delta-(L-alpha-Aminoadipyl)-L-cysteinyl-D-valine synthetase, that mediates the first committed step in penicillin biosynthesis, is a cytosolic enzyme

Targeting of Specialized Metabolites Biosynthetic Enzymes to Membranes and Vesicles by Posttranslational Palmitoylation: A Mechanism of Non-Conventional Traffic and Secretion of Fungal Metabolites

In nature, the formation of specialized (secondary) metabolites is associated with the late stages of fungal development. Enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites in fungi are located in distinct subcellular compartments including the cytosol, peroxisomes, endosomes, endoplasmic reticulum, different types of vesicles, the plasma membrane and the cell wall space. The enzymes traffic between these subcellular compartments and the secretion through the plasma membrane are still unclear in the biosynthetic processes of most of these metabolites. Recent reports indicate that some of these enzymes initially located in the cytosol are later modified by posttranslational acylation and these modifications may target them to membrane vesicle systems. Many posttranslational modifications play key roles in the enzymatic function of different proteins in the cell. These modifications are very important in the modulation of regulatory proteins, in targeting of proteins, intracellular traffic and metabolites secretion. Particularly interesting are the protein modifications by palmitoylation, prenylation and miristoylation. Palmitoylation is a thiol group-acylation (S-acylation) of proteins by palmitic acid (C16) that is attached to the SH group of a conserved cysteine in proteins. Palmitoylation serves to target acylated proteins to the cytosolic surface of cell membranes, e.g., to the smooth endoplasmic reticulum, whereas the so-called toxisomes are formed in trichothecene biosynthesis. Palmitoylation of the initial enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of melanin serves to target them to endosomes and later to the conidia, whereas other non-palmitoylated laccases are secreted directly by the conventional secretory pathway to the cell wall space where they perform the last step(s) of melanin biosynthesis. Six other enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of endocrosin, gliotoxin and fumitremorgin believed to be cytosolic are also targeted to vesicles, although it is unclear if they are palmitoylated. Bioinformatic analysis suggests that palmitoylation may be frequent in the modification and targeting of polyketide synthetases and non-ribosomal peptide synthetases. The endosomes may integrate other small vesicles with different cargo proteins, forming multivesicular bodies that finally fuse with the plasma membrane during secretion. Another important effect of palmitoylation is that it regulates calcium metabolism by posttranslational modification of the phosphatase calcineurin. Mutants defective in the Akr1 palmitoyl transferase in several fungi are affected in calcium transport and homeostasis, thus impacting on the biosynthesis of calcium-regulated specialized metabolites. The palmitoylation of secondary metabolites biosynthetic enzymes and their temporal distribution respond to the conidiation signaling mechanism. In summary, this posttranslational modification drives the spatial traffic of the biosynthetic enzymes between the subcellular organelles and the plasma membrane. This article reviews the molecular mechanism of palmitoylation and the known fungal palmitoyl transferases. This novel information opens new ways to improve the biosynthesis of the bioactive metabolites and to increase its secretion in fungi.

Subcellular localization of fungal specialized metabolites

Fungal specialized metabolites play an important role in the environment and have impacted human health and survival significantly. These specialized metabolites are often the end product of a series of sequential and collaborating biosynthetic enzymes that reside within different subcellular compartments. A wide variety of methods have been developed to understand fungal specialized metabolite biosynthesis in terms of the chemical conversions and the biosynthetic enzymes required, however there are far fewer studies elucidating the compartmentalization of the same enzymes. This review illustrates the biosynthesis of specialized metabolites where the localization of all, or some, of the biosynthetic enzymes have been determined and describes the methods used to identify the sub-cellular localization.

