The amide bond represents a privileged motif in chemistry. The recent years have witnessed an explosion of interest in the development of new chemical transformations of amides. These developments cover an impressive range of catalytic N–C bond activation in electrophilic, Lewis acid, radical, and nucleophilic reaction pathways, among other transformations. Equally relevant are structural and theoretical studies that provide the basis for chemoselective manipulation of amidic resonance. This monograph on amide bonds offers a broad survey of recent advances in activation of amides and addresses various approaches in the field.

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At present, the increasing demand for novel biotechnological products is supported through the continuous development of biocatalytic applications. As a consequence, the progress of research regarding enzymatic catalysis in aqueous, non-aqueous, organic (polar or non-polar), and/or non-solvent media is decisive. Experimental design methods, which also may comprise in silico studies, the design of specific reactors and conditions, the reactions of significant chemical and/or biochemical processes that are relevant to industrial production, enzyme kinetic methods, the investigation of enzymatic mechanisms and the use of immobilized enzymes and/or microbial cells on various inert matrices, are all useful. A plethora of enzymes of several classes, which may potentially be used as biocatalysts in biotechnological applications, are available. Among these enzymes, the more common are oxidoreductases (laccase, catalase, glucose oxidase, etc.), hydrolases (amylases, lipases, proteases, amidases, cellulases, esterases, etc.), isomerases (epimerases, topoisomerases, mutases, etc.), and others. By means of the aforementioned biocatalysts and the utilization of specific biotechnological methods, important, cost-effective, sustainable, and environmentally friendly processes have been applied for the synthesis and/or the conversion of a huge number of market-required products.

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HIV drug resistance is an unavoidable challenge for HIV/AIDS professionals, and it has long been a major obstacle hindering the global effort to contain HIV/AIDS. Pathogens journal launched a topical collection in 2021 on “Current Research on HIV Drug Resistance”, aiming to catch the latest advancements in HIV resistance diagnosis, surveillance and research. This book compiles all articles published in this collection, combining original research and review articles on HIV drug resistance.

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As one of the major nutrients in the human diet, food proteins are important for human health and wellbeing. In addition to providing a source of energy and amino acids for synthesizing body proteins, food proteins are vital for many physiological processes, such as structure, function, synthesis, restoration, and transportation. Protein hydrolysates composed of small peptides are absorbed more rapidly than free amino acids and intact proteins, and they can improve the retention of proteins in the human body. Moreover, the supplementation of proteins and peptides is proposed as an effective dietary strategy in prevention and/or adjunctive treatment of various lifestyle- and aging-related diseases (e.g., type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, cancer, liver disease, sarcopenia, and cardiovascular disease). The planned Special Issue on the “Effect of Protein and Peptide Supplementation on Physical Performance and Health Status” will include original studies and review articles focusing on the impact of proteins, peptides, and products enriched with them on human physical performance and health status, as well as their absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion.

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Enzyme-mediated catalysis offers special advantages over chemical methods. First of all, enzymes are considered an environmentally friendly tool as they help to avoid the requirements of toxic chemicals and high energy. In addition, more feasible processes can be accomplished through enzymatic reactions owing to the enzyme’s innate properties related to high substrate specificity and selectivity. For this reason, biotechnological production of a wide range of products, such as alternative fuels and value-added biochemicals, has been commercially applicable with the aid of enzymes, either in isolated form or in the whole-cell system. In particular, enzymatic transformation of low-value but cheap/abundant starting materials (i.g. biomass) into high-value materials can facilitate the circular and sustainable bioeconomy. This Special Issue on “Enzyme Catalysis: Advances, Techniques, and Outlooks” consists of six articles, which address diverse industrially relevant enzymes with applications in foods, detergent, cosmetics, medicine, etc. A robust methodology related to enzyme kinetics is also addressed.

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Marine habitats are promising sources to identify novel organisms and compounds. A total of 70% of the planet’s surface is covered by ocean, and little is known about the biosphere within these habitats. In the last few years, numerous novel bioactive compounds or secondary metabolites from marine environments have been described. This is, and will be, a promising source of candidate compounds in pharma research and chemical biology. In recent years, a number of novel techniques have been introduced to the field and it has become easier to actually (bio-)prospect compounds such as enzyme inhibitors. Those novel compounds then need to be characterized and evaluated in comparison to well-known representatives. This Special Issue focuses on the description of novel enzyme inhibitors of marine origin, including bioprospecting, omic approaches, and structural and mechanistic aspects.

