利用木糖和葡萄糖合成乙醇的新型重组大肠杆菌的研究

利用PCR方法从运动发酵单孢菌染色体DNA扩增出乙醇合成途径的关键酶基因pdc、adhB,分别用tac启动子控制表达,构建了可以在Escherichia coli JM109中表达的重组质粒pKK-PA、pEtac-PA.初步的乙醇发酵结果表明,在E.coli中只引入adhB基因不能拓宽其中的产乙醇途径,引入pdc基因可以与宿主自身的ADH酶协同作用,使碳流有效导向产乙醇方向.同时引入pdc、adhB基因可以在宿主E.coli中成功建立产乙醇途径.     

产乙醇大肠杆菌的构建及其活性检测方法的改进

adhB和pdc是运动发酵单胞菌产乙醇途径的关键基因,分别编码乙醇脱氢酶和丙酮酸脱羧酶,将添加有聚球藻PCC7942rbcLS基因RBS序列的adhB和pdc基因插入pUC18载体,经双重菌液PCR检验和酶切检验得到分别含有pUC-adhB、pUC-pdc和pUC-adhB-pdc载体的3个重组菌株。活性检测实验表明聚球藻PCC7942的rbcLS基因的RBS序列能有效介导运动发酵单胞菌的adhB和pdc基因在大肠杆菌中表达,摇瓶发酵实验表明重组大肠杆菌的产乙醇能力较出发菌株大幅提升。鉴于乙醛指示平板法存在着对希夫试剂的要求较高、易产生较强的背景色等缺点,对定性检测丙酮酸脱羧酶和乙醇脱氢酶表达菌株的方法做了改进,即:将菌液诱导表达,然后分别添加对应于两种酶的底物,让酶与底物反应0.5至1小时,之后再加希夫试剂进行显色反应,结果表明改进后的方法比乙醛指示平板法更加简便、快速、可靠。     

Genetic improvement of Escherichia coli for ethanol production: chromosomal integration of Zymomonas mobilis genes encoding pyruvate decarboxylase and alcohol dehydrogenase II

Zymomonas mobilis genes for pyruvate decarboxylase (pdc) and alcohol dehydrogenase II (adhB) were integrated into the Escherichia coli chromosome within or near the pyruvate formate-lyase gene (pfl). Integration improved the stability of the Z. mobilis genes in E. coli, but further selection was required to increase expression. Spontaneous mutants were selected for resistance to high level of chloramphenicol that also expressed high levels of the Z. mobilis genes. Analogous mutants were selected for increased expression of alcohol dehydrogenase on aldehyde indicator plates. These mutants were functionally equivalent to the previous plasmid-based strains for the fermentation of xylose and glucose to ethanol. Ethanol concentrations of 54.4 and 41.6 g/liter were obtained from 10% glucose and 8% xylose, respectively. The efficiency of conversion exceeded theoretical limits (0.51 g of ethanol/g of sugar) on the basis of added sugars because of the additional production of ethanol from the catabolism of complex nutrients. Further mutations were introduced to inactivate succinate production (frd) and to block homologous recombination (recA).     

Genetic improvement of Escherichia coli for ethanol production: chromosomal integration of Zymomonas mobilis genes encoding pyruvate decarboxylase and alcohol dehydrogenase II.

Zymomonas mobilis genes for pyruvate decarboxylase (pdc) and alcohol dehydrogenase II (adhB) were integrated into the Escherichia coli chromosome within or near the pyruvate formate-lyase gene (pfl). Integration improved the stability of the Z. mobilis genes in E. coli, but further selection was required to increase expression. Spontaneous mutants were selected for resistance to high level of chloramphenicol that also expressed high levels of the Z. mobilis genes. Analogous mutants were selected for increased expression of alcohol dehydrogenase on aldehyde indicator plates. These mutants were functionally equivalent to the previous plasmid-based strains for the fermentation of xylose and glucose to ethanol. Ethanol concentrations of 54.4 and 41.6 g/liter were obtained from 10% glucose and 8% xylose, respectively. The efficiency of conversion exceeded theoretical limits (0.51 g of ethanol/g of sugar) on the basis of added sugars because of the additional production of ethanol from the catabolism of complex nutrients. Further mutations were introduced to inactivate succinate production (frd) and to block homologous recombination (recA).     

