Modified Escherichia coli B (BL21), a superior producer of plasmid DNA compared with Escherichia coli K (DH5alpha)

Plasmid DNA (pDNA) is an emerging experimental vaccine, produced in E. coli, initially targeted for viral diseases. Unlike traditional protein vaccines whose average dose is micrograms, the average dose of pDNA is on the scale of milligrams. Production yields are, therefore, important for the future development of this vaccine. The E. coli strains currently used for pDNA production, JM109 and DH5alpha, are both suitable for production of stable pDNA due to the deletion of recA and endA, however, these two E. coli K strains are sensitive to growth conditions such as high glucose concentration. On the other hand E. coli BL21 is less sensitive to growth conditions than E. coli JM109 or DH5alpha, this strain grows to higher densities and due to its active glyoxylate shunt and anaplerotic pathways is not sensitive to high glucose concentration. This strain is used for recombinant protein production but not for pDNA production because of its inability to produce stable pDNA. To adapt E. coli BL21 for stable pDNA production, the strain was mutated by deleting both recA and endA, and a proper growth and production strategy was developed. Production values, reaching 2 g/L were obtained using glucose as a carbon source. The produced plasmid, which was constructed for HIV clinical study, was found to have identical properties to the plasmid currently produced by E. coli DH5alpha.     

Impact of high pressure freezing on DH5alpha Escherichia coli and red blood cells

The impact of high pressure and freezing on survivability of Escherichia coli and human red blood cells was evaluated to determine the utility of high-pressure transitions for preserving living cells. Based on microscopy and survivability, high pressures did not directly impact physical damage to living cells. E. coli studies showed that increased cell death is due to indirect phenomena with decreasing survivability at increasingly high pressures and exposure times. Pressurization rates up to 1.4kbar/min had negligible effects relative to exposures of >5min at high pressures.Both glycine and control of pH near 7.0 were successful in reducing the adverse impacts of high pressure. Survivability increased from <1% at 5min exposure to 2.1kbar of pressure to typical values >20%. The combination of glycine and the buffer salt led to even further improvements in survivability. Pressure changes were used to traverse temperature and pressures consistent with Ice I and Ice III phase boundaries of pure water.     

Characterizing Escherichia coli DH5alpha growth and metabolism in a complex medium using genome-scale flux analysis

Genome-scale flux analysis of Escherichia coli DH5alpha growth in a complex medium was performed to investigate the relationship between the uptake of various nutrients and their metabolic outcomes. During the exponential growth phase, we observed a sequential consumption order of serine, aspartate and glutamate in the complex medium as well as the complete consumption of key carbohydrate nutrients, glucose and trehalose. Based on the consumption and production rates of the measured metabolites, constraints-based flux analysis of a genome-scale E. coli model was then conducted to elucidate their utilization in the metabolism. The in silico analysis revealed that the cell exploited biosynthetic precursors taken up directly from the complex medium, through growth-related anabolic pathways. This suggests that the cell could be functioning in an energetically more efficient manner by reducing the energy needed to produce amino acids. The in silico simulation also allowed us to explain the observed rapid consumption of serine: excessively consumed external serine from the complex medium was mainly converted into pyruvate and glycine, which in turn, led to the acetate accumulation. The present work demonstrates the application of an in silico modeling approach to characterizing microbial metabolism under complex medium condition. This work further illustrates the use of in silico genome-scale analysis for developing better strategies related to improving microbial growth and enhancing the productivity of desirable metabolites.     

An investigation into the membrane-interactive potential of the Escherichia coli KpsE C-terminus

Membrane binding via C-terminal amphiphilic alpha-helical structure is a novel anchoring mechanism, which has been characterised in a number of prokaryotic carboxypeptidases. Here, we have used graphical and DWIH analyses to ascertain if a similar anchoring mechanism may be utilised by the Escherichia coli KpsE protein in its binding to the periplasmic face of the inner membrane. The results of these analyses have been compared to those obtained for similar analyses of the C-terminal sequences of E. coli penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) PBP5 and PBP6 which, are known to function as amphiphilic alpha-helical membrane anchors, and of melittin, a known membrane-interactive toxin. We have also used FTIR spectroscopy and lipid phase transition temperature analysis to investigate the interaction of a peptide homologue of KpsE C-terminal region with membrane lipid. Our results suggest that the KpsE C-terminal sequence has the potential to form an amphiphilic alpha-helix and that this alpha-helix could feature in the membrane binding of the protein.     

