Isoleucine uptake in Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032 is directed by the brnQ gene product

By complementation analysis of an isoleucine-uptake-deficient Escherichia coli strain, it was shown that a 1.6-kb HindIII-StuI fragment of Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032, located downstream of the aecD gene, encodes an isoleucine uptake system. Sequence analysis revealed that the complementing fragment carried an open reading frame, termed brnQ, that encodes a protein with sequence similarities to branched-chain amino acid carriers of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. The brnQ gene specifies a predominantly hydrophobic protein of 426 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular mass of 44.9 kDa. A topology prediction by neural network computer analysis suggests the existence of 12 hydrophobic segments that most probably form transmembrane α-helices. A C. glutamicum mutant strain harboring a defined deletion of brnQ in the chromosome showed a considerably lower isoleucine uptake rate of 0.04 nmol min^–1 mg (dry mass)^–1 as compared to the wild-type strain rate of 1.2 nmol min^–1 mg (dry mass)^–1. Overexpression of brnQ by means of a tac promotor resulted in an elevated uptake rate for isoleucine of 11.3 nmol min^–1 mg (dry mass)^–1. Evidently, the brnQ gene encodes the only transport system in C. glutamicum directing isoleucine uptake. Received: 16 October 1997 / Accepted: 27 November 1997     

Engineering Corynebacterium glutamicum for isobutanol production

The production of isobutanol in microorganisms has recently been achieved by harnessing the highly active 2-keto acid pathways. Since these 2-keto acids are precursors of amino acids, we aimed to construct an isobutanol production platform in Corynebacterium glutamicum, a well-known amino-acid-producing microorganism. Analysis of this host’s sensitivity to isobutanol toxicity revealed that C. glutamicum shows an increased tolerance to isobutanol relative to Escherichia coli. Overexpression of alsS of Bacillus subtilis, ilvC and ilvD of C. glutamicum, kivd of Lactococcus lactis, and a native alcohol dehydrogenase, adhA, led to the production of 2.6 g/L isobutanol and 0.4 g/L 3-methyl-1-butanol in 48 h. In addition, other higher chain alcohols such as 1-propanol, 2-methyl-1-butanol, 1-butanol, and 2-phenylethanol were also detected as byproducts. Using longer-term batch cultures, isobutanol titers reached 4.0 g/L after 96 h with wild-type C. glutamicum as a host. Upon the inactivation of several genes to direct more carbon through the isobutanol pathway, we increased production by ∼25% to 4.9 g/L isobutanol in a ∆pyc∆ldh background. These results show promise in engineering C. glutamicum for higher chain alcohol production using the 2-keto acid pathways.     

谷氨酸棒杆菌S9114中amn基因缺失对生理代谢的影响

摘要:【目的】为了研究腺苷单磷酸核苷酶基因(amn)缺失对谷氨酸棒杆菌S9114生理代谢的影响。【方法】本文构建了amn基因缺失菌株△amn,并对谷氨酸发酵性能以及酸耐受性进行了比对分析。【结果】与野生菌株WT相比,amn基因缺失菌株:(1)细胞干重提高了16.2%,谷氨酸产量降低了58.8%;(2)发酵10 h、25 h和40 h,胞内ATP分别提高了3.0、3.7和2.2倍,异柠檬酸裂合酶活性提高17.1%、4.9%和44.5%,异柠檬酸脱氢酶活性降低76.9%、74.6%和5.0%,谷氨酸脱氢酶活性降低42.4%、50.8%和42.4%;(3)pH4.0条件下存活率降低了64.9%,而胞内ROS和蛋白质羰基化水平提高了31.5%和22.5%。【讨论】amn基因的缺失提高了菌株的胞内ATP水平和生物量,但是对谷氨酸发酵和酸性条件的耐受性却产生不利影响。     

Analysing overexpression of l-valine biosynthesis genes in pyruvate-dehydrogenase-deficient Corynebacterium glutamicum

l-Valine biosynthesis was analysed by comparing different plasmids in pyruvate-dehydrogenase-deficient Corynebacterium glutamicum strains in order to achieve an optimal production strain. The plasmids contained different combinations of the genes ilvBNCDE encoding for the l-valine forming pathway. It was shown that overexpression of the ilvBN genes encoding acetolactate synthase is obligatory for efficient pyruvate conversion and to prevent l-alanine as a by-product. In contrast to earlier studies, overexpression of ilvE encoding transaminase B is favourable in pyruvate-dehydrogenase-negative strains. Its amplification enhanced l-valine formation and avoided extra- and intracellular accumulation of ketoisovalerate.     

