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Journal articleSun T, Sun M-L, Lin L, et al., 2026,
Combining multiplex metabolic engineering with adaptive evolution strategies for high-level succinic acid production in Yarrowia lipolytica
, Synthetic and Systems Biotechnology, Vol: 11, Pages: 48-58, ISSN: 2405-805XSuccinic acid, an essential platform chemical with extensive utility in biodegradable materials, pharmaceuticals, and the food industry, faces challenges of high energy consumption and environmental pollution in traditional chemical synthesis. Here, we employed multiplex metabolic engineering and adaptive laboratory evolution to enhance succinic acid biosynthesis in Yarrowia lipolytica. By attenuating succinate dehydrogenase (Sdh) activity, mitigating by-product accumulation, and enhancing the succinate synthesis pathway, engineered strains showed efficient succinic acid production from glycerol. The titer reached 130.99 g/L under unregulated pH conditions, translating to a yield of 0.35 g/g and a productivity of 0.70 g/(L·h). Subsequently, transporter engineering and adaptive evolution strategies were applied to enhance glucose utilization for succinic acid synthesis, yielding an evolved strain that eliminated the growth lag phase and produced 106.68 g/L succinic acid from glucose, which translated to a yield of 0.32 g/g and a productivity of 0.64 g/(L·h). Additionally, transcriptomic analysis and inverse metabolic engineering revealed that 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (4-Hppd) in the tyrosine degradation pathway partially restored the growth of Sdh-deficient strains on glucose, offering new insights for subsequent succinic acid biomanufacturing using Y. lipolytica.
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Journal articleRafieenia R, Fu J, Hapeta P, et al., 2026,
Advancing arabinose-based bioproduction in Yarrowia lipolytica by integrating metabolic engineering and adaptive laboratory evolution
, Metabolic Engineering, Vol: 94, Pages: 15-23, ISSN: 1096-7176The oleaginous yeast, Yarrowia lipolytica has gained interest as a biotechnological chassis to produce foods, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and biofuels. To reduce production costs and sustainability, inexpensive and abundant feedstocks such as lignocellulose must be used for bioproduction. Since lignocellulosic biomass contains components that cannot be utilised by Y. lipolytica, it is important to use engineering biology to enable their utilisation. L-arabinose is the second most abundant pentose in lignocellulose after xylose. However, it has received much less attention than xylose as a bioresource. In the present study, we first engineered Y. lipolytica to grow on L-arabinose as the sole carbon source. We used several wild-type and engineered strains to express the multigene arabinose cassette. Second, we used adaptive laboratory evolution to improve the utilisation of arabinose by the engineered strains. Third, we enabled the production of β-carotene from arabinose by expressing a β-carotene cassette in the evolved strain. Using minimal YNB medium supplemented with 20 g/l of arabinose as the sole carbon source resulted in the complete utilisation of L-arabinose within 120 h. In bioreactors, a β-carotene production of 418.89 mg/l was achieved with the complete utilisation of 60 g/l of L-arabinose. This study is the first to engineer L-arabinose utilisation in Y. lipolytica, opening new avenues for biomanufacturing using alternative carbon sources.
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Journal articleWang Y, Jiang Q, Vorlaufer D, et al., 2026,
Application of vitrimer-based sizing agent onto carbon fibres through thiol-ene photo-polymerisation
, COMPOSITES PART A-APPLIED SCIENCE AND MANUFACTURING, Vol: 202, ISSN: 1359-835X -
Journal articleAlmousa HA, De Luca HG, Anthony DB, et al., 2026,
Uniform and scalable carbon nanotube growth on carbon fibers: insights from experimental dynamic snapshots and computational fluid dynamics
, Carbon, Vol: 248, ISSN: 0008-6223Carbon nanotube (CNT) grafted carbon fibers (CFs) are promising for multifunctional composites (CFRPs) but remain limited by scalability, non-uniform growth, and degradation of fiber tensile strength. This paper reports a continuous spool-to-spool chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process that achieves uniform CNT growth throughout 12k CF tows while preserving fiber tensile properties. The uniformity of CNT coverage, over meters of length and across thousands of fibers, was objectively established via a multi-length scale characterization protocol, combining machine learning-based SEM classification with macroscopic measurements of BET-based specific surface area (SSA) and gravimetric CNT content. Microscopic and macroscopic measurements are independently self-consistent. To understand and optimize CNT growth, a new dynamic snapshot method was developed and combined with steady-state computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling to resolve the spatial evolution of catalyst activation, nucleation, and CNT growth kinetics as a function of reactor temperature and species concentrations. These insights informed targeted modifications to gas flow and temperature conditions, enabling reproducible CNT growth at 550 °C. Under optimized CVD conditions, the CFs were grafted with a CNT corona of 850 nm in length, corresponding to a loading of 2.9 wt% on the fibers, which led to a ten-fold increase in SSA (5.35 m2 g−1). The process was shown to be stable for extended lengths (>50 m) and reproducible across multiple runs, establishing a scalable route for integrating CNT-grafted CFs into conventional manufacturing. This experimental-computational framework provides a rational approach toward high-performance multifunctional, hierarchical CFRPs.
