氨基酸生物传感器的开发及应用研究进展

氨基酸是蛋白质的基本组成单元,对人和动物的营养健康十分重要,广泛应用于饲料、食品、医药和日化等领域。目前,氨基酸主要通过微生物发酵可再生原料生产,氨基酸产业是我国生物制造的重要支柱产业之一。氨基酸菌株主要通过随机诱变和代谢工程改造结合筛选获得。菌株生产水平进一步提高的核心限制之一是缺乏高效、快速和准确的筛选方法,因此,发展氨基酸菌株的高通量筛选方法对关键功能元件挖掘及高产菌株的创制筛选至关重要。本文综述了氨基酸生物传感器的设计,及其在功能元件、高产菌株的高通量进化筛选和代谢途径动态调控中的应用研究进展,讨论了现有氨基酸生物传感器存在的问题和性能提升改造策略,并展望了开发氨基酸衍生物生物传感器的重要性。     

Involvement of the AtoSCDAEB regulon in the high molecular weight poly-(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate biosynthesis in phaCAB(+)Escherichia coli

AtoSC two-component system plays a pivotal role in many regulatory indispensable Escherichia coli processes. AtoSCDAEB regulon, comprising the AtoSC system and the atoDAEB operon, regulates the short-chain fatty acids catabolism. We report here, that AtoSC up-regulates the high-molecular weight PHB biosynthesis, in recombinant phaCAB(+)E. coli, with the Cupriavidus necator phaCAB operon. PHB accumulation was maximized upon the acetoacetate-mediated induction of AtoSC, under glucose 1% w/v, resulting in a yield of 1.73 g/l with a biopolymer content of 64.5% w/w. The deletion of the atoSC locus, in the ΔatoSC strains, resulted in a 5 fold reduction of PHB accumulation, which was restored by the extrachromosomal introduction of the AtoSC system. The deletion of the atoDAEB operon triggered a significant decrease in PHB synthesis in ΔatoDAEB strains. However, the acetoacetate-induced AtoSC system in those strains increased PHB to 1.55 g/l, while AtoC expression increased PHB to 1.4 g/l upon acetoacetate. The complementation of the ΔatoDAEB phenotype was achieved by the extrachromosomal introduction of the atoSCDAEB regulon. The individual inhibition of β-oxidation and mainly fatty-acid biosynthesis pathways by acrylic acid or cerulenin respectively, reduced PHB biosynthesis. Under those conditions the introduction of the atoSC locus or the atoSCDAEB regulon was capable to up-regulate the biopolymer accumulation. The concurrent inhibition of both the fatty acids metabolic pathways eliminated PHB production. PHB up-regulation in phaCAB(+)E. coli, by AtoSC signaling through atoDAEB operon and its participation in the fatty acids metabolism interplay, provide additional perceptions of AtoSC critical involvement in E. coli regulatory processes towards the biotechnologically improved polyhydroxyalkanoates biosynthesis.     

Proteome response of an extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli strain with zoonotic potential to human and chicken sera

A subset of extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli is zoonotic and has developed strategies to adapt to different host-specific environments. However, the underlying mechanisms of these adaptive strategies have yet to be discerned. Here, the proteomic response of an avian pathogenic E. coli strain, which appears indistinguishable from neonatal meningitis E. coli, was compared following growth in human and avian sera to determine whether it uses the same mechanisms to overcome the antibacterial effects of sera from different host species. Proteins involved in biosynthesis of iron receptors were up-regulated under both sera, suggesting that serum, regardless of the host of origin, is an iron-limited environment. However, several proteins involved in synthesis of nucleic acids, sulfur-containing amino acids and fatty acids, were differentially expressed in response to the sera from different hosts. Mutational analysis showed that this APEC strain required nucleotide biosynthesis during incubation in human, but not avian serum, and deletion of genes involved in the biosynthesis of sulfur-containing amino acids increased its resistance to human serum. Continued investigation of the proteome of 'zoonotic' ExPEC strains, grown under other 'dual' host conditions, will contribute to our understanding of ExPEC pathogenesis and host specificity and development of effective therapies and control strategies.     

