Application of multi-parameter flow cytometry using fluorescent probes to study substrate toxicity in the indene bioconversion

Development of a biomarker signature using grating-coupled fluorescence plasmonic microarray for diagnosis of MIS-C

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a rare but serious condition that can develop 4–6 weeks after a school age child becomes infected by SARS-CoV-2. To date, in the United States more than 8,862 cases of MIS-C have been identified and 72 deaths have occurred. This syndrome typically affects children between the ages of 5–13; 57% are Hispanic/Latino/Black/non-Hispanic, 61% of patients are males and 100% have either tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 or had direct contact with someone with COVID-19. Unfortunately, diagnosis of MIS-C is difficult, and delayed diagnosis can lead to cardiogenic shock, intensive care admission, and prolonged hospitalization. There is no validated biomarker for the rapid diagnosis of MIS-C. In this study, we used Grating-coupled Fluorescence Plasmonic (GCFP) microarray technology to develop biomarker signatures in pediatric salvia and serum samples from patients with MIS-C in the United States and Colombia. GCFP measures antibody-antigen interactions at individual regions of interest (ROIs) on a gold-coated diffraction grating sensor chip in a sandwich immunoassay to generate a fluorescent signal based on analyte presence within a sample. Using a microarray printer, we designed a first-generation biosensor chip with the capability of capturing 33 different analytes from 80 μL of sample (saliva or serum). Here, we show potential biomarker signatures in both saliva and serum samples in six patient cohorts. In saliva samples, we noted occasional analyte outliers on the chip within individual samples and were able to compare those samples to 16S RNA microbiome data. These comparisons indicate differences in relative abundance of oral pathogens within those patients. Microsphere Immunoassay (MIA) of immunoglobulin isotypes was also performed on serum samples and revealed MIS-C patients had several COVID antigen-specific immunoglobulins that were significantly higher than other cohorts, thus identifying potential new targets for the second-generation biosensor chip. MIA also identified additional biomarkers for our second-generation chip, verified biomarker signatures generated on the first-generation chip, and aided in second-generation chip optimization. Interestingly, MIS-C samples from the United States had a more diverse and robust signature than the Colombian samples, which was also illustrated in the MIA cytokine data. These observations identify new MIS-C biomarkers and biomarker signatures for each of the cohorts. Ultimately, these tools may represent a potential diagnostic tool for use in the rapid identification of MIS-C.

Enantioselective sulfoxidation using Streptomyces glaucescens GLA.0

Asymmetric oxidation of prochiral sulfides is a direct means for production of enantiopure sulfoxides which are important in organic synthesis and the pharmaceutical industry. In the present study, Streptomyces glaucescens GLA.0 was employed for stereoselective oxidation of prochiral sulfides. Growing cells selectively catalyzed the oxidation of phenyl methyl sulfide to the corresponding sulfoxide. Only very little overoxidation was observed, resulting in minor amounts of the unwanted sulfone. Addition of isopropyl alcohol as a co-solvent, time of substrate addition and composition of the reaction media resulted in enhanced phenyl methyl sulfide biotransformation. The concentration of the undesired by-product (sulfone) was as low as 4% through the reaction course under optimal reaction conditions. The results show that S. glaucescens GLA.0 is a promising whole-cell biocatalyst for preparing highly enantiopure (R)-phenyl methyl sulfoxide in high yield (90%) with an enantiomeric excess (ee) exceeding 99%.

Application of Streptomyces glaucescens as a whole-cell oxidative biocatalyst without using an external cofactor.

