• +

  Danilo A. Tagle / National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, USA

  Tissue Chips for Drug Development

  Abstract

  Approximately 30% of drugs have failed in human clinical trials due to adverse reactions despite promising pre-clinical studies, and another 60% fail due to lack of efficacy. One of the major causes in the high attrition rate is the poor predictive value of current preclinical models used in drug development despite promising pre-clinical studies in 2-D cell culture and animal models. The NIH Microphysiological Systems (Tissue Chips) program led by NCATS is developing alternative approaches and tools for more reliable readouts of toxicity and efficacy during drug development. Tissue chips are bioengineered microphysiological systems utilizing human primary or stem cells seeded on biomaterials manufactured with chip technology and microfluidics that mimic tissue cytoarchitecture and functional units of human organs. These platforms can be a useful tool for predictive toxicology and efficacy assessments of candidate therapeutics. Effective partnerships with stakeholders, such as regulatory agencies, pharmaceutical companies, patient groups, and other government agencies is key to widespread adoption of this emerging technology. Tissue chips can also contribute to studies in precision medicine, environment exposures, reproduction and development, infectious diseases, microbiome and countermeasures agents.
  
  

  Biography

  Danilo Tagle is associate director for special initiatives at NCATS. He has served on numerous committees and advisory boards, including the editorial boards of the journals Gene and the International Journal of Biotechnology. He has received many honors and awards, including the 2019 Roscoe O. Brady Award for Innovation and Accomplishment, 2019 NIH Director’s Award, and the 2019 Henry Heimlich Award for Innovative Medicine. He has authored more than 150 scientific publications and has garnered numerous awards and patents.
  
  

• +

  Joel Fried / University of Louisville, USA

  Biomimetic Polymer Nanoreactors

  Abstract

  Polymeric diblock and triblock copolymers of poly(2-methyl-2-methyloxazoline), a hydrophilic polymer (A), and polydimethylsiloxane (B), a hydrophobic polymer can self-assemble into planar membranes or polymeric vesicles (polymersomes). These membranes mimic lipid membranes by incorporating hydrophilic end groups and hydrophobic middle segments. It has been shown by Meier, Montemagno, and our own group that a wide variety of protein channels such as the small channel proteins of gramidicin and alamethicin can reconstitute in biomimetic polymer membranes as they do in lipid bilayers and function to regulate transport in and out of the biomimetic membranes. Meier has shown that also OmpF, -lactamase, nucleoside hydrolase, horseradish peroxidase, and trypsin can be incorporated in large polymersomes of the ABA triblock copolymers.Incorporation of theporinOmpF can be used to control permeability of apolymersome to allow the entry of substrates and the transport of products out. This potential of creating novel nano-sized reactors is explored.
  
  

  Biography

  Joel R. Fried has industrial experience at the GE and Monsanto Corporate R&D; Centers and had a long and distinguished career at the University of Cincinnati where he is Professor Emeritus and Fellow of the Graduate School. During his time at Cincinnati, he served as Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering, Director of the Polymer Research Center, and the Director of the Ohio Molecular Computation and Simulation Network and Center for Computer-Aided Molecular Design. More recently, he was Professor and the Wright Brother Institute Endowed Chair in Nanomaterial at the University of Dayton and Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at Florida State University. He is a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers
  
  

• +

  Khwaja Hossain / Mayville State University, USA

  Bio-based Nanoparticle and its Application in Plant Genome Editing

  Abstract

  Nanotechnology, a new emerging and fascinating field of science, offered tremendous potential in research and has been used in many areas including medicine and life sciences. Recently, huge advances are made in nanoparticle mediated drug delivery in animal and CRISPR-Cas9 vector delivery in editing animal genome. In spite of widespread popularity of CRISPR-Cas9 in cell line-and embryo-based experiments, delivery of the vector presents a major challenge for their translational development for plant genome applications. The unmet challenge of delivering a CRISPR-Cas9 vector in plant is the stability of the plasmid to reach their target plant cell and tissue in bioavailable form. Although, nucleofection, electroporation and lipofectamine have been widely applied to deliver plasmid DNA (pDNA) encoding Cas9/sgRNAs complexes into cultured cells, translation of the technology in plant kingdom has not been reported. Synthetic polymers have been used frequently to complex and delivery of nucleic acid materials including CRISPR-Cas9 in animal cells, which is somewhat toxic to human cell and in plant species triggers autoimmune reactions. Hence, we have been working on extracting bio-based polymers from wheat bran and the target compound was arabinoxylan (AX), containing multiple glucose and arabinose units. We developed a single step reaction process to convert hydroxyl groups of AX to quaternary amines. The inclusion of these amines were aimed to provide AX with binding capacity to CRISPR-Cas9 vector genes and other nucleic acids through electrostatic interactions between phosphate groups of nucleic acid and cationic centers of polymers. Our preliminary data showed that, through such interaction, we were able to stabilize the complex in the form of a nanoparticles. We envision that nucleic acid encapsulated nanoparticles will be up taken in the plant cell and liberated free nucleic acid will be integrated into plant nucleic acid to code for proteins.
  