Penicillium chrysogenum, a Vintage Model with a Cutting-Edge Profile in Biotechnology

The discovery of penicillin entailed a decisive breakthrough in medicine. No other medical advance has ever had the same impact in the clinical practise. The fungus Penicillium chrysogenum (reclassified as P. rubens) has been used for industrial production of penicillin ever since the forties of the past century; industrial biotechnology developed hand in hand with it, and currently P. chrysogenum is a thoroughly studied model for secondary metabolite production and regulation. In addition to its role as penicillin producer, recent synthetic biology advances have put P. chrysogenum on the path to become a cell factory for the production of metabolites with biotechnological interest. In this review, we tell the history of P. chrysogenum, from the discovery of penicillin and the first isolation of strains with high production capacity to the most recent research advances with the fungus. We will describe how classical strain improvement programs achieved the goal of increasing production and how the development of different molecular tools allowed further improvements. The discovery of the penicillin gene cluster, the origin of the penicillin genes, the regulation of penicillin production, and a compilation of other P. chrysogenum secondary metabolites will also be covered and updated in this work.

Biosynthetic process and strain improvement approaches for industrial penicillin production

Penicillins and cephalosporins are the most important class of beta (β) lactam antibiotics, accounting for 65% total antibiotic market. Penicillins are produced by Penicillium rubens (popularly known as P. chrysogenum) were used to synthesize the active pharmaceutical intermediate (API), 6-aminopenicillinic acid (6-APA) employed in semisynthetic antibiotic production. The wild strains produce a negligible amount of penicillin (Pen). High antibiotic titre-producing P. chrysogenum strains are necessitating for industrial Pen production to meet global demand at lower prices. Classical strain improvement (CSI) approaches such as random mutagenesis, medium engineering, and fermentation are the cornerstones for high-titer Pen production. Since, Sir Alexander Fleming Discovery of Pen, great efforts are expanded to develop at a commercial scale antibiotics producing strains. Breakthroughs in genetic engineering, heterologous expression and CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing tools opened a new window for Pen production at a commercial scale to assure health crisis. The current state of knowledge, limitations of CSI and genetic engineering approaches to Pen production are discussed in this review.

Transport systems, intracellular traffic of intermediates and secretion of β-lactam antibiotics in fungi

Fungal secondary metabolites are synthesized by complex biosynthetic pathways catalized by enzymes located in different subcellular compartments, thus requiring traffic of precursors and intermediates between them. The β-lactam antibiotics penicillin and cephalosporin C serve as an excellent model to understand the molecular mechanisms that control the subcellular localization of secondary metabolites biosynthetic enzymes. Optimal functioning of the β-lactam biosynthetic enzymes relies on a sophisticated temporal and spatial organization of the enzymes, the intermediates and the final products. The first and second enzymes of the penicillin pathway, ACV synthetase and IPN synthase, in Penicillium chrysogenum and Aspergillus nidulans are cytosolic. In contrast, the last two enzymes of the penicillin pathway, phenylacetyl-CoA ligase and isopenicillin N acyltransferase, are located in peroxisomes working as a tandem at their optimal pH that coincides with the peroxisomes pH. Two MFS transporters, PenM and PaaT have been found to be involved in the import of the intermediates isopenicillin N and phenylacetic acid, respectively, into peroxisomes. Similar compartmentalization of intermediates occurs in Acremonium chrysogenum; two enzymes isopenicillin N-CoA ligase and isopenicillin N-CoA epimerase, that catalyse the conversion of isopenicillin N in penicillin N, are located in peroxisomes. Two genes encoding MFS transporters, cefP and cefM, are located in the early cephalosporin gene cluster. These transporters have been localized in peroxisomes by confocal fluorescence microscopy. A third gene of A. chrysogenum, cefT, encodes an MFS protein, located in the cell membrane involved in the secretion of cephalosporin C, although cefT-disrupted mutants are still able to export cephalosporin by redundant transporters. The secretion of penicillin from peroxisomes to the extracellular medium is still unclear. Attempts have been made to identify a gene encoding the penicillin secretion protein among the 48 ABC-transporters of P. chrysogenum. The highly efficient secretion system that exports penicillin against a concentration gradient may involve active penicillin extrusion systems mediated by vesicles that fuse to the cell membrane. However, there is no correlation of pexophagy with penicillin or cephalosporin formation since inactivation of pexophagy leads to increased penicillin or cephalosporin biosynthesis due to preservation of peroxisomes. The penicillin biosynthesis finding shows that in order to increase biosynthesis of novel secondary metabolites it is essential to adequately target enzymes to organelles.

