Biosynthesis of penicillin V acylase by Fusarium sp.: effect of culture conditions

Penicillin V acylase was produced, both intracellularly and extracellularly, by Fusarium sp. SKF 235 grown in submerged fermentation. When neopeptone was added to the medium, >95% of the penicillin V acylase was extracellular. In the absence of a complex organic nitrogen source, the fungus produced low levels of totally intracellular penicillin V acylase. MgSO₄ was essential for synthesis of the enzyme, which was induced by phenoxyacetic acid and penicillin V. The maximum yield of penicillin V acylase was 430 IU/g dry cell wt. The optimum pH value and temperature for the penicillin V acylase were 6.5 and 55°C, respectively.     

Enzymatic splitting of penicillin V for the production of 6-APA using immobilized penicillin V acylase

Penicillin V acylase from Fusarium sp. SKF 235 was immobilized on several cation-exchange resins, of which Amberlite CG-50 was preferred. Maximum activity of the immobilized penicillin V acylase was 250 to 280 IU/g dry beads. The pH and temperature optima of the enzyme shifted from 6.5 to 6.8 and 55°C to 60°C, respectively, as a result of immobilization. However, the K _m for penicillin V remained at 10mm. Parameters for producing 6-aminopenicillanic acid were investigated and the immobilized penicillin V acylase was used for 68 cycles in a stirred tank reactor.     

Beijerinckia indica var.penicillanicum penicillin V acylase: enhanced enzyme production by catabolite repression-resistant mutant and effect of solvents on enzyme activity

Summary Beijerinckia indica var.penicillanicum mutant UREMS-5, producing 168% more penicillin V acylase, was obtained by successive treatment with UV, -irradiation and ethylmethane sulfonate. Penicillin V acylase production by the mutant strain was resistant to catabolite repression by glucose. Incorporation of glucose, sodium glutamate and vegetable oils in the medium enhanced enzyme production. The maximum specific production of penicillin V acylase was 244 IU/g dry weight of cells. Effect of solvents on hydrolysis of penicillin V by soluble penicillin V acylase and whole cells was studied. Methylene chloride, chloroform and carbon tetrachloride significantly stimulated the rate of penicillin V hydrolysis by whole cells.     

Purification and partial characterization of novel penicillin V acylase from Acinetobacter sp. AP24 isolated from Loktak Lake,an Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot

Members of the bacterial genus Acinetobacter have attracted great attention over the past few decades, on account of their various biotechnological applications and clinical implications. In this study, we are reporting the first experimental penicillin V acylase (PVA) activity from this genus. Penicillin acylases are pharmaceutically important enzymes widely used in the synthesis of semisynthetic beta-lactam antibiotics. The bacterium, identified as Acinetobacter sp. AP24, was isolated from the water of Loktak Lake (Manipur, India), an Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot. PVA production was increased threefold in an optimized medium with 0.2% sodium glutamate and 1% glucose as nitrogen and carbon sources respectively, after 24 hr of fermentation at 28°C and pH 7.0 with shaking at 180 rpm. The enzyme was purified to homogeneity by cation-exchange chromatography using SP-sepharose resin. The PVA is a homotetramer with subunit molecular mass of 34 kD. The enzyme was highly specific toward penicillin V with optimal hydrolytic activity at 40°C and pH 7.5. The enzyme was stable from pH 5.0 to 9.0 at 25 °C for 2 hr. The enzyme retained 75% activity after 1 hr of incubation at 40°C at pH 7.5.     

Immobilization ofKluyvera citrophila penicillins acylase on controlled-pore ceramics

Penicillin acylase was purified fromKluyvera citrophila and immobilized on glutaraldehyde derivatives of silanized controlled-pore ceramics. The behaviour of the enzyme attached to TiO₂, Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ in the hydrolytic reaction are compared with that of the native enzyme as well as of the enzyme bound to CNBr-activated Sepharose 4B. The enzyme immobilized on TiO2 shows an efficiency of about 95% on the basis of protein bound. The penicillin acylase attached to SiO₂, unlike the enzyme immobilized on TiO₂, Al₂O₃ and Sepharose looses activity markedly in every cycle of use.     