  

  Biography

  Khwaja G Hossain completed Ph.D. from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, UK in 1995 and postdoctoral studies from Chiba University, Matsudo, Japan and North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA. Currently working as a professor at Mayville State University, Mayville. He has published more than 40 papers in reputed journals. A recepient of several federal and state grants, leading research projects in biological and material science
  
  

• +

  Ganapathy Sivakumar / University of Houston, USA

  | Engineering in Pharmaceuticals Biomanufacturing

  Abstract

  Sivakumar's research is primarily focused on biomanufacturing and biotech implications of biopharmaceuticals. He has extensively studied the plant-based biomedicines, synthetic biotechnology and metabolic engineering. He is internationally recognized in the field of biopharmaceuticals and a pioneer in biomanufacturing of biorhizome-based colchicine. He has over 50 publications. He is also on the editorial board of several journals. He serves as an expert of grant proposals as well as numerous scientific journals. His laboratory focuses on metabolic engineering of colchicine pathway, CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing and developing potential anticancer medicine.
  
  

  Biography

  Ganapathy Sivakumar has extensively studied the plant-based small molecules pathway biochemistry, synthetic biotechnology and metabolic and bioprocess engineering.
  
  

• +

  Wen-Hsiung Li / Biodiversity Research Center, Taiwan

  | Engineering a Probiotic Yeast to Produce Valuable Metabolites or Peptides

  Abstract

  To develop a cell factory for producing valuable metabolites or/and peptides requires a good host. While many fungi have been employed in industry, we found Kluyveromyces marxianus a superb host for many purposes. Compared to traditional yeasts, K. marxianus has many advantages such as a rapid growth rate, a broad substrate spectrum, high toxin-tolerance and broad pH tolerance, and thermotolerance. In addition, one needs good genetic engineering tools. To this end, we have developed the PGASO (Promoter-based Gene Assembly and Simultaneous Overexpression method) technique, which can transform multiple genes each with an independent promoter into a host genome in a single step. We have also developed a non-scar CRISPR/Cas9 system that leaves no selection marker in the host genome. Using these tools we have engineered a K. marxianus that can produce astaxanthin, which has 500-fold higher antioxidant activity than vitamin E. We have also engineered a K. marxianus to express the largest cellulosome complex on the cell surface. Our cellulosome can accommodate 63 enzymes, whereas previously the largest engineered cellulosome could accommodate only 12 enzymes and was in a plasmid, not in the yeast genome. Our engineered host released higher quantities of ethanol from cellulosic substrates than any previously constructed yeast cellulosome. Finally, we are now engineering K. marxianus to be a humanized yeast for producing human glycoproteins, including therapeutic proteins.
  
  

  Biography

  Wen-Hsiung Li received his PhD from Brown University, Providence, RI. He was the James Watson Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago. He is presently Distinguished Research Fellow, Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica. He is a member of National Academy of Sciences, USA. His research interests include synthetic biology, bioinformatics, genomics and molecular and genomic evolution.
  
  

• +

  Douglas Borchman / University of Louisville, USA.

  | A spectroscopic approach to measure changes in meibum lipid composition and structureto diagnose and understand the etiology of dry eye

  Abstract

  Purpose: Meibum lipids are believed to be important to tear film stability, but tear film lipid compositional, structural and functional relationships are not well established. The hypothesis that meibum lipid composition and structure change with age and meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) was tested. Methods: 1H-NMR was used to quantify meibum lipid composition. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to measure lipid structure, and Langmuir trough technology was used to measure tear film lipid rheology. Meibum was collected from 46 donors without dry eye and 48 donors with MGD. Results: The molar ratio of Cholesterylesters/Wax ester increased with age, P = 0.007, from 0.43 ± 0.02, n=39, to 0.52 ± 0.02, n=17 in cohorts aged 1 to 12 and 13 to 19 years old, respectively. The same molar ratio decreased, P =0.011, from 0.50 ± 0.03, n=38, to 0.34 ± 0.04, n=48, for cohorts aged 20 to 88 years old with and without MGD, respectively. The molar ratio of =C-CH2 /ester increased with age, P = 0.007 from 1.73 ± 0.17, n=36, to 2.55 ± 0.24, n=19, for cohorts aged 1 to 12 and 13 to 19 years old, respectively. The same molar ratio decreased, P< 0.0001, from 2.06 ± 0.25, n=34, to 0.19 ± 0.03, n=37, for cohorts aged 20 to 88 years old, with and without MGD, respectively. Compared with meibum from donors without dry eye, meibum from donors with MGD contained less straight-chains, 50 ± 2 % verses 57 ± 1 %,P = 0.0003, moreiso-branched chains, 32 ± 2 % verses23 ± 1 %, P< 0.0001 and the same amount, 18.0 ± 0.7 % verses 20 ± 1 %, P = 0.34, of anteiso-branched hydrocarbon chains. Conclusions: The changes in meibum composition with age and MGD contribute to the increase in lipid order of the same samples from donors without compared with those with MGD. Higher lipid order is associated with a higher reciprocal compressibility modulus that results in a tear film lipid layer that is not as compressible and not as viscoelastic. Strong lipid-lipid interactions could contribute to the aggregation of tear film lipids and contribute to a decrease in tear film spreading and dry eye.
  
