Enhancing acetone production from H2 and CO2 using supplemental electron acceptors in an engineered Moorella thermoacetica.

Acetogens grow autotrophically and use hydrogen (H2) as the energy source to fix carbon dioxide (CO2). This feature can be applied to gas fermentation, contributing to a circular economy. A challenge is the gain of cellular energy from H2 oxidation, which is substantially low, especially when acetate formation coupled with ATP production is diverted to other chemicals in engineered strains. Indeed, an engineered strain of the thermophilic acetogen Moorella thermoacetica that produces acetone lost autotrophic growth on H2 and CO2. We aimed to recover autotrophic growth and enhance acetone production, in which ATP production was assumed to be a limiting factor, by supplementing with electron acceptors. Among the four selected electron acceptors, thiosulfate and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) enhanced both bacterial growth and acetone titers. DMSO was the most effective and was further analyzed. We showed that DMSO supplementation enhanced intracellular ATP levels, leading to increased acetone production. Although DMSO is an organic compound, it functions as an electron acceptor, not a carbon source. Thus, supplying electron acceptors is a potential strategy to complement the low ATP production caused by metabolic engineering and to improve chemical production from H2 and CO2.

Antibacterial Flavonoids from Medicinal Plants Covalently Inactivate Type III Protein Secretion Substrates.

Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs) have been historically used to treat bacterial infections. However, the molecules responsible for these anti-infective properties and their potential mechanisms of action have remained elusive. Using a high-throughput assay for type III protein secretion in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, we discovered that several TCMs can attenuate this key virulence pathway without affecting bacterial growth. Among the active TCMs, we discovered that baicalein, a specific flavonoid from Scutellaria baicalensis, targets S. Typhimurium pathogenicity island-1 (SPI-1) type III secretion system (T3SS) effectors and translocases to inhibit bacterial invasion of epithelial cells. Structurally related flavonoids present in other TCMs, such as quercetin, also inactivated the SPI-1 T3SS and attenuated S. Typhimurium invasion. Our results demonstrate that specific plant metabolites from TCMs can directly interfere with key bacterial virulence pathways and reveal a previously unappreciated mechanism of action for anti-infective medicinal plants.

Discovery of non-competitive thrombin inhibitor derived from competitive tryptase inhibitor skeleton: Shift in molecular recognition resulted from skeletal conversion of carboxylate into phosphonate.

A novel series of terminal and internal phosphonate esters based on our previously developed aryl carboxylate-type tryptase selective inhibitor 1 was synthesized. The potency of these synthesized compounds was assessed in vitro with an enzyme inhibition assay using three available serine proteases, that is, tryptase, trypsin, and thrombin. The internal phosphonate derivative 6 showed potent thrombin inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 1.0 µM, whereas it exhibited no or only weak tryptase and trypsin inhibition at 10 µM. The Lineweaver-Burk plot analysis indicates that the inhibition pattern of thrombin with 6 is non-competitive in spite of the fact that the lead carboxylate compound 1 is competitive inhibitor. Therefore, the skeletal conversion of the carboxylate into a phosphonate alters the mode of molecular recognition of these inhibitors by thrombin.