Manipulating the pyruvate dehydrogenase bypass of a multi-vitamin auxotrophic yeast Torulopsis glabrata enhanced pyruvate production

AIMS: To investigate the relationship between the activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) bypass and the production of pyruvate of a multi-vitamin auxotrophic yeast Torulopsis glabrata. METHODS AND RESULTS: Torulopsis glabrata CCTCC M202019, a multi-vitamin auxotrophic yeast that requires acetate for complete growth on glucose minimum medium, was selected after nitrosoguanidine mutagenesis of the parent strain T. glabrata WSH-IP303 screened in previous study [Li et al. (2001) Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 55, 680-685]. Strain CCTCC M202019 produced 21% higher pyruvate than the parent strain and was genetically stable in flask cultures. The activities of the pyruvate metabolism-related enzymes in parent and mutant strains were measured. Compared with the parent strain, the activity of pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) of the mutant strain CCTCC M202019 decreased by roughly 40%, while the activity of acetyl-CoA synthetase (ACS) of the mutant increased by 103.5 or 57.4%, respectively, in the presence or absence of acetate. Pyruvate production by the mutant strain CCTCC M202019 reached 68.7 g l(-1) at 62 h (yield on glucose of 0.651 g g(-1)) in a 7-l jar fermentor. CONCLUSIONS: The increased pyruvate yield in T. glabrata CCTCC M202019 was due to a balanced manipulation of the PDH bypass, where the shortage of cytoplasmic acetyl-CoA caused by the decreased activity of PDC was properly compensated by the increased activity of ACS. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Manipulating the PDH bypass may provide an alternative approach to enhance the production of glycolysis-related metabolites.     

Metabolic engineering of Torulopsis glabrata for improved pyruvate production

During pyruvate production, ethanol is produced as a by-product, which both decreases the amount of pyruvate and makes the recovery of pyruvate more difficult. Pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC, EC 4.1.1.1), which degrades pyruvate to acetaldehyde and ultimately to ethanol, is a key enzyme in the pyruvate metabolism of yeast. Therefore, to order to increase the yield of pyruvate in Torulopsis glabrata, targeted PDC-disrupted strains were metabolically engineered. First, T. glabrata ura3 strains that were suitable for genetic transformation were isolated and identified through ethyl methansulfonate mutagenesis, 5-fluoroortic acid media selection, and Sacchramyces cerevisiae URA3 complement. Next, the PDC gene in T. glabrata was specifically disrupted through homologous recombinant with the S. cerevisiae URA3 gene as the selective marker. The PDC activity of the disruptants was about 33% that of the parent strain. Targeted PDC gene disruption in T. glabrata was also confirmed by PCR amplification and sequencing of the PDC gene and its mutants, PDC activity staining, and PDC Western blot. The disruptants displayed higher pyruvate accumulation and less ethanol production. Under basal fermentation conditions (see Section 2), the disruptants accumulated about 20 g/L of pyruvate with 4.6 g/L of ethanol, whereas the parental strain (T. glabrata IFO005) only accumulated 7–8 g/L of pyruvate with 7.4 g/L of ethanol. Under favorable conditions in jar fermentation, the disruptants accumulated 82.2 g/L of pyruvate in 52 h.     

Enhancement of pyruvate production by osmotic-tolerant mutant of Torulopsis glabrata

Pyruvate production by Torulopsis glabrata was used as a model to study the mechanism of product inhibition and the strategy for enhancing pyruvate production. It was found that the concentration of cell growth and pyruvate deceased with the increase of NaCl and sorbitol concentrations. To enhance the osmotic stress resistance of the strain, an NaCl-tolerant mutant RS23 was screened and selected through a pH-controlled continuous culture with 70 g/L NaCl as the selective criterion. Compared with the parent strain, mutant RS23 could grow well on the medium containing 70 g/L NaCl or 0.6 mol/L sorbitol. Pyruvate concentration by the mutant strain RS23 reached 94.3 g/L at 82 h (yield on glucose 0.635 g/g) in a 7-l fermentor with 150 g/L glucose as carbon source. Pyruvate concentration and yield of mutant RS23 were 41.1% and 11.1% higher than those of the parent strain, respectively. The strategy for enhancing pyruvate production by increasing osmotic stress resistance may provide an alternative approach to enhance organic acids production with yeast.     

