Uptake of phenylacetic acid by two strains of Penicillium chrysogenum

Uptake of phenylacetic acid, the side-chain precursor of benzylpenicillin, was studied in Penicillium chrysogenum Wisconsin 54-1255 and in a strain yielding high levels of penicillin. In penicillin fermentations with the high-yielding strain, 100% recovery of phenylacetic acid in benzylpenicillin was found, whereas in the Wisconsin strain only 17% of the supplied phenylacetic acid was incorporated into benzylpenicillin while the rest was metabolized. Accumulation of total phenylacetic acid-derived carbon in the cells was nonsaturable in both strains at high external concentrations of phenylacetic acid (250-3500 microM), and in the high-yielding strain at low phenylacetic acid concentrations (2. 8-100 microM), indicating that phenylacetic acid enters the cells by simple diffusion, as concluded earlier for P. chrysogenum by other authors. However, at low external concentrations of phenylacetic acid saturable accumulation appeared in the Wisconsin strain. HPLC-analyses of cell extracts from the Wisconsin strain showed that phenylacetic acid was metabolized immediately after entry into the cells and different [14C]-labeled metabolites were detected in the cells. Up to approximately 50% of the accumulated phenylacetic acid was metabolized during the transport-assay period, the conversion having an impact on the uptake experiments. Nevertheless, accumulation of free unchanged phenylacetic acid in the cells showed saturation kinetics, suggesting the possible involvement of a high-affinity carrier in uptake of phenylacetic acid in P. chrysogenum Wisconsin 54-1255. At high concentrations of phenylacetic acid, contribution to uptake by this carrier is minor in comparison to simple diffusion and therefore, of no importance in the industrial production of penicillin.     

The transport of phenylacetic acid across the peroxisomal membrane is mediated by the PaaT protein in Penicillium chrysogenum

Penicillium chrysogenum, an industrial microorganism used worldwide for penicillin production, is an excellent model to study the biochemistry and the cell biology of enzymes involved in the synthesis of secondary metabolites. The well-known peroxisomal location of the last two steps of penicillin biosynthesis (phenylacetyl–CoA ligase and isopenicillin N acyltransferase) requires the import into the peroxisomes of the intermediate isopenicillin N and the precursors phenylacetic acid and coenzyme A. The mechanisms for the molecular transport of these precursors are still poorly understood. In this work, a search was made, in the genome of P. chrysogenum, in order to find a Major Facilitator Superfamily (MFS) membrane protein homologous to CefT of Acremonium chrysogenum, which is known to confer resistance to phenylacetic acid. The paaT gene was found to encode a MFS membrane protein containing 12 transmembrane spanners and one Pex19p-binding domain for Pex19-mediated targeting to peroxisomal membranes. RNA interference-mediated silencing of the paaT gene caused a clear reduction of benzylpenicillin secretion and increased the sensitivity of P. chrysogenum to the penicillin precursor phenylacetic acid. The opposite behavior was found when paaT was overexpressed from the glutamate dehydrogenase promoter that increases phenylacetic acid resistance and penicillin production. Localization studies by fluorescent laser scanning microscopy using PaaT–DsRed and EGFP–SKL fluorescent fusion proteins clearly showed that the protein was located in the peroxisomal membrane. The results suggested that PaaT is involved in penicillin production, most likely through the translocation of side-chain precursors (phenylacetic acid and phenoxyacetic acid) from the cytosol to the peroxisomal lumen across the peroxisomal membrane of P. chrysogenum.     

Effect of analogues of phenylacetic acid (PA) on the PA transport system in Penicillium chrysogenum strains H1107 and M223

The phenylacetic acid (PA) transport system was studied in two industrial strains of Penicillium chrysogenum (M223 and H1107) and the effect of different PA analogues was established. In both strains the uptake capacity was enhanced when the cells were grown in medium containing palm oil (1.6% v/v). PA analogues containing hydroxy groups or halogen atom (chloro or fluoro) attached to the aromatic ring strongly inhibited the uptake, strain M223 being more sensitive to PA analogue inhibition. Correspondence to: I. K. P. Tan     

Effect of phenylacetic acid feeding on the process of cellular autolysis in submerged batch cultures of Penicillium chrysogenum.

The effects of feeding the 'toxic' penicillin precursor, phenylacetic acid (PAA) at varying rates, upon the process of cellular autolysis, was assessed in batch bioreactor cultures of an industrial strain of Penicillium chrysogenum. Five processes were fed at rates which resulted in extracellular concentrations of PAA ranging from zero (the control) to approximately ten times levels said to be optimal for penicillin biosynthesis. The culture response was assessed chemically and morphologically, using computerised image analysis. High concentrations of PAA reduced biomass and penicillin production, and were associated with increased cellular autolysis. However, the values of classical morphological indices (branch length, main hyphal length and hyphal growth unit) varied little in cultures which showed extensive autolysis and biomass loss. Lower precursor concentrations (0.01 to 1.0 g l-1) had little effect on biomass, penicillin, or upon the levels of autolysis compared with the control process. Therefore, precursor concentration controlled within the optimal range for penicillin production, has little impact upon differentiation or degradation within an industrial culture of P. chrysogenum. By contrast, exploitation of the toxicity of PAA is proposed as a means to bring forward or enhance autolysis, providing a reliable method of 'induction' with which to study the phenomenon in P. chrysogenum.     

