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With the advent of recombinant DNA technology, expressing heterologous proteins in microorganisms rapidly became the method of choice for their production at laboratory and industrial scale. Bacteria, yeasts and other hosts can be grown to high biomass levels efficiently and inexpensively. Obtaining high yields of recombinant proteins from this material was only feasible thanks to constant research on microbial genetics and physiology that led to novel strains, plasmids and cultivation strategies. Despite the spectacular expansion of the field, there is still much room for progress. Improving the levels of expression and the solubility of a recombinant protein can be quite challenging. Accumulation of the product in the cell can lead to stress responses which affect cell growth. Buildup of insoluble and biologically inactive aggregates (inclusion bodies) lowers the yield of production. This is particularly true for obtaining membrane proteins or high-molecular weight and multi-domain proteins. Also, obtaining eukaryotic proteins in a prokaryotic background (for example, plant or animal proteins in bacteria) results in a product that lack post-translational modifications, often required for functionality. Changing to a eukaryotic host (yeasts or filamentous fungi) may not be a proper solution since the pattern of sugar modifications is different than in higher eukaryotes. Still, many advances in the last couple of decades have provided to researchers a wide variety of strategies to maximize the production of their recombinant protein of choice. Everything starts with the careful selection of the host. Be it bacteria or yeast, a broad list of strains is available for overcoming codon use bias, incorrect disulfide bond formation, protein toxicity and lack of post-translational modifications. Also, a huge catalog of plasmids allows choosing for different fusion partners for improving solubility, protein secretion, chaperone co-expression, antibiotic resistance and promoter strength. Next, controlling culture conditions like temperature, inducer and media composition can bolster recombinant protein production. With this Research Topic, we aim to provide an encyclopedic account of the existing approaches to the expression of recombinant proteins in microorganisms, highlight recent discoveries and analyze the future prospects of this exciting and ever-growing field.

Recombinant Proteins --- Microorganism --- Inclusion Bodies --- fusion tags --- Escherichia coli --- yeast --- Filamentous fungi --- Microalgae

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Bacterial Physiology was inaugurated as a discipline by the seminal research of Maaløe, Schaechter and Kjeldgaard published in 1958. Their work clarified the relationship between cell composition and growth rate and led to unravel the temporal coupling between chromosome replication and the subsequent cell division by Helmstetter et al. a decade later. Now, after half a century this field has become a major research direction that attracts interest of many scientists from different disciplines. The outstanding question how the most basic cellular processes - mass growth, chromosome replication and cell division - are inter-coordinated in both space and time is still unresolved at the molecular level. Several particularly pertinent questions that are intensively studied follow: (a) what is the primary signal to place the Z-ring precisely between the two replicating and segregating nucleoids? (b) Is this coupling related to the structure and position of the nucleoid itself? (c) How does a bacterium determine and maintain its shape and dimensions? Possible answers include gene expression-based mechanisms, self-organization of protein assemblies and physical principles such as micro-phase separations by excluded volume interactions, diffusion ratchets and membrane stress or curvature. The relationships between biochemical reactions and physical forces are yet to be conceived and discovered. This e-book discusses the above mentioned and related questions. The book also serves as an important depository for state-of-the-art technologies, methods, theoretical simulations and innovative ideas and hypotheses for future testing. Integrating the information gained from various angles will likely help decipher how a relatively simple cell such as a bacterium incorporates its multitude of pathways and processes into a highly efficient self-organized system. The knowledge may be helpful in the ambition to artificially reconstruct a simple living system and to develop new antibacterial drugs.

Bacterial growth --- Chromosome replication --- Cell Division --- Cell Cycle --- Cell envelope --- size control --- Chromosome Segregation --- nucleoid --- divisome --- model system Escherichia coli

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According to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), achieving safe and healthier foods was one of the top ten achievements of public health in the 20th century. However, considerable persisting challenges currently exist in developed nations and developing economies for further assuring the safety and security of the food supplies. According to CDC estimates, as many as 3000 American adults, as an example, and based on a recent epidemiological estimate of the World Health Organization, around 420,000 individuals around the globe, lose their lives annually due to foodborne diseases. This emphasizes the need for innovative and emerging interventions, for further prevention or mitigation of the risk of foodborne microbial pathogens during food processing and manufacturing. The current publication discusses recent advancements and progress in the elimination and decontamination of microbial pathogens during various stages of manufacturing and production. Special emphasis is placed on hurdle validation studies, investigating decontamination of non-typhoidal Salmonella enterica serovars, various serogroups of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, public health-significant serotypes of Listeria monocytogenes, and pathogenic species of Cronobacter.

