Improved penicillin amidase production using a genetically engineered mutant of Escherichia coli ATCC 11105

Penicillin G amidase (PGA) is a key enzyme for the industrial production of penicillin G derivatives used in therapeutics. Escherichia coli ATCC 11105 is the more commonly used strain for PGA production. To improve enzyme yield, we constructed various recombinant E. coli HB101 and ATCC 11105 strains. For each strain, PGA production was determined for various concentrations of glucose and phenylacetic and (PAA) in the medium. The E. coli strain, G271, was identified as the best performer (800 U NIPAB/L). This strain was obtained as follows: an E. coli ATCC 11105 mutant (E. coli G133) was first selected based on a low negative effect of glucose on PGA production. This mutant was then transformed with a pBR322 derivative containing the PGA gene. Various experiments were made to try to understand the reason for the high productivity of E. coli G271. The host strain, E. coli G133, was found to be mutated in one (or more) gene(s) whose product(s) act(s) in trans on the PGA gene expression. Its growth is not inhibited by high glucose concentration in the medium. Interestingly, whereas glucose still exerts some negative effect on the PGA production by E. coli G133, PGA production by its transformant (E. coli G271) is stimulated by glucose. The reason for this stimulation is discussed. Transformation of E. coli G133 with a pBR322 derivative containing the Hindlll fragment of the PGA gene, showed that the performance of E. coli G271 depends both upon the host strain properties and the plasmid structure. Study of the production by the less efficient E. coli HB101 derivatives brought some light on the mechanism of regulation of the PGA gene. (c) 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Phenylalkylsulfonyl derivatives as covalent inhibitors of penicillin amidase

It was demonstrated that phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride-a very potent inhibitor of penicillin amidase from Escherichia coli-binds covalently to the enzyme in molar ratio 1:1. The chloride, the azide and the N-hydroxysuccinimide ester of phenylmethanesulfonic acid are also very strong inactivators of the amidase. Weaker inhibition was noted with para-substituted phenylmethanesulfonyl chlorides and with phenylethanesulfonyl and alkylsulfonyl chlorides. The inactivated amidase could be reactivated by incubation either with 6-amino-penicillanic acid or with proteins from E. coli extract. Benzyl isocyanate is also a potent covalent inhibitor of the amidase but inactivated amidase could be not reactivated in this way. It was demonstrated that representatives of all inactivator types bind to one active site of the amidase. Interdependence between inactivation rate and stability of some sulfonyl inhibitors was observed. No inhibition was noted the amide, the hydrazide and the methyl ester of phenylmethanesulfonic acid.     

Alteration of the catalytic efficiency of penicillin amidase from Escherichia coli

Ampicillin and cephalexin are beta-lactam antibiotics that are synthesized by the condensation of D-(-)-alpha-aminophenylacetic acid with 6-aminopenicillanic acid or 7-aminodeacetoxycephalosporanic acid, respectively. The rates at which the penicillin amidase of Escherichia coli catalyzes these reactions are too low to be of practical use. The objective of this study was to determine whether it is possible to alter the substrate specificity of penicillin amidase and select enzymes that efficiently hydrolyze substrates with alpha-aminophenylacetyl moieties at low pH, at which the alpha-amino group is nearly completely protonated. In this study, D-(-)-alpha-aminophenylacetyl-(L)-leucine (APAL) was used as a substrate analog of ampicillin and cephalexin. The gene for the penicillin amidase of E. coli ATCC 11105 was cloned and transferred to a leucine auxotroph of E. coli; numerous amidase mutants were selected by their ability to cleave APAL and provide leucine for growth in low-pH medium. The plasmid encoding one of the mutant amidases (pA135) was used to transform naive cells, and transformants that expressed the mutant amidase were shown to grow more rapidly in medium at pH 6.5 containing 0.1 mM APAL as the sole leucine source than did cells with the wild-type amidase. The mutant amidase was purified, and the second-order rate constant (kcat/Km) for APAL hydrolysis at pH 6.5 was found to be 10-fold greater than the rate observed with the wild-type enzyme. The difference between the rates of APAL hydrolysis by the mutant and wild-type amidases increased as the pH of the reactions decreased.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Alteration of the catalytic efficiency of penicillin amidase from Escherichia coli.