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Enzymes, also known as biocatalysts, are proteins produced by living cells and found in a wide range of species, including animals, plants, and microorganisms. Due to their specificity, enzymes are often widely used to catalyze various chemical reactions as proficient biocatalysts in many applications. Since enzymes are proteins, they are easily denatured and lose their activity under unfavorable conditions of the surrounding environment. Therefore, in order to prolong the activity of and increase the stability of enzymes, immobilization technology is commonly used for improving the overall efficiency of enzyme catalysis. Recent developments in the discovery of stable enzymes have expanded their uses to encompass organic synthesis and the production of specialized chemicals, pharmaceutical intermediates, and agrochemicals. In order to improve enzyme performance, microbial screening or gene cloning is generally used. It is also common for enzyme studies to use a particular medium for microbiological fermentation in order to produce enzymes. This Special Issue shows that enzymes and biocatalysis have found numerous applications in various fields. These applications include the production of APIs, wastewater treatment, transformation of health ingredients, laundry detergent, fortification of feed, and biocementation. Moreover, there are also studies focusing on the immobilization and production procedures of enzymes. Finally, an extensive review of metagenomics studies related to water and soil has also been included.

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The demand for plant proteins continues to increase due to the growing global population, rising protein deficiency, and their versatile environmental, functional, nutritional, and health benefits. Plant proteins represent a more sustainable source to (partially) supplement costly animal-based foods. Many factors can influence protein functionality and application, such as protein sources, production methods, molecular structures, chemical properties, food formulations and environment, and food processing techniques. The potential applications of plant proteins are diverse. This reprint covers diverse topics related to the characterization, chemistry, interaction, processing, modification, functionality, and/or application of various plant proteins in relation to human food.

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This book includes a collection of eight original research articles and three reviews covering a wide range of topics in the field of kinetoplastids. In addition, readers can find a compendium of molecular biology procedures and bioinformatics tools.

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In 2019, we sent out a call for submissions to a Special Issue of Marine Drugs entitled “Marine Chitin 2019”, and we are pleased that this issue has now been published. Over 16 high-impact papers were included in this issue, which we now plan to publish as a book. In addition, we now seek to publish a further Special Issue of Marine Drugs, “Marine Chitin 2020–2021”. As before, we plan to produce an authoritative and exciting issue that will encompass breakthroughs in scientific and industrial chitin and chitosan research. Significant advances in chitin and chitosan research have been made since the 1970s, and current overviews in recent publications involving chitin and chitosan research advances are in need of an update.

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This book presents contributions from scientists who are directly involved in the potential of marine enzymes as useful tools in biocatalysis; the results of enzymatic bioprospecting in gross marine environments are acknowledged, including two review articles on general enzymatic processes and microalgal enzymes. In addition, studies on structural characterizations, biological functions and aspects related to the complexity of marine enzyme-based bioprocesses are discussed. Prominent conclusions by many scientists in the field of marine biotechnology emphasize that, due to marine biological diversity and the specificity of biological marine metabolisms, the study of biocatalysts on a global scale from this environment is just starting, and possesses huge potential for the development of applications with industrial benefits.

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Zinc-dependent matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) belong to metzincins that comprise not only 23 human MMPs but also other metalloproteinases, such as 21 human ADAMs (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain) and 19 secreted ADAMTSs (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase thrombospondin domain). The many setbacks from the clinical trials of broad-spectrum MMP inhibitors for cancer indications in the late 1990s emphasized the extreme complexity of the participation of these proteolytic enzymes in biology. This editorial mini-review summarizes the Special Issue, which includes four review articles and 10 original articles that highlight the versatile roles of MMPs, ADAMs, and ADAMTSs, in normal physiology as well as in neoplastic and destructive processes in tissue. In addition, we briefly discuss the unambiguous involvement of MMPs in wound healing.

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Allohexaploid bread wheat and diploid barley are two of the most cultivated crops in the world. This book reports novel research and reviews concerning the use of modern technologies to understand the molecular bases for wheat and barley improvement. The contributions published in this book illustrate research advances in wheat and barley knowledge using modern molecular techniques. These molecular approaches cover genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and phenomic levels, together with new tools for gene identification and the development of novel molecular markers. Overall, the contributions for this book lead to a further understanding of regulatory systems in order to improve wheat and barley performance.

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Viruses in the Parvoviridae family constitute one of the most diverse and intriguing fields of research. While they all share an ssDNA genome and a small capsid, they can differ widely in structure, genome organization and expression, virus–cell interaction, and impact on the host. Exploring such diversity and unraveling the inherent complexity in these apparently simple viruses is an ongoing endeavor and commitment for the scientific community. The translational implications of research on parvoviruses are relevant. Within the family, some viruses are important human and veterinary pathogens, in need of diagnostic methods and antiviral strategies; other viruses have long been studied and engineered as tools for oncolytic therapy, or as sophisticated gene delivery vectors, and can now display their wide and expanding applicative potential. This Special Issue of Viruses collects recent contributions in the field of parvovirus research, with a focus on new insights and research on unresolved issues, as well as new approaches exploiting systemic methodologies. Evolution, structural biology, viral replication, virus–host interaction, pathogenesis and immunity, and viral oncotherapy are a selection of the topics addressed in the issue that can be of relevance to the community involved in parvovirus research and of interest to a wider audience.

