Bio-products produced by marine yeasts and their potential applications

It has been well documented that the yeasts isolated from different marine environments are so versatile that they can produce various fine chemicals, enzymes, bioactive substances, single cell protein and nanoparticles. Many genes related to the biosynthesis and regulation of these functional biomolecules have been cloned, expressed and characterized. All these functional biomolecules have a variety of applications in industries of food, chemical, agricultural, biofuel, cosmetics and pharmacy. In this review, a summary will be given about these functional biomolecules and their producers of the marine yeasts as well as some related genes in order to draw an outline about necessity for further exploitation of marine yeasts and their bio-products for industrial applications.

Enhanced production of Ca²⁺-polymalate (PMA) with high molecular mass by Aureobasidium pullulans var. pullulans MCW

Background

Polymalic acid (PMA) has many applications in food and medical industries. However, so far it has not been commercially produced by fermentation. Therefore, it is very important how to develop an economical process for a large scale production of PMA by one step fermentation.

Results

After over 200 strains of Aureobasidium spp. isolated from the mangrove systems in the South of China were screened for their ability to produce Ca²⁺-polymalate (PMA), it was found that Aureobasidium pullulans var. pullulans MCW strain among them could produce high level of Ca²⁺-PMA. The medium containing only 140.0 g/L glucose, 65.0 g/L CaCO₃ and 7.5 g/L corn steep liquor was found to be the most suitable for Ca²⁺-PMA production. Then, 121.3 g/L of Ca²⁺-PMA was produced by A. pullulans var. pullulans MCW strain within 120 h at flask level. During 10-L batch fermentation, 152.52 g/L of Ca²⁺-PMA in the culture and 8.6 g/L of cell dry weight were obtained within 96 h, leaving 4.5 g/L of reducing sugar in the fermented medium. After purification of the Ca²⁺-PMA from the culture and acid hydrolysis of the purified Ca²⁺-PMA, HPLC analysis showed that A.pullulans var. pullulans MCW strain produced only one main component of Ca²⁺-PMA and the hydrolysate of the purified Ca²⁺-PMA was mainly composed of l-malic acid. Mw (the apparent molecular weight) of the purified PMA was 2.054 × 10⁵ (g/moL) and the purified PMA was estimated to be composed of 1784 l-malic acids.

Conclusions

It was found that A. pullulans var. pullulans MCW strain obtained in this study could yield 152.52 g/L of Ca²⁺-PMA within the short time, the produced PMA had the highest molecular weight and the medium for production of Ca²⁺- PMA by this yeast was very simple.

Genetic Modification of the Marine-Isolated Yeast Aureobasidium melanogenum P16 for Efficient Pullulan Production from Inulin

In this study, in order to directly and efficiently convert inulin into pullulan, the INU1 gene from Kluyveromyces maximum KM was integrated into the genomic DNA and actively expressed in the high pullulan producer Aureobasidium melanogenum P16 isolated from the mangrove ecosystem. After the ability to produce pullulan from inulin by different transformants was examined, it was found that the recombinant strain EI36, one of the transformants, produced 40.92 U/ml of inulinase activity while its wild-type strain P16 only yielded 7.57 U/ml of inulinase activity. Most (99.27 %) of the inulinase produced by the recombinant strain EI36 was secreted into the culture. During the 10-l fermentation, 70.57 ± 1.3 g/l of pullulan in the fermented medium was attained from inulin (138.0 g/l) within 108 h, high inulinase activity (42.03 U/ml) was produced within 60 h, the added inulin was actively hydrolyzed by the secreted inulinase, and most of the reducing sugars were used by the recombinant strain EI36. This confirmed that the genetically engineered yeast of A. melanogenum strain P16 was suitable for direct pullulan production from inulin.

Hydrocarbons, the advanced biofuels produced by different organisms, the evidence that alkanes in petroleum can be renewable

It is generally regarded that the petroleum cannot be renewable. However, in recent years, it has been found that many marine cyanobacteria, some eubacteria, engineered Escherichia coli, some endophytic fungi, engineered yeasts, some marine yeasts, plants, and insects can synthesize hydrocarbons with different carbon lengths. If the organisms, especially some native microorganisms and engineered bacteria and yeasts, can synthesize and secret a large amount of hydrocarbons within a short period, alkanes in the petroleum can be renewable. It has been documented that there are eight pathways for hydrocarbon biosynthesis in different organisms. Unfortunately, most of native microorganisms, engineered E. coli and engineered yeasts, only synthesize a small amount of intracellular and extracellular hydrocarbons. Recently, Aureobasidium pullulans var. melanogenum isolated from a mangrove ecosystem has been found to be able to synthesize and secret over 21.5 g/l long-chain hydrocarbons with a yield of 0.275 g/g glucose and a productivity of 0.193 g/l/h within 5 days. The yeast may have highly potential applications in alkane production.

