Editorial: Biotechnology as an enabling technology and much more

Understanding biomolecules on a molecular level is the driving force for innovations: either to generate new or improved therapeutics, or to get a better insight into bioprocesses. This regular issue of Biotechnology Journal offers an impressive collection of basic research carried out in biochemical engineering, food biotechnology, plant biotechnology and analytical biotechnology. Biotechnology can be seen as an enabling technology that is instrumental in generating new knowledge and improved products. To further disseminate novel methods, Biotechnology Journal publishes a special issue dedicated to biotech methods each year (see [1, 2] for recent “Methods and Advances” special issues). In the current issue, we include several methods papers as well, such as that of Traxlmayr and colleagues [3]. The authors report an interesting approach to generate pH-sensitive Her2 IgG1-Fc fusions through the use of yeast surface display for directed evolution of pH-dependent binding sites in proteins. Also on recombinant proteins, Mooney et al. [4] explore methods that allow the removal of His tag from “trouble maker” fusion proteins, i.e. those fusion proteins that do not allow for easy cleavage of the His tag. PEGylation has been around for more than two decades and continues to be a popular method to reduce recombinant protein immunogenicity and increase recombinant protein half-life in vivo (see also [5] for further information on PEGylation of therapeutic proteins). C. Zhang and colleagues [6] show an example of how PEGylation might improve proteolytic stability with a generic method that can be easily applied to other proteins Two other papers on biotechnological methods are included in this issue. The study carried out by J. Zhang et al. [7] reveal that at relatively low molecular weight positions on SDS-PAGE, only about one-fourth to one-third of the proteins are the wild type. Zhang et al.'s work [7] suggests that researchers and manufacturers should take extra caution when evaluating positive bands on immunoblots. Zasedateleva et al. [8] introduce an interesting approach to developing fluorescence microscopes for microarrays. Zasedateleva et al. [8] can monitor protein ligand interaction in real time with labeling of proteins up to 0.6 ng level. Labeling with fluorescent labels often introduce hydrophobicity into molecules and complicates interpretation. In this context, the label-free detection method introduced by Zasedateleva et al. [8] might be a valuable contribution to microarrays and may have manifold implications. ...biotechnology can be seen as an enabling technology that is instrumental in generating new knowledge and improved products... Maintenance and preservation of high performance microbial starters for consistent fermentation is important. In the case of Saccharomyces cerevisiae wine strains, preparation of active dried yeast has been a common practice in industry as a means of long term storage; however, cell injuries during the dehydration process, in particular oxidative damage, have been known to be a major cause of reduced fermentative capacity upon rehydration. Gamero-Sandemetrio and colleagues [9] report the results of detailed studies on the cellular redox environment in three S. cerevisiae wine strains, which show markedly different fermentative capacities after dehydration. Gamero-Sandemetrio et al. [9] show that naturally enhanced antioxidant defenses prevent oxidative damage after wine yeast biomass dehydration and improve fermentative capacity, and suggest four easily assayable parameters/biomarkers for the selection of industrial yeast strains. ...understanding biomolecules on a molecular level are the driving force for biotechnological innovations... Monoterpenes are promising biosynthetic alternatives to many chemicals including jet fuel precursors and building block chemicals. Using (S)-limonene, which is used in the fragrance, food, and cosmetic industries, as an example, Willrodt and colleagues [10] report optimal synthesis of (S)-limonene from glycerol and glucose as carbon sources using a recombinant Escherichia coli. Willrodt and colleagues [10] also demonstrate that the two-liquid phase fed-batch bioconversion using the E. coli strain developed thorough systematic approach including metabolic engineering and host strain selection lead to the highest monoterpene concentration obtained with a recombinant microbial biocatalyst to date. Gene delivery systems can be broadly classified into viral and non-viral agents. Yong and colleagues [11] report sonoporation as an efficient non-viral gene delivery strategy. Yong and colleagues [11] demonstrate the feasibility of sonoporation for the stable and highly efficient heterologous transfection of recalcitrant B-cell lines for the first time, with higher efficiency than that achieved previously by electroporation. Plants are known to possess numerous proteases, and recombinant proteins produced by plant suspension cultures are often degraded by endogenous proteases when secreted into the medium. Mandal and colleagues [12] report the establishment of plant cell lines with reduced levels of endogenous protease expression by simultaneously expressing the antisense RNAs against key endogenous proteases. One of the cell lines developed allows the expression of recombinant antibody with much reduced product degradation. Invasive fungal infection has become an increasingly important cause of major public health problems around the world. It is therefore important to develop efficient drug delivery system to properly treat fungal infections. Marchione and colleagues [13] report a carrier peptide derived from the Epstein–Barr virus ZEBRA protein in the pathogenic fungus Candida albicans. The ZEBRA-minimal domain is found to be able to cross the cell wall and cell membrane, efficiently delivering eGFP to the cytoplasm. Thus the ZEBRA-minimal domain can be used to carry promising bioactive fungal inhibitors that otherwise penetrate poorly into the cells. Biotechnology is unique in the sense that not only is it a translation of basic biology, it also forms the basic building blocks on which further research can be made. We would therefore like to thank our authors for their outstanding contributions that are likely to further drive research forward. We hope our readers will enjoy reading this issue and use the methods and results reported here to further their research. Prof. Sang Yup Lee Co-Editor-in-Chief, Biotechnology Journal, E-mail: [email protected] Prof. Alois Jungbauer Co-Editor-in-Chief, Biotechnology Journal, E-mail: [email protected] Sang Yup Lee and Alois Jungbauer

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