The two carboxylases of Corynebacterium glutamicum essential for fatty acid and mycolic acid synthesis

Targeting the Heart of Mycobacterium: Advances in Anti-Tubercular Agents Disrupting Cell Wall Biosynthesis

Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections continue to pose a significant global health challenge, particularly due to the rise of multidrug-resistant strains, random mycobacterial mutations, and the complications associated with short-term antibiotic regimens. Currently, five approved drugs target cell wall biosynthesis in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of these drugs and their molecular mechanisms. Isoniazid, thioamides, and delamanid primarily disrupt mycolic acid synthesis, with recent evidence indicating that delamanid also inhibits decaprenylphosphoryl-β-D-ribose-2-epimerase, thereby impairing arabinogalactan biosynthesis. Cycloserine remains the sole approved drug that inhibits peptidoglycan synthesis, the foundational layer of the mycobacterial cell wall. Furthermore, ethambutol interferes with arabinogalactan synthesis by targeting arabinosyl transferase enzymes, particularly embB- and embC-encoded variants. Beyond these, six promising molecules currently in Phase II clinical trials are designed to target arabinan synthesis pathways, sutezolid, TBA 7371, OPC-167832, SQ109, and both benzothiazinone derivatives BTZ043 and PBTZ169, highlighting advancements in the development of cell wall-targeting therapies.

Engineering an Escherichia coli strain for enhanced production of flavonoids derived from pinocembrin

BACKGROUND

Flavonoids are a structurally diverse group of secondary metabolites, predominantly produced by plants, which include a range of compounds with pharmacological importance. Pinocembrin is a key branch point intermediate in the biosynthesis of a wide range of flavonoid subclasses. However, replicating the biosynthesis of these structurally diverse molecules in heterologous microbial cell factories has encountered challenges, in particular the modest pinocembrin titres achieved to date. In this study, we combined genome engineering and enzyme candidate screening to significantly enhance the production of pinocembrin and its derivatives, including chrysin, pinostrobin, pinobanksin, and galangin, in Escherichia coli.

RESULTS

By implementing a combination of established strain engineering strategies aimed at enhancing the supply of the building blocks phenylalanine and malonyl-CoA, we constructed an E. coli chassis capable of accumulating 353 ± 19 mg/L pinocembrin from glycerol, without the need for precursor supplementation or the fatty acid biosynthesis inhibitor cerulenin. This chassis was subsequently employed for the production of chrysin, pinostrobin, pinobanksin, and galangin. Through an enzyme candidate screening process involving eight type-1 and five type-2 flavone synthases (FNS), we identified Petroselinum crispum FNSI as the top candidate, producing 82 ± 5 mg/L chrysin. Similarly, from a panel of five flavonoid 7-O-methyltransferases (7-OMT), we found pinocembrin 7-OMT from Eucalyptus nitida to yield 153 ± 10 mg/L pinostrobin. To produce pinobanksin, we screened seven enzyme candidates exhibiting flavanone 3-hydroxylase (F3H) or F3H/flavonol synthase (FLS) activity, with the bifunctional F3H/FLS enzyme from Glycine max being the top performer, achieving a pinobanksin titre of 12.6 ± 1.8 mg/L. Lastly, by utilising a combinatorial library of plasmids encoding G. max F3H and Citrus unshiu FLS, we obtained a maximum galangin titre of 18.2 ± 5.3 mg/L.

CONCLUSION

Through the integration of microbial chassis engineering and screening of enzyme candidates, we considerably increased the production levels of microbially synthesised pinocembrin, chrysin, pinostrobin, pinobanksin, and galangin. With the introduction of additional chassis modifications geared towards improving cofactor supply and regeneration, as well as alleviating potential toxic effects of intermediates and end products, we anticipate further enhancements in the yields of these pinocembrin derivatives, potentially enabling greater diversification in microbial hosts.

Thermo-adaptive evolution of Corynebacterium glutamicum reveals the regulatory functions of fasR and hrcA in heat tolerance

BACKGROUND

High-temperature fermentation technology is promising in improving fermentation speed and product quality, and thereby widely used in various fields such as food, pharmaceuticals, and biofuels. However, extreme temperature conditions can disrupt cell membrane structures and interfere with the functionality of biological macromolecules (e.g. proteins and RNA), exerting detrimental effects on cellular viability and fermentation capability.

RESULTS

Herein, a microbial thermotolerance improvement strategy was developed based on adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) for efficient high-temperature fermentation. Employing this strategy, we have successfully obtained Corynebacterium glutamicum strains with superior resistance to high temperatures. Specifically, the genome analysis indicated that the evolved strains harbored 13 missense genetic mutations and 3 same-sense genetic mutations compared to the non-evolved parent strain. Besides, reverse transcription quantitative PCR analysis (RT qPCR) of the hrcA-L119P mutant demonstrated that both groEL genes were upregulated under 42 °C, which enabled the construction of robust strains with improved heat tolerance. Furthermore, a significant increase in FAS-IA and FAS-IB expression of the fasR-L102F strain was proved to play a key role in protecting cells against heat stress.

CONCLUSIONS

This work systematically reveals the thermotolerance mechanisms of Corynebacterium glutamicum and opens a new avenue for revolutionizing the design of cell factories to boost fermentation efficiency.

Phylogenomic analyses of multidrug resistant Corynebacterium striatum strains isolated from patients in a tertiary care hospital in the UK

Corynebacterium striatum is an emerging nosocomial pathogen. This is the first report showing the presence of three distinct multidrug resistant lineages of C. striatum among patients in a UK hospital. The presence of ErmX, Tet(W), Bla and AmpC proteins, and mutations in gyrA gene are associated with the resistance to clindamycin, doxycycline, penicillin and moxifloxacin, respectively. These strains are equipped with several corynebacterial virulence genes including two SpaDEF-type and a novel pilus gene cluster, which needs further molecular characterisation. This study highlights a need of developing an active surveillance strategy for routine monitoring and preventing potential cross-transmission among susceptible patients.

A type III polyketide synthase cluster in the phylum Planctomycetota is involved in alkylresorcinol biosynthesis

Members of the bacterial phylum Planctomycetota have recently emerged as promising and for the most part untapped sources of novel bioactive compounds. The characterization of more than 100 novel species in the last decade stimulated recent bioprospection studies that start to unveil the chemical repertoire of the phylum. In this study, we performed systematic bioinformatic analyses based on the genomes of all 131 described members of the current phylum focusing on the identification of type III polyketide synthase (PKS) genes. Type III PKSs are versatile enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of a wide array of structurally diverse natural products with potent biological activities. We identified 96 putative type III PKS genes of which 58 are encoded in an operon with genes encoding a putative oxidoreductase and a methyltransferase. Sequence similarities on protein level and the genetic organization of the operon point towards a functional link to the structurally related hierridins recently discovered in picocyanobacteria. The heterologous expression of planctomycetal type III PKS genes from strains belonging to different families in an engineered Corynebacterium glutamicum strain led to the biosynthesis of pentadecyl- and heptadecylresorcinols. Phenotypic assays performed with the heterologous producer strains and a constructed type III PKS gene deletion mutant suggest that the natural function of the identified compounds differs from that confirmed in other bacterial alkylresorcinol producers. KEY POINTS: • Planctomycetal type III polyketide synthases synthesize long-chain alkylresorcinols. • Phylogenetic analyses suggest an ecological link to picocyanobacterial hierridins. • Engineered C. glutamicum is suitable for an expression of planctomycete-derived genes.

