{"title":"Pathogenesis related-1 proteins in plant defense: regulation and functional diversity.","authors":"Talha Javed, Wenzhi Wang, Benpeng Yang, Linbo Shen, Tingting Sun, San-Ji Gao, Shuzhen Zhang","doi":"10.1080/07388551.2024.2344583","DOIUrl":"10.1080/07388551.2024.2344583","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Climate change-related environmental stresses can negatively impact crop productivity and pose a threat to sustainable agriculture. Plants have a remarkable innate ability to detect a broad array of environmental cues, including stresses that trigger stress-induced regulatory networks and signaling pathways. Transcriptional activation of plant pathogenesis related-1 (PR-1) proteins was first identified as an integral component of systemic acquired resistance in response to stress. Consistent with their central role in immune defense, overexpression of PR-1s in diverse plant species is frequently used as a marker for salicylic acid (SA)-mediated defense responses. Recent advances demonstrated how virulence effectors, SA signaling cascades, and epigenetic modifications modulate PR-1 expression in response to environmental stresses. We and others showed that transcriptional regulatory networks involving PR-1s could be used to improve plant resilience to stress. Together, the results of these studies have re-energized the field and provided long-awaited insights into a possible function of PR-1s under extreme environmental stress.</p>","PeriodicalId":10752,"journal":{"name":"Critical Reviews in Biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":"305-313"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140891733","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ali Movahedi, Delight Hwarari, Raphael Dzinyela, Siyi Ni, Liming Yang
{"title":"A close-up of regulatory networks and signaling pathways of MKK5 in biotic and abiotic stresses.","authors":"Ali Movahedi, Delight Hwarari, Raphael Dzinyela, Siyi Ni, Liming Yang","doi":"10.1080/07388551.2024.2344584","DOIUrl":"10.1080/07388551.2024.2344584","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mitogen-activated protein Kinase Kinase 5 (MKK5) is a central hub in the complex phosphorylation chain reaction of the Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) cascade, regulating plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. This review manuscript aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the regulatory mechanism of the MKK5 involved in stress adaptation. This review will delve into the intricate post-transcriptional and post-translational modifications of the MKK5, discussing how they affect its expression, activity, and subcellular localization in response to stress signals. We also discuss the integration of the MKK5 into complex signaling pathways, orchestrating plant immunity against pathogens and its modulating role in regulating abiotic stresses, such as: drought, cold, heat, and salinity, through the phytohormonal signaling pathways. Furthermore, we highlight potential applications of the MKK5 for engineering stress-resilient crops and provide future perspectives that may pave the way for future studies. This review manuscript aims to provide valuable insights into the mechanisms underlying MKK5 regulation, bridge the gap from numerous previous findings, and offer a firm base in the knowledge of MKK5, its regulating roles, and its involvement in environmental stress regulation.</p>","PeriodicalId":10752,"journal":{"name":"Critical Reviews in Biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":"473-490"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141154774","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jim Junhui Huang, Wenwen Xu, Shaoling Lin, Peter Chi Keung Cheung
{"title":"The bioactivities and biotechnological production approaches of carotenoids derived from microalgae and cyanobacteria.","authors":"Jim Junhui Huang, Wenwen Xu, Shaoling Lin, Peter Chi Keung Cheung","doi":"10.1080/07388551.2024.2359966","DOIUrl":"10.1080/07388551.2024.2359966","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Microalgae and cyanobacteria are a rich source of carotenoids that are well known for their potent bioactivities, including antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-proliferative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-obesity properties. Recently, many interests have also been focused on the biological activities of these microalgae/cyanobacteria-derived carotenoids, such as fucoxanthin and β-carotene potential to be the salutary nutraceuticals, on treating or preventing human common diseases (e.g., cancers). This is due to their special chemical structures that demonstrate unique bioactive functions, in which the biologically active discrepancies might attribute to the different spatial configurations of their molecules. In addition, their abundance and bioaccessibilities make them more popularly applied in food and pharmaceutical industries, as compared to the macroalgal/fungal-derived ones. This review is focused on the recent studies on the bioactivities of fucoxanthin and some carotenoids derived from microalgae and cyanobacteria in relationship with human health and diseases, with emphasis on their potential applications as natural antioxidants. Various biotechnological approaches employed to induce the production of these specific carotenoids from the culture of microalgae/cyanobacteria are also critically reviewed. These well-developed and emerging biotechnologies present promise to be applied in food and pharmaceutical industries to facilitate the efficient manufacture of the bioactive carotenoid products derived from microalgae and cyanobacteria.</p>","PeriodicalId":10752,"journal":{"name":"Critical Reviews in Biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":"276-304"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141747617","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zhipeng Li, Li You, Xiping Du, Haoyi Yang, Liang Yang, Yanbing Zhu, Lijun Li, Zedong Jiang, Qingbiao Li, Ning He, Rui Lin, Zhen Chen, Hui Ni
