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  • 1.
    Adeboye, Peter Temitope
    et al.
    Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden.
    Bettiga, Maurizio
    Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden.
    Aldaeus, Fredrik
    RISE, Innventia.
    Larsson, Per Tomas
    RISE, Innventia.
    Olsson, Lars
    RISE, Innventia. Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden.
    Catabolism of coniferyl aldehyde, ferulic acid and p-coumaric acid by Saccharomyces cerevisiae yields less toxic products2015In: Microbial Cell Factories, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 14, no 1, article id 149Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: Lignocellulosic substrates and pulping process streams are of increasing relevance to biorefineries for second generation biofuels and biochemical production. They are known to be rich in sugars and inhibitors such as phenolic compounds, organic acids and furaldehydes. Phenolic compounds are a group of aromatic compounds known to be inhibitory to fermentative organisms. It is known that inhibition of Sacchromyces cerevisiae varies among phenolic compounds and the yeast is capable of in situ catabolic conversion and metabolism of some phenolic compounds. In an approach to engineer a S. cerevisiae strain with higher tolerance to phenolic inhibitors, we selectively investigated the metabolic conversion and physiological effects of coniferyl aldehyde, ferulic acid, and p-coumaric acid in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Aerobic batch cultivations were separately performed with each of the three phenolic compounds. Conversion of each of the phenolic compounds was observed on time-based qualitative analysis of the culture broth to monitor various intermediate and final metabolites. Result: Coniferyl aldehyde was rapidly converted within the first 24 h, while ferulic acid and p-coumaric acid were more slowly converted over a period of 72 h. The conversion of the three phenolic compounds was observed to involved several transient intermediates that were concurrently formed and converted to other phenolic products. Although there were several conversion products formed from coniferyl aldehyde, ferulic acid and p-coumaric acid, the conversion products profile from the three compounds were similar. On the physiology of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the maximum specific growth rates of the yeast was not affected in the presence of coniferyl aldehyde or ferulic acid, but it was significantly reduced in the presence of p-coumaric acid. The biomass yields on glucose were reduced to 73 and 54 % of the control in the presence of coniferyl aldehyde and ferulic acid, respectively, biomass yield increased to 127 % of the control in the presence of p-coumaric acid. Coniferyl aldehyde, ferulic acid and p-coumaric acid and their conversion products were screened for inhibition, the conversion products were less inhibitory than coniferyl aldehyde, ferulic acid and p-coumaric acid, indicating that the conversion of the three compounds by Saccharomyces cerevisiae was also a detoxification process. Conclusion: We conclude that the conversion of coniferyl aldehyde, ferulic acid and p-coumaric acid into less inhibitory compounds is a form of stress response and a detoxification process. We hypothesize that all phenolic compounds are converted by Saccharomyces cerevisiae using the same metabolic process. We suggest that the enhancement of the ability of S. cerevisiae to convert toxic phenolic compounds into less inhibitory compounds is a potent route to developing a S. cerevisiae with superior tolerance to phenolic compounds.

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  • 2.
    Ahmad, Irfan
    et al.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Molecular Biology (Faculty of Medicine). Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
    Rouf, Syed Fazle
    Sun, Lei
    Cimdins, Annika
    Shafeeq, Sulman
    Le Guyon, Soazig
    Schottkowski, Marco
    Rhen, Mikael
    Romling, Ute
    BcsZ inhibits biofilm phenotypes and promotes virulence by blocking cellulose production in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium2016In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 15, article id 177Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: Cellulose, a 1,4 beta-glucan polysaccharide, is produced by a variety of organisms including bacteria. Although the production of cellulose has a high biological, ecological and economical impact, regulatory mechanisms of cellulose biosynthesis are mostly unknown. Family eight cellulases are regularly associated with cellulose biosynthesis operons in bacteria; however, their function is poorly characterized. In this study, we analysed the role of the cellulase BcsZ encoded by the bcsABZC cellulose biosynthesis operon of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) in biofilm related behavior. We also investigated the involvement of BcsZ in pathogenesis of S. Typhimurium including a murine typhoid fever infection model. Result: In S. Typhimurium, cellulase BcsZ with a putative periplasmic location negatively regulates cellulose biosynthesis. Moreover, as assessed with a non-polar mutant, BcsZ affects cellulose-associated phenotypes such as the rdar biofilm morphotype, cell clumping, biofilm formation, pellicle formation and flagella-dependent motility. Strikingly, although upregulation of cellulose biosynthesis was not observed on agar plate medium at 37 degrees C, BcsZ is required for efficient pathogen-host interaction. Key virulence phenotypes of S. Typhimurium such as invasion of epithelial cells and proliferation in macrophages were positively regulated by BcsZ. Further on, a bcsZ mutant was outcompeted by the wild type in organ colonization in the murine typhoid fever infection model. Selected phenotypes were relieved upon deletion of the cellulose synthase BcsA and/or the central biofilm activator CsgD. Conclusion: Although the protein scaffold has an additional physiological role, our findings indicate that the catalytic activity of BcsZ effectively downregulates CsgD activated cellulose biosynthesis. Repression of cellulose production by BcsZ subsequently enables Salmonella to efficiently colonize the host.

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  • 3.
    Anasontzis, George
    et al.
    Chalmers University of Technology, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering.
    Kourtoglou, Elisavet
    BIOtechMASS Unit, Biotechnology Laboratory, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens.
    Mamma, Diomi
    BIOtechMASS Unit, Biotechnology Laboratory, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens.
    Villas-Boâs, Silas G
    Centre for Microbial Innovation, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland.
    Hatzinikolaou, Dimitris
    Microbial Biotechnology Unit, Sector of Botany, Department of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
    Christakopoulos, Paul
    Luleå University of Technology, Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Chemical Engineering.
    Constitutive homologous expression of phosphoglucomutase and transaldolase increases the metabolic flux of Fusarium oxysporum2014In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 13, article id 43Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    BACKGROUND: Fusarium oxysporum is among the few filamentous fungi that have been reported of being able to directly ferment biomass to ethanol in a consolidated bioprocess. Understanding its metabolic pathways and their limitations can provide some insights on the genetic modifications required to enhance its growth and subsequent fermentation capability. In this study, we investigated the hypothesis reported previously that phosphoglucomutase and transaldolase are metabolic bottlenecks in the glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathway of the F. oxysporum metabolism.RESULTS: Both enzymes were homologously overexpressed in F. oxysporum F3 using the gpdA promoter of Aspergillus nidulans for constitutive expression. Transformants were screened for their phosphoglucomutase and transaldolase genes expression levels with northern blot. The selected transformant exhibited high mRNA levels for both genes, as well as higher specific activities of the corresponding enzymes, compared to the wild type. It also displayed more than 20 and 15% higher specific growth rate upon aerobic growth on glucose and xylose, respectively, as carbon sources and 30% higher xylose to biomass yield. The determination of the relative intracellular amino and non-amino organic acid concentrations at the end of growth revealed higher abundance of most determined metabolites between 1.5- and 3-times in the recombinant strain compared to the wild type. Lower abundance of the determined metabolites of the Krebs cycle and an 68-fold more glutamate were observed at the end of the cultivation, when xylose was used as carbon source.CONCLUSIONS: Homologous overexpression of phosphoglucomutase and transaldolase in F. oxysporum was shown to enhance the growth characteristics of the strain in both xylose and glucose in aerobic conditions. The intracellular metabolites profile indicated how the changes in the metabolome could have resulted in the observed growth characteristics.

  • 4.
    Anfelt, Josefine
    et al.
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Proteomics and Nanobiotechnology.
    Kaczmarzyk, Danuta
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Proteomics and Nanobiotechnology.
    Shabestary, Kiyan
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Proteomics and Nanobiotechnology.
    Renberg, Björn
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Proteomics and Nanobiotechnology.
    Rockberg, Johan
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Proteomics and Nanobiotechnology.
    Nielsen, Jens
    Uhlén, Mathias
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Proteomics and Nanobiotechnology. Tech Univ Denmark.
    Hudson, Elton P.
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Proteomics and Nanobiotechnology.
    Genetic and nutrient modulation of acetyl-CoA levels in Synechocystis for n-butanol production2015In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 14, article id 167Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: There is a strong interest in using photosynthetic cyanobacteria as production hosts for biofuels and chemicals. Recent work has shown the benefit of pathway engineering, enzyme tolerance, and co-factor usage for improving yields of fermentation products. Results: An n-butanol pathway was inserted into a Synechocystis mutant deficient in polyhydroxybutyrate synthesis. We found that nitrogen starvation increased specific butanol productivity up to threefold, but cessation of cell growth limited total n-butanol titers. Metabolite profiling showed that acetyl-CoA increased twofold during nitrogen starvation. Introduction of a phosphoketolase increased acetyl-CoA levels sixfold at nitrogen replete conditions and increased butanol titers from 22 to 37 mg/L at day 8. Flux balance analysis of photoautotrophic metabolism showed that a Calvin-Benson-Bassham-Phosphoketolase pathway had higher theoretical butanol productivity than CBB-Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas and a reduced butanol ATP demand. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that phosphoketolase overexpression and modulation of nitrogen levels are two attractive routes toward increased production of acetyl-CoA derived products in cyanobacteria and could be implemented with complementary metabolic engineering strategies.

  • 5.
    Backlund, Emma
    et al.
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Bioprocess Technology.
    Ignatushchenko, Marina
    Larsson, Gen
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Bioprocess Technology.
    Suppressing glucose uptake and acetic acid production increases membrane protein overexpression in Escherichia coli.2011In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 10, no 1, p. 35-Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    The production of integral membrane spanning proteins (IMP's) constitutes a bottleneck in pharmaceutical development. It was long considered that the state-of-the-art was to produce the proteins as inclusion bodies using a powerful induction system. However, the quality of the protein was compromised and the production of a soluble protein that is incorporated into the membrane from which it is extracted is now considered to be a better method. Earlier research has indicated that a slower rate of protein synthesis might overcome the tendency to form inclusion bodies. We here suggest the use of a set of E. coli mutants characterized by a slower rate of growth and protein synthesis as a tool for increasing the amount of soluble protein in high- throughput protein production processes. RESULTS: A set of five IMP's was chosen which were expressed in three mutants and the corresponding WT cell (control). The mutations led to three different substrate uptake rates, two of which were considerably slower than that of the wild type. Using the mutants, we were able to express three out of the five membrane proteins. Most successful was the mutant growing at 50% of the wild type growth rate. A further effect of a low growth rate is a low acetic acid formation, and we believe that this is a possible reason for the better production. This hypothesis was further supported by expression from the BL21(DE3) strain, using the same plasmid. This strain grows at a high growth rate but nevertheless yields only small amounts of acetic acid. This strain was also able to express three out of the five IMP's, although at lower quantities. CONCLUSIONS: The use of mutants that reduce the specific substrate uptake rate seems to be a versatile tool for overcoming some of the difficulties in the production of integral membrane spanning proteins. A set of strains with mutations in the glucose uptake system and with a lower acetic acid formation were able to produce three out of five membrane proteins that it was not possible to produce with the corresponding wild type.

  • 6.
    Basselet, Pascal
    et al.
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Bioprocess Technology.
    Wegrzyn, Grzegorz
    Enfors, Sven-Olof
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Bioprocess Technology.
    Gabig-Ciminska, Magdalena
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Bioprocess Technology.
    Sample processing for DNA chip array-based analysis of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC)2008In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 7Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: Exploitation of DNA-based analyses of microbial pathogens, and especially simultaneous typing of several virulence-related genes in bacteria is becoming an important objective of public health these days. Results: A procedure for sample processing for a confirmative analysis of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) on a single colony with DNA chip array was developed and is reported here. The protocol includes application of fragmented genomic DNA from ultrasonicated colonies. The sample processing comprises first 2.5 min of ultrasonic treatment, DNA extraction (2x), and afterwards additional 5 min ultrasonication. Thus, the total sample preparation time for a confirmative analysis of EHEC is nearly 10 min. Additionally, bioinformatic revisions were performed in order to design PCR primers and array probes specific to most conservative regions of the EHEC-associated genes. Six strains with distinct pathogenic properties were selected for this study. At last, the EHEC chip array for a parallel and simultaneous detection of genes etpC-stx1-stx2-eae was designed and examined. This should permit to sense all currently accessible variants of the selected sequences in EHEC types and subtypes. Conclusion: In order to implement the DNA chip array-based analysis for direct EHEC detection the sample processing was established in course of this work. However, this sample preparation mode may also be applied to other types of EHEC DNA-based sensing systems.

  • 7. Bergman, Alexandra
    et al.
    Hellgren, John
    Moritz, Thomas
    Umeå University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC).
    Siewers, Verena
    Nielsen, Jens
    Chen, Yun
    Heterologous phosphoketolase expression redirects flux towards acetate, perturbs sugar phosphate pools and increases respiratory demand in Saccharomyces cerevisiae2019In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 18, article id 25Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Introduction: Phosphoketolases (Xfpk) are a non-native group of enzymes in yeast, which can be expressed in combination with other metabolic enzymes to positively influence the yield of acetyl-CoA derived products by reducing carbon losses in the form of CO2. In this study, a yeast strain expressing Xfpk from Bifidobacterium breve, which was previously found to have a growth defect and to increase acetate production, was characterized.

