Kao Corporation

Shinshu University

Nara Institute of Science and Technology

Keiji Endo

Katsuya Ozaki

Kazuaki Igarashi

Hiroshi Hagihara

Yasuhiro Hayashi

Katsutoshi Ara

Masatoshi Tohata

Mitsuyoshi Okuda

Hiroyuki Araki

Kazuhisa Sawada

Shenghao Liu

Takuto Tojo

Kaori Kitayama

Tsuyoshi Sato

Jun Deguchi

Katsuhisa Saeki

Tohru Kobayashi

Naotake Ogasawara

Yoshihiro Hakamada

Tadahiro Ozawa

Hiroshi Kodama

Ayako Shimazu

Yasunao Wada

Junichi Sekiguchi

Teruhisa Fujimatsu

Takeko Kodama

Mai Suetsugu

Shitsu Shikata

Ryosuke Kadoya

Ryosuke Tochigi Research Institute Kadoya

To provide a method for predicting a soybean yield at an early stage with high accuracy. The method for predicting a soybean yield comprises: acquiring analytical data of one or more components from a leaf sample collected from the soybean; and predicting a soybean yield using a correlation between the data and a soybean yield.

Method of predicting soybean yield

A method of producing a fatty acid or a lipid containing a fatty acid, using a thioesterase variant having an amino acid sequence in which the 231amino acid is substituted from threonine to lysine in the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1; and a transformant obtained by introducing a gene that encodes the thioesterase variant which transformant has an enhanced ability to produce a fatty acid or a lipid containing a fatty acid.

Method of producing fatty acids or lipids containing fatty acids using thioesterase variants

The present invention provides a mutant alkaline cellulase having enhanced anti-redeposition ability. The present invention provides a mutant alkaline cellulase having an amino acid sequence in which at least amino acid residue selected from the amino acid residues at the positions corresponding to positions 58, 45, 52, 56, 60, 64, 66, 71, 103, 119, 122, 123, 124, 125, 127, 130, 140, 161, 164, 175, 176, 178, 179, 181, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 199, 202, 203, 217, 225, 227, 228, 251, 267, 272, 276, 277, 280, 282, 297, 310, 312, 318, 324, 345, 354, 356, 357, 360, 363, 368, 418, 419, 420, 421, 422, 453, 454, 455, 457, 458, 459, 494, 495, 496, 500, 501, 502, 503, 504, 550, 551, 552, 604, 605, 606, 607, 608, 640, 641, 642, 644, 645, 646, 683, 684, 685, 690, 691, 692, 693, 694, 739, 740, and 741 of the amino acid sequence of an alkaline cellulase set forth in SEQ ID NO: 2 or of the amino acid sequence of an alkaline cellulase having at least 70% identity with the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, is substituted with other amino acid residue.

Mutated alkaline cellulase

A thioesterase comprising an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1, a thioesterase gene encoding the thioesterase, a transformant comprising the gene, and a method of producing fatty acids or lipids using the transformant.

Thioesterase and a method of producing fatty acids or lipids using the thioesterase

The invention is directed to an alkaline protease that has the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 or of an amino acid sequence having an identity of 90% or more thereto, except that one or more amino acid residues at positions selected from (a) position 6, (b) position 15, (c) position 16, (d) position 65, (e) position 66, (f) position 82, (g) position 83, (h) position 204, (i) position 319, and (j) position 337 of SEQ ID NO: 2, or at positions corresponding thereto, are substituted with certain other amino acid residues. The invention is also directed to detergent compositions and culture medium that contain the protease.

Alkaline protease variants

The present invention provides a modified promoter DNA capable of enhancing transcription of genes encoding proteins or polypeptides, and a method for producing proteins or polypeptides efficiently by use of the modified promoter DNA. A promoter DNA recognized by SigA and SigE, which is produced by modifying a nucleotide sequence including a promoter recognized by SigA and bases in the vicinity thereof; an expression vector harboring the promoter DNA; a recombinant microorganism containing the expression vector; and a method for producing proteins or polypeptides characterized by culturing the recombinant microorganism.

Modified promoter

The object of the invention is to provide a microorganism which enhances productivity of cellulase and is useful for industrial production of cellulase, and to provide a method for producing cellulase by use of the microorganism. The present invention provides a recombinant microorganism produced by transferring a gene encoding cellulase to a parental microorganism which has been genetically modified so as to overexpress asecY gene or a gene corresponding thereto.