Enhanced production of penicillin V acylase from Streptomyces lavendulae

At 28 °C, Streptomyces lavendulae produced high levels of penicillin V acylase (178 IU/l of culture) when grown on skim milk as the sole nutrient source for 275 h. The enzyme showed catabolite repression by glucose and was produced in the stationary phase of growth. Penicillin V was a good inducer of penicillin V acylase formation, while phenoxyacetic acid, the side-chain moiety of penicillin V, did not alter enzyme production significantly. The enzyme was stable between pH 6 and 11 and at temperatures from 20 °C to 55 °C. This extracellular enzyme was able to hydrolyse natural penicillins and unable to hydrolyse penicillin G. Received: 22 March 1999 / Received revision: 16 June 1999 / Accepted: 20 June 1999     

Molecular biology of β-lactam acylases

-Lactam acylases such as penicillin G acylases, penicillin V acylases and glutaryl 7-aminocephalosporanic acid acylases are used in the manufacture of 6-aminopenicillanic acid, 7-aminodesacetoxycephalosporanic acid and 7-aminocephalosporanic acid (7-ACA). Genetically-engineered strains producing 1050 U/g, 3200 U/g and 7000 to 10,000 U/I of penicillin G acylase, penicillin V acylase and glutaryl-7-ACA acylase, respectively, have been developed. The penicillin G acylase studied to date and the glutaryl-7-ACA acylase from Pseudomonas sp. share some common features: the active enzyme molecules are composed of two dissimilar subunits that are generated from respective precursor polypeptide; the proteolytic processing is a post-translational modification which is regulated by temperature; and the Ser residue at the N-terminus of the -sub-unit (Ser²⁹⁰; penicillin G acylase numbering) is implicated as the active site residue. Protein engineering, to generate penicillin G acylase molecules and their precursors with altered sequences, and the structure-function correlation of the engineered molecules are discussed.The authors are with Research and Development, Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd, Pimpri, Pune 411 018, India;     

Covalent immobilization of penicillin acylase from Streptomyces lavendulae

Penicillin acylase from Streptomyces lavendulae has been covalently immobilized to epoxy-activated acrylic beads (Eupergit C). Consecutive modification of the matrix with bovine serum albumin leads to a new biocatalyst (ECPVA) with enhanced activity (1.5 fold) in the hydrolysis of penicillin V respect to its soluble counterpart. This biocatalyst had a K _m value of 7.6 mM, slightly higher than K _m for native acylase (3 mM). In addition, ECPVA can be recycled for at least 50 consecutive batch reactions without loss of catalytic activity.     

Leakage of recombinant penicillin G acylase from Escherichia coli by adding chloroform under fermentation conditions

A simple method was developed to release periplasmic penicillin G acylase from Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) during the fermentation process. More than 80% of the total penicillin G acylase was released into the broth when 3% (v/v) chloroform was added at 3 h after induction. The activity of extracellular penicillin G acylase reached 20699 U/l. This method was efficient and would facilitate further investigation of penicillin G acylase for industrial applications.     

Kinetic and microstructural characterization of immobilized penicillin acylase from Streptomyces lavendulae on Sepabeads EC-EP

Recombinant penicillin acylase from Streptomyces lavendulae was covalently bound to epoxy-activated Sepabeads EC-EP303®. Optimization of the immobilization process led to a homogeneous distribution of the enzyme on the support surface avoiding the attachment of enzyme aggregates, as shown by confocal electron microscopy. The optimal immobilized biocatalyst had a specific enzymatic activity of 26.2IUgwetcarrier^?1 in the hydrolysis of penicillin V at pH 8.0 and 40°C. This biocatalyst showed the highest activity at pH 8.5 and 65°C, 1.5 pH units lower and 5°C higher than its soluble counterpart. Substrate specificity of the derivative also showed its ability to efficiently hydrolyze other natural aliphatic penicillins such as penicillins K, F and dihydroF. The immobilized enzyme was highly stable at 40°C and pH 8.0 (t_1/2=625 h vs. t_1/2=397 h for the soluble enzyme), and it could be recycled for at least 30 consecutive batch reactions without loss of catalytic activity.     

Enhanced production of penicillin G acylase from a recombinant Escherichia coli

Penicillin G acylase (pac) gene was cloned into a stable asd ⁺ vector (pYA292) and expressed in Escherichia coli. This recombinant strain produced 1000 units penicillin G acylase g^–1 cell dry wt, which is 23-fold more than that produced by parental Escherichia coli ATCC11105. This enzyme was purified to 16 units mg^–1 protein by a novel two-step process.     

