Microcalorimetric studies on the polyhydroxyalkanoates production of recombinant Escherichia Coli

The thermogenic curves of metabolism of two strains of Escherichia coli pUC19cab/XL-IBlue and XL-IBlue have been determined by using a LKB-2277 bioActivity Monitor and ampoule method at 37°C. pUC19cab/XL-IBlue was a recombinant E. coli strain bearing a foreign plasmid pUC19cab which brought the polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) production. XL-IBlue was a host bacterium without any foreign DNA. Our studies reveal that the PHA production of recombinant E. coli has an apparent influence on their thermogenic curves of metabolism and therefore the initial time of PHAs production can be determined from these thermogenic curves. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Cloning and expression of an agarase gene from a marine bacterium Pseudomonas sp. w7

Two different agarase genes (pSW1, pSW3) were cloned from a marine bacterium Pseudomonas sp. W7 into E. coli JM83 using the multicopy plasmid vector pUC19. Two cloned strains of recombinant E. coli which showed the agarase activity were obtained and were named E. coli JM83/pSW1 and E. coli JM83/pSW3. These strains had the insert fragment of 3.7kb and 3.0kb, respectively. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the agarase containing the recombinant plasmid pSW3 was determined and the sequence did not show homology to any other known agarases. The optimum pH and temperature of the agarases from the cloned strains, E. coli JM83/pSW1 and pSW3, were 6.0, 7.0 and 30°C, 40°C, respectively.     

阴道毛滴虫铁氧还蛋白基因的原核表达

目的在原核细胞中表达阴道毛滴虫铁氧还蛋白(ferredoxin,Fd)基因。方法构建阴道毛滴虫Fd基因的原核表达重组质粒pUC19-Fd,转化大肠埃希菌JM109感受态细胞中,异丙基-β-D-硫代半乳糖苷(IPTG)诱导蛋白质表达。结果经十二烷基磺酸钠-聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳(SDS-PAGE)和免疫印迹(Western blot)分析,重组质粒在大肠埃希菌中表达出Fd。结论在大肠埃希菌中表达出了Fd。     

大肠杆菌精氨酰－tRNA合成酶的Lys306为酶活力所必需

将大肠杆菌精氨酰ｔＲＮＡ合成酶（ＡｒｇＲＳ）上Ｌｙｓ３０６用基因点突变的方法分别变为Ａｌａ和Ａｒｇ的密码子;得到变种基因ａｒｇｓ３０６ＫＡ和ａｒｇｓ３０６ＫＲ。变种基因重组在ｐＵＣ１８上,转化到大肠杆菌ＴＧ１中,转化子中ＡｒｇＲＳ及其变种ＡｒｇＲＳ３０６ＫＡ和ＡｒｇＲＳ３０６ＫＲ所表达的蛋白量至少为ＴＧ１表达ＡｒｇＲＳ蛋白量的１００倍。细胞粗抽提液中ＡｒｇＲＳ的比活ＴＧ１、转化子ｐＵＣ１８－ａｒｇｓ、ｐＵＣ１８－ａｒｇｓ３０６ＫＡ和ｐＵＣ１８－ａｒｇｓ３０６ＫＲ分别为１．６５、２１０、１．８和３８单位／毫克。结果表明ＡｒｓＲＳ的Ｌｙｓ３０６为Ａｌａ取代使活力完全丧失;若被Ａｒｇ取代,则活力丧失８０％以上。Ｌｙｓ３０６为ＡｒｇＲＳ活力所必需。     

肺炎支原体P1蛋白羧基端基因片段在大肠杆菌中克隆的研究

在大肠杆菌中克隆肺炎支原体P1蛋白羧基端基因片段,为P1蛋白基因片段的扩增、表达及探讨羧基端基因片段功能打基础.采用PCR扩增方法获取P1结构基因.扩增产物用SalI和EcoRI酶切消化,回收1kb大小的DNA片段并与pUC19DNA连接,转入大肠杆菌JM109菌株.用X-gal平板及质粒图谱分析方法筛选重组克隆株,再用限制性核酸内切酶酶切图谱分析鉴定.经PCR扩增MPDNA获得1条5.0kbDNA片段.重组质粒限制性内切酶指纹图谱显示出2条带,1条为pUC19载体DNA带,另1条是1kb的插入片段.实验获得肺炎支原体P1蛋白结构基因及含P1蛋白羧基端DNA片段的重组克隆株.     

