Evaluation of pKD1-based plasmid systems for heterologous protein production in Kluyveromyces lactis

The stability of pKD1-based vectors was evaluated during the synthesis of intracellular and extracellular gene products in the yeast Kluyveromyces lactis. The Escherichia coli lacZ and MFalpha1 leader-BPTI (bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor) cassettes were placed under the control of the inducible K. lactis LAC4 promoter and inserted into the pKD1-based plasmids. To induce gene expression while maintaining inducer level, a gratuitous gal1-209 K. lactis strain was employed. Selective medium containing 5 g glucose/l and 0.5 g galactose (inducer)/l allowed optimum expression and secretion of heterologous products without a significant effect on the growth of the recombinant cells. During long-term sequential batch cultures (60 generations), plasmid instability was mainly the result of structural instability. The expression and secretion of BPTI resulted in greater structural instability relative to the intracellular beta-galactosidase. For both products, vectors carrying the pKD1 replication origin and the cis-acting stability locus (partial-pKD1 vectors) were more stable than vectors carrying the full pKD1 sequence (full-pKD1 vectors). However, after 55 generations, the beta-galactosidase and BPTI activities were still higher with the full-pKD1 vectors. This was due to the significantly higher initial beta-galactosidase and BPTI activities for the full-pKD1 vectors (approximately 85% and 47% higher, respectively) relative to the partial-pKDI vectors. Southern blots confirmed that these increases were due to the higher copy number of the vectors carrying the full pKD1 sequence. In contrast to our previously reported results for the secretion of invertase, full-pKD1 vectors were preferred for the expression/secretion of beta-galactosidase and BPTI for at least 55 generations. Due to their structural stability, partial-pKD1 vectors will be advantageous for very long cultivation times.     

Development of a LAC4 promoter-based gratuitous induction system in Kluyveromyces lactis

A gratuitous induction system based on the strong, indigenous LAC4 promoter was developed for Kluyveromyces lactis. To prevent consumption of the inducer galactose, a strain with a gal1-209 mutation was employed; this mutation disables the galactokinase function but retains the regulatory function for induction. The Escherichia coli lacZ gene (encoding beta-galactosidase) is functional in K. lactis and was used as the reporter gene downstream of the LAC4 promoter on a multicopy plasmid. The gal1-209 strain exhibited several unexpected phenomena, including partial consumption of the inducer galactose (although at a much slower rate relative to GAL1 strains) and growth inhibition at high concentrations of galactose. These unusual characteristics, however, did not prevent the successful construction of a strong gratuitous induction system. Due to the low rate of inducer consumption for the gratuitous strain, very low concentrations of galactose (1:20 galactose:glucose) resulted in high-level induction. Under these conditions, beta-galactosidase specific and volumetric activities were 4.2- and 5.5-fold higher, respectively, than those for the "GAL1" nongratuitous strain. This research demonstrated the improved productivity possible via LAC4 promoter-based gratuitous induction (and thus a more stable inducer concentration). The effects of various carbon source concentrations on growth and induction were also determined.     

Physiological studies of beta-galactosidase induction in Kluyveromyces lactis

We examined the kinetics of beta-galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.23) induction in the yeast Kluyveromyces lactis. Enzyme activity began to increase 10 to 15 min, about 1/10 of a cell generation, after the addition of inducer and continued to increase linearly for from 7 to 9 cell generations before reaching a maximum, some 125- to 150-fold above the basal level of uninduced cells. Thereafter, as long as logarithmic growth was maintained, enzyme levels remained high, but enzyme levels dropped to a value only 5- to 10-fold above the basal level if cells entered stationary phase. Enzyme induction required the constant presence of inducer, since removal of inducer caused a reduction in enzyme level. Three nongratuitous inducers of beta-galactosidase activity, lactose, galactose, and lactobionic acid, were identified. Several inducers of the lac operon of Escherichia coli, including methyl-, isopropyl- and phenyl-1-thio-beta-d-galactoside, and thioallolactose did not induce beta-galactosidase in K. lactis even though they entered the cell. The maximum rate of enzyme induction was only achieved with lactose concentrations of greater than 1 to 2 mM. The initial differential rate of beta-galactosidase appearance after induction was reduced in medium containing glucose, indicating transient carbon catabolite repression. However, glucose did not exclude lactose from K. lactis, it did not cause permanent carbon catabolite repression of beta-galactosidase synthesis, and it did not prevent lactose utilization. These three results are in direct contrast to those observed for lactose utilization in E. coli. Furthermore, these results, along with our observation that K. lactis grew slightly faster on lactose than on glucose, indicate that this organism has evolved an efficient system for utilizing lactose.     