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Advancements in high-throughput “Omics” techniques have revolutionized plant molecular biology research. Proteomics offers one of the best options for the functional analysis of translated regions of the genome, generating a wealth of detailed information regarding the intrinsic mechanisms of plant stress responses. Various proteomic approaches are being exploited extensively for elucidating master regulator proteins which play key roles in stress perception and signaling, and these approaches largely involve gel-based and gel-free techniques, including both label-based and label-free protein quantification. Furthermore, post-translational modifications, subcellular localization, and protein–protein interactions provide deeper insight into protein molecular function. Their diverse applications contribute to the revelation of new insights into plant molecular responses to various biotic and abiotic stressors.

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The aim of this Special Issue was to publish high-quality papers on poultry nutrition and the inter-relations between nutrition, metabolism, gut microflora, and poultry performance. Therefore, we present here original research articles in the following topics:- the nutrient requirements of poultry;- the impact of dietary fibre on poultry health and performance;- the use of feed additives to improve gut microflora and performance;- the effect of feeding on poultry meat and egg quality;- factors that cause variation in feed ingredients used in poultry diets;- alternative feed ingredients for use in poultry feed formulations;- the impact of gastrointestinal pH on nutrient bioavailability and the intestinal microbiota in poultry;- phytate and xylan ‘susceptibility’ in relation to the effects of enzymes;- factors that influence reactivity and enzyme efficacy;- in vitro models to determine the digestibility of poultry diets.

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With the development of analytical instruments, the academic system has become more complicated, producing new journals one after another. Therefore, it became much important to clarify what is original of “Medicines”. As the name Medicines indicates, it includes science and practice of caring for a patient and managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment or palliation of their injury or disease. Therefore, Medicines differs from other journals with similar title in that it covers a wide range of fields, from traditional medicine to rapidly developing molecular-targeted drugs, focusing on their pharmacological effects, structure–activity relationships, metabolic pathways, gene expression, using cultured cells, animals, and clinical trials. Most parts of this Special Issue were written by our editorial board members, who described the research topics and how they are engaged in their field of research. All of these articles are their life-long story. We collected a total number of 22 original works by basic researchers and clinical doctors. We hope that readers can get a chance to know the current status of diverse fields of medicines, and what your most important research themes are after reading these articles.

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Foamy viruses, currently referred to as spumaretroviruses, are the most ancient retroviruses as evidenced by traces of viral sequences dispersed in all vertebrate classes from fish to mammals. Additionally, infectious foamy viruses circulate in a variety of mammalian species including simian, bovine, equine, caprine, and feline. Foamy viruses have many unique features which led to the division of the retrovirus family into two subfamilies, the Orthoretrovirinae and Spumaretrovirinae. In vitro, foamy viruses have a broad host range and in vivo, human infections have been described due to cross-species transmission from infected nonhuman primates. Thus far, there are no reports of virus-induced disease in humans or in the natural host species. These unique properties of foamy viruses have led researchers to develop foamy viruses as gene therapy vectors to study virus–virus and virus–host interactions for identifying factors involved in virus replication, transmission, and immune regulation that could influence potential clinical outcomes in humans as well as for using endogenous foamy virus sequences in the analysis of host species evolution.

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The rise of photonics technologies has driven an extremely fast evolution in biosensing applications. Such rapid progress has created a gap of understanding and insight capability in the general public about advanced sensing systems that have been made progressively available by these new technologies. Thus, there is currently a clear need for moving the meaning of some keywords, such as plasmonic, into the daily vocabulary of a general audience with a reasonable degree of education. The selection of the scientific works reported in this book is carefully balanced between reviews and research papers and has the purpose of presenting a set of applications and case studies sufficiently broad enough to enlighten the reader attention toward the great potential of plasmonic biosensing and the great impact that can be expected in the near future for supporting disease screening and stratification.

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Interest in the study of life in hot environments, both with respect to the inhabiting microorganisms and the enzymes they produce, is currently very high. The biological mechanisms responsible for the resistance to high temperatures are not yet fully understood, whereas thermostability is a highly required feature for industrial applications. In this e-book, the invited authors provide diverse evidence contributing to the understanding of such mechanisms and the unlocking of the biotechnological potential of thermophiles and thermozymes.

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This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue Wine Fermentation that was published in Fermentation

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