    Results: Xfpk-expression was found to increase respiration and reduce biomass yield during glucose consumption in batch and chemostat cultivations. By cultivating yeast with or without Xfpk in bioreactors at different pHs, we show that certain aspects of the negative growth effects coupled with Xfpk-expression are likely to be explained by proton decoupling. At low pH, this manifests as a reduction in biomass yield and growth rate in the ethanol phase. Secondly, we show that intracellular sugar phosphate pools are significantly altered in the Xfpk-expressing strain. In particular a decrease of the substrates xylulose-5-phosphate and fructose-6-phosphate was detected (26% and 74% of control levels) together with an increase of the products glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate and erythrose-4-phosphate (208% and 542% of control levels), clearly verifying in vivo Xfpk enzymatic activity. Lastly, RNAseq analysis shows that Xfpk expression increases transcription of genes related to the glyoxylate cycle, the TCA cycle and respiration, while expression of genes related to ethanol and acetate formation is reduced. The physiological and transcriptional changes clearly demonstrate that a heterologous phosphoketolase flux in combination with endogenous hydrolysis of acetyl-phosphate to acetate increases the cellular demand for acetate assimilation and respiratory ATP-generation, leading to carbon losses.

    Conclusion: Our study shows that expression of Xfpk in yeast diverts a relatively small part of its glycolytic flux towards acetate formation, which has a significant impact on intracellular sugar phosphate levels and on cell energetics. The elevated acetate flux increases the ATP-requirement for ion homeostasis and need for respiratory assimilation, which leads to an increased production of CO2. A majority of the negative growth effects coupled to Xfpk expression could likely be counteracted by preventing acetate accumulation via direct channeling of acetyl-phosphate towards acetyl-CoA.

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  • 8.
    Berini, Francesca
    et al.
    Politecnico di Milano and University of Insubria, Varese, Italy.
    Presti, Ilaria
    Politecnico di Milano and University of Insubria, Varese, Italy / Chemo Biosynthesis, Corana, Pavia, Italy.
    Beltrametti, Fabrizio
    Actygea, Gerenzano, Varese, Italy.
    Pedroli, Marco
    Vårum, Kjell M
    Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
    Pollegioni, Loredano
    Politecnico di Milano and University of Insubria, Varese, Italy.
    Sjöling, Sara
    Södertörn University, School of Natural Sciences, Technology and Environmental Studies, Environmental Science.
    Marinelli, Flavia
    Politecnico di Milano and University of Insubria, Varese, Italy.
    Production and characterization of a novel antifungal chitinase identified by functional screening of a suppressive-soil metagenome2017In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 16, no 1, article id 16Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    BACKGROUND: Through functional screening of a fosmid library, generated from a phytopathogen-suppressive soil metagenome, the novel antifungal chitinase-named Chi18H8 and belonging to family 18 glycosyl hydrolases-was previously discovered. The initial extremely low yield of Chi18H8 recombinant production and purification from Escherichia coli cells (21 μg/g cell) limited its characterization, thus preventing further investigation on its biotechnological potential.

    RESULTS: We report on how we succeeded in producing hundreds of milligrams of pure and biologically active Chi18H8 by developing and scaling up to a high-yielding, 30 L bioreactor process, based on a novel method of mild solubilization of E. coli inclusion bodies in lactic acid aqueous solution, coupled with a single step purification by hydrophobic interaction chromatography. Chi18H8 was characterized as a Ca(2+)-dependent mesophilic chitobiosidase, active on chitin substrates at acidic pHs and possessing interesting features, such as solvent tolerance, long-term stability in acidic environment and antifungal activity against the phytopathogens Fusarium graminearum and Rhizoctonia solani. Additionally, Chi18H8 was found to operate according to a non-processive endomode of action on a water-soluble chitin-like substrate.

    CONCLUSIONS: Expression screening of a metagenomic library may allow access to the functional diversity of uncultivable microbiota and to the discovery of novel enzymes useful for biotechnological applications. A persisting bottleneck, however, is the lack of methods for large scale production of metagenome-sourced enzymes from genes of unknown origin in the commonly used microbial hosts. To our knowledge, this is the first report on a novel metagenome-sourced enzyme produced in hundreds-of-milligram amount by recovering the protein in the biologically active form from recombinant E. coli inclusion bodies.

  • 9. Cao, Lijia
    et al.
    Garcia, Sarahi L.
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences. Stockholm University, Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab). University of Oldenburg, Germany.
    Wurzbacher, Christian
    Establishment of microbial model communities capable of removing trace organic chemicals for biotransformation mechanisms research2023In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 22, no 1, article id 245Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background Removal of trace organic chemicals (TOrCs) in aquatic environments has been intensively studied. Some members of natural microbial communities play a vital role in transforming chemical contaminants, however, complex microbial interactions impede us from gaining adequate understanding of TOrC biotransformation mechanisms. To simplify, in this study, we propose a strategy of establishing reduced-richness model communities capable of removing diverse TOrCs via pre-adaptation and dilution-to-extinction.

    Results Microbial communities were adapted from tap water, soil, sand, sediment deep and sediment surface to changing concentrations of 27 TOrCs mixture. After adaptation, the communities were further diluted to reduce diversity into 96 deep well plates for high-throughput cultivation. After characterizing microbial structure and TOrC removal performance, thirty taxonomically non-redundant model communities with different removal abilities were obtained. The pre-adaptation process was found to reduce the microbial richness but to increase the evenness and phylogenetic diversity of resulting model communities. Moreover, phylogenetic diversity showed a positive effect on the number of TOrCs that can be transformed simultaneously. Pre-adaptation also improved the overall TOrC removal rates, which was found to be positively correlated with the growth rates of model communities.

    Conclusions This is the first study that investigated a wide range of TOrC biotransformation based on different model communities derived from varying natural microbial systems. This study provides a standardized workflow of establishing model communities for different metabolic purposes with changeable inoculum and substrates. The obtained model communities can be further used to find the driving agents of TOrC biotransformation at the enzyme/gene level.

  • 10.
    Christensen, Mikkel
    et al.
    Department of Chemistry, UiT-The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
    Jablonski, Piotr
    Umeå University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Chemistry.
    Altermark, Bjørn
    Department of Chemistry, UiT-The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
    Irgum, Knut
    Umeå University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Chemistry.
    Hansen, Hilde
    Department of Chemistry, UiT-The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
    High natural PHA production from acetate in Cobetia sp. MC34 and Cobetia marina DSM 4741T and in silico analyses of the genus specific PhaC2 polymerase variant2021In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 20, no 1, article id 225Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: Several members of the bacterial Halomonadacea family are natural producers of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), which are promising materials for use as biodegradable bioplastics. Type-strain species of Cobetia are designated PHA positive, and recent studies have demonstrated relatively high PHA production for a few strains within this genus. Industrially relevant PHA producers may therefore be present among uncharacterized or less explored members. In this study, we characterized PHA production in two marine Cobetia strains. We further analyzed their genomes to elucidate pha genes and metabolic pathways which may facilitate future optimization of PHA production in these strains.

    Results: Cobetia sp. MC34 and Cobetia marina DSM 4741T were mesophilic, halotolerant, and produced PHA from four pure substrates. Sodium acetate with- and without co-supplementation of sodium valerate resulted in high PHA production titers, with production of up to 2.5 g poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB)/L and 2.1 g poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV)/L in Cobetia sp. MC34, while C. marina DSM 4741T produced 2.4 g PHB/L and 3.7 g PHBV/L. Cobetia marina DSM 4741T also showed production of 2.5 g PHB/L from glycerol. The genome of Cobetia sp. MC34 was sequenced and phylogenetic analyses revealed closest relationship to Cobetia amphilecti. PHA biosynthesis genes were located at separate loci similar to the arrangement in other Halomonadacea. Further genome analyses revealed some differences in acetate- and propanoate metabolism genes between the two strains. Interestingly, only a single PHA polymerase gene (phaC2) was found in Cobetia sp. MC34, in contrast to two copies (phaC1 and phaC2) in C. marina DSM 4741T. In silico analyses based on phaC genes show that the PhaC2 variant is conserved in Cobetia and contains an extended C-terminus with a high isoelectric point and putative DNA-binding domains.

    Conclusions: Cobetia sp. MC34 and C. marina DSM 4741T are natural producers of PHB and PHBV from industrially relevant pure substrates including acetate. However, further scale up, optimization of growth conditions, or use of metabolic engineering is required to obtain industrially relevant PHA production titers. The putative role of the Cobetia PhaC2 variant in DNA-binding and the potential implications remains to be addressed by in vitro- or in vivo methods.

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  • 11. Ciranna, Alessandro
    et al.
    Pawar, Sudhanshu
    Santala, Ville
    Karp, Matti
    van Niel, Ed W. J.
    Assessment of metabolic flux distribution in the thermophilic hydrogen producer Caloramator celer as affected by external pH and hydrogen partial pressure.2014In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 13, no 1, article id 48Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    BACKGROUND: Caloramator celer is a strict anaerobic, alkalitolerant, thermophilic bacterium capable of converting glucose to hydrogen (H2), carbon dioxide, acetate, ethanol and formate by a mixed acid fermentation. Depending on the growth conditions C. celer can produce H2 at high yields. For a biotechnological exploitation of this bacterium for H2 production it is crucial to understand the factors that regulate carbon and electron fluxes and therefore the final distribution of metabolites to channel the metabolic flux towards the desired product.

    RESULTS: Combining experimental results from batch fermentations with genome analysis, reconstruction of central carbon metabolism and metabolic flux analysis (MFA), this study shed light on glucose catabolism of the thermophilic alkalitolerant bacterium C. celer. Two innate factors pertaining to culture conditions have been identified to significantly affect the metabolic flux distribution: culture pH and partial pressures of H2 (PH2). Overall, at alkaline to neutral pH the rate of biomass synthesis was maximized, whereas at acidic pH the lower growth rate and the less efficient biomass formation are accompanied with more efficient energy recovery from the substrate indicating high cell maintenance possibly to sustain intracellular pH homeostasis. Higher H2 yields were associated with fermentation at acidic pH as a consequence of the lower synthesis of other reduced by-products such as formate and ethanol. In contrast, PH2 did not affect the growth of C. celer on glucose. At high PH2 the cellular redox state was balanced by rerouting the flow of carbon and electrons to ethanol and formate production allowing unaltered glycolytic flux and growth rate, but resulting in a decreased H2 synthesis.

    CONCLUSION: C. celer possesses a flexible fermentative metabolism that allows redistribution of fluxes at key metabolic nodes to simultaneously control redox state and efficiently harvest energy from substrate even under unfavorable conditions (i.e. low pH and high PH2). With the H2 production in mind, acidic pH and low PH2 should be preferred for a high yield-oriented process, while a high productivity-oriented process can be achieved at alkaline pH and high PH2.

  • 12.
    Durall de la Fuente, Claudia
    et al.
    Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology, Chemistry, Department of Chemistry - Ångström, Molecular Biomimetics.
    Kukil, Kateryna
    Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology, Chemistry, Department of Chemistry - Ångström, Molecular Biomimetics.
    Hawkes, Jeffrey A.
    Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology, Chemistry, Department of Chemistry - BMC, Analytical Chemistry.
    Albergati, Alessia
    Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology, Chemistry, Department of Chemistry - Ångström, Molecular Biomimetics.
    Lindblad, Peter
    Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology, Chemistry, Department of Chemistry - Ångström, Molecular Biomimetics.
    Lindberg, Pia
    Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology, Chemistry, Department of Chemistry - Ångström, Molecular Biomimetics.
    Production of succinate by engineered strains of Synechocystis PCC 6803 overexpressing phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and a glyoxylate shunt2021In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 20, article id 39Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: Cyanobacteria are promising hosts for the production of various industrially important compounds such as succinate. This study focuses on introduction of the glyoxylate shunt, which is naturally present in only a few cyanobacteria, into Synechocystis PCC 6803. In order to test its impact on cell metabolism, engineered strains were evaluated for succinate accumulation under conditions of light, darkness and anoxic darkness. Each condition was complemented by treatments with 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone, an inhibitor of succinate dehydrogenase enzyme, and acetate, both in nitrogen replete and deplete medium.

