Knockout of pgdS and ggt genes improves γ‐PGA yield in B. subtilis |
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| Authors: | Viola Scoffone Daniele Dondi Ginevra Biino Giovanni Borghese Dario Pasini Alessandro Galizzi Cinzia Calvio |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Università degli Studi di Pavia, Via Ferrata 1, Pavia (I) 27100, Italy;2. telephone: +39‐0382‐985545;3. fax: +39‐0382‐528496;4. Department of Chemistry, Università degli Studi di Pavia, Pavia, Italy;5. National Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology (INSTM), Florence, Italy;6. Institute of Molecular Genetics, National Research Council of Italy, Pavia and Institute of Population Genetics, National Research Council of Italy, Sassari, Italy;7. Department of Chemistry, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy |
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| Abstract: | One of the emerging biopolymers that are currently under active investigation is bacterial poly(γ‐glutamic acid) (γ‐PGA). However, before its full industrial exploitation, a substantial increase in microbial productivity is required. γ‐PGA obtained from the Bacillus subtilis laboratory strain 168 offers the advantage of a producer characterized by a well defined genetic framework and simple manipulation techniques. In this strain, the knockout of genes for the major γ‐PGA degrading enzymes, pgdS and ggt, leads to a considerable improvement in polymer yield, which attains levels analogous to the top wild γ‐PGA producer strains. This study highlights the convenience of using the laboratory strain of B. subtilis over wild isolates in designing strain improvement strategies aimed at increasing γ‐PGA productivity. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2013; 110: 2006–2012. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. |
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| Keywords: | poly‐gamma glutamic acid γ ‐PGA γ ‐DL‐glutamyl hydrolase PgdS γ ‐glutamyl transpeptidase GGT Bacillus subtilis strain improvement biomaterials |
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