Purification and biochemical characterization of the LIP2 lipase from Yarrowia lipolytica

The LIP2 lipase from the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica (YLLIP2) was obtained from two genetically modified strains with multi-copies of the lip2 gene and further purified using gel filtration and cation exchange chromatography. Four YLLIP2 isoforms were identified and subjected to N-terminal amino-acid sequencing and mass spectrometry analysis. These isoforms differed in their glycosylation patterns and their molecular masses ranged from 36,874 to 38,481 Da, whereas the polypeptide mass was 33,385 Da. YLLIP2 substrate specificity was investigated using short (tributyrin), medium (trioctanoin) and long (olive oil) chain triglyceride substrates at various pH and bile salt concentrations, and compared with those of human gastric and pancreatic lipases. YLLIP2 was not inhibited by bile salts at micellar concentrations with any of the substrates tested, and maximum specific activities were found to be 10,760+/-115 U/mg on tributyrin, 16,920+/-480 U/mg on trioctanoin and 12,260+/-700 U/mg on olive oil at pH 6.0. YLLIP2 was found to be fairly stable and still active on long chain triglycerides (1590+/-430 U/mg) at pH 4.0, in the presence of bile salts. It is therefore a good candidate for use in enzyme replacement therapy as a means of treating pancreatic exocrine insufficiency.     

Analysis of Yarrowia lipolytica extracellular lipase Lip2p glycosylation

Wild-type (WT) Yarrowia lipolytica strain secretes a major extracellular lipase Lip2p which is glycosylated. In silico sequence analysis reveals the presence of two potential N-glycosylation sites (N113IS and N134NT). Strains expressing glycosylation mutant forms were constructed. Esterase activities for the different forms were measured with three substrates: p-nitrophenol butyrate (p-NPB), tributyrin and triolein. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of supernatant indicated that the suppression of the two sites of N-glycosylation did not affect secretion. S115V or N134Q mutations led to lipase with similar specific activity compared with WT lipase while a T136V mutation reduced specific activity toward p-NPB and tributyrin. Electrospray ionization MS of the WT entire protein led to an average mass of 36 950 Da, higher than the mass deduced from the amino acid sequence (33 385 Da) and to the observation of at least two different mannose structures: Man(8)GlcNAc(2) and Man(9)GlcNAc(2). LC-tandem MS analysis of the WT Lip2p after trypsin and endoproteinase Asp-N treatments led to high coverage (87%) of protein sequence but the peptides containing N113 and N134 were not identified. We confirmed that the presence of N-glycosylation occurred at both N113 and N134 by MS of digested proteins obtained after enzymatic deglycosylation or from mutant forms.     

Autocloning and Amplification of LIP2 in Yarrowia lipolytica

We synthesized a Yarrowia lipolytica strain overproducing lipase for industrial applications by using long terminal repeat (ζ) of the Y. lipolytica retrotransposon Ylt1 and an allele of URA3 with a promoter deletion to construct JMP3. JMP3 is a derivative of plasmid pHSS6 carrying a NotI-NotI cassette which contains a defective URA3 allele, a polylinker sequence, and the ζ region for targeting to multiple sites in the genome of the recipient. We inserted the LIP2 gene (encoding extracellular lipase) under the control of the strong POX2 promoter into JMP3 to generate JMP6. The pHSS6 region was removed by NotI digestion prior to transformation. Two Y. lipolytica strains transformed with the JMP6 LIP2 cassette had a mean of 10 integrated copies devoid of the Escherichia coli region, corresponding to an autocloning event. The copy number in the transformants was stable even after 120 generations in nonselective and lipase-inducing conditions. The resulting strains could produce 0.5 g of active lipase per liter in the supernatant, 40 times more than the single-copy strain with the LIP2 promoter. This work provides a new expression system in Y. lipolytica that results in strains devoid of bacterial DNA and in strains producing a high level of lipase for industrial uses, waste treatment, and pancreatic insufficiency therapy.     

