Enhanced aldehyde dehydrogenase activity by regenerating NAD+ in Klebsiella pneumoniae and implications for the glycerol dissimilation pathways

Engineering Bacillus subtilis for production of 3-hydroxypropanoic acid

3-Hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) is a valuable platform chemical that is used as a precursor for several higher value-added chemical products. There is an increased interest in development of cell factories as a means for the synthesis of 3-HP and various other platform chemicals. For more than a decade, concentrated effort has been invested by the scientific community towards developing bio-based approaches for the production of 3-HP using primarily Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae as production hosts. These hosts however might not be optimal for applications in e.g., food industry due primarily to endotoxin production and the pathogenic origin of particularly the K. pneumoniae. We have previously demonstrated that the generally recognized as safe organism Bacillus subtilis can be engineered to produce 3-HP using glycerol, an abundant by-product of the biodiesel industry, as substrate. For commercial exploitation, there is a need to substantially increase the titer. In the present study, we optimized the bioprocess conditions and further engineered the B. subtilis 3-HP production strain. Thereby, using glycerol as substrate, we were able to improve 3-HP production in a 1-L bioreactor to a final titer of 22.9 g/L 3-HP.

Biocatalytic gateway to convert glycerol into 3-hydroxypropionic acid in waste-based biorefineries: Fundamentals, limitations, and potential research strategies

Microbial conversion of bioenergy-derived waste glycerol into value-added chemicals has emerged as an important bioprocessing technology due to its eco-friendliness, feasible technoeconomics, and potential to provide sustainability in biodiesel and bioethanol production. Glycerol is an abundant liquid waste from bioenergy plants with a projected volume of 6 million tons by 2025, accounting for about 10% of biodiesel and 2.5% of bioethanol yields. 3-Hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) is a major product of glycerol bioconversion, which is the third largest biobased platform compound with expected market size and value of 3.6 million tons/year and USD 10 billion/year, respectively. Despite these biorefinery values, 3-HP biosynthesis from glycerol is still at an immature stage of commercial exploitation. The main challenges behind this immaturity are the toxic effects of 3-HPA on cells, the distribution of carbon flux to undesirable pathways, low tolerance of cells to glycerol and 3-HP, co-factor dependence of enzymes, low enzyme activity and stability, and the problems of substrate inhibition and specificity of enzymes. To address these challenges, it is necessary to understand the fundamentals of glycerol bioconversion and 3-HP production in terms of metabolic pathways, related enzymes, cell factories, midstream process configurations, and downstream 3-HP recovery, as discussed in this review critically and comprehensively. It is equally important to know the current challenges and limitations in 3-HP production, which are discussed in detail along with recent research efforts and remaining gaps. Finally, possible research strategies are outlined considering the recent technological advances in microbial biosynthesis, aiming to attract further research efforts to achieve a sustainable and industrially exploitable 3-HP production technology. By discussing the use of advanced tools and strategies to overcome the existing challenges in 3-HP biosynthesis, this review will attract researchers from many other similar biosynthesis technologies and provide a common gateway for their further development.

Recent Advances, Challenges and Metabolic Engineering Strategies in the Biosynthesis of 3-Hydroxypropionic Acid

As an attractive and valuable platform chemical, 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) can be used to produce a variety of industrially important commodity chemicals and biodegradable polymers. Moreover, the biosynthesis of 3-HP has drawn much attention in recent years due to its sustainability and environmental friendliness. Here, we focus on recent advances, challenges and metabolic engineering strategies in the biosynthesis of 3-HP. While glucose and glycerol are major carbon sources for its production of 3-HP via microbial fermentation, other carbon sources have also been explored. To increase yield and titer, synthetic biology and metabolic engineering strategies have been explored, including modifying pathway enzymes, eliminating flux blockages due to byproduct synthesis, eliminating toxic byproducts, and optimizing via genome-scale models. This review also provides insights on future directions for 3-HP biosynthesis. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Structure Based Protein Engineering of Aldehyde Dehydrogenase from Azospirillum brasilense to Enhance Enzyme Activity against Unnatural 3-Hydroxypropionaldehyde

