Improved Succinic Acid Production in the Anaerobic Culture of an Escherichia coli pflB ldhA Double Mutant as a Result of Enhanced Anaplerotic Activities in the Preceding Aerobic Culture

Escherichia coli NZN111 is a pflB ldhA double mutant which loses its ability to ferment glucose anaerobically due to redox imbalance. In this study, two-stage culture of NZN111 was carried out for succinic acid production. It was found that when NZN111 was aerobically cultured on acetate, it regained the ability to ferment glucose with succinic acid as the major product in subsequent anaerobic culture. In two-stage culture carried out in flasks, succinic acid was produced at a level of 11.26 g/liter from 13.4 g/liter of glucose with a succinic acid yield of 1.28 mol/mol glucose and a productivity of 1.13 g/liter·h in the anaerobic stage. Analyses of key enzyme activities revealed that the activities of isocitrate lyase, malate dehydrogenase, malic enzyme, and phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxykinase were greatly enhanced while those of pyruvate kinase and PEP carboxylase were reduced in the acetate-grown cells. The two-stage culture was also performed in a 5-liter fermentor without separating the acetate-grown NZN111 cells from spent medium. The overall yield and concentration of succinic acid reached 1.13 mol/mol glucose and 28.2 g/liter, respectively, but the productivity of succinic acid in the anaerobic stage dropped to 0.7 g/liter·h due to cell autolysis and reduced anaplerotic activities. The results indicate the great potential to take advantage of cellular regulation mechanisms for improvement of succinic acid production by a metabolically engineered E. coli strain.     

过量表达苹果酸脱氢酶对大肠杆菌NZN111产丁二酸的影响

大肠杆菌NZN111是敲除了乳酸脱氢酶的编码基因 (ldhA) 和丙酮酸-甲酸裂解酶的编码基因 (pflB) 的工程菌,厌氧条件下由于辅酶NAD(H) 的不平衡导致其丧失了代谢葡萄糖的能力。构建了苹果酸脱氢酶的重组菌大肠杆菌NZN111/pTrc99a-mdh,在厌氧摇瓶发酵过程中通过0.3 mmol/L的IPTG诱导后重组菌的苹果酸脱氢酶 (Malate dehydrogenase,MDH) 酶活较出发菌株提高了14.8倍,NADH/NAD+的比例从0.64下降到0.26,同时NAD+和NADH浓度分别     

Production of succinate by a <Emphasis Type="Italic">pfl</Emphasis>B <Emphasis Type="Italic">ldh</Emphasis>A double mutant of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> overexpressing malate dehydrogenase

The gene encoding malate dehydrogenase (MDH) was overexpressed in a pflB ldhA double mutant of Escherichia coli, NZN111, for succinic acid production. With MDH overexpression, NZN111/pTrc99A-mdh restored the ability to metabolize glucose anaerobically and 0.55 g/L of succinic acid was produced from 3 g/L of glucose in shake flask culture. When supplied with 10 g/L of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃), the succinic acid yield of NZN111/pTrc99A-mdh reached 1.14 mol/mol glucose. Supply of NaHCO₃ also improved succinic acid production by the control strain, NZN111/pTrc99A. Measurement of key enzymes activities revealed that phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxykinase and PEP carboxylase in addition to MDH played important roles. Two-stage culture of NZN111/pTrc99A-mdh was carried out in a 5-L bioreactor and 12.2 g/L of succinic acid were produced from 15.6 g/L of glucose. Fed-batch culture was also performed, and the succinic acid concentration reached 31.9 g/L with a yield of 1.19 mol/mol glucose.     

