Synthesis of globopentaose using a novel beta1,3-galactosyltransferase activity of the Haemophilus influenzae beta1,3-N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase LgtD

We have previously described a bacterial system for the conversion of globotriaose (Gb3) into globotetraose (Gb4) by a metabolically engineered Escherichia coli strain expressing the Haemophilus influenzae lgtD gene encoding beta1,3-N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase [Antoine, T., Bosso, C., Heyraud, A. Samain, E. (2005) Large scale in vivo synthesis of globotriose and globotetraose by high cell density culture of metabolically engineered Escherichia coli. Biochimie 87, 197-203]. Here, we found that LgtD has an additional beta1,3-galactosyltransferase activity which allows our bacterial system to be extended to the synthesis of the carbohydrate portion of globopentaosylceramide (Galbeta-3GalNAcbeta-3Galalpha-4Galbeta-4Glc) which reacts with the monoclonal antibody defining the stage-specific embryonic antigen-3. In vitro assays confirmed that LgtD had both beta1,3-GalT and beta1,3-GalNAcT activities and showed that differences in the affinity for Gb3 and Gb4 explain the specific and exclusive formation of globopentaose.     

Large scale in vivo synthesis of globotriose and globotetraose by high cell density culture of metabolically engineered Escherichia coli

Large amounts of globotriose (Galalpha-4Galbeta-4Glc) are shown to be produced by the high cell density culture of an Escherichia coli strain over-expressing the Neisseria meningitidis lgtC gene for alpha-1,4-Gal transferase. The strain which was devoid of both alpha and beta galactosidase activity was fed with glycerol as the energy and carbon source and with lactose as precursor for globotriose synthesis. After complete exhaustion of lactose, globotriose could serve as an alternative acceptor for LgtC and the formation of a series of polygalactosylated compounds was observed. The system was extended to the synthesis of globotetraose (GalNAcbeta-3Galalpha-4Galbeta-4Glc) by overexpressing two additional genes: lgtD from Haemophilus influenzae Rd which encodes a beta-1,3-GalNAc transferase and wbpP from Pseudomonas aeruginosa which encodes a UDP-GalNAc C4 epimerase. Globotetraose could also be produced from exogenous globotriose which was shown to be actively taken up by the cells.     

Possible mechanisms underlying the slow lactose fermentation phenotype in Shigella spp.

A Southern hybridization analysis revealed that the region homologous to Escherichia coli lacZ was present on the chromosomal DNAs of beta-galactosidase-positive Shigella strains, such as Shigella dysenteriae serovar 1 and Shigella sonnei strains, whereas this region was absent from chromosomal DNAs of beta-galactosidase-negative strains of Shigella flexneri and Shigella boydii. We found that the lacY-A region was deficient in S. dysenteriae serovar 1 and believe that this is the reason for the slow fermentation of lactose by this strain. S. sonnei strains possessed the region which hybridized with E. coli lacY-A despite their slow hydrolysis of lactose. The whole lactose-fermenting region was cloned from S. sonnei and compared with the cloned lac operon of E. coli K-12. Both clones directed the synthesis of beta-galactosidase in an E. coli K-12 strain lacking indigenous beta-galactosidase activity (strain JM109-1), and we observed no difference in the expression of beta-galactosidase activity in S. sonnei and E. coli. However, E. coli JM109-1 harboring the lactose-fermenting genes of S. sonnei exhibited the slow lactose fermentation phenotype like the parental strain. S. sonnei strains had no detectable lactose permease activities. E. coli JM109-1 harboring the lactose-fermenting genes of S. sonnei had a detectable permease activity, possibly because of the multicopy nature of the cloned genes, but this permease activity was much lower than that of strain JM109-1 harboring the lac operon of E. coli K-12. From these results we concluded that slow lactose fermentation by S. sonnei is due to weak lactose permease activity.     

