在乳酸乳球菌中表达外源谷氨酰胺转胺酶显著改善宿主菌好氧生长性能

为改善乳酸乳球菌的生长性能,以轮枝链霉菌染色体DNA为模板,扩增得到编码谷氨酰胺转胺酶成熟酶的基因mtg,将其克隆到质粒pNZ8148中,电转化乳酸乳球菌NZ9000,获得乳酸乳球菌NZ9000(pFL001)(重组菌)。在不控制pH条件下,重组菌的胞外pH显著高于对照菌NZ9000(pNZ8148);前者的最高生物量可达4.13gL,而后者只有0.34gL。在控制pH为6.5±0.1的条件下,重组菌最高生物量为4.73gL,对葡萄糖的菌体最高平均得率为71.1gmol,而相同条件下对照菌最高生物量为2.6gL,对葡萄糖的菌体最高平均得率为27.3gmol。由此表明,重组菌与对照菌相比,好氧生长性能得到显著改善。可能的原因是mtg的活性表达升高了重组菌的胞内pH,原先用于泵出胞内H 所需的部分能量可能因此得到节省,这样相应增加了用于细胞生长的能量。     

Cloning and expression of the thermostable pullulanase gene from Thermus sp. strain AMD-33 in Escherichia coli

Abstract The gene coding for a thermostable pullulanase from a thermophile, Thermus sp. strain AMD-33, was cloned in Escherichia coli using pDR540 as a vector. A restriction map was determined for the plasmid pTPS131 which contained the fragment carrying the pullulanase gene. DNA-DNA hybridisation analysis showed that the DNA fragment contained the gene from Thermus sp. strain AMD-33. The strain of E. coli harbouring the plasmid pTPS131 produced most of the pullulanase protein cellularly, whereas Thermus sp. strain AMD-33 produced pullulanase extracellularly. Comparative studies of the enzyme from the thermophile and the plasmid-encoded enzyme in E. coli demonstrated that the optimum temperature and pH of the enzymes were closely similar.     

A plasmid vector with a selectable marker for halophilic archaebacteria.

A mutant resistant to the gyrase inhibitor novobiocin was selected from a halophilic archaebacterium belonging to the genus Haloferax. Chromosomal DNA from this mutant was able to transform wild-type cells to novobiocin resistance, and these transformants formed visible colonies in 3 to 4 days on selective plates. The resistance gene was isolated on a 6.7-kilobase DNA KpnI fragment, which was inserted into a cryptic multicopy plasmid (pHK2) derived from the same host strain. The recombinant plasmid transformed wild-type cells at a high efficiency (greater than 10(6)/micrograms), was stably maintained, and could readily be reisolated from transformants. It could also transform Halobacterium volcanii and appears to be a useful system for genetic analysis in halophilic archaebacteria.     

头状轮生链霉菌中丝裂霉素C抗性基因的克隆及功能研究

头状轮生链霉菌(\%Streptoverticillium caespitosus\%)ATCC27422是抗肿瘤药物丝裂霉素的主要产生菌,实验通过诱变筛选获得不产生丝裂霉素同时对丝裂霉素C敏感的阻断变种S6,并以它为受体宿主,以质粒pIJ699为载体,建立野生型头状轮生链霉菌菌株ATCC27422的基因库。采用鸟枪法克隆技术,从库中筛选获得含有丝裂霉素C抗性基因的62kb外源片段的克隆子。将含此外源片段的质粒pLX5导入变铅青链霉菌(\%Streptomyces lividans\%)获得表达。并且首次成功地运用电穿孔法将pLX5导入野生型菌株中,使其对丝裂霉素C的抗性大幅度提高：最低抑制浓度(MIC)由原来的200μg/mL上升至1000μg/mL以上。摇瓶发酵实验表明：单位菌量的ATCC27422(pLX5)的丝裂霉素产量高于野生菌株ATCC27422,因此丝裂霉素C抗性与产量之间存在一定的相关性。     

