Production of a thermostable 1,3-1,4-β-glucanase mutant in Bacillus subtilis WB600 at a high fermentation capacity and its potential application in the brewing industry

Expression and characterization of two acidophilic β-1,3-1,4-glucanases from Trichoderma asperellum ND-1 suitable for cello-oligosaccharides production

Enzymatic transformation of plant biomass offers an desirable pathway to yield high-value macromolecules, e.g., cello-oligosaccharides. Two acidophilic GH16 family β-1,3-1,4-glucanases (TaGlu16A and TaGlu16B) from Trichoderma asperellum ND-1 were successfully expressed in Komagataella phaffii and estimated to be ∼30 and 50 kDa by SDS-PAGE. TaGlu16B was a glycoprotein with a carbohydrate content of ∼30 % (w/w). TaGlu16A and TaGlu16B exhibited maximum activities at pH 4.0 and 5.0, respectively. Both enzymes were ethanol-tolerant, retaining >70 % activities in the presence of 0-20 % ethanol. Substrate-specificity analysis suggested that TaGlu16A was exclusively active toward barley β-glucan (Vmax = 1041.5 μmol/min/mg, Km = 2.45 mg/mL), yielding tetrasaccharide and trisaccharide. Notably, TaGlu16B initially released tetrasaccharide and trisaccharide from barley β-glucan and further degraded into disaccharide and glucose, suggested a bifunctional enzyme with both endo-β-1,3-1,4-glucanase and exo-acting glucanase activities. Site-directed mutagenesis indicated that (Glu151 and Glu156) and (Glu134 and Glu139) were crucial catalytic residues for TaGlu16A and TaGlu16B activities, respectively. Moreover, the addition of TaGlu16A and TaGlu16B to saccharification process could remarkably reduce the viscosity by 6.21 and 8.69, and filtration time by 26.66 % and 39.25 %, respectively. These results provided insights into β-1,3-1,4-glucanase activities and paved the way for degradation of lignocellulosic biomass.

Module architecture analysis and application of glycoside hydrolase family 148 thermostable β-1,3-1,4-glucanase

β-1,3-1,4-Glucanases have attracted significant interest because of their potential applications in various food industries. Glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 148 β-1,3-1,4-glucanases exhibit excellent thermal stability and a unique catalytic mechanism, making them particularly promising for certain food processing applications. This study investigated the module architecture enzymatic properties, catalytic mechanisms, and potential applications of a multi-domain β-1,3-1,4-glucanase (EngU) from GH family 148. The overall structure of EngU comprises three independently folding domains, namely the GH148 catalytic domain, CBM4, and the C-terminal domain. The insertion of CBM4 causes the catalytic domain of EngU to be non-contiguous in sequence. The optimum reaction conditions for EngU have been found to be pH 6.0 and 90 °C, demonstrating relatively high thermostability. EngU is an atypical β-1,3-1,4-glucanase, predominantly cleaves the β-1,3 glycosidic bonds in β-1,3-1,4-glucan. Malt saccharification experiments revealed that adding EngU (80 U/g malt) can decreased the viscosity of mash by 6.85 % and the filtration time by 28.83 %. Furthermore, EngU was found to effectively hydrolyze oat bran, producing β-glucooligosaccharides, with the main hydrolysis products being trisaccharide and disaccharide. These results demonstrate the unique module architecture and the application potential of GH family 148 β-1,3-1,4-glucanases, providing valuable insights and resources regarding this category of glycoside hydrolases.

Unlocking Green Biomanufacturing Potential: Superior Heterologous Gene Expression with a T7 Integration Overexpression System in Bacillus subtilis

Industrial biotechnology employs cells for producing valuable products and serving as biocatalysts sustainably, addressing resource, energy, and environmental issues. Bacillus subtilis is a preferred host for creating microbial chassis cells and producing industrial enzymes and functional nutritional products. In this study, a dual-module T7 integration expression system in B. subtilis was established. The first module, driven by the T7 RNA polymerase, was integrated into the genome via the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Another module responsible for expression control was systematically integrated into 28 discrete chromosomal loci and the impact of different genomic positions on gene expression was explored, resulting in a high-intensity integrated expression system. Furthermore, by modifying the LacI repressor factor for biological regulation, we achieved a strong expression intensity without the inducer addition. This system was successfully used to express phospholipase D and hyaluronic acid lyase, resulting in extracellular enzyme activities of 339.12 U/mL and 2.60 × 104 U/mL, respectively. Additionally, by exclusively targeting the HA gene cluster for expression, a production yield of 6.86 g/L was achieved on a 5 L fermentation scale. The system eliminates the use of antibiotics and inducers, offering a controllable, efficient, and promising gene expression regulation tool in B. subtilis, enhancing its potential for biomanufacturing applications.