{"title":"New strategies to study in depth the metabolic mechanism of astaxanthin biosynthesis in <i>Phaffia rhodozyma</i>.","authors":"Zhipeng Li, Li You, Xiping Du, Haoyi Yang, Liang Yang, Yanbing Zhu, Lijun Li, Zedong Jiang, Qingbiao Li, Ning He, Rui Lin, Zhen Chen, Hui Ni","doi":"10.1080/07388551.2024.2344578","DOIUrl":"10.1080/07388551.2024.2344578","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Astaxanthin, a ketone carotenoid known for its high antioxidant activity, holds significant potential for application in nutraceuticals, aquaculture, and cosmetics. The increasing market demand necessitates a higher production of astaxanthin using <i>Phaffia rhodozyma</i>. Despite extensive research efforts focused on optimizing fermentation conditions, employing mutagenesis treatments, and utilizing genetic engineering technologies to enhance astaxanthin yield in <i>P. rhodozyma</i>, progress in this area remains limited. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the current understanding of rough metabolic pathways, regulatory mechanisms, and preliminary strategies for enhancing astaxanthin yield. However, further investigation is required to fully comprehend the intricate and essential metabolic regulation mechanism underlying astaxanthin synthesis. Specifically, the specific functions of key genes, such as <i>crtYB</i>, <i>crtS</i>, and <i>crtI</i>, need to be explored in detail. Additionally, a thorough understanding of the action mechanism of bifunctional enzymes and alternative splicing products is imperative. Lastly, the regulation of metabolic flux must be thoroughly investigated to reveal the complete pathway of astaxanthin synthesis. To obtain an in-depth mechanism and improve the yield of astaxanthin, this review proposes some frontier methods, including: omics, genome editing, protein structure-activity analysis, and synthetic biology. Moreover, it further elucidates the feasibility of new strategies using these advanced methods in various effectively combined ways to resolve these problems mentioned above. This review provides theory and method for studying the metabolic pathway of astaxanthin in <i>P. rhodozyma</i> and the industrial improvement of astaxanthin, and provides new insights into the flexible combined use of multiple modern advanced biotechnologies.</p>","PeriodicalId":10752,"journal":{"name":"Critical Reviews in Biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":"454-472"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141154776","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rayhane Hamrouni, Flor Regus, Anne-Marie Farnet Da Silva, Thierry Orsiere, Jean-Luc Boudenne, Isabelle Laffont-Schwob, Pierre Christen, Nathalie Dupuy
{"title":"Current status and future trends of microbial and nematode-based biopesticides for biocontrol of crop pathogens.","authors":"Rayhane Hamrouni, Flor Regus, Anne-Marie Farnet Da Silva, Thierry Orsiere, Jean-Luc Boudenne, Isabelle Laffont-Schwob, Pierre Christen, Nathalie Dupuy","doi":"10.1080/07388551.2024.2370370","DOIUrl":"10.1080/07388551.2024.2370370","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The increasing public demand to avoid the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers in agricultural production systems, causing serious environmental damages, has challenged industry to develop new and effective solutions to manage and control phytopathogens. Biopesticides, particularly microbial-based biopesticides, are a promising new alternative with high biodegradability, specificity, suitability for incorporation into integrated pest management practices, low likelihood of resistance development, and practically no known human health risks. However: expensive production methods, narrow action spectra, susceptibility to environmental conditions, short shelf life, poor storage stability, legislation registry constraints, and general lack of knowledge are slowing down their adoption. In addition to regulatory framework revisions and improved training initiatives, improved preservation methods, thoughtfully designed formulations, and field test validations are needed to offer new microbial- and nematode-based biopesticides with improved efficacy and increased shelf-life. During the last several years, substantial advancements in biopesticide production have been developed. The novelty part of this review written in 2023 is to summarize (i) mechanisms of action of beneficial microorganisms used to increase crop performance and (ii) successful formulation including commercial products for the biological control of phytopathogens based on microorganisms, nematode and/or metabolites.</p>","PeriodicalId":10752,"journal":{"name":"Critical Reviews in Biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":"333-352"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141579221","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yang Li, Mingxiong Liu, Changyang Yang, Hongxin Fu, Jufang Wang
