scholarly journals Fermentative Production of Thymidine by a Metabolically Engineered Escherichia coli Strain

2009 ◽  
Vol 75 (8) ◽  
pp. 2423-2432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyeon Cheol Lee ◽  
Jin Ha Kim ◽  
Jin Sook Kim ◽  
Wonhee Jang ◽  
Sang Yong Kim

ABSTRACT Thymidine is an important precursor in the production of various antiviral drugs, including azidothymidine for the treatment of AIDS. Since thymidine-containing nucleotides are synthesized only by the de novo pathway during DNA synthesis, it is not easy to produce a large amount of thymidine biologically. In order to develop a host strain to produce thymidine, thymidine phosphorylase, thymidine kinase, and uridine phosphorylase genes were deleted from an Escherichia coli BL21 strain to develop BLdtu. Since the genes coding for the enzymes related to the nucleotide salvage pathway were disrupted, BLdtu was unable to utilize thymidine or thymine, and thymidine degradation activity was completely abrogated. We additionally expressed T4 thymidylate synthase, T4 nucleotide diphosphate reductase, bacteriophage PBS2 TMP phosphohydrolase, E. coli dCTP deaminase, and E. coli uridine kinase in the BLdtu strain to develop a thymidine-producing strain (BLdtu24). BLdtu24 produced 649.3 mg liter−1 of thymidine in a 7-liter batch fermenter for 24 h, and neither thymine nor uridine was detected. However, the dUTP/dTTP ratio was increased in BLdtu24, which could lead to increased double-strand breakages and eventually to cell deaths during fermentation. To enhance thymidine production and to prevent cell deaths during fermentation, we disrupted a gene (encoding uracil-DNA N-glycosylase) involved in DNA excision repair to suppress the consumption of dTTP and developed BLdtug24. Compared with the thymidine production in BLdtu24, the thymidine production in BLdtug24 was increased by ∼1.2-fold (740.3 mg liter−1). Here, we show that a thymidine-producing strain with a relatively high yield can be developed using a metabolic engineering approach.

2003 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 378-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seung-Kwon Ha ◽  
Changsun Choi ◽  
Chanhee Chae

A total of 604 Escherichia coli strains isolated from weaned pigs with diarrhea or edema disease on 653 swine farms were screened for the presence of the adhesin involved in diffuse adherence (AIDA) gene by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Escherichia coli isolates that carried AIDA genes were also tested by PCR for the detection of 5 fimbriae (F4, F5, F6, F18, and F41), 3 heat-stable (STa, STb, and EAST1) and 1 heat-labile (LT) enterotoxin, and Shiga toxin 2e (Stx2e) genes. Forty-five (7.5%) of the 604 E. coli isolates carried the gene for AIDA. Of these 45 isolates, 5 (11.1%) carried EAST1 genes only, 1 (2.2%) carried genes for at least one of the fimbrial adhesins, 12 (26.7%) carried genes for at least one of the toxins, and 27 (60%) carried genes for at least one of the fimbrial adhesins and toxins. Fifty-one percent of strains that carried AIDA genes carried Stx2e genes, and 40% of strains that carried AIDA genes carried F18ab. The isolation rate of enterotoxigenic E. coli strain carrying genes for AIDA was 87%, and the isolation rate of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli strain carrying genes for AIDA was 49%. AIDA may represent an important virulence determinant in pigs with postweaning diarrhea or edema disease.