过量表达NADH氧化酶加速光滑球拟酵母合成丙酮酸

[目的]进一步提高光滑球拟酵母(Torulopsis glabrata)发酵生产丙酮酸的生产强度.[方法]将来源于乳酸乳球菌(Lactococcus lactis)中编码形成水的NADH氧化酶noxE基因过量表达于丙酮酸工业生产菌株T. glabrata CCTCC M202019中,获得了一株NADH氧化酶活性为34.8 U/mg蛋白的重组菌T. glabrata-PDnoxE.[结果]与出发菌株T. glabrata CCTCC M202019相比,细胞浓度、葡萄糖消耗速率和丙酮酸生产强度分别提高了168%、44.9%和12%,发酵进行到36 h葡萄糖消耗完毕.补加50 g/L葡萄糖继续发酵20 h,则使丙酮酸浓度提高到67.2 g/L.葡萄糖消耗速度和丙酮酸生产强度增加的原因在于形成水的NADH氧化酶过量表达,导致NADH和ATP含量分别降低了18.1%和15.8%.而NAD<' 增加了11.1%.[结论]增加细胞内NAD<' 含量能有效地提高酵母细胞葡萄糖的代谢速度及目标代谢产物的生产强度.     

光滑球拟酵母新霉素抗性株加速葡萄糖代谢

为进一步提高光滑球拟酵母发酵生产丙酮酸的生产强度,在能量代谢分析的基础上提出了降低ATP合成酶活性、但不影响NADH氧化的育种策略。通过亚硝基胍诱变,获得一株新霉素抗性突变株N07,该菌株F1ATPase活性降低65%、丙酮酸产量高于48gL且单位细胞消耗葡萄糖能力提高38%。添加双环己基碳二亚胺(DCCD)、叠氮钠(NaN3)、新霉素显著降低出发株F1ATPase活性但不影响突变株F1ATPase活性。突变菌株胞内ATP含量下降23.7%导致生长速率和最终菌体浓度(为出发菌株的76%)均低于出发菌株,但葡萄糖消耗速度和丙酮酸生产速度分别提高34%和42.9%,发酵周期缩短12h。进一步研究发现,突变株糖酵解途径中关键酶磷酸果糖激酶、丙酮酸激酶和磷酸甘油醛激酶的活性提高了63.7%、28.8%和14.4%,电子传递链关键酶活性提高10%。结果表明降低真核微生物F1ATPase活性有效地提高了糖酵解关键酶活性而加速葡萄糖代谢。     

异源表达NADH选择性氧化酶提高光滑球拟酵母酵解速率及丙酮酸生产强度

摘要：【目的】为进一步提高光滑球拟酵母(Torulopsis glabrata)葡萄糖代谢速率及丙酮酸生产强度。【方法】将源于荚膜胞浆菌(Histoplasma capsulatum)的编码选择性氧化酶的AOX1基因过量表达于T. glabrata中,获得了一株线粒体内NADH氧化途径发生改变且胞内总NADH 氧化酶活性提高1.8倍的重组菌株AOX。【结果】与出发菌株CON比较,细胞浓度以及发酵周期降低了20.3%和10.7%,而平均比葡萄糖消耗速率和丙酮酸合成速率分别提高了34.7%和54.1%。其原因     

Effect of nitrogen source and nitrogen concentration on the production of pyruvate by Torulopsis glabrata

The effect of nitrogen sources including yeast extract, peptone, soybean hydrolyzate and some inorganic nitrogen sources, as well as the nitrogen concentration on the fermentative production of pyruvate by Torulopsis glabrata WSH-IP12 was investigated. The addition of yeast extract greatly inhibited pyruvate accumulation, while peptone was shown to be the most favorable nitrogen source. In flask culture, 15 g l(-1) peptone was needed to consume 80 g l(-1) glucose with 23.4 g l(-1)of pyruvate accumulated. Pyruvate production was markedly dependent on the ratio of carbon to nitrogen (C:N), its production was improved by increasing the concentration of glucose and peptone proportionally and reduced by exclusively increasing the glucose concentration. In a glucose fed-batch culture, cell growth and pyruvate production slowed after 28 h. However, cell growth and pyruvate production recovered after further nitrogen, in the form of peptone and ammonium sulfate, was added to the culture. A final concentration of pyruvate of 54.5 g l(-1) was achieved at 64 h (yield to glucose consumed of 0.471 g g(-l)). By using aqueous ammonia instead of potassium hydroxide for pH control, 57.3 g l(-1) pyruvate with a yield of 0.498 g g(-1) was produced by 55 h. This result further indicates that nitrogen level plays an important role in the production of pyruvate.     

