lpp deletion as a permeabilization method

Our earlier studies with outer membrane permeability in E. coli showed that an insertion mutation in lpp gene (encoding Braun's lipoprotein) drastically changed the outer membrane permeability, resulting in significant acceleration of whole-cell catalyzed reactions. In order to gain a mechanistic understanding of the nature of permeability change, the lpp region was sequenced. The results revealed that Lpp was not expressed in the insertion mutant, suggesting that the absence, rather than the alteration, of Lpp is responsible for the observed permeability change. This surprising result prompts us to investigate the possibility of establishing lpp deletion as a general permeabilization method. Two lpp deletion mutants were generated from strains with different genetic background and the effect of lpp deletion on cell physiology was investigated. While lpp deletion had no significant effect on cell growth, carbon metabolism, and fatty acid compositions, it enhanced permeability of various small molecules, consistent with the results with the insertion mutant. This phenotype is useful in a wide range of biotechnological applications. We illustrate here the use of the mutant with organophosphate hydrolysis and L-carnitine synthesis, where permeability is known to be a limiting factor. Both processes were significantly improved with the mutant because of enhanced permeability through the outer membrane. Therefore, this study has established an easy yet generally applicable method for permeabilizing E. coli cells without significant adverse effects. Further, as lpp homolog is known to exist in gram-negative bacteria, we expect that this method will be applicable to other gram-negative bacteria.