Cloning and characterization of the glutamate dehydrogenase gene in Streptococcus bovis.

Streptococcus bovis, an etiologic agent of rumen acidosis in cattle, is a rumen bacterium that can grow in a chemically defined medium containing ammonia as a sole source of nitrogen. To understand its ability to assimilate inorganic ammonia, we focused on the function of glutamate dehydrogenase. In order to identify the gene encoding this enzyme, we first amplified an internal region of the gene by using degenerate primers corresponding to hexameric family I and NAD(P)+ binding motifs. Subsequently, inverse PCR was used to identify the whole gene, comprising an open reading frame of 1350 bp that encodes 449 amino acid residues that appear to have the substrate binding site of glutamate dehydrogenase observed in other organisms. Upon introduction of a recombinant plasmid harboring the gene into an Escherichia coli glutamate auxotroph lacking glutamate dehydrogenase and glutamate synthase, the transformants gained the ability to grow on minimal medium without glutamate supplementation. When cell extracts of the transformant were resolved by blue native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by activity staining, a single protein band appeared that corresponded to the size of S. bovis glutamate dehydrogenase. Based on these results, we concluded that the gene obtained encodes glutamate dehydrogenase in S. bovis.

[Individual catalytic activity of two functional domains of bovicin HJ50 synthase BovM].

OBJECTIVE: To reconstitute the in vitro catalytic activity of the individual dehydratase or cyclase domain of bifunctional bovicin HJ50 synthase BovM, and lay a foundation for the further investigation of catalytic mechanism of class II lantibiotic synthase LanM. METHOD: The truncated proteins of BovM containing the N-terminal dehydratase domain or C-terminal cyclase domain were expressed in E. coli and purified. Substrate BovA, the precursor of bovicin HJ50, was incubated with these truncated BovM proteins in in vitro reaction system. The antimicrobial activity assay and MALDI-TOF MS analysis were used to monitor the dehydratase or cyclase activity of these truncated proteins. Meanwhile, the synergistic activities of both truncated proteins were tested in vivo and in vitro. RESULTS: The N- and C-terminal domains of BovM possessed dehydration and cyclization activity respectively. However, no synergistic activity was detected between these two functional domains. CONCLUSION: The individual functional domains of BovM could execute their corresponding functions independently, but the intactness of BovM was important for its full modification activity.

Production of itaconic acid in Escherichia coli expressing recombinant α-amylase using starch as substrate.

Several studies on fermentative production of a vinyl monomer itaconic acid from hydrolyzed starch using Aspergillus terreus have been reported. Herein, we report itaconic acid production by Escherichia coli expressing recombinant α-amylase, using soluble starch as its sole carbon source. To express α-amylase in E. coli, we first constructed recombinant plasmids expressing α-amylases by using cell surface display technology derived from two amylolytic bacteria, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens NBRC 15535(T) and Streptococcus bovis NRIC 1535. The recombinant α-amylase from S. bovis (SBA) showed activity at 28°C, which is the optimal temperature for production of itaconic acid, while α-amylase from B. amyloliquefaciens displayed no noticeable activity. E. coli cells expressing SBA produced 0.15 g/L itaconic acid after 69 h cultivation under pH-stat conditions, using 1% starch as the sole carbon source. In fact, E. coli cells expressing SBA had similar growth rates when grown in the presence of 1% glucose or starch, thereby highlighting the expression of an active α-amylase that enabled utilization of starch to produce itaconic acid in E. coli.

Efficient co-displaying and artificial ratio control of α-amylase and glucoamylase on the yeast cell surface by using combinations of different anchoring domains.