Production of Penicillin G acylase from Bacillus sp.: Effect of medium components

A Bacillus sp. producing a high level of intracellular penicillin G acylase (PAC) was isolated. The PAC production in this strain was induced by phenylacetic acid. Various carbon and nitrogen sources were evaluated for their effect on growth and PAC production at 28 °C and pH 7.0. Cells grown in medium supplemented with sucrose as carbon source and tryptone as nitrogen source produced maximum activity of 6.45 and 8.92 U mg^–1, respectively. Maximum concentration of PAC (10.1 Umg^–1) was produced by the cells grown in the medium containing sucrose and tryptone, which was twofold higher than the production in basal medium.     

Modifying the substrate specificity of penicillin G acylase to cephalosporin acylase by mutating active-site residues

The penicillin G acylase (PGA) and cephalosporin acylase (CA) families, which are members of the N-terminal (Ntn) hydrolases, are valuable for the production of backbone chemicals like 6-aminopenicillanic acid and 7-aminocephalosporanic acid (7-ACA), which can be used to synthesize semi-synthetic penicillins and cephalosporins, respectively. Regardless of the low sequence similarity between PGA and CA, the structural homologies at their active-sites are very high. However, despite this structural conservation, they catalyze very different substrates. PGA reacts with the hydrophobic aromatic side-chain (the phenylacetyl moiety) of penicillin G (PG), whereas CA targets the hydrophilic linear side-chain (the glutaryl moiety) of glutaryl-7-ACA (GL-7-ACA). These different substrate specificities are likely to be due to differences in the side-chains of the active-site residues. In this study, mutagenesis of active-site residues binding the side-chain moiety of PG changed the substrate specificity of PGA to that of CA. This mutant PGA may constitute an alternative source of engineered enzymes for the industrial production of 7-ACA.     

Isolation and characterization of soil strains producing glutaryl-7-aminocephalosporanic acid acylase

A search was undertaken to screen microorganisms that produce an enzyme capable of deacylating glutaryl-7-aminocephalosporanic acid to 7-aminocephalosporanic acid in soil samples. The screening was carried out by preparing enrichment cultures containing glutaryl-7ACA and cephalosporin C as selective carbon sources. A non-β-lactam model compound, glutaryl-p-nitroanilide, was synthesized as a substrate suitable for the rapid screening of microorganisms isolated from the enrichment cultures. Two isolates exhibiting acylase activity, designated BY7.4 and BY8.1, were identified as strains ofPseudomonas species.Pseudomonas BY8.1 showed higher acylase activity toward Gl-7ACA thanPseudomonas BY7.4. Environmental conditions for the optimal acylase activity ofPseudomonas BY8.1 were shown to be pH 9 and 30°C.     

Cloning and co-expression of D-amino acid oxidase and glutaryl-7-aminocephalosporanic acid acylase genes in Escherichia coli

To convert cephalosporin C to 7-aminocephalosporin (7-ACA), a D-amino acid oxidase (DAAO) gene from Trigonopsis variabilis and a glutaryl-7-aminocephalosporanic acid acylase (GL-7-ACA acylase) gene from Pseudomonas were cloned and expressed in recombinant Escherichia coli. For DAAO recombinant strain BL21(DE3)/pET-DAAO, a high DAAO activity of 250 U ml⁻¹ was obtained by a fed-batch culture. A GL-7-ACA acylase gene, in which the signal peptide sequence was deleted, was also successfully expressed in a recombinant E. coli BL21(DE3)/pET-ACY with a high expression level of 3000 U l⁻¹. A novel recombinant strain, BL21(DE3)/pET-DA, harboring both genes of DAAO and GL-7-ACA acylase, was further constructed, and a rather high DAAO activity of 140 U ml⁻¹ and GL-7-ACA acylase activity of 950 U l⁻¹ were simultaneously obtained. This recombinant strain, in which two genes are co-expressed, made it possible to catalyze cephalosporin C into 7-ACA directly.     

Structure-based prediction of modifications in glutarylamidase to allow single-step enzymatic production of 7-aminocephalosporanic acid from cephalosporin C.

