Physiological regulation of a decontrolled lac operon

Nitrogen assimilation by E. coli in the mammalian intestine

Nitrogen is an essential element for all living organisms, including Escherichia coli. Potential nitrogen sources are abundant in the intestine, but knowledge of those used specifically by E. coli to colonize remains limited. Here, we sought to determine the specific nitrogen sources used by E. coli to colonize the streptomycin-treated mouse intestine. We began by investigating whether nitrogen is limiting in the intestine. The NtrBC two-component system upregulates approximately 100 genes in response to nitrogen limitation. We showed that NtrBC is crucial for E. coli colonization, although most genes of the NtrBC regulon are not induced, which indicates that nitrogen is not limiting in the intestine. RNA-seq identified upregulated genes in colonized E. coli involved in transport and catabolism of seven amino acids, dipeptides and tripeptides, purines, pyrimidines, urea, and ethanolamine. Competitive colonization experiments revealed that L-serine, N-acetylneuraminic acid, N-acetylglucosamine, and di- and tripeptides serve as nitrogen sources for E. coli in the intestine. Furthermore, the colonization defect of a L-serine deaminase mutant was rescued by excess nitrogen in the drinking water but not by an excess of carbon and energy, demonstrating that L-serine serves primarily as a nitrogen source. Similar rescue experiments showed that N-acetylneuraminic acid serves as both a carbon and nitrogen source. To a minor extent, aspartate and ammonia also serve as nitrogen sources. Overall, these findings demonstrate that E. coli utilizes multiple nitrogen sources for successful colonization of the mouse intestine, the most important of which is L-serine.

IMPORTANCE

While much is known about the carbon and energy sources that are used by E. coli to colonize the mammalian intestine, very little is known about the sources of nitrogen. Interrogation of colonized E. coli by RNA-seq revealed that nitrogen is not limiting, indicating an abundance of nitrogen sources in the intestine. Pathways for assimilation of nitrogen from several amino acids, dipeptides and tripeptides, purines, pyrimidines, urea, and ethanolamine were induced in mice. Competitive colonization assays confirmed that mutants lacking catabolic pathways for L-serine, N-acetylneuraminic acid, N-acetylglucosamine, and di- and tripeptides had colonization defects. Rescue experiments in mice showed that L-serine serves primarily as a nitrogen source, whereas N-acetylneuraminic acid provides both carbon and nitrogen. Of the many nitrogen assimilation mutants tested, the largest colonization defect was for an L-serine deaminase mutant, which demonstrates L-serine is the most important nitrogen source for colonized E. coli.

Strategies to Enhance Periplasmic Recombinant Protein Production Yields in Escherichia coli

Main reasons to produce recombinant proteins in the periplasm of E. coli rather than in its cytoplasm are to -i- enable disulfide bond formation, -ii- facilitate protein isolation, -iii- control the nature of the N-terminus of the mature protein, and -iv- minimize exposure to cytoplasmic proteases. However, hampered protein targeting, translocation and folding as well as protein instability can all negatively affect periplasmic protein production yields. Strategies to enhance periplasmic protein production yields have focused on harmonizing secretory recombinant protein production rates with the capacity of the secretory apparatus by transcriptional and translational tuning, signal peptide selection and engineering, increasing the targeting, translocation and periplasmic folding capacity of the production host, preventing proteolysis, and, finally, the natural and engineered adaptation of the production host to periplasmic protein production. Here, we discuss these strategies using notable examples as a thread.

Combinatorial approach for improved cyanidin 3-O-glucoside production in Escherichia coli

BACKGROUND

Multi-monocistronic and multi-variate vectors were designed, built, and tested for the improved production of cyanidin 3-O-glucoside (C3G) in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The synthetic bio-parts were designed in such a way that multiple genes can be assembled using the bio-brick system, and expressed under different promoters in a single vector. The vectors harbor compatible cloning sites, so that the genes can be shuffled from one vector to another in a single step, and assembled into a single vector. The two required genes: anthocyanidin synthase (PhANS) from Petunia hybrida, and cyanidin 3-O-glucosyltransferase (At3GT) from Arabidopsis thaliana, were individually cloned under PT7, Ptrc, and PlacUV5 promoters. Both PhANS and At3GT were shuffled back and forth, so as to generate a combinatorial system for C3G production. The constructed systems were further coupled with the genes for UDP-D-glucose synthesis, all cloned in a multi-monocistronic fashion under PT7. Finally, the production of C3G was checked and confirmed using the modified M9 media, and analyzed through various chromatography and spectrometric analyses.

RESULTS

The engineered strains endowed with newly generated vectors and the genes for C3G biosynthesis and UDP-D-glucose synthesis were fed with 2 mM (+)-catechin and D-glucose for the production of cyanidin, and its subsequent conversion to C3G. One of the engineered strains harboring At3GT and PhANS under Ptrc promoter and UDP-D-glucose biosynthesis genes under PT7 promoter led to the production of ~ 439 mg/L of C3G within 36 h of incubation, when the system was exogenously fed with 5% (w/v) D-glucose. This system did not require exogenous supplementation of UDP-D-glucose.

CONCLUSION

A synthetic vector system using different promoters has been developed and used for the synthesis of C3G in E. coli BL21 (DE3) by directing the metabolic flux towards the UDP-D-glucose. This system has the potential of generating better strains for the synthesis of valuable natural products.

Added value of autoregulation and multi-step kinetics of transcription initiation

Bacterial gene expression regulation occurs mostly during transcription, which has two main rate-limiting steps: the close complex formation, when the RNA polymerase binds to an active promoter, and the subsequent open complex formation, after which it follows elongation. Tuning these steps' kinetics by the action of e.g. transcription factors, allows for a wide diversity of dynamics. For example, adding autoregulation generates single-gene circuits able to perform more complex tasks. Using stochastic models of transcription kinetics with empirically validated parameter values, we investigate how autoregulation and the multi-step transcription initiation kinetics of single-gene autoregulated circuits can be combined to fine-tune steady state mean and cell-to-cell variability in protein expression levels, as well as response times. Next, we investigate how they can be jointly tuned to control complex behaviours, namely, time counting, switching dynamics and memory storage. Overall, our finding suggests that, in bacteria, jointly regulating a single-gene circuit's topology and the transcription initiation multi-step dynamics allows enhancing complex task performance.