Recombinant yeast strains that display heterologous amylolytic enzymes on their cell surface via the glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchoring system are considered as promising biocatalysts for direct ethanol production from starchy materials. For the effective hydrolysis of these materials, the ratio optimization of multienzyme activity displayed on the cell surface is important. In this study, we have presented a ratio control system of multienzymes displayed on the yeast cell surface by using different GPI-anchoring domains. The novel gene cassettes for the cell-surface display of Streptococcus bovis α-amylase and Rhizopus oryzae glucoamylase were constructed using the Saccharomyces cerevisiae SED1 promoter and two different GPI-anchoring regions derived from Saccharomyces cerevisiae SED1 or SAG1. These gene cassettes were integrated into the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome in different combinations. Then, the cell-surface α-amylase and glucoamylase activities and ethanol productivity of these recombinant strains were evaluated. The combinations of the gene cassettes of these enzymes affected the ratio of cell-surface α-amylase and glucoamylase activities and ethanol productivity of the recombinant strains. The highest ethanol productivity from raw starch was achieved by the strain harboring one α-amylase gene cassette carrying the SED1-anchoring region and two glucoamylase gene cassettes carrying the SED1-anchoring region (BY-AASS/GASS/GASS). This strain yielded 22.5 ± 0.6 g/L of ethanol from 100 g/L of raw starch in 120 h of fermentation.

Dissecting the catalytic and substrate binding activity of a class II lanthipeptide synthetase BovM.

LanM proteins are the synthetases of the class II lanthipeptides, which are responsible for lanthionine or methyllanthionine formation in lanthipeptides. LanMs are bifunctional enzymes with N-terminal dehydratase and C-terminal cyclase domains. However, the catalytic and especially the substrate binding function of LanM are not fully investigated. In this study, we analyzed the function of conserved residues of BovM, which is the synthetase of lanthipeptide bovicin HJ50, with alanine substitution method. Mass spectrometry (MS) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) analyses showed six hydrophilic residues (e.g. Asp247) were involved in the dehydration activity of BovM and four hydrophobic residues (e.g. Ile254) were responsible for the substrate binding of BovM. In addition, a conserved Asp155 was proposed to be general base in the elimination of phosphates during the dehydration reactions. This research of BovM shed a light on the catalytic and substrate binding mechanism of LanM proteins.

Starchy biomass-powered enzymatic biofuel cell based on amylases and glucose oxidase multi-immobilized bioanode.

The present study reports the design of a novel bioanode to directly utilize starch as a fuel in an enzymatic biofuel cell. The enzymatic fuel cell is based on three enzymes (alpha-amylase, glucoamylase and glucose oxidase). The carbon paste electrode containing these three enzymes and tetrathiafulvalene can both saccharize and oxidize starchy biomass. In cyclic voltammetry, catalytic currents were successfully observed with both glucose and starchy white rice used as a substrate. Finally, a membrane-less white rice/O2 biofuel cell was assembled and the electrochemical performance was evaluated. The three enzyme based electrode was used as a bioanode and an immobilized bilirubin oxidase (derived from Myrothecium verrucaria) electrode was used as a biocathode. The biofuel cell delivered an open circuit voltage of 0.522V and power density of up to 99.0 µWcm(-2). Our results show that a readily available fuel can be used for enzymatic fuel cells, and will lead to new designs.

Efficient synthesis of L-lactic acid from glycerol by metabolically engineered Escherichia coli.

BACKGROUND: Due to its abundance and low-price, glycerol has become an attractive carbon source for the industrial production of value-added fuels and chemicals. This work reports the engineering of E. coli for the efficient conversion of glycerol into L-lactic acid (L-lactate). RESULTS: Escherichia coli strains have previously been metabolically engineered for the microaerobic production of D-lactic acid from glycerol in defined media by disrupting genes that minimize the synthesis of succinate, acetate, and ethanol, and also overexpressing the respiratory route of glycerol dissimilation (GlpK/GlpD). Here, further rounds of rationale design were performed on these strains for the homofermentative production of L-lactate, not normally produced in E. coli. Specifically, L-lactate production was enabled by: 1), replacing the native D-lactate specific dehydrogenase with Streptococcus bovis L-lactate dehydrogenase (L-LDH), 2) blocking the methylglyoxal bypass pathways to avoid the synthesis of a racemic mixture of D- and L-lactate and prevent the accumulation of toxic intermediate, methylglyoxal, and 3) the native aerobic L-lactate dehydrogenase was blocked to prevent the undesired utilization of L-lactate. The engineered strain produced 50 g/L of L-lactate from 56 g/L of crude glycerol at a yield 93% of the theoretical maximum and with high optical (99.9%) and chemical (97%) purity. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the efficient conversion of glycerol to L-lactate, a microbial process that had not been reported in the literature prior to our work. The engineered biocatalysts produced L-lactate from crude glycerol in defined minimal salts medium at high chemical and optical purity.