Uracil-DNA glycosylase inhibitor of bacteriophage PBS2: cloning and effects of expression of the inhibitor gene in Escherichia coli.

The uracil-DNA glycosylase inhibitor gene of bacteriophage PBS2 was cloned, and the effects of this inhibitor on Escherichia coli cells that contain uracil-DNA glycosylase activity were determined. A PBS2 genomic library was constructed by inserting EcoRI restriction fragments of PBS2 DNA into a plasmid pUC19 vector. The library was used to transform wild-type (ung+) E. coli, and the presence of the functional inhibitor gene was determined by screening for colonies that supported growth of M13mp19 phage containing uracil-DNA. A clone was identified that carried a 4.1-kilobase EcoRI DNA insert in the vector plasmid. Extracts of cells transformed with this recombinant plasmid lacked detectable uracil-DNA glycosylase activity and contained a protein that inhibited the activity of purified E. coli uracil-DNA glycosylase in vitro. The uracil-DNA glycosylase inhibitor expressed in these E. coli was partially purified and characterized as a heat-stable protein with a native molecular weight of about 18,000. Hence, we conclude that the PBS2 uracil-DNA glycosylase inhibitor gene was cloned and that the gene product has properties similar to those from PBS2-infected Bacillus subtilis cells. Inhibitor gene expression in E. coli resulted in (i) a weak mutator phenotype, (ii) a growth rate similar to that of E. coli containing pUC19 alone, (iii) a sensitivity to the antifolate drug aminopterin similar to that of cells lacking the inhibitor gene, and (iv) an increased resistance to the lethal effects of 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine. These physiological properties are consistent with the phenotypes of other ung mutants.     

Enterohemolysin production is associated with a temperate bacteriophage in Escherichia coli serogroup O26 strains.

A temperate bacteriophage that determines the expression of enterohemolysin was isolated from Escherichia coli O26 strain C3888. The genetic determinant associated with enterohemolysin production (E-Hly determinant) was cloned from EcoRI-digested bacteriophage DNA in vector plasmid pUC8. pUC8 recombinant plasmid pEO19 carries a 3.7-kb EcoRI insert of phage DNA, and enterohemolysin was expressed in E. coli K-12 after transformation. Hemolysin-negative derivatives of pEO19 were generated by transposon mutagenesis with Tn1725. By subcloning, the phage E-Hly determinant was assigned to a 2,150-bp piece of DNA which is flanked by EcoRI and AccI restriction sites. The enterohemolysin-producing recombinant strains and wild-type strain C3888 express a 60-kDa protein which was detected in the bacterial outer membrane by Western immunoblotting. Biologically active enterohemolysin was detected only in bacteria grown to the stationary phase, and the hemolysin was not released into the culture medium. Lysis of erythrocytes was inhibited by 30 mM dextran 4, which functions as an osmotic protectant without destroying the enterohemolysin itself.     

利用两种工程菌共培养生产聚羟基烷酸的研究

方法:主要是将携带生产P(3HB)基因的工程菌E.coliXL1-Blue(pKSABC)和携带4-羟基丁酸辅酶A转移酶和PHA合成酶基因的工程菌E.coliXL1-Blue(pKSSE5.3)共培养,以葡萄糖为唯一碳源来生产含有3HB和4HB的聚合物的研究。结果:培养48h后,结果表明,两种工程菌共培养能够获得韧性更强和强度更大的PHA,PHA的积累量占总生物量的44.4%。     

Coexpression of genetically engineered 3-ketoacyl-ACP synthase III (fabH) and polyhydroxyalkanoate synthase (phaC) genes leads to short-chain-length-medium-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoate copolymer production from glucose in Escherichia coli JM109