Ampicillin and cephalexin are beta-lactam antibiotics that are synthesized by the condensation of D-(-)-alpha-aminophenylacetic acid with 6-aminopenicillanic acid or 7-aminodeacetoxycephalosporanic acid, respectively. The rates at which the penicillin amidase of Escherichia coli catalyzes these reactions are too low to be of practical use. The objective of this study was to determine whether it is possible to alter the substrate specificity of penicillin amidase and select enzymes that efficiently hydrolyze substrates with alpha-aminophenylacetyl moieties at low pH, at which the alpha-amino group is nearly completely protonated. In this study, D-(-)-alpha-aminophenylacetyl-(L)-leucine (APAL) was used as a substrate analog of ampicillin and cephalexin. The gene for the penicillin amidase of E. coli ATCC 11105 was cloned and transferred to a leucine auxotroph of E. coli; numerous amidase mutants were selected by their ability to cleave APAL and provide leucine for growth in low-pH medium. The plasmid encoding one of the mutant amidases (pA135) was used to transform naive cells, and transformants that expressed the mutant amidase were shown to grow more rapidly in medium at pH 6.5 containing 0.1 mM APAL as the sole leucine source than did cells with the wild-type amidase. The mutant amidase was purified, and the second-order rate constant (kcat/Km) for APAL hydrolysis at pH 6.5 was found to be 10-fold greater than the rate observed with the wild-type enzyme. The difference between the rates of APAL hydrolysis by the mutant and wild-type amidases increased as the pH of the reactions decreased.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Construction, characterization, and use of small-insert gene banks of DNA isolated from soil and enrichment cultures for the recovery of novel amidases

To obtain new amidases of biocatalytic relevance, we used microorganisms indigenous to different types of soil and sediment as a source of DNA for the construction of environmental gene banks, following two different strategies. In one case, DNA was isolated from soil without preceding cultivation to preserve a high degree of (phylo)genetic diversity. Alternatively, DNA samples were obtained from enrichment cultures, which is thought to reduce the number of clones required to find a target enzyme. To selectively sustain the growth of organisms exhibiting amidase activity, cultures were supplied with a single amide or a mixture of different aromatic and non-aromatic acetamide and glycine amide derivatives as the only nitrogen source. Metagenomic DNA was cloned into a high-copy plasmid vector and transferred to E. coli, and the resulting gene banks were searched for positives by growth selection. In this way, we isolated a number of recombinant E. coli strains with a stable phenotype, each expressing an amidase with a distinct substrate profile. One of these clones was found to produce a new and highly active penicillin amidase, a promising biocatalyst that may allow higher yields in the enzymatic synthesis of beta-lactam antibiotics.     

Release of periplasmic penicillin amidase from Escherichia coli by chloroform shock

Penicillin amidase is a periplasmic enzyme in Escherichia coli. Conventionally, the periplasmic enzymes are released into the medium by osmotic shock which is tedious involving a number of centrifugation steps. The present communication deals with a simple technique for the release of penicillin amidase by chloroform shock. Experimental findings show that the periplasmic penicillin amidase does not show any variation by the chloroform treatment. This analysis was also extended to the E. coli cells grown at various concentrations of phenylacetic acid, optimal concentration of phenylacetic acid plus glucose and lactic acid.     

Study of E. coli penicillin amidase. The pH-dependence of the enzymatic inactivation kinetics]

The pH-dependence of the inactivation rate constant of penicillin amidase at a temperature of 40 degrees C was studied. It was shown that in all cases the enzyme inactivation corresponded to the kinetics of the reaction of the 1st order. The pH-dependence profile was found to be bell-shaped, the effect of transfer from the highest to the lowest values of the inactivation rate constants increasing more than 100 times. On the basis of the data obtained and published earlier it was concluded that the enzyme inactivation proceeded in accordance with the scheme in which out of 3 equilibrium ionic forms of penicillin amidase, i.e. "acid", "neutral" and "alkaline" the neutral form of the active enzyme was most stable. Kinetic analysis of the scheme was carried out and it was shown that the dependence found was in accordance with the theoretical curve in which the pK values of the ionogenic groups controlling the interconvertions between the penicillin amidase forms were equal to 2.4 and 10.1 at a temperature of 40 degrees C. The value of the inactivation rate constant of the "acid" or "alkaline" form was equal to 5.95 min-1, while the "neutral" form of the enzyme was characterized by the inactivation rate constant equal to 5.1.10(-4) min-1. A mechanism for the enzyme inactivation was proposed. According to this mechanism, destruction of the salt bridge in the native structure of penicillin amidase resulted in production of extremely labile forms of the enzyme as compared to the native form.     

