PCR random mutagenesis into Escherichia coli serine acetyltransferase: isolation of the mutant enzymes that cause overproduction of L-cysteine and L-cystine due to the desensitization to feedback inhibition.

PCR random mutagenesis in the cysE gene encoding Escherichia coli serine acetyltransferase was employed to isolate the mutant enzymes that, due to a much less feedback inhibition by L-cysteine, cause overproduction of L-cysteine and L-cystine in the recombinant strains. The L-cysteine auxotrophic and non-utilizing E. coli strain was transformed with plasmids having the altered cysE genes. Then, several transformants overproducing L-cysteine were selected by detecting the halo formation of the L-cysteine auxotroph. The production test of amino acids and analysis of the catalytic property on the mutant enzymes suggest that the carboxy-terminal region of serine acetyltransferase plays an important role in the desensitization to feedback inhibition and the high level production of L-cysteine and L-cystine.     

Enhanced L-cysteine production by overexpressing potential L-cysteine exporter genes in an L-cysteine-producing recombinant strain of Corynebacterium glutamicum

ABSTRACT

We identified L-cysteine exporter candidates of Corynebacterium glutamicum and investigated the effect of overexpression of the potential L-cysteine exporter genes on L-cysteine production in a recombinant strain of C. glutamicum. Overexpression of NCgl2566 and NCgl0580 resulted in enhanced L-cysteine production in an L-cysteine-producing recombinant strain of C. glutamicum.     

Overproduction of L-cysteine and L-cystine by expression of genes for feedback inhibition-insensitive serine acetyltransferase from Arabidopsis thaliana in Escherichia coli

Two cDNAs encoding feedback inhibition-insensitive serine acetyltransferases of Arabidopsis thaliana were expressed in the chromosomal serine acetyltransferase-deficient and L-cysteine non-utilizing Escherichia coli strain JM39-8. The transformants produced 1600 to 1700 mg l(-1) of L-cysteine and L-cystine from glucose. The amount of these amino acids produced per cell was 30 to 60% higher than that of an E. coli strain carrying mutant serine acetyltransferase less sensitive to feedback inhibition.     

L-cysteine biosynthesis in Escherichia coli: nucleotide sequence and expression of the serine acetyltransferase (cysE) gene from the wild-type and a cysteine-excreting mutant

Serine acetyltransferase (SAT) from Escherichia coli is subject to feedback inhibition by L-cysteine. A mutant was isolated which excretes L-cysteine because of a lesion in cysE, the structural gene for SAT, rendering the enzyme less feedback sensitive. To analyse the structural basis for this mutation the cysE genes both from wild-type E. coli and the mutant strain were cloned and their nucleotide sequences determined. The cysE gene contained an open reading frame consisting of 819 bp, equivalent to a protein of 273 amino acids. The mutant gene showed a single base change in position 767 resulting in a methionine to isoleucine substitution. A causal connection between this SAT sequence alteration, feedback insensitivity and L-cysteine excretion was demonstrated. The SAT from the wild-type strain was purified. It was composed of a single polypeptide chain migrating in SDS gels according to an Mr of 34,000. As in Salmonella typhimurium, the enzyme was associated in a bifunctional complex with O-acetylserine (thiol)-lyase.     

Enhancement of thioredoxin/glutaredoxin-mediated L-cysteine synthesis from S-sulfocysteine increases L-cysteine production in Escherichia coli