Large-Scale Engineering of the Corynebacterium glutamicum Genome

The engineering of Corynebacterium glutamicum is important for enhanced production of biochemicals. To construct an improved C. glutamicum genome, we developed a precise genome excision method based on the Cre/loxP recombination system and successfully deleted 11 distinct genomic regions identified by comparative analysis of C. glutamicum genomes. Despite the loss of several predicted open reading frames, the mutant cells exhibited normal growth under standard laboratory conditions. With a total of 250 kb (7.5% of the genome), the 11 genomic regions were loaded with cryptic prophages, transposons, and genes of unknown function which were dispensable for cell growth, indicating recent horizontal acquisitions to the genome. This provides an interesting background for functional genomic studies and can be used in the improvement of cell traits.     

通过基因工程构建谷氨酸生产菌B44的研究

从大肠杆菌E.colik-12中通过PCR克隆出磷酸果糖激酶编码基因(pfkA),将其连到表达载体pCMVTNTTMvector。连接构建成重组质粒Ku-1,导入谷氨酸棒杆菌B4(已经诱变改造),并得到表达。酶活性测定表明Ku-1的pfkA基因在B44中得到表达(磷酸果糖激酶为128.6±0.86U/g蛋白)。解除磷酸果糖激酶对已经改造的谷氨酸的整个代谢途径的限制。同时,B44对糖转化率比B4(由出发菌株B1诱变而来)高10.64%,产酸率比B4高17.1%。     

磷酸烯醇式丙酮酸羧化酶基因的敲除对于谷氨酸棒杆菌V1生理代谢的影响

【目的】L-缬氨酸生物合成的前体物质是丙酮酸。为了增加磷酸烯醇式丙酮酸向丙酮酸的代谢流向,优化L-缬氨酸前体物质的供应,以一株积累L-缬氨酸的谷氨酸棒杆菌V1(Corynebacterium glutamicum V1)为对象,构建磷酸烯醇式丙酮酸羧化酶(PEPC)基因敲除的重组菌株C.glutamicum V1-Δpepc,并研究pepc敲除后菌株生理特性的改变。【方法】运用交叉PCR方法得到pepc基因内部缺失的同源片段Δpepc,并构建敲除质粒pK18mobsacB-Δpepc。利用同源重组技术获得pepc基因缺陷突变株C.glutamicum V1-Δpepc。采用摇瓶发酵对C.glutamicum V1-Δpepc进行发酵特性的研究。对谷氨酸棒杆菌模式菌株C.glutamicum ATCC 13032、出发菌株C.glutamicum V1和敲除菌株C.glu-tamicum V1-Δpepc的丙酮酸激酶(Pyruvate kinase,PK)、丙酮酸脱氢酶(Pyruvate dehydro-genase,PDH)、丙酮酸羧化酶(Pyruvate carboxylase,PC)分别进行测定和分析。【结果】PCR验证以及PEPC酶活测定都表明筛选到pepc缺陷的突变菌株C.glutamicum V1-Δpepc,摇瓶发酵结果表明,突变菌株C.glutamicum V1-Δpepc不再积累L-缬氨酸而是积累L-精氨酸达到7.48 g/L。酶活测定结果表明出发菌株的PDH和PC酶活均低于模式菌株C.glu-tamicum ATCC13032和重组菌株C.glutamicum V1-Δpepc,出发菌株的PK与PEPC酶活与模式菌株没有较大的差异。【结论】研究表明,通过切断PEPC参与的三羧酸循环的回补途径,增加磷酸烯醇式丙酮酸向丙酮酸的流向使丙酮酸向TCA循环的流量增加,精氨酸的累积量提高。同时,以丙酮酸为前体的L-缬氨酸和丙氨酸的积累量降低。     

