| 1. |
- Liebmann, Thomas, et al.
(författare)
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Self-assembling Fmoc dipeptide hydrogel for in situ 3D cell culturing
- 2007
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 7:88
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Conventional cell culture studies have been performed on 2D surfaces, resulting in flat, extended cell growth. More relevant studies are desired to better mimic 3D in vivo tissue growth. Such realistic environments should be the aim of any cell growth study, requiring new methods for culturing cells in vitro. Cell biology is also tending toward miniaturization for increased efficiency and specificity. This paper discusses the application of a self-assembling peptide-derived hydrogel for use as a 3D cell culture scaffold at the microscale.Results: Phenylalanine derivative hydrogel formation was seen to occur in multiple dispersion media. Cells were immobilized in situ within microchambers designed for cell analysis. Use of the highly biocompatible hydrogel components and simplistic procedures significantly reduced the cytotoxic effects seen with alternate 3D culture materials and microstructure loading methods. Cells were easily immobilized, sustained and removed from microchambers. Differences in growth morphology were seen in the cultured cells, owing to the 3-dimentional character of the gel structure. Degradation improved the removal of hydrogel from the microstructures, permitting reuse of the analysis platforms.Conclusion: Self-assembling diphenylalanine derivative hydrogel provided a method to dramatically reduce the typical difficulties of microculture formation. Effective generation of patterned 3D cultures will lead to improved cell study results by better modeling in vivo growth environments and increasing efficiency and specificity of cell studies. Use of simplified growth scaffolds such as peptide-derived hydrogel should be seen as highly advantageous and will likely become more commonplace in cell culture methodology.
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| 2. |
- Bergdahl, Basti, et al.
(författare)
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Physiological effects of over-expressing compartment-specific components of the protein folding machinery in xylose-fermenting Saccharomyces cerevisiae
- 2014
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 14:28
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Efficient utilization of both glucose and xylose is necessary for a competitive ethanol production from lignocellulosic materials. Although many advances have been made in the development of xylose-fermenting strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the productivity remains much lower compared to glucose. Previous transcriptional analyses of recombinant xylose-fermenting strains have mainly focused on central carbon metabolism. Very little attention has been given to other fundamental cellular processes such as the folding of proteins. Analysis of previously measured transcript levels in a recombinant XR/XDH-strain showed a wide down-regulation of genes targeted by the unfolded protein response during xylose fermentation. Under anaerobic conditions the folding of proteins is directly connected with fumarate metabolism and requires two essential enzymes: FADH2-dependent fumarate reductase (FR) and Ero1p. In this study we tested whether these enzymes impair the protein folding process causing the very slow growth of recombinant yeast strains on xylose under anaerobic conditions. Results: Four strains over-expressing the cytosolic (FRD1) or mitochondrial (OSM1) FR genes and ERO1 in different combinations were constructed. The growth and fermentation performance was evaluated in defined medium as well as in a complex medium containing glucose and xylose. Over-expression of FRD1, alone or in combination with ERO1, did not have any significant effect on xylose fermentation in any medium used. Over-expression of OSM1, on the other hand, led to a diversion of carbon from glycerol to acetate and a decrease in growth rate by 39% in defined medium and by 25% in complex medium. Combined over-expression of OSM1 and ERO1 led to the same diversion of carbon from glycerol to acetate and had a stronger detrimental effect on the growth in complex medium. Conclusions: Increasing the activities of the FR enzymes and Ero1p is not sufficient to increase the anaerobic growth on xylose. So additional components of the protein folding mechanism that were identified in transcription analysis of UPR related genes may also be limiting. This includes i) the transcription factor encoded by HAC1 ii) the activity of Pdi1p and iii) the requirement of free FAD during anaerobic growth.
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| 3. |
- Liu, Jian, et al.
(författare)
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PhiC31 integrase induces a DNA damage response and chromosomal rearrangements in human adult fibroblasts
- 2009
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: PhiC31 integrase facilitates efficient integration of transgenes into human and mouse genomes and is considered for clinical gene therapy. However recent studies have shown that the enzyme can induce various chromosomal abnormalities in primary human embryonic cells and mammalian cell lines. The mechanisms involved are unknown, but it has been proposed that PhiC31 attachment sites in the host genome recombine leading to chromosomal translocations. Results: We have studied possible effects of the PhiC31 integrase expression in human adult fibroblasts by karyotyping. All control cells were cytogenetically normal, whereas cells expressing PhiC31 integrase show chromosomal abnormalities confirming our previous results using primary embryonic fibroblasts. In order to study the early mechanisms involved we measured H2AX phosphorylation-a primary event in the response to DNA double-strand-breaks. Transient transfection with PhiC31 integrase encoding plasmids lead to an elevated number of cells positive for H2AX phosphorylation detected by immunofluorescence. Western blot analysis confirmed the upregulated H2AX phosphorylation, whereas markers for apoptosis as well as p53 and p21 were not induced. Cells transfected with plasmids encoding the Sleeping Beauty transposase remained cytogenetically normal, and in these cells less upregulation of H2AX phosphorylation could be detected. Conclusion: In primary human fibroblasts expression of PhiC31 integrase leads to a DNA damage response and chromosomal aberrations.
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| 4. |
- Nielsen, Troels T., et al.
(författare)
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Incorporating double copies of a chromatin insulator into lentiviral vectors results in less viral integrants
- 2009
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Lentiviral vectors hold great promise as gene transfer vectors in gene therapeutic settings. However, problems related to the risk of insertional mutagenesis, transgene silencing and positional effects have stalled the use of such vectors in the clinic. Chromatin insulators are boundary elements that can prevent enhancer-promoter interactions, if placed between these elements, and protect transgene cassettes from silencing and positional effects. It has been suggested that insulators can improve the safety and performance of lentiviral vectors. Therefore insulators have been incorporated into lentiviral vectors in order to enhance their safety profile and improve transgene expression. Commonly such insulator vectors are produced at lower titers than control vectors thus limiting their potential use. Results: In this study we cloned in tandem copies of the chicken beta-globin insulator (cHS4) on both sides of the transgene cassette in order to enhance the insulating effect. Our insulator vectors were produced at significantly lower titers compared to control vectors, and we show that this reduction in titer is due to a block during the transduction process that appears after reverse transcription but before integration of the viral DNA. This non-integrated viral DNA could be detected by PCR and, importantly, prevented efficient transduction of target cells. Conclusion: These results have importance for the future use of insulator sequences in lentiviral vectors and might limit the use of insulators in vectors for in vivo use. Therefore, a careful analysis of the optimal design must be performed before insulators are included into clinical lentiviral vectors.
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| 5. |
- Noppe, Wim, et al.