Corynebacterium mendelii sp. nov., a novel bacterium isolated from Adélie penguin oral cavity

The taxonomic status of strain P5891T, isolated from an Adélie penguin beak swab, was investigated. Based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence, the strain was identified as a potentially novel Corynebacterium species, with the highest sequence similarities to Corynebacterium rouxii FRC0190T (96.7 %) and Corynebacterium epidermidicanis DSM 45586T (96.6 %). The average nucleotide identity values between strain P5891T and C. rouxii FRC0190T and C. epidermidicanis DSM 45586T were 68.2 and 69.2 %, respectively. The digital DNA-DNA hybridization values between strain P5891T and C. rouxii FRC0190T and C. epidermidicanis DSM 45586T were 23.7 and 21.4 %, respectively. Phylogenetic trees based on the 16S rRNA sequence placed strain P5891T in a separate branch with Corynebacterium canis 1170T and Corynebacterium freiburgense 1045T, while a phylogenomic tree based on the Corynebacterium species core genome placed the strain next to Corynebacterium choanae 200CHT. Extensive phenotyping and genomic analyses clearly confirmed that strain P5891T represents a novel species of the genus Corynebacterium, for which the name Corynebacterium mendelii sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain P5891T (=CCM 8862T=LMG 31627T).

Microbial synthesis of the plant natural product precursor p-coumaric acid with Corynebacterium glutamicum

BACKGROUND

Phenylpropanoids such as p-coumaric acid represent important precursors for the synthesis of a broad range of plant secondary metabolites including stilbenoids, flavonoids, and lignans, which are of pharmacological interest due to their health-promoting properties. Although extraction from plant material or chemical synthesis is possible, microbial synthesis of p-coumaric acid from glucose has the advantage of being less expensive and more resource efficient. In this study, Corynebacterium glutamicum was engineered for the production of the plant polyphenol precursor p-coumaric acid from glucose.

RESULTS

Heterologous expression of the tyrosine ammonia-lyase encoding gene from Flavobacterium johnsoniae enabled the conversion of endogenously provided tyrosine to p-coumaric acid. Product consumption was avoided by abolishing essential reactions of the phenylpropanoid degradation pathway. Accumulation of anthranilate as a major byproduct was eliminated by reducing the activity of anthranilate synthase through targeted mutagenesis to avoid tryptophan auxotrophy. Subsequently, the carbon flux into the shikimate pathway was increased, phenylalanine biosynthesis was reduced, and phosphoenolpyruvate availability was improved to boost p-coumaric acid accumulation. A maximum titer of 661 mg/L p-coumaric acid (4 mM) in defined mineral medium was reached. Finally, the production strain was utilized in co-cultivations with a C. glutamicum strain previously engineered for the conversion of p-coumaric acid into the polyphenol resveratrol. These co-cultivations enabled the synthesis of 31.2 mg/L (0.14 mM) resveratrol from glucose without any p-coumaric acid supplementation.

CONCLUSIONS

The utilization of a heterologous tyrosine ammonia-lyase in combination with optimization of the shikimate pathway enabled the efficient production of p-coumaric acid with C. glutamicum. Reducing the carbon flux into the phenylalanine and tryptophan branches was the key to success along with the introduction of feedback-resistant enzyme variants.

Metabolic engineering of Corynebacterium glutamicum for fatty alcohol production from glucose and wheat straw hydrolysate

BACKGROUND

Fatty acid-derived products such as fatty alcohols (FAL) find growing application in cosmetic products, lubricants, or biofuels. So far, FAL are primarily produced petrochemically or through chemical conversion of bio-based feedstock. Besides the well-known negative environmental impact of using fossil resources, utilization of bio-based first-generation feedstock such as palm oil is known to contribute to the loss of habitat and biodiversity. Thus, the microbial production of industrially relevant chemicals such as FAL from second-generation feedstock is desirable.

RESULTS

To engineer Corynebacterium glutamicum for FAL production, we deregulated fatty acid biosynthesis by deleting the transcriptional regulator gene fasR, overexpressing a fatty acyl-CoA reductase (FAR) gene of Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus VT8 and attenuating the native thioesterase expression by exchange of the ATG to a weaker TTG start codon. C. glutamicum ∆fasR cg2692_TTG (pEKEx2-maqu2220) produced in shaking flasks 0.54 ± 0.02 g_FAL L^-1 from 20 g glucose L^-1 with a product yield of 0.054 ± 0.001 Cmol Cmol^-1. To enable xylose utilization, we integrated xylA encoding the xylose isomerase from Xanthomonas campestris and xylB encoding the native xylulose kinase into the locus of actA. This approach enabled growth on xylose. However, adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) was required to improve the growth rate threefold to 0.11 ± 0.00 h^-1. The genome of the evolved strain C. glutamicum gX was re-sequenced, and the evolved genetic module was introduced into C. glutamicum ∆fasR cg2692_TTG (pEKEx2-maqu2220) which allowed efficient growth and FAL production on wheat straw hydrolysate. FAL biosynthesis was further optimized by overexpression of the pntAB genes encoding the membrane-bound transhydrogenase of E. coli. The best-performing strain C. glutamicum ∆fasR cg2692_TTG CgLP12::(P_tac-pntAB-T_rrnB) gX (pEKEx2-maqu2220) produced 2.45 ± 0.09 g_FAL L^-1 with a product yield of 0.054 ± 0.005 Cmol Cmol^-1 and a volumetric productivity of 0.109 ± 0.005 g_FAL L^-1 h^-1 in a pulsed fed-batch cultivation using wheat straw hydrolysate.

CONCLUSION

The combination of targeted metabolic engineering and ALE enabled efficient FAL production in C. glutamicum from wheat straw hydrolysate for the first time. Therefore, this study provides useful metabolic engineering principles to tailor this bacterium for other products from this second-generation feedstock.

Improved site-specific mutagenesis in Rhodococcus opacus using a novel conditional suicide plasmid

Rhodococcus opacus PD630 is a biotechnologically important bacterium with metabolic capability for bioremediation, metal recovery, and storage of triacylglycerols. Genome editing by homologous recombination in R. opacus is hampered by a very low combined frequency of DNA transfer and recombination. To improve recombination in the species, a conjugative, conditional suicide plasmid based on the replicon derived from the Corynebacterium glutamicum plasmid pGA1 was constructed and evaluated in R. opacus. The replication of this plasmid is controlled by a dual inducible and repressible promoter system originally developed for Mycobacterium spp. Next, we demonstrated that a derivative of this plasmid containing sacB as a counterselection marker and homologous regions of R. opacus could be used for homologous recombination, and that the problem of obtaining recombinants had been solved. Like for other Corynebacteriales, the cell wall of Rhodococcus spp. contains mycolic acids which form a hydrophobic and impermeable outer layer. Mycolic acids are essential for Mycobacterium smegmatis, but not for Corynebacterium glutamicum, and the new vector was used to study if mycolic acid is essential for R. opacus. We found that accD3 that is necessary for mycolic acid synthesis could only be deleted from the chromosome in strains containing a plasmid-encoded copy of accD3. This indicates that mycolic acid is important for R. opacus viability. The conditional suicide vector should be useful for homologous recombination or for delivering gene products like recombinases or Cas proteins and gRNA to Rhodococcus and related genera, while the approach should be applicable for any plasmid needing a plasmid-encoded protein for replication. KEY POINTS: • Improved vector for homologous recombination in R. opacus. • Mycolic acid is important for survival of R. opacus like it is for Mycobacterium. • Similar conditional suicide plasmids may be constructed for other bacteria.