Engineering of a Xylose Metabolic Pathway in Corynebacterium glutamicum

The aerobic microorganism Corynebacterium glutamicum was metabolically engineered to broaden its substrate utilization range to include the pentose sugar xylose, which is commonly found in agricultural residues and other lignocellulosic biomass. We demonstrated the functionality of the corynebacterial xylB gene encoding xylulokinase and constructed two recombinant C. glutamicum strains capable of utilizing xylose by cloning the Escherichia coli gene xylA encoding xylose isomerase, either alone (strain CRX1) or in combination with the E. coli gene xylB (strain CRX2). These genes were provided on a high-copy-number plasmid and were under the control of the constitutive promoter trc derived from plasmid pTrc99A. Both recombinant strains were able to grow in mineral medium containing xylose as the sole carbon source, but strain CRX2 grew faster on xylose than strain CRX1. We previously reported the use of oxygen deprivation conditions to arrest cell replication in C. glutamicum and divert carbon source utilization towards product production rather than towards vegetative functions (M. Inui, S. Murakami, S. Okino, H. Kawaguchi, A. A. Vertès, and H. Yukawa, J. Mol. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 7:182-196, 2004). Under these conditions, strain CRX2 efficiently consumed xylose and produced predominantly lactic and succinic acids without growth. Moreover, in mineral medium containing a sugar mixture of 5% glucose and 2.5% xylose, oxygen-deprived strain CRX2 cells simultaneously consumed both sugars, demonstrating the absence of diauxic phenomena relative to the new xylA-xylB construct, albeit glucose-mediated regulation still exerted a measurable influence on xylose consumption kinetics.     

Inactivation of the phosphoglucomutase gene pgm in Corynebacterium glutamicum affects cell shape and glycogen metabolism

In Corynebacterium glutamicum formation of glc-1-P (α-glucose-1-phosphate) from glc-6-P (glucose-6-phosphate) by α-Pgm (phosphoglucomutase) is supposed to be crucial for synthesis of glycogen and the cell wall precursors trehalose and rhamnose. Furthermore, Pgm is probably necessary for glycogen degradation and maltose utilization as glucan phosphorylases of both pathways form glc-1-P. We here show that C. glutamicum possesses at least two Pgm isoenzymes, the cg2800 (pgm) encoded enzyme contributing most to total Pgm activity. By inactivation of pgm we created C. glutamicum IMpgm showing only about 12% Pgm activity when compared to the parental strain. We characterized both strains during cultivation with either glucose or maltose as substrate and observed that (i) the glc-1-P content in the WT (wild-type) and the mutant remained constant independent of the carbon source used, (ii) the glycogen levels in the pgm mutant were lower during growth on glucose and higher during growth on maltose, and (iii) the morphology of the mutant was altered with maltose as a substrate. We conclude that C. glutamicum employs glycogen as carbon capacitor to perform glc-1-P homeostasis in the exponential growth phase and is therefore able to counteract limited Pgm activity for both anabolic and catabolic metabolic pathways.     

Metabolic Engineering of Corynebacterium glutamicum for Methanol Metabolism

Methanol is already an important carbon feedstock in the chemical industry, but it has found only limited application in biotechnological production processes. This can be mostly attributed to the inability of most microbial platform organisms to utilize methanol as a carbon and energy source. With the aim to turn methanol into a suitable feedstock for microbial production processes, we engineered the industrially important but nonmethylotrophic bacterium Corynebacterium glutamicum toward the utilization of methanol as an auxiliary carbon source in a sugar-based medium. Initial oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde was achieved by heterologous expression of a methanol dehydrogenase from Bacillus methanolicus, whereas assimilation of formaldehyde was realized by implementing the two key enzymes of the ribulose monophosphate pathway of Bacillus subtilis: 3-hexulose-6-phosphate synthase and 6-phospho-3-hexuloisomerase. The recombinant C. glutamicum strain showed an average methanol consumption rate of 1.7 ± 0.3 mM/h (mean ± standard deviation) in a glucose-methanol medium, and the culture grew to a higher cell density than in medium without methanol. In addition, [¹³C]methanol-labeling experiments revealed labeling fractions of 3 to 10% in the m + 1 mass isotopomers of various intracellular metabolites. In the background of a C. glutamicum Δald ΔadhE mutant being strongly impaired in its ability to oxidize formaldehyde to CO₂, the m + 1 labeling of these intermediates was increased (8 to 25%), pointing toward higher formaldehyde assimilation capabilities of this strain. The engineered C. glutamicum strains represent a promising starting point for the development of sugar-based biotechnological production processes using methanol as an auxiliary substrate.     

