Effect of branch frequency in Aspergillus oryzae on protein secretion and culture viscosity.

Highly branched mutants of two strains of Aspergillus oryzae (IFO4177, which produces alpha-amylase, and a transformant of IFO4177 [AMG#13], which produces heterologous glucoamylase in addition to alpha-amylase) were generated by UV or nitrous acid mutagenesis. Four mutants of the parental strain (IFO4177), which were 10 to 50% more branched than the parental strain, were studied in stirred batch culture and no differences were observed in either the amount or the rate of enzyme production. Five mutants of the transformed parental strain (AMG#13), which were 20 to 58% more branched than the parental strain, were studied in either batch, fed-batch or continuous culture. In batch culture, three of the mutants produced more glucoamylase than the transformed parental strain, although only two mutants produced more glucoamylase and alpha-amylase combined. No increase in enzyme production was observed in either chemostat or fed-batch culture. Cultures of highly branched mutants were less viscous than those of the parental and transformed parental strains. A linear relationship was found between the degree of branching (measured as hyphal growth unit length) and culture viscosity (measured as the torque exerted on the rheometer impeller) for these strains. DOT-controlled fed-batch cultures (in which the medium feed rate was determined by the DOT) were thus inoculated with either the transformed parent or highly branched mutants of the transformed parent to determine whether the reduced viscosity would improve aeration and give higher enzyme yields. The average rate of medium addition was higher for the two highly branched mutants (ca. 8.3 g medium h(-1)) than for the parental strain (5.7 g medium h(-1)). Specific enzyme production in the DOT controlled fed-batch cultures was similar for all three strains (approx. 0.24 g alpha-amylase and glucoamylase [g of biomass](-1)), but one of the highly branched mutants made more total enzyme (24.3 +/- 0.2 g alpha-amylase and glucoamylase) than the parental strain (21.7 +/- 0.4 g alpha-amylase and glucoamylase).     

Mutation of active site residues of insulin-degrading enzyme alters allosteric interactions

The active site glutamate (Glu(111)) and the active site histidine (His(112)) of insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) were mutated. These mutant enzymes exhibit, in addition to a large decrease in catalytic activity, a change in the substrate-velocity response from a sigmoidal one seen with the native enzyme (Hill coefficient > 2), to a hyperbolic response. With 2-aminobenzoyl-GGFLRKHGQ-N-(2,4-dinitrophenyl)ethylenediamine as substrate, ATP and triphosphate increase the reaction rate of the wild type enzyme some 50-80-fold. This effect is dampened with glutamate mutants to no effect or less than a 3-fold increase in activity and changed to inhibition with the histidine mutants. Sedimentation equilibrium shows the IDE mutants exhibit a similar oligomeric distribution as the wild type enzyme, being predominantly monomeric, with triphosphate having little if any effect on the oligomeric state. Triphosphate did induce aggregation of many of the IDE mutants. Thus, the oligomeric state of IDE does not correlate with kinetic properties. The His(112) mutants were shown to bind zinc, but with a lower affinity than the wild type enzyme. The glutamate mutants displayed an altered cleavage profile for the peptide beta-endorphin. Wild type IDE cleaved beta-endorphin at Leu(17)-Phe(18) and Phe(18)-Lys(19), whereas the glutamate mutants cleaved at these sites, but in addition at Lys(19)-Asn(20) and at Met(5)-Thr(6). Thus, active site mutations of IDE are suggested to not only reduce catalytic activity but also cause local conformational changes that affect the allosteric properties of the enzyme.     