Cloning and expression of recombinant human superoxide dismutase 1 (hSOD1) in Bacillus subtilis 1012

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to clone and express the human Cu, Zn superoxide dismutase (hSOD1) in Bacillus subtilis 1012. Also, we investigated the expression level of hSOD1 under different induction conditions.

RESULT

As an essential member of the antioxidant defense system in vivo, hSOD1 has become a therapeutic agent against host diseases, such as oxygen toxicity, acute inflammation, and radiation injury. The recombinant hSOD1 was successfully secreted extracellularly into B. subtilis 1012. The expression conditions were optimized, including inoculum size, different media, temperatures, and inducer concentrations. Finally, the highest level of hSOD1 was produced as a soluble form in Super rich medium by 2% inoculum with 0.2 mM of IPTG at 37 °C after the induction for 24 h. Besides, 20 g/L of lactose also displayed the same inductive effect on hSOD1 expression as that of IPTG (0.2 mM). Finally, the specific activity of purified hSOD1 was determined to be 1625 U/mg in the presence of 800 μM of Cu²⁺ and 20 μM of Zn²⁺.

CONCLUSIONS

We propose that the B. subtilis 1012-hSOD1 strain system has great potential in future industrial applications.

A 4-α-Glucanotransferase from Thermus thermophilus HB8: Secretory Expression and Characterization

4-α-glucanotransferase (4GT, EC 2.4.1.25) catalyzes the breakdown of the α-1,4 glycosidic bonds of the starch main chain and forms new α-1,4 glycosidic bonds in the side chain, which is often used to optimize the physical and chemical properties of starch and to improve the quality of starch-based food. However, the low enzyme activity of 4GT limits its production and widespread application. Herein, the 4GT gene encoding 500 amino acids from Thermus thermophilus HB8 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The purified 4GT exhibited maximum activity at pH 7.0 and 60 °C and had a good stability at pH 6.0-8.0 and 30-60 °C. It was confirmed that 4GT possessed the catalytic function of extending the branch length of potato starch. Furthermore, the 4GT gene was successfully expressed extracellularly in Bacillus subtilis. Then, the enzyme yield of 4GT increased by 4.1 times through screening of different plasmids and hosts. Additionally, the fermentation conditions were optimized to enhance 4GT extracellular enzyme yield. Finally, a recombinant Bacillus subtilis with 299.9 U/mL enzyme yield of 4GT was obtained under the optimized fermentation process. In conclusion, this study provides a valuable reference for characterization and expression of food-grade enzymes.

A facile and robust T7-promoter-based high-expression of heterologous proteins in Bacillus subtilis

To mimic the Escherichia coli T7 protein expression system, we developed a facile T7 promoter-based protein expression system in an industrial microorganism Bacillus subtilis. This system has two parts: a new B. subtilis strain SCK22 and a plasmid pHT7. To construct strain SCK22, the T7 RNA polymerase gene was inserted into the chromosome, and several genes, such as two major protease genes, a spore generation-related gene, and a fermentation foam generation-related gene, were knocked out to facilitate good expression in high-density cell fermentation. The gene of a target protein can be subcloned into plasmid pHT7, where the gene of the target protein was under tight control of the T7 promoter with a ribosome binding site (RBS) sequence of B. subtilis (i.e., AAGGAGG). A few recombinant proteins (i.e., green fluorescent protein, α-glucan phosphorylase, inositol monophosphatase, phosphoglucomutase, and 4-α-glucanotransferase) were expressed with approximately 25-40% expression levels relative to the cellular total proteins estimated by SDS-PAGE by using B. subtilis SCK22/pHT7-derived plasmid. A fed-batch high-cell density fermentation was conducted in a 5-L fermenter, producing up to 4.78 g/L inositol monophosphatase. This expression system has a few advantageous features, such as, wide applicability for recombinant proteins, high protein expression level, easy genetic operation, high transformation efficiency, good genetic stability, and suitability for high-cell density fermentation.

