Production and partial characterization of serine and metallo peptidases secreted by Aspergillus fumigatus Fresenius in submerged and solid state fermentation

Enzyme production varies in different fermentation systems. Enzyme expression in different fermentation systems yields important information for improving our understanding of enzymatic production induction. Comparative studies between solid-state fermentation (SSF) using agro-industrial waste wheat bran and submerged fermentation (SmF) using synthetic media were carried out to determinate the best parameters for peptidase production by the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus Fresen. Variables tested include: the concentration of carbon and protein nitrogen sources, the size of the inoculum, the pH of the media, temperature, and the length of the fermentation process. The best peptidase production during SSF was obtained after 96 hours using wheat bran at 30 ºC with an inoculum of 1 x 10(6) spores and yielded 1500 active units (UµmL). The best peptidase production using SmF was obtained after periods of 72 and 96 hours of fermentation in media containing 0.5% and 0.25% of casein, respectively, at a pH of 6.0 and at 30 ºC and yielded 40 UµmL. We also found examples of catabolite repression of peptidase production under SmF conditions. Biochemical characterization of the peptidases produced by both fermentative processes showed optimum activity at pH 8.0 and 50 ºC, and also showed that their proteolytic activity is modulated by surfactants. The enzymatic inhibition profile using phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) in SmF and SSF indicated that both fermentative processes produced a serine peptidase. Additionally, the inhibitory effect of the ethylene-diaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) chelating agent on the peptidase produced by SmF indicated that this fermentative process also produced a metallopeptidase.

Unexpected stress-reducing effect of PhaP, a poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) granule-associated protein, in Escherichia coli.

Phasins (PhaP) are proteins normally associated with granules of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), a biodegradable polymer accumulated by many bacteria as a reserve molecule. These proteins enhance growth and polymer production in natural and recombinant PHB producers. It has been shown that the production of PHB causes stress in recombinant Escherichia coli, revealed by an increase in the concentrations of several heat stress proteins. In this work, quantitative reverse transcription (qRT)-PCR analysis was used to study the effect of PHB accumulation, and that of PhaP from Azotobacter sp. strain FA8, on the expression of stress-related genes in PHB-producing E. coli. While PHB accumulation was found to increase the transcription of dnaK and ibpA, the expression of these genes and of groES, groEL, rpoH, dps, and yfiD was reduced, when PhaP was coexpressed, to levels even lower than those detected in the non-PHB-accumulating control. These results demonstrated the protective role of PhaP in PHB-synthesizing E. coli and linked the effects of the protein to the expression of stress-related genes, especially ibpA. The effect of PhaP was also analyzed in non-PHB-synthesizing strains, showing that expression of this heterologous protein has an unexpected protective effect in E. coli, under both normal and stress conditions, resulting in increased growth and higher resistance to both heat shock and superoxide stress by paraquat. In addition, PhaP expression was shown to reduce RpoH protein levels during heat shock, probably by reducing or titrating the levels of misfolded proteins.

Efecto biofertilizante del preparado: residuos vegetales - bacteria nativa diazótrofa, sobre las variables biométricas en plántulas de Rhapanus sativus / Biofertilizer effect of the prepared from vegetales wastes - diazotroph native bacterium on biometrics variables of Rhapanus sativus seedlings

El uso de bioinoculantes a base de microorganismos con potencial biofertilizante representa una alternativa económicamente viable y de producción limpia para el sector agrícola. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue evaluar el efecto biofertilizante de un preparado elaborado con residuos sólidos vegetales (RSV) procedentes del mercado y la bacteria nativa diazótrofa Azotobacter A15M2G. Se elaboraron biopreparados utilizando diferentes concentraciones de bacteria (106, 107 y 108 UFC) en un medio de cultivo obtenido a partir del 25% p/v de cada uno de los siguientes RSV: Brassica oleracea (repollo), Lactuca sativa (lechuga) y Allium fistulosum (cebollín). Los biopreparados fueron evaluados en plantas de rábano (Rhapanus sativus) en invernadero, utilizando un diseño estadístico completamente al azar de 5 tratamientos con 3 repeticiones: T1, control; T2, semillas pregerminadas tratadas con RSV al 25% p/v; T3, semillas pregerminadas con bioinoculante de 106 UFC; T4, semillas pregerminadas con bioinoculante de 107 UFC; T5, semillas pregerminadas con bioinoculante de 108 UFC. Se evaluó: número de hojas, área foliar, longitud de la planta, longitud de la raíz y peso seco de toda la planta (ensayos por triplicado). Se observó un incremento altamente significativo en peso seco para T5 (0,88 g) y T4 (1,10 g); y diferencias significativas en el área foliar, para los mismos tratamientos, con un valor superior a 2000 cm2. El biopreparado con bacterias nativas y RSV mejoró el crecimiento y desarrollo de las plantas de rábano, pudiéndose dar un valor agregado a estos residuos y de esta manera obtener un biofertilizante potencialmente utilizable en otros cultivos.