A host-vector system for an Arthrobacter species

An efficient host-vector system has been developed for an industrial strain of Arthrobacter sp. (NRRL B3728)used for glucose isomerase production. Protoplasts of Arthrobacter were generated by treating the cells with 0.5 mg lysozyme ml(-1) for 60 min in a solution containing 0.5 M-sucrose. Around 30% of the protoplasts regenerated on agar containing 0.5 M-sodium succinate as osmotic stabilizer. Three hybrid vectors, PBL2100, pCG1100 and pCG2100, were constructed by combining the Escherichia coli plasmid pBR322, a kanamycin- resistance gene from pNCAT4 and a cryptic plasmid from either Brevibacterium lactofermentum NCIB 9567 or Corynebacterium glutamicum NCIB 10026. These vectors transformed the protoplasts and expressed the kanamycin-resistance gene for screening. They contain a number of unique restrictions sites for cloning of foreign DNA. The transformation frequency of this system was 10(5)-10(6) transformants per micrograms of input plasmid and ws constant up to 5 micrograms of DNA. the probability of a plasmid transforming a plasmid transforming a protoplast was in the range 10(-5)-10(-6). The copy number of pBL2100 was around 5 per cell and those of pCG1100 and pCG2100 were around 33 per cell. Deletion mutants were generated from pCG2100. One of them, pCG2120, was able to transform protoplasts of strain NRRL B3728. Plasmids pBL2100 and pCG2100 were structurally stable in cells of NRRL B3728 but could not be maintained in non-selective medium. They segregated at a rate of 12.2 and 2.2% per generation respectively.     

Cloning and expression of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans mercury ion resistance genes in Escherichia coli.

A search of various domestic isolates of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans revealed that some were fairly resistant to mercury ion. A proportion of mercury-resistant clones were able to volatilize mercury, and their corresponding gene was localized not in the plasmid DNA but in chromosomal DNA. This mercury ion resistance gene was cloned in Escherichia coli. E. coli carrying the recombinant plasmid was able to grow in the presence of more than 40 micrograms of HgCl2 per ml. Deletion analysis of the recombinant plasmid showed that the entire coding sequence of the mercury ion resistance gene was located within a 2.3-kilobase fragment of the chromosomal DNA from strain E-15. At least two polypeptides (molecular mass, 56 and 16 kDa, respectively) were coded by this fragment.     

Construction of an Escherichia coli-Rhodococcus shuttle vector and plasmid transformation in Rhodococcus spp.

A plasmid transformation system for Rhodococcus sp. strain H13-A was developed by using an Escherichia coli-Rhodococcus shuttle plasmid constructed in this study. Rhodococcus sp. strain H13-A contains three cryptic indigenous plasmids, designated pMVS100, pMVS200, and pMVS300, of 75, 19.5, and 13.4 kilobases (kb), respectively. A 3.8-kb restriction fragment of pMVS300 was cloned into pIJ30, a 6.3-kb pBR322 derivative, containing the E. coli origin of replication (ori) and ampicillin resistance determinant (bla), as well as a Streptomyces gene for thiostrepton resistance, tsr. The resulting 10.1-kb recombinant plasmid, designated pMVS301, was isolated from E. coli DH1(pMVS301) and transformed into Rhodococcus sp. strain AS-50, a derivative of strain H13-A, by polyethylene glycol-assisted transformation of Rhodococcus protoplasts and selection for thiostrepton-resistant transformants. Thiostrepton-resistant transformants were also ampicillin resistant and were shown to contain pMVS301, which was subsequently isolated and transformed back into E. coli. The cloned 3.8-kb fragment of Rhodococcus DNA in pMVS301 contains a Rhodococcus origin of replication, since the hybrid plasmid was capable of replication in both genera. The plasmid was identical in E. coli and Rhodococcus transformants as determined by restriction analysis and was maintained as a stable, independent replicon in both organisms. Optimization of the transformation procedure resulted in transformation frequencies in the range of 10(5) transformants per micrograms of pMVS301 DNA in Rhodococcus sp. strain H13-A and derivative strains. The plasmid host range extends to strains of Rhodococcus erythropolis, R. globulerus, and R. equi, whereas stable transformants were not obtained with R. rhodochrous or with several coryneform bacteria tested as recipients. A restriction map demonstrated 14 unique restriction sites in pMVS301, some of which are potentially useful for molecular cloning in Rhodococcus spp. and other actinomycetes. This is the first report of plasmid transformation and of heterologous gene expression in a Rhodococcus sp.     

