Substrates and enzyme activities related to biotransformation of resveratrol from phenylalanine by Alternaria sp. MG1

To identify the substrates and enzymes related to resveratrol biosynthesis in Alternaria sp. MG1, different substrates were used to produce resveratrol, and their influence on resveratrol production was analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Formation of resveratrol and related intermediates was identified using mass spectrum. During the biotransformation, activities of related enzymes, including phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), trans-cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (C4H), and 4-coumarate-CoA ligase (4CL), were analyzed and tracked. The reaction system contained 100 mL 0.2 mol/L phosphate buffer (pH 6.5), 120 g/L Alternaria sp. MG1 cells, 0.1 g/L MgSO₄, and 0.2 g/L CaSO₄ and different substrates according to the experimental design. The biotransformation was carried out for 21 h at 28 °C and 120 rpm. Resveratrol formation was identified when phenylalanine, tyrosine, cinnamic acid, and p-coumaric acid were separately used as the only substrate. Accumulation of cinnamic acid, p-coumaric acid, and resveratrol and the activities of PAL, C4H, and 4CL were identified and changed in different trends during transformation with phenylalanine as the only substrate. The addition of carbohydrates and the increase of phenylalanine concentration promoted resveratrol production and yielded the highest value (4.57 μg/L) when 2 g/L glucose, 1 g/L cyclodextrin, and phenylalanine (4.7 mmol/L) were used simultaneously.     

l-threonine production by polyauxotrophic mutants ofArthrobacter globiformis

A number of methionine, methionine+lysine-, and (methionine+lysine+isoleucine)-auxotrophic mutants producing threonine have been isolated from a glutamate-producing strain ofArthrobacter globiformis by a three-step mutagenesis with N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. The best double mutant ML24 requiring methionine and lysine for growth produced 3.2 gl-threonine per L in the synthetic Alföldi medium (200 mmol/L) glucose, 80 mmol/L ammonium nitrate) supplemented with 5 μg biotin per L and optimum (0.5 mmol/L) methionine and lysine concentrations.     

Production ofl-phenylalanine by double auxotrophic mutants ofArthrobacter globiformis: Effect of temperature,trace salts and inoculum dose

Three tryptophan-plus-tyrosine double auxotrophic mutants were isolated from a biotin-requiring glutamate-producingArthrobacter globiformis. The mutants were found to producel-phenylalanine in a mineral salt medium. Further improvement ofl-phenylalanine production was achieved by isolation of mutants resistant to β-2-thienylalanine from these double auxotrophs. Temperature of 30 °C and a 4% inoculum dose were found to be optimum for phenylalanine production. Addition of some trace salts does not enhance phenylalanine yield. Under optimal cultural conditions one mutant yielded 6.8 g phenylalanine per L medium in flask culture.     

Generation of Peanut Drought Tolerant Plants by Pingyangmycin-Mediated In Vitro Mutagenesis and Hydroxyproline-Resistance Screening

In order to enlarge the potential resources of drought-tolerant peanuts, we conducted in vitro mutagenesis with Pingyangmycin (PYM) as the mutagen as well as directed screening on a medium supplemented with Hydroxyproline (HYP). After being extracted from mature seeds (cv. Huayu 20), the embryonic leaflets were cultured on somatic embryogenesis-induction medium with 4 mg/L PYM and the generated embryos were successively transferred to a germination medium with 4 and then 8 mmol/L HYP to screen HYP-tolerant plantlets. After that, these plantlets were grafted and transplanted to the experimental field. In the next generation, all seeds were sown in the field, and phenotype variation and trait segregation can be observed in most of the offspring (M₂ generation). The M₃ generation individuals were subjected to drought stress at the seedling stages. The activities of SOD and POD were substantially increased in eight offspring of 11 HYP-tolerant, regenerated plants than in their mutagenic parents. To determine the correlation between mutant phenotypes and genomic modification, we carried out a comparison of the DNA polymorphisms between the mutagenic parents and 13 M₃ generation individuals from different HYP-tolerant, regenerated plants with SSR primers. Results showed that most mutants and parent plants had signs of polymorphisms. Under drought stress, some M₃ generation individuals of 10 original HYP-tolerant, regenerated plants produced more pods than the mutagenic parent; twenty individuals among them produced >60 g pods/plant. M₄-generation seeds were tested for quality characteristics by Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIS) and nine individuals with higher protein content (>30%) and 21 individuals with higher oil content (>58%) were screened. We concluded that the use of PYM-based in vitro mutagenesis in combination with directed screening with HYP is effective for the creation of potential drought-tolerant mutants of peanut.     