  

  Biography

  Dr. Borchman received B.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Wayne State Unviersity before completing postdoctoral training at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. His research is focused on ophthatmology and visual sciences, where his team recently characterized changes in human lens lipid composition with regard to age and cataract. This research led to the discovery of dihydrosphingomyelin, a major lens phospholipid. Dr. Borchman is also leading a group of research associates in studying the structure and interactions of the lipid tear film, which has yet to be fully described on a molecular level.
  
  

• +

  Ramachandran Srinivasan / National University of Singapore, Singapore

  | The Effect of Different Developmental Stages and Pruning of In Vitro Leaves on Negative Air Ion Release upon Pulsed Electrical Field Treatments

  Abstract

  Negative air ions (NAIs) are negatively charged atoms or molecules and they generally bind to clusters of water molecules in the air. NAIs could electrically charge particulate matters in the air to efficiently remove them. Plants naturally release NAIs but the concentration is very low. In this study, we have investigated the effect of different developmental stages and pruning of in vitro leaves on NAI release upon pulsed electrical field (PEF) treatments. Our preliminary data showed that young leaves released higher concentration of NAIs when compared with mature or old leaves upon PEF treatments. Our data also showed that in vitro leaf pruning significantly affected NAI release and leaves played important roles in generating NAIs upon PEF treatments. Thus, our preliminary data provide some information to further improve NAI release under PEF treatments
  
  

  Biography

  Dr Sri is working as a Senior Principal Investigator with Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory Ltd. Since 2002 and also holds a joint appointment in JOil (S) Pte. Ltd.as its Chief Technology Officer since 2008. Dr Sri also teaches at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, as an Adjunct Associate Professor since 2014. At TLL, his lab focuses on various aspects of plant biotechnology research on improving plant varieties (including Jatropha, rice and leafy vegetables) for higher yield and stress tolerance He has more than 60 peer-reviewed publications and several patents to his credit. At JOil, Dr Sri has been spearheading the company’s effort in breeding commercial Jatropha varieties, tissue culture, genetic engineering and commercial trials. Dr Sri is also heading JOil's African expansion including the establishment of its first commercial scale Jatropha project where he has successfully and sustainably transformed marginal lands into viable Jatropha plantations involving both captive and out grower plantations.
  
  

• +

  Nikolai Provorov / All-Russia Research Institute for Agricultural Microbiology, Russian Federation

  | Integrative Evolution of Plants and Bacteria in the N2-Fixing Symbiosis: A Conduit for Constructing the Sustainable Agro-Systems

  Abstract

  Symbiotic systems formed by N2-fixing nodule bacteria (rhizobia) and leguminous plants will be addressed as the products of co-evolutionary processes resulted in the integration of partners’ genes into the functionally advanced “hologenomes”. These super-species genetic systems are encoding for the partners’ recognition and signaling interactions mediated by bacterial lipo-chito-oligosaccharide signaling Nod factors recognized by the plant LysM-LRR-receptors. These interactions resulted in formation of joint plant-bacterial C/N metabolic pathways and in development of cellular/tissue nodular structures ensuring a high intensity of symbiotic N2 fixation. In the evolutionary advanced symbioses formed by fast-growing Rhizobiaceae (α-proteobacteria) species (e.g., Rhizobium leguminosarum, Sinorhizobium meliloti, Neorhizobium galegae) bacteria are differentiated into non-reproducible bacteroids which reside within the plant cellular compartments, symbiosomes, expressing an enormous nitrogenase activity. A similar “altruistic” strategy of partners’ mutualistic interactions is typical for a range of symbioses formed by plants with N2-fixing cyanobacteria (Nostoc) and proteobacteria (Azoarcus). Molecular phylogeny data suggest that the symbiotically specialized (“secondary”) rhizobia originated via sym gene transfer to the Agrobacterium-like Rhizobiaceae species from the “primary” rhizobia (Bradyrhizobium). The latter are thought to be emerged from Rhodopseudomonas-like ancestors via rearrangements of genes responsible for photosynthesis and nitrogenase synthesis. They were accompanied by acquisition of the genes encoding for some stages of Nod factor synthesis from the non-related microbes (including mycorrizal fungi and Gram-positive bacteria). Proceeding from the gain-and-loss of genes scenario of rhizobia evolution, a genetically based algorithm for constructing the agronomically effective rhizobia strains based on an improved balance between positive and negative symbiotic regulators will be presented. The bacterial genome modifications should be accompanied by reorganizations the host plant receptor systems responsible for development of effective symbioses. The prospects for constructing the N2-fixing crops based on introduction of nif genes into plant cellular organelles (mitochondria, plastids) or on engineering the legume Sym genes into the cereal genomes will be discussed. A possibility to use the N2-fixing bacteria-plant symbioses as models for reconstructing the early stages of organelle evolution will be discussed. Supported by RSF 19-16-00081.
  