Increased production of succinic acid in Escherichia coli by overexpression of malate dehydrogenase

Escherichia coli NZN111 is a double mutant with inactivated lactate dehydrogenase and pyruvate formate-lyase. It cannot utilize glucose anaerobically because of its unusually high intracellular NADH/NAD(+) ratio. We have now constructed a recombinant strain, E. coli NZN111/pTrc99a-mdh, which, during anaerobic fermentation, produced 4.3 g succinic acid l(-1) from 13.5 g glucose l(-1). The NADH/NAD(+) ratio decreased from 0.64 to 0.26. Furthermore, dual-phase fermentation (aerobic growth followed by anaerobic phase) resulted in enhanced succinic acid production and reduced byproduct formation. The yield of succinic acid from glucose during the anaerobic phase was 0.72 g g(-1), and the productivity was 1.01 g l(-1) h(-1).     

果糖和麦芽糖作为有氧碳源对大肠杆菌NZN111两阶段发酵中厌氧发酵的影响

为了了解磷酸转移酶转运系统 (PTS) 依赖和非PTS依赖代谢的糖类对大肠杆菌生产琥珀酸的影响,进行了两阶段培养,有氧阶段采用PTS依赖型的果糖或非PTS依赖型的麦芽糖作为丙酮酸甲酸裂解酶 (PFL) 和乳酸脱氢酶 (LDH) 双突变株NZN111的碳源,研究其对NZN111厌氧阶段代谢葡萄糖的影响。5 L罐发酵结果表明,以果糖和麦芽糖为碳源有氧培养的细胞恢复了在厌氧条件下快速代谢葡萄糖的能力,琥珀酸和丙酮酸成为主要代谢产物,最终琥珀酸得率分别为0.84和0.75 mol/mol,丙酮酸得率分别达到了0.65和0.83 mol/mol,琥珀酸和丙酮酸终浓度比分别为1.73∶1和1.21∶1。果糖和麦芽糖培养的NZN111与葡萄糖培养的菌体代谢的明显差异推测是cyclic AMP (cAMP) 依赖型和非cAMP依赖型的分解代谢物阻遏调控这两种机制共同作用的结果。     

Enhanced anaerobic succinic acid production by Escherichia coli NZN111 aerobically grown on gluconeogenic carbon sources

Escherichia coli strain NZN111, a pflB and ldhA double mutant of E. coli W1485, is considered a candidate of succinic acid producer. However, it is reported that this strain fails to ferment glucose anaerobically. In this study, it was demonstrated that when a gluconeogenic carbon source was used to replace glucose in aerobic culture, the NZN111 cells restored the ability to ferment glucose in the subsequent anaerobic culture with succinic acid as the major product even though no further genetic manipulation had been carried out. Activities of enzymes including phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxykinase, PEP carboxylase, isocitrate lyase, malate dehydrogenase, malic enzyme, and pyruvate kinase in the NZN111 cells aerobically grown on different carbon sources were measured, and enhanced anaplerotic and oxaloacetate-reducing activities were revealed. Furthermore, supply of MgCO₃ or NaHCO₃ greatly improved succinate production by the malate-grown NZN111 cells. At the same time, pyruvic acid production was significantly reduced. When the malate-grown cells were anaerobically cultured in a salt medium with high pH buffering capacity, succinic acid was produced at a specific productivity of 308 mg/(g DCW h) with a molar yield of 1.31 mol succinic acid/mol glucose.     

大肠杆菌AFP111菌体回收连续转化生产丁二酸

在利用大肠杆菌AFP111厌氧发酵生产丁二酸过程中,随着产物丁二酸的不断积累,菌体活力和产酸能力逐渐降低,而通过回收菌体在新鲜培养基中重复发酵,可延长厌氧发酵时间,但是丁二酸生产效率较低。为了提高菌体回收丁二酸的转化效率,通过在回收菌体时有氧诱导 3 h,以纯水为培养基,进行丁二酸转化发酵。在连续进行 3 批次的发酵后,丁二酸的总产量和最终收率分别为 56.50 g/L和90%,生产速率达到了 0.81 g/(L·h),比未诱导情况下的生产速率提高了13%。     

