2-Phenylethanol (2-PE) is a valuable aromatic compound with favorable flavors and good properties, resulting in its widespread application in the cosmetic, food and medical industries. In this study, ...a mutant strain, AD032, was first obtained by adaptive evolution under 2-PE stress. Then, a fusion protein from the Ehrlich pathway, composed of tyrB from Escherichia coli, kdcA from Lactococcus lactis and ADH2 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, was constructed and expressed. As a result, 3.14 g/L 2-PE was achieved using L-phenylalanine as a precursor. To further increase 2-PE production, L-glutamate oxidase from Streptomyces overexpression was applied for the first time in our research to improve the supply of alpha-ketoglutarate in the transamination of 2-PE synthesis. Furthermore, we found that the disruption of the pyruvate decarboxylase encoding gene PDC5 caused an increase in 2-PE production, which has not yet been reported. Finally, assembly of the efficient metabolic modules and process optimization resulted in the strain RM27, which reached 4.02 g/L 2-PE production from 6.7 g/L L-phenylalanine without in situ product recovery. The strain RM27 produced 2-PE (0.8 mol/mol) with L-phenylalanine as a precursor, which was considerably high, and displayed manufacturing potential regarding food safety and process simplification aspects. This study suggests that innovative strategies regarding metabolic modularization provide improved prospects for 2-PE production in food exploitation.
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•Recent understanding of Bacillus nitrogen metabolism was systematically summarized.•The potential as well as practical applications of nitrogen metabolism regulation in synthetic ...biology were discussed.•The future research directions of nitrogen metabolism and synthetic biology based on nitrogen metabolism were prospected.•More attention needs to be paid to the role of nitrogen metabolism in improving cell factory performance.
Nitrogen sources play an essential role in maintaining the physiological and biochemical activity of bacteria. Nitrogen metabolism, which is the core of microorganism metabolism, makes bacteria able to autonomously respond to different external nitrogen environments by exercising complex internal regulatory networks to help them stay in an ideal state. Although various studies have been put forth to better understand this regulation in Bacillus, and many valuable viewpoints have been obtained, these views need to be presented systematically and their possible applications need to be specified.
The intention is to provide a deep and comprehensive understanding of nitrogen metabolism in Bacillus, an important industrial microorganism, and thereby apply this regulatory logic to synthetic biology to improve biosynthesis competitiveness. In addition, the potential researches in the future are also discussed.
Understanding the meticulous regulation process of nitrogen metabolism in Bacillus not only could facilitate research on metabolic engineering but also could provide constructive insights and inspiration for studies of other microorganisms.
Carbon-based nanoprobes, with excellent physicochemical performance and biocompatibility, are a kind of ideal nanomaterial for biosensing. Herein, we designed and prepared novel oxygen-doped ...nitrogen-enrichment carbon nanoribbons (ONCNs) with an excellent optical performance and uniform morphology, which could be used as a dual-mode fluorescence probe for the detection of Ag
ion and captopril (Ctl) based on the synergism of photo-induced electron transfer and aggregation-induced quenching mechanisms. By recording the changes in fluorescent intensities of ONCNs, the Ag
ion and Ctl concentrations can be easily tested in real samples. The results displayed that two good linear relationships existed between the change in fluorescent intensity of ONCNs and the concentrations of Ag
ion and Ctl in the ranges of 3 μM to 30 μM and 1 μM to 30 μM, with the detection limit of 0.78 µM and 74 nM, respectively. The proposed sensing platform has also been successfully applied for the Ctl analysis in commercial tablet samples based on its high selectivity, proving its value in practical applications.
Bacillus licheniformis
is an important industrial microorganism that can utilize a wide range of biomass. However, the lack of expression elements in
B. licheniformis
, especially regulated ...promoters, significantly restricts its applications. In this study, two promoters involved in the sugar alcohol uptake pathway, P
mtlA
and P
mtlR
, were characterized and developed as regulated promoters for expression. The results showed that mannitol, mannose, sorbitol, sorbose, and arabinose can act as inducers to activate expression from P
mtlA
at different levels. The induction by sorbitol was the strongest, and the optimal induction conditions were 15 g/L sorbitol during mid-logarithmic growth at 28 °C. In this work, the palindrome-like sequence ‘TTGTCA-cacggctcc-TGCCAA’ in P
mtlA
was identified as the binding site of the MtlR protein. This study helps to enrich the known inducible expression systems in
B. licheniformis
.