{"title":"Engineering microbial metabolic homeostasis for chemicals production.","authors":"Yang Li, Mingxiong Liu, Changyang Yang, Hongxin Fu, Jufang Wang","doi":"10.1080/07388551.2024.2371465","DOIUrl":"10.1080/07388551.2024.2371465","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Microbial-based bio-refining promotes the development of a biotechnology revolution to encounter and tackle the enormous challenges in petroleum-based chemical production by biomanufacturing, biocomputing, and biosensing. Nevertheless, microbial metabolic homeostasis is often incompatible with the efficient synthesis of bioproducts mainly due to: inefficient metabolic flow, robust central metabolism, sophisticated metabolic network, and inevitable environmental perturbation. Therefore, this review systematically summarizes how to optimize microbial metabolic homeostasis by strengthening metabolic flux for improving biotransformation turnover, redirecting metabolic direction for rewiring bypass pathway, and reprogramming metabolic network for boosting substrate utilization. Future directions are also proposed for providing constructive guidance on the development of industrial biotechnology.</p>","PeriodicalId":10752,"journal":{"name":"Critical Reviews in Biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":"373-392"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141616036","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Demetrio Marcianò, Lisa Kappel, Sadia Fida Ullah, Vaibhav Srivastava
{"title":"From glycans to green biotechnology: exploring cell wall dynamics and phytobiota impact in plant glycopathology.","authors":"Demetrio Marcianò, Lisa Kappel, Sadia Fida Ullah, Vaibhav Srivastava","doi":"10.1080/07388551.2024.2370341","DOIUrl":"10.1080/07388551.2024.2370341","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Filamentous plant pathogens, including fungi and oomycetes, pose significant threats to cultivated crops, impacting agricultural productivity, quality and sustainability. Traditionally, disease control heavily relied on fungicides, but concerns about their negative impacts motivated stakeholders and government agencies to seek alternative solutions. Biocontrol agents (BCAs) have been developed as promising alternatives to minimize fungicide use. However, BCAs often exhibit inconsistent performances, undermining their efficacy as plant protection alternatives. The eukaryotic cell wall of plants and filamentous pathogens contributes significantly to their interaction with the environment and competitors. This highly adaptable and modular carbohydrate armor serves as the primary interface for communication, and the intricate interplay within this compartment is often mediated by carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) responsible for cell wall degradation and remodeling. These processes play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of plant diseases and contribute significantly to establishing both beneficial and detrimental microbiota. This review explores the interplay between cell wall dynamics and glycan interactions in the phytobiome scenario, providing holistic insights for efficiently exploiting microbial traits potentially involved in plant disease mitigation. Within this framework, the incorporation of glycobiology-related functional traits into the resident phytobiome can significantly enhance the plant's resilience to biotic stresses. Therefore, in the rational engineering of future beneficial consortia, it is imperative to recognize and leverage the understanding of cell wall interactions and the role of the glycome as an essential tool for the effective management of plant diseases.</p>","PeriodicalId":10752,"journal":{"name":"Critical Reviews in Biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":"314-332"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141616037","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mahendra Rai, Chistiane M Feitosa, Avinash P Ingle, Patrycja Golinska
{"title":"Harnessing bioactive nanocurcumin and curcumin nanocomposites to combat microbial pathogens: a comprehensive review.","authors":"Mahendra Rai, Chistiane M Feitosa, Avinash P Ingle, Patrycja Golinska","doi":"10.1080/07388551.2025.2458006","DOIUrl":"10.1080/07388551.2025.2458006","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The alarming rise in bacterial infections including those caused by multidrug-resistant pathogens has garnered the attention of the scientific community, compelling them to explore as novel and effective alternatives to combat these infections. Moreover, the emerging viruses such as Influenza A virus subtype H1N1 (A/H1N1), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), Ebolavirus, recent coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), etc. also has a significant impact all over the world. Therefore, the management of all such infections without any side effects is one of the most important challenges for the scientific community. Hence, the development of novel and effective antimicrobial agents is a need of the hour. In this context, <i>Curcuma longa</i>, commonly known as turmeric, has been used as traditional medicine for centuries to manage and treat such infections. Its bioactive constituent, curcumin has garnered significant attention in medicine due to its multifunctional bioactivities. Apart from antimicrobial properties, it also possesses potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. However, available reports suggest that its low solubility, stability, and biocompatibility limit its use. Moreover, on the other hand, it has been reported that these limitations associated with the use of curcumin can be resolved by transforming it into its nano-form, specifically curcumin nanoparticles. Recent advancements have brought curcumin nanoparticles into the spotlight, showcasing superior properties and a broad spectrum of antimicrobial applications. In this review, we have mainly focused on antimicrobial potential of curcumin and nanocurcumin, mechanisms underpinning their antimicrobial actions. Moreover, other aspects of toxicity and safety guidelines for nano-based products have been also discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":10752,"journal":{"name":"Critical Reviews in Biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":"1-23"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143467132","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thais S Milessi, Juliana P Sandri, Priscila V Arruda, Tayrone D Esteves, Luisa P Pinheiro, Vinod Kumar, Anuj K Chandel
