Abstract: The present invention relates to enantioselective epoxide hydrolase proteins isolated from marine microorganisms, which has high enantioselectivity to various epoxide substrates, and a method of preparing the epoxides with high enantio-purity by using the epoxide hydrolases. The enantioselective hydrolase protein of the present invention can be applied for the preparation of enantiopure epoxides with high bioactivity at a high yield.

Abstract: Process for producing microcapsules comprising an effect-substance-containing capsule core and a polymer-containing capsule covering, comprising the formation of the capsule covering by means of enzyme-catalyzed polymerization of monomers which are present in an inverse miniemulsion; and also microcapsules and dispersions. Use of said microcapsules and dispersions comprising microcapsules as component in colorants, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, crop protection agents, fertilizers, additives for foods or animal feed, auxiliaries for polymers, paper, textile, leather or detergents and cleaners.

Abstract: The invention provides synthetic chemical and chemoenzymatic methods of producing simvastatin and various intermediates. In one aspect, enzymes such as hydrolases, e.g., esterases, are used in the methods of the invention.

Abstract: A method for obtaining a taxane by which a taxane is isolated from a growth medium, such as soil, pumice, perlite, rocks, and/or gravel in which a taxane-producing plant has grown. A method for obtaining a taxane by which a taxane is isolated from water effluent from plantings of living plants (e.g. a yew tree) that produce a taxane have grown in a growth medium, such as soil, pumice, perlite, rocks, and/or gravel.

Abstract: A process for preparing (meth)acrylic esters (F) of alcohols (A) having at least one epoxy group, in which at least one alcohol (A) having at least one epoxy group is esterified with (meth)acrylic acid (S) or is transesterified with at least one (meth)acrylic ester (D) in the presence of at least one enzyme, the alcoholic leaving group being stable under the reaction conditions in the case of the transesterification.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of producing secondary metabolites with a high yield using plant cell culture, and a medium for the production of secondary metabolites. More specifically, the method of the present invention is characterized in that the plant cell culture is conducted by adding a saccharide mixture to the culture medium as a carbon source, to increase the productivity of the secondary metabolites. For example, the present invention establishes the method of increasing the productivity of secondary metabolites and shortening the culture time by the use of the mixture of glucose and fructose in the plant cell culture, thereby contributing in producing useful secondary metabolites on an industrial scale using plant cell culture.

Abstract: The invention provides yeast strains, and polypeptides encoded by genes of such yeast strains, that have enantiospecific meso-epoxide hydrolase activity. The invention also features nucleic acid molecules encoding such polypeptides, vectors containing such nucleic acid molecules, and cells containing such vectors. Also embraced by the invention are methods for obtaining containing such nucleic acid molecules, and cells containing such vectors.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a novel compound represented as by formula (I). The present invention also provides a novel strain named as Alternaria alternata var. monosporus, which can produce the compound of formula (I). The inventive strain is cultured in the medium to produce and mass the inventive compound of formula (I) in the strain and the medium. The inventive compound of formula (I) is obtained by recovering and purifying from the mycelia and medium. The compound has strong bioactivity of against cancer, fungi and viruses.

Abstract: This invention is a method of minimizing the variation of cell growth and production through homogeneous cell line development. To be more specific, it is the method of isolating and proliferating single cell clone from the procambium to promote the stability of the plant-derived biologically active substances production by solving the problems of decrease in cell growth and the productivity during the long term culture.

Abstract: A method for preparing substantially enantiopure 3-hydroxy carboxylic acids or esters of the general formula (III) by reacting racemic oxetan-2-ones of the general formula (I) with compounds R3-OH of the general formula (II) in the presence of a lipase from Candida antartica or Burkholderia plantarii, and separating the resulting products of the formula (III) and (IV) from one another where the radicals have the following meaning: R1, R2, R3 independently of one another H; C1-C10-substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, substituted or unsubstituted aryl or hetaryl, where R1 and R2 may not simultaneously have the same meaning.