Molecular characterization and significance of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase in a ruminal bacterium, Streptococcus bovis.

To gain knowledge about the significance of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxykinase (PCK) in Streptococcus bovis, the sequence of the gene encoding PCK (pck) was determined. Transcriptional analysis indicated that the pck is transcribed in a monocistronic fashion. The level of pck-mRNA was higher when cells were grown on lactose than on glucose, suggesting that PCK synthesis increases when the growth rate is low. The pck-mRNA level was higher in a mutant lacking ccpA, which encodes the catabolite control protein A (CcpA), than in the parent strain, suggesting that pck transcription is suppressed by CcpA. S. bovis PCK showed oxaloacetate (OAA)-decarboxylating activity, but no PEP-carboxylating activity (reverse reaction). In S. bovis, OAA was speculated to be produced from PEP via pyruvate. Disruption of pck in S. bovis resulted in decreased growth rate and cell yield. When a pck-disrupted mutant was grown in a medium lacking amino acids, the lag phase was longer and the cell yield was lower than the case of the parent strain. These results suggest that pck is involved in the initiation of growth, including the induction of amino acid synthesis and energy metabolism.

Novel strategy for yeast construction using delta-integration and cell fusion to efficiently produce ethanol from raw starch.

We developed a novel strategy for constructing yeast to improve levels of amylase gene expression and the practical potential of yeast by combining delta-integration and polyploidization through cell fusion. Streptococcus bovis alpha-amylase and Rhizopus oryzae glucoamylase/alpha-agglutinin fusion protein genes were integrated into haploid yeast strains. Diploid strains were constructed from these haploid strains by mating, and then a tetraploid strain was constructed by cell fusion. The alpha-amylase and glucoamylase activities of the tetraploid strain were increased up to 1.5- and tenfold, respectively, compared with the parental strain. The diploid and tetraploid strains proliferated faster, yielded more cells, and fermented glucose more effectively than the haploid strain. Ethanol productivity from raw starch was improved with increased ploidy; the tetraploid strain consumed 150 g/l of raw starch and produced 70 g/l of ethanol after 72 h of fermentation. Our strategy for constructing yeasts resulted in the simultaneous overexpression of genes integrated into the genome and improvements in the practical potential of yeasts.

Development of novel cell surface display in Corynebacterium glutamicum using porin.

We have developed a novel cell surface display in Corynebacterium glutamicum using porin proteins as anchor proteins. Porins are localized at C. glutamicum mycolic acid layer and exist as a hexamer. We used alpha-amylase from Streptococcus bovis 148 (AmyA) as a model protein to be displayed on the C. glutamicum cell surface. AmyA was fused to the C terminus of the porins PorB, PorC, or PorH. Expression vectors using fused proteins under the control of the cspB promoter were constructed and introduced into the C. glutamicum Cm strain. Immunostaining microscopy and flow cytometric analysis revealed that PorB-AmyA, PorC-AmyA, and PorH-AmyA were displayed on the C. glutamicum cell surface. AmyA activity was only detected in the cell fraction of C. glutamicum cells that displayed AmyA fused to PorB, PorC or PorH and AmyA activity was not detected in the supernatants of C. glutamicum culture broths after 72 h cultivation. Thus, we have demonstrated that C. glutamicum porins are very efficient anchor proteins for protein display in C. glutamicum.

Direct production of cadaverine from soluble starch using Corynebacterium glutamicum coexpressing alpha-amylase and lysine decarboxylase.