Uptake of phenoxyacetic acid by Penicillium chrysogenum

The uptake of phenoxyacetic acid by two different strains of Penicillium chrysogenum was studied. Phenoxyacetic acid (POA) was taken up by P. chrysogenum in a defined medium. Plots of initial velocity of POA uptake versus external substrate concentration, in the range 2–5000 M, gave linear plots. Uptake of POA by induced and uninduced cells was identical. The initial velocity of POA uptake decreased as the pH of the suspension was increased from 5.4 to 7.2; the decrease closely paralleled the decline in the non-ionic form of the acid over this pH range. The initial velocity of POA uptake was not affected by the presence of phenylacetic acid. POA uptake proceeded until the cellular concentration was equal to the external concentration. It is concluded that POA is passively transported into P. chrysogenum by unmediated diffusion.     

Transformation in Penicillium chrysogenum

An auxotrophic mutant of Penicillium chrysogenum with a DNA rearrangement that affects the trpC region has been transformed to the Trp+ phenotype by using a plasmid that contains the trifunctional wild-type gene. A frequency of 40-80 transformants per microgram of input DNA was usually achieved. A low frequency of plasmid integration at the recipient mutated trpC gene was detected; however, most of the transformants integrated the plasmid DNA elsewhere into the genome. Some of the transformants contain multiple rearranged copies of the vector integrated in a tandem fashion.     

Expression of the transporter encoded by the cefT gene of Acremonium chrysogenum increases cephalosporin production in Penicillium chrysogenum

By introduction of the cefEF genes of Acremonium chrysogenum and the cmcH gene of Streptomyces clavuligerus, Penicillium chrysogenum can be reprogrammed to form adipoyl-7-amino-3-carbamoyloxymethyl-3-cephem-4-carboxylic acid (ad7-ACCCA), a carbamoylated derivate of adipoyl-7-aminodeacetoxy-cephalosporanic acid. The cefT gene of A. chrysogenum encodes a cephalosporin C transporter that belongs to the Major Facilitator Superfamily. Introduction of cefT into an ad7-ACCCA-producing P. chrysogenum strain results in an almost 2-fold increase in cephalosporin production with a concomitant decrease in penicillin by-product formation. These data suggest that cephalosporin production by recombinant P. chrysogenum strains is limited by the ability of the fungus to secrete these compounds.     

Sulfur regulation of the sulfate transporter genes sutA and sutB in Penicillium chrysogenum

Penicillium chrysogenum uses sulfate as a source of sulfur for the biosynthesis of penicillin. Sulfate uptake and the mRNA levels of the sulfate transporter-encoding sutB and sutA genes are all reduced by high sulfate concentrations and are elevated by sulfate starvation. In a high-penicillin-yielding strain, sutB is effectively transcribed even in the presence of excess sulfate. This deregulation may facilitate the efficient incorporation of sulfur into cysteine and penicillin.     

The genetic stability of Penicillium chrysogenum transformants in a fermentor

Summary A number of transformants of Penicillium chrysogenum have been obtained with the plasmid vector p3SR2. Southern analysis showed that transformation had occurred by integration of vector sequences into the nuclear DNA of the fungus. A number of transformants were tested for stability of the transformed phenotype in agar medium and some were found to be unstable. Two transformants, shown to be stable in agar culture, were grown in 5-l batch fermentors for further stability tests. Over periods of up to 312 h in the fermentor both transformants were 100% stable with respect to the transformed phenotype. In addition Southern analysis of DNA extracted from the spent mycelium showed that no change had occurred in the position of the integrated vector sequences within the transformant nuclear DNA.     

产黄青霉菌响应苯氧乙酸的Ca2+信号转导机制

【目的】研究青霉素V生产过程中—Ca~(2+)信号转导途径参与产黄青霉菌对外源侧链前体苯氧乙酸的应答机制。【方法】考察4种不同机制的Ca~(2+)信号干扰剂[利心平、乙二醇双(2-氨基乙基醚)四乙酸、苏拉明和硫酸新霉素]对青霉素V产量和产黄青霉菌生物量的影响。运用Fluo-3/AM荧光染料对细胞进行染色,通过荧光显微镜成像和酶标仪定量检测两种方法监测胞内Ca~(2+)浓度的变化。【结果】苯氧乙酸添加后胞内Ca~(2+)相对含量高于对照组49.86%,而1 mmol/L磷酸酯酶C底物抑制剂硫酸新霉素的添加使得胞内Ca~(2+)相对含量降低了53.31%,同时青霉素V产量降低78.71%,表明产黄青霉菌可通过肌醇1,4,5-三磷酸信号途径调节胞内Ca~(2+)浓度来响应苯氧乙酸的胁迫。【结论】首次探究了Ca~(2+)信号转导途径在产黄青霉菌对苯氧乙酸应答中的作用,为丝状真菌中Ins(1,4,5)P3-Ca~(2+)信号转导途径的研究提供理论依据。