Optimizing Recombinant Protein Production in the Escherichia coli Periplasm Alleviates Stress

In Escherichia coli, many recombinant proteins are produced in the periplasm. To direct these proteins to this compartment, they are equipped with an N-terminal signal sequence so that they can traverse the cytoplasmic membrane via the protein-conducting Sec translocon. Recently, using the single-chain variable antibody fragment BL1, we have shown that harmonizing the target gene expression intensity with the Sec translocon capacity can be used to improve the production yields of a recombinant protein in the periplasm. Here, we have studied the consequences of improving the production of BL1 in the periplasm by using a proteomics approach. When the target gene expression intensity is not harmonized with the Sec translocon capacity, the impaired translocation of secretory proteins, protein misfolding/aggregation in the cytoplasm, and an inefficient energy metabolism result in poor growth and low protein production yields. The harmonization of the target gene expression intensity with the Sec translocon capacity results in normal growth, enhanced protein production yields, and, surprisingly, a composition of the proteome that is-besides the produced target-the same as that of cells with an empty expression vector. Thus, the single-chain variable antibody fragment BL1 can be efficiently produced in the periplasm without causing any notable detrimental effects to the production host. Finally, we show that under the optimized conditions, a small fraction of the target protein is released into the extracellular milieu via outer membrane vesicles. We envisage that our observations can be used to design strategies to further improve the production of secretory recombinant proteins in E. coliIMPORTANCE The bacterium Escherichia coli is widely used to produce recombinant proteins. Usually, trial-and-error-based screening approaches are used to identify conditions that lead to high recombinant protein production yields. Here, for the production of an antibody fragment in the periplasm of E. coli, we show that an optimization of its production is accompanied by the alleviation of stress. This indicates that the monitoring of stress responses could be used to facilitate enhanced recombinant protein production yields.

The tunable pReX expression vector enables optimizing the T7-based production of membrane and secretory proteins in E. coli

Background

To optimize the production of membrane and secretory proteins in Escherichia coli, it is critical to harmonize the expression rates of the genes encoding these proteins with the capacity of their biogenesis machineries. Therefore, we engineered the Lemo21(DE3) strain, which is derived from the T7 RNA polymerase-based BL21(DE3) protein production strain. In Lemo21(DE3), the T7 RNA polymerase activity can be modulated by the controlled co-production of its natural inhibitor T7 lysozyme. This setup enables to precisely tune target gene expression rates in Lemo21(DE3). The t7lys gene is expressed from the pLemo plasmid using the titratable rhamnose promoter. A disadvantage of the Lemo21(DE3) setup is that the system is based on two plasmids, a T7 expression vector and pLemo. The aim of this study was to simplify the Lemo21(DE3) setup by incorporating the key elements of pLemo in a standard T7-based expression vector.

Results

By incorporating the gene encoding the T7 lysozyme under control of the rhamnose promoter in a standard T7-based expression vector, pReX was created (ReX stands for Regulated gene eXpression). For two model membrane proteins and a model secretory protein we show that the optimized production yields obtained with the pReX expression vector in BL21(DE3) are similar to the ones obtained with Lemo21(DE3) using a standard T7 expression vector. For another secretory protein, a c-type cytochrome, we show that pReX, in contrast to Lemo21(DE3), enables the use of a helper plasmid that is required for the maturation and hence the production of this heme c protein.

Conclusions

Here, we created pReX, a T7-based expression vector that contains the gene encoding the T7 lysozyme under control of the rhamnose promoter. pReX enables regulated T7-based target gene expression using only one plasmid. We show that with pReX the production of membrane and secretory proteins can be readily optimized. Importantly, pReX facilitates the use of helper plasmids. Furthermore, the use of pReX is not restricted to BL21(DE3), but it can in principle be used in any T7 RNAP-based strain. Thus, pReX is a versatile alternative to Lemo21(DE3).

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12934-017-0840-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Genome-wide analysis of E. coli cell-gene interactions

BACKGROUND

The pursuit of standardization and reliability in synthetic biology has achieved, in recent years, a number of advances in the design of more predictable genetic parts for biological circuits. However, even with the development of high-throughput screening methods and whole-cell models, it is still not possible to predict reliably how a synthetic genetic construct interacts with all cellular endogenous systems. This study presents a genome-wide analysis of how the expression of synthetic genes is affected by systematic perturbations of cellular functions. We found that most perturbations modulate expression indirectly through an effect on cell size, putting forward the existence of a generic Size-Expression interaction in the model prokaryote Escherichia coli.

RESULTS

The Size-Expression interaction was quantified by inserting a dual fluorescent reporter gene construct into each of the 3822 single-gene deletion strains comprised in the KEIO collection. Cellular size was measured for single cells via flow cytometry. Regression analyses were used to discriminate between expression-specific and gene-specific effects. Functions of the deleted genes broadly mapped onto three systems with distinct primary influence on the Size-Expression map. Perturbations in the Division and Biosynthesis (DB) system led to a large-cell and high-expression phenotype. In contrast, disruptions of the Membrane and Motility (MM) system caused small-cell and low-expression phenotypes. The Energy, Protein synthesis and Ribosome (EPR) system was predominantly associated with smaller cells and positive feedback on ribosome function.

CONCLUSIONS

Feedback between cell growth and gene expression is widespread across cell systems. Even though most gene disruptions proximally affect one component of the Size-Expression interaction, the effect therefore ultimately propagates to both. More specifically, we describe the dual impact of growth on cell size and gene expression through cell division and ribosomal content. Finally, we elucidate aspects of the tight control between swarming, gene expression and cell growth. This work provides foundations for a systematic understanding of feedbacks between genetic and physiological systems.

Isolation and characterization of the E. coli membrane protein production strain Mutant56(DE3)

Membrane protein production is usually toxic to E. coli. However, using genetic screens strains can be isolated in which the toxicity of membrane protein production is reduced, thereby improving production yields. Best known examples are the C41(DE3) and C43(DE3) strains, which are both derived from the T7 RNA polymerase (P)-based BL21(DE3) protein production strain. In C41(DE3) and C43(DE3) mutations lowering t7rnap expression levels result in strongly reduced T7 RNAP accumulation levels. As a consequence membrane protein production stress is alleviated in the C41(DE3) and C43(DE3) strains, thereby increasing membrane protein yields. Here, we isolated Mutant56(DE3) from BL21(DE3) using a genetic screen designed to isolate BL21(DE3)-derived strains with mutations alleviating membrane protein production stress other than the ones in C41(DE3) and C43(DE3). The defining mutation of Mutant56(DE3) changes one amino acid in its T7 RNAP, which weakens the binding of the T7 RNAP to the T7 promoter governing target gene expression rather than lowering T7 RNAP levels. For most membrane proteins tested yields in Mutant56(DE3) were considerably higher than in C41(DE3) and C43(DE3). Thus, the isolation of Mutant56(DE3) shows that the evolution of BL21(DE3) can be promoted towards further enhanced membrane protein production.

