scholarly journals Developing Clostridia as Cell Factories for Short- and Medium-Chain Ester Production

Author(s):  
Qingzhuo Wang ◽  
Naief H. Al Makishah ◽  
Qi Li ◽  
Yanan Li ◽  
Wenzheng Liu ◽  
...  

Short- and medium-chain volatile esters with flavors and fruity fragrances, such as ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, and butyl butyrate, are usually value-added in brewing, food, and pharmacy. The esters can be naturally produced by some microorganisms. As ester-forming reactions are increasingly deeply understood, it is possible to produce esters in non-natural but more potential hosts. Clostridia are a group of important industrial microorganisms since they can produce a variety of volatile organic acids and alcohols with high titers, especially butanol and butyric acid through the CoA-dependent carbon chain elongation pathway. This implies sufficient supplies of acyl-CoA, organic acids, and alcohols in cells, which are precursors for ester production. Besides, some Clostridia could utilize lignocellulosic biomass, industrial off-gas, or crude glycerol to produce other branched or straight-chain alcohols and acids. Therefore, Clostridia offer great potential to be engineered to produce short- and medium-chain volatile esters. In the review, the efforts to produce esters from Clostridia via in vitro lipase-mediated catalysis and in vivo alcohol acyltransferase (AAT)-mediated reaction are comprehensively revisited. Besides, the advantageous characteristics of several Clostridia and clostridial consortia for bio-ester production and the driving force of synthetic biology to clostridial chassis development are also discussed. It is believed that synthetic biotechnology should enable the future development of more effective Clostridia for ester production.

1997 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 594-599 ◽  
Author(s):  
X Xiong ◽  
J L Smith ◽  
M S Chen

Cidofovir (CDV) (HPMPC) has potent in vitro and in vivo activity against human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), CDV diphosphate (CDVpp), the putative antiviral metabolite of CDV, is an inhibitor and an alternate substrate of HCMV DNA polymerase. CDV is incorporated with the correct complementation to dGMP in the template, and the incorporated CDV at the primer end is not excised by the 3'-to-5' exonuclease activity of HCMV DNA polymerase. The incorporation of a CDV molecule causes a decrease in the rate of DNA elongation for the addition of the second natural nucleotide from the singly incorporated CDV molecule. The reduction in the rate of DNA (36-mer) synthesis from an 18-mer by one incorporated CDV is 31% that of the control. However, the fidelity of HCMV DNA polymerase is maintained for the addition of the nucleotides following a single incorporated CDV molecule. The rate of DNA synthesis by HCMV DNA polymerase is drastically decreased after the incorporation of two consecutive CDV molecules; the incorporation of a third consecutive CDV molecule is not detectable. Incorporation of two CDV molecules separated by either one or two deoxynucleoside monophosphates (dAMP, dGMP, or dTMP) also drastically decreases the rate of DNA chain elongation by HCMV DNA polymerase. The rate of DNA synthesis decreases by 90% when a template which contains one internally incorporated CDV molecule is used. The inhibition by CDVpp of DNA synthesis by HCMV DNA polymerase and the inability of HCMV DNA polymerase to excise incorporated CDV from DNA may account for the potent and long-lasting anti-CMV activity of CDV.


Pharmaceutics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1349
Author(s):  
Wanshan Feng ◽  
Chaolong Qin ◽  
Elena Cipolla ◽  
Jong Bong Lee ◽  
Atheer Zgair ◽  
...  

Oral sesame oil-based formulation facilitates the delivery of poorly water-soluble drug cannabidiol (CBD) to the lymphatic system and blood circulation. However, this natural oil-based formulation also leads to considerable variability in absorption of CBD. In this work, the performance of lipid-based formulations with the addition of medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) or surfactants to the sesame oil vehicle has been tested in vitro and in vivo using CBD as a model drug. The in vitro lipolysis has shown that addition of the MCT leads to a higher distribution of CBD into the micellar phase. Further addition of surfactants to MCT-containing formulations did not improve distribution of the drug into the micellar phase. In vivo, formulations containing MCT led to lower or similar concentrations of CBD in serum, lymph and MLNs, but with reduced variability. MCT improves the emulsification and micellar solubilization of CBD, but surfactants did not facilitate further the rate and extent of lipolysis. Even though addition of MCT reduces the variability, the in vivo performance for the extent of both lymphatic transport and systemic bioavailability remains superior with a pure natural oil vehicle.


2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (11) ◽  
pp. 2818-2823 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Tang ◽  
Zhengyan Guo ◽  
Zhenju Cao ◽  
Min Wang ◽  
Pengwei Li ◽  
...  

Seven-carbon-chain–containing sugars exist in several groups of important bacterial natural products. Septacidin represents a group of l-heptopyranoses containing nucleoside antibiotics with antitumor, antifungal, and pain-relief activities. Hygromycin B, an aminoglycoside anthelmintic agent used in swine and poultry farming, represents a group of d-heptopyranoses–containing antibiotics. To date, very little is known about the biosynthesis of these compounds. Here we sequenced the genome of the septacidin producer and identified the septacidin gene cluster by heterologous expression. After determining the boundaries of the septacidin gene cluster, we studied septacidin biosynthesis by in vivo and in vitro experiments and discovered that SepB, SepL, and SepC can convert d-sedoheptulose-7-phosphate (S-7-P) to ADP-l-glycero-β-d-manno-heptose, exemplifying the involvement of ADP-sugar in microbial natural product biosynthesis. Interestingly, septacidin, a secondary metabolite from a gram-positive bacterium, shares the same ADP-heptose biosynthesis pathway with the gram-negative bacterium LPS. In addition, two acyltransferase-encoding genes sepD and sepH, were proposed to be involved in septacidin side-chain formation according to the intermediates accumulated in their mutants. In hygromycin B biosynthesis, an isomerase HygP can recognize S-7-P and convert it to ADP-d-glycero-β-d-altro-heptose together with GmhA and HldE, two enzymes from the Escherichia coli LPS heptose biosynthetic pathway, suggesting that the d-heptopyranose moiety of hygromycin B is also derived from S-7-P. Unlike the other S-7-P isomerases, HygP catalyzes consecutive isomerizations and controls the stereochemistry of both C2 and C3 positions.


Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (21) ◽  
pp. 3854 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fidelis ◽  
Moura ◽  
Kabbas Junior ◽  
Pap ◽  
Mattila ◽  
...  

The circular economy is an umbrella concept that applies different mechanisms aiming to minimize waste generation, thus decoupling economic growth from natural resources. Each year, an estimated one-third of all food produced is wasted; this is equivalent to 1.3 billion tons of food, which is worth around US$1 trillion or even $2.6 trillion when social and economic costs are included. In the fruit and vegetable sector, 45% of the total produced amount is lost in the production (post-harvest, processing, and distribution) and consumption chains. Therefore, it is necessary to find new technological and environmentally friendly solutions to utilize fruit wastes as new raw materials to develop and scale up the production of high value-added products and ingredients. Considering that the production and consumption of fruits has increased in the last years and following the need to find the sustainable use of different fruit side streams, this work aimed to describe the chemical composition and bioactivity of different fruit seeds consumed worldwide. A comprehensive focus is given on the extraction techniques of water-soluble and lipophilic compounds and in vitro/in vivo functionalities, and the link between chemical composition and observed activity is holistically explained.


2020 ◽  
Vol 61 ◽  
pp. 215-224
Author(s):  
Chaoyu Tian ◽  
Jiangang Yang ◽  
Yunjie Li ◽  
Tong Zhang ◽  
Jiao Li ◽  
...  

Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (24) ◽  
pp. 4556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Kopcsayová ◽  
Eva Vranová

Prenyltransferases (PTs) are enzymes that catalyze prenyl chain elongation. Some are highly similar to each other at the amino acid level. Therefore, it is difficult to assign their function based solely on their sequence homology to functional orthologs. Other experiments, such as in vitro enzymatic assay, mutant analysis, and mutant complementation are necessary to assign their precise function. Moreover, subcellular localization can also influence the functionality of the enzymes within the pathway network, because different isoprenoid end products are synthesized in the cytosol, mitochondria, or plastids from prenyl diphosphate (prenyl-PP) substrates. In addition to in vivo functional experiments, in silico approaches, such as co-expression analysis, can provide information about the topology of PTs within the isoprenoid pathway network. There has been huge progress in the last few years in the characterization of individual Arabidopsis PTs, resulting in better understanding of their function and their topology within the isoprenoid pathway. Here, we summarize these findings and present the updated topological model of PTs in the Arabidopsis thaliana isoprenoid pathway.


2013 ◽  
Vol 79 (12) ◽  
pp. 3813-3821 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jo-Ann Chuah ◽  
Satoshi Tomizawa ◽  
Miwa Yamada ◽  
Takeharu Tsuge ◽  
Yoshiharu Doi ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTSaturation point mutagenesis was carried out at position 479 in the polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) synthase fromChromobacteriumsp. strain USM2 (PhaCCs) with specificities for short-chain-length (SCL) [(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB) and (R)-3-hydroxyvalerate (3HV)] and medium-chain-length (MCL) [(R)-3-hydroxyhexanoate (3HHx)] monomers in an effort to enhance the specificity of the enzyme for 3HHx. A maximum 4-fold increase in 3HHx incorporation and a 1.6-fold increase in PHA biosynthesis, more than the wild-type synthase, was achieved using selected mutant synthases. These increases were subsequently correlated with improved synthase activity and increased preference of PhaCCsfor 3HHx monomers. We found that substitutions with uncharged residues were beneficial, as they resulted in enhanced PHA production and/or 3HHx incorporation. Further analysis led to postulations that the size and geometry of the substrate-binding pocket are determinants of PHA accumulation, 3HHx fraction, and chain length specificity.In vitroactivities for polymerization of 3HV and 3HHx monomers were consistent within vivosubstrate specificities. Ultimately, the preference shown by wild-type and mutant synthases for either SCL (C4and C5) or MCL (C6) substrates substantiates the fundamental classification of PHA synthases.


1988 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 438-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.P. Shellis ◽  
G.H. Dibdin

A semi-micro method was used for investigation of the buffering properties of whole plaque, plaque fluid, and washed plaque bacteria. Artifacts associated with titration of samples containing live bacteria were noted and their effects estimated. All three sample types showed minimal buffering in the region of neutrality, with much stronger buffering in the regions pH 4-5.5 and pH 8-9. For the range pH 4-7, almost 90% of the total buffer capacity of plaque appeared to be accounted for by macromolecules of bacterial cell walls and plaque matrix. Extracellular buffers in plaque fluid removable by centrifugation contributed up to 11%. These buffers (probably soluble proteins, peptides, organic acids, and phosphate) are, potentially at least, capable of exchange with saliva. In vitro, bicarbonate (dissolved in the extracellular fluid) contributed only 2-5% of total buffering; there was no evidence of formation of carbamino compounds. However, in vivo, salivary bicarbonate may be important as a continually replenished source of additional buffering.


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