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) can be divided into three main types based on the sizes of the monomers incorporated into the polymer. Short-chain-length (SCL) PHAs consist of monomer units of C3 to C5, medium-chain-length (MCL) PHAs consist of monomer units of C6 to C14, and SCL-MCL PHAs consist of monomers ranging in size from C4 to C14. Although previous studies using recombinant Escherichia coli have shown that either SCL or MCL PHA polymers could be produced from glucose, this study presents the first evidence that an SCL-MCL PHA copolymer can be made from glucose in recombinant E. coli. The 3-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase III gene (fabH) from E. coli was modified by saturation point mutagenesis at the codon encoding amino acid 87 of the FabH protein sequence, and the resulting plasmids were cotransformed with either the pAPAC plasmid, which harbors the Aeromonas caviae PHA synthase gene (phaC), or the pPPAC plasmid, which harbors the Pseudomonas sp. strain 61-3 PHA synthase gene (phaC1), and the abilities of these strains to accumulate PHA from glucose were assessed. It was found that overexpression of several of the mutant fabH genes enabled recombinant E. coli to induce the production of monomers of C4 to C10 and subsequently to produce unusual PHA copolymers containing SCL and MCL units. The results indicate that the composition of PHA copolymers may be controlled by the monomer-supplying enzyme and further reinforce the idea that fatty acid biosynthesis may be used to supply monomers for PHA production.     

苦瓜MAP30蛋白的原核表达及其生物活性研究

以天然苦瓜基因组为模板PCR扩增去前导肽后成熟的MAP30蛋白基因,克隆至可诱导表达载体pET28a中。将含MAP30基因的表达载体pET28a-MAP30转化至E. coli Rostta（DE3）中并通过IPTG诱导表达。经聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳（SDS-PAGE）和蛋白杂交（Western blot）以及液相色谱-质谱（LC-MS）对表达的重组MAP30蛋白进行鉴定,并通过镍柱亲和层析纯化。将pUC19质粒与不同浓度的纯化后的重组MAP30蛋白孵育,分析其切割DNA的活性。同时将纯化后的重组MAP30蛋白体外作用于人乳腺癌细胞（MCF-7）,采用MTT、AO/PI双染等方法进行抗肿瘤活性分析。实验结果表明纯化后的蛋白经质谱鉴定和Western blot分析,目的蛋白成功地与His-tag融合表达。首次发现大肠杆菌异源表达的重组MAP30蛋白同天然蛋白一样可以切割超螺旋DNA活性。MTT、AO/PI双染结果证实重组MAP30体外可诱导MCF-7细胞发生凋亡。通过基因工程技术大量制备MAP30蛋白,进一步研究其体外生物学活性,为以后的临床应用奠定基础。     

Cloning and the expression of the hemolysin gene of Leptospira pomona pomona in Escherichia coli

The library of Leptospira pomona genes was obtained on phage vector AL 47.1. From this library a recombinant phage carrying the hemolysin gene was selected. The DNA fragment (7.7 kb) of this phage containing the hemolysin gene was subcloned on plasmid pUC19. E. coli clones with hybrid plasmid pDR7 were shown to be hemolytic, but the secretion of hemolysin by E. coli into the culture medium was not observed.     

Cloning and expression of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus catechol 1,2-dioxygenase structural gene catA in Escherichia coli.

Catechol 1,2-dioxygenase (EC 1.13.1.1), the product of the catA gene, catalyzes the first step in catechol utilization via the beta-ketoadipate pathway. Enzymes mediating subsequent steps in the pathway are encoded by the catBCDE genes which are carried on a 5-kilobase-pair (kbp) EcoRI restriction fragment isolated from Acinetobacter calcoaceticus. This DNA was used as a probe to identify Escherichia coli colonies carrying recombinant pUC19 plasmids with overlapping sequences. Repetition of the procedure yielded an A. calcoaceticus 6.7-kbp EcoRI restriction fragment which contained the catA gene and bordered the original 5-kbp EcoRI restriction fragment. When the catA-containing fragment was placed under the control of the lac promoter on pUC19 and induced with isopropylthiogalactopyranoside, catechol dioxygenase was formed in E. coli at twice the level found in fully induced cultures of A. calcoaceticus. A. calcoaceticus strains with mutations in the catA gene were transformed to wild type by DNA from lysates of E. coli strains carrying the catA gene on recombinant plasmids. Thus, A. calcoaceticus strains with a mutated gene can be used in a transformation assay to identify E. coli clones in which at least part of the wild-type gene is present but not necessarily expressed.     