过量表达烟酸单核苷酸腺苷酰转移酶对大肠杆菌NZN111产丁二酸的影响

大肠杆菌NZN111是敲除了乳酸脱氢酶的编码基因(ldhA)和丙酮酸-甲酸裂解酶的编码基因(pflB)的发酵生产丁二酸的潜力菌株。厌氧条件下NADH不能及时再生为NAD+,引起胞内辅酶NAD(H)的不平衡,最终导致厌氧条件下菌株不能利用葡萄糖生长代谢。nadD为催化NAD(H)合成途径中烟酸单核苷酸(NaMN)生成烟酸腺嘌呤二核苷酸(NaAD)的烟酸单核苷酸腺苷酰转移酶(Nicotinic acid mononucleotide adenylyltransferase,NAMNAT)的编码基因,通过过量表达nadD基因能够提高NAD(H)总量与维持合适的NADH/NAD+比例。文中构建了重组菌E.coli NZN111/pTrc99a-nadD,在厌氧摇瓶发酵过程中通过添加终浓度为1.0 mmol/L的IPTG诱导表达,重组菌E.coli NZN111/pTrc99a-nadD中NAD+和NADH的浓度分别比宿主菌E.coli NZN111提高了3.21倍和1.67倍,NAD(H)总量提高了2.63倍,NADH/NAD+从0.64降低为0.41,使重组菌株恢复了厌氧条件下生长和代谢葡萄糖的能力。重组菌与对照菌相比,72 h内可以消耗14.0 g/L的葡萄糖产6.23 g/L的丁二酸,丁二酸产量增加了19倍。     

Effects of growth mode and pyruvate carboxylase on succinic acid production by metabolically engineered strains of Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli NZN111, which lacks activities for pyruvate-formate lyase and lactate dehydrogenase, and AFP111, a derivative which contains an additional mutation in ptsG (a gene encoding an enzyme of the glucose phophotransferase system), accumulate significant levels of succinic acid (succinate) under anaerobic conditions. Plasmid pTrc99A-pyc, which expresses the Rhizobium etli pyruvate carboxylase enzyme, was introduced into both strains. We compared growth, substrate consumption, product formation, and activities of seven key enzymes (acetate kinase, fumarate reductase, glucokinase, isocitrate dehydrogenase, isocitrate lyase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, and pyruvate carboxylase) from glucose for NZN111, NZN111/pTrc99A-pyc, AFP111, and AFP111/pTrc99A-pyc under both exclusively anaerobic and dual-phase conditions (an aerobic growth phase followed by an anaerobic production phase). The highest succinate mass yield was attained with AFP111/pTrc99A-pyc under dual-phase conditions with low pyruvate carboxylase activity. Dual-phase conditions led to significant isocitrate lyase activity in both NZN111 and AFP111, while under exclusively anaerobic conditions, an absence of isocitrate lyase activity resulted in significant pyruvate accumulation. Enzyme assays indicated that under dual-phase conditions, carbon flows not only through the reductive arm of the tricarboxylic acid cycle for succinate generation but also through the glyoxylate shunt and thus provides the cells with metabolic flexibility in the formation of succinate. Significant glucokinase activity in AFP111 compared to NZN111 similarly permits increased metabolic flexibility of AFP111. The differences between the strains and the benefit of pyruvate carboxylase under both exclusively anaerobic and dual-phase conditions are discussed in light of the cellular constraint for a redox balance.     

