Production and characterization of collagenase from a new Amazonian Bacillus cereus strain.

A new collagenase producing a strain of Bacillus cereus, isolated from the pollen of a bee of Amazon Region (Brazil), had its enzyme characterized and the production medium composition and culture conditions enhanced. A two-level design on three factors, namely initial medium pH, the substrate (gelatin) concentration and agitation intensity, allowed identifying the first two variables as the most significant ones, while a central composite design (CCD) was subsequently used to identify their optimal levels. Statistics highlighted maximized collagenolytic activity when substrate concentration and initial medium pH were selected at their highest levels (positive effects), whereas agitation intensity at the lowest (negative effect). Triplicate runs performed under predicted optimal conditions (pH 7.8 and 1.7% gelatin concentration) yielded a collagenolytic activity (305.39 ± 5.15 U) 4.6- to 15-fold those obtained with the preliminary design. The enzyme displayed optimum activity at 45 °C and pH 7.2, was stable over wide ranges of pH values and temperatures (7.2-11.0 and 25-50 °C, respectively) and was strongly inhibited by 10 mM phenylmethylsulphonyl fluoride. The zymogram showed two prominent bands at 50 and 76 kDa. These results are a first attempt to elucidate the features of this new collagenase, its production conditions, and possible scale-up.

Gene cloning and expression of the l-asparaginase from Bacillus cereus BDRD-ST26 in Bacillus subtilis WB600.

l-Asparaginase (ASN; EC 3.5.1.1) shows great commercial value because of its ability to reduce toxic levels of acrylamide in foods. To achieve high-efficiency production of l-asparaginase, an open reading frame of 978 bp encoding asparaginase (BcA) was amplified from Bacillus cereus BDRD-ST26, followed by its expression in Bacillus subtilis WB600, with the highest yield of 374.9 U/ml obtained using an amyE-signal peptide. A four-step purification protocol was used to purify BcA, resulting in a 15.1-fold increase in purification yield, with a specific activity of purified BcA at 550.8 U/mg and accompanied by detection of minimal l-glutaminase activity. Maximum BcA activity was detected at 50°C and pH 9.0 in 20 mM Tris-HCl buffer, with a half-life at 50°C of 17.35 min and a Km and kcat of 9.38 mM and 63.6 s-1, respectively. Compared with untreated potato strips, 72% acrylamide (2.35 mg/kg) was removed from potato strips pretreated with BcA. These results indicated that this novel BcA variant represents a potential candidate for application in the food-processing industry.

Recent research progress with phospholipase C from Bacillus cereus.

Phospholipase C (PLC) catalyzes the hydrolysis of phospholipids to produce phosphate monoesters and diacylglycerol. It has many applications in the enzymatic degumming of plant oils. PLC Bc , a bacterial PLC from Bacillus cereus, is an optimal choice for this activity in terms of its wide substrate spectrum, high activity, and approved safety. Unfortunately, its large-scale production and reliable high-throughput screening of PLC Bc remain challenging. Herein, we summarize the research progress regarding PLC Bc with emphasis on the screening methods, expression systems, catalytic mechanisms and inhibitor of PLC Bc . This review hopefully will inspire new achievements in related areas, to promote the sustainable development of PLC Bc and its application.

Complementary screening, identification and application of a novel class II 5-enopyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase from Bacillus cereus.

A novel aroA gene encoding 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase from Bacillus cereus was identified and overexpressed by genomic library construction and complementary screening. The enzyme was then purified to homogeneity. We also transformed the aroA ( B. cereus ) gene into Arabidopsis thaliana by a floral dip method, and demonstrated that transgenic A. thaliana plants exhibited significant glyphosate resistance compared with the wild type. These results strongly suggested that the strategy was highly efficient and advantageous for rapidly cloning aroA genes from microorganisms in natural environments.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of a phosphopentomutase from Bacillus cereus.