Autocloning and amplification of LIP2 in Yarrowia lipolytica

We synthesized a Yarrowia lipolytica strain overproducing lipase for industrial applications by using long terminal repeat (zeta) of the Y. lipolytica retrotransposon Ylt1 and an allele of URA3 with a promoter deletion to construct JMP3. JMP3 is a derivative of plasmid pHSS6 carrying a NotI-NotI cassette which contains a defective URA3 allele, a polylinker sequence, and the zeta region for targeting to multiple sites in the genome of the recipient. We inserted the LIP2 gene (encoding extracellular lipase) under the control of the strong POX2 promoter into JMP3 to generate JMP6. The pHSS6 region was removed by NotI digestion prior to transformation. Two Y. lipolytica strains transformed with the JMP6 LIP2 cassette had a mean of 10 integrated copies devoid of the Escherichia coli region, corresponding to an autocloning event. The copy number in the transformants was stable even after 120 generations in nonselective and lipase-inducing conditions. The resulting strains could produce 0.5 g of active lipase per liter in the supernatant, 40 times more than the single-copy strain with the LIP2 promoter. This work provides a new expression system in Y. lipolytica that results in strains devoid of bacterial DNA and in strains producing a high level of lipase for industrial uses, waste treatment, and pancreatic insufficiency therapy.     

Purification and characterization of the extracellular lipase Lip2 from Yarrowia lipolytica

An extracellular lipase from Yarrowia lipolytica (YlLip2) has been purified by ion exchange chromatography on Q sepharose FF, followed by hydrophobic interaction chromatography on butyl sepharose FF. SDS-PAGE showed that the molecular weight of this lipase is about 38 kDa. N-terminal amino acid sequencing and MALDI-TOF mass spectral analysis showed that this lipase is encoded by gene LIP2 (GenBank accession no. AJ012632). Enzymatic deglycosylation showed that this lipase is a glycosylated protein which contains about 12% sugar. The corresponding deglycosylated lipase remained 88% specific activity of untreated lipase. There was a high amino acid sequence identity (91%) between YlLip2 and Candida deformans lipase CdLip1 (GenBank accession no. AJ428393). The optima temperature and pH for the purified lipase was 40 °C and 8.0, respectively. The lipase showed a preference for long chain fatty acid methyl esters (C12–C16), with the highest activity toward methyl myristate (C14). Lipase activity was stimulated by Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ and inhibited by Zn²⁺, Ni²⁺ and Cu²⁺, whereas EDTA had no effect on its activity. A 0.1% of Tween 80 and Span 65 increased slightly the enzyme activity and SDS inhibited it.     

High-level production of extracellular lipase by Yarrowia lipolytica mutants from methyl oleate

The yeast Yarrowia lipolytica degrades efficiently low-cost hydrophobic substrates for the production of various added-value products such as lipases. To obtain yeast strains producing high levels of extracellular lipase, Y. lipolytica DSM3286 was subjected to mutation using ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) and ultraviolet (UV) light. Twenty mutants were selected out of 1600 mutants of Y. lipolytica treated with EMS and UV based on lipase production ability on selective medium. A new industrial medium containing methyl oleate was optimized for lipase production. In the 20 L bioreactor containing new industrial medium, one UV mutant (U6) produced 356 U/mL of lipase after 24h, which is about 10.5-fold higher than that produced by the wild type strain. The properties of the mutant lipase were the same as those of the wild type: molecular weight 38 kDa, optimum temperature 37°C and optimum pH 7. Furthermore, the nucleotide sequences of extracellular lipase gene (LIP2) in wild type and mutant strains were determined. Only two silent substitutions at 362 and 385 positions were observed in the ORF region of LIP2. Two single substitutions and two duplications of the T nucleotide were also detected in the promoter region. LIP2 sequence comparison of the Y. lipolytica DSM3286 and U6 strains shows good targets to effective DNA recombinant for extracellular lipase of Y. lipolytica.     

Evaluating aqueous two-phase systems for Yarrowia lipolytica extracellular lipase purification

In this study an aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) composed of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and potassium phosphate was tested for the purification of lipase from Yarrowia lipolytica IMUFRJ 50682. Ultrafiltration and precipitation with acetone and kaolin were also used as traditional comparison methods Ultrafiltration was a good method with a purification factor of 6.55, but protease was also purified in this extract. For the precipitation with acetone and kaolin lower values of lipase and protease activity were found in relation to the original crude enzyme extract. Under the best conditions of ATPS (pH 6 and 4 °C), the purification fold was greater than 40 and selectivity was almost 500. Lipase was recovered in the salty phase which makes it easier to purify it. The optimum pH and temperature ranges for purified lipase with this system was 6–7 and 35–40 °C, respectively. Lipase thermostability was increased in relation to crude extract after the purification with the PEG/phosphate buffer system for temperatures lower than 50 °C. All enzyme extracts showed good stability to a wide pH range. Y. lipolytca lipase was successfully purified by using ATPS in a single downstream processing step and presented good process characteristics after this treatment.     

