Study of Brevibacterium flavum phage PhiBSh6]

Properties of a virulent Brevibacterium flavum bacteriophage phi BSh6 were studied. The phage was placed in morphological group B1 according to Ackerman classification, head diameter being 74-3 nm, tail length being 337 +/- 15 nm. The phage was shown to have double stranded DNA as a genetic material. The chromosome is linear having cohesive ends. Chromosome length was estimated to be about 71 kbp by restriction analysis and electron microscopy. A unique EcoRI-EcoRI fragment of bacteriophage DNA (0.8 kbp) was cloned in Escherichia coli. Restriction chart of cos region was determined, the dyad symmetry being absent from cos sequence. Deletion mutant of the phage was obtained and restriction map of the corresponding genome region was constructed. The phage phi BSh6 was shown to be a close relative to phages phi B and BB14 described earlier.     

Hydrogenase activity in Brevibacterium flavum

The activity of hydrogenase was assayed in the intact cells and subcellular fractions of Brevibacterium flavum. The organism was shown to have the membrane-bound form of hydrogenase. The soluble NAD+-reducing hydrogenase was not found. Oxygen inhibited the hydrogenase activity, and its action was reversible. Molecular hydrogen activated the hydrogenase of B. flavum, which was shown to be a constitutive enzyme.     

产精氨酸的黄色短杆菌菌种保藏方法的研究

采用甘油防冻营养液对产精氨酸的黄色短杆菌（Brevibacterium flawm）变异株AN78在普通冰箱冷冻室（-18℃～-20℃）进行冷冻保藏试验,4年中分别进行了AN78菌株的产L-精氨酸试验,在500mL摇瓶试验中产精氨酸30-35g／L;保藏2年的菌种在20L发酵罐试验中产精氨酸63．1g／L,转化率22．8％,发酵周期81h。试验结果好于以前的报道。该方法可作为氨基酸生产行业中一种简便有效的菌种冷冻保藏方法。     

Regulation of lysine biosynthesis in Brevibacterium flavum

L-lysine synthesis pathway enzyme activities: β-aspartate kinase (EC.2.7.2.4), diaminopimelate decarboxylase (EC.4.1.1.20) for two L-lysine producing strains Brevibacterium flavum 22LD and RC-115 were studied. It has been found that β-aspartate kinase and diaminopimelate decarboxylase in the Br. flavum RC-115 are less sensitive to feed-back inhibition by lysine and threonine. It is supposed that desensitized β-aspartate kinase in the Br. flavum RC-115 can be determined by genetical changes of the regulatory properties of the β-aspartate kinase. Auxotrophity in the locus of homoserine dehydrogenase was tested and no homoserine dehydrogenase (EC.1.1.1.3) activity was found in either strain. The combination of these both types of mutation supplemented by the lack of catabolic repression in the RC-115 strain makes it an active lysine producer in the medium with high carbohydrates content.     

产生L-异亮氨酸的黄色短杆菌的代谢途径分析

目的:代谢工程要解决的主要问题是改变某些途径中的碳架物质流量或改变碳架物质流在不同途径中的流量分布,其目标就是修饰初级代谢,将碳架物质流导入目的产物的载流途径,以获得产物的最大转化率。方法:利用途径分析方法对黄色短杆菌生产L-异亮氨酸的途径进行了分析。结果:建立了9种基础模型,确定L-异亮氨酸理论最高摩尔产率是1;确定了黄色短杆菌生产L-异亮氨酸的最佳途径的通量分布,并以此为依据进行发酵溶氧控制优化,溶氧分阶段控制发酵生产L-异亮氨酸比溶氧恒定控制方式发酵的产率提高了8.2%。结论:根据途径分析结果,通过改变发酵过程有关参数,可使目的产物产率得到提高。     