ATP-Dependent Persister Formation in Escherichia coli

Persisters are dormant variants that form a subpopulation of cells tolerant to antibiotics. Persisters are largely responsible for the recalcitrance of chronic infections to therapy. In Escherichia coli, one widely accepted model of persister formation holds that stochastic accumulation of ppGpp causes activation of the Lon protease that degrades antitoxins; active toxins then inhibit translation, resulting in dormant, drug-tolerant persisters. We found that various stresses induce toxin-antitoxin (TA) expression but that induction of TAs does not necessarily increase persisters. The 16S rRNA promoter rrnB P1 was proposed to be a persister reporter and an indicator of toxin activation regulated by ppGpp. Using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), we confirmed the enrichment for persisters in the fraction of rrnB P1-gfp dim cells; however, this is independent of toxin-antitoxins. rrnB P1 is coregulated by ppGpp and ATP. We show that rrnB P1 can report persisters in a relA/spoT deletion background, suggesting that rrnB P1 is a persister marker responding to ATP. Consistent with this finding, decreasing the level of ATP by arsenate treatment causes drug tolerance. Lowering ATP slows translation and prevents the formation of DNA double-strand breaks upon fluoroquinolone treatment. We conclude that variation in ATP levels leads to persister formation by decreasing the activity of antibiotic targets.

Persisters are a subpopulation of antibiotic-tolerant cells responsible for the recalcitrance of chronic infections. Our current understanding of persister formation is primarily based on studies of E. coli. The activation of toxin-antitoxin systems by ppGpp has become a widely accepted model for persister formation. In this study, we found that stress-induced activation of mRNA interferase-type toxins does not necessarily cause persister formation. We also found that the persister marker rrnB P1 reports persister cells because it detects a drop in cellular ATP levels. Consistent with this, lowering the ATP level decreases antibiotic target activity and, thus, leads to persister formation. We conclude that stochastic variation in ATP is the main mechanism of persister formation. A decrease in ATP provides a satisfactory explanation for the drug tolerance of persisters, since bactericidal antibiotics act by corrupting energy-dependent targets.

Isolating Escherichia coli strains for recombinant protein production

Escherichia coli has been widely used for the production of recombinant proteins. To improve protein production yields in E. coli, directed engineering approaches have been commonly used. However, there are only few reported examples of the isolation of E. coli protein production strains using evolutionary approaches. Here, we first give an introduction to bacterial evolution and mutagenesis to set the stage for discussing how so far selection- and screening-based approaches have been used to isolate E. coli protein production strains. Finally, we discuss how evolutionary approaches may be used in the future to isolate E. coli strains with improved protein production characteristics.

High-level production of membrane proteins in E. coli BL21(DE3) by omitting the inducer IPTG

Background

For membrane protein production, the Escherichia coli T7 RNA polymerase (T7 RNAP)-based protein production strain BL21(DE3) in combination with T7-promoter based expression vectors is widely used. Cells are routinely cultured in Lysogeny broth (LB medium) and expression of the chromosomally localized t7rnap gene is governed by the isopropyl-β-d-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) inducible lacUV5 promoter. The T7 RNAP drives the expression of the plasmid borne gene encoding the recombinant membrane protein. Production of membrane proteins in the cytoplasmic membrane rather than in inclusion bodies in a misfolded state is usually preferred, but often hampered due to saturation of the capacity of the Sec-translocon, resulting in low yields.

Results

Contrary to expectation we observed that omission of IPTG from BL21(DE3) cells cultured in LB medium can lead to significantly higher membrane protein production yields than when IPTG is added. In the complete absence of IPTG cultures stably produce membrane proteins in the cytoplasmic membrane, whereas upon the addition of IPTG membrane proteins aggregate in the cytoplasm and non-producing clones are selected for. Furthermore, in the absence of IPTG, membrane proteins are produced at a lower rate than in the presence of IPTG. These observations indicate that in the absence of IPTG the Sec-translocon capacity is not/hardly saturated, leading to enhanced membrane protein production yields in the cytoplasmic membrane. Importantly, for more than half of the targets tested the yields obtained using un-induced BL21(DE3) cells were higher than the yields obtained in the widely used membrane protein production strains C41(DE3) and C43(DE3). Since most secretory proteins reach the periplasm via the Sec-translocon, we also monitored the production of three secretory recombinant proteins in the periplasm of BL21(DE3) cells in the presence and absence of IPTG. For all three targets tested omitting IPTG led to the highest production levels in the periplasm.

Conclusions

Omission of IPTG from BL21(DE3) cells cultured in LB medium provides a very cost- and time effective alternative for the production of membrane and secretory proteins. Therefore, we recommend that this condition is incorporated in membrane- and secretory protein production screens.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12934-015-0328-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Electrostatic Energetics of Bacillus subtilis Ribonuclease P Protein Determined by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance-Based Histidine pKa Measurements

The pKa values of ionizable groups in proteins report the free energy of site-specific proton binding and provide a direct means of studying pH-dependent stability. We measured histidine pKa values (H3, H22, and H105) in the unfolded (U), intermediate (I), and sulfate-bound folded (F) states of RNase P protein, using an efficient and accurate nuclear magnetic resonance-monitored titration approach that utilizes internal reference compounds and a parametric fitting method. The three histidines in the sulfate-bound folded protein have pKa values depressed by 0.21 ± 0.01, 0.49 ± 0.01, and 1.00 ± 0.01 units, respectively, relative to that of the model compound N-acetyl-l-histidine methylamide. In the unliganded and unfolded protein, the pKa values are depressed relative to that of the model compound by 0.73 ± 0.02, 0.45 ± 0.02, and 0.68 ± 0.02 units, respectively. Above pH 5.5, H22 displays a separate resonance, which we have assigned to I, whose apparent pKa value is depressed by 1.03 ± 0.25 units, which is ∼0.5 units more than in either U or F. The depressed pKa values we observe are consistent with repulsive interactions between protonated histidine side chains and the net positive charge of the protein. However, the pKa differences between F and U are small for all three histidines, and they have little ionic strength dependence in F. Taken together, these observations suggest that unfavorable electrostatics alone do not account for the fact that RNase P protein is intrinsically unfolded in the absence of ligand. Multiple factors encoded in the P protein sequence account for its IUP property, which may play an important role in its function.