腺嘌呤对大肠杆菌DH5α和其耐乙酸突变株DA19 代谢流分布的影响

【目的】本文通过分析在基本培养基中添加腺嘌呤对大肠杆菌DH5α和其耐乙酸突变株DA19代谢流分布的影响,从而进一步了解二者在代谢调控方面的差异。【方法】对2个菌株分别在氮源限制基本培养基及添加腺嘌呤的氮源限制基本培养基中进行连续培养,分析两者代谢流变化差异,并与酶活测定结果进行比较。【结果】添加腺嘌呤降低了DH5α的葡萄糖比消耗速率和乙酸的比生成速率,提高了菌体关于葡萄糖的得率,而丙酮酸比生成速率变化不明显。与MN培养基相比,添加腺嘌呤后DH5α降低了乙酸分流比,提高了分泌丙酮酸和三羧酸循环分流比,同时明显改变了磷酸果糖激酶、6-磷酸葡萄糖脱氢酶和乙酸激酶酶活。与DH5α不同,添加腺嘌呤使得DA19的丙酮酸比生成速率增加了近57%,而其它参数无明显改变。与MN培养基相比,DA19在添加腺嘌呤后降低了三羧酸循环分流比,大大提高了分泌丙酮酸分流比,而关键酶活未发生明显改变。酶活变化与代谢流结果基本一致。【结论】由于大肠杆菌DH5α和DA19嘌呤核苷酸从头合成途径能力存在差异,因此添加腺嘌呤对两个菌株的代谢流分布产生了完全不同的影响。     

His/GST-HDAC1在大肠杆菌中表达的研究

目的:对His/GST-HDAC1在大肠杆菌BL-21中的表达进行研究。方法:HDAC1的完整基因片断被克隆到pColdⅠ载体和pGEX载体上,并在其N末端分别联有His和GST;采用大肠杆菌BL21对HDAC1进行表达;采用亲和色谱对HDAC1进行纯化;用SDS-PAGE和蛋白质印迹来验证表达和纯化效果;对HDAC1活性进行测定。结果:多数HDAC1存在于大肠杆菌BL-21细胞裂解液的沉淀组分和纯化过程中的未结合组分中,小部分HDAC1可从细胞裂解液的上清液中得以纯化,但未显现出酶活性。用FPLC对HDAC1进行进一步分离,结果表明,HDAC1发生了分子聚集,使得它们的分子量大于正常分子量。结论:活性His/GST-HDAC1不能用大肠杆菌BL21成功表达。     

Comparison of green fluorescent protein expression in two industrial Escherichia coli strains,BL21 and W3110, under co-expression of bacterial hemoglobin

Vitreoscilla hemoglobin (VHb) has been successfully used to enhance production of foreign proteins in several microorganisms including Escherichia coli. We compared the expression of an oxygen-dependent foreign protein, green fluorescent protein (GFP) under co-expression of VHb in two typical industrial E. coli strains, BL21 (a B derivative) and W3110 (a K12 derivative), which have different metabolic properties. We employed the nar oxygen-dependent promoter for self-tuning regulation of VHb expression due to the natural transition of dissolved oxygen (DO) level during culture. We observed several interesting and differing behaviors in cultures of the two strains. VHb co-expression showed a positive influence on expression, and even on solubility, of GFP in both strains; while strain BL21 had the higher GFP expression level, W3110 showed higher solubility of expressed GFP. GFP expression in strain BL21 was very largely affected by variation of aeration environments, but W3110 was not significantly impacted. We surmised that this arose from different oxygen utilization abilities and indeed the two strains showed different patterns of oxygen uptake rate. Interestingly, the VHb co-expressing W3110 strain exhibited a peculiar increasing pattern of GFP expression during the late culture period even under low aeration conditions and this enhancement was more obvious in large-scale cultures. Therefore, this strain could be successfully employed in practical large-scale production cultures where DO levels tend to be limited. Electronic Publication     

