Optimization of Pre-Inoculum, Fermentation Process Parameters and Precursor Supplementation Conditions to Enhance Apigenin Production by a Recombinant Streptomyces albus Strain

Streptomyces albus J1074-pAPI (Streptomyces albus-pAPI) is a recombinant strain constructed to biotechnologically produce apigenin, a flavonoid with interesting bioactive features that up to now has been manufactured by extraction from plants with long and not environmentally friendly procedures. So far, in literature, only a maximum apigenin concentration of 80.0 µg·L−1 has been obtained in shake flasks. In this paper, three integrated fermentation strategies were exploited to enhance the apigenin production by Streptomyces albus J1074-pAPI, combining specific approaches for pre-inoculum conditions, optimization of fermentation process parameters and supplementation of precursors. Using a pre-inoculum of mycelium, the apigenin concentration increased of 1.8-fold in shake flask physiological studies. In 2L batch fermentation, the aeration and stirring conditions were optimized and integrated with the new inoculum approach and the apigenin production reached 184.8 ± 4.0 µg·L−1, with a productivity of 2.6 ± 0.1 μg·L−1·h−1. The supplementation of 1.5 mM L-tyrosine in batch fermentations allowed to obtain an apigenin production of 343.3 ± 3.0 µg·L−1 in only 48 h, with an increased productivity of 7.1 ± 0.1 μg·L−1·h−1. This work demonstrates that the optimization of fermentation process conditions is a crucial requirement to increase the apigenin concentration and productivity by up to 4.3- and 10.7-fold.

The mia mutants of Streptomyces albus J1074 are prone to translational errors and susceptible to certain stressors

Streptomyces albus J1074 has been established by us as a convenient model to study different aspects of tRNALeuUAA-dependent regulatory mechanisms, that take place in genus Streptomyces. These mechanisms are important for proper morphological and physiological transitions of streptomycete colonies, such as the onset of antibiotic production in stationary phase of growth. The genes for post-transcriptional modification of adenosine residue in 37th position of tRNAXXA family (so called mia genes) were shown to be important for the aforementioned processes, most likely because they impact tRNALeuUAA among other tRNAs. Our results were largely consistent with what is known about mia mutations in the other model systems, such as yeast and enterobacteria. Nevertheless, we also revealed several differences from the model systems, such as decreased susceptibility to hydrogen peroxide. This prompted us to look deeper into the behavior of the mia mutants, particularly their response to different stress factors. Here we report that S. albus mia mutants exhibit increased mistranslation rate as compared to their parental strain. These mutants are more susceptible than the parental strain to disulfide stress inducer diamide and DNA repair stressor caffeine. In summary, although the deficiency in certain tRNA modification appears to cause identical or very similar response (such as elevated mistranslation) across all so far studied bacterial systems, it also induces species- or genus-specific effects (such as disparate effects on H2O2 susceptibility). These differences could be attributed to the peculiarities of organization/function of regulatory pathway governing the response to a given stress. The observed results are further discussed in the wider context of the role of tRNA modification pathway in bacterial biology.

Reconstruction of a Genome-Scale Metabolic Model of Streptomyces albus J1074: Improved Engineering Strategies in Natural Product Synthesis

Streptomyces albus J1074 is recognized as an effective host for heterologous production of natural products. Its fast growth and efficient genetic toolbox due to a naturally minimized genome have contributed towards its advantage in expressing biosynthetic pathways for a diverse repertoire of products such as antibiotics and flavonoids. In order to develop precise model-driven engineering strategies for de novo production of natural products, a genome-scale metabolic model (GEM) was reconstructed for the microorganism based on protein homology to model species Streptomyces coelicolor while drawing annotated data from databases and literature for further curation. To demonstrate its capabilities, the Salb-GEM was used to predict overexpression targets for desirable compounds using flux scanning with enforced objective function (FSEOF). Salb-GEM was also utilized to investigate the effect of a minimized genome on metabolic gene essentialities in comparison to another Streptomyces species, S. coelicolor.

