Expression of sodium/proton antiporter NhaA at various pH values in Escherichia coli.

It was reported that NhaA, one of sodium/proton antiporters in Escherichia coli, was expressed at alkaline pH [J. Biol. Chem. 266 (1991) 21753]. In disagreement with their results, expression of an nhaA-lacZ fusion gene was found to be very low in an E. coli strain derived from MC4100 within the wide pH range from 5 to 9. When nhaB was deleted, the fusion gene was expressed at pH values below 8, while the expression was observed at alkaline pH after chaA was deleted. The internal level of sodium ions was increased by deletion of nhaA in strains deficient in nhaB and chaA at low and high pH values, respectively. These results suggested that nhaA is induced only when a low level of internal sodium ions is not kept by NhaB and ChaA. Strains used in the previous study may have low active ChaA.     

Physiological role of the chaA gene in sodium and calcium circulations at a high pH in Escherichia coli.

Ohyama et al. previously isolated Escherichia coli mutant RS1, which had a negligible activity for sodium ion extrusion at alkaline pH (T. Ohyama, R. Imaizumi, K. Igarashi, and H. Kobayashi, J. Bacteriol. 174:7743-7749, 1992). Our present study showed that the mutation of RS1 was compensated for by a cloned chaA gene. It has been proposed that sodium ion extrusion by ChaA is prevented under physiological conditions (D. M. Ivey, A. A. Guffanti, J. Zemsky, E. Pinner, R. Karpel, E. Padan, S. Schuldiner, and T. A. Krulwich, J. Biol. Chem. 268:11296-11303, 1993). In order to clarify the physiological role of chaA in sodium ion circulation at alkaline pH, we constructed a delta chaA mutant. The resultant mutant, TO112, deficient in both nhaA and chaA, was unable to grow at pH 8.5 in medium containing 0.1 M sodium chloride and had negligible sodium ion extrusion activity. However, TO112 grew at pH 7.0 in medium containing 0.4 M sodium chloride. Sodium ions were extruded from TO112 cells at neutral pH. The extrusion activity at pH 7.5 was greatly reduced by the deletion of nhaB. These data demonstrate that the activity of nhaB is low at high pH and that ChaA extrudes sodium ions at alkaline pH. The uptake of calcium ions by everted membrane vesicles prepared from the delta chaA mutant TO110 was 60% of the activity observed in the vesicles of the wild-type strain at pH 8.5, but the activity at neutral pH was not reduced by the deletion of chaA. Therefore, it was also suggested that ChaA plays a role in calcium ion circulation at alkaline pH.     

Microbial volatile organic compound emissions from Stachybotrys chartarumgrowing on gypsum wallboard and ceiling tile

In neutralophilic bacteria, monovalent metal cation/H+ antiporters play a key role in pH homeostasis. In Escherichia coli, only four antiporters (NhaA, NhaB, MdfA and ChaA) are identified to function in maintenance of a stable cytoplasmic pH under conditions of alkaline stress. We hypothesised that the multidrug resistance protein MdtM, a recently characterised homologue of MdfA and a member of the major facilitator superfamily, also functions in alkaline pH homeostasis. Assays that compared the growth of an E. coli ΔmdtM deletion mutant transformed with a plasmid encoding wild-type MdtM or the dysfunctional MdtM D22A mutant at different external alkaline pH values (ranging from pH 8.5 to 10) revealed a potential contribution by MdtM to alkaline pH tolerance, but only when millimolar concentrations of sodium or potassium was present in the growth medium. Fluorescence-based activity assays using inverted vesicles generated from transformants of antiporter-deficient (ΔnhaA, ΔnhaB, ΔchaA) E. coli TO114 cells defined MdtM as a low-affinity antiporter that catalysed electrogenic exchange of Na+, K+, Rb+ or Li+ for H+. The K+/H+ antiport reaction had a pH optimum at 9.0, whereas the Na+/H+ exchange activity was optimum at pH 9.25. Measurement of internal cellular pH confirmed MdtM as contributing to maintenance of a stable cytoplasmic pH, acid relative to the external pH, under conditions of alkaline stress. Taken together, the results support a role for MdtM in alkaline pH tolerance. MdtM can therefore be added to the currently limited list of antiporters known to function in pH homeostasis in the model organism E. coli.     