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A recombinant microorganism having improved productivity for a protein or a polypeptide, and a method for producing a protein or a polypeptide using the recombinant microorganism, are provided. A recombinant microorganism obtained by transfecting a gene for encoding a desired protein or polypeptide into a microorganism strain which is obtained by genetically constructing to overexpress secY gene ofor a gene corresponding to the secY gene, and deleting or inactivating one or more genes selected from sporulation-associated genes and genes corresponding to the sporulation-associated genes from the genome.

A recombinant microorganism is provided that has increased productivity of a protein or polypeptide of interest. A method for producing a protein of interest using the microorganism is also provided. The microorganism is prepared by inserting, in its genome, a transcription initiation regulatory region or both a transcription initiation regulatory region and a ribosome-binding site, upstream of aprsA gene and by deleting or inactivating one or more of the abrB gene, dltA gene, dltB gene, dltC gene, dltD gene, dltE gene, or a gene (genes) corresponding thereto.

Recombinant microorganism

Novelmutant strains having good productivity of various enzymes are provided through extensive analysis of strains that are derived fromvia gene disruption. Themutant strains according to the present invention have genomic structures prepared by deletion of regions listed in the columns for deficient regions. Each of thesemutant strains exerts significantly improved secretory productivity of a protein when a gene encoding such a secretory target protein is introduced so that it can be expressed, compared with a case in which the same gene is introduced into a wild-type strain.

The present invention provides a mutantbacterium capable of enhancing productivity of proteins or polypeptides, a recombinant microorganism produced by introducing genes encoding heterologous proteins or polypeptides into the mutantbacterium, and a method for producing proteins or polypeptides by use of the recombinant microorganism. A mutantbacterium which has, on the genome or plasmid thereof, DNA having a promoter sequence which is recognized and transcribed specifically during the sporulation stage and which is ligated to an upstream end of a sigA gene or a gene equivalent thereto, a recombinant microorganism produced by introducing genes encoding heterologous proteins or polypeptides into the mutantbacterium, and a method for producing proteins or polypeptides by use of the recombinant microorganism.

A host microorganism capable of increasing productivity of a protein or polypeptide, a recombinant microorganism obtained by introducing a gene encoding a protein or polypeptide into the host microorganism, and a method for producing a protein or polypeptide using the recombinant microorganism are provided. Also provided is a recombinant microorganism obtained by introducing into a host microorganism a gene encoding a heterologous protein or polypeptide, wherein in said host microorganism theaprX gene or a gene corresponding to the aprX gene has been deleted or knocked out, and a method for producing a protein or polypeptide using the recombinant microorganism.

Recombinant microorganism comprising inactivation of the AprX gene

A microorganism wherein one or more genes selected from the group of genes participating in sporulation in the middle to late stages of sporulation have been deleted or inactivated; and a process for producing a target product (a protein) by use the microorganism. No spore is formed when this microorganism is employed, thereby enabling production of a target product (a protein) while decreasing energy loss, production of a by-product and specific production speed to decrease unnecessary consumption of a medium. Moreover, the production period can be prolonged, whereby the target product (the protein) can be produced efficiently.

Host microorganisms

The invention relates to mutant &#x3b1;-amylases that may be produced at high yield from recombinant microorganisms.

Highly productive &#x3b1;-amylases

The invention relates to a mutant &#x3b1;-amylase obtained by making replacement or deletion of at least one of amino acid residues such as the 167th Gln, 169th Tyr and 178th Ala in the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:1 in an &#x3b1;-amylase having said amino acid sequence, or an &#x3b1;-amylase having a homology of at least 70% to said amino acid sequence, a gene encoding the mutant &#x3b1;-amylase, a vector, transformed cells, a process for producing a mutant &#x3b1;-amylase, comprising culturing the transformed cells, and a detergent composition comprising the mutant &#x3b1;-amylase. The mutant &#x3b1;-amylase of the invention has excellent properties of high resistance to chelating agents, high specific activity in an alkaline region and excellent stability to heat, and is hence useful for detergents for automatic dish washer, laundry detergents and the like.

Growing community of inventors

Haga-gun, Japan

Keiji Endo