  

  Biography

  Nikolai Provorov graduated from St.-Petersburg (Leningrad) State University (Russia) in 1981 (in genetics of microorganisms) and completed his PhD in 1986 at All-Russia Research Institute for Agricultural Microbiology, ARRIAM (in microbiology). In 2009 he acquired the Doctoral degree at St.-Petersburg State University (in genetics). In 2010-2017 Nikolai Provorov was the deputy director in research at ARRIAM, now he is a director of this institute. Nikolai Provorov published over 350 research papers including 20 papers in reputed peer reviewed international journals. He is a member of an editorial board member of international journal Annals of Applied Biology. The scope of his expertise includes: evolutionary genetics and genomics of plant-microbe symbiosis, mathematical simulation of population dynamics in symbiotic bacteria, genetic construction of symbiotically active microorganisms.
  
  

• +

  Abubakar Abdulsalam Bello / Teesside University, UK

  | Production of Organic Emulsifiers and Surfactants Using Bacteria from Environmental Samples

  Abstract

  Abstract: Surfactants/emulsifiers are active ingredients used in production of our everyday-use products including household detergents, personal toiletries, home-cleaning agents and therapeutic agents because of their wetting, emulsifying and antimicrobial properties. However, these products are manufactured with chemical surfactant/emulsifiers derived from petrochemical sources and these chemicals have been associated with a variety of health hazards and environmental pollution. Interestingly, special bacteria strains have been identified with the ability to produce surfactants/emulsifiers which are known as biosurfactant/bioemulsifiers. The developments of biosurfactants/bioemulsifiers are standing out as potential substitute to their chemical hazardous counterparts. These compounds can withstand different pH, temperature, alkalinity/acidity and ionic strength making them suitable as industrial raw materials. Much attention has been given towards cost minimization by exploring varieties of cheap substrate and altering physical parameters to optimize production. However, lack of diverse range of strains producers, best substrate, cost of production, complex downstream processing, low productivity yield and compositional characterizationare still affecting both the production level and activity. This together with Increasing awareness towards the health hazards associated with chemical surfactants in products have resulted to the search for natural compounds as better alternatives calls for the need to explore new strain producers and compositional characterization affecting both biosurfactants production and activity. In this study, using a newly systematic screening method, a novel biosurfactants producing strains have been identified and isolated from crude oil contaminated mangrove swamp, out of the 55 isolates, 20 proved to be potential biosurfactant producers, in addition one of the isolate of bacillus strain BSLT596053 produced natural emulsifiers using lactose, sucrose and glucose as carbon source in a modified form of mineral salt media (MSM 1% Lactose), (MSM 1% Sucrose) and (MSM 1% Glucose). The development of these natural raw materials for bulk commercial applications will be a great step towards industrial sustainability, healthy living for consumers and environmental friendliness.
  
  

  Biography

  Abubakar A. Bello completed his BSc program in Biochemistry at Bayero University, Kano (2004-2009), and his MSc degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Jordan University of Science and Technology (2012-2014), He is currently a PhD student working on characterization and optimization of biosurfactant production from bacterial species. He has been lecturing at the Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Basic Medical Science at Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Kano for four years.
  
  

• +

  Lam Thi Viet Ha / Ghent University, Vietnam

  | Comparative Evaluation of Six Extraction Methods for DNA Quantification and PCR Detection in Cocoa and Cocoa-Derived Products