(författare)
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Chromato-panning: an efficient new mode of identifying suitable ligands from phage display libraries
- 2009
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Phage Display technology is a well established technique for high throughput screening of affinity ligands. Here we describe a new compact chromato-panning procedure for selection of suitable binders from a phage peptide display library. Results: Both phages and E. coli cells pass non-hindered through the interconnected pores of macroporous gel, so called cryogel. After coupling a ligand to a monolithic cryogel column, the phage library was applied on the column and non-bound phages were washed out. The selection of strong phage-binders was achieved already after the first panning cycle due to the efficient separation of phage-binders from phage-non-binders in chromatographic mode rather than in batch mode as in traditional biopanning procedures. E. coli cells were applied on the column for infection with the specifically bound phages. Conclusion: Chromato-panning allows combining several steps of the panning procedure resulting in 4-8 fold decrease of total time needed for phage selection.
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| 6. |
- Nordén, Kristina, et al.
(författare)
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Increasing gene dosage greatly enhances recombinant expression of aquaporins in Pichia pastoris
- 2011
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: When performing functional and structural studies, large quantities of pure protein are desired. Most membrane proteins are however not abundantly expressed in their native tissues, which in general rules out purification from natural sources. Heterologous expression, especially of eukaryotic membrane proteins, has also proven to be challenging. The development of expression systems in insect cells and yeasts has resulted in an increase in successful overexpression of eukaryotic proteins. High yields of membrane protein from such hosts are however not guaranteed and several, to a large extent unexplored, factors may influence recombinant expression levels. In this report we have used four isoforms of aquaporins to systematically investigate parameters that may affect protein yield when overexpressing membrane proteins in the yeast Pichia pastoris. Results: By comparing clones carrying a single gene copy, we show a remarkable variation in recombinant protein expression between isoforms and that the poor expression observed for one of the isoforms could only in part be explained by reduced transcript levels. Furthermore, we show that heterologous expression levels of all four aquaporin isoforms strongly respond to an increase in recombinant gene dosage, independent of the amount of protein expressed from a single gene copy. We also demonstrate that the increased expression does not appear to compromise the protein folding and the membrane localisation. Conclusions: We report a convenient and robust method based on qPCR to determine recombinant gene dosage. The method is generic for all constructs based on the pPICZ vectors and offers an inexpensive, quick and reliable means of characterising recombinant P. pastoris clones. By using this method we show that: (1) heterologous expression of all aquaporins investigated respond strongly to an increase in recombinant gene dosage (2) expression from a single recombinant gene copy varies in an isoform dependent manner (3) the poor expression observed for AtSIP1;1 is mainly caused by posttranscriptional limitations. The protein folding and membrane localisation seems to be unaffected by increased expression levels. Thus a screen for elevated gene dosage can routinely be performed for identification of P. pastoris clones with high expression levels of aquaporins and other classes of membrane proteins.
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| 7. |
- Svensson Bonde, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Use of human amelogenin in molecular encapsulation for the design of pH responsive microparticles
- 2012
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Proteins can be used in drug delivery systems to improve pharmacological properties of an active substance. Differences in pH between tissues can be utilized in order to achieve a targeted drug release at a specific location or tissue, such as a tumor. The enamel matrix protein amelogenin has a pH dependent solubility profile and self-assemble to form aggregates at neutral pH. This could make amelogenin useful in the design of pH responsive drug delivery systems. Results: In this study amelogenin was evaluated as a pH responsive component in drug delivery applications. This was achieved by testing the ability of amelogenin to entrap/release other proteins upon changes in pH, and by testing if amelogenin could confer pH responsiveness to an existing and versatile drug delivery system, such as gelatin microparticles. Amelogenin was able to encapsulate bovine serum albumin and insulin, which were used as model target proteins. The composite aggregates of amelogenin and target protein were formed at neutral pH and could be reversibly solubilized at weakly acidic pH. Gelatin microparticles prepared in the presence of amelogenin, showed a modulated structure in response to pH change, when studied by scanning electron microscopy, compared to particles without amelogenin. At neutral pH amelogenin induced formation of pores in the particle surface, which were not present at acidic pH, or in particles lacking amelogenin. Conclusions: The results from this study demonstrate that amelogenin can be a useful component in drug delivery systems in order to achieve a pH dependent response.
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| 8. |
- Tang, Yong, et al.
(författare)
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Enhancement of fermentable sugar yield by competitive adsorption of non-enzymatic substances from yeast and cellulase on lignin
- 2014
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 14
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Enhancement of enzymatic digestibility by some supplementations could reduce enzyme loading and cost, which is still too high to realize economical production of lignocellulosic biofuels. A recent study indicates that yeast hydrolysates (YH) have improved the efficiency of cellulases on digestibility of furfural residues (FR). In the current work, the components of YH were separated by centrifugation and size exclusion chromatography and finally characterized in order to better understand this positive effect. Results: A 60.8% of nitrogen of yeast cells was remained in the slurry (YHS) after hydrothermal treatment. In the supernatant of YH (YHL), substances of high molecular weight were identified as proteins and other UV-absorbing compounds, which showed close molecular weight to components of cellulases. Those substances attributed to a synergetic positive effect on enzymatic hydrolysis of FR. The fraction of YHL ranged from 1.19 to 2.19 mL (elution volume) contained over 50% of proteins in YHL and had the best performance in stimulating the release of glucose. Experiment results proved the adsorption of proteins in YHL on lignin. Conclusions: Supplementation of cellulases with YH enhances enzymatic digestibility of FR mainly by a competitive adsorption of non-enzymatic substances on lignin. The molecular weight of these substances has a significant impact on their performance. Different strategies can be used for a good utilization of yeast cells in terms of biorefinery concept.
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| 9. |
- von Schantz, Laura, et al.
(författare)
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Affinity maturation generates greatly improved xyloglucan-specific carbohydrate binding modules
- 2009
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Molecular evolution of carbohydrate binding modules (CBM) is a new approach for the generation of glycan-specific molecular probes. To date, the possibility of performing affinity maturation on CBM has not been investigated. In this study we show that binding characteristics such as affinity can be improved for CBM generated from the CBM4-2 scaffold by using random mutagenesis in combination with phage display technology. Results: Two modified proteins with greatly improved affinity for xyloglucan, a key polysaccharide abundant in the plant kingdom crucial for providing plant support, were generated. Both improved modules differ from other existing xyloglucan probes by binding to galactose-decorated subunits of xyloglucan. The usefulness of the evolved binders was verified by staining of plant sections, where they performed better than the xyloglucan-binding module from which they had been derived. They discriminated non-fucosylated from fucosylated xyloglucan as shown by their ability to stain only the endosperm, rich in non-fucosylated xyloglucan, but not the integument rich in fucosylated xyloglucan, on tamarind seed sections. Conclusion: We conclude that affinity maturation of CBM selected from molecular libraries based on the CBM4-2 scaffold is possible and has the potential to generate new analytical tools for detection of plant carbohydrates.
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| 10. |
- Weber, Nora, et al.
(författare)
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Biocatalytic potential of vanillin aminotransferase from Capsicum chinense.