    Results: We were able to introduce genes encoding the glyoxylate shunt, aceA and aceB, encoding isocitrate lyase and malate synthase respectively, into a strain of Synechocystis PCC 6803 engineered to overexpress phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase. Our results show that complete expression of the glyoxylate shunt results in higher extracellular succinate accumulation compared to the wild type control strain after incubation of cells in darkness and anoxic darkness in the presence of nitrate. Addition of the inhibitor 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone increased succinate titers in all the conditions tested when nitrate was available. Addition of acetate in the presence of the inhibitor further increased the succinate accumulation, resulting in high levels when phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase was overexpressed, compared to control strain. However, the highest succinate titer was obtained after dark incubation of an engineered strain with a partial glyoxylate shunt overexpressing isocitrate lyase in addition to phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, with only 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone supplementation to the medium.

    Conclusions: Heterologous expression of the glyoxylate shunt with its central link to the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) for acetate assimilation provides insight on the coordination of the carbon metabolism in the cell. Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase plays an important role in directing carbon flux towards the TCA cycle.

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  • 13. Ferro, Roberto
    et al.
    Rennig, Maja
    Hernandez-Rollan, Cristina
    Daley, Daniel O.
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. CloneOpt AB, Sweden.
    Nørholm, Morten H. H.
    A synbio approach for selection of highly expressed gene variants in Gram-positive bacteria2018In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 17, article id 37Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: The market for recombinant proteins is on the rise, and Gram-positive strains are widely exploited for this purpose. Bacillus subtilis is a profitable host for protein production thanks to its ability to secrete large amounts of proteins, and Lactococcus lactis is an attractive production organism with a long history in food fermentation. Results: We have developed a synbio approach for increasing gene expression in two Gram-positive bacteria. First of all, the gene of interest was coupled to an antibiotic resistance gene to create a growth-based selection system. We then randomised the translation initiation region (TIR) preceding the gene of interest and selected clones that produced high protein titres, as judged by their ability to survive on high concentrations of antibiotic. Using this approach, we were able to significantly increase production of two industrially relevant proteins; sialidase in B. subtilis and tyrosine ammonia lyase in L. lactis. Conclusion: Gram-positive bacteria are widely used to produce industrial enzymes. High titres are necessary to make the production economically feasible. The synbio approach presented here is a simple and inexpensive way to increase protein titres, which can be carried out in any laboratory within a few days. It could also be implemented as a tool for applications beyond TIR libraries, such as screening of synthetic, homologous or domain-shuffled genes.

  • 14.
    Fleetwood, Filippa
    et al.
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Protein Technology.
    Andersson, Ken A.
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Protein Technology.
    Ståhl, Stefan
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Protein Technology.
    Löfblom, John
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Protein Technology.
    An engineered autotransporter-based surface expression vector enables efficient display of Affibody molecules on OmpT-negative E. coli as well as protease-mediated secretion in OmpT-positive strains2014In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 13, p. 179-Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: Cell display technologies (e.g. bacterial display) are attractive in directed evolution as they provide the option to use flow-cytometric cell sorting for selection from combinatorial libraries. The aim of this study was to engineer and investigate an expression vector system with dual functionalities: i) recombinant display of Affibody libraries on Escherichia coli for directed evolution and ii) small scale secreted production of candidate affinity proteins, allowing initial downstream characterizations prior to subcloning. Autotransporters form a class of surface proteins in Gram-negative bacteria that have potential for efficient translocation and tethering of recombinant passenger proteins to the outer membrane. We engineered a bacterial display vector based on the E. coli AIDA-I autotransporter for anchoring to the bacterial surface. Potential advantages of employing autotransporters combined with E. coli as host include: high surface expression level, high transformation frequency, alternative promoter systems available, efficient translocation to the outer membrane and tolerance for large multi-domain passenger proteins. Results: The new vector was designed to comprise an expression cassette encoding for an Affibody molecule, three albumin binding domains for monitoring of surface expression levels, an Outer membrane Protease T (OmpT) recognition site for potential protease-mediated secretion of displayed affinity proteins and a histidine-tag for purification. A panel of vectors with different promoters were generated and evaluated, and suitable cultivation conditions were investigated. The results demonstrated a high surface expression level of the different evaluated Affibody molecules, high correlation between target binding and surface expression level, high signal-to-background ratio, efficient secretion and purification of binders in OmpT-positive hosts as well as tight regulation of surface expression for the titratable promoters. Importantly, a mock selection using FACS from a 1: 100,000 background yielded around 20,000-fold enrichment in a single round and high viability of the isolated bacteria after sorting. Conclusions: The new expression vectors are promising for combinatorial engineering of Affibody molecules and the strategy for small-scale production of soluble recombinant proteins has the potential to increase throughput of the entire discovery process.

  • 15.
    Gabig-Ciminska, Magdalena
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Bioprocess Technology.
    Developing nucleic acid-based electrical detection systems2006In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 5Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Development of nucleic acid-based detection systems is the main focus of many research groups and high technology companies. The enormous work done in this field is particularly due to the broad versatility and variety of these sensing devices. From optical to electrical systems, from label-dependent to label-free approaches, from single to multi-analyte and array formats, this wide range of possibilities makes the research field very diversified and competitive. New challenges and requirements for an ideal detector suitable for nucleic acid analysis include high sensitivity and high specificity protocol that can be completed in a relatively short time offering at the same time low detection limit. Moreover, systems that can be miniaturized and automated present a significant advantage over conventional technology, especially if detection is needed in the field. Electrical system technology for nucleic acid-based detection is an enabling mode for making miniaturized to micro- and nanometer scale bio-monitoring devices via the fusion of modern micro- and nanofabrication technology and molecular biotechnology. The electrical biosensors that rely on the conversion of the Watson-Crick base-pair recognition event into a useful electrical signal are advancing rapidly, and recently are receiving much attention as a valuable tool for microbial pathogen detection. Pathogens may pose a serious threat to humans, animal and plants, thus their detection and analysis is a significant element of public health. Although different conventional methods for detection of pathogenic microorganisms and their toxins exist and are currently being applied, improvements of molecular-based detection methodologies have changed these traditional detection techniques and introduced a new era of rapid, miniaturized and automated electrical chip detection technologies into pathogen identification sector. In this review some developments and current directions in nucleic acid-based electrical detection are discussed.

  • 16.
    Gabig-Ciminska, Magdalena
    et al.
    KTH, Superseded Departments (pre-2005), Biotechnology.
    Andresen, Heiko
    KTH, Superseded Departments (pre-2005), Biotechnology.
    Albers, Joerg
    Hintsche, Rainer
    Enfors, Sven-Olof
    KTH, Superseded Departments (pre-2005), Biotechnology.
    Identification of pathogenic microbial cells and spores by electrochemical detection on a biochip2004In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 3, p. 2-Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: Bacillus cereus constitutes a significant cause of acute food poisoning in humans. Despite the recent development of different detection methods, new effective control measures and better diagnostic tools are required for quick and reliable detection of pathogenic microorganisms. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine a simple method for rapid identification of enterotoxic Bacillus strains. Here, a special attention is given to an electrochemical biosensor since it meets the requirements of minimal size, lower costs and decreased power consumption. Results: A bead-based sandwich hybridization system was employed in conjugation with electric chips for detection of vegetative cells and spores of Bacillus strains based on their toxin-encoding genes. The system consists of a silicon chip based potentiometric cell, and utilizes paramagnetic beads as solid carriers of the DNA probes. The specific signals from 20 amol of bacterial cell or spore DNA were achieved in less than 4 h. The method was also successful when applied directly to unpurified spore and cell extract samples. The assay for the haemolytic enterotoxin genes resulted in reproducible signals from B. cereus and B. thuringiensis while haemolysin-negative B. subtilis strain did not yield any signal. Conclusions: The sensitivity, convenience and specificity of the system have shown its potential. In this respect an electrochemical detection on a chip enabling a fast characterization and monitoring of pathogens in food is of interest. This system can offer a contribution in the rapid identification of bacteria based on the presence of specific genes without preceding nucleic acid amplification.

  • 17. Ginesy, Mireille
    et al.
    Belotserkovsky, Jaroslav
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute.
    Enman, Josefine
    Isaksson, Leif
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute.
    Rova, Ulrika
    Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli for enhanced arginine biosynthesis2015In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 14, article id 29Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: Arginine is a high-value product, especially for the pharmaceutical industry. Growing demand for environmental-friendly and traceable products have stressed the need for microbial production of this amino acid. Therefore, the aim of this study was to improve arginine production in Escherichia coli by metabolic engineering and to establish a fermentation process in 1-L bioreactor scale to evaluate the different mutants. Results: Firstly, argR (encoding an arginine responsive repressor protein), speC, speF (encoding ornithine decarboxylases) and adiA (encoding an arginine decarboxylase) were knocked out and the feedback-resistant argA214 or argA215 were introduced into the strain. Three glutamate independent mutants were assessed in bioreactors. Unlike the parent strain, which did not excrete any arginine during glucose fermentation, the constructs produced between 1.94 and 3.03 g/L arginine. Next, wild type argA was deleted and the gene copy number of argA214 was raised, resulting in a slight increase in arginine production (4.11 g/L) but causing most of the carbon flow to be redirected toward acetate. The V216A mutation in argP (transcriptional regulator of argO, which encodes for an arginine exporter) was identified as a potential candidate for improved arginine production. The combination of multicopy of argP216 or argO and argA214 led to nearly 2-fold and 3-fold increase in arginine production, respectively, and a reduction of acetate formation. Conclusions: In this study, Escherichia coli was successfully engineered for enhanced arginine production. The Delta adiA, Delta speC, Delta speF, Delta argR, Delta argA mutant with high gene copy number of argA214 and argO produced 11.64 g/L of arginine in batch fermentation, thereby demonstrating the potential of Escherichia coli as an industrial producer of arginine.

  • 18.
    Ginesy, Mireille
    et al.
    Luleå University of Technology, Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Chemical Engineering.
    Belotserkovsky, Jaroslav
    Department of Molecular Biosciences Wenner-Gren institute, Stockholm University.
    Enman, Josefine
    Luleå University of Technology, Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Chemical Engineering.
    Isaksson, Leif
    Department of Molecular Biosciences Wenner-Gren institute, Stockholm University.
    Rova, Ulrika
    Luleå University of Technology, Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Chemical Engineering.
    Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli for enhanced arginine biosynthesis2015In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 14, no 1, article id 29Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    BackgroundArginine is a high-value product, especially for the pharmaceutical industry. Growing demand for environmental-friendly and traceable products have stressed the need for microbial production of this amino acid. Therefore, the aim of this study was to improve arginine production in Escherichia coli by metabolic engineering and to establish a fermentation process in 1-L bioreactor scale to evaluate the different mutants. ResultsFirstly, argR (encoding an arginine responsive repressor protein), speC, speF (encoding ornithine decarboxylases) and adiA (encoding an arginine decarboxylase) were knocked out and the feedback-resistant argA214 or argA215 were introduced into the strain. Three glutamate independent mutants were assessed in bioreactors. Unlike the parent strain, which did not excrete any arginine during glucose fermentation, the constructs produced between 1.94 and 3.03 g/L arginine. Next, wild type argA was deleted and the gene copy number of argA214 was raised, resulting in a slight increase in arginine production (4.11 g/L) but causing most of the carbon flow to be redirected toward acetate. The V216A mutation in argP (transcriptional regulator of argO, which encodes for an arginine exporter) was identified as a potential candidate for improved arginine production. The combination of multicopy of argP216 or argO and argA214 led to nearly 2-fold and 3-fold increase in arginine production, respectively, and a reduction of acetate formation. ConclusionsIn this study, E. coli was successfully engineered for enhanced arginine production. The ∆adiA, ∆speC, ∆speF, ∆argR, ∆argA mutant with high gene copy number of argA214 and argO produced 11.64 g/L of arginine in batch fermentation, thereby demonstrating the potential of E. coli as an industrial producer of arginine.

  • 19.
    Graffeuil, Antoine
    et al.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Molecular Biology (Faculty of Medicine). Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Umeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR).
    Guerrero-Castro, Julio
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Molecular Biology (Faculty of Medicine). Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Umeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR).
    Assefa, Aster
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Molecular Biology (Faculty of Medicine). Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Umeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR).
    Uhlin, Bernt Eric
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Molecular Biology (Faculty of Medicine). Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Umeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR). Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS).
    Cisneros, David A.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Molecular Biology (Faculty of Medicine). Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Umeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR).
    Polar mutagenesis of polycistronic bacterial transcriptional units using Cas12a2022In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 21, no 1, article id 139Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: Functionally related genes in bacteria are often organized and transcribed as polycistronic transcrip‑ tional units. Examples are the fim operon, which codes for biogenesis of type 1 fimbriae in Escherichia coli, and the atp operon, which codes for the FoF1 ATP synthase. We tested the hypothesis that markerless polar mutations could be efficiently engineered using CRISPR/Cas12a in these loci.