  Abstract

  Six methologies for extracting DNA in cocoa and cocoa-derived products (cocoa leaves, cocoa beans, cocoa powder, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, and dark chocolate) are described. These DNA extraction methodsincluded 4 commercial kits DNeasy Plant kit,DNeasy Plant kit with polyvinyl polypyrrolidone (PVPP),QIAamp DNA Stool kit, Wizard Genomic DNA kit and 2 CTABbased methods,CTAB-Proteinase Kprocedureand CTAB-SDS (sodium dodecyl sulfate) procedure. TheDNA yield, purity, and quality for 6 different cocoa matrices are discussed. The yield and purity were determined through spectrophotometry. Three different conventional PCR reactions were used to assess the quality of the DNA extracted.The Wizard Genomic DNA kit and the CTAB-Proteinase K method were found to be the best for DNA quality and PCR detection in cocoa leaves. The CTAB-Proteinase K procedure is highly recommended for cocoa beans, while the Wizard Genomic DNA kit revealed the best PCR performance when applied to cocoa powder. The cocoa butter matrix gave the lowest DNA yield, purity, and amplification results for allthe examined extraction methods.The QIAampDNAStool kit and the CTAB-SDS method showed the best result for PCR detection ofcocoa mass. The Wizard Genomic DNA kit and the CTAB-SDSmethod showed the best PCR performance for dark chocolate. In general, the two CTAB based methods, namely the CTAB-Proteinase K and the CTAB-SDS were suitable for the DNA extraction of all types of cocoa-derived products with the exeption of cocoa butter. This evaluation can be especially useful for the detection of DNA in cocoa derived samples.
  
  

  Biography

  Lam Thi Viet Ha has studying her PhD programe in Ghent University – Belgium and Cantho University – Vietnam Collaboration. She is lecturer at Food Biotechnology Department - Agriculture Faculty - Cantho University – Vietnam from 2000 until now. She has published more than 5 papers in reputed journals.
  
  

• +

  Eloise Ferreira / University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

  | In Vivo Investigation of the Effect of LRP::FLAG over Expression on the Ageing Process and Telomere Dynamics in Mice

  Abstract

  Ageing is the one major degenerative process common to all organisms, including humans, and is a major contributing factor to a number of age related diseases and disorders. On a cellular level, one of the lead driving forces of ageing or senescence onset is the gradual loss of the terminal ends of chromosomes known as telomeres. However, to counteract telomere-dependent senescence, the protein telomerase can be activated for telomere extension. We have recently observed that an interaction and relationship is shared between the 37- kDa/67-kDa laminin receptor precursor/laminin receptor (LRP/LR) and telomerase/ TERT and overexpression of LRP::FLAG resulted in a corresponding elevation in telomerase activity, hTERT protein levels and telomere length in vitro. In order to determine the effect of LRP::FLAG overexpression on ageing and senescence in vivo, aged C57BL/6J mice were injected with the pCIneo-moLRP::FLAG plasmid. It was observed that overexpression of LRP::FLAG significantly improved puzzle solving ability, short and long term memory, nest building ability as well as motor function and balance. Histological analysis of various organs revealed a decrease in age related pathology. Furthermore, a significant decrease in senescence markers and a significant increase in various proliferative markers as well as TERT, telomerase activity and telomere length were observed. These results suggest a novel function of LRP/LR enhancing TERT levels and telomerase activity to impede the onset of senescence for healthier ageing and possibly for the treatment of age-related diseases.
  
  

  Biography

  Dr Eloise Ferreira received her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. She currently holds a Claude Leon Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the School of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of the Witwatersrand. Her research has focused on apoptosis, signal transduction pathways and molecular mechanisms in cancer, ageing and age-related disorders. During the course of her post-doctorate, she was involved in the development of treatments targeting LRP/LR as therapeutics for cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. Her academic and research career has thus far resulted in 15 publications in international peer reviewed journals and 3 provisional patents.
  
  

• +

  Jui-Jen Chang / China Medical University Hospital, Taiwan

  | Constructing a Yeast to Express the Largest Cellulosome Complex on the Cell Surface

  Abstract

  Cellulosomes from anaerobic bacteria are considered nature’s finest cellulolytic machinery. Thus, engineering a cellulosome complex in an industrial host, i.e., a yeast, has been a goal pursued by many scientists. However, it remains highly challenging due to the size and complexity of cellulosomal genes. Here, we overcame the difficulties by designing and synthesizing the scaffoldin gene (CipA) and the anchoring protein gene (OlpB) using advanced synthetic biology techniques. The engineered Kluyveromyces marxianus, a probiotic yeast, secreted a cocktail of cellulolytic enzymes, including tailor-made cellulases, a cellulase booster and its co-enzyme. We demonstrated the cell surface display of our cellulosome using confocal microscopy and flow cytometry analysis. Our engineered cellulosome can accommodate 63 enzymes and is much larger than all engineered cellulosomes in yeasts reported thus far. The engineered yeast host efficiently degraded cellulosic substrates and released higher quantities of ethanol from cellulosic substrates than any previously constructed yeast cellulosome.
  
  

  Biography

  Jui-Jen Chang has received his PhD from National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan and postdoctoral studied at National Chung Hsing University and Academia Sinica, Taiwan. He is the Associate Research Fellow, China Medical University Hospital, Taiwan. He has published more than 22 papers in SCI journals and has obtained 7 patents.
  