Using the PCR-RFLP method for comparative analysis of the pathogenic Escherichia coli strains

The purpose of the study was to identify differences and similarities between Escherichia coli strains which do or do not utilize disaccharide sucrose by PCR-RFLP method. Investigations were done on chromosomal DNA level using cscA gene associated with conservative sequences. The cscA gene may be found in all of the analysed strains. Genotypic analysis demonstrated presence of the same restriction model consisted of 2 DNA fragments with size of 161 bp and 110 bp in all of E. coli strains. Results of these investigations have shown that there are no differences between E. coli strains.     

Improving the growth rate of Escherichia coli DH5alpha at low temperature through engineering of GroEL/S chaperone system

GroEL/S is a molecular chaperone system in Escherichia coli which not only assists the folding of intracellular proteins but also affects the cellular activity against the change of environmental condition. Here we show that the growth rate of E. coli DH5alpha can be improved at low temperature by expressing a GroEL/S variant achieved through irrational protein engineering approach. The GroELS variant (GroELS(var)) accelerating the growth of E. coli DH5alpha was screened through enrichment culture of the mutant libraries obtained by random mutagenesis. E. coli DH5alpha harboring the groELS(var) gene exhibited approximately 1.5-2 times higher growth rate compared to the strain with wild-type GroELS at 15-30 degrees C. At 10 degrees C, a temperature that the growth of E. coli DH5alpha almost stops, the GroELS(var) triggered the growth of E. coli DH5alpha. We identified that seven nucleotides of groELS gene and six amino acids of the GroELS were changed through the mutagenesis and screening. Site directed mutagenic analysis revealed that H360 in GroEL(var) is the most crucial residue determining the activity of GroELS(var) and more than one of the other residues in GroEL(var) may be additionally involved in the activity of GroELS(var). The improvement of growth rate induced by the GroELS(var) was observed only in the strain DH5alpha and not detected in other E. coli strains, such as BL21, BW25113, codon+, JM110, Top10, and XL1-blue.     

Adherent-invasive Escherichia coli phenotype displayed by intestinal pathogenic E. coli strains from cats, dogs, and swine

The adherent-invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC) pathotype, which has been associated with Crohn's disease, shows similar traits to human and animal extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) with respect to their phylogenetic origin and virulence gene profiles. Here, we demonstrate that animal ExPEC strains generally do not share the AIEC phenotype. In contrast, this phenotype is very frequent among animal intestinal pathogenic E. coli (InPEC) strains, particularly of feline and canine origin, that genetically resemble ExPEC. These results strengthen the particular identity and disease specificity of the AIEC pathotype and the putative role animals might play in the transmission of AIEC-like strains to humans.     

Plasmid retention and gene expression in suspended and biofilm cultures of recombinant Escherichia coli DH5alpha(pMJR1750)

Differences in plasmid retention and expression are studied in both suspended and biofilm cultures of Escherichia coli DH5alpha(PMJR1750). An alternative mathematical model is proposed which allows the determination of plasmid loss probability in both suspended batch and continuously fed biofilm cultures. In our experiments, the average probability of plasmid loss of E. coli DH5alpha(pMJR1750) is 0.0022 in batch culture in the absence of antibiotic selection pressure and inducer. Under the induction of 0.17 MM IPTG, the maximum growth rate of plasmid-bearing cells in suspended batch culture dropped from 0.45 h(-1) to 0.35 h(-1) and the beta-galactosidase concentration reached an experimental maximum of 0.32. pg/cell 4 hours after the initiation of induction. At both 0.34 and 0.51 mM IPTG, growth rates in batch cultures decreased to 0.16 h(-1), about 36% of that without IPTG, and the beta-galactosidase concentration reached an experimental maximum of 0.47 pg/cell 3 hours after induction.In biofilm cultures, both plasmid-bearing and plasmid-free cells in increase with time reaching a plateau after 96 hours n the absence of both the inducer and any antibiotic selection pressure. Average probability of plasmid loss for biofilm-bound E. coli DH5beta(pMJR1750) population was 0.017 without antibiotic selection. Once the inducer IPTG was added, the concentration of plasmid-bearing cells in biofilm dropped dramatically while plasmid-free cell numbers maintained unaffected. The beta-galactosidase concentration reached a maximum in all biofilm experiments 24 hours after induction; they were 0.08, 0.1, and 0.12 pg/cel under 0.17, 0.34, and 0.51 mM IPTG, respectively. (c) 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

