Cloning and nucleotide sequence of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase-coding gene of Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC13032

Construction and Analysis of an Enzyme-Constrained Metabolic Model of Corynebacterium glutamicum

The genome-scale metabolic model (GEM) is a powerful tool for interpreting and predicting cellular phenotypes under various environmental and genetic perturbations. However, GEM only considers stoichiometric constraints, and the simulated growth and product yield values will show a monotonic linear increase with increasing substrate uptake rate, which deviates from the experimentally measured values. Recently, the integration of enzymatic constraints into stoichiometry-based GEMs was proven to be effective in making novel discoveries and predicting new engineering targets. Here, we present the first genome-scale enzyme-constrained model (ecCGL1) for Corynebacterium glutamicum reconstructed by integrating enzyme kinetic data from various sources using a ECMpy workflow based on the high-quality GEM of C. glutamicum (obtained by modifying the iCW773 model). The enzyme-constrained model improved the prediction of phenotypes and simulated overflow metabolism, while also recapitulating the trade-off between biomass yield and enzyme usage efficiency. Finally, we used the ecCGL1 to identify several gene modification targets for l-lysine production, most of which agree with previously reported genes. This study shows that incorporating enzyme kinetic information into the GEM enhances the cellular phenotypes prediction of C. glutamicum, which can help identify key enzymes and thus provide reliable guidance for metabolic engineering.

Stepwise metabolic engineering of Corynebacterium glutamicum for the production of phenylalanine

Corynebacterium glutamicum was metabolically engineered to produce phenylalanine, a valuable aromatic amino acid that can be used as a raw material in the food and pharmaceutical industries. First, a starting phenylalanine-producer was constructed by overexpressing tryptophan-sensitive 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate-7-phosphate synthase and phenylalanine- and tyrosine-insensitive bifunctional enzyme chorismate mutase prephenate dehydratase from Escherichia coli, followed by the inactivation of enzymes responsible for the formation of dihydroxyacetone and the consumption of shikimate pathway-related compounds. Second, redirection of the carbon flow from tyrosine to phenylalanine was attempted by deleting of the tyrA gene encoding prephenate dehydrogenase, which catalyzes the committed step for tyrosine biosynthesis from prephenate. However, suppressor mutants were generated, and two mutants were isolated and examined for phenylalanine production and genome sequencing. The suppressor mutant harboring an amino acid exchange (L180R) on RNase J, which was experimentally proven to lead to a loss of function of the enzyme, showed significantly enhanced production of phenylalanine. Finally, modifications of phosphoenolpyruvate-pyruvate metabolism were investigated, revealing that the inactivation of either phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase or pyruvate carboxylase, which are enzymes of the anaplerotic pathway, is an effective means for improving phenylalanine production. The resultant strain, harboring a phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase deficiency, synthesized 50.7 mM phenylalanine from 444 mM glucose. These results not only provided new insights into the practical mutations in constructing a phenylalanine-producing C. glutamicum but also demonstrated the creation of a potential strain for the biosynthesis of phenylalanine-derived compounds represented by plant secondary metabolites.

Production of l-glutamate family amino acids in Corynebacterium glutamicum: Physiological mechanism, genetic modulation, and prospects

l-glutamate family amino acids (GFAAs), consisting of l-glutamate, l-arginine, l-citrulline, l-ornithine, l-proline, l-hydroxyproline, γ-aminobutyric acid, and 5-aminolevulinic acid, are widely applied in the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and animal feed industries, accounting for billions of dollars of market activity. These GFAAs have many functions, including being protein constituents, maintaining the urea cycle, and providing precursors for the biosynthesis of pharmaceuticals. Currently, the production of GFAAs mainly depends on microbial fermentation using Corynebacterium glutamicum (including its related subspecies Corynebacterium crenatum), which is substantially engineered through multistep metabolic engineering strategies. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in the metabolic pathways, regulatory mechanisms, and metabolic engineering strategies for GFAA accumulation in C. glutamicum and C. crenatum, which provides insights into the recent progress in l-glutamate-derived chemical production.

Impact of CO2/HCO3 - Availability on Anaplerotic Flux in Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex-Deficient Corynebacterium glutamicum Strains

The pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHC) catalyzes the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate, yielding acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) and CO₂ The PDHC-deficient Corynebacterium glutamicum ΔaceE strain therefore lacks an important decarboxylation step in its central metabolism. Additional inactivation of pyc, encoding pyruvate carboxylase, resulted in a >15-h lag phase in the presence of glucose, while no growth defect was observed on gluconeogenetic substrates, such as acetate. Growth was successfully restored by deletion of ptsG, encoding the glucose-specific permease of the phosphotransferase system (PTS), thereby linking the observed phenotype to the increased sensitivity of the ΔaceE Δpyc strain to glucose catabolism. In this work, the ΔaceE Δpyc strain was used to systematically study the impact of perturbations of the intracellular CO₂/HCO₃ ^- pool on growth and anaplerotic flux. Remarkably, all measures leading to enhanced CO₂/HCO₃ ^- levels, such as external addition of HCO₃ ^-, increasing the pH, or rerouting metabolic flux via the pentose phosphate pathway, at least partially eliminated the lag phase of the ΔaceE Δpyc strain on glucose medium. In accordance with these results, inactivation of the urease enzyme, lowering the intracellular CO₂/HCO₃ ^- pool, led to an even longer lag phase, accompanied by the excretion of l-valine and l-alanine. Transcriptome analysis, as well as an adaptive laboratory evolution experiment with the ΔaceE Δpyc strain, revealed the reduction of glucose uptake as a key adaptive measure to enhance growth on glucose-acetate mixtures. Taken together, our results highlight the significant impact of the intracellular CO₂/HCO₃ ^- pool on metabolic flux distribution, which becomes especially evident in engineered strains exhibiting low endogenous CO₂ production rates, as exemplified by PDHC-deficient strains.IMPORTANCE CO₂ is a ubiquitous product of cellular metabolism and an essential substrate for carboxylation reactions. The pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHC) catalyzes a central metabolic reaction contributing to the intracellular CO₂/HCO₃ ^- pool in many organisms. In this study, we used a PDHC-deficient strain of Corynebacterium glutamicum, which additionally lacked pyruvate carboxylase (ΔaceE Δpyc). This strain featured a >15-h lag phase during growth on glucose-acetate mixtures. We used this strain to systematically assess the impact of alterations in the intracellular CO₂/HCO₃ ^- pool on growth in glucose-acetate medium. Remarkably, all measures enhancing CO₂/HCO₃ ^- levels successfully restored growth. These results emphasize the strong impact of the intracellular CO₂/HCO₃ ^- pool on metabolic flux, especially in strains exhibiting low endogenous CO₂ production rates.

