Comparative study on a series of recombinant flocculent Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains with different expression levels of xylose reductase and xylulokinase

Ethanol production from xylose is important for the utilization of lignocellulosic biomass as raw materials. Recently, we reported the development of an industrial xylose-fermenting Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain, MA-R4, which was engineered by chromosomal integration to express the genes encoding xylose reductase and xylitol dehydrogenase from Pichia stipitis along with S. cerevisiae xylulokinase gene constitutively using the alcohol-fermenting flocculent yeast strain, IR-2. IR-2 has the highest xylulose-fermenting ability of the industrial diploid strains, making it a useful host strain for genetically engineering xylose-utilizing S. cerevisiae. To optimize the activities of xylose metabolizing enzymes in the metabolic engineering of IR-2 for further improvement of ethanol production from xylose, we constructed a set of recombinant isogenic strains harboring different combinations of genetic modifications present in MA-R4, and investigated the effect of constitutive expression of xylulokinase and of different levels of xylulokinase and xylose reductase activity on xylose fermentation. This strain comparison showed that constitutive expression of xylulokinase increased ethanol production from xylose at the expense of xylitol excretion, and that high activity of xylose reductase resulted in an increased rate of xylose consumption and an increased glycerol yield. Moreover, strain MA-R6, which has moderate xylulokinase activity, grew slightly better but accumulated more xylitol than strain MA-R4. These results suggest that fine-tuning of introduced enzyme activity in S. cerevisiae is important for improving xylose fermentation to ethanol.     

木酮糖激酶基因整合表达载体构建及在酿酒酵母中的过表达

【目的】以载体p406ADH1为构建骨架,构建一个酿酒酵母(Saccharomyces cerevisiae)工业菌株的整合表达载体。【方法】通过酶切连接的方式,将4个元件片段:作为筛选标记的G418抗性基因KanR,用于基因表达的ADH1终止子片段,酿酒酵母W5自身木酮糖激酶基因,18S rDNA介导的同源整合区,插入到骨架质粒p406ADH1中,得到多拷贝整合表达载体pCXS-RKTr。将该载体线性转化酿酒酵母后,对转化子中木酮糖激酶酶活进行测定,检测其表达情况。【结果】重组质粒在酿酒酵母体内实现了木酮糖激酶的高水平稳定表达,其酶活力是初始菌株的2.87倍。【结论】本实验构建了一个酿酒酵母工业菌株整合表达载体,并用此载体过表达了其自身的木酮糖激酶基因。该重组质粒载体的构建可以有效解决酿酒酵母中自身木酮糖激酶酶活较低的情况,这为利用木糖高产乙醇酿酒酵母基因工程菌株的构建和其它酵母重组质粒载体的构建奠定基础。     

Deletion of the GRE3 aldose reductase gene and its influence on xylose metabolism in recombinant strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae expressing the xylA and XKS1 genes.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae ferments hexoses efficiently but is unable to ferment xylose. When the bacterial enzyme xylose isomerase (XI) from Thermus thermophilus was produced in S. cerevisiae, xylose utilization and ethanol formation were demonstrated. In addition, xylitol and acetate were formed. An unspecific aldose reductase (AR) capable of reducing xylose to xylitol has been identified in S. cerevisiae. The GRE3 gene, encoding the AR enzyme, was deleted in S. cerevisiae CEN.PK2-1C, yielding YUSM1009a. XI from T. thermophilus was produced, and endogenous xylulokinase from S. cerevisiae was overproduced in S. cerevisiae CEN.PK2-1C and YUSM1009a. In recombinant strains from which the GRE3 gene was deleted, xylitol formation decreased twofold. Deletion of the GRE3 gene combined with expression of the xylA gene from T. thermophilus on a replicative plasmid generated recombinant xylose utilizing S. cerevisiae strain TMB3102, which produced ethanol from xylose with a yield of 0.28 mmol of C from ethanol/mmol of C from xylose. None of the recombinant strains grew on xylose.     