- 2014
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 14:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The conversion of vanillin to vanillylamine is a key step in the biosynthetic route towards capsaicinoids in pungent cultivars of Capsicum sp. The reaction has previously been annotated to be catalysed by PAMT (putative aminotransferase; [GenBank: AAC78480.1, Swiss-Prot: O82521]), however, the enzyme has previously not been biochemically characterised in vitro.
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| 11. |
- Macao, Bertil, 1969, et al.
(författare)
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Recombinant amyloid beta-peptide production by coexpression with an affibody ligand.
- 2008
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Ingår i: BMC biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Oligomeric and fibrillar aggregates of the amyloid beta-peptide (Abeta) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The characterization of Abeta assemblies is essential for the elucidation of the mechanisms of Abeta neurotoxicity, but requires large quantities of pure peptide. Here we describe a novel approach to the recombinant production of Abeta. The method is based on the coexpression of the affibody protein ZAbeta3, a selected affinity ligand derived from the Z domain three-helix bundle scaffold. ZAbeta3 binds to the amyloidogenic central and C-terminal part of Abeta with nanomolar affinity and consequently inhibits aggregation. RESULTS: Coexpression of ZAbeta3 affords the overexpression of both major Abeta isoforms, Abeta(1-40) and Abeta(1-42), yielding 4 or 3 mg, respectively, of pure 15N-labeled peptide per liter of culture. The method does not rely on a protein-fusion or -tag and thus does not require a cleavage reaction. The purified peptides were characterized by NMR, circular dichroism, SDS-PAGE and size exclusion chromatography, and their aggregation propensities were assessed by thioflavin T fluorescence and electron microscopy. The data coincide with those reported previously for monomeric, largely unstructured Abeta. ZAbeta3 coexpression moreover permits the recombinant production of Abeta(1-42) carrying the Arctic (E22G) mutation, which causes early onset familial AD. Abeta(1-42)E22G is obtained in predominantly monomeric form and suitable, e.g., for NMR studies. CONCLUSION: The coexpression of an engineered aggregation-inhibiting binding protein offers a novel route to the recombinant production of amyloidogenic Abeta peptides that can be advantageously employed to study the molecular basis of AD. The presented expression system is the first for which expression and purification of the aggregation-prone Arctic variant (E22G) of Abeta(1-42) is reported.
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| 12. |
- Chen, Tingsu, et al.
(författare)
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Identification of gliadin-binding peptides by phage display
- 2011
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Coeliac disease (CD) is a common and complex disorder of the small intestine caused by intolerance to wheat gluten and related edible cereals like barley and rye. Peptides originating from incomplete gliadin digestion activate the lamina propria infiltrating T cells to release proinflammatory cytokines, which in turn cause profound tissue remodelling of the small intestinal wall. There is no cure for CD except refraining from consuming gluten-containing products. RESULTS: Phage from a random oligomer display library were enriched by repeated pannings against immobilised gliadin proteins. Phage from the final panning round were plated, individual plaques picked, incubated with host bacteria, amplified to a population size of 1011 to 1012 and purified. DNA was isolated from 1000 purified phage populations and the region covering the 36 bp oligonucleotide insert from which the displayed peptides were translated, was sequenced. Altogether more than 150 different peptide-encoding sequences were identified, many of which were repeatedly isolated under various experimental conditions. Amplified phage populations, each expressing a single peptide, were tested first in pools and then one by one for their ability to inhibit binding of human anti-gliadin antibodies in ELISA assays. These experiments showed that several of the different peptide-expressing phage tested inhibited the interaction between gliadin and anti-gliadin antibodies. Finally, four different peptide-encoding sequences were selected for further analysis, and the corresponding 12-mer peptides were synthesised in vitro. By ELISA assays it was demonstrated that several of the peptides inhibited the interaction between gliadin molecules and serum anti-gliadin antibodies. Moreover, ELISA competition experiments as well as dot-blot and western blot revealed that the different peptides interacted with different molecular sites of gliadin. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that several of the isolated and characterised gliadin-binding peptides described here could provide valuable tools for researchers in the field of CD by facilitating studies on localisation and uptake of various gliadin peptides in the small intestine. In future work, the potential of these peptides to detoxify gluten will be investigated.
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| 13. |
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| 14. |
- Gräsvik, John, et al.
(författare)
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Evaluation of four ionic liquids for pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass.
- 2014
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer. - 1472-6750. ; 14:1, s. 34-45
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Lignocellulosic biomass is highly recalcitrant and various pretreatment techniques are needed to facilitate its effective enzymatic hydrolysis to produce sugars for further conversion to bio-based chemicals. Ionic liquids (ILs) are of interest in pretreatment because of their potential to dissolve lignocellulosic materials including crystalline cellulose.RESULTS: Four imidazolium-based ionic liquids (ILs) ([C=C2C1im][MeCO2], [C4C1im][MeCO2], [C4C1im][Cl], and [C4C1im][HSO4]) well known for their capability to dissolve lignocellulosic species were synthesized and then used for pretreatment of substrates prior to enzymatic hydrolysis. In order to achieve a broad evaluation, seven cellulosic, hemicellulosic and lignocellulosic substrates, crystalline as well as amorphous, were selected. The lignocellulosic substrates included hybrid aspen and Norway spruce. The monosaccharides in the enzymatic hydrolysate were determined using high-performance anion-exchange chromatography. The best results, as judged by the saccharification efficiency, were achieved with [C4C1im][Cl] for cellulosic substrates and with the acetate-based ILs for hybrid aspen and Norway spruce. After pretreatment with acetate-based ILs, the conversion to glucose of glucan in recalcitrant softwood lignocellulose reached similar levels as obtained with pure crystalline and amorphous cellulosic substrates. IL pretreatment of lignocellulose resulted in sugar yields comparable with that obtained with acidic pretreatment. Heterogeneous dissolution with [C4C1im][HSO4] gave promising results with aspen, the less recalcitrant of the two types of lignocellulose included in the investigation.CONCLUSIONS: The ability of ILs to dissolve lignocellulosic biomass under gentle conditions and with little or no by-product formation contributes to making them highly interesting alternatives for pretreatment in processes where high product yields are of critical importance.
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| 15. |
- Johansson, Emma, 1979, et al.
(författare)
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Fermentation performance and physiology of two strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae during growth in high gravity spruce hydrolysate and spent sulphite liquor
- 2014
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 14, s. Art. no. 47-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Lignocellulosic materials are a diverse group of substrates that are generally scarce in nutrients, which compromises the tolerance and fermentation performance of the fermenting organism. The problem is exacerbated by harsh pre-treatment, which introduces sugars and substances inhibitory to yeast metabolism. This study compares the fermentation behaviours of two yeast strains using different types of lignocellulosic substrates; high gravity dilute acid spruce hydrolysate (SH) and spent sulphite liquor (SSL), in the absence and presence of yeast extract. To this end, the fermentation performance, energy status and fermentation capacity of the strains were measured under different growth conditions. Results: Nutrient supplementation with yeast extract increased sugar uptake, cell growth and ethanol production in all tested fermentation conditions, but had little or no effect on the energy status, irrespective of media. Nutrient-supplemented medium enhanced the fermentation capacity of harvested cells, indicating that cell viability and reusability was increased by nutrient addition. Conclusions: Although both substrates belong to the lignocellulosic spruce hydrolysates, their differences offer specific challenges and the overall yields and productivities largely depend on choice of fermenting strain.