一种基于途径分析提高丙酮酸产量的育种策略

为进一步提高光滑球拟酵母发酵生产丙酮酸的水平 ,在途径分析的基础上提出了一种组成型降低丙酮酸脱酸酶、但增强乙酰辅酶A合成酶活性的育种策略。通过亚硝基胍诱变 ,获得 1株乙酸需求型突变株CCTCCM2 0 2 0 19,在外加乙酸的培养基中表现出高于出发株 2 1%的丙酮酸生产能力和良好的遗传稳定性。检测突变株CCTCCM2 0 2 0 19中丙酮酸代谢相关酶的活性发现 :(1)丙酮酸脱羧酶活性降低了 4 0 % ;(2 )外加乙酸与否的条件下 ,乙酰辅酶A合成酶的活性分别提高了 10 3 5 %和 5 7 4 % ;(3)添加乙酸和突变对丙酮酸羧化酶、丙酮酸脱氢酶系、乙醇脱氢酶和乙醛脱氢酶的活性没有显著影响。在含有乙酸的培养基中突变株细胞干重比出发株高 2 1 7% ,可能是因为乙酰辅酶A合成酶活性的提高 ,补充了因丙酮酸脱羧酶活性降低而引起的胞质乙酰辅酶A短缺。在 7L罐中含有 6g L乙酸钠的培养基中发酵 6 2h ,丙酮酸产量达到 6 8 7g L ,对葡萄糖的产率为 0 6 5 1g g。     

Enhancement of pyruvate production by Torulopsis glabrata using a two-stage oxygen supply control strategy

The effect of agitation speeds on the performance of producing pyruvate by a multi-vitamin auxotrophic yeast, Torulopsis glabrata, was investigated in batch fermentation. High pyruvate yield on glucose (0.797 g g(-1)) was achieved under high agitation speed (700 rpm), but the glucose consumption rate was rather low (1.14 g l(-1) h(-1)). Glucose consumption was enhanced under low agitation speed (500 rpm), but the pyruvate yield on glucose decreased to 0.483 g g(-1). Glycerol production was observed under low agitation speed and decreased with increasing agitation speed. Based on process analysis and carbon flux distribution calculation, a two-stage oxygen supply control strategy was proposed, in which the agitation speed was controlled at 700 rpm in the first 16 h and then switched to 500 rpm. This was experimentally proven to be successful. Relatively high concentration of pyruvate (69.4 g l(-1)), high pyruvate yield on glucose (0.636 g g(-1)), and high glucose consumption rate (1.95 g l(-1)h(-1)) were achieved by applying this strategy. The productivity (1.24 g l(-1) h(-1)) was improved by 36%, 23% and 31%, respectively, compared with fermentations in which agitation speeds were kept constant at 700 rpm, 600 rpm, and 500 rpm. Experimental results indicate that the difference between the performances for producing pyruvate under a favorable state of oxygen supply (dissolved oxygen concentration >50%) was caused by the different regeneration pathways of NADH generated from glycolysis.     

Metabolic engineering of Torulopsis glabrata for malate production

The yeast Torulopsis glabrata CCTCC M202019, which is used for industrial pyruvate production, was chosen to explore the suitability of engineering this multi-vitamin auxotrophic yeast for increased malate production. Various metabolic engineering strategies were used to manipulate carbon flux from pyruvate to malate: (i) overexpression of pyruvate carboxylase and malate dehydrogenase; (ii) identification of the bottleneck in malate production by model iNX804; (iii) simultaneous overexpression of genes RoPYC, RoMDH and SpMAE1. Using these strategies, 8.5 g L^–1 malate was accumulated in the engineered strain T.G-PMS, which was about 10-fold greater than that of the control strain T.G-26. The results presented here suggest that T. glabrata CCTCC M202019 is a promising candidate for industrial malate production.     