An improved method of xylose utilization by recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The aim of this study was to develop a method to optimize expression levels of xylose-metabolizing enzymes to improve xylose utilization capacity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A xylose-utilizing recombinant S. cerevisiae strain YY2KL, able to express nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate, reduced (NADPH)-dependent xylose reductase (XR), nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+))-dependent xylitol dehydrogenase (XDH), and xylulokinase (XK), showed a low ethanol yield and sugar consumption rate. To optimize xylose utilization by YY2KL, a recombinant expression plasmid containing the XR gene was transformed and integrated into the aur1 site of YY2KL. Two recombinant expression plasmids containing an nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP(+))-dependent XDH mutant and XK genes were dually transformed and integrated into the 5S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sites of YY2KL. This procedure allowed systematic construction of an S. cerevisiae library with different ratios of genes for xylose-metabolizing enzymes, and well-grown colonies with different xylose fermentation capacities could be further selected in yeast protein extract (YPX) medium (1?% yeast extract, 2?% peptone, and 2?% xylose). We successfully isolated a recombinant strain with a superior xylose fermentation capacity and designated it as strain YY5A. The xylose consumption rate for strain YY5A was estimated to be 2.32?g/gDCW/h (g xylose/g dry cell weight/h), which was 2.34 times higher than that for the parent strain YY2KL (0.99?g/gDCW/h). The ethanol yield was also enhanced 1.83 times by this novel method. Optimal ratio and expression levels of xylose-metabolizing enzymes are important for efficient conversion of xylose to ethanol. This study provides a novel method that allows rapid and effective selection of ratio-optimized xylose-utilizing yeast strains. This method may be applicable to other multienzyme systems in yeast.     

酿酒酵母工业菌株中XI木糖代谢途径的建立

根据代谢工程原理,采取多拷贝整合策略,利用整合载体pYMIKP,将来自嗜热细菌Thermusthermophilus的木糖异构酶(XI)基因xylA和酿酒酵母(Saccharomycescerevisiae)自身的木酮糖激酶(XK)基因XKS1,插入酿酒酵母工业菌株NAN-27的染色体中,得到工程菌株NAN-114。酶活测定结果显示,NAN-114中XI和XK的活性均高于出发菌株NAN-27,表明外源蛋白在酿酒酵母工业菌株中得到活性表达。对木糖、葡萄糖共发酵摇瓶实验结果表明,工程菌NAN-114消耗木糖4.6g/L,产生乙醇6.9g/L,较出发菌株分别提高了43.8%和9.5%。首次在酿酒酵母工业菌株中建立了XI路径的木糖代谢途径。     

Establishment of a xylose metabolic pathway in an industrial strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

To produce an industrial strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae that metabolizes xylose, we constructed a rDNA integration vector and YIp integration vector, containing the xylose-utilizing genes, XYL1 and XYL2, which encode xylose reductase (XR) and xylitol dehydrogenase (XDH) from Pichia stipitis, and XKS1, which encodes xylulokinase (XK) from S. cerevisiae, with the G418 resistance gene KanMX as a dominant selectable marker. The rDNA results in integration of multiple copies of the target genes. The industrial stain of S. cerevisiae NAN-27 was transformed with the two integration vectors to produce two recombinant strains, S. cerevisiae NAN-127 and NAN-123. Upon transformation, multiple copies of the xylose-utilizing genes were integrated into the genome rDNA locus of S. cerevisiae. Strain NAN-127 consumed twice as much xylose and produced 39% more ethanol than the parent strain, while NAN-123 consumed 10% more xylose and produced 10% more ethanol than the parent strain over 94 h.     

二色补血草LbDREB基因在酵母中的抗逆性分析

利用酵母表达系统研究了二色补血草的DREB基因（LbDREB）对不同胁迫的抗性。将LbDREB构建到酵母表达载体pYES2中,转化到酿酒酵母INVSc1菌株中,并以转空pYES2质粒的酵母INVSc1（pYES2）作为对照,通过比较两种酵母在不同胁迫下的存活率来研究LbDREB基因对NaCl、KH_2PO_4、Na_2CO_3、NaHCO_3、低温、干旱、CuSO_4和CdCl_2胁迫的抗性。结果表明,LbDREB转化的酵母在各种胁迫下的存活率均明显高于转空pYES2的对照酵母,说明LbDREB基因除了具有传统认为的抗旱、耐盐、抗寒的作用外,还具有抗KH_2PO_4、Na_2CO_3、NaHCO_3、CuSO_4和CdCl_2等胁迫的能力。     

Conversion of xylose to ethanol by recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae: importance of xylulokinase (XKS1) and oxygen availability.