Salumycin, a New Pyrazolequinone from a Streptomyces albus J1074 Mutant Strain

Heterocyclic natural products with various bioactivities play significant roles in pharmaceuticals. Here, we isolated a heterocyclic compound salumycin (1) from a Streptomyces albus J1074 mutant strain. The structure of (1) was elucidated via single-crystal X-ray diffraction, mass spectrometry (MS), fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data analysis. Salumycin (1) contained a novel pyrazolequinone ring, which had never been previously reported in a natural product. Salumycin (1) exhibited moderate 2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)-radical scavenging activity (EC50 = 46.3 ± 2.2 μM) compared with tert-butylhydroquinone (EC50 = 4.7 ± 0.3 μM). This study provides a new example of discovering novel natural products from bacteria.

Generation and initial characterization of a collection of spontaneous Streptomyces albus J1074 mutants resistant to rifampicin

Aim. Streptomyces albus J1074 is one of the most popular streptomycete chassis for heterologous expression of natural product (NP) biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). There is keen interest in further improvement of the strain to provide increased yields of corresponding NPs. Introduction of certain types of antibiotic resistance mutations is a proven way to improve Streptomyces strains. For example, selection for increased resistance to rifampicin is known to lead to increased antibiotic activity. Here we used available lineages of antibiotic-resistant mutants of S. albus to raise rifampicin-resistant variants (Rifr) and to study their properties. Methods. Microbiological and molecular genetic approaches were combined to generate Rifr mutants and to study their properties. Results. By plating S. albus onto GYM agar supplemented with 10 mcg/mL of rifampicin, we isolated 85 stable Rifr colonies, whose resistance level was within 10-200 mcg/mL range. Sequencing revealed wide spectrum of missense mutations within rpoB gene. Bioassays demonstrated dramatically increased endogenous antibiotic activity of certain Rifr mutants. Conclusions. Selection for rifampicin resistance is a viable way to increase the yields of NPs in S. albus. Keywords: Streptomyces albus J1074, antibiotic resistance, rifampicin.

Identification and Characterization of a Novel N- and O-Glycosyltransferase from Saccharopolyspora erythraea

Glycosyltransferases are important enzymes which are often used as tools to generate novel natural products. In this study, we describe the identification and characterization of an inverting N- and O-glycosyltransferase from Saccharopolyspora erythraea NRRL2338. When feeding experiments with 1,4-diaminoanthraquinone in Saccharopolyspora erythraea were performed, the formation of new compounds (U3G and U3DG) was observed by HPLC-MS. Structure elucidation by NMR revealed that U3G consists of two compounds, N1-α-glucosyl-1,4-diaminoanthraquinone and N1-β-glucosyl-1,4-diaminoanthraquinone. Based on UV and MS data, U3DG is a N1,N4-diglucosyl-1,4-diaminoanthraquinone. In order to find the responsible glycosyltransferase, gene deletion experiments were performed and we identified the glycosyltransferase Sace_3599, which belongs to the CAZy family 1. When Streptomyces albus J1074, containing the dTDP-d-glucose synthase gene oleS and the plasmid pUWL-A-sace_3599, was used as host, U3 was converted to the same compounds. Protein production in Escherichia coli and purification of Sace_3599 was carried out. The enzyme showed glycosyl hydrolase activity and was able to produce mono- and di-N-glycosylated products in vitro. When UDP-α-d-glucose was used as a sugar donor, U3 was stereoselective converted to N1-β-glucosyl-1,4-diaminoanthraquinone and N1,N4-diglucosyl-1,4-diaminoanthraquinone. The use of 1,4-dihydroxyanthraquinone as a substrate in in vitro experiments also led to the formation of mono-glucosylated and di-glucosylated products, but in lower amounts. Overall, we identified and characterized a novel glycosyltransferase which shows glycohydrolase activity and the ability to glycosylate “drug like” structures forming N- and O-glycosidic bonds.