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| 16. |
- Liljedahl, Ulrika, et al.
(författare)
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Detecting imbalanced expression of SNP alleles by minisequencing on microarrays
- 2004
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 4:24, s. 1-10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND:Each of the human genes or transcriptional units is likely to contain single nucleotide polymorphisms that may give rise to sequence variation between individuals and tissues on the level of RNA. Based on recent studies, differential expression of the two alleles of heterozygous coding single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) may be frequent for human genes. Methods with high accuracy to be used in a high throughput setting are needed for systematic surveys of expressed sequence variation. In this study we evaluated two formats of multiplexed, microarray based minisequencing for quantitative detection of imbalanced expression of SNP alleles. We used a panel of ten SNPs located in five genes known to be expressed in two endothelial cell lines as our model system.RESULTS:The accuracy and sensitivity of quantitative detection of allelic imbalance was assessed for each SNP by constructing regression lines using a dilution series of mixed samples from individuals of different genotype. Accurate quantification of SNP alleles by both assay formats was evidenced for by R2 values > 0.95 for the majority of the regression lines. According to a two sample t-test, we were able to distinguish 1-9% of a minority SNP allele from a homozygous genotype, with larger variation between SNPs than between assay formats. Six of the SNPs, heterozygous in either of the two cell lines, were genotyped in RNA extracted from the endothelial cells. The coefficient of variation between the fluorescent signals from five parallel reactions was similar for cDNA and genomic DNA. The fluorescence signal intensity ratios measured in the cDNA samples were compared to those in genomic DNA to determine the relative expression levels of the two alleles of each SNP. Four of the six SNPs tested displayed a higher than 1.4-fold difference in allelic ratios between cDNA and genomic DNA. The results were verified by allele-specific oligonucleotide hybridisation and minisequencing in a microtiter plate format.CONCLUSIONS:We conclude that microarray based minisequencing is an accurate and accessible tool for multiplexed screening for imbalanced allelic expression in multiple samples and tissues in parallel.
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| 17. |
- Lopes Pinto, Fernando, et al.
(författare)
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Generation of non-genomic oligonucleotide tag sequences for RNA template-specific PCR
- 2006
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 6, s. 31-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundIn order to overcome genomic DNA contamination in transcriptional studies, reverse template-specific polymerase chain reaction, a modification of reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, is used. The possibility of using tags whose sequences are not found in the genome further improves reverse specific polymerase chain reaction experiments. Given the absence of software available to produce genome suitable tags, a simple tool to fulfill such need was developed.ResultsThe program was developed in Perl, with separate use of the basic local alignment search tool, making the tool platform independent (known to run on Windows XP and Linux). In order to test the performance of the generated tags, several molecular experiments were performed. The results show that Tagenerator is capable of generating tags with good priming properties, which will deliberately not result in PCR amplification of genomic DNA.ConclusionThe program Tagenerator is capable of generating tag sequences that combine genome absence with good priming properties for RT-PCR based experiments, circumventing the effects of genomic DNA contamination in an RNA sample.
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| 18. |
- Lopes Pinto, Fernando, et al.
(författare)
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Webtag : A new web tool providing tags/anchors for RT-PCR experiments with prokaryotes
- 2007
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 7, s. 73-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Webtag is a tool providing oligonucleotide sequences (usually called tags or anchors) that are absent from a specified genome. These tags/anchors can be appended to gene specific primers for reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction experiments, circumventing genomic DNA contamination. Results: The use of a relational database, in conjunction with a series of scripts written in PHP and Perl, allows the user to rapidly obtain tags that are: 1) suitable for a specific organism, and 2) compatible with other oligonucleotides to be used in the experimental procedures. Conclusion: This new web tool allows scientists to easily and rapidly obtain suitable tags for RTPCR experiments, and is available at http://www.egs.uu.se/software/webtag/.
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| 19. |
- Mathot, Lucy, et al.
(författare)
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Automated serial extraction of DNA and RNA from biobanked tissue specimens
- 2013
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 13, s. 66-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: With increasing biobanking of biological samples, methods for large scale extraction of nucleic acids are in demand. The lack of such techniques designed for extraction from tissues results in a bottleneck in downstream genetic analyses, particularly in the field of cancer research. We have developed an automated procedure for tissue homogenization and extraction of DNA and RNA into separate fractions from the same frozen tissue specimen. A purpose developed magnetic bead based technology to serially extract both DNA and RNA from tissues was automated on a Tecan Freedom Evo robotic workstation. Results: 864 fresh-frozen human normal and tumor tissue samples from breast and colon were serially extracted in batches of 96 samples. Yields and quality of DNA and RNA were determined. The DNA was evaluated in several downstream analyses, and the stability of RNA was determined after 9 months of storage. The extracted DNA performed consistently well in processes including PCR-based STR analysis, HaloPlex selection and deep sequencing on an Illumina platform, and gene copy number analysis using microarrays. The RNA has performed well in RT-PCR analyses and maintains integrity upon storage. Conclusions: The technology described here enables the processing of many tissue samples simultaneously with a high quality product and a time and cost reduction for the user. This reduces the sample preparation bottleneck in cancer research. The open automation format also enables integration with upstream and downstream devices for automated sample quantitation or storage.
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| 20. |
- Normark, Monica, et al.
(författare)
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Analysis, pretreatment and enzymatic saccharification of different fractions of Scots pine
- 2014
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1472-6750. ; 14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Forestry residues consisting of softwood are a major lignocellulosic resource for production of liquid biofuels. Scots pine, a commercially important forest tree, was fractionated into seven fractions of chips: juvenile heartwood, mature heartwood, juvenile sapwood, mature sapwood, bark, top parts, and knotwood. The different fractions were characterized analytically with regard to chemical composition and susceptibility to dilute-acid pretreatment and enzymatic saccharification. Results: All fractions were characterized by a high glucan content (38-43%) and a high content of other carbohydrates (11-14% mannan, 2-4% galactan) that generate easily convertible hexose sugars, and by a low content of inorganic material (0.2-0.9% ash). The lignin content was relatively uniform (27-32%) and the syringyl-guaiacyl ratio of the different fractions were within the range 0.021-0.025. The knotwood had a high content of extractives (9%) compared to the other fractions. The effects of pretreatment and enzymatic saccharification were relatively similar, but without pretreatment the bark fraction was considerably more susceptible to enzymatic saccharification. Conclusions: Since sawn timber is a main product from softwood species such as Scots pine, it is an important issue whether different parts of the tree are equally suitable for bioconversion processes. The investigation shows that bioconversion of Scots pine is facilitated by that most of the different fractions exhibit relatively similar properties with regard to chemical composition and susceptibility to techniques used for bioconversion of woody biomass.
