Hyun-dong Shin

Developing Bacillus spp. as a cell factory for production of microbial enzymes and industrially important biochemicals in the context of systems and synthetic biology

Increasing concerns over limited petroleum resources and associated environmental problems are motivating the development of efficient cell factories to produce chemicals, fuels, and materials from renewable resources in an environmentally sustainable economical manner. Bacillus spp., the best characterized Gram-positive bacteria, possesses unique advantages as a host for producing microbial enzymes and industrially important biochemicals. With appropriate modifications to heterologous protein expression and metabolic engineering, Bacillus species are favorable industrial candidates for efficiently converting renewable resources to microbial enzymes, fine chemicals, bulk chemicals, and fuels. Here, we summarize the recent advances in developing Bacillus spp. as a cell factory. We review the available genetic tools, engineering strategies, genome sequence, genome-scale structure models, proteome, and secretion pathways, and we list successful examples of enzymes and industrially important biochemicals produced by Bacillus spp. Furthermore, we highlight the limitations and challenges in developing Bacillus spp. as a robust and efficient production host, and we discuss in the context of systems and synthetic biology the emerging opportunities and future research prospects in developing Bacillus spp. as a microbial cell factory.

Extracellular recombinant protein production from an Escherichia coli lpp deletion mutant.

E. coli is one of the most commonly used host strains for recombinant protein production. However, recombinant proteins are usually found intracellularly, in either cytoplasm or periplasmic space. Inadequate secretion to the extracellular environment is one of its limitations. This study addresses the outer membrane barrier for the translocation of recombinant protein directed to the periplasmic space. Specifically, using recombinant maltose binding protein (MalE), xylanase, and cellulase as model proteins, we investigated whether the lpp deletion could render the outer membrane permeable enough to allow extracellular protein production. In each case, significantly higher excretion of recombinant protein was observed with the lpp deletion mutant. Up to 90% of the recombinant xylanase activity and 70% of recombinant cellulase activity were found in the culture medium with the deletion mutant, whereas only 40–50% of the xylanase and cellulase activities were extracellular for the control strain. Despite the weakened outer membrane in the mutant strain, cell lysis did not occur, and increased excretion of periplasmic protein was not due to cell lysis. The lpp deletion is a simple method to generate an E. coli strain to effect significant extracellular protein production. The phenotype of extracellular protein production without cell lysis is useful in many biotechnological applications, such as bioremediation and plant biomass conversion. Biotechnol. Bioeng.

Modular pathway engineering of Bacillus subtilis for improved N-acetylglucosamine production

In previous work, we constructed a recombinant Bacillus subtilis strain for microbial production of N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), which has applications in nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals. In this work, we improve GlcNAc production through modular engineering of B. subtilis. Specifically, the GlcNAc synthesis-related metabolic network in B. subtilis was divided into three modules-GlcNAc synthesis, glycolysis, and peptidoglycan synthesis. First, two-promoter systems with different promoter types and strengths were used for combinatorial assembly of expression cassettes of glmS (encoding GlcN-6-phosphate synthase) and GNA1 (encoding GlcNAc-6-phosphate N-acetyltransferase) at transcriptional levels in the GlcNAc synthesis module, resulting in a 32.4% increase in GlcNAc titer (from 1.85g/L to 2.45g/L) in shake flasks. In addition, lactate and acetate synthesis were blocked by knockout of ldh (encoding lactate dehydrogenase) and pta (encoding phosphotransacetylase), leading to a 44.9% increase in GlcNAc production (from 2.45g/L to 3.55g/L) in shake flasks. Then, various strengths of the glycolysis and peptidoglycan synthesis modules were constructed by repressing the expression of pfk (encoding 6-phosphofructokinase) and glmM (encoding phosphoglucosamine mutase) via the expression of various combinations of synthetic small regulatory RNAs and Hfq protein. Next, GlcNAc, glycolysis, and peptidoglycan synthesis modules with various strengths were assembled and optimized via a module engineering approach, and the GlcNAc titer was improved to 8.30g/L from 3.55g/L in shake flasks. Finally, the GlcNAc titer was further increased to 31.65g/L, which was 3.8-fold that in the shake flask, in a 3-L fed-batch bioreactor. This work significantly enhanced GlcNAc production through modular pathway engineering of B. subtilis, and the engineering strategies used herein may be useful for the construction of versatile B. subtilis cell factories for the production of other industrially important chemicals.

