{"title":"Microalgae-made biopharmaceuticals and their potential role in the One Health approach.","authors":"Ileana García-Silva, Sornkanok Vimolmangkang, Sergio Rosales-Mendoza","doi":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.08.018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.08.018","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Biopharmaceuticals play a crucial role in the One Health approach by providing preventive and therapeutic solutions that support both human and animal health. The microalgae-based platform for producing biopharmaceuticals offers low production costs, benefiting both sectors, and thus represents a promising strategy to advance the One Health initiative. Over the past decade, significant progress has been made in genetic engineering and bioprocessing of algal systems; however, no microalgae-made biopharmaceuticals for human use have yet reached the market. This review provides an updated perspective on these advances and highlights future directions for the field, with a focus on overcoming the hurdles that have delayed the application of this technology.</p>","PeriodicalId":23324,"journal":{"name":"Trends in biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145179026","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Nanobodies: a new frontier in plant disease management.","authors":"Preeti Patel, Dehua Pei, Guo-Liang Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.09.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.09.003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Nanobodies (Nbs) offer high potency, specificity, stability, and engineering versatility. Although well established in biomedicine, their use in crop protection is only emerging. In this forum, we summarize key advances in Nb-based immune receptors, antiviral and antifungal agents, and diagnostic tools, while discussing associated challenges and prospects in plant disease management.</p>","PeriodicalId":23324,"journal":{"name":"Trends in biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12479089/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145178970","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Emerging applications of carbon dots in plant (epi)genomics.","authors":"Mahmoud Tavakoli, Lixin Zong, Linwei She, Jian Huang, Wenli Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.09.005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.09.005","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Carbon dots (CDs) have broad applications across life sciences. This forum highlights the most recent breakthroughs of CDs in plant genomics and epigenomics, including gene transcription, their roles as carriers for delivering DNA, RNA, and agrochemicals in gene expression/silencing, and their utility in genomic and epigenomic studies. Potential future directions are proposed.</p>","PeriodicalId":23324,"journal":{"name":"Trends in biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145179031","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Rational bioengineering of polysaccharide in designing of microbiome modulation.","authors":"Jeong Hyun Moon, Kidong Kim, Yubin Kim, Sejin Son","doi":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.08.014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.08.014","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Targeted modulation of the gut microbiome offers significant promise for preventing and treating diverse diseases; yet, enhancing the efficacy of these interventions remains challenging. Polysaccharides have emerged as potent microbiome modulators, functioning as prebiotics that selectively promote beneficial bacterial growth and metabolite production. Their resistance to gastric degradation and selective intestinal fermentation enhance the precision of microbiome modulation while facilitating direct immunomodulatory interactions via pattern recognition receptor engagement on gut immune cells. Despite their high potential, polysaccharide-based microbiome modulators remain underrecognized. Advances in polysaccharide bioengineering now allow rational design of structure-function relationships, enabling targeted control of microbial communities and host immune responses. This review highlights these developments and applications, providing a timely perspective on next-generation microbiome-targeted strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":23324,"journal":{"name":"Trends in biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145179008","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Virus-like particles as modular interfaces for biomaterial functionalization.","authors":"Hasna Maayouf, Rayane Hedna, Alphonse Boché, Thomas Dos Santos, Kaspars Tārs, Isabelle Brigaud, Tatiana Petithory, Franck Carreiras, Carole Arnold, Ambroise Lambert, Laurent Pieuchot","doi":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.08.017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.08.017","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Biomaterial surface biofunctionalization refers to the process of modifying a biomaterial's surface to improve its interaction with biological systems. Controlling cell-material interactions is crucial, but current methods using native extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, typically derived from human or animal tissue, or synthetic peptides are hampered by limitations such as batch variability, high cost, poor surface adsorption, and limited control over peptide presentation. This study introduces a technology that uses virus-like particles (VLPs) displaying biomimetic ECM-derived peptides. We engineered VLPs to present the RGD motif (arginine-glycine-aspartic acid), a well-established sequence that promotes cell adhesion, using either direct genetic fusion or SpyTag/SpyCatcher ligation, with the latter providing a more versatile conjugation strategy. These VLPs effectively functionalized cell-repellent silicone surfaces, significantly enhancing cell adhesion, migration, proliferation, and differentiation, achieving performance comparable with or exceeding that of native ECM proteins or synthetic RGD peptides. Additionally, the VLP/SpyCatcher particle enabled the co-presentation of multiple bioactive peptides, opening avenues for complex tissue engineering strategies. This tunable system represents a powerful tool for directing cell behavior, with significant potential for advancing nanomedicine and biomaterials development.</p>","PeriodicalId":23324,"journal":{"name":"Trends in biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145139033","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alyssa M Worland, Vincent A Xu, Maria F Duran, Philip Gitman, Kristen Hunter-Cevera, Cinzia Klemm, Yufei Sun, Diego Ruiz Sanchis, Rodrigo Ledesma-Amaro, Kyle R Pomraning, Deepti Tanjore, Mark Blenner, Yinjie J Tang