The xylose operon is an efficient biological element used for the regulation of gene expression in
. Although the mechanism underlying the xylose-mediated regulation of this operon has been ...elucidated, the transcriptional changes that occur under various fermentation conditions remain unclear. In this study, the effects of different conditions on xylose operon expression were investigated. Significant upregulation was observed during the transition from the logarithmic phase to the stationary phase (2.5-fold,
= 3,
< 0.01). Glucose suppressed transcription over 168-fold (
= 3,
< 0.01). Meanwhile, the inhibitory effect of glucose hardly strengthened at concentrations from 20 to 180 g/L. Furthermore, the transcription of the xylose operon increased at elevated temperatures (25-42 °C) and was optimal at a neutral pH (pH 6.5-7.0). Based on these findings, relevant fermentation strategies (delaying the induction time, using dextrin as a carbon source, increasing the fermentation temperature, and maintaining a neutral pH) were proposed. Subsequently, these strategies were validated through the use of maltogenic amylase as a reporter protein, as an 8-fold (
= 3,
< 0.01) increase in recombinant enzyme activity compared to that under unoptimized conditions was observed. This work contributes to the development of fermentation optimization and furthers the use of the xylose operon as an efficient expression element.
Introduction Curing is a critical process that determines the sensory quality of cigars. The impact of oxygen on cigar curing and the mechanisms by which it regulates microbial changes affecting ...cigar quality are not well understood. Methods In this study, we selected handmade cigars from the same batch and conducted curing experiments in environments with varying oxygen concentrations (equivalent to 0.1%, 6–12, and 15% of atmospheric oxygen concentration). We collected samples over 60 days and analyzed the distribution of microbial communities using high-throughput sequencing. Combined with the analysis of total sugars, proteins, flavor substances, and other chemical compounds, we elucidated how different oxygen concentrations affect the cigar curing process, influence microbial community succession, and ultimately impact cigar quality. Results Our results revealed significant differences in bacterial community composition under different oxygen conditions. Under aerobic conditions, Cyanobacteria were the dominant bacteria, while under oxygen-limited conditions, Staphylococcus and Corynebacterium predominated. As oxygen concentration decreased, so did the richness and diversity of the bacterial community. Conversely, oxygen concentration had a lesser impact on fungi; Aspergillus was the dominant genus in all samples. We also found that Enterococcus showed a positive correlation with aspartic acid, alanine, and 4-aminobutyric acid and a negative correlation with cysteine. Cigars cured at 15% oxygen concentration for 60 days exhibited optimal quality, particularly in terms of flavor richness and sweetness. Discussion These findings suggest that oxygen concentration can alter cigar quality by regulating aerobic and anaerobic microbial community succession. The relationship between specific microbial communities and flavor compounds also provides a theoretical reference for developing artificial control technologies in the cigar curing process.
Bacillus genetics need more versatile promoters for gene circuit engineering. UP elements are widely distributed in noncoding regions and interact with the α-subunit of RNA polymerase (RNAP). They ...can be applied as a standard element for synthetic biology. Characterization of the binding motif between UP elements and RNAP may assist with rational and effective engineering. In this study, 11 Bacillus constitutive promoters were screened for strength in Bacillus licheniformis. The motif in UP elements from a strong native promoter, PLan, was characterized. The influence of specific sequences on RNAP binding and expression strength was investigated both in vitro and in vivo. It was found that sequences up to 50 base pairs upstream of the consensus motif significantly contributed to α-CTD (the alpha subunit carboxy-terminal domain) association. Meanwhile, two repeats of a proximal subsite were able to more strongly activate the expression (by 8.2-fold) through strengthening interactions between UP elements and RNAP. Based the above molecular basis, a synthetic UP element, UP5-2P, was constructed and applied to nine wild-type promoters. Fluorescence polarization results demonstrated that it had an apparent effect on promoter–α-CTD interactions, and elevated expression strength was observed for all the engineered promoters. The highest improved core promoter, Pacpp, was more strongly activated by 7.4-fold. This work thus develops a novel strategy for Bacillus promoter engineering.