Assessment of the two Helicobacter pylori alpha-1,3-fucosyltransferase ortholog genes for the large-scale synthesis of LewisX human milk oligosaccharides by metabolically engineered Escherichia coli

We previously described a bacterial fermentation process for the in vivo conversion of lactose into fucosylated derivatives of lacto-N-neotetraose Gal(beta1-4)GlcNAc(beta1-3)Gal(beta1-4)Glc (LNnT). The major product obtained was lacto-N-neofucopentaose-V Gal(beta1-4)GlcNAc(beta1-3)Gal(beta1-4)[Fuc(alpha1-3)]Glc, carrying fucose on the glucosyl residue of LNnT. Only a small amount of oligosaccharides fucosylated on N-acetylglucosaminyl residues and thus carrying the LewisX group (Le(X)) was also produced. We report here a fermentation process for the large-scale production of Le(X) oligosaccharides. The two fucosyltransferase genes futA and futB of Helicobacter pylori (strain 26695) were compared in order to optimize fucosylation in vivo. futA was found to provide the best activity on the LNnT acceptor, whereas futB expressed a better Le(X) activity in vitro. Both genes were expressed to produce oligosaccharides in engineered Escherichia coli (E. coli) cells. The fucosylation pattern of the recombinant oligosaccharides was closely correlated with the specificity observed in vitro, FutB favoring the formation of Le(X) carrying oligosaccharides. Lacto-N-neodifucohexaose-II Gal(beta1-4)[Fuc(alpha1-3)]GlcNAc(beta1-3)Gal(beta1-4)[Fuc(alpha1-3)]Glc represented 70% of the total oligosaccharide amount of futA-on-driven fermentation and was produced at a concentration of 1.7 g/L. Fermentation driven by futB led to equal amounts of both lacto-N-neofucopentaose-V and lacto-N-neofucopentaose-II Gal(beta1-4)[Fuc(alpha1-3)]GlcNAc(beta1-3)Gal(beta1-4)Glc, produced at 280 and 260 mg/L, respectively. Unexpectedly, a noticeable proportion (0.5 g/L) of the human milk oligosaccharide 3-fucosyllactose Gal(beta1-4)[Fuc(alpha1-3)]Glc was produced in futA-on-driven fermentation, underlining the activity of fucosyltransferase FutA in E. coli and leading to a reassessment of its activity on lactose. All oligosaccharides produced by the products of both fut genes were natural compounds of human milk.     

Possible mechanisms underlying the slow lactose fermentation phenotype in Shigella spp.

A Southern hybridization analysis revealed that the region homologous to Escherichia coli lacZ was present on the chromosomal DNAs of beta-galactosidase-positive Shigella strains, such as Shigella dysenteriae serovar 1 and Shigella sonnei strains, whereas this region was absent from chromosomal DNAs of beta-galactosidase-negative strains of Shigella flexneri and Shigella boydii. We found that the lacY-A region was deficient in S. dysenteriae serovar 1 and believe that this is the reason for the slow fermentation of lactose by this strain. S. sonnei strains possessed the region which hybridized with E. coli lacY-A despite their slow hydrolysis of lactose. The whole lactose-fermenting region was cloned from S. sonnei and compared with the cloned lac operon of E. coli K-12. Both clones directed the synthesis of beta-galactosidase in an E. coli K-12 strain lacking indigenous beta-galactosidase activity (strain JM109-1), and we observed no difference in the expression of beta-galactosidase activity in S. sonnei and E. coli. However, E. coli JM109-1 harboring the lactose-fermenting genes of S. sonnei exhibited the slow lactose fermentation phenotype like the parental strain. S. sonnei strains had no detectable lactose permease activities. E. coli JM109-1 harboring the lactose-fermenting genes of S. sonnei had a detectable permease activity, possibly because of the multicopy nature of the cloned genes, but this permease activity was much lower than that of strain JM109-1 harboring the lac operon of E. coli K-12. From these results we concluded that slow lactose fermentation by S. sonnei is due to weak lactose permease activity.     