Strategy to approach stable production of recombinant nattokinase in Bacillus subtilis

Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) is widely accepted as an excellent host cell for the secretory production of recombinant proteins. In this study, a shuttle vector was constructed by fusion of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) plasmid pUB110 with Escherichia coli (E. coli) plasmid pUC18 and used for the expression of nattokinase in B. subtilis. The pUB110/pUC-based plasmid was found to exhibit high structural instability with the identification of a DNA deletion between two repeated regions. An initial attempt was made to eliminate the homologous site in the plasmid, whereas the stability of the resulting plasmid was not improved. In an alternative way, the pUC18-derived region in this hybrid vector was replaced by the suicidal R6K plasmid origin of E. coli. As a consequence, the pUB110/R6K-based plasmid displayed full structural stability, leading to a high-level production of recombinant nattokinase in the culture broth. This was mirrored by the detection of a very low level of high molecular weight DNAs generated by the plasmid. Moreover, 2-fold higher nattokinase production was obtained by B. subtilis strain carrying the pUB110/R6K-based plasmid as compared to the cell with the pAMbeta1-derived vector, a plasmid known to have high structural stability. Overall, it indicates the feasibility of the approach by fusing two compatible plasmid origins for stable and efficient production of recombinant nattokinase in B. subtilis.     

Bacterial polyhydroxyalkanoates

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are polyesters of hydroxyalkanoates (HAs) synthesized by numerous bacteria as intracellular carbon and energy storage compounds and accumulated as granules in the cytoplasm of cells. More than 80 HAs have been detected as constituents of PHAs, which allows these thermoplastic materials to have various mechanical properties resembling hard crystalline polymer or elastic rubber depending on the incorporated monomer units. Even though PHAs have been recognized as good candidates for biodegradable plastics, their high price compared with conventional plastics has limited their use in a wide range of applications. A number of bacteria including Alcaligenes eutrophus, Alcaligenes latus, Azotobacter vinelandii, methylotrophs, pseudomonads, and recombinant Escherichia coli have been employed for the production of PHAs, and the productivity of greater than 2 g PHA/L/h has been achieved. Recent advances in understanding metabolism, molecular biology, and genetics of the PHA-synthesizing bacteria and cloning of more than 20 different PHA biosynthesis genes allowed construction of various recombinant strains that were able to synthesize polyesters having different monomer units and/or to accumulate much more polymers. Also, genetically engineered plants harboring the bacterial PHA biosynthesis genes are being developed for the economical production of PHAs. Improvements in fermentation/separation technology and the development of bacterial strains or plants that more efficiently synthesize PHAs will bring the costs down to make PHAs competitive with the conventional plastics. (c) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Shuttle vectors containing a multiple cloning site and a lacZ alpha gene for conjugal transfer of DNA from Escherichia coli to gram-positive bacteria

The mobilizable shuttle cloning vectors, pAT18 and pAT19, are composed of: (i) the replication origins of pUC and of the broad-host-range enterococcal plasmid pAM beta 1; (ii) an erythromycin-resistance-encoding gene expressed in Gram- and Gram+ bacteria; (iii) the transfer origin of the IncP plasmid RK2; and (iv) the multiple cloning site and the lacZ alpha reporter gene of pUC18 (pAT18) and pUC19 (pAT19). These 6.6-kb plasmids contain ten unique cloning sites that allow screening of derivatives containing DNA inserts by alpha-complementation in Escherichia coli carrying the lacZ delta M15 deletion, and can be efficiently mobilized by self-transferable IncP plasmids co-resident in the E. coli donors. Plasmids pAT18, pAT19 and recombinant derivatives have been successfully transferred by conjugation from E. coli to Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus thuringiensis, Listeria monocytogenes, Enterococcus faecalis, Lactococcus lactis, and Staphylococcus aureus at frequencies ranging from 10(-6) to 10(-9). The presence of a restriction system in the recipient dramatically affects (by three orders of magnitude) the efficiency of conjugal transfer of these vectors from E. coli to Gram+ bacteria.     