Pyruvate Carboxylase Variants Enabling Improved Lysine Production from Glucose Identified by Biosensor-Based High-Throughput Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting Screening

Pyruvate carboxylase is an anaplerotic carbon dioxide-fixing enzyme replenishing the tricarboxylic acid cycle with oxaloacetate during growth on sugars. In this study, we applied a lysine biosensor to identify pyruvate carboxylase variants in Corynebacterium glutamicum that enable improved l-lysine production from glucose. A suitable reporter strain was transformed with a pyc gene library created by error-prone PCR and screened by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) for cells with increased fluorescence triggered by an elevated cytoplasmic lysine concentration. Two pyruvate carboxylase variants, PCx^T343A,I1012S and PCx^T132A were identified allowing 9% and 19% increased lysine titers upon plasmid-based expression. Chromosomal expression of PCx^T132A and PCx^T343A variants led to 6% and 14% higher l-lysine levels. The new PCx variants can be useful also for other microbial strains producing TCA cycle-derived metabolites. Our approach indicates that a biosensor such as pSenLys enables directed evolution of many enzymes involved in converting a carbon source into the target metabolite.

Engineering photosynthetic production of L-lysine

L-lysine and other amino acids are commonly produced through fermentation using strains of heterotrophic bacteria such as Corynebacterium glutamicum. Given the large amount of sugar this process consumes, direct photosynthetic production is intriguing alternative. In this study, we report the development of a cyanobacterium, Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002, capable of producing L-lysine with CO2 as the sole carbon-source. We found that heterologous expression of a lysine transporter was required to excrete lysine and avoid intracellular accumulation that correlated with poor fitness. Simultaneous expression of a feedback inhibition resistant aspartate kinase and lysine transporter were sufficient for high productivities, but this was also met with a decreased chlorophyll content and reduced growth rates. Increasing the reductant supply by using NH4+, a more reduced nitrogen source relative to NO3-, resulted in a two-fold increase in productivity directing 18% of fixed carbon to lysine. Given this advantage, we demonstrated lysine production from media formulated with a municipal wastewater treatment sidestream as a nutrient source for increased economic and environmental sustainability. Based on our results, we project that Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002 could produce lysine at areal productivities approaching that of sugar cane to lysine via fermentation using non-agricultural lands and low-cost feedstocks.

Analysis of intracellular metabolites of Corynebacterium glutamicum at high cell density with automated sampling and filtration and assessment of engineered enzymes for effective l-lysine production

Engineering of enzymes and pathways is generally required for the development of efficient strains for bioproduction processes. To this end, quantitative and reliable data of intracellular metabolites are highly desired, but often not available, especially for conditions more close to industrial applications, i.e. at high cell density and product concentration. Here, we investigated the intracellular metabolite profiles of an engineered l-lysine-producing Corynebacterium glutamicum strain and the corresponding wild-type strain to assess the impacts of deregulation of product inhibition of the key enzymes aspartate kinase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and to identify potentials for their further improvement. A bioreactor system with automated fast-sampling, filtration and on-filter quenching of the metabolism was used for a more reliable determination of intracellular metabolites in batch cultures with optical cell density (OD₆₆₀) up to 40. The l-lysine-producing strain showed substantially different metabolite profiles in the amino acid metabolism, including increased intracellular pool sizes in the l-lysine-, l-homoserine- and l-threonine pathways and decreased intracellular pool sizes for all other determined amino acids. By comparing data of in vitro inhibition of the engineered enzymes and determined intracellular concentrations of the inhibitors it was found that the inferred in vivo activities of these enzymes are still significantly below their in vitro maximums. This work demonstrates the usefulness of metabolic analysis for assessing the impact of engineered enzymes and identifying targets for further strain development.

Glutamate Fermentation-2: Mechanism of L-Glutamate Overproduction in Corynebacterium glutamicum

The nonpathogenic coryneform bacterium, Corynebacterium glutamicum, was isolated as an L-glutamate-overproducing microorganism by Japanese researchers and is currently utilized in various amino acid fermentation processes. L-Glutamate production by C. glutamicum is induced by limitation of biotin and addition of fatty acid ester surfactants and β-lactam antibiotics. These treatments affect the cell surface structures of C. glutamicum. After the discovery of C. glutamicum, many researchers have investigated the underlying mechanism of L-glutamate overproduction with respect to the cell surface structures of this organism. Furthermore, metabolic regulation during L-glutamate overproduction by C. glutamicum, particularly, the relationship between central carbon metabolism and L-glutamate biosynthesis, has been investigated. Recently, the role of a mechanosensitive channel protein in L-glutamate overproduction has been reported. In this chapter, mechanisms of L-glutamate overproduction by C. glutamicum have been reviewed.