Phosphopentomutases (PPMs) interconvert D-ribose 5-phosphate and alpha-D-ribose 1-phosphate to link glucose and nucleotide metabolism. PPM from Bacillus cereus was overexpressed in Escherichia coli, purified to homogeneity and crystallized. Bacterial PPMs are predicted to contain a di-metal reaction center, but the catalytically relevant metal has not previously been identified. Sparse-matrix crystallization screening was performed in the presence or absence of 50 mM MnCl(2). This strategy resulted in the formation of two crystal forms from two chemically distinct conditions. The crystals that formed with 50 mM MnCl(2) were more easily manipulated and diffracted to higher resolution. These results suggest that even if the catalytically relevant metal is not known, the crystallization of putative metalloproteins may still benefit from supplementation of the crystallization screens with potential catalytic metals.

Positively cooperative binding of zinc ions to Bacillus cereus 569/H/9 beta-lactamase II suggests that the binuclear enzyme is the only relevant form for catalysis.

Metallo-beta-lactamases catalyze the hydrolysis of most beta-lactam antibiotics and hence represent a major clinical concern. While enzymes belonging to subclass B1 have been shown to display maximum activity as dizinc species, the actual metal-to-protein stoichiometry and the affinity for zinc are not clear. We have further investigated the process of metal binding to the beta-lactamase II from Bacillus cereus 569/H/9 (known as BcII). Zinc binding was monitored using complementary biophysical techniques, including circular dichroism in the far-UV, enzymatic activity measurements, competition with a chromophoric chelator, mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance. Most noticeably, mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance experiments, together with catalytic activity measurements, demonstrate that two zinc ions bind cooperatively to the enzyme active site (with K(1)/K(2)> or =5) and, hence, that catalysis is associated with the dizinc enzyme species only. Furthermore, competitive experiments with the chromophoric chelator Mag-Fura-2 indicates K(2)<80 nM. This contrasts with cadmium binding, which is clearly a noncooperative process with the mono form being the only species significantly populated in the presence of 1 molar equivalent of Cd(II). Interestingly, optical measurements reveal that although the apo and dizinc species exhibit undistinguishable tertiary structural organizations, the metal-depleted enzyme shows a significant decrease in its alpha-helical content, presumably associated with enhanced flexibility.

A phosphate-stimulated NAD(P)+-dependent glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase in Bacillus cereus.

Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), a key enzyme of central carbon metabolism, was studied in a Bacillus cereus strain isolated from the phosphate layer from Morocco. Enzymatic assays with cell extracts demonstrated that when grown on Luria-Bertani (LB) medium, B. cereus contains a major NAD+-dependent GAPDH activity and only traces of NADP+-dependent activity, but in cells grown on Pi-supplemented LB medium a strong increase of the NADP+-dependent activity, that became predominant, occurs concurrently with a GAPDH protein increase. Our results show that B. cereus possesses two GAPDH activities, namely NAD+- and NADP+-dependent, catalyzed by two enzymes with distinct coenzyme specificity and different phosphate regulation patterns. The finding of a phosphate-stimulated NADP+-dependent GAPDH in B. cereus indicates that this bacterium can modulate its primary carbon metabolism according to phosphate availability.

Insights into the mechanism of catalysis by the P-C bond-cleaving enzyme phosphonoacetaldehyde hydrolase derived from gene sequence analysis and mutagenesis.

Phosphonoacetaldehyde hydrolase (phosphonatase) catalyzes the hydrolysis of phosphonoacetaldehyde to acetaldehyde and inorganic phosphate. In this study, the genes encoding phosphonatase in Bacillus cereus and in Salmonella typhimurium were cloned for high-level expression in Escherichia coli. The kinetic properties of the purified, recombinant phosphonatases were determined. The Schiff base mechanism known to operate in the B. cereus enzyme was verified for the S. typhimurium enzyme by phosphonoacetaldehyde-sodium borohydride-induced inactivation and by site-directed mutagenesis of the catalytic lysine 53. The protein sequence inferred from the B. cereus phosphonatase gene was determined, and this sequence was used along with that from the S. typhimurium phosphonatase gene sequence to search the primary sequence databases for possible structural homologues. We found that phosphonatase belongs to a novel family of hydrolases which appear to use a highly conserved active site aspartate residue in covalent catalysis. On the basis of this finding and the known stereochemical course of phosphonatase-catalyzed hydrolysis at phosphorus (retention), we propose a mechanism which involves Schiff base formation with lysine 53 followed by phosphoryl transfer to aspartate (at position 11 in the S. typhimurium enzyme and position 12 in the B. cereusphosphonatase) and last hydrolysis at the imine C(1) and acyl phosphate phosphorus.