Relieving effects of glycine and methionine from acetic acid inhibition in Escherichia coli fermentation

Among amino acids screened for their potential to relieve wild and recombinant Escherichia coli from the negative effects of acetic acid, glycine, and methionine showed a sparing effect. In the presence of 2 g/L of acetic acid, addition of 0.5 g/L of glycine or methionine resulted in either a complete recovery or a further enhancement in the specific growth rate, while the enhancement was significant but not fully complete in the presence of 4 g/L of acetic acid. The addition of 0.5 g/L of methionine alleviated the negative effect of acetic acid on recombinant E. Coli growth to produce more beta-lactamase, which was encoded by plasmid pUC18. In continuous fermentation the methionine effect on recombinant. E. coli metabolism depended on dilution rate; at high dilution rates, above 0.4 h(-1), the methionine addition enhanced beta-lactamase production and reduced acetic acid formation, while at low dilution rates, below 0.3 h (-1), the effect was reversed. In def-batch fermentation with wild-type E. Coli, cell growth rate and cell yield from glucose were enhanced with methionine addition, while the acetic acid concentration reached over 4 g/L. (c) 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Predictive tool for recombinant protein production in Escherichia coli shake-flask cultures using an on-line monitoring system

As Escherichia coli (E. coli) is well defined with respect to its genome and metabolism, it is a favored host organism for recombinant protein production. However, many processes for recombinant protein production run under suboptimal conditions caused by wrong or incomplete information from an improper screening procedure, because appropriate on-line monitoring systems are still lacking. In this study, the oxygen transfer rate (OTR), determined on-line in shake flasks by applying a respiration activity monitoring system (RAMOS) device, was used to characterize the metabolic state of the recombinant organisms. Sixteen clones of E. coli SCS1 with foreign gene sequences, encoding for different target proteins, were cultivated in an autoinduction medium, containing glucose, lactose, and glycerol, to identify relationships between respiration activity and target protein production. All 16 clones showed a remarkably different respiration activity, biomass, and protein formation under induced conditions. However, the clones could be classified into three distinct types, and correlations could be made between OTR patterns and target protein production. For two of the three types, a decrease of the target protein was observed, after the optimal harvest time had passed. The acquired knowledge was used to modify the autoinduction medium to increase the product yield. Additional 1.5 g/L glucose accelerated the production process for one clone, shifting the time point of the maximal product yield from 24 to 17 h. For another clone, lactose addition led to higher volumetric product yields, in fact 25 and 38% more recombinant protein for 2 and 6 g/L additional lactose, respectively.     

Variation of oxygen requirement with plasmid size in recombinant Escherichia coli

We have previously found an inverse relationship between certain cell growth parameters and plasmid size for a series of recombinant Escherichia coli strains containing pUC8 or one of a series of pUC8 recombinant derivatives. To extend these results we investigated whether there was a similar variation among our strains in oxygen requirement, which might be related to the differences in growth. During logarithmic growth in shake flasks, oxygen uptake by E. coli strain JM103 containing an 8.7-kb pUC8 derivative (pBS5) was 2.5 times that of JM103 harboring pUC8 (2.7 kb) and 7.5 times that of plasmid-free JM103. Supplementing the medium with acetate eliminated both the growth disadvantage of and the increased oxygen uptake by the strain harboring pBS5 compared with that containing pUC8. In all cases oxygen consumption decreased drastically as cells began and then continued into stationary phase, and no significant difference was seen among the three strains at these times. When the three strains were grown in a fermentor with continuous monitoring of oxygen levels, plasmid-free JM103 outgrew JM103 containing pUC8 or pBS5 at three levels of aeration. The latter two strains grew identically when aeration was high; their growth curves diverged, however, when aeration was low. In the fermentor experiments the point at which the growth of the three strains diverged was coincident with the point of oxygen depletion in the cultures.     

Characterization of the sat 4 gene encoding a streptothricin acetyltransferase in Campylobacter coli BE/G4

Abstract The sat 4 streptothricin resistance gene from Campylobacter coli BE/G4 was cloned into pUC18, and its nucleotide sequence was determined. Streptothricin acetyltransferase activity was detected in Escherichia coli cells containing recombinant plasmid pAT132 which carries the sat4 gene as an insert. The deduced amino acid sequence displayed 21–27% amino acid identity with streptothricin acetyltransferases from E. coli and streptothricin producers Streptomyces lavendulae and Streptomyces noursei . The sat 4 gene was detected by hybridization in clinical and environmental isolates of Campylobacter spp.