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| 21. |
- Nørholm, Morten H. H.
(författare)
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A mutant Pfu DNA polymerase designed for advanced uracil-excision DNA engineering
- 2010
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 10, s. 21-27
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The combined use of restriction enzymes with PCR has revolutionized molecular cloning, but is inherently restricted by the content of the manipulated DNA sequences. Uracil-excision based cloning is ligase and sequence independent and allows seamless fusion of multiple DNA sequences in simple one-tube reactions, with higher accuracy than overlapping PCR. Results: Here, the addition of a highly efficient DNA polymerase and a low-background-, large-insertion-compatible site-directed mutagenesis protocol is described, largely expanding the versatility of uracil-excision DNA engineering. Conclusions: The different uracil-excision based molecular tools that have been developed in an open-source fashion, constitute a comprehensive, yet simple and inexpensive toolkit for any need in molecular cloning.
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| 22. |
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| 23. |
- Schwochow, Doreen
(författare)
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Efficient recovery of whole blood RNA - a comparison of commercial RNA extraction protocols for high-throughput applications in wildlife species
- 2012
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 12, s. 1-11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Conclusion: By carefully choosing the appropriate RNA extraction method, whole blood can become a valuable source for high-throughput applications like expression arrays or transcriptome sequencing from natural populations. Additionally, candidate genes showing signs of selection could subsequently be genotyped in large population samples using whole blood as a source for RNA without harming individuals from rare or endangered species.
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| 24. |
- Sybirna, Kateryna, et al.
(författare)
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Shewanella oneidensis : a new and efficient system for expression and maturation of heterologous [Fe-Fe] hydrogenase from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.
- 2008
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 8, s. 73-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The eukaryotic green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, produces H2 under anaerobic conditions, in a reaction catalysed by a [Fe-Fe] hydrogenase HydA1. For further biochemical and biophysical studies a suitable expression system of this enzyme should be found to overcome its weak expression in the host organism. Two heterologous expression systems used up to now have several advantages. However they are not free from some drawbacks. In this work we use bacterium Shewanella oneidensis as a new and efficient system for expression and maturation of HydA1 from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.RESULTS: Based on codon usage bias and hydrogenase maturation ability, the bacterium S. oneidensis, which possesses putative [Fe-Fe] and [Ni-Fe] hydrogenase operons, was selected as the best potential host for C. reinhardtii [Fe-Fe] hydrogenase expression. Hydrogen formation by S. oneidensis strain AS52 (Delta hydA Delta hyaB) transformed with a plasmid bearing CrHydA1 and grown in the presence of six different substrates for anaerobic respiration was determined. A significant increase in hydrogen evolution was observed for cells grown in the presence of trimethylamine oxide, dimethylsulfoxide and disodium thiosulfate, showing that the system of S. oneidensis is efficient for heterologous expression of algal [Fe-Fe] hydrogenase.CONCLUSION: In the present work a new efficient system for heterologous expression and maturation of C. reinhardtii hydrogenase has been developed. HydA1 of C. reinhardtii was purified and shown to contain 6 Fe atoms/molecule of protein, as expected. Using DMSO, TMAO or thiosulfate as substrates for anaerobic respiration during the cell growth, 0.4 - 0.5 mg l(-1)(OD600 = 1) of catalytically active HydA1 was obtained with hydrogen evolution rate of approximately 700 micromol H2 mg(-1) min(-1).
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| 25. |
- Wirta, Valtteri, et al.
(författare)
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Assembly of a gene sequence tag microarray by reversible biotin-streptavidin capture for transcript analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana
- 2005
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 5, s. 5-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Transcriptional profiling using microarrays has developed into a key molecular tool for the elucidation of gene function and gene regulation. Microarray platforms based on either oligonucleotides or purified amplification products have been utilised in parallel to produce large amounts of data. Irrespective of platform examined, the availability of genome sequence or a large number of representative expressed sequence tags ( ESTs) is, however, a pre-requisite for the design and selection of specific and high-quality microarray probes. This is of great importance for organisms, such as Arabidopsis thaliana, with a high number of duplicated genes, as cross-hybridisation signals between evolutionary related genes cannot be distinguished from true signals unless the probes are carefully designed to be specific.Results: We present an alternative solid-phase purification strategy suitable for efficient preparation of short, biotinylated and highly specific probes suitable for large-scale expression profiling. Twenty-one thousand Arabidopsis thaliana gene sequence tags were amplified and subsequently purified using the described technology. The use of the arrays is exemplified by analysis of gene expression changes caused by a four-hour indole-3-acetic ( auxin) treatment. A total of 270 genes were identified as differentially expressed ( 120 up-regulated and 150 down-regulated), including several previously known auxin-affected genes, but also several previously uncharacterised genes.Conclusions: The described solid-phase procedure can be used to prepare gene sequence tag microarrays based on short and specific amplified probes, facilitating the analysis of more than 21 000 Arabidopsis transcripts.
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| 26. |
- Zaghlool, Ammar, 1980-, et al.
(författare)
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Efficient cellular fractionation improves RNA sequencing analysis of mature and nascent transcripts from human tissues
- 2013
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 13, s. 99-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The starting material for RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) studies is usually total RNA or polyA+ RNA. Both forms of RNA represent heterogeneous pools of RNA molecules at different levels of maturation and processing. Such heterogeneity, in addition to the biases associated with polyA+ purification steps, may influence the analysis, sensitivity and the interpretation of RNA-seq data. We hypothesize that subcellular fractions of RNA may provide a more accurate picture of gene expression. Results: We present results for sequencing of cytoplasmic and nuclear RNA after cellular fractionation of tissue samples. In comparison with conventional polyA+ RNA, the cytoplasmic RNA contains a significantly higher fraction of exonic sequence, providing increased sensitivity in expression analysis and splice junction detection, and in improved de novo assembly of RNA-seq data. Conversely, the nuclear fraction shows an enrichment of unprocessed RNA compared with total RNA-seq, making it suitable for analysis of nascent transcripts and RNA processing dynamics. Conclusion: Our results show that cellular fractionation is a more rapid and cost effective approach than conventional polyA+ enrichment when studying mature RNAs. Thus, RNA-seq of separated cytosolic and nuclear RNA can significantly improve the analysis of complex transcriptomes from mammalian tissues.
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| 27. |
- Chong, Sun-Li, et al.