Effects of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase desensitization on glutamic acid production in Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) in Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC13032, a glutamic-acid producing actinobacterium, is subject to feedback inhibition by metabolic intermediates such as aspartic acid and 2-oxoglutaric acid, which implies the importance of PEPC in replenishing oxaloacetic acid into the TCA cycle. Here, we investigated the effects of feedback-insensitive PEPC on glutamic acid production. A single amino-acid substitution in PEPC, D299N, was found to relieve the feedback control by aspartic acid, but not by 2-oxoglutaric acid. A simple mutant, strain R1, having the D299N substitution in PEPC was constructed from ATCC 13032 using the double-crossover chromosome replacement technique. Strain R1 produced glutamic acid at a concentration of 31.0 g/L from 100 g/L glucose in a jar fermentor culture under biotin-limited conditions, which was significantly higher than that of the parent, 26.0 g/L (1.19-fold), indicative of the positive effect of desensitized PEPC on glutamic acid production. Another mutant, strain DR1, having both desensitized PEPC and PYK-gene deleted mutations, was constructed in a similar manner using strain D1 with a PYK-gene deleted mutation as the parent. This mutation had been shown to enhance glutamic acid production in our previous study. Although marginal, strain D1 produced higher glutamic acid, 28.8 g/L, than ATCC13032 (1.11-fold). In contrast, glutamic acid production by strain DR-1 was elevated up to 36.9 g/L, which was 1.42-fold higher than ATCC13032 and significantly higher than the other three strains. The results showed a synergistic effect of these two mutations on glutamic acid production in C. glutamicum.

Deregulation of feedback inhibition of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase for improved lysine production in Corynebacterium glutamicum

Allosteric regulation of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) controls the metabolic flux distribution of anaplerotic pathways. In this study, the feedback inhibition of Corynebacterium glutamicum PEPC was rationally deregulated, and its effect on metabolic flux redistribution was evaluated. Based on rational protein design, six PEPC mutants were designed, and all of them showed significantly reduced sensitivity toward aspartate and malate inhibition. Introducing one of the point mutations (N917G) into the ppc gene, encoding PEPC of the lysine-producing strain C. glutamicum LC298, resulted in ∼37% improved lysine production. In vitro enzyme assays and (13)C-based metabolic flux analysis showed ca. 20 and 30% increases in the PEPC activity and corresponding flux, respectively, in the mutant strain. Higher demand for NADPH in the mutant strain increased the flux toward pentose phosphate pathway, which increased the supply of NADPH for enhanced lysine production. The present study highlights the importance of allosteric regulation on the flux control of central metabolism. The strategy described here can also be implemented to improve other oxaloacetate-derived products.

Isolation and characterization of bacteriophage PhiBP from Paenibacillus polymyxa CCM 7400

A bacteriophage PhiBP infecting Paenibacillus polymyxa CCM 7400 was isolated from culture lysate. Electron microscopy of lysate samples revealed the presence of bacteriophage particles with polyhedral heads 56 nm in diameter and flexible noncontractile tails 144 nm in length. The profile of PhiBP structural proteins resembles that of other bacteriophages. The PhiBP genome consists of double-stranded DNA of 43-kbp size. Homology search of sequenced DNA fragments from EcoRI digest revealed regions with significant similarity to other known bacteriophage genes. Regions similar to phage terminase genes were identified within the 1.2-kbp fragment. Three lytic genes, two holin genes and one endolysin gene were identified within the 2.5-kbp fragment. We tested the isolates of P. polymyxa CCM 7400 for the presence of phage DNA on bacterial chromosome using PCR amplification with primers derived from proposed terminase and holin gene sequences. We confirmed the presence of PhiBP DNA on P. polymyxa chromosome by Southern hybridization. The bacteriophage PhiBP was capable of causing lysis of a P. polymyxaPhiBP lysogen despite the presence of the phage DNA on bacterial chromosome. Therefore, we concluded that PhiBP was a virulent mutant phage.

Double deletion of dtsR1 and pyc induce efficient L: -glutamate overproduction in Corynebacterium glutamicum

Corynebacterium glutamicum strains are used for the fermentative production of L-glutamate. Five C. glutamicum deletion mutants were isolated by two rounds of selection for homologous recombination and identified by Southern blot analysis. The growth, glucose consumption and glutamate production of the mutants were analyzed and compared with the wild-type ATCC 13032 strain. Double disruption of dtsR1 (encoding a subunit of acetyl-CoA carboxylase complex) and pyc (encoding pyruvate carboxylase) caused efficient overproduction of L-glutamate in C. glutamicum; production was much higher than that of the wild-type strain and DeltadtsR1 strain under glutamate-inducing conditions. In the absence of any inducing conditions, the amount of glutamate produced by the double-deletion strain DeltadtsR1Deltapyc was more than that of the mutant DeltadtsR1. The activity of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) was found to be higher in the DeltadtsR1Deltapyc strain than in the DeltadtsR1 strain and the wild-type strain. Therefore, PEPC appears to be an important anaplerotic enzyme for glutamate synthesis in DeltadtsR1 derivatives. Moreover, this conclusion was confirmed by overexpression of ppc and pyc in the two double-deletion strains (DeltadtsR1Deltappc and DeltadtsR1Deltapyc), respectively. Based on the data generated in this investigation, we suggest a new method that will improve glutamate production strains and provide a better understanding of the interaction(s) between the anaplerotic pathway and fatty acid synthesis.

Resistance of corynebacterial strains to infection and lysis by corynephage BFK 20

AIMS

Defence mechanisms of the corynebacterial strains against corynephage BFK 20, which causes lysis of Brevibacterium flavum CCM 251.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We tested adsorption of the phage BFK 20 to the corynebacterial cell surface. We observed strong adsorption ranging from ca 79 to 93% on the cells of B. flavum ATCC strains, but only ca 76% for B. flavum CCM 251. Minor adsorption for Brevibacterium lactofermentum BLOB (ca 13%) and no adsorption for Corynebacterium glutamicum RM3 were determined. BFK 20 infection had no significant effect on growth and viability of C. glutamicum and B. lactofermentum, but significantly influenced growth and viability of B. flavum ATCC 21127, 21128 and 21474. Cell growth stopped in short time after infection but with no lysis. Brevibacterium flavum CCM 251 cell growth was arrested too and lysis occurred. The Southern hybridization confirmed the presence of significant amount of BFK 20 DNA in samples from B. flavum CCM 251 and B. flavum ATCC strains after BFK 20 infection. Only weak hybridization signal was detected for DNA from infected cells of B. lactofermentum BLOB and no signal for C. glutamicum RM3.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the above results we suggest presence of a mechanism leading to abortive infection in B. flavum ATCC 21127, 21128 and 21474. In B. lactofermentum BLOB and C. glutamicum RM3 the adsorption barrier is more likely.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

This study increases the knowledge on defence mechanisms of corynebacteria against bacteriophages.

