Recombinant production of Penicillium oxalicum PJ3 phytase in Pichia Pastoris

Microbial and Fungal Phytases Can Affect Growth Performance, Nutrient Digestibility and Blood Profile of Broilers Fed Different Levels of Non-Phytic Phosphorous

Simple Summary

To reduce the environmental pollution is a must to preserve the health of the world. The environmental impact of poultry farming is receiving an increasing attention due to several emissions among these is phosphorus. This element is in general present in the commercial diets of broilers or laying hens in an amount exceeding the real needing of the animals, and, therefore, a great amount of phosphorus ends in the excreta. Thus, optimizing the amount of phosphorous in the diets of poultry could partially alleviate the environmental impact of these farms.

Abstract

A total of 420 day old chicks were divided into seven groups (5 replicates of 12 chicks/group) fed isoproteic and isoenergetic diets. The control group was fed diets containing 0.50%, 0.45% and 0.40% of non-phytic phosphorous (nPP) in starter (1–35), grower (37–56) and finisher (57–64 d) periods, respectively. The three intermediate nPP (IntnPP) groups were fed diets with 0.40%, 0.35% and 0.30% nPP according to the growth period and were submitted to three dietary treatments: unsupplemented; supplemented with 500 FTU/kg diet of an Aspergillus niger phytase (IntnPP_fp) and supplemented with 500 FTU/kg diet of an Escherichia coli phytase (IntnPP_bp). The three low nPP groups fed diets contained 0.30%, 0.25% and 0.20% nPP and were submitted to the same dietary treatments than IntnPP to obtain LnPP, LnPP_fp and LnPP_bp groups. IntnPP and LnPP groups had lower body weight gain and feed, crude protein (CP) and metabolizable energy (ME) intake (p < 0.05) than the control. Feed conversion ratio of IntnPP was more favorable (p < 0.01) than the LnPP group. CP and ME conversion ratios worsened (p < 0.01) in IntnPP and LnPP groups in comparison to the control. The nPP conversion ratio improved (p < 0.01) from the control to the LnPP group. Fungal phytase reduced (p < 0.05) feed, CP, ME and nPP intake than the bacterial one. IntnPP and LnPP diets had a lower digestibility of CP (p < 0.01) and CF (p = 0.01) than the control. IntnPP and LnPP groups showed a higher (p < 0.05) economic efficiency than the control. Blood total protein was the lowest (p < 0.05) in the LnPP group, the control group showed the lowest (p < 0.05) level of albumin and IntnPP group had the lowest (p < 0.01) globulin level. The use of bacterial phytase increased (p < 0.01) total protein and globulin and decreased (p < 0.05) the plasma cholesterol in comparison to fungal phytase. Decreasing nPP levels in colored slow-growing broilers diet negatively affects growth performance and the use of phytase can partly alleviate these negative effects, but the efficiency of different enzyme sources (bacterial or fungal) was tied to the dietary nPP levels.

Production of Fungal Phytases from Agroindustrial Byproducts for Pig Diets

The application of phytases for animal feed in developing countries is limited due to the high cost of these enzymes, determined by the importation fees and the expensive substrates used for their production. In this work, we have used agroindustrial byproducts for the production of extracts containing phytases, which were accessed for their stability focusing on the conditions found in the gastrointestinal tract of pigs. The fungus Acremonim zeae presented higher phytase production in medium containing cornmeal, while the yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus produced 10-fold more phytase when cultivated on rice bran. Process optimization increased the difference in productivity to more than 300 fold. The phytase from A. zeae was thermostable, with higher activity at neutral pH and 50 °C, but was inhibited at pH 2.5 and by various ions. The phytase activity in the K. marxianus extract was stable at a wide range of conditions, which indicates the presence of at least two enzymes. As far as we know, this manuscript describes for the first time the phytase production and the characteristics of the extracts produced by both these microbial species. These enzymes could be produced at low cost and have potential to replace enzymes currently imported for this purpose.

Purification and characterization of a novel cold-adapted phytase from Rhodotorula mucilaginosa strain JMUY14 isolated from Antarctic

A yeast producing a cold-adapted phytase was isolated from Antarctic deep-sea sediment and identified as a Rhodotorula mucilaginosa strain JMUY14 of basidiomycetous yeasts. It was cultured in fermentation optimized by a response surface methodology based on the Box-Behnken design. The maximum activity of phytase reached 205.447 U ml(-1), which was close to the predicted value of 201.948 U ml(-1) and approximately 3.4 times higher than its initial activity. The extracellular phytase was purified by 15.2-fold to homogeneity with a specific activity of 31,635 U mg(-1) by (NH4 )2 SO4 precipitation, and a combination of DEAE Sepharose Fast Flow, SP Sepharose Fast Flow, and Sephadex G-100. The molecular weight of the purified enzyme was estimated to be 63 kDa and its pI was 4.33. Its optimal temperature and pH were 50 °C and 5.0, respectively. Its activity was 85% at 37 °C, and showed good stability at pH 3.0 ∼ 7.0. When compared with mesophilic counterparts, the phytase not only exhibited a higher activity during 20 ∼ 30 °C but also had a low Km (247 µM) and high kcat (1394 s(-1)). The phytase activity was slightly stimulated in the presence of Mg(2+), Fe(2+), Fe(3+), K(+), Na(+), Ca(2+), EDTA, and EGTA and moderately inhibited by Cu(2+), Zn(2+), Mn(2+), Ag(+), PMSF, SDS, and phenylgloxal hydrate. It was resistant to both pepsin and trypsin. Since the phytase produced by the R. mucilaginosa JMUY14 showed a high specific activity, good pH stability, strong protease resistance, and high activity at low temperature, it has great potential for feed applications, especially in aquaculture.