Biosurfactins production by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens R3 and their antibacterial activity against multi-drug resistant pathogenic E. coli

In this work, the anti-Escherichia coli activity of the bioactive substances produced by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens R3 was examined. A new and cheap medium for production of the anti-E. coli substances which contained 20.0 g L(-1) soybean powder, 20.0 g L(-1) wheat flour, pH 6.0 was developed. A crude surfactant concentration of 0.48 mg mL(-1) was obtained after 27 h of 10-L fermentation, and the diameter of the clear zone on the plate seeded with the pathogenic E. coli 2# was 23.3 mm. A preliminary characterization suggested that the anti-E. coli substances produced by B. amyloliquefaciens R3 were the biosurfactins (F1, F2, F3, F4, and F5) with amino acids (GLLVDLL) and hydroxy fatty acids (of 12-15 carbons in length). It was found that all the strains of the pathogenic E. coli showed resistance to several different antibiotics, suggesting that they were the multi-drug resistance and all the strains of the pathogenic E. coli were sensitive to the biosurfactins, indicating that the biosurfactins produced by B. amyloliquefaciens R3 had a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity against the pathogenic E. coli with multi-drug resistant profiles. After the treatment with the purified biosurfactin (F1), the cell membrane of both the whole cells and protoplasts of the E. coli 2# was damaged and the whole cells of the bacterium were broken.

Heavy oils, principally long-chain n-alkanes secreted by Aureobasidium pullulans var. melanogenum strain P5 isolated from mangrove system

In this study, the yeast strain P5 isolated from a mangrove system was identified to be a strain of Aureobasidium pullulans var. melanogenum and was found to be able to secrete a large amount of heavy oil into medium. After optimization of the medium for heavy oil production and cell growth by the yeast strain P5, it was found that 120.0 g/l of glucose and 0.1 % corn steep liquor were the most suitable for heavy oil production. During 10-l fermentation, the yeast strain P5 produced 32.5 g/l of heavy oil and cell mass was 23.0 g/l within 168 h. The secreted heavy oils contained 66.15 % of the long-chain n-alkanes and 26.4 % of the fatty acids, whereas the compositions of the fatty acids in the yeast cells were only C16:0 (21.2 %), C16:1(2.8 %), C18:0 (2.9 %), C18:1 (39.8 %), and C18:2 (33.3 %). We think that the secreted heavy oils may be used as a new source of petroleum in marine environments. This is the first report of yeast cells which can secrete the long-chain n-alkanes.

Microbial biosynthesis and secretion of l-malic acid and its applications

l-Malic acid has many uses in food, beverage, pharmaceutical, chemical and medical industries. It can be produced by one-step fermentation, enzymatic transformation of fumaric acid to l-malate and acid hydrolysis of polymalic acid. However, the process for one-step fermentation is preferred as it has many advantages over any other process. The pathways of l-malic acid biosynthesis in microorganisms are partially clear and three metabolic pathways including non-oxidative pathway, oxidative pathway and glyoxylate cycle for the production of l-malic acid from glucose have been identified. Usually, high levels of l-malate are produced under the nitrogen starvation conditions, l-malate, as a calcium salt, is secreted from microbial cells and CaCO3 can play an important role in calcium malate biosynthesis and regulation. However, it is still unclear how it is secreted into the medium. To enhance l-malate biosynthesis and secretion by microbial cells, it is very important to study the mechanisms of l-malic acid biosynthesis and secretion at enzymatic and molecular levels.

Direct conversion of inulin into cell lipid by an inulinase-producing yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides 2F5

In this study, an inulinase-producing yeast strain 2F5 of Rhodosporidium toruloides was obtained. It was found that the yeast strain 2F5 could produce higher amount of oil from inulin and larger lipid bodies in its cells than any other yeast strains tested in this study. Under the optimal conditions, 62.14% (w/w) of lipid based on cell dry weight and 15.82g/l of the dry cell mass were produced from 6.0% (w/v) inulin at flask level, leaving 0.92% (w/v) of total sugar in the fermented medium. During 2-l fermentation, 70.36% (w/w) of lipid based on cell dry weight and 15.64g/l of the dry cell mass were produced from 6.0% (w/v) inulin. Over 99.09% of the fatty acids from the yeast strain 2F5 grown on inulin was C16:0, C18:0, C18:1 and C18:2, especially C18:1 (52.2%). The biodiesel prepared using the lipids produced by the yeast strain 2F5 could be burnt well.