Influence of dilution rate and induction of cloned gene expression in continuous fermentations of recombinant yeast

The effects of growth rate on cloned gene product synthesis in recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been studied in continuous culture. The plasmid employed contains a yeast GAL10-CYC1 hybrid promoter directing expression of the E. coli lacZ gene. beta-Galactosidase production was therefore controlled by the yeast galactose regulatory circuit, and the induction process and its effects were studied at the various dilution rates. At all dilution rates plasmid stability decreased with induction of lacZ gene expression. In some instances, two induced "steady states" were observed, the first 10-15 residence times after induction and the second after 40-50 residence times. The second induced steady state was characterized by greater biomass concentration and lower beta-galactosidase specific activity relative to the first induced "steady-state." beta-Galactosidase specific activity and biomass concentration increased as dilution rate was reduced, and despite lower flow rate and plasmid stability, overall productivity (activity/L/hr) was substantially higher at low dilution rate. Important factors influencing all of the trends were the glucose and galactose (inducer) concentrations in the vessel and inducer metabolism.     

Optimization of fed-batch production of the model recombinant protein GFP in Lactococcus lactis

Optimization of recombinant protein production using lactic acid bacteria (LAB) remains an important obstacle on the road to realizing LAB as oral vaccine delivery vehicles. Despite this, there have been few published investigations to explore the higher limits of LAB recombinant protein expression in fed-batch fermentations. In this study, results from response surface experiments suggested an optimal set of conditions for expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP), a model recombinant protein, in bench-scale, fed-batch Lactococcus lactis IL1403 fermentations. The 48 4-L fed-batch fermentations in this set of experiments, along with preliminary studies, investigated the effects of pH, temperature, hemin concentration, concentration of the nisin inducer per cell, and time of induction. Cell densities in this data set ranged from 2.9 to 7.4 g/L and maximum GFP expression per cell ranged from 0.1 to 4.4 relative fluorescence units (RFU)/g. The optimal 4-L, fed-batch fermentation process found here yields growth and protein expression values that dramatically improve upon results from traditional test tube and flask processes. Relative to the traditional process, the experimental optimum conditions yield 4.9 times the cell density, 1.6 times the protein per cell mass, and 8 times the total protein concentration. Unexpectedly, experiments also revealed that the compound hemin, known previously to improve growth and survival of Lactococcus lactis (L. lactis), negatively impacted recombinant protein production when added in concentrations from 5 to 20 microg/mL with this strain. The improvement in protein expression over traditional processes demonstrated here is an important step toward commercial development of LAB for oral delivery of recombinant vaccines and therapeutic proteins.     

Enhanced beta-galactosidase production by high cell-density culture of recombinant Bacillus subtilis with glucose concentration control

Cell concentration, recombinant protein (beta-galactosidase) level, and the specific enzyme expression level were increased from 19 to 184 g/L, 18.3 to 129 U/mL, and 3.2 to 5.7 U/mg protein, respectively, in fed-batch culture of recombinant Bacillus subtilis when glucose concentration was controlled at 1 g/L as compared with those of conventional fed-batch culture. Glucose concentration of the culture broth was monitored by an automatic on-line glucose analyzer and controlled with a moving identification combined with optimal control (MICOC) strategy. When glucose concentrations were controlled at 10, 1, and 0.2 g/L, accumulated propionic acid concentrations and specific enzyme activities were 18.5, 4.4, and 0.6 g/L and 2.9, 5.7, and 7.1 U/mg protein, respectively. The addition of various concentrations of sodium propionate to the growth medium in batch cultures resulted in a drastic decrease in the growth rate with respect to propionate concentration. The propionic acid was shown to be responsible for cell growth inhibition and enzyme activity reduction in fed-batch culture. (c) 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Stability studies of recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae in the presence of varying selection pressure