Molecular cloning of the delta-endotoxin gene of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis

A transformant of Bacillus megaterium, VB131, was isolated which carries a 6.3-kb XbaI segment of the crystal toxin gene of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (BTI) cloned in a vector plasmid pBC16 to yield pVB131. The chimeric plasmid DNA from VB131 was introduced into a transformable Bacillus subtilis strain by competence transformation. Both the B. megaterium VB131 strain and the B. subtilis strain harboring the chimeric plasmid produced irregular, parasporal, phase-refractile, crystalline inclusions (Cry+) during sporulation. The sporulated cells as well as the isolated crystal inclusions of the pVB131-containing B. megaterium and B. subtilis strains were highly toxic to the larvae of Aedes aegypti. Also, the solubilized crystal protein preparation from VB131[pVB131] showed clear immuno cross-reaction with antiserum to the BTI crystal toxin. 32P-labeled pVB131 plasmid DNA showed specific hybridization with a 112-kb plasmid DNA of Cry+ strains of BTI, and no hybridization with other plasmid or chromosomal DNA of either Cry+ or Cry- variants. These results are in agreement with our previous findings (González and Carlton, 1984) that the 112-kb plasmid of BTI is associated with the production of the crystal toxin.     

黑曲霉pepD基因阻断突变菌株的构建及功能分析

运用同源重组技术破坏了黑曲霉基因组中的pepD基因,该基因编码一种类subtilisin的胞外蛋白酶PEPD。实验以黑曲霉GICC2773基因组DNA为模板,PCR扩增pepD基因,并在此基因中间插入潮霉素抗性基因(hph)表达单元,由此产生了3.7kb的pepD阻断基因片段。将此阻断基因片段与载体pBS连接,构建成pepD基因阻断质粒pBSDH。采用原生质体-CaCl2/PEG法将酶切阻断质粒得到的含pepD基因和hph表达单元的3.7kb线性片段转化AspergillusnigerGICC2773菌株,在含潮霉素的平板上筛选潮霉素抗性转化子,从这些抗性转化子中经PCR检测分离到到1个pepD基因阻断突变菌株?pepD66。外源漆酶分泌活性分析显示,黑曲霉pepD基因的破坏使其外源漆酶的分泌表达有所提高。     

黑曲霉pepB基因缺失菌株的构建及其功能分析

以黑曲霉(Aspergillus niger)GICC2773基因组DNA为模板,用PCR方法分别扩增pepB基因中的上游约1．4kb和下游约1．3kb两段DNA序列,将此两段序列按同一方向分别插入质粒pMW1中潮霉素抗性基因(hph)表达单元的5′和3′端,构建成重组质粒pMW1-pepB,用于通过同源重组靶向破坏基因组中的pepB基因。同源重组则采用原生质体-PEG方法,将酶切pMW1-pepB得到的线性片段转化A．niger GICC2773菌株,通过潮霉素选择平板得到62个Hgy抗性转化子,然后采用PCR方法从这些抗性转化子中筛选到1个由于同源重组产生的pepB基因缺失突变菌株pepB29。功能分析显示该突变株的酸性蛋白酶活性有明显下降,外源蛋白漆酶的分泌表达有所提高。     

Transformation of Mycoplasma hominis by plasmid pAM120 using electroporation

Mycoplasma hominis was transformed by electroporation with plasmid pAM120 containing the transposon Tn916 that carried the tetM gene responsible for the resistance to tetracycline. The frequency of transformation was 10(-7)-10(-8) colony-forming units (CFU) per 10 micrograms of plasmid DNA. The PCR analysis of transformed DNA confirmed the transposon integration into the mycoplasma genome.     