Fatty Acid Production by Enhanced Malonyl-CoA Supply in Escherichia coli

The expression of exogenous genes encoding acetyl-CoA carboxylase (Acc) and pantothenate kinase (CoaA) in Escherichia coli enable highly effective fatty acid production. Acc-only strains grown at 37 °C or 23 °C produced an approximately twofold increase in fatty acid content, and additional expression of CoaA achieved a further twofold accumulation. In the presence of pantothenate, which is the starting material for the CoA biosynthetic pathway, the size of the intracellular CoA pool at 23 °C was comparable to that at 30 °C during cultivation, and more than 500 mg/L of culture containing cellular fatty acids was produced, even at 23 °C. However, the highest yield of cellular fatty acids (1100 mg/L of culture) was produced in cells possessing the gene encoding type I bacterial fatty acid synthase (FasA) along with the acc and coaA, when the transformant was cultivated at 30 °C in M9 minimal salt medium without pantothenate or IPTG. This E. coli transformant contained 141 mg/L of oleic acid attributed to FasA under noninducible conditions. The increased fatty acid content was brought about by a greatly improved specific productivity of 289 mg/g of dry cell weight. Thus, the effectiveness of the foreign acc and coaA in fatty acid production was unambiguously confirmed at culture temperatures of 23 °C to 37 °C. Cofactor engineering in E. coli using the exogenous coaA and acc genes resulted in fatty acid production over 1 g/L of culture and could effectively function at 23 °C.

Functional Genomics Uncovers Pleiotropic Role of Rhomboids in Corynebacterium glutamicum

The physiological role of ubiquitous rhomboid proteases, membrane-integral proteins that cleave their substrates inside the lipid bilayer, is still ill-defined in many prokaryotes. The two rhomboid genes cg0049 and cg2767 of Corynebacterium glutamicum were mutated and it was the aim of this study to investigate consequences in respect to growth phenotype, stress resistance, transcriptome, proteome, and lipidome composition. Albeit increased amount of Cg2767 upon heat stress, its absence did not change the growth behavior of C. glutamicum during exponential and stationary phase. Quantitative shotgun mass spectrometry was used to compare the rhomboid mutant with wild type strain and revealed that proteins covering diverse cellular functions were differentially abundant with more proteins affected in the stationary than in the exponential growth phase. An observation common to both growth phases was a decrease in ribosomal subunits and RNA polymerase, differences in iron uptake proteins, and abundance changes in lipid and mycolic acid biosynthesis enzymes that suggested a functional link of rhomboids to cell envelope lipid biosynthesis. The latter was substantiated by shotgun lipidomics in the stationary growth phase, where in a strain-dependent manner phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidic acid, diacylglycerol and phosphatidylinositol increased irrespective of cultivation temperature.

Enhanced 3-Hydroxypropionic Acid Production From Acetate via the Malonyl-CoA Pathway in Corynebacterium glutamicum

Acetate is an economical and environmental-friendly alternative carbon source. Herein, the potential of harnessing Corynebacterium glutamicum as a host to produce 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) from acetate was explored. First, the expression level of malonyl-CoA reductase from Chloroflexus aurantiacus was optimized through several strategies, strain Cgz2/sod-N-C* showed an MCR enzyme activity of 63 nmol/mg/min and a 3-HP titer of 0.66 g/L in flasks. Next, the expression of citrate synthase in Cgz2/sod-N-C* was weakened to reduce the acetyl-CoA consumption in the TCA cycle, and the resulting strain Cgz12/sod-N-C* produced 2.39 g/L 3-HP from 9.32 g/L acetate. However, the subsequent deregulation of the expression of acetyl-CoA carboxylase genes in Cgz12/sod-N-C* resulted in an increased accumulation of intracellular fatty acids, instead of 3-HP. Accordingly, cerulenin was used to inhibit fatty acid synthesis in Cgz14/sod-N-C*, and its 3-HP titer was further increased to 4.26 g/L, with a yield of 0.50 g 3-HP/g-acetate. Finally, the engineered strain accumulated 17.1 g/L 3-HP in a bioreactor without cerulenin addition, representing the highest titer achieved using acetate as substrate. The results demonstrated that Corynebacterium glutamicum is a promising host for 3-HP production from acetate.

Phylogenomic Reappraisal of Fatty Acid Biosynthesis, Mycolic Acid Biosynthesis and Clinical Relevance Among Members of the Genus Corynebacterium

The genus Corynebacterium encompasses many species of biotechnological, medical or veterinary significance. An important characteristic of this genus is the presence of mycolic acids in their cell envelopes, which form the basis of a protective outer membrane (mycomembrane). Mycolic acids in the cell envelope of Mycobacterium tuberculosis have been associated with virulence. In this study, we have analysed the genomes of 140 corynebacterial strains, including representatives of 126 different species. More than 50% of these strains were isolated from clinical material from humans or animals, highlighting the true scale of pathogenic potential within the genus. Phylogenomically, these species are very diverse and have been organised into 19 groups and 30 singleton strains. We find that a substantial number of corynebacteria lack FAS-I, i.e., have no capability for de novo fatty acid biosynthesis and must obtain fatty acids from their habitat; this appears to explain the well-known lipophilic phenotype of some species. In most species, key genes associated with the condensation and maturation of mycolic acids are present, consistent with the reports of mycolic acids in their species descriptions. Conversely, species reported to lack mycolic acids lacked these key genes. Interestingly, Corynebacterium ciconiae, which is reported to lack mycolic acids, appears to possess all genes required for mycolic acid biosynthesis. We suggest that although a mycolic acid-based mycomembrane is widely considered to be the target for interventions by the immune system and chemotherapeutics, the structure is not essential in corynebacteria and is not a prerequisite for pathogenicity or colonisation of animal hosts.

Applied evolution: Dual dynamic regulations-based approaches in engineering intracellular malonyl-CoA availability

Malonyl-CoA is an important building block for microbial synthesis of numerous pharmaceutically interesting or fatty acid-derived compounds including polyketides, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids and fatty acids. However, the tightly regulated intracellular malonyl-CoA availability often impedes overall product formation. Here, in order to unleash this tightly cellular behavior, we present evolution: dual dynamic regulations-based approaches to write artificial robust and dynamic function into intricate cellular background. Firstly, a conserved core domain based evolutionary principles were incorporated into genome mining to explore the biosynthetic diversities of discrete acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) families, as malonyl-CoA is solely derived from carboxylation of acetyl-CoA by ACC in most organisms. A comprehensive phylogenomic and further experimental analysis, which included genomes of 50 strains throughout representative species, was performed to recapitulate the evolutionary history and reveal that previously unnoticed ACC families from Salmonella enterica exhibited the highest activities among all the candidates. A set of orthogonal and bi-functional quorum-sensing (QS)-based regulation tools were further designed and connected with T7 RNA polymerase as genetic amplifier to achieve dual dynamic control in a high dynamic range, which allowed us to efficiently activate and repress different sets of genes dynamically and independently. These genetic circuits were then combined with ACC of S. enterica and CRISPRi system to reprogram central metabolism that rewired the tightly regulated malonyl-CoA pathway to a robust and autonomous behavior, leading to a 29-fold increase of malony-CoA availability. We applied this dual regulation tool to successfully synthesizing malonyl-CoA-derived compound (2S)-naringenin, and achieved the highest production (1073.8 mg/L) reported to date associate with dramatic decreases of by-product formation. Notably, the whole fermentation presents as an autonomous behavior, totally eliminating human supervision and inducer supplementation. Hence, the constructed evolution: dual dynamic regulations-based approaches pave the way to develop an economically viable and scalable procedure for microbial production of malonyl-CoA derived compounds.