Sensitivity of phospholipase C (Bacillus cereus) activity to lipid packing in sonicated lipid mixtures.

We have recently demonstrated that phospholipase C (PLC) activity on membranes decreases in the presence of membrane-active peptides such as alamethicin, gramicidin S, and melittin [Rao, N. M. (1992) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 182, 682-688]. Since these peptides affect lipid packing in the membrane and induce nonbilayer phases depending on the lipid composition, we tested for the sensitivity of PLC activity to lipid packing. We monitored PLC activities on four lipid systems which demonstrate a transition from the bilayer to the nonbilayer phase as a function of one of the components. The four model systems are (1) dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) and dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE); (2) DOPE, DOPC, and cholesterol; (3) DOPE and lysophosphatidylcholine; and (4) DOPC and gramicidin D. On all four lipid systems, the PLC activity was high for lipid in the bilayer phase and decreased as the phase changed to the nonbilayer phase. The phase changes were also monitored in PLC assay conditions on the four model systems by 31P NMR to confirm the observations made with PLC. These results suggest that the lipid in bilayer and nonbilayer phases was differentially susceptible to PLC; hence, PLC activity may be used to monitor isothermal phase transitions at physiological conditions.

Transfer of a chloroplast-bound precursor protein into the translocation apparatus is impaired after phospholipase C treatment.

We have studied the influence of phospholipase C treatment of intact purified chloroplast on the translocation of a plastid destined precursor protein. Under standard import conditions, i.e. in the light in the presence of 2 mM ATP translocation was completely abolished but binding was observed at slightly elevated levels. An experimental regime which allowed binding but not import of the precursor protein, i.e. in the dark in the presence of 10 microM ATP, demonstrated that translocation intermediates, normally detected at this stage, were missing in phospholipase treated chloroplasts. The precursor was completely sensitive to protease treatment, indicating that the transfer of the precursor from the receptor to the import apparatus was blocked by phospholipase treatment.

Phospholipids chiral at phosphorus. Stereochemical mechanism for the formation of inositol 1-phosphate catalyzed by phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C.

The phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) from mammalian sources catalyzes the simultaneous formation of both inositol 1,2-cyclic phosphate (IcP) and inositol 1-phosphate (IP). It has not been established whether the two products are formed in sequential or parallel reactions, even though the latter has been favored in previous reports. This problem was investigated by using a stereochemical approach. Diastereomers of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-(1D- [16O,17O]phosphoinositol) ([16O,17O]DPPI) and 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-(1D-thiophosphoinositol) (DPPsI) were synthesized, the latter with known configuration. Desulfurization of the DPPsI isomers of known configurations in H2(18)O gave [16O,18O]DPPI with known configurations, which allowed assignment of the configurations of [16O,17O]DPPI on the basis of 31P NMR analyses of silylated [16O,18O]DPPI and [16O,17O]DPPI (the inositol moiety was fully protected in this operation). (Rp)- and (Sp)-[16O,17O]DPPI were then converted into trans- and cis-[16O,17O]IcP, respectively, by PI-PLC from Bacillus cereus, which had been shown to proceed with inversion of configuration at phosphorus [Lin, G., Bennett, F. C., & Tsai, M.-D. (1990) Biochemistry 29, 2747-2757]. 31P NMR analysis was again used to differentiate the silylated products of the two isomers of IcP, which then permitted assignments of IcP with unknown configuration derived from transesterification of (Rp)- and (Sp)-[16O,17O]DPPI by bovine brain PI-PLC-beta 1. The results indicated inversion of configuration, in agreement with the steric course of the same reaction catalyzed by PI-PLCs from B. cereus and guinea pig uterus reported previously. For the steric course of the formation of inositol 1-phosphate catalyzed by PI-PLC, (Rp)- and (Sp)-[16O,17O]DPPI were hydrolyzed in H2(18)O to afford 1-[16O,17O,18O]IP, which was then converted to IcP chemically and analyzed by 31P NMR. The results indicated that both B. cereus PI-PLC and the PI-PLC-beta 1 from bovine brain catalyze conversion of DPPI to IP with overall retention of configuration at phosphorus. These results suggest that both bacterial and mammalian PI-PLCs catalyze the formation of IcP and IP by a sequential mechanism. However, the conversion of IcP to IP was detectable by 31P NMR only for the bacterial enzyme. Thus an alternative mechanism in which IcP and IP are formed by totally independent pathways, with formation of IP involving a covalent enzyme-phosphoinositol intermediate, cannot be ruled out for the mammalian enzyme. It was also found that both PI-PLCs displayed lack of stereo-specifically toward the 1,2-diacylglycerol moiety, which suggests that the hydrophobic part of phosphatidylinositol is not recognized by PI-PLC.