Cloning of the Zymomonas mobilis structural gene encoding alcohol dehydrogenase I (adhA): sequence comparison and expression in Escherichia coli.

Zymomonas mobilis ferments sugars to produce ethanol with two biochemically distinct isoenzymes of alcohol dehydrogenase. The adhA gene encoding alcohol dehydrogenase I has now been sequenced and compared with the adhB gene, which encodes the second isoenzyme. The deduced amino acid sequences for these gene products exhibited no apparent homology. Alcohol dehydrogenase I contained 337 amino acids, with a subunit molecular weight of 36,096. Based on comparisons of primary amino acid sequences, this enzyme belongs to the family of zinc alcohol dehydrogenases which have been described primarily in eucaryotes. Nearly all of the 22 strictly conserved amino acids in this group were also conserved in Z. mobilis alcohol dehydrogenase I. Alcohol dehydrogenase I is an abundant protein, although adhA lacked many of the features previously reported in four other highly expressed genes from Z. mobilis. Codon usage in adhA is not highly biased and includes many codons which were unused by pdc, adhB, gap, and pgk. The ribosomal binding region of adhA lacked the canonical Shine-Dalgarno sequence found in the other highly expressed genes from Z. mobilis. Although these features may facilitate the expression of high enzyme levels, they do not appear to be essential for the expression of Z. mobilis adhA.     

Isolation and molecular characterization of high-performance cellobiose-fermenting spontaneous mutants of ethanologenic Escherichia coli KO11 containing the Klebsiella oxytoca casAB operon.

Escherichia coli KO11 was previously constructed to produce ethanol from acid hydrolysates of hemicellulose (pentoses and hexoses) by the chromosomal integration of Zymomonas mobilis genes encoding pyruvate decarboxylase (pdc) and alcohol dehydrogenase (adhB). Klebsiella oxytoca P2 was constructed in an analogous fashion for the simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of cellulose and contains PTS enzymes for cellobiose. In this study, KO11 was further engineered for the fermentation of cellulose by adding the K. oxytoca casAB genes encoding Enzyme IIcellobiose and phospho-beta-glucosidase. Although the two K. oxytoca genes were well expressed in cloning hosts such as DH5 alpha, both were expressed poorly in E. coli KO11, a derivative of E. coli B. Spontaneous mutants which exhibited more than 15-fold-higher specific activities for cellobiose metabolism were isolated. The mutations of these mutants resided in the plasmid rather than the host. Three mutants were characterized by sequence analysis. All contained similar internal deletions which eliminated the casAB promoter and operator regions and placed the lacZ Shine-Dalgarno region immediately upstream from the casA Shine-Dalgarno region. KO11 harboring mutant plasmids (pLOI1908, pLOI1909, or pLOI1910) rapidly fermented cellobiose to ethanol, and the yield was more than 90% of the theoretical yield. Two of these strains were used with commercial cellulase to ferment mixed-waste office paper to ethanol.     

启动子PpetE与Pcpc560对集胞藻PCC 6803生物合成乙醇的影响

为了增加工程集胞藻PCC 6803的乙醇合成产量,通过选用强启动子Pcpc560 驱动并提高外源乙醇合成基因(pdc,yqhD)的表达,从而促进乙醇的生产。具体方法利用同源双交换引入来源于运动型发酵单胞菌的丙酮酸脱羧酶基因(pdc)与来源于大肠杆菌的NADPH依赖型醛还原酶基因(yqhD)并选用不同的启动子来驱动其表达。通过逆转录定量PCR分析,比较在不同启动子驱动的情况下,外源乙醇合成基因(pdc,yqhD)的表达情况并检测相应突变株的乙醇产量。结果显示相较于中等启动子,铜离子诱导启动子PpetE,来源于集胞藻PCC 6803的光强启动子Pcpc560显著促进了外源乙醇合成基因(pdc,yqhD)的表达,并增加了工程菌株乙醇合成的产量。超强启动子Pcpc560搭配pdc,yqhD的组合表达,显著提高了工程菌株的乙醇合成产量。     

Use of the tac promoter and lacIq for the controlled expression of Zymomonas mobilis fermentative genes in Escherichia coli and Zymomonas mobilis.

