| 1. |
- Valk, Laura C., et al.
(författare)
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Galacturonate Metabolism in Anaerobic Chemostat Enrichment Cultures : Combined Fermentation and Acetogenesis by the Dominant sp nov "Candidatus Galacturonibacter soehngenii"
- 2018
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Ingår i: Applied and Environmental Microbiology. - : American Society for Microbiology. - 0099-2240 .- 1098-5336. ; 84:18
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Agricultural residues such as sugar beet pulp and citrus peel are rich in pectin, which contains galacturonic acid as a main monomer. Pectin-rich residues are underexploited as feedstocks for production of bulk chemicals or biofuels. The anaerobic, fermentative conversion of D-galacturonate in anaerobic chemostat enrichment cultures provides valuable information toward valorization of these pectin-rich feedstocks. Replicate anaerobic chemostat enrichments, with D-galacturonate as the sole limiting carbon source and inoculum from cow rumen content and rotting orange peels, yielded stable microbial communities, which were dominated by a novel Lachnospiraceae species, for which the name "Candidatus Galacturonibacter soehngenii" was proposed. Acetate was the dominant catabolic product, with formate and H-2 as coproducts. The observed molar ratio of acetate and the combined amounts of H-2 and formate deviated significantly from 1, which suggested that some of the hydrogen and CO2 formed during D-galacturonate fermentation was converted into acetate via the Wood-Ljungdahl acetogenesis pathway. Indeed, metagenomic analysis of the enrichment cultures indicated that the genome of "Candidatus G. soehngenii" encoded enzymes of the adapted Entner-Doudoroff pathway for D-galacturonate metabolism as well as enzymes of the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway. The simultaneous operation of these pathways may provide a selective advantage under D-galacturonate-limited conditions by enabling a higher specific ATP production rate and lower residual D-galacturonate concentration than would be possible with a strictly fermentative metabolism of this carbon and energy source. IMPORTANCE This study on D-galacturonate metabolism by open, mixed-culture enrichments under anaerobic, D-galacturonate-limited chemostat conditions shows a stable and efficient fermentation of D-galacturonate into acetate as the dominant organic fermentation product. This fermentation stoichiometry and population analyses provide a valuable baseline for interpretation of the conversion of pectin-rich agricultural feedstocks by mixed microbial cultures. Moreover, the results of this study provide a reference for studies on the microbial metabolism of D-galacturonate under different cultivation regimes.
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| 2. |
- Bracher, J. M., et al.
(författare)
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Laboratory evolution of a biotin-requiring Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain for full biotin prototrophy and identification of causal mutations
- 2017
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Ingår i: Applied and Environmental Microbiology. - : American Society for Microbiology. - 0099-2240 .- 1098-5336. ; 83:16
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Biotin prototrophy is a rare, incompletely understood, and industrially relevant characteristic of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains. The genome of the haploid laboratory strain CEN.PK113-7D contains a full complement of biotin biosynthesis genes, but its growth in biotin-free synthetic medium is extremely slow (specific growth rate [μ] ≈ 0.01 h-1). Four independent evolution experiments in repeated batch cultures and accelerostats yielded strains whose growth rates (μ ≤ 0.36 h-1) in biotin-free and biotin-supplemented media were similar. Whole-genome resequencing of these evolved strains revealed up to 40-fold amplification of BIO1, which encodes pimeloyl-coenzyme A (CoA) synthetase. The additional copies of BIO1 were found on different chromosomes, and its amplification coincided with substantial chromosomal rearrangements. A key role of this gene amplification was confirmed by overexpression of BIO1 in strain CEN.PK113-7D, which enabled growth in biotin-free medium (μ= 0.15 h-1). Mutations in the membrane transporter genes TPO1 and/or PDR12 were found in several of the evolved strains. Deletion of TPO1 and PDR12 in a BIO1-overexpressing strain increased its specific growth rate to 0.25 h-1. The effects of null mutations in these genes, which have not been previously associated with biotin metabolism, were nonadditive. This study demonstrates that S. cerevisiae strains that carry the basic genetic information for biotin synthesis can be evolved for full biotin prototrophy and identifies new targets for engineering biotin prototrophy into laboratory and industrial strains of this yeast.
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| 3. |
- Cueto-Rojas, Hugo F., et al.