Phospholipase C-sensitive factor VII complexes in dog plasma.

We report the presence of a phospholipase c-sensitive activated factor VII complex in canine plasma after feeding a special diet. Low levels of complex was observed in the fasting state. The response to feeding in terms of activated factor VII varied markedly among the dogs investigated.

Phospholipids chiral at phosphorus. Stereochemical mechanism of reactions catalyzed by phosphatidylinositide-specific phospholipase C from Bacillus cereus and guinea pig uterus.

(Rp)- and (Sp)-1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-thiophosphoinositol (DPPsI) were synthesized as a mixture and their configurations assigned on the basis of the stereospecific hydrolysis catalyzed by phospholipase A2 (PLA2) from bee venom. PLA2 is known to be stereospecific to the Rp isomer of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-thiophosphocholine (DPPsC) and 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-thiophosphoethanolamine (DPPsE). Since the configurations of (Rp)- and (Sp)-DPPsI correspond to those of (Sp)- and (Rp)-DPPsC, respectively, due to a change in priority, the isomer specifically hydrolyzed by PLA2 was assigned to (Sp)-DPPsI. The DPPsI analogues were then used to probe the mechanism and to elucidate the steric course of the reaction catalyzed by phosphatidylinositide-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) from Bacillus cereus and for both isozyme I and isozyme II of PI-PLC from guinea pig uterus. It was found that the Rp isomer of DPPsI is the preferred substrate for all three PI-PLCs. Thus PI-PLC shows the same stereospecificity as phosphatidylcholine-specific PLC (PC-PLC), which prefers the Sp isomer of DPPsC. The ratio of the two products inositol 1,2-cyclic phosphorothioate (cIPs) and inositol phosphorothioate (IPs) was not significantly perturbed by the use of phosphorothioate analogue for all three PI-PLCs, which implies that IPs is not produced by enzyme-mediated ring opening of cIPs and supports a parallel pathway for the formation of both products. In order to elucidate the steric course of the cyclization reaction, exo and endo isomers of cIPs were synthesized and their absolute configurations at phosphorus were determined by nuclear magnetic resonance and other techniques. It was found that exo-cIPs is the product produced by all three PI-PLCs. Thus the steric course of the conversion DPPsI to cIPs catalyzed by all three PI-PLCs was inversion of configuration at phosphorus. These results taken together suggest that the reaction catalyzed by PI-PLC most likely proceeds via direct attack by the 2-OH group to generate the cyclic product, and parallelly by water to generate the noncyclic inositol phosphates, without involving a covalent enzyme-phosphoinositol intermediate.

Effect of metabisulphite on sporulation and alkaline phosphatase in Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus cereus.