突变型环酰亚胺水解酶的底物专一性

摘要 目的：研究环酰亚胺水解酶（CIH293）C-末端区残基对其底物专一性的影响。方法：通过缺失或替代获得了环酰亚胺水解酶C-末端剔除2个或3个氨基酸残基及C-末端两个Lys替代为两个Glu的突变型酶CIH291、CIH290以及KK292,293EE,用比色法与高效液相色谱法分析了重组野生型酶与突变型酶的底物专一性和动力学参数。结果：突变型酶与野生型酶相比,底物专一性未发生显著改变,最适底物仍为琥珀酰亚胺,然突变型酶对最适底物的亲和力略有降低,导致反应速度减小。结论：环酰亚胺水解酶（CIH293）C-末端区残基的改变对其底物专一性的影响不大,但影响了酶对底物的亲和力。     

Random Mutagenesis Identifies Novel Genes Involved in the Secretion of Antimicrobial, Cell Wall-Lytic Enzymes by Lactococcus lactis

Lactococcus lactis is a gram-positive bacterium that is widely used in the food industry and is therefore desirable as a candidate for the production and secretion of recombinant proteins. Previously, we generated a L. lactis strain that expressed and secreted the antimicrobial cell wall-lytic enzyme lysostaphin. To identify lactococcal gene products that affect the production of lysostaphin, we isolated and characterized mutants generated by random transposon mutagenesis that had altered lysostaphin activity. Out of 35,000 mutants screened, only one with no lysostaphin activity was identified, and it was found to contain an insertion in the lysostaphin expression cassette. Ten mutants with higher lysostaphin activity contained insertions in only four different genes, which encode an uncharacterized putative transmembrane protein (llmg_0609) (three mutants), an enzyme catalyzing the first step in peptidoglycan biosynthesis (murA2) (five mutants), a putative regulator of peptidoglycan modification (trmA) (one mutant), and an uncharacterized enzyme possibly involved in ubiquinone biosynthesis (llmg_2148) (one mutant). These mutants were found to secrete larger amounts of lysostaphin than the control strain (MG1363[lss]), and the greatest increase in secretion was 9.8- to 16.1-fold, for the llmg_0609 mutants. The lysostaphin-oversecreting llmg_0609, murA2, and trmA mutants were also found to secrete larger amounts of another cell wall-lytic enzyme (the Listeria monocytogenes bacteriophage endolysin Ply511) than the control strain, indicating that the phenotype is not limited to lysostaphin.     

Acid Phosphatase Mutants in Chlamydomonas: Isolation and Characterization by Biochemical, Electrophoretic and Genetic Analysis

In order to isolate acid phosphatase mutants in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardi, a staining method for detecting the enzyme activity in colonies has been developed. The occurrence of more than one acid phosphatase brought about some difficulty in the selection of mutants. We have, however, found an original method of selection based on the differential heat sensitivity of the enzymes. After treatment of the wild-type strain with N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine, two types of mutants were recovered, then analyzed by biochemical and electrophoretic methods. In the first class of mutants (P(1), P(2), P(3),...) a heat-stable acid phosphatase bound to cellular debris of the crude extract was missing. The mutant P(a), representing the second class of mutations, was lacking a soluble heat-sensitive enzyme. These mutations were genetically different and exhibited mendelian inheritance.     

The synthesis of beta-galactosidase by constitutive and other regulatory mutants of Escherichia coli in chemostat culture.

The synthesis of beta-galactosidase by an E. coli constitutive mutant was examined in a chemostat using glucose-, glycerol-, succinate- or N-limited growth media. Except for glucose-grown bacteria, the steady-state intracellular level of beta-galactosidase was maximal at dilution rates between 0-2 and 0-3 h-1. At higher dilution rates enzyme synthesis was reduced by catabolite repression, which could be relieved by the addition of cyclic AMP. With a catabolite-resistant mutant (UV5c), no decrease in enzyme level at high dilution rates were observed. All mutants examined were constitutive and gave decreased enzyme levels at low dilution rates, with the exception of lac-/F'lac UV5c mutants where the enzyme levels rose at low dilution rates. Hyper-producing mutants were isolated but were unstable. A constitutive mutant growing on glycerol-limited media was considered the most suitable for large-scale production of beta-galactosidase in a chemostat.     