3-Hydroxypropionic acid (3HP) is a platform chemical and can be converted into other valuable C3-based chemicals. Because a large amount of glycerol is produced as a by-product in the biodiesel industry, glycerol is an attractive carbon source in the biological production of 3HP. Although eight 3HP-producing aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) have been reported so far, the low conversion rate from 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde (3HPA) to 3HP using these enzymes is still a bottleneck for the production of 3HP. In this study, we elucidated the substrate binding modes of the eight 3HP-producing ALDHs through bioinformatic and structural analysis of these enzymes and selected protein engineering targets for developing enzymes with enhanced enzymatic activity against 3HPA. Among ten AbKGSADH variants we tested, three variants with replacement at the Arg281 site of AbKGSADH showed enhanced enzymatic activities. In particular, the AbKGSADH^R281Y variant exhibited improved catalytic efficiency by 2.5-fold compared with the wild type.

Intensifying niacin-based biosynthesis of NAD+ to enhance 3-hydroxypropionic acid production in Klebsiella pneumoniae

OBJECTIVE

Glycerol-based biosynthesis of 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) in Klebsiella pneumoniae involves two reactions: glycerol conversion to 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde (3-HPA) by glycerol dehydratase, and 3-HPA conversion to 3-HP by aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). The ALDH catalysis consumes a lot of cofactor nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺), which constrains 3-HP production.

RESULTS

Here we report that intensifying niacin-based biosynthesis of NAD⁺ can substantially enhance 3-HP production. We constructed tac promoter-driven NAD⁺ synthesis pathway in K. pneumoniae. The strain only overexpressing nicotinate phosphoribosyltransferase (PncB) showed 14.24% increase in the production of NAD⁺ relative to the stain harboring an empty vector. When PncB was coexpressed with PuuC (one of native ALDHs), the recombinant strain exhibited increased ALDH activity but slightly reduced 3-HP production due to plasmid burden. When 30 mg niacin l^-1 (a substrate for biosynthesis of NAD⁺) was added into shake flask, the strain produced 0.55 g 3-HP l^-1, which was 2.75 times that of the control. In a 5-L bioreactor, replenishment of niacin led to 36.43% increase of 3-HP production.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicated that intensifying niacin-based biosynthesis of NAD⁺ boosts 3-HP production.

Production of 3-Hydroxypropanoic Acid From Glycerol by Metabolically Engineered Bacteria

3-hydroxypropanoic acid (3-HP) is a valuable platform chemical with a high demand in the global market. 3-HP can be produced from various renewable resources. It is used as a precursor in industrial production of a number of chemicals, such as acrylic acid and its many derivatives. In its polymerized form, 3-HP can be used in bioplastic production. Several microbes naturally possess the biosynthetic pathways for production of 3-HP, and a number of these pathways have been introduced in some widely used cell factories, such as Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Latest advances in the field of metabolic engineering and synthetic biology have led to more efficient methods for bio-production of 3-HP. These include new approaches for introducing heterologous pathways, precise control of gene expression, rational enzyme engineering, redirecting the carbon flux based on in silico predictions using genome scale metabolic models, as well as optimizing fermentation conditions. Despite the fact that the production of 3-HP has been extensively explored in established industrially relevant cell factories, the current production processes have not yet reached the levels required for industrial exploitation. In this review, we explore the state of the art in 3-HP bio-production, comparing the yields and titers achieved in different microbial cell factories and we discuss possible methodologies that could make the final step toward industrially relevant cell factories.

Expression of the TetA gene encoding TetA efflux protein in E. coli contributes to its increased bacterial resistance toward berberine

Berberine (BBR) is a traditional Chinese medicine in various applications due to its antibacterial effect. Here we investigated the increased bacterial resistance of E. coli toward BBR. The median effective concentration (EC₅₀) of BBR against E. coli was increased when TetA efflux protein (TEP) was introduced. Sixty-five percent of the intracellular BBR was expelled and molecular docking demonstrated the intensive interaction of TEP to BBR. Finally, the combined antibacterial experiment identified that BBR acted as an inhibitor of TEP in detoxification of tetracycline. TEP is the first discovered protein that was related to the bacterial susceptibility to BBR.

