Initiation of aerial mycelium formation in Streptomyces

In the past two years, the isolation of extracellular factors involved in the initiation of aerial mycelium formation, the identification of metabolic defects in certain developmental mutants, and the characterisation of three further bld genes and several γ-butyrolactone receptor genes have led to new ideas about the mechanisms that initiate aerial mycelium formation in Streptomyces. The emerging picture suggests the integration of numerous signals from both inside and outside the cell.     

Improvement of transglutaminase production by extending differentiation phase of Streptomyces hygroscopicus: mechanism and application

Streptomyces transglutaminase (TGase) is an important industrial enzyme that catalyzes cross-linking of proteins. It is secreted as a zymogene and then is activated by proteases under physiological conditions. Although the activation process of TGase has been well investigated, the physiological function of TGase in Streptomyces has not been revealed. In this study, physiological function of TGase from Streptomyces hygroscopicus was found to be involved in differentiation by construction of a TGase gene interruption mutation strain (Δtg). The mutant Δtg showed an absence of differentiation compared with the parent strain. Furthermore, the production of TGase was found to be increased with the extending growth arrest phase of mycelium in submerged cultures. Thus, to enhance yield of TGase, the mycelium differentiation of Streptomyces was regulated via low temperature stress in a 3-L stirred-tank fermenter. The production of TGase increased by 39 % through extending the growth arrest phase for 4 h. This study found that TGase is involved in Streptomyces differentiation and proposed an approach to improve TGase production by regulation of mycelium differentiation in submerged cultures.     

Pleiotropic Control of Secondary Metabolism and Morphological Development by KsbC,a Butyrolactone Autoregulator Receptor Homologue in Kitasatospora setae

The γ-butyrolactone autoregulator signaling cascades have been shown to control secondary metabolism and/or morphological development among many Streptomyces species. However, the conservation and variation of the regulatory systems among actinomycetes remain to be clarified. The genome sequence of Kitasatospora setae, which also belongs to the family Streptomycetaceae containing the genus Streptomyces, has revealed the presence of three homologues of the autoregulator receptor: KsbA, which has previously been confirmed to be involved only in secondary metabolism; KsbB; and KsbC. We describe here the characterization of ksbC, whose regulatory cluster closely resembles the Streptomyces virginiae barA locus responsible for the autoregulator signaling cascade. Deletion of the gene ksbC resulted in lowered production of bafilomycin and a defect of aerial mycelium formation, together with the early and enhanced production of a novel β-carboline alkaloid named kitasetaline. A putative kitasetaline biosynthetic gene cluster was identified, and its expression in a heterologous host led to the production of kitasetaline together with JBIR-133, the production of which is also detected in the ksbC disruptant, and JBIR-134 as novel β-carboline alkaloids, indicating that these genes were biosynthetic genes for β-carboline alkaloid and thus are the first such genes to be discovered in bacteria.     

Pattern of phosphoproteins during cell differentiation in Streptomyces collinus

Transition from vegetative cells to aerial mycelium and spores of Streptomyces collinus is accompanied by changes in the pattern of proteins phosphorylated. Preparation from spores exhibits lower phosphorylation activity than those of vegetative cells and aerial mycelium. Phosphorylation of proteins from aerial mycelium was markedly stimulated by the presence of Mn²⁺. Our data indicate that phosphorylation of proteins on Ser/Thr residues is involved in transition of vegetative cells to aerial mycelium.     

Effects of increased and deregulated expression of cell division genes on the morphology and on antibiotic production of streptomycetes

This paper describes the effects of increased expression of the cell division genes ftsZ, ftsQ, and ssgA on the development of both solid- and liquid-grown mycelium of Streptomyces coelicolor and Streptomyces lividans. Over-expression of ftsZ in S. coelicolor M145 inhibited aerial mycelium formation and blocked sporulation. Such deficient sporulation was also observed for the ftsZ mutant. Over-expression of ftsZ also inhibited morphological differentiation in S. lividans 1326, although aerial mycelium formation was less reduced. Furthermore, antibiotic production was increased in both strains, and in particular the otherwise dormant actinorhodin biosynthesis cluster of S. lividans was activated in liquid- and solid-grown cultures. No significant alterations were observed when the gene dosage of ftsQ was increased. Analysis by transmission electron microscopy of an S. coelicolor strain over-expressing ssgA showed that septum formation had strongly increased in comparison to wild-type S. coelicolor, showing that SsgA clearly influences Streptomyces cell division. The morphology of the hyphae was affected such that irregular septa were produced with a significantly wider diameter, thereby forming spore-like compartments. This suggests that ssgA can induce a process similar to submerged sporulation in Streptomyces strains that otherwise fail to do so. A working model is proposed for the regulation of septum formation and of submerged sporulation.     

