Characterisation of 2,5-diketo-D-gluconic acid reductase from Corynebacterium sp.

Summary 2,5-diketo-D-gluconic acid reductase, that converts 2,5-diketo-D-gluconic acid into 2-keto-L-gulonic acid (the direct precursor of vitamin C) was extracted and purified from Corynebacterium sp.. The enzyme was characterised in terms of kinetic parameters, molecular weight and isoelectric point. Enzyme stability at different operating temperatures was investigated, as well.     

用原生质体融合技术选育2—酮基—L—古龙酸高产菌株的研究

对革兰氏阳性的地衣芽孢杆菌（Ｂａｃｉｌｌｕｓｌｉｃｈｅｎｉｆｏｒｍｉｓ）Ｈ１９和革兰氏阴性的２－酮基－Ｌ－古龙酸产生菌Ｓ１９的原生质体的制备条件进行了研究,并采用聚乙二醇作诱导剂进行了两菌株的原生质体融合,用链霉素作为抗性标记对融合子进行了选择。从１７株产生２－酮基－Ｌ－古龙酸的融合子中选出了一株连续传代八次产酸高且产量稳定的融合子１５号。融合子１５号具有两个亲本菌株所具有的一些特性。     

新组合菌系SCB329-SCB933利用L-山梨糖发酵产生维生素C前体——2-酮基-L-古龙酸的研究 Ⅰ.新组合菌系SCB329-SCB933的生物学特性

采用紫外照射、化学诱变和原生质融合等方法选育到一株性状更优良的突变株SCB329,并与新筛选的一株芽孢杆菌SCB933搭配组成新的组合菌系。产酸小菌SCB329与其亲本菌株氧化葡萄糖酸杆菌性状相似。伴生大菌SCB933属苏芸金芽孢杆菌（B.thuringiensis）。新组合菌系利用L-山梨糖的发酵液提取后经纸层析,元素分析和红外吸收光谱等项鉴定,其发酵产物确系2-酮基-L-古龙酸,对新组合菌系的生物学特性也进行了研究。     

A fast spheroplast formation procedure in some 2,5-diketo-D-gluconate- and 2-keto-L-gulonate- producing bacteria

Calcium 2-keto-L-gulonate (Ca-2-KLG, a key intermediate in vitamin C synthesis) is produced from calcium 2,5-diketo D-gluconate (Ca-2,5-DKG) by a variety of bacteria. A few bacterial species which efficiently convert glucose to Ca-2,5-DKG have been isolated in our laboratory. Our bacterial collection included species that possess the genes for production of Ca-2-KLG from Ca-2,5-DKG; however, the yield of the former is poor. A procedure for the preparation of spheroplasts in Ca-2,5-DKG- and Ca-2-KLG-producing bacteria was developed for the construction of recombinants (fusants), combining the genes for conversion of glucose to Ca-2-KLG efficiently by protoplast fusion. The standard procedure for spheroplast formation in Gram negative bacteria by the Tris-sucrose-EDTA-lysozyme system did not work in the organisms under investigation. The need for an alternative method was necessary. Our results show that, while the Tris-NaCl-EDTA-lysozyme system (pH 8.3) worked very well with bacterial strains of Gluconobacter oxydans (ATCC9937) and Acetobacter melanogenus (NCIM2259), the Tris-sucrose-EDTA-lysozyme system worked well for Erwinia herbicola (ATCC21998), Pseudomonas chlororaphis (NCIM2041) and Corynebacterium species (ATCC31090). However, none of these systems produced spheroplasts in Brevibacterium ketosoreductum (ATCC21914), for which a separate system is under development.     

New mechanisms for the biosynthesis and metabolism of 2-keto-L-gulonic acid in bacteria.

L-Sorbose is oxidized to 2-keto-L-gulonic acid (KGA) via the following sequence of reactions which we call the "sorbosone pathway": L-sorbose in equilibrium L-sorbosone leads to KGA. The first step is reversible and is mediated by enzymes found in a soluble fraction obtained from Pseudomonas putida ATCC 21812. Although no cofactor requirements were found for the forward reaction, the reverse reaction clearly required NADH. Enzymes for this NADH-dependent synthesis of L-sorbose could be differentiated on the basis of molecular weights. The second step in the sorbosone pathway is catalyzed by a particulate enzyme found in extracts from P. putida and Gluconobacter melanogenus IFO 3293. The rate limiting reaction in the sorbosone pathway is the synthesis of L-sorbosone. In addition to P. putida, Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC 27858) and Serratia marcescens (ATCC 27857) also contain the enzymes which catalyze the reactions of the sorbosone pathway. Two of the bacteria studied, P. putida and G. melanogenus, also contain an enzyme involved in the further metabolism of KGA to L-idonic acid. This enzyme, referred to as KGA-reductase, is found in the soluble fraction of cell-free extracts and is dependent on NADH or NADPH.     