  

• +

  Yu-Ju Lin / Biodiversity Research Center, Taiwan

  | Design a Super Secretion Pathway in a Probiotic Yeast for Producing Antimicrobial Peptides

  Abstract

  The global antibiotics market has risen up to 57 billion US dollars, but 80% of the antibiotics are used on farms, causing a serious threat of antibiotic-resistant infections. Using functional feed to reduce the use of antibiotics has become a new trend. “Antimicrobial Peptides” (AMPs) and "probiotics" have been proposed to reduce the overuse of conventional antibiotics and to increase food safety. Developing “AMPs probiotics” aqua feed additives is an ideal approach to replace conventional antibiotics. For this purpose, one anti-microbial peptide (AMP) of the lipopolysaccharides-binding domain was isolated and belongs to the anti-lipopolysaccharide factor (ALF), which was identified from Macrobrachium rosenbergii. A GRAS grade probiotic yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus has isolated and served as a AMP cell factory for AMP production. The AMP production system has been used to test the inhibitory effects on pathogens. However, a major limitation of a yeast AMP cell factory is low secretion efficiency. A “super secretion” expression system was designed to overcome the rate-limiting steps including protein folding and disulfide bond formation in the ER lumen, where chaperone and foldase molecules assist protein folding and oligomerization. The results from the high-throughput dot blotting analysis and the western blotting validation revealed the different levels of the secretary efficiency improvement with the various secretory gene combinations. This efficient AMP production system has great potential to reduce the antibiotics uses in aquaculture. Moreover, establishing a super secretion system is also important for constructing cell factories for medical applications such as glycoprotein and antibody productions.
  
  

  Biography

  Yu-Ju Lin received her PhD from National Taiwan University, Taiwan and has been pursuing postdoctoral research at Academia Sinica, Taiwan. She has published 9 papers in SCI journals and is the Adjunct Assistant Professor, Soo Chow University.
  
  

• +

  Neeraj Kumar / Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, USA

  | Multi-scale Modeling of Metabolic and Regulatory Networks of Yarrowia lypolytica

  Abstract

  Modifying genetic and metabolic pathways in microbes/plants to design systems with desired function remains challenging. Our inability to anticipate how the host organism will respond is due to the fact that many fundamental gaps exist between a molecular-level analysis and a cellular-level understanding of metabolism essential to uncover interactions and dynamics of complex microbial systems. Yarrowia lipolytica is a nonconventional yeast chassis which has been developed genetically that can be harnessed to make other bioproducts, such as itaconic acid. I will discuss our computational framework integrating machine learning, metabolic modeling and multi-omics measurements to characterize the host response to engineered biological functions in terms of a loss function that can be optimized to generate actionable insights for improved designs. We optimized regulatory and metabolic networks of itaconic production of Y. lypolytica to predict the metabolic control coefficients for the best-performing itaconate-producing strain.
  
  

  Biography

  Neeraj Kumar has completed his PhD from University of Louisville (USA) and currently, he is a computational Scientist at computational biology group at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). He has published more than 20 papers in peer reviewed journals in computational modeling to understand biological systems at fundamental level.
  
  

• +

  Sudha Bansode / Shankarrao Mohite College, India

  | Genes as a unit Recombination

  Abstract

  The location of genes: Chromomeres. In i928 Belling suggested that the chromomeres, which appear like a series of granules on the chromosome, might be the genes. Although the view received little support at that time, some recent work tends to support the view that the chromomores represent the sites of genes. Whole mounts of meiotic chromosomes show chromomeres under tire electron microscope. The chromosomes consist of axial filaments from which arise chromatin fibre loops. In the region of the chromomeres there is increased density in the attachment of the loops to the axial filaments. Callan and Llyod (1960) have suggested that each loop of lamp brush chromosomes is correlated with the activity of a gene. According to them the loop may possibly contain several identical 'slave genes' controlled by a 'master gene'. Thomas (1969) has also suggested that each chromomere represents a functional gene, i.e. a master gene with many slave copies. There is, however, no one-to-one correspondence between chromomeres and genes. For example, it has been estimated that the total number of chromomeres in one set of chromosomes of man is at the most 600. The total number of known mutations in man is however we much greater than this (McKusik, l97l). Thus the view that each chromomere represents a functional gene is not tenable. Coming (1972) has suggested that chromomeres may represent families of related genes, or at least genes having similar base compositions. The first picture of an isolated gene was published by Shapiro and co-workers in 1969. They chemically purified the lac operon of DNA and photographed it with the help of an electron microscope. The gene as a unit of recombination (recon). On the basis of work on Drosophila the gene was considered to be the shortest segment of a chromosome which could be separated from its adjacent segments during crossing over. It was thought that genes were those parts of the chromosomes between which crossing over could take place. Crossing over was, however, not supposed to take place within the genes. The gene was thought to be an indivisible unit of a chromosome controlling some - phenotypic character. However, on the basis of tests for recombination’s it has been shown that in viral DNA strands, crossing over not only takes place between the genes but also within genes. One of the subunits of the gene has been called the recon. It is the smallest unit capable of recombining genetically. Recombination studies on microbes indicate that structurally the recon consists of one or two pairs of nucleotides, possibly only one pair.
  