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Escherichia coli has two L-cysteine biosynthetic pathways; one is synthesized from O-acetyl L-serine (OAS) and sulfate by L-cysteine synthase (CysK), and another is produced via S-sulfocysteine (SSC) from OAS and thiosulfate by SSC synthase (CysM). SSC is converted into L-cysteine and sulfite by an uncharacterized reaction. As thioredoxins (Trx1 and Trx2) and glutaredoxins (Grx1, Grx2, Grx3, Grx4, and NrdH) are known as reductases of peptidyl disulfides, overexpression of such reductases might be a good way for improving L-cysteine production to accelerate the reduction of SSC in E. coli. RESULTS: Because the redox enzymes can reduce the disulfide that forms on proteins, wefirst tested whether these enzymes catalyze the reduction of SSC to L-cysteine. All His-tagged recombinant enzymes, except for Grx4, efficiently convert SSC into L-cysteine in vitro. Overexpression of Grx1 and NrdH enhanced a 15-40% increase in the E. coli L-cysteine production. On the other hand, disruption of the cysM gene cancelled the effect caused by the overexpression of Grx1 and NrdH, suggesting that its improvement was due to the efficient reduction of SSC under the fermentative conditions. Moreover, L-cysteine production in knockout mutants of the sulfite reductase genes (cysI and cysJ) and the L-cysteine synthase gene (cysK) each decreased to about 50% of that in the wild-type strain. Interestingly, there was no significant difference in L-cysteine production between wild-type strain and gene deletion mutant of the upstream pathway of sulfite (cysC or cysH). These results indicate that sulfite generated from the SSC reduction is available as the sulfur source to produce additional L-cysteine molecule. It was finally found that in the E. coli L-cysteine producer that co-overexpress glutaredoxin (NrdH), sulfite reductase (CysI), and L-cysteine synthase (CysK), there was the highest amount of L-cysteine produced per cell . CONCLUSIONS: In this work, we showed that Grx1 and NrdH reduce SSC to L-cysteine, and the generated sulfite is then utilized as the sulfur source to produce additional L-cysteine molecule through the sulfate pathway in E. coli. We also found that co-overexpression of NrdH, CysI, and CysK increases L-cysteine production. Our results propose that the enhancement of thioredoxin/glutaredoxin-mediated L-cysteine synthesis from SSC is a novel method for improvement of L-cysteine production.     

酶法转化DL-ATC合成L-半胱氨酸的酶促反应条件研究

目的:考察酶源保存方式、酶促反应时间、底物pH值、底物浓度、酶浓度、金属离子等因素对酶活力的影响。方法:以假单胞菌(Pseudomonassp.)TS1138为供试菌株,采用酸式茚三酮法测定L-半胱氨酸含量,研究了酶法转化DL-ATC合成L-半胱氨酸的酶促反应条件。结果:TS1138菌株中L-半胱氨酸脱巯基酶具有较高的活性,而且Mg2 、Mn2 、Fe2 、Zn2 、Cu2 等5种金属离子对DL-ATC水解酶酶系有不同程度的抑制,其中Cu2 对该酶系的抑制作用很大。结论:确定了TS1138菌株酶法转化DL-ATC合成L-半胱氨酸的最适酶促反应条件,为酶促反应动力学的研究奠定了基础。     

微生物发酵法生产L-丝氨酸及L-半胱氨酸研究进展

L-丝氨酸及L-半胱氨酸在食品、医药和化妆品等行业有着广泛的应用,在植物和微生物中两者从头合成的前体物均为3-磷酸甘油酸。微生物发酵生产这两种氨基酸以其社会、经济及环境效益展现出良好的前景。针对近年来微生物发酵法生产L-丝氨酸及L-半胱氨酸的研究成果,本文综述了当前国内外学者在该领域研究的热点,即代谢途径及其调节、相关氨基酸的转运及运输、菌种及菌株改造、新菌种的开发等。最后结合当前生物技术的新发展,对今后的研究方向进行了展望。     

Isolation and genetic improvement of Pseudomonas sp. strain HUT-78, capable of enzymatic production of L-cysteine from DL-2-amino-Δ2-thiazoline-4-carboxylic acid

Microorganisms able to bioconvert DL-2-amino-Δ(2)-thiazoline-4-carboxylic acid (DL-ATC) into L-cysteine were originally isolated from 10 soil samples with DL-ATC as the sole nitrogen source. Ninety-seven L-cysteine-producing bacterial strains were screened out and obtained in pure culture. Among them, a strain, designated as HUT-78, was selected as the best producer, with a molar bioconversion rate of 60%. Based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, this isolate was placed within the genus Pseudomonas. A novel mutant of this strain with a significantly reduced activity of L-cysteine desulfhydrase, a L-cysteine-decomposing enzyme, was derived by UV-mutagenesis. This mutant, designated as mHUT-78, exhibited a 42% increase in L-cysteine producing activity. Moreover, the bioconversion reactions in both the parent and the mutant strain were significantly accelerated by co-overexpression of the two key enzymes, AtcB and AtcC, involved in the bioconversion reaction.     