(författare)
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Membrane potential independent transport of NH3 in the absence of ammonium permeases in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
- 2017
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Ingår i: BMC Systems Biology. - : BIOMED CENTRAL LTD. - 1752-0509. ; 11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Microbial production of nitrogen containing compounds requires a high uptake flux and assimilation of the N-source (commonly ammonium), which is generally coupled with ATP consumption and negatively influences the product yield. In the industrial workhorse Saccharomyces cerevisiae, ammonium (NH4+) uptake is facilitated by ammonium permeases (Mep1, Mep2 and Mep3), which transport the NH4+ ion, resulting in ATP expenditure to maintain the intracellular charge balance and pH by proton export using the plasma membrane-bound H+ -ATPase. Results: To decrease the ATP costs for nitrogen assimilation, the Mep genes were removed, resulting in a strain unable to uptake the NH4+ ion. Subsequent analysis revealed that growth of this Delta mep strain was dependent on the extracellular NH3 concentrations. Metabolomic analysis revealed a significantly higher intracellular NHX concentration (3.3-fold) in the Delta mep strain than in the reference strain. Further proteomic analysis revealed significant up-regulation of vacuolar proteases and genes involved in various stress responses. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the uncharged species, NH3, is able to diffuse into the cell. The measured intracellular/extracellular NHX ratios under aerobic nitrogen-limiting conditions were consistent with this hypothesis when NHx compartmentalization was considered. On the other hand, proteomic analysis indicated a more pronounced N-starvation stress response in the Delta mep strain than in the reference strain, which suggests that the lower biomass yield of the Delta mep strain was related to higher turnover rates of biomass components.
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| 4. |
- Gabba, M., et al.
(författare)
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Weak Acid Permeation in Synthetic Lipid Vesicles and Across the Yeast Plasma Membrane
- 2020
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Ingår i: Biophysical Journal. - : Biophysical Society. - 0006-3495 .- 1542-0086. ; 118:2, s. 422-434
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present a fluorescence-based approach for determination of the permeability of small molecules across the membranes of lipid vesicles and living cells. With properly designed experiments, the method allows us to assess the membrane physical properties both in vitro and in vivo. We find that the permeability of weak acids increases in the order of benzoic > acetic > formic > lactic, both in synthetic lipid vesicles and the plasma membrane of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, but the permeability is much lower in yeast (one to two orders of magnitude). We observe a relation between the molecule permeability and the saturation of the lipid acyl chain (i.e., lipid packing) in the synthetic lipid vesicles. By analyzing wild-type yeast and a manifold knockout strain lacking all putative lactic acid transporters, we conclude that the yeast plasma membrane is impermeable to lactic acid on timescales up to ∼2.5 h.
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| 5. |
- Marques, Wesley Leoricy, et al.
(författare)
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Elimination of sucrose transport and hydrolysis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae : a platform strain for engineering sucrose metabolism
- 2017
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Ingår i: FEMS yeast research (Print). - : Oxford University Press. - 1567-1356 .- 1567-1364. ; 17:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Many relevant options to improve efficacy and kinetics of sucrose metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and, thereby, the economics of sucrose-based processes remain to be investigated. An essential first step is to identify all native sucrose-hydrolysing enzymes and sucrose transporters in this yeast, including those that can be activated by suppressor mutations in sucrose-negative strains. A strain in which all known sucrose-transporter genes (MAL11, MAL21, MAL31, MPH2, MPH3) were deleted did not grow on sucrose after 2 months of incubation. In contrast, a strain with deletions in genes encoding sucrose-hydrolysing enzymes (SUC2, MAL12, MAL22, MAL32) still grew on sucrose. Its specific growth rate increased from 0.08 to 0.25 h(-1) after sequential batch cultivation. This increase was accompanied by a 3-fold increase of in vitro sucrose-hydrolysis and isomaltase activities, as well as by a 3- to 5-fold upregulation of the isomaltase-encoding genes IMA1 and IMA5. One-step Cas9-mediated deletion of all isomaltase-encoding genes (IMA1-5) completely abolished sucrose hydrolysis. Even after 2 months of incubation, the resulting strain did not grow on sucrose. This sucrose-negative strain can be used as a platform to test metabolic engineering strategies and for fundamental studies into sucrose hydrolysis or transport.
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| 6. |
- Papapetridis, Ioannis, et al.
