Large Spectral Shift of Mn2+ Emission Due to the Shrinkage of the Crystalline Host Lattice of the Hexagonal CsCdCl3 Crystals and Phase Transition.

All-inorganic halide perovskite crystals are considered excellent optical host lattices for various dopants to obtain wavelength-tunable emissions with ultra-broad bands even over a wide spectral range. Here, a series of Mn2+-doped bulk ligand-free CsCdCl3 (CCC) perovskite crystals with a hexagonal shape and size of about 1 millimeter (mm) have been prepared by a facile hydrothermal method. These CCC:Mn2+ (CCC:Mn) crystals emit the representative orange-red photoluminescence (PL) of Mn2+ (4T1(G)-6A1(S)) in the centers of hexagonal octahedrons coordinated with six Cl- ions. A fine-tuning of the Mn2+ concentration from 1 to 50 mol % Cd2+ induces a substantial red shift of emission spectra from 570 to 630 nm due to the shrinkage of the crystalline host lattice, and the maximum intensity of emission is achieved at 20 mol % Mn2+ doping. A further increase in the Mn2+ concentration causes a decrease of the PL intensity due to the phase transition from CCC to CsMnCl3·2H2O (CMCH). The strong excitation bands at 360, 370, 420, and 440 nm can make the excitation of the emissive CCC:Mn crystals possible with ultraviolet (UV) and blue chips for application in white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs). The similarity of the Mn2+-concentration-dependent emission spectra excited by various wavelengths indicates that there is only one type of site for Mn2+ occupation in CCC.

A D-2-hydroxyglutarate biosensor based on specific transcriptional regulator DhdR.

D-2-Hydroxyglutarate (D-2-HG) is a metabolite involved in many physiological metabolic processes. When D-2-HG is aberrantly accumulated due to mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenase or D-2-HG dehydrogenase, it functions in a pro-oncogenic manner and is thus considered a therapeutic target and biomarker in many cancers. In this study, DhdR from Achromobacter denitrificans NBRC 15125 is identified as an allosteric transcriptional factor that negatively regulates D-2-HG dehydrogenase expression and responds to the presence of D-2-HG. Based on the allosteric effect of DhdR, a D-2-HG biosensor is developed by combining DhdR with amplified luminescent proximity homogeneous assay (AlphaScreen) technology. The biosensor is able to detect D-2-HG in serum, urine, and cell culture medium with high specificity and sensitivity. Additionally, this biosensor is used to identify the role of D-2-HG metabolism in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, demonstrating its broad usages.

2,3-Butanediol synthesis from glucose supplies NADH for elimination of toxic acetate produced during overflow metabolism.

Overflow metabolism-caused acetate accumulation is a major problem that restricts industrial applications of various bacteria. 2,3-Butanediol (2,3-BD) synthesis in microorganisms is an ancient metabolic process with unidentified functions. We demonstrate here that acetate increases and then decreases during the growth of a bacterium Enterobacter cloacae subsp. dissolvens SDM. Both bifunctional acetaldehyde/ethanol dehydrogenase AdhE-catalyzed ethanol production and acetate-induced 2,3-BD biosynthesis are indispensable for the elimination of acetate generated during overflow metabolism. 2,3-BD biosynthesis from glucose supplies NADH required for acetate elimination via AdhE-catalyzed ethanol production. The coupling strategy involving 2,3-BD biosynthesis and ethanol production is widely distributed in bacteria and is important for toxic acetate elimination. Finally, we realized the co-production of ethanol and acetoin from chitin, the second most abundant natural biopolymer whose catabolism involves inevitable acetate production through the coupling acetate elimination strategy. The synthesis of a non-toxic chemical such as 2,3-BD may be viewed as a unique overflow metabolism with desirable metabolic functions.

An L-2-hydroxyglutarate biosensor based on specific transcriptional regulator LhgR.

L-2-Hydroxyglutarate (L-2-HG) plays important roles in diverse physiological processes, such as carbon starvation response, tumorigenesis, and hypoxic adaptation. Despite its importance and intensively studied metabolism, regulation of L-2-HG metabolism remains poorly understood and none of regulator specifically responded to L-2-HG has been identified. Based on bacterial genomic neighborhood analysis of the gene encoding L-2-HG oxidase (LhgO), LhgR, which represses the transcription of lhgO in Pseudomonas putida W619, is identified in this study. LhgR is demonstrated to recognize L-2-HG as its specific effector molecule, and this allosteric transcription factor is then used as a biorecognition element to construct an L-2-HG-sensing FRET sensor. The L-2-HG sensor is able to conveniently monitor the concentrations of L-2-HG in various biological samples. In addition to bacterial L-2-HG generation during carbon starvation, biological function of the L-2-HG dehydrogenase and hypoxia induced L-2-HG accumulation are also revealed by using the L-2-HG sensor in human cells.