Intracellular expression of Vitreoscilla hemoglobin improves production of Yarrowia lipolytica lipase LIP2 in a recombinant Pichia pastoris

The Yarrowia lipolytica lipase LIP2 (YlLIP2) gene lip2 and Vitreoscilla hemoglobin gene vgb were co-expressed in Pichia pastoris, both under the control of AOX1 promoter, in order to alleviate respiration limitation under conditions of high cell-density fermentation and enhance YlLIP2 production. The results showed that recombinant P. pastoris strains harboring the lip2 and vgb genes (VHb⁺) displayed higher biomass and YlLIP2 activity than control strains (VHb⁻). Compared with VHb⁻ cells, the expression levels of YlLIP2 in VHb-expressing cells when oxygen was not a limiting factor were improved 31.5% in shake-flask culture and 22% in a 10-L fermentor. Under non-limiting dissolved oxygen (DO) conditions, the maximum YlLIP2 activity of VHb⁺ in a 10-L fermentor reached 33,000 U/mL. Oxygen limitation had a more negative effect on YlLIP2 productivity in VHb⁻ cells than in VHb⁺ cells. The highest YlLIP2 activity of VHb⁺ cells was approximately 1.84-fold higher than that of VHb⁻ cells at lower DO levels. Moreover, the recombinant strain VHb⁺ exhibited a higher specific oxygen uptake rate and achieved higher cell viability under oxygen limiting and non-limiting conditions compared with VHb⁻ cells. Therefore, the above results suggest that intracellular expression of VHb in recombinant P. pastoris has the potential to improve cell growth and industrial enzyme production.     

Identification and characterisation of LIP7 and LIP8 genes encoding two extracellular triacylglycerol lipases in the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica

In the lipolytic yeast Yarrowia lipolytica, the LIP2 gene was previously reported to encode an extracellular lipase. The growth of a Deltalip2 strain on triglycerides as sole carbon source suggest an alternative pathway for triglycerides utilisation in this yeast. Here, we describe the isolation and the characterisation of the LIP7 and LIP8 genes which were found to encode a 366 and a 371-amino acid precursor protein, respectively. These proteins which belong to the triacylglycerol hydrolase family (EC 3.1.1.3) presented a high homology with the extracellular lipase CdLIP2 and CdLIP3 from Candida deformans. The physiological function of the lipase isoenzymes was investigated by creating single and multi-disrupted strains. Lip7p and Lip8p were found to correspond to active secreted lipases. The lack of lipase production in a Deltalip2 Deltalip7 Deltalip8 strain suggest that no additional extracellular lipase remains to be discovered in Y. lipolytica. The substrate specificity towards synthetic ester molecules indicates that Lip7p presented a maximum activity centred on caproate (C6) while that of Lip8p is in caprate (C10).     

Functional characterization of extracellular chitinase encoded by the YlCTS1 gene in a dimorphic yeast Yarrowia lipolytica

The hemiascomycetes yeast Yarrowia lipolytica is a dimorphic yeast with alternating yeast and mycelia forms. Bioinformatic analysis revealed the presence of three putative chitinase genes, YlCTS1, YlCTS2, and YlCTS3, in the Y. lipolytica genome. Here, we demonstrated that the protein of YlCTS1 (YlCts1p), which contains an N-terminal secretion signal peptide, a long C-terminal Ser/Thr-rich domain, and a chitin-binding domain, is a homologue to Saccharomyces cerevisiae chitinase 1 (ScCts1p). Deletion of YlCTS1 remarkably reduced extracellular endochitinase activity in the culture supernatant of Y. lipolytica and enhanced cell aggregation, suggesting a role of YlCts1p in cell separation as ScCts1p does in S. cerevisiae. However, loss of YlCts1p function did not affect hyphal formation induced by fetal bovine serum addition. The mass of YlCts1p was dramatically decreased by jack bean α-mannosidase digestion but not by PNGase F treatment, indicating that YlCts1p is modified only by O-mannosylation without N-glycosylation. Moreover, the O-glycan profile of YlCts1p was identical to that of total cell wall mannoproteins, supporting the notion that YlCts1p can be used as a good model for studying O-glycosylation in this dimorphic yeast.     