Verification of a novel NADH-binding motif: combinatorial mutagenesis of three amino acids in the cofactor-binding pocket of Corynebacterium 2,5-diketo-D-gluconic acid reductase

A screening method has been developed to support randomized mutagenesis of amino acids in the cofactor-binding pocket of the NADPH-dependent 2,5-diketo-D-gluconic acid (2,5-DKG) reductase. Such an approach could enable the isolation of an enzyme that can better catalyze the reduction of 2,5-DKG to 2-keto-L-gulonic acid (2-KLG) using NADH as a cofactor. 2-KLG is a valuable precursor to ascorbic acid, or vitamin C, and an enzyme with increased activity with NADH may be able to improve two potential vitamin C production processes. Previously we have identified three amino acid residues that can be mutated to improve activity with NADH as a cofactor. As a pilot study to show feasibility, a library was made with these three amino acids randomized, and 300 random colonies were screened for increased NADH activity. The activities of seven mutants with apparent improvements were verified using activity-stained native gels, and sequencing showed that the amino acids obtained were similar to some of those already discovered using rational design. The four most active mutants were purified and kinetically characterized. All of the new mutations resulted in apparent kcat values that were equal to or higher than that of the best mutant obtained through rational design. At saturating levels of cofactor, the best mutant obtained was almost twice as active with NADH as a cofactor as the wild-type enzyme is with NADPH. This screen is a valuable tool for improving 2,5-DKG reductase, and it could easily be modified for improving other aspects of this protein or similar enzymes.     

2—酮基—L—古龙酸高产融合子15的形态学及生理生化特征的研究

由地衣芽孢杆菌（Ｂａｃｉｌｌｕｓｌｉｃｈｅｎｉｆｏｒｍｉｓ）Ｈ１９和２—酮基—Ｌ—古龙酸产生菌Ｓ１９的原生质体融合,得到了既能独立生长传代,又能产生２—酮基—Ｌ—古龙酸的１５号融合子。其菌落和菌体形态类似于Ｈ１９亲本,其生理生化特性也大多酷似Ｈ１９亲本而不同于Ｓ１９亲本。但其产生２—酮基—Ｌ—古龙酸的特性、乙醇氧化反应、石蕊牛奶产酸以及精氨酸双水解酶阴性等特点又酷似Ｓ１９亲本而不同于Ｈ１９亲本。其氧化酶反应、初始生长ｐＨ范围、苯丙氨酸和色氨酸脱氨酶反应则不同于双亲本。其菌体的氨基酸组份及含量也与双亲有一定差异。     

Alteration of the specificity of the cofactor-binding pocket of Corynebacterium 2,5-diketo-D-gluconic acid reductase A

The NADPH-dependent 2,5-diketo-D-gluconic acid (2,5-DKG) reductase enzyme is a required component in some novel biosynthetic vitamin C production processes. This enzyme catalyzes the conversion of 2,5-DKG to 2-keto-L-gulonic acid, which is an immediate precursor to L-ascorbic acid. Forty unique site-directed mutations were made at five residues in the cofactor-binding pocket of 2,5-DKG reductase A in an attempt to improve its ability to use NADH as a cofactor. NADH is more stable, less expensive and more prevalent in the cell than is NADPH. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first focused attempt to alter the cofactor specificity of a member of the aldo-keto reductase superfamily by engineering improved activity with NADH into the enzyme. Activity of the mutants with NADH or NADPH was assayed using activity-stained native polyacrylamide gels. Eight of the mutants at three different sites were identified as having improved activity with NADH. These mutants were purified and subjected to a kinetic characterization with NADH as a cofactor. The best mutant obtained, R238H, produced an almost 7-fold improvement in catalysis with NADH compared with the wild-type enzyme. Surprisingly, most of this catalytic improvement appeared to be due to an improvement in the apparent kcat for the reaction rather than a large improvement in the affinity of the enzyme for NADH.     

添加剂在2—酮基—L—古龙酸发酵中的应用

研究了几种添加剂对2-酮基-L-古龙酸发酵的影响。发现两种可提高2-酮基-L-古龙酸的转化,确定了添加的最佳时间及浓度。     

DNA from uncultured organisms as a source of 2,5-diketo-D-gluconic acid reductases