Pyruvate Production from Whey Powder by Metabolic Engineered Klebsiella oxytoca.

Pyruvate is an important platform material widely used in food, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries. Pyruvate-tolerant Klebsiella oxytoca PDL-0 was chosen as a chassis for pyruvate production via metabolic engineering. Genes related to by-product generation were knocked out to decrease the production of 2,3-butantediol, acetate, ethanol, and succinate. The NADH oxidase encoding gene nox was inserted into the locus of the lactate dehydrogenase encoding gene ldhD in the genome of K. oxytoca to simultaneously block lactate production and regenerate NAD+. The pyruvate importers CstA and YjiY were identified, and their encoding genes were deleted to increase pyruvate accumulation. The engineered strain K. oxytoca PDL-YC produced 71.0 g/L pyruvate from glucose. Furthermore, K. oxytoca PDL-YC can use whey powder, an abundant by-product of the cheese making process, as substrate for pyruvate production. Pyruvate production with a concentration of 62.3 g/L and a productivity of 1.60 g/[L·h] was realized using whey powder as substrate.

Regulation of Glutarate Catabolism by GntR Family Regulator CsiR and LysR Family Regulator GcdR in Pseudomonas putida KT2440.

Glutarate, a metabolic intermediate in the catabolism of several amino acids and aromatic compounds, can be catabolized through both the glutarate hydroxylation pathway and the glutaryl-coenzyme A (glutaryl-CoA) dehydrogenation pathway in Pseudomonas putida KT2440. The elucidation of the regulatory mechanism could greatly aid in the design of biotechnological alternatives for glutarate production. In this study, it was found that a GntR family protein, CsiR, and a LysR family protein, GcdR, regulate the catabolism of glutarate by repressing the transcription of csiD and lhgO, two key genes in the glutarate hydroxylation pathway, and by activating the transcription of gcdH and gcoT, two key genes in the glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenation pathway, respectively. Our data suggest that CsiR and GcdR are independent and that there is no cross-regulation between the two pathways. l-2-Hydroxyglutarate (l-2-HG), a metabolic intermediate in the glutarate catabolism with various physiological functions, has never been elucidated in terms of its metabolic regulation. Here, we reveal that two molecules, glutarate and l-2-HG, act as effectors of CsiR and that P. putida KT2440 uses CsiR to sense glutarate and l-2-HG and to utilize them effectively. This report broadens our understanding of the bacterial regulatory mechanisms of glutarate and l-2-HG catabolism and may help to identify regulators of l-2-HG catabolism in other species.IMPORTANCE Glutarate is an attractive dicarboxylate with various applications. Clarification of the regulatory mechanism of glutarate catabolism could help to block the glutarate catabolic pathways, thereby improving glutarate production through biotechnological routes. Glutarate is a toxic metabolite in humans, and its accumulation leads to a hereditary metabolic disorder, glutaric aciduria type I. The elucidation of the functions of CsiR and GcdR as regulators that respond to glutarate could help in the design of glutarate biosensors for the rapid detection of glutarate in patients with glutaric aciduria type I. In addition, CsiR was identified as a regulator that also regulates l-2-HG metabolism. The identification of CsiR as a regulator that responds to l-2-HG could help in the discovery and investigation of other regulatory proteins involved in l-2-HG catabolism.

A new exploration of health risk assessment quantification from sources of soil heavy metals under different land use.

Heavy metals in the topsoil affected adversely human health through inhalation, ingestion and dermal contact. The health risk assessment, which are quantified from soil heavy metals sources under different land use, can provide an important reference basis for preventing and controlling the soil heavy metals pollution from the source. In this study, simple statistical analysis and Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) were used to quantify sources of soil heavy metals; then a health risk assessment (HRA) model combined with PMF was proposed to assess quantificationally the human health risk (including non-cancer risk and cancer risk) from sources under residential-land, forest-land and farm land. Xiang River New District (XRNQ) was chosen as the example and four significant sources were quantitatively analyzed in the study. For cancer risk, industrial discharge was the largest source and accounted for about 69.6%, 69.7%, 56.5% for adults under residential-land, forest-land and farm-land, respectively. For non-cancer risk, industrial discharge was still the largest significant source under residential-land and forest-land and accounted for about 41.7%, 39.2% for adult, respectively; while agricultural activities accounted for about 51.8% for adult under farm-land. The risk trend of children, including cancer risk and non-cancer risk, was similar with adults. However, the non-cancer risk areas of adults affected by industrial discharge was higher than that of children, while the cancer risk areas of adults were on the contrary. The new exploration was useful to assess health risk quantification from sources under different land use, thus providing certain reference in preventing and controlling the pollution from the source for local authorities effectively.