Cloning of genes related to exo-beta-glucanase production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: characterization of an exo-beta-glucanase structural gene

The EXG1 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was cloned and identified by complementation of a mutant strain (exg1-2) with highly reduced extracellular exo-beta-1,3-glucanase (EXG) activity. Two recombinant plasmids containing an overlapping region of 5.2 kb were isolated from a genomic DNA library and characterized by restriction mapping. The coding region was located by subcloning the original DNA inserts in a 2.7-kb HindIII-XhoI fragment. Exg+ strains and Exg- mutants transformed with yeast multicopy plasmids containing this DNA fragment showed an EXG activity 5- to 20-fold higher than for the untransformed Exg+ wild-type (wt) strains. The overproduced EXG had the same enzymic activity on different substrates, and showed the same electrophoretic behaviour on polyacrylamide gels and identical properties upon filtration through Sephacryl S-200 as those of the main EXG from Exg+ wt strains. The EXG1 gene transformed Schizosaccharomyces pombe, yielding extracellular EXG activity which showed cross-reactivity with anti-S. cervisiae EXG antibodies. A fragment including only a part of the EXG1 region was subcloned into the integrating vector YIp5, and the resulting plasmid was used to transform an Exg+ strain. Genetic and Southern analysis of several stable Exg- transformants showed that the fragment integrated by homology with the EXG1 locus. The chromosomal DNA fragment into which the plasmid integrated has a restriction pattern identical to that of the fragment on which we had previously identified the putative EXG1 gene. Only one copy of the EXG1 gene per genome was found in several strains tested by Southern analysis. Furthermore, two additional recombinant plasmids sharing a yeast DNA fragment of about 4.1 kb, which partially complements the exg1-2 mutation but which shows no homology with the 2.7-kb fragment containing the EXG1 gene, were also identified in this study. This 4.1-kb DNA fragment does not appear to contain an extragenic suppressor and could be related in some way to EXG production in S. cerevisiae.     

Cloning and expression in Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis of the hemolysin (cereolysin) determinant from Bacillus cereus.

From a cosmid gene bank of Bacillus cereus GP4 in Escherichia coli we isolated clones which, after several days of incubation, formed hemolysis zones on erythrocyte agar plates. These clones contained recombinant cosmids with B. cereus DNA insertions of varying lengths which shared some common restriction fragments. The smallest insertion was recloned as a PstI fragment into pJKK3-1, a shuttle vector which replicates in Bacillus subtilis and E. coli. When this recombinant plasmid (pJKK3-1 hly-1) was transformed into E. coli, it caused hemolysis on erythrocyte agar plates, but in liquid assays no external or internal hemolytic activity could be detected with the E. coli transformants. B. subtilis carrying the same plasmid exhibited hemolytic activity at levels comparable to those of the B. cereus donor strain. The hemolysin produced in B. subtilis seemed to be indistinguishable from cereolysin in its sensitivity to cholesterol, activation by dithiothreitol, and inactivation by antibodies raised against cereolysin. When the recombinant DNA carrying the cereolysin gene was used as a probe in hybridization experiments with chromosomal DNA from a streptolysin O-producing strain of Streptococcus pyogenes or from listeriolysin-producing strains of Listeria monocytogenes, no positive hybridization signals were obtained. These data suggest that the genes for these three SH-activated cytolysins do not have extended sequence homology.     

Phasmids as effective and simple tools for construction and analysis of gene libraries

Phasmid lambda pMYF131, a hybrid of phage lambda vectors and plasmid pUC19, was constructed. The phasmid and its derivatives were shown to be efficient vectors for construction and analysis of gene libraries in Escherichia coli cells. The lambda pMYF131 DNA molecule contains all the genes and regions essential for phage lytic development. The plasmid cannot be packaged either in the monomeric or the oligomeric form due to its specific length. Elongation of the DNA molecule by ligation with fragments of foreign DNA can make it packageable and this is easily detected by plaque formation. Hence, the procedures used to construct genomic libraries can be simplified by selection of only recombinant DNA molecules just at the time and on the basis of their packaging in vitro. The output of recombinant clones per vector molecule was several times higher for vector lambda pMYF131, compared to phage vector lambda L47.1AB, and attained 3 x 10(6) clones per micrograms DNA. Vector and recombinant phasmids can be obtained in large quantities in plasmid form. lambda pMYF131 contains nine unique restriction sites which allow the cloning of DNA fragments with blunt ends and of fragments with various types of cohesive ends, obtained by digestion with 14 prototype restriction enzymes. The maximal size of the cloned DNA fragments is approx. 20 kb for lambda pMYF131. Phasmid vectors were used to construct libraries of bovine, pig and quail genomes, and genomic libraries of 17 species of bacteria. Application of suitable methods allowed the identification 13 individual genes within these libraries.     