Phylogenomic Characterization of a Novel Corynebacterium Species Associated with Fatal Diphtheritic Stomatitis in Endangered Yellow-Eyed Penguins

Yellow-eyed penguins, Megadyptes antipodes, are an endangered species that are endemic to New Zealand. Outbreaks of diphtheritic stomatitis have caused significant mortality for this species, especially among young chicks. In this study, we isolated 16 Corynebacterium sp. isolates from the oral cavities of 2- to 14-day-old chicks at a range of infection stages and sequenced the genomes to understand their virulence mechanisms. Phylogenomic and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight (MALDI-TOF) characterization indicate that these strains belong to a novel Corynebacterium species. A simple multiplex PCR-based diagnostic assay has been developed to identify these strains rapidly and reliably. Similar to other corynebacteria, genomic islands and prophages introduced significant diversity among these strains that has potentially led to minor functional variations between the two lineages. Despite the presence of multiple corynebacterial virulence genes and a spaDEF-type pilus gene cluster among these strains, the survival rate was much higher in Galleria mellonella larvae than in those inoculated with Corynebacterium ulcerans NZRM 818 and Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis NZRM 3004. Therefore, these strains are opportunistic pathogens causing high mortality among young penguin chicks due to a less-developed immune system.

IMPORTANCE Yellow-eyed penguins, Megadyptes antipodes, are endangered species with a sharp decline in the numbers of breeding pairs over the last 2 decades. Diphtheritic stomatitis, characterized by a thick fibrinopurulent exudate in the oral cavities and symptoms, including inanition and significant weight loss, is responsible for significant mortality among the young chicks. These chicks are treated with antibiotics, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid or enrofloxacin, but do not always recover from the infection. The pathogen causing these infections and the mechanism of pathogenesis are unclear. This study has identified a novel Corynebacterium species to be associated with diphtheritic stomatitis in yellow-eyed penguins with potential virulence genes that are likely involved in pathogenesis. Importantly, a gene encoding an exotoxin, phospholipase D, is present among these strains. The inactivated form of this enzyme could potentially be used as an effective vaccine to protect these penguins from infection.

Genome Sequence of the Bacteriophage CL31 and Interaction with the Host Strain Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032

In this study, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the genomic features of the phage CL31 and the infection dynamics with the biotechnologically relevant host strain Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032. Genome sequencing and annotation of CL31 revealed a 45-kbp genome composed of 72 open reading frames, mimicking the GC content of its host strain (54.4%). An ANI-based distance matrix showed the highest similarity of CL31 to the temperate corynephage Φ16. While the C. glutamicum ATCC 13032 wild type strain showed only mild propagation of CL31, a strain lacking the cglIR-cglIIR-cglIM restriction-modification system was efficiently infected by this phage. Interestingly, the prophage-free strain C. glutamicum MB001 featured an even accelerated amplification of CL31 compared to the ∆resmod strain suggesting a role of cryptic prophage elements in phage defense. Proteome analysis of purified phage particles and transcriptome analysis provide important insights into structural components of the phage and the response of C. glutamicum to CL31 infection. Isolation and sequencing of CL31-resistant strains revealed SNPs in genes involved in mycolic acid biosynthesis suggesting a role of this cell envelope component in phage adsorption. Altogether, these results provide an important basis for further investigation of phage-host interactions in this important biotechnological model organism.

Corynebacterium glutamicum Mechanosensing: From Osmoregulation to L-Glutamate Secretion for the Avian Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis

After the discovery of Corynebacterium glutamicum from avian feces-contaminated soil, its enigmatic L-glutamate secretion by corynebacterial MscCG-type mechanosensitive channels has been utilized for industrial monosodium glutamate production. Bacterial mechanosensitive channels are activated directly by increased membrane tension upon hypoosmotic downshock; thus; the physiological significance of the corynebacterial L-glutamate secretion has been considered as adjusting turgor pressure by releasing cytoplasmic solutes. In this review, we present information that corynebacterial mechanosensitive channels have been evolutionally specialized as carriers to secrete L-glutamate into the surrounding environment in their habitats rather than osmotic safety valves. The lipid modulation activation of MscCG channels in L-glutamate production can be explained by the "Force-From-Lipids" and "Force-From-Tethers" mechanosensing paradigms and differs significantly from mechanical activation upon hypoosmotic shock. The review also provides information on the search for evidence that C. glutamicum was originally a gut bacterium in the avian host with the aim of understanding the physiological roles of corynebacterial mechanosensing. C. glutamicum is able to secrete L-glutamate by mechanosensitive channels in the gut microbiota and help the host brain function via the microbiota-gut-brain axis.

Kinetic, Structural, and Mutational Analysis of Acyl-CoA Carboxylase From Thermobifida fusca YX

Acyl-CoA carboxylases (AcCCase) are biotin-dependent enzymes that are capable of carboxylating more than one short chain acyl-CoA substrate. We have conducted structural and kinetic analyses of such an AcCCase from Thermobifida fusca YX, which exhibits promiscuity in carboxylating acetyl-CoA, propionyl-CoA, and butyryl-CoA. The enzyme consists of two catalytic subunits (TfAcCCA and TfAcCCB) and a non-catalytic subunit, TfAcCCE, and is organized in quaternary structure with a A₆B₆E₆ stoichiometry. Moreover, this holoenzyme structure appears to be primarily assembled from two A₃ and a B₆E₆ subcomplexes. The role of the TfAcCCE subunit is to facilitate the assembly of the holoenzyme complex, and thereby activate catalysis. Based on prior studies of an AcCCase from Streptomyces coelicolor, we explored whether a conserved Asp residue in the TfAcCCB subunit may have a role in determining the substrate selectivity of these types of enzymes. Mutating this D427 residue resulted in alterations in the substrate specificity of the TfAcCCase, increasing proficiency for carboxylating acetyl-CoA, while decreasing carboxylation proficiency with propionyl-CoA and butyryl-CoA. Collectively these results suggest that residue D427 of AcCCB subunits is an important, but not sole determinant of the substrate specificity of AcCCase enzymes.

Genome-wide identification of novel genes involved in Corynebacteriales cell envelope biogenesis using Corynebacterium glutamicum as a model

Corynebacteriales are Actinobacteria that possess an atypical didermic cell envelope. One of the principal features of this cell envelope is the presence of a large complex made up of peptidoglycan, arabinogalactan and mycolic acids. This covalent complex constitutes the backbone of the cell wall and supports an outer membrane, called mycomembrane in reference to the mycolic acids that are its major component. The biosynthesis of the cell envelope of Corynebacteriales has been extensively studied, in particular because it is crucial for the survival of important pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis and is therefore a key target for anti-tuberculosis drugs. In this study, we explore the biogenesis of the cell envelope of Corynebacterium glutamicum, a non-pathogenic Corynebacteriales, which can tolerate dramatic modifications of its cell envelope as important as the loss of its mycomembrane. For this purpose, we used a genetic approach based on genome-wide transposon mutagenesis. We developed a highly effective immunological test based on the use of anti-cell wall antibodies that allowed us to rapidly identify bacteria exhibiting an altered cell envelope. A very large number (10,073) of insertional mutants were screened by means of this test, and 80 were finally selected, representing 55 different loci. Bioinformatics analyses of these loci showed that approximately 60% corresponded to genes already characterized, 63% of which are known to be directly involved in cell wall processes, and more specifically in the biosynthesis of the mycoloyl-arabinogalactan-peptidoglycan complex. We identified 22 new loci potentially involved in cell envelope biogenesis, 76% of which encode putative cell envelope proteins. A mutant of particular interest was further characterized and revealed a new player in mycolic acid metabolism. Because a large proportion of the genes identified by our study is conserved in Corynebacteriales, the library described here provides a new resource of genes whose characterization could lead to a better understanding of the biosynthesis of the envelope components of these bacteria.

The thick waxy coat of mycobacteria, a protective layer against antibiotics and the host's immune system

Tuberculosis, caused by the pathogenic bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), is the leading cause of death from an infectious disease, with a mortality rate of over a million people per year. This pathogen's remarkable resilience and infectivity is largely due to its unique waxy cell envelope, 40% of which comprises complex lipids. Therefore, an understanding of the structure and function of the cell wall lipids is of huge indirect clinical significance. This review provides a synopsis of the cell envelope and the major lipids contained within, including structure, biosynthesis and roles in pathogenesis.