Characterization of a Thermostable Lichenase from Bacillus subtilis B110 and Its Effects on β-Glucan Hydrolysis

Lichenase is an enzyme mainly implicated in the degradation of polysaccharides in the cell walls of grains. Emerging evidence shows that a highly efficient expression of a thermostable recombinant lichenase holds considerable promise for application in the beer-brewing and animal feed industries. Herein, we cloned a lichenase gene (CelA203) from Bacillus subtilis B110 and expressed it in E. coli. This gene contains an ORF of 729 bp, encoding a protein with 242 amino acids and a calculated molecular mass of 27.3 kDa. According to the zymogram results, purified CelA203 existed in two forms, a monomer, and a tetramer, but only the tetramer had potent enzymatic activity. CelA203 remained stable over a broad pH and temperature range and retained 40% activity at 70°C for 1 h. The K_m and V_max of CelA203 towards barley β-glucan and lichenan were 3.98 mg/ml, 1017.17 U/mg, and 2.78 mg/ml, 198.24 U/mg, respectively. Furthermore, trisaccharide and tetrasaccharide were the main products obtained from CelA203-mediated hydrolysis of deactivated oat bran. These findings demonstrate a promising role for CelA203 in the production of oligosaccharides in animal feed and brewing industries.

Enhanced acidic resistance ability and catalytic properties of Bacillus 1,3-1,4-β-glucanases by sequence alignment and surface charge engineering

High stability at acidic environment is required for 1,3-1,4-β-glucanase to function in biofuel, brewing and animal feed industries. In this study, a mesophilic β-glucanase from Bacillus terquilensis CGX 5-1 was rationally engineered through sequence alignment and surface charge engineering to improve its acidic resistance ability. Nineteen singly-site variants were constructed and Q1E, I133L and V134A variants showed better acidic stability without the compromise of catalytic property and thermostability. Furthermore, four multi-site variants were constructed and one double-site variant Q1E/I133L with better stability at acidic environment and higher catalytic property was obtained. The fluorescence spectroscopy and structural analysis showed that more surface negative charge, decreased exposure degree of residue No.1, shifted side chain direction of residue No.133 and the lower total and folding free energy might be the reason for the improvement of acidic stability of Q1E/I133L variant. The obtained Q1E/I133L variant has potential applications in industries.

Production of β-glucanase and protease from Bacillus velezensis strain isolated from the manure of piglets

In this study, a strain producing β-glucanase and protease, identified as Bacillus velezensis Y1, was isolated from the manure of piglet. We attempted to produce β-glucanase and protease after optimization of various process parameters with the submerged fermentation. The effects of each factor on producing β-glucanase and protease were as follows: temperature > time > pH > loaded liquid volume. The properties of the β-glucanase showed that the most suitable reaction temperature was 65 °C and pH was 6.0. However for protease optimum reaction temperature was 50 °C, and pH was 6.0. The amplified PCR fragments of β-glucanase and protease were 1434 bp containing an open reading frame of 1413 bp encoding a protein with 444 amino acids and 1752 bp containing an open reading frame of 1521 bp encoding a protein with 506 amino acids, respectively. So, the study demonstrated a viable approach of using newly identified B. velezensis Y1 strain for the maximum yield of two industrially important enzymes.

Optimized soluble expression of a novel endoglucanase from Burkholderia pyrrocinia in Escherichia coli

Burkholderia pyrrocinia B1213, a novel microbe isolated from a Baijiu-producing environment, displayed strong cellulolytic activity on agar plates with glucan as the carbon source and had an activity of 674.5 U/mL after culturing with barley. Genome annotation of B. pyrrocinia identificated a single endoglucanase (EG)-encoding gene, designated as BpEG01790. The endoglucanase BpEG01790 shows 98.28% sequence similarity with an endo-β-1,4-glucanase (EC 3.2.1.4) from Burkholderia stabilis belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 8 (GH8). The gene BpEG01790 has an open reading frame of 1218 bp encoding a 406 amino acid (AA) residue protein (43.0 kDa) with a 40-AA signal peptide. BpEG01790 was successfully cloned into pET28a( +) with and without the signal peptide; however, attempts to overexpress this protein in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) cells using this expression system failed. BpEG01790 was also cloned into the pCold TF vector. Active BpEG01790 was successfully overexpressed with or without the signal peptide using the pCold TF vector expression system and E. coli BL21 (DE3) cells. Overexpression of recombinant BpEG01790 without the signal peptide was higher compared with the construct that included the signal peptide. Optimization of culture conditions improved the enzyme activity by 12.5-fold. This is the first report describing the heterologous soluble overexpression of an EG belonging to GH8 from B. pyrrocinia using TF as a molecular chaperone.