Listeria monocytogenes --- natural background microflora --- raw milk --- high-pressure pasteurization --- synergism of mild heat and pressure --- postharvest diseases --- food borne pathogens --- bacteria --- fungi --- food safety --- plant extracts --- small fruits --- grape --- strawberry --- blueberry --- raspberry --- blackberry --- essential oils --- Escherichia coli (STEC) --- beef --- serogroups --- stx-genes --- stx-subtypes --- Cronobacter sakazakii --- powdered infant formula --- Cronobacter outbreaks --- preventive measures --- infant care setting --- Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) --- biofilm formation --- temperature --- stainless steel --- Listeria monocytogenes --- ozon --- ozonated water --- non-ozonated water --- disinfectants --- biocidal effectiveness --- Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli --- habituation --- carvacrol --- caprylic acid --- high-pressure pasteurization --- high hydrostatic pressure --- carbon dioxide --- nitrogen --- modified atmosphere packaging --- Escherichia coli --- dietary bioactive components --- salmonellosis --- bile acids --- epithelial barrier --- gut microbiota --- foodborne pathogens --- microfluidic chip --- rapid detection --- food safety --- biosensors --- n/a

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The high demand and depletion of petroleum reserves and the associated impact on the environment, together with volatility in the energy market price over the past three decades, have led to tremendous efforts in bio-based research activities, especially in biofuels and biochemicals. Most people associate petroleum with gasoline, however, approximately 6000 petroleum-derived products are available on the market today. Ironically, these petroleum-derived products have not elicited a high level of interest among the populace and media due, in part, to little awareness of the origins of these important products. Given the finite nature of petroleum, it is critical to devote substantial amounts of energy and resources on the development of renewable chemicals, as is currently done for fuels. Theoretically, the bioproduction of gasoline-like fuels and the 6000 petroleum-derived products are within the realm of possibility since our aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems contain abundant and diverse microorganisms capable of catalyzing unlimited numbers of reactions. Moreover, the fields of synthetic biology and metabolic engineering have evolved to the point that a wide range of microorganisms can be enticed or manipulated to catalyze foreign, or improve indigenous, biosynthetic reactions. To increase the concentration of products of interest and to ensure consistent productivity and yield, compatible fermentation processes must be used. Greater agricultural and chemical production during the past three decades, due in part to population increase and industrialization, has generated increasing levels of waste, which must be treated prior to discharge into waterways or wastewater treatment plants. Thus, in addition to the need to understand the physiology and metabolism of microbial catalysts of biotechnological significance, development of cost-effective fermentation strategies to produce biofuels and chemicals of interests while generating minimal waste, or better yet, converting waste into value-added products, is crucial. In this Special Issue, we invite authors to submit original research and review articles that increase our understanding of fermentation technology vis-à-vis production of liquid biofuels and biochemicals, and fermentation strategies that alleviate product toxicity to the fermenting microorganism while enhancing productivity. Further, original research articles and reviews focused on anaerobic digestion, production of gaseous biofuels, fermentation optimization using modelling and simulations, metabolic engineering, or development of tailor-made fermentation processes are welcome.

anaerobic digestion --- biogas --- bioreactors --- biotransformation --- butanediol --- butanol --- butyric acid --- Clostridium acetobutylicum --- Clostridium beijerinckii --- Clostridium pasteurianum --- co-culture --- co-fermentation --- cofactors --- corn stover --- ethanol --- Escherichia coli --- furfural --- glycerol --- hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) --- isopropanol --- lactic acid --- lignocellulose --- lignocellulose derived microbial inhibitory compounds (LDMICs) --- metabolic engineering --- microalgae --- Miscanthus giganteus --- mixed sugars fermentation --- phenolic compounds --- process integration --- propanediol --- redox --- simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) --- succinic acid --- switchgrass --- syngas fermentation --- synthetic biology --- techno-economics of production --- transcriptomics

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There is growing interest in the use of physical plasmas (ionized gases) for biomedical applications, especially in the framework of so-called “plasma medicine”, which exploits the action of low-power, atmospheric pressure plasmas for therapeutic purposes. Such plasmas are “cold plasmas”, in the sense that only electrons have a high temperature, whereas ions and the neutral gas particles are at or near room temperature. As a consequence, the “plasma flame” can be directly applied to living matter without appreciable thermal load. Reactive chemical species, charged particles, visible and UV radiation, and electric fields are interaction channels of the plasma with pathogens, cells, and tissues, which can trigger a variety of different responses. Possible applications include disinfection, wound healing, cancer treatment, non-thermal blood coagulation, just to mention some. The understanding of the mechanisms of plasma action on living matter requires a strongly interdisciplinary approach, with competencies ranging from plasma physics and technology to chemistry, to biology and finally to medicine. This book is a collection of work that explores recent advances in this field.

kINPen --- lymphocytes --- macrophages --- plasma medicine --- reactive species --- plasma-activated medium --- reactive oxygen species --- apoptosis --- oxygen plasma --- Escherichia coli --- bio-decontamination --- cold argon plasma --- head and neck squamous cell carcinoma --- apoptosis --- keratinocytes --- plasma medicine --- cold atmospheric plasmas --- plasma medicine --- dentistry --- tooth whitening --- fear-free dentistry --- inductively-limited discharge --- plasma-treated water --- tap water --- antimicrobial activity --- atmospheric pressure plasma --- developmental plasticity --- metamorphosis --- mitochondria --- regeneration --- tadpoles --- ultrastructure --- plasma --- RONS --- low-current arc --- water treatment --- antimicrobial activity --- biofilm --- decontamination --- dielectric barrier discharge --- infection --- jet plasma --- non-thermal plasma --- cold atmospheric plasma jet --- plasma device --- bio-target --- plasma-surface interaction --- atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) --- cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) --- plasma medicine --- blood coagulation --- tissue damage --- n/a