Ethanol production from inulin and unsterilized meal of Jerusalem artichoke tubers by Saccharomyces sp. W0 expressing the endo-inulinase gene from Arthrobacter sp

After the endo-inulinase gene from Arthrobacter sp. was ligated the expression vectors pMIDSC31 and pMIRSC31, the endo-inulinase gene was inserted into the chromosomal DNA of Saccharomyces sp. W0. It was found that the inulinase activity of the recombinant yeast D5 in which the endo-inulinase gene was inserted into the delta sequence was higher than that of the recombinant yeast R1 in which the endo-inulinase gene was inserted into 18S rDNA sequence. More ethanol from inulin was produced by the recombinant yeast D5 than by the recombinant yeast R1. But Saccharomyces sp. W0 produced the lowest inulinase activity and concentration of ethanol. During the 3-l fermentation, the recombinant yeast D5 could produce 13.6 ml of ethanol per 100ml of the fermented medium from 30% inulin. The recombinant yeast D5 could actively convert the unsterilized meal of Jerusalem artichoke tubers, yielding 10.1 ml of ethanol per 100ml of the fermented medium.

Antibacterial activity of the lipopetides produced by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens M1 against multidrug-resistant Vibrio spp. isolated from diseased marine animals

In this work, the antibacterial activity of the lipopeptides produced by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens M1 was examined against multidrug-resistant Vibrio spp. and Shewanella aquimarina isolated from diseased marine animals. A new and cheap medium which contained 1.0 % soybean powder, 1.5 % wheat flour, pH 7.0 was developed. A crude surfactant concentration of 0.28 mg/ml was obtained after 18 h of 10-l fermentation and diameter of the clear zone on the plate seeded with Vibrio anguillarum was 34 mm. A preliminary characterization suggested that the lipopeptide N3 produced by B. amyloliquefaciens M1 was the main product and contained the surfactin isoforms with amino acids (GLLVDLL) and hydroxy fatty acids (of 12-15 carbons in length). The evaluation of the antibacterial activity of the lipopeptide N3 was carried out against S. aquimarina and nine species of Vibrio spp.. It was found that all the Vibrio spp. and S. aquimarina showed resistance to several different antibiotics, suggesting that they were the multidrug resistance. It was also indicated that all the Vibrio spp. strains and S. aquimarina were sensitive to the surfactin N3, in particular V. anguillarum. The results demonstrated that the lipopeptides produced by B. amyloliquefaciens M1 had a broad spectrum of action, including antibacterial activity against the pathogenic Vibrio spp. with multidrug-resistant profiles. After the treatment with the lipopeptide N3, the cell membrane of V. anguillarum was damaged, and the whole cells of the bacterium were disrupted.

High-level production of calcium malate from glucose by Penicillium sclerotiorum K302

In this study, after screening of 9 fungal strains for their ability to produce calcium malate, it was found that Penicillium sclerotiorum K302 among them could produce high-level of calcium malate. Under the optimal conditions, the titer of calcium malate in the supernatant was 88.6 g/l at flask level. During 10-l fermentation, the titer of 92.0 g/l, the yield of 0.88 g/g of glucose and the productivity of 1.23 g/l/h were reached within 72 h of the fermentation, demonstrating that the titer, yield and productivity of calcium malate by this strain were very high and the fermentation period was very short. After analysis of the partially purified product with HPLC, it was found that the main product was calcium malate. The results showed that P. sclerotiorum K302 obtained in this study was suitable for developing a novel one-step fermentation process for calcium malate production from glucose on large scale.

Both decrease in ACL1 gene expression and increase in ICL1 gene expression in marine-derived yeast Yarrowia lipolytica expressing INU1 gene enhance citric acid production from inulin

In this study, some of the ATP-citrate lyase genes (ACL1) were deleted and the copy number of the iso-citrate lyase gene (ICL1) was increased in the marine-derived yeast Yarrowia lipolytica SWJ-1b displaying the recombinant inulinase. It was found that lipid content and iso-citric acid in the transformant 30 obtained were greatly reduced and citric acid production was greatly enhanced. It was also found that the ACL1 gene expression and ATP-citrate lyase activity in the transformant 30 were declined and the ICL1 gene expression and iso-citrate lyase activity were promoted. During the 2-l fermentation, 84.0 g/l of citric acid and 1.8 g/l of iso-citric acid in the fermented medium were attained from 10.0 % of inulin by the transformant 30 within 214 h. The results showed that only 0.36 % of the residual reducing sugar and 1.0 % of the residual total sugar were left in the fermented medium, suggesting that 89.6 % of the total sugar was used for citric acid production and cell growth by the transformant 30.