Yarrowia lipolytica lipase production enhanced by increased air pressure

Aims: To study the cellular growth and morphology of Yarrowia lipolytica W29 and its lipase and protease production under increased air pressures. Methods and Results: Batch cultures of the yeast were conducted in a pressurized bioreactor at 4 and 8 bar of air pressure and the cellular behaviour was compared with cultures at atmospheric pressure. No inhibition of cellular growth was observed by the increase of pressure. Moreover, the improvement of the oxygen transfer rate (OTR) from the gas to the culture medium by pressurization enhanced the extracellular lipase activity from 96·6 U l^?1 at 1 bar to 533·5 U l^?1 at 8 bar. The extracellular protease activity was reduced by the air pressure increase, thereby eliciting further lipase productivity. Cell morphology was slightly affected by pressure, particularly at 8 bar, where cells kept the predominant oval form but decreased in size. Conclusions: OTR improvement by total air pressure rise up to 8 bar in a bioreactor can be applied to the enhancement of lipase production by Y. lipolytica. Significance and Impact of the Study: Hyperbaric bioreactors can be successfully applied for yeast cells cultivation, particularly in high‐density cultures used for enzymes production, preventing oxygen limitation and consequently increasing overall productivity.     

Improvement of lipase production from Yarrowia lipolytica

Extracellular lipase production by Yarrowia lipolytica was increased by mutant selection from 28 U/ml to 1000 U/ml. This activity was also reached in a 500 l bioreactor. The properties of the mutant lipase were the same of those of the wild type: M 38 kDa, optimum pH 7 and optimum temperature 37¡C.     

High-level expression of extracellular lipase Lip2 from Yarrowia lipolytica in Pichia pastoris and its purification and characterization

The extracellular lipase gene from Yarrowia lipolytica (YlLip2) was cloned into the pPICZalphaA and integrated into the genome of the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris X-33. The lipase was successfully expressed and secreted with an apparent molecular weight of 39kDa using Saccharomyces cerevisiae secretion signal peptide (alpha-factor) under the control of the methanol inducible promoter of the alcohol oxidase 1 gene (AOX1). The lipase activity of 12,500,000U/l (2.10g total protein and 0.63g lipase per liter) was obtained in a fed-batch cultivation, where methanol feeding was linked to the dissolved oxygen content after initial glycerol culture. After fermentation, the supernatant was concentrated by ultrafiltration with a 10kDa cut off membrane and purified with ion exchange chromatography using Q Sepharose FF. Deglycosylation showed that the recombinant lipase is a glycoprotein which contains the same content of sugar (about 12%) as the native lipase from Y. lipolytica. The optimum temperature and pH of the recombinant lipase was 40 degrees C and 8.0, respectively. The lipase showed high activity toward long-chain fatty acid methyl esters (C12-C16).     

Selection of new over-producing derivatives for the improvement of extracellular lipase production by the non-conventional yeast Yarrowia lipolytica

The non-conventional yeast Yarrowia lipolytica produces an extracellular lipase encoded by the LIP2 gene. Mutant strains with enhanced productivity were previously obtained either by chemical mutagenesis or genetic engineering. In this work, we used one of these mutants, named LgX64.81 to select new overproducing strains following by amplification of the LIP2 gene. We also developed a process for lipase production in bioreactors and compared lipase production levels in batch and fed-batch cultures. Batch culture led to a lipase production of 26450 U ml(-1) in a media containing olive oil and tryptone as carbon and nitrogen sources. Feeding of a combination of tryptone and olive oil at the end of the exponential growth phase yielded to lipase activity of 158246 U ml(-1) after 80 h of cultivation. In addition this production system developed for the extracellular lipase could also be applied for other heterologous protein production since we have demonstrated that LgX64.81 is an interesting alternative host strain.     

Extracellular expression and characterization of thermostable lipases, LIP8, LIP14 and LIP18, from Yarrowia lipolytica

Two new lipases, LIP14 and LIP18, along with LIP8 from Yarrowia lipolytica MSR80 were functionally expressed as extracellular proteins with an IgG tag using Escherichia coli HB101 pEZZ18 host vector system. Each enzyme had an optimal activity at pH 7 and 40?°C and was activated by 6?mM Ca(2+) and 90?% (v/v) non-polar solvents but inhibited by 10?mM of each 1,10-phenanthraline, DTNB, PMSF and N-bromosuccinamide. All the enzymes were thermostable with t(1/2) of 52?min, 49?min and 68?min for LIP8, LIP14 and LIP18 at 80?°C, respectively. LIP18 was most thermostable among all with a high arginine: lysine ratio and proline content. All the three lipases showed a preference for oleic acid rich triacylglycerols and oils.     