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae efficiently ferments hexose sugars to ethanol, but it is unable to utilize xylose, a pentose sugar abundant in lignocellulosic materials. Recombinant strains containing genes coding for xylose reductase (XR) and xylitol dehydrogenase (XDH) from the xylose-utilizing yeast Pichia stipitis have been reported; however, such strains ferment xylose to ethanol poorly. One reason for this may be the low capacity of xylulokinase, the third enzyme in the xylose pathway. To investigate the potential limitation of the xylulokinase step, we have overexpressed the endogenous gene for this enzyme (XKS1) in S. cerevisiae that also expresses the P. stipitis genes for XR and XDH. The metabolism of this recombinant yeast was further investigated in pure xylose bioreactor cultivation at various oxygen levels. The results clearly indicated that overexpression of XKS1 significantly enhances the specific rate of xylose utilization. In addition, the XK-overexpressing strain can more efficiently convert xylose to ethanol under all aeration conditions studied. One of the important illustrations is the significant anaerobic and aerobic xylose conversion to ethanol by the recombinant Saccharomyces; moreover, this was achieved on pure xylose as a carbon. Under microaerobic conditions, 5.4 g L(-1) ethanol was produced from 47 g L(-1) xylose during 100 h. In fed-batch cultivations using a mixture of xylose and glucose as carbon sources, the specific ethanol production rate was highest at the highest aeration rate tested and declined by almost one order of magnitude at lower aeration levels. Intracellular metabolite analyses and in vitro enzyme activities suggest the following: the control of flux in a strain that overexpresses XKS1 has shifted to the nonoxidative steps of the pentose phosphate pathway (i.e., downstream of xylose 5-phosphate), and enzymatic steps in the lower part of glycolysis and ethanol formation pathways (pyruvate kinase, pyruvate decarboxylase, and alcohol dehydrogenase) do not have a high flux control in this recombinant strain. Furthermore, the intracellular ATP levels were found to be significantly lower for the XK strain compared with either the control strain under similar conditions or glucose-grown Saccharomyces. The ATP : ADP ratios were also lower for the XK strain, especially under microaerobic conditions (0.9 vs 6.4).     

卷枝毛霉Δ6-脂肪酸脱氢酶基因的克隆及在酿酒酵母中的高效表达

为获得产高γ 亚麻酸的酿酒酵母工程菌株,应用RT PCR技术,从卷枝毛霉中扩增出△6 脂肪酸脱氢酶 基因,亚克隆到大肠杆菌和酿酒酵母的穿梭表达载体pYES2.0,在大肠杆菌中筛选到含有目的基因的重组质粒 pYES412,用醋酸锂方法转化到酿酒酵母缺陷型菌株INVScI中,在SC ura合成培养基中筛选到转化酵母,在合适 的培养基及培养条件下,加入外源底物亚油酸,经半乳糖诱导后,收集菌体,通过气相色谱对转化酵母进行脂肪酸 色谱分析,结果表明:γ 亚麻酸占总脂肪的50.07%。迄今为止,这是国内外△6 脂肪酸脱氢酶基因在酿酒酵母表 达量最高的报道。     