基因atpA、purHD和ndh的过量表达对大肠杆菌DH5a生长的影响

【目的】理解大肠杆菌DH5a及其耐乙酸突变株DA19在基本培养基中生长和乙酸积累差异的机理。【方法】根据前期针对两个菌株蛋白质组和培养中物料及能量平衡的分析,通过PCR分别扩增大肠杆菌DH5a及DA19的atpIBEFHAGDC基因、purHD基因和与NADH氧化代谢相关ndh基因及其各自的调节区,以及NADH脱氢酶Ⅰ基因（nuoA-N）的调节区。将atpA、purHD和ndh基因分别克隆到载体pTrc99a中,转化DH5a,研究基因过量表达对生长的影响。【结果】测序结果表明两个菌株的这些DNA序列与公布的大肠杆菌K-12的相应序列完全一致,在DH5a菌株中分别过量表达atpA、purHD或ndh基因可以在一定程度上改善菌体的生长。【结论】过量表达purHD或ndh基因比过量表达atpA基因的效果更好,但与DA19的生长相比仍然存在较大差距,反映了代谢全局调节的重要性。     

Fate of pathogenic and non-pathogenic Escherichia coli strains in two fermented milk products

The growth and survival of pathogenic and non-pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli was determined in traditionally fermented pasteurized and unpasteurized milk and in Lacto, an industrially fermented milk. Each milk treatment was incubated at 20 degrees C for 24 h and then stored at either 20 degrees C or 5 degrees C for 96 h. Lacto inhibited all the three E. coli strains. Two strains could not be recovered and the third survived only in very low numbers after 24 h storage of Lacto at both 20 degrees C and 5 degrees C. All three E. coli strains survived and multiplied to maximum cell numbers in the range 10(7)-10(9)/ml during traditional fermentation of unpasteurized milk. Cell numbers decreased to 10(3)-10(6) and 10(2)-10(5) during storage of the fermented product at 20 degrees C and 5 degrees C respectively. Higher maximum numbers, 10(9)-10(10), of the three strains of E. coli were attained during traditional fermentation of pasteurized milk. The numbers decreased to 10(5)-10(8) and 10(4)-10(7) during storage of the fermented product at 20 degrees C and 5 degrees C respectively. Generally, fewer E. coli survived when the fermented milk products were stored at refrigeration temperature.     

Fate of pathogenic and non-pathogenic Escherichia coli strains in two fermented milk products

F eresu , S. & N yati , H. 1990. Fate of pathogenic and non-pathogenic Escherichia coli strains in two fermented milk products. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 69 , 814–821.
The growth and survival of pathogenic and non-pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli was determined in traditionally fermented pasteurized and unpasteurized milk and in Lacto, an industrially fermented milk. Each milk treatment was incubated at 20C for 24 h and then stored at either 20C or 5C for 96 h.
Lacto inhibited all the three E. coli strains. Two strains could not be recovered and the third survived only in very low numbers after 24 h storage of Lacto at both 20C and 5C. All three E. coli strains survived and multiplied to maximum cell numbers in the range 10⁷-10⁹/ml during traditional fermentation of unpasteurized milk. Cell numbers decreased to 10³-10⁶ and 10²-10⁵ during storage of the fermented product at 20C and 5C respectively. Higher maximum numbers, 10⁹-10¹⁰, of the three strains of E. coli were attained during traditional fermentation of pasteurized milk. The numbers decreased to 10⁵-10⁸ and 10⁴-10⁷ during storage of the fermented product at 20C and 5C respectively. Generally, fewer E. coli survived when the fermented milk products were stored at refrigeration temperature.     