Here, we demonstrated the one-step production of cadaverine from starch using a Corynebacterium glutamicum strain coexpressing Streptococcus bovis 148 alpha-amylase (AmyA) and Escherichia coli K-12 lysine decarboxylase (CadA). We constructed the E. coli-C. glutamicum shuttle vector, which produces CadA under the control of the high constitutive expression (HCE) promoter, and transformed this vector into C. glutamicum CSS secreting AmyA. The engineered C. glutamicum expressed both CadA and AmyA, which retained their activity. We performed cadaverine fermentation using 50 g/l soluble starch as the sole carbon source without pyridoxal-5'-phosphate, which is the coenzyme for CadA. C. glutamicum coexpressing AmyA and CadA successfully produced cadaverine from soluble starch and the yield of cadaverine was 23.4 mM after 21 h. CadA expression levels under the control of the HCE promoter were assumed to be sufficient to convert L-lysine to cadaverine, as there was no accumulation of L-lysine in the culture medium during fermentation. Thus, we demonstrated that C. glutamicum has great potential to produce cadaverine from biomass resources.

Properties and role of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase in the control of fermentation pattern and growth in a ruminal bacterium, Streptococcus bovis.

To clarify the control of glycolysis and the fermentation pattern in Streptococcus bovis, the molecular and enzymatic properties of NAD(+)-specific glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) were examined. The GAPDH gene (gapA) was found to cluster with several others, including those that encode phosphoglycerate kinase and translation elongation factor G, however, gapA was transcribed in a monocistronic fashion. Since biochemical properties, such as optimal pH and affinity for glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (GAP), were not very different between GAPDH- and NADP(+)-specific glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPN), the flux from GAP may be greatly influenced by the relative amounts of these two enzymes. Using S. bovis JB1 as a parent, JB1gapA and JB1ldh, which overproduce GAPDH and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), respectively, were constructed to examine the control of the glycolytic flux and lactate production. There were no significant differences in growth rates and formate-to-lactate ratios among JB1, JB1gapA, and JB1ldh grown on glucose. When grown on lactose, JB1ldh showed a much lower formate-to-lactate ratio than JB1gapA, which showed the highest NADH-to-NAD(+) ratio. However, growth rates did not differ among JB1, JB1gapA, and JB1ldh. These results suggest that GAPDH is not involved in the control of the glycolytic flux and that lactate production is mainly controlled by LDH activity.

Molecular properties and transcriptional control of the phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase genes in a ruminal bacterium, Streptococcus bovis.

Molecular properties of pyruvate kinase (PYK) and phosphofructokinase (PFK) in Streptococcus bovis and transcriptional control of the two enzymes were examined. Sequence analysis indicated that the PYK gene (pyk) clusters with the PFK gene (pfk) and several other genes. It was demonstrated that the pyk and pfk are cotranscribed and their transcription appeared to be regulated at the transcriptional level in response to the sugars supplied. The intracellular pyk-mRNA level was lower in a catabolite control protein A (CcpA)-disrupted mutant than in its parent strain, and a binding site of CcpA was found in the upstream region of pfk. These results suggest that pfk-pyk transcription is enhanced by CcpA. A recombinant pyk-overexpressing strain showed approximately five-fold higher PYK activity, but it did not affect the growth rate or formate-to-lactate ratio significantly, suggesting that the flux in the glycolytic pathway is not altered by an increase in PYK activity.

Production of L-Lysine from starch by Corynebacterium glutamicum displaying alpha-amylase on its cell surface.