2008 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 473-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorismey Vieira Tokano ◽  
Marisa Emiko Kawaichi ◽  
Emerson José Venâncio ◽  
Marilda Carlos Vidotto

The aim of this work was to isolate, clone and characterize the iron uptake gene iutA from avian pathogenic E. coli (APEC). The iutA gene was isolated from the strain APEC 9, serotype O2:H9, which was cloned in the expression vector pET101/D-TOPO. The gene of 2.2 Kb was sequenced (AY602767, which showed high similarity to the iutA gene from three plasmids, two from APEC, pAPEC-02-ColV (AY545598.4) and pTJ100 (AY553855.1), and one from a human invasive E. coli strain, the pColV K30. The recombinant protein IutA was over expressed in E. coli BL21(DE-3) and was solubilized with urea and purified by Ni-NTA column. This method produced a relatively high yield of r-IutA of approximately 74kDa, which was used to produce the antibody anti-IutA. This anti-IutA reacted with the protein r-IutA and native IutA of APEC 9, as demonstrated by Western blot, showing that the r-IutA conserved epitopes and its antigenicity was preserved. The anti-IutA IgY was able to inhibit the IutA biological activity, inhibiting the sensitivity to cloacin DF13 of APEC9. However, it did not inhibit the growth of APEC9 in M9 and did not protect the chickens inoculated with the APEC, suggesting that the APEC possessed another iron acquisition mechanism distinct of aerobactin.


Microbiology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 152 (6) ◽  
pp. 1799-1806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viktoria Roos ◽  
Mark A. Schembri ◽  
Glen C. Ulett ◽  
Per Klemm

Escherichia coli is the most common organism associated with asymptomatic bacteriuria (ABU). In contrast to uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), which causes symptomatic urinary tract infection (UTI), very little is known about the mechanisms by which these strains colonize the urinary tract. Bacterial adhesion conferred by specific surface-associated adhesins is normally considered as a prerequisite for colonization of the urinary tract. The prototype ABU E. coli strain 83972 was originally isolated from a girl who had carried it asymptomatically for 3 years. This study characterized the molecular status of one of the primary adhesion factors known to be associated with UTI, namely F1C fimbriae, encoded by the foc gene cluster. F1C fimbriae recognize receptors present in the human kidney and bladder. Expression of the foc genes was found to be up-regulated in human urine. It was also shown that although strain 83972 contains a seemingly intact foc gene cluster, F1C fimbriae are not expressed. Sequencing and genetic complementation revealed that the focD gene, encoding a component of the F1C transport and assembly system, was non-functional, explaining the inability of strain 83972 to express this adhesin. The data imply that E. coli 83972 has lost its ability to express this important colonization factor as a result of host-driven evolution. The ancestor of the strain seems to have been a pyelonephritis strain of phylogenetic group B2. Strain 83972 therefore represents an example of bacterial adaptation from pathogenicity to commensalism through virulence factor loss.


2013 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 1078-1089 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yogitha N. Srikhanta ◽  
Dianna M. Hocking ◽  
Judyta Praszkier ◽  
Matthew J. Wakefield ◽  
Roy M. Robins-Browne ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTAraC-like regulators play a key role in the expression of virulence factors in enteric pathogens, such as enteropathogenicEscherichia coli(EPEC), enterotoxigenicE. coli, enteroaggregativeE. coli, andCitrobacter rodentium. Bioinformatic analysis of the genome of rabbit-specific EPEC (REPEC) strain E22 (O103:H2) revealed the presence of a gene encoding an AraC-like regulatory protein, RegR, which shares 71% identity to the global virulence regulator, RegA, ofC. rodentium. Microarray analysis demonstrated that RegR exerts 25- to 400-fold activation on transcription of several genes encoding putative virulence-associated factors, including a fimbrial operon (SEF14), a serine protease, and an autotransporter adhesin. These observations were confirmed by proteomic analysis of secreted and heat-extracted surface-associated proteins. The mechanism of RegR-mediated activation was investigated by using its most highly upregulated gene target,sefA. Transcriptional analyses and electrophoretic mobility shift assays showed that RegR activates the expression ofsefAby binding to a region upstream of thesefApromoter, thereby relieving gene silencing by the global regulatory protein H-NS. Moreover, RegR was found to contribute significantly to virulence in a rabbit infection experiment. Taken together, our findings indicate that RegR controls the expression of a series of accessory adhesins that significantly enhance the virulence of REPEC strain E22.