Toxicant inhibition in activated sludge: fractionation of the physiological status of bacteria

In wastewater treatment plants the sensitivity of activated sludge to a toxicant depends on the toxicity test chosen, and thus the use of more than one test is suggested. The physiological status of bacteria in response to toxicants was analysed by flow cytometry to distinguish intact, permeabilised, active cells and cells disrupted. Results were compared with respirometry and bioluminescence bioassay (Vibrio fischeri). 3,5-Dichlorophenol (DCP) was used as reference xenobiotic. DCP has a strong effect on cellular integrity, causing an increase in permeabilised and disrupted cells. A reduction of 44-80% of intact cells with 6-30 mgDCP/L for 5h was found. Inhibition of active cells was 25-49%, at 6-30 mgDCP/L for 5h. The bioluminescence bioassay resulted oversensitive to DCP compared to tests based on activated sludge, while oxygen uptake rate was affected similarly to intact cells measured by flow cytometry. Landfill leachate was tested: a detrimental impact on both cellular integrity and enzymatic activity was observed. Reduction of intact cells and active cells was by 32% and 61% respectively after addition of 50% (v/v) of leachate for 5h. The flow cytometry analysis proposed here might be widely applicable in the monitoring of various toxicants and in other aquatic biosystems.

Resolution of racemic sulfoxides with high productivity and enantioselectivity by a Rhodococcus sp. strain as an alternative to biooxidation of prochiral sulfides for efficient production of enantiopure sulfoxides

Whole cells of Rhodococcus sp. ECU0066 were used a catalyst for resolution of racemic sulfoxides, as an alternative to asymmetric oxidation of sulfides for efficient production of enantiopure sulfoxides. Racemic sulfoxides were excellent substrates for biotransformation because of their lower biotoxicity compared to sulfides. Determination of apparent kinetic parameters indicated that phenyl methyl sulfide (PMS), but not racemic phenyl methyl sulfoxide (rac-PMSO) caused substrate inhibition. (S)-PMSO was formed at a higher concentration and good enantiomeric excess (37.8 mM and 93.7% ee(S)) in a fed-batch reaction, than by an asymmetric oxidation of PMS (10 mM and 80% eeP (S)). The bacterium also displayed fairly good activity (yields, 22.7-43.2%; within 1-8 h) and enantioselectivity (ee(S)>99.0%) towards para-substituted (methyl and chloro) phenyl methyl sulfoxides and ethyl phenyl sulfoxide, indicating it could be a promising agent for synthetic applications.

Multiple physiological states of a Pseudomonas fluorescens DR54 biocontrol inoculant monitored by a new flow cytometry protocol

A new fluorescence staining and flow cytometry protocol was developed to monitor several physiological states in biocontrol strain Pseudomonas fluorescens DR54 during storage survival in a stationary-phase culture, preparation of clay carrier for seed formulation, and establishment in a sugar beet spermosphere. The high load of impurities in the environmental samples was dealt with by adding a density-gradient purification step to the staining protocol. Staining by SYBR Green, combined with either propidium iodide or ethidium bromide (EB)+DiBAC((4))3, was used to quantify the total cell population and further divide this population into: (1) intact cells with an unaffected membrane and energy metabolism. (2) De-energized cells unable to maintain membrane export (EB exclusion). (3) Depolarized cells unable to maintain membrane potential. (4) Permeabilized cells with a damaged membrane. During both stationary-phase storage and steps for preparation of formulation carrier, loss of intact P. fluorescens DR54 cells was quantitatively accounted for by depolarized and permeabilized states. Surviving inoculum cells subsequently proliferated on the germinating seeds, but with a surprisingly high abundance of de-energized cells. The new protocol is the first for flow cytometry to include a recording of both intact and several subpopulations of physiologically affected bacteria in complex, environmental samples with high impurity loads.

