scholarly journals Overexpression of the Plant Medium-chain Acyl-carrier Protein Thioesterase BTE for the Overproduction of the nC14-surfactin Isoform with Promising MEOR Applications

Author(s):  
fangxiang hu ◽  
Weijie Cai ◽  
Junzhang Lin ◽  
Weidong Wang ◽  
Shuang Li

Abstract BackgroundSurfactin, a representative biosurfactant of popeptide mainly produced by Bacillus subtilis, consists of a cyclic heptapeptide linked to a β-hydroxy fatty acid chain. The functional activity of surfactin is closely related to the length and isomerism of the fatty acid chain. ResultsIn this study, the plant medium-chain acyl-carrier protein (ACP) thioesterase (BTE) from Umbellularia californica was overexpressed in a recombinant surfactin production strain based on B. subtilis 168. As a result, the surfactin yield after 24 h of cultivation improved by 23%, and the production rate increased from 0.112 to 0.177 g/L/h. The isoforms identified by RP-HPLC and GC-MS showed that the proportion of nC14-surfactin increased 6.4 times compared to the control strain. A comparison of further properties revealed that the product with more nC14-surfactin had higher surface activity and better performance in oil-washing. Finally, the product with more nC14-surfactin isoform had a higher hydrocarbon-emulsification index, and it increased the water-wettability of the oil-saturated silicate surface. ConclusionThe obtained results provide an original approach to modify the fatty acid chain of surfactin and further demonstrate the importance of the length and isomerism of the β-hydroxy fatty acid chain for the MEOR application of surfactin.

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fangxiang Hu ◽  
Weijie Cai ◽  
Junzhang Lin ◽  
Weidong Wang ◽  
Shuang Li

Abstract Background Surfactin, a representative biosurfactant of lipopeptide mainly produced by Bacillus subtilis, consists of a cyclic heptapeptide linked to a β-hydroxy fatty acid chain. The functional activity of surfactin is closely related to the length and isomerism of the fatty acid chain. Results In this study, the fatty acid precursor supply pathway in Bacillus subtilis 168 for surfactin production was strengthened through two steps. Firstly, pathways competing for the precursors were eliminated with inactivation of pps and pks. Secondly, the plant medium-chain acyl-carrier protein (ACP) thioesterase (BTE) from Umbellularia californica was overexpressed. As a result, the surfactin titer after 24 h of cultivation improved by 34%, and the production rate increased from 0.112 to 0.177 g/L/h. The isoforms identified by RP-HPLC and GC–MS showed that the proportion of nC14-surfactin increased 6.4 times compared to the control strain. A comparison of further properties revealed that the product with more nC14-surfactin had higher surface activity and better performance in oil-washing. Finally, the product with more nC14-surfactin isoform had a higher hydrocarbon-emulsification index, and it increased the water-wettability of the oil-saturated silicate surface. Conclusion The obtained results identified that enhancing the supply of fatty acid precursor is very essential for the synthesis of surfactin. At the same time, this study also proved that thioesterase BTE can promote the production of nC14-surfactin and experimentally demonstrated its higher surface activity and better performance in oil-washing. These results are of great significance for the MEOR application of surfactin. Graphic abstract


2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 934-939 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max J. Cryle

The cytochromes P450 (P450s) are a superfamily of oxidative haemoproteins that are capable of catalysing a vast range of oxidative transformations, including the oxidation of unactivated alkanes, often with high stereo- and regio-selectivity. Fatty acid hydroxylation by P450s is widespread across both bacteria and higher organisms, with the sites of oxidation and specificity of oxidation varying from system to system. Several key examples are discussed in the present article, with the focus on P450BioI (CYP107H1), a biosynthetic P450 found in the biotin operon of Bacillus subtilis. The biosynthetic function of P450BioI is the formation of pimelic acid, a biotin precursor, via a multiple-step oxidative cleavage of long-chain fatty acids. P450BioI is a member of an important subgroup of P450s that accept their substrates not free in solution, but rather presented by a separate carrier protein. Structural characterization of the P450BioI–ACP (acyl-carrier protein) complex has recently been performed, which has revealed the basis for the oxidation of the centre of the fatty acid chain. The P450BioI–ACP structure is the first such P450–carrier protein complex to be characterized structurally, with important implications for other biosynthetically intriguing P450–carrier protein complexes.


2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yijun Yuan ◽  
Yinhua Chen ◽  
Shan Yan ◽  
Yuanxue Liang ◽  
Yusheng Zheng ◽  
...  

Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) contains large amounts of medium chain fatty acids, which mostly recognise acyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) thioesterases that hydrolyse acyl-ACP into free fatty acids to terminate acyl chain elongation during fatty acid biosynthesis. A full-length cDNA of an acyl-ACP thioesterase, designated CocoFatB1, was isolated from cDNA libraries prepared from coconut endosperm during fruit development. The gene contained an open reading frame of 1254 bp, encoding a 417-amino acid protein. The amino acid sequence of the CocoFatB1 protein showed 100% and 95% sequence similarity to CnFatB1 and oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) acyl-ACP thioesterases, respectively. Real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR analysis indicated that the CocoFatB1 transcript was most abundant in the endosperm from 8-month-old coconuts; the leaves and endosperm from 15-month-old coconuts had ~80% and ~10% of this level. The CocoFatB1 coding region was overexpressed in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) under the control of the seed-specific napin promoter following Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. CocoFatB1 transcript expression varied 20-fold between different transgenic plants, with 21 plants exhibiting detectable levels of CocoFatB1 expression. Analysis of the fatty acid composition of transgenic tobacco seeds showed that the levels of myristic acid (14 : 0), palmitic acid (16 : 0) and stearic acid (18 : 0) were increased by 25%, 34% and 17%, respectively, compared with untransformed plants. These results indicated that CocoFatB1 acts specifically on 14 : 0-ACP, 16 : 0-ACP and 18 : 0-ACP, and can increase medium chain saturated fatty acids. The gene may valuable for engineering fatty acid metabolism in crop improvement programmes.


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