Antibiotics and resistance: the two-sided coin of the mycobacterial cell wall

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis, is the global leading cause of mortality from an infectious agent. Part of this success relies on the unique cell wall, which consists of a thick waxy coat with tightly packed layers of complexed sugars, lipids and peptides. This coat provides a protective hydrophobic barrier to antibiotics and the host's defences, while enabling the bacterium to spread efficiently through sputum to infect and survive within the macrophages of new hosts. However, part of this success comes at a cost, with many of the current first- and second-line drugs targeting the enzymes involved in cell wall biosynthesis. The flip side of this coin is that resistance to these drugs develops either in the target enzymes or the activation pathways of the drugs, paving the way for new resistant clinical strains. This review provides a synopsis of the structure and synthesis of the cell wall and the major current drugs and targets, along with any mechanisms of resistance.

Engineering intracellular malonyl-CoA availability in microbial hosts and its impact on polyketide and fatty acid synthesis

Malonyl-CoA is an important central metabolite serving as the basic building block for the microbial synthesis of many pharmaceutically interesting polyketides, but also fatty acid-derived compounds including biofuels. Especially Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Escherichia coli, and Corynebacterium glutamicum have been engineered towards microbial synthesis of such compounds in recent years. However, developed strains and processes often suffer from insufficient productivity. Usually, tightly regulated intracellular malonyl-CoA availability is regarded as the decisive bottleneck limiting overall product formation. Therefore, metabolic engineering towards improved malonyl-CoA availability is essential to design efficient microbial cell factories for the production of polyketides and fatty acid derivatives. This review article summarizes metabolic engineering strategies to improve intracellular malonyl-CoA formation in industrially relevant microorganisms and its impact on productivity and product range, with a focus on polyketides and other malonyl-CoA-dependent products.Key Points• Malonyl-CoA is the central building block of polyketide synthesis.• Increasing acetyl-CoA supply is pivotal to improve malonyl-CoA availability.• Improved acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity increases availability of malonyl-CoA.• Fatty acid synthesis as an ambivalent target to improve malonyl-CoA supply.

Synthesis of the character impact compound raspberry ketone and additional flavoring phenylbutanoids of biotechnological interest with Corynebacterium glutamicum

Background

The phenylbutanoid 4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)butan-2-one, commonly known as raspberry ketone, is responsible for the typical scent and flavor of ripe raspberries. Chemical production of nature-identical raspberry ketone is well established as this compound is frequently used to flavor food, beverages and perfumes. However, high demand for natural raspberry ketone, but low natural abundance in raspberries, render raspberry ketone one of the most expensive natural flavoring components.

Results

In this study, Corynebacterium glutamicum was engineered for the microbial synthesis of the character impact compound raspberry ketone from supplemented p-coumaric acid. In this context, the NADPH-dependent curcumin/dihydrocurcumin reductase CurA from Escherichia coli was employed to catalyze the final step of raspberry ketone synthesis as it provides a hitherto unknown benzalacetone reductase activity. In combination with a 4-coumarate: CoA ligase from parsley (Petroselinum crispum) and a monofunctional benzalacetone synthase from Chinese rhubarb (Rheum palmatum), CurA constitutes the synthetic pathway for raspberry ketone synthesis in C. glutamicum. The resulting strain accumulated up to 99.8 mg/L (0.61 mM) raspberry ketone. In addition, supplementation of other phenylpropanoids allowed for the synthesis of two other naturally-occurring and flavoring phenylbutanoids, zingerone (70 mg/L, 0.36 mM) and benzylacetone (10.5 mg/L, 0.07 mM).

Conclusion

The aromatic product portfolio of C. glutamicum was extended towards the synthesis of the flavoring phenylbutanoids raspberry ketone, zingerone and benzylacetone. Key to success was the identification of CurA from E. coli having a benzalacetone reductase activity. We believe, that the constructed C. glutamicum strain represents a versatile platform for the production of natural flavoring phenylbutanoids at larger scale.

Tailoring Corynebacterium glutamicum towards increased malonyl-CoA availability for efficient synthesis of the plant pentaketide noreugenin

Background

In the last years, different biotechnologically relevant microorganisms have been engineered for the synthesis of plant polyphenols such as flavonoids and stilbenes. However, low intracellular availability of malonyl-CoA as essential precursor for most plant polyphenols of interest is regarded as the decisive bottleneck preventing high product titers.

Results

In this study, Corynebacterium glutamicum, which emerged as promising cell factory for plant polyphenol production, was tailored by rational metabolic engineering towards providing significantly more malonyl-CoA for product synthesis. This was achieved by improving carbon source uptake, transcriptional deregulation of accBC and accD1 encoding the two subunits of the acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), reduced flux into the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and elimination of anaplerotic carboxylation of pyruvate. The constructed strains were used for the synthesis of the pharmacologically interesting plant pentaketide noreugenin, which is produced by plants such as Aloe arborescens from five molecules of malonyl-CoA. In this context, accumulation of the C₁/C₆ cyclized intermediate 1-(2,4,6-trihydroxyphenyl)butane-1,3-dione (TPBD) was observed, which could be fully cyclized to the bicyclic product noreugenin by acidification.

Conclusion

The best strain C. glutamicum Nor2 C5 mufasO_BCD1 P_O6-iolT1 ∆pyc allowed for synthesis of 53.32 mg/L (0.278 mM) noreugenin in CGXII medium supplemented with casamino acids within 24 h.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12934-019-1117-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Alone at last! - Heterologous expression of a single gene is sufficient for establishing the five-step Weimberg pathway in Corynebacterium glutamicum

Corynebacterium glutamicum can grow on d-xylose as sole carbon and energy source via the five-step Weimberg pathway when the pentacistronic xylXABCD operon from Caulobacter crescentus is heterologously expressed. More recently, it could be demonstrated that the C. glutamicum wild type accumulates the Weimberg pathway intermediate d-xylonate when cultivated in the presence of d-xylose. Reason for this is the activity of the endogenous dehydrogenase IolG, which can also oxidize d-xylose. This raised the question whether additional endogenous enzymes in C. glutamicum contribute to the catabolization of d-xylose via the Weimberg pathway. In this study, analysis of the C. glutamicum genome in combination with systematic reduction of the heterologous xylXABCD operon revealed that the hitherto unknown and endogenous dehydrogenase KsaD (Cg0535) can also oxidize α-ketoglutarate semialdehyde to the tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediate α-ketoglutarate, the final enzymatic step of the Weimberg pathway. Furthermore, heterologous expression of either xylX or xylD, encoding for the two dehydratases of the Weimberg pathway in C. crescentus, is sufficient for enabling C. glutamicum to grow on d-xylose as sole carbon and energy source. Finally, several variants for the carbon-efficient microbial production of α-ketoglutarate from d-xylose were constructed. In comparison to cultivation solely on d-glucose, the best strain accumulated up to 1.5-fold more α-ketoglutarate in d-xylose/d-glucose mixtures.

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C. glutamicum requires only one additional dehydratase to grow on d-xylose.

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XylX or XylD can be used to establish the Weimberg pathway in C. glutamicum.

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cg0535 (ksaD) encodes for an α-ketoglutarate semialdehyde dehydrogenase.

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C. glutamicum accumulates α-ketoglutarate from d-xylose via the Weimberg pathway.