Increased glutarate production by blocking the glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenation pathway and a catabolic pathway involving L-2-hydroxyglutarate.

Glutarate is a five carbon platform chemical produced during the catabolism of L-lysine. It is known that it can be catabolized through the glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenation pathway. Here, we discover that Pseudomonas putida KT2440 has an additional glutarate catabolic pathway involving L-2-hydroxyglutarate (L-2-HG), an abnormal metabolite produced from 2-ketoglutarate (2-KG). In this pathway, CsiD, a Fe2+/2-KG-dependent glutarate hydroxylase, is capable of converting glutarate into L-2-HG, and LhgO, an L-2-HG oxidase, can catalyze L-2-HG into 2-KG. We construct a recombinant strain that lacks both glutarate catabolic pathways. It can produce glutarate from L-lysine with a yield of 0.85 mol glutarate/mol L-lysine. Thus, L-2-HG anabolism and catabolism is a metabolic alternative to the glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenation pathway in P. putida KT2440; L-lysine can be both ketogenic and glucogenic.

Coupling between d-3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase and d-2-hydroxyglutarate dehydrogenase drives bacterial l-serine synthesis.

l-Serine biosynthesis, a crucial metabolic process in most domains of life, is initiated by d-3-phosphoglycerate (d-3-PG) dehydrogenation, a thermodynamically unfavorable reaction catalyzed by d-3-PG dehydrogenase (SerA). d-2-Hydroxyglutarate (d-2-HG) is traditionally viewed as an abnormal metabolite associated with cancer and neurometabolic disorders. Here, we reveal that bacterial anabolism and catabolism of d-2-HG are involved in l-serine biosynthesis in Pseudomonas stutzeri A1501 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1. SerA catalyzes the stereospecific reduction of 2-ketoglutarate (2-KG) to d-2-HG, responsible for the major production of d-2-HG in vivo. SerA combines the energetically favorable reaction of d-2-HG production to overcome the thermodynamic barrier of d-3-PG dehydrogenation. We identified a bacterial d-2-HG dehydrogenase (D2HGDH), a flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD)-dependent enzyme, that converts d-2-HG back to 2-KG. Electron transfer flavoprotein (ETF) and ETF-ubiquinone oxidoreductase (ETFQO) are also essential in d-2-HG metabolism through their capacity to transfer electrons from D2HGDH. Furthermore, while the mutant with D2HGDH deletion displayed decreased growth, the defect was rescued by adding l-serine, suggesting that the D2HGDH is functionally tied to l-serine synthesis. Substantial flux flows through d-2-HG, being produced by SerA and removed by D2HGDH, ETF, and ETFQO, maintaining d-2-HG homeostasis. Overall, our results uncover that d-2-HG-mediated coupling between SerA and D2HGDH drives bacterial l-serine synthesis.

[Effects of overexpression of carboxylation pathway genes and inactivation of malic enzymes on malic acid production in Escherichia coli].

Malic acid is a dicarboxylic acid that is widely used in food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. We studied the effects of overexpression of carboxylation pathway genes and inactivation of malic enzymes on the aerobic production of malic acid. Over expression of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxylase (ppc) generated strain E21, which increased malic acid production from 0.57 g/L to 3.83 g/L. Then pyc gene from Coryenbacterium glutamicus and pck gene from Actinobacillus succinogenes were overexpressed in E21 separately. The resulting strains E21 (pTrcpyc) and E21 (pTrc-A-pck) produced 6.04 and 5.01 g/L malate with a yield of 0.79 and 0.65 mol/mol glucose, respectively. Deleting two malic enzymes (encoded by maeA and maeB) also led to an increase of 36% in malic acid production with a production of 5.21 g/L. However, the combination of malic enzymes deletion and pyc overexpression could not further increase the yield of malic acid. After optimization of fermentation conditions, strain E21 (pTrcpyc) produced 12.45 g/L malic acid with a yield of 0.84 mol/mol which is 63.2% of the theoretical yield.