2011 ◽  
Vol 396-398 ◽  
pp. 2499-2502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiang Hui Qi ◽  
Qi Guo ◽  
Yu Tuo Wei ◽  
Hong Xu ◽  
Ri Bo Huang

1, 3-propanediol (1, 3-PD) is biologically synthesized by glycerol dehydratase (GDHt) and 1, 3-propanediol dehydrogenase (PDOR). In present study, the gldABC gene, encoding GDHt from Klebsiella pneumoniae and the yqhD gene, encoding PDOR isoenzyme from E.coli BL21 were cloned and co-expressed in E.coli JM109 using plasmid pSE380. The over-expressed recombinant enzymes were purified by nickel-chelate chromatography combined with gel filtration to study the properties. Optimal temperature and pH of recombinant GDHt with specific activity of 85.8 U/mg were 45 °C and 9.0; and optimal temperature and pH of recombinant YqhD with specific activity of 80.0 U/mg were 37 °C, 7.0. The microbial conversion of 1,3-PD from glycerol by this recombinant E. coli strain was studied and the production of 1,3-PD was about 28.0 g/l.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lacey R. Lopez ◽  
Cassandra J. Barlogio ◽  
Christopher A. Broberg ◽  
Jeremy Wang ◽  
Janelle C. Arthur

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) and inflammation-associated colorectal cancer (CRC) are linked to blooms of adherent-invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC) in the intestinal microbiota. AIEC are functionally defined by their ability to adhere/invade epithelial cells and survive/replicate within macrophages. Changes in micronutrient availability can alter AIEC physiology and interactions with host cells. Thus, culturing AIEC for mechanistic investigations often involves precise nutrient formulation. We observed that the pro-inflammatory and pro-carcinogenic AIEC strain NC101 failed to grow in minimal media (MM). We hypothesized that NC101 was unable to synthesize a vital micronutrient normally found in the host gut. Through nutrient supplementation studies, we identified that NC101 is a nicotinic acid (NA) auxotroph. NA auxotrophy was not observed in the other non-toxigenic E. coli or AIEC strains we tested. Sequencing revealed NC101 has a missense mutation in nadA, a gene encoding quinolinate synthase A that is important for de novo nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) biosynthesis. Correcting the identified nadA point mutation restored NC101 prototrophy without impacting AIEC function, including motility and AIEC-defining survival in macrophages. Our findings, along with the generation of a prototrophic NC101 strain, will greatly enhance the ability to perform in vitro functional studies that are needed for mechanistic investigations on the role of intestinal E. coli in digestive disease.


2002 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 132-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Di Martino ◽  
A Merieau ◽  
R Phillips ◽  
N Orange ◽  
C Hulen

Escherichia coli adherence to biotic and abiotic surfaces constitutes the first step of infection by promoting colonization and biofilm formation. The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of the relationship between E. coli adherence to different biotic surfaces and biofilm formation on abiotic surfaces. We isolated mutants defective in A549 pneumocyte cells adherence, fibronectin adherence, and biofilm formation by random transposition mutagenesis and sequential passages over A549 cell monolayers. Among the 97 mutants tested, 80 were decreased in biofilm formation, 8 were decreased in A549 cells adherence, 7 were decreased in their adherence to fibronectin, and 17 had no perturbations in either of the three phenotypes. We observed a correlation between adherence to fibronectin or A549 cells and biofilm formation, indicating that biotic adhesive factors are involved in biofilm formation by E. coli. Molecular analysis of the mutants revealed that a transposon insertion in the tnaA gene encoding for tryptophanase was associated with a decrease in both A549 cells adherence and biofilm formation by E. coli. The complementation of the tnaA mutant with plasmid-located wild-type tnaA restored the tryptophanase activity, epithelial cells adherence, and biofilm formation on polystyrene. The possible mechanism of tryptophanase involvement in E. coli adherence and biofilm formation is discussed.Key words: Escherichia coli, biofilm, adherence, A549 cells, fibronectin, tryptophanase.