The effect of metabisulphite on spore formation and alkaline phosphatase activity/production in Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus cereus was investigated both in liquid and semi-solid substrates. While supplementary nutrient broth (SNB) and sporulation medium (SM) were used as the liquid growth media, two brands of powdered milk were used as the food (semi-solid) substrates. Under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions, B. subtilis was more resistant to metabisulphite than B. cereus while the level of enzyme production and spores formed were generally higher under aerobic than anaerobic conditions. The metabisulphite concentrations required to inhibit spore production as well as alkaline phosphatase synthesis/activity were found to be relatively low and well within safety levels for human consumption. It is concluded that metabisulphite is an effective anti-sporulation agent and a recommendation for its general use in semi-solid and liquid foods is proposed.

The solubilization of tetrameric alkaline phosphatase from human liver and its conversion into various forms by phosphatidylinositol phospholipase C or proteolysis.

When membrane-bound human liver alkaline phosphatase was treated with a phosphatidylinositol (PI) phospholipase C obtained from Bacillus cereus, or with the proteases ficin and bromelain, the enzyme released was dimeric. Butanol extraction of the plasma membranes at pH 7.6 yielded a water-soluble, aggregated form that PI phospholipase C could also convert to dimers. When the membrane-bound enzyme was solubilized with a non-ionic detergent (Nonidet P-40), it had the Mr of a tetramer; this, too, was convertible to dimers with PI phospholipase C or a protease. Butanol extraction of whole liver tissue at pH 6.6 and subsequent purification yielded a dimeric enzyme on electrophoresis under nondenaturing conditions, whereas butanol extraction at pH values of 7.6 or above and subsequent purification by immunoaffinity chromatography yielded an enzyme with a native Mr twice that of the dimeric form. This high molecular weight form showed a single Coomassie-stained band (Mr = 83,000) on electrophoresis under denaturing conditions in sodium dodecyl sulfate, as did its PI phospholipase C cleaved product; this Mr was the same as that obtained with the enzyme purified from whole liver using butanol extraction at pH 6.6. These results are highly suggestive of the presence of a butanol-activated endogenous enzyme activity (possibly a phospholipase) that is optimally active at an acidic pH. Inhibition of this activity by maintaining an alkaline pH during extraction and purification results in a tetrameric enzyme. Alkaline phosphatase, whether released by phosphatidylinositol (PI) phospholipase C or protease treatment of intact plasma membranes, or purified in a dimeric form, would not adsorb to a hydrophobic medium. PI phospholipase C treatment of alkaline phosphatase solubilized from plasma membranes by either detergent or butanol at pH 7.6 yielded a dimeric enzyme that did not absorb to the hydrophobic medium, whereas the untreated preparations did. This adsorbed activity was readily released by detergent. Likewise, alkaline phosphatase solubilized from plasma membranes by butanol extraction at pH 7.6 would incorporate into phosphatidylcholine liposomes, whereas the enzyme released from the membranes by PI phospholipase C would not incorporate. The dimeric enzyme purified from a butanol extract of whole liver tissue carried out at pH 6.6 did not incorporate. We conclude that PI phospholipase C converts a hydrophobic tetramer of alkaline phosphatase into hydrophilic dimers through removal of the 1,2-diacylglycerol moiety of phosphatidylinositol. Based on these and others' findings, we devised a model of alkaline phosphatase's conversion into its various forms.

Attachment of human placental-type alkaline phosphatase via phosphatidylinositol to syncytiotrophoblast and tumour cell plasma membranes.