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Journal articleStewart I, John A, Bin L, et al., 2026,
Residual lung abnormality following COVID-19 hospitalisation is characterised by biomarkers of epithelial injury
, EBioMedicine, Vol: 124, ISSN: 2352-3964Some survivors of acute COVID-19 infection have long-term symptoms that could suggest ongoing lung impairment. Searches performed in MEDLINE and Embase for SARS-COV-2 studies with radiological lung follow-up estimated that 50% of participants had inflammatory patterns and 29% had fibrotic patterns at a median of 3 months post infection. Analysis of the UK nationwide Post-hospitalisation COVID-19 Study at 5-months follow-up suggested that up to 11% of people discharged from hospital following COVID-19 infection were at-risk of radiological residual lung abnormalities, such as ground glass opacity and reticulation. In people with pulmonary fibrosis, these radiological patterns are often consistent with persistent epithelial lung injury. Biomarker studies have identified associations with COVID-19 severity, however there are few studies that explore the relationship between biomarkers of epithelial injury and parenchymal lung abnormalities post-hospitalisation.
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Journal articleGreenland JR, Perch M, Halloran K, et al., 2026,
Considerations for Endpoints in Lung Transplant Clinical Trials: Perspective on the ISHLT Consensus Statement.
, J Heart Lung Transplant, Vol: 45, Pages: 168-171 -
Journal articleGreenland JR, Perch M, Halloran K, et al., 2026,
Considerations for Endpoints in Lung Transplant Clinical Trials: An ISHLT Consensus Statement.
, J Heart Lung Transplant, Vol: 45, Pages: e104-e128Clinical trials in lung transplantation have been hindered by a lack of clarity on the formulation and significance of endpoints for evaluating therapeutic efficacy. To address this challenge, a multidisciplinary working group from the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation developed consensus recommendations on endpoints beyond mortality. These endpoints include primary graft dysfunction (PGD), chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD), acute cellular rejection (ACR), antibody-mediated rejection (AMR), immunosuppression-related complications, patient-reported outcomes (PROs), and pediatric-specific considerations. For each endpoint, a subgroup reviewed measurement best practices, assessed links to clinical benefit, and evaluated the evidence supporting their utility in clinical trial settings. Consensus was established through a Delphi process involving three rounds of voting. This document provides practical guidance for operationalizing these endpoints and outlines their optimal use in clinical trials. By standardizing trial design, these recommendations aim to accelerate the development of urgently needed therapies to improve lung transplantation outcomes.
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Journal articleMaher T, Jenkins G, Saini G, et al., 2026,
A Prospective Study of Fibrosis in the Lung Endpoints (PROFILE): characteristics of an incident cohort of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
, BMJ Open Respiratory Research, ISSN: 2052-4439Background: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic, progressive fibrotic lung disease. The PROFILE study was a prospective, observational cohort study designed to better define the natural history of IPF, understand disease biology and identify biomarkers to support disease management and enhance clinical trial design.Methods: Individuals with an incident diagnosis of IPF were recruited between 2010 and 2017 across two co-ordinating centres in the UK. Demographics, clinical measurements and blood samples were obtained at baseline, and 1, 3, 6, 12, 24, 36 months. Disease progression events were defined as death or relative FVC decline>10% at 12 months. Survival estimates were modelled using cox proportional hazards; longitudinal lung function decline was estimated using mixed effect models, specified with restricted cubic splines, a random intercept for participant and random effect for study visit. All models were adjusted for baseline age, sex and continuous baseline percent predicted forced vital capacity (ppFVC).Results: A total of 632 participants were recruited, 77.1% were male and mean age at enrolment was 70.4 years (SD 8.4). Mean baseline ppFVC was 79.5% (SD 19.2), mean percent predicted DLCO (ppDLCO) was 45.7% (SD 15.1). A total of 304 (48.1%) participants met disease progression criteria at 1 year. Median survival was 3.7 years (95%CI 3.3; 4.0). More severe baseline physiology, 12-month relative lung function decline ≥10%, older age, and short telomeres were independent risk factors for mortality. Twelve-month estimated change in ppFVC was -5.28% (95%CI -6.34; -4.22) with an average FVC decline of 186.9ml (95%CI -225.4.0; -148.5), 12-month estimated change in ppDLCO was -3.35% (95%CI -4.30; -2.40).Conclusion: The PROFILE cohort confirms that untreated, IPF is inexorable progressive and inevitably fatal with a poor median survival from diagnosis.
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Journal articleHemmings S, Varaden D, Barnes J, et al., 2026,
Diversity analysis of indoor and outdoor fungal bioaerosols in UK households: a longitudinal study
, The Lancet Microbe, ISSN: 2666-5247 -
Journal articleRhodes J, Fisher M, 2026,
Emerging terbinafine-resistant Trichophyton indotineae between 2018 and 2023: a multinational genomic epidemiology study
, The Lancet Microbe, ISSN: 2666-5247
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