Biotechnol Adv. 2026 Apr 8:108895. doi: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2026.108895. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Evolutionary engineering is a key strategy for obtaining industrial strains with high stress tolerance and productivity, as well as improving enzyme performance. However, low natural mutation rates, small in vitro mutation libraries, and lengthy phenotypic screening cycles constrain the further development of this…

Front Microbiol. 2026 Feb 27;17:1754802. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2026.1754802. eCollection 2026. ABSTRACT Extremophiles are microorganisms that thrive in environments previously thought to be uninhabitable, including extreme temperature, salinity, pH, pressure, and radiation. These organisms, found in Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya, exhibit distinct structural, metabolic, and genetic adaptations, such as enhanced enzyme stability, efficient DNA repair mechanisms, and…

Plant Biotechnol J. 2026 Mar 14. doi: 10.1111/pbi.70612. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Belamcanda chinensis is a non-leguminous medicinal plant rich in bioactive isoflavones; however, the lack of a high-quality reference genome has limited elucidation of its isoflavone biosynthetic and modification network. Here, we present the first near telomere-to-telomere genome assembly of B. chinensis (4.18…

Plant Biotechnol J. 2026 Feb 19. doi: 10.1111/pbi.70592. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Iridoids constitute a prominent class of plant-specialised metabolites, with carbocyclic iridoids (e.g., geniposide) and secoiridoids (e.g., loganin) diverging early in their biosynthetic pathways. This divergence is marked by substrate-specific carboxyl methyltransferases-GjGAMT and CrLAMT-that catalyse the decisive methylation step in Gardenia jasminoides and…

Nat Commun. 2026 Feb 19;17(1):2945. doi: 10.1038/s41467-026-69706-4. ABSTRACT C-prenylated flavonoids possess notable pharmaceutical potential, but their production is hindered by the challenging selective prenylation of their unstable polyphenolic cores. Natural prenyltransferases offer a direct route but suffer from low activity and incomplete mechanistic understanding. Here, we report a directed evolution strategy to reshape the active…

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2026 Feb 17;123(7):e2529018123. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2529018123. Epub 2026 Feb 9. ABSTRACT Cross-couplings are essential reactions in modern chemical synthesis, enabling the rapid construction of complex molecules from simple precursors. Transition metal catalysts are prized for these transformations because their reactivity and selectivity can be tuned via judicious selection of…

Int J Biol Macromol. 2026 Feb;347:150779. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2026.150779. Epub 2026 Feb 5. ABSTRACT Inorganic pyrophosphatases (PPases) catalyze the hydrolysis of inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi) into orthophosphate (Pi) in the presence of magnesium ions, thereby driving diverse biosynthetic processes. They have been widely applied in in vitro transcription, PCR, and sequencing platforms. Mechanism of family I PPases…

ACS Synth Biol. 2026 Feb 20;15(2):534-547. doi: 10.1021/acssynbio.5c00630. Epub 2026 Feb 2. ABSTRACT Antibiotic resistance is escalating, highlighting the urgent need for novel antimicrobial strategies. Defensin-like antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are considered ideal candidates due to their broad-spectrum activity and engineerable potential; however, their limited antimicrobial efficacy and complex chemical synthesis constrain practical applications. In this…

Data Brief. 2026 Jan 8;64:112453. doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2026.112453. eCollection 2026 Feb. ABSTRACT This dataset provides a comprehensive genomic and pathogenicity profiling of Staphylococcus aureus strain IHS3A, a methicillin-resistant (MRSA) clinical isolate obtained from a healthcare worker in a teaching hospital in Jordan, Middle East. Whole genome sequencing was performed using the Illumina NextSeq 2000 platform, followed…

Sci Rep. 2026 Jan 27;16(1):6411. doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-37715-4. ABSTRACT Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is a widely used industrial polymer, and its persistence in the environment poses significant challenges, making the study of its biodegradation both a major production concern and an important scientific issue. This study aimed to elucidate the enzymatic mechanisms of PVA biodegradation by identifying…