Production of Highly Active Extracellular Amylase and Cellulase From Bacillus subtilis ZIM3 and a Recombinant Strain With a Potential Application in Tobacco Fermentation

In this study, a series of bacteria capable of degrading starch and cellulose were isolated from the aging flue-cured tobacco leaves. Remarkably, there was a thermophilic bacterium, Bacillus subtilis ZIM3, that can simultaneously degrade both starch and cellulose at a wide range of temperature and pH values. Genome sequencing, comparative genomics analyses, and enzymatic activity assays showed that the ZIM3 strain expressed a variety of highly active plant biomass-degrading enzymes, such as the amylase AmyE1 and cellulase CelE1. The in vitro and PhoA-fusion assays indicated that these enzymes degrading complex plant biomass into fermentable sugars were secreted into ambient environment to function. Besides, the amylase and cellulase activities were further increased by three- to five-folds by using overexpression. Furthermore, a fermentation strategy was developed and the biodegradation efficiency of the starch and cellulose in the tobacco leaves were improved by 30–48%. These results reveal that B. subtilis ZIM3 and the recombinant strain exhibited high amylase and cellulase activities for efficient biodegradation of starch and cellulose in tobacco and could potentially be applied for industrial tobacco fermentation.

Efficient secretory production of large-size heterologous enzymes in Bacillus subtilis: A secretory partner and directed evolution

Secretory production of recombinant proteins provides a simple approach to the production and purification of target proteins in the enzyme industry. We developed a combined strategy for the secretory production of three large-size heterologous enzymes with a special focus on 83-kDa isoamylase (IA) from an archaeon Sulfolobus tokodaii in a bacterium Bacillus subtilis. First, a secretory protein of the B. subtilis family 5 glycoside hydrolase endoglucanase (Cel5) was used as a fusion partner, along with the NprB signal peptide, to facilitate secretory production of IA. This secretory partner strategy was effective for the secretion of two other large enzymes: family 9 glycoside hydrolase from Clostridium phytofermentas and cellodextrin phosphorylase from Clostridium thermocellum. Second, the secretion of Cel5-IA was improved by directed evolution with two novel double-layer Petri-dish-based high-throughput screening (HTS) methods. The high-sensitivity HTS relied on the detection of high-activity Cel5 on the carboxymethylcellulose/Congo-red assay. The second modest-sensitivity HTS focused on the detection of low-activity IA on the amylodextrin-I₂ assay. After six rounds of HTS, a secretory Cel5-IA level was increased to 234 mg/L, 155 times the wild-type IA with the NprB signal peptide only. This combinatory strategy could be useful to enhance the secretory production of large-size heterologous proteins in B. subtilis.

Efficient production of extracellular pullulanase in Bacillus subtilis ATCC6051 using the host strain construction and promoter optimization expression system

Background

Bacillus subtilis has been widely used as a host for heterologous protein expression in food industry. B. subtilis ATCC6051 is an alternative expression host for the production of industrial enzymes, and exhibits favorable growth properties compared to B. subtilis 168. Extracellular expression of pullulanase from recombinant B. subtilis is still limited due to the issues on promoters of B. subtilis expression system. This study was undertaken to develop a new, high-level expression system in B. subtilis ATCC6051.

Results

To further optimize B. subtilis ATCC6051 as a expression host, eight extracellular proteases (aprE, nprE, nprB, epr, mpr, bpr, vpr and wprA), the sigma factor F (spoIIAC) and a surfactin (srfAC) were deleted, yielding the mutant B. subtilis ATCC6051∆10. ATCC6051∆10 showed rapid growth and produced much more extracellular protein compared to the widetype strain ATCC6051, due to the inactivation of multiple proteases. Using this mutant as the host, eleven plasmids equipped with single promoters were constructed for recombinant expression of pullulanase (PUL) from Bacillus naganoensis. The plasmid containing the P_spovG promoter produced the highest extracellular PUL activity, which achieved 412.9 U/mL. Subsequently, sixteen dual-promoter plasmids were constructed and evaluated using this same method. The plasmid containing the dual promoter P_amyL–P_spovG produced the maximum extracellular PUL activity (625.5 U/mL) and showed the highest expression level (the dry cell weight of 18.7 g/L).

Conclusions

Taken together, we constructed an effective B. subtilis expression system by deleting multiple proteases and screening strong promoters. The dual-promoter P_amyL–P_spovG system was found to support superior expression of extracellular proteins in B. subtilis ATCC6051.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12934-018-1011-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.