The efficiency of recombinant Escherichia coli as biocatalyst for stereospecific epoxidation

Styrene is efficiently converted into (S)-styrene oxide by growing Escherichia coli expressing the styrene monooxygenase genes styAB of Pseudomonas sp. strain VLB120 in an organic/aqueous emulsion. Now, we investigated factors influencing the epoxidation activity of recombinant E. coli with the aim to improve the process in terms of product concentration and volumetric productivity. The catalytic activity of recombinant E. coli was not stable and decreased with reaction time. Kinetic analyses and the independence of the whole-cell activity on substrate and biocatalyst concentrations indicated that the maximal specific biocatalyst activity was not exploited under process conditions and that substrate mass transfer and enzyme inhibition did not limit bioconversion performance. Elevated styrene oxide concentrations, however, were shown to promote acetic acid formation, membrane permeabilization, and cell lysis, and to reduce growth rate and colony-forming activity. During biotransformations, when cell viability was additionally reduced by styAB overexpression, such effects coincided with decreasing specific epoxidation rates and metabolic activity. This clearly indicated that biocatalyst performance was reduced as a result of product toxicity. The results point to a product toxicity-induced biological energy shortage reducing the biocatalyst activity under process conditions. By reducing exposure time of the biocatalyst to the product and increasing biocatalyst concentrations, volumetric productivities were increased up to 1,800 micromol/min/liter aqueous phase (with an average of 8.4 g/L(aq) x h). This represents the highest productivity reported for oxygenase-based whole-cell biocatalysis involving toxic products.

Grating-coupled surface plasmon resonance: a cell and protein microarray platform

Grating-coupled surface plasmon resonance (GCSPR) is a method for the accurate assessment of analyte in a multiplexed format using small amounts of sample. In GCSPR, the analyte is flowed across specific receptors (e.g. antibodies or other proteins) that have been immobilized on a sensor chip. The chip surface is illuminated with p-polarized light that couples to the gold surface's electrons to form a surface plasmon. At a specific angle of incidence, the GCSPR angle, the maximum amount of coupling occurs, thus reducing the intensity of reflected light. Shifts in the GCSPR angle can be correlated with refractive index increases following analyte capture by chip-bound receptors. Because regions of the chip can be independently analyzed, this system can assess 400 interactions between analyte and receptor on a single chip. We have used this label-free system to assess a number of molecules of immunological interest. GCSPR can simultaneously detect an array of cytokines and other proteins using the same chip. Moreover, GCSPR is also compatible with assessments of antigen expression by intact cells, detecting cellular apoptosis and identifying T cells and B cells. This technology represents a powerful new approach to the analysis of cells and molecular constituents of biological samples.

Choice of biocatalyst form for scalable processes

The design of biocatalytic processes for industrial synthetic chemistry is determined in large part by the choice of isolated enzyme or whole-cell catalyst form. In the present paper, the considerations for choice are identified and some important classes of bioconversion are discussed in relation to the choice to be made. Recent developments in cell and protein engineering as well as reactor and process engineering are discussed in addition.

Single-cell variability in growing Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell populations measured with automated flow cytometry

Cell cultures normally are heterogeneous due to factors such as the cell cycle, inhomogeneous cell microenvironments, and genetic differences. However, distributions of cell properties usually are not taken into account in the characterization of a culture when only population averaged values are measured. In this study, the cell size, green fluorescence protein (Gfp) content, and viability after automated staining with propidium iodide (PI) are monitored at the single-cell level in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cultures growing in a batch bioreactor using an automated flow injection flow cytometer system. To demonstrate the wealth of information that can be obtained with this system, three cultures containing three different plasmids are compared. The first plasmid is a centromeric plasmid expressing under the control of a TEF2 promoter the S65T mutant form of Gfp. The other two plasmids are 2 microm plasmids and express the FM2 mutant of Gfp under the control of either the TEF1 or the TEF2 promoter. The automated sampling, cell preparation, and analysis permitted frequent quantification of the culture characteristics. The time course of the data representing not only population average values but also their variability, provides a detailed and reproducible "fingerprint" of the culture dynamics. The data demonstrate that small changes in the genetic make up of the recombinant system can result in large changes in the culture Gfp production and viability. Thus, the developed instrumentation is valuable for rapidly testing promoter strength, plasmid stability, cell viability, and culture variability.