Inference of quantitative models of bacterial promoters from time-series reporter gene data

The inference of regulatory interactions and quantitative models of gene regulation from time-series transcriptomics data has been extensively studied and applied to a range of problems in drug discovery, cancer research, and biotechnology. The application of existing methods is commonly based on implicit assumptions on the biological processes under study. First, the measurements of mRNA abundance obtained in transcriptomics experiments are taken to be representative of protein concentrations. Second, the observed changes in gene expression are assumed to be solely due to transcription factors and other specific regulators, while changes in the activity of the gene expression machinery and other global physiological effects are neglected. While convenient in practice, these assumptions are often not valid and bias the reverse engineering process. Here we systematically investigate, using a combination of models and experiments, the importance of this bias and possible corrections. We measure in real time and in vivo the activity of genes involved in the FliA-FlgM module of the E. coli motility network. From these data, we estimate protein concentrations and global physiological effects by means of kinetic models of gene expression. Our results indicate that correcting for the bias of commonly-made assumptions improves the quality of the models inferred from the data. Moreover, we show by simulation that these improvements are expected to be even stronger for systems in which protein concentrations have longer half-lives and the activity of the gene expression machinery varies more strongly across conditions than in the FliA-FlgM module. The approach proposed in this study is broadly applicable when using time-series transcriptome data to learn about the structure and dynamics of regulatory networks. In the case of the FliA-FlgM module, our results demonstrate the importance of global physiological effects and the active regulation of FliA and FlgM half-lives for the dynamics of FliA-dependent promoters.

A wide variety of methods for the reverse engineering of regulatory networks and the identification of quantitative regulation functions are available. We investigate some common assumptions that are made in the application of these methods to time-series transcriptomics data, in the context of a central module in the motility network of E. coli. We show that these assumptions, which hypothesize that mRNA concentrations are good proxies for protein concentrations and that the gene expression machinery is equally active across different physiological conditions, are often not valid and may lead to biased inference results. We also show how models of gene expression can be used in combination with suitable experimental controls to correct for this bias and improve the inference process. The contribution of our work is thus not the addition of another method to the rich store of available reverse engineering algorithms, but lies in the critical examination of the information provided by the experimental data and new ways to exploit this information in the algorithms. The proposed approach is relevant for a wide range of applications using time-series transcriptomics data. For the motility system under study, it has underlined the importance of global physiological effects, the active degradation of the transcription factor FliA as well as the secretion of the anti-sigma factor FlgM for the network dynamics.

Bacterial growth: global effects on gene expression, growth feedback and proteome partition

The function of endogenous as well as synthetic genetic circuits is generically coupled to the physiological state of the cell. For exponentially growing bacteria, a key characteristic of the state of the cell is the growth rate and thus gene expression is often growth-rate dependent. Here we review recent results on growth-rate dependent gene expression. We distinguish different types of growth-rate dependencies by the mechanisms of regulation involved and the presence or absence of an effect of the gene product on growth. The latter can lead to growth feedback, feedback mediated by changes of the global state of the cell. Moreover, we discuss how growth rate dependence can be used as a guide to study the molecular implementation of physiological regulation.

A proximal promoter element required for positive transcriptional control by guanosine tetraphosphate and DksA protein during the stringent response

The alarmone guanosine tetraphosphate (ppGpp) acts as both a positive and a negative regulator of gene expression in the presence of DksA, but the underlying mechanisms of this differential control are unclear. Here, using uspA hybrid promoters, we show that an AT-rich discriminator region is crucial for positive control by ppGpp/DksA. The AT-rich discriminator makes the RNA polymerase-promoter complex extremely stable and therefore easily saturated with RNA polymerase. A more efficient transcription is achieved when the RNA polymerase-promoter complex is destabilized with ppGpp/DksA. We found that exchanging the AT-rich discriminator of uspA with the GC-rich rrnB-P1 discriminator made the uspA promoter negatively regulated by ppGpp/DksA both in vivo and in vitro. In addition, the GC-rich discriminator destabilized the RNA polymerase-promoter complex, and the effect of ppGpp/DksA on the kinetic properties of the promoter was reversed. We propose that the transcription initiation rate from promoters with GC-rich discriminators, in contrast to the uspA-promoter, is not limited by the stability of the open complex. The findings are discussed in view of models for both direct and indirect effects of ppGpp/DksA on transcriptional trade-offs.

Optimizing heterologous protein production in the periplasm of E. coli by regulating gene expression levels

Background

In Escherichia coli many heterologous proteins are produced in the periplasm. To direct these proteins to the periplasm, they are equipped with an N-terminal signal sequence so that they can traverse the cytoplasmic membrane via the protein-conducting Sec-translocon. For poorly understood reasons, the production of heterologous secretory proteins is often toxic to the cell thereby limiting yields. To gain insight into the mechanism(s) that underlie this toxicity we produced two secretory heterologous proteins, super folder green fluorescent protein and a single-chain variable antibody fragment, in the Lemo21(DE3) strain. In this strain, the expression intensity of the gene encoding the target protein can be precisely controlled.

Results

Both SFGFP and the single-chain variable antibody fragment were equipped with a DsbA-derived signal sequence. Producing these proteins following different gene expression levels in Lemo21(DE3) allowed us to identify the optimal expression level for each target gene. Too high gene expression levels resulted in saturation of the Sec-translocon capacity as shown by hampered translocation of endogenous secretory proteins and a protein misfolding/aggregation problem in the cytoplasm. At the optimal gene expression levels, the negative effects of the production of the heterologous secretory proteins were minimized and yields in the periplasm were optimized.

Conclusions

Saturating the Sec-translocon capacity can be a major bottleneck hampering heterologous protein production in the periplasm. This bottleneck can be alleviated by harmonizing expression levels of the genes encoding the heterologous secretory proteins with the Sec-translocon capacity. Mechanistic insight into the production of proteins in the periplasm is key to optimizing yields in this compartment.

