Die Synthese von Poly-?-hydroxybutters�ure durch Hydrogenomonas H 16: Die zu ?-Hydroxybutyryl-Coenzym A f�hrenden Reaktionsschritte

Implications of various phosphoenolpyruvate-carbohydrate phosphotransferase system mutations on glycerol utilization and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) accumulation in Ralstonia eutropha H16

The enhanced global biodiesel production is also yielding increased quantities of glycerol as main coproduct. An effective application of glycerol, for example, as low-cost substrate for microbial growth in industrial fermentation processes to specific products will reduce the production costs for biodiesel. Our study focuses on the utilization of glycerol as a cheap carbon source during cultivation of the thermoplastic producing bacterium Ralstonia eutropha H16, and on the investigation of carbohydrate transport proteins involved herein. Seven open reading frames were identified in the genome of strain H16 to encode for putative proteins of the phosphoenolpyruvate-carbohydrate phosphotransferase system (PEP-PTS). Although the core components of PEP-PTS, enzyme I (ptsI) and histidine phosphocarrier protein (ptsH), are available in strain H16, a complete PTS-mediated carbohydrate transport is lacking. Growth experiments employing several PEP-PTS mutants indicate that the putative ptsMHI operon, comprising ptsM (a fructose-specific EIIA component of PTS), ptsH, and ptsI, is responsible for limited cell growth and reduced PHB accumulation (53%, w/w, less PHB than the wild type) of this strain in media containing glycerol as a sole carbon source. Otherwise, the deletion of gene H16_A0384 (ptsN, nitrogen regulatory EIIA component of PTS) seemed to largely compensate the effect of the deleted ptsMHI operon (49%, w/w, PHB). The involvement of the PTS homologous proteins on the utilization of the non-PTS sugar alcohol glycerol and its effect on cell growth as well as PHB and carbon metabolism of R. eutropha will be discussed.

Effects of homologous phosphoenolpyruvate-carbohydrate phosphotransferase system proteins on carbohydrate uptake and poly(3-Hydroxybutyrate) accumulation in Ralstonia eutropha H16

Seven gene loci encoding putative proteins of the phosphoenolpyruvate-carbohydrate phosphotransferase system (PEP-PTS) were identified in the genome of Ralstonia eutropha H16 by in silico analysis. Except the N-acetylglucosamine-specific PEP-PTS, an additional complete PEP-PTS is lacking in strain H16. Based on these findings, we generated single and multiple deletion mutants defective mainly in the PEP-PTS genes to investigate their influence on carbon source utilization, growth behavior, and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) accumulation. As supposed, the H16 ΔfrcACB and H16 ΔnagFEC mutants exhibited no growth when cultivated on fructose and N-acetylglucosamine, respectively. Furthermore, a transposon mutant with a ptsM-ptsH insertion site did not grow on both carbon sources. The observed phenotype was not complemented, suggesting that it results from an interaction of genes or a polar effect caused by the Tn5::mob insertion. ptsM, ptsH, and ptsI single, double, and triple mutants stored much less PHB than the wild type (about 10 to 39% [wt/wt] of cell dry weight) and caused reduced PHB production in mutants lacking the H16_A2203, H16_A0384, frcACB, or nagFEC genes. In contrast, mutant H16 ΔH16_A0384 accumulated 11.5% (wt/wt) more PHB than the wild type when grown on gluconate and suppressed partially the negative effect of the ptsMHI deletion on PHB synthesis. Based on our experimental data, we discussed whether the PEP-PTS homologous proteins in R. eutropha H16 are exclusively involved in the complex sugar transport system or whether they are also involved in cellular regulatory functions of carbon and PHB metabolism.

Cloning of the Alcaligenes eutrophus genes for synthesis of poly-beta-hydroxybutyric acid (PHB) and synthesis of PHB in Escherichia coli

Eight mutants of Alcaligenes eutrophus defective in the intracellular accumulation of poly-beta-hydroxybutyric acid (PHB) were isolated after transposon Tn5 mutagenesis with the suicide vector pSUP5011. EcoRI fragments which harbor Tn5-mob were isolated from pHC79 cosmid gene banks. One of them, PPT1, was used as a probe to detect the intact 12.5-kilobase-pair EcoRI fragment PP1 in a lambda L47 gene bank of A. eutrophus genomic DNA. In six of these mutants (PSI, API, GPI, GPIV, GPV, and GPVI) the insertion of Tn5-mob was physically mapped within a region of approximately 1.2 kilobase pairs in PP1; in mutant API, cointegration of vector DNA has occurred. In two other mutants (GPII and GPIII), most probably only the insertion element had inserted into PP1. All PHB-negative mutants were completely impaired in the formation of active PHB synthase, which was measured by a radiometric assay. In addition, activities of beta-ketothiolase and of NADPH-dependent acetoacetyl coenzyme A (acetoacetyl-CoA) reductase were diminished, whereas the activity of NADPH-dependent acetoacetyl-CoA reductase was unaffected. In all PHB-negative mutants the ability to accumulate PHB was restored upon complementation in trans with PP1. The PHB-synthetic pathway of A. eutrophus was heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli. Recombinant strains of E. coli JM83 and K-12, which harbor pUC9-1::PP1, pSUP202::PP1, or pVK101::PP1, accumulated PHB up to 30% of the cellular dry weight. Crude extracts of these cells had significant activities of the enzymes PHB synthase, beta-ketothiolase, and NADPH-dependent acetoacetyl-CoA reductase. Therefore, PP1 most probably encodes all three genes of the PHB-synthetic pathway in A. eutrophus. In addition to PHB-negative mutants, we isolated mutants which accumulate PHB at a much lower rate than the wild type does. These PHB-leaky mutants exhibited activities of all three PHB-synthetic enzymes; Tn5-mob had not inserted into PP1, and the phenotype of the wild type could not be restored with fragment PP1. The rationale for this mutant type remains unknown.

Changes in fungi with age. II. Respiration and respiratory enzymes of Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotium bataticola

Van Etten, James L. (University of Illinois, Urbana), H. Peter Molitoris, and David Gottlieb. Changes in fungi with age. II. Respiration and respiratory enzymes of Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotium bataticola. J. Bacteriol. 91:169-175. 1966.-The rate of respiration of Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotium bataticola decreased with age. This decrease in respiratory rate might be produced by a decrease in the specific activity of one or more enzymes involved in carbohydrate metabolism. Specific activities in cell-free extracts were measured for most of the enzymes in the hexose monophosphate shunt, Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas pathway, tricarboxylic acid cycle, and terminal electron-transport system. In addition, glucose oxidase, isocitritase, and malic enzyme were measured. In R. solani, increases in activity with age occurred for hexokinase, alpha-glycerolphosphate dehydrogenase, malic dehydrogenase, and cytochrome oxidase. Decreases occurred for phosphohexokinase, aconitase, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-specific isocitric dehydrogenase, reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide oxidase, and at least one of the enzymes between 3-phosphoglycerate and pyruvate. In S. bataticola, increases in activity with age were observed for phosphohexokinase, pyruvic dehydrogenase, fumarase, malic dehydrogenase, and malic enzyme, whereas none of the enzymes decreased. The specific activities of the remaining enzymes did not change with age in either fungus.