A recombinant yeast plasmid carrying the Ieu2 gene for auxotrophic complementation and a reporter gene for beta-galactosidase under the control of Gal10 promoter was studied in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Growth, product formation, and plasmid stability were studied in defined, semi-defined, and complex media. The biomass concentration and specific activity were higher in complex medium than in defined medium, which was selective for the growth of plasmid-containing cells, leading to a 10-fold increase in volumetric activity. However, plasmid instability was very high in complex media with 50% plasmid-free cells emerging in the culture within 75 h of cultivation. In order to control instability, the growth rates of the plasmid-containing and plasmid-free cells were determined in semi-defined media, which consisted of defined medium supplemented with different concentrations of yeast extract. Below a critical concentration of yeast extract (0.05 g/L), the plasmid-containing cells had a growth rate advantage over the plasmid-free cells. This was possibly because, at this concentration of yeast extract, the availability of leucine became the rate-determining factor in the specific growth rate of plasmid-free cells. A feeding strategy was designed which maintained a low concentration of the residual yeast extract in the medium and thus continuously provided the plasmid-containing cells with a competitive advantage over the plasmid-free cells. This resulted in high stability as well as high cell density under non-selective conditions, which led to a 10-fold increase in the volumetric activity compared to that achieved in defined selective media. A simple mathematical model was formulated to verify the experimental data. The important state variables and process parameters, i.e., biomass concentration, beta-galactosidase expression, sucrose consumption, yeast extract consumption, and specific growth rates of the two cell populations, were evaluated. These variables and parameters along with the differential equations based on material balances as well as the experimental results obtained were used in a mathematical model for the fed-batch cultivation. These correctly verified the experimental data and clearly illustrated the concept behind the success of the fed-batch strategy under yeast extract starvation.     

Hydrolysis of lactose by immobilized microorganisms.

Cells of Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Escherichia coli, and Kluyveromyces (Saccharomyces) lactis immobilized in polyacrylamide gel beads retained 27 to 61% of the beta-galactosidase activity of intact cells. Optimum temperature and pH and thermostability of these microbial beta-galactosidases were negligibly affected by the immobilization. Km values of beta-galactosidase in immobilized cells of L. bulgaricus, E. coli, and K. lactis toward lactose were 4.2, 5.4, and 30 mM, respectively. Neither inhibition nor activation of beta-galactosidase in immobilized L. bulgaricus and E. coli appeared in the presence of galactose, but remarkable inhibition by galactose was detected in the case of the enzyme of immobilized K. lactis. Glucose inhibited noncompetitively the activity of three species of immobilized microbial cells. These kinetic properties were almost the same as those of free beta-galactosidase extracted from individual microorganisms. The activity of immobilized K. lactis was fairly stable during repeated runs, but those of E. coli and L. bulgaricus decreased gradually. These immobilized microbial cells, when introduced into skim milk, demonstrated high activity for converting lactose to monosaccharides. The flavor of skim milk was hardly affected by treatment with these immobilized cells, although the degree of sweetness was raised considerably.     

Hydrolysis of lactose by immobilized microorganisms.

Cells of Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Escherichia coli, and Kluyveromyces (Saccharomyces) lactis immobilized in polyacrylamide gel beads retained 27 to 61% of the beta-galactosidase activity of intact cells. Optimum temperature and pH and thermostability of these microbial beta-galactosidases were negligibly affected by the immobilization. Km values of beta-galactosidase in immobilized cells of L. bulgaricus, E. coli, and K. lactis toward lactose were 4.2, 5.4, and 30 mM, respectively. Neither inhibition nor activation of beta-galactosidase in immobilized L. bulgaricus and E. coli appeared in the presence of galactose, but remarkable inhibition by galactose was detected in the case of the enzyme of immobilized K. lactis. Glucose inhibited noncompetitively the activity of three species of immobilized microbial cells. These kinetic properties were almost the same as those of free beta-galactosidase extracted from individual microorganisms. The activity of immobilized K. lactis was fairly stable during repeated runs, but those of E. coli and L. bulgaricus decreased gradually. These immobilized microbial cells, when introduced into skim milk, demonstrated high activity for converting lactose to monosaccharides. The flavor of skim milk was hardly affected by treatment with these immobilized cells, although the degree of sweetness was raised considerably.     

High cell density cultivation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> with surface anchored transglucosidase for use as whole-cell biocatalyst for α-arbutin synthesis

A fed-batch culture strategy for the production of recombinant Escherichia coli cells anchoring surface-displayed transglucosidase for use as a whole-cell biocatalyst for α-arbutin synthesis was developed. Lactose was used as an inducer of the recombinant protein. In fed-batch cultures, dissolved oxygen was used as the feed indicator for glucose, thus accumulation of glucose and acetate that affected the cell growth and recombinant protein production was avoided. Fed-batch fermentation with lactose induction yielded a biomass of 18 g/L, and the cells possessed very high transglucosylation activity. In the synthesis of α-arbutin by hydroquinone glucosylation, the whole-cell biocatalysts showed a specific activity of 501 nkat/g cell and produced 21 g/L of arbutin, which corresponded to 76% molar conversion. A sixfold increased productivity of whole cell biocatalysts was obtained in the fed-batch culture with lactose induction, as compared to batch culture induced by IPTG.     

