A robust plate assay for detection of extracellular microbial protease activity in metagenomic screens and pure cultures

A robust, efficient and cost-effective agar that utilises lactose free milk powder for identification of bacterial protease activity in pure cultures and metagenomic screens has been developed and tested on protease positive bacteria, selected strains and false protease positives isolated from a previously constructed metagenomic library.     

A low-cost,high-throughput microfluidic nano-culture platform for functional metagenomics

Functional metagenomics is an attractive culture-independent approach for functional screening of diverse microbiomes to identify known and novel genes. Since functional screening can involve sifting through tens of thousands of metagenomic library clones, an easy high-throughput screening approach is desirable. Here, we demonstrate a proof-of-concept application of a low-cost, high-throughput droplet based microfluidic assay to the selection of antibiotic resistance genes from a soil metagenomic library. Metagenomic library members encapsulated in nanoliter volume water-in-oil droplets were printed on glass slides robotically, and cell growth in individual drops in the presence of ampicillin was imaged and quantified to identify ampicillin-resistant clones. From the hits, true positives were confirmed by sequencing and functional validation. The ease of liquid handling, ease of set-up, low cost, and robust workflow makes the droplet-based nano-culture platform a promising candidate for screening and selection assays for functional metagenomic libraries.     

土壤宏基因组文库来源酯酶的鉴定与表征

【目的】利用宏基因组学技术挖掘土壤微生物来源的新型酯酶。【方法】构建土壤微生物宏基因组文库,利用三丁酸甘油酯平板法对所构建的文库进行筛选,并对阳性克隆中鉴定出的酯酶基因进行异源表达和生物化学特性分析。【结果】通过筛选文库中的12万个克隆,获得了一个阳性克隆,对克隆中的DNA片段进行序列分析,发现了一个可能的酯酶基因,通过研究其表达产物,确定其最适pH为9.0,最适反应温度为56°C,在90°C下仍可保持20%的酶活性;能专一性水解短链脂类,对长链脂类无水解作用;对一定浓度范围内的有机试剂如二甲基亚砜、甲醇、乙醇有较好的耐受性,尤其当二甲基亚砜含量为10%(体积比)时,相对酶活可提高44%。【结论】不依赖于微生物可培养性的宏基因组学技术可以发现新的活性酶,本研究获得的对高温、有机试剂有较好耐受性的酯酶ESTYN1具有在工业生产中应用的潜力。     

Functional metagenomic strategies for the discovery of novel enzymes and biosurfactants with biotechnological applications from marine ecosystems

Marine ecosystems are home to bacteria which are exposed to a wide variety of environmental conditions, such as extremes in temperature, salinity, nutrient availability and pressure. Survival under these conditions must have necessitated the adaptation and the development of unique cellular biochemistry and metabolism by these microbes. Thus, enzymes isolated from these microbes have the potential to possess quite unique physiological and biochemical properties. This review outlines a number of function-based metagenomic approaches which are available to screen metagenomic libraries constructed from marine ecosystems to facilitate the exploitation of some of these potentially novel biocatalysts. Functional screens to isolate novel cellulases, lipases and esterases, proteases, laccases, oxidoreductases and biosurfactants are described, together with approaches which can be employed to help overcome some of the typical problems encountered with functional metagenomic-based screens.     

温室黄瓜根结线虫发生地土壤微生物宏基因组文库的构建及其一个杀线虫蛋白酶基因的筛选

【目的】本研究旨在通过非培养手段构建和筛选宏基因组文库,以求找到新型的杀线虫蛋白酶基因。【方法】采用密度梯度离心法提取和纯化温室土壤微生物总DNA,经平末端、连接、包装、转染后,构建宏基因组Fosmid文库,同时,以脱脂奶为底物,以根结线虫为靶标,对文库进行功能初筛。【结果】该文库库容31008个克隆,平均插入片段36.5kb,包含1.13Gbp的微生物基因组信息,适合大规模的微生物功能基因筛选,通过功能初筛,筛选到1个含杀线虫蛋白酶基因的Fosmid克隆(pro12)。进一步构建和筛选出亚克隆(espro124a5),通过对基因结构进行了初步分析发现:espro124a5是一种分泌型胞外蛋白酶,与来自于Maricaulis maris MCS10(accession no.YP_756822at NCBI)的丝氨酸蛋白酶S15仅有45%的同源性,是一种新型的丝氨酸蛋白酶,有其保守的催化三元组:Asp469、His541和Ser348。【结论】密度梯度离心法提取到的DNA纯度高、片段长,完全能满足构建宏基因组Fosmid文库的要求;同时,构建的宏基因组Fosmid文库库容大,有利于我们从中筛选其他的微生物基因资源。     

Staphylococcus aureus nuclease is a useful secretion reporter for mycobacteria.