δ-(l-α-aminoadipyl)-l-cysteinyl-d-valine synthetase (ACVS): discovery and perspectives

The δ-(l-α-aminoadipyl)-l-cysteinyl-d-valine (ACV) tripeptide is the first dedicated intermediate in the biosynthetic pathway leading to the penicillin and cephalosporin classes of β-lactam natural products in bacteria and fungi. It is synthesized nonribosomally by the ACV synthetase (ACVS) enzyme, which has been purified and partially characterized from many sources. Due to its large size and instability, many details regarding the reaction mechanism of ACVS are still not fully understood. In this review we discuss the chronology and associated methodology that led to the discovery of ACVS, some of the main findings regarding its activities, and some recent/current studies being conducted on the enzyme. In addition, we conclude with perspectives on what can be done to increase our understating of this very important protein in the future.

Cellular compartmentalization of secondary metabolism

Fungal secondary metabolism is often considered apart from the essential housekeeping functions of the cell. However, there are clear links between fundamental cellular metabolism and the biochemical pathways leading to secondary metabolite synthesis. Besides utilizing key biochemical precursors shared with the most essential processes of the cell (e.g., amino acids, acetyl CoA, NADPH), enzymes for secondary metabolite synthesis are compartmentalized at conserved subcellular sites that position pathway enzymes to use these common biochemical precursors. Co-compartmentalization of secondary metabolism pathway enzymes also may function to channel precursors, promote pathway efficiency and sequester pathway intermediates and products from the rest of the cell. In this review we discuss the compartmentalization of three well-studied fungal secondary metabolite biosynthetic pathways for penicillin G, aflatoxin and deoxynivalenol, and summarize evidence used to infer subcellular localization. We also discuss how these metabolites potentially are trafficked within the cell and may be exported.

Spatial and temporal control of fungal natural product synthesis

Despite their oftentimes-elusive ecological role, fungal natural products have, for better or worse, impacted our daily lives tremendously owing to their diverse and potent bioactive properties. This Janus-faced nature of fungal natural products inevitably ushered in a field of research dedicated towards understanding the ecology, organisms, genes, enzymes, and biosynthetic pathways that give rise to this arsenal of diverse and complex chemistry. Ongoing research in fungal secondary metabolism has not only increased our appreciation for fungal natural products as an asset but also sheds light on the pivotal role that these once-regarded "metabolic wastes" play in fungal biology, defense, and stress response in addition to their potential contributions towards human mycoses. Full orchestration of secondary metabolism requires not only the seamless coordination between temporal and spatial control of SM-associated machineries (e.g. enzymes, cofactors, intermediates, and end-products) but also integration of these machineries into primary metabolic processes and established cellular mechanisms. An intriguing, but little known aspect of microbial natural product synthesis lies in the spatial organization of both pathway intermediates and enzymes responsible for the production of these compounds. In this highlight, we summarize some major breakthroughs in understanding the genes and regulation of fungal natural product synthesis and introduce the current state of knowledge on the spatial and temporal control of fungal natural product synthesis.

Role of peroxisomes in the biosynthesis and secretion of β-lactams and other secondary metabolites

