The Physiological Responses of Escherichia coli Triggered by Phosphoribulokinase (PrkA) and Ribulose-1,5-Bisphosphate Carboxylase/Oxygenase (Rubisco).

Phosphoribulokinase (PrkA) and ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) have been proposed to create a heterologous Rubisco-based engineered pathway in Escherichia coli for in situ CO2 recycling. While the feasibility of a Rubisco-based engineered pathway has been shown, heterologous expressions of PrkA and Rubisco also induced physiological responses in E. coli that may compete with CO2 recycling. In this study, the metabolic shifts caused by PrkA and Rubisco were investigated in recombinant strains where ppc and pta genes (encodes phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and phosphate acetyltransferase, respectively) were deleted from E. coli MZLF (E. coli BL21(DE3) Δzwf, ΔldhA, Δfrd). It has been shown that the demand for ATP created by the expression of PrkA significantly enhanced the glucose consumptions of E. coli CC (MZLF Δppc) and E. coli CA (MZLF Δppc, Δpta). The accompanying metabolic shift is suggested to be the mgsA route (the methylglyoxal pathway) which results in the lactate production for reaching the redox balance. The overexpression of Rubisco not only enhanced glucose consumption but also bacterial growth. Instead of the mgsA route, the overproduction of the reducing power was balanced by the ethanol production. It is suggested that Rubisco induces a high demand for acetyl-CoA which is subsequently used by the glyoxylate shunt. Therefore, Rubisco can enhance bacterial growth. This study suggests that responses induced by the expression of PrkA and Rubisco will reach a new energy balance profile inside the cell. The new profile results in a new distribution of the carbon flow and thus carbons cannot be majorly directed to the Rubisco-based engineered pathway.

Manipulating ATP supply improves in situ CO2 recycling by reductive TCA cycle in engineered Escherichia coli.

The reductive tricarboxylic acid (rTCA) cycle was reconstructed in Escherichia coli by introducing pGETS118KAFS, where kor (encodes α-ketoglutarate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase), acl (encodes ATP-dependent citrate lyase), frd (encodes fumarate reductase), and sdh (encodes succinate dehydrogenase) were tandemly conjugated by the ordered gene assembly in Bacillus subtilis (OGAB). E. coli MZLF (E. coli BL21(DE3) Δzwf, Δldh, Δfrd) was employed so that the C-2/C-1 [(ethanol + acetate)/(formate + CO2)] ratio can be used to investigate the effectiveness of the recombinant rTCA for in situ CO2 recycling. It has been shown that supplying ATP through the energy pump (the EP), where formate donates electron to nitrate to form ATP, elevates the C-2/C-1 ratio from 1.03 ± 0.00 to 1.49 ± 0.02. Similarly, when ATP production is increased by the introduction of the heterologous ethanol production pathway (pLOI295), the C-2/C-1 ratio further increased to 1.79 ± 0.02. In summary, the ATP supply is a rate-limiting step for in situ CO2 recycling by the recombinant rTCA cycle. The decrease in C-1 is significant, but the destination of those recycled C-1 is yet to be determined.

Microwave assisted synthesis of negative-charge carbon dots with potential antibacterial activity against multi-drug resistant bacteria.

In this research, negative-charge carbon dots (CDs) were synthesized in one-step using a microwave and found to have potential antibacterial ability against multi-drug resistant bacteria. The CDs were synthesized by using citric acid and urea as precursors, and characterized by FT-IR, TEM and fluorescence spectrophotometry. The average size of CDs was about 2.5 nm, and the ζ potential was -11.06 mV. In the following antibacterial activity test, time-killing curve experiments and colony-forming assay were carried out to determine the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the CDs against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (VISA). The data showed the MBC of the CDs against MRSA is 2.5 mg mL-1, and the MIC of the CDs against MRSA is 0.63 mg mL-1; the MBC of the CDs against VISA is 1.25 mg mL-1, and the MIC of the CDs against VISA is 0.63 mg mL-1. The results demonstrated that the negative-charge CDs have potential against multi-drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), and may serve as alternatives for therapy in the future.