Escherichia coli Binary Culture Engineered for Direct Fermentation of Hemicellulose to a Biofuel

ABSTRACT Metabolic engineering has created several Escherichia coli biocatalysts for production of biofuels and other useful molecules. However, the inability of these biocatalysts to directly use polymeric substrates necessitates costly pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis prior to fermentation. Consolidated bioprocessing has the potential to simplify the process by combining enzyme production, hydrolysis, and fermentation into a single step but requires a fermenting organism to multitask by producing both necessary enzymes and target molecules. We demonstrate here a binary strategy for consolidated bioprocessing of xylan, a complex substrate requiring six hemicellulases for complete hydrolysis. An integrated modular approach was used to design the two strains to function cooperatively in the process of transforming xylan into ethanol. The first strain was engineered to coexpress two hemicellulases. Recombinant enzymes were secreted to the growth medium by a method of lpp deletion with over 90% efficiency. Secreted enzymes hydrolyzed xylan into xylooligosaccharides, which were taken in by the second strain, designed to use the xylooligosaccharides for ethanol production. Cocultivation of the two strains converted xylan hemicellulose to ethanol with a yield about 55% of the theoretical value. Inclusion of other three hemicellulases improved the ethanol yield to 70%. Analysis of the culture broth showed that xylooligosaccharides with four or more xylose units were not utilized, suggesting that improving the use of higher xyloogligomers should be the focus in future efforts. This is the first demonstration of an engineered binary culture for consolidated bioprocessing of xylan. The modular design should allow the strategy to be adopted for a broad range of biofuel and biorefinery products.

A type B feruloyl esterase from Aspergillus nidulans with broad pH applicability

A hypothetical protein AN1772.2 of Aspergillus nidulans was found to have a 56% identity with a known type C ferulic acid esterase (FAE) from Talaromyces stipitatus. In addition, it contained a 13-amino acid conserved region flanking the characteristic G-X-S-X-G motif of a serine esterase, suggesting a FAE function for the protein. The putative FAE was successfully cloned from the genomic DNA and expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The recombinant protein exhibited high FAE activities. Therefore, its function as an FAE was unequivocally determined. About 86% of the enzyme activity was found in the growth medium, indicating that the native signal peptide was effective in the yeast expression system. The recombinant FAE was purified to its homogeneity, and subsequently characterized. The FAE is stable over an unusually wide range of pH (4.0–9.5), has a pH optimum of 7.0, and a temperature optimum of 45°C. A substrate specificity profiling reveals that the enzyme is a type B FAE, despite its strong sequence homology with type C FAEs, raising an interesting question on the role of the conserved region in substrate specificity.

Engineering the E. coli UDP‐Glucose Synthesis Pathway for Oligosaccharide Synthesis

A metabolic engineering strategy was successfully applied to engineer the UDP‐glucose synthesis pathway in E. coli. Two key enzymes of the pathway, phosphoglucomutase and UDP‐glucose pyrophosphorylase, were overexpressed to increase the carbon flux toward UDP‐glucose synthesis. When additional enzymes (a UDP‐galactose epimerase and a galactosyltransferease) were introduced to the engineered strain, the increased flux to UDP‐glucose synthesis led to an enhanced UDP‐galactose derived disaccharide synthesis. Specifically, close to 20 mM UDP‐galactose derived disaccharides were synthesized in the engineered strain, whereas in the control strain only 2.5 mM products were obtained, indicating that the metabolic engineering strategy was successful in channeling carbon flux (8‐fold more) into the UDP‐glucose synthesis pathway. UDP‐sugar synthesis and oligosaccharide synthesis were shown to increase according to the enzyme expression levels when inducer concentration was between 0 and 0.5 mM. However, this dependence on the enzyme expression stopped when expression level was further increased (IPTG concentration was increased from 0.5 to 1 mM), indicating that other factors emerged as bottlenecks of the synthesis. Several likely bottlenecks and possible engineering strategies to further improve the synthesis are discussed.

Structure-based engineering of histidine residues in the catalytic domain of α-amylase from Bacillus subtilis for improved protein stability and catalytic efficiency under acidic conditions.

