Isolation of l-phenylalanine dehydrogenase from Rhodococcus sp. M4 and its application for the production of l-phenylalanine

Summary l-Phenylalanine dehydrogenase [l-phenylalanine: NAD⁺-oxidoreductase (deaminating)] of Rhodococcus sp. strain M4 was studied emphasizing its application for the production of l-phenylalanine. A high enzyme level (30,000 U·l^-1, 25–30 U·mg^-1 in the crude extract) could be reached during aerob degradation of l-phenylalanine (10 g·l^-1) under optimized growth coditions. A partial purification of the intracellular enzyme by liquid-liquid extraction, and DEAE-cellulose led to a specific activity of more than 1300 U·mg^-1. The continuous production of l-phenylalanine in an enzyme-membrane-reactor for 350h resulted in a space-time yield of 456 g·l^-1·d^-1 with a mean substrate conversion of 95%. Consumption of phenylalanine dehydrogenase was 1,500 U·kg Phe^-1.Abbreviations BSA bovine serum albumine - pheDH l-phenylalanine dehydrogenase - phepyr phenylpyruvate - OD optical density - FDH formate dehydrogenase     

Production of l-phenylalanine from phenylpyruvate by Paracoccus denitrificans containing aminotransferase activity

Summary To establish an efficient production method for l-phenylalanine, the production of l-phenylalanine from phenylpyruvate by Paracoccus denitrificans pFPr-1 containing aminotransferase activity was investigated. By using intact cells, 0.74M l-phenylalanine was produced from 0.8M phenylpyruvate (conversion yield, 92.5%). Moreover, by using immobilized cells with -carrageenan, when the space velocity was 0.1 h^-1 at 30°C, 0.135 M l-phenylalanine was produced from 0.15 M phenylpyruvate (conversion yield, 90%). The half-life of the l-phenylalanine-forming activity of the column was estimated to be about 30 days at 30°C.     

Brevibacterium sp. from poultry

Two isolates of methanethiol producing coryneform bacteria sharing morphological and physiological similarities with Brevibacterium are described. They were isolated from bumble-foot-like manifestations of poultry but proved to be non-pathogenic for experimental animals.     

Kinetic studies of glutamate dehydrogenase. The reductive amination of 2-oxoglutarate

1. Kinetic studies of the reductive amination of 2-oxoglutarate catalysed by glutamate dehydrogenase with NADH and NADPH as coenzyme were made at pH7.0 and pH 8.0. The concentrations of both substrates and coenzymes were simultaneously varied over wide ranges. Lineweaver-Burk plots with respect to each substrate and coenzyme were linear, except that with high concentrations of 2-oxoglutarate or coenzyme inhibition occurred. There was no evidence of the negative homotropic interactions between the enzyme subunits that were revealed in previous kinetic studies of the reverse reaction. 2. The initial-rate results are shown to be inconsistent with any of the six possible compulsory-order mechanisms for this three-substrate reaction, and it is concluded that a random-order mechanism is the most likely one. On the basis of this mechanism, the dissociation constants of all the binary, ternary and quaternary complexes of the enzyme and substrates are calculated from initial-rate parameters. 3. The results are discussed in relation to those of earlier workers who concluded that the mechanism is of the compulsory-order type.     

Formation of Desthiobiotin from Oleic Acid by Brevibacterium sp.

Microbial formation of biotin-vitamers from oleic acid was investigated. Many strains of bacteria which were able to utilize oleic acid as a sole carbon source were isolated from soils and other natural materials. Among these bacteria, some strains formed a biotin-vitamer from oleic acid in the culture broth during the cultivation. The vitamer was purified from the culture broth of strain No. 23, and identified as desthiobiotin by chromatographical and biological methods.

From the results of investigation on the taxonomical characteristics, the bacterial strain No. 23 was assumed to be Brevibacterium sp.     

Solid state fermentation for L-glutamic acid production using Brevibacterium sp.

