Host Exopolysaccharide Quantity and Composition Impact Erwinia amylovora Bacteriophage Pathogenesis

ABSTRACTErwinia amylovorabacteriophages (phages) belonging to theMyoviridaeandPodoviridaefamilies demonstrated a preference for either high-exopolysaccharide-producing (HEP) or low-exopolysaccharide-producing (LEP) bacterial hosts when grown on artificial medium without or with sugar supplementation.Myoviridaephages produced clear plaques on LEP hosts and turbid plaques on HEP hosts. The reverse preference was demonstrated by mostPodoviridaephages, where clear plaques were seen on HEP hosts. Efficiency of plating (EOP) was determined by comparing phage growth on the original isolation host to the that on the LEP or HEP host. Nine of 10Myoviridaephages showed highest EOPs on LEP hosts, and 8 of 11Podoviridaephages had highest EOPs on HEP hosts. Increasing the production of EPS on sugar-supplemented medium or decreasing production by knocking out the synthesis of amylovoran or levan, the two EPSs produced byE. amylovora, indicated that these components play crucial roles in phage infection. Amylovoran was virtually essential for proliferation of mostPodoviridaephages when phage population growth was compared to the wild type. Decreased levan production resulted in a significant reduction of progeny from phages in theMyoviridaefamily. Thus,Podoviridaephages are adapted to hosts that produce high levels of exopolysaccharides and are dependent on host-produced amylovoran for pathogenesis.Myoviridaephages are adapted to hosts that produce lower levels of exopolysaccharides and host-produced levan.

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Generation of Bacteriophage-Insensitive Mutants ofStreptococcus thermophilusvia an Antisense RNA CRISPR-Cas Silencing Approach

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.01733-17 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 84 (4) ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Brian McDonnell ◽

Jennifer Mahony ◽

Laurens Hanemaaijer ◽

Thijs R. H. M. Kouwen ◽

Douwe van Sinderen

Keyword(s):

Antisense Rna ◽

Streptococcus Thermophilus ◽

Economic Consequences ◽

Phage Infection ◽

Wild Type ◽

Content Type ◽

Antisense Mrna ◽

Dairy Processing ◽

Phage Sensitivity ◽

Derivatives Of

ABSTRACTPredation of starter lactic acid bacteria such asStreptococcus thermophilusby bacteriophages is a persistent and costly problem in the dairy industry. CRISPR-mediatedbacteriophageinsensitivemutants (BIMs), while straightforward to generate and verify, can quickly be overcome by mutant phages. The aim of this study was to develop a tool allowing the generation of derivatives of commercialS. thermophilusstrains which are resistant to phage attack through a non-CRISPR-mediated mechanism, with the objective of generating BIMs exhibiting stable resistance against a range of isolated lyticS. thermophilusphages. To achieve this, standard BIM generation was complemented by the use of the wild-type (WT) strain which had been transformed with an antisense mRNA-generating plasmid (targeting a crucial CRISPR-associated [cas] gene) in order to facilitate the generation of non-CRISPR-mediated BIMs. Phage sensitivity assays suggest that non-CRISPR-mediated BIMs exhibit some advantages compared to CRISPR-mediated BIMs derived from the same strain.IMPORTANCEThe outlined approach reveals the presence of a powerful host-imposed barrier for phage infection inS. thermophilus. Considering the detrimental economic consequences of phage infection in the dairy processing environment, the developed methodology has widespread applications, particularly where other methods may not be practical or effective in obtaining robust, phage-tolerantS. thermophilusstarter strains.

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The Peptidoglycan Hydrolase of Staphylococcus aureus Bacteriophage ϕ11 Plays a Structural Role in the Viral Particle

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.01388-13 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 79 (19) ◽

pp. 6187-6190 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Lorena Rodríguez-Rubio ◽

Nuria Quiles-Puchalt ◽

Beatriz Martínez ◽

Ana Rodríguez ◽

José R. Penadés ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Staphylococcus Aureus ◽

Burst Size ◽

Wild Type ◽

Content Type ◽

Wild Type Phenotype ◽

Viral Particles ◽

Peptidoglycan Hydrolases ◽

Host Lysis ◽

Phage Growth

ABSTRACTThe role of virion-associated peptidoglycan hydrolases (VAPGHs) in the phage infection cycle is not clear. gp49, the VAPGH fromStaphylococcus aureusphage ϕ11, is not essential for phage growth but stabilizes the viral particles. ϕ11Δ49 phages showed a reduced burst size and delayed host lysis. Complementation of gp49 with HydH5 from bacteriophage vB_SauS-phiIPLA88 restored the wild-type phenotype.

