Establishment of a novel anabolism-based addiction system with an artificially introduced mevalonate pathway: complete stabilization of plasmids as universal application in white biotechnology.

Plasmid stability in recombinant microorganisms is a very important requirement for highly efficient plasmid-based production processes in biotechnology. To stably maintain plasmids, we developed in this study an efficient and stringent novel anabolism-based addiction system, which can be widely used. This novel addiction system is based on two components: (i) an Escherichia coli HMS174(DE3) knockout mutant of the ispH gene coding for 4-hydroxy-3-methylbut-2-enyl diphosphate reductase (EC 1.17.1.2) of the deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate (DXP) pathway, impairing the synthesis of isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) and (ii) a completely synthetic and episomal mevalonate (MVA) pathway as an alternative supplier of essential IPP. The latter is encoded by a plasmid that contains the genes for HMG-CoA reductases from Lactococcus lactis and Staphylococcus aureus plus HMG-CoA-synthase, MVA kinase, MVP kinase and MVPP decarboxylase from S. aureus. This plasmid should then also harbor the genes for the protein or for the pathway that will be produced or that will be utilized for production of a chemical. To demonstrate the functionality of this addiction system, a mutated cyanophycin synthetase gene (cphA(6308)C595S) was used. To determine plasmid stabilities, flasks experiments in media supplied or not supplied with antibiotics were carried out with the knockout mutant and two control strains, one harboring plasmid pCOLADuet-1::MVA1-5::cphA(6308) and the other harboring a conventional expression plasmid pET-23a::cphA(6308). As revealed by measuring the colony-forming units of aliquots spread on solid media with or without antibiotics, the knockout mutant revealed a plasmid stability of 100% whereas the control strains exhibited plasmid stabilities of only 64% and 2%, respectively. Radiometric enzyme activity measurements for CphA revealed only 95% and 12.5% of the activity in the control strains harboring pCOLADuet-1::MVA1-5::cphA(6308) and pET-23a::cphA(6308), respectively, in comparison to the activity measured in the knockout mutant. The knockout mutant synthesized 9.5% (w/w of cell dry weight (CDW)) of cyanophycin, and the control strain harboring pCOLADuet-1::MVA1-5::cphA(6308) synthesized 13.6% (w/w of CDW) after growth without antibiotics.

Genome sequence of the bioplastic-producing "Knallgas" bacterium Ralstonia eutropha H16.

The H(2)-oxidizing lithoautotrophic bacterium Ralstonia eutropha H16 is a metabolically versatile organism capable of subsisting, in the absence of organic growth substrates, on H(2) and CO(2) as its sole sources of energy and carbon. R. eutropha H16 first attracted biotechnological interest nearly 50 years ago with the realization that the organism's ability to produce and store large amounts of poly[R-(-)-3-hydroxybutyrate] and other polyesters could be harnessed to make biodegradable plastics. Here we report the complete genome sequence of the two chromosomes of R. eutropha H16. Together, chromosome 1 (4,052,032 base pairs (bp)) and chromosome 2 (2,912,490 bp) encode 6,116 putative genes. Analysis of the genome sequence offers the genetic basis for exploiting the biotechnological potential of this organism and provides insights into its remarkable metabolic versatility.

Occurrence and expression of tricarboxylate synthases in Ralstonia eutropha.

2-Methylcitrate synthase (2-MCS1) and citrate synthase (CS) of Ralstonia eutropha strain H16 were separated by affinity chromatography and analyzed for their substrate specificities. 2-MCS1 used not only the primary substrate propionyl-CoA but also acetyl-CoA and, at a low rate, even butyryl-CoA and valeryl-CoA for condensation with oxaloacetate. The KM values for propionyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA were 0.061 or 0.35 mM, respectively. This enzyme is therefore a competitor for acetyl-CoA during biosynthesis of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and has to be taken into account if metabolic fluxes are calculated for PHB biosynthesis. In contrast, CS could not use propionyl-CoA as a substrate. The gene-encoding CS (cisY) of R. eutropha was cloned and encodes for a protein consisting of 433 amino acids with a calculated molecular weight of 48,600 Da; it is not truncated in the N-terminal region. Furthermore, a gene encoding a second functionally active 2-methylcitrate synthase (2-MCS2, prpC2) was identified in the genome of R. eutropha. The latter was localized in a gene cluster with genes for an NAD(H)-dependent malate dehydrogenase and a putative citrate lyase. RT-PCR analysis of R. eutropha growing on different carbon sources revealed the transcription of prpC2. In addition, cells of recombinant Escherichia coli strains harboring prpC2 of R. eutropha exhibited high 2-MCS activity of 0.544 U mg-1. A prpC2 knockout mutant of R. eutropha exhibited an identical phenotype as the wild type if grown on different media. 2-MCS2 seems to be dispensable, and a function could not be revealed for this enzyme.