Effect of cysteine desulfhydrase gene disruption on L-cysteine overproduction in Escherichia coli

In Escherichia coli, the enzyme called cysteine desulfhydrase (CD), which is responsible for L-cysteine degradation, was investigated by native-PAGE and CD activity staining of crude cell extracts. Analyses with gene-disrupted mutants showed that CD activity resulted from two enzymes: tryptophanase (TNase) encoded by tnaA and cystathionine beta-lyase (CBL) encoded by metC. It was also found that TNase synthesis was induced by the presence of L-cysteine. The tnaA and metC mutants transformed with the plasmid containing the gene for feedback-insensitive serine acetyltransferase exhibited higher L-cysteine productivity than the wild-type strain carrying the same plasmid. These results indicated that TNase and CBL did act on L-cysteine degradation in E. coli cells.     

Effects of L-cysteine on Ni-Cu sulfide and marmatite bioleaching by Acidithiobacillus caldus

The effect of L-cysteine in different concentrations on the bioleaching of Ni-Cu sulfide and marmatite were studied with a moderately thermophilic, sulfur-oxidizing bacterium, strain of Acidithiobacillus caldus. X-ray diffraction (XRD) observations showed the change of bioleached solid residues and the effect of L-cysteine on the surface charges of minerals. It was found that adding certain amounts of L-cysteine to the leaching system of Ni-Cu sulfide largely enhanced the leaching rate, while L-cysteine inhibited the bioleaching of marmatite by A. caldus. The mechanism of L-cysteine interaction with mineral surfaces was studied by means of zeta potential determination and IR spectra.     

血红铆钉菇氨基酸缺陷型菌株的紫外诱变选育

通过原生质体去细胞壁技术,以血红铆钉菇原生质体为材料,利用紫外线对其进行诱变处理,筛选出6株氨基酸营养缺陷型突变株,经稳定性试验确认1株突变株性状可以稳定遗传,利用生长谱法对缺陷型进行了鉴定、分析。结果表明,该菌株为L-半胱氨酸缺陷型菌株,为营养缺陷型突变株的筛选奠定了基础。     

Kinetic and mechanism of interaction of L-cysteine with alkaline phosphatase from calf intestines

The effect of L-cysteine on activity of hydrophobic forms of calf intestine alkaline phosphatase was investigated. Apparent inhibition constants for mixed type inhibition have been determined. The kinetic results allow supposing that the mechanism of equilibrium establishment between the inhibitor and enzyme involves the initial rapid formation of intermediate complex and a subsequent slower step leading to its stabilization in the substrate binding site. The microscopic rate constants for slow step of interaction of L-cysteine with alkaline phosphatase have been calculated. Effect of pH on apparent inhibition constants and kinetic parameters for enzymatic reaction in the presence of L-cysteine was analysed.     

Regulation of O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase B by L-cysteine in Salmonella typhimurium.

A technique based on resistance to azaserine was used to isolate mutants lacking O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase B, one of two enzymes in Salmonella typhimurium capable of synthesizing L-cysteine from O-acetyl-L-serine and sulfide. The mutant locus responsible for this defect has been designated cysM, and genetic mapping suggests that cysM is very close to and perhaps contiguous with cysA. Strains lacking either O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase B or the second sulfhydrylase, O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase A (coded for by cysK), are cysteine prototrophs, but cysK cysM double mutants were found to require cysteine for growth. O-Acetylserine sulfhydrylase B was depressed by growth on a poor sulfur source, and depression was dependent upon both a functional cysB regulatory gene product and the internal inducer of the cysteine biosynthetic pathway, O-acetyl-L-serine. Furthermore, a cysBc strain, in which other cysteine biosynthetic enzymes cannot be fully repressed by growth on L-cystine, was found to be constitutive for O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase B as well. Thus O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase B is regulated by the same factors that control the expression of O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase A and other activities of the cysteine regulon. It is not clear why S. typhimurium has two enzymes whose physiological function appears to be to catalyze the same step of L-cysteine biosynthesis.     

Conversion of L-cystine and L-cysteine to taurin by the enzyme systems of liver cells

The kinetics of conversion of sulfur-containing amino acids L-cystine and L-cysteine to taurin by the enzyme system of cattle liver cells was studied, and a mathematical model was developed. It was shown that L-cystine and L-cysteine conversion obeyed the Michaelis-Menten equations of serial-sequential conversions with regard to inhibition by the final product and inactivation. The yield of taurin under the optimized conditions of L-cystine and L-cysteine conversion (temperature, 40 degrees C; pH 1.5 and 3.0, respectively; and addition of enzyme preparations in five equal portions at 2-h intervals) was in the range 80-85% of the substrate weight.     