利用重组大肠杆菌进行寡糖合成的研究进展

随着更多寡糖生物学活性的阐明,寡糖合成研究已成为糖生物学研究的热点之一,其中,以重组大肠杆菌作为酶盒或生物反应器,利用Leloir途径合成寡糖的方法,是近年来发展起来的一类重要的寡糖生物合成技术,并取得了较多的进展。将从细菌糖基转移酶的表达和鉴定、糖核苷酸的供给和寡糖的合成途径等几个方面,关注利用细菌功能尤其是利用重组大肠杆菌合成寡糖的研究进展,并分析各技术手段的优缺点及其应用前景。     

Regulation of the Synthesis of the Lactose Repressor

Measurements of the lactose repressor over a tenfold range of cell growth rates were made on protein extracts from Escherichia coli cultures grown in media with various carbon energy sources. The concentration of lactose repressor varied with the number of genome equivalents per cell over this range in growth rates, suggesting that the number of lactose molecules within the cell is determined by the number of I gene copies present. The timing of repressor synthesis during the cell division cycle and its correlation with deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis was examined by synchronizing the cell division cycle of E. coli ED1039, in which the Lac region has been transposed from 10 to 36 min on the genetic map. Measurements of lactose repressor in the synchronized culture revealed a burst of repressor synthesis at the time of I gene duplication. The concentration of lactose repressor was found to decrease as a function of total cell protein during the division cycle until an increase in synthesis occurred, suggesting that repressor synthesis probably does not occur throughout the division cycle. A model for I gene regulation is proposed.     

Functioning of the lactose operon of E. coli K-12 under the influence of non-specific regulators]

A possible role played by cAMP in the stimulating action of ACTH and hydrocortisone on lactose E. coli K-12 operon was studied. It was shown that ACTH caused no effect in the E. coli WZ-78/F'lac (cya855) and E. coli CA8001 (L1) strains with destroyed positive cAMP control system of the lactose operon function, at the same time producing a stimulating effect on the lactose operon in the strains of wild type, i.e. E coli 200PS/F'lac and E. coli 3000. Hydrocortisone stimulated the lactose operon function both in E. coli 3000 and in the mutant E. coli CA8001 (L1). It was supposed that the accelerating effect of ACTH on the lactose operon was mediated through cAMP; as to hydrocortisone--it stimulated the lactose operon function independently of cAMP.     

Genetic engineering of Escherichia coli for the economical production of sialylated oligosaccharides

We have previously described a microbiological process for the conversion of lactose into 3'sialyllactose and other ganglioside sugars by living Escherichia coli cells expressing the appropriate recombinant glycosyltransferase genes. In this system the activated sialic acid donor (CMP-Neu5Ac) was generated from exogenous sialic acid, which was transported into the cells by the permease NanT. Since sialic acid is an expensive compound, a more economical process has now been developed by genetically engineering E. coli K12 to be capable of generating CMP-Neu5Ac using its own internal metabolism. Mutant strains devoid of Neu5Ac aldolase and of ManNAc kinase were shown to efficiently produce 3'sialyllactose by coexpressing the alpha-2,3-sialyltransferase gene from Neisseria meningitidis with the neuC, neuB and neuACampylobacter jejuni genes encoding N-acetylglucosamine-6-phosphate-epimerase, sialic acid synthase and CMP-Neu5Ac synthetase, respectively. A sialyllactose concentration of 25 g l(-1) was obtained in long-term high cell density culture with a continuous lactose feed. This high concentration and low cost of fermentation medium should make possible to use sialylated oligosaccharides in new fields such as the food industry.     

Production of alpha-galactosyl epitopes via combined use of two recombinant whole cells harboring UDP-galactose 4-epimerase and alpha-1,3-galactosyltransferase

alpha-Galactosyl epitopes (or alpha-Gal, oligosaccharides with a terminal Galalpha1,3Gal sequence) are a class of biologically important oligosaccharides in great demand in bulk quantities for basic and clinical studies on preventing hyperacute rejection in pig-to-primate organ xenotransplantation. A truncated bovine alpha-1, 3-galactosyltransferase, the key enzyme responsible for the biosynthesis of the terminal structure of alpha-Gal, was cloned and overexpressed previously. The acceptor specificity was further studied in the present paper, and lactose and galactose derivatives were found to be good acceptors. To develop a more proficient reaction process, we report herein an example of an efficient enzymatic synthesis of alpha-Gal oligosaccharides catalyzed by the combination of two recombinant Escherichia coli whole cells harboring the genes of a UDP-galactose 4-epimerase and the alpha-1, 3-galactosyltransferase, respectively. Using lactosyl azide (LacN(3)) as the acceptor for the glycosyltransferase, the combined use of the two recombinant cells efficiently produced alpha-Gal epitope Gal alpha1,3LacN(3) in 60-68% yield.     