QbD Based Media Development for the Production of Fab Fragments in E. coli

Ranibizumab is a biotherapeutic Fab fragment used for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration and macular oedema. It is currently expressed in the gram-negative bacterium, Escherichia coli. However, low expression levels result in a high manufacturing cost. The protein expression can be increased by manipulating nutritional requirements (carbon source, nitrogen source, buffering agent), process parameters (pH, inducer concentration, agitation, temperature), and the genetic make-up of the producing strain. Further, understanding the impact of these factors on product quality is a requirement as per the principles of Quality by Design (QbD). In this paper, we examine the effect of various media components and process parameters on the expression level and quality of the biotherapeutic. First, risk analysis was performed to shortlist different media components based on the literature. Next, experiments were performed to screen these components. Eight components were identified for further investigation and were examined for their effect and interactions using a Fractional Factorial experimental design. Sucrose, biotin, and pantothenate were found to have the maximum effect during Fab production. Furthermore, cyanocobalamin glutathione and biotin-glutathione were the most significant interactions observed. Product identification was performed with Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS), the expression level was quantified using Bio-layer Interferometry, Reverse Phase-HPLC, and SDS-PAGE, and product quality were measured by RP-HPLC. Overall, a five-fold enhancement of the target protein titer was obtained (from 5 mg/L to 25 mg/L) using the screened medium components vis-a-vis the basal medium, thereby demonstrating the efficacy of the systematic approach purported by QbD.

Construction of synthetic pathways for raspberry ketone production in engineered Escherichia coli

Raspberry ketone is an important ingredient in the flavor and fragrance industries. Due to its low content in fruits and vegetables, the production of natural raspberry ketone using heterologous synthesis in microbial strains is recently attracting increased attention. In this work, a heterologous pathway to produce raspberry ketone from p-coumaric acid, including 4-coumarate: CoA ligase (4CL), benzalacetone synthase (BAS), and raspberry ketone/zingerone synthase (RZS1) from plants, was successfully assembled in Escherichia coli. When the RZS1 gene was introduced into E. coli and co-expressed with two other genes, the intermediate 4-hydroxybenzylidene acetone in the pathway was almost completely transformed into a raspberry ketone. Substituting TB medium for M9 medium increased raspberry ketone titers by 3-4 times. Furthermore, the heterologous pathway was partitioned into two modules; module one produced p-coumaroyl-CoA from p-coumaric acid by 4CL, and module two produced raspberry ketone from coumaroyl-CoA by the action of BAS and RZS1. Optimizing the balanced expression of the two modules, it was shown that moderate expression of module one and high expression of module two was the best combination to enhance raspberry ketone production. The engineered strain CZ-8 reached 90.97 mg/l of raspberry ketone, which was 12 times higher than previously reported. In addition, the preferred approach of the heterologous pathway was related to the heterologous genes from different sources; for example, 4CL from Arabidopsis thaliana seemed to be more suitable for raspberry ketone production than that from Petroselinum crispum. This work paves an alternative way for future economic production of natural raspberry ketone.

Modulation of the central carbon metabolism of Corynebacterium glutamicum improves malonyl-CoA availability and increases plant polyphenol synthesis

In recent years microorganisms have been engineered towards synthesizing interesting plant polyphenols such as flavonoids and stilbenes from glucose. Currently, the low endogenous supply of malonyl-CoA, indispensable for plant polyphenol synthesis, impedes high product titers. Usually, limited malonyl-CoA availability during plant polyphenol production is avoided by supplementing fatty acid synthesis-inhibiting antibiotics such as cerulenin, which are known to increase the intracellular malonyl-CoA pool as a side effect. Motivated by the goal of microbial polyphenol synthesis being independent of such expensive additives, we used rational metabolic engineering approaches to modulate regulation of fatty acid synthesis and flux into the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle) in Corynebacterium glutamicum strains capable of flavonoid and stilbene synthesis. Initial experiments showed that sole overexpression of genes coding for the native malonyl-CoA-forming acetyl-CoA carboxylase is not sufficient for increasing polyphenol production in C. glutamicum. Hence, the intracellular acetyl-CoA availability was also increased by reducing the flux into the TCA cycle through reduction of citrate synthase activity. In defined cultivation medium, the constructed C. glutamicum strains accumulated 24 mg·L ^-1 (0.088 mM) naringenin or 112 mg·L ^-1 (0.49 mM) resveratrol from glucose without supplementation of phenylpropanoid precursor molecules or any inhibitors of fatty acid synthesis.

Production of d-xylonic acid using a non-recombinant Corynebacterium glutamicum strain

It was found that Corynebacterium glutamicum ΔiolR devoid of the transcriptional regulator IolR accumulates high amounts of d-xylonate when cultivated in the presence of d-xylose. Detailed analyses of constructed deletion mutants revealed that the putative myo-inositol 2-dehydrogenase IolG also acts as d-xylose dehydrogenase and is mainly responsible for d-xylonate oxidation in this organism. Process development for d-xylonate production was initiated by cultivating C. glutamicum ΔiolR on defined d-xylose/d-glucose mixtures under batch and fed-batch conditions. The resulting yield matched the theoretical maximum of 1 mol mol^-1 and high volumetric productivities of up to 4 g L^-1 h^-1 could be achieved. Subsequently, a novel one-pot sequential hydrolysis and fermentation process based on optimized medium containing hydrolyzed sugarcane bagasse was developed. Cost-efficiency and abundance of second-generation substrates, good performance indicators, and enhanced market access using a non-recombinant strain open the perspective for a commercially viable bioprocess for d-xylonate production in the near future.

Corynebacterium glutamicum as platform for the production of hydroxybenzoic acids

Background

Hydroxybenzoic acids are industrially relevant aromatic compounds, which also play key roles in the microbial carbon metabolism, e.g., as precursors for the synthesis of cofactors or metal-chelating molecules. Due to its pronounced resistance to aromatics Corynebacterium glutamicum represents an interesting platform for production of these compounds. Unfortunately, a complex catabolic network for aromatic molecules prevents application of C. glutamicum for microbial production of aromatic compounds other than aromatic amino acids, which cannot be metabolized by this microorganism.

Results

We completed the construction of the platform strain C. glutamicum DelAro⁵, in which the deletion of altogether 27 genes in five gene clusters abolished most of the peripheral and central catabolic pathways for aromatic compounds known in this microorganism. The obtained strain was subsequently applied for the production of 2-hydroxybenzoate (salicylate), 3-hydroxybenzoate, 4-hydroxybenzoate and protocatechuate, which all derive from intermediates of the aromatic amino acid-forming shikimate pathway. For an optimal connection of the designed hydroxybenzoate production pathways to the host metabolism, C. glutamicum was additionally engineered towards increased supply of the shikimate pathway substrates erythrose-4-phosphate and phosphoenolpyruvate by manipulation of the glucose transport and key enzymatic activities of the central carbon metabolism. With an optimized genetic background the constructed strains produced 0.01 g/L (0.07 mM) 2-hydroxybenzoate, 0.3 g/L (2.2 mM) 3-hydroxybenzoate, 2.0 g/L (13.0 mM) protocatechuate and 3.3 g/L (23.9 mM) 4-hydroxybenzoate in shaking flasks.

Conclusion

By abolishing its natural catabolic network for aromatic compounds, C. glutamicum was turned into a versatile microbial platform for aromatics production, which could be exemplarily demonstrated by rapidly engineering this platform organism towards producing four biotechnologically interesting hydroxybenzoates. Production of these compounds was optimized following different metabolic engineering strategies leading to increased precursor availability. The constructed C. glutamicum strains are promising hosts for the production of hydroxybenzoates and other aromatic compounds at larger scales.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12934-018-0923-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Rich biotin content in lignocellulose biomass plays the key role in determining cellulosic glutamic acid accumulation by Corynebacterium glutamicum

BACKGROUND

Lignocellulose is one of the most promising alternative feedstocks for glutamic acid production as commodity building block chemical, but the efforts by the dominant industrial fermentation strain Corynebacterium glutamicum failed for accumulating glutamic acid using lignocellulose feedstock.