Effects of Growth Mode and Pyruvate Carboxylase on Succinic Acid Production by Metabolically Engineered Strains of Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli NZN111, which lacks activities for pyruvate-formate lyase and lactate dehydrogenase, and AFP111, a derivative which contains an additional mutation in ptsG (a gene encoding an enzyme of the glucose phophotransferase system), accumulate significant levels of succinic acid (succinate) under anaerobic conditions. Plasmid pTrc99A-pyc, which expresses the Rhizobium etli pyruvate carboxylase enzyme, was introduced into both strains. We compared growth, substrate consumption, product formation, and activities of seven key enzymes (acetate kinase, fumarate reductase, glucokinase, isocitrate dehydrogenase, isocitrate lyase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, and pyruvate carboxylase) from glucose for NZN111, NZN111/pTrc99A-pyc, AFP111, and AFP111/pTrc99A-pyc under both exclusively anaerobic and dual-phase conditions (an aerobic growth phase followed by an anaerobic production phase). The highest succinate mass yield was attained with AFP111/pTrc99A-pyc under dual-phase conditions with low pyruvate carboxylase activity. Dual-phase conditions led to significant isocitrate lyase activity in both NZN111 and AFP111, while under exclusively anaerobic conditions, an absence of isocitrate lyase activity resulted in significant pyruvate accumulation. Enzyme assays indicated that under dual-phase conditions, carbon flows not only through the reductive arm of the tricarboxylic acid cycle for succinate generation but also through the glyoxylate shunt and thus provides the cells with metabolic flexibility in the formation of succinate. Significant glucokinase activity in AFP111 compared to NZN111 similarly permits increased metabolic flexibility of AFP111. The differences between the strains and the benefit of pyruvate carboxylase under both exclusively anaerobic and dual-phase conditions are discussed in light of the cellular constraint for a redox balance.     

共表达烟酸转磷酸核糖激酶和丙酮酸羧化酶对大肠杆菌NZN111产丁二酸的影响

构建了共表达烟酸转磷酸核糖激酶(NAPRTase)和丙酮酸羧化酶(PYC)的重组质粒pTrc99a-pncB-pyc,并考察了重组菌E.coli NZN111/pTrc99a-pncB-pyc生产丁二酸的能力。结果表明:重组菌NZN111/pTrc99a-pncB-pyc的NAPRTase和PYC的比酶活达到最高,分别为20.75和1.04 U/mg,同时,辅酶NADH、NAD+及NAD(H)总量达到最高。厌氧摇瓶发酵结果:48 h能够消耗17.5 g/L的葡萄糖生成14.08 g/L的丁二酸,而丙酮酸的产量大幅度降低,仅为0.11 g/L。本研究为基因工程菌大肠杆菌厌氧条件下发酵生产丁二酸提供了一定的基础。     

Succinic acid production with metabolically engineered <Emphasis Type="Italic">E. coli</Emphasis> recovered from two-stage fermentation

Escherichia coli AFP111 cells recovered from spent two-stage fermentation broth were investigated for additional production of succinic acid under anaerobic conditions. Recovered cells produced succinic acid in an aqueous environment with no nutrient supplementation except for glucose and MgCO₃. In addition, initial glucose concentration and cell density had a significant influence on succinic acid mass yield and productivity. Although the final concentration of succinic acid from recovered cells was lower than from two-stage fermentation, an average succinic acid mass yield of 0.85 g/g was achieved with an average productivity of 1.81 g/l h after three rounds of recycling, which was comparable to two-stage fermentation. These results suggested that recovered cells might be reused for the efficient production of succinic acid.     

Metabolic flux analysis for succinic acid production by recombinant Escherichia coli with amplified malic enzyme activity

A pfl ldhA double mutant Escherichia coli strain NZN111 was used to produce succinic acid by overexpressing the E. coli malic enzyme. Escherichia coli strain NZN111 harboring pTrcML produced 6 and 8 g/L of succinic acid from 20 g/L of glucose in flask culture at 37 degrees C and 30 degrees C, respectively. When NZN111(pTrcML) was cultured at 30 degrees C with intermittent glucose feeding the final succinic acid concentration obtained was 9.5 g/L and the ratio of succinic acid to acetic acid was 13:1. This system could not be analyzed by conventional metabolic flux analysis techniques, since some pyruvate and succinic acid were accumulated intracellularly. Therefore, a new flux analysis method was proposed by introducing intracellular pyruvate and succinic acid pools. By this new method the concentrations of intracellular metabolites were successfully predicted and the differences between the measured and calculated reaction rates could be considerably reduced.     

