Metabolic engineering: Perspective of a chemical engineer

White biotechnology: State of the art strategies for the development of biocatalysts for biorefining

White biotechnology is a term that is now often used to describe the implementation of biotechnology in the industrial sphere. Biocatalysts (enzymes and microorganisms) are the key tools of white biotechnology, which is considered to be one of the key technological drivers for the growing bioeconomy. Biocatalysts are already present in sectors such as the chemical and agro-food industries, and are used to manufacture products as diverse as antibiotics, paper pulp, bread or advanced polymers. This review proposes an original and global overview of highly complementary fields of biotechnology at both enzyme and microorganism level. A certain number of state of the art approaches that are now being used to improve the industrial fitness of biocatalysts particularly focused on the biorefinery sector are presented. The first part deals with the technologies that underpin the development of industrial biocatalysts, notably the discovery of new enzymes and enzyme improvement using directed evolution techniques. The second part describes the toolbox available by the cell engineer to shape the metabolism of microorganisms. And finally the last part focuses on the 'omic' technologies that are vital for understanding and guide microbial engineering toward more efficient microbial biocatalysts. Altogether, these techniques and strategies will undoubtedly help to achieve the challenging task of developing consolidated bioprocessing (i.e. CBP) readily available for industrial purpose.

Mathematical modeling of isotope labeling experiments for metabolic flux analysis

Isotope labeling experiments (ILEs) offer a powerful methodology to perform metabolic flux analysis. However, the task of interpreting data from these experiments to evaluate flux values requires significant mathematical modeling skills. Toward this, this chapter provides background information and examples to enable the reader to (1) model metabolic networks, (2) simulate ILEs, and (3) understand the optimization and statistical methods commonly used for flux evaluation. A compartmentalized model of plant glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathway illustrates the reconstruction of a typical metabolic network, whereas a simpler example network illustrates the underlying metabolite and isotopomer balancing techniques. We also discuss the salient features of commonly used flux estimation software 13CFLUX2, Metran, NMR2Flux+, FiatFlux, and OpenFLUX. Furthermore, we briefly discuss methods to improve flux estimates. A graphical checklist at the end of the chapter provides a reader a quick reference to the mathematical modeling concepts and resources.

Metabolic flux estimation in mammalian cell cultures

Metabolic flux analysis with its ability to quantify cellular metabolism is an attractive tool for accelerating cell line selection, medium optimization, and other bioprocess development activities. In the stoichiometric flux estimation approach, unknown fluxes are determined using intracellular metabolite mass balance expressions and measured extracellular rates. The simplicity of the stoichiometric approach extends its application to most cell culture systems, and the steps involved in metabolic flux estimation by the stoichiometric method are presented in detail in this chapter. Specifically, overdetermined systems are analyzed since the extra measurements can be used to check for gross measurement errors and system consistency. Cell-specific rates comprise the input data for flux estimation, and the logistic modeling approach is described for robust-specific rate estimation in batch and fed-batch systems. A simplified network of mammalian cell metabolism is used to illustrate the flux estimation procedure, and the steps leading up the consistency index determination are presented. If gross measurement errors are detected, a technique for determining the source of gross measurement error is also described. A computer program that performs most of the calculation described in this chapter is presented, and references to flux estimation software are provided. The procedure presented in this chapter should enable rapid metabolic flux estimation in any mammalian cell bioreaction network by the stoichiometric approach.