The PEP-pyruvate-oxaloacetate node as the switch point for carbon flux distribution in bacteria

In many organisms, metabolite interconversion at the phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP)-pyruvate-oxaloacetate node involves a structurally entangled set of reactions that interconnects the major pathways of carbon metabolism and thus, is responsible for the distribution of the carbon flux among catabolism, anabolism and energy supply of the cell. While sugar catabolism proceeds mainly via oxidative or non-oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate to acetyl-CoA, anaplerosis and the initial steps of gluconeogenesis are accomplished by C3- (PEP- and/or pyruvate-) carboxylation and C4- (oxaloacetate- and/or malate-) decarboxylation, respectively. In contrast to the relatively uniform central metabolic pathways in bacteria, the set of enzymes at the PEP-pyruvate-oxaloacetate node represents a surprising diversity of reactions. Variable combinations are used in different bacteria and the question of the significance of all these reactions for growth and for biotechnological fermentation processes arises. This review summarizes what is known about the enzymes and the metabolic fluxes at the PEP-pyruvate-oxaloacetate node in bacteria, with a particular focus on the C3-carboxylation and C4-decarboxylation reactions in Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and Corynebacterium glutamicum. We discuss the activities of the enzymes, their regulation and their specific contribution to growth under a given condition or to biotechnological metabolite production. The present knowledge unequivocally reveals the PEP-pyruvate-oxaloacetate nodes of bacteria to be a fascinating target of metabolic engineering in order to achieve optimized metabolite production.

The complete Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032 genome sequence and its impact on the production of L-aspartate-derived amino acids and vitamins

The complete genomic sequence of Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032, well-known in industry for the production of amino acids, e.g. of L-glutamate and L-lysine was determined. The C. glutamicum genome was found to consist of a single circular chromosome comprising 3282708 base pairs. Several DNA regions of unusual composition were identified that were potentially acquired by horizontal gene transfer, e.g. a segment of DNA from C. diphtheriae and a prophage-containing region. After automated and manual annotation, 3002 protein-coding genes have been identified, and to 2489 of these, functions were assigned by homologies to known proteins. These analyses confirm the taxonomic position of C. glutamicum as related to Mycobacteria and show a broad metabolic diversity as expected for a bacterium living in the soil. As an example for biotechnological application the complete genome sequence was used to reconstruct the metabolic flow of carbon into a number of industrially important products derived from the amino acid L-aspartate.

Amino acid production processes

With the exploitation of new uses and the growing markets of amino acids, amino acid production technology has made large progress during the latter half of the 20th century. Fermentation technology has played crucial roles in this progress, and currently the fermented amino acids represent chief products of biotechnology in both volume and value. This area is highly competitive in the world market and process economics are of primary importance. For cost-effective production, many technologies have been developed to establish high-productive fermentation and recovery processes. The producer organisms used in large-scale, well-established processes have been developed to a high level of production efficiency. The tools of genetic engineering of amino acid-producing organisms have been well developed and are now being applied for enlargement of biosynthetic and transport capacity, which is beginning to have a great impact on the amino acid industry. Furthermore, the rapid strides in genome analysis are bound to revolutionize the strain improvement methodology.

Effect of pyruvate carboxylase overexpression on the physiology of Corynebacterium glutamicum

Pyruvate carboxylase was recently sequenced in Corynebacterium glutamicum and shown to play an important role of anaplerosis in the central carbon metabolism and amino acid synthesis of these bacteria. In this study we investigate the effect of the overexpression of the gene for pyruvate carboxylase (pyc) on the physiology of C. glutamicum ATCC 21253 and ATCC 21799 grown on defined media with two different carbon sources, glucose and lactate. In general, the physiological effects of pyc overexpression in Corynebacteria depend on the genetic background of the particular strain studied and are determined to a large extent by the interplay between pyruvate carboxylase and aspartate kinase activities. If the pyruvate carboxylase activity is not properly matched by the aspartate kinase activity, pyc overexpression results in growth enhancement instead of greater lysine production, despite its central role in anaplerosis and aspartic acid biosynthesis. Aspartate kinase regulation by lysine and threonine, pyruvate carboxylase inhibition by aspartate (shown in this study using permeabilized cells), as well as well-established activation of pyruvate carboxylase by lactate and acetyl coenzyme A are the key factors in determining the effect of pyc overexpression on Corynebacteria physiology.

The Brevibacterium flavum sigma factor SigB has a role in the environmental stress response

We have previously cloned a gene encoding a SigB, a principal-like sigma factor in Brevibacterium flavum, which was induced by several stress conditions. To clarify the in vivo function of this sigma factor, the sigB gene was disrupted by a homologous recombination, replacing the internal essential coding region in B. flavum chromosome by a kanamycin resistance marker gene. This mutation dramatically decreased vegetative growth rates of B. flavum. Studies of the effect of the sigB mutation on growth and viability of the cells under conditions of stress showed that the sigB mutant had increased susceptibility to acid, salt, alcohol, heat and cold stress. The plasmid-born wild-type sigB gene complemented the mutation. Based on the results, we propose that SigB has a role in vegetative growth and in response to various environmental stresses.

New partial sequences of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase as molecular phylogenetic markers

To better understand the evolution of the enzyme phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) and to test its versatility as a molecular character in phylogenetic and taxonomic studies, we have characterized and compared 70 new partial PEPC nucleotide and amino acid sequences (about 1100 bp of the 3' side of the gene) from 50 plant species (24 species of Bryophyta, 1 of Pteridophyta, and 25 of Spermatophyta). Together with previously published data, the new set of sequences allowed us to construct the up to now most complete phylogenetic tree of PEPC, where the PEPC sequences cluster according to both the taxonomic positions of the donor plants and the assumed specific function of the PEPC isoforms. Altogether, the study further strengthens the view that PEPC sequences can provide interesting information for the reconstruction of phylogenetic relations between organisms and metabolic pathways. To avoid confusion in future discussion, we propose a new nomenclature for the denotation of PEPC isoforms.