Increase in furfural tolerance in ethanologenic Escherichia coli LY180 by plasmid-based expression of thyA

Furfural is an inhibitory side product formed during the depolymerization of hemicellulose by mineral acids. Genomic libraries from three different bacteria (Bacillus subtilis YB886, Escherichia coli NC3, and Zymomonas mobilis CP4) were screened for genes that conferred furfural resistance on plates. Beneficial plasmids containing the thyA gene (coding for thymidylate synthase) were recovered from all three organisms. Expression of this key gene in the de novo pathway for dTMP biosynthesis improved furfural resistance on plates and during fermentation. A similar benefit was observed by supplementation with thymine, thymidine, or the combination of tetrahydrofolate and serine (precursors for 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate, the methyl donor for ThyA). Supplementation with deoxyuridine provided a small benefit, and deoxyribose was of no benefit for furfural tolerance. A combination of thymidine and plasmid expression of thyA was no more effective than either alone. Together, these results demonstrate that furfural tolerance is increased by approaches that increase the supply of pyrimidine deoxyribonucleotides. However, ThyA activity was not directly affected by the addition of furfural. Furfural has been previously shown to damage DNA in E. coli and to activate a cellular response to oxidative damage in yeast. The added burden of repairing furfural-damaged DNA in E. coli would be expected to increase the cellular requirement for dTMP. Increased expression of thyA (E. coli, B. subtilis, or Z. mobilis), supplementation of cultures with thymidine, and supplementation with precursors for 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate (methyl donor) are each proposed to increase furfural tolerance by increasing the availability of dTMP for DNA repair.

Circuitry linking the Csr and stringent response global regulatory systems

CsrA protein regulates important cellular processes by binding to target mRNAs and altering their translation and/or stability. In Escherichia coli, CsrA binds to sRNAs, CsrB and CsrC, which sequester CsrA and antagonize its activity. Here, mRNAs for relA, spoT and dksA of the stringent response system were found among 721 different transcripts that copurified with CsrA. Many of the transcripts that copurified with CsrA were previously determined to respond to ppGpp and/or DksA. We examined multiple regulatory interactions between the Csr and stringent response systems. Most importantly, DksA and ppGpp robustly activated csrB/C transcription (10-fold), while they modestly activated csrA expression. We propose that CsrA-mediated regulation is relieved during the stringent response. Gel shift assays confirmed high affinity binding of CsrA to relA mRNA leader and weaker interactions with dksA and spoT. Reporter fusions, qRT-PCR and immunoblotting showed that CsrA repressed relA expression, and (p)ppGpp accumulation during stringent response was enhanced in a csrA mutant. CsrA had modest to negligible effects on dksA and spoT expression. Transcription of dksA was negatively autoregulated via a feedback loop that tended to mask CsrA effects. We propose that the Csr system fine-tunes the stringent response and discuss biological implications of the composite circuitry.

Enhancing the protein production levels in Escherichia coli with a strong promoter

In biotechnology, the use of Escherichia coli for recombinant protein production has a long tradition, although the optimal production conditions for certain proteins are still not evident. The most favorable conditions for protein production vary with the gene product. Temperature and induction conditions represent parameters that affect total protein production, as well as the amount of soluble protein. Furthermore, the choice of promoter and bacterial strain will have large effects on the production of the target protein. In the present study, the effects of three different promoters (T7, trc and lacUV5) on E. coli production of target proteins with different characteristics are presented. The total amount of target protein as well as the amount of soluble protein were analyzed, demonstrating the benefits of using a strong promoter such as T7. To understand the underlying causes, transcription levels have been correlated with the total amount of target protein and protein solubility in vitro has been correlated with the amount of soluble protein that is produced. In addition, the effects of two different E. coli strains, BL21(DE3) and Rosetta(DE3), on the expression pattern were analyzed. It is concluded that the regulation of protein production is a combination of the transcription and translation efficiencies. Other important parameters include the nucleotide-sequence itself and the solubility of the target protein.

Discretely calibrated regulatory loops controlled by ppGpp partition gene induction across the 'feast to famine' gradient in Escherichia coli

Bacteria comprehensively reorganize their global gene expression when faced with starvation. The alarmone ppGpp facilitates this massive response by co-ordinating the downregulation of genes of the translation apparatus, and the induction of biosynthetic genes and the general stress response. Such a large reorientation requires the activities of multiple regulators, yet the regulatory network downstream of ppGpp remains poorly defined. Transcription profiling during isoleucine depletion, which leads to gradual starvation (over > 100 min), allowed us to identify genes that required ppGpp, Lrp and RpoS for their induction and to deduce the regulon response times. Although the Lrp and RpoS regulons required ppGpp for their activation, they were not induced simultaneously. The data suggest that metabolic genes, i.e. those of the Lrp regulon, require only a low level of ppGpp for their induction. In contrast, the RpoS regulon was induced only when high levels of ppGpp accumulated. We tested several predictions of a model that explains how bacteria allocate transcriptional resources between metabolism and stress response by discretely tuning two regulatory circuits to different levels of ppGpp. The emergent regulatory structure insures that stress survival circuits are only triggered if homeostatic metabolic networks fail to compensate for environmental deficiencies.

Growth rate-dependent global effects on gene expression in bacteria

Bacterial gene expression depends not only on specific regulatory mechanisms, but also on bacterial growth, because important global parameters such as the abundance of RNA polymerases and ribosomes are all growth-rate dependent. Understanding of these global effects is necessary for a quantitative understanding of gene regulation and for the design of synthetic genetic circuits. We find that the observed growth-rate dependence of constitutive gene expression can be explained by a simple model using the measured growth-rate dependence of the relevant cellular parameters. More complex growth dependencies for genetic circuits involving activators, repressors, and feedback control were analyzed and verified experimentally with synthetic circuits. Additional results suggest a feedback mechanism mediated by general growth-dependent effects that does not require explicit gene regulation if the expressed protein affects cell growth. This mechanism can lead to growth bistability and promote the acquisition of important physiological functions such as antibiotic resistance and tolerance (persistence).

Downregulation of the Escherichia coli guaB promoter by upstream-bound cyclic AMP receptor protein

The Escherichia coli guaB promoter (P(guaB)) is responsible for directing transcription of the guaB and guaA genes, which specify the biosynthesis of the nucleotide GMP. P(guaB) is subject to growth rate-dependent control (GRDC) and possesses an UP element that is required for this regulation. In addition, P(guaB) contains a discriminator, three binding sites for the nucleoid-associated protein FIS, and putative binding sites for the regulatory proteins DnaA, PurR, and cyclic AMP receptor protein (CRP). Here we show that the CRP-cyclic AMP (cAMP) complex binds to a site located over 100 bp upstream of the guaB transcription start site, where it serves to downregulate P(guaB). The CRP-mediated repression of P(guaB) activity increases in media that support lower growth rates. Inactivation of the crp or cyaA gene or ablation/translocation of the CRP site relieves repression by CRP and results in a loss of GRDC of P(guaB). Thus, GRDC of P(guaB) involves a progressive increase in CRP-mediated repression of the promoter as the growth rate decreases. Our results also suggest that the CRP-cAMP complex does not direct GRDC at P(guaB) and that at least one other regulatory factor is required for conferring GRDC on this promoter. However, PurR and DnaA are not required for this regulatory mechanism.