Cloning, expression and characterization of L-cysteine desulfhydrase gene from Pseudomonas sp. TS1138

L-cysteine desulfhydrase (CD) plays an important role in L-cysteine decomposition. To identify the CD gene in Pseudomonas sp. TS1138 and investigate its effect on the L-cysteine biosynthetic pathway, the CD gene was cloned from Pseudomonas sp. TS1138 by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. The nucleotide sequence of CD gene was determined to be 1,215 bp, and its homology with other sequences encoding CD was analyzed. Then the CD gene was subcloned into pET-21a(+) vector and expressed in Escherichia coli (E. coli) by isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) inducement. The recombinant CD was purified by Ni-NTA His-Bind resin, and its activity was identified by the CD activity staining. The enzymatic properties of the recombinant CD were characterized and its critical role involved in the L-cysteine biosynthetic pathway was also discussed. __________ Translated from Microbiology, 2006, 33(4): 21–26 [译自: 微生物学通报]     

L-cysteine administration prevents liver fibrosis by suppressing hepatic stellate cell proliferation and activation

Recent studies showed that the function of some amino acids is not only nutritional but also pharmacological. However, the effects of amino acids on liver fibrosis and hepatic stellate cell (HSC) remain unclear. In this research, as a result of screening of amino acids using liver fibrosis induced by DMN administration, L-cysteine was selected as a suppressor of liver fibrosis. Furthermore, the number of activated HSCs, which increased in the fibrotic liver after DMN administration, was decreased in L-cysteine-fed rats. Treatment of freshly isolated HSCs with L-cysteine resulted in inhibition of the increase in smooth muscle alpha-actin (alphaSMA) expression by HSCs and BrdU incorporation into the activated HSCs. These findings suggest that L-cysteine is effective against liver fibrosis. The mechanism of inhibition of fibrosis in the liver is surmized to be direct inhibition of activated HSC proliferation and HSC transformation by L-cysteine.     

Effect of Sodium Chloride and pH on the Outgrowth of Spores of Type E Clostridium botulinum at Optimal and Suboptimal Temperatures

The sodium chloride inhibition of spore outgrowth of four strains of type E Clostridium bolulinum was determined in a Trypticase-peptone-glucose (TPG) medium. At 16, 21, and 30 C, spores of three strains required 5.0% and one strain 4.5% salt for complete inhibition during 1 year of incubation. At 8 and 10 C, spores of the four strains required 4.5% salt for definite inhibition. Salt concentrations slightly lower than those providing inhibition tended to extend spore outgrowth time at low temperatures. The minimal pH permitting outgrowth of type E spore inocula was affected by the concentration of reducing compound present in the system. When either 0.02% sodium thioglycolate or 0.05% L-cysteine hydrochloride was used, outgrowth at 30 and 8 C occurred at much lower pH levels than when 0.2% thioglycolate was added. At 30 C, spores of one strain showed outgrowth in TPG medium as low as pH 5.21 with an inoculum of 2 million spores per replicate tube. At a 10-fold higher inoculum, the same strain showed outgrowth at pH 5.03 in one of five replicate tubes. At 8 C, spore outgrowth of the four strains occurred at pH 5.9, but not at pH 5.7, in TPG medium containing L-cysteine hydrochloride.     

The stability of L-ATC hydrolase participating in L-cysteine production

Summary In the production of L-cysteine from D,L-ATC stability of the relevant enzymes produced byPseudomonas sp. was tested, and strategies to improve the stability of L-ATC hydrolase were investigated in view of water activity and ionic strength. Among the three enzymes which participate in L-cysteine production, i.e., ATC racemase, L-ATC hydrolase, and S-carbamyl-L-cysteine hydrolase, L-ATC hydrolase is the least stable. Various mixtures of salts and sorbitol were added to adjust the water activities of the tested solutions. As water activity decreased from 0.93 to 0.80, the stability of L-ATC hydrolase was sharply enhanced. In the absence of sorbitol the stability of L-ATC hydrolase increased in proportion to ionic strength. Even though enzyme stability was not good at a low ionic strength, it was enhanced by lowering water activity with addition of sorbitol. The half life of L-ATC hydrolase in sorbitol-salt mixtures increased by tenfold to twentyfold compared to that of a control.