We engineered a Corynebacterium glutamicum strain displaying alpha-amylase from Streptococcus bovis 148 (AmyA) on its cell surface to produce amino acids directly from starch. We used PgsA from Bacillus subtilis as an anchor protein, and the N-terminus of alpha-amylase was fused to the PgsA. The genes of the fusion protein were integrated into the homoserine dehydrogenase gene locus on the chromosome by homologous recombination. L-Lysine fermentation was carried out using C. glutamicum displaying AmyA in the growth medium containing 50 g/l soluble starch as the sole carbon source. We performed L-lysine fermentation at various temperatures (30-40 degrees C) and pHs (6.0-7.0), as the optimal temperatures and pHs of AmyA and C. glutamicum differ significantly. The highest L-lysine yield was recorded at 30 degrees C and pH 7.0. The amount of soluble starch was reduced to 18.29 g/l, and 6.04 g/l L-lysine was produced in 24 h. The L-lysine yield obtained using soluble starch as the sole carbon source was higher than that using glucose as the sole carbon source after 24 h when the same amount of substrates was added. The results shown in the current study demonstrate that C. glutamicum displaying alpha-amylase has a potential to directly convert soluble starch to amino acids.

Isolation and identification of mixed linked beta -glucan degrading bacteria in the intestine of broiler chickens and partial characterization of respective 1,3-1,4-beta -glucanase activities.

Media with 1,3-1,4-beta -glucans as selective markers were used for isolation of non-starch-polysaccharide (NSP) degrading bacteria from the intestinal tract of broiler chicken. Formerly unknown 1,3-1,4-beta endoglucanase activities in various bacterial species were identified in this study. E. faecium , Streptococcus , Bacteroides and Clostridium strains seem to be responsible for degradation of mixed linked beta -glucans in the small intestine and in the hind gut of chickens. Strict anaerobic bacteria (Bacteroides ovatus , B. uniformis , presumably B. capillosus and Clostridium perfringens ) as well as an unidentified bacterium with 98% 16S rDNA homology to an uncultered chicken cecum bacterium were isolated. Additionally, Streptococcus bovis with 1,3-1,4-beta -endoglucanase activity was also detected. Different 1,3-1,4-beta -endoglucanase activity profiles were observed in SDS/PAGE zymograms.

Display of alpha-amylase on the surface of Lactobacillus casei cells by use of the PgsA anchor protein, and production of lactic acid from starch.

We developed a new cell surface engineering system based on the PgsA anchor protein from Bacillus subtilis. In this system, the N terminus of the target protein was fused to the PgsA protein and the resulting fusion protein was expressed on the cell surface. Using this new system, we constructed a novel starch-degrading strain of Lactobacillus casei by genetically displaying alpha-amylase from the Streptococcus bovis strain 148 with a FLAG peptide tag (AmyAF). Localization of the PgsA-AmyA-FLAG fusion protein on the cell surface was confirmed by immunofluorescence microscopy and flow cytometric analysis. The lactic acid bacteria which displayed AmyAF showed significantly elevated hydrolytic activity toward soluble starch. By fermentation using AmyAF-displaying L. casei cells, 50 g/liter of soluble starch was reduced to 13.7 g/liter, and 21.8 g/liter of lactic acid was produced within about 24 h. The yield in terms of grams of lactic acid produced per gram of carbohydrate utilized was 0.60 g per g of carbohydrate consumed at 24 h. Since AmyA was immobilized on the cells, cells were recovered after fermentation and used repeatedly. During repeated utilization of cells, the lactic acid yield was improved to 0.81 g per g of carbohydrate consumed at 72 h. These results indicate that efficient simultaneous saccharification and fermentation from soluble starch to lactic acid were carried out by recombinant L. casei cells with cell surface display of AmyA.

Molecular characterization of CcpA and involvement of this protein in transcriptional regulation of lactate dehydrogenase and pyruvate formate-lyase in the ruminal bacterium Streptococcus bovis.