{"title":"Role of non-genetically modified or native pentose fermenting microorganisms in establishing viable lignocellulosic biorefineries in the Brazilian context.","authors":"Thais S Milessi, Juliana P Sandri, Priscila V Arruda, Tayrone D Esteves, Luisa P Pinheiro, Vinod Kumar, Anuj K Chandel","doi":"10.1080/07388551.2025.2452628","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07388551.2025.2452628","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Brazil can play a pivotal role in the development of a circular bioeconomy as the country ranks among the top five major agricultural countries in the world producing a foreseeable lignocellulosic biomass from crops, such as sugarcane, soybean, corn, rice, coffee, and eucalyptus. Considering that pentose sugars (C5 sugars) represent 20%-35% of the amount of lignocellulosic biomass components, these sugars have a great potential in the development of carbon neutral economy. From the biomass conversion economic point of view, the conversion of hemicellulose into renewable products with a satisfactory yield is the most needed. However, the biochemical conversion of pentose sugars is challenging due to the scarcity of native pentose sugars fermenting microorganisms. While recent advances in metabolic engineering have been effective in developing a strong molecular chassis for efficient pentose sugars conversion, the yields, productivities, and stability of the genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are major limiting factors for industrial-scale applications. Native lignocellulosic sugars fermenting microorganisms are competent, robust, and inhibitor-tolerant but their lower productivities continue to be a big concern. This article explains the inherent characteristics of native pentose fermenting microorganisms in establishing viable lignocellulosic biorefineries in the Brazilian context, with a special focus on their isolation from Brazilian biodiversity, along with the evaluation of nongenetic engineering techniques to improve strains for biorefinery application.</p>","PeriodicalId":10752,"journal":{"name":"Critical Reviews in Biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":"1-19"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143467145","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fatima Ceballos Rodriguez-Conde, Sophie Zhu, Duygu Dikicioglu
{"title":"Harnessing microbial division of labor for biomanufacturing: a review of laboratory and formal modeling approaches.","authors":"Fatima Ceballos Rodriguez-Conde, Sophie Zhu, Duygu Dikicioglu","doi":"10.1080/07388551.2025.2455607","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07388551.2025.2455607","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Bioprocess industries aim to meet the increasing demand for product complexity by designing enhanced cellular and metabolic capabilities for the host. Monocultures, standard biomanufacturing workhorses, are often restricted in their capability to meet these demands, and the solution often involves the genetic modification of the host. Synthetic microbial communities are a promising alternative to monocultures because they exhibit division of labor, enabling efficient resource utilization and pathway modularity. This specialization minimizes metabolic burden and enhances robustness to perturbations, providing a competitive advantage. Despite this potential, their utilization in biotechnological or bioprocessing applications remains limited. The recent emergence of new and innovative community design tools and strategies, particularly those harnessing the division of labor, holds promise to change this outlook. Understanding the microbial interactions governing natural microbial communities can be used to identify complementary partners, informing synthetic community design. Therefore, we particularly consider engineering division of labor in synthetic microbial communities as a viable solution to accelerate progress in the field. This review presents the current understanding of how microbial interactions enable division of labor and how this information can be used to design synthetic microbial communities to perform tasks otherwise unfeasible to individual organisms. We then evaluate laboratory and formal modeling approaches specifically developed to: elucidate microbial community physiology, guide experimental design, and improve our understanding of complex community interactions assisting synthetic community design. By synthesizing these insights, we aim to present a comprehensive framework that advances the use of microbial communities in biomanufacturing applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":10752,"journal":{"name":"Critical Reviews in Biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":"1-19"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143457190","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}