Structural insights into the production of 3-hydroxypropionic acid by aldehyde dehydrogenase from Azospirillum brasilense

3-Hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) is an important platform chemical to be converted to acrylic acid and acrylamide. Aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), an enzyme that catalyzes the reaction of 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde (3-HPA) to 3-HP, determines 3-HP production rate during the conversion of glycerol to 3-HP. To elucidate molecular mechanism of 3-HP production, we determined the first crystal structure of a 3-HP producing ALDH, α-ketoglutarate-semialdehyde dehydrogenase from Azospirillum basilensis (AbKGSADH), in its apo-form and in complex with NAD⁺. Although showing an overall structure similar to other ALDHs, the AbKGSADH enzyme had an optimal substrate binding site for accepting 3-HPA as a substrate. Molecular docking simulation of 3-HPA into the AbKGSADH structure revealed that the residues Asn159, Gln160 and Arg163 stabilize the aldehyde- and the hydroxyl-groups of 3-HPA through hydrogen bonds, and several hydrophobic residues, such as Phe156, Val286, Ile288, and Phe450, provide the optimal size and shape for 3-HPA binding. We also compared AbKGSADH with other reported 3-HP producing ALDHs for the crucial amino acid residues for enzyme catalysis and substrate binding, which provides structural implications on how these enzymes utilize 3-HPA as a substrate.

High Production of 3-Hydroxypropionic Acid in Klebsiella pneumoniae by Systematic Optimization of Glycerol Metabolism

3-Hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) is an important platform chemical proposed by the United States Department of Energy. 3-HP can be converted to a series of bulk chemicals. Biological production of 3-HP has made great progress in recent years. However, low yield of 3-HP restricts its commercialization. In this study, systematic optimization was conducted towards high-yield production of 3-HP in Klebsiella pneumoniae. We first investigated appropriate promoters for the key enzyme (aldehyde dehydrogenase, ALDH) in 3-HP biosynthesis, and found that IPTG-inducible tac promoter enabled overexpression of an endogenous ALDH (PuuC) in K. pneumoniae. We optimized the metabolic flux and found that blocking the synthesis of lactic acid and acetic acid significantly increased the production of 3-HP. Additionally, fermentation conditions were optimized and scaled-up cultivation were investigated. The highest 3-HP titer was observed at 83.8 g/L with a high conversion ratio of 54% on substrate glycerol. Furthermore, a flux distribution model of glycerol metabolism in K. pneumoniae was proposed based on in silico analysis. To our knowledge, this is the highest 3-HP production in K. pneumoniae. This work has significantly advanced biological production of 3-HP from renewable carbon sources.

Enhanced Promoter Activity by Replenishment of Sigma Factor rpoE in Klebsiella pneumoniae

Plasmid-dependent overexpression of enzyme(s) aims to divert carbon flux toward a desired compound. One drawback of this strategy is compromise of growth due to massive consumption of host resources. Here we show that replenishment of sigma factor rpoE improves the growth of Klebsiella pneumoniae. The gene rpoE was expressed alone or coexpressed with Ald4 (an aldehyde dehydrogenase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae) in K. pneumoniae. We found that the Ald4 activity was higher in the strain coexpressing Ald4 and rpoE (32.3 U/mg) than that expressing Ald4 alone (29.9 U/mg). Additionally, under shake-flask conditions, the strain coexpressing Ald4 and rpoE produced 0.5 g 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) and 9.8 g 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD) per liter in 24 h, which were 1.6- and 0.85-fold enhancement, respectively, compared to those expressing Ald4 alone. Notably, under non-optimized bioreactor conditions, the strain coexpressing Ald4 and rpoE produced 13.5 g 3-HP and 37.8 g 1,3-PD per liter with glycerol conversion ratio of 0.45 mol/mol. These results indicate that replenishment of rpoE enhanced promoter activity and stimulated glycerol consumption.