Regulation of avilamycin biosynthesis in Streptomyces viridochromogenes: effects of glucose, ammonium ion, and inorganic phosphate

Effects of glucose, ammonium ions and phosphate on avilamycin biosynthesis in Streptomyces viridochromogenes AS4.126 were investigated. Twenty grams per liter of glucose, 10 mmol/L ammonium ions, and 10 mmol/L phosphate in the basal medium stimulated avilamycin biosynthesis. When the concentrations of glucose, ammonium ions, and phosphate in the basal medium exceeded 20 g/L, 10 mmol/L, and 10 mmol/L, respectively, avilamycin biosynthesis greatly decreased. When 20 g/L glucose was added at 32 h, avilamycin yield decreased by 70.2%. Avilamycin biosynthesis hardly continued when 2-deoxy-glucose was added into the basal medium at 32 h. There was little influence on avilamycin biosynthesis with the addition of the 3-methyl-glucose (20 g/L) at 32 h. In the presence of excess (NH₄)₂SO₄ (20 mmol/L), the activities of valine dehydrogenase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase were depressed 47.7 and 58.3%, respectively, of that of the control at 48 h. The activity of succinate dehydrogenase increased 49.5% compared to the control at 48 h. The intracellular adenosine triphosphate level and 6-phosphate glucose content of S. viridochromogenes were 128 and 129%, respectively, of that of the control at 48 h, with the addition of the 40 mmol/L of KH₂PO₄. As a result, high concentrations of glucose, ammonium ions, and inorganic phosphate all led to the absence of the precursors for avilamycin biosynthesis and affected antibiotic synthesis.     

氨基酸对无外源激素悬浮培养肉苁蓉细胞合成苯乙醇苷的影响

通过不添加外源激素进行肉苁蓉细胞悬浮培养,考察4种氨基酸对无外源激素悬浮培养肉苁蓉细胞生长和产苯乙醇苷(PeGs)的影响。结果表明:苯丙氨酸(Phe)和酪氨酸(Tyr)对PeGs合成的促进作用较大,而色氨酸(Try)和精氨酸(Arg)的促进效果较弱。在培养的第12天向无外源激素液体培养基中分别添加0.3mmol/LPhe和0.03mmol/LTyr,PeGs产量(按细胞干质量计)均达到了最高,为1.19g/L,是添加生长调节剂激动素(KT)和吲哚乙酸(IAA)培养的细胞(简称HC)的2.02倍。0.3mmol/LPhe和0.03mmol/LTyr分别在第8天和第12天添加时,肉苁蓉细胞PeGs产量分别为5.43g/L和5.16g/L,分别是对照HC的1.49倍和1.41倍。     

重组大肠杆菌产Streptomyces sp. FA1来源木聚糖酶的摇瓶发酵优化

为了实现来源于Streptomyces sp. FA1的木聚糖酶的高效胞外分泌表达,对E.coli BL21(DE3)/pET20b(+)/coe/xynA基因工程菌的发酵产酶诱导条件进行优化,获得最优的诱导条件为25 ℃发酵6 h后添加终浓度为0.4 mmol/L的IPTG。在此基础上对发酵培养基进一步优化,得到最优培养基成分为:甘油11 g/L,酵母粉24 g/L,蛋白胨8 g/L,磷酸盐浓度89 mmol/L,镁离子4 mmol/L。最终酶活达到780.2 U/ml,为未优化前的2.2倍,是目前大肠杆菌摇瓶发酵产木聚糖酶的最高表达水平,为实现该酶的工业化生产奠定基础。     

Use of controlled exogenous stress for improvement of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) production in Cupriavidus necator

The PHB production by Cupriavidus necator H16 depends on the type and concentration of stress factors and on the time of stress application. Hydrogen peroxide and ethanol significantly enhanced PHB accumulation in C. necator cells. Improved yields (10.9 g/L PHB) were observed after exposure of bacterial culture to 0.5 mmol/L H₂O₂ at the beginning of cultivation and to additional peroxide stress (5 mmol/L H₂O₂) after 60 h of cultivation (beginning of the stationary phase). Production was then ≈28 % higher than in control (8.50 g/L PHB). The highest yields (11.2 g/L PHB) were observed when ethanol (0.5 %) was applied at the beginning of stationary phase. An application of exogenous stress could thus be used as a simple strategy for a significant improvement of PHB production in C. necator.     