Peroxisomes are eukaryotic organelles surrounded by a single bilayer membrane, containing a variety of proteins depending on the organism; they mainly perform degradation reactions of toxic metabolites (detoxification), catabolism of linear and branched-chain fatty acids, and removal of H(2)O(2) (formed in some oxidative processes) by catalase. Proteins named peroxins are involved in recruiting, transporting, and introducing the peroxisomal matrix proteins into the peroxisomes. The matrix proteins contain the peroxisomal targeting signals PTS1 and/or PTS2 that are recognized by the peroxins Pex5 and Pex7, respectively. Initial evidence indicated that the penicillin biosynthetic enzyme isopenicillin N acyltransferase (IAT) of Penicillium chrysogenum is located inside peroxisomes. There is now solid evidence (based on electron microscopy and/or biochemical data) confirming that IAT and the phenylacetic acid- and fatty acid-activating enzymes are also located in peroxisomes. Similarly, the Acremonium chrysogenum CefD1 and CefD2 proteins that perform the central reactions (activation and epimerization of isopenicillin N) of the cephalosporin pathway are targeted to peroxisomes. Growing evidence supports the conclusion that some enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of mycotoxins (e.g., AK-toxin), and the biosynthesis of signaling molecules in plants (e.g., jasmonic acid or auxins) occur in peroxisomes. The high concentration of substrates (in many cases toxic to the cytoplasm) and enzymes inside the peroxisomes allows efficient synthesis of metabolites with interesting biological or pharmacological activities. This compartmentalization poses additional challenges to the cell due to the need to import the substrates into the peroxisomes and to export the final products; the transporters involved in these processes are still very poorly known. This article focuses on new aspects of the metabolic processes occurring in peroxisomes, namely the degradation and detoxification processes that lead to the biosynthesis and secretion of secondary metabolites.

Over-expression of pcvA involved in vesicle-vacuolar fusion affects the conidiation and penicillin production in Penicillium chrysogenum

Rab GTPase is required for vesicle-vacuolar fusion during the vacuolar biogenesis in fungi. Rab GTPase-encoding gene, pcvA, was cloned from Penicillium chrysogenum: it contained five introns and its predicted protein contained the conserved Rab GTPase domain involved in GTP-binding and hydrolysis. Over-expression of pcvA significantly stimulated the vesicle-vacuolar fusion but repressed the conidiation and decreased conidial tolerance against thermal stress. Penicillin production was decreased in the pcvA over-expressed strain suggesting that pcvA is involved in vesicle-vacuolar fusion participates in the penicillin biosynthesis in P. chrysogenum.

Biosynthetic concepts for the production of β-lactam antibiotics in Penicillium chrysogenum

Industrial production of β-lactam antibiotics by the filamentous fungus Penicillium chrysogenum is based on successive classical strain improvement cycles. This review summarizes our current knowledge on the results of this classical strain improvement process, and discusses avenues to improve β-lactam biosynthesis and to exploit P. chrysogenum as an industrial host for the production of other antibiotics and peptide products. Genomic and transcriptional analysis of strain lineages has led to the identification of several important alterations in high-yielding strains, including the amplification of the penicillin biosynthetic gene cluster, elevated transcription of genes involved in biosynthesis of penicillin and amino acid precursors, and genes encoding microbody proliferation factors. In recent years, successful metabolic engineering and synthetic biology approaches have resulted in the redirection of the penicillin pathway towards the production of cephalosporins. This sets a new direction in industrial antibiotics productions towards more sustainable methods for the fermentative production of unnatural antibiotics and related compounds.

Autophagy deficiency promotes beta-lactam production in Penicillium chrysogenum

We have investigated the significance of autophagy in the production of the β-lactam antibiotic penicillin (PEN) by the filamentous fungus Penicillium chrysogenum. In this fungus PEN production is compartmentalized in the cytosol and in peroxisomes. We demonstrate that under PEN-producing conditions significant amounts of cytosolic and peroxisomal proteins are degraded via autophagy. Morphological analysis, based on electron and fluorescence microscopy, revealed that this phenomenon might contribute to progressive deterioration of late subapical cells. We show that deletion of the P. chrysogenum ortholog of Saccharomyces cerevisiae serine-threonine kinase atg1 results in impairment of autophagy. In P. chrysogenum atg1 cells, a distinct delay in cell degeneration is observed relative to wild-type cells. This phenomenon is associated with an increase in the enzyme levels of the PEN biosynthetic pathway and enhanced production levels of this antibacterial compound.