The Zymomonas mobilis genes encoding alcohol dehydrogenase I (adhA), alcohol dehydrogenase II (adhB), and pyruvate decarboxylase (pdc) were overexpressed in Escherichia coli and Z. mobilis by using a broad-host-range vector containing the tac promoter and the lacIq repressor gene. Maximal IPTG (isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside) induction of these plasmid-borne genes in Z. mobilis resulted in a 35-fold increase in alcohol dehydrogenase I activity, a 16.7-fold increase in alcohol dehydrogenase II activity, and a 6.3-fold increase in pyruvate decarboxylase activity. Small changes in the activities of these enzymes did not affect glycolytic flux in cells which are at maximal metabolic activity, indicating that flux under these conditions is controlled at some other point in metabolism. Expression of adhA, adhB, or pdc at high specific activities (above 8 IU/mg of cell protein) resulted in a decrease in glycolytic flux (negative flux control coefficients), which was most pronounced for pyruvate decarboxylase. Growth rate and flux are imperfectly coupled in this organism. Neither a twofold increase in flux nor a 50% decline from maximal flux caused any immediate change in growth rate. Thus, the rates of biosynthesis and growth in this organism are not limited by energy generation in rich medium.     

运动发酵单胞菌积累聚羟基丁酸提高乙醇产量

运动发酵单胞菌是一种很有潜力的酒精生产菌。PHB是生物合成的一种聚酯,有研究表明,该类物质在微生物体内的积累能够提高宿主菌的抗逆能力。本文对运动发酵单胞菌进行了如下改造：将PHB合成操纵子phbCAB与来源于运动发酵单胞菌的丙酮酸脱羧酶的启动子准确融合,插入广泛宿主载体pBBR1MCS-1中,并利用电转化的方法转入运动发酵单胞菌中。在重组菌中检测到了PhaA和PhaB的酶活;并首次在运动发酵单胞菌中实现了PHB的积累。摇瓶实验表明,前48小时重组菌的乙醇积累量提高了约10%,后续发酵中可能由于葡萄糖耗尽,重组菌与野生菌乙醇积累量差别不大。     

Genome-scale modeling and in silico analysis of ethanologenic bacteria Zymomonas mobilis

Bioethanol has been recognized as a potential alternative energy source. Among various ethanol-producing microbes, Zymomonas mobilis has acquired special attention due to its higher ethanol yield and tolerance. However, cellular metabolism in Z. mobilis remains unclear, hindering its practical application for bioethanol production. To elucidate such physiological characteristics, we reconstructed and validated a genome-scale metabolic network (iZM363) of Z. mobilis ATCC31821 (ZM4) based on its annotated genome and biochemical information. The phenotypic behaviors and metabolic states predicted by our genome-scale model were highly consistent with the experimental observations of Z. mobilis ZM4 strain growing on glucose as well as NMR-measured intracellular fluxes of an engineered strain utilizing glucose, fructose, and xylose. Subsequent comparative analysis with Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae as well as gene essentiality and flux coupling analyses have also confirmed the functional role of pdc and adh genes in the ethanologenic activity of Z. mobilis, thus leading to better understanding of this natural ethanol producer. In future, the current model could be employed to identify potential cell engineering targets, thereby enhancing the productivity of ethanol in Z. mobilis.     

Metabolic engineering of Corynebacterium glutamicum for fuel ethanol production under oxygen-deprivation conditions

The central metabolic pathway of Corynebacterium glutamicum was engineered to produce ethanol. A recombinant strain which expressed the Zymomonas mobilis genes coding for pyruvate decarboxylase (pdc) and alcohol dehydrogenase (adhB) was constructed. Both genes placed under the control of the C. glutamicum ldhA promoter were expressed at high levels in C. glutamicum, resulting, under oxygen-deprivation conditions, in a significant yield ofethanol from glucose in a process characterized by the absence of cellular growth. Addition of pyruvate in trace amounts to the reaction mixture induced a 2-fold increase in the ethanol production rate. A similar effect was observed when acetaldehyde was added. Disruption of the lactate dehydrogenase (ldhA) gene led to a 3-fold higher ethanol yield than wild type, with no lactate production. Moreover, inactivation of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (ppc) and ldhA genes revealed a significant amount of ethanol production and a dramatic decrease in succinate without any lactate production, when pyruvate was added. Since the reaction occurred in the absence of cell growth, the ethanol volumetric productivity increased in proportion to cell density of ethanologenic C. glutamicum in a process under oxygen-deprivation conditions. These observations corroborate the view that intracellular NADH concentrations in C. glutamicum are correlated to oxygen-deprived metabolic flows.     