    Results: Cas12a‑mediated engineering of a terminator sequence inside the fimA gene occurred with efficiencies between 10 and 80% and depended on the terminator’s sequence, whilst other types of mutations, such as a 97 bp deletion, occurred with 100% efficiency. Polar mutations using a terminator sequence were also engineered in the atp locus, which induced its transcriptional shutdown and produced identical phenotypes as a deletion of the whole atp locus (ΔatpIBEFHAGDC). Measuring the expression levels in the fim and atp loci showed that many supposedly non‑ polar mutants induced a significant polar effect on downstream genes. Finally, we also showed that transcriptional shutdown or deletion of the atp locus induces elevated levels of intracellular ATP during the exponential growth phase.

    Conclusions: We conclude that Cas12a‑mediated mutagenesis is an efficient simple system to generate polar mutants in E. coli. Different mutations were induced with varying degrees of efficiency, and we confirmed that all these mutations abolished the functions encoded in the fim and atp loci. We also conclude that it is difficult to predict which mutagenesis strategy will induce a polar effect in genes downstream of the mutation site. Furthermore the strategies described here can be used to manipulate the metabolism of E. coli as showcased by the increase in intra‑ cellular ATP in the markerless ΔatpIBEFHAGDC mutant.

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  • 20. Guo, Xiang
    et al.
    Cavka, Adnan
    Umeå University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Chemistry. Industrial Graduate School.
    Jönsson, Leif J
    Umeå University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Chemistry.
    Hong, Feng
    Comparison of methods for detoxification of spruce hydrolysate for bacterial cellulose production2013In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 12, article id 93Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    BACKGROUND: Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a nanostructured material with unique properties and wide applicability. In order to decrease the production cost of bacterial cellulose, lignocellulose-based media have considerable potential as alternative cost-effective feedstocks. However, pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulose to sugars also generate fermentation inhibitors. Detoxification of lignocellulosic hydrolysates is needed to achieve efficient production of BC. In this investigation, different methods for detoxification of spruce hydrolysate prior to production of BC were compared with respect to effects on potential inhibitors and fermentable sugars, sugar consumption, BC yield, and cell viability. The objectives were to identify efficient detoxification methods and to achieve a better understanding of the role played by different inhibitors in lignocellulosic hydrolysates.

    RESULTS: In a first series of experiments, the detoxification methods investigated included treatments with activated charcoal, alkali [sodium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide (overliming), and ammonium hydroxide], anion and cation ion-exchange resins, and reducing agents (sodium sulfite and sodium dithionite). A second series of detoxification experiments included enzymatic treatments (laccase and peroxidase). The potential inhibitors studied included aliphatic acids, furan aldehydes, and phenolic compounds. The best effects in the first series of detoxification experiments were achieved with activated charcoal and anion exchanger. After detoxification with activated charcoal the BC yield was 8.2 g/L, while, it was 7.5 g/L in a reference medium without inhibitors. Treatments with anion exchanger at pH 10 and pH 5.5 gave a BC yield of 7.9 g/L and 6.3 g/L, respectively. The first series of experiments suggested that there was a relationship between the BC yield and phenolic inhibitors. Therefore, the second series of detoxification experiments focused on treatments with phenol-oxidizing enzymes. The BC yield in the laccase-detoxified hydrolysate reached 5.0-5.5 g/L after 14 days cultivation, which demonstrated the important inhibitory role played by phenolic compounds.

    CONCLUSIONS: The investigation shows that detoxification methods that efficiently remove phenolics benefit bacterial growth and BC production. Negative effects of salts could not be excluded and the osmotolerance of Gluconacetobacter xylinus needs to be further investigated in the future. Combinations of detoxification methods that efficiently decrease the concentration of inhibitors remain as an interesting option.

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  • 21.
    Gustavsson, Martin
    et al.
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Bioprocess Technology.
    Bäcklund, Emma
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Bioprocess Technology.
    Larsson, Gen
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Bioprocess Technology.
    Optimisation of surface expression using the AIDA autotransporter2011In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 10Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: Bacterial surface display is of interest in many applications, including live vaccine development, screening of protein libraries and the development of whole cell biocatalysts. The goal of this work was to understand which parameters result in production of large quantities of cells that at the same time express desired levels of the chosen protein on the cell surface. For this purpose, staphylococcal protein Z was expressed using the AIDA autotransporter in Escherichia coli.

    Results: The use of an OmpT-negative E. coli mutant resulted in successful expression of the protein on the surface, while a clear degradation pattern was found in the wild type. The expression in the mutant resulted also in a more narrow distribution of the surface anchored protein within the population. Medium optimisation showed that minimal medium with glucose gave more than four times as high expression as LB-medium. Glucose limited fed-batch was used to increase the cell productivity and the highest protein levels were found at the highest feed rates. A maintained high surface expression up to cell dry weights of 18 g l(-1) could also be achieved by repeated glucose additions in batch cultivation where production was eventually reduced by low oxygen levels. In spite of this, the distribution in the bacterial population of the surface protein was narrower using the batch technique.

    Conclusions: A number of parameters in recombinant protein production were seen to influence the surface expression of the model protein with respect both to the productivity and to the display on the individual cell. The choice of medium and the cell design to remove proteolytic cleavage were however the most important. Both fed-batch and batch processing can be successfully used, but prolonged batch processing is probably only possible if the chosen strain has a low acetic acid production.

  • 22.
    Gustavsson, Martin
    et al.
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Industrial Biotechnology.
    Do, T. -H
    Lüthje, P.
    Tran, N. T.
    Brauner, A.
    Samuelson, Patrik
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Industrial Biotechnology.
    Truong, N. H.
    Larsson, Gen
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Industrial Biotechnology.
    Improved cell surface display of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis antigens in Escherichia coli2015In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 14, no 1, article id 47Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (SE) is one of the most potent pathogenic Salmonella serotypes causing food-borne diseases in humans. We have previously reported the use of the β-autotransporter AIDA-I to express the Salmonella flagellar protein H:gm and the SE serotype-specific fimbrial protein SefA at the surface of E. coli as live bacterial vaccine vehicles. While SefA was successfully displayed at the cell surface, virtually no full-length H:gm was exposed to the medium due to extensive proteolytic cleavage of the N-terminal region. In the present study, we addressed this issue by expressing a truncated H:gm variant (H:gmd) covering only the serotype-specific central region. This protein was also expressed in fusion to SefA (H:gmdSefA) to understand if the excellent translocation properties of SefA could be used to enhance the secretion and immunogenicity. Results: H:gmd and H:gmdSefA were both successfully translocated to the E. coli outer membrane as full-length proteins using the AIDA-I system. Whole-cell flow cytometric analysis confirmed that both antigens were displayed and accessible from the extracellular environment. In contrast to H:gm, the H:gmd protein was not only expressed as full-length protein, but it also seemed to promote the display of the protein fusion H:gmdSefA. Moreover, the epitopes appeared to be recognized by HT-29 intestinal cells, as measured by induction of the pro-inflammatory interleukin 8. Conclusions: We believe this study to be an important step towards a live bacterial vaccine against Salmonella due to the central role of the flagellar antigen H:gm and SefA in Salmonella infections and the corresponding immune responses against Salmonella.

  • 23.
    Jafari, Rozbeh
    et al.
    Karlstad University, Faculty of Technology and Science, Department of Chemistry and Biomedical Sciences.
    Sundström, Birgitta E.
    Karlstad University, Faculty of Technology and Science, Department of Chemistry and Biomedical Sciences.
    Holm, Patrik
    Karlstad University, Faculty of Technology and Science, Department of Chemistry and Biomedical Sciences.
    Optimization of production of the anti-keratin 8 single-chain Fv TS1-218 in Pichia Pastoris using design of experiments2011In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 10, p. 34-Article in journal (Refereed)
  • 24.
    Jahic, Mehmedalija
    et al.
    KTH, Superseded Departments (pre-2005), Biotechnology.
    Wallberg, Fredrik
    Bollok, Monika
    KTH, Superseded Departments (pre-2005), Biotechnology.
    Garcia, Percival
    Enfors, Sven-Olof
    KTH, Superseded Departments (pre-2005), Biotechnology.
    Temperature limited fed-batch technique for control of proteolysis in Pichia pastoris bioreactor cultures.2003In: Microbial Cell Factories, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 2, no 1, p. 6-Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    BACKGROUND: A temperature limited fed-batch (TLFB) technique is described and used for Pichia pastoris Mut+ strain cultures and compared with the traditional methanol limited fed-batch (MLFB) technique. A recombinant fusion protein composed of a cellulose-binding module (CBM) from Neocallimastix patriciarum cellulase 6A and lipase B from Candida antarctica (CALB), was produced and secreted by this strain. RESULTS: A protein concentration of about 1 g L-1 was produced in the MLFB process. However, this product was considerably degraded by protease(s). By applying the TLFB process, the yield was increased to 2 g L-1 full-length product and no proteolytic degradation was observed. Flow cytometry analysis showed that the percentage of dead cells increased rapidly during the initial methanol feed phase in the MLFB process and reached a maximum of about 12% after about 40-70 hours of methanol feeding. In the TLFB process, cell death rate was low and constant and reached 4% dead cells at the end of cultivation (about 150 hours methanol feeding time). The lower cell death rate in the TLFB correlated with a lower protease activity in the culture supernatant. The specific alcohol oxidase (AOX) activity in the TLFB process was 3.5 times higher than in the MLFB process. CONCLUSION: Three mechanisms that may contribute to the much higher accumulation of product in the TLFB process are: 1) reduced proteolysis due to lower temperature, 2) reduced proteolysis due to lower cell death and protease release to the medium, 3) increased synthesis rate due to higher AOX activity.

  • 25.
    Jahn, Michael
    et al.
    KTH, Centres, Science for Life Laboratory, SciLifeLab.
    Vorpahl, Carsten
    Huebschmann, Thomas
    Harms, Hauke
    Mueller, Susann
    Copy number variability of expression plasmids determined by cell sorting and Droplet Digital PCR2016In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 15, article id 211Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: Plasmids are widely used for molecular cloning or production of proteins in laboratory and industrial settings. Constant modification has brought forth countless plasmid vectors whose characteristics in terms of average plasmid copy number (PCN) and stability are rarely known. The crucial factor determining the PCN is the replication system; most replication systems in use today belong to a small number of different classes and are available through repositories like the Standard European Vector Architecture (SEVA). Results: In this study, the PCN was determined in a set of seven SEVA-based expression plasmids only differing in the replication system. The average PCN for all constructs was determined by Droplet Digital PCR and ranged between 2 and 40 per chromosome in the host organism Escherichia coli. Furthermore, a plasmid-encoded EGFP reporter protein served as a means to assess variability in reporter gene expression on the single cell level. Only cells with one type of plasmid (RSF1010 replication system) showed a high degree of heterogeneity with a clear bimodal distribution of EGFP intensity while the others showed a normal distribution. The heterogeneous RSF1010-carrying cell population and one normally distributed population (ColE1 replication system) were further analyzed by sorting cells of sub-populations selected according to EGFP intensity. For both plasmids, low and highly fluorescent sub-populations showed a remarkable difference in PCN, ranging from 9.2 to 123.4 for ColE1 and from 0.5 to 11.8 for RSF1010, respectively. Conclusions: The average PCN determined here for a set of standardized plasmids was generally at the lower end of previously reported ranges and not related to the degree of heterogeneity. Further characterization of a heterogeneous and a homogeneous population demonstrated considerable differences in the PCN of sub-populations. We therefore present direct molecular evidence that the average PCN does not represent the true number of plasmid molecules in individual cells.

  • 26.
    Jarmander, Johan
    et al.
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Industrial Biotechnology.
    Belotserkovsky, Jaroslav
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Industrial Biotechnology.
    Sjöberg, Gustav
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Industrial Biotechnology.
    Guevara-Martínez, Mónica
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Industrial Biotechnology. Universidad Mayor de San Simón, Bolivia .
    Zabaleta, Mariel Perez
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Industrial Biotechnology. Universidad Mayor de San Simón, Bolivia .
    Quillaguaman, Jorge
    Universidad Mayor de San Simón, Bolivia .
    Larsson, Gen
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Industrial Biotechnology.
    Cultivation strategies for production of (R)-3-hydroxybutyric acid from simultaneous consumption of glucose, xylose and arabinose by Escherichia coli2015In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 14, no 1, p. 51-Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background

    Lignocellulosic waste is a desirable biomass for use in second generation biorefineries. Up to 40 % of its sugar content consist of pentoses, which organisms either take up sequentially after glucose depletion, or not at all. A previously described Escherichia coli strain, PPA652ara, capable of simultaneous consumption of glucose, xylose and arabinose was in the present work utilized for production of (R)-3-hydroxybutyric acid (3HB) from a mixture of glucose, xylose and arabinose.