Cloning and heterologous expression of ectoine biosynthesis genes from Bacillus halodurans in Escherichia coli

The genes involved in the biosynthetic pathway of ectoine (2-methyl-1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrimidine-4-carboxylic acid) from Bacillus halodurans were cloned as an operon and expressed in E. coli. Analysis of the deduced ectoine biosynthesis cluster amino acid sequence revealed that the ectoine operon contain 2,389 bp, encoded by three genes; ectA, ectB and ectC that encode proteins of 189, 427 and 129 amino acids with deduced molecular masses of 21,048, 47,120 and 14,797 Da respectively. Extracts of induced cells showed two bands at 41 kDa and 17 kDa, possibly corresponding to the products of the later two genes. However the expression of ectA gene could not be ascertained by SDS-PAGE. The activity of the ectA protein was confirmed by an acylation assay. The transgenic E. coli accumulated upto 4.6 mg ectoine/l culture. This is the first report of an engineered E. coli strain carrying the ectoine genes of the alkaliphilic bacterium, B. halodurans.     

Beta hydroxylation of glycolipids from Ustilago maydis and Pseudozyma flocculosa by an NADPH-dependent β-hydroxylase

Flocculosin and ustilagic acid (UA), two highly similar antifungal cellobiose lipids, are respectively produced by Pseudozyma flocculosa, a biocontrol agent, and Ustilago maydis, a plant pathogen. Both glycolipids contain a short-chain fatty acid hydroxylated at the β position but differ in the long fatty acid, which is hydroxylated at the α position in UA and at the β position in flocculosin. In both organisms, the biosynthesis genes are arranged in large clusters. The functions of most genes have already been characterized, but those of the P. flocculosa fhd1 gene and its homolog from U. maydis, uhd1, have remained undefined. The deduced amino acid sequences of these genes show homology to those of short-chain dehydrogenases and reductases (SDR). We disrupted the uhd1 gene in U. maydis and analyzed the secreted UA. uhd1 deletion strains produced UA lacking the β-hydroxyl group of the short-chain fatty acid. To analyze the function of P. flocculosa Fhd1, the corresponding gene was used to complement U. maydis Δuhd1 mutants. Fhd1 was able to restore wild-type UA production, indicating that Fhd1 is responsible for β hydroxylation of the flocculosin short-chain fatty acid. We also investigated a P. flocculosa homolog of the U. maydis long-chain fatty-acid alpha hydroxylase Ahd1. The P. flocculosa ahd1 gene, which does not reside in the flocculosin gene cluster, was introduced into U. maydis Δahd1 mutant strains. P. flocculosa Ahd1 neither complemented the U. maydis Δahd1 phenotype nor resulted in the production of β-hydroxylated UA. This suggests that P. flocculosa Ahd1 is not involved in flocculosin hydroxylation.     

A split-ubiquitin two-hybrid screen for proteins physically interacting with the yeast amino acid transceptor Gap1 and ammonium transceptor Mep2

Several nutrient permeases have been identified in yeast, which combine a transport and receptor function, and are called transceptors. The Gap1 general amino acid permease and the Mep2 ammonium permease mediate rapid activation by amino acids and by ammonium, respectively, of the protein kinase A (PKA) pathway in nitrogen-starved cells. Their mode of action is not well understood. Both proteins are subject to complex controls governing their intracellular trafficking. Using a split-ubiquitin yeast two-hybrid screen with Gap1 or Mep2 as bait, we identified proteins putatively interacting with Gap1 and/or Mep2. They are involved in glycosylation, the secretory pathway, sphingolipid biosynthesis, cell wall biosynthesis and other processes. For several candidate interactors, determination of transport and signaling capacity, as well as localization of Gap1 or Mep2 in the corresponding deletion strains, confirmed a functional interaction with Gap1 and/or Mep2. Also common interacting proteins were identified. Transport and signaling were differentially affected in specific deletion strains, clearly separating the two functions of the transceptors and confirming that signaling does not require transport. We identified two new proteins, Bsc6 and Yir014w, that affect trafficking or downregulation of Gap1. Deletion of EGD2, YNL024c or SPC2 inactivates Gap1 transport and signaling, while its plasma membrane level appears normal.. Vma4 is required for Mep2 expression, while Gup1 appears to be required for proper distribution of Mep2 over the plasma membrane. Some of the interactions were confirmed by GST pull-down assay, using the C-terminal tail of Gap1 or Mep2 expressed in E.coli. Our results reveal the effectiveness of split-ubiquitin two-hybrid screening for identification of proteins functionally interacting with membrane proteins. They provide several candidate proteins involved in the transport and signaling function or in the complex trafficking control of the Gap1 and Mep2 transceptors.     

