Introduction and Perspectives

Acetate overflow metabolism regulates a major metabolic shift after glucose depletion in Escherichia coli

Acetate overflow refers to the metabolism by which a large part of carbon incorporated as glucose into Escherichia coli cells is catabolized and excreted as acetate into the medium. We previously found that mutants for the acetate overflow pathway enzymes phosphoacetyltransferase (Pta) and acetate kinase (AckA) showed significant diauxic growth after glucose depletion in E. coli. Here, we analyzed the underlying mechanism in the pta mutant. Proteomic and other analyses revealed an increase in pyruvate dehydrogenase complex subunits and a decrease in glyoxylate shunt enzymes, which resulted from pyruvate accumulation. Since restoration of these enzyme levels by overexpressing PdhR (pyruvate-sensing transcription factor) or deleting iclR (gene encoding a pyruvate- and glyoxylate-sensing transcription factor) alleviated the growth lag of the pta mutant after glucose depletion, these changes were considered as the reason for the phenotype. Given the evidence for decreased coenzyme A (HS-CoA) levels in the pta mutant, the growth inhibition after glucose depletion was partly explained by limited availability of HS-CoA in the cell. The findings provide insights into the role of acetate overflow in metabolic regulation, which may be useful for biotechnological applications.

Use of a Bacterial Luciferase Monitoring System To Estimate Real-Time Dynamics of Intracellular Metabolism in Escherichia coli

Regulation of central carbon metabolism has long been an important research subject in every organism. While the dynamics of metabolic flows during changes in available carbon sources have been estimated based on changes in metabolism-related gene expression, as well as on changes in the metabolome, the flux change itself has scarcely been measured because of technical difficulty, which has made conclusions elusive in many cases. Here, we used a monitoring system employing Vibrio fischeri luciferase to probe the intracellular metabolic condition in Escherichia coli Using a batch culture provided with a limited amount of glucose, we performed a time course analysis, where the predominant carbon source shifts from glucose to acetate, and identified a series of sequential peaks in the luciferase activity (peaks 1 to 4). Two major peaks, peaks 1 and 3, were considered to correspond to the glucose and acetate consuming phases, respectively, based on the glucose, acetate, and dissolved oxygen concentrations in the medium. The pattern of these peaks was changed by the addition of a different carbon source or by an increasing concentration of glucose, which was consistent with the present model. Genetically, mutations involved in glycolysis or the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle/gluconeogenesis specifically affected peak 1 or peak 3, respectively, as expected from the corresponding metabolic phase. Intriguingly, mutants for the acetate excretion pathway showed a phenotype of extended peak 2 and delayed transition to the TCA cycle/gluconeogenesis phase, which suggests that peak 2 represents the metabolic transition phase. These results indicate that the bacterial luciferase monitoring system is useful to understand the real-time dynamics of metabolism in living bacterial cells.

IMPORTANCE

Intracellular metabolic flows dynamically change during shifts in available carbon sources. However, because of technical difficulty, the flux change has scarcely been measured in living cells. Here, we used a Vibrio fischeri luciferase monitoring system to probe the intracellular metabolic condition in Escherichia coli Using a limited amount of glucose batch culture, a series of sequential peaks (peaks 1 to 4) in the luciferase activity was observed. Changes in the pattern of these peaks by the addition of extra carbon sources and in mutant strains involved in glycolysis or the TCA cycle/gluconeogenesis gene assigned the metabolic phase corresponding to peak 1 as the glycolysis phase and peak 3 as the TCA cycle/gluconeogenesis phase. Intriguingly, the acetate excretion pathway engaged in peak 2 represents the metabolic transition phase. These results indicate that the bacterial luciferase monitoring system is useful to understand the real-time dynamics of metabolism in living bacterial cells.