Production of Biohydrogen from Wastewater by Klebsiella oxytoca ATCC 13182.

Production of biohydrogen from distillery effluent was carried out by using Klebsiella oxytoca ATCC 13182. The work focuses on optimization of pH, temperature, and state of bacteria, which are the various affecting factors for fermentative biohydrogen production. Results indicates that at 35 °C for suspended cultures, the production was at its maximum (i.e., 91.33 ± 0.88 mL) when compared with other temperatures. At 35 °C and at pH 5 and 6, maximum productions of 117.67 ± 1.45 and 111.67 ± 2.72 mL were observed with no significant difference. When immobilized, Klebsiella oxytoca ATCC 13182 was used for biohydrogen production at optimized conditions, production was 186.33 ± 3.17 mL. Hence, immobilized cells were found to be more advantageous for biological hydrogen production over suspended form. Physicochemical analysis of the effluent was conducted before and after fermentation and the values suggested that the fermentative process is an efficient method for biological treatment of wastewater.

A new twist in the assembly of type IV pilus-like fibers.

The type II secretion system (T2SS) and the type IV pilus system (T4PS) are structurally related molecular machines that reversibly assemble helical fibers in an ATP-dependent manner. In this issue of Structure, Nivaskumar and colleagues provide support for a "spooling" model of T2SS pseudopilus assembly and suggest that the T2S-and by extension, T4P-system motors may operate in a rotary manner to assemble filaments.

Distinct docking and stabilization steps of the Pseudopilus conformational transition path suggest rotational assembly of type IV pilus-like fibers.

The closely related bacterial type II secretion (T2S) and type IV pilus (T4P) systems are sophisticated machines that assemble dynamic fibers promoting protein transport, motility, or adhesion. Despite their essential role in virulence, the molecular mechanisms underlying helical fiber assembly remain unknown. Here, we use electron microscopy and flexible modeling to study conformational changes of PulG pili assembled by the Klebsiella oxytoca T2SS. Neural network analysis of 3,900 pilus models suggested a transition path toward low-energy conformations driven by progressive increase in fiber helical twist. Detailed predictions of interprotomer contacts along this path were tested by site-directed mutagenesis, pilus assembly, and protein secretion analyses. We demonstrate that electrostatic interactions between adjacent protomers (P-P+1) in the membrane drive pseudopilin docking, while P-P+3 and P-P+4 contacts determine downstream fiber stabilization steps. These results support a model of a spool-like assembly mechanism for fibers of the T2SS-T4P superfamily.

Identification of acetoin reductases involved in 2,3-butanediol pathway in Klebsiella oxytoca.

The acetoin reductase (AR) of Klebsiella oxytoca is responsible for converting acetoin into 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BDO) during sugar fermentation. Deleting the AR encoding gene (budC) in the 2,3-BDO operon does not block production of 2,3-BDO, as another similar gene exists in addition to budC called diacetyl/acetoin reductase (dar) which shares 53% identity with budC. In the present study, both budC and dar of K. oxytoca were independently cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli along with budA (acetolactate decarboxylase) and budB (acetolactate synthase), which are responsible for converting pyruvate into acetoin. The recombinant E. coli expressing budABC and budAB-dar produced 2,3-BDO from glucose but E. coli expressing only budAB did not and produced acetoin alone. This demonstrates that Dar functions similar to BudC. Mutants of budC, dar, and both genes together were developed in K. oxytoca ΔldhA (lactate dehydrogenase). K. oxytoca ΔldhA ΔbudC Δdar, deficient in both AR genes, showed reduced 2,3-BDO concentration when compared to K. oxytoca ΔldhA and K. oxytoca ΔldhA ΔbudC by 84% and 69%, respectively. Interestingly, K. oxytoca ΔldhA Δdar resulted in a significant reduction in the reversible conversion of 2,3-BDO into acetoin than that of K. oxytoca ΔldhA, which was observed in a glucose depleted fermentation culture. In addition, we observed that Dar played a key role in dissimilation of 2,3-BDO in media containing 2,3-BDO alone.

Production of 2,3-butanediol by a low-acid producing Klebsiella oxytoca NBRF4.