  

  Biography

  Dr. Sudha Bansode is a Associate Professor in Zoology at Shankarrao Mohite College, Akluj, Maharashtra State, India. Recently she has completed her Post Doctoral Studies at University of California, Riverside, USA. She is a active researcher & passionate teacher in India. Still she has been published above 35 research papers in International Journals & she is interested on Bone Research. Also she has honor of Distinguished Editorial Board Member of several International Journals. She is a own author of “Textbook Histological Techniques” & “Outlines of Physiology”. And now she is working on another own reference book “Rhythms in Freshwater Crustaceans”. She is a University recognized research guide for Ph.D. students in India. She was a invited Indian Speaker of “OXFORD SYMPOSIUM” on 27-29 August, 2014 at Balliol College, Oxford, United Kingdom & CELL SIGNALING & CANCER THERAPY – International Conference at Double Tree, Hilton Chicago on 27-28 September 2017, Genetics, Cell and Gene Therapy at Amsterdam, Netherlands, Canada. She was academic visitor of Bangkok- Thailand, Colombo-Sri Lanka, Daira-Dubai-UAE. Her recent intellectual Interaction is with many International Professional groups.
  
  

• +

  Rongmin Yu / Jinan University, China

  | Function and Regulatory Mechanism of Terpene Synthases in Ginkgo biloba L. Based on Transcriptome

  Abstract

  Atranscriptome of G.biloba harboring 10 G reads by RNA-seq was established. A deep transcriptome analysis led to identification of nine terpene synthase (TPS) candidates, among which GbTPS1 and GbTPS2 are variants with each other. Apart from them, monoterpene synthase (GbTPS3), 13-epimanoolsynthase (GbTPS5), dihydro farnesol synthase (GbTPS7), trans-nerolidol synthase (GbTPS8) and levopimara diene synthase (GbTPS9) were also cloned and functionally characterized for the first time. The results showed that GbTPS1 was a bisabolene synthase, while GbTPS2 produced three products including bisabolene (1), bisabolol (2) and compound 3. The subcellular locations of GbTPS1 and GbTPS2 are chloroplast and cytoplasm, respectively. GbTPS2 is the first example of enzymes which can catalyze cyclization and oxidation reactions through two separated mechanisms.The results also showed that treatment of plant hormonesled to distinct changes in expression of GbTPS1 and GbTPS2. It is speculated that GbTPS1andGbTPS2 may be located in independent signaling pathways, controlled by differential activation, or multi-layered and targeted in the defense mechanism. In addition, the structures of GbTPS1 and GbTPS2 were evaluated by homology modeling and molecular docking. The results showed that GbTPS1 has three domains of αβγ in the structure, while GbTPS2 lacks most of the γdomain. When GbTPS1 and GbTPS2 combined with substrate molecule farnesyldiphosphate (FPP), there was a significant difference in their active pockets. At the same time, the configuration of FPP also changed, resulting in different catalytic functions of GbTPS1 and GbTPS2.
  
  

  Biography

  Rongmin Yu has completed his PhD from Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Chinaand postdoctoral investigation from Kindai University, Japan. He is the vice director of Chinese Biochemical Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Society. He has published more than 16 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an editorial board member of Pharmacognosy Magazine, Drug Discoveries & Therapeutics, China Journal of Chinese MateriaMedica, Chinese Traditional and Herbal Drugs, and Journal of Chinese Medicinal Materials.
  
  

• +

  Teoan Kim / Catholic University of Daegu School of Medicine, Korea

  | Transgenic Chicken-Mediated Production of Human Erythropoietin

  Abstract

  Being high ameliorative value and very limited availability, production of human therapeutic glycoproteins in quantity has been one of the biggest challenges in the pharmaceutical industry. Of several approaches, use of in vitro cell culture system as a bioreactor seems to be the most promising. However, enormous investment costs for the mass production facility is the main drawback. As a matter of choice, the use of transgenic farm animal as bioreactors for the production of therapeutic proteins has been intensively explored over the last three decades. Consequently, some transgenic mammals producing several therapeutic proteins through milk were successfully generated. However, the success rate has fallen far beneath the initial predictions due to some inherent disadvantages including long generation times for large mammalian farm animals and the purification difficulties of recombinant proteins from a complex heterogeneous mixture of milk protein and fats. Alternatively, the use of chicken eggs can moderate these problems with the chicken’s characteristics including high reproductive rate and short generation interval and relatively low costs for breeding. Above all things, purification of recombinant proteins is supposed to easier because the constituents of the egg white is far less complex than milk. In addition, compared to mammalian systems, closerglycosylation patterns of some chicken proteins to those of their human homologuesseem to be also advantageous. Despite these potential, however, progress on the transgenesis of the avian was slow, mainly due tounique features of avian reproductive biology. In this presentation, we will coverseveral schemes for transgenic chicken production, as well as pros and cons of each method. The strategies of efficient transgene expression and future aspect of transgenic chicken approach will be also discussed.
  