Kinetic modelling reveals current limitations in the production of ethanol from xylose by recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Saccharomyces cerevisiae lacks the ability to ferment the pentose sugar xylose that is the second most abundant sugar in nature. Therefore two different xylose catabolic pathways have been heterologously expressed in S. cerevisiae. Whereas the xylose reductase (XR)-xylitol dehydrogenase (XDH) pathway leads to the production of the by-product xylitol, the xylose isomerase (XI) pathway results in significantly lower xylose consumption. In this study, kinetic models including the reactions ranging from xylose transport into the cell to the phosphorylation of xylulose to xylulose 5-P were constructed. They were used as prediction tools for the identification of putative targets for the improvement of xylose utilization in S. cerevisiae strains engineered for higher level of the non-oxidative pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) enzymes, higher xylulokinase and inactivated GRE3 gene encoding an endogenous NADPH-dependent aldose reductase. For both pathways, the in silico analyses identified a need for even higher xylulokinase (XK) activity. In a XR-XDH strain expressing an integrated copy of the Escherichia coli XK encoding gene xylB about a six-fold reduction of xylitol formation was confirmed under anaerobic conditions. Similarly overexpression of the xylB gene in a XI strain increased the aerobic growth rate on xylose by 21%. In contrast to the in silico predictions, the aerobic growth also increased 24% when the xylose transporter gene GXF1 from Candida intermedia was overexpressed together with xylB in the XI strain. Under anaerobic conditions, the XI strains overexpressing xylB gene and the combination of xylB and GFX1 genes consumed 27% and 37% more xylose than the control strain.     

Metabolic engineering of the initial stages of xylose catabolism in yeasts for construction of efficient producers of ethanol from lignocelluloses

Plant biomass possesses a huge potential as a source for biofuel production. The main components of biomass are glucose and five-carbon sugar xylose. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae that is used for industrial ethanol production from glucose is unable to xylose fermentation. Therefore a microorganism capable for efficient fermentation of both glucose and xylose has to be found in nature or constructed for economically feasible biomass conversion to ethanol. The active xylose fermentation could be performed by increasing the efficiency of initial stages of xylose metabolism. In this review the enzymes of initial stages of xylose metabolism in yeasts (xylose reductase, xylitol dehydrogenase, xylulokinase) and bacteria (xylose isomerase and xylulokinase) are characterized. The ways for construction of yeast strains capable of efficient alcoholic xylose fermentation are discussed.     

Ethanol production from xylo-oligosaccharides by xylose-fermenting Saccharomyces cerevisiae expressing β-xylosidase

Construction of xylose- and xylo-oligosaccharide-fermenting Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains is important, because hydrolysates derived from lignocellulosic biomass contain significant amounts of these sugars. We have obtained recombinant S. cerevisiae strain MA-D4 (D-XKXDHXR), expressing xylose reductase, xylitol dehydrogenase and xylulokinase. In the present study, we generated recombinant strain D-XSD/XKXDHXR by transforming MA-D4 with a β-xylosidase gene cloned from the filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei. The intracellular β-xylosidase-specific activity of D-XSD/XKXDHXR was high, while that of the control strain was under the limit of detection. D-XSD/XKXDHXR produced ethanol, and xylose accumulated in the culture supernatant under fermentation in a medium containing xylo-oligosaccharides as sole carbon source. β-Xylosidase-specific activity in D-XSD/XKXDHXR declined due to xylose both in vivo and in vitro. D-XSD/XKXDHXR converted xylo-oligosaccharides in an enzymatic hydrolysate of eucalyptus to ethanol. These results indicate that D-XSD/XKXDHXR efficiently converted xylo-oligosaccharides to xylose and subsequently to ethanol.     

Improvements in ethanol production from xylose by mating recombinant xylose-fermenting Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains

To improve the ability of recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains to utilize the hemicellulose components of lignocellulosic feedstocks, the efficiency of xylose conversion to ethanol needs to be increased. In the present study, xylose-fermenting, haploid, yeast cells of the opposite mating type were hybridized to produce a diploid strain harboring two sets of xylose-assimilating genes encoding xylose reductase, xylitol dehydrogenase, and xylulokinase. The hybrid strain MN8140XX showed a 1.3- and 1.9-fold improvement in ethanol production compared to its parent strains MT8-1X405 and NBRC1440X, respectively. The rate of xylose consumption and ethanol production was also improved by the hybridization. This study revealed that the resulting improvements in fermentation ability arose due to chromosome doubling as well as the increase in the copy number of xylose assimilation genes. Moreover, compared to the parent strain, the MN8140XX strain exhibited higher ethanol production under elevated temperatures (38 °C) and acidic conditions (pH 3.8). Thus, the simple hybridization technique facilitated an increase in the xylose fermentation activity.     