Peroxisomes are required for efficient penicillin biosynthesis in Penicillium chrysogenum

In the fungus Penicillium chrysogenum, penicillin (PEN) production is compartmentalized in the cytosol and in peroxisomes. Here we show that intact peroxisomes that contain the two final enzymes of PEN biosynthesis, acyl coenzyme A (CoA):6-amino penicillanic acid acyltransferase (AT) as well as the side-chain precursor activation enzyme phenylacetyl CoA ligase (PCL), are crucial for efficient PEN synthesis. Moreover, increasing PEN titers are associated with increasing peroxisome numbers. However, not all conditions that result in enhanced peroxisome numbers simultaneously stimulate PEN production. We find that conditions that lead to peroxisome proliferation but simultaneously interfere with the normal physiology of the cell may be detrimental to antibiotic production. We furthermore show that peroxisomes develop in germinating conidiospores from reticule-like structures. During subsequent hyphal growth, peroxisome proliferation occurs at the tip of the growing hyphae, after which the organelles are distributed over newly formed subapical cells. We observed that the organelle proliferation machinery requires the dynamin-like protein Dnm1.

Compartmentalization and molecular traffic in secondary metabolism: a new understanding of established cellular processes

Great progress has been made in understanding the regulation of expression of genes involved in secondary metabolism. Less is known about the mechanisms that govern the spatial distribution of the enzymes, cofactors, and substrates that mediate catalysis of secondary metabolites within the cell. Filamentous fungi in the genus Aspergillus synthesize an array of secondary metabolites and provide useful systems to analyze the mechanisms that mediate the temporal and spatial regulation of secondary metabolism in eukaryotes. For example, aflatoxin biosynthesis in Aspergillus parasiticus has been studied intensively because this mycotoxin is highly toxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic in humans and animals. Using aflatoxin synthesis to illustrate key concepts, this review focuses on the mechanisms by which sub-cellular compartmentalization and intra-cellular molecular traffic contribute to the initiation and completion of secondary metabolism within the cell. We discuss the recent discovery of aflatoxisomes, specialized trafficking vesicles that participate in the compartmentalization of aflatoxin synthesis and export of the toxin to the cell exterior; this work provides a new and clearer understanding of how cells integrate secondary metabolism into basic cellular metabolism via the intra-cellular trafficking machinery.

An engineered yeast efficiently secreting penicillin

This study aimed at developing an alternative host for the production of penicillin (PEN). As yet, the industrial production of this beta-lactam antibiotic is confined to the filamentous fungus Penicillium chrysogenum. As such, the yeast Hansenula polymorpha, a recognized producer of pharmaceuticals, represents an attractive alternative. Introduction of the P. chrysogenum gene encoding the non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) delta-(L-alpha-aminoadipyl)-L-cysteinyl-D-valine synthetase (ACVS) in H. polymorpha, resulted in the production of active ACVS enzyme, when co-expressed with the Bacillus subtilis sfp gene encoding a phosphopantetheinyl transferase that activated ACVS. This represents the first example of the functional expression of a non-ribosomal peptide synthetase in yeast. Co-expression with the P. chrysogenum genes encoding the cytosolic enzyme isopenicillin N synthase as well as the two peroxisomal enzymes isopenicillin N acyl transferase (IAT) and phenylacetyl CoA ligase (PCL) resulted in production of biologically active PEN, which was efficiently secreted. The amount of secreted PEN was similar to that produced by the original P. chrysogenum NRRL1951 strain (approx. 1 mg/L). PEN production was decreased over two-fold in a yeast strain lacking peroxisomes, indicating that the peroxisomal localization of IAT and PCL is important for efficient PEN production. The breakthroughs of this work enable exploration of new yeast-based cell factories for the production of (novel) beta-lactam antibiotics as well as other natural and semi-synthetic peptides (e.g. immunosuppressive and cytostatic agents), whose production involves NRPS's.