Genetics of xanthan production in Xanthomonas campestris: the xanA and xanB genes are involved in UDP-glucose and GDP-mannose biosynthesis.

The nucleotide sequence of a 3.4-kb EcoRI-PstI DNA fragment of Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris revealed two open reading frames, which were designated xanA and xanB. The genes xanA and xanB encode proteins of 448 amino acids (molecular weight of 48,919) and 466 amino acids (molecular weight of 50,873), respectively. These genes were identified by analyzing insertion mutants which were known to be involved in xanthan production. Specific tests for the activities of enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of UDP-glucose and GDP-mannose indicated that the xanA gene product was involved in the biosynthesis of both glucose 1-phosphate and mannose 1-phosphate. The deduced amino acid sequence of xanB showed a significant degree of homology (59%) to the phosphomannose isomerase of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of alginate. Moreover, biochemical analysis and complementation experiments with the Escherichia coli manA fragment revealed that xanB encoded a bifunctional enzyme, phosphomannose isomerase-GDP-mannose pyrophosphorylase.     

理性设计和构建过量合成莽草酸的大肠杆菌代谢工程菌

利用代谢工程手段理性改造野生大肠杆菌的莽草酸(Shikimic acid,SA)合成途径及相关代谢节点,以构建高产莽草酸的工程菌株.根据细胞代谢网络分析,利用Red-Xer重组系统连续删除了野生型大肠杆菌CICIMB0013的莽草酸激酶基因(aroL、aroK),葡萄糖磷酸转移酶系统(PTS)的关键组分EIICBglc的编码基因(ptsG)以及奎宁酸/莽草酸脱氢酶基因(ydiB)并系统评价了基因删除对细胞的生长、葡萄糖代谢和莽草酸积累的影响.aroL、aroK的删除阻断了莽草酸进一步转化成为莽草酸-3-磷酸,初步提高莽草酸的累积.删除ptsG基因使大肠杆菌PTS系统部分缺失,细胞通过GalP-glk(半乳糖透性酶-葡萄糖激酶)途径,利用ATP将葡萄糖磷酸化后进入细胞.利用该途径运输葡萄糖能够减少PEP的消耗,使得更多的碳代谢流进入莽草酸合成途径,从而显著提高了莽草酸的产量.在此基础上删除ydiB基因,阻止了莽草酸合成的前体物质3-脱氢奎宁酸转化为副产物奎宁酸(Quinic acid,QA),进一步提高了莽草酸的累积.初步发酵显示4个基因缺失的大肠杆菌代谢工程菌生产莽草酸的能力比原始菌提高了90多倍.     