Phosphatidylinositol anchors human placental-type alkaline phosphatase (PLAP) to both syncytiotrophoblast and tumour cell plasma membranes. PLAP activity was released from isolated human placental syncytiotrophoblast plasma membranes and the surface of tumour cells with a phospholipase C from Bacillus cereus. This was a specific event, not the result of proteolysis or membrane perturbation, but the action of a phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C in the preparation. Soluble PLAP, released with B. cereus phospholipase C and purified by immunoaffinity chromatography, ran on SDS-PAGE as a 66-kDa band. This corresponded to intact PLAP molecules. The protease bromelain cleaved lower-molecular-mass PLAP (64 kDa) from the membranes. Flow cytometry demonstrated that B. cereus phospholipase C released human tumour cell membrane PLAP in preference to other cell-surface molecules. This was in contrast to the non-specific proteolytic action of bromelain or Clostridium perfringens phospholipase C, which had no effect on membrane PLAP expression. Radiolabelling of tumour cells with fatty acids indicated PLAP to be labelled with both [3H]myristic and [3H]palmitic acid. This fatty-acid--PLAP bond was sensitive to pH 10 hydroxylamine treatment indicating an O-ester linkage.

Effect of auranofin and other gold complexes on the activity of phospholipase C.

Auranofin (AF) is an orally active chrysotherapeutic agent used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, a self-perpetuating inflammatory disease. Because of reports suggesting that AF and other gold complexes can, under certain circumstances, exacerbate rheumatoid inflammatory lesions in humans and adjuvant arthritic rats and that phospholipase C (PLC) and phospholipase A2 activities are increased in rheumatoid patients, the effects of AF and a related gold complex on in situ mammalian and purified Bacillus cereus PLC were examined. Results of our studies show that 1) AF and triethylphosphine gold chloride (TEPG), an AF analog, stimulated PLC activity in the sonicate of RAW 264.7 macrophages; 2) AF and TEPG stimulated B. cereus PLC activity in a concentration-dependent manner, but the pattern of stimulation and concentrations of drugs required to stimulate the purified enzyme differ from those seen with the macrophage PLC; 3) metals (cobalt and zinc) and sulfhydryl reagents (N-ethylmaleimide, iodoacetic acid, and glutathione), tested at the same concentrations of AF that enhanced PLC activity, had no effect on the enzyme. These data suggest that stimulation of PLC may be a generic phenomenon since two divergent PLCs are affected by gold complexes. Additionally, these studies may provide one potential explanation for rheumatoid lesion flares seen in patients and animals on chrysotherapy.

Screening and isolation of penicillinase inhibitor, KA-107.

It is known that penicillin resistance of bacteria is mainly caused by the inactivation of penicillin by penicillinase derived from such strains. We have developed a screening procedure for penicillinase inhibitors. Several microorganisms were found to produce such inhibitors, and from the culture filtrate of Streptomyces gedanensis ATCC 4880 a penicillinase inhibitor, named KA-107, was isolated. The characteristics of this inhibitor were revealed by an in vitro test by using penicillinase derived from penicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, FS-1277. When KA-107 was used in combination with penicillin-G, ampicillin, d- or l-phenethicillin, the growth inhibitory activity of these penicillins was maintained.

Penicillin-binding component of Bacillus cereus.

(14)C-penicillin is irreversibly bound by Bacillus cereus 569. Incubation of penicillin-treated cells in a cell wall digestion medium results in solubilization of approximately 60% of the irreversibly bound lable. The extent of the solubilization is the same when cells are prepared by either a cold or 37 C treatment procedure. However, spheroplasts prepared by the cold treatment are leaky. When the resulting spheroplasts are incubated in supplemented medium, reduced rates and levels of penicillinase synthesis, relative to induced whole-cell controls, are observed. Spheroplasts from both cold and 37 C prepared cells exhibit this phenomena, although the spheroplasts from 37 C prepared cells synthesized approximately sixfold higher levels of penicillinase. The size distribution of the label solubilized during the preparation of spheroplasts was examined by using Bio Gel P-150 columns. Although no label appeared in the exclusion volume fractions when the cell wall digest of the 37 C treated cells was chromatographed, approximately 10% of the label from cold-treated cells did appear. These results suggest that the presence of irreversibly bound penicillin is required for the synthesis of induced levels of penicillinase and that the irreversibly bound penicillin can be solubilized as a labile complex with material which is excluded from BioGel P-150. It may be concluded that the penicillin-binding lipoprotein complex which has been previously observed is the penicillin-specific binding site. However, the location of this complex in relation to the cell membrane could not be determined.