Physiological Effects of Seven Different Blocks in Glycolysis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants unable to grow and ferment glucose have been isolated. Of 45 clones isolated, 25 had single enzyme defects of one of the following activities: phosphoglucose isomerase (pgi), phosphofructokinase (pfk), triosephosphate isomerase (tpi), phosphoglycerate kinase (pgk), phosphoglyceromutase (pgm), and pyruvate kinase (pyk). Phosphofructokinase activities in crude extracts of the pfk mutant were only 2% of the wild-type level. However, normal growth on glucose medium and normal fermentation of glucose suggested either that the mutant enzyme was considerably more active in vivo or, alternatively, that 2% residual activity was sufficient for normal glycolysis. All other mutants were moderately to strongly inhibited by glucose. Unusually high concentrations of glycolytic metabolites were observed before the reaction catalyzed by the enzyme which was absent in a given mutant strain when incubated on glucose. This confirmed at the cellular level the location of the defect as determined by enzyme assays. With adh (lacks all three alcohol dehydrogenase isozymes) and pgk mutants, accumulation of the typical levels of hexosephosphates was prevented when respiration was blocked with antimycin A. A typical feature of all glycolytic mutants described here was the rapid depletion of the intracellular adenosine 5'-triphosphate pool after transfer to glucose medium. No correlation of low or high levels of fructose-1,6-bisphosphate with the degree of catabolite repression and inactivation could be found. This observation does not support the concept that hexose metabolites are directly involved in these regulatory mechanisms in yeast.     

A Genetic Analysis of the α-Glycerophosphate Oxidase Locus in Drosophila Melanogaster

The gene for alpha-glycerophosphate oxidase, the nuclear encoded mitochondrial enzyme of the alpha-glycerophosphate cycle (alpha GP); has been mapped in Drosophila melanogaster. Several interstitial deficiencies in region 50c-53AB of chromosome 2R were used to localize the structural gene to 52D2-5. In addition, mutations of alpha GPO were generated; alpha GPO mutants are viable yet flightless. Interactions of alpha GPO with alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase (alpha GPDH), the cytoplasmic enzyme of the alpha GP cycle, were investigated through the synthesis of a series of alpha GPDHnull-alpha GPOnull double mutants. Of the six double null mutants constructed, four alpha GPDH-alpha GPO double nulls are viable and flightless. Two double mutants, however, exhibit an allelic-dependent synthetic lethal phenotype.     

Residual activity of human porphobilinogen deaminase with R167Q or R167W mutations: an explanation for survival of homozygous and compound heterozygous acute intermittent porphyrics.

To find an explanation for survival of homozygous or compound heterozygous variants of acute intermittent porphyria, we studied the three mutant forms of porphobilinogen deaminase (PBG-d) described in the four reported patients with homozygous acute intermittent porphyria. Wild-type human PBG-d and the PBG-d R167W, R167Q and R173Q mutants were expressed in Escherichia coli and the recombinant mutant human enzyme were examined for enzyme activity. Specific antibodies against human PBG-d detected the three human PBG-d mutants. All three had less than 2% of wild-type enzyme activity when examined under customary assay conditions (pH 8.0), but the R167W and R167Q mutants were found to have about 25% of normal activity when assayed at pH 7.0. This residual activity at a more physiological pH provides an explanation for survival when these mutations are inherited in a homozygous or compound heterozygous fashion.     

Strain improvement of Penicillium janthinellum NCIM 1171 for increased cellulase production

The strain of Penicillium janthinellum NCIM 1171 was subjected to mutation involving treatment of Ethyl Methyl Sulfonate (EMS) for 24h followed by UV-irradiation for 3min. Successive mutants showed enhanced cellulase production (EMS-UV-8), clearance zone on Avicel containing plate (SM2) and rapid growth on Walseth cellulose agar plates containing 0.2% 2-deoxy-d-glucose (SM3). These mutants were transferred to Walseth cellulose plates containing higher concentration (1.5%) of 2-deoxy-d-glucose (SM4) in which only five mutants showed clearance zone on SM4. All these mutants showed approximately two-fold increase in activity of both FPase and CMCase in shake flask culture when grown on basal medium containing CP-123 (1%) and wheat bran (2.5%). The enzyme preparations from these mutants were used to hydrolyze Avicel. Higher hydrolysis yields of Avicel were obtained with enzyme preparations of EU1. This is the first report on the isolation and selection of mutants based on hydrolysis of Avicel, which is the most crystalline substrate.     