RESULTS

We identified the existence of surprisingly high biotin concentration in corn stover hydrolysate as the determining factor for the failure of glutamic acid accumulation by Corynebacterium glutamicum. Under excessive biotin content, induction by penicillin resulted in 41.7 ± 0.1 g/L of glutamic acid with the yield of 0.50 g glutamic acid/g glucose. Our further investigation revealed that corn stover contained 353 ± 16 μg of biotin per kg dry solids, approximately one order of magnitude greater than the biotin in corn grain. Most of the biotin remained stable during the biorefining chain and the rich biotin content in corn stover hydrolysate almost completely blocked the glutamic acid accumulation. This rich biotin existence was found to be a common phenomenon in the wide range of lignocellulose biomass and this may be the key reason why the previous studies failed in cellulosic glutamic acid fermentation from lignocellulose biomass. The extended recording of the complete members of all eight vitamin B compounds in lignocellulose biomass further reveals that the major vitamin B members were also under the high concentration levels even after harsh pretreatment.

CONCLUSIONS

The high content of biotin in wide range of lignocellulose biomass feedstocks and the corresponding hydrolysates was discovered and it was found to be the key factor in determining the cellulosic glutamic acid accumulation. The highly reserved biotin and the high content of their other vitamin B compounds in biorefining process might act as the potential nutrients to biorefining fermentations. This study creates a new insight that lignocellulose biorefining not only generates inhibitors, but also keeps nutrients for cellulosic fermentations.

Phylogeny Trumps Chemotaxonomy: A Case Study Involving Turicella otitidis

The genus Turicella was proposed to harbor clinical strains isolated from middle-ear fluids of patients with otitis media. 16S rRNA phylogeny showed that it belonged to the mycolic acid-containing actinobacteria, currently classified in the order Corynebacteriales, and was closely related to the genus Corynebacterium. A new genus was proposed for the organisms as unlike corynebacteria they lacked mycolic acids and had different menaquinones. Here, we carried out large-scale comparative genomics on representative strains of the genera Corynebacterium and Turicella to check if this chemotaxonomic classification is justified. Three genes that are known to play an essential role in mycolic acid biosynthesis were absent in Turicella and two other mycolate-less Corynebacterium spp., explaining the lack of mycolic acids resulted from the deletion of genes and does not confer any phylogenetic context. Polyphasic phylogenetic analyses using 16S rRNA, bacterial core genes and genes responsible for synthesizing menaquinones unequivocally indicate that Turicella is a true member of the genus Corynebacterium. Here, we demonstrate that menaquinone and mycolic acid that have been used as critical taxonomic markers should be interpreted carefully, particularly when genome-based taxonomy is readily available. Based on the phylogenetic analysis, we propose to reclassify Turicella otitidis as Corynebacterium otitidis comb. nov.

The myo-inositol/proton symporter IolT1 contributes to d-xylose uptake in Corynebacterium glutamicum

Corynebacterium glutamicum has been engineered to utilize d-xylose as sole carbon and energy source. Recently, a C. glutamicum strain has been optimized for growth on defined medium containing d-xylose by laboratory evolution, but the mutation(s) attributing to the improved-growth phenotype could not be reliably identified. This study shows that loss of the transcriptional repressor IolR is responsible for the increased growth performance on defined d-xylose medium in one of the isolated mutants. Underlying reason is derepression of the gene for the glucose/myo-inositol permease IolT1 in the absence of IolR, which could be shown to also contribute to d-xylose uptake in C. glutamicum. IolR-regulation of iolT1 could be successfully repealed by rational engineering of an IolR-binding site in the iolT1-promoter. This minimally engineered C. glutamicum strain bearing only two nucleotide substitutions mimics the IolR loss-of-function phenotype and allows for a high growth rate on d-xylose-containing media (µ_max = 0.24 ± 0.01 h^-1).

Physiological roles of sigma factor SigD in Corynebacterium glutamicum

BACKGROUND

Sigma factors are one of the components of RNA polymerase holoenzymes, and an essential factor of transcription initiation in bacteria. Corynebacterium glutamicum possesses seven genes coding for sigma factors, most of which have been studied to some detail; however, the role of SigD in transcriptional regulation in C. glutamicum has been mostly unknown.

RESULTS

In this work, pleiotropic effects of sigD overexpression at the level of phenotype, transcripts, proteins and metabolites were investigated. Overexpression of sigD decreased the growth rate of C. glutamicum cultures, and induced several physiological effects such as reduced culture foaming, turbid supernatant and cell aggregation. Upon overexpression of sigD, the level of Cmt1 (corynomycolyl transferase) in the supernatant was notably enhanced, and carbohydrate-containing compounds were excreted to the supernatant. The real-time PCR analysis revealed that sigD overexpression increased the expression of genes related to corynomycolic acid synthesis (fadD2, pks), genes encoding corynomycolyl transferases (cop1, cmt1, cmt2, cmt3), L, D-transpeptidase (lppS), a subunit of the major cell wall channel (porH), and the envelope lipid regulation factor (elrF). Furthermore, overexpression of sigD resulted in trehalose dicorynomycolate accumulation in the cell envelope.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrated that SigD regulates the synthesis of corynomycolate and related compounds, and expanded the knowledge of regulatory functions of sigma factors in C. glutamicum.

Analysis of Corynebacterium diphtheriae macrophage interaction: Dispensability of corynomycolic acids for inhibition of phagolysosome maturation and identification of a new gene involved in synthesis of the corynomycolic acid layer

Corynebacterium diphtheriae is the causative agent of diphtheria, a toxin mediated disease of upper respiratory tract, which can be fatal. As a member of the CMNR group, C. diphtheriae is closely related to members of the genera Mycobacterium, Nocardia and Rhodococcus. Almost all members of these genera comprise an outer membrane layer of mycolic acids, which is assumed to influence host-pathogen interactions. In this study, three different C. diphtheriae strains were investigated in respect to their interaction with phagocytic murine and human cells and the invertebrate infection model Caenorhabditis elegans. Our results indicate that C. diphtheriae is able to delay phagolysosome maturation after internalization in murine and human cell lines. This effect is independent of the presence of mycolic acids, as one of the strains lacked corynomycolates. In addition, analyses of NF-κB induction revealed a mycolate-independent mechanism and hint to detrimental effects of the different strains tested on the phagocytic cells. Bioinformatics analyses carried out to elucidate the reason for the lack of mycolates in one of the strains led to the identification of a new gene involved in mycomembrane formation in C. diphtheriae.

Functional reconstitution of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis long-chain acyl-CoA carboxylase from multiple acyl-CoA subunits

Mycobacterium tuberculosis produces a large number of structurally diverse lipids that have been implicated in the pathogenicity, persistence and antibiotic resistance of this organism. Most building blocks involved in the biosynthesis of all these lipids are generated by acyl-CoA carboxylases whose subunit composition and physiological roles have not yet been clearly established. Inconclusive data in the literature refer to the exact protein composition and substrate specificity of the enzyme complex that produces the long-chain α-carboxy-acyl-CoAs, which are substrates involved in the last step of condensation mediated by the polyketide synthase 13 to synthesize mature mycolic acids. Here we have successfully reconstituted the long-chain acyl-CoA carboxylase (LCC) complex from its purified components, the α subunit (AccA3), the ε subunit (AccE5) and the two β subunits (AccD4 and AccD5), and demonstrated that the four subunits are essential for its activity. Furthermore, we also showed by substrate competition experiments and the use of a specific inhibitor that the AccD5 subunit's role in the carboxylation of the long acyl-CoAs, as part of the LCC complex, was structural rather than catalytic. Moreover, AccD5 was also able to carboxylate its natural substrates, acetyl-CoA and propionyl-CoA, in the context of the LCC enzyme complex. Thus, the supercomplex formed by these four subunits has the potential to generate the main substrates, malonyl-CoA, methylmalonyl-CoA and α-carboxy-C24-26 -CoA, used as condensing units for the biosynthesis of all the lipids present in this pathogen.