Exceeding the theoretical fermentation yield in mixotrophic Rubisco-based engineered Escherichia coli.

Rubisco-based engineered Escherichia coli MZLFB (E. coli BL21(DE3) Δzwf, Δldh, Δfrd) containing heterologous phosphoribulokinase (Prk) and Ribulose-1,5- bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) was constructed for the mixotrophic growth. However, in situ CO2 recycling was hindered by clogs of pyruvate during glucose metabolism, which consequently resulted in an insufficient regeneration of NAD+ through the pflB-mediated ethanol production. Recombinant plasmid pLOI295 (encodes pyruvate decarboxylase and alcohol dehydrogenase II, referred to as the Pdc-based carbon tap valve (CTV) for convenience) was introduced into E. coli MZLFB + CTV to bypass the pflB-mediated ethanol production. Results show that while the C-2/C-1 ratio (i.e., the molar ratio of ethanol and acetate to formate and total CO2) for parental strain MZLFB was 1.0 ±â€¯0.1, the C-2/C-1 for MZLFB + CTV increased to 1.6 ±â€¯0.1. This indicates that the Pdc-based CTV enhanced the performance of in situ CO2 recycling. By simultaneously utilizing glucose and CO2, the fermentation product yield of MZLFB + CTV exceeded the normal theoretical yield and reached 2.2 ±â€¯0.0 (mol/mol). In silico analysis shows that 61% of the glucose consumption went through the Rubisco-based engineered pathway when the CTV was equipped. Also shown are the average CO2 consumption rate of 55.3 mg L-1·h-1 and an average ethanol production rate of 144.8 mg L-1·h-1. The conversion of CO2 to ethanol through the Rubisco-based engineered pathway and the Pdc-based carbon tap valve is important for mixotrophic growth, since these two modules serve as the energy sink to achieve intracellular energy balance. Also, during mixotrophic growth, ATP production from a certain percentage (39% in this study) of the EMP pathway activity is needed for mixotrophic growth.

Bioreactors and in situ product recovery techniques for acetone-butanol-ethanol fermentation.

The microbial fermentation process is one of the sustainable and environment-friendly ways to produce 1-butanol and other bio-based chemicals. The success of the fermentation process greatly relies on the choice of bioreactors and the separation methods. In this review, the history and the performance of bioreactors for the acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation is discussed. The subject is then focused on in situ product recovery (ISPR) techniques, particularly for the integrated extraction-gas stripping. The usefulness of this promising hybrid ISPR device is acknowledged by its incorporation with batch, fed-batch and continuous processes to improve the performance of ABE fermentation.

The immune response of white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei and its susceptibility to Vibrio alginolyticus under nitrite stress.

The white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei were challenged with tryptic soy broth (TSB)-grown Vibrio alginolyticus at a dose of 1 x 10(6) colony-forming units (cfu) shrimp(-1), and then placed in water containing concentrations of nitrite-N at 0 (control), 1.12, 5.15, 11.06 and 21.40 mg l(-1). Mortality of shrimp in 5.15, 11.06 and 21.40 mg l(-1) was significantly higher than those in the control solution after 48-168 h. L. vannamei that had been exposed to control, 0.98, 4.94, 9.87 and 19.99 mg l(-1) nitrite-N for 96 h were examined for THC (total haemocyte count), phenoloxidase activity, and respiratory burst (release of superoxide anion). The THC and phenoloxidase activity decreased when the shrimp were exposed to 4.94, 9.87 and 19.99 mg l(-1) nitrite-N, whereas, the respiratory burst increased significantly at 9.87 and 19.99 mg l(-1) nitrite-N after 96 h. It is therefore suggested that nitrite in water caused a depression in the immune ability of L. vannamei and an increased susceptibility to V. alginolyticus infection, together with an increase of superoxide anion production, possibly to cytotoxic levels for the host.