A secretion reporter system based on Staphylococcus aureus nuclease (nuc) was developed for use in mycobacteria. Fusion of secretion signals to the reporter cloned in a shuttle vector, pBPnuc1, resulted in halo formation around colonies of Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis grown on DNase agar plates containing Methyl Green indicator dye. This in-situ detection system was used to identify secreted proteins by screening a pBPnuc1::H37Rv nuc gene fusion library in M. smegmatis. The clones identified in this screen all formed colony halos when present in M. tuberculosis grown on indicator media. The proteins corresponded to DesA2, a stearoyl-acyl carrier protein desaturase, PepA, a putative serine protease and the Apa antigen, which is the ATP-binding subunit of an ABC transport system. Of these proteins, only PepA and Apa contained recognizable leader peptides.     

Isolation identification and biochemical characterization of a novel halo-tolerant lipase from the metagenome of the marine sponge Haliclona simulans

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Lipases (EC 3.1.1.3) catalyze the hydrolysis of triacyl glycerol to glycerol and are involved in the synthesis of both short chain and long chain acylglycerols. They are widely used industrially in various applications, such as baking, laundry detergents and as biocatalysts in alternative energy strategies. Marine ecosystems are known to represent a large reservoir of biodiversity with respect to industrially useful enzymes. However the vast majority of microorganisms within these ecosystems are not readily culturable. Functional metagenomic based approaches provide a solution to this problem by facilitating the identification of novel enzymes such as the halo-tolerant lipase identified in this study from a marine sponge metagenome. RESULTS: A metagenomic library was constructed from the marine sponge Haliclona simulans in the pCC1fos vector, containing approximately 48,000 fosmid clones. High throughput plate screening on 1% tributyrin agar resulted in the identification of 58 positive lipase clones. Following sequence analysis of the 10 most highly active fosmid clones the pCC1fos53E1 clone was found to contain a putative lipase gene lpc53E1, encoded by 387 amino acids and with a predicted molecular mass of 41.87 kDa. Sequence analysis of the predicted amino acid sequence of Lpc53E1 revealed that it is a member of the group VIII family of lipases possessing the SXTK motif, related to type C beta-lactamases. Heterologous expression of lpc53E1 in E. coli and the subsequent biochemical characterization of the recombinant protein, showed an enzyme with the highest substrate specificity for long chain fatty acyl esters. Optimal activity was observed with p- nitrophenyl palmitate (C16) at 40degreesC, in the presence of 5 M NaCl at pH 7; while in addition the recombinant enzyme displayed activity across broad pH (3-12) and temperature (4 -60degreesC) ranges and high levels of stability in the presence of various solvents at NaCl concentrations as high as 5 M and at temperatures ranging from 10 to 80degreesC. A maximum lipase activity of 2,700 U/mg was observed with 10 mM p-nitrophenyl palmitate as substrate, in the presence of 5 mM Ca 2+ and 5 M NaCl, and a reaction time of 15 min at pH 7 and 40degreesC; while KM and Vmax values were calculated to be 1.093 mM-1and 50 umol/min, respectively. CONCLUSION: We have isolated a novel halo tolerant lipase following a functional screen of a marine sponge fosmid metagenomic library. The activity and stability profile of the recombinant enzyme over a wide range of salinity, pH and temperature; and in the presence of organic solvent and metal ions suggests a utility for this enzyme in a variety of industrial applications.     

深海宏基因组文库克隆子发酵产物的生物活性筛选

目的:对前期构建的深海宏基因组文库克隆子发酵产物进行生物活性筛选.方法:利用CCK8法及琼脂扩散法和双层琼脂法进行了细胞毒活性及抗菌活性筛选,利用荧光定量PCR法进行了抗乙肝病毒活性筛选.结果:筛选发现3个具有细胞毒活性的混合克隆子.HPLC指纹图谱分析表明这3个混合克隆子具有与大肠杆菌宿主对照不同的指纹图谱,其活性与...     

Phylogenetic Analysis of Polyketide Synthase I Domains from Soil Metagenomic Libraries Allows Selection of Promising Clones

The metagenomic approach provides direct access to diverse unexplored genomes, especially from uncultivated bacteria in a given environment. This diversity can conceal many new biosynthetic pathways. Type I polyketide synthases (PKSI) are modular enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of many natural products of industrial interest. Among the PKSI domains, the ketosynthase domain (KS) was used to screen a large soil metagenomic library containing more than 100,000 clones to detect those containing PKS genes. Over 60,000 clones were screened, and 139 clones containing KS domains were detected. A 700-bp fragment of the KS domain was sequenced for 40 of 139 randomly chosen clones. None of the 40 protein sequences were identical to those found in public databases, and nucleic sequences were not redundant. Phylogenetic analyses were performed on the protein sequences of three metagenomic clones to select the clones which one can predict to produce new compounds. Two PKS-positive clones do not belong to any of the 23 published PKSI included in the analysis, encouraging further analyses on these two clones identified by the selection process.     