A Novel Synthetic Pathway Enables Microbial Production of Polyphenols Independent from the Endogenous Aromatic Amino Acid Metabolism

Numerous plant polyphenols have potential applications as pharmaceuticals or nutraceuticals. Stilbenes and flavonoids as most abundant polyphenols are synthesized from phenylpropanoids, which are exclusively derived from aromatic amino acids in nature. Several microorganisms were engineered for the synthesis of biotechnologically interesting plant polyphenols; however, low activity of heterologous ammonia lyases, linking endogenous microbial aromatic amino acid biosynthesis to phenylpropanoid synthesis, turned out to be the limiting step during microbial synthesis. We here developed an alternative strategy for polyphenol production from cheap benzoic acids by reversal of a β-oxidative phenylpropanoid degradation pathway avoiding any ammonia lyase activity. The synthetic pathway running in the non-natural direction is feasible with respect to thermodynamics and involved reaction mechanisms. Instantly, product titers of 5 mg/L resveratrol could be achieved in recombinant Corynebacterium glutamicum strains indicating that phenylpropanoid synthesis from 4-hydroxybenzoic acid can in principle be implemented independently from aromatic amino acids and ammonia lyase activity.

The influence of AccD5 on AccD6 carboxyltransferase essentiality in pathogenic and non-pathogenic Mycobacterium

Malonyl-coenzyme A (CoA) is a crucial extender unit for the synthesis of mycolic and other fatty acids in mycobacteria, generated in a reaction catalyzed by acetyl-CoA carboxylase. We previously reported on the essentiality of accD6_Mtb encoding the functional acetyl-CoA carboxylase subunit in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Strikingly, the homologous gene in the fast-growing, non-pathogenic Mycobacterium smegmatis - (accD6_Msm) appeared to be dispensable, and its deletion did not influence the cell lipid content. Herein, we demonstrate that, despite the difference in essentiality, accD6_Msm and accD6_Mtb encode proteins of convergent catalytic activity in vivo. To identify an alternative, AccD6-independent, malonyl-CoA synthesis pathway in M. smegmatis, a complex genetic approach combined with lipid analysis was applied to screen all five remaining carboxyltransferase genes (accD1-accD5) with respect to their involvement in mycolic acid biosynthesis and ability to utilize acetyl-CoA as the substrate for carboxylation. This approach revealed that AccD1_Msm, AccD2_Msm and AccD3_Msm are not essential for mycolic acid biosynthesis. Furthermore, we confirmed in vivo the function of AccD4_Msm as an essential, long-chain acyl-CoA carboxyltransferase, unable to carboxylate short-chain substrate. Finally, our comparative studies unambiguously demonstrated between-species difference in in vivo ability of AccD5 carboxyltransferase to utilize acetyl-CoA that influences AccD6 essentiality in pathogenic and non-pathogenic mycobacteria.

Functional expression of plant-derived O-methyltransferase, flavanone 3-hydroxylase, and flavonol synthase in Corynebacterium glutamicum for production of pterostilbene, kaempferol, and quercetin

Plant polyphenols receive significant attention due to their anti-oxidative and health-promoting properties, and several microorganisms are currently engineered towards producing these valuable compounds. Previously, Corynebacterium glutamicum has been engineered for synthesizing polyphenol core structures such as the stilbene resveratrol and the (2S)-flavanone naringenin. Decoration of these compounds by O-methylation or hydroxylation would provide access to polyphenols of even higher commercial interest. In this study, introduction of a heterologous O-methyltransferase into a resveratrol-producing C. glutamicum strain allowed synthesis of 42mg/L (0.16mM) of the di-O-methylated pterostilbene from p-coumaric acid. A prerequisite for reaching this product titer was a fusion of O-methyltransferase with the maltose-binding protein of Escherichia coli lacking its signal peptide, thereby increasing the solubility of the O-methyltransferase. Furthermore, expression of heterologous dioxygenase genes in (2S)-flavanone-producing C. glutamicum strains enabled the production of flavanonols and flavonols starting from the phenylpropanoids p-coumaric acid and caffeic acid. For the flavonols kaempferol and quercetin, maximum product titers of 23mg/L (0.08mM) and 10mg/L (0.03mM) could be achieved, respectively. The obtained results demonstrate that C. glutamicum is a suitable host organism for the production of more complex plant polyphenols.

Construction of a Corynebacterium glutamicum platform strain for the production of stilbenes and (2S)-flavanones

Corynebacterium glutamicum is an important organism in industrial biotechnology for the microbial production of bulk chemicals, in particular amino acids. However, until now activity of a complex catabolic network for the degradation of aromatic compounds averted application of C. glutamicum as production host for aromatic compounds of pharmaceutical or biotechnological interest. In the course of the construction of a suitable C. glutamicum platform strain for plant polyphenol production, four gene clusters comprising 21 genes involved in the catabolism of aromatic compounds were deleted. Expression of plant-derived and codon-optimized genes coding for a chalcone synthase (CHS) and a chalcone isomerase (CHI) in this strain background enabled formation of 35mg/L naringenin and 37mg/L eriodictyol from the supplemented phenylpropanoids p-coumaric acid and caffeic acid, respectively. Furthermore, expression of genes coding for a 4-coumarate: CoA-ligase (4CL) and a stilbene synthase (STS) led to the production of the stilbenes pinosylvin, resveratrol and piceatannol starting from supplemented phenylpropanoids cinnamic acid, p-coumaric acid and caffeic acid, respectively. Stilbene concentrations of up to 158mg/L could be achieved. Additional engineering of the amino acid metabolism for an optimal connection to the synthetic plant polyphenol pathways enabled resveratrol production directly from glucose. The construction of these C. glutamicum platform strains for the synthesis of plant polyphenols opens the door towards the microbial production of high-value aromatic compounds from cheap carbon sources with this microorganism.

Acyl-CoA sensing by FasR to adjust fatty acid synthesis in Corynebacterium glutamicum

Corynebacterium glutamicum, like Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is a member of the Corynebacteriales, which have linear fatty acids and as branched fatty acids the mycolic acids. We identified accD1 and fasA as key genes of fatty acid synthesis, encoding the β-subunit of the acetyl-CoA carboxylase and a type-I fatty acid synthase, respectively, and observed their repression during growth on minimal medium with acetate. We also identified the transcriptional regulator FasR and its binding sites in the 5′ upstream regions of accD1 and fasA. In the present work we establish by co-isolation and gel-mobility shifts oleoyl-CoA and palmitoyl-CoA as effectors of FasR, and show by DNA microarray analysis that in presence of exogeneous fatty acids accD1 and fasA are repressed. These results are evidence that acyl-CoA derivatives derived from extracellular fatty acids interact with FasR to repress the genes of fatty acid synthesis. This model also explains the observed repression of accD1 and fasA during growth on acetate, where apparently the known high intracellular acetyl-CoA concentration during growth on this substrate requires reduced accD1 and fasA expression for fine control of de novo fatty acid synthesis. Consequently, this mechanism ensures that membrane lipid homeostasis is maintained when specific nutrients are available resulting in increased acetyl-CoA concentration, as is the case with acetate, or when fatty acids are directly available from the extracellular environment. However, the genes specific to mycolic acid synthesis, which are in part shared with linear fatty acid synthesis, are not controlled by FasR, which is in agreement with the fact that they can not be supplied from the extracellular environment but that their synthesis fully depends on a constant supply of linear fatty acid chains.