Two unrelated phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase polypeptides physically interact in the high molecular mass isoforms of this enzyme in the unicellular green alga Selenastrum minutum

In the chlorophyte Selenastrum minutum, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) exists as two kinetically distinct classes of isoforms sharing the same 102-kDa catalytic subunit (p102). Class 1 PEPC is homotetrameric, whereas Class 2 PEPCs consist of three large protein complexes. The different Class 2 PEPCs contain p102 and 130-, 73-, and 65-kDa polypeptides in different stoichiometric combinations. Immunoblot, immunoprecipitation, and chemical cross-linking studies indicated that p102 physically interacts with the 130-kDa polypeptide (p130) in Class 2 PEPCs. Immunological data and mass spectrometric and sequence analyses revealed that p102 and p130 are not closely related even if a p130 tryptic peptide had significant similarity to a conserved PEPC C-terminal domain from several sources. Evidence supporting the hypothesis that p130 has PEPC activity includes the following. (i) Specific activity expressed relative to the amount of p102 was lower in Class 1 than in Class 2 PEPCs; (ii) reductive pyridoxylation of both p102 and p130 was inhibited by magnesium-phosphoenolpyruvate; and (iii) biphasic phosphoenolpyruvate binding kinetics were observed with Class 2 PEPCs. These data support the view that unicellular green algae uniquely express, regulate, and assemble divergent PEPC polypeptides. This probably serves an adaptive purpose by poising these organisms for survival in different environments varying in nutrient content.

Cold adapted enzymes

The number of reports on enzymes from cold adapted organisms has increased significantly over the past years, and reveals that adaptive strategies for functioning at low temperature varies among enzymes. However, the high catalytic efficiency at low temperature seems, for the majority of cold active enzymes, to be accompanied by a reduced thermal stability. Increased molecular flexibility to compensate for the low working temperature, is therefore still the most dominating theory for cold adaptation, although there also seem to be other adaptive strategies. The number of experimentally determined 3D structures of enzymes possessing cold adaptation features is still limited, and restricts a structural rationalization for cold activity. The present summary of structural characteristics, based on comparative studies on crystal structures (7), homology models (7), and amino acid sequences (24), reveals that there are no common structural feature that can account for the low stability, increased catalytic efficiency, and proposed molecular flexibility. Analysis of structural features that are thought to be important for stability (e.g. intra-molecular hydrogen bonds and ion-pairs, proline-, methionine-, glycine-, or arginine content, surface hydrophilicity, helix stability, core packing), indicates that each cold adapted enzyme or enzyme system use different small selections of structural adjustments for gaining increased molecular flexibility that in turn give rise to increased catalytic efficiency and reduced stability. Nevertheless, there seem to be a clear correlation between cold adaptation and reduced number of interactions between structural domains or subunits. Cold active enzymes also seem, to a large extent, to increase their catalytic activity by optimizing the electrostatics at and around the active site.

Cloning of the malic enzyme gene from Corynebacterium glutamicum and role of the enzyme in lactate metabolism

Malic enzyme is one of at least five enzymes, known to be present in Corynebacterium glutamicum, capable of carboxylation and decarboxylation reactions coupling glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle. To date, no information is available concerning the physiological role of the malic enzyme in this bacterium. The malE gene from C. glutamicum has been cloned and sequenced. The protein encoded by this gene has been purified to homogeneity, and the biochemical properties have been established. Biochemical characteristics indicate a decarboxylation role linked to NADPH generation. Strains of C. glutamicum in which the malE gene had been disrupted or overexpressed showed no detectable phenotype during growth on either acetate or glucose, but showed a significant modification of growth behavior during lactate metabolism. The wild type showed a characteristic brief period of exponential growth on lactate followed by a linear growth period. This growth pattern was further accentuated in a malE-disrupted strain (Delta malE). However, the strain overexpressing malE maintained exponential growth until all lactate had been consumed. This strain accumulated significantly larger amounts of pyruvate in the medium than the other strains.

Importance of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase of Corynebacterium glutamicum during the temperature triggered glutamic acid fermentation

To give clues about the respective importance of phosphoenol-pyruvate carboxylase (PEPc) and pyruvate carboxylase (Pc) in Corynebacterium glutamicum metabolism during a temperature triggered glutamic acid fermentation, PEPc activity was genetically amplified and Pc activity was suppressed by biotin limitation in the culture medium. In absence of Pc activity, glutamate production was dramatically reduced whereas lactate excretion was strongly increased. Whereas PEPc amplification in excess of biotin (4 mg/L) only slightly modified the cell kinetics, under biotin limiting conditions this amplification strongly improved the glutamate production (4 microg/L). When Pc was absent, PEPc activity was sufficient to allow up to 70% of the maximal glutamate production rate and seemed to have an important anaplerotic role, especially at the beginning of the production phase. In contrast, Pc was predominant during the remainder of the glutamate fermentation.

ppc, the gene for phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase from an extremely thermophilic bacterium, Rhodothermus obamensis: cloning, sequencing and overexpression in Escherichia coli

The ppc gene, which encodes phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) of an extremely thermophilic bacterium, Rhodothermus obamensis, was directly sequenced by the thermal asymmetric interlaced (TAIL) PCR method. An ORF for a 937 amino acid polypeptide was found in the gene. The ppc gene had a high G+C content (66.2 mol%) and the third position of the codon exhibited strong preference for G or C usage (85.0 mol%). The calculated molecular mass was 107,848 Da, which was consistent with the molecular mass of the enzyme as determined by SDS-PAGE (100 kDa). The amino acid sequence of R. obamensis PEPC was closely related to that of PEPC from another thermophile, a Thermus sp., and from a mesophile, Corynebacterium glutamicum, exhibiting 45.3% or 37.7% identity and 61.5% or 56.5% similarity, respectively. By Southern analysis, the ppc gene was found to be present in a single copy in the genomic DNA of this organism. The cloned gene was expressed in Escherichia coli using a pET expression vector system and a thermostable recombinant PEPC was obtained. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequences of the thermophilic and mesophilic PEPCs revealed distinct or common preferences for specific amino acid composition and substitutions in the two thermophilic enzymes.