Genetic engineering of Escherichia coli for the production of NI,NII-diacetylchitobiose (chitinbiose) and its utilization as a primer for the synthesis of complex carbohydrates

Chitinbiose was produced at more than 4 g L-1 by a high cell density culture of an Escherichia coli strain that co-expressed the rhizobial chitinoligosaccharide synthase gene nodC and a truncated form of the chitinase gene chiA which has been designed to be functionally produced in the E. coli cytoplasm. Chitinpentaose, which has previously been shown to be produced by the nodC protein in growing E. coli, was formed as an intermediate that was subsequently hydrolyzed into chitinbiose by the chitinase encoded by chiA. Chitinbiose was mainly recovered in the extracellular medium and to prevent its catabolism, the genes for the chitinbiose PTS permease had to be disrupted. When the additional gene lgtB for beta1,4-galactosyltransferase was expressed, intracellular chitinbiose was converted into the trisaccharide Galbeta-4GlcNAcbeta-4GlcNAc which could serve as acceptor for glycosyltransferase that recognize the terminal N-acetyllactosamine structure.     

Cloning and expression of the beta-D-phosphogalactoside galactohydrolase gene of Lactobacillus casei in Escherichia coli K-12.

Lactose metabolism in Lactobacillus casei 64H is associated with the presence of plasmid pLZ64. This plasmid determines both phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase uptake of lactose and beta-D-phosphogalactoside galactohydrolase. A shotgun clone bank of chimeric plasmids containing restriction enzyme digest fragments of pLZ64 DNA was constructed in Escherichia coli K-12. One clone contained the gene coding for beta-D-phosphogalactoside galactohydrolase on a 7.9-kilobase PstI fragment cloned into the vector pBR322 in E. coli strain chi 1849. The beta-D-phosphogalactoside galactohydrolase enzyme isolated from E. coli showed no difference from that isolated from L. casei, and specific activity of beta-D-phosphogalactoside galactohydrolase was stimulated 1.8-fold in E. coli by growth in media containing beta-galactosides. A restriction map of the recombinant plasmid was compiled, and with that information, a series of subclones was constructed. From an analysis of the proteins produced by minicells prepared from transformant E. coli cells containing each of the recombinant subclone plasmids, it was found that the gene for the 56-kilodalton beta-D-phosphogalactoside galactohydrolase was transcribed from an L. casei-derived promoter. The gene for a second protein product (43 kilodaltons) was transcribed in the opposite direction, presumably under the control of a promoter in pBR322. The relationship of this second product to the lactose metabolism genes of L. casei is at present unknown.     

Binding of monoclonal antibody 4B1 to homologs of the lactose permease of Escherichia coli.

The conformationally sensitive epitope for monoclonal antibody (mAb) 4B1, which uncouples lactose from H+ translocation in the lactose permease of Escherichia coli, is localized in the periplasmic loop between helices VII and VIII (loop VII/VIII) on one face of a short helical segment (Sun J, et al., 1996, Biochemistry 35;990-998). Comparison of sequences in the region corresponding to loop VII/VIII in members of Cluster 5 of the Major Facilitator Superfamily (MFS), which includes five homologous oligosaccharide/H+ symporters, reveals interesting variations. 4B1 binds to the Citrobacter freundii lactose permease or E. coli raffinose permease with resultant inhibition of transport activity. Because E. coli raffinose permease contains a Pro residue at position 254 rather than Gly, it is unlikely that the mAb recognizes the peptide backbone at this position. Consistently, E. coli lactose permease with Pro in place of Gly254 also binds 4B1. In contrast, 4B1 binding is not observed with either Klebsiella pneumoniae lactose permease or E. coli sucrose permease. When the epitope is transferred from E. coli lactose permease (residues 245-259) to the sucrose permease, the modified protein binds 4B1, but the mAb has no significant effect on sucrose transport. The studies provide further evidence that the 4B1 epitope is restricted to loop VII/VIII, and that 4B1 binding induces a highly specific conformational change that uncouples substrate and H+ translocation.     

