Obtaining and selection of hexokinases-less strains of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Saccharomyces cerevisiae</Emphasis> for production of ethanol and fructose from sucrose

Saccharomyces cerevisiae hexokinase-less strains were produced to study the production of ethanol and fructose from sucrose. These strains do not have the hexokinases A and B. Twenty-three double-mutant strains were produced, and then, three were selected for presenting a smaller growth in yeast extract–peptone–fructose. In fermentations with a medium containing sucrose (180.3 g L⁻¹) and with cell recycles, simulating industrial conditions, the capacity of these mutant yeasts in inverting sucrose and fermenting only glucose was well characterized. Besides that, we could also see their great tolerance to the stresses of fermentative recycles, where fructose production (until 90 g L⁻¹) and ethanol production (until 42.3 g L⁻¹) occurred in cycles of 12 h, in which hexokinase-less yeasts performed high growth (51.2% of wet biomass) and viability rates (77% of viable cells) after nine consecutive cycles.     

实验性X综合征大鼠模型的建立

目的　建立一种典型的X综合症动物模型。方法　雄性SD大鼠施行两肾一夹术后普通饲料喂养 4周 ,诱发肾性高血压 ,继以高果糖饲料喂养 4周 ,诱导建立X综合症模型。结果　术后 4周 ,大鼠仅出现收缩压升高 ,血糖、血脂未见明显改变。高果糖饲料喂养 4周后 ,大鼠出现高血糖、高胰岛素血症、胰岛素抵抗、高血压和高脂血症。结论　肾性高血压形成后高果糖饮食 1个月 ,可诱导SD大鼠出现典型的X综合症 ,为研究胰岛素抵抗及其伴随的心血管疾病提供了一种理想的动物模型。     

Aberrant methylation of human L- and M-fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase genes in cancer

A possible epigenetic regulation of the two isoenzymes of fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase) was studied in liver, muscle, mamma, breast cancer and in different cancer cell lines. Results obtained after bisulfite sequencing revealed a different CpG methylation of both promoters in liver, muscle and breast tissue which is putatively involved in the cell-type specific gene expression of the two enzymes. In tumor cell lines, demethylation with 5-aza-deoxycytidine activated the expression of both isoenzymes. Additional inhibition of histone deacetylase with trichostatin A further increased FBPase mRNA concentrations. Since cancers typically have an abnormal energy metabolism and exhibit a low gluconeogenic phenotype, it was studied whether promoter methylation contributes to the decreased expression of FBPase in breast cancer. When non-malignant and malignant tissue samples from the same patient were compared a correlation between an increase of FBPase promoter methylation and a decrease of FBPase mRNA levels was observed.     

Characterization of a new liver- and kidney-specific pfkfb3 isozyme that is downregulated by cell proliferation and dedifferentiation

The bifunctional enzyme 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose 2,6-bisphosphatase (PFK-2) catalyzes the synthesis and degradation of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate (Fru-2,6-P₂), a signalling molecule that controls the balance between glycolysis and gluconeogenesis in several cell types. Four genes, designated Pfkfb1-4, code several PFK-2 isozymes that differ in their kinetic properties, molecular masses, and regulation by protein kinases. In rat tissues, Pfkfb3 gene accounts for eight splice variants and two of them, ubiquitous and inducible PFK-2 isozymes, have been extensively studied and related to cell proliferation and tumour metabolism. Here, we characterize a new kidney- and liver-specific Pfkfb3 isozyme, a product of the RB2K3 splice variant, and demonstrate that its expression, in primary cultured hepatocytes, depends on hepatic cell proliferation and dedifferentiation. In parallel, our results provide further evidence that ubiquitous PFK-2 is a crucial isozyme in supporting growing and proliferant cell metabolism.     

Production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in ionic liquids under high fructose concentration conditions

Acid-promoted, selective production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) under high fructose concentration conditions was achieved in ionic liquids (ILs) at 80 °C. A HMF yield up to 97% was obtained in 8 min using 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C₄mim]Cl) catalyzed with 9 mol % hydrochloric acid. More significantly, an HMF yield of 51% was observed when fructose was loaded at a high concentration of 67 wt % in [C₄mim]Cl. Water content below 15.4% in the system had little effect on HMF yield, whereas a higher water content was detrimental to both reaction rate and HMF yield. In situ NMR analysis suggested that the transformation of fructose to HMF was a highly selective reaction that proceeded through the cyclic fructofuranosyl intermediate pathway. This work increased our capacity to produce HMF, and should be valuable to facilitate cost-efficient conversion of biomass into biofuels and bio-based products.     

Prospects for manipulating the substrate specificity of ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase

Pierce, J. 1988. Prospects for manipulating the substrate specificity of ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase. - Physiol. Plant. 72: 690–698.
The idea of enhancing plant productivity by minimizing the apparently wasteful process of photorespiration has been an enduring one. Since the relative fluxes of carbon through the competing pathways of photosynthesis and photorespiration are determined by the kinetic properties of a single enzyme, ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase, it has been conjectured that genetic modification of this protein could provide more productive plants. Recent advances in techniques for studying ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase hold promise for determining whether such modifications will prove possible.     

Lactate dehydrogenase in the cyanobacterium Microcystis PCC7806

Abstract The cyanobacterium Microcystis PCC7806 was found to possess an NAD-dependent lactate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.27) which catalyzes the reduction of pyruvate to l-lactate. The enzyme required fructose 1,6-bisphosphate for activity and displayed positive cooperativity towards pyruvate. Lactate was not formed during fermentation by cell suspensions, possibly due to low intracellular concentrations of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate and/or pyruvate.     

Bio-based succinate from sucrose: High-resolution 13C metabolic flux analysis and metabolic engineering of the rumen bacterium Basfia succiniciproducens

Succinic acid is a platform chemical of recognized industrial value and accordingly faces a continuous challenge to enable manufacturing from most attractive raw materials. It is mainly produced from glucose, using microbial fermentation. Here, we explore and optimize succinate production from sucrose, a globally applied substrate in biotechnology, using the rumen bacterium Basfia succiniciproducens DD1. As basis of the strain optimization, the yet unknown sucrose metabolism of the microbe was studied, using ¹³C metabolic flux analyses. When grown in batch culture on sucrose, the bacterium exhibited a high succinate yield of 1 mol mol⁻¹ and a by-product spectrum, which did not match the expected PTS-mediated sucrose catabolism. This led to the discovery of a fructokinase, involved in sucrose catabolism. The flux approach unraveled that the fructokinase and the fructose PTS both contribute to phosphorylation of the fructose part of sucrose. The contribution of the fructokinase reduces the undesired loss of the succinate precursor PEP into pyruvate and into pyruvate-derived by-products and enables increased succinate production, exclusively via the reductive TCA cycle branch. These findings were used to design superior producers. Mutants, which (i) overexpress the beneficial fructokinase, (II) lack the competing fructose PTS, and (iii) combine both traits, produce significantly more succinate. In a fed-batch process, B. succiniciproducens ΔfruA achieved a titer of 71 g L⁻¹ succinate and a yield of 2.5 mol mol⁻¹ from sucrose.