Purification and characterization of high- and low-molecular-mass isoforms of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Kinetic, structural and immunological evidence that the green algal enzyme is distinct from the prokaryotic and higher plant enzymes

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) is a key enzyme in the supply of carbon skeletons for the assimilation of nitrogen by green algae. Two PEPC isoforms with respective native molecular masses of 400 (PEPC1) and 650 (PEPC2) kDa have been purified from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii CW-15 cc1883 (Chlorophyceae). SDS/PAGE, immunoblot and CNBr peptide-mapping analyses indicate the presence of the same 100 kDa PEPC catalytic subunit in both isoforms. PEPC1 is a homotetramer, whereas PEPC2 seems to be a complex between the PEPC catalytic subunit and other immunologically unrelated polypeptides of 50-70 kDa. Kinetic analyses indicate that these PEPC isoforms are (1) differentially regulated by pH, (2) activated by glutamine and dihydroxyacetone phosphate and (3) inhibited by glutamate, aspartate, 2-oxoglutarate and malate. These results are consistent with the current model for the regulation of anaplerotic carbon fixation in green algae, and demonstrate that green algal PEPCs are uniquely regulated by glutamine. Several techniques were used to assess the structural relationships between C. reinhardtii PEPC and the higher plant or prokaryotic enzyme. Immunoblot studies using anti-(green algal or higher plant PEPC) IgGs suggested that green algal (C. reinhardtii, Selenastrum minutum), higher plant (maize, banana fruit, tobacco) and prokaryotic (Synechococcus leopoliensis, Escherichia coli) PEPCs have little or no immunological relatedness. Moreover, the N-terminal amino acid sequence of the C. reinhardtii PEPC subunit did not have significant similarity to the highly conserved corresponding region in enzymes from higher plants, and CNBr cleavage patterns of green algal PEPCs were distinct from those of higher plant and cyanobacterial PEPCs. These results point to significant evolutionary divergence between green algal, higher plant and prokaryotic PEPCs.

Structural and functional analysis of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase gene from the purple nonsulfur bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris No. 7

The ppc gene, encoding phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC), from Rhodopseudomonas palustris No. 7 was cloned and sequenced. Primer extension analysis identified a transcriptional start site 42 bp upstream of the ppc initiation codon. An R. palustris No. 7 PEPC-deficient strain showed a slower doubling time compared with the wild-type strain either anaerobically in the light or aerobically in the dark, when pyruvate was used as a carbon source.

Molecular characterization of a phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase in the gymnosperm Picea abies (Norway spruce)

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) genes and cDNA sequences have so far been isolated from a broad range of angiosperm but not from gymnosperm species. We constructed a cDNA library from seedlings of Norway spruce (Picea abies) and identified cDNAs coding for PEPC. A full-length PEPC cDNA was sequenced. It consists of 3522 nucleotides and has an open reading frame (ORF) that encodes a polypeptide (963 amino acids) with a molecular mass of 109551. The deduced amino acid sequence revealed a higher similarity to the C3-form PEPC of angiosperm species (86-88%) than to the CAM and C4 forms (76-84%). The putative motif (Lys/Arg-X-X-Ser) for serine kinase, which is conserved in all angiosperm PEPCs analysed so far, is also present in this gymnosperm sequence. Southern blot analysis of spruce genomic DNA under low-stringency conditions using the PEPC cDNA as a hybridization probe showed a complex hybridization pattern, indicating the presence of additional PEPC-related sequences in the genome of the spruce. In contrast, the probe hybridized to only a few bands under high-stringency conditions. Whereas this PEPC gene is highly expressed in roots of seedlings, a low-level expression can be detected in cotyledons and adult needles. A molecular phyiogeny of plant PEPC including the spruce PEPC sequence revealed that the spruce PEPC sequence is clustered with monocot and dicot C3- form PEPCs including the only dicot C4 form characterized so far.

Molecular control mechanisms of lysine and threonine biosynthesis in amino acid-producing corynebacteria: redirecting carbon flow

Threonine and lysine are two of the economically most important essential amino acids. They are produced industrially by species of the genera Corynebacterium and Brevibacterium. The branched biosynthetic pathway of these amino acids in corynebacteria is unusual in gene organization and in the control of key enzymatic steps with respect to other microorganisms. This article reviews the molecular control mechanisms of the biosynthetic pathways leading to threonine and lysine in corynebacteria, and their implications in the production of these amino acids. Carbon flux can be redirected at branch points by gene disruption of the competing pathways for lysine or threonine. Removal of bottlenecks has been achieved by amplification of genes which encode feedback resistant aspartokinase and homoserine dehydrogenase (obtained by in vitro directed mutagenesis).

Functional and genetic characterization of the (methyl)ammonium uptake carrier of Corynebacterium glutamicum

Under nitrogen starvation conditions, Corynebacterium glutamicum was found to take up methylammonium at a rate of 20 +/- 5 nmol.min-1.(mg dry weight)-1. The specific activity of this uptake was 10-fold lower when growing the cells under sufficient nitrogen supply, indicating a tight regulation on the expression level. The methylammonium uptake showed Michaelis-Menten kinetics with an Km of 44 +/- 7 microM and was completely inhibited by the addition of 10 microM ammonium. This finding and the fact that methylammonium was not metabolized by C. glutamicum strongly suggests that the uptake carrier actually represents an ammonium uptake system. Methylammonium uptake was strictly dependent on the membrane potential. From the pH optimum and the accumulation of methylammonium in equilibrium, it could be deduced that only one net charge is transported and, thus, that methylammonium is taken up in its protonated form via an uniport mechanism. The amt gene encoding the (methyl)ammonium uptake system was isolated and characterized. The predicted gene product of amt consists of 452 amino acids (Mr = 47,699) and shows 26-33% identity to ammonium transporter proteins from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Arabidopsis thaliana. According to the hydrophobicity profile, it is an integral membrane protein containing 10 or 11 membrane-spanning segments.