Changing oxidoreduction potential to improve water-soluble yellow pigment production with Monascus ruber CGMCC 10910

Malonyl-coenzyme A (CoA) is an important biosynthetic precursor in vivo. Although Escherichia coli is a useful organism for biosynthetic applications, its malonyl-CoA level is too low. To identify strains with the best potential for enhanced malonyl-CoA production, we developed a whole-cell biosensor for rapidly reporting intracellular malonyl-CoA concentrations. The biosensor was successfully applied as a high-throughput screening tool for identifying targets at a genome-wide scale that could be critical for improving the malonyl-CoA biosynthesis in vivo. The mutant strains selected synthesized significantly higher titers of the type III polyketide triacetic acid lactone (TAL), phloroglucinol, and free fatty acids compared to the wild-type strain, using malonyl-CoA as a precursor. These results validated this novel whole-cell biosensor as a rapid and sensitive malonyl-CoA high-throughput screening tool. Further analysis of the mutant strains showed that the iron ion concentration is closely related to the intracellular malonyl-CoA biosynthesis.     

Cloning,Expression, and Functional Characterization of Secondary Amino Acid Transporters of Lactococcus lactis

Fourteen genes encoding putative secondary amino acid transporters were identified in the genomes of Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris strains MG1363 and SK11 and L. lactis subsp. lactis strains IL1403 and KF147, 12 of which were common to all four strains. Amino acid uptake in L. lactis cells overexpressing the genes revealed transporters specific for histidine, lysine, arginine, agmatine, putrescine, aromatic amino acids, acidic amino acids, serine, and branched-chain amino acids. Substrate specificities were demonstrated by inhibition profiles determined in the presence of excesses of the other amino acids. Four knockout mutants, lacking the lysine transporter LysP, the histidine transporter HisP (formerly LysQ), the acidic amino acid transporter AcaP (YlcA), or the aromatic amino acid transporter FywP (YsjA), were constructed. The LysP, HisP, and FywP deletion mutants showed drastically decreased rates of uptake of the corresponding substrates at low concentrations. The same was observed for the AcaP mutant with aspartate but not with glutamate. In rich M17 medium, the deletion of none of the transporters affected growth. In contrast, the deletion of the HisP, AcaP, and FywP transporters did affect growth in a defined medium with free amino acids as the sole amino acid source. HisP was essential at low histidine concentrations, and AcaP was essential in the absence of glutamine. FywP appeared to play a role in retaining intracellularly synthesized aromatic amino acids when these were not added to the medium. Finally, HisP, AcaP, and FywP did not play a role in the excretion of accumulated histidine, glutamate, or phenylalanine, respectively, indicating the involvement of other transporters.     

Genetic bases of methionine dependence in Yersinia pestis strains of major and non-major subspecies

Structural and functional organization of genes responsible for biosynthesis of amino acid methionine, which plays a leading role in cellular metabolism of bacteria, was studied in 24 natural Yersinia pestis strains of the major and minor subspecies from various natural plague foci located in the territory of Russian Federation and neighbouring foreign countries, and also in Y. pestis and Y. pseudotuberculosis strains recorded in the files of NCBI GenBank database. Conservatism of genes metA, metB, metC, metE, and metH as well as regulatory genes metR and metJ involved in biosynthesis of this amino acid was established. Sequencing of the variable locus of gene metB in natural Y. pestis strains of major and minor subspecies revealed that the reason for the methionine dependence of strains belonging to the major subspecies is a deletion of a single nucleotide (-G) in the 988 position from the beginning of the gene, whereas this dependence in strains belonging to subspecies hissarica results from the appearance of a single nucleotide (+G) insertion in the 989 position of gene metB. These mutations are absent in strains of the caucasica, altaica, and ulegeica subspecies of the plague agent and in strains of pseudotuberculosis microbe, which correlates with their capacity for methionine biosynthesis.     