Abstract: During the production of a product compound by fermentation, the concentration of a precursor compound is maintained within a pre-selected concentration range by having an adsorbent resin in contact with the culture medium. The adsorbent resin reversibly adsorbs precursor compound and, as un-adsorbed precursor compound is converted to product compound, adsorbed precursor compound is released from the resin, thus maintaining the concentration of precursor compound within the pre-selected range.

Abstract: The invention provides yeast strains, and polypeptides encoded by genes of such yeast strains, that have enantiospecific 2,2-disubstituted epoxide hydrolase activity. The invention also features nucleic acid molecules encoding such polypeptides, vectors containing such nucleic acid molecules, and cells containing such vectors. Also embraced by the invention are methods for obtaining optically active 2,2-disubstituted vicinal diols and optically active 2,2-disubstituted epoxides.

Abstract: Disclosed are the uses of specific genes of the mevalonate and isoprenoid biosynthetic pathways, and of inactive gene sites (the pseudogene) to (1) enhance biosynthesis of isopentenyl diphosphate, dimethylallyl diphosphate and isoprenoid pathway derived products in the plastids of transgenic plants and microalgae, (2) create novel antibiotic resistant transgenic plants and microalgae, and (3) create a novel selection system and/or targeting sites for mediating the insertion of genetic material into plant and microalgae plastids. The specific polynucleotides to be used, solely or in any combination thereof, are publicly available from GeneBank and contain open reading frames having sequences that upon expression will produce active proteins with the following enzyme activities: (a) acetoacetyl CoA thiolase (EC 2.3.1.9), (b) 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) synthase (EC 4.1.3.5), (c) HMG-CoA reductase (EC 1.1.1.34), (d) mevalonate kinase (EC 2.7.1.36), (e) phosphomevalonate kinase (EC 2.7.4.

Abstract: An improved fermentation process for preparing pseudomonic acid A (mupirocin) is disclosed. The metabolically controlled fermentation process provides culturing a Pseudomonas sp. strain in a submerged medium at a temperature within about 20-30° C. The pH of the fermentation medium is regulated to be at about 5.5-6.0 by feeding the fermentation medium with an assimilable carbon source, a mineral salt, or an acidic/alkali solution. Accordingly, the resulting fermentation broth contains an increased yield of highly purified pseudomonic acid A as the main component. The pseudomonic acid B as an impurity in the fermentation broth is significantly decreased.

Abstract: The invention relates to a process for converting an epoxide to an alcohol. The process according to the invention is enzymatically catalyzed and highly enantioselective and regiospecific.

Abstract: The invention provides yeast strains, and polypeptides encoded by genes of such yeast strains, that have enantiospecific glycidyl ether hydrolase activity. The invention also features nucleic acid molecules encoding such polypeptides, vectors containing such nucleic acid molecules, and cells containing such vectors. Also embraced by the invention are methods for obtaining optically active glycidyl ethers and associated optically active vicinal diols.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for producing single enantiomer epoxides by reducing ?-leaving group-substituted ketones with (R)- or (S)-selective alcohol dehydrogenases in the presence of a cofactor and optionally a suitable system for regenerating the oxidised cofactor, to produce the corresponding single enantiomer alcohols and subsequently, by means of cyclisation induced by a base, the corresponding single enantiomer epoxides (EQUATION 1) wherein LG may stand for F, Cl, Br, I, OSO2Ar, OSO2CH3, OSO2R or OP(O)OR2, and R1, R2 and R3, independently of one another, stand for hydrogen, a branched or unbranched, optionally substituted C1-C20-alkyl radical, symbolize an optionally randomly substituted C3-C1-10-cycloalkyl or alkenyl radical or a randomly substituted carbo- or heterocyclic aryl radical, or correspond to a radical from the group CO2R, CONR2, COSR, CS2R, C(NH)NR2, CN, CHaI3, ArO, ArS, RO, RS, CHO, OH, NHR, NR2, Cl, F, Br, I or SiR3.