S-stereoselective piperazine-2-tert-butylcarboxamide hydrolase from Pseudomonas azotoformans IAM 1603 is a novel L-amino acid amidase.

An amidase acting on (R,S)-piperazine-2-tert-butylcarboxamide was purified from Pseudomonas azotoformans IAM 1603 and characterized. The enzyme acted S-stereoselectively on (R,S)-piperazine-2-tert-butylcarboxamide to yield (S)-piperazine-2-carboxylic acid. N-terminal and internal amino acid sequences of the enzyme were determined. The gene encoding the S-stereoselective piperazine-2-tert-butylcarboxamide amidase was cloned from the chromosomal DNA of the strain and sequenced. Analysis of 2.1 kb of genomic DNA revealed the presence of two ORFs, one of which (laaA) encodes the amidase. This enzyme, LaaA is composed of 310 amino acid residues (molecular mass 34 514 Da), and the deduced amino acid sequence exhibits significant similarity to hypothetical and functionally characterized proline iminopeptidases from several bacteria. The laaA gene modified in the nucleotide sequence upstream from its start codon was overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The activity of the recombinant LaaA enzyme in cell-free extracts of E. coli was 13.1 units.mg(-1) with l-prolinamide as substrate. This enzyme was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity by ammonium sulfate fractionation and two column chromatography steps. On gel-filtration chromatography, the enzyme appeared to be a monomer with a molecular mass of 32 kDa. It had maximal activity at 45 degrees C and pH 9.0, and was completely inactivated in the presence of phenylhydrazine, Zn2+, Ag+, Cd2+ or Hg2+. LaaA had hydrolyzing activity toward L-amino acid amides such as L-prolinamide, L-proline-p-nitroanilide, L-alaninamide and L-methioninamide, but did not act on the peptide substrates for the proline iminopeptidases despite their sequence similarity to LaaA. The enzyme also acted S-stereoselectively on (R,S)-piperidine-2-carboxamide, (R,S)-piperazine-2-carboxamide and (R,S)-piperazine-2-tert-butylcarboxamide. Based on its specificity towards L-amino acid amides, the enzyme was named L-amino acid amidase. E. coli transformants overexpressing the laaA gene could be used for the S-stereoselective hydrolysis of (R,S)-piperazine-2-tert-butylcarboxamide.     

Transcriptional analysis of the nitrile-degrading operon from Rhodococcus sp. ACV2 and high level production of recombinant amidase with an Escherichia coli– T7 expression system

Northern blotting analysis with RNA probes derived from amidase and nitrile hydratase genes from Rhodococcus sp. ACV2 revealed that both genes are part of the same operon. RNase protection mapping and sequence analysis indicated that the operon is probably under the control of a sigma 70-like promoter located upstream from the amidase gene. Plasmids were constructed with the cloned genes under tac and lac promoter control. Expression of amdA was demonstrated in Escherichia coli. In another construction, the amdA gene was inserted under the control of the bacteriophage T7 promoter. Large amounts of recombinant amidase (at least 20% of total proteins) in a soluble and active form were obtained with the E. coli-T7 expression system by lowering the growth temperature to 29 degrees C, without IPTG induction. The ratio of amidase activity of strain ACV2 to E. coli was approximately 1:3. Purification of the recombinant amidase was carried out in one chromatographic step, giving an enzyme preparation that could be used directly in a biotechnological process.     

Expression, purification and crystallization of penicillin G acylase from Escherichia coli ATCC 11105

The penicillin acylase gene (pac) from Escherichia coli ATCC 11105 was cloned into pUC 9 and the resulting vector (pUPA-9), when transformed into E. coli strain 5K, allowed the constitutive overproduction of mature penicillin acylase when grown at 28 degrees C. The enzyme was purified from the periplasmic fraction of E. coli pUPA-9 by hydrophobic interaction chromatography and anion exchange. Crystals of penicillin acylase were grown in batch using polyethylene glycol 8000 as a precipitant. The crystals (space group P1) diffracted to beyond 2.3 A.     

Studies on improved techniques for immobilizing and stabilizing penicillin amidase associated with E. coli cells.