Glutarylamidase is an important enzyme employed in the commercial production of 7-aminocephalosporanic acid, a starting compound in the synthesis of cephalosporin antibiotics. 7-aminocephalosporanic acid is obtained from cephalosporin C, a natural antibiotic, either chemically or by a two-step enzymatic process utilizing the enzymes D-amino acid oxidase and glutarylamidase. We have investigated possibilities for redesigning glutarylamidase for the production of 7-aminocephalosporanic acid from cephalosporin C in a single enzymatic step. These studies are based on the structures of glutarylamidase, which we have solved with bound phosphate and ethylene glycol to 2.5 A resolution and with bound glycerol to 2.4 A. The phosphate binds near the catalytic serine in a way that mimics the hemiacetal that develops during catalysis, while the glycerol occupies the side-chain binding pocket. Our structures show that the enzyme is not only structurally similar to penicillin G acylase but also employs essentially the same mechanism in which the alpha-amino group of the catalytic serine acts as a base. A subtle difference is the presence of two catalytic dyads, His B23/Glu B455 and His B23/Ser B1, that are not seen in penicillin G acylase. In contrast to classical serine proteases, the central histidine of these dyads interacts indirectly with the O(gamma) through a hydrogen bond relay network involving the alpha-amino group of the serine and a bound water molecule. A plausible model of the enzyme-substrate complex is proposed that leads to the prediction of mutants of glutarylamidase that should enable the enzyme to deacylate cephalosporin C into 7-aminocephalosporanic acid.     

Crystal structure of penicillin G acylase from the Bro1 mutant strain of Providencia rettgeri.

Penicillin G acylase is an important enzyme in the commercial production of semisynthetic penicillins used to combat bacterial infections. Mutant strains of Providencia rettgeri were generated from wild-type cultures subjected to nutritional selective pressure. One such mutant, Bro1, was able to use 6-bromohexanamide as its sole nitrogen source. Penicillin acylase from the Bro1 strain exhibited an altered substrate specificity consistent with the ability of the mutant to process 6-bromohexanamide. The X-ray structure determination of this enzyme was undertaken to understand its altered specificity and to help in the design of site-directed mutants with desired specificities. In this paper, the structure of the Bro1 penicillin G acylase has been solved at 2.5 A resolution by molecular replacement. The R-factor after refinement is 0.154 and R-free is 0.165. Of the 758 residues in the Bro1 penicillin acylase heterodimer (alpha-subunit, 205; beta-subunit, 553), all but the eight C-terminal residues of the alpha-subunit have been modeled based on a partial Bro1 sequence and the complete wild-type P. rettgeri sequence. A tightly bound calcium ion coordinated by one residue from the alpha-subunit and five residues from the beta-subunit has been identified. This enzyme belongs to the superfamily of Ntn hydrolases and uses Ogamma of Ser beta1 as the characteristic N-terminal nucleophile. A mutation of the wild-type Met alpha140 to Leu in the Bro1 acylase hydrophobic specificity pocket is evident from the electron density and is consistent with the observed specificity change for Bro1 acylase. The electron density for the N-terminal Gln of the alpha-subunit is best modeled by the cyclized pyroglutamate form. Examination of aligned penicillin acylase and cephalosporin acylase primary sequences, in conjunction with the P. rettgeri and Escherichia coli penicillin acylase crystal structures, suggests several mutations that could potentially allow penicillin acylase to accept charged beta-lactam R-groups and to function as a cephalosporin acylase and thus be used in the manufacture of semi-synthetic cephalosporins.     

Selective transformations of penicillins and cephalosporins with pen G acylase

Summary Immobilised Penicillin G acylase from E. coli hydrolyses penicillin and cephalosporin derivatives protected at the carboxy group as the phenylacetoxymethylene esters. The corresponding hydrolysis of penicillin V retains the phenoxyacetyl moiety. Kinetic data of the hydrolysis are reported.     

Rapid continuous colorimetric enzyme assay for penicillin G acylase

A rapid, continuous, colorimetric enzyme assay for penicillin G acylase has been developed. The assay measures the formation of the acidic products of penicillin G hydrolysis by following the decrease in pH using Phenol Red as an indicator. The activity measured is directly proportional to the amount of enzyme added to the assay, having a linear relationship with an R ² value of 0.9994.     

Variation of penicillin acylase partition coefficient with phase volume ratio in poly(ethylene glycol)–sodium citrate aqueous two-phase systems

The influence of phase volume ratio on partition and purification of penicillin acylase from Escherichia coli on poly(ethylene glycol)–sodium citrate aqueous two-phase systems was studied. In PEG 1000 systems both partition coefficients of the enzyme and total protein increased with decreasing phase volume ratio. However, in PEG 3350 containing NaCl, penicillin acylase follows a reverse trend, while total protein behaves in the same way. Implications for protein purification designs are discussed.