Fermentation of d-Xylose to Ethanol by Genetically Modified Klebsiella planticola

d-Xylose is a plentiful pentose sugar derived from agricultural or forest residues. Enteric bacteria such as Klebsiella spp. ferment d-xylose to form mixed acids and butanediol in addition to ethanol. Thus the ethanol yield is normally low. Zymomonas spp. and most yeasts are unable to ferment xylose, but they do ferment hexose sugars to ethanol in high yield because they contain pyruvate decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.1), a key enzyme that is absent from enteric bacteria. This report describes the fermentation of d-xylose by Klebsiella planticola ATCC 33531 bearing multicopy plasmids containing the pdc gene inserted from Zymomonas mobilis. Expression of the gene markedly increased the yield of ethanol to 1.3 mol/mol of xylose, or 25.1 g/liter. Concurrently, there were significant decreases in the yields of formate, acetate, lactate, and butanediol. Transconjugant Klebsiella spp. grew almost as fast as the wild type and tolerated up to 4% ethanol. The plasmid was retained by the cells during at least one batch culture, even in the absence of selective pressure by antibiotics to maintain the plasmid. Ethanol production was 31.6 g/liter from 79.6 g of mixed substrate per liter chosen to simulate hydrolyzed hemicellulose. The physiology of the wild-type of K. planticola is described in more detail than in the original report of its isolation.     

Development of an arabinose-fermenting Zymomonas mobilis strain by metabolic pathway engineering.

The substrate fermentation range of the ethanologenic bacterium Zymomonas mobilis was expanded to include the pentose sugar, L-arabinose, which is commonly found in agricultural residues and other lignocellulosic biomass. Five genes, encoding L-arabinose isomerase (araA), L-ribulokinase (araB), L-ribulose-5-phosphate-4-epimerase (araD), transaldolase (talB), and transketolase (tktA), were isolated from Escherichia coli and introduced into Z. mobilis under the control of constitutive promoters that permitted their expression even in the presence of glucose. The engineered strain grew on and produced ethanol from L-arabinose as a sole C source at 98% of the maximum theoretical ethanol yield, based on the amount of consumed sugar. This indicates that arabinose was metabolized almost exclusively to ethanol as the sole fermentation product, with little by-product formation. Although no diauxic growth pattern was evident, the microorganism preferentially utilized glucose before arabinose, apparently reflecting the specificity of the indigenous facilitated diffusion transport system. This microorganism may be useful, along with the previously developed xylose-fermenting Z. mobilis (M. Zhang, C. Eddy, K. Deanda, M. Finkelstein, and S. Picataggio, Science 267:240-243, 1995), in a mixed culture for efficient fermentation of the predominant hexose and pentose sugars in agricultural residues and other lignocellulosic feedstocks to ethanol.     

Expression of Zymomonas mobilis adhB (encoding alcohol dehydrogenase II) and adhB-lacZ operon fusions in recombinant Z. mobilis.

The Zymomonas mobilis alcohol dehydrogenase II gene (adhB) was overexpressed 7- to 14-fold on a recombinant plasmid, accompanied by a small decrease in growth rate. A fragment containing the truncated gene with promoter reduced expression from the chromosomal gene as measured immunologically and enzymatically, consistent with the presence of a trans-active regulatory factor and positive regulatory control. Both the complete gene and the promoter fragment increased pyruvate decarboxylase and glucokinase activities, with no effect on alcohol dehydrogenase I or eight glycolytic enzymes. Tandem promoters from adhB expressed beta-galactosidase at higher levels than did either promoter alone in operon fusions. Addition of 50 microM zinc sulfate in minimal medium reduced the expression of adhB and of the operon fusions. Abundant but inactive alcohol dehydrogenase II was produced in iron-limited cells. This inactive enzyme did not form intracellular aggregates, and no morphological changes were apparent by transmission electron microscopy.     