A method for catalyst development has been suggested for immobilizing whole E. coli cells containing penicillin amidase. Conventional methods have limitations, such as permeation of substrate and product through cellular membranes, leaching of protein and other cellular components into the reaction phase, lower specific activity compared to immobilized enzyme system, etc. The whole cell immobilization technique has been optimized for different process parameters. The most suitable conditions for this process were pH, 4.25; cell concentration, 3.75%; concentration of glutaraldehyde, 1.5%; level of bovine serum albumin as additional support, 2 mg ml-1. The reaction was continued for 2 h. The granular catalyst has good mechanical strength, low protein leachability, and high retention of penicillin amidase activity.     

Selection of amidases with novel substrate specificities from penicillin amidase of Escherichia coli.

To obtain amidases with novel substrate specificity, the cloned gene for penicillin amidase of Escherichia coli ATCC 11105 was mutagenized and mutants were selected for the ability to hydrolyze glutaryl-(L)-leucine and provide leucine to Leu- host cells. Cells with the wild-type enzyme did not grow in minimal medium containing glutaryl-(L)-leucine as a sole source of leucine. The growth rates of Leu- cells that expressed these mutant amidases increased as the glutaryl-(L)-leucine concentration increased or as the medium pH decreased. Growth of the mutant strains was restricted by modulation of medium pH and glutaryl-(L)-leucine concentration, and successive generations of mutants that more efficiently hydrolyzed glutaryl-(L)-leucine were isolated. The kinetics of glutaryl-(L)-leucine hydrolysis by purified amidases from two mutants and the respective parental strains were determined. Glutaryl-(L)-leucine hydrolysis by the purified mutant amidases occurred most rapidly between pH 5 and 6, whereas hydrolysis by wild-type penicillin amidase at this pH was negligible. The second-order rate constants for glutaryl-(L)-leucine hydrolysis by two "second-generation" mutant amidases, 48 and 77 M-1 s-1, were higher than the rates of hydrolysis by the respective parental amidases. The increased rates of glutaryl-(L)-leucine hydrolysis resulted from both increases in the molecular rate constants and decreases in apparent Km values. The results show that it is possible to deliberately modify the substrate specificity of penicillin amidase and successively select mutants with amidases that are progressively more efficient at hydrolyzing glutaryl-(L)-leucine.     

Selection of amidases with novel substrate specificities from penicillin amidase of Escherichia coli

To obtain amidases with novel substrate specificity, the cloned gene for penicillin amidase of Escherichia coli ATCC 11105 was mutagenized and mutants were selected for the ability to hydrolyze glutaryl-(L)-leucine and provide leucine to Leu- host cells. Cells with the wild-type enzyme did not grow in minimal medium containing glutaryl-(L)-leucine as a sole source of leucine. The growth rates of Leu- cells that expressed these mutant amidases increased as the glutaryl-(L)-leucine concentration increased or as the medium pH decreased. Growth of the mutant strains was restricted by modulation of medium pH and glutaryl-(L)-leucine concentration, and successive generations of mutants that more efficiently hydrolyzed glutaryl-(L)-leucine were isolated. The kinetics of glutaryl-(L)-leucine hydrolysis by purified amidases from two mutants and the respective parental strains were determined. Glutaryl-(L)-leucine hydrolysis by the purified mutant amidases occurred most rapidly between pH 5 and 6, whereas hydrolysis by wild-type penicillin amidase at this pH was negligible. The second-order rate constants for glutaryl-(L)-leucine hydrolysis by two "second-generation" mutant amidases, 48 and 77 M-1 s-1, were higher than the rates of hydrolysis by the respective parental amidases. The increased rates of glutaryl-(L)-leucine hydrolysis resulted from both increases in the molecular rate constants and decreases in apparent Km values. The results show that it is possible to deliberately modify the substrate specificity of penicillin amidase and successively select mutants with amidases that are progressively more efficient at hydrolyzing glutaryl-(L)-leucine.     