The use of bioinoculantes from microorganisms with biofertilizer potential, represents an economically viable alternative and of clean production for the agricultural sector. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of biofertilizer preparation obtained from vegetable solid waste (RSV) of the market and the native bacteria Azotobacter A15M2G diazotroph.Biological cultures were prepared using different inoculum concentrations, 106, 107 y 108 UFC in a culture medium obtained from 25% w / v of each of the following substrates: Brassica oleracea (cabbage), Lactuca sativa (lettuce) and Allium fistulosum (chives). The microbial inoculants were evaluated in radish plants (Rhapanus sativus) in greenhouse using a completely randomized design of 5 treatments with 3 replicates: T1, pre-germinated seeds without any treatment; T2, pre-germinated seeds treated with the dye waste vegetables 25% w / v; T3, pre-germinated seeds treated with bacterial concentration bioinoculants to 106 UFC; T4, pre-germinated seeds treated with bacterial concentration bioinoculants to 107 UFC, and T5, pre-germinated seeds treated with bacterial concentration bioinoculants to 108 UFC. Assessed variables were: number of leaves, leaf area, plant length, root length and dry weight of the entire plant (all assays in triplicate). The results showed a highly significant increase in dry weight, for T5 (0.88 g) and T4(1.10 g); and significant differences in leaf area for the same treatments, with a value greater than 2000 cm2, compared to others. The biopreparado from native bacteria and RSV improved the growth and development of the radish plants, being able to give a added value to these residues and to obtain a potentially usable biofertilizer in other cultures.

Effects of granule-associated protein PhaP on glycerol-dependent growth and polymer production in poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)-producing Escherichia coli.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are accumulated as intracellular granules by many bacteria under unfavorable conditions, enhancing their fitness and stress resistance. Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) is the most widespread and best-known PHA. Apart from the genes that catalyze polymer biosynthesis, natural PHA producers have several genes for proteins involved in granule formation and/or with regulatory functions, such as phasins, that have been shown to affect polymer synthesis. This study evaluates the effect of PhaP, a phasin, on bacterial growth and PHB accumulation from glycerol in bioreactor cultures of recombinant Escherichia coli carrying phaBAC from Azotobacter sp. strain FA8. Cells expressing phaP grew more, and accumulated more PHB, both using glucose and using glycerol as carbon sources. When cultures were grown in a bioreactor using glycerol, PhaP-bearing cells produced more polymer (2.6 times) and more biomass (1.9 times) than did those without the phasin. The effect of this protein on growth promotion and polymer accumulation is expected to be even greater in high-density cultures, such as those used in the industrial production of the polymer. The recombinant strain presented in this work has been successfully used for the production of PHB from glycerol in bioreactor studies, allowing the production of 7.9 g/liter of the polymer in a semisynthetic medium in 48-h batch cultures. The development of bacterial strains that can efficiently use this substrate can help to make the industrial production of PHAs economically feasible.

Genes involved in Sec-independent membrane targeting of hydrogenase in Azotobacter chroococcum.

Sec-independent translocation systems have been characterised in Escherichia coli and other bacteria and differ from the Sec-dependent system by transporting fully folded proteins using the transmembrane proton electrochemical gradient. Proteins transported by this system bear a twin-arginine motif (tat) in the N-terminal signal peptide and include several cofactor-containing proteins. Azotobacter chroococcum strain (MCD124) has a soluble hydrogenase, which exhibited low O(2)-dependent H(2) uptake, and a shift in the pH of the culture to a more alkaline range during growth. We show that the DNA region capable of complementing this strain contains the tatABC genes and that mutations in the tatA gene reproduced the soluble hydrogenase and the culture pH shift phenotypes. We also show that insertional mutation in the tatC gene at a position corresponding to its C-terminal region had no effect on hydrogenase activity, but induced the pH shift of the culture. Sequence and mutagenesis analyses of this genomic region suggest that these genes form an operon that does not contain a tatD-like gene. A mutation in hupZ of the main hup gene region, coding for a possible b-type cytochrome also yielded a soluble hydrogenase, but not the pH-shift phenotype.