Cloning and functional characterization of two bacterial members of the NAT/NCS2 family in Escherichia coli

The coding potential of the genome of E. coli K-12 includes YgfO and YicE, two members of the evolutionarily conserved NAT/NCS2 transporter family that are highly homologous to each other (45% residue identity) and closely related to UapA of Aspergillus nidulans, a most extensively studied microbial member of this family. YgfO and yicE were cloned from the genome, over-expressed extrachromosomally and assayed for uptake of [(3)H]xanthine and other nucleobases, in E. coli K-12, under conditions of negligible activity of the corresponding endogenous systems. Alternative, essentially equivalent functional versions of YgfO and YicE were engineered by C-terminal tagging with an epitope from the E. coli lactose permease and a biotin-acceptor domain from Klebsiella pneumoniae. Both YgfO and YicE were shown to be present in the plasma membrane of E. coli and function as specific, high-affinity transporters for xanthine (K(m) 4.2-4.6 microM for YgfO, or 2.9-3.8 microM for YicE), in a proton motive force-dependent manner; they display no detectable transport of uracil, hypoxanthine, or uric acid at external concentrations of up to 0.1 mM. Both YgfO and YicE are inefficient in recognizing uric acid or xanthine analogues modified at position 8 of the purine ring (8-methylxanthine, 8-azaxanthine, oxypurinol, allopurinol), which distinguishes them from their fungal homologues UapA and Xut1.     

Synthesis of 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-3-O-beta-D-galactopyranosyl-D-galacto se by the sequential use of beta-D-galactosidases from bovine testes and Escherichia coli

beta-D-Galp-(1----3)-D-GalNAc (1) was synthesised from lactose and GalNAc on a mmolar scale by transgalactosylation using beta-D-galactosidase from bovine testes. The large proportions of unwanted oligosaccharides in the product mixture were removed by treatment with beta-D-galactosidase from E. coli, which left 1, monosaccharides, and a small proportion of trisaccharides. Carbon-Celite chromatography then gave 1 in a yield of 21% based on the GalNAc added.     

Large-scale production of oligosaccharides using engineered bacteria

Rapid advances in the cloning and expression of glycosyltransferase genes, especially from bacteria, could open the way to overcoming difficulties in the mass production of oligosaccharides. The large-scale production of oligosaccharides using either glycosyltransferases isolated from engineered microorganisms or whole cells as an enzyme source could promote a new era in the field of carbohydrate synthesis.     

Large-scale production of N-acetyllactosamine through bacterial coupling.

A large-scale production system of N-acetyllactosamine, a core structure of various oligosaccharides, was established by a whole-cell reaction through the combination of recombinant Escherichia coli strains and Corynebacterium ammoniagenes. Two recombinant E. coli strains over-expressed the UDP-Gal biosynthetic genes and the beta-(1-->4)-galactosyltransferase gene of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, respectively. C. ammoniagenes contributed the production of UTP from orotic acid. N-Acetyllactosamine was accumulated at 279 mM (107 g L-1) after a 38 h reaction (2.5 L in volume) starting from orotic acid, D-galactose, and 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucose.     

A novel approach to the recovery of biologically active oligosaccharides from milk using a combination of enzymatic treatment and nanofiltration

A new easily scalable approach to the recovery of biologically active oligosaccharides from milk has been developed which relies on the combination of enzymatic treatment of defatted milk using beta-galactosidase and nanofiltration. It was shown that enzymatic hydrolysis of lactose significantly improves the efficiency and selectivity of membrane-based separations. With the best membrane, as much as 6.7 g of oligosaccharides (containing very little contaminating lactose) could be obtained from one liter of defatted human milk in just four nanofiltration cycles. The human milk oligosaccharides recovered by this method were shown to inhibit binding of intimin, an adhesion molecule of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, to epithelial cells in vitro. No significant difference in the oligosaccharide profile between samples prepared by this method and conventional gel-permeation chromatography was found. The developed approach is also suitable for the recovery of substantial quantities of tri- and tetra-saccharides from caprine milk.