Yield regulation of lysine biosynthesis in Brevibacterium flavum

A scheme for lysine biosynthesis using variants of the Brevibacterium flavum intermediary metabolite synthesis is discussed. The main precursor of lysine that we are concerned with here is oxalacetate, which can be synthesized through the TCA or glyoxylate cycles or by carboxylation of PEP. Material energy balances for the main pathways of lysine biosynthesis from glucose and acetate have been formulated. Energy consumption, in the from of ATP – P_ATP (number of mol ATP consumed/1 mol lysine synthesized), was calculated for the main pathways of lysine biosynthesis. Theoretical conversion yields Y_p^max (g product/g substrate) were estimated. Experimental data were presented concerning the increase of Y_p by means of metabolism regulation: (a) by TCA-and glyoxylate-cycle enzyme induction; (b) by maintaining PEP carboxylase activity; (c) by eliminating by-product synthesis.     

黄色短杆菌产L-组氨酸菌株的诱变育种

以黄色短杆菌为出发菌,采用诱变育种的方法选育得到一株能高产L-组氨酸的突变菌株。在加有150g·L-1葡萄 糖;35g·L-1硫酸铵;10g·L-1蛋白胨的发酵培养基中培养72h,产L-组氨酸128.28mg·L-1。     

L－异亮氨酸产生菌选育的研究

以黄色短杆菌（Ｂｒｅｖｉｂａｃｔｅｒｉｕｍｆｌａｖｕｍ）ＡＴＣＣ１４０６７为出发菌株,经硫酸二乙酯（ＤＥＳ）、紫外线（ＵＶ）和亚硝基胍（ＮＴＧ）逐级诱变处理,α－氨基－β－羟基戊酸（ＡＨＶ）、Ｓ－２－氨基乙基－Ｌ－半胱氨酸（ＡＥＣ）、磺胺胍（ＳＧ）、乙硫氨酸（Ｅｔｈ）、α－氨基丁酸（α－ＡＢ）、异亮氨酸氧肟酸（ＩｌｅＨｘ）等氨基酸结构类似物及琥珀酸为碳源平板定向筛选,获得一株Ｌ－异亮氨酸高产菌ＺＱ－４（ＡＨＶ~γ、ＡＥＣ~γ、ＳＡＭ~γ、ＳＧ~γ、Ｅｔｈ~γ、α－ＡＢ~γ、ＩｌｅＨｘ~γ）在含１３．５％葡萄糖培养基中,摇瓶发酵７２ｈ、Ｌ－异亮氨酸积累可达２．８－３．０％。     

Glutamate Metabolism in a Glutamate-producing Bacterium,Brevibacterium flavum

Brevibacterium flavum No. 2247 was found to grow with l-glutamate as the sole carbon and nitrogen source on an agar-plate medium when high concentrations of l-glutamate, FeSO₄ and biotin were added to the medium. It grew on l-glutamate in liquid medium only when yeast extract or high concentrations of FeSO₄ and glucose or organic acids of the tricarboxylic acid cycle were added to the medium. The growth on l-glutamate in liquid medium was also stimulated by high concentrations of l-glutamate, biotin and MgSO₄, and inhibited by a high concentration of (NH₄)₂SO₄.

Aspartate aminotransferase (TA)- and α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase (KD)-defective mutants did not grow on l-glutamate, and glutamate-utilizing revertants derived from these mutants recovered TA and KD activity, respectively, whereas glutamate dehydrogenase (GD)-defective mutants grew on l-glutamate. Washed cells of strain No. 2247 grown on glutamate decomposed the amino acid, whereas those grown on glucose did not. The degradation was observed only under aerobic conditions. The former cells showed higher KD, succinate dehydrogenase and fumarase activities than the latter cells. Of 75 mutants which did not grow on glutamate but grew on succinate, three strains lacked KD but showed the same glutamate productivity as the parent strain. Four other strains with normal KD levels showed higher glutamate productivity than the parent.     

Two components of chorismate mutase in Brevibacterium flavum.