(författare)
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Metabolic engineering strategies for optimizing acetate reduction, ethanol yield and osmotolerance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
- 2017
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Ingår i: Biotechnology for Biofuels. - : BioMed Central. - 1754-6834. ; 10:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Glycerol, whose formation contributes to cellular redox balancing and osmoregulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is an important by-product of yeast-based bioethanol production. Replacing the glycerol pathway by an engineered pathway for NAD(+)-dependent acetate reduction has been shown to improve ethanol yields and contribute to detoxification of acetate-containing media. However, the osmosensitivity of glycerol non-producing strains limits their applicability in high-osmolarity industrial processes. This study explores engineering strategies for minimizing glycerol production by acetate-reducing strains, while retaining osmotolerance. Results: GPD2 encodes one of two S. cerevisiae isoenzymes of NAD(+)-dependent glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PDH). Its deletion in an acetate-reducing strain yielded a fourfold lower glycerol production in anaerobic, low-osmolarity cultures but hardly affected glycerol production at high osmolarity. Replacement of both native G3PDHs by an archaeal NADP(+)-preferring enzyme, combined with deletion of ALD6, yielded an acetate-reducing strain the phenotype of which resembled that of a glycerol-negative gpd1 Delta gpd2 Delta strain in low-osmolarity cultures. This strain grew anaerobically at high osmolarity (1 mol L-1 glucose), while consuming acetate and producing virtually no extracellular glycerol. Its ethanol yield in high-osmolarity cultures was 13% higher than that of an acetate-reducing strain expressing the native glycerol pathway. Conclusions: Deletion of GPD2 provides an attractive strategy for improving product yields of acetate-reducing S. cerevisiae strains in low, but not in high-osmolarity media. Replacement of the native yeast G3PDHs by a heterologous NADP(+)-preferring enzyme, combined with deletion of ALD6, virtually eliminated glycerol production in high-osmolarity cultures while enabling efficient reduction of acetate to ethanol. After further optimization of growth kinetics, this strategy for uncoupling the roles of glycerol formation in redox homeostasis and osmotolerance can be applicable for improving performance of industrial strains in high-gravity acetate-containing processes.
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| 7. |
- Verhoeven, Maarten D., et al.
(författare)
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Mutations in PMR1 stimulate xylose isomerase activity and anaerobic growth on xylose of engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae by influencing manganese homeostasis
- 2017
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 2045-2322. ; 7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Combined overexpression of xylulokinase, pentose-phosphate-pathway enzymes and a heterologous xylose isomerase (XI) is required but insufficient for anaerobic growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae on d-xylose. Single-step Cas9-assisted implementation of these modifications yielded a yeast strain expressing Piromyces XI that showed fast aerobic growth on d-xylose. However, anaerobic growth required a 12-day adaptation period. Xylose-adapted cultures carried mutations in PMR1, encoding a Golgi Ca2+/Mn2+ ATPase. Deleting PMR1 in the parental XI-expressing strain enabled instantaneous anaerobic growth on d-xylose. In pmr1 strains, intracellular Mn2+ concentrations were much higher than in the parental strain. XI activity assays in cell extracts and reconstitution experiments with purified XI apoenzyme showed superior enzyme kinetics with Mn2+ relative to other divalent metal ions. This study indicates engineering of metal homeostasis as a relevant approach for optimization of metabolic pathways involving metal-dependent enzymes. Specifically, it identifies metal interactions of heterologous XIs as an underexplored aspect of engineering xylose metabolism in yeast.
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| 8. |
- Beatriz Badia, Mariana, et al.
(författare)
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Specific Arabidopsis thaliana malic enzyme isoforms can provide anaplerotic pyruvate carboxylation function in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
- 2017
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Ingår i: The FEBS Journal. - : WILEY. - 1742-464X .- 1742-4658. ; 284:4, s. 654-665
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- NAD(P)-malic enzyme (NAD(P)-ME) catalyzes the reversible oxidative decarboxylation of malate to pyruvate, CO2, and NAD(P)H and is present as a multigene family in Arabidopsis thaliana. The carboxylation reaction catalyzed by purified recombinant Arabidopsis NADP-ME proteins is faster than those reported for other animal or plant isoforms. In contrast, no carboxylation activity could be detected in vitro for the NAD-dependent counterparts. In order to further investigate their putative carboxylating role in vivo, Arabidopsis NAD(P)-ME isoforms, as well as the NADP-ME2del2 (with a decreased ability to carboxylate pyruvate) and NADP-ME2R115A (lacking fumarate activation) versions, were functionally expressed in the cytosol of pyruvate carboxylase-negative (Pyc(-)) Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains. The heterologous expression of NADP-ME1, NADP-ME2 (and its mutant proteins), and NADP-ME3 restored the growth of Pyc(-) S. cerevisiae on glucose, and this capacity was dependent on the availability of CO2. On the other hand, NADP-ME4, NAD-ME1, and NAD-ME2 could not rescue the Pyc(-) strains from C-4 auxotrophy. NADP-ME carboxylation activity could be measured in leaf crude extracts of knockout and over-expressing Arabidopsis lines with modified levels of NADP-ME, where this activity was correlated with the amount of NADP-ME2 transcript. These results indicate that specific A. thaliana NADP-ME isoforms are able to play an anaplerotic role in vivo and provide a basis for the study on the carboxylating activity of NADP-ME, which may contribute to the synthesis of C-4 compounds and redox shuttling in plant cells.