Constitutive expression in gal7 mutants of Kluyveromyces lactis is due to internal production of galactose as an inducer of the Gal/Lac regulon.

The induction process of the galactose regulon has been intensively studied, but until now the nature of the inducer has remained unknown. We have analyzed a delta gal7 mutant of the yeast Kluyveromyces lactis, which lacks the galactotransferase activity and is able to express the genes of the Gal/Lac regulon also in the absence of galactose. We found that this expression is semiconstitutive and undergoes a strong induction during the stationary phase. The gal1-209 mutant, which has a reduced kinase activity but retains its positive regulatory function, also shows a constitutive expression of beta-galactosidase, suggesting that galactose is the inducer. A gal10 deletion in delta gal7 or gal1-209 mutants reduces the expression to under wild-type levels. The presence of the inducer could be demonstrated in both delta gal7 crude extracts and culture medium by means of a bioassay using the induction in gal1-209 cells. A mutation in the transporter gene LAC12 decreases the level of induction in gal7 cells, indicating that galactose is partly released into the medium and then retransported into the cells. Nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of crude extracts from delta gal7 cells revealed the presence of 50 microM galactose. We conclude that galactose is the inducer of the Gal/Lac regulon and is produced via UDP-galactose through a yet-unknown pathway.     

Optimization of fusion proinsulin production by high cell-density fermentation of recombinantE. coli

The optimum conditions for mass production of fusion proinsulin were studied in recombinantEscherichia coli strain BL21 (DE3) [pT7-PI] using fed-batch culture employing pH-stat method. Yeast extract was found to enhance both the growth rate of recombinantE. coli strain BL21 (DE3) [pT7-PI] and its cell mass yield. When the glucose concentration was 10 g/L in the initial medium, 10 g/L concentration of yeast extract was found to be optimal to control the acetate production and to augment both the cell mass yield and the growth rate. Optimum ratio of glucose to yeast extract to minimize the cost of the feeding medium in the fed-batch culture was calculated to be 1.225 and verified by the subsequent experiments. The appropriate inducer concentration and induction time were examined with isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG). Irrespective of the induction time, IPTG induction resulted in the reduction of growth rate, but the expression level of the fusion protein was maintained at the level of about 20% of the total proteins. Since the volumetric productivity was well maintained in the range between 0.15 and 0.18 g/L.hr at the inducer concentration of above 0.025 mM, the appropriate inducer concentration, in relation to the inducer cost, is considered to be about 0.025 mM.     

Production of antithrombotic hirudin in <Emphasis Type="Italic">GAL1</Emphasis>-disrupted <Emphasis Type="Italic">Saccharomyces cerevisiae</Emphasis>

A gratuitous strain was developed by disrupting the GAL1 gene (galactokinase) of recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae harboring the antithrombotic hirudin gene in the chromosome under the control of the GAL10 promoter. A series of glucose-limited fed-batch cultures were carried out to examine the effects of glucose supply on hirudin expression in the gratuitous strain. Controlled feeding of glucose successfully supported both cell growth and hirudin expression in the gratuitous strain. The optimum fed-batch culture done by feeding glucose at a rate of 0.3 g h^–1 produced a maximum hirudin concentration of 62.1 mg l^–1, which corresponded to a 4.5-fold increase when compared with a simple batch culture done with the same strain.     

A new kinetic model of recombinant beta-galactosidase from Kluyveromyces lactis for both hydrolysis and transgalactosylation reactions

Previous models based on the Michaelis-Menten kinetic equation, that glucose was not used as an acceptor, did not explain our experimental data for lactose conversion by a recombinant beta-galactosidase from Kluyeromyces lactis. In order to create a new kinetic model based on the data, the effects of galactose and glucose on beta-galactosidase activity were investigated. Galactose acted as an inhibitor at low concentrations of galactose and lactose, but did not inhibit the activity of beta-galactosidase at high concentrations of galactose (above 50mM) and lactose (above 100mM). The addition of glucose at concentrations below 50mM resulted in an increased reaction rate. A new model of K. lactis beta-galactosidase for both hydrolysis and transgalactosylation reactions with glucose and lactose as acceptors was proposed. The proposed model was fitted well to the experimental data of the time-course reactions for lactose conversion by K. lactis beta-galactosidase at various concentrations of substrate.     