不同磷、硫及二氧化碳浓度对标志链带藻生长和碳水化合物积累的影响

【目的】为了研究不同磷、硫及二氧化碳浓度对标志链带藻(Desmodesmus insignis)生长与碳水化合物积累的影响,本实验以改良BG11培养基为基础,设计了8种不同初始K_2HPO_4浓度、8种不同初始MgSO_4浓度及4种二氧化碳浓度培养标志链带藻。【方法】采用干重法和苯酚-硫酸法分别测定其生物质浓度与总碳水化合物的含量。【结果】实验结果显示,在高磷浓度(0.460 mmol/L)下生物量达到最高为6.37 g/L,磷浓度为0.230 mmol/L (对照组)时总碳水化合物含量及单位体积产率达到最高,分别为45.40%(%干重)和0.20 g/(L·d)。不同初始MgSO_4浓度实验结果显示,高硫浓度有利于标志链带藻生长及碳水化合物的积累,生物量、总碳水化合物含量及单位体积产率分别在硫浓度为1.217 mmol/L、0.609 mmol/L和1.824 mmol/L时达到最高,分别为7.02 g/L、51.6%(%干重)及0.26 g/(L·d)。当二氧化碳浓度为3%(V/V)时,标志链带藻生物量、总碳水化合物含量及单位体积产率均达到最高,分别为6.81 g/L、44.03%和0.20 g/(L·d)。【结论】因此,磷浓度为0.230 mmol/L、硫浓度为1.824 mmol/L和二氧化碳浓度为3%时最有利于标志链带藻生长及碳水化合物的积累。     

Introduction of two mutations into AroG increases phenylalanine production in Escherichia coli

l-Phenylalanine is an important amino acid commercially, and therefore optimization of its manufacture is of interest. We constructed a range of mutant alleles of AroG, the enzyme involved in the first step of phenylalanine biosynthesis. Three single-site mutant alleles were constructed (aroG8, aroG15, and aroG29), which were then combined to generate three double-site aroG ^fbr mutant alleles (aroG8/15, aroG8/29, and aroG15/29). Enzymatic activity, feedback inhibition, and fermentation were analyzed in all of the mutants. All double-site mutants, except AroG15/29, showed higher enzymatic activity and greater resistance to feedback inhibition than their respective single-site mutants. The E. coli strain carrying the aroG8/15 allele produced a phenylalanine titer of 26.78 g/l, a 116 % improvement over the control phenylalanine overproducing strain (12.41 g/l). Our findings provide an effective method for modifying phenylalanine biosynthetic genes, which may be applied to optimize the commercial manufacture of phenylalanine.     

Fermentation characteristics of levansucrase mutants of Zymomonas mobilis

Two mutants, Ls1 and Ls2, of Zymomonas mobilis B-806 unable to produce levan were isolated. With native gel electrophoresis and zymogram analysis it was confirmed that the mutants did not synthesize active levansucrase (E2). However, they produced intracellular sucrase (E1) and extracellular invertase (E3). Comparison of these mutants with the parent strain for alcohol production on glucose, fructose and sucrose (100 g/l each) media revealed that the final ethanol concentration achieved in sucrose medium was only about 5 g/l higher with the mutants than with the wild type. The ethanol yield of the mutants increased from 0.48 g/g to 0.50 g/g on sucrose medium.     

果糖和前体物质对紫杉醇生物合成的影响

研究了果糖和几种前体物质对东北红豆杉生产紫杉醇的影响,结果表明,在第12d加入6g/L果糖可以使紫杉醇产量增加63.89％,在糖协同的作用下,加入前体（0.05mmol/L乙酸钠,0.05mmol/L苯丙氨酸,0.1mmol/L苯甲酸钠）可显著提高紫杉醇的合成,同对照相比,含量分别增加49.36%、13.18%和64.26%,在第15d向培养基中加入0.05 mmol/L乙酸钠、0.1mmol/L苯甲酸钠、1mmol/L苯丙氨酸和6g/L果糖则使紫杉醇含量提高181.89％。     

Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase: Purification and characterization from soybean cell suspension cultures

Soybean cell suspension cultures (Glycine max L. cv. Kanrich) grown on high-nitrogen medium produce 50 mU/g fresh wt of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase [EC 4.1.3.5] 7–9 days after inoculation. Nitrate was not limiting when the peak of enzyme activity was reached. Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase was purified 53-fold to essentially electrophoretic homogeneity from cell extracts with 10% recovery. The enzyme was stable in crude extracts and through most stages of purification. No activity could be detected with tyrosine as substrate in either crude extracts or purified enzyme. The electrophoretic mobility was somewhat less than that of the enzyme from maize but both eluted from an agarose column at the same position and the molecular weight of the subunit was similar for both enzymes. Thus the soybean enzyme is composed of four subunits and the native enzyme is ~330,000 M_r. The variation in structure and/or size and availability of hydrophobic regions among phenylalanine ammonia-lyases from four sources (potato, maize, Rhodotorula glutinis, and soybean) was shown by the different elution patterns they exhibited on columns of ω-aminoalkyl agarose (agarose-C_n-NH₂, n = 0 to 8). The order of increasing hydrophobicity is soybean, potato, maize, R. glutinis. The soybean enzyme exhibited negative cooperativity before hydroxylapatite chromatography and positive cooperativity afterward. This is the first example of positive cooperativity observed for phenylalanine ammonia-lyase.     