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Virulence Genetics of an Erwinia amylovora Putative Polysaccharide Transporter Family Member

Journal of Bacteriology ◽

10.1128/jb.00390-20 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 202 (22) ◽

Author(s):

Sara M. Klee ◽

Judith P. Sinn ◽

Elena Christian ◽

Aleah C. Holmes ◽

Kaixi Zhao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Virulence Factors ◽

Fire Blight ◽

Erwinia Amylovora ◽

Control Measures ◽

Detectable Effect ◽

Wild Type ◽

Content Type ◽

Transporter Family ◽

Blight Disease ◽

Suppressor Screen

ABSTRACT The Gram-negative enterobacterium Erwinia amylovora causes fire blight disease in apple and pear trees. Lipopolysaccharides and the exopolysaccharide amylovoran are essential E. amylovora virulence factors. We found that mutations in rfbX disrupted amylovoran production and virulence in apple fruits and tree shoots and that the deletion of yibD suppressed the rfbX mutant phenotype. The level of expression of yibD was about 10-fold higher in the ΔrfbX mutant than the wild type. A forward genetic suppressor screen in the ΔrfbX mutant uncovered multiple mutations in yibD and supported the conclusion that the virulence defect of rfbX mutants is due to reduced amylovoran production. The yibD and rfbX genes are expressed as a two-gene operon, yibD rfbX. The rfbX gene encodes a previously uncharacterized putative polysaccharide subunit transporter, while yibD encodes a predicted glycosyltransferase. Mutation of rfbX did not have a detectable effect on lipopolysaccharide patterns; however, the overexpression of yibD in both the wild-type and ΔyibD ΔrfbX genetic backgrounds disrupted both amylovoran and lipopolysaccharide production. Additionally, the overexpression of yibD in the ΔyibD ΔrfbX mutant inhibited bacterial growth in amylovoran-inducing medium. This growth inhibition phenotype was used in a forward genetic suppressor screen and reverse-genetics tests to identify several genes involved in lipopolysaccharide production, which, when mutated, restored the ability of the ΔyibD ΔrfbX mutant overexpressing yibD to grow in amylovoran-inducing medium. Remarkably, all the lipopolysaccharide gene mutants tested were defective in lipopolysaccharide and amylovoran production. These results reveal a genetic connection between amylovoran and lipopolysaccharide production in E. amylovora. IMPORTANCE This study discovered previously unknown genetic connections between exopolysaccharide and lipopolysaccharide production in the fire blight pathogen Erwinia amylovora. This represents a step forward in our understanding of the biology underlying the production of these two macromolecules. Fire blight is an economically important disease that impacts the production of apples and pears worldwide. Few fire blight control measures are available, and growers rely heavily on antibiotic applications at bloom time. Both exopolysaccharide and lipopolysaccharide are E. amylovora virulence factors. Our results indicate that the overexpression of the yibD gene in E. amylovora disrupts both lipopolysaccharide production and exopolysaccharide production. This effect could potentially be used as the basis for the development of an antivirulence treatment for the prevention of fire blight disease.

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Mutations in fbiD (Rv2983) as a Novel Determinant of Resistance to Pretomanid and Delamanid in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy ◽

10.1128/aac.01948-20 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 65 (1) ◽

pp. e01948-20

Author(s):

Dalin Rifat ◽

Si-Yang Li ◽

Thomas Ioerger ◽

Keshav Shah ◽

Jean-Philippe Lanoix ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mycobacterium Tuberculosis ◽