Abstract: The invention provides yeast strains, and polypeptides encoded by genes of such yeast strains, that have enantiospecific internal epoxide hydrolase activity. The invention also features nucleic acid molecules encoding such polypeptides, vectors containing such nucleic acid molecules, and cells containing such vectors. Also embraced by the invention are methods for obtaining optically active internal epoxides and corresponding optically active internal diols.

Abstract: The invention provides synthetic chemical and chemoenzymatic methods of producing simvastatin and various intermediates. In one aspect, enzymes such as hydrolases, e.g., esterases, are used in the methods of the invention.

Abstract: A bioprocess for producing carboxylic acids, alcohols and aldehydes is provided by culturing Candida sp. in a fermentation medium containing various defined substrates.

Abstract: A depolymerizing process of polylactic acid, wherein the polylactic acid is depolymerized in the presence of a hydrolase in an organic solvent or a supercritical fluid, thereby producing a re-polymerizable oligomer. A producing process of polylactic acid, wherein the re-polymerizable oligomer obtained by the above-mentioned depolymerization process is polymerized in the presence of a hydrolase or a polymerization catalyst.

Abstract: This invention provides methods whereby taxol, baccatin III, and other taxol-like compounds, or taxanes, can be produced in very high yield from all known Taxus species, e.g., brevifolia, canadensis, cuspidata, baccata, globosa, floridana, wallichiana, media and chinensis. Particular modifications of culture conditions (i.e., media composition and operating modes) have been discovered to enhance the yield of various taxanes from cell culture of all species of Taxus. Particularly preferred enhancement agents include silver ion or complex, jasmonic acid (especially the methyl ester), auxin-related growth regulators, and inhibitors of the phenylpropanoid pathway, such as 3,4-methylenedioxy-6-nitrocinnamic acid. These enhancement agents may be used alone or in combination with one another or other yield-enhancing conditions. While the yield of taxanes from plant cell culture of T.

Abstract: The invention relates to Corynebacterium ammoniagenes CJXOL 0201 KCCM 10447 producing 5?-xanthylic acid. More specifically, the invention relates to Corynebacterium ammoniagenes CJXOL 0201 KCCM 10447 which is a mutant strain of Corynebacterium ammoniagenes KCCM 10340 having a resistance to oligomycin. In order to obtain mutant strain having enhanced respiratory activity, the present invention adopted Corynebacterium ammoniagenes KCCM 10340 as parent strain and treated it with UV radiation and mutation derivatives such as N-methyl-N?-nitro-n-nitrosoguanidine(NTG) according to ordinary procedure. Therefore, Corynebacterium ammoniagenes CJXOL 0201 KCCM 10447 of the present invention makes it possible to increase ATP reproducing activity for same period of fermentation and can accumulate 5?xanthylic acid in culture medium at a high yield and concentration rate.

Abstract: A process for producing rhamnolipids involving culturing Pseudomonas chlororaphis strain NRRL B-30761 in a first aqueous culture medium containing about 0.3% NH4H2PO4, about 0.2% K2HPO4, about 0.2% carbon source, about 0.5 mg/L FeSO4, and about 0.1% MgSO4 for about 24–about 48 hours at about 25°–about 30° C. with orbital shaking, and then culturing Pseudomonas chlororaphis strain NRRL B-30761 in a static second aqueous culture medium containing per liter about 2% carbon source, about 0.7 g KH2PO4, about 0.9 g Na2HPO4, about 2 g NaNO3, about 0.4 g MgSO4.7H2O, and about 0.1 g CaCl2.2H2O for at least about 72 hours at about 20°–about 23° C., wherein the first and second aqueous culture medium contains only one source of carbon.

Abstract: A method for converting alkenes into epoxides and, particularly, to convert alkenes into enantio-specific epoxides by the use of enzymes which may be in their naturally-occuring (native) form or in mutated form, such as a native or mutated non-haem diiron-containing monooxygenase, and novel compounds produced thereby.