This work aims to improve the protein stability and catalytic efficiency of α-amylase from Bacillus subtilis under acidic conditions by site-directed mutagenesis. Based on the analysis of a three dimensional structure model, four basic histidine (His) residues His(222), His(275), His(293), and His(310) in the catalytic domain were selected as the mutation sites and were further replaced with acidic aspartic acid (Asp), respectively, yielding four mutants H222D, H275D, H293D, H310D. The mutant H222D was inactive. Double and triple mutations were further conducted and four mutants H275/293D, H275/310D, H293/310D, and H275/293/310D were obtained. The acidic stability of enzyme was significantly enhanced after mutation, and 45-92% of initial activity of mutants was retained after incubation at pH 4.5 and 25°C for 24h, while that for wild-type was only 39.5%. At pH 4.5, the specific activity of wild-type and mutants H275D, H293D, H310D, H275/293D, H275/310D, H293/310D, and H275/293/310D were 108.2, 131.8, 138.9, 196.6, 156.3, 204.6, and 216.2U/mg, respectively. The catalytic efficiency for each active mutant was much higher than that of wild-type at low pH. The kcat/Km values of the mutants H275D, H293D, H310D, H275/293D, H275/310D, H293/310D, and H275/293/310D at pH 4.5 were 3.3-, 4.3-, 6.5-, 4.5-, 11.0-, 14.5-, and 16.7-fold higher, respectively, than that of the wild-type. As revealed by the structure models of the wild-type and mutant enzymes, the hydrogen bonds and salt bridges were increased after mutation, and an obvious shift of the basic limb toward acidity was observed for mutants. These changes around the catalytic domain contributed to the significantly improved protein stability and catalytic efficiency at low pH. This work provides an effective strategy to improve the catalytic activity and stability of α-amylase under acidic conditions, and the results obtained here may be useful for the improvement of acid-resistant ability of other enzymes.

How to achieve high-level expression of microbial enzymes: Strategies and perspectives

Microbial enzymes have been used in a large number of fields, such as chemical, agricultural and biopharmaceutical industries. The enzyme production rate and yield are the main factors to consider when choosing the appropriate expression system for the production of recombinant proteins. Recombinant enzymes have been expressed in bacteria (e.g., Escherichia coli, Bacillus and lactic acid bacteria), filamentous fungi (e.g., Aspergillus) and yeasts (e.g., Pichia pastoris). The favorable and very advantageous characteristics of these species have resulted in an increasing number of biotechnological applications. Bacterial hosts (e.g., E. coli) can be used to quickly and easily overexpress recombinant enzymes; however, bacterial systems cannot express very large proteins and proteins that require post-translational modifications. The main bacterial expression hosts, with the exception of lactic acid bacteria and filamentous fungi, can produce several toxins which are not compatible with the expression of recombinant enzymes in food and drugs. However, due to the multiplicity of the physiological impacts arising from high-level expression of genes encoding the enzymes and expression hosts, the goal of overproduction can hardly be achieved, and therefore, the yield of recombinant enzymes is limited. In this review, the recent strategies used for the high-level expression of microbial enzymes in the hosts mentioned above are summarized and the prospects are also discussed. We hope this review will contribute to the development of the enzyme-related research field.

L-Amino acid oxidases from microbial sources: types, properties, functions, and applications.

Abstractl-Amino acid oxidases (LAAOs), which catalyze the stereospecific oxidative deamination of l-amino acids to α-keto acids and ammonia, are flavin adenine dinucleotide-containing homodimeric proteins. l-Amino acid oxidases are widely distributed in diverse organisms and have a range of properties. Because expressing LAAOs as recombinant proteins in heterologous hosts is difficult, their biotechnological applications have not been thoroughly advanced. LAAOs are thought to contribute to amino acid catabolism, enhance iron acquisition, display antimicrobial activity, and catalyze keto acid production, among other roles. Here, we review the types, properties, structures, biological functions, heterologous expression, and applications of LAAOs obtained from microbial sources. We expect this review to increase interest in LAAO studies.

Recent advances in discovery, heterologous expression, and molecular engineering of cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase for versatile applications.

Cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase (CGTase) is an important enzyme with multiple functions, in particular the production of cyclodextrins. It is also widely applied in baking and carbohydrate glycosylation because it participates in various types of catalytic reactions. New applications are being found with novel CGTases being isolated from various organisms. Heterologous expression is performed for the overproduction of CGTases to meet the requirements of these applications. In addition, various directed evolution techniques have been applied to modify the molecular structure of CGTase for improved performance in industrial applications. In recent years, substantial progress has been made in the heterologous expression and molecular engineering of CGTases. In this review, we systematically summarize the heterologous expression strategies used for enhancing the production of CGTases. We also outline and discuss the molecular engineering approaches used to improve the production, secretion, and properties (e.g., product and substrate specificity, catalytic efficiency, and thermal stability) of CGTase.