Recent advances in the physiology and genetics of amino acid-producing bacteria

Corynebacterium glutamicum and its close relatives, C. flavum and C. lactofermentum, have been used for over 3 decades in the industrial production of amino acids by fermentation. Since 1984, several research groups have started programs to develop metabolic engineering principles for amino acid-producing Corynebacterium strains. Initially, the programs concentrated on the isolation of genes encoding (deregulated) biosynthetic enzymes and the development of general molecular biology tools such as cloning vectors and DNA transfer methods. With most of the genes and tools now available, recombinant DNA technology can be applied in strain improvement. To accomplish these improvements, it is critical and advantageous to understand the mechanisms of gene expression and regulation as well as the biochemistry and physiology of the species being engineered. This review explores the advances made in the understanding and application of amino acid-producing bacteria in the early 1990s.

Molecular biology of C4 phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase: Structure, regulation and genetic engineering

Three to four families of nuclear genes encode different isoforms of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxylase (PEPC): C4-specific, C3 or etiolated, CAM and root forms. C4 leaf PEPC is encoded by a single gene (ppc) in sorghum and maize, but multiple genes in the C4-dicot Flaveria trinervia. Selective expression of ppc in only C4-mesophyll cells is proposed to be due to nuclear factors, DNA methylation and a distinct gene promoter. Deduced amino acid sequences of C4-PEPC pinpoint the phosphorylatable serine near the N-terminus, C4-specific valine and serine residues near the C-terminus, conserved cysteine, lysine and histidine residues and PEP binding/catalytic sites. During the PEPC reaction, PEP and bicarbonate are first converted into carboxyphosphate and the enolate of pyruvate. Carboxyphosphate decomposes within the active site into Pi and CO2, the latter combining with the enolate to form oxalacetate. Besides carboxylation, PEPC catalyzes a HCO3 (-)-dependent hydrolysis of PEP to yield pyruvate and Pi. Post-translational regulation of PEPC occurs by a phosphorylation/dephosphorylation cascade in vivo and by reversible enzyme oligomerization in vitro. The interrelation between phosphorylation and oligomerization of the enzyme is not clear. PEPC-protein kinase (PEPC-PK), the enzyme responsible for phosphorylation of PEPC, has been studied extensively while only limited information is available on the protein phosphatase 2A capable of dephosphorylating PEPC. The C4 ppc was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli as well as tobacco. The transformed E. coli produced a functional/phosphorylatable C4 PEPC and the transgenic tobacco plants expressed both C3 and C4 isoforms. Site-directed mutagenesis of ppc indicates the importance of His(138), His(579) and Arg(587) in catalysis and/or substrate-binding by the E. coli enzyme, Ser(8) in the regulation of sorghum PEPC. Important areas for further research on C4 PEPC are: mechanism of transduction of light signal during photoactivation of PEPC-PK and PEPC in leaves, extensive use of site-directed mutagenesis to precisely identify other key amino acid residues, changes in quarternary structure of PEPC in vivo, a high-resolution crystal structure, and hormonal regulation of PEPC expression.

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase from Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2): purification of the enzyme, cloning of the ppc gene and over-expression of the protein in a streptomycete

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase [PEPC; orthophosphate:oxaloacetate carboxy-lyase (phosphorylating); EC 4.1.1.31] is a major anaplerotic enzyme in the polyketide producer Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2). PEPC was purified from S. coelicolor and the amino-acid sequences of four tryptic peptides were determined. Synthetic oligonucleotides based on the sequences of two of the peptides hybridized to the same bands in various restriction-enzyme digests of S. coelicolor genomic DNA. This hybridization allowed molecular cloning of an 8 kb BamHI fragment of genomic DNA. Partial DNA sequencing of this fragment showed that it could encode amino acid sequences similar to those of PEPC from other microorganisms. A BamHI/PstI fragment was subcloned into the streptomycete high-copy-number plasmid vector pIJ486 and transferred into Streptomyces lividans. The resulting strain over-expressed PEPC activity 21-fold and also over-expressed a protein with a subunit of 100,000 M(r), the same as that of purified S. coelicolor PEPC.

Transcriptional analysis of the gap-pgk-tpi-ppc gene cluster of Corynebacterium glutamicum

The transcriptional organization of the Corynebacterium glutamicum gap-pgk-tpi-ppc gene cluster, encoding glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, 3-phosphoglycerate kinase, triosephosphate isomerase, and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, was investigated by Northern (RNA) blot and primer extension analyses. Four transcripts corresponding to gap, to gap-pgk-tpi, to pgk-tpi, and to pgk-tpi-ppc were identified. The respective transcriptional initiation sites in front of gap and pgk were located, and, from the analysis of DNA sequences upstream of these and of previously determined transcriptional start sites, common structures which may be important for promoter function in C. glutamicum are discussed.

The cloning and nucleotide sequence of a Corynebacterium glutamicum 3-deoxy-D-arabinoheptulosonate-7-phosphate synthase gene

The aro gene of Corynebacterium glutamicum CCRC 18310 encoding 3-deoxy-D-arabinoheptulosonate-7-phosphate (DAHP) synthase was isolated by complementation of a DAHP synthase-deficient mutant of Escherichia coli AB3257. The specific activity of DAHP synthase was increased four-fold in a C. glutamicum strain harboring the cloned aro gene. The complete nucleotide sequence of the aro gene and its 5' and 3' flanking regions has been determined. The sequence contained an open reading frame of 368 codons, from which a protein with a molecular mass of 39,340 Da could be predicted. The deduced amino acid sequence shows high identity with the aro gene products of E. coli and Salmonella typhimurium.