  

  Biography

  This work was supported by Korea Institute of Planning and Evaluation for Technology in Food, Agriculture and Forestry (IPET) through Agri-Bio industry Technology Development Program, funded by Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA )( 111055-5) and by a grant from the Next-Generation Bio Green 21 Program (No. PJ011178), Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea.
  
  

• +

  Kelsey Bevenour / University of Arkansas, USA

  | Relative Virulence in Viruses: Quantification of Impact on Hosts by Lytic and Non-Lytic Viruses

  Abstract

  Viruses (including bacteriophage) are the most abundant biological entities on Earth and are believed to be parasitize almost every species of life. Classically, viruses were categorized as either lytic or lysogenic. However, due to their diversity, alternative replication strategies have now been characterized. This includes descriptions of non-lytic replication through which progeny virions are released through “budding” without gross cell lysis and immediate cell death. Quantifying the impact of a virus on its host is typically considered a measurement of viral virulence. For decades, strategies for measuring virulence have overwhelmingly been focused on viruses that are lytic or that have a lytic stage (i.e., lysogenic viruses). However, more recently, it has been recognized that both lytic and non-lytic viruses can cause deleterious impacts on a single host or host population. Due to the measureable impacts that viruses can have on hosts during an infection, an infected host population density is limited to a lower population equilibrium, which is significantly below the carrying capacity of an uninfected host population. Thus, the stationary population equilibrium (SPE) of uninfected hosts versus infected hosts (with serial concentrations of viruses or phage) can be used to determine relative virulence. Here, we present a model and a strategy for quantifying relative virulence that can be applied to both lytic and non-lytic viruses. It provides a quantitative way to assess viral impact on hosts for systems that do not use lytic replication as well as a manner to compare longitudinal impacts of lytic viral infections with non-lytic infections, both of which are important for medical virology and virus ecology.
  
  

  Biography

  Kelsey Bevenour completed a B.S. degree in Physics at the University of Delaware. She is currently completing her PhD in Space and Planetary Science at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. She is a Graduate Research Assistant in Dr. Ceballos’ Laboratory
  
  

• +

  Atemnkeng Forwang / University of Arkansas, USA

  | Enhanced Stability of Mobile Enzyme Sequestration Platforms (Mesp) for Industrial Reactions

  Abstract

  Many enzyme-driven reactions in industrial processes are limited by adverse reaction conditions. This includes upper temperature limits and extremes of pH that prevent enzymes from working at optimal catalytic efficiency or that can denature enzymes (or disassociate enzyme complexes). Our lab previously reported how a unique “Mobile Enzyme Sequestration Platform” (MESP), engineered from chaperonin subunits of a hyperthermophilic archaeon and components from the cellulosome of an anaerobic cellulolytic bacterium, can protect and enhance enzymatic activity under acidic (and alkaline) reaction conditions. The original prototype MESP (a.k.a., osettasome) was designed using a heat-shock protein (HSP) from Sulfolobus shibatae, which forms a double nonameric (18-mer) complex. Although 2- to 3-fold increases in reaction efficiency were demonstrated when enzymes were bound to MESPs (versus enzymes free in solution), additional enhancement of the system was proposed through a re-design using alternative HSPs in the engineered chimera. To further develop this novel technology, stability improvements of the core construct are underway. Specifically, four design enhancements have been proposed to increase the thermo tolerance and protective functions of the platform. Here we report, the current status of the second-generation MESP design and provide biophysical data demonstrating the basis for enhanced MESP efficiency of MESP technology. The challenges and limitation of the technology are also presented. Once all four design changes are implemented, it is expected that as high as a 6- to 10-fold increase in enzymatic efficiency under adverse reaction conditions may be achieved. This would provide an economically viable enzyme platform technology amenable for a host of industrial processes, including: lignocelluloses substrate deconstruction, bioremediation, detergents, pharmaceutical development, and other processes requiring enzyme-mediated reactions under high temperature or extremes of pH.
  
  

  Biography

  Atemnkeng Forwang completed a B.S. degree in Chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is currently completing his M.S. in Cell and Molecular biology at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He is a Graduate Research Assistant in Dr. Ceballos’ Laboratory.