    Results

    The Halomonas boliviensis genes for 3HB production were for the first time cloned into E. coli PPA652ara leading to product secretion directly into the medium. Process design was based on comparisons of batch, fed-batch and continuous cultivation, where both excess and limitation of the carbon mixture was studied. Carbon limitation resulted in low specific productivity of 3HB (< 2 mg g-1 h-1) compared to carbon excess (25 mg g-1 h-1), but the yield of 3HB/cell dry weight (Y3HB/CDW) was very low (0.06 g g-1)during excess. Nitrogen-exhausted conditions could be used to sustain a high specific productivity (31 mg g-1 h-1) and to increase the yield of 3HB/cell dry weight to 1.38 g g-1. Nitrogen-limited fed-batch process design lead to further increased specific productivity (38 mg g-1 h-1) but also to additional cell growth (Y3HB/CDW = 0.16 g g-1). Strain PPA652ara did under all processing conditions simultaneously consume glucose, xylose and arabinose, which was not the case for a reference wild type E. coli, which also gave a higher carbon flux to acetic acid.

    Conclusions

    It was demonstrated that by using the strain E. coli PPA652ara it was possible to design a production process for 3HB from a mixture of glucose, xylose and arabinose where all sugars were consumed. An industrial 3HB production process is proposed to be divided into a growth and a production phase, and nitrogen depletion/limitation is a potential strategy to maximize the yield of 3HB/CDW in the latter. The specific productivity of 3HB by E. coli reported here from glucose, xylose and arabinose is further comparable to the current state of the art for production of 3HB from glucose sources.

  • 27.
    Jarmander, Johan
    et al.
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Bioprocess Technology.
    Gustavsson, Martin
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Bioprocess Technology.
    Do, Thi-Huyen
    Samuelson, Patrik
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Bioprocess Technology.
    Larsson, Gen
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Bioprocess Technology.
    A dual tag system for facilitated detection of surface expressed proteins in Escherichia coli2012In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 11, article id 118Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: The discovery of the autotransporter family has provided a mechanism for surface expression of proteins in laboratory strains of Escherichia coli. We have previously reported the use of the AIDA-I autotransport system to express the Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis proteins SefA and H: gm. The SefA protein was successfully exposed to the medium, but the orientation of H:gm in the outer membrane could not be determined due to proteolytic cleavage of the N-terminal detection-tag. The goal of the present work was therefore to construct a vector containing elements that facilitates analysis of surface expression, especially for proteins that are sensitive to proteolysis or otherwise difficult to express. Results: The surface expression system pAIDA1 was created with two detection tags flanking the passenger protein. Successful expression of SefA and H:gm on the surface of E. coli was confirmed with fluorescently labeled antibodies specific for the N-terminal His(6)-tag and the C-terminal Myc-tag. While both tags were detected during SefA expression, only the Myc-tag could be detected for H: gm. The negative signal indicates a proteolytic cleavage of this protein that removes the His(6)-tag facing the medium. Conclusions: Expression levels from pAIDA1 were comparable to or higher than those achieved with the formerly used vector. The presence of the Myc- but not of the His(6)-tag on the cell surface during H:gm expression allowed us to confirm the hypothesis that this fusion protein was present on the surface and oriented towards the cell exterior. Western blot analysis revealed degradation products of the same molecular weight for SefA and H:gm. The size of these fragments suggests that both fusion proteins have been cleaved at a specific site close to the C-terminal end of the passenger. This proteolysis was concluded to take place either in the outer membrane or in the periplasm. Since H:gm was cleaved to a much greater extent then the three times smaller SefA, it is proposed that the longer translocation time for the larger H:gm makes it more susceptible to proteolysis.

  • 28. Jong, Wouter S. P.
    et al.
    Daleke-Schermerhorn, Maria H.
    Vikström, David
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. Xbrane Bioscience AB, Sweden.
    ten Hagen-Jongman, Corinne M.
    de Punder, Karin
    van der Wel, Nicole N.
    van de Sandt, Carolien E.
    Rimmelzwaan, Guus F.
    Follmann, Frank
    Agger, Else Marie
    Andersen, Peter
    de Gier, Jan-Willem
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. Xbrane Bioscience AB, Sweden.
    Luirink, Joen
    An autotransporter display platform for the development of multivalent recombinant bacterial vector vaccines2014In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 13, p. -162Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: The Autotransporter pathway, ubiquitous in Gram-negative bacteria, allows the efficient secretion of large passenger proteins via a relatively simple mechanism. Capitalizing on its crystal structure, we have engineered the Escherichia coli autotransporter Hemoglobin protease (Hbp) into a versatile platform for secretion and surface display of multiple heterologous proteins in one carrier molecule. Results: As proof-of-concept, we demonstrate efficient secretion and high-density display of the sizeable Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens ESAT6, Ag85B and Rv2660c in E. coli simultaneously. Furthermore, we show stable multivalent display of these antigens in an attenuated Salmonella Typhimurium strain upon chromosomal integration. To emphasize the versatility of the Hbp platform, we also demonstrate efficient expression of multiple sizeable antigenic fragments from Chlamydia trachomatis and the influenza A virus at the Salmonella cell surface. Conclusions: The successful efficient cell surface display of multiple antigens from various pathogenic organisms highlights the potential of Hbp as a universal platform for the development of multivalent recombinant bacterial vector vaccines.

  • 29. Jong, Wouter S. P.
    et al.
    Vikström, David
    Houben, Diane
    van den Berg van Saparoea, H. Bart
    de Gier, Jan-Willem
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
    Luirink, Joen
    Application of an E. coli signal sequence as a versatile inclusion body tag2017In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 16, article id 50Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: Heterologous protein production in Escherichia coli often suffers from bottlenecks such as proteolytic degradation, complex purification procedures and toxicity towards the expression host. Production of proteins in an insoluble form in inclusion bodies (IBs) can alleviate these problems. Unfortunately, the propensity of heterologous proteins to form IBs is variable and difficult to predict. Hence, fusing the target protein to an aggregation prone polypeptide or IB-tag is a useful strategy to produce difficult-to-express proteins in an insoluble form. Results: When screening for signal sequences that mediate optimal targeting of heterologous proteins to the periplasmic space of E. coli, we observed that fusion to the 39 amino acid signal sequence of E. coli TorA (ssTorA) did not promote targeting but rather directed high-level expression of the human proteins hEGF, Pla2 and IL-3 in IBs. Further analysis revealed that ssTorA even mediated IB formation of the highly soluble endogenous E. coli proteins TrxA and MBP. The ssTorA also induced aggregation when fused to the C-terminus of target proteins and appeared functional as IB-tag in E. coli K-12 as well as B strains. An additive effect on IB-formation was observed upon fusion of multiple ssTorA sequences in tandem, provoking almost complete aggregation of TrxA and MBP. The ssTorA-moiety was successfully used to produce the intrinsically unstable hEGF and the toxic fusion partner SymE, demonstrating its applicability as an IB-tag for difficult-to-express and toxic proteins. Conclusions: We present proof-of-concept for the use of ssTorA as a small, versatile tag for robust E. coli-based expression of heterologous proteins in IBs.

  • 30. Jong, Wouter SP
    et al.
    Soprova, Zora
    de Punder, Karin
    ten Hagen-Jongman, Corinne M
    Wagner, Samuel
    Wickström, David
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. Xbrane Bioscience, Sweden.
    de Gier, Jan-Willem
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. Xbrane Bioscience, Sweden.
    Andersen, Peter
    van der Wel, Nicole N
    Luirink, Joen
    A structurally informed autotransporter platform for efficient heterologous protein secretion and display2012In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 11, article id 85Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    BACKGROUND: The self-sufficient autotransporter (AT) pathway, ubiquitous in Gram-negative bacteria, combines a relatively simple protein secretion mechanism with a high transport capacity. ATs consist of a secreted passenger domain and a β-domain that facilitates transfer of the passenger across the cell-envelope. They have a great potential for the extracellular expression of recombinant proteins but their exploitation has suffered from the limited structural knowledge of carrier ATs. Capitalizing on its crystal structure, we have engineered the Escherichia coli AT Hemoglobin protease (Hbp) into a platform for the secretion and surface display of heterologous proteins, using the Mycobacterium tuberculosis vaccine target ESAT6 as a model protein.

    RESULTS: Based on the Hbp crystal structure, five passenger side domains were selected and one by one replaced by ESAT6, whereas a β-helical core structure (β-stem) was left intact. The resulting Hbp-ESAT6 chimeras were efficiently and stably secreted into the culture medium of E. coli. On the other hand, Hbp-ESAT6 fusions containing a truncated β-stem appeared unstable after translocation, demonstrating the importance of an intact β-stem. By interrupting the cleavage site between passenger and β-domain, Hbp-ESAT6 display variants were constructed that remain cell associated and facilitate efficient surface exposure of ESAT6 as judged by proteinase K accessibility and whole cell immuno-EM analysis. Upon replacement of the passenger side domain of an alternative AT, EspC, ESAT6 was also efficiently secreted, showing the approach is more generally applicable to ATs. Furthermore, Hbp-ESAT6 was efficiently displayed in an attenuated Salmonella typhimurium strain upon chromosomal integration of a single encoding gene copy, demonstrating the potential of the Hbp platform for live vaccine development.

    CONCLUSIONS: We developed the first structurally informed AT platform for efficient secretion and surface display of heterologous proteins. The platform has potential with regard to the development of recombinant live vaccines and may be useful for other biotechnological applications that require high-level secretion or display of recombinant proteins by bacteria.

  • 31.
    Jun, He
    et al.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Chemistry.
    Kieselbach, Thomas
    Umeå University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Chemistry.
    Jönsson, Leif J
    Umeå University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Chemistry.
    Enzyme production by filamentous fungi: Analysis of the secretome of Trichoderma reesei grown on unconventional carbon source2011In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 10, no 1, p. 68-Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background  Spent hydrolysates from bioethanolic fermentation processes based on agricultural residues have potential as an abundant and inexpensive source of pentose sugars and acids that could serve as nutrients for industrial enzyme-producing microorganisms, especially filamentous fungi. However, the enzyme mixtures produced in such media are poorly defined. In this study, the secretome of Trichoderma reesei Rut C-30 grown either on a spent hydrolysate model medium (SHMM) or on a lactose-based standard medium (LBSM) was explored using proteomics.

    Results  Our results show that both the SHMM and LBSM serve as excellent growth media for T. reesei Rut C-30. In total, 52 protein spots on 2-D gels were identified by using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) and electrospray ionization liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-LC MS/MS). As expected, a considerable number of the identified proteins were related to the degradation of lignocellulosic biomass. The enzyme production profiles in the two media were similar, but β-glucosidase and β-galactosidase were only produced in LBSM. The main cellobiohydrolases (Cel7A/Cel6A) and endoglucanases (Cel7B/Cel5A) were identified in both media and the cellobiohydrolases, i.e. Cel7A and Cel6A, were the most abundant cellulolytic enzymes. Moreover, both media can also serve as a potent inducer of xylanolytic enzymes. Several key enzymes involved in sugar assimilation and regulation of cellulase formation were identified, and were found to be differentially expressed in the two growth media.

    Conclusions  This study not only provides a catalogue of the prevalent proteins secreted by T. reesei in the two media, but the results also suggest that production of hydrolytic enzymes using unconventional carbon sources, such as components in spent hydrolysates, deserves further attention in the future.

  • 32. Kang, Min-Kyoung
    et al.
    Zhou, Yongjin J.
    Buijs, Nicolaas A.
    Nielsen, Jens
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Gene Technology. KTH, Centres, Science for Life Laboratory, SciLifeLab.
    Functional screening of aldehyde decarbonylases for long-chain alkane production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae2017In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 16, article id 74Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: Low catalytic activities of pathway enzymes are often a limitation when using microbial based chemical production. Recent studies indicated that the enzyme activity of aldehyde decarbonylase (AD) is a critical bottleneck for alkane biosynthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We therefore performed functional screening to identify efficient ADs that can improve alkane production by S. cerevisiae. Results: A comparative study of ADs originated from a plant, insects, and cyanobacteria were conducted in S. cerevisiae. As a result, expression of aldehyde deformylating oxygenases (ADOs), which are cyanobacterial ADs, from Synechococcus elongatus and Crocosphaera watsonii converted fatty aldehydes to corresponding Cn-1 alkanes and alkenes. The CwADO showed the highest alkane titer (0.13 mg/L/OD600) and the lowest fatty alcohol production (0.55 mg/L/OD600). However, no measurable alkanes and alkenes were detected in other AD expressed yeast strains. Dynamic expression of SeADO and CwADO under GAL promoters increased alkane production to 0.20 mg/L/OD600 and no fatty alcohols, with even number chain lengths from C8 to C14, were detected in the cells. Conclusions: We demonstrated in vivo enzyme activities of ADs by displaying profiles of alkanes and fatty alcohols in S. cerevisiae. Among the AD enzymes evaluated, cyanobacteria ADOs were found to be suitable for alkane biosynthesis in S. cerevisiae. This work will be helpful to decide an AD candidate for alkane biosynthesis in S. cerevisiae and it will provide useful information for further investigation of AD enzymes with improved activities.