(författare)
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Active fungal GH115 alpha-glucuronidase produced in Arabidopsis thaliana affects only the UX1-reactive glucuronate decorations on native glucuronoxylans
- 2015
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 15
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Expressing microbial polysaccharide-modifying enzymes in plants is an attractive approach to custom tailor plant lignocellulose and to study the importance of wall structures to plant development. Expression of alpha-glucuronidases in plants to modify the structures of glucuronoxylans has not been yet attempted. Glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 115 alpha-glucuronidases cleave the internal alpha-D-(4-O-methyl)glucopyranosyluronic acid ((Me)GlcA) from xylans or xylooligosaccharides. In this work, a GH115 alpha-glucuronidase from Schizophyllum commune, ScAGU115, was expressed in Arabidopsis thaliana and targeted to apoplast. The transgene effects on native xylans' structures, plant development, and lignocellulose saccharification were evaluated and compared to those of knocked out glucuronyltransferases AtGUX1 and AtGUX2.Results: The ScAGU115 extracted from cell walls of Arabidopsis was active on the internally substituted aldopentaouronic acid (XUXX). The transgenic plants did not show any change in growth or in lignocellulose saccharification. The cell wall (Me)GlcA and other non-cellulosic sugars, as well as the lignin content, remained unchanged. In contrast, the gux1gux2 double mutant showed a 70% decrease in (Me)GlcA to xylose molar ratio, and, interestingly, a 60% increase in the xylose content. Whereas ScAGU115-expressing plants exhibited a decreased signal in native secondary walls from the monoclonal antibody UX1 that recognizes (Me)GlcA on non-acetylated xylan, the signal was not affected after wall deacetylation. In contrast, gux1gux2 mutant was lacking UX1 signals in both native and deacetylated cell walls. This indicates that acetyl substitution on the xylopyranosyl residue carrying (Me)GlcA or on the neighboring xylopyranosyl residues may restrict post-synthetic modification of xylans by ScAGU115 in planta.Conclusions: Active GH115 alpha-glucuronidase has been produced for the first time in plants. The cell wall-targeted ScAGU115 was shown to affect those glucuronate substitutions of xylan, which are accessible to UX1 antibody and constitute a small fraction in Arabidopsis, whereas majority of (Me)GlcA substitutions were resistant, most likely due to the shielding by acetyl groups. Plants expressing ScAGU115 did not show any defects under laboratory conditions indicating that the UX1 epitope of xylan is not essential under these conditions. Moreover the removal of the UX1 xylan epitope does not affect lignocellulose saccharification.
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| 28. |
- Haddad Momeni, Majid, et al.
(författare)
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A novel starch-binding laccase from the wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici highlights the functional diversity of ascomycete laccases
- 2019
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Laccases are multicopper oxidases, which are assigned into auxiliary activity family 1 (AA1) in the CAZy database. These enzymes, catalyzing the oxidation of phenolic and nonphenolic substrates coupled to reduction of O2 to H2O, are increasingly attractive as eco-friendly oxidation biocatalysts. Basidiomycota laccases are well characterized due to their potential in de-lignification of lignocellulose. By contrast, insight into the biochemical diversity of Ascomycota counterparts from saprophytes and plant pathogens is scarce. Results: Here, we report the properties of the laccase from the major wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici (ZtrLac1A), distinguished from common plant fungal pathogens by an apoplastic infection strategy. We demonstrate that ZtrLac1A is appended to a functional starch-binding module and displays an activity signature disfavoring relatively apolar phenolic redox mediators as compared to the related biochemically characterized laccases. By contrast, the redox potential of ZtrLac1A (370 mV vs. SHE) is similar to ascomycetes counterparts. The atypical specificity is consistent with distinctive sequence substitutions and insertions in loops flanking the T1 site and the enzyme C-terminus compared to characterized laccases. Conclusions: ZtrLac1A is the first reported modular laccase appended to a functional starch-specific carbohydrate binding module of family 20 (CBM20). The distinct specificity profile of ZtrLac1A correlates to structural differences in the active site region compared to previously described ascomycetes homologues. These differences are also highlighted by the clustering of the sequence of ZtrLac1A in a distinct clade populated predominantly by plant pathogens in the phylogenetic tree of AA1 laccases. The possible role of these laccases in vivo merits further investigations. These findings expand our toolbox of laccases for green oxidation and highlight the binding functionality of CBM-appended laccases as versatile immobilization tags.
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| 29. |
- Halablab, Monalissa, et al.
(författare)
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Recombinant human enamelin produced in Escherichia coli promotes mineralization in vitro
- 2024
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - 1472-6750. ; 24:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Enamelin is an enamel matrix protein that plays an essential role in the formation of enamel, the most mineralized tissue in the human body. Previous studies using animal models and proteins from natural sources point to a key role of enamelin in promoting mineralization events during enamel formation. However, natural sources of enamelin are scarce and with the current study we therefore aimed to establish a simple microbial production method for recombinant human enamelin to support its use as a mineralization agent. Results: In the study the 32 kDa fragment of human enamelin was successfully expressed in Escherichia coli and could be obtained using immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography purification (IMAC), dialysis, and lyophilization. This workflow resulted in a yield of approximately 10 mg enamelin per liter culture. Optimal conditions for IMAC purification were obtained using Ni2+ as the metal ion, and when including 30 mM imidazole during binding and washing steps. Furthermore, in vitro mineralization assays demonstrated that the recombinant enamelin could promote calcium phosphate mineralization at a concentration of 0.5 mg/ml. Conclusions: These findings address the scarcity of enamelin by facilitating its accessibility for further investigations into the mechanism of enamel formation and open new avenues for developing enamel-inspired mineralized biomaterials.
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| 30. |
- Hernández-Neuta, Iván, 1986-, et al.
(författare)
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Highly multiplexed targeted sequencing strategy for infectious disease surveillance
- 2023
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - 1472-6750. ; 23
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Global efforts to characterize diseases of poverty are hampered by lack of affordable and comprehensive detection platforms, resulting in suboptimal allocation of health care resources and inefficient disease control. Next generation sequencing (NGS) can provide accurate data and high throughput. However, shotgun and metagenome-based NGS approaches are limited by low concentrations of microbial DNA in clinical samples, requirements for tailored sample and library preparations plus extensive bioinformatics analysis. Here, we adapted molecular inversion probes (MIPs) as a cost-effective target enrichment approach to characterize microbial infections from blood samples using short-read sequencing. We designed a probe panel targeting 2 bacterial genera, 21 bacterial and 6 fungi species and 7 antimicrobial resistance markers (AMRs).Results Our approach proved to be highly specific to detect down to 1 in a 1000 pathogen DNA targets contained in host DNA. Additionally, we were able to accurately survey pathogens and AMRs in 20 out of 24 samples previously profiled with routine blood culture for sepsis.Conclusions Overall, our targeted assay identifies microbial pathogens and AMRs with high specificity at high throughput, without the need for extensive sample preparation or bioinformatics analysis, simplifying its application for characterization and surveillance of infectious diseases in medium- to low- resource settings.
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| 31. |
- Islam, Tohidul, et al.