{"title":"Staying productive under pressure: systems evaluations of β-carotene production in Yarrowia lipolytica under continuous fermentation.","authors":"Alyssa M Worland, Vincent A Xu, Maria F Duran, Philip Gitman, Kristen Hunter-Cevera, Cinzia Klemm, Yufei Sun, Diego Ruiz Sanchis, Rodrigo Ledesma-Amaro, Kyle R Pomraning, Deepti Tanjore, Mark Blenner, Yinjie J Tang","doi":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.08.019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.08.019","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Scaling biomanufacturing from laboratory to industrial scale poses significant challenges, especially for continuous fermentation. This study investigates these challenges using a β-carotene-producing Yarrowia lipolytica strain. Through fermentation experiments and proteomics, we have assessed how fermentation modes, carbon sources, dissolved O<sub>2</sub>, and media composition influence long-term bioproduction. In shaking flask subcultures, the strain maintained β-carotene production for over ~30 generations. However, in continuous fermentations, subpopulation shifted toward faster-growing low-producers, leading to significant production losses within just ~18 growth generations. This process was accelerated by O<sub>2</sub> limitation and high bioreactor dilution rates. Using canola oil as a carbon source increases population heterogeneity but enhances β-carotene biosynthesis and prolongs production compared with glucose-based media. Kinetic modeling suggests that strains optimized for the highest production in laboratory settings may be less robust in industrial environments, where suboptimal yet faster-growing variants gain a competitive edge under prolonged stress and ultimately shape overall continuous fermentation performance.</p>","PeriodicalId":23324,"journal":{"name":"Trends in biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145132006","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Are amyloid-based materials conducive to tissue engineering?","authors":"Komal Patel, Samir K Maji","doi":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.08.009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.08.009","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Amyloid fibrils, known for their stable, cross-β-sheet structure, are involved in both pathological conditions and functional biological processes. While implicated in disease pathogenesis, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, they also play roles in normal cellular functions, such as biofilm formation, melanin polymerization, and hormone storage. Amyloid-based biomaterials have gained attention for their stability, mechanical strength, unique surface properties, and structural versatility, making them suitable for various biotechnological applications. This review discusses their recent advancements and potential as biomaterials for tissue engineering, such as scaffolds for cell culture, wound healing, and organoid development. The unique properties of amyloids, combined with advances in structural and synthetic biology, position them as promising candidates for innovative biomaterials in medical and biotechnological fields.</p>","PeriodicalId":23324,"journal":{"name":"Trends in biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145103014","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A practical guide to spatial transcriptomics: lessons from over 1000 samples.","authors":"Daniela Grases, Eduard Porta-Pardo","doi":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.08.020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.08.020","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Spatial transcriptomics (ST) enables the in situ mapping of gene expression, revolutionizing our ability to study tissue organization and cellular interactions. However, many groups struggle with practical barriers to implementation, including platform selection, sample quality, and experimental scalability. We provide a practical guide to ST, informed by the processing and analysis of over 1000 spatial samples across multiple ST platforms. We outline best practices for experimental design, tissue handling, sequencing, and computational analysis, with special attention to clinical samples. Our goal is to translate hands-on experience into recommendations that support robust, reproducible spatial workflows. This guide is designed to assist researchers at all levels: from those designing their first spatial experiment to groups aiming to integrate ST into large-scale studies.</p>","PeriodicalId":23324,"journal":{"name":"Trends in biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145103022","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Muhammad Waseem Sajjad, Rubab Zahra Naqvi, Imran Amin
{"title":"Viral genome editing: striking a balance between promises and precautions.","authors":"Muhammad Waseem Sajjad, Rubab Zahra Naqvi, Imran Amin","doi":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.09.010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.09.010","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Viral vectors can provide transgene-free genome editing. The forward-looking frameworks for their use must be biosafety and freedom from ecological risk. The responsible innovations, showing a balance between promise and caution following regulatory frameworks, can guarantee that viral genome editing develops into a revolutionary but environmentally conscious strategy for sustainable agricultural improvement.</p>","PeriodicalId":23324,"journal":{"name":"Trends in biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145103012","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yongguang Li, Yonggang Li, Bing-Jie Ni, Yue-Zhong Li, Shou-Qing Ni
{"title":"Towards scalable anammox: mechanistic insights and emerging strategies.","authors":"Yongguang Li, Yonggang Li, Bing-Jie Ni, Yue-Zhong Li, Shou-Qing Ni","doi":"10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.08.013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.08.013","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Anammox-based systems are promising wastewater treatment processes that utilize anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) bacteria to remove nitrogen. These systems offer energy-efficient and carbon-neutral alternatives to conventional biological treatments but their practical application faces challenges, including limited total nitrogen (TN)-removal efficiency and sensitivity to adverse conditions. Recent research has explored innovative strategies to overcome these limitations, such as multi-metabolic pathway coupling, integration of photocatalysis and bioelectrochemical modules, and modulation of exogenous iron supply (e.g., iron oxides, ferroheme, and magnetite). In addition, mechanisms that support anammox resistance to environmental stressors are being uncovered. This review outlines these advances and proposes tailored engineering strategies to improve the performance and scalability of anammox-based systems and thus facilitate their application in complex wastewater treatment scenarios.</p>","PeriodicalId":23324,"journal":{"name":"Trends in biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145087579","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}