  • 33.
    Kuil, Teun
    et al.
    KTH, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health (CBH), Industrial Biotechnology.
    Yayo, Johannes
    KTH, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health (CBH), Industrial Biotechnology.
    Pechan, Johanna
    KTH, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health (CBH), Industrial Biotechnology.
    Küchler, Jan
    KTH, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health (CBH), Industrial Biotechnology. Otto Guericke Univ Magdeburg, Max Plank Inst Dynam Complex Tech Syst, Magdeburg, Germany..
    van Maris, Antonius J. A.
    KTH, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health (CBH), Industrial Biotechnology. Otto Guericke Univ Magdeburg, Max Plank Inst Dynam Complex Tech Syst, Magdeburg, Germany..
    Ethanol tolerance of Clostridium thermocellum: the role of chaotropicity, temperature and pathway thermodynamics on growth and fermentative capacity2022In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 21, no 1, article id 273Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    BackgroundClostridium thermocellum is a promising candidate for consolidated bioprocessing of lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol. The low ethanol tolerance of this microorganism is one of the remaining obstacles to industrial implementation. Ethanol inhibition can be caused by end-product inhibition and/or chaotropic-induced stress resulting in increased membrane fluidization and disruption of macromolecules. The highly reversible glycolysis of C. thermocellum might be especially sensitive to end-product inhibition. The chaotropic effect of ethanol is known to increase with temperature. This study explores the relative contributions of these two aspects to investigate and possibly mitigate ethanol-induced stress in growing and non-growing C. thermocellum cultures.ResultsTo separate chaotropic from thermodynamic effects of ethanol toxicity, a non-ethanol producing strain AVM062 (P-clo1313_2638::ldh* adhE) was constructed by deleting the bifunctional acetaldehyde/alcohol dehydrogenase gene, adhE, in a lactate-overproducing strain. Exogenously added ethanol lowered the growth rate of both wild-type and the non-ethanol producing mutant. The mutant strain grew quicker than the wild-type at 50 and 55 degrees C for ethanol concentrations >= 10 g L-1 and was able to reach higher maximum OD600 at all ethanol concentrations and temperatures. For the wild-type, the maximum OD600 and relative growth rates were higher at 45 and 50 degrees C, compared to 55 degrees C, for ethanol concentrations >= 15 g L-1. For the mutant strain, no positive effect on growth was observed at lower temperatures. Growth-arrested cells of the wild-type demonstrated improved fermentative capacity over time in the presence of ethanol concentrations up to 40 g L-1 at 45 and 50 degrees C compared to 55 degrees C.ConclusionPositive effects of temperature on ethanol tolerance were limited to wild-type C. thermocellum and are likely related to mechanisms involved in the ethanol-formation pathway and redox cofactor balancing. Lowering the cultivation temperature provides an attractive strategy to improve growth and fermentative capacity at high ethanol titres in high-cellulose loading batch cultivations. Finally, non-ethanol producing strains are useful platform strains to study the effects of chaotropicity and thermodynamics related to ethanol toxicity and allow for deeper understanding of growth and/or fermentation cessation under industrially relevant conditions.

  • 34.
    Kuipers, Grietje
    et al.
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. Xbrane Biopharma AB, Sweden.
    Karyolaimos, Alexandros
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
    Zhang, Zhe
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
    Ismail, Nurzian
    Trinco, Gianluca
    Vikström, David
    Slotboom, Dirk Jan
    de Gier, Jan-Willem
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
    The tunable pReX expression vector enables optimizing the T7-based production of membrane and secretory proteins in E. coli2017In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 16, article id 226Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: To optimize the production of membrane and secretory proteins in Escherichia coli, it is critical to harmonize the expression rates of the genes encoding these proteins with the capacity of their biogenesis machineries. Therefore, we engineered the Lemo21(DE3) strain, which is derived from the T7 RNA polymerase-based BL21(DE3) protein production strain. In Lemo21(DE3), the T7 RNA polymerase activity can be modulated by the controlled co-production of its natural inhibitor T7 lysozyme. This setup enables to precisely tune target gene expression rates in Lemo21(DE3). The t7lys gene is expressed from the pLemo plasmid using the titratable rhamnose promoter. A disadvantage of the Lemo21(DE3) setup is that the system is based on two plasmids, a T7 expression vector and pLemo. The aim of this study was to simplify the Lemo21(DE3) setup by incorporating the key elements of pLemo in a standard T7-based expression vector.

    Results: By incorporating the gene encoding the T7 lysozyme under control of the rhamnose promoter in a standard T7-based expression vector, pReX was created (ReX stands for Regulated gene eXpression). For two model membrane proteins and a model secretory protein we show that the optimized production yields obtained with the pReX expression vector in BL21(DE3) are similar to the ones obtained with Lemo21(DE3) using a standard T7 expression vector. For another secretory protein, a c-type cytochrome, we show that pReX, in contrast to Lemo21(DE3), enables the use of a helper plasmid that is required for the maturation and hence the production of this heme c protein.

    Conclusions: Here, we created pReX, a T7-based expression vector that contains the gene encoding the T7 lysozyme under control of the rhamnose promoter. pReX enables regulated T7-based target gene expression using only one plasmid. We show that with pReX the production of membrane and secretory proteins can be readily optimized. Importantly, pReX facilitates the use of helper plasmids. Furthermore, the use of pReX is not restricted to BL21(DE3), but it can in principle be used in any T7 RNAP-based strain. Thus, pReX is a versatile alternative to Lemo21(DE3).

  • 35.
    Kukil, Kateryna
    et al.
    Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology, Chemistry, Department of Chemistry - Ångström, Molecular Biomimetics. Uppsala Univ, Dept Chem Angstrom, Microbial Chem, Box 523, SE-75120 Uppsala, Sweden..
    Lindberg, Pia
    Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology, Chemistry, Department of Chemistry - Ångström, Molecular Biomimetics. Uppsala University, Science for Life Laboratory, SciLifeLab. Uppsala Univ, Dept Chem Angstrom, Microbial Chem, Box 523, SE-75120 Uppsala, Sweden..
    Expression of phenylalanine ammonia lyases in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and subsequent improvements of sustainable production of phenylpropanoids2022In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 21, no 1, article id 8Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background Phenylpropanoids represent a diverse class of industrially important secondary metabolites, synthesized in plants from phenylalanine and tyrosine. Cyanobacteria have a great potential for sustainable production of phenylpropanoids directly from CO2, due to their photosynthetic lifestyle with a fast growth compared to plants and the ease of generating genetically engineered strains. This study focuses on photosynthetic production of the starting compounds of the phenylpropanoid pathway, trans-cinnamic acid and p-coumaric acid, in the unicellular cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 (Synechocystis). Results A selected set of phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) enzymes from different organisms was overexpressed in Synechocystis, and the productivities of the resulting strains compared. To further improve the titer of target compounds, we evaluated the use of stronger expression cassettes for increasing PAL protein levels, as well as knock-out of the laccase gene slr1573, as this was previously reported to prevent degradation of the target compounds in the cell. Finally, to investigate the effect of growth conditions on the production of trans-cinnamic and p-coumaric acids from Synechocystis, cultivation conditions promoting rapid, high density growth were tested. Comparing the different PALs, the highest specific titer was achieved for the strain AtC, expressing PAL from Arabidopsis thaliana. A subsequent increase of protein level did not improve the productivity. Production of target compounds in strains where the slr1573 laccase had been knocked out was found to be lower compared to strains with wild type background, and the Delta slr1573 strains exhibited a strong phenotype of slower growth rate and lower pigment content. Application of a high-density cultivation system for the growth of production strains allowed reaching the highest total titers of trans-cinnamic and p-coumaric acids reported so far, at around 0.8 and 0.4 g L-1, respectively, after 4 days. Conclusions Production of trans-cinnamic acid, unlike that of p-coumaric acid, is not limited by the protein level of heterologously expressed PAL in Synechocystis. High density cultivation led to higher titres of both products, while knocking out slr1573 did not have a positive effect on production. This work contributes to capability of exploiting the primary metabolism of cyanobacteria for sustainable production of plant phenylpropanoids.

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  • 36.
    Kukil, Kateryna
    et al.
    Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology, Chemistry, Department of Chemistry - Ångström, Molecular Biomimetics.
    Lindberg, Pia
    Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology, Chemistry, Department of Chemistry - Ångström, Molecular Biomimetics.
    Metabolic engineering of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 for the improved production of phenylpropanoids2024In: Microbial Cell Factories, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 23, article id 57Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: Phenylpropanoids are a large group of plant secondary metabolites with various biological functions, derived from aromatic amino acids. Cyanobacteria are promising host organisms for sustainable production of plant phenylpropanoids. We have previously engineered Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 to produce trans-cinnamic acid (tCA) and p-coumaric acid (pCou), the first intermediates of phenylpropanoid pathway, by overexpression of phenylalanine- and tyrosine ammonia lyases. In this study, we aimed to enhance the production of the target compounds tCA and pCou in Synechocystis.

    Results: We eliminated the 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD) activity, which is a competing pathway consuming tyrosine and, possibly, phenylalanine for tocopherol synthesis. Moreover, several genes of the terminal steps of the shikimate pathway were overexpressed alone or in operons, such as aromatic transaminases, feedback insensitive cyclohexadienyl dehydrogenase (TyrC) from Zymomonas mobilis and the chorismate mutase (CM) domain of the fused chorismate mutase/prephenate dehydratase enzyme from Escherichia coli. The obtained engineered strains demonstrated nearly 1.5 times enhanced tCA and pCou production when HPPD was knocked out compared to the parental production strains, accumulating 138 +/- 3.5 mg L-1 of tCA and 72.3 +/- 10.3 mg L-1 of pCou after seven days of photoautotrophic growth. However, there was no further improvement when any of the pathway genes were overexpressed. Finally, we used previously obtained AtPRM8 and TsPRM8 Synechocystis strains with deregulated shikimate pathway as a background for the overexpression of synthetic constructs with ppd knockout.

    Conclusions: HPPD elimination enhances the tCA and pCou productivity to a similar extent. The use of PRM8 based strains as a background for overexpression of synthetic constructs, however, did not promote tCA and pCou titers, which indicates a tight regulation of the terminal steps of phenylalanine and tyrosine synthesis. This work contributes to establishing cyanobacteria as hosts for phenylpropanoid production.

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  • 37.
    Kumari, Poonam
    et al.
    Division of Crop Production and Protection, Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow, 226015, India.
    Deepa, Nikky
    Division of Crop Production and Protection, Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow, 226015, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India.
    Trivedi, Prabodh Kumar
    Division of Plant Biotechnology, Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow, 226015, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India.
    Singh, Brajesh K.
    Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, 2753, Australia; Global Centre for Land-Based Innovation, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia.
    Srivastava, Vaibhav
    KTH, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health (CBH), Chemistry, Glycoscience. Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India.
    Singh, Akanksha
    Division of Crop Production and Protection, Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow, 226015, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India.
    Plants and endophytes interaction: a “secret wedlock” for sustainable biosynthesis of pharmaceutically important secondary metabolites2023In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 22, no 1, article id 226Article, review/survey (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Many plants possess immense pharmacological properties because of the presence of various therapeutic bioactive secondary metabolites that are of great importance in many pharmaceutical industries. Therefore, to strike a balance between meeting industry demands and conserving natural habitats, medicinal plants are being cultivated on a large scale. However, to enhance the yield and simultaneously manage the various pest infestations, agrochemicals are being routinely used that have a detrimental impact on the whole ecosystem, ranging from biodiversity loss to water pollution, soil degradation, nutrient imbalance and enormous health hazards to both consumers and agricultural workers. To address the challenges, biological eco-friendly alternatives are being looked upon with high hopes where endophytes pitch in as key players due to their tight association with the host plants. The intricate interplay between plants and endophytic microorganisms has emerged as a captivating subject of scientific investigation, with profound implications for the sustainable biosynthesis of pharmaceutically important secondary metabolites. This review delves into the hidden world of the "secret wedlock" between plants and endophytes, elucidating their multifaceted interactions that underpin the synthesis of bioactive compounds with medicinal significance in their plant hosts. Here, we briefly review endophytic diversity association with medicinal plants and highlight the potential role of core endomicrobiome. We also propose that successful implementation of in situ microbiome manipulation through high-end techniques can pave the way towards a more sustainable and pharmaceutically enriched future.

  • 38. Laadan, B.
    et al.
    Wallace-Salinas, V.
    Janfalk Carlsson, Åsa
    Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology, Chemistry, Department of Chemistry - BMC, Biochemistry.
    Almeida, J.
    Rådström, P.
    Gorwa-Grauslund, M.
    Furaldehyde substrate specificity and kinetics of Saccharomyces cerevisiae alcohol dehydrogenase 1 variants2014In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 13, p. 112-Article in journal (Other academic)
    Abstract [en]

    Background

    A previously discovered mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae alcohol dehydrogenase 1 (Adh1p) was shown to enable a unique NADH-dependent reduction of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), a well-known inhibitor of yeast fermentation. In the present study, site-directed mutagenesis of both native and mutated ADH1 genes was performed in order to identify the key amino acids involved in this substrate shift, resulting in Adh1p-variants with different substrate specificities.