2008 ◽  
Vol 54 (9) ◽  
pp. 725-733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Li ◽  
Jiao Yin ◽  
Guosheng Qu ◽  
Luchao Lv ◽  
Yadong Li ◽  
...  

A gene encoding a putative multicopper oxidase (MCO) was cloned from the soil bacterium Klebsiella sp. 601 and its corresponding enzyme was overexpressed in an Escherichia coli strain. Klebsiella sp. 601 MCO is composed of 536 amino acids with a molecular mass of 58.2 kDa. Theoretical calculation gave a pI value of 6.11. The amino acid sequence of Klebsiella sp. 601 MCO is strongly homologous to that of E. coli CueO with a similarity of 90% and an identity of 78%. Unlike E. coli CueO, Klebsiella sp. 601 MCO contains an extra 20 amino acids close to its C-terminus. The enzyme was purified to homogeneity by Ni-affinity chromatography. The purified enzyme was capable of using DMP (2,6-dimethoxyphenol), ABTS (2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazolinesulfonic acid)), and SGZ (syringaldazine) as substrates with an optimal pH of 8.0 for DMP, 3.0 for ABTS, and 7.0 for SGZ. Klebsiella sp. 601 MCO was quite stable at pH 7.0 in which its activity was constant for 25 h without any significant change. Kinetic studies gave Km, kcat, and kcat/Kmvalues of 0.49 mmol·L–1, 1.08 × 103s–1, and 2.23 × 103s–1·mmol–1·L, respectively, for DMP, 5.63 mmol·L–1, 6.64 × 103s–1, and 1.18 × 103s–1·mmol–1·L for ABTS, and 0.023 mmol·L–1, 11 s–1, and 4.68 × 102s–1·mmol–1·L for SGZ.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (41) ◽  
Author(s):  
Munavvara Dzhuraeva ◽  
Mehrangez Shokirova ◽  
Ani Azaryan ◽  
Hovik Panosyan ◽  
Khursheda Bobodzhanova ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The 4.6-Mbp draft genome sequence of Escherichia coli strain Tj, isolated from the Varzob River in Tajikistan, is presented. This strain possesses four prophage elements related to Shigella phage SfV, E. coli O157:H7-specific phage ϕV10, lambdoid phage HK225, and coliphage Ayreon. It contains a gene encoding a hemolysin E toxin.


2008 ◽  
Vol 74 (24) ◽  
pp. 7596-7599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Nozaki ◽  
Shinji Kuroda ◽  
Kunihiko Watanabe ◽  
Kenzo Yokozeki

ABSTRACT By screening microorganisms that are capable of assimilating α-methyl-dl-serine, we detected α-methylserine aldolase in Ralstonia sp. strain AJ110405, Variovorax paradoxus AJ110406, and Bosea sp. strain AJ110407. A homogeneous form of this enzyme was purified from Ralstonia sp. strain AJ110405, and the gene encoding the enzyme was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The enzyme appeared to be a homodimer consisting of identical subunits, and its molecular mass was found to be 47 kDa. It contained 0.7 to 0.8 mol of pyridoxal 5′-phosphate per mol of subunit and could catalyze the interconversion of α-methyl-l-serine to l-alanine and formaldehyde in the absence of tetrahydrofolate. Formaldehyde was generated from α-methyl-l-serine but not from α-methyl-d-serine, l-serine, or d-serine. α-Methyl-l-serine synthesis activity was detected when l-alanine was used as the substrate. In contrast, no activity was detected when d-alanine was used as the substrate. In the α-methyl-l-serine synthesis reaction, the enzymatic activity was inhibited by an excess amount of formaldehyde, which was one of the substrates. We used cells of E. coli as a whole-cell catalyst to express the gene encoding α-methylserine aldolase and effectively obtained a high yield of optically pure α-methyl-l-serine using l-alanine and formaldehyde.


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