Clinical Evidence ◽

Clinical Samples ◽

Loss Of Function ◽

Wild Type ◽

Content Type ◽

Solid Media ◽

High Level ◽

Level Resistance

ABSTRACTThe nitroimidazole prodrugs delamanid and pretomanid comprise one of only two new antimicrobial classes approved to treat tuberculosis (TB) in 50 years. Prior in vitro studies suggest a relatively low barrier to nitroimidazole resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, but clinical evidence is limited to date. We selected pretomanid-resistant M. tuberculosis mutants in two mouse models of TB using a range of pretomanid doses. The frequency of spontaneous resistance was approximately 10−5 CFU. Whole-genome sequencing of 161 resistant isolates from 47 mice revealed 99 unique mutations, of which 91% occurred in 1 of 5 genes previously associated with nitroimidazole activation and resistance, namely, fbiC (56%), fbiA (15%), ddn (12%), fgd (4%), and fbiB (4%). Nearly all mutations were unique to a single mouse and not previously identified. The remaining 9% of resistant mutants harbored mutations in Rv2983 (fbiD), a gene not previously associated with nitroimidazole resistance but recently shown to be a guanylyltransferase necessary for cofactor F420 synthesis. Most mutants exhibited high-level resistance to pretomanid and delamanid, although Rv2983 and fbiB mutants exhibited high-level pretomanid resistance but relatively small changes in delamanid susceptibility. Complementing an Rv2983 mutant with wild-type Rv2983 restored susceptibility to pretomanid and delamanid. By quantifying intracellular F420 and its precursor Fo in overexpressing and loss-of-function mutants, we provide further evidence that Rv2983 is necessary for F420 biosynthesis. Finally, Rv2983 mutants and other F420H2-deficient mutants displayed hypersusceptibility to some antibiotics and to concentrations of malachite green found in solid media used to isolate and propagate mycobacteria from clinical samples.

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The Serratia marcescens Siderophore Serratiochelin Is Necessary for Full Virulence during Bloodstream Infection

Infection and Immunity ◽

10.1128/iai.00117-20 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 88 (8) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Danelle R. Weakland ◽

Sara N. Smith ◽

Bailey Bell ◽

Ashootosh Tripathi ◽

Harry L. T. Mobley

Keyword(s):

Serratia Marcescens ◽

Bloodstream Infection ◽

Iron Acquisition ◽

Gene Clusters ◽

Clinical Isolates ◽

Wild Type ◽

Serratia Plymuthica ◽

Content Type ◽

Cas Assay ◽

Essential Nutrient

ABSTRACT Serratia marcescens is a bacterium frequently found in the environment, but over the last several decades it has evolved into a concerning clinical pathogen, causing fatal bacteremia. To establish such infections, pathogens require specific nutrients; one very limited but essential nutrient is iron. We sought to characterize the iron acquisition systems in S. marcescens isolate UMH9, which was recovered from a clinical bloodstream infection. Using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), we identified two predicted siderophore gene clusters (cbs and sch) that were regulated by iron. Mutants were constructed to delete each iron acquisition locus individually and in conjunction, generating both single and double mutants for the putative siderophore systems. Mutants lacking the sch gene cluster lost their iron-chelating ability as quantified by the chrome azurol S (CAS) assay, whereas the cbs mutant retained wild-type activity. Mass spectrometry-based analysis identified the chelating siderophore to be serratiochelin, a siderophore previously identified in Serratia plymuthica. Serratiochelin-producing mutants also displayed a decreased growth rate under iron-limited conditions created by dipyridyl added to LB medium. Additionally, mutants lacking serratiochelin were significantly outcompeted during cochallenge with wild-type UMH9 in the kidneys and spleen after inoculation via the tail vein in a bacteremia mouse model. This result was further confirmed by an independent challenge, suggesting that serratiochelin is required for full S. marcescens pathogenesis in the bloodstream. Nine other clinical isolates have at least 90% protein identity to the UMH9 serratiochelin system; therefore, our results are broadly applicable to emerging clinical isolates of S. marcescens causing bacteremia.

