Fucosylated human milk oligosaccharides are valuable targets for microbial biomanufacturing. Here we engineered the probiotic Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 as a versatile chassis for synthesizing both 2′-fucosyllactose and 3-fucosyllactose. We implemented lactose preservation and blocked colanic acid precursor consumption while reinforcing the de novo GDP-L-fucose pathway. This core module was coupled with either WbgL or FutM2 to drive terminal fucosylation. Initial screening yielded a 2′-fucosyllactose titer of approximately 1.21 g/L. Integrating an additional chromosomal wbgL cassette increased the titer to approximately 1.58 g/L, whereas subsequent genomic modifications did not further improve the 2′-FL titer. Cultivation with 30 g/L glycerol and 5 g/L yeast extract significantly improved productivity, enabling the strain to produce approximately 7.71 g/L of 2′-fucosyllactose in shake-flask cultures. Conversely, the FutM2 strain produced 0.38 g/L 3-fucosyllactose without yeast extract and nutrient supplementation unexpectedly suppressed product accumulation despite promoting biomass formation. The work provides a probiotic-chassis proof of concept and identifies product-module physiology as a priority for further engineering.
The success of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines has established mRNA as a powerful therapeutic platform. Key advantages of mRNA drugs include transient expression, rapid scalability, and universal protein-encoding capability. This review focuses on the application of mRNA therapies across a broad spectrum of diseases, including cancer, infectious diseases, genetic disorders, autoimmune diseases, and cardiovascular conditions. It systematically summarizes the latest progress in mRNA drug development, covering three major therapeutic paradigms: mRNA vaccines, protein replacement therapy, and mRNA-based gene editing. Emerging approaches, such as artificial intelligence tools for mRNA therapeutic design and advanced delivery systems, are also discussed. By integrating foundational mechanisms, engineering strategies, and translational examples, this review provides a comprehensive overview of the current landscape and future directions of mRNA-based therapeutics.
Bacterial pathogens still represent a serious public health issue. Special attention should be paid to bacteria that are usually transmitted through food. More relevantly, several isolates found in food exhibit (usually high) antibiotic resistance, which, in the case of human or animal infection, will reduce treatment efficacy. Hence, this review seeks to summarize and make available to researchers on the subject the most recent findings regarding antibiotic resistance profiles of common pathogens that are transferred into food. The bacterial pathogens responsible for most poisonings and illnesses include Salmonella spp., Listeria spp., Campylobacter spp., Staphylococcus spp., E. coli pathotypes, and Cronobacter spp. Therefore, we will focus this review on these pathogens. In this way, this writing will not only provide valuable information regarding which matrices are more susceptible to bacterial contamination, but in the end, the reader will be able to identify which antibiotics have been tested on these isolates and where the gaps are in the phenotypic determination of resistance to antibiotics, while highlighting several genotypic traits specific to some of these bacteria.
Multi-jurisdictional carbon modelling for coastal zone management and rural development planning is constrained by data sovereignty barriers that prevent collaborative analysis across administrative boundaries. A novel FedProx-PLUS-InVEST framework was developed to enable privacy-preserving land-use simulations and carbon storage assessments using federated learning. The framework was validated in the Batticaloa Lagoon watershed, Eastern Sri Lanka, where three scenarios were simulated: Business as Usual, Rapid Rural Economic Expansion, and Ecological Protection. Model accuracy approaching centralised training performance was achieved while maintaining complete data locality across the participating jurisdictions. Carbon storage projections revealed that carbon neutrality targets require stringent mangrove protection measures, with the Ecological Protection scenario achieving a net carbon gain relative to the baseline (+2.4%), demonstrating the highest carbon sequestration potential among the three scenarios evaluated. This framework represents the first coupling of federated learning with PLUS-InVEST modelling, addressing critical gaps in collaborative regional planning where sensitive land-use data cannot be centralised. This approach enables multi-stakeholder environmental planning for coastal zone management and rural development in Sri Lanka and other data-scarce regions of the Global South without exposing proprietary datasets, facilitating coordinated climate adaptation strategies across institutional and political boundaries in Sri Lanka. The methodology provides a replicable template for privacy-preserving ecosystem service modeling in data-sensitive contexts globally.
Laccase-inorganic hybrid nanoflowers (LacN) represent a novel enzyme immobilization strategy. The integration of this approach with traditional adsorption-based immobilization offers a novel and efficient pathway for laccase immobilization. In this study, LacN was immobilized onto two types of Cu/HAP-BC (natural mineral-derived Cu/nHAP-BC and porcine bone-derived Cu/pHAP-BC) to synthesize LacN@Cu/HAP-BC. Single-factor experiments, combined with Box-Behnken response surface methodology, were used to optimize the immobilization parameters. The optimal preparation conditions were determined as 60% LacN suspension, pH 6.0, reaction time of 2 h for LacN@Cu/nHAP-BC; and 80% LacN suspension, pH 6.0, reaction time of 2 h for LacN@Cu/pHAP-BC. Multiple characterizations confirmed uniform anchoring of flower-like LacN on porous Cu/HAP-BC. Compared with free laccase, LacN@Cu/HAP-BC showed significantly improved stability: after 30 d of storage, LacN@Cu/nHAP-BC and LacN@Cu/pHAP-BC retained 81.35% and 76.70% of their initial activities, respectively (vs. 42.98% for free laccase); the thermal half-lives (t1/2) at 65 °C were 502 min and 433 min, respectively, approximately 3.0–3.5 times that of free laccase (142 min). Additionally, the two composites retained 71.98% and 80.15% of their initial activity after 10 consecutive catalytic cycles, showing satisfactory reusability. These results verify that the composites deliver favorable storage, thermal, and cyclic stability, acting as a feasible biocatalyst candidate for lab-level water treatment and biomass conversion. Further tests on continuous reactors and real wastewater pollutants are needed to confirm its industrial applicability.