TrLipE is a thermophilic lipase that has potential commercial applications because of its catalytic ability under extreme conditions. Consistent with most lipases, the lid of TrLipE is located over ...the catalytic pocket, controls the substrate channel to the active center, and regulates the substrate specificity, activity, and stability of the enzyme through conformational changes. TrLipE from
has potential industrial applications, which is hindered by its weak enzymatic activity. Here, 18 chimeras (TrL1-TrL18) were reconstructed by N-terminal lid swapping between TrLipE and structurally similar enzymes. The results showed that the chimeras had a similar pH range and optimum pH as wild TrLipE but a narrower temperature range of 40-80°C, and TrL17 and the other chimeras showed lower optimum temperatures of 70°C and 60°C, respectively. In addition, the half-lives of the chimeras were lower than those of TrLipE under optimum temperature conditions. Molecular dynamics simulations indicated that chimeras had high RMSD, RMSF, and B-factor values. When p-nitrophenol esters with different chains were used as substrates, compared with TrLipE, most of the chimeras had a low
and high
value. The chimeras TrL2, TrL3, TrL17, and TrL18 could specifically catalyze the substrate 4-nitrophenyl benzoate, with TrL17 showing the highest
/
value of 363.88 ± 15.83 L⋅min
⋅mmol
. Mutants were then designed by investigating the binding free energies of TrL17 and 4-nitrophenyl benzoate. The results indicated that single, double, and triple substitution variants (M89W and I206N; E33W/I206M and M89W/I206M; and M89W/I206M/L21I and M89W/I206N/L21I, respectively) presented approximately 2- to 3-fold faster catalysis of 4-nitrophenyl benzoate than the wild TrL17. Our observations will facilitate the development of the properties and industrial applications of TrLipE.
Angiogenetic inhibitors are crucial in tumor therapy, and endogenous angiogenesis inhibitors have attracted considerable attention due to their effectiveness, safety, and multi-targeting ability. ...Arresten and canstatin, which have anti-angiogenesis effects, are the c-terminal fragments of the α1 and α2 chains of type IV collagen, respectively. In this study, human arresten and canstatin were recombinantly expressed in Escherichia coli (E. coli), and their effects on the proliferation, migration and tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were evaluated. Regarding the cell cycle distribution test and 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine (EdU) assays, arresten and canstatin could repress the proliferation of HUVECs at a range of concentrations. Transwell assay indicated that the migration of HUVECs was significantly decreased in the presence of arresten and canstatin, while tube formation assays suggested that the total tube length and junction number of HUVECs were significantly inhibited by these two proteins; moreover, they could also reduce the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and the phosphorylation levels of PI3K and Akt, which indicated that the activation of the 3-kinase/serine/threonine-kinase (PI3K/Akt) signaling pathway was inhibited. These findings may have important implications for the soluble recombinant expression of human arresten and canstatin, and for the related therapy of cancer.
The pla2 gene encoding a phospholipase A2 (EC 3.1.1.4) of Lactobacillus casei DSM20011 was cloned and expressed in the yeast Kluyveromyces lactis GG799 successfully for the first time. The structural ...pla2 gene fused in frame with the K. lactis secretion signal α-mating factor was integrated into the LAC4 locus and expressed under the control of the LAC4 promoter. sPLA2 activity was detected in the culture supernatant during shake flask culture of K. lactis/pKLAC1-pla2. In comparison with the control strain K. lactis/pKLAC1, SDS-PAGE analysis revealed a 17-kDa recombinant protein band in K. lactis/pKLAC1-pla2, which was consistent with the predicted molecular weight of the mature protein. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis indicated that the copy number of the integrated pla2 gene ranged from 2 to 6 and positively correlated with sPLA2 activity. When the inducer galactose was used as the carbon source, the sPLA2 activity in the culture supernatant of the recombinant that harbored six pla2 gene copies reached 1.96 ± 0.15 U/mL. The influence of the culture composition and conditions on the recombinant sPLA2 activity in shake flask culture were also studied. When the recombinant was cultured at 30°C in a YPD medium culture volume of 70 mL in a 250-mL shake flask with an initial pH of 7.0, the sPLA2 activity reached 2.16 ± 0.18 U/mL.
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