    Results

    In vitro activities of the Adh1p-variants using two furaldehydes, HMF and furfural, revealed that HMF reduction ability could be acquired after a single amino acid substitution (Y295C). The highest activity, however, was reached with the double mutation S110P Y295C. Kinetic characterization with both aldehydes and the in vivo primary substrate acetaldehyde also enabled to correlate the alterations in substrate affinity with the different amino acid substitutions.

    Conclusions

    We demonstrated the key role of Y295C mutation in HMF reduction by Adh1p. We generated and kinetically characterized a group of protein variants using two furaldehyde compounds of industrial relevance. Also, we showed that there is a threshold after which higher in vitro HMF reduction activities do not correlate any more with faster in vivo rates of HMF conversion, indicating other cell limitations in the conversion of HMF.

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  • 39.
    Larsson, Gen
    et al.
    KTH, Superseded Departments (pre-2005), Biotechnology.
    Shokri, Atefeh
    KTH, Superseded Departments (pre-2005), Biotechnology.
    Characterisation of the Escherichia coli membrane during fedbatch cultivation2004In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 3, p. 9-Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: Important parameters during recombinant protein production in Escherichia coli, such as productivity and protein activity, are affected by the growth rate. This includes the translocation of protein over the membrane to gain better folding capacity or reduced proteolysis. To vary the growth rate two techniques are available: fedbatch and continuous cultivation, both controlled by the ingoing feed rate. Results: During fedbatch cultivation, E. coli contains phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, cardiolipin and saturated fatty acids in amounts which are stable with growth rate. However, the levels of cardiolipin are very high compared to continuous cultivation. The reason for fedbatch triggering of this metabolism is not known but hypothesised to result from an additional need for carbon and energy. The reason could be the dynamic and sometimes rapid changes in growth rate to which the fedbatch cell has at all times to adjust. The membrane flexibility, essential for translocation of various components, is however to some degree sustained by production of increased amounts of unsaturated fatty acids in phosphatidylglycerol. The result is a functionally stiff membrane which generally promotes low cell lysis and is constant with respect to protein leakage to the medium. At comparatively high growth rates, when the further stabilising effect of cyclic fatty acids is gone, the high level of unsaturated fatty acids results in a pronounced effect upon sonication. This is very much in contrast to the membrane function in continuous cultivation which shows very specific characteristics as a function of growth rate. Conclusions: The stiff and unchanging fedbatch membrane should promote a stable behaviour during downstream processing and is less dependent on the time of harvest. However, optimisation of protein leakage can only be achieved in the continuously cultivated cell where leakage is twice as high compared to the constant leakage level in fedbatch. If leakage is undesired, continuous cultivation is also preferred since it can be designed to lead to the lowest values detected. Induction at low growth rate (<0.2 h-1) should be avoided with respect to productivity, in any system, since the specific and total protein production shows their lowest values at this point.

  • 40.
    Mirzadeh, Kiavash
    et al.
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. CloneOpt AB, Sweden.
    Shilling, Patrick J.
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
    Elfageih, Rageia
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
    Cumming, Alister J.
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
    Cui, Huanhuan L.
    Rennig, Maja
    Nørholm, Morten H. H.
    Daley, Daniel O.
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. CloneOpt AB, Sweden.
    Increased production of periplasmic proteins in Escherichia coli by directed evolution of the translation initiation region2020In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 19, no 1, article id 85Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: Recombinant proteins are often engineered with an N-terminal signal peptide, which facilitates their secretion to the oxidising environment of the periplasm (gram-negative bacteria) or the culture supernatant (gram-positive bacteria). A commonly encountered problem is that the signal peptide influences the synthesis and secretion of the recombinant protein in an unpredictable manner. A molecular understanding of this phenomenon is highly sought after, as it could lead to improved methods for producing recombinant proteins in bacterial cell factories.

    Results: Herein we demonstrate that signal peptides contribute to an unpredictable translation initiation region. A directed evolution approach that selects a new translation initiation region, whilst leaving the amino acid sequence of the signal peptide unchanged, can increase production levels of secreted recombinant proteins. The approach can increase production of single chain antibody fragments, hormones and other recombinant proteins in the periplasm of E. coli.

    Conclusions: The study demonstrates that signal peptide performance is coupled to the efficiency of the translation initiation region.

  • 41. Nhan, Nguyen Thanh
    et al.
    Gonzalez de Valdivia, Ernesto
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Bioprocess Technology.
    Gustavsson, Martin
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Bioprocess Technology.
    Hai, Truong Nam
    Larsson, Gen
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Bioprocess Technology.
    Surface display of Salmonella epitopes in Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus carnosus2011In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 10, p. 22-Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis (SE) is considered to be one of the most potent pathogenic Salmonella serotypes causing food-borne disease in humans. Since a live bacterial vaccine based on surface display of antigens has many advantages over traditional vaccines, we have studied the surface display of the SE antigenic proteins, H: gm and SefA in Escherichia coli by the beta-autotransporter system, AIDA. This procedure was compared to protein translocation in Staphylococcus carnosus, using a staphylococci hybrid vector earlier developed for surface display of other vaccine epitopes. Results: Both SefA and H: gm were translocated to the outer membrane in Escherichia coli. SefA was expressed to full length but H: gm was shorter than expected, probably due to a proteolytic cleavage of the N-terminal during passage either through the periplasm or over the membrane. FACS analysis confirmed that SefA was facing the extracellular environment, but this could not be conclusively established for H: gm since the N-terminal detection tag (His(6)) was cleaved off. Polyclonal salmonella antibodies confirmed the sustained antibody-antigen binding towards both proteins. The surface expression data from Staphylococcus carnosus suggested that the H: gm and SefA proteins were transported to the cell wall since the detection marker was displayed by FACS analysis. Conclusion: Apart from the accumulated knowledge and the existence of a wealth of equipment and techniques, the results indicate the selection of E. coli for further studies for surface expression of salmonella antigens. Surface expression of the full length protein facing the cell environment was positively proven by standard analysis, and the FACS signal comparison to expression in Staphylococcus carnosus shows that the distribution of the surface protein on each cell was comparatively very narrow in E. coli, the E. coli outer membrane molecules can serve as an adjuvant for the surface antigenic proteins and multimeric forms of the SefA protein were detected which would probably be positive for the realisation of a strong antigenic property. The detection of specific and similar proteolytic cleavage patterns for both the proteins provides a further starting point for the investigation and development of the Escherichia coli AIDA autotransporter efficiency.

  • 42.
    Ninyio, Nathaniel
    et al.
    Örebro University, School of Medical Sciences.
    Schmitt, Katherina
    School of Science and Technology, Life Science Center, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden; Institute of Virology, Saarland University Medical Center, 66421, Homburg, Germany.
    Sergon, Gladys
    Örebro University, School of Science and Technology.
    Nilsson, Charlotta
    Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Microbiology, Public Health Agency of Sweden, Solna, Sweden.
    Andersson, Sören
    Örebro University, School of Medical Sciences. Department of Public Health Analysis and Data Management, Unit for Vaccination Programmes, Public Health Agency of Sweden, Solna, Sweden.
    Scherbak, Nikolai
    Örebro University, School of Science and Technology.
    Stable expression of HIV-1 MPER extended epitope on the surface of the recombinant probiotic bacteria Escherichia Coli Nissle 1917 using CRISPR/Cas92024In: Microbial Cell Factories, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 23, no 1, article id 39Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    BACKGROUND: Mucosal vaccines have the potential to induce protective immune responses at the sites of infection. Applying CRISPR/Cas9 editing, we aimed to develop a probiotic-based vaccine candidate expressing the HIV-1 envelope membrane-proximal external region (MPER) on the surface of E. coli Nissle 1917.

    RESULTS: The HIV-1 MPER epitope was successfully introduced in the porin OmpF of the E. coli Nissle 1917 (EcN-MPER) and the modification was stable over 30 passages of the recombinant bacteria on the DNA and protein level. Furthermore, the introduced epitope was recognized by a human anti-HIV-1 gp41 (2F5) antibody using both live and heat-killed EcN-MPER, and this antigenicity was also retained over 30 passages. Whole-cell dot blot suggested a stronger binding of anti-HIV-1 gp41 (2F5) to heat-killed EcN-MPER than their live counterpart. An outer membrane vesicle (OMV) - rich extract from EcN-MPER culture supernatant was equally antigenic to anti-HIV-1 gp41 antibody which suggests that the MPER antigen could be harboured in EcN-MPER OMVs. Using quantitative ELISA, we determined the amount of MPER produced by the modified EcN to be 14.3 µg/108 cfu.

    CONCLUSIONS: The CRISPR/Cas9 technology was an effective method for establishment of recombinant EcN-MPER bacteria that was stable over many passages. The developed EcN-MPER clone was devoid of extraneous plasmids and antibiotic resistance genes which eliminates the risk of plasmid transfer to animal hosts, should this clone be used as a vaccine. Also, the EcN-MPER clone was recognised by anti-HIV-1 gp41 (2F5) both as live and heat-killed bacteria making it suitable for pre-clinical evaluation. Expression of OmpF on bacterial surfaces and released OMVs identifies it as a compelling candidate for recombinant epitope modification, enabling surface epitope presentation on both bacteria and OMVs. By applying the methods described in this study, we present a potential platform for cost-effective and rational vaccine antigen expression and administration, offering promising prospects for further research in the field of vaccine development.

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  • 43. Papini, Marta
    et al.
    Nookaew, Intawat
    Uhlén, Mathias
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Proteomics.
    Nielsen, Jens
    Scheffersomyces stipitis: a comparative systems biology study with the Crabtree positive yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae2012In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 11, p. 136-Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: Scheffersomyces stipitis is a Crabtree negative yeast, commonly known for its capacity to ferment pentose sugars. Differently from Crabtree positive yeasts such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the onset of fermentation in S. stipitis is not dependent on the sugar concentration, but is regulated by a decrease in oxygen levels. Even though S. stipitis has been extensively studied due to its potential application in pentoses fermentation, a limited amount of information is available about its metabolism during aerobic growth on glucose. Here, we provide a systems biology based comparison between the two yeasts, uncovering the metabolism of S. stipitis during aerobic growth on glucose under batch and chemostat cultivations. Results: Starting from the analysis of physiological data, we confirmed through C-13-based flux analysis the fully respiratory metabolism of S. stipitis when growing both under glucose limited or glucose excess conditions. The patterns observed showed similarity to the fully respiratory metabolism observed for S. cerevisiae under chemostat cultivations however, intracellular metabolome analysis uncovered the presence of several differences in metabolite patterns. To describe gene expression levels under the two conditions, we performed RNA sequencing and the results were used to quantify transcript abundances of genes from the central carbon metabolism and compared with those obtained with S. cerevisiae. Interestingly, genes involved in central pathways showed different patterns of expression, suggesting different regulatory networks between the two yeasts. Efforts were focused on identifying shared and unique families of transcription factors between the two yeasts through in silico transcription factors analysis, suggesting a different regulation of glycolytic and glucoenogenic pathways. Conclusions: The work presented addresses the impact of high-throughput methods in describing and comparing the physiology of Crabtree positive and Crabtree negative yeasts. Based on physiological data and flux analysis we identified the presence of one metabolic condition for S. stipitis under aerobic batch and chemostat cultivations, which shows similarities to the oxidative metabolism observed for S. cerevisiae under chemostat cultivations. Through metabolome analysis and genome-wide transcriptomic analysis several differences were identified. Interestingly, in silico analysis of transciption factors was useful to address a different regulation of mRNAs of genes involved in the central carbon metabolism. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the metabolism of S. stiptis is investigated in details and is compared to S. cerevisiae. Our study provides useful results and allows for the possibility to incorporate these data into recently developed genome-scaled metabolic, thus contributing to improve future industrial applications of S. stipitis as cell factory.

