vitro biochemical analysis of the A-domain. Taking genome mining of polyamino acid synthetases as an example, we introduce research on mining non-ribosomal peptides based on A-domains. We discuss how non-ribosomal peptide synthetases can be engineered based on the A-domain to obtain novel non-ribosomal peptides. This work provides guidance for screening non-ribosomal peptide-producing strains, offers a method to discover and identify A-domain functions, and will accelerate the engineering and genome mining of non-ribosomal peptide synthetases. KEY POINTS: • Introducing adenylation domain structure, substrate prediction, and biochemical analysis methods • Advances in mining homo polyamino acids based on adenylation domain analysis • Creating new non-ribosomal peptides by engineering adenylation domains.

[Design and practice of biological reaction engineering flipped classroom in applied undergraduate colleges].

This study aims to explore and refine the teaching aspects of a flipped classroom approach for biological reaction engineering. The study encompasses three iterations of teaching practice, focusing on key elements such as theme content selection, implementation process, evaluation and effectiveness. By integrating relevant industry and societal topics with course's professional knowledge, students are encouraged to independently collect data, analyze and discuss findings, and present their work in group. Comprehensive literacy of students is assessed through discussion reports, defense reports, utilization of new tools, and team cooperation. Analysis of student performance reveals that the design and implementation of the flipped classroom approach significantly enhances student motivation to learn, improves scores, and supports the achievement of course objectives. Therefore, the methodology presented in this study may serve as a reference for implementing teaching reforms in core courses in applied undergraduate colleges, thereby fostering well-round individuals with strong theoretical foundation, innovative analytical skills, and excellent teamwork abilities.

[Development of a practical innovation course for biological engineering major under the background of Engineering Education Certification].

According to the teaching philosophy of the outcome-based education, this study elaborates the development of a practical innovation course for biological engineering major after five runs of teaching practice and continuous improvement. It mainly includes the methods for selection of teaching subjects, implementation of teaching process, process assessment, evaluation and improvement. Based on the performance and achievements of three grades of students majored in bioengineering, we found that the logic and methods of the practical innovation course could greatly stimulate the motivation of students for learning, as well as their scores. Therefore, the logic and methods described in this study may serve as a reference for the reforms of practical training courses of engineering major under the background of Engineering Education Certification.