人胰岛素原基因在大肠杆菌中高效外分泌表达

将胰岛素原基因融合到金色葡萄球菌蛋白Ａ的基因上,构建成大肠杆菌中基因融合的外分泌表达载体。它能高效表达且有效地分泌表达产物。利用亲和层析能方便地从培养液中分离出融合蛋白。融合蛋白经ＣＮＢｒ裂解后,经反相ＨＰＬＣ分析,分离得到具有天然结构的胰岛素原并进行了鉴定。     

Accumulation of glutamate by osmotically stressed Escherichia coli is dependent on pH.

In the present study, we measured the accumulation of glutamate after hyperosmotic shock in Escherichia coli growing in synthetic medium. The accumulation was high in the medium containing sucrose at a pH above 8 and decreased with decreases in the medium pH. The same results were obtained when the hyperosmotic shock was carried out with sodium chloride. The internal level of potassium ions in cells growing at a high pH was higher than that in cells growing in a neutral medium. A mutant deficient in transport systems for potassium ions accumulated glutamate upon hyperosmotic stress at a high pH without a significant increase in the internal level of potassium ions. When the medium osmolarity was moderate at a pH below 8, E. coli accumulated gamma-aminobutyrate and the accumulation of glutamate was low. These data suggest that E. coli uses different osmolytes for hyperosmotic adaptation at different environmental pHs.     

Secretion of heterologous gene products to the culture medium of Escherichia coli.

Different constructs containing fragments of the Staphylococcal protein A gene have been introduced in Escherichia coli and the effect on expression and translocation of the various heterologous gene products have been studied. By reversing the orientation of the different protein A gene constructions in the plasmid vector, a dramatic 20-fold difference in expression was obtained, accompanied with secretion of the gene product to the culture medium. Similar results were obtained by "heat-shock" treatment of the E.coli host cells. These results suggest the presence in the protein A gene of a stress induced promoter, functional in E.coli. The system was used to efficiently secrete a fusion protein consisting of a protein A fragment and human insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) to the culture medium of E.coli HB101. The fusion protein was purified from the culture medium by IgG affinity chromatography in a one-step procedure giving more than 95% yield.     

天冬氨酸酶E.coli融合表达研究

以大肠杆菌基因组DNA为模板,设计引物扩增得到天冬氨酸酶基因,将其重组于胞内融合表达型T载体中,重组质粒转化表达宿主大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)。SDS-PAGE分析表明,工程菌经IPTG诱导,表达大量表观分子量约75kD的融合蛋白。经试验,工程菌细胞具有较高的天冬氨酸酶活性,融合形式的酶最适温度37℃,最适pH8.5,融合伴侣DsbA的存在对酶活没有影响。     

Mutation of the miaA gene of Agrobacterium tumefaciens results in reduced vir gene expression.

vir regulon expression in Agrobacterium tumefaciens involves both chromosome- and Ti-plasmid-encoded gene products. We have isolated and characterized a new chromosomal gene that when mutated results in a 2- to 10-fold reduction in the induced expression of vir genes by acetosyringone. This reduced expression occurs in AB minimal medium (pH 5.5) containing either sucrose or glucose and containing phosphate at high or low concentrations. The locus was cloned and used to complement A. tumefaciens strains harboring Tn5 insertions in the gene. Sequence analysis of this locus revealed an open reading frame with strong homology to the miaA locus of Escherichia coli and the mod5 locus of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. These genes encode tRNA: isopentenyltransferase enzymes responsible for the specific modification of the A-37 residue in UNN codon tRNA species. The function of the homologous gene in A. tumefaciens was proven by genetic complementation of E. coli miaA mutant strains. tRNA undermodification in A. tumefaciens miaA mutant strains may reduce vir gene expression by causing a reduced translation efficiency. A slight reduction in the virulence of these mutant Agrobacterium strains on red potato plants, but not on tobacco, tomato, kalanchoe, or sunflower plants, was observed.     