Mutagenesis of Trp(54) and Trp(203) residues on Fibrobacter succinogenes 1,3-1,4-beta-D-glucanase significantly affects catalytic activities of the enzyme

The possible structural and catalytic functions of the nine tryptophan amino acid residues, including Trp(54), Trp(105), Trp(112), Trp(141), Trp(148), Trp(165), Trp(186), Trp(198), and Trp(203) in Fibrobacter succinogenes 1,3-1,4-beta-D-glucanase (Fs beta-glucanase), were characterized using site-directed mutagenesis, initial rate kinetics, fluorescence spectrometry, and structural modeling analysis. Kinetic studies showed that a 5-7-fold increase in K(m) value for lichenan was observed for W141F, W141H, and W203R mutant Fs beta-glucanases, and approximately 72-, 56-, 30-, 29.5-, 4.9-, and 4.3-fold decreases in k(cat) relative to that for the wild-type enzyme were observed for the W54F, W54Y, W141H, W203R, W141F, and W148F mutants, respectively. In contrast, W186F and W203F, unlike the other 12 mutants, exhibited a 1.4- and 4.2-fold increase in k(cat), respectively. W165F and W203R were the only two mutants that exhibited a 4-7-fold higher activity relative to the wild-type enzyme after they were incubated at pH 3.0 for 1 h. Fluorescence spectrometry indicated that all of the mutations on the nine tryptophan amino acid residues retained a folding similar to that of the wild-type enzyme. Structural modeling and kinetic studies suggest that Trp(54), Trp(141), Trp(148), and Trp(203) play important roles in maintaining structural integrity in the substrate-binding cleft and the catalytic efficiency of the enzyme.     

Cold adaptation of xylose isomerase from Thermus thermophilus through random PCR mutagenesis. Gene cloning and protein characterization.

Random PCR mutagenesis was applied to the Thermus thermophilus xylA gene encoding xylose isomerase. Three cold-adapted mutants were isolated with the following amino-acid substitutions: E372G, V379A (M-1021), E372G, F163L (M-1024) and E372G (M-1026). The wild-type and mutated xylA genes were cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli HB101 using the vector pGEM-T Easy, and their physicochemical and catalytic properties were determined. The optimum pH for xylose isomerization activity for the mutants was approximately 7.0, which is similar to the wild-type enzyme. Compared with the wild-type, the mutants were active over a broader pH range. The mutants exhibited up to nine times higher catalytic rate constants (k(cat)) for d-xylose compared with the wild-type enzyme at 60 degrees C, but they did not show any increase in catalytic efficiency (k(cat)/K(m)). For d-glucose, both the k(cat) and the k(cat)/K(m) values for the mutants were increased compared with the wild-type enzyme. Furthermore, the mutant enzymes exhibited up to 255 times higher inhibition constants (K(i)) for xylitol than the wild-type, indicating that they are less inhibited by xylitol. The thermal stability of the mutated enzymes was poorer than that of the wild-type enzyme. The results are discussed in terms of increased molecular flexibility of the mutant enzymes at low temperatures.     

Biochemical Characterization of the ctr Mutants of Escherichia coli

A test procedure based on complementation in mixed extracts is described for the assay of heat-stable protein and enzyme I of the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system. The test was used to assay a collection of pleiotropic carbohydrate mutants of Escherichia coli (ctr mutants) and revertants of these mutants. All mutants were found to lack enzyme I of the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent transferase system. Revertants of these mutants to complete wild phenotype regained enzyme I-forming ability. Reversion to partial wild type was not accompanied by restoration of enzyme I-forming ability.     