Bioprocess systems engineering: transferring traditional process engineering principles to industrial biotechnology

The complexity of the regulatory network and the interactions that occur in the intracellular environment of microorganisms highlight the importance in developing tractable mechanistic models of cellular functions and systematic approaches for modelling biological systems. To this end, the existing process systems engineering approaches can serve as a vehicle for understanding, integrating and designing biological systems and processes. Here, we review the application of a holistic approach for the development of mathematical models of biological systems, from the initial conception of the model to its final application in model-based control and optimisation. We also discuss the use of mechanistic models that account for gene regulation, in an attempt to advance the empirical expressions traditionally used to describe micro-organism growth kinetics, and we highlight current and future challenges in mathematical biology. The modelling research framework discussed herein could prove beneficial for the design of optimal bioprocesses, employing rational and feasible approaches towards the efficient production of chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

Metabolic flexibility of d-ribose producer strain of Bacillus pumilus under environmental perturbations

The metabolic reaction rate vector is a bridge that links gene and protein expression alterations to the phenotypic endpoint. We present a simple approach for the estimation of flux distribution at key branch points in the metabolic network by using substrate uptake, metabolite secretion rate, and biomass growth rate for transketolase (tkt) deficient Bacillus pumilus ATCC 21951. We find that the glucose-6-phosphate (G6P) and pseudo catabolic/anabolic branch points are flexible in the d-ribose-producing tkt deficient strain of B. pumilus. The normalized flux through the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) varied from 1.5 to 86 % under different growth conditions, thereby enabling substantial extracellular accumulation of d-ribose under certain conditions. Interestingly, the flux through PPP was affected by the extracellular phosphate concentration and dissolved oxygen concentration. This metabolic flexibility may have been the underlying reason for this strain being selected from thousands of others in a screening for d-ribose producers conducted in the 1970s.

Computer programs for modeling mammalian cell batch and fed-batch cultures using logistic equations

A MATLAB(®) toolbox was developed for applying the logistic modeling approach to mammalian cell batch and fed-batch cultures. The programs in the toolbox encompass sensitivity analyses and simulations of the logistic equations in addition to cell specific rate estimation. The toolbox was first used to generate time courses of the sensitivity equations for characterizing the relationship between the logistic variable and the model parameters. Subsequently, the toolbox was used to describe CHO cell data from batch and fed-batch mammalian cell cultures. Cell density, product, glucose, lactate, glutamine, and ammonia data were analyzed for the batch culture while fed-batch analysis included cell density and product concentration. In all instances, experimental data were well described by the logistic equations and the resulting specific rate profiles were representative of the underlying cell physiology. The 6-variable batch culture data set was also used to compare the logistic specific rates with those from polynomial fitting and discrete derivative methods. The polynomial specific rates grossly misrepresented cell behavior in the initial and final stages of culture while those based on discrete derivatives had high variability due to computational artifacts. The utility of logistic specific rates to guide process development activities was demonstrated using specific protein productivity versus growth rate trajectories for the 3 cultures examined in this study. Overall, the computer programs developed in this study enable rapid and robust analysis of data from mammalian cell batch and fed-batch cultures which can help process development and metabolic flux estimation.

The regulation of the secondary metabolism of Streptomyces: new links and experimental advances

Streptomycetes and other actinobacteria are renowned as a rich source of natural products of clinical, agricultural and biotechnological value. They are being mined with renewed vigour, supported by genome sequencing efforts, which have revealed a coding capacity for secondary metabolites in vast excess of expectations that were based on the detection of antibiotic activities under standard laboratory conditions. Here we review what is known about the control of production of so-called secondary metabolites in streptomycetes, with an emphasis on examples where details of the underlying regulatory mechanisms are known. Intriguing links between nutritional regulators, primary and secondary metabolism and morphological development are discussed, and new data are included on the carbon control of development and antibiotic production, and on aspects of the regulation of the biosynthesis of microbial hormones. Given the tide of antibiotic resistance emerging in pathogens, this review is peppered with approaches that may expand the screening of streptomycetes for new antibiotics by awakening expression of cryptic antibiotic biosynthetic genes. New technologies are also described that have potential to greatly further our understanding of gene regulation in what is an area fertile for discovery and exploitation