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MetR-Regulated Vibrio cholerae Metabolism Is Required for Virulence

mBio ◽

10.1128/mbio.00236-12 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 3 (5) ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Ryan W. Bogard ◽

Bryan W. Davies ◽

John J. Mekalanos

Keyword(s):

Amino Acid ◽

Vibrio Cholerae ◽

Virulence Factor ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Intestinal Colonization ◽

Wild Type ◽

Pathogenic Potential ◽

Content Type ◽

Mouse Intestine

ABSTRACTLysR-type transcriptional regulators (LTTRs) are the largest, most diverse family of prokaryotic transcription factors, with regulatory roles spanning metabolism, cell growth and division, and pathogenesis. Using a sequence-defined transposon mutant library, we screened a panel ofV. choleraeEl Tor mutants to identify LTTRs required for host intestinal colonization. Surprisingly, out of 38 LTTRs, only one severely affected intestinal colonization in the suckling mouse model of cholera: the methionine metabolism regulator, MetR. Genetic analysis of genes influenced by MetR revealed thatglyA1andmetJwere also required for intestinal colonization. Chromatin immunoprecipitation of MetR and quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) confirmed interaction with and regulation ofglyA1, indicating that misregulation ofglyA1is likely responsible for the colonization defect observed in themetRmutant. TheglyA1mutant was auxotrophic for glycine but exhibited wild-type trimethoprim sensitivity, making folate deficiency an unlikely cause of its colonization defect. MetJ regulatory mutants are not auxotrophic but are likely altered in the regulation of amino acid-biosynthetic pathways, including those for methionine, glycine, and serine, and this misregulation likely explains its colonization defect. However, mutants defective in methionine, serine, and cysteine biosynthesis exhibited wild-type virulence, suggesting that these amino acids can be scavenged in vivo. Taken together, our results suggest that glycine biosynthesis may be required to alleviate an in vivo nutritional restriction in the mouse intestine; however, additional roles for glycine may exist. Irrespective of the precise nature of this requirement, this study illustrates the importance of pathogen metabolism, and the regulation thereof, as a virulence factor.IMPORTANCEVibrio choleraecontinues to be a severe cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Identification ofV. choleraefactors critical to disease progression offers the potential to develop or improve upon therapeutics and prevention strategies. To increase the efficiency of virulence factor discovery, we employed a regulator-centric approach to multiplex our in vivo screening capabilities and allow whole regulons inV. choleraeto be interrogated for pathogenic potential. We identified MetR as a new virulence regulator and serine hydroxymethyltransferase GlyA1 as a new MetR-regulated virulence factor, both required byV. choleraeto colonize the infant mouse intestine. Bacterial metabolism is a prerequisite to virulence, and current knowledge of in vivo metabolism of pathogens is limited. Here, we expand the known role of amino acid metabolism and regulation in virulence and offer new insights into the in vivo metabolic requirements ofV. choleraewithin the mouse intestine.

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Large-Scale Synonymous Substitutions in Cucumber Mosaic Virus RNA 3 Facilitate Amino Acid Mutations in the Coat Protein

Journal of Virology ◽

10.1128/jvi.01007-18 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 92 (22) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Tomofumi Mochizuki ◽

Rie Ohara ◽

Marilyn J. Roossinck

Keyword(s):