Enhancement of pyruvate productivity in Torulopsis glabrata: Increase of NAD+ availability

This study aimed at increasing the pyruvate productivity from a multi-vitamin auxotrophic yeast Torulopsis glabrata, by increasing the availability of NAD+. We examined two strategies for increasing availability of NAD+. To supplement nicotinic acid (NA), the precursor of NAD+; and to increase the activity of alcohol dehydrogenase integrating with addition acetaldehyde as exterior electron acceptor. The addition of 8 mg l(-1) NA to the fermentation medium resulted in a significant increase in the glucose consumption rate (48.4%) and the pyruvate concentration (29%). An ethanol-utilizing mutant WSH-13 was screened and selected after nitrosoguanidine mutagenesis of the parent strain T. glabrata CCTCC M202019. Compared with the parent strain, the alcohol dehydrogenase activity of the mutant WSH-13 increased about 110% and the mutant could utilize ethanol as the sole carbon source for growth (1.8 g l(-1) dry cell weight). When growing with glucose, the addition of 4 mg l(-1) acetaldehyde to the mutant WSH-13 culture broth led to a significant increase in the glucose consumption rate (26.3%) and pyruvate production (22.5%), but the ratio of NADH/NAD+ decreased to 0.22. Acetaldehyde did not affect the glucose and energy metabolism at high dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration. However, at lower DO concentration (20%), maintaining the acetaldehyde concentration in the mutant culture broth at 4 mg l(-1) caused an increased NAD+ concentration but a decreased NADH concentration. As a consequence, the pyruvate production rate, the pyruvate yield on glucose and the pyruvate concentration were 68, 44 and 45% higher, respectively, than the corresponding values of the control (without acetaldehyde). The strategy for increasing the glycolytic flux and the pyruvate productivity in T. glabrata by increasing the availability of NAD+ may provide an alternative approach to enhance the metabolites productivity in yeast.     

Efficient pyruvate production by a multi-vitamin auxotroph of Torulopsis glabrata: key role and optimization of vitamin levels

A multi-vitamin auxotroph, Torulopsis glabrata strain WSH-IP303, which can use ammonium chloride as a sole nitrogen source for pyruvate production, was selected. To optimize pyruvate yield and productivity, a simple but useful, orthogonal design method, was used to investigate the relationship between thiamine, nicotinic acid, pyridoxine, biotin, and riboflavin. Thiamine was confirmed to be the most important factor affecting pyruvate production. When the concentration of thiamine was 0.01 mg/l or 0.015 mg/l, glucose consumption was improved by increasing the nicotinic acid concentration. When the concentrations of nicotinic acid, thiamine, pyridoxine, biotin, and riboflavin were 8.0, 0.015, 0.4, 0.04, and 0.1 mg/l, respectively, pyruvate concentration and yield reached 52 g/l and 0.52 g/g, respectively, in a 48-h flask culture. By employing a combination of the optimum vitamin concentrations, a batch culture was conducted in a 2.5-l fermentor with an initial glucose concentration of 112 g/l; and the pyruvate concentration reached 69 g/l after 56 h (yielding 0.62 g/g).     

提高光滑球拟酵母乙酰辅酶A水平促进a-酮戊二酸合成

【目的】为了了解光滑球拟酵母中乙酰辅酶A含量对其碳代谢及其通量的影响。【方法】将来源于酿酒酵母中编码乙酰辅酶A合成酶ACS2基因过量表达于发酵法生产丙酮酸的生产菌株Torulopsis glabrata中,获得了一株乙酰辅酶A合成酶活性提高9.2倍(1.20 U/mg protein)的重组菌T. glabrata ACS2-1。【结果】与出发菌株WSH-IP303相比,重组菌T. glabrata ACS2-1：(1)能以乙酸为唯一碳源在胞内积累0.94 mmol/(L·g DCW)的乙酰辅酶A;(2)以葡萄糖为唯一碳源时胞内乙酰辅酶A浓度、a-酮戊二酸产量和Ca-KG/Cpyr是出发菌株WSH-IP303 的3.22、2.05和2.52倍;(3)在葡萄糖培养基中添加4 g/L乙酸,使乙酰辅酶A浓度、a-酮戊二酸产量和Ca-KG/Cpyr是出发菌株WSH-IP303的4.55、2.47和3.75倍,a-酮戊二酸浓度达到17.8 g/L。【结论】这一结果表明,改变细胞内关键辅因子的浓度能使碳代谢流的流向与通量发生改变,从积累丙酮酸转向过量积累a-酮戊二酸。     

Purification, characterization, cloning and expression of pyruvate decarboxylase from Torulopsis glabrata IFO005