Increased RNA polymerase availability directs resources towards growth at the expense of maintenance

Nutritionally induced changes in RNA polymerase availability have been hypothesized to be an evolutionary primeval mechanism for regulation of gene expression and several contrasting models have been proposed to explain how such 'passive' regulation might occur. We demonstrate here that ectopically elevating Escherichia coli RNA polymerase (Esigma(70)) levels causes an increased expression and promoter occupancy of ribosomal genes at the expense of stress-defense genes and amino acid biosynthetic operons. Phenotypically, cells overproducing Esigma(70) favours growth and reproduction at the expense of motility and damage protection; a response reminiscent of cells with no or diminished levels of the alarmone guanosine tetraphosphate (ppGpp). Consistently, we show that cells lacking ppGpp displayed markedly elevated levels of free Esigma(70) compared with wild-type cells and that the repression of ribosomal RNA expression and reduced growth rate of mutants with constitutively elevated levels of ppGpp can be suppressed by overproducing Esigma(70). We conclude that ppGpp modulates the levels of free Esigma(70) and that this is an integral part of the alarmone's means of regulating a trade-off between growth and maintenance.

Growth-rate-dependent partitioning of RNA polymerases in bacteria

Physiological changes that result in changes in bacterial gene expression are often accompanied by changes in the growth rate for fast adapting enteric bacteria. Because the availability of RNA polymerase (RNAP) in cells depends on the growth rate, transcriptional control involves not only the regulation of promoters, but also depends on the available (or free) RNAP concentration, which is difficult to quantify directly. Here, we develop a simple physical model describing the partitioning of cellular RNAP into different classes: RNAPs transcribing mRNA and ribosomal RNA (rRNA), RNAPs nonspecifically bound to DNA, free RNAP, and immature RNAP. Available experimental data for Escherichia coli allow us to determine the 2 unknown parameters of the model and hence deduce the free RNAP concentration at different growth rates. The results allow us to predict the growth-rate dependence of the activities of constitutive (unregulated) promoters, and to disentangle the growth-rate-dependent regulation of promoters (e.g., the promoters of rRNA operons) from changes in transcription due to changes in the free RNAP concentration at different growth rates. Our model can quantitatively account for the observed changes in gene expression patterns in mutant E. coli strains with altered levels of RNAP expression without invoking additional parameters. Applying our model to the case of the stringent response after amino acid starvation, we can evaluate the plausibility of various scenarios of passive transcriptional control proposed to account for the observed changes in the expression of rRNA and biosynthetic operons.

The global, ppGpp-mediated stringent response to amino acid starvation in Escherichia coli

The stringent response to amino acid starvation, whereby stable RNA synthesis is curtailed in favour of transcription of amino acid biosynthetic genes, is controlled by the alarmone ppGpp. To elucidate the extent of gene expression effected by ppGpp, we designed an experimental system based on starvation for isoleucine, which could be applied to both wild-type Escherichia coli and the multiauxotrophic relA spoT mutant (ppGpp(0)). We used microarrays to profile the response to amino acid starvation in both strains. The wild-type response included induction of the general stress response, downregulation of genes involved in production of macromolecular structures and comprehensive restructuring of metabolic gene expression, but not induction of amino acid biosynthesis genes en masse. This restructuring of metabolism was confirmed using kinetic Biolog assays. These responses were profoundly altered in the ppGpp(0) strain. Furthermore, upon isoleucine starvation, the ppGpp(0) strain exhibited a larger cell size and continued growth, ultimately producing 50% more biomass than the wild-type, despite producing a similar amount of protein. This mutant phenotype correlated with aberrant gene expression in diverse processes, including DNA replication, cell division, and fatty acid and membrane biosynthesis. We present a model that expands and functionally integrates the ppGpp-mediated stringent response to include control of virtually all macromolecular synthesis and intermediary metabolism.

Metabolic control of the Escherichia coli universal stress protein response through fructose-6-phosphate

The universal stress protein (Usp) superfamily encompasses a conserved group of proteins involved in stress resistance, adaptation to energy deficiency, cell motility and adhesion, and is found in all kingdoms of life. The paradigm usp gene, uspA, of Escherichia coli is transcriptionally activated by a large variety of stresses, and the alarmone ppGpp is required for this activation. Here, we show that the uspA gene is also regulated by an intermediate of the glycolytic/gluconeogenic pathways. Specifically, mutations and conditions resulting in fructose-6-phosphate (F-6-P) accumulation elicit superinduction of uspA upon carbon starvation, whereas genetic manipulations reducing the pool size of F-6-P have the opposite effect. This metabolic control of uspA does not act via ppGpp. Other, but not all, usp genes of the usp superfamily are similarly affected by alterations in F-6-P levels. We suggest that alterations in the pool size of phosphorylated sugars of the upper glycolytic pathway may ensure accumulation of required survival proteins preceding the complete depletion of the external carbon source. Indeed, we show that uspA is, in fact, induced before the carbon source is depleted from the medium.

Identical, independent, and opposing roles of ppGpp and DksA in Escherichia coli

The recent discovery that the protein DksA acts as a coregulator of genes controlled by ppGpp led us to investigate the similarities and differences between the relaxed phenotype of a ppGpp-deficient mutant and the phenotype of a strain lacking DksA. We demonstrate that the absence of DksA and ppGpp has similar effects on many of the observed phenotypes but that DksA and ppGpp also have independent and sometimes opposing roles in the cell. Specifically, we show that overexpression of DksA can compensate for the loss of ppGpp with respect to transcription of the promoters P(uspA), P(livJ), and P(rrnBP1) as well as amino acid auxotrophy, cell-cell aggregation, motility, filamentation, and stationary phase morphology, suggesting that DksA can function without ppGpp in regulating gene expression. In addition, ppGpp and DksA have opposing effects on adhesion. In the course of our analysis, we also discovered new features of the relaxed mutant, namely, defects in cell-cell aggregation and motility.