A procedure for the metagenomics exploration of disease-suppressive soils

The microbiota of, in particular, disease-suppressive soils contains a wealth of antibiotic biosynthetic loci that are inaccessible by traditional cultivation-based techniques. Hence, we developed a methodology based on soil microbial DNA, which allowed the metagenomics-based unlocking of the relevant genes. Here, a streamlined soil metagenomics protocol is presented. The protocol consists of an optimized method to extract bacterial cells from a Rhizoctonia solani AG3 suppressive loamy sand soil followed by DNA extraction and purification, and the preparation of a clone library in an efficient host/vector system. Methods for the functional and genetic screening of the library for antibiotic production loci are also described. Using the suppressive soil, we thus produced, screened and tested an approximate 15,000-membered metagenomic library of fosmids in an Escherichia coli host. Functional screens, based on dual culturing of clone arrays with R. solani AG3 and Bacillus subtilis 168, were largely negative. Genetic screens, based on hybridizations with soil-generated probes for polyketide biosynthesis, non-ribosomal protein synthesis and gacA, revealed several inserts, of around 40-kb in size, with potential antibiotic production capacity. We present the full sequences of three selected clones. We further examine the challenges that still impinge on the metagenomic exploration of disease-suppressive soil.     

Phylogenetic analysis of polyketide synthase I domains from soil metagenomic libraries allows selection of promising clones

The metagenomic approach provides direct access to diverse unexplored genomes, especially from uncultivated bacteria in a given environment. This diversity can conceal many new biosynthetic pathways. Type I polyketide synthases (PKSI) are modular enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of many natural products of industrial interest. Among the PKSI domains, the ketosynthase domain (KS) was used to screen a large soil metagenomic library containing more than 100,000 clones to detect those containing PKS genes. Over 60,000 clones were screened, and 139 clones containing KS domains were detected. A 700-bp fragment of the KS domain was sequenced for 40 of 139 randomly chosen clones. None of the 40 protein sequences were identical to those found in public databases, and nucleic sequences were not redundant. Phylogenetic analyses were performed on the protein sequences of three metagenomic clones to select the clones which one can predict to produce new compounds. Two PKS-positive clones do not belong to any of the 23 published PKSI included in the analysis, encouraging further analyses on these two clones identified by the selection process.     

Biomining active cellulases from a mining bioremediation system

Functional metagenomics has emerged as a powerful method for gene model validation and enzyme discovery from natural and human engineered ecosystems. Here we report development of a high-throughput functional metagenomic screen incorporating bioinformatic and biochemical analyses features. A fosmid library containing 6144 clones sourced from a mining bioremediation system was screened for cellulase activity using 2,4-dinitrophenyl β-cellobioside, a previously proven cellulose model substrate. Fifteen active clones were recovered and fully sequenced revealing 9 unique clones with the ability to hydrolyse 1,4-β-d-glucosidic linkages. Transposon mutagenesis identified genes belonging to glycoside hydrolase (GH) 1, 3, or 5 as necessary for mediating this activity. Reference trees for GH 1, 3, and 5 families were generated from sequences in the CAZy database for automated phylogenetic analysis of fosmid end and active clone sequences revealing known and novel cellulase encoding genes. Active cellulase genes recovered in functional screens were subcloned into inducible high copy plasmids, expressed and purified to determine enzymatic properties including thermostability, pH optima, and substrate specificity. The workflow described here provides a general paradigm for recovery and characterization of microbially derived genes and gene products based on genetic logic and contemporary screening technologies developed for model organismal systems.     

Cloning,Expression and Characterization of a Lipase Encoding Gene from Human Oral Metagenome

The human oral metagenomic DNA cloned into plasmid pUC19 was used to construct a DNA library in Escherichia coli. Functional screening of 40,000 metagenomic clones led to identification of a clone LIP2 that exhibited halo on tributyrin agar plate. Sequence analysis of LIP2 insert DNA revealed a 939 bp ORF (omlip1) which showed homology to lipase 1 of Acinetobacter junii SH205. The omlip1 ORF was cloned and expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3) using pET expression system. The recombinant enzyme was purified to homogeneity and the biochemical properties were studied. The purified OMLip1 hydrolyzed p-nitrophenyl esters and triacylglycerol esters of medium and long chain fatty acids, indicating the enzyme is a true lipase. The purified protein exhibited a pH and temperature optima of 7 and 37 °C respectively. The lipase was found to be stable at pH range of 6–7 and at temperatures lower than 40 °C. Importantly, the enzyme activity was unaltered, by the presence or absence of many divalent cations. The metal ion insensitivity of OMLip1offers its potential use in industrial processes.     