Abstract: A process for the preparation of optically active 3-hydroxypyrrolidine or N-substituted 3-hydroxypyrrolidines, wherein an oxygen atom is inserted stereoselectively into the corresponding pyrrolidines, respectively, by use of a bacterium having hydroxylation activity, or a prokaryotic host-organism having the gene(s) necessary for the hydroxylation, or an enzyme having hydroxylation activity derived therefrom. The bacterium may be selected from strains having alkane hydroxylases, strains degrading alkanes or mono-alicyclic compounds, or strains from the genera Pseudomonas, Mycobacterium, Corynebacterium, Nocardia, Sphingomonas, Gordona, Rhodococcus, Bacillus, Streptomyces; Sebekia and Methylococcus.

Abstract: This invention relates to a method for producing a lactone comprising culturing Candida sorbophila in a medium containing at least one selected from the group consisting of a hydroxy fatty acid, a hydroxy fatty acid derivative, and a hydrolysate of a hydroxy fatty acid derivative and recovering the produced lactone from the medium. This invention also relates to a method for producing a lactone comprising culturing Candida sorbophila in a medium containing at least one selected from the group consisting of a hydroxy fatty acid, a hydroxy fatty acid derivative, and a hydrolysate of a hydroxy fatty acid derivative and lactonizing the lactone precursor hydroxy fatty acid produced in the medium.

Abstract: A method for the resolution of a mixture of the cis or trans enantiomers of a compound of the formula wherein R1 is —O—C(O)alkyl, —O—C(O)aryl or —O—C(O)cycloalkyl by contacting the mixture with a carboxylic ester hydrolase enzyme which catalyzes the stereoselective hydrolysis of the mixture and the use of such enantiomers to produce antitumor compounds which are especially suitable for oral administration.

Abstract: The invention concerns proteins of fungal origin having an epoxide hydrolase activity, such as those obtained in essentially pure form by extraction from fungi cells, or by culturing in host cells transformed by a nucleotide sequence coding for said fungal proteins. The invention also concerns the uses thereof, in particular for implementing methods for preparing enantiopure epoxides and/or diols.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a novel and efficient chemoenzymatic process of preparation of optically active trans alkyl phenylglycidates. The invention particularly discloses a novel process for the chemoenzymatic synthesis of two enantiomers of trans alkyl phenylglycidate i.e.

Abstract: The process for the preparation and isolation of the hypolipaemic active substance lovastatin in substantially pure form having a purity of at least 95% which comprises lactonizing the mevinolinic acid to lovastatin in a totally aqueous medium.

Abstract: A process for preparing enantiomer-enriched heterocyclic (R)- and (S)-cyanohydrins of the formula (I), where R1, R2, R3, R4 independently of one another are H, an unsubstituted or substituted C1–C24-alkyl, alkenyl or alkynyl radical, where one or more carbon atoms in the chain can be replaced by an oxygen atom, a nitrogen atom, a sulfur atom, an SO or an SO2 group, an unsubstituted or substituted aryl or heteroaryl radical or heterocyclic radical or halogen, hydroxyl, NR5R6, acetyl, oxo, C1–C6-carbalkoxy, C1–C6-carbalkoxyamino, COOR7, cyano, amide, benzoylamino or NO2, R5 and R6 are H, C1–C6-alkyl radical, phenyl radical, benzyl radical or COOR7, or together form a C2–C8-alkylene or heteroalkylene radical, R7 is H or C1–C6-alkyl, n is 0, 1, 2 or 3, X, Y and Z can be an unsubstituted or substituted carbon atom or a radical selected from the group consisting of N, O, S or NR5R6, where R5 and R6 are as defined above, SO or SO2, and at least one of the radicals X, Y and Z is not a carbon atom, where the compo

Abstract: A method for manufacturing polyhydroxyalkanoate-containing structure, at least a part of a base material surface of the structure being coated with polyhydroxyalkanoate, the method comprises the steps of immobilizing a polyhydroxyalkanoate synthase on the base material surface, synthesizing, on the base material surface, polyhydroxyalkanoate using a 3-hydroxyacyl coenzyme A to become the substrate of the synthase and the synthase and coating at least a part of the base material surface with the synthesized polyhydroxyalkanoate, wherein the synthase contains an amino acid sequence capable of binding to the base material.