Identification of a novel regulatory protein (CsrD) that targets the global regulatory RNAs CsrB and CsrC for degradation by RNase E

In Escherichia coli, the global regulatory protein CsrA (carbon store regulator A) binds to leader segments of target mRNAs, affecting their translation and stability. CsrA activity is regulated by two noncoding RNAs, CsrB and CsrC, which act by sequestering multiple CsrA dimers. Here, we describe a protein (CsrD) that controls the degradation of CsrB/C RNAs. The dramatic stabilization of CsrB/C RNAs in a csrD mutant altered the expression of CsrA-controlled genes in a manner predicted from the previously described Csr regulatory circuitry. A deficiency in RNase E, the primary endonuclease involved in mRNA decay, also stabilized CsrB/C, although the half-lives of other RNAs that are substrates for RNase E (rpsO, rpsT, and RyhB) were unaffected by csrD. Analysis of the decay of CsrB RNA, both in vitro and in vivo, suggested that CsrD is not a ribonuclease. Interestingly, the CsrD protein contains GGDEF and EAL domains, yet unlike typical proteins in this large superfamily, its activity in the regulation of CsrB/C decay does not involve cyclic di-GMP metabolism. The two predicted membrane-spanning regions are dispensable for CsrD activity, while HAMP-like, GGDEF, and EAL domains are required. Thus, these studies demonstrate a novel process for the selective targeting of RNA molecules for degradation by RNase E and a novel function for a GGDEF-EAL protein.

Heat shock protein-mediated resistance to high hydrostatic pressure in Escherichia coli

A random library of Escherichia coli MG1655 genomic fragments fused to a promoterless green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene was constructed and screened by differential fluorescence induction for promoters that are induced after exposure to a sublethal high hydrostatic pressure stress. This screening yielded three promoters of genes belonging to the heat shock regulon (dnaK, lon, clpPX), suggesting a role for heat shock proteins in protection against, and/or repair of, damage caused by high pressure. Several further observations provide additional support for this hypothesis: (i). the expression of rpoH, encoding the heat shock-specific sigma factor sigma(32), was also induced by high pressure; (ii). heat shock rendered E. coli significantly more resistant to subsequent high-pressure inactivation, and this heat shock-induced pressure resistance followed the same time course as the induction of heat shock genes; (iii). basal expression levels of GFP from heat shock promoters, and expression of several heat shock proteins as determined by two-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of proteins extracted from pulse-labeled cells, was increased in three previously isolated pressure-resistant mutants of E. coli compared to wild-type levels.

Transcriptional organization and regulation of the L-idonic acid pathway (GntII system) in Escherichia coli

The genetic organization of the idn genes that encode the pathway for L-idonate catabolism was characterized. The monocistronic idnK gene is transcribed divergently from the idnDOTR genes, which were shown to form an operon. The 215-bp regulatory region between the idnK and idnD genes contains promoters in opposite orientation with transcription start sites that mapped to positions -26 and -29 with respect to the start codons. The regulatory region also contains a single putative IdnR/GntR binding site centered between the two promoters, a CRP binding site upstream of idnD, and an UP element upstream of idnK. The genes of the L-idonate pathway were shown to be under catabolite repression control. Analysis of idnD- and idnK-lacZ fusions in a nonpolar idnD mutant that is unable to interconvert L-idonate and 5-ketogluconate indicated that either compound could induce the pathway. The L-idonate pathway was first characterized as a subsidiary pathway for D-gluconate catabolism (GntII), which is induced by D-gluconate in a GntI (primary gluconate system) mutant. Here we showed that the idnK and idnD operons are induced by D-gluconate in a GntI system mutant, presumably by endogenous formation of 5-ketogluconate from D-gluconate. Thus, the regulation of the GntII system is appropriate for this pathway, which is primarily involved in L-idonate catabolism; the GntII system can be induced by D-gluconate under conditions that block the GntI system.

Growth rate regulation of lac operon expression in Escherichia coli is cyclic AMP dependent

In contrast to the ribosomal RNA gene expression increasing with growth rate, transcription of the lac operon is downregulated by cell growth rate. In continuous culture, growth rate regulation of lac promoter was independent of carbon substrate used and its location on the chromosome. Since the lac operon is activated by cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), which decreases with increasing cell growth rate, expression of plac-lacZ reporter fusion was analyzed in cya mutant under various growth conditions. The results demonstrated that expression of plac-lacZ in cya mutant was both lower and growth rate independent. In addition, ppGpp (guanosine tetraphosphate) was not involved in the mechanism of growth rate regulation of the lac promoter. Thus, the results of this study indicate that cAMP mediates the growth rate-dependent regulation of lac operon expression in Escherichia coli.

Promoters of Corynebacterium glutamicum

Regulation of gene expression in Corynebacterium glutamicum represents an important issue since this Gram-positive bacterium is a notable industrial amino acid producer. Transcription initiation, beginning by binding of RNA polymerase to the promoter DNA sequence, is one of the main points at which bacterial gene expression is regulated. More than 50 transcriptional promoters have so far been experimentally localized in C. glutamicum. Most of them are assumed to be promoters of vegetative genes recognized by the main sigma factor. Although transcription initiation rate defined by many of these promoters may be affected by transcription factors, which activate or repress their function, the promoter regions share common sequence features, which may be generalized in a consensus sequence. In the consensus C. glutamicum promoter, the prominent feature is a conserved extended -10 region tgngnTA(c/t)aaTgg, while the -35 region is much less conserved. Some commonly utilized heterologous promoters were shown to drive strong gene expression in C. glutamicum. Conversely, some C. glutamicum promoters were found to function in Escherichia coli and in other bacteria. These observations suggest that C. glutamicum promoters functionally conform with the common bacterial promoter scheme, although they differ in some sequence structures.

Underproduction of sigma 70 mimics a stringent response. A proteome approach

When Escherichia coli cells enter stationary phase due to carbon starvation the synthesis of ribosomal proteins is rapidly repressed. In a DeltarelA DeltaspoT mutant, defective in the production of the alarmone guanosine tetraphosphate (ppGpp), this regulation of the levels of the protein synthesizing system is abolished. Using a proteomic approach we demonstrate that the production of the vast majority of detected E. coli proteins are decontrolled during carbon starvation in the DeltarelA DeltaspoT strain and that the starved cells behave as if they were growing exponentially. In addition we show that the inhibition of ribosome synthesis by the stringent response can be qualitatively mimicked by artificially lowering the levels of the housekeeping sigma factor, sigma(70). In other words, genes encoding the protein-synthesizing system are especially sensitive to reduced availability of sigma(70) programmed RNA polymerase. This effect is not dependent on ppGpp since lowering the levels of sigma(70) gives a similar but less pronounced effect in a ppGpp(0) strain. The data is discussed in view of the models advocating for a passive control of gene expression during stringency based on alterations in RNA polymerase availability.