Regulation and compartmentalization of β-lactam biosynthesis

Penicillins and cephalosporins are β‐lactam antibiotics widely used in human medicine. The biosynthesis of these compounds starts by the condensation of the amino acids l‐α‐aminoadipic acid, l‐cysteine and l‐valine to form the tripeptide δ‐l‐α‐aminoadipyl‐l‐cysteinyl‐d‐valine catalysed by the non‐ribosomal peptide ‘ACV synthetase’. Subsequently, this tripeptide is cyclized to isopenicillin N that in Penicillium is converted to hydrophobic penicillins, e.g. benzylpenicillin. In Acremonium and in streptomycetes, isopenicillin N is later isomerized to penicillin N and finally converted to cephalosporin. Expression of genes of the penicillin (pcbAB, pcbC, pendDE) and cephalosporin clusters (pcbAB, pcbC, cefD1, cefD2, cefEF, cefG) is controlled by pleitropic regulators including LaeA, a methylase involved in heterochromatin rearrangement. The enzymes catalysing the last two steps of penicillin biosynthesis (phenylacetyl‐CoA ligase and isopenicillin N acyltransferase) are located in microbodies, as shown by immunoelectron microscopy and microbodies proteome analyses. Similarly, the Acremonium two‐component CefD1–CefD2 epimerization system is also located in microbodies. This compartmentalization implies intracellular transport of isopenicillin N (in the penicillin pathway) or isopenicillin N and penicillin N in the cephalosporin route. Two transporters of the MFS family cefT and cefM are involved in transport of intermediates and/or secretion of cephalosporins. However, there is no known transporter of benzylpenicillin despite its large production in industrial strains.

The transporter CefM involved in translocation of biosynthetic intermediates is essential for cephalosporin production

The cluster of early cephalosporin biosynthesis genes (pcbAB, pcbC, cefD1, cefD2 and cefT of Acremonium chrysogenum) contains all of the genes required for the biosynthesis of the cephalosporin biosynthetic pathway intermediate penicillin N. Downstream of the cefD1 gene, there is an unassigned open reading frame named cefM encoding a protein of the MFS (major facilitator superfamily) with 12 transmembrane domains, different from the previously reported cefT. Targeted inactivation of cefM by gene replacement showed that it is essential for cephalosporin biosynthesis. The disrupted mutant accumulates a significant amount of penicillin N, is unable to synthesize deacetoxy-, deacetyl-cephalosporin C and cephalosporin C and shows impaired differentiation into arthrospores. Complementation of the disrupted mutant with the cefM gene restored the intracellular penicillin N concentration to normal levels and allowed synthesis and secretion of the cephalosporin intermediates and cephalosporin C. A fused cefM-gfp gene complemented the cefM-disrupted mutant, and the CefM–GFP (green fluorescent protein) fusion was targeted to intracellular microbodies that were abundant after 72 h of culture in the differentiating hyphae and in the arthrospore chains, coinciding with the phase of intense cephalosporin biosynthesis. Since the dual-component enzyme system CefD1–CefD2 that converts isopenicillin N into penicillin N contains peroxisomal targeting sequences, it is probable that the epimerization step takes place in the peroxisome matrix. The CefM protein seems to be involved in the translocation of penicillin N from the peroxisome (or peroxisome-like microbodies) lumen to the cytosol, where it is converted into cephalosporin C.

Matching the proteome to the genome: the microbody of penicillin-producing Penicillium chrysogenum cells

In the filamentous fungus Penicillium chrysogenum, microbodies are essential for penicillin biosynthesis. To better understand the role of these organelles in antibiotics production, we determined the matrix enzyme contents of P. chrysogenum microbodies. Using a novel in silico approach, we first obtained a catalogue of 200 P. chrysogenum proteins with putative microbody targeting signals (PTSs). This included two orthologs of proteins involved in cephalosporin biosynthesis, which we demonstrate to be bona fide microbody matrix constituents. Subsequently, we performed a proteomics based inventory of P. chrysogenum microbody matrix proteins using nano-LC-MS/MS analysis. We identified 89 microbody proteins, 79 with a PTS, including the two known microbody-borne penicillin biosynthesis enzymes, isopenicillin N:acyl CoA acyltransferase and phenylacetyl-CoA ligase. Comparative analysis revealed that 69 out of 79 PTS proteins identified experimentally were in the reference list. A prominent microbody protein was identified as a novel fumarate reductase-cytochrome b5 fusion protein, which contains an internal PTS2 between the two functional domains. We show that this protein indeed localizes to P. chrysogenum microbodies.