Disruption of the MIG1 gene enhances lipid biosynthesis in the oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica ACA-DC 50109

In this study, the MIG1 gene in the oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica ACA-DC 50109 (the parent yeast) was disrupted and the disruptant M25 obtained could grow in yeast nitrogen base-N5000 medium without uracil or the medium with 2-deoxy-D-glucose. It was found that the cells of the disruptant M25 had more lipid bodies than those of its parent yeast. The disruptant M25 contained 48.7% (w/w) of oil based on its cell weight while the parent yeast only contained 36.0% (w/w) of oil. Transcript levels of many genes relevant to lipid biosynthesis in the disruptant M25 were enhanced compared to those of the same genes in the parent yeast. However, transcript level of the MFE1 gene, one of the genes relevant to fatty acid degradation was reduced in the disruptant M25 compared to that of the same gene in the parent yeast. Such changes in gene expression profile may cause the increased lipid biosynthesis in the disruptant M25. Biosynthesis of C18:1 fatty acid in the disruptant M25 was greatly enhanced compared to that in the parent yeast.

High level lipid production by a novel inulinase-producing yeast Pichia guilliermondii Pcla22

In this study, an inulinase-producing yeast strain Pcla22 of Pichia guilliermondii was identified. It was found that the yeast strain Pcla22 could produce higher amount of oil and more lipid bodies in its cells than any other yeast strains tested in this study. Under the optimal conditions, 60.6%(w/w) of lipid based on cell dry weight, 20.4 g/l of the dry cell mass, SCO produced per g of consumed sugar of 0.19 g/g and biomass produced per g of consumed sugar of 0.32 g/g were obtained in the culture of the yeast strain Pcla22 after 96 h of the fed-batch fermentation. Over 79.8% of the fatty acids from the yeast strain Pcla22 grown in the oil production medium containing inulin was C(16:0) and C(18:1), especially C(18:1) (57.9%). The biodiesel obtained from the produced lipid could be burnt well.

Molecular characterization and expression of microbial inulinase genes

Many genes encoding exo- and endo-inulinases from bacteria, yeasts and filamentous fungi have been cloned and characterized. All the inulinases have several conserved motifs, such as WMND(E)PNGL, RDP, EC(V)P, SVEVF, Q and FS(T), which play an important role in inulinase catalysis and substrate binding. However, the exo-inulinases produced by yeasts has no conserved motif SVEVF and the yeasts do not produce any endo-inulinase. Exo- and endo-inulinases found in different microorganisms cluster separately at distant positions from each other. Most of the cloned inulinase genes have been expressed in Yarrowia lipolytica, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Pichia pastoris, Klyuveromyces lactis and Escherichia coli, respectively. The recombinant inulinases produced and the engineered hosts using the cloned inulinase genes have many potential applications. Expression of most of the inulinase genes is repressed by glucose and fructose and induced by inulin and sucrose. However, the detailed mechanisms of the repression and induction are still unknown.

Disruption of the gene encoding β-1, 3-glucanase in marine-derived Williopsis saturnus WC91-2 enhances its killer toxin activity

As the β-1, 3-glucanase produced by the marine-derived Williopsis saturnus WC91-2 could inhibit the activity of the killer toxin produced by the same yeast, the WsEXG1 gene encoding exo-β-1, 3-glucanase in W. saturnus WC91-2 was disrupted. The disruptant WC91-2-2 only produced a trace amount of β-1, 3-glucanase but had much higher activity of killer toxin than W. saturnus WC91-2. After the disruption of the WsEXG1 gene, the expression of the gene was significantly decreased from 100% in the cells of W. saturnus WC91-2 to 27% in the cells of the disruptant WC91-2-2 while the expression of the killer toxin gene in W. saturnus WC91-2 and the disruptant WC91-2-2 was almost the same. During 2-l fermentation, the disruptant WC91-2-2 could produce the highest amount of killer toxin (the size of the inhibition zone was 22 ± 0.7 mm) within 36 h when the cell growth reached the middle of the log phase.