The universal stress protein paralogues of Escherichia coli are co-ordinately regulated and co-operate in the defence against DNA damage

We have cloned, characterized and inactivated genes encoding putative UspA paralogues in Escherichia coli. The yecG (uspC), yiiT (uspD) and ydaA (uspE) genes were demonstrated to encode protein pro-ducts and these were mapped to spots in the E. coli proteomic database. Expression analysis using chromosomal transcriptional lacZ fusions and two-dimensional gels revealed that all usp genes analysed are regulated in a similar fashion. Thus, uspC, D and E are all induced in stationary phase and by a variety of stresses causing growth arrest of cells. Induction is independent of rpoS but is abolished in a deltarelA deltaspoT (ppGpp0) background and rescued by suppressor mutations rendering the beta-subunit of RNA polymerase to behave like a stringent polymerase. Ectopic elevation of ppGpp levels in growing cells, by overproducing the RelA protein, triggered the induction of all usp genes. The expression of all usp genes was also elevated by a mutation in the ftsK cell division gene, and this super-induction could be suppressed by inactivating recA indicating that the usp paralogues are involved in the management of DNA. Indeed, uspC, uspD and uspE deletion mutants were all found to be sensitive to UV exposure. Overexpression of UspD could compensate for the lack of a chromosomal uspD gene but not a uspA gene. Similarly, UspA overproduction could only compensate for the lack of chromosomal uspA. Moreover, combination of usp mutations had no additive effect on UV sensitivity indicating that they are all co-operating and required in the same pathway, which could explain the co-ordinated regulation of the genes.

Modulation of Lrp action in Escherichia coli by leucine: effects on non-specific binding of Lrp to DNA

Lrp is a global regulator of metabolism in Escherichia coli that helps cells respond to changes in environmental conditions. The action of Lrp as a transcriptional activator or repressor is sometimes affected by whether the medium contains exogenous leucine. The abundance of Lrp in cells is relatively high (about 15 microM in monomer), and given the relatively high Lrp binding affinity in vitro for specific binding sites (nanomolar apparent dissociation constants), the expectation is that all binding sites will be saturated with Lrp in vivo. Here we consider the fraction of the total Lrp in cells that is free and the fraction that is bound to DNA. Using minicell-producing strains, we measured the distribution of Lrp between cytoplasm and nucleoid in cells grown under different nutritional conditions and in cells in different phases of growth. In E. coli cells grown in minimal medium to mid-log phase, the ratio of free to DNA-bound Lrp was about 0.67. This ratio decreased about threefold when the cells were grown in minimal medium supplemented with leucine. Our results also confirmed the previous finding that growth rate regulates lrp expression by as much as three to fourfold. Growth rate-regulated lrp expression, along with changes in the extent of non-specific binding, influences the level of free Lrp in vivo over a 16-fold range. We propose that the net effect of these processes is to regulate the relative concentrations of free Lrp hexadecamer and leucine-bound octamer, leading to promoter selection in response to environmental conditions.

Analysis of an engineered sulfate reduction pathway and cadmium precipitation on the cell surface

We previously have genetically engineered an aerobic sulfate reduction pathway in Escherichia coli for the generation of hydrogen sulfide and demonstrated the pathway's utility in the precipitation of cadmium. To engineer the pathway, the assimilatory sulfate reduction pathway was modified so that cysteine was overproduced. Excess cysteine was then converted by cysteine desulfhydrase to an abundance of hydrogen sulfide, which then reacted with aqueous cadmium to form cadmium sulfide. In this study, observations of various E. coli clones were combined with an analysis of kinetic and transport phenomena. This analysis revealed that cysteine production is the rate-limiting step in the engineered pathway and provided an explanation for the phenomenon of cell surface precipitation. An analytical model showed that cadmium sulfide must form at the cell surface because the rate of cadmium sulfide formation is extremely fast and the rate of sulfide transport is relatively slow.

Quantitation of rate enhancements attained by the binding of cobalamin to methionine synthase

Cobalamin-dependent methionine synthase (MetH) catalyzes the methylation of homocysteine using methyltetrahydrofolate as the methyl donor. The cobalamin cofactor serves as an intermediate carrier of the methyl group from methyltetrahydrofolate to homocysteine. In the two half-reactions that comprise turnover for MetH, the cobalamin is alternatively methylated by methyltetrahydrofolate and demethylated by homocysteine to form methionine. Upon binding to the protein, the usual dimethylbenzimidazole ligand is replaced by the imidazole side chain of His759 [Drennan, C. L., Huang, S., Drummond, J. T., Matthews, R. G., and Ludwig, M. L. (1994) Science 266, 1669-1674]. Despite the ligand replacement that accompanies binding of cobalamin to the holo-MetH protein, a MetH(2-649) fragment of methionine synthase that contains the regions that bind homocysteine and methyltetrahydrofolate utilizes exogenously supplied cobalamin in methyl transfer reactions akin to those of the catalytic cycle. However, the interactions of MetH(2-649) with endogenous cobalamin are first order in cobalamin, while the half-reactions catalyzed by the holoenzyme are zero order in cobalamin, so rate constants for reactions of bound and exogenous cobalamins cannot be compared. In this paper, we investigate the catalytic rate enhancements generated by binding cobalamin to MetH after dividing the protein in half and reacting MetH(2-649) with a second fragment, MetH(649-1227), that harbors the cobalamin cofactor. The second-order rate constant for demethylation of methylcobalamin by Hcy is elevated 60-fold and that for methylation of cob(I)alamin is elevated 120-fold. Thus, binding of cobalamin to MetH is essential for efficient catalysis.

Metabolic engineering of an aerobic sulfate reduction pathway and its application to precipitation of cadmium on the cell surface

The conversion of sulfate to an excess of free sulfide requires stringent reductive conditions. Dissimilatory sulfate reduction is used in nature by sulfate-reducing bacteria for respiration and results in the conversion of sulfate to sulfide. However, this dissimilatory sulfate reduction pathway is inhibited by oxygen and is thus limited to anaerobic environments. As an alternative, we have metabolically engineered a novel aerobic sulfate reduction pathway for the secretion of sulfides. The assimilatory sulfate reduction pathway was redirected to overproduce cysteine, and excess cysteine was converted to sulfide by cysteine desulfhydrase. As a potential application for this pathway, a bacterium was engineered with this pathway and was used to aerobically precipitate cadmium as cadmium sulfide, which was deposited on the cell surface. To maximize sulfide production and cadmium precipitation, the production of cysteine desulfhydrase was modulated to achieve an optimal balance between the production and degradation of cysteine.