Increases in alginate production and transcription levels of alginate lyase (alyA1) by control of the oxygen transfer rate in Azotobacter vinelandii cultures under diazotrophic conditions

BACKGROUND: Alginates are polysaccharides used in a wide range of industrial applications, with their functional properties depending on their molecular weight. In this study, alginate production and the expression of genes involved in polymerization and depolymerization in batch cultures of Azotobacter vinelandii were evaluated under controlled and noncontrolled oxygen transfer rate (OTR) conditions. RESULTS: Using an oxygen transfer rate (OTR) control system, a constant OTR (20.3 ± 1.3 mmol L 1 h 1 ) was maintained during cell growth and stationary phases. In cultures subjected to a controlled OTR, alginate concentrations were higher (5.5 ± 0.2 g L 1 ) than in cultures under noncontrolled OTR. The molecular weight of alginate decreased from 475 to 325 kDa at the beginning of the growth phase and remained constant until the end of the cultivation period. The expression level of alyA1, which encodes an alginate lyase, was more affected by OTR control than those of other genes involved in alginate biosynthesis. The decrease in alginate molecular weight can be explained by a higher relative expression level of alyA1 under the controlled OTR condition. CONCLUSIONS: This report describes the first time that alginate production and alginate lyase (alyA1) expression levels have been evaluated in A. vinelandii cultures subjected to a controlled OTR. The results show that automatic control of OTR may be a suitable strategy for improving alginate production while maintaining a constant molecular weight.

Pectin lyase overproduction by Penicillium griseoroseum mutants resistant to catabolite repression

Abstract Expression of pectinolytic genes is regulated by catabolic repression limiting the production of pectin lyase (PL) if the natural inducer, pectin, is missing from the growth medium. Here, we report the isolation of Penicillium griseoroseum mutants resistant to 2-deoxy-d-glucose (DG) that show resistance to catabolite repression and overproduce PL. Three spontaneous and nine UV-induced mutants were obtained. Some mutants produced sectors (segments morphologically different) that were also studied. The mutants were analyzed for pectinases production on pectinase-agar plates and five mutants and two sectors showing larger clearing zones than the wild type were selected for quantitative assay. Although PL production higher than the wild type has been found, phenotype instability was observed for most of the mutants and, after transfers to nonselective medium, the DG resistance was no longer present. Only mutants M03 and M04 were stable maintaining the DG-resistance phenotype. When growing for 120 h in liquid medium containing glucose with or without pectin, both mutants showed higher PL production. In the presence of glucose as sole carbon source, the mutant M03 produced 7.8-fold more PL than the wild type. Due its phenotypic stability and PL overproduction, the mutant M03 presents potential for industrial applications.