Production of functionally active Penicillium chrysogenum isopenicillin N synthase in the yeast Hansenula polymorpha

Background

β-Lactams like penicillin and cephalosporin are among the oldest known antibiotics used against bacterial infections. Industrially, penicillin is produced by the filamentous fungus Penicillium chrysogenum. Our goal is to introduce the entire penicillin biosynthesis pathway into the methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha. Yeast species have the advantage of being versatile, easy to handle and cultivate, and possess superior fermentation properties relative to filamentous fungi. One of the fundamental challenges is to produce functionally active enzyme in H. polymorpha.

Results

The P. chrysogenum pcbC gene encoding isopenicillin N synthase (IPNS) was successfully expressed in H. polymorpha, but the protein produced was unstable and inactive when the host was grown at its optimal growth temperature (37°C). Heterologously produced IPNS protein levels were enhanced when the cultivation temperature was lowered to either 25°C or 30°C. Furthermore, IPNS produced at these lower cultivation temperatures was functionally active. Localization experiments demonstrated that, like in P. chrysogenum, in H. polymorpha IPNS is located in the cytosol.

Conclusion

In P. chrysogenum, the enzymes involved in penicillin production are compartmentalized in the cytosol and in microbodies. In this study, we focus on the cytosolic enzyme IPNS. Our data show that high amounts of functionally active IPNS enzyme can be produced in the heterologous host during cultivation at 25°C, the optimal growth temperature for P. chrysogenum. This is a new step forward in the metabolic reprogramming of H. polymorpha to produce penicillin.

In vivo transport of the intermediates of the penicillin biosynthetic pathway in tailored strains of Penicillium chrysogenum

Penicillium chrysogenum npe10 (Deltapen; lacking the 56.8-kbp amplified region containing the penicillin gene cluster), complemented with one, two, or three penicillin biosynthetic genes, was used for in vivo studies on transport of benzylpenicillin intermediates. 6-Aminopenicillanic acid (6-APA) was taken up efficiently by P. chrysogenum npe10 unlike exogenous delta(L: -alpha-aminoadipyl)-L: -cysteinyl-D: -valine or isopenicillin N (IPN), which were not taken up or were taken up very poorly. Internalization of exogenous IPN and 6-APA inside peroxisomes was tested by quantifying their peroximal conversion into benzylpenicillin in strains containing only the penDE gene. Exogenous 6-APA was transformed efficiently into benzylpenicillin, whereas IPN was converted very poorly into benzylpenicillin due to its weak uptake. IPN was secreted to the culture medium. IPN secretion decreased when increasing levels of phenylacetic acid were added to the culture medium. The P. chrysogenum membrane permeability to exogenous benzylpenicillin was tested in the npe10 strain. Penicillin is absorbed by the cells by an unknown mechanism, but its intracellular concentration is kept low.

Natural products of filamentous fungi: enzymes, genes, and their regulation

We review the literature on the enzymes, genes, and whole gene clusters underlying natural product biosyntheses and their regulation in filamentous fungi. We have included literature references from 1958, yet the majority of citations are between 1995 and the present. A total of 295 references are cited.

A nonribosomal peptide synthetase (Pes1) confers protection against oxidative stress in Aspergillus fumigatus

Aspergillus fumigatus is an important human fungal pathogen. The Aspergillus fumigatus genome contains 14 nonribosomal peptide synthetase genes, potentially responsible for generating metabolites that contribute to organismal virulence. Differential expression of the nonribosomal peptide synthetase gene, pes1, in four strains of Aspergillus fumigatus was observed. The pattern of pes1 expression differed from that of a putative siderophore synthetase gene, sidD, and so is unlikely to be involved in iron acquisition. The Pes1 protein (expected molecular mass 698 kDa) was partially purified and identified by immunoreactivity, peptide mass fingerprinting (36% sequence coverage) and MALDI LIFT-TOF/TOF MS (four internal peptides sequenced). A pes1 disruption mutant (delta pes1) of Aspergillus fumigatus strain 293.1 was generated and confirmed by Southern and western analysis, in addition to RT-PCR. The delta pes1 mutant also showed significantly reduced virulence in the Galleria mellonella model system (P < 0.001) and increased sensitivity to oxidative stress (P = 0.002) in culture and during neutrophil-mediated phagocytosis. In addition, the mutant exhibited altered conidial surface morphology and hydrophilicity, compared to Aspergillus fumigatus 293.1. It is concluded that pes1 contributes to improved fungal tolerance against oxidative stress, mediated by the conidial phenotype, during the infection process.