碳源对重组大肠杆菌两阶段发酵产丁二酸的影响

研究了在好氧培养基中分别添加不同碳源对两阶段发酵菌体生长、酶活及代谢产物分布的影响,结果表明添加4mmol/L葡萄糖和12,54,80mmol/L乙酸钠均可以提高好氧阶段的菌体密度和相关酶活。将不同条件下培养的菌体转接厌氧发酵后,厌氧阶段的酶活和代谢产物分布也发生改变。进一步对酶活及代谢产物分析表明：Escherichia coli NZN111(sfcA)厌氧发酵过程中,磷酸烯醇式丙酮酸羧化激酶(PCK)是产丁二酸的关键酶,丙酮酸激酶(PYK)主要和副产物丙酮酸的积累有关,异柠檬酸裂解酶(ICL)对丁二酸产量也有一定影响。好氧培养基中添加80mmol/L乙酸钠,厌氧发酵结束时丁二酸的质量收率可达89.0%,相比对照提高了16.6%。     

产丁二酸工程菌的构建及其厌氧发酵

为了考察过量表达苹果酸酶对于E.coli NZN111(ldhA::Kan pfl::Cam)厌氧发酵产丁二酸的影响, 将连接有苹果酸酶基因sfcA的表达载体pTrc99a-sfcA转化进NZN111中, 构建了重组NZN111(pTrc99a-sfcA)。0.5 mmol/L IPTG诱导8 h后, 测定的苹果酸酶比酶活为30.67 u/mg, 比受体菌提高了140倍。采用两阶段发酵模式, 结果表明: 过量表达的苹果酸酶在NZN111体内催化了从丙酮酸到苹果酸的逆向反应, 丁二酸是发酵过程中积累的主要有机酸, 且当加入0.7 mmol/L IPTG诱导, 初始葡萄糖糖浓度为18.5 g/L时, 选择对数生长期后期的菌种以10%的接种量转入厌氧发酵, 发酵结束时发酵液中丁二酸的浓度为12.84 g/L, 对葡萄糖的收率为69.43%, 乙酸为0.58 g/L, 二者浓度比为22:1, 没有检测到甲酸和乳酸。构建的菌种具有高产丁二酸和副产物极少的优点, 在同类菌种中处于先进水平。     

Enhanced production of succinic acid by metabolically engineered<Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> with amplified activities of malic enzyme and fumarase

Apfl ldhA double mutantEscherichia coli strain NZN111 was used to produce succinic acid by overexpressing theE. coli malic enzyme gene (sfcA). This strain, however, produced a large amount of malic acid as well as succinic acid. After the analyses of the metabolic pathways, thefumB gene encoding the anaerobic fumarase ofE. coli was co-amplified to solve the problem of malic acid accumulation. A plasmid, pTrcMLFu, was constructed, which contains an artificial operon (sfcA-fumB) under the control of the inducibletrc promoter. From the batch culture of recombinantE. coli NZN111 harboring pTrcMLFu, 7 g/L of succinic acid was produced from 20 g/L of glucose, with no accumulation of malic acid. From the metabolic flux analysis the strain was found under reducing power limiting conditions by severe reorientation of metabolic fluxes.     

Genome-Based Metabolic Engineering of Mannheimia succiniciproducens for Succinic Acid Production

Succinic acid is a four-carbon dicarboxylic acid produced as one of the fermentation products of anaerobic metabolism. Based on the complete genome sequence of a capnophilic succinic acid-producing rumen bacterium, Mannheimia succiniciproducens, gene knockout studies were carried out to understand its anaerobic fermentative metabolism and consequently to develop a metabolically engineered strain capable of producing succinic acid without by-product formation. Among three different CO₂-fixing metabolic reactions catalyzed by phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxykinase, PEP carboxylase, and malic enzyme, PEP carboxykinase was the most important for the anaerobic growth of M. succiniciproducens and succinic acid production. Oxaloacetate formed by carboxylation of PEP was found to be converted to succinic acid by three sequential reactions catalyzed by malate dehydrogenase, fumarase, and fumarate reductase. Major metabolic pathways leading to by-product formation were successfully removed by disrupting the ldhA, pflB, pta, and ackA genes. This metabolically engineered LPK7 strain was able to produce 13.4 g/liter of succinic acid from 20 g/liter glucose with little or no formation of acetic, formic, and lactic acids, resulting in a succinic acid yield of 0.97 mol succinic acid per mol glucose. Fed-batch culture of M. succiniciproducens LPK7 with intermittent glucose feeding allowed the production of 52.4 g/liter of succinic acid, with a succinic acid yield of 1.16 mol succinic acid per mol glucose and a succinic acid productivity of 1.8 g/liter/h, which should be useful for industrial production of succinic acid.     