人类多效生长因子(Pleiotrophin)的全基因合成、原核表达与纯化

PTN作为重要的细胞因子,存在于多种生物体内,参与多种生物学过程,具有刺激细胞增殖、分化、粘附、迁移等多种功能。根据PTN的基因序列及大肠杆菌密码子的偏爱性,人工合成ptn基因,构建pMAL-his-sumo-ptn重组表达载体,将重组表达载体转化到E.coli(Rosetta)中并进行优化表达。融合蛋白在0.4 mmol/L IPTG、37℃条件下诱导3 h表达量最高。收集菌体、纯化、酶切、SDS-PAGE可检测到分子量为18 kD左右的重组蛋白。     

右旋糖酐蔗糖酶工程菌株的构建及其培养条件的研究

[目的]右旋糖酐蔗糖酶是一种以蔗糖为底物,催化转移D-葡萄糖基生成α-葡聚糖或低聚糖的葡萄糖基转移酶.[方法]利用PCR扩增技术,将已获得的右旋糖酐蔗糖酶基因dexYG亚克隆到表达载体PET28a( )上,转化E.coli BL21(DE3),经过卡那霉素抗性筛选和酶切验证后,得到右旋糖酐蔗糖酶工程菌株BL21(DE3)/pET28-dexYG.[结果]经IPTG诱导该基因在E.coli BL21(DE3)中能有效表达,在诱导过程中菌体生长受到抑制.通过对培养时间、IPTG浓度、培养温度、菌浓(OD600)和pH值等产酶因素的优化考察,得到最佳培养条件为:培养时间5h、IPTG浓度0.5mmol/L、25℃、OD600值1.0和pH6.0.酶活力由最初的5.39U/mL提高到35.62U/mL,其中pH值对产酶活力影响最大,在pH6.0时的最高产酶活力是LB原始pH条件下最高酶活的3.5倍,并且pH值也是导致在诱导后期酶活迅速下降的主要原因之一.[结论]酶的表达和酶活的研究结果表明,构建的工程菌株能够异源高效表达右旋糖酐蔗糖酶,并且表现出较高的酶活力.     

SUMO蛋白酶活性片段的表达、纯化及活性测定

利用PCR技术人工合成编码酿酒酵母泛素样特异性蛋白酶1 (Ubiquitin-like specific protease 1,Ulp1)第403到621个氨基酸残基之间的DNA片段Ulp1p,并连接到大肠杆菌表达载体pET-3c中,构建出重组表达质粒pET-Ulp1p。将重组质粒转化至大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)中,氨苄青霉素抗性筛选转化子。经IPTG诱导4h后, SDS-PAGE结果显示,Ulp1p为可溶性表达,表达量占菌体总蛋白的50.8%。通过Ni-NTA凝胶亲和层析和G-25凝胶层析联用可以获得纯度大于95%的Ulp1p。Western-blotting分析表明,Ulp1p能与6xHis抗体产生免疫反应。以重组蛋白SUMO-hEGF(人表皮生长因子)和GST-SUMO-MT(金属硫蛋白)为底物进行酶切分析,结果显示,Ulp1p能特异性水解这两种SUMO融合蛋白,其比活为1.386 x104U/mg。     

Cloning of the thermostable alpha-amylase gene from Pyrococcus woesei in Escherichia coli: isolation and some properties of the enzyme

Pyrococcus woesei (DSM 3773) alpha-amylase gene was cloned into pET21d(+) and pYTB2 plasmids, and the pET21d(+)alpha-amyl and pYTB2alpha-amyl vectors obtained were used for expression of thermostable alpha-amylase or fusion of alpha-amylase and intein in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) or BL21(DE3)pLysS cells, respectively. As compared with other expression systems, the synthesis of alpha-amylase in fusion with intein in E. coli BL21(DE3)pLysS strain led to a lower level of inclusion bodies formation-they exhibit only 35% of total cell activity-and high productivity of the soluble enzyme form (195,000 U/L of the growth medium). The thermostable alpha-amylase can be purified free of most of the bacterial protein and released from fusion with intein by heat treatment at about 75 degrees C in the presence of thiol compounds. The recombinant enzyme has maximal activity at pH 5.6 and 95 degrees C. The half-life of this preparation in 0.05 M acetate buffer (pH 5.6) at 90 degrees C and 110 degrees C was 11 h and 3.5 h, respectively, and retained 24% of residual activity following incubation for 2 h at 120 degrees C. Maltose was the main end product of starch hydrolysis catalyzed by this alpha-amylase. However, small amounts of glucose and some residual unconverted oligosaccharides were also detected. Furthermore, this enzyme shows remarkable activity toward glycogen (49.9% of the value determined for starch hydrolysis) but not toward pullulan.     