A ccpA gene that encodes global catabolite control protein A (CcpA) in Streptococcus bovis was identified and characterized, and the involvement of CcpA in transcriptional control of a gene (ldh) encoding lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and a gene (pfl) encoding pyruvate formate-lyase (PFL) was examined. The ccpA gene was shown to be transcribed as a monocistronic operon. A catabolite-responsive element (cre) was found in the promoter region of ccpA, suggesting that ccpA transcription in S. bovis is autogenously regulated. CcpA required HPr that was phosphorylated at the serine residue at position 46 (HPr-[Ser-P]) for binding to the cre site, but glucose 6-phosphate, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, and NADP had no effect on binding. Diauxic growth was observed when S. bovis was grown in a medium containing glucose and lactose, but it disappeared when ccpA was disrupted, which indicates that CcpA is involved in catabolite repression in S. bovis. The level of ccpA mRNA was higher when cells were grown on glucose than when they were grown on lactose, which was in line with the level of ldh mRNA. When cells were grown on glucose, the ldh mRNA level was lower but the pfl mRNA level was higher in a ccpA-disrupted mutant than in the parent strain, which suggests that ldh transcription is enhanced and pfl transcription is suppressed by CcpA. The ccpA-disrupted mutant produced less lactate and more formate than the parent, probably because the mutant had reduced LDH activity and elevated PFL activity. In the upper region of both ldh and pfl, a cre-like sequence was found, suggesting that the complex consisting of CcpA and HPr-[Ser-P] binds to the possible cre sites. Thus, CcpA appears to be involved in the global regulation of sugar utilization in S. bovis.

Direct production of ethanol from raw corn starch via fermentation by use of a novel surface-engineered yeast strain codisplaying glucoamylase and alpha-amylase.

Direct and efficient production of ethanol by fermentation from raw corn starch was achieved by using the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae codisplaying Rhizopus oryzae glucoamylase and Streptococcus bovis alpha-amylase by using the C-terminal-half region of alpha-agglutinin and the flocculation functional domain of Flo1p as the respective anchor proteins. In 72-h fermentation, this strain produced 61.8 g of ethanol/liter, with 86.5% of theoretical yield from raw corn starch.

Molecular characteristics of phosphoenolpyruvate: mannose phosphotransferase system in Streptococcus bovis.

To elucidate the regulatory mechanism of catabolite control in Streptococcus bovis, we investigated the molecular properties and gene expression of the mannose-specific phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP)-dependent sugar: phosphotransferase system (PTS). The mannose PTS gene cluster (man) was found to comprise a gene encoding enzyme (E) II AB (manL) and genes encoding EIIC (manM), EIID (manN), and a putative regulator (manO). The gene cluster (man operon) was transcribed from one transcriptional start site, which was located 40 bp upstream of the manL start codon. However, two transcriptional start sites were found between manN and manO in primer extension analysis, and the manO may be transcribed independently from the man operon. The man operon and manO were constitutively transcribed without being affected by culture conditions, such as the sugar supplied (glucose, galactose, fructose, maltose, lactose, sucrose, or mannose), growth rate, or pH.

Effects of the overexpression of fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase on fermentation pattern and transcription of the genes encoding lactate dehydrogenase and pyruvate formate-lyase in a ruminal bacterium, Streptococcus bovis.

Whether fructose-1,6-bisphosphate (FBP) triggers the transcriptional regulation of the gene expression of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and pyruvate formate-lyase (PFL) in Streptococcus bovis was examined by constructing a recombinant strain that overexpresses FBP aldolase (FBA). When the recombinant strain was grown on glucose, intracellular FBP was much lower as compared to the parent strain, whereas dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) and d-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (GAP) were slightly higher. Intracellular ATP and ADP were slightly lower, but the NADH/NAD(+) ratio was not different. When glucose was replaced by lactose, a less readily utilized substrate, there was no great difference in FBP, DHAP, GAP, or adenine nucleotides. Overexpression of FBA decreased the level of LDH-mRNA, and increased the level of PFL-mRNA. Consequently, FBP concentration was positively related to the LDH-mRNA level and inversely related to the PFL-mRNA level. On the contrary, DHAP and GAP concentrations were positively related to the PFL-mRNA level and inversely related to the LDH-mRNA level. The levels of these mRNA were proportional to the amounts of corresponding enzymes in cells. As a result, the ratio of formate to lactate produced was increased by the overexpression of FBA. From these results, it could be presumed that FBP is involved in the transcriptional control of LDH and PFL synthesis in S. bovis.