Electroporation-mediated transformation of lysostaphin-treated Clostridium perfringens

A reliable and efficient method has been developed for the electroporation-mediated transformation of Clostridium perfringens with plasmid DNA. Transformation of vegetative cells of C. perfringens strain 13 with the 7.9-kb Escherichia coli-C. perfringens shuttle plasmid pHR 106 required pretreatment with lysostaphin (2 to 20 micrograms/ml) for 1 h at 37 degrees C. Cells harvested early in the logarithmic stage of growth were transformed more efficiently than cells at other growth phases. The transformation frequency increased with the DNA concentration, to a saturating level at 5 to 10 micrograms DNA/ml. The transformation frequency was proportional to the field strength and time constant of the electroporation pulse; however, the field strength was a far more important parameter. A cell density between 1 x 10(8) and 5 x 10(8) cells/ml proved to be optimal for transformation. The procedure was capable of generating up to 3.0 x 10(5) transformants per micrograms DNA. The potential value of the method for the cloning of C. perfringens genes was demonstrated by the cloning of the clostridial tetracycline-resistance determinant, tetP, from the E. coli recombinant plasmid pJIR71, into C. perfringens strain 13.     

Molecular cloning and DNA sequencing of the radC gene of Escherichia coli K-12.

The radC102 mutation that sensitizes E. coli K-12 cells to ultraviolet light, ionizing radiations and alkylating agents was localized between the fpg and pyrE genes at 81.7 min on the bacterial chromosome. E. coli strain BH20 (radC+, fpg-1::KnR) has a 10.5-kb EcoRI/KpnI DNA fragment spanning the region from pyrE to the insertion mutation fpg-1::KnR. The proximity of the radC gene to this insertion mutation provided a strategy to isolate the radC+ gene based on the cloning of radC+ and fpg-1::KnR on the same DNA fragment using the resistance to kanamycin as a selector. A library of EcoRI/KpnI DNA fragments of E. coli strain BH20 was inserted into pUC19. One recombinant plasmid conferring resistance to kanamycin was selected and named pRCV10. The pRCV10 plasmid partially restores the resistance to UV-radiation when transformed into SR1187 (radC102), but sensitizes the wild-type strain to the same treatment. The radC102 complementing region was localized on a 1.2-kb BglII/BglII DNA fragment which was sequenced. The DNA sequence complementing the radC102 mutation contained an ATG translation start codon with an open reading frame of 297 base pairs which encodes a polypeptide of Mr 11,500. The order of the genes in this region of the E. coli chromosome is: fpg--rpmBG--radC--pyrE.     

Factors affecting polybrene-mediated transfection of cultured Aedes albopictus (mosquito) cells

The polycation 1,5-dimethyl-1,5-diazaundecamethylene polymethobromide (polybrene) is superior to calcium phosphate for the introduction of purified DNA into cultured Aedes albopictus (mosquito) cells. Adsorption of the polybrene-DNA complex to mosquito cells was essentially linear for 6 h. However, the rate of adsorption of DNA increased when the DNA-polybrene mixture was preincubated for several hours prior to addition to cells. A recombinant plasmid carrying an inducible chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene under the control of a Drosophila heat shock protein (hsp) promoter was used to show that expression of transfected DNA was highest when cells were treated with a freshly prepared polybrene-DNA mixture. Optimal expression was observed in cells transfected with 4-13 micrograms of DNA per 10(6) cells; transfection with 24 micrograms of DNA resulted in reduced CAT expression. Variation in the polybrene-DNA ratio improved transfection with high levels of DNA. In mosquito cells, CAT expression was independent of DNA methylation.