Molecular analysis of sucrose metabolism of Erwinia amylovora and influence on bacterial virulence

Sucrose is an important storage and transport sugar of plants and an energy source for many phytopathogenic bacteria. To analyze regulation and biochemistry of sucrose metabolism of the fire blight pathogen Erwinia amylovora, a chromosomal fragment which enabled Escherichia coli to utilize sucrose as sole carbon source was cloned. By transposon mutagenesis, the scr regulon of E. amylovora was tagged, and its nucleotide sequence was determined. Five open reading frames, with the genes scrK, scrY, scrA, scrB, and scrR, had high homology to genes of the scr regulons from Klebsiella pneumoniae and plasmid pUR400. scrB and scrR of E. amylovora were fused to a histidine tag and to the maltose-binding protein (MalE) of E. coli, respectively. ScrB (53 kDa) catalyzed the hydrolysis of sucrose with a K(m) of 125 mM. Binding of a MalE-ScrR fusion protein to an scrYAB promoter fragment was shown by gel mobility shifts. This complex dissociated in the presence of fructose but not after addition of sucrose. Expression of the scr regulon was studied with an scrYAB promoter-green fluorescent protein gene fusion and measured by flow cytometry and spectrofluorometry. The operon was affected by catabolite repression and induced by sucrose or fructose. The level of gene induction correlated to the sucrose concentration in plant tissue, as shown by flow cytometry. Sucrose mutants created by site-directed mutagenesis did not produce significant fire blight symptoms on apple seedlings, indicating the importance of sucrose metabolism for colonization of host plants by E. amylovora.     

Overexpression of the phytase from Escherichia coli and its extracellular production in bioreactors

The gene for phytase from Escherichia coli was sequenced and compared with the appA gene. It was found to be a mutant derivative of the appA gene. After fusion with a C-terminal His-tag, phytase was purified by affinity chromatography and the enzymatic properties were analyzed. To develop a system for overexpression and extracellular production of phytase in E. coli, factors affecting the expression and secretion such as promoter type, host strain and selection pressure were analyzed. Using a secretion system based on the controlled expression of the kil gene, the expression of phytase was improved and the enzyme was released into the culture medium at a high level. An effective fermentation strategy based on fed-batch operation was developed.     

人源化抗肝癌单链抗体与牛蛙核糖核酸酶融合基因的构建及表达

利用RT-PCR的方法从牛蛙肝脏中克隆牛蛙核糖核酸酶(RC—RNase)基因并进行序列测定;将人源化抗肝癌单链抗体(scFv)基因与RC—RNase基因相连接,制备scFv—RC—RNase融合基因表达质粒,转化大肠杆菌B121(DE3),用IPTG诱导进行表达。以SDS-PAGE和免疫印迹法对表达产物进行分析鉴定。序列分析表明,扩增出的RC—RNase基因片断大小约为405bpc,经SDS—PAGE和免疫印迹分析显示,scFv—RC—RNase融合基因表达质粒在大肠杆菌中的诱导表达产物出现相对分子质量约为38000的一条新生蛋白带,与预期结果相符。融合蛋白表达量占菌体总蛋白量的18．5％,主要以包涵体形式存在。表明成功地构建了抗肝癌scFv—RC—RNase融合基因,并在大肠杆菌中获得有效表达,为进一步进行肝癌的导向治疗研究奠定了基础。     

High level secretion of TaqI restriction endonuclease by recombinant Escherichia coli

The production and high level secretion of TaqI restriction endonuclease using bacterial secretion signal within the malE gene was achieved by cloning the PCR-amplified gene from Thermus aquaticus into E. coli. The maltose binding protein (MBP) part of the MBP-TaqI fusion protein expressed by this construct did not interfere with the biological activity of the TaqI restriction endonuclease. E. coli XL1 carrying pH185 produced 332 U ml^–1 TaqI endonuclease 81% of which was secreted into the medium without apparent cell lysis. Optimization of culture conditions and selection of the host strain were found to be important for the efficient extracellular production of this protein.