Amino Acid ◽

Secondary Structure ◽

Viral Genome ◽

Large Scale ◽

Viral Rna ◽

Wild Type ◽

Competitive Fitness ◽

Content Type ◽

Synonymous Substitutions ◽

Cp Gene

ABSTRACTThe effect of large-scale synonymous substitutions in a small icosahedral, single-stranded RNA viral genome on virulence, viral titer, and protein evolution were analyzed. The coat protein (CP) gene of the Fny stain of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) was modified. We created four CP mutants in which all the codons of nine amino acids in the 5′ or 3′ half of the CP gene were replaced by either the most frequently or the least frequently used synonymous codons in monocot plants. When the dicot host (Nicotiana benthamiana) was inoculated with these four CP mutants, viral RNA titers in uninoculated symptomatic leaves decreased, while all mutants eventually showed mosaic symptoms similar to those for the wild type. The codon adaptation index of these four CP mutants against dicot genes was similar to those of the wild-type CP gene, indicating that the reduction of viral RNA titer was due to deleterious changes of the secondary structure of RNAs 3 and 4. When two 5′ mutants were serially passaged inN. benthamiana, viral RNA titers were rapidly restored but competitive fitness remained decreased. Although no nucleic acid changes were observed in the passaged wild-type CMV, one to three amino acid changes were observed in the synonymously mutated CP of each passaged virus, which were involved in recovery of viral RNA titer of 5′ mutants. Thus, we demonstrated that deleterious effects of the large-scale synonymous substitutions in the RNA viral genome facilitated the rapid amino acid mutation(s) in the CP to restore the viral RNA titer.IMPORTANCERecently, it has been known that synonymous substitutions in RNA virus genes affect viral pathogenicity and competitive fitness by alteration of global or local RNA secondary structure of the viral genome. We confirmed that large-scale synonymous substitutions in the CP gene of CMV resulted in decreased viral RNA titer. Importantly, when viral evolution was stimulated by serial-passage inoculation, viral RNA titer was rapidly restored, concurrent with a few amino acid changes in the CP. This novel finding indicates that the deleterious effects of large-scale nucleic acid mutations on viral RNA secondary structure are readily tolerated by structural changes in the CP, demonstrating a novel part of the adaptive evolution of an RNA viral genome. In addition, our experimental system for serial inoculation of large-scale synonymous mutants could uncover a role for new amino acid residues in the viral protein that have not been observed in the wild-type virus strains.

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Thymidine kinase-mediated killing of rat brain tumors

Journal of Neurosurgery ◽

10.3171/jns.1993.79.5.0729 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 79 (5) ◽

pp. 729-735 ◽

Cited By ~ 101

Author(s):

David Barba ◽

Joseph Hardin ◽

Jasodhara Ray ◽

Fred H. Gage

Keyword(s):

Gene Therapy ◽

Brain Tumors ◽

Tumor Cells ◽

Wild Type ◽

Cns Disorders ◽

Content Type ◽

Potential Applications ◽

Ganciclovir Treatment ◽

The Brain ◽

Fine Print

✓ Gene therapy has many potential applications in central nervous system (CNS) disorders, including the selective killing of tumor cells in the brain. A rat brain tumor model was used to test the herpes simplex virus (HSV)-thymidine kinase (TK) gene for its ability to selectively kill C6 and 9L tumor cells in the brain following systemic administration of the nucleoside analog ganciclovir. The HSV-TK gene was introduced in vitro into tumor cells (C6-TK and 9L-TK), then these modified tumor cells were evaluated for their sensitivity to cell killing by ganciclovir. In a dose-response assay, both C6-TK and 9L-TK cells were 100 times more sensitive to killing by ganciclovir (median lethal dose: C6-TK, 0.1 µg ganciclovir/ml; C6, 5.0 µg ganciclovir/ml) than unmodified wild-type tumor cells or cultured fibroblasts. In vivo studies confirmed the ability of intraperitoneal ganciclovir administration to kill established brain tumors in rats as quantified by both stereological assessment of brain tumor volumes and studies of animal survival over 90 days. Rats with brain tumors established by intracerebral injection of wild-type or HSV-TK modified tumor cells or by a combination of wild-type and HSV-TK-modified cells were studied with and without ganciclovir treatments. Stereological methods determined that ganciclovir treatment eliminated tumors composed of HSV-TK-modified cells while control tumors grew as expected (p < 0.001). In survival studies, all 10 rats with 9L-TK tumors treated with ganciclovir survived 90 days while all untreated rats died within 25 days. Curiously, tumors composed of combinations of 9L and 9L-TK cells could be eliminated by ganciclovir treatments even when only one-half of the tumor cells carried the HSV-TK gene. While not completely understood, this additional tumor cell killing appears to be both tumor selective and local in nature. It is concluded that HSV-TK gene therapy with ganciclovir treatment does selectively kill tumor cells in the brain and has many potential applications in CNS disorders, including the treatment of cancer.