Purification and characterization of two novel antimicrobial peptides Subpeptin JM4-A and Subpeptin JM4-B produced by Bacillus subtilis JM4

An antimicrobial peptides-producing strain was isolated from soil and identified as Bacillus subtilis JM4 according to biochemical tests and 16S rDNA sequence analysis. The corresponding antimicrobial peptides were purified to homogeneity by ammonium sulfate precipitation, sequential SP-Sepharose Fast Flow, Sephadex G-25 and C18 reverse-phase chromatography, and in the final purification step, two active fractions were harvested, designated as Subpeptin JM4-A and Subpeptin JM4-B. The molecular weights, determined by mass spectrometry, were 1422.71 Da for Subpeptin JM4-A and 1422.65 Da for Subpeptin JM4-B, respectively. Amino acid sequencing showed that they differed from each other only at the seventh amino acid except for three unidentified residues, and the two peptides had no significant sequence homology to the known peptides in the database, indicating that they are two novel antimicrobial peptides. In addition, characteristic measurements indicated that both peptides had a relatively broad inhibitory spectrum and remained active over a wide pH and temperature range.

Overproduction of a single protein, Pc-Pex11p, results in 2-fold enhanced penicillin production by Penicillium chrysogenum

Current industrial production of beta-lactam antibiotics, using the filamentous fungus Penicillium chrysogenum, is the result of many years of strain improvement by classical mutagenesis. More efficient production strains showed significant increases in the number and volume fraction of microbodies in their cells, organelles that harbor key enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of beta-lactam antibiotics. We have isolated the P. chrysogenum cDNA encoding Pc-Pex11p, a peroxin that is involved in microbody abundance. We demonstrate that overproduction of Pc-Pex11p in P. chrysogenum results in massive proliferation of tubular-shaped microbodies and a 2- to 2.5-fold increase in the level of penicillin in the culture medium. Notably, Pc-Pex11p-overproduction did not affect the levels of the enzymes of the penicillin biosynthetic pathway. Our results suggest that the stimulating effect of enhanced organelle numbers may reflect an increase in the fluxes of penicillin and/or its precursors across the now much enlarged microbody membrane.

Uptake of the beta-lactam precursor alpha-aminoadipic acid in Penicillium chrysogenum is mediated by the acidic and the general amino acid permease

External addition of the beta-lactam precursor alpha-aminoadipic acid to the filamentous fungus Penicillium chrysogenum leads to an increased intracellular alpha-aminoadipic acid concentration and an increase in penicillin production. The exact route for alpha-aminoadipic acid uptake is not known, although the general amino acid and acidic amino acid permeases have been implicated in this process. Their corresponding genes, PcGAP1 and PcDIP5, of P. chrysogenum were cloned and functionally expressed in a mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (M4276) in which the acidic amino acid and general amino acid permease genes (DIP5 and GAP1, respectively) are disrupted. Transport assays show that both PcGap1 and PcDip5 mediated the uptake of alpha-aminoadipic acid, although PcGap1 showed a higher affinity for alpha-aminoadipic acid than PcDip5 (K(m) values, 230 and 800 microM, respectively). Leucine strongly inhibits alpha-aminoadipic acid transport via PcGap1 but not via PcDip5. This difference was exploited to estimate the relative contribution of each transport system to the alpha-aminoadipic acid flux in beta-lactam-producing P. chrysogenum. The transport measurements demonstrate that both PcGap1 and PcDip5 contribute to the alpha-aminoadipic acid flux.