The isolation and nucleotide sequence of the pyruvate decarboxylase gene from Kluyveromyces marxianus

The yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus and its biotechnological potential

Strains belonging to the yeast species Kluyveromyces marxianus have been isolated from a great variety of habitats, which results in a high metabolic diversity and a substantial degree of intraspecific polymorphism. As a consequence, several different biotechnological applications have been investigated with this yeast: production of enzymes (beta-galactosidase, beta-glucosidase, inulinase, and polygalacturonases, among others), of single-cell protein, of aroma compounds, and of ethanol (including high-temperature and simultaneous saccharification-fermentation processes); reduction of lactose content in food products; production of bioingredients from cheese-whey; bioremediation; as an anticholesterolemic agent; and as a host for heterologous protein production. Compared to its congener and model organism, Kluyveromyces lactis, the accumulated knowledge on K. marxianus is much smaller and spread over a number of different strains. Although there is no publicly available genome sequence for this species, 20% of the CBS 712 strain genome was randomly sequenced (Llorente et al. in FEBS Lett 487:71-75, 2000). In spite of these facts, K. marxianus can envisage a great biotechnological future because of some of its qualities, such as a broad substrate spectrum, thermotolerance, high growth rates, and less tendency to ferment when exposed to sugar excess, when compared to K. lactis. To increase our knowledge on the biology of this species and to enable the potential applications to be converted into industrial practice, a more systematic approach, including the careful choice of (a) reference strain(s) by the scientific community, would certainly be of great value.

Genomic exploration of the hemiascomycetous yeasts: 12. Kluyveromyces marxianus var. marxianus

As part of the comparative genomics project 'GENOLEVURES', we studied the Kluyveromyces marxianus var. marxianus strain CBS712 using a partial random sequencing strategy. With a 0.2 x genome equivalent coverage, we identified ca. 1300 novel genes encoding proteins, some containing spliceosomal introns with consensus splice sites identical to those of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, 28 tRNA genes, the whole rDNA repeat, and retrotransposons of the Ty1/2 family of S. cerevisiae with diverged Long Terminal Repeats. Functional classification of the K. marxianus genes, as well as the analysis of the paralogous gene families revealed few differences with respect to S. cerevisiae. Only 42 K. marxianus identified genes are without detectable homolog in the baker's yeast. However, we identified several genetic rearrangements between these two yeast species.

Application of alpha-keto acid decarboxylases in biotransformations

The advantages of using enzymes in the synthesis of organic compounds relate to their versatility, high reaction rates, and regio- and stereospecificity and the relatively mild reaction conditions involved. Stereospecificity is especially important in the synthesis of bioactive molecules, as only one of the enantiomeric forms usually manifests bioactivity, whereas the other is often toxic. Although enzymes which catalyze asymmetric carbon-carbon bond formation are of great importance in bioorganic chemistry, only a few examples are known for thiamin diphosphate (ThDP)-dependent enzymes, whereas transformations using e.g. aldolases, lipases and lyases are well documented already. The present review surveys recent work on the application of pyruvate decarboxylase and benzoylformate decarboxylase in organic synthesis. These enzymes catalyze the synthesis of chiral alpha-hydroxy ketones which are versatile building blocks for organic and pharmaceutical chemistry. Besides the substrate spectra of both enzymes amino acid residues relevant for substrate specificity and enantioselectivity of pyruvate decarboxylase have been investigated by site-directed mutagenesis.

Structure and properties of pyruvate decarboxylase and site-directed mutagenesis of the Zymomonas mobilis enzyme

Pyruvate decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.1) is a thiamin diphosphate-dependent enzyme that catalyzes the penultimate step in alcohol fermentation. The enzyme is widely distributed in plants and fungi but is rare in prokaryotes and absent in animals. Here we review its structure and properties with particular emphasis on how site-directed mutagenesis of the enzyme from Zymomonas mobilis has assisted us to understand the function of critical residues.

Cloning and characterization of two pyruvate decarboxylase genes from Pichia stipitis CBS 6054

In Pichia stipitis, fermentative and pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) activities increase with diminished oxygen rather than in response to fermentable sugars. To better characterize PDC expression and regulation, two genes for PDC (PsPDC1 and PsPDC2) were cloned and sequenced from P. stipitis CBS 6054. Aside from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, from which three PDC genes have been characterized, P. stipitis is the only organism from which multiple genes for PDC have been identified and characterized. PsPDC1 and PsPDC2 have diverged almost as far from one another as they have from the next most closely related known yeast gene. PsPDC1 contains an open reading frame of 1,791 nucleotides encoding 597 amino acids. PsPDC2 contains a reading frame of 1,710 nucleotides encoding 570 amino acids. An 81-nucleotide segment in the middle of the beta domain of PsPDC1 codes for a unique segment of 27 amino acids, which may play a role in allosteric regulation. The 5' regions of both P. stipitis genes include two putative TATA elements that make them similar to the PDC genes from S. cerevisiae, Kluyveromyces marxianus, and Hanseniaspora uvarum.

Pyruvate decarboxylase from Pisum sativum. Properties, nucleotide and amino acid sequences

To study the molecular structure and function of pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) from plants the protein was isolated from pea seeds and partially characterised. The active enzyme which occurs in the form of higher oligomers consists of two different subunits appearing in SDS/PAGE and mass spectroscopy experiments. For further experiments, like X-ray crystallography, it was necessary to elucidate the protein sequence. Partial cDNA clones encoding pyruvate decarboxylase from seeds of Pisum sativum cv. Miko have been obtained by means of polymerase chain reaction techniques. The first sequences were found using degenerate oligonucleotide primers designated according to conserved amino acid sequences of known pyruvate decarboxylases. The missing parts of one cDNA were amplified applying the 3'- and 5'-rapid amplification of cDNA ends systems. The amino acid sequence deduced from the entire cDNA sequence displays strong similarity to pyruvate decarboxylases from other organisms, especially from plants. A molecular mass of 64 kDa was calculated for this protein correlating with estimations for the smaller subunit of the oligomeric enzyme. The PCR experiments led to at least three different clones representing the middle part of the PDC cDNA indicating the existence of three isozymes. Two of these isoforms could be confirmed on the protein level by sequencing tryptic peptides. Only anaerobically treated roots showed a positive signal for PDC mRNA in Northern analysis although the cDNA from imbibed seeds was successfully used for PCR.

The nucleotide sequence and initial characterization of pyruvate decarboxylase from the yeast Hanseniaspora uvarum

We have isolated a pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) gene from the yeast Hanseniaspora uvarum using the Saccharomyces cerevisiae PDC1 gene as a probe. The nucleotide sequence of this gene was determined and compared to PDC genes from yeast and other organisms. The H. uvarum PDC gene is more than 70% identical to the S. cerevisiae PDC isozymes and possesses a putative thiamine diphosphate binding site. The PDC enzyme was purified and partially characterized. The H. uvarum PDC was very similar to other known PDCs; the Km for pyruvate was 0.75 mM, and the enzyme is a homotetramer with subunits of M(r) = 57,000.