Development of a Red recombinase system and antisense RNA technology in Klebsiella pneumoniae for the production of chemicals

Red recombinase system and antisense RNA technology were developed inKlebsiella pneumoniae.

Contemplating 3-Hydroxypropionic Acid Biosynthesis in Klebsiella pneumoniae

3-Hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) is a commercially valuable platform chemical from which an array of C3 compounds can be generated. Klebsiella pneumoniae has been considered a promising species for biological production of 3-HP. Despite a wealth of reports related to 3-HP biosynthesis in K. pneumoniae, its commercialization is still in infancy. The major hurdle hindering 3-HP overproduction lies in the poor understanding of glycerol dissimilation in K. pneumoniae. To surmount this problem, this review aims to portray a picture of 3-HP biosynthesis, involving 3-HP-synthesizing strains, biochemical attributes, metabolic pathways and key enzymes. Inspired by the state-of-the-art advances in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology, here we advocate protocols for overproducing 3-HP in K. pneumoniae. These protocols range from cofactor regeneration, alleviation of metabolite toxicity, genome editing, remodeling of transport system, to carbon flux partition via logic gate. The feasibility for these protocols was also discussed.

3-Hydroxypropionaldehyde-specific aldehyde dehydrogenase from Bacillus subtilis catalyzes 3-hydroxypropionic acid production in Klebsiella pneumoniae

In Klebsiella pneumoniae, aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDH) convert 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde (3-HPA) into 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP). Although ALDHs can increase the production of 3-HP in K. pneumoniae, the substrate specificity of ALDH homologues from other microorganisms toward 3-HPA is less documented. Here we report that DhaS, a putative ALDH from Bacillus subtilis, shows high specificity toward 3-HPA when heterologously expressed in K. pneumoniae. Using NAD(+) as a cofactor, DhaS exhibited higher catalytic activity (2.3 U mg(-1)) and lower K m value (0.4 mmol l(-1)) toward 3-HPA than that toward other aldehydes. Under shake-flask conditions, the recombinant strain produced 2.1 g 3-HP l(-1) in 24 h, which is 3.9-fold of that in a control harboring a blank vector. Under non-optimized bioreactor conditions, the recombinant strain produced 18 g 3-HP l(-1) and 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) at 27 g l(-1) in 24 h. The overall conversion rate from glycerol to 3-HP and 1,3-PDO reached 59.4 mol mol(-1). Homology modeling of DhaS illustrates substrate specificity and NAD(+)-binding site. DhaS is thus a 3-HPA-specific enzyme useful for production of 3-HP.

NAD(+)-independent aldehyde oxidase catalyzes cofactor balanced 3-hydroxypropionic acid production in Klebsiella pneumoniae

The limiting step for biosynthesis of 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) in Klebsiella pneumoniae is the conversion of 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde (3-HPA) to 3-HP. This reaction is catalyzed by aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) with NAD(+) as a cofactor. Although NAD(+)-dependent ALDH overexpression facilitates 3-HP biosynthesis, ALDH activity decreases and 3-HP stops accumulation when NAD(+) is exhausted. Here, we show that an NAD(+)-independent aldehyde oxidase (AOX) from Pseudomonas sp. AIU 362 holds promise for cofactor-balanced 3-HP production in K. pneumoniae. The AOX coding gene, alod, was heterologously expressed in E. coli and K. pneumoniae, and their respective crude cell extracts showed 38.1 U/mg and 16.6 U/mg activities toward propionaldehyde. The recombinant K. pneumoniae expressing alod showed 13.7 U/mg activity toward 3-HPA; K m and V max were 6.7 mM and 42 μM/min/mg, respectively. In shake-flask cultures, the recombinant K. pneumoniae strain produced 0.89 g 3-HP/l, twice that of the control. Moreover, it produced 3 g 3-HP/l during 24 h fed-batch cultivation in a 5 l bioreactor. The results indicate that AOX can efficiently convert 3-HPA into 3-HP.