2,3-Butanediol (2,3-BDO) is a value-added chemical with great potential for the industrial production of synthetic rubber, plastic and solvent. For microbial production of 2,3-BDO, in this study, Klebsiella oxytoca NBRF4 was constructed by chemical mutation and screening against NaBr, NaBrO(3) and fluoroacetate. Among metabolic enzymes involved in the production of lactate, acetate and 2,3-BDO, K. oxytoca NBRF4 possessed 1.2 times lower specific activities of lactate dehydrogenase and phosphotransacetylase, and 22% higher specific acetoin reductase activity than the K. oxytoca ATCC43863 control strain. A series of batch fermentations in a defined medium and application of a statistical tool of response surface method led to the determination of optimal culture conditions: 10% dissolved oxygen level, pH 4.3 and 38°C. The actual results of batch fermentation at the optimal conditions using 44 g/L glucose were coincident with the predetermined values: 14.4 g/L 2,3-BDO concentration, 0.32 g/g yield. To increase 2,3-BDO titer, fed-batch fermentation of K. oxytoca NBRF4 was performed by an intermittent feeding of 800 g/L glucose to control its concentration around 5-20 g/L in the culture broth. Finally, 34.2g/L 2,3-BDO concentration and 0.35 g/g yield were obtained without organic acid production in 70 hours of the fed-batch culture, which were 2.4 and 1.2 times higher than those of the batch fermentation using 44 g/L glucose.

In vitro multimerization and membrane insertion of bacterial outer membrane secretin PulD.

Synthesis of the Klebsiella oxytoca outer membrane secretin PulD, or its membrane-associated core domain, in a liposome-supplemented Escherichia coli in vitro transcription-translation system resulted in the formation of multimers that appeared as typical dodecameric secretin rings when examined by negative-stain electron microscopy. Cryo-electron microscopy of unstained liposomes and differential extraction by urea indicated that the secretin particles were inserted into the liposome membranes. When made in the presence of the detergent Brij-35, PulD and the core domain were synthesized as monomers. Both proteins caused almost immediate growth cessation when synthesized in E. coli without a signal peptide. The small amounts of PulD synthesized before cell death appeared as multimers with characteristics similar to those of the normal outer membrane secretin dodecamers. It was concluded that multimerization and membrane insertion are intrinsic properties of secretin PulD that are independent of a specific membrane environment or membrane-associated factors. The closely related Erwinia chrysanthemi secretin OutD behaved similarly to PulD in all assays, but the more distantly related Neisseria meningitidis secretin PilQ did not form multimers either when made in vitro in the presence of liposomes or when made in E. coli without its signal peptide. This is the first report of the apparently spontaneous in vitro assembly and membrane insertion of a large outer membrane protein complex. Spontaneous multimerization and insertion appear to be restricted to outer membrane proteins closely related to PulD.

Modeling 1,2-dichloroethane biodegradation by Klebsiella oxytoca va 8391 immobilized on granulated activated carbon.

A mathematical model of the biodegradation of xenobiotics by microbial cells attached to particles of granulated activated carbon was developed. The model allowed the quantitative evaluation of different characteristics of the biofilm behavior: retarded microbial growth, increased concentration of immobilized cells compared to suspended cultures, potential cell detachment from the solid support and consequent independent growth of free cells. The applicability of the model was demonstrated for our own experimental data for 1,2- dichloroethane (DCA) biodegradation by Klebsiella oxytoca VA 8391 cells attached to granulated activated carbon. Two types of reactors, recirculated batch and continuous flow bioreactor, were studied. It was shown that in all investigated cases, the major contribution to DCA biodegradation was provided by the immobilized cells. Furthermore, immobilized cells were found to tolerate much higher substrate concentration and dilution rates in continuous culture than the free cells.

Structure and assembly of the pseudopilin PulG.

The pseudopilin PulG is one of several essential components of the type II pullulanase secretion machinery (the Pul secreton) of the Gram-negative bacterium Klebsiella oxytoca. The sequence of the N-terminal 25 amino acids of the PulG precursor is hydrophobic and very similar to the corresponding region of type IV pilins. The structure of a truncated PulG (lacking the homologous region), as determined by X-ray crystallography, was found to include part of the long N-terminal alpha-helix and the four internal anti-parallel beta-strands that characterize type IV pilins, but PulG lacks the highly variable loop region with a disulphide bond that is found in the latter. When overproduced, PulG forms flexible pili whose structural features, as visualized by electron microscopy, are similar to those of bacterial type IV pili. The average helical repeat comprises 17 PulG subunits and four helical turns. Electron microscopy and molecular modelling show that PulG probably assembles into left-handed helical pili with the long N-terminal alpha-helix tightly packed in the centre of the pilus. As in the type IV pilins, the hydrophobic N-terminal part of the PulG alpha-helix is necessary for its assembly. Subtle sequence variations within this highly conserved segment seem to determine whether or not a type IV pilin can be assembled into pili by the Pul secreton.