Chorismate mutase of Brevibacterium flavum, a common enzyme in phenylalanine and tyrosine biosynthesis, was separted into two different component, A and B, with molecular weights of 250,000 and 25,000, respectively, by ammonium sulfate fractionation or gel-filtration. Both components were essential for the enzymatic activity. In the presence of the reaction substrate, chorismate, the two components associated reversibly to give an active enzyme complex with a molecular weight of 320,000. Binding sites of the feedback inhibitors, phenylalanine and tyrosine, on the enzyme were localized on component A as determined by hybridization experiments with the wild-type and mutant components. Tyrosine repressed the synthesis of component B much more strongly than that of component A, while phenylalanine did not show any significant repressive effect on either component. The wild-type strain No. 2247 had four times more component A than component B. Elution patterns in gel, DEAE-cellulose or hydroxyapatite column chromatography as well as the disc-gel electrophoretic pattern of chorismate mutase component A and 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate 7-phosphate (DAHP) synthetase activities completely overlapped, suggesting the presence of a bifunctional protein having the two activities. In accord with this suggestion, chorismate mutase as well as DAHP synthetase was insensitive to feedback inhibition by phenylalanine and tyrosine in all the 3-fluorophenylalanine-resistant mutants tested that excreted both phenylalanine and tyrosine. All the phenylalanine and tyrosine double auxotrophs defective in chorismate mutase lacked component B but not A.     

L－异亮氨酸产生菌选育的研究

以黄色短杆菌（Ｂｒｅｖｉｂａｃｔｅｒｉｕｍｆｌａｖｕｍ）ＡＴＣＣ１４０６７为出发菌株,经硫酸二乙酯（ＤＥＳ）、紫外线（ＵＶ）和亚硝基胍（ＮＴＧ）逐级诱变处理,α－氨基－β－羟基戊酸（ＡＨＶ）、Ｓ－２－氨基乙基－Ｌ－半胱氨酸（ＡＥＣ）、磺胺胍（ＳＧ）、乙硫氨酸（Ｅｔｈ）、α－氨基丁酸（α－ＡＢ）、异亮氨酸氧肟酸（ＩｌｅＨｘ）等氨基酸结构类似物及琥珀酸为碳源平板定向筛选,获得一株Ｌ－异亮氨酸高产菌ＺＱ－４（ＡＨＶ~γ、ＡＥＣ~γ、ＳＡＭ~γ、ＳＧ~γ、Ｅｔｈ~γ、α－ＡＢ~γ、ＩｌｅＨｘ~γ）在含１３．５％葡萄糖培养基中,摇瓶发酵７２ｈ、Ｌ－异亮氨酸积累可达２．８－３．０％。     

Taxonomic position of the lysine producer Brevibacterium flavum

Brevibacterium flavum 22 and 22L producing lysine and glutamic acid should be reclassified as Corynebacterium glutamicum on the basis of their chemotaxonomic characteristics: the IV type of the cell wall, corynomycolic acids C32--C34, 57.8% of GC in DNA.     

Altered prephenate dehydratase in phenylalanine-excreting mutants of Brevibacterium flavum.