Engineering of a xylose metabolic pathway in Corynebacterium glutamicum

The aerobic microorganism Corynebacterium glutamicum was metabolically engineered to broaden its substrate utilization range to include the pentose sugar xylose, which is commonly found in agricultural residues and other lignocellulosic biomass. We demonstrated the functionality of the corynebacterial xylB gene encoding xylulokinase and constructed two recombinant C. glutamicum strains capable of utilizing xylose by cloning the Escherichia coli gene xylA encoding xylose isomerase, either alone (strain CRX1) or in combination with the E. coli gene xylB (strain CRX2). These genes were provided on a high-copy-number plasmid and were under the control of the constitutive promoter trc derived from plasmid pTrc99A. Both recombinant strains were able to grow in mineral medium containing xylose as the sole carbon source, but strain CRX2 grew faster on xylose than strain CRX1. We previously reported the use of oxygen deprivation conditions to arrest cell replication in C. glutamicum and divert carbon source utilization towards product production rather than towards vegetative functions (M. Inui, S. Murakami, S. Okino, H. Kawaguchi, A. A. Vertès, and H. Yukawa, J. Mol. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 7:182-196, 2004). Under these conditions, strain CRX2 efficiently consumed xylose and produced predominantly lactic and succinic acids without growth. Moreover, in mineral medium containing a sugar mixture of 5% glucose and 2.5% xylose, oxygen-deprived strain CRX2 cells simultaneously consumed both sugars, demonstrating the absence of diauxic phenomena relative to the new xylA-xylB construct, albeit glucose-mediated regulation still exerted a measurable influence on xylose consumption kinetics.     

Metabolic Engineering of Corynebacterium glutamicum for Cadaverine Fermentation

Cadaverine, the expected raw material of polyamides, is produced by decarboxylation of L-lysine. If we could produce cadaverine from the cheapest sugar, and as a renewable resource, it would be an effective solution against global warming, but there has been no attempt to produce cadaverine from glucose by fermentation. We focused on Corynebacterium glutamicum, whose L-lysine fermentation ability is superior, and constructed a metabolically engineered C. glutamicum in which the L-homoserine dehydrogenase gene (hom) was replaced by the L-lysine decarboxylase gene (cadA) of Escherichia coli. In this recombinant strain, cadaverine was produced at a concentration of 2.6 g/l, equivalent to up to 9.1% (molecular yield) of the glucose transformed into cadaverine in neutralizing cultivation. This is the first report of cadaverine fermentation by C. glutamicum.     

Effect of pyruvate carboxylase overexpression on the physiology of Corynebacterium glutamicum

Pyruvate carboxylase was recently sequenced in Corynebacterium glutamicum and shown to play an important role of anaplerosis in the central carbon metabolism and amino acid synthesis of these bacteria. In this study we investigate the effect of the overexpression of the gene for pyruvate carboxylase (pyc) on the physiology of C. glutamicum ATCC 21253 and ATCC 21799 grown on defined media with two different carbon sources, glucose and lactate. In general, the physiological effects of pyc overexpression in Corynebacteria depend on the genetic background of the particular strain studied and are determined to a large extent by the interplay between pyruvate carboxylase and aspartate kinase activities. If the pyruvate carboxylase activity is not properly matched by the aspartate kinase activity, pyc overexpression results in growth enhancement instead of greater lysine production, despite its central role in anaplerosis and aspartic acid biosynthesis. Aspartate kinase regulation by lysine and threonine, pyruvate carboxylase inhibition by aspartate (shown in this study using permeabilized cells), as well as well-established activation of pyruvate carboxylase by lactate and acetyl coenzyme A are the key factors in determining the effect of pyc overexpression on Corynebacteria physiology.     

Enhancing the supply of oxaloacetate for l-glutamate production by pyc overexpression in different Corynebacterium glutamicum

During l-glutamate production, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and pyruvate carboxylase (PCx) play important roles in supplying oxaloacetate to the tricarboxylic acid cycle. To explore the significance of PCx for l-glutamate overproduction, the pyc gene encoding PCx was amplified in Corynebacterium glutamicum GDK-9 triggered by biotin limitation and CN1021 triggered by a temperature shock, respectively. In the fed-batch cultures, GDK-9pXMJ19pyc exhibited 7.4 % lower l-alanine excretion and no improved l-glutamate production. In contrast, CN1021pXMJ19pyc finally exhibited 13 % lower l-alanine excretion and identical l-glutamate production, however, 8.5 % higher l-glutamate production was detected during a short period of the fermentation. It was indicated that pyc overexpression in l-glutamate producer strains, especially CN1021, increased the supply of oxaloacetate for l-glutamate synthesis and decreased byproduct excretion at the pyruvate node.     

溶氧量与谷氨酸棒杆菌代谢

正自从1957年Kinoshita等首次描述谷氨酸棒杆菌(Corynebacterium glutamicum)为谷氨酸产生菌[1]以来,其已成为用于氨基酸生产的主要菌株。目前,全世界每年利用谷氨酸棒杆菌生产约100万t L-谷氨酸用于食品调味剂和约45万t L-赖氨酸用作食品添加剂[2]。通过谷氨酸棒状杆菌发酵获得谷氨酸的发酵水平已较高,通过进一步优化工艺来提高产量具有较大困难[3]。