Intracellular screen to identify metagenomic clones that induce or inhibit a quorum-sensing biosensor

The goal of this study was to design and evaluate a rapid screen to identify metagenomic clones that produce biologically active small molecules. We built metagenomic libraries with DNA from soil on the floodplain of the Tanana River in Alaska. We extracted DNA directly from the soil and cloned it into fosmid and bacterial artificial chromosome vectors, constructing eight metagenomic libraries that contain 53,000 clones with inserts ranging from 1 to 190 kb. To identify clones of interest, we designed a high throughput "intracellular" screen, designated METREX, in which metagenomic DNA is in a host cell containing a biosensor for compounds that induce bacterial quorum sensing. If the metagenomic clone produces a quorum-sensing inducer, the cell produces green fluorescent protein (GFP) and can be identified by fluorescence microscopy or captured by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Our initial screen identified 11 clones that induce and two that inhibit expression of GFP. The intracellular screen detected quorum-sensing inducers among metagenomic clones that a traditional overlay screen would not. One inducing clone carries a LuxI homologue that directs the synthesis of an N-acyl homoserine lactone quorum-sensing signal molecule. The LuxI homologue has 62% amino acid sequence identity to its closest match in GenBank, AmfI from Pseudomonas fluorescens, and is on a 78-kb insert that contains 67 open reading frames. Another inducing clone carries a gene with homology to homocitrate synthase. Our results demonstrate the power of an intracellular screen to identify functionally active clones and biologically active small molecules in metagenomic libraries.     

Rapid isolation of rare clones from highly complex DNA libraries by PCR analysis of liquid gel pools

A semiliquid medium was employed in an efficient method to screen highly complex DNA libraries for clones with known sequences. Unbiased clone pools are generated in 2 ml vials and screened by whole-cell PCR, and individual clones are obtained by few additional rounds of dilution and PCR screening. To demonstrate the utility of this approach, the single positive clone present in a 400,000 member metagenomic fosmid library was isolated.     

A procedure for the metagenomics exploration of disease-suppressive soils

The microbiota of, in particular, disease-suppressive soils contains a wealth of antibiotic biosynthetic loci that are inaccessible by traditional cultivation-based techniques. Hence, we developed a methodology based on soil microbial DNA, which allowed the metagenomics-based unlocking of the relevant genes. Here, a streamlined soil metagenomics protocol is presented. The protocol consists of an optimized method to extract bacterial cells from a Rhizoctonia solani AG3 suppressive loamy sand soil followed by DNA extraction and purification, and the preparation of a clone library in an efficient host/vector system. Methods for the functional and genetic screening of the library for antibiotic production loci are also described. Using the suppressive soil, we thus produced, screened and tested an approximate 15,000-membered metagenomic library of fosmids in an Escherichia coli host. Functional screens, based on dual culturing of clone arrays with R. solani AG3 and Bacillus subtilis 168, were largely negative. Genetic screens, based on hybridizations with soil-generated probes for polyketide biosynthesis, non-ribosomal protein synthesis and gacA, revealed several inserts, of around 40-kb in size, with potential antibiotic production capacity. We present the full sequences of three selected clones. We further examine the challenges that still impinge on the metagenomic exploration of disease-suppressive soil.     

Construction, analysis, and beta-glucanase screening of a bacterial artificial chromosome library from the large-bowel microbiota of mice

A metagenomic (community genomic) library consisting of 5,760 bacterial artificial chromosome clones was prepared in Escherichia coli DH10B from DNA extracted from the large-bowel microbiota of BALB/c mice. DNA inserts detected in 61 randomly chosen clones averaged 55 kbp (range, 8 to 150 kbp) in size. A functional screen of the library for beta-glucanase activity was conducted using lichenin agar plates and Congo red solution. Three clones with beta-glucanase activity were detected. The inserts of these three clones were sequenced and annotated. Open reading frames (ORF) that encoded putative proteins with identity to glucanolytic enzymes (lichenases and laminarinases) were detected by reference to databases. Other putative genes were detected, some of which might have a role in environmental sensing, nutrient acquisition, or coaggregation. The insert DNA from two clones probably originated from uncultivated bacteria because the ORF had low sequence identity with database entries, but the genes associated with the remaining clone resembled sequences reported in Bacteroides species.