Potential of biofilm-based biofuel production

Biofilm technology has been extensively applied to wastewater treatment, but its potential application in biofuel production has not been explored. Current technologies of converting lignocellulose materials to biofuel are hampered by costly processing steps in pretreatment, saccharification, and product recovery. Biofilms may have a potential to improve efficiency of these processes. Advantages of biofilms include concentration of cell-associated hydrolytic enzymes at the biofilm-substrate interface to increase reaction rates, a layered microbial structure in which multiple species may sequentially convert complex substrates and coferment hexose and pentose as hydrolysates diffuse outward, and the possibility of fungal-bacterial symbioses that allow simultaneous delignification and saccharification. More importantly, the confined microenvironment within a biofilm selectively rewards cells with better phenotypes conferred from intercellular gene or signal exchange, a process which is absent in suspended cultures. The immobilized property of biofilm, especially when affixed to a membrane, simplifies the separation of biofuel from its producer and promotes retention of biomass for continued reaction in the fermenter. Highly consolidated bioprocessing, including delignification, saccharification, fermentation, and separation in a single reactor, may be possible through the application of biofilm technology. To date, solid-state fermentation is the only biofuel process to which the advantages of biofilms have been applied, even though it has received limited attention and improvements. The transfer of biofilm technology from environmental engineering has the potential to spur great innovations in the optimization of biofuel production.

Flux quantification in central carbon metabolism of Catharanthus roseus hairy roots by 13C labeling and comprehensive bondomer balancing

Methods for accurate and efficient quantification of metabolic fluxes are desirable in plant metabolic engineering and systems biology. Toward this objective, we introduce the application of "bondomers", a computationally efficient and intuitively appealing alternative to the commonly used isotopomer concept, to flux evaluation in plants, by using Catharanthus roseus hairy roots as a model system. We cultured the hairy roots on (5% w/w U-(13)C, 95% w/w naturally abundant) sucrose, and acquired two-dimensional [(13)C, (1)H] and [(1)H, (1)H] NMR spectra of hydrolyzed aqueous extract from the hairy roots. Analysis of these spectra yielded a data set of 116 bondomers of beta-glucans and proteinogenic amino acids from the hairy roots. Fluxes were evaluated from the bondomer data by using comprehensive bondomer balancing. We identified most fluxes in a three-compartmental model of central carbon metabolism with good precision. We observed parallel pentose phosphate pathways in the cytosol and the plastid with significantly different fluxes. The anaplerotic fluxes between phosphoenolpyruvate and oxaloacetate in the cytosol and between malate and pyruvate in the mitochondrion were relatively high (60.1+/-2.5 mol per 100 mol sucrose uptake, or 22.5+/-0.5 mol per 100 mol mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase flux). The development of a comprehensive flux analysis tool for this plant hairy root system is expected to be valuable in assessing the metabolic impact of genetic or environmental changes, and this methodology can be extended to other plant systems.

The YfiD protein contributes to the pyruvate formate-lyase flux in an Escherichia coli arcA mutant strain

The product of yfiD gene is similar to pyruvate formate-lyase (PFL) activase and it has been reported to activate PFL by replacing the glycyl radical domain. To quantitate the effect of YfiD on the cell metabolism in microaerobic cultures, glucose-limited chemostat cultures were conducted with Escherichia coli yfiD mutant and yfiDarcA mutant strains. The microaerobic condition was controlled by purging the culture media with 2.5% O(2) in N(2). The intracellular metabolic flux distributions in these cultures were estimated based on C-13 labeling experiments. By comparing with the flux distributions in wild-type E. coli and the arcA mutant, it was shown that YfiD contributes to about 18% of the PFL flux in the arcA mutant, but it did not contribute to the PFL flux in wild-type E. coli. It was also shown that the cell used both PFL and pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) to supplement the acetyl-coenzyme A (AcCoA) pool under microaerobic conditions. The flux through PDH was about 22-30% of the total flux toward AcCoA in the wild-type, the yfiD mutant and yfiDarcA mutant strains. Relatively higher lactate production was seen in the yfiDarcA mutant than the other strains, which was due to the lower total flux through PFL and PDH toward AcCoA in this strain.