In the production of pyruvate and optically active alpha-hydroxy ketones by Torulopsis glabrata, pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC, EC 4.1.1.1) plays an important role in pyruvate metabolism and in catalyzing the biotransformation of aromatic amino acid precursors to alpha-hydroxy ketones. In this paper, we have purified and characterized PDC from T. glabrata IFO005 and cloned the corresponding gene. A simple, rapid and efficient purification protocol was developed that provided PDC with high specific activity. Unlike other yeast or higher plant enzymes, known as homotetramers (alpha(4) or beta(4)) or heterotetramers (alpha(2)beta(2)), two active isoforms of PDC purified from T. glabrata IFO005 were homodimeric proteins with subunits of 58.7 kDa. We isolated the T. glabrata PDC gene encoding 563 amino acid residues and succeeded in overproducing the recombinant PDC protein in Escherichia coli, in which the product amounted to about 10-20% of the total protein of the cell extract. Recombinant PDC from E. coli was purified as a homotetramer. Targeted gene disruption of PDC confirmed that T. glabrata has only one gene of PDC. This PDC gene showed about 80% homology with the genes of other yeasts, and amino acid residues involved in the allosteric site for pyruvate in other yeast PDCs were conserved in T. glabrata PDC. Both native PDC and recombinant PDC were activated by pyruvate and exhibited sigmoidal kinetics similar to those of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and higher plants. They also exhibited the similar catalytic properties: low thermostability, similar pH stability and optimal pH, and complete inhibition by glyoxylate.     

Introduction of an NADH regeneration system into Klebsiella oxytoca leads to an enhanced oxidative and reductive metabolism of glycerol

Redox cofactors play crucial roles in the metabolic and regulatory network of living organisms. We reported here the effect of introducing a heterogeneous NADH regeneration system into Klebsiella oxytoca on cell growth and glycerol metabolism. Expression of fdh gene from Candida boidinii in K. oxytoca resulted in higher intracellular concentrations of both NADH and NAD⁺ during the fermentation metaphase, with the ratio of NADH to NAD⁺ unaltered and cell growth unaffected, interestingly different from that in engineered Escherichia coli, Lactococcus lactis, and others. Metabolic flux analysis revealed that fluxes to 1,3-propanediol, ethanol, and lactate were all increased, suggesting both the oxidative and reductive metabolisms of glycerol were enhanced. It demonstrates that in certain microbial system NADH availability can be increased with NADH to NAD⁺ ratio unaltered, providing a new strategy to improve the metabolic flux in those microorganisms where glycolysis is not the only central metabolic pathways.     

Increasing glycolytic flux in Torulopsis glabrata by redirecting ATP production from oxidative phosphorylation to substrate-level phosphorylation

AIMS: This study aimed at further increasing the pyruvate productivity of a multi-vitamin auxotrophic yeast Torulopsis glabrata by redirecting ATP production from oxidative phosphorylation to substrate-level phosphorylation. METHODS AND RESULTS: We examined two strategies to decrease the activity of F0F1-ATPase. The strategies were to inhibit F0F1-ATPase activity by addition of oligomycin, or to disrupt F0F1-ATPase by screening neomycin-resistant mutant. The addition of 0.05 mmol l(-1) oligomycin to the culture broth of T. glabrata CCTCC M202019 resulted in a significantly decreased intracellular ATP level (35.7%) and a significantly increased glucose consumption rate (49.7%). A neomycin-resistant mutant N07 was screened and selected after nitrosoguanidine mutagenesis of the parent strain T. glabrata CCTCC M202019. Compared with the parent strain, the F0F1-ATPase activity of the mutant N07 decreased about 65%. As a consequence, intracellular ATP level of the mutant N07 decreased by 24%, which resulted in a decreased growth rate and growth yield. As expected, glucose consumption rate and pyruvate productivity of the mutant N07 increased by 34% and 42.9%, respectively. Consistently, the activities of key glycolytic enzymes of the mutant N07, including phosphofructokinase, pyruvate kinase and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, increased by 63.7%, 28.8% and 14.4%, respectively. In addition, activities of the key enzymes involved in electron transfer chain of the mutant N07 also increased. CONCLUSIONS: Impaired oxidative phosphorylation in T. glabrata leads to a decreased intracellular ATP production, thereby increasing the glycolytic flux. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The strategy of redirecting ATP production from oxidative phosphorylation to substrate-level phosphorylation provides an alternative approach to enhance the glycolytic flux in eukaryotic micro-organisms.