拟核结合蛋白调控链霉菌形态分化和次级代谢的作用和机制

链霉菌具有独特而复杂的形态分化周期,涉及到染色体复制、浓缩和分离等多个步骤,并伴随着菌丝的分隔和片段化。拟核结合蛋白作为染色体高级结构的重要组成成分,在调控链霉菌的形态分化中发挥了重要作用,调控许多与DNA相关的过程,包括基因表达、DNA保护、重组/修复和拟核的形成与维持等。此外,拟核结合蛋白作为细菌重要的全局性调控因子,也广泛参与了链霉菌次级代谢的调控。本文总结了链霉菌拟核结合蛋白的结构和功能,特别是调控形态分化和次级代谢的最新研究成果。     

羊毛硫肽SapB类多肽促进链霉菌形态分化作用的研究

【目的】链霉菌属于革兰氏阳性菌,以复杂的形态分化过程和强大的次级代谢产物合成能力为主要特征。链霉菌的形态分化与次级代谢产物的产生密切相关。Ⅲ型羊毛硫肽SapB能够促进天蓝色链霉菌气生菌丝体形成,暗示这类多肽可以作为靶标用于形态分化改造工程开发。本研究表征了SapB类多肽对多种链霉菌形态分化的影响,为该类多肽的工程化应用提供理论基础。【方法】生物信息学分析多个链霉菌基因组中SapB类多肽的生物合成基因簇,构建SapB类多肽的异源表达载体,利用接合转移方法导入不同链霉菌中进行异源表达,探究SapB类多肽对链霉菌形态分化的影响。【结果】SapB类多肽在不同程度上促进了多个链霉菌由营养菌丝向气生菌丝分化,表现为气生菌丝体数量的增多和分化速度的加快,缩短了链霉菌形态分化周期。【结论】SapB类多肽的过表达有助于缩短链霉菌形态分化周期,可用于针对链霉菌形态分化的工程改造。     

In vitro protein phosphorylation associated with cellular differentiation of Streptomyces griseus

In vitro phosphorylation reactions with crude cellular extracts revealed that phosphorylation of a 17-kDa protein is associated with the onset of aerial mycelium formation in solid culture (but not submerged spore formation in liquid culture) of Streptomyces griseus. The possible importance of the 17-kDa protein phosphorylation in cellular differentiation was further indicated by inducing aerial mycelium formation in the presence of decoyinine and in studies using certain developmental mutants (relC, afsA, and M-1). It is proposed that the 17-kDa protein may play a role in cellular differentiation of S. griseus via its phosphorylation. Received: 17 July 1997 / Accepted: 20 September 1997     

Effect of Pamamycin-607 on Secondary Metabolite Production by Streptomyces spp.

The effect of the aerial mycelium-inducing compound, pamamycin-607, on antibiotic production by several Streptomyces spp. was examined. Exposure to 6.6 μM pamamycin-607 stimulated by 2.7 fold the puromycin production by Streptomyces alboniger NBRC 12738, in which pamamycin-607 had first been isolated, and restored aerial mycelium formation. Pamamycin-607 also stimulated the respective production of streptomycin by S. griseus NBRC 12875 and that of cinerubins A and B by S. tauricus JCM 4837 by approximately 1.5, 1.7 and 1.9 fold. The antibiotic produced by Streptomyces sp. 91-a was identified as virginiamycin M₁, and its synthesis was enhanced 2.6 fold by pamamycin-607. These results demonstrate that pamamycin-607 not only restored or stimulated aerial mycelium formation, but also stimulated secondary metabolite production.     

Isolation and Characterization of Differentially Expressed Genes in the Mycelium and Fruit Body of Tuber borchii

The transition from vegetative mycelium to fruit body in truffles requires differentiation processes which lead to edible fruit bodies (ascomata) consisting of different cell and tissue types. The identification of genes differentially expressed during these developmental processes can contribute greatly to a better understanding of truffle morphogenesis. A cDNA library was constructed from vegetative mycelium RNAs of the white truffle Tuber borchii, and 214 cDNAs were sequenced. Up to 58% of the expressed sequence tags corresponded to known genes. The majority of the identified sequences represented housekeeping proteins, i.e., proteins involved in gene or protein expression, cell wall formation, primary and secondary metabolism, and signaling pathways. We screened 171 arrayed cDNAs by using cDNA probes constructed from mRNAs of vegetative mycelium and ascomata to identify fruit body-regulated genes. Comparisons of signals from vegetative mycelium and fruit bodies bearing 15 or 70% mature spores revealed significant differences in the expression levels for up to 33% of the investigated genes. The expression levels for six highly regulated genes were confirmed by RNA blot analyses. The expression of glutamine synthetase, 5-aminolevulinic acid synthetase, isocitrate lyase, thioredoxin, glucan 1,3-β-glucosidase, and UDP-glucose:sterol glucosyl transferase was highly up-regulated, suggesting that amino acid biosynthesis, the glyoxylate cycle pathway, and cell wall synthesis are strikingly altered during morphogenesis.