(författare)
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Morphological analysis of Apolipoprotein E binding to A beta Amyloid using a combination of Surface Plasmon Resonance, Immunogold Labeling and Scanning Electron Microscopy
- 2019
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : BMC. - 1472-6750. ; 19:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Immunogold labeling in combination with transmission electron microscopy analysis is a technique frequently used to correlate high-resolution morphology studies with detailed information regarding localization of specific antigens. Although powerful, the methodology has limitations and it is frequently difficult to acquire a stringent system where unspecific low-affinity interactions are removed prior to analysis.Results: We here describe a combinatorial strategy where surface plasmon resonance and immunogold labeling are used followed by a direct analysis of the sensor-chip surface by scanning electron microscopy. Using this approach, we have probed the interaction between amyloid-beta fibrils, associated to Alzheimer's disease, and apolipoprotein E, a well-known ligand frequently found co-deposited to the fibrillar form of A beta in vivo. The results display a lateral binding of ApoE along the amyloid fibrils and illustrates how the gold-beads represent a good reporter of the binding.Conclusions: This approach exposes a technique with generic features which enables both a quantitative and a morphological evaluation of a ligand-receptor based system. The methodology mediates an advantage compared to traditional immunogold labeling since all washing steps can be monitored and where a high stringency can be maintained throughout the experiment.
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| 32. |
- Levin, Mattias, et al.
(författare)
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A folded and immunogenic IgE-hyporeactive variant of the major allergen Phl p 1 produced in Escherichia coli.
- 2015
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 15
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Group 1 grass pollen allergens are a major cause of allergic disease. Specific immunotherapy involving controlled administration of allergens can be used as a disease-modifying treatment for such disease. Recombinant allergen variants with reduced IgE binding capacity may be used as component in such vaccines, as they may induce fewer treatment side effects than materials currently in use. A mutated variant of the immunodominant C-terminal domain of the group 1 grass pollen allergen Phl p 1 was recently established through an approach that used a set of human monoclonal IgE as a guide to identify mutations that disturbed IgE-allergen interactions. Further analysis of this domain is required to establish its potential for use in treatment.
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| 33. |
- Luo, Hao, 1992, et al.
(författare)
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Genome-scale insights into the metabolic versatility of Limosilactobacillus reuteri
- 2021
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 21:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Limosilactobacillus reuteri (earlier known as Lactobacillus reuteri) is a well-studied lactic acid bacterium, with some specific strains used as probiotics, that exists in different hosts such as human, pig, goat, mouse and rat, with multiple body sites such as the gastrointestinal tract, breast milk and mouth. Numerous studies have confirmed the beneficial effects of orally administered specific L. reuteri strains, such as preventing bone loss and promoting regulatory immune system development. L. reuteri ATCC PTA 6475 is a widely used strain that has been applied in the market as a probiotic due to its positive effects on the human host. Its health benefits may be due, in part, to the production of beneficial metabolites. Considering the strain-specific effects and genetic diversity of L. reuteri strains, we were interested to study the metabolic versatility of these strains. Results In this study, we aimed to systematically investigate the metabolic features and diversities of L. reuteri strains by using genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs). The GEM of L. reuteri ATCC PTA 6475 was reconstructed with a template-based method and curated manually. The final GEM iHL622 of L. reuteri ATCC PTA 6475 contains 894 reactions and 726 metabolites linked to 622 metabolic genes, which can be used to simulate growth and amino acids utilization. Furthermore, we built GEMs for the other 35 L. reuteri strains from three types of hosts. The comparison of the L. reuteri GEMs identified potential metabolic products linked to the adaptation to the host. Conclusions The GEM of L. reuteri ATCC PTA 6475 can be used to simulate metabolic capabilities and growth. The core and pan model of 35 L. reuteri strains shows metabolic capacity differences both between and within the host groups. The GEMs provide a reliable basis to investigate the metabolism of L. reuteri in detail and their potential benefits on the host.
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| 34. |
- Nair, R. B., et al.
(författare)
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Lignocellulose integration to 1G-ethanol process using filamentous fungi : Fermentation prospects of edible strain of Neurospora intermedia
- 2018
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : BioMed Central Ltd.. - 1472-6750. ; 18:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Integration of first- and second-generation ethanol processes is one among the alternate approaches that efficiently address the current socio-economic issues of the bioethanol sector. Edible filamentous fungus capable of utilizing pentoses from lignocelluloses and also possessing biomass application as potential animal feed component was used as the fermentation strain for the integration model. This study presents various fermentation aspects of using edible filamentous fungi in the integrated first and second generation ethanol process model. Results: Fermentation of edible strain of N. intermedia on the integrated first and second-generation ethanol substrate (the mixture of dilute acid pretreated and enzymatically hydrolyzed wheat straw and thin stillage from the first-generation ethanol process), showed an ethanol yield maximum of 0.23 +/- 0.05 g/g dry substrate. The growth of fungal pellets in presence of fermentation inhibitors (such as acetic acid, HMF and furfural) resulted in about 11 to 45% increase in ethanol production as compared to filamentous forms, at similar growth conditions in the liquid straw hydrolysate. Fungal cultivations in the airlift reactor showed strong correlation with media viscosity, reaching a maximum of 209.8 +/- 3.7 cP and resulting in 18.2 +/- 1.3 g/L biomass during the growth phase of fungal pellets. Conclusion: N. intermedia fermentation showed high sensitivity to the dilute acid lignocellulose pretreatment process, with improved fermentation performance at milder acidic concentrations. The rheological examinations showed media viscosity to be the most critical factor influencing the oxygen transfer rate during the N. intermedia fermentation process. Mycelial pellet morphology showed better fermentation efficiency and high tolerance towards fermentation inhibitors.
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| 35. |
- Paschos, T., et al.
(författare)
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Ethanol effect on metabolic activity of the ethalogenic fungus Fusarium oxysporum
- 2015
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 15:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Fusarium oxysporum is a filamentous fungus which has attracted a lot of scientific interest not only due to its ability to produce a variety of lignocellulolytic enzymes, but also because it is able to ferment both hexoses and pentoses to ethanol. Although this fungus has been studied a lot as a cell factory, regarding applications for the production of bioethanol and other high added value products, no systematic study has been performed concerning its ethanol tolerance levels. Results: In aerobic conditions it was shown that both the biomass production and the specific growth rate were affected by the presence of ethanol. The maximum allowable ethanol concentration, above which cells could not grow, was predicted to be 72 g/L. Under limited aeration conditions the ethanol-producing capability of the cells was completely inhibited at 50 g/L ethanol. The lignocellulolytic enzymatic activities were affected to a lesser extent by the presence of ethanol, while the ethanol inhibitory effect appears to be more severe at elevated temperatures. Moreover, when the produced ethanol was partially removed from the broth, it led to an increase in fermenting ability of the fungus up to 22.5%. The addition of F. oxysporum's system was shown to increase the fermentation of pretreated wheat straw by 11%, in co-fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Conclusions: The assessment of ethanol tolerance levels of F. oxysporum on aerobic growth, on lignocellulolytic activities and on fermentative performance confirmed its biotechnological potential for the production of bioethanol. The cellulolytic and xylanolytic enzymes of this fungus could be exploited within the biorefinery concept as their ethanol resistance is similar to that of the commercial enzymes broadly used in large scale fermentations and therefore, may substantially contribute to a rational design of a bioconversion process involving F. oxysporum. The SSCF experiments on liquefied wheat straw rich in hemicellulose indicated that the contribution of the metabolic system of F. oxysporum in a co-fermentation with S. cerevisiae may play a secondary role.