Genetic engineering of ethanol production in Escherichia coli

The genes encoding essential enzymes of the fermentative pathway for ethanol production in Zymomonas mobilis, an obligately ethanologenic bacterium, were inserted into Escherichia coli under the control of a common promoter. Alcohol dehydrogenase II and pyruvate decarboxylase from Z. mobilis were expressed at high levels in E. coli, resulting in increased cell growth and the production of ethanol as the principal fermentation product from glucose. These results demonstrate that it is possible to change the fermentation products of an organism, such as E. coli, by the addition of genes encoding appropriate enzymes which form an alternative system for the regeneration of NAD+.     

Genetic engineering of ethanol production in Escherichia coli.

The genes encoding essential enzymes of the fermentative pathway for ethanol production in Zymomonas mobilis, an obligately ethanologenic bacterium, were inserted into Escherichia coli under the control of a common promoter. Alcohol dehydrogenase II and pyruvate decarboxylase from Z. mobilis were expressed at high levels in E. coli, resulting in increased cell growth and the production of ethanol as the principal fermentation product from glucose. These results demonstrate that it is possible to change the fermentation products of an organism, such as E. coli, by the addition of genes encoding appropriate enzymes which form an alternative system for the regeneration of NAD+.     

Metabolic engineering of Bacillus subtilis for ethanol production: lactate dehydrogenase plays a key role in fermentative metabolism

Wild-type Bacillus subtilis ferments 20 g/liter glucose in 48 h, producing lactate and butanediol, but not ethanol or acetate. To construct an ethanologenic B. subtilis strain, homologous recombination was used to disrupt the native lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) gene (ldh) by chromosomal insertion of the Zymomonas mobilis pyruvate decarboxylase gene (pdc) and alcohol dehydrogenase II gene (adhB) under the control of the ldh native promoter. The values of the intracellular PDC and ADHII enzymatic activities of the engineered B. subtilis BS35 strain were similar to those found in an ethanologenic Escherichia coli strain. BS35 produced ethanol and butanediol; however, the cell growth and glucose consumption rates were reduced by 70 and 65%, respectively, in comparison to those in the progenitor strain. To eliminate butanediol production, the acetolactate synthase gene (alsS) was inactivated. In the BS36 strain (BS35 delta alsS), ethanol production was enhanced, with a high yield (89% of the theoretical); however, the cell growth and glucose consumption rates remained low. Interestingly, kinetic characterization of LDH from B. subtilis showed that it is able to oxidize NADH and NADPH. The expression of the transhydrogenase encoded by udhA from E. coli allowed a partial recovery of the cell growth rate and an early onset of ethanol production. Beyond pyruvate-to-lactate conversion and NADH oxidation, an additional key physiological role of LDH for glucose consumption under fermentative conditions is suggested. Long-term cultivation showed that 8.9 g/liter of ethanol can be obtained using strain BS37 (BS35 delta alsS udhA+). As far as we know, this is the highest ethanol titer and yield reported with a B. subtilis strain.     

Cloning and characterization of the Zymobacter palmae pyruvate decarboxylase gene (pdc) and comparison to bacterial homologues

Pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) is the key enzyme in all homo-ethanol fermentations. Although widely distributed among plants, yeasts, and fungi, PDC is absent in animals and rare in bacteria (established for only three organisms). Genes encoding the three known bacterial pdc genes have been previously described and expressed as active recombinant proteins. The pdc gene from Zymomonas mobilis has been used to engineer ethanol-producing biocatalysts for use in industry. In this paper, we describe a new bacterial pdc gene from Zymobacter palmae. The pattern of codon usage for this gene appears quite similar to that for Escherichia coli genes. In E. coli recombinants, the Z. palmae PDC represented approximately 1/3 of the soluble protein. Biochemical and kinetic properties of the Z. palmae enzyme were compared to purified PDCs from three other bacteria. Of the four bacterial PDCs, the Z. palmae enzyme exhibited the highest specific activity (130 U mg of protein(-1)) and the lowest Km for pyruvate (0.24 mM). Differences in biochemical properties, thermal stability, and codon usage may offer unique advantages for the development of new biocatalysts for fuel ethanol production.