Construction of a xylan-fermenting yeast strain through codisplay of xylanolytic enzymes on the surface of xylose-utilizing Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells

Hemicellulose is one of the major forms of biomass in lignocellulose, and its essential component is xylan. We used a cell surface engineering system based on alpha-agglutinin to construct a Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strain codisplaying two types of xylan-degrading enzymes, namely, xylanase II (XYNII) from Trichoderma reesei QM9414 and beta-xylosidase (XylA) from Aspergillus oryzae NiaD300, on the cell surface. In a high-performance liquid chromatography analysis, xylose was detected as the main product of the yeast strain codisplaying XYNII and XylA, while xylobiose and xylotriose were detected as the main products of a yeast strain displaying XYNII on the cell surface. These results indicate that xylan is sequentially hydrolyzed to xylose by the codisplayed XYNII and XylA. In a further step toward achieving the simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of xylan, a xylan-utilizing S. cerevisiae strain was constructed by codisplaying XYNII and XylA and introducing genes for xylose utilization, namely, those encoding xylose reductase and xylitol dehydrogenase from Pichia stipitis and xylulokinase from S. cerevisiae. After 62 h of fermentation, 7.1 g of ethanol per liter was directly produced from birchwood xylan, and the yield in terms of grams of ethanol per gram of carbohydrate consumed was 0.30 g/g. These results demonstrate that the direct conversion of xylan to ethanol is accomplished by the xylan-utilizing S. cerevisiae strain.     

植酸酶酵母工程菌的构建*

从无花果曲霉(Aspergillus ficuum)3．4322中用RT-PCR方法扩增出一条约1．4kb的特异性条带,DNA序列测定表明,目的片段为不含信号肽的植酸酶编码序列,全长1347bp。无花果曲霉(Aspergillus ficuum)3．4322phyA基因序列已在GenBank注册(注册号为：AF537344)。将该基因克隆到酵母表达载体pYES2中,构建成不带信号肽phyA基因的重组表达载体pYPA2。用醋酸锂法将pYPA2转进urd缺陷型的酿酒酵母(s．oeraisiae INVSc1),筛选获得含植酸酶基因的酵母转化子。经半乳糖诱导表达后,用磷钼蓝显色(AMES)法对酵母菌体进行酶活测定,测出了明显的植酸酶活性,pYPA2胞内植酸酶活性约11．55IU／mL,表明无花果曲霉(Aspergillus ficuum)3．4322phyA基因能在酿酒酵母中表达。     

长效促胰岛素降糖酵母的构建及其对糖尿病模型小鼠的治疗效果

益生菌生物药物是指通过口服表达药用多肽(蛋白)的重组益生菌活细胞达到治疗疾病的新型口服给药系统。为了构建一种能有效防治2型糖尿病的酵母生物药物,文章首先构建了酿酒酵母(S.cerevisiae)整合型表达载体pNK1-PGK,并且通过绿色荧光蛋白(GFP)证明其表达功能正常,利用该载体将10×GLP-1 (Glucagon-like peptide-1)基因转化到酿酒酵母INVSc1中,通过营养缺陷型和Western blotting成功筛选出表达10×GLP-1的长效促胰岛素降糖酵母(Long-acting GLP-1 hypoglycemic yeast, LHY)。该酵母生长迅速,外源基因10×GLP-1表达稳定,表达量达到1.56 mg/g细胞湿重。通过链脲佐菌素和高脂高糖饮食联合诱导的方法构建了2型糖尿病小鼠模型,用LHY对其进行口服灌胃治疗,证明LHY具有较好疗效,明显降低血糖水平。     

Comparison of the xylose reductase-xylitol dehydrogenase and the xylose isomerase pathways for xylose fermentation by recombinant <Emphasis Type="Italic">Saccharomyces cerevisiae</Emphasis>