The production of bioflocculants by Bacillus licheniformis using molasses and its application in the sugarcane industry

A bioflocculant produced by B. licheniformis was investigated with regard to a low-cost culture medium and its industrial application. Molasses replaced sucrose as the sole carbon source in bioflocculant fermentation. The optimum low-cost culture medium was determined to be composed of 20 g/L molasses, 0.4 g/L urea, 0.4 g/L NaCl, 0.2 g/L KH₂PO₄, 1.6 g/L K₂HPO₄, and 0.2 g/L MgSO₄. The bioflocculant from B. licheniformis was then applied to treat sugarcane-neutralizing juice to remove colloids, suspended particles, and coloring matters in a sugar refinery factory. The optimal operation conditions were a bioflocculant dosage of 21 U/mL, pH 7.3 and a heating temperature of 100°C. The color and turbidity of the sugarcane juice reached IU 1267 and IU 206, respectively, after clarification with the bioflocculant; these values were almost the same as those acquired following treatment with polyacrylamide (PAM), the most widely applied flocculant in sugar industries. These results suggest the great potential for use of bioflocculants in the sugar refinery process.     

Lack of effect of copper on advanced Maillard reaction and glucose autoxidation at physiological concentrations of albumin

Summary

This study examines the possible action of copper on advanced glycation. Copper has been shown to induce fluorescence due to advanced-glycated-end-products (AGEs) on albumin incubated with glucose, and this was interpreted as activation of the glucose or Amadori product (AP) autoxidation. We glycated albumin (60 g/L) to several levels with increasing concentrations of glucose. The dialysed glucose-free glycated albumin was then incubated with 1.5 μmol/L copper or 1 mmol/L diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), plus or minus glucose. The production of AP, measured as furosine, was similar whether DTPA or copper was present in the incubation medium. It linearly increased as a function of time and glucose concentration in both cases up to a maximum (furosine around 20 mmol/g protein), indicating saturation of the free NH₂ residues on the protein. The fluorescence due to AGEs increased linearly over time for glycated albumin incubated without glucose, and exponentially when glucose was added to the incubation medium. This fluorescence was also unaffected by DTPA or copper for a glucose concentration below 125 mmol/L and initial furosine below 10 mmol/g. However copper caused a slight activation in samples with very high glucose (1.25 mol/L) and furosine (30–40 mmol/g) concentrations. We therefore find no effect of copper in this experiment, because the copper concentration is lower and the albumin higher than that used in previous studies. In these conditions, albumin chelates copper and inhibits its oxidative activity. The protein concentrations used in most in vitro studies showing a copper effect were below 10 g/L with copper often above 10 μmol/L, so that copper may act oxidatively. As the lens and arterial wall have high protein concentrations, copper should have no action on protein glycation in vivo, unless altered protein structure impedes the inactivation of copper by chelation.     

Synthesis of CuPF6‐(S)‐BINAP loaded resin and its enantioselectivity toward phenylalanine enantiomers

A type of resin‐anchored CuPF₆‐(S )‐BINAP was synthesized and identified. The PS‐CuPF₆‐(S )‐BINAP resin was used to adsorb the phenylalanine enantiomers. The results showed that the adsorption capacity of PS‐CuPF₆‐(S )‐BINAP resin toward L‐phenylalanine was higher than that of resin toward D‐phenylalanine. PS‐CuPF₆‐(S )‐BINAP resin exhibited good enantioselectivity toward L‐phenylalanine and D‐phenylalanine. The influence of phenylalanine concentration, pH, adsorption time, and temperature on the enantioselectivity of the resin were investigated. The results showed that the enantioselectivity of the resin increased with increasing the phenylalanine concentration, pH, and adsorption time, while it decreased with an increase in temperature. The causes for these influences are discussed. The highest enantioselectivity (α = 2.81) was obtained when the condition of phenylalanine concentration was 0.05 mmol/mL, pH was 8, adsorption time was 12 h, and temperature 5°C. The desorption test for removing D/L‐phenylalanine on PS‐CuPF₆‐(S )‐BINAP resin was also investigated. The desorption ratios of D‐phenylalanine and L‐phenylalanine at pH of 1 were 95.7% and 94.3%, respectively. This result indicated that the PS‐CuPF₆‐(S )‐BINAP resin could be regenerated by shaking with an acidic solution. The reusability of the PS‐CuPF₆‐(S )‐BINAP resin was also assessed and the resin exhibited considerable reusability.     