Molecular evolution and mosaic structure of alpha, beta, and gamma intimins of pathogenic Escherichia coli.

Two types of pathogenic Escherichia coli, enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), cause diarrheal disease by disrupting the intestinal environment through the intimate attachment of the bacteria to the intestinal epithelium. This process is mediated by intimin, an outer membrane protein that is homologous to the invasins of pathogenic Yersinia. The intimin (eae) gene is part of a pathogenicity island, a 35-kb segment of DNA that has been acquired independently in different groups of pathogens. Nucleotide sequences of eae of three EPEC and four EHEC strains representing distinct clonal lineages revealed an exceptionally high level of divergence (15%) in the amino acid sequences of alpha, beta, and gamma intimin molecules, most of which is concentrated in the C-terminal region. The gamma intimin sequences from E. coli strains with serotypes O157:H7, O55:H7, and O157:H- are virtually identical, supporting the hypothesis that these bacteria belong to a single clonal lineage. Sequences of beta intimin of EPEC strains of serotypes O111:H2 and O128:H2 show substantial differences from alpha and gamma intimins, indicating that these strains have evolved independently. Strong nonrandom clustering of polymorphic sites indicates that the intimin genes are mosaics, suggesting that protein divergence has been accelerated by recombination and diversifying selection.     

Adhesive properties associated with the Vir plasmid: a transmissible pathogenic characteristic associated with strains of invasive Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli strain S5 (O15:K+:H21) isolated from a septicaemic lamb and previously shown to possess a virulence plasmid, Vir, attached in vitro to calf epithelial tissue from the ileum, oesophagus and trachea in the presence of 0.5% (w/v) D-mannose. The Vir+ recombinant strains 711v and H209av, which had received the Vir plasmid(s) from strain S5, also attached to these epithelia but the parent strains 711 and H209a without the Vir plasmid were non-adhesive. The attachment of the Vir+ strain 711v to intestinal brush borders was inhibited by antiserum to live Vir+ strain H209av but not by antiserum to strain H209a lacking Vir. No adherence occurred with Vir+ organisms grown at 18 degrees C or after heating at 65 degrees C. Adhesion was unaffected by 0.5% (w/v) formaldehyde. Glucosamine, mannosamine, their N-acetyl derivatives and wheat germ lectin each inhibited attachment of Vir+ strain 711v to brush border epithelia.     

Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli BL21 for biosynthesis of heparosan, a bioengineered heparin precursor

As a precursor of bioengineered heparin, heparosan is currently produced from Escherichia coli K5, which is pathogenic bacteria potentially causing urinary tract infection. Thus, it would be advantageous to develop an alternative source of heparosan from a non-pathogeneic strain. In this work we reported the biosynthesis of heparosan via the metabolic engineering of non-pathogenic E. coli BL21 as a production host. Four genes, KfiA, KfiB, KfiC and KfiD, encoding enzymes for the biosynthesis of heparosan in E. coli K5, were cloned into inducible plasmids pETDuet-1 and pRSFDuet-1 and further transformed into E. coli BL21, yielding six recombinant strains as follows: sA, sC, sAC, sABC, sACD and sABCD. The single expression of KfiA (sA) or KfiC (sC) in E. coli BL21 did not produce heparosan, while the co-expression of KfiA and KfiC (sAC) could produce 63mg/L heparosan in shake flask. The strain sABC and sACD could produce 100 and 120mg/L heparosan, respectively, indicating that the expression of KfiB or KfiD was beneficial for heparosan production. The strain sABCD could produce 334mg/L heparosan in shake flask and 652mg/L heparosan in 3-L batch bioreactor. The heparosan yield was further increased to 1.88g/L in a dissolved oxygen-stat fed-batch culture in 3-L bioreactor. As revealed by the nuclear magnetic resonance analysis, the chemical structure of heparosan from recombinant E. coli BL21 and E. coli K5 was identical. The weight average molecular weight of heparosan from E. coli K5, sAC, sABC, sACD, and sABCD was 51.67, 39.63, 91.47, 64.51, and 118.30kDa, respectively. This work provides a viable process for the production of heparosan as a precursor of bioengineered heparin from a safer bacteria strain.