Background  

Two heterologous pathways have been used to construct recombinant xylose-fermenting Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains: i) the xylose reductase (XR) and xylitol dehydrogenase (XDH) pathway and ii) the xylose isomerase (XI) pathway. In the present study, the Pichia stipitis XR-XDH pathway and the Piromyces XI pathway were compared in an isogenic strain background, using a laboratory host strain with genetic modifications known to improve xylose fermentation (overexpressed xylulokinase, overexpressed non-oxidative pentose phosphate pathway and deletion of the aldose reductase gene GRE3). The two isogenic strains and the industrial xylose-fermenting strain TMB 3400 were studied regarding their xylose fermentation capacity in defined mineral medium and in undetoxified lignocellulosic hydrolysate.     

Control of xylose consumption by xylose transport in recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Saccharomyces cerevisiae TMB3001 has previously been engineered to utilize xylose by integrating the genes coding for xylose reductase (XR) and xylitol dehydrogenase (XDH) and overexpressing the native xylulokinase (XK) gene. The resulting strain is able to metabolize xylose, but its xylose utilization rate is low compared to that of natural xylose utilizing yeasts, like Pichia stipitis or Candida shehatae. One difference between S. cerevisiae and the latter species is that these possess specific xylose transporters, while S. cerevisiae takes up xylose via the high-affinity hexose transporters. For this reason, in part, it has been suggested that xylose transport in S. cerevisiae may limit the xylose utilization.We investigated the control exercised by the transport over the specific xylose utilization rate in two recombinant S. cerevisiae strains, one with low XR activity, TMB3001, and one with high XR activity, TMB3260. The strains were grown in aerobic sugar-limited chemostat and the specific xylose uptake rate was modulated by changing the xylose concentration in the feed, which allowed determination of the flux response coefficients. Separate measurements of xylose transport kinetics allowed determination of the elasticity coefficients of transport with respect to extracellular xylose concentration. The flux control coefficient, C(J) (transp), for the xylose transport was calculated from the response and elasticity coefficients. The value of C(J) (transp) for both strains was found to be < 0.1 at extracellular xylose concentrations > 7.5 g L(-1). However, for strain TMB3260 the flux control coefficient was higher than 0.5 at xylose concentrations < 0.6 g L(-1), while C(J) (transp) stayed below 0.2 for strain TMB3001 irrespective of xylose concentration.     

Xylulokinase overexpression in two strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae also expressing xylose reductase and xylitol dehydrogenase and its effect on fermentation of xylose and lignocellulosic hydrolysate

Fermentation of the pentose sugar xylose to ethanol in lignocellulosic biomass would make bioethanol production economically more competitive. Saccharomyces cerevisiae, an efficient ethanol producer, can utilize xylose only when expressing the heterologous genes XYL1 (xylose reductase) and XYL2 (xylitol dehydrogenase). Xylose reductase and xylitol dehydrogenase convert xylose to its isomer xylulose. The gene XKS1 encodes the xylulose-phosphorylating enzyme xylulokinase. In this study, we determined the effect of XKS1 overexpression on two different S. cerevisiae host strains, H158 and CEN.PK, also expressing XYL1 and XYL2. H158 has been previously used as a host strain for the construction of recombinant xylose-utilizing S. cerevisiae strains. CEN.PK is a new strain specifically developed to serve as a host strain for the development of metabolic engineering strategies. Fermentation was carried out in defined and complex media containing a hexose and pentose sugar mixture or a birch wood lignocellulosic hydrolysate. XKS1 overexpression increased the ethanol yield by a factor of 2 and reduced the xylitol yield by 70 to 100% and the final acetate concentrations by 50 to 100%. However, XKS1 overexpression reduced the total xylose consumption by half for CEN.PK and to as little as one-fifth for H158. Yeast extract and peptone partly restored sugar consumption in hydrolysate medium. CEN.PK consumed more xylose but produced more xylitol than H158 and thus gave lower ethanol yields on consumed xylose. The results demonstrate that strain background and modulation of XKS1 expression are important for generating an efficient xylose-fermenting recombinant strain of S. cerevisiae.