Hydrogen production by immobilized R. faecalis RLD-53 using soluble metabolites from ethanol fermentation bacteria E. harbinense B49

In order to increase the hydrogen yield from glucose, hydrogen production by immobilized Rhodopseudomonas faecalis RLD-53 using soluble metabolites from ethanol fermentation bacteria Ethanoligenens harbinense B49 was investigated. The soluble metabolites from dark-fermentation mainly were ethanol and acetate, which could be further utilized for photo-hydrogen production. Hydrogen production by B49 was noticeably affected by the glucose and phosphate buffer concentration. The maximum hydrogen yield (1.83 mol H₂/mol glucose) was obtained at 9 g/l glucose. In addition, we found that the ratio of acetate/ethanol (A/E) increased with increasing phosphate buffer concentration, which is favorable to further photo-hydrogen production. The total hydrogen yield during dark- and photo-fermentation reached its maximum value (6.32 mol H₂/mol glucose) using 9 g/l glucose, 30 mmol/l phosphate buffers and immobilized R. faecalis RLD-53. Results demonstrated that the combination of dark- and photo- fermentation was an effective and efficient process to improve hydrogen yield from a single substrate.     

A complete industrial system for economical succinic acid production by Actinobacillus succinogenes

An industrial fermentation system using lignocellulosic hydrolysate, waste yeast hydrolysate, and mixed alkali to achieve high-yield, economical succinic acid production by Actinobacillus succinogenes was developed. Lignocellulosic hydrolysate and waste yeast hydrolysate were used efficiently as carbon sources and nitrogen source instead of the expensive glucose and yeast extract. Moreover, as a novel method for regulating pH mixed alkalis (Mg(OH)₂ and NaOH) were first used to replace the expensive MgCO₃ for succinic acid production. Using the three aforementioned substitutions, the total fermentation cost decreased by 55.9%, and 56.4 g/L succinic acid with yield of 0.73 g/g was obtained, which are almost the same production level as fermentation with glucose, yeast extract and MgCO₃. Therefore, the cheap carbon and nitrogen sources, as well as the mixed alkaline neutralize could be efficiently used instead of expensive composition for industrial succinic acid production.     

Succinate production in dual-phase Escherichia coli fermentations depends on the time of transition from aerobic to anaerobic conditions

We examined succinic acid production in Escherichia coli AFP111 using dual-phase fermentations, which comprise an initial aerobic growth phase followed by an anaerobic production phase. AFP111 has mutations in the pfl, ldhA, and ptsG genes, and we additionally transformed this strain with the pyc gene (AFP111/pTrc99A-pyc) to provide metabolic flexibility at the pyruvate node. Aerobic fermentations with these two strains were completed to catalog physiological states during aerobic growth that might influence succinate generation in the anaerobic phase. Activities of six key enzymes were also determined for these aerobic fermentations. From these results, six transition times based on physiological states were selected for studying dual-phase fermentations. The final succinate yield and productivity depend greatly on the physiological state of the cells at the time of transition. Using the best transition time, fermentations achieved a final succinic acid concentration of 99.2 g/l with an overall yield of 110% and productivity of 1.3 g/l h. Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology (2002) 28, 325–332 DOI: 10.1038/sj/jim/7000250 Received 01 October 2001/ Accepted in revised form 12 March 2002