Levels of enzymes of the pentose phosphate pathway in Pachysolen tannophilus Y-2460 and selected mutants

The compositions of intracellular pentose phosphate pathway enzymes have been examined in mutants of Pachysolen tannophilus NRRL Y-2460 which possessed enhanced D-xylose fermentation rates. The levels of oxidoreductive enzymes involved in converting D-xylose to D-xylulose via xylitol were 1.5–14.7-fold higher in mutants than in the parent. These enzymes were still under inductive control by D-xylose in the mutants. The D-xylose reductase activity (EC 1.1.1.21) which catalyses the conversion of D-xylose to xylitol was supported with either NADPH or NADH as coenzyme in all the mutant strains. Other enzyme specific activities that generally increased were: xylitol dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.9), 1.2–1.6-fold; glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.49), 1.9–2.6-fold; D-xylulose-5-phosphate phosphoketolase (EC 4.1.2.9), 1.2–2.6-fold; and alcohol dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.1), 1.5–2.7-fold. The increase of enzymatic activities, 5.3–10.3-fold, occurring in D-xylulokinase (EC 2.7.1.17), suggested a pivotal role for this enzyme in utilization of D-xylose by these mutants. The best ethanol-producing mutant showed the highest ratio of NADH- to NADPH-linked D-xylose reductase activity and high levels of all other pentose phosphate pathway enzymes assayed.     

Regulation of Phosphate Metabolism in NEUROSPORA CRASSA : Identification of the Structural Gene for Repressible Alkaline Phosphatase

Five additional mutants of Neurospora crassa have been isolated that lack the repressible alkaline phosphatase. The mutations in these strains map at a previously assigned locus on Linkage Group V designated pho-2 (GLEASON and METZENBERG 1974). The five new mutants, as well as three previously isolated by GLEASON and METZENBERG (1974), were examined for the presence of cross-reacting material to antibody prepared against purified wild-type enzyme. Two of the mutants produced high levels of cross-reacting material, thus providing evidence that the pho-2 locus includes the structural gene for the repressible alkaline phosphatase. Two revertants were obtained from one of the mutants that contained cross-reacting material. Neither revertant produced an enzyme that could be distinguished physicochemically from that of wild type. A method for measuring very low levels of repressible alkaline phosphatase in crude extracts is also described.     

Studies on mutants affecting amidophosphoribosyltransferase activity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Mutants at the ade4 locus of yeast were isolated following mutagenesis of ade+ and ade2 with ultraviolet light (UV), ethylmethane sulphonate, and the acridine half mustard ICR-170. Tests for interallelic complementation, osmotic remediality, temperature sensitivity, and mutagen-specific reversion were carried out on 19 mutants. Six mutants showed interallelic complementation and fell into four groups, defining three complons. Three mutants were osmotic remedial and the same three were temperature sensitive. Three mutants induced by ICR-170 gave purine-excreting revertants, designated Pur6 or ade4.RCF, after exposure to UV. Activity of amidophosphoribosyltransferase (PRPPAT) was assayed in the ade4 mutants and other alleles at this locus. The ade4 mutants lacked activity of the enzyme; the alleles su-pur+, su-pur, PUR6, and Pur6, showed different levels of activity. The enzyme was subject to feedback inhibition by AMP and IMP in su-pur+ and PUR6; su-pur was hypersensitive to inhibition by AMP, whereas Pur6 was slightly resistant. Purine synthesis de novo was shown to be repressible in su-pur+ and constitutive in PUR6 and Pur6 by following the accumulation of aminoimidazole ribotide in the presence and absence of cycloheximide. These observations were confirmed by direct assay of enzyme activity.     