Summary Solid state fermentation system was used to cultivate Brevibacterium sp. on sugar cane bagasse impregnated with a medium containing glucose, urea, mineral salts and vitamins for producing L-glutamic acid. Maximum yields (80 mg glutamic acid per g dry bagasse with biomass and substrate - mg/gds) were obtained when bagasse of mixed particle size was moistened at 85–90 % mositure level with the medium containing 10 % glucose. This is the first report on the cultivation of Brevibacterium sp. in solid cultures for production of glutamic acid.     

Efficient reductive amination process for enantioselective synthesis of L-phosphinothricin applying engineered glutamate dehydrogenase

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology - The objective of this study was to identify and exploit a robust biocatalyst that can be applied in reductive amination for enantioselective synthesis of...     

Recovery of free oligosaccharides from derivatives labeled by reductive amination

This study examined chemical regeneration of free oligosaccharides from their fluorescent derivatives prepared by reductive amination with various aromatic amines. Maltose derivatives of ethyl 4-aminobenzoate (p-ABEE), 2-aminobenzonitrile (o-ABN), 4-aminobenzonitrile (p-ABN), 7-amino-4-methylcoumarin (AMC), 2-aminobenzoic acid (o-ABA), 2-aminobenzamide (o-ABAD), 2-aminopyridine (AP), and 8-aminonaphthalene-1,3,6-trisulfonate (ANTS) were incubated at 30 degrees C with an aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide/acetic acid. Recoveries of maltose from p-ABEE, p-ABN, and AMC derivatives were fairly good and gave approximately 90% of maltose. Recoveries of maltose from its o-substituted aniline (o-ABA, o-ABAD, and o-ABN) derivatives were 5-40%, but maltose was unrecoverable from AP and ANTS derivatives. Nevertheless, prior treatment of an AP derivative with cyanogen bromide enabled the regeneration of maltose in high yields. As an application, p-ABEE-labeled N-glycans from some glycoproteins separated on an amide column were identified by converting peak components to their AP derivatives via free saccharides and following mapping by reversed-phase chromatography.     

Antibiotic Production by Cutaneous Brevibacterium sp.

Three isolates of a Brevibacterium species isolated from human skin produced an antibiotic active against Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. The active compound is most probably a peptide with'a molecular weight in the range 1100–1400; there is chromatographic similarity to compounds such as tyrothricin. Production of such a compound in vivo could contribute to microbial interaction in, for example, tinea pedis.     

Purification,characterization and regulation of a monomeric l-phenylalanine dehydrogenase from the facultative methylotroph Nocardia sp. 239

In Nocardia sp. 239 d-phenylalanine is converted into l-phenylalanine by an inducible amino acid racemase. The further catabolism of this amino acid involves an NAD-dependent l-phenylalanine dehydrogenase. This enzyme was detected only in cells grown on l- or d-phenylalanine and in batch cultures highest activities were obtained at relatively low amino acid concentrations in the medium. The presence of additional carbon- or nitrogen sources invariably resulted in decreased enzyme levels. From experiments with phenylalanine-limited continuous cultures it appeared that the rate of synthesis of the enzyme increased with increasing growth rates. The regulation of phenylalanine dehydrogenase synthesis was studied in more detail during growth of the organism on mixtures of methanol and l-phenylalanine. Highest rates of l-phenylalanine dehydrogenase production were observed with increasing ratios of l-phenylalanine/methanol in the feed of chemostat cultures. Characteristic properties of the enzyme were investigated following its (partial) purification from l- and d-phenylalanine-grown cells. This resulted in the isolation of enzymes with identical properties. The native enzyme had a molecular weight of 42 000 and consisted of a single subunit; it showed activity with l-phenylalanine, phenylpyruvate, 4-hydroxyphenyl-pyruvate, indole-3-pyruvate and -ketoisocaproate, but not with imidazolepyruvate, d-phenylalanine and other l-amino acids tested. Maximum activities with phenylpyruvate (310 mol min^-1 mg^-1 of purified protein) were observed at pH 10 and 53°C. Sorbitol and glycerol stabilized the enzyme.Abbreviations RuMP ribulose monophosphate - HPS hexulose-6-phosphate synthase - HPT hexulose-6-phosphate isomerase - FPLC fast protein liquid chromatography     