The regulatory properties of three key enzymes in the phenylalanine biosynthetic pathway, 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate 7-phosphate synthetase (DAHP synthetase) [EC 4.1.2.15], chorismate mutase [EC 5.4.99.5], and prephenate dehydratase [prephenate hydro-lyase (decarboxylating), EC 4.2.1.51] were compared in three phenylalanine-excreting mutants and the wild strain of Brevibacterium flavum. Regulation of DAHP synthetase by phenylalanine and tyrosine in these mutants did not change at all, but the specific activities of the mutant cell extracts increased 1.3- to 2.8-fold, as reported previously (1). Chorismate mutase activities in both the wild and the mutant strains were cumulatively inhibited by phenylalanine and tyrosine and recovered with tryptophan, while the specific activities of the mutants increased 1.3- to 2.8-fold, like those of DAHP synthetase. On the other hand, the specific activities of prephenate dehydratase in the mutant and wild strains were similar, when tyrosine was present. While prephenate dehydratase of the wild strain was inhibited by phenylalanine, tryptophan, and several phenylalanine analogues, the mutant enzymes were not inhibited at all but were activated by these effectors. Tyrosine activated the mutant enzymes much more strongly than the wild-type enzyme: in mutant 221-43, 1 mM tyrosine caused 28-fold activation. Km and the activation constant for tyrosine were slightly altered to a half and 6-fold compared with the wild-type enzyme, respectively, while the activation constants for phenylalanine and tryptophan were 500-fold higher than the respective inhibition constants of the wild-type enzyme. The molecular weight of the mutant enzyme was estimated to be 1.2 x 10(5), a half of that of the wild-type enzyme. The molecular weight of the mutant enzyme was estimated to be 1.2 X 10(5) a half of that of the wild type enzyme, while in the presence of tyrosine, phenylalanine, or tryptophan, it increased to that of the wild-type enzyme. Immediately after the mutant enzyme had been activated by tyrosine and then the tyrosine removed, it still showed about 10-fold higher specific activity than before the activation by tyrosine. However, on standing in ice the activity gradually fell to the initial level before the activation by tyrosine. Ammonium sulfate promoted the decrease of the activity. On the basis of these results, regulatory mechanisms for phenylalanine biosynthesis in vivo as well as mechanisms for the phenylalanine overproduction in the mutants are discussed.     

Regulation of Aspartate Family Amino Acid Biosynthesis in Brevibacterium flavum

Dihydrodipicolinate (DDP)* synthetase and DDP-reductase were partially purified about 30 and 15 folds, respectively, from sonic extracts of Brevibacterium flavum.

In contrast with DDP-synthetase from Escherichia coli, the B. flavum enzyme was only slightly inhibited by α, ε-diaminopimelate, a precursor of lysine, but not by lysine itself. Single or simultaneous addition of any other amino acid(s) of aspartate family did not affect the activity significantly. Optimum pH for DDP-synthetase was 8.4 with Tris-HCl buffer. Kms for aspartic-β-semialdehyde and pyruvate at pH 7.5 were 2×10^?4m and 1×10^?4m, respectively. The formation of DDP-synthetase was not significantly repressed by lysine.

DDP-reductase of B. flavum required NADH or NADPH as the cofactor. This enzyme was not inhibited by single or simultaneous addition of aspartate family amino acid(s).

From the above results, the regulation mechanism of lysine biosynthesis in B. flavum was discussed.     

Threonine production by dihydrodipicolinate synthase-defective mutants of Brevibacterium flavum

A novel type of threonine-producing strains, dihydrodipicolinate synthase (DPS)-defective mutants of Brevibacterium flavum, was isolated as alpha-amino-beta-hydroxyvaleric acid (AHV)-resistant producers. The third selection markers used were a strong lysine inhibition of threonine production and a lower production of lysine than that of threonine in those derived from strains with feedback-sensitive and-resistant aspartokinase (AK), respectively. The maximum threonine production by these DPS-defective mutants was 13.7 g/l at the optimum concentration of DL-diaminopimelic acid (DAP) in a medium containing 100 g/l of glucose, comparable to that by the previously reported conventional producers with feedback-resistant homoserine dehydrogenase (HD(R)). The DPS-defective mutants with feedback-sensitive AK showed a slow but substantial growth in the absence of DAP and their growth was markedly stimulated by DAP, while those with feedback-resistant AK grew well in the absence of DAP and their growth was not promoted by DAP more than that of the parent strain. DPS-defective mutants with HD(R) were derived from an HD(R) mutant producing 10 g/l of L-threonine and selected as AHV-resistant mutants with a higher productivity. The maximum production was 16 g/l.