Cloning and heterologous expression of an enantioselective amidase from Rhodococcus erythropolis strain MP50

The gene for an enantioselective amidase was cloned from Rhodococcus erythropolis MP50, which utilizes various aromatic nitriles via a nitrile hydratase/amidase system as nitrogen sources. The gene encoded a protein of 525 amino acids which corresponded to a protein with a molecular mass of 55.5 kDa. The deduced complete amino acid sequence showed homology to other enantioselective amidases from different bacterial genera. The nucleotide sequence approximately 2.5 kb upstream and downstream of the amidase gene was determined, but no indications for a structural coupling of the amidase gene with the genes for a nitrile hydratase were found. The amidase gene was carried by an approximately 40-kb circular plasmid in R. erythropolis MP50. The amidase was heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli and shown to hydrolyze 2-phenylpropionamide, alpha-chlorophenylacetamide, and alpha-methoxyphenylacetamide with high enantioselectivity; mandeloamide and 2-methyl-3-phenylpropionamide were also converted, but only with reduced enantioselectivity. The recombinant E. coli strain which synthesized the amidase gene was shown to grow with organic amides as nitrogen sources. A comparison of the amidase activities observed with whole cells or cell extracts of the recombinant E. coli strain suggested that the transport of the amides into the cells becomes the rate-limiting step for amide hydrolysis in recombinant E. coli strains.     

Molecular cloning of Bacillus sphaericus penicillin V amidase gene and its expression in Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis

The Bacillus sphaericus gene coding for penicillin V amidase, which catalyzes the hydrolysis of penicillin V to yield 6-aminopenicillanic acid and phenoxyacetic acid, has been isolated by molecular cloning in Escherichia coli. The gene is contained within a 2.2-kilobase HindIII-PstI fragment and is expressed when transferred into E. coli and Bacillus subtilis. The expression in B. subtilis carrying the recombinant plasmid is approximately two times higher than in the original B. sphaericus strain. A comparison of the purified enzyme from B. sphaericus and the expressed gene product in E. coli minicells suggests that the native enzyme consists of four identical subunits, each with a molecular weight of 35,000.     

Molecular cloning of Bacillus sphaericus penicillin V amidase gene and its expression in Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis.

The Bacillus sphaericus gene coding for penicillin V amidase, which catalyzes the hydrolysis of penicillin V to yield 6-aminopenicillanic acid and phenoxyacetic acid, has been isolated by molecular cloning in Escherichia coli. The gene is contained within a 2.2-kilobase HindIII-PstI fragment and is expressed when transferred into E. coli and Bacillus subtilis. The expression in B. subtilis carrying the recombinant plasmid is approximately two times higher than in the original B. sphaericus strain. A comparison of the purified enzyme from B. sphaericus and the expressed gene product in E. coli minicells suggests that the native enzyme consists of four identical subunits, each with a molecular weight of 35,000.     

Molecular cloning and analysis of the gene encoding the thermostable penicillin G acylase from Alcaligenes faecalis.

Alcaligenes faecalis penicillin G acylase is more stable than the Escherichia coli enzyme. The activity of the A. faecalis enzyme was not affected by incubation at 50 degrees C for 20 min, whereas more than 50% of the E. coli enzyme was irreversibly inactivated by the same treatment. To study the molecular basis of this higher stability, the A. faecalis enzyme was isolated and its gene was cloned and sequenced. The gene encodes a polypeptide that is characteristic of periplasmic penicillin G acylase (signal peptide-alpha subunit-spacer-beta subunit). Purification, N-terminal amino acid analysis, and molecular mass determination of the penicillin G acylase showed that the alpha and beta subunits have molecular masses of 23.0 and 62.7 kDa, respectively. The length of the spacer is 37 amino acids. Amino acid sequence alignment demonstrated significant homology with the penicillin G acylase from E. coli A unique feature of the A. faecalis enzyme is the presence of two cysteines that form a disulfide bridge. The stability of the A. faecalis penicillin G acylase, but not that of the E. coli enzyme, which has no cysteines, was decreased by a reductant. Thus, the improved thermostability is attributed to the presence of the disulfide bridge.     

Effect of mode of operation of bioreactors on the biosynthesis of penicillin amidase in Escherichia coli

Different operational mode of bioreactors influence the biosynthesis of the enzyme and related products as well as the growth of industrial microorganisms. This communication deals with the effect of mode of operation of various bioreactors with different geometric configurations, viz., batch (includes commercially available batch stirred tank, and custom-designed cylindrical and tapered reactors), batch-fed, continuous flow stirred tank reactors on the biosynthesis of penicillin amidase in Escherichia coli. Experimental findings show that the biosynthesis of penicillin amidase in E. coli show a little variation among batch reactor modes and significant variation on the continuous mode of operation. Further analysis show that the different reactor modes also influence periplasmic localization of the enzyme in the cell.