  • 44.
    Perez-Zabaleta, Mariel
    et al.
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Industrial Biotechnology.
    Sjöberg, Gustav
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Industrial Biotechnology.
    Guevara-Martínez, Mónica
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Industrial Biotechnology. Universidad Mayor de San Simón, Bolivia.
    Jarmander, Johan
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Industrial Biotechnology.
    Gustavsson, Martin
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Industrial Biotechnology.
    Quillaguamán, Jorge
    Larsson, Gen
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Industrial Biotechnology.
    Increasing the production of (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate in recombinant Escherichia coli by improved cofactor supply2016In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 15, no 1, article id 91Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: In a recently discovered microorganism, Halomonas boliviensis, polyhydroxybutyrate production was extensive and in contrast to other PHB producers, contained a set of alleles for the enzymes of this pathway. Also the monomer, (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB), possesses features that are interesting for commercial production, in particular the synthesis of fine chemicals with chiral specificity. Production with a halophilic organism is however not without serious drawbacks, wherefore it was desirable to introduce the 3HB pathway into Escherichia coli. Results: The production of 3HB is a two-step process where the acetoacetyl-CoA reductase was shown to accept both NADH and NADPH, but where the V-max for the latter was eight times higher. It was hypothesized that NADPH could be limiting production due to less abundance than NADH, and two strategies were employed to increase the availability; (1) glutamate was chosen as nitrogen source to minimize the NADPH consumption associated with ammonium salts and (2) glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase was overexpressed to improve NADPH production from the pentose phosphate pathway. Supplementation of glutamate during batch cultivation gave the highest specific productivity (q(3HB) = 0.12 g g(-1) h(-1)), while nitrogen depletion/zwf overexpression gave the highest yield (Y-3HB/CDW = 0.53 g g(-1)) and a 3HB concentration of 1 g L-1, which was 50 % higher than the reference. A nitrogen-limited fedbatch process gave a concentration of 12.7 g L-1 and a productivity of 0.42 g L-1 h(-1), which is comparable to maximum values found in recombinant E. coli. Conclusions: Increased NADPH supply is a valuable tool to increase recombinant 3HB production in E. coli, and the inherent hydrolysis of CoA leads to a natural export of the product to the medium. Acetic acid production is still the dominating by-product and this needs attention in the future to increase the volumetric productivity further.

  • 45.
    Rodrigues, Joao S.
    et al.
    Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology, Chemistry, Department of Chemistry - Ångström, Molecular Biomimetics.
    Bourgade, Barbara
    Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology, Chemistry, Department of Chemistry - Ångström, Molecular Biomimetics.
    Galle, Karen
    Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology, Chemistry, Department of Chemistry - Ångström. Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal..
    Lindberg, Pia
    Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology, Chemistry, Department of Chemistry - Ångström, Molecular Biomimetics.
    Mapping competitive pathways to terpenoid biosynthesis in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 using a small RNA synthetic tool2023In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 22, article id 35Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 utilizes pyruvate and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate via the methylerythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) pathway for the biosynthesis of terpenoids. Considering the deep connection of the MEP pathway to the central carbon metabolism, and the low carbon partitioning towards terpenoid biosynthesis, significant changes in the metabolic network are required to increase cyanobacterial production of terpenoids.

    Results: We used the Hfq-MicC antisense RNA regulatory tool, under control of the nickel-inducible P-nrsB promoter, to target 12 different genes involved in terpenoid biosynthesis, central carbon metabolism, amino acid biosynthesis and ATP production, and evaluated the changes in the performance of an isoprene-producing cyanobacterial strain. Six candidate targets showed a positive effect on isoprene production: three genes involved in terpenoid biosynthesis (crtE, chlP and thiG), two involved in amino acid biosynthesis (ilvG and ccmA) and one involved in sugar catabolism (gpi). The same strategy was applied to interfere with different parts of the terpenoid biosynthetic pathway in a bisabolene-producing strain. Increased bisabolene production was observed not only when interfering with chlorophyll a biosynthesis, but also with carotenogenesis.

    Conclusions: We demonstrated that the Hfq-MicC synthetic tool can be used to evaluate the effects of gene knockdown on heterologous terpenoid production, despite the need for further optimization of the technique. Possible targets for future engineering of Synechocystis aiming at improved terpenoid microbial production were identified.

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  • 46.
    Schlegel, Susan
    et al.
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
    Rujas, Edurne
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
    Ytterberg, Anders Jimmy
    Zubarev, Roman A.
    Luirink, Joen
    de Gier, Jan-Willem
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
    Optimizing heterologous protein production in the periplasm of E. coli by regulating gene expression levels2013In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 12, p. 24-Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: In Escherichia coli many heterologous proteins are produced in the periplasm. To direct these proteins to the periplasm, they are equipped with an N-terminal signal sequence so that they can traverse the cytoplasmic membrane via the protein-conducting Sec-translocon. For poorly understood reasons, the production of heterologous secretory proteins is often toxic to the cell thereby limiting yields. To gain insight into the mechanism(s) that underlie this toxicity we produced two secretory heterologous proteins, super folder green fluorescent protein and a single-chain variable antibody fragment, in the Lemo21(DE3) strain. In this strain, the expression intensity of the gene encoding the target protein can be precisely controlled. Results: Both SFGFP and the single-chain variable antibody fragment were equipped with a DsbA-derived signal sequence. Producing these proteins following different gene expression levels in Lemo21(DE3) allowed us to identify the optimal expression level for each target gene. Too high gene expression levels resulted in saturation of the Sec-translocon capacity as shown by hampered translocation of endogenous secretory proteins and a protein misfolding/aggregation problem in the cytoplasm. At the optimal gene expression levels, the negative effects of the production of the heterologous secretory proteins were minimized and yields in the periplasm were optimized. Conclusions: Saturating the Sec-translocon capacity can be a major bottleneck hampering heterologous protein production in the periplasm. This bottleneck can be alleviated by harmonizing expression levels of the genes encoding the heterologous secretory proteins with the Sec-translocon capacity. Mechanistic insight into the production of proteins in the periplasm is key to optimizing yields in this compartment.

  • 47.
    Spadiut, Oliver
    et al.
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Glycoscience. KTH, School of Chemical Science and Engineering (CHE), Centres, Wallenberg Wood Science Center.
    Olsson, Lisbeth
    Brumer, Harry
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO), Glycoscience. KTH, School of Chemical Science and Engineering (CHE), Centres, Wallenberg Wood Science Center.
    A comparative summary of expression systems for the recombinant production of galactose oxidase2010In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 9, p. 68-Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: The microbes Escherichia coli and Pichia pastoris are convenient prokaryotic and eukaryotic hosts, respectively, for the recombinant production of proteins at laboratory scales. A comparative study was performed to evaluate a range of constructs and process parameters for the heterologous intra-and extracellular expression of genes encoding the industrially relevant enzyme galactose 6-oxidase (EC 1.1.3.9) from the fungus Fusarium graminearum. In particular, the wild-type galox gene from F. graminearum, an optimized variant for E. coli and a codon-optimized gene for P. pastoris were expressed without the native pro-sequence Results: The intracellular expression of a codon-optimized gene with an N-terminal His(10)-tag in E. coli, using the pET16b(+) vector and BL21DE3 cells, resulted in a volumetric productivity of 180 U.L-1.h(-1). The intracellular expression of the wild-type gene from F. graminearum, using the pPIC3.5 vector and the P. pastoris strain GS115, was poor, resulting in a volumetric productivity of 120 U.L-1.h(-1). Furthermore, this system did not tolerate an N-terminal His(10)-tag, thus rendering isolation of the enzyme from the complicated mixture difficult. The highest volumetric productivity (610 U.L-1.h(-1)) was achieved when the wild-type gene from F. graminearum was expressed extracellularly in the P. pastoris strain SMD1168H using the pPICZ alpha-system. A C-terminal His(6)-tag did not significantly affect the production of the enzyme, thus enabling simple purification by immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography. Notably, codon-optimisation of the galox gene for expression in P. pastoris did not result in a higher product yield (g protein.L-1 culture). Effective activation of the enzyme to generate the active-site radical copper complex could be equally well achieved by addition of CuSO4 directly in the culture medium or post-harvest. Conclusions: The results indicate that intracellular production in E. coli and extracellular production in P. pastoris comprise a complementary pair of systems for the production of GalOx. The prokaryotic host is favored for high-throughput screening, for example in the development of improved enzymes, while the yeast system is ideal for production scale-up for enzyme applications.

  • 48.
    Spadiut, Oliver
    et al.
    KTH, School of Biotechnology (BIO).
    Posch, Gerald
    Ludwig, Roland
    Haltrich, Dietmar
    Peterbauer, Clemens K.
    Evaluation of different expression systems for the heterologous expression of pyranose 2-oxidase from Trametes multicolor in E. coli2010In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 9, p. 14-Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    The heterologous production of the industrially relevant fungal enzyme pyranose 2-oxidase in the prokaryotic host E. coli was investigated using 3 different expression systems, i.e. the well-studied T7 RNA polymerase based pET21d(+), the L-arabinose inducible pBAD and the pCOLD system. Preliminary experiments were done in shaking flasks at 25 degrees C and optimized induction conditions to compare the productivity levels of the different expression systems. The pET21d(+) and the pCOLD system gave 29 U/L.h and 14 U/L.h of active pyranose 2-oxidase, respectively, whereas the pBAD system only produced 6 U/L.h. Process conditions for batch fermentations were optimized for the pET21d(+) and the pCOLD systems in order to reduce the formation of inactive inclusion bodies. The highest productivity rate with the pET21d(+) expression system in batch fermentations was determined at 25 C with 32 U/L.h. The pCOLD system showed the highest productivity rate (19 U/L.h) at 25 degrees C and induction from the start of the cultivation. Using the pCOLD system in a fed batch fermentation at 25 degrees C with a specific growth rate of mu = 0.15 h(-1) resulted in the highest productivity rate of active pyranose oxidase with 206 U/L.h.

  • 49. Willquist, Karin
    et al.
    Pawar, Sudhanshu
    Van Niel, Ed W. J.
    Reassessment of hydrogen tolerance in Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus.2011In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 10, article id 111Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    BACKGROUND: Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus has the ability to produce hydrogen (H2) at high yields from a wide spectrum of carbon sources, and has therefore gained industrial interest. For a cost-effective biohydrogen process, the ability of an organism to tolerate high partial pressures of H2 (PH2) is a critical aspect to eliminate the need for continuous stripping of the produced H2 from the bioreactor.

    RESULTS: Herein, we demonstrate that, under given conditions, growth and H2 production in C. saccharolyticus can be sustained at PH2 up to 67 kPa in a chemostat. At this PH2, 38% and 16% of the pyruvate flux was redirected to lactate and ethanol, respectively, to maintain a relatively low cytosolic NADH/NAD ratio (0.12 mol/mol). To investigate the effect of the redox ratio on the glycolytic flux, a kinetic model describing the activity of the key glycolytic enzyme, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), was developed. Indeed, at NADH/NAD ratios of 0.12 mol/mol (Ki of NADH = 0.03 ± 0.01 mM) GAPDH activity was inhibited by only 50% allowing still a high glycolytic flux (3.2 ± 0.4 mM/h). Even at high NADH/NAD ratios up to 1 mol/mol the enzyme was not completely inhibited. During batch cultivations, hydrogen tolerance of C. saccharolyticus was dependent on the growth phase of the organism as well as the carbon and energy source used. The obtained results were analyzed, based on thermodynamic and enzyme kinetic considerations, to gain insight in the mechanism underlying the unique ability of C. saccharolyticus to grow and produce H2 under relatively high PH2.

    CONCLUSION: C. saccharolyticus is able to grow and produce hydrogen at high PH2, hence eliminating the need of gas sparging in its cultures. Under this condition, it has a unique ability to fine tune its metabolism by maintaining the glycolytic flux through regulating GAPDH activity and redistribution of pyruvate flux. Concerning the later, xylose-rich feedstock should be preferred over the sucrose-rich one for better H2 yield.

  • 50.
    Wu, Guochao
    et al.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Chemistry.
    Xu, Zixiang
    Jönsson, Leif J.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Chemistry.
    Profiling of Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcription factors for engineering the resistance of yeast to lignocellulose-derived inhibitors in biomass conversion2017In: Microbial Cell Factories, ISSN 1475-2859, E-ISSN 1475-2859, Vol. 16, article id 199Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Background: Yeast transcription factors (TFs) involved in the regulation of multidrug resistance (MDR) were investigated in experiments with deletion mutants, transformants overexpressing synthetic genes encoding TFs, and toxic concentrations of lignocellulose-derived substances added to cultures as complex mixtures or as specific compounds, viz. coniferyl aldehyde, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, and furfural. Results: In the presence of complex mixtures of toxic substances from spruce wood, transformants overexpressing YAP1 and STB5, TFs involved in oxidative stress response, exhibited enhanced relative growth rates amounting to 4.589 +/- 0.261 and 1.455 +/- 0.185, respectively. Other TFs identified as important for resistance included DAL81, GZF3, LEU3, PUT3, and WAR1. Potential overlapping functions of YAP1 and STB5 were investigated in experiments with permutations of deletions and overexpression of the two genes. YAP1 complemented STB5 with respect to resistance to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, but had a distinct role with regard to resistance to coniferyl aldehyde as deletion of YAP1 rendered the cell incapable of resisting coniferyl aldehyde even if STB5 was overexpressed. Conclusions: We have investigated 30 deletion mutants and eight transformants overexpressing MDR transcription factors with regard to the roles the transcription factors play in the resistance to toxic concentrations of lignocel-lulose-derived substances. This work provides an overview of the involvement of thirty transcription factors in the resistance to lignocellulose-derived substances, shows distinct and complementary roles played by YAP1 and STB5, and offers directions for the engineering of robust yeast strains for fermentation processes based on lignocellulosic feedstocks.

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