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| 36. |
- Shebanits, Kateryna, et al.
(författare)
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Copy number determination of the gene for the human pancreatic polypeptide receptor NPY4R using read depth analysis and droplet digital PCR.
- 2019
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Copy number variation (CNV) plays an important role in human genetic diversity and has been associated with multiple complex disorders. Here we investigate a CNV on chromosome 10q11.22 that spans NPY4R, the gene for the appetite-regulating pancreatic polypeptide receptor Y4. This genomic region has been challenging to map due to multiple repeated elements and its precise organization has not yet been resolved. Previous studies using microarrays were interpreted to show that the most common copy number was 2 per genome.Results: We have investigated 18 individuals from the 1000 Genomes project using the well-established method of read depth analysis and the new droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) method. We find that the most common copy number for NPY4R is 4. The estimated number of copies ranged from three to seven based on read depth analyses with Control-FREEC and CNVnator, and from four to seven based on ddPCR. We suggest that the difference between our results and those published previously can be explained by methodological differences such as reference gene choice, data normalization and method reliability. Three high-quality archaic human genomes (two Neanderthal and one Denisova) display four copies of the NPY4R gene indicating that a duplication occurred prior to the human-Neanderthal/Denisova split.Conclusions: We conclude that ddPCR is a sensitive and reliable method for CNV determination, that it can be used for read depth calibration in CNV studies based on already available whole-genome sequencing data, and that further investigation of NPY4R copy number variation and its consequences are necessary due to the role of Y4 receptor in food intake regulation.
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| 37. |
- Stenholm, Åke, et al.
(författare)
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Investigation of neomycin biodegradation conditions using ericoid mycorrhizal and white rot fungal species
- 2022
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 1472-6750. ; 22
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: In the search for methods to biodegrade recalcitrant compounds, the use of saprotrophic fungi and white rot fungi, in particular belonging to the phylum Basidiomycota, has gained interest. This group of fungi possesses a battery of unspecific extracellular enzymes that can be utilized in the biodegradation of preferably phenolic compounds. In this work, it was investigated under which conditions the white rot fungus Trametes versicolor and the ericoid mycorrhizal fungus Rhizoscyphus ericae (belonging to the phylum Ascomycota) could be used to biodegrade the antibiotic aminoglycoside neomycin at co-metabolic conditions in which external nutrients were supplied. Furthermore, it was also investigated whether a biodegradation could be accomplished using neomycin as the sole nutrient.Results: The results show that both species can biodegrade neomycin 70% under co-metabolic conditions during a one-week time course and that Rhizoscyphus ericae is able to use neomycin as sole nutrient and to approximatively biodegrade it 60% under chosen non co-metabolic conditions. At selected conditions, the biodegradation of neomycin using Rhizoscyphus ericae was monitored by oxidation products of D-ribose which is a hydrolysis product of neomycin.Conclusion: The results are of general interest in the search for fungal species that can biodegrade recalcitrant compounds without the need of external nutrients. The key future application area that will be investigated is purification of waste from recombinant protein production in which neomycin, nutrients and E. coli with neomycin resistance genes are present.
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| 38. |
- von Schantz, Laura, et al.
(författare)
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Characterization of the substitution pattern of cellulose derivatives using carbohydrate-binding modules
- 2014
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6750. ; 14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Derivatized celluloses, such as methylcellulose (MC) and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), are of pharmaceutical importance and extensively employed in tablet matrices. Each batch of derivatized cellulose is thoroughly characterized before utilized in tablet formulations as batch-to-batch differences can affect drug release. The substitution pattern of the derivatized cellulose polymers, i.e. the mode on which the substituent groups are dispersed along the cellulose backbone, can vary from batch-to-batch and is a factor that can influence drug release. Results: In the present study an analytical approach for the characterization of the substitution pattern of derivatized celluloses is presented, which is based on the use of carbohydrate-binding modules (CBMs) and affinity electrophoresis. CBM4-2 from Rhodothermus marinus xylanase 10A is capable of distinguishing between batches of derivatized cellulose with different substitution patterns. This is demonstrated by a higher migration retardation of the CBM in acrylamide gels containing batches of MC and HPMC with a more heterogeneous distribution pattern. Conclusions: We conclude that CBMs have the potential to characterize the substitution pattern of cellulose derivatives and anticipate that with use of CBMs with a very selective recognition capacity it will be possible to more extensively characterize and standardize important carbohydrates used for instance in tablet formulation.
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| 39. |
- Wang, Zhao, et al.
(författare)
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Comparison of [HSO4](-), [Cl](-) and [MeCO2](-) as anions in pretreatment of aspen and spruce with imidazolium-based ionic liquids
- 2017
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Ingår i: BMC Biotechnology. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1472-6750. ; 17
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Ionic liquids (ILs) draw attention as green solvents for pretreatment of lignocellulose before enzymatic saccharification. Imidazolium-based ILs with different anionic constituents ([HSO4]−, [Cl]−, [MeCO2]−) were compared with regard to pretreatment of wood from aspen and spruce. The objective was to elucidate how the choice of anionic constituent affected the suitability of using the IL for pretreatment of hardwood, such as aspen, and softwood, such as spruce. The investigation covered a thorough analysis of the mass balance of the IL pretreatments, the effects of pretreatment on the cell wall structure as assessed by fluorescence microscopy, and the effects of pretreatment on the susceptibility to enzymatic saccharification. Torrefied aspen and spruce were included in the comparison for assessing how shifting contents of hemicelluloses and Klason lignin affected the susceptibility of the wood to IL pretreatment and enzymatic saccharification.Results: The glucose yield after IL pretreatment increased in the order [Cl]− < [HSO4]− < [MeCO2]− for aspen, but in the order [HSO4]− < [Cl]− < [MeCO2]− for spruce. For both aspen and spruce, removal of hemicelluloses and lignin increased in the order [Cl]− < [MeCO2]− < [HSO4]−. Fluorescence microscopy indicated increasingly disordered cell wall structure following the order [HSO4]− < [Cl]− < [MeCO2]−. Torrefaction of aspen converted xylan to pseudo-lignin and changed the glucose yield order to [HSO4]− < [Cl]− < [MeCO2]−.Conclusions: The acidity of [HSO4]− caused extensive hydrolysis of xylan, which facilitated pretreatment of xylan-rich hardwood. Apart from that, the degree of removal of hemicelluloses and lignin did not correspond well with the improvement of the enzymatic saccharification. Taken together, the saccharification results were found to mainly reflect (i) the different capacities of the ILs to disorder the cell wall structure, (ii) the recalcitrance caused by high xylan content, and (iii) the capacity of the [HSO4]−-based IL to hydrolyze xylan.
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