Abstract: A high yield, economical process for purifying taxanes from yew biomass is disclosed. The process does not require initial liquid:liquid portioning of the crude extract to separate highly polar substances. The organic solvent extract of the biomass is adsorbed onto and selectively desorbed from an adsorption resin to provide a taxane enriched eluate. Substantially pure individual taxanes may be further isolated from the eluate by hydrophobic-interaction chromatography.

Abstract: The present invention provides an improved method for the manufacture of Mycophenolic acid by solid substrate fermentation of Pencillium brevi-campactum, in a contained bioreactor under optimal fermentation parameters with its subsequent purification steps.

Abstract: A method for enzymatically synthesizing a polymer by combining a preselected quantity of an enzyme, a first reactant selected from polymers with at least one carboxylic acid pendant group, a second reactant selected from alcohols, i.e., polyols, in a reaction vessel; heating the reaction vessel to a preselected temperature; and maintaining the reaction vessel at the preselected temperature for a preselected time with mixing, wherein an esterification reaction results at at least one carboxylic acid pendant group of the polymer with one hydroxyl group from the polyol and results in a modified polymer.

Abstract: A non-disruptive three-dimensional culture system allows cell growth and proliferation in three dimensions, permitting cell splitting without subjecting cells to disruptive conditions that affect cell structure and functions. An extracellular matrix provides a good environment for culturing or co-culturing anchorage-dependent cells. The cells cultured this manner can be readily used in such applications as cell transplantation, tissue engineering seeding of cells on scaffolds, and other applications that require immediate availability of functioning cells.

Abstract: This invention provides a process for producing optically active 2-[6-(hydroxymethyl)-1,3-dioxan-4-yl]acetic acid derivatives, which are of value as intermediates of drugs, from inexpensive starting materials without using any special equipment such as that required for super-low temperature reactions. A process for producing optically active 2-[6-(hydroxymethyl)-1,3-dioxan-4-yl]acetic acid derivatives which comprises reacting an acetic acid derivative at a temperature of not less than ?30° C.

Abstract: A method has been discovered for the epoxidation of a compound having at least one carbon-carbon double bond, the method involves reacting a compound having at least one carbon-carbon double bond, a solvent, an oxidant, and membrane bound peroxygenase. Also discovered is a method for preparing the membrane bound peroxygenase involving grinding seeds containing peroxygenase to produce ground seeds, homogenizing the ground seeds in a buffer to form a slurry, centrifuging the slurry to produce a first supernatant, centrifuging the first supernatant to produce a second supernatant, and filtering said second supernatant through a protein-binding membrane filter to produce membrane bound peroxygenase; optionally the second supernatant is filtered through a hydrophilic membrane filter prior to filtering the second supernatant through a protein-binding membrane filter.

Abstract: The present invention provides a fermentation process for producing lipstatin comprising the steps of: a) preparing a fermentation medium containing a lipstatin-producing microorganism comprising an oil and an assimilable carbon source, wherein the wt/wt ratio of oil and assimilable carbon source is regulated to achieve an optimal lipstatin biosynthesis by the microorganism; and b) feeding the fermentation medium with an emulsifier, wherein the emulsifier provides an optimal viscosity for the fermentation medium and optimal pH during the fermentation to permit fermentation for lipstatin production. The disclosed process also provides a process for extracting a lipstatin from a fermentation broth.