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A Novel CO-Responsive Transcriptional Regulator and Enhanced H2Production by an Engineered Thermococcus onnurineus NA1 Strain

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.03019-14 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 81 (5) ◽

pp. 1708-1714 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Min-Sik Kim ◽

Ae Ran Choi ◽

Seong Hyuk Lee ◽

Hae-Chang Jung ◽

Seung Seob Bae ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Production Rate ◽

Gene Cluster ◽

Type Strain ◽

Wild Type Strain ◽

Regulatory System ◽

Transcriptional Regulator ◽

Bioreactor Culture ◽

Wild Type ◽

Content Type ◽

Transcriptional Regulatory

ABSTRACTGenome analysis revealed the existence of a putative transcriptional regulatory system governing CO metabolism inThermococcus onnurineusNA1, a carboxydotrophic hydrogenogenic archaeon. The regulatory system is composed of CorQ with a 4-vinyl reductase domain and CorR with a DNA-binding domain of the LysR-type transcriptional regulator family in close proximity to the CO dehydrogenase (CODH) gene cluster. Homologous genes of the CorQR pair were also found in the genomes ofThermococcusspecies and “CandidatusKorarchaeum cryptofilum” OPF8. In-frame deletion of eithercorQorcorRcaused a severe impairment in CO-dependent growth and H2production. WhencorQandcorRdeletion mutants were complemented by introducing thecorQRgenes under the control of a strong promoter, the mRNA and protein levels of the CODH gene were significantly increased in a ΔCorR strain complemented with integratedcorQR(ΔCorR/corQR↑) compared with those in the wild-type strain. In addition, the ΔCorR/corQR↑strain exhibited a much higher H2production rate (5.8-fold) than the wild-type strain in a bioreactor culture. The H2production rate (191.9 mmol liter−1h−1) and the specific H2production rate (249.6 mmol g−1h−1) of this strain were extremely high compared with those of CO-dependent H2-producing prokaryotes reported so far. These results suggest that thecorQRgenes encode a positive regulatory protein pair for the expression of a CODH gene cluster. The study also illustrates that manipulation of the transcriptional regulatory system can improve biological H2production.

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Lactose-Inducible System for Metabolic Engineering of Clostridium ljungdahlii

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.03666-13 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 80 (8) ◽

pp. 2410-2416 ◽

Cited By ~ 65

Author(s):

Areen Banerjee ◽

Ching Leang ◽

Toshiyuki Ueki ◽

Kelly P. Nevin ◽

Derek R. Lovley

Keyword(s):

Ethanol Production ◽

Genetic Manipulation ◽

Electron Flow ◽

Model Organism ◽

Inducible Expression ◽

Carbon Flow ◽

Wild Type ◽

Content Type ◽

Microbial Electrosynthesis ◽

Clostridium Ljungdahlii

ABSTRACTThe development of tools for genetic manipulation ofClostridium ljungdahliihas increased its attractiveness as a chassis for autotrophic production of organic commodities and biofuels from syngas and microbial electrosynthesis and established it as a model organism for the study of the basic physiology of acetogenesis. In an attempt to expand the genetic toolbox forC. ljungdahlii, the possibility of adapting a lactose-inducible system for gene expression, previously reported forClostridium perfringens, was investigated. The plasmid pAH2, originally developed forC. perfringenswith agusAreporter gene, functioned as an effective lactose-inducible system inC. ljungdahlii. Lactose induction ofC. ljungdahliicontaining pB1, in which the gene for the aldehyde/alcohol dehydrogenase AdhE1 was downstream of the lactose-inducible promoter, increased expression ofadhE130-fold over the wild-type level, increasing ethanol production 1.5-fold, with a corresponding decrease in acetate production. Lactose-inducible expression ofadhE1in a strain in whichadhE1and theadhE1homologadhE2had been deleted from the chromosome restored ethanol production to levels comparable to those in the wild-type strain. Inducing expression ofadhE2similarly failed to restore ethanol production, suggesting thatadhE1is the homolog responsible for ethanol production. Lactose-inducible expression of the four heterologous genes necessary to convert acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) to acetone diverted ca. 60% of carbon flow to acetone production during growth on fructose, and 25% of carbon flow went to acetone when carbon monoxide was the electron donor. These studies demonstrate that the lactose-inducible system described here will be useful for redirecting carbon and electron flow for the biosynthesis of products more valuable than acetate. Furthermore, this tool should aid in optimizing microbial electrosynthesis and for basic studies on the physiology of acetogenesis.

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