Challenges in engineering microbes for biofuels production

Economic and geopolitical factors (high oil prices, environmental concerns, and supply instability) have been prompting policy-makers to put added emphasis on renewable energy sources. For the scientific community, recent advances, embodied in new insights into basic biology and technology that can be applied to metabolic engineering, are generating considerable excitement. There is justified optimism that the full potential of biofuel production from cellulosic biomass will be obtainable in the next 10 to 15 years.

Quantification of compartmented metabolic fluxes in developing soybean embryos by employing biosynthetically directed fractional (13)C labeling, two-dimensional [(13)C, (1)H] nuclear magnetic resonance, and comprehensive isotopomer balancing

Metabolic flux quantification in plants is instrumental in the detailed understanding of metabolism but is difficult to perform on a systemic level. Toward this aim, we report the development and application of a computer-aided metabolic flux analysis tool that enables the concurrent evaluation of fluxes in several primary metabolic pathways. Labeling experiments were performed by feeding a mixture of U-(13)C Suc, naturally abundant Suc, and Gln to developing soybean (Glycine max) embryos. Two-dimensional [(13)C, (1)H] NMR spectra of seed storage protein and starch hydrolysates were acquired and yielded a labeling data set consisting of 155 (13)C isotopomer abundances. We developed a computer program to automatically calculate fluxes from this data. This program accepts a user-defined metabolic network model and incorporates recent mathematical advances toward accurate and efficient flux evaluation. Fluxes were calculated and statistical analysis was performed to obtain sds. A high flux was found through the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway (19.99 +/- 4.39 micromol d(-1) cotyledon(-1), or 104.2 carbon mol +/- 23.0 carbon mol per 100 carbon mol of Suc uptake). Separate transketolase and transaldolase fluxes could be distinguished in the plastid and the cytosol, and those in the plastid were found to be at least 6-fold higher. The backflux from triose to hexose phosphate was also found to be substantial in the plastid (21.72 +/- 5.00 micromol d(-1) cotyledon(-1), or 113.2 carbon mol +/-26.0 carbon mol per 100 carbon mol of Suc uptake). Forward and backward directions of anaplerotic fluxes could be distinguished. The glyoxylate shunt flux was found to be negligible. Such a generic flux analysis tool can serve as a quantitative tool for metabolic studies and phenotype comparisons and can be extended to other plant systems.

Metabolic flux analysis of halogenated monoterpene biosynthesis in microplantlets of the macrophytic red alga Ochtodes secundiramea

The bioprocess engineering of marine macroalgae (i.e. seaweeds) for the production of secondary metabolites is an emerging area of marine biotechnology. One novel system is the biosynthesis of halogenated monoterpenes by "microplantlet" suspension cultures derived from the red alga Ochtodes secundiramea. This biosynthetic platform has three principal components: elaboration of myrcene from geranyl diphosphate (GPP); bromonium-ion promoted halogenation of myrcene to 10E-bromomyrcene, 3-chloro-10E-bromo-alpha-myrcene, and 3,10E-dibromomyrcene; bromonium-ion promoted cyclization of myrcene to Apakaochtodene B. In this study, a metabolic flux analysis on halogenated monoterpene biosynthesis was performed. To facilitate this effort, a "bromine free" cell line of O. secundiramea microplantlets was developed where biohalogenation was temporarily disabled but myrcene biosynthesis was still enabled. This cell line was cultivated within an airlift photobioreactor under nutrient medium perfusion. Halogenated monoterpene biosynthesis was "turned on" by coordinated addition of bromide and vanadate (a co-factor for vanadium bromoperoxidase) to the perfusion medium. From these experiments, the effects of bromide and vanadate delivery on the metabolic flux of each metabolite were determined. Bromination of myrcene at its Delta(6-10) olefinic bond was the dominant branch of the bioreaction network, whereas chlorination steps in the pathway were "weakly rigid". This study represents the first application of metabolic engineering principles to the analysis and manipulation of secondary metabolism in macrophytic marine organisms.