Enhanced degradation of caffeine and caffeine demethylase production by Pseudomonas sp. in bioreactors under fed-batch mode

Microbial metabolism of caffeine and potential applications in bioremediation

With increasing global consumption of caffeine-rich products, such as coffee, tea, and energy drinks, there is also an increase in urban and processing waste full of residual caffeine with limited disposal options. This waste caffeine has been found to leach into the surrounding environment where it poses a threat to microorganisms, insects, small animals, and entire ecosystems. Growing interest in harnessing this environmental contaminant has led to the discovery of 79 bacterial strains, eight yeast strains, and 32 fungal strains capable of metabolizing caffeine by N-demethylation and/or C-8 oxidation. Recently observed promiscuity of caffeine-degrading enzymes in vivo has opened up the possibility of engineering bacterial strains capable of producing a wide variety of caffeine derivatives from a renewable resource. These engineered strains can be used to reduce the negative environmental impact of leached caffeine-rich waste through bioremediation efforts supplemented by our increasing understanding of new techniques such as cell immobilization. Here, we compile all of the known caffeine-degrading microbial strains, discuss their metabolism and related enzymology, and investigate their potential application in bioremediation.

Mixed culture biocatalytic production of the high-value biochemical 7-methylxanthine

BACKGROUND

7-Methylxanthine, a derivative of caffeine noted for its lack of toxicity and ability to treat and even prevent myopia progression, is a high-value biochemical with limited natural availability. Attempts to produce 7-methylxanthine through purely chemical methods of synthesis are faced with complicated chemical processes and/or the requirement of a variety of hazardous chemicals, resulting in low yields and racemic mixtures of products. In recent years, we have developed engineered microbial cells to produce several methylxanthines, including 3-methylxanthine, theobromine, and paraxanthine. The purpose of this study is to establish a more efficient biosynthetic process for the production of 7-methylxanthine from caffeine.

RESULTS

Here, we describe the use of a mixed-culture system composed of Escherichia coli strains engineered as caffeine and theobromine "specialist" cells. Optimal reaction conditions for the maximal conversion of caffeine to 7-methylxanthine were determined to be equal concentrations of caffeine and theobromine specialist cells at an optical density (600 nm) of 50 reacted with 2.5 mM caffeine for 5 h. When scaled-up to 560 mL, the simple biocatalytic reaction produced 183.81 mg 7-methylxanthine from 238.38 mg caffeine under ambient conditions, an 85.6% molar conversion. Following HPLC purification and solvent evaporation, 153.3 mg of dried 7-methylxanthine powder was collected, resulting in an 83.4% product recovery.

CONCLUSION

We present the first report of a biocatalytic process designed specifically for the production and purification of the high-value biochemical 7-methylxanthine from caffeine using a mixed culture of E. coli strains. This process constitutes the most efficient method for the production of 7-methylxanthine from caffeine to date.

Use of coffee pulp and sorghum mixtures in the production of n-demethylases by solid-state fermentation

One of the compounds generally found in the residues of the coffee and tea industries is caffeine, which in high concentration is toxic to various organisms, making it necessary to find an adequate treatment for these residues. Biotechnological treatments using enzymes can be an alternative to valorize and detoxify these residues. However, mixtures of substrates have not been evaluated to improve production. Therefore, the present investigation aimed to study the effect of different proportions of sorghum-coffee pulp mixtures as a substrate in solid-state fermentation with the fungus Rhizopus oryzae (MUCL 28168) for the production of n-demethylases. To evaluate the synergistic and antagonistic effects of coffee pulp and sorghum mixtures on n-demethylase enzyme production, a simplex-centroid design, using four levels: 1 (100%), 1/4 (25%), 1/2 (50%), 3/4 (75%). Results obtained were favorable, achieving a caffeine demethylase activity of 18.762 U/g, and reducing the caffeine content in the coffee pulp.

Identification and characterization of oxidoreductase component (NdmD) of methylxanthine oxygenase system in Pseudomonas sp. NCIM 5235

Pseudomonas sp. NCIM 5235 is a caffeine-degrading bacterial strain that metabolizes caffeine by sequential demethylation using methylxanthine demethylases. These enzymes belong to the class of two-component Rieske oxygenases and require an oxidoreductase, NdmD, for efficient catalysis. NdmD in Pseudomonas sp. has a unique domain fusion in its N-terminal that is not observed in any other Rieske oxygenase reductases reported so far. In this report, a ~ 1.7 kb ndmD gene from the gDNA of Pseudomonas sp. has been isolated and has been cloned in a pET28a expression vector. Soluble NdmD was over-expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 cells and purified by Ni²⁺ NTA chromatography. Monomeric molecular mass of the protein was found to be ~ 65 kDa and optimal activity was observed at 35 °C and pH 8.0. It showed broad substrate specificity with highest K_cat/k_m of 490.8 ± 17.7 towards cytochrome c. To determine the role of N-terminal Rieske domain in its reductase activity, two deletion constructs Δ114NdmD and Δ250NdmD were made. Cytochrome c reductase (ccr) activity of the NdmD constructs and demethylase activity of NdmA in the presence of NdmD constructs showed that there is no significant difference in the catalytic activity of NdmD upon deletion of its N-terminal Rieske domain. However, there might be some functional and evolutionary significance for the fusion of Rieske domain to NdmD and we hypothesize that this domain fusion is an intermediate phase of evolution towards the development of a more efficient enzyme system for xenobiotic degradation.

Physiology, biochemistry and possible applications of microbial caffeine degradation

Caffeine, a purine alkaloid is a constituent of widely consumed beverages. The scientific evidence which has proved the harm of this alkaloid has paved the way for innumerable research in the area of caffeine degradation. In addition to this, the fact that the by-products of the coffee and tea industry pollute the environment has called for the need of decaffeinating coffee and tea industry's by-products. Though physical and chemical methods for decaffeination are available, the lack of specificity for removal of caffeine in these techniques and their non-eco-friendly nature has opened the area of microbial and enzymatic degradation of caffeine. Another important application of microbial caffeine degradation apart from its advantages like specificity, eco-friendliness and cost-effectiveness is the fact that this process will enable the production of industrially and medically useful components of the caffeine degradation pathway like theobromine and theophylline. This is a comprehensive review which mainly focuses on caffeine degradation, large-scale degradation of the same and its applications in the industrial world.