AmoA、AmoE和AmoF蛋白在嗜水气单胞菌铁载体合成中的作用研究

铁载体被认为是嗜水气单胞菌的毒力因子之一, 其由amoCEBFAGH七个基因编码, AmoCGH在前人的研究中已证实参与铁载体的合成。RT-PCR实验表明amoAEF基因的表达受到铁的调控。为进一步探究amoAEF基因的功能, 利用融合PCR和基因同源重组原理, 以自杀性质粒PRE112为载体构建基因缺失株ΔamoA、ΔamoE和ΔamoF。通过CAS平板检测实验以及arnow实验来检测野生株WT与各基因缺失突变株铁载体的合成情况, 并比较野生株与各缺失株在低铁培养基中的生长差异。结果显示, 成功构建了基因缺失株ΔamoA、ΔamoE和ΔamoF; 在富铁条件下, 基因缺失株ΔamoA、ΔamoE和ΔamoF的生长与野生株无显著性差异, 但在低铁条件下, 基因缺失株ΔamoA、ΔamoE和ΔamoF的生长能力、铁载体合成能力显著低于野生株。可见, amoA、amoE和amoF基因是嗜水气单胞菌铁载体合成的关键基因, 其缺失会导致细菌在低铁环境中的生长受到抑制。     

Computational design of auxotrophy-dependent microbial biosensors for combinatorial metabolic engineering experiments

Combinatorial approaches in metabolic engineering work by generating genetic diversity in a microbial population followed by screening for strains with improved phenotypes. One of the most common goals in this field is the generation of a high rate chemical producing strain. A major hurdle with this approach is that many chemicals do not have easy to recognize attributes, making their screening expensive and time consuming. To address this problem, it was previously suggested to use microbial biosensors to facilitate the detection and quantification of chemicals of interest. Here, we present novel computational methods to: (i) rationally design microbial biosensors for chemicals of interest based on substrate auxotrophy that would enable their high-throughput screening; (ii) predict engineering strategies for coupling the synthesis of a chemical of interest with the production of a proxy metabolite for which high-throughput screening is possible via a designed bio-sensor. The biosensor design method is validated based on known genetic modifications in an array of E. coli strains auxotrophic to various amino-acids. Predicted chemical production rates achievable via the biosensor-based approach are shown to potentially improve upon those predicted by current rational strain design approaches. (A Matlab implementation of the biosensor design method is available via http://www.cs.technion.ac.il/~tomersh/tools).     

Study of amino acid utilization by isogenic strains of Escherichia coli in relation to the culture growth and biosynthesis of penicillin amidase

Dynamics of free amino acid utilization by isogenic strains of Escherichia coli differing in intensity of their growth and levels of penicillin acylase biosynthesis in media containing corn steep liquor or peptone was studied. It was shown that in both the media some amino acids such as serine, threonine, glutaminic and asparaginic acids were actively utilized by the strains mainly during the culture intensive growth while others such as glycine, alanine and tyrosine were actively utilized during the enzyme biosynthesis. Intensively utilized arginine and proline were probably used for the growth and biosynthesis. The other amino acids were not utilized completely from the media. The lowest levels of their utilization were observed when the strains were cultivated in the medium with peptone.     

Mutation of pfm affects the adherence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to host cells and the quorum sensing system

The Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing (QS) system is controlled by the signal molecules acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs) that are synthesized from acyl enoyl-acyl carrier proteins (acyl-ACPs) provided by the fatty acid biosynthesis cycle. Pfm (PA2950), an enoyl-CoA reductase, has previously been shown to affect swimming mobility and fatty acid biosynthesis. In this report, we further show that pfm influences bacterial adherence to human cells. Microarray assay results suggest that pfm affects bacterial adherence through its influence on the QS system. Further experiments confirmed that the pfm mutant strain produces significantly less QS signal molecules than the corresponding wild-type strain. Using strains Escherichia coli DH5α(pECP64, lasB'-lacZ) and E.?coli DH5α(pECP61.5, rhlA'-lacZ), biosensors for N-(3-oxododecanoyl) homoserine lactone (3O-C(12) -HSL) and N-butyryl homoserine lactone (C(4) -HSL), respectively, we found that pfm mutant strain produces decreased amounts of both signal molecules. Elastase activity and pyocyanin measurements further confirmed the reduced levels of 3O-C(12) -HSL and C(4) -HSL in the pfm mutant. Finally, bacterial virulence, as assessed by the Caenorhabditis elegans worm killing assay, is decreased in the pfm mutant. Taken together, these data indicate that pfm can be an important target for the control of P.?aeruginosa infectivity.