Efficient synthesis of l-tert-leucine through reductive amination using leucine dehydrogenase and formate dehydrogenase coexpressed in recombinant E. coli

Enantiopure l-tert-leucine (l-Tle) was synthesized through reductive amination of trimethylpyruvate catalyzed by cell-free extracts of recombinant Escherichia coli coexpressing leucine dehydrogenase (LeuDH) and formate dehydrogenase (FDH). The leudh gene from Lysinibacillus sphaericus CGMCC 1.1677 encoding LeuDH was cloned and coexpressed with NAD⁺-dependent FDH from Candida boidinii for NADH regeneration. The batch reaction conditions for the synthesis of l-Tle were systematically optimized. Two substrate feeding modes (intermittent and continuous) were addressed to alleviate substrate inhibition and thus improve the space-time yield. The continuous feeding process was conveniently performed in water at an overall substrate concentration up to 1.5 M, with both conversion and ee of >99% and space-time yield of 786 g L⁻¹ d⁻¹, respectively. Furthermore, the preparation was successfully scaled up to a 1 L scale, demonstrating the developed procedure showed a great industrial potential for the production of enantiopure l-Tle.     

Comparison of batch and semicontinuous cultures for production of protein from mesquite wood by Brevibacterium sp. JM98A

The production of protein by a Brevibacterium sp. JM98A usingmesquite wood as the substrate was compared in batch and semicontinuous cultures. A 14 liter glass fermentor with automatic pH, temperature, and foam control was used for the study. A pH range of 6.6 to 7.2 was optimum for the growth of JM98A. The batch and semicontinuous cultures were compared on the basis of viable cell counts, protein production, CMC-Ase (β-1,4-glucanase) activity, and filter paper cellulase (β-1,4-glucan cellobiohydrolyase) activity. Total hexose, cellulose, and reducing sugar consumption were measured. The semicontinuous process yielded 2.97 times as much protein in 72 hr as the batch cultures. Most of the biomass resulted from the utilization of soluble sugars rather than from the degradation of cellulose during the semicontinuous process.     

Growth stimulation of Brevibacterium sp. by siderophores

AIMS: To assess which types of siderophores are typically produced by Brevibacterium and how siderophore production and utilization traits are distributed within this genus. METHODS AND RESULTS: During co-cultivation experiments it was found that growth of B. linens Br5 was stimulated by B. linens NIZO B1410 by two orders of magnitude. The stimulation was caused by the production of hydroxamate siderophores by B. linens NIZO B1410 that enabled the siderophore-auxotrophic strain Br5 to grow faster under the applied iron-limited growth conditions. Different patterns of siderophore production and utilization were observed within the genus Brevibacterium. These patterns did not reflect the phylogenetic relations within the group as determined by partial 16S rDNA sequencing. Most Brevibacterium strains were found to utilize hydroxamate siderophores. CONCLUSIONS: Brevibacteria can produce and utilize siderophores although certain strains within this genus are siderophore-auxotrophic. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: It is reported for the first time that brevibacteria produce and utilize siderophores. This knowledge can be utilized to stimulate growth of auxotrophic strains under certain conditions. Enhancing the growth rate of Brevibacterium is of importance for the application of this species, for example, for cheese manufacturing or for industrial production of enzymes or metabolites.     

Degradation of dibenzothiophene by Brevibacterium sp.DO

Dibenzothiophene, a polycyclic aromatic sulfur heterocycle, represents as a model compound the organic sulfur integrated in the macromolecular coal matrix. A pure culture of a Brevibacterium species was isolated, which is able to use dibenzothiophene as sole source of carbon, sulfur and energy for growth. During dibenzothiophene utilization sulfite was released in a stoichiometrical amount and was further oxidized to sulfate. Three metabolites of dibenzothiophene degradation were isolated and identified as dibenzothiophene-5-oxide, dibenzothiophene-5-dioxide and benzoate by cochromatography, UV spectroscopy and gas chromatographymass spectrometry analyses. Based on the identified metabolites a pathway for the degradation of dibenzothiophene by Brevibacterium sp. DO is proposed.Non-standard abbreviations DBT dibenzothiophene - PASH polycyclic aromatic sulfur heterocycle - PAH polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons - GC-MS gas chromatography-mass spectrometry - HPLC high pressure liquid chromatography - IC ion chromatography     