Total DNA of a population of uncultured organisms was extracted from soil samples, and by using PCR methods, the genes encoding two different 2,5-diketo-D-gluconic acid reductases (DKGRs) were recovered. Degenerate PCR primers based on published sequence information gave internal gene fragments homologous to known DKGRs. Nested primers specific for the internal fragments were combined with random primers to amplify flanking gene fragments from the environmental DNA, and two hypothetical full-length genes were predicted from the combined sequences. Based on these predictions, specific primers were used to amplify the two complete genes in single PCRs. These genes were cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The purified gene products catalyzed the reduction of 2,5-diketo-D-gluconic acid to 2-keto-L-gulonic acid. Compared to previously described DKGRs isolated from Corynebacterium spp., these environmental reductases possessed some valuable properties. Both exhibited greater than 20-fold-higher kcat/Km values than those previously determined, primarily as a result of better binding of substrate. The Km values for the two new reductases were 57 and 67 microM, versus 2 and 13 mM for the Corynebacterium enzymes. Both environmental DKGRs accepted NADH as well as NADPH as a cosubstrate; other DKGRs and most related aldo-keto reductases use only NADPH. In addition, one of the new reductases was more thermostable than known DKGRs.     

Fermentation of glucose by Acetobacter melanogenus.

Growing cultures of Acetobacter melanogenus ATCC 9937 concerted D-glucose to 2,5-diketo-D-gluconic acid with D-gluconic acid and 5-keto-D-gluconic acid as intermediates. The 2,5-diketo-D-gluconic acid was isolated from the fermented medium by treatment with an anion exchange resin.     

Pathways for metabolism of ketoaldonic acids in an Erwinia sp.

The pathways involved in the metabolism of ketoaldonic acids by Erwinia sp. strain ATCC 39140 have been investigated by use of a combination of enzyme assays and isolation of bacterial mutants. The catabolism of 2,5-diketo-D-gluconate (2,5-DKG) to gluconate can proceed by two separate NAD(P)H-dependent pathways. The first pathway involves the direct reduction of 2,5-DKG to 5-keto-D-gluconate, which is then reduced to gluconate. The second pathway involves the consecutive reduction of 2,5-DKG to 2-keto-L-gulonate and L-idonic acid, which is then oxidized to 5-keto-D-gluconate, which is then reduced to gluconate. Gluconate, which can also be produced by the NAD(P)H-dependent reduction of 2-keto-D-gluconate, is phosphorylated to 6-phosphogluconate and further metabolized through the pentose phosphate pathway. No evidence was found for the existence of the Entner-Doudoroff pathway in this strain.     

以掷孢酵母作为伴生菌产生VC前体KGA的研究

以掷孢酵母作为伴生菌与氧化葡萄糖酸杆菌组成新混菌体系,通过测定生长代谢曲线,对其产酸性能和特点进行了研究。结果表明：相同条件下,新菌系产酸能力高于现有菌系,酸量增加5-7mg/ml,发酵周期缩短6-8h,酸转化率提高3-4%,最高产酸点pH值下降约0.5个单位,表现出较大的产酸潜力和可修饰性。     

新组合菌系SCB329-SCB933利用L-山梨糖发酵生产维生素C前体——2-酮基-L-古龙酸的研究 Ⅱ.利用L-山梨糖批加技术实现高糖发酵

新组合菌系氧化葡萄糖酸杆菌SCB329-苏芸金芽孢杆菌SCB933能在较长时间内保持高的转化活力且具有极强的抗杂菌污染的特性。在一次投糖分批发酵的基础上,探索在控制溶氧、pH、温度等条件下,分批加入L-山梨糖发酵生产2-酮基-L-古龙酸新工艺。采用新工艺,既充分利用了菌系的优良特性,又避免了高糖浓度可能对菌系造成的不良影响。L-山梨糖最终浓度达到14%（w/v）,产酸120—135g/l,转化率90％左右,发酵周期40—65h。     

Screening for L-sorbose and L-sorbosone dehydrogenase producing microbes for 2-keto-L-gulonic acid production

Acetic acid bacteria incompletely oxidize L-sorbose to 2-keto-L-gulonic acid (2KLG) by L-sorbose- and L-sorbosone dehydrogenases. In order to isolate novel microorganisms with these enzyme activities, a new screening method has been studied with a presumption that microorganisms reuse their metabolic products when principal carbon sources are exhausted. When various keto-aldonic acid-producing microorganisms were tested for the ability to grow in minimal media containing such products as 2,5-diketo-gluconic acid, 2-keto-D-gluconic acid, 5-keto-D-gluconic acid or 2-keto-L-gulonic acid, they grew with these keto-aldonic acids as the sole carbon source. By enriching the isolates collected from screening samples for their growth in minimal medium containing 2KLG as the sole carbon source, as much as 50% of selected strains showed L-sorbose- and L-sorbosone dehydrogenase activities. In spite of the presence of these enzymes, no significant amount of 2KLG was detected in the culture broth, possibly due to 2KLG reductase activity, indicating that the direct screening for 2KLG producer microorganisms would be less successful. These results suggest that the screening strategy using 2KLG as a carbon source is a useful method for the selective screening of microorganisms with L-sorbose- and L-sorbosone dehydrogenases, and that a similar strategy may be applied to other cases. Received 14 December 1998/ Accepted in revised form 07 May 1999     