Expression of hirudin in fed-batch cultures of recombinantSaccharomyces cerevisiae

Summary Fed-batch fermentations were performed to produce hirudin, an anticoagulant protein, from recombinantS. cerevisiae. The structural gene coding for hirudin was combined with theGAL10 promoter for controlled expression and theMFα1 signal sequence for secretion to the growth medium. Control of galactose concentration in a fed-batch mode of operation yielded 110 g/L of final cell density and 260 mg/L of maximum hirudin concentration in the medium, which corresponds to a 3.5-fold increase in cell density and a 4.1-fold enhancement in hirudin concentration compared with the batch fermentation.     

Utilization of UF-permeate for production of beta-galactosidase by lactic acid bacteria

Four lactobacilli strains (Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacilus casei and Lactobacillus reuteri) were grown in MRS broth and three lactococci strains (Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactococcus lactis subsp. Lactis and Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis biovar. diacetilactis) were grown in M17 broth. L. reuteri and S. thermophilus were chosen on the basis of the best mean beta-galactosidase activity of 10.44 and 10.01 U/ml respectively, for further studies on permeate-based medium. The maximum production of beta-galactosidase by L. reuteri was achieved at lactose concentration of 6%, initial pH 5.0-7.5, ammonium phosphate as nitrogen source at a concentration of 0.66 g N/L and incubation temperature at 30 degrees C/24 hrs to give 6.31 U/ml. While in case of S. thermophilus, maximum beta-galactosidase production was achieved at 10% lactose concentration of permeate medium, supplemented with phosphate buffer ratio of 0.5:0.5 (KH2PO4:K2HPO4, g/L), at initial pH 6.0-6.5, ammonium phosphate (0.66g N/L) as nitrogen source and incubation temperature 35 degrees C for 24 hrs to give 7.85 U/ml.     

红曲霉菌液相培养高产色素低产桔霉素的代谢调控研究

从8株固态发酵高产红曲色素菌株中筛选出一株适合于液相培养工艺的高产红曲色素菌株FL1,并对其液相培养过程特性及高产色素低产桔霉素的代谢调控策略进行了研究.发酵过程动力学研究结果表明,红曲色素与桔霉素作为次级代谢产物,其合成与红曲霉菌生长的关系属于非生长偶联型.本文首次采用连续补料的Fed-Batch培养技术,用于红曲霉...     

The level of pyruvate-formate lyase controls the shift from homolactic to mixed-acid product formation in Lactococcus lactis

Regulation of pyruvate-formate lyase (PFL) activity in vivo plays a central role in the shift from homolactic to mixed-acid product formation observed during the growth of Lactococcus lactis on glucose and galactose, respectively. Characterisation of L. lactis MG1363 in anaerobic batch cultures showed that the specific in vivo activity (flux) of PFL was 4-fold higher in L. lactis cells grown with galactose, compared with cells grown with glucose. The change in the PFL flux correlated with the observed variation in the PFL enzyme level, i.e. the PFL enzyme level was 3.4-fold higher in L. lactis cells grown on galactose than in those grown on glucose. To investigate whether a variation in the level of PFL was responsible for the shift in pyruvate metabolism, L. lactis strains with altered expression of pfl were constructed. The pfl gene was expressed under the control of different constitutive promoters in L. lactis MG1363 and in the PFL-deficient strain CRM40. Strains with five different PFL levels were obtained. Variation in the PFL level markedly affected the resulting end-product formation in these strains. During growth on galactose, the flux towards mixed-acid products was to a great extent controlled by the PFL level. This demonstrates that a regulated PFL level plays a predominant role in the regulation of the metabolic shift from homolactic to mixed-acid product formation in L. lactis.     

Production of recombinant hirudin in galactokinase-deficientSaccharomyces cerevisiae by fed-batch fermentation with continuous glucose feeding

The artificial gene coding for anticoagulant hirudin was placed under the control of theGAL10 promoter and expressed in the galactokinase-deficient strain (Δgal1) ofSaccharomyces cereivisiae, which uses galactose only as a gratuitous inducer in order to avoid its consumption. For efficient production of recombinant hirudin, a carbon source other than galactose should be provided in the medium to support growth of the Δgal1 strain. Here we demonstrate the successful use of glucose in the fed-batch fermentation of the Δgal1 strain to achieve efficient production of recombinant hirudin, with a yield of up to 400 mg hirudin/L.