Pilot-scale production of l-phenylalanine from d-glucose

Effects of inoculum size and total sugar content on both l-phenylalanine productivity and titre have been investigated using a tyrosine auxotrophic regulatory mutant of Escherichia coli. Fermentations were carried out in a 500 litre pilot fermenter with intermittent feeding of d-glucose plus phosphate. It was found that the productivity was not greatly affected by inoculum size. However, the l-phenylalanine titre was significantly affected by total sugar content. Relatively high productivities of up to 0.35–0.40 g l-phenylalanine l^?1 h^?1 have been achieved at l-phenylalanine titres of 14–15 g l^?1.     

Continuous production of l-phenylalanine from acetamidocinnamic acid using co-immobilized cells of Corynebacterium sp. and Paracoccus denitrificans

In order to produce l-phenylalanine efficiently from acetamidocinnamic acid with immobilized microbial cells, a two-step enzyme reaction using the acetamidocinnamate amidohydrolase activity of Corynebacterium sp. C-23 cells and the aminotransferase activity of Paracoccus denitrificans pFPr-1 cells was investigated. It was found that the useage of co-immobilized Corynebacterium sp. and P. denitrificans cells with κ-carrageenan was superior to that of the mixture of immobilized Corynebacterium sp. cells and immobilized P. denitrificans cells. When the space velocity was 0.06 h⁻¹ at 30°C, 147 mml-phenylalanine were produced with a 98% conversion ratio from acetamidocinnamic acid. The half-life of the l-phenylalanine-forming activity of the column was calculated to be ≈ 14 days at 30°C.     

Conversion of phenylpyruvate to l-phenylalanine by immobilized Clostridium butyricum-alanine dehydrogenase-Micrococcus luteus under hydrogen high pressure

Summary Alanine was the best amino donor among various amino acids and NH₄Cl for the phenylalanine production of Micrococus luteus. l-Alanine was regenerated at the rate of 9.2 moles/min/g dry cells from NH₄Cl and pyruvate by immobilized Clostridium butyricum-alanine dehydrogenase. l-Phenylalanine was continuously produced from hydrogen, NH₄Cl and phenylpyruvate by coupling immobilized C. butyricum, alanine dehydrogenase and M. luteus. The rate of phenylalanine production was 1.74 moles/min/g dry cells.     

Three New Species of Brevibacteria,Brevibacterium antiquum sp. nov., Brevibacterium aurantiacum sp. nov., and Brevibacterium permense sp. nov.

This work deals with the taxonomic study of orange-pigmented bacteria isolated from permafrost sediments, rice plots, and soils contaminated with wastes from the chemical and salt industries that were assigned to the genus Brevibacterium on the basis of phenotypic characteristics, as well as of some strains described previously as Brevibacterium linens. The study revealed three genomic species, whose members and the type strains of the closest species of Brevibacterium had DNA similarity levels between 24 and 59%. The strains of the genomic species differed from each other and from the known species of Brevibacterium in some physiological and biochemical characteristics, as well as in the sugar and polyol composition of their teichoic acids. The 16S rDNA sequence analysis confirmed the assignment of the environmental isolates to the genus Brevibacterium and showed the phylogenetic distinction of the three genomic species. The results obtained in this study allow three new Brevibacterium species to be described: Brevibacterium antiquum (type strain VKM Ac-2118^T = UCM Ac-411^T), Brevibacterium aurantiacum (type strain VKM Ac-2111^T = NCDO 739^T = ATCC 9175^T), and Brevibacterium permense (type strain VKM Ac-2280^T = UCM Ac-413^T).