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| 9. |
- Björlenius, Berndt, 1963-
(författare)
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Pharmaceuticals – improved removal from municipal wastewater and their occurrence in the Baltic Sea
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Pharmaceutical residues are found in the environment due to extensive use in human and veterinary medicine. The active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) have a potential impact in non-target organisms. Municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are not designed to remove APIs.In this thesis, two related matters are addressed 1) evaluation of advanced treatment to remove APIs from municipal wastewater and 2) the prevalence and degradation of APIs in the Baltic Sea.A stationary pilot plant with nanofiltration (NF) and a mobile pilot plant with activated carbon and ozonation were designed to study the removal of APIs at four WWTPs. By NF, removal reached 90%, but the retentate needed further treatment. A predictive model of the rejection of APIs by NF was developed based on the variables: polarizability, globularity, ratio hydrophobic to polar water accessible surface and charge. The pilot plants with granular and powdered activated carbon (GAC) and (PAC) removed more than 95% of the APIs. Screening of activated carbon products was essential, because of a broad variation in adsorption capacity. Recirculation of PAC or longer contact time, increased the removal of APIs. Ozonation with 5-7 g/m3 ozone resulted in 87-95% removal of APIs. Elevated activity and transcription of biomarkers indicated presence of xenobiotics in regular effluent. Chemical analysis of APIs, together with analysis of biomarkers, were valuable and showed that GAC-filtration and ozonation can be implemented to remove APIs in WWTPs, with decreased biomarker responses.Sampling of the Baltic Sea showed presence of APIs in 41 out of 43 locations. A developed grey box model predicted concentration and half-life of carbamazepine in the Baltic Sea to be 1.8 ng/L and 1300 d respectively.In conclusion, APIs were removed to 95% by GAC or PAC treatment. The additional treatment resulted in lower biomarker responses than today and some APIs were shown to be widespread in the aquatic environment.
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| 10. |
- Bracher, J. M., et al.
(författare)
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The Penicillium chrysogenum transporter PcAraT enables high-affinity, glucose-insensitive l-arabinose transport in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
- 2018
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Ingår i: Biotechnology for Biofuels. - : BioMed Central. - 1754-6834. ; 11:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: l-Arabinose occurs at economically relevant levels in lignocellulosic hydrolysates. Its low-affinity uptake via the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Gal2 galactose transporter is inhibited by d-glucose. Especially at low concentrations of l-arabinose, uptake is an important rate-controlling step in the complete conversion of these feedstocks by engineered pentose-metabolizing S. cerevisiae strains. Results: Chemostat-based transcriptome analysis yielded 16 putative sugar transporter genes in the filamentous fungus Penicillium chrysogenum whose transcript levels were at least threefold higher in l-arabinose-limited cultures than in d-glucose-limited and ethanol-limited cultures. Of five genes, that encoded putative transport proteins and showed an over 30-fold higher transcript level in l-arabinose-grown cultures compared to d-glucose-grown cultures, only one (Pc20g01790) restored growth on l-arabinose upon expression in an engineered l-arabinose-fermenting S. cerevisiae strain in which the endogenous l-arabinose transporter, GAL2, had been deleted. Sugar transport assays indicated that this fungal transporter, designated as PcAraT, is a high-affinity (K m = 0.13 mM), high-specificity l-arabinose-proton symporter that does not transport d-xylose or d-glucose. An l-arabinose-metabolizing S. cerevisiae strain in which GAL2 was replaced by PcaraT showed 450-fold lower residual substrate concentrations in l-arabinose-limited chemostat cultures than a congenic strain in which l-arabinose import depended on Gal2 (4.2 × 10-3 and 1.8 g L-1, respectively). Inhibition of l-arabinose transport by the most abundant sugars in hydrolysates, d-glucose and d-xylose was far less pronounced than observed with Gal2. Expression of PcAraT in a hexose-phosphorylation-deficient, l-arabinose-metabolizing S. cerevisiae strain enabled growth in media supplemented with both 20 g L-1 l-arabinose and 20 g L-1 d-glucose, which completely inhibited growth of a congenic strain in the same condition that depended on l-arabinose transport via Gal2. Conclusion: Its high affinity and specificity for l-arabinose, combined with limited sensitivity to inhibition by d-glucose and d-xylose, make PcAraT a valuable transporter for application in metabolic engineering strategies aimed at engineering S. cerevisiae strains for efficient conversion of lignocellulosic hydrolysates.
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