Inhibition of chondroitin and heparan sulfate biosynthesis in Chinese hamster ovary cell mutants defective in galactosyltransferase I

We have isolated five Chinese hamster ovary cell mutants defective in galactosyltransferase I (UDP-D-galactose:xylose beta-1,4-D-galactosyltransferase) and studied the effect of p-nitrophenyl-beta-D-xyloside supplementation on glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis in the mutant cells. Assays of galactosyltransferase I showed that the mutants contained less than 2% of the enzyme activity present in wild-type cells, and enzyme activity was additive in mixtures of mutant and wild-type cell extracts, suggesting that the mutations most likely defined the structural gene encoding the enzyme. Cell hybridization studies showed that the mutations in all five strains were recessive and that the mutants belonged to the same complementation group. The mutants contained wild-type levels of xylosyltransferase (UDP-D-xylose:core protein (serine) beta-D-xylosyltransferase), lactose synthase (UDP-D-galactose:N-acetyl-glucosaminide beta-1,4-D-galactosyltransferase), and lactosylceramide synthase (UDP-D-galactose:glucosylceramide beta-1,4-D-galactosyltransferase). Their sensitivity to lectin-mediated cytotoxicity was virtually identical to that of the wild-type, indicating that there were no gross alterations in glycoprotein or glycolipid compositions. Anion-exchange high performance liquid chromatography of 35S-glycosaminoglycans from one of the galactosyltransferase I-deficient mutants showed a dramatic reduction in both heparan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate, demonstrating that galactosyltransferase I is responsible for the formation of both glycosaminoglycans in intact cells. Surprisingly, the addition of 1 mM-p-nitrophenyl-beta-D-xyloside, a substrate for galactosyltransferase I, restored glycosaminoglycan synthesis in mutant cells. This finding suggested that another galactosyltransferase, possibly lactose synthase, can transfer galactose to xylose in intact cells.     

Role of porins in sensitivity of Escherichia coli to antibacterial activity of the lactoperoxidase enzyme system

Lactoperoxidase is an enzyme that contributes to the antimicrobial defense in secretory fluids and that has attracted interest as a potential biopreservative for foods and other perishable products. Its antimicrobial activity is based on the formation of hypothiocyanate (OSCN-) from thiocyanate (SCN-), using H2O2 as an oxidant. To gain insight into the antibacterial mode of action of the lactoperoxidase enzyme system, we generated random transposon insertion mutations in Escherichia coli MG1655 and screened the resultant mutants for an altered tolerance of bacteriostatic concentrations of this enzyme system. Out of the ca. 5,000 mutants screened, 4 showed significantly increased tolerance, and 2 of these had an insertion, one in the waaQ gene and one in the waaO gene, whose products are involved in the synthesis of the core oligosaccharide moiety of lipopolysaccharides. Besides producing truncated lipopolysaccharides and displaying hypersensitivity to novobiocin and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), these mutants were also shown by urea-SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis to have reduced amounts of porins in their outer membranes. Moreover, they showed a reduced degradation of p-nitrophenyl phosphate and an increased resistance to ampicillin, two indications of a decrease in outer membrane permeability for small hydrophilic solutes. Additionally, ompC and ompF knockout mutants displayed levels of tolerance to the lactoperoxidase system similar to those displayed by the waa mutants. These results suggest that mutations which reduce the porin-mediated outer membrane permeability for small hydrophilic molecules lead to increased tolerance to the lactoperoxidase enzyme system because of a reduced uptake of OSCN-.     

Membrane-associated phospholipase C of Drosophila retina

Phospholipase C activities against phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate and phosphatidylinositol have been examined using head homogenate of Drosophila visual mutants. In many mutants the enzyme activities were found to be reduced. The activities against both phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate and phosphatidylinositol were always affected in parallel among the mutants, while the activities of other enzymes related to phosphatidylinositol metabolism, such as diacylglycerol kinase, were not. The enzyme was concluded to be membrane-associated and was activated maximally at low Ca2+ concentration (10(-7) M), when phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate was used as a substrate, while the activity obtained with phosphatidylinositol increased with the Ca2+ concentration up to 10(-4) M. The effects of pH on these two enzyme activities differed to some extent.