New finding and optimal production of a novel extracellular alkaline lipase from Yarrowia lipolytica NRRL Y-2178

Lipases are industrially useful versatile enzymes that catalyze numerous different reactions including hydrolysis of triglycerides, transesterification, and chiral synthesis of esters under natural conditions. Although lipases from various sources have been widely used in industrial applications, such as in food, chemical, pharmaceutical, and detergent industries, there are still substantial current interests in developing new microbial lipases, specifically those functioning in abnormal conditions. We screened 17 lipase-producing yeast strains, which were prescreened for substrate specificity of lipase from more than 500 yeast strains from the Agricultural Research Service Culture Collection (Peoria, IL, U.S.A.), and selected Yarrowia lipolytica NRRL Y-2178 as a best lipase producer. This report presents new finding and optimal production of a novel extracellular alkaline lipase from Y. lipolytica NRRL Y-2178. Optimal c ulture conditions f orlipase production by Y. lipolytica NRRL Y-2178 were 72 h incubation time, 27.5 degrees C, pH 9.0. Glycerol and glucose were efficiently used as the most efficient carbon sources, and a combination of yeast extract and peptone was a good nitrogen source for lipase production by Y. lipolytica NRRL Y-2178. These results suggested that Y. lipolytica NRRL Y-2178 showsgood industrial potential as a new alkaline lipase producer.     

Carbon source impact on Yarrowia lipolytica KKP 379 lipase production

The production of lipases by microorganisms is strongly influenced by the culture conditions. The optimum culture conditions for enzyme production are strain- and species-dependent. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the carbon source used in the culture medium on the profile of lipases produced by Yarrowia lipolytica KKP 379. We observed a different pattern of extracellular and cell-bound lipase production, which was the highest in the early exponential phase. The extracellular lipase activity increased in the late exponential phase due to the lower accumulation of lipase molecules in cell walls. The best carbon source for extracellular lipase production by Y. lipolytica KKP 379 was olive oil. Glucose, dodecane and olive oil had a positive effect on biomass yield. Dodecane and/or glycerol utilization in microbiological lipase production was possible, but this process could not proceed without the addition of some activators such as olive oil in the cultivation medium.     

解脂耶氏酵母脂肪酶LIP4和LIP5在毕赤酵母中的异源表达及酶学性质

【目的】克隆解脂耶氏酵母(Yarrowia lipolytica)脂肪酶LIP4和LIP5的cDNA序列,研究其基因结构,并实现其在毕赤酵母中的功能表达,以探讨其酶学性质。【方法】利用反转录PCR首次扩增LIP4和LIP5的编码基因,用SignalP 3.0分析其基因序列,然后分别构建胞内表达载体pPIC3.5K-Lip4、pPIC3.5K-Lip5和胞外表达载体pPIC9K-Lip4、pPIC9K-Lip5,将其转入毕赤酵母GS115中表达,以NTA树脂纯化酶蛋白,研究其酶学性质。【结果】cDNA序列测序结果显示两者均不含内含子,酶蛋白的氨基酸序列中含有典型脂肪酶的活性三联体结构和五肽保守区;酶学性质研究表明,两者的最适底物均为癸酸(C8)对硝基苯酚酯,最适pH为7.0,最适温度为40℃,但LIP4对pH和温度更敏感;两者均能被Ca2+激活,且LIP5还能为Mg2+激活,但均被Hg2+、乙二胺四乙酸(EDTA)和苯甲基磺酰氟(PMSF)强烈抑制。【结论】首次克隆了解脂耶氏酵母脂肪酶LIP4和LIP5编码基因,实现了其在毕赤酵母中的活性表达,并初步研究了其酶学性质,为上述脂肪酶的应用及进一步深入研究解脂耶氏酵母脂肪酶家族奠定了基础。     

Storage of Yarrowia lipolytica lipase after spray-drying in the presence of additives

Lipase from Yarrowia lipolytica is an enzyme that presents numerous potentialities for biotechnological applications. This work describes the development of powders obtained by atomization of supernatants lipase from Y. lipolytica LGx6481. Two formulations were studied: one formulation with skim milk powder and gum arabic, and the other with maltodextrin, calcium chloride and gum arabic. After drying, powders were stored at 4 and 20 °C in aluminium hermetic bags to evaluate their stability over a period of one year. The influence of water activity and glass transition temperature (T_g) on the powder's storage were also studied.