Identification, sequence analysis, and expression of a Corynebacterium glutamicum gene cluster encoding the three glycolytic enzymes glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, 3-phosphoglycerate kinase, and triosephosphate isomerase

To investigate a possible chromosomal clustering of glycolytic enzyme genes in Corynebacterium glutamicum, a 6.4-kb DNA fragment located 5' adjacent to the structural phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPCx) gene ppc was isolated. Sequence analysis of the ppc-proximal part of this fragment identified a cluster of three glycolytic genes, namely, the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) gene gap, the 3-phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) gene pgk, and the triosephosphate isomerase (TPI) gene tpi. The four genes are organized in the order gap-pgk-tpi-ppc and are separated by 215 bp (gap and pgk), 78 bp (pgk and tpi), and 185 bp (tpi and ppc). The predicted gene product of gap consists of 336 amino acids (M(r) of 36,204), that of pgk consists of 403 amino acids (M(r) of 42,654), and that of tpi consists of 259 amino acids (M(r) of 27,198). The amino acid sequences of the three enzymes show up to 62% (GAPDH), 48% (PGK), and 44% (TPI) identity in comparison with respective enzymes from other organisms. The gap, pgk, tpi, and ppc genes were cloned into the C. glutamicum-Escherichia coli shuttle vector pEK0 and introduced into C. glutamicum. Relative to the wild type, the recombinant strains showed up to 20-fold-higher specific activities of the respective enzymes. On the basis of codon usage analysis of gap, pgk, tpi, and previously sequenced genes from C. glutamicum, a codon preference profile for this organism which differs significantly from those of E. coli and Bacillus subtilis is presented.

Site-directed mutagenesis of the conserved histidine residue of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase. His138 is essential for the second partial reaction

Histidine residues have previously been suggested to be essential for the activity of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase as demonstrated by chemical modification of these residues. Although the location of these residues on the primary structure is not known, a comparison of nine phosphoenolpyruvate (P-pyruvate) carboxylases sequenced recently revealed that there are only two conserved histidine residues (His138 and His579, coordinates from the E. coli enzyme). Site-directed mutagenesis of these residues were undertaken with the E. coli P-pyruvate carboxylase and the properties of purified mutant enzymes were investigated. Mutation of His138 to asparagine (H138N) produced a protein which did not show carboxylase activity. However, this mutant enzyme catalyzed the bicarbonate-dependent dephosphorylation (Vmax = 1.4 mumol.min-1.mg-1) of the P-pyruvate. Since this reaction is due to one of the two partial reactions proposed for this enzyme, the results indicate that His138 is obligatory for the second-step reaction, i.e. the carboxylation of the enolate form of pyruvate by carboxyphosphate. Mutation of His579 to asparagine (H579N) produced an enzyme which had 69% of the wild-type carboxylase activity, but its affinity for P-pyruvate was decreased by 24-fold.

Network rigidity and metabolic engineering in metabolite overproduction

In order to enhance the yield and productivity of metabolite production, researchers have focused almost exclusively on enzyme amplification or other modifications of the product pathway. However, overproduction of many metabolites requires significant redirection of flux distributions in the primary metabolism, which may not readily occur following product deregulation because metabolic pathways have evolved to exhibit control architectures that resist flux alterations at branch points. This problem can be addressed through the use of some general concepts of metabolic rigidity, which include a means for identifying and removing rigid branch points within an experimental framework.

Control of the Lysine Biosynthesis Sequence in Corynebacterium glutamicum as Analyzed by Overexpression of the Individual Corresponding Genes

The gene cluster that codes for feedback-resistant aspartate kinase (lysCalpha and lysCbeta) and aspartate semialdehyde dehydrogenase (asd) was cloned from a mutant strain of Corynebacterium glutamicum. Its functional analysis by subcloning, enzyme assays, and type of aspartate kinase regulation enabled the isolation of a fragment for separate expression of the feedback-resistant kinase without aspartate semialdehyde dehydrogenase expression. This was used together with other clones constructed (J. Cremer, L. Eggeling, and H. Sahm, Mol. Gen. Genet. 220:478-480, 1990) to overexpress individually each of the six genes that convert aspartate to lysine. Analysis of lysine formation revealed that overexpression of the feedback-resistant kinase alone suffices to achieve lysine formation (38 mM). Also, sole overexpression of wild-type dihydrodipicolinate synthase resulted in lysine formation but in a lower amount (11 mM). The other four enzymes had no effect on lysine secretion. With a plasmid overexpressing both relevant enzymes together, a further increase in lysine yield was obtained. This shows that of the six enzymes that convert aspartate to lysine the kinase and the synthase are responsible for flow control in the wild-type background and can be useful for construction of lysine-producing strains.

The phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase gene family of Sorghum: promoter structures, amino acid sequences and expression of genes

Two different members of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase(PEPC)-encoding multigene family (clones lambda CP21 and lambda CP46) have been isolated from a Sorghum vulgare lambda EMBL4 genomic library. The use of the 3'-noncoding regions to probe Northern blots of RNA from roots, etiolated leaves and green leaves indicated that lambda CP21 and lambda CP46 encode the C3- and C4-type leaf PEPC isoforms, respectively. The lambda CP21 clone is expressed in the three tissues and is not light-regulated, whereas lambda CP46 is only expressed in greening leaves. The nucleotide sequence of the 5'-flanking DNA (520 bp) has been determined for both genes. For lambda CP46, several direct repeats were located in this region with similarities to sequences found in other light-regulated genes, but not in lambda CP21. The deduced amino acid sequences of the two S. vulgare PEPC proteins are 75% identical.

Molecular cloning, nucleotide sequence and fine-structural analysis of the Corynebacterium glutamicum fda gene: structural comparison of C. glutamicum fructose-1,6-biphosphate aldolase to class I and class II aldolases

The Corynebacterium glutamicum fda gene encoding fructose-1,6-biphosphate (FBP) aldolase has been isolated by complementation of an Escherichia coli mutant. The nucleotide sequence of a 3371 bp chromosomal fragment containing the C. glutamicum fda gene was determined. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of C. glutamicum FBP aldolase identified the correct initiation site for the fda gene, and a molecular weight of 37,092 was predicted for the fda polypeptide. S1 nuclease mapping identified the transcriptional start site, and Northern hybridization analysis indicated that the fda gene encodes a single 1.3 kb transcript. The primary structure of C. glutamicum FBP aldolase shows strong homology to class II FBP aldolases. Conservation of primary structure was observed between class I and class II aldolases, but several residues essential for catalytic activity in class I aldolases were absent from class II aldolases.