Metabolic engineering of strains of Ralstonia eutropha and Pseudomonas putida for biotechnological production of 2-methylcitric acid.

In this study strains of Ralstonia eutropha H16 and Pseudomonas putida KT2440 were engineered which are suitable for biotechnological production of 2-methylcitric acid (2MC). Analysis of a previous mutant of R. eutropha able to accumulate 2MC recommended this strain as a candidate for fermentative production of 2MC. This knowledge was used for construction of strains of R. eutropha H16 and P. putida KT2440 capable of enhanced production of 2MC. In both bacteria the chromosomal genes encoding the 2-methyl-cis-aconitate hydratase (acnM) were disrupted by directed insertion of a copy of an additional 2-methylcitrate synthase gene (prpC) yielding strains R. eutropha DeltaacnM(Re)OmegaKmprpC(Pp) and P. putida DeltaacnM(Pp)OmegaKmprpC(Re). In both strains 2-methylcitrate synthase was expressed under control of the constitutive kanamycin-resistance gene (OmegaKm) resulting in up to 20-fold higher specific 2-methylcitrate synthase activities in comparison to the wild type. The disruption of the acnM gene by insertion of prpC led to a propionate- and levulinate-negative phenotype of the engineered strains, and analysis of supernatant of these strains revealed overproduction and accumulation of 2MC in the medium. A two stage cultivation regime comprising an exponential growth phase and a 2MC production phase was developed and applied to both engineered strains for optimum production of 2MC. Whereas gluconate, fructose or succinate were provided as carbon source for the exponential growth phase, a combination of propionate or levulinate as precursor substrate for provision of propionyl-CoA and succinate or fumarate as precursor substrate for provision of oxaloacetate were used in the production phase to make sure that the 2-methylcitrate synthase was provided with their substrates. Employing the optimised feeding regime P. putida DeltaacnM(Pp)OmegaKmprpC(Re) and R. eutropha DeltaacnM(Re)OmegaKmprpC(Pp) produced 2MC up to maximal concentrations of 7.2 g/L or 26.5 mM and 19.2 g/L or 70.5 mM, respectively, during 144 h of cultivation.

Identification of novel sulfur-containing bacterial polyesters: biosynthesis of poly(3-hydroxy-S-propyl-omega-thioalkanoates) containing thioether linkages in the side chains.

This study describes the biosynthesis of novel sulfur-containing polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), which consist exclusively of hydroxypropylthioalkanoic acid containing thioether groups in the side chains. In addition, the utilization of alkylthioalkanoic acids (=thia fatty acids) by various bacteria was investigated. Based on feedings with propylthiooctanoic acid (PTO) or propylthiohexanoic acid, the metabolically engineered PHA-negative mutant PHB(-)4 of Ralstonia eutropha, which harbours plasmid pBBR1::phaC1 expressing the PHA synthase of Pseudomonas mendocina, synthesized two novel poly(3-hydroxy-S-propyl-omega-thioalkanoic) acids [poly(3HPTA)s]. A terpolyester consisting of 3-hydroxypropylthiobutyric acid (3HPTB), 3-hydroxypropylthiohexanoic acid (3HPTHx) and 3-hydroxypropyl- thiooctanoic acid (3HPTO) was synthesized from PTO, whereas a co-polyester of 3HPTB and 3HPTHx was synthesized from propylthiohexanoic acid. Fed-batch fermentation of R. eutropha PHB(-)4(pBBR1::phaC1) on PTO was done on a 26-litre scale, providing a cell density of 7.3 g l(-1), from which 45 g of the novel poly(3HPTB-co-3HPTHx-co-3HPTO) were isolated. The chemical structures of the poly(3HPTA)s were identified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, elemental sulfur analysis, partial pyrolysis and detailed mass spectrometric analysis, exhibiting 3HPTB, 3HPTHx and 3HPTO as constituents. These novel, hitherto undescribed, constituents of PHAs were randomly distributed in the co-polyesters.