D-葡萄糖串联发酵产生维生素C前体—2-酮基-L-古龙酸——Ⅱ.菌株SCB3058产生2-酮基-L-古龙酸发酵条件的研究

维生素C(Vitamin C,简称Vc),又称L-抗坏血酸(L-Ascorbic acid)是人体必需的维生素,生理作用广泛,在医药和食品工业上均有重要地位。目前国内厂家多以我国发明的“二步发酵法”进行生产,即以D-山梨醇为原料生产2-酮基-L-古龙酸(以下简称2-KLG),然后制备维生素C。而近年来引起国内外普遍关注的是从D-葡萄糖串联发酵生产2-KLG的新工艺,以及采用基因工程技术,构建直接由D-葡萄糖转化生成2-KLG的基因工程菌的研究(图1)。1987年以来我国学者尹光琳等人采用了欧文氏菌(Erwinia sp.)和棒状杆菌(Corynebacterium sp.)进行串联发酵产生维生素C前体——2-酮基-L-古龙酸,并开展了一系列的研究。     

Heterologous expression and localization of gentisate transporter Ncg12922 from Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032

Ralstonia sp. strain U2 metabolizes naphthalene via gentisate (2,5-dihydroxybenzoate) to central metabolites, but it was found unable to utilize gentisate as growth substrate. A putative gentisate transporter encoded by ncg12922 from Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032 was functionally expressed in Ralstonia sp. strain U2, converting strain U2 to a gentisate utilizer. After ncg12922 was inserted into plasmid pGFPe with green fluorescence protein gene gfp, the expressed fusion protein Ncg12922-GFP could be visualized in the periphery of Escherichia coli cells under confocal microscope, consistent with a cytoplasmic membrane location. In contrast, GFP was ubiquitous in the cytoplasm of E. coli cells carrying pGFPe only. Gentisate 1,2-dioxygenase activity was present in the cell extract from strain U2 induced with gentisate but at a much lower level (one-fifth) than that obtained with salicylate. However, it exhibited a similar level in strain U2 containing Ncg12922 induced either by salicylate or gentisate.     

产气肠杆菌fhlA基因克隆、表达及重组菌株产氢量

【目的】本研究以产氢细菌产气肠杆菌Enterobacter aerogenes ATCC13408为研究对象,克隆甲酸-氢裂解酶(formate hydrogen lyase,FHL)系统的转录激活蛋白FHL activator(fhlA)基因,构建过表达重组菌株,以提高菌株产氢效率。【方法】利用简并引物和Genome walking技术,克隆fhlA的全长基因,将该基因连接到改造质粒pGEX-4T-2-Cat中,电击转化得到重组菌株,用厌氧发酵方法测定重组细菌的产氢量。【结果】E.aerogenes ATCC13408fhlA ORF全长2073bp,编码一个含690个氨基酸残基的蛋白(GenBank accessionGU188474)。SDS-PAGE和Western blot分析证明fhlA基因在重组菌中得到了融合表达。对重组后菌株的产氢量进行了测定,结果表明:底物产氢潜力由原来的1.23±0.08mol H2/mol葡萄糖提高到了1.48±0.04mol H2/mol葡萄糖,提高了20.36%。【结论】本研究首次克隆了E.aerogenes ATCC13408的fhlA基因,并将该基因在原菌中过量表达。重组后菌株的产氢量得到显著提高,为进一步研究和开发利用E.aerogenes ATCC13408的fhlA基因提供了基础。     

Vc生产菌“神舟七号”搭载育种

选取3株性状不同的Vc二步发酵生产菌搭载于"神舟七号"飞船进行空间诱变,返回地面后,经富集培养和分离,获得近12000株诱变菌株。采用试管微量培养并监测pH值法作3次初筛,获300余株优良株,再经摇瓶发酵定酸、糖法作3次复筛,选出12株优良菌株。新菌株摇瓶发酵转化率提高了5%～7%。研究了新菌株生产的最适发酵条件,调整了部分工艺过程,应用于大生产,转化率提高4%～5%。     

L－山梨糖发酵生产2－酮基－L－古龙酸的最佳组合新菌系的生物特性的研究

从２２个不同组合的发酵Ｌ山梨糖生成２－酮基－古龙酸的组合菌系中选出了最佳组合新菌系Ｈ１９Ｓ１９。对该菌系的形态学及生理生化特性的研究表明,其中Ｈ１９为地衣芽枪杆菌（ＢａｃｉｌｌｓＬｉｃｈｅｎｉｆｏｒｍｉｓ）,是Ｓ１９的伴生菌;Ｓ１９是产生２－酮基－古龙酸的菌株,具有许多特点,其分类位置暂无法确定。