Abstract: A description is given of epoxide hydrolases from bacteria of the genus Streptomyces, a novel process for the enzymatic separation of epoxide enantiomeric mixtures, of a novel detection method for epoxide hydrolase activity, a screening method for detecting epoxide hydrolase activity and the use of bacteria of the genus Streptomyces and of the resultant epoxide hydrolases for enantioselective epoxide hydrolysis.

Abstract: A microbial method for the preparation of an epothilone containing a terminal hydroxyalkyl group, comprising contacting at least one epothilone having a terminal alkyl group with an enzyme or microorganism capable of catalyzing the selective hydroxylation of said alkyl group to a hydroxyalkyl group, and effecting said hydroxylation.

Abstract: Disclosed is a process for isolating and purifying paclitaxel from a natural resource of taxanes, comprising the steps of (a) washing a raw material comprising paclitaxel with water in order to remove soluble impurities from the raw material; (b) extracting with an organic solvent a wet raw material comprising paclitaxel; (c) contacting the wet raw material with a salt to obtain a biomass by precipitation, isolation, and drying; (d) removing resin and natural pigments from the dried biomass by dissolving the biomass in acetone or an acetone-hexane mixture, and adding at least one polar solvent until a paclitaxel-enriched oil phase is obtained; and (e) chromatography purifying the paclitaxel-enriched oil phase in a volatile solvent to obtain a purified solution, followed by crystallization.

Abstract: According to the present invention, 22,23-dihydroavermectin B1a, which is useful as a medicine, a veterinary drug, and a pesticide, can be directly fermented and produced. This can obviate the need for the complicated and difficult conventional processes for purifying avermectin B1a at an industrial level and for chemically modifying avermectin B1a and can significantly decrease cost and time required in the industrial production of 22,34-dihydroavermectin B1a. The production of the formulation containing only 22,23-dihydroavermectin B1a, which is highly effective as a medicine, is also realized.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a process of converting lipstatin to orlistat by catalytic hydrogenation. The present invention further discloses novel crystalline solid orlistat forms, designated form I and form II and methods for their preparation.

Abstract: Fermentation based methods for producing mycolactones allows one to produce large quantities of mycolactones, which can be purified by extraction and chromatography to yield pure preparations of mycolactones A, B, C, and D.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of heterologous production of a taxane or a related compound by cloning a DNA sequence comprising a taxane synthesis pathway, making a DNA construct wherein said DNA sequence is under control of regulatory elements, introducing said DNA construct into a host cell, growing said host cell under conditions conductive to the production of the taxane in question, and recovering the taxane in question from the culture medium. The invention also relates to the DNA sequence comprising the taxane synthesis pathway, an expression vector comprising the taxane synthesis pathway, and a host cell comprising the expression vector comprising the taxane synthesis pathway being capable of heterologous expression of taxane.

Abstract: The present invention is based on the discovery that 2-deoxyribose-5-phosphate aldolase (DERA, EC 4.1.2.4) and variants therefor can be used to catalyze sequential asymmetric aldol reactions between a wide variety of donor and acceptor aldehydes. The reaction products typically contain at least two new stereogenic centers and can be produced in enantiomerically pure form. As such, DERA catalyzed asymmetric aldol chemistry can be exploited to produce synthons for the synthesis of a variety of bioactive molecules.

Abstract: A novel class of decalactones with the general formula (I) and their stereoisomers is disclosed. A method for the synthesis of the decalactones of general formula (I) and the use of the decalactones in pharmaceutical compositions is also described.

Abstract: Electrophoretic particles for electrophoretic display having excellent dispersibility and dispersion stability with time for insulating media, and being protected against coagulation, settling and the like, a process for production of the electrophoretic particles having high versatility for pigments to be used in response to a full-color display, and an electrophoretic display device using the electrophoretic particles that has an excellent memory property and is highly reliable are provided. The electrophoretic particles are formed using as at least a part of structure a pigment with at least a part of the surface covered with polyhydroxyalkanoate.