Project description:Corynebacterium glutamicum can survive by using ferulic acid as the sole carbon source. In this study, we assessed the response of C.glutamicum to ferulic acid stress by means of a global transcriptional response analysis. The transcriptional data showed that several genes involved in degradation of ferulic acid were affected. Moreover, several genes related to the stress response; protein protection or degradation and DNA repair; replication, transcription and translation; and the cell envelope were differentially expressed. Deletion of the katA or sigE gene in C. glutamicum resulted in a decrease in cell viability under ferulic acid stress. These insights will facilitate further engineering of model industrial strains, with enhanced tolerance to ferulic acid to enable easy production of biofuels from lignocellulose.
Project description:Improved Fermentative Production of Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid via the Putrescine Route: Systems Metabolic Engineering for Production From Glucose, Amino Sugars, and Xylose
Project description:The dicarboxylic acid glutarate is gaining attention in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry as promising building-block. Synthesis of glutarate via microbial fermentation is a desirable aim which will allow the production of biopolymers avoiding fossil raw materials. Here, by rational metabolic engineering of the biofactory microorganism Corynebacterium glutamicum the fermentative production of glutarate from glucose was established. Modifications focused on increase glucose consumption and reduce by-products formation together with the heterologous overexpression of the L-lysine decarboxylase, putrescine transaminase and putrescine dehydrogenase genes from E. coli in the L-lysine producer GRLys1 allowed production the glutarate precursor 5-aminovalerate. Additional heterologous overexpression of 5-aminovalerate amino transferase and glutarate-semialdehyde dehydrogenase genes from C. glutamicum and three Pseudomonas species enabled glutarate synthesis from glucose. By coupling glutarate production with the glutamate synthesis of C. glutamicum glutarate titer improved 10%. The final strain was tested in a glucose-based fed-batch fermentation
Project description:In summary, we have identified and characterized FtsR as a transcriptional activator of the essential cell division protein FtsZ in C. glutamicum, providing a novel regulatory player in the process of cell division.
Project description:The production of isobutanol in microorganisms has recently been achieved by harnessing the highly active 2-keto acid pathways. Since these 2-keto acids are precursors of amino acids, we aimed to construct an isobutanol production platform in Corynebacterium glutamicum, a well-known amino-acid-producing microorganism. Analysis of this host's sensitivity to isobutanol toxicity revealed that C. glutamicum shows an increased tolerance to isobutanol relative to Escherichia coli. Overexpression of alsS of Bacillus subtilis, ilvC and ilvD of C. glutamicum, kivd of Lactococcus lactis, and a native alcohol dehydrogenase, adhA, led to the production of 2.6 g/L isobutanol and 0.4 g/L 3-methyl-1-butanol in 48 h. In addition, other higher chain alcohols such as 1-propanol, 2-methyl-1-butanol, 1-butanol, and 2-phenylethanol were also detected as byproducts. Using longer-term batch cultures, isobutanol titers reached 4.0 g/L after 96 h with wild-type C. glutamicum as a host. Upon the inactivation of several genes to direct more carbon through the isobutanol pathway, we increased production by approximately 25% to 4.9 g/L isobutanol in a pycldh background. These results show promise in engineering C. glutamicum for higher chain alcohol production using the 2-keto acid pathways.
Project description:We have reported a transcription profile of an adapted Corynebacterium glutamicum that showed enhanced oxidative stress resistance. To construct an artificial oxidative stress-resistant strain, gene clusters in the β-ketoadipate pathway, which were up-regulated in the adapted strain, were artificially expressed in the wild-type C. glutamicum. The wild-type strain was unable to grow under 2 mM H2O2 containing minimal medium, while the strains expressing pca gene clusters restored growth under the same medium, and the pcaHGBC expression showed the most significant effect among the gene clusters. The expressions of pca gene clusters also enabled the wild-type to increase its resistance against oxidative stressors, such as diamide and cumene hydroperoxide, as well as H2O2. The oxidative stress tolerance of the strain was correlated to the reactive oxygen species (ROS)-scavenging activity of the cell extract. The reason for the enhanced oxidative stress-resistance of C. glutamicum and its applications on the synthetic strain development are discussed.