Isolation and Characterization of NH+4-Excreting Mutants of Enterobacter gergoviae

NH4+-excreting mutants were isolated from Enterobacter gergoviae 57–7 wild type as methylamine resistant strains which were obtained by mutagenesis with a transposable element Tn5. The MG 61 mutants excreted 2 mmol/L of ammonium during a diazotrophic growth. The growth of MG 61 mutants were slower than the growth of wild types because of its excreting ammonium. MG 61 mutants expressed up to 86% of the fully depressed nitrogenase activity when grown in a medium containing 20 mmol/L ammonium. By contrast the ammonium grown cultures of wild type had no nitrogenase activity. In the presence of 5 mmol/L or 30 mmol/L of ammonium in the medium, the growth of MG 61 mutants was as same as CK and much slower than that of the wild types which means that the mutants could not utilize amonium very well in the medium. But MG 61 mutants could utilize glutamate as a sole nitrogen source. In the presence of nitrate (10 mmol/L) in the medium, MG 61 mutants grew slowly but excreted 7.8 mmol/L of ammonium.     

Improved gellan gum production by a newly-isolated Sphingomonas azotifigens GL-1 in a cheese whey and molasses based medium

Gellan gum is a water-soluble exopolysaccharide, it has applications in the food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. In this study, a gellan gum producing strain was isolated from rice root, and this strain was identified be the species of Sphingomonas azotifigens. The Plackett-Burman design was applied to investigate the main factors affecting gellan gum production by S. azotifigens GL-1 in a molasses and cheese whey based medium; the medium compositions were optimized by response surface methodology. The optimum cheese whey based medium consisted of cheese whey 68.34 g/L, Na₂HPO₄ 14.58 g/L and KH₂PO₄ 7.66 g/L, and the maximum gellan gum production that using this medium was 33.75 ± 1.55 g/L. 14.75 ± 0.65 g/L gellan gum was obtained with an optimized molasses medium, which consisted of molasses 50 g/L, Na₂HPO₄ 9.71 g/L and KH₂PO₄ 5.92 g/L. The molecular weight of gellan gum obtained from two medias were 1.06 × 10⁶ and 0.89 × 10⁶ Da, respectively. The cheese whey-derived gellan gum showed a higher rhamnose, lower glucuronic acid and higher glycerate content compared to the molasses-derived gellan gum. S. azotifigens GL-1 has a high gellan gum production capacity in a cheap medium suggesting it has great potential as an industrial gellan gum producer.     

联合固氮菌Enterobactergergoviae57—7泌铵突变株的分离和特性

经 Tn5转座子诱变从野生型菌株 ( Enterobacter gergoviae 5 7- 7)筛选到抗甲胺 ( 0 .3mol/L )的泌铵突变株 MG61 ,该突变株在固氮生长时能分泌铵 2 .0 mmol/L。由于泌铵 MG61的生长比野生型菌株慢 ,在培养基中含铵 ( 5 mmol/L或 30 mmol/L)条件下 ,MG61的生长速率与对照相同 ,而远比野生型菌株慢 ,表明 MG 61不能很好地利用铵。在含 2 0 mmol/L铵的培养基中 MG 61仍表达 86%的固氮活性 ,而野生型菌株完全丧失了固氮活性。在谷氨酸存在下 MG61的生长速率及固氮酶活性都比对照高。在硝酸盐存在下 MG61的生长速率与对照相同 ,但泌铵量达 7.8mmol/L。     

Riboflavin production from mutants ofAshbya gossypii utilising orange rind as a substrate

The use of agroindustrial wastes such as orange rind as an alternative in the production of riboflavin was evaluated in this study withAshbya gossypii mutants.Ashbya gossypii mutants were obtained using 300 μg/mL of MNNG after an exposition period of 90 min with 2.3% of survival rate. A total of 11 mutant high yield strains of riboflavin were selected. Of these mutants, the most productive in YM medium were ASHLVII, ASHLX, ASHLXI and ASHLXV. Three additional different mutants were shown to be unsusceptible to inhibition by itaconate in the medium. When we used orange rind at 0.3% in YM medium without malt extract, the rate of riboflavin production was enhanced in the mutant strains producing 223 mg/L of this vitamin, an increase of 184% in the ASHLXI and ASHLXV mutants, as compared with the wild strain.