Purification, sequencing and evaluation of a divergent phytase from Penicillium oxalicum KCTC6440

A fungal strain producing high levels of phytase was purified to homogeneity from Penicillium oxalicum KCTC6440 (PhyA). The molecular mass of the purified PhyA was 65 kDa and optimal activity occurred at 55°C. The enzyme was stable in a pH range of 4.5-6.5, with an optimum performance at pH 5.5. The Km value for the substrate sodium phytate was 0.48 mM with a Vmax of 672 U/mg. The enzyme was inhibited by Ca(2+), Cu(2+), and Zn(2+), and slightly enhanced by EDTA. The PhyA efficiently released phosphate from feedstuffs such as soybean, rich bran and corn meal. The PhyA gene was cloned in two steps of degenerate PCR and inverse PCR and found to comprise 1501 bp and encode 461 amino acid residues. The enzyme was found to have only 13 amino acids differing to the known PhyA from other Penicillium sp., but has distinct enzyme characteristics. Computational analysis showed that PhyA possessed more positively charged residues in the active sites compared to other PhyA molecules, which may explain the broader pH spectrum.

Cultivation Conditions for Phytase Production from Recombinant Escherichia coli DH5α

Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the cultivation conditions for the production of phytase by recombinant Escherichia coli DH5α. The optimum predicted cultivation conditions for phytase production were at 3 hours seed age, a 2.5% inoculum level, an L-arabinose concentration of 0.20%, a cell concentration of 0.3 (as measured at 600 nm) and 17 hours post-induction time with a predicted phytase activity of 4194.45 U/mL. The model was validated and the results showed no significant difference between the experimental and the predicted phytase activity (P = 0.305). Under optimum cultivation conditions, the phytase activity of the recombinant E. coli DH5α was 364 times higher compared to the phytase activity of the wild-type producer, Enterobacter sakazakii ASUIA279. Hence, optimization of the cultivation conditions using RSM positively increased phytase production from recombinant E. coli DH5α.

A Thermostable phytase from Neosartorya spinosa BCC 41923 and its expression in Pichia pastoris

A phytase gene was cloned from Neosartorya spinosa BCC 41923. The gene was 1,455 bp in size, and the mature protein contained a polypeptide of 439 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence contains the consensus motif (RHGXRXP) which is conserved among phytases and acid phosphatases. Five possible disulfide bonds and seven potential N-glycosylation sites have been predicted. The gene was expressed in Pichia pastoris KM71 as an extracellular enzyme. The purified enzyme had specific activity of 30.95 U/mg at 37°C and 38.62 U/mg at 42°C. Molecular weight of the deglycosylated recombinant phytase, determined by SDS-PAGE, was approximately 52 kDa. The optimum pH and temperature for activity were pH 5.5 and 50°C. The residual phytase activity remained over 80% of initial activity after the enzyme was stored in pH 3.0 to 7.0 for 1 h, and at 60% of initial activity after heating at 90°C for 20 min. The enzyme exhibited broad substrate specificity, with phytic acid as the most preferred substrate. Its K (m) and V (max) for sodium phytate were 1.39 mM and 434.78 U/mg, respectively. The enzyme was highly resistant to most metal ions tested, including Fe(2+), Fe(3+), and Al(3+). When incubated with pepsin at a pepsin/phytase ratio of 0.02 (U/U) at 37°C for 2 h, 92% of its initial activity was retained. However, the enzyme was very sensitive to trypsin, as 5% of its initial activity was recovered after treating with trypsin at a trypsin/phytase ratio of 0.01 (U/U).

Biochemical characterization and in vitro digestibility assay of Eupenicillium parvum (BCC17694) phytase expressed in Pichia pastoris

A mature phytase cDNA, encoding 441 amino acids, from Eupenicillium parvum (BCC17694) was cloned into a Pichia pastoris expression vector, pPICZ alpha A, and was successfully expressed as active extracellular glycosylated protein. The recombinant phytase contained the active site RHGXRXP and HD sequence motifs, a large alpha/beta domain and a small alpha-domain that are typical of histidine acid phosphatase. Glycosylation was found to be important for enzyme activity which is most active at 50 degrees C and pH 5.5. The recombinant phytase displayed broad substrate specificity toward p-nitrophenyl phosphate, sodium-, calcium-, and potassium-phytate. The enzyme lost its activity after incubating at 50 degrees C for 5 min and is 50% inhibited by 5mM Cu(2+). However, the enzyme exhibits broad pH stability from 2.5 to 8.0 and is resistant to pepsin. In vitro digestibility test suggested that BCC17694 phytase is at least as effective as another recombinant phytase (r-A170) which is comparable to Natuphos, a commercial phytase, in releasing phosphate from corn-based animal feed, suggesting that BCC17694 phytase is suitable for use as phytase supplement in the animal diet.