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Cloning of a nitrilase gene from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC6803 and heterologous expression and characterization of the encoded protein.

ABSTRACT: The gene encoding a putative nitrilase was identified in the genome sequence of the photosynthetic cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC6803. The gene was amplified by PCR and cloned into an expression vector. The encoded protein was heterologously expressed in the native form and as a His-tagged protein in Escherichia coli, and the recombinant strains were shown to convert benzonitrile to benzoate. The active enzyme was purified to homogeneity and shown by gel filtration to consist probably of 10 subunits. The purified nitrilase converted various aromatic and aliphatic nitriles. The highest enzyme activity was observed with fumarodinitrile, but also some rather hydrophobic aromatic (e.g., naphthalenecarbonitrile), heterocyclic (e.g., indole-3-acetonitrile), or long-chain aliphatic (di-)nitriles (e.g., octanoic acid dinitrile) were converted with higher specific activities than benzonitrile. From aliphatic dinitriles with less than six carbon atoms only 1 mol of ammonia was released per mol of dinitrile, and thus presumably the corresponding cyanocarboxylic acids formed. The purified enzyme was active in the presence of a wide range of organic solvents and the turnover rates of dodecanoic acid nitrile and naphthalenecarbonitrile were increased in the presence of water-soluble and water-immiscible organic solvents.

SUBMITTER: Heinemann U

PROVIDER: S-EPMC169084 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Cloning of a nitrilase gene from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC6803 and heterologous expression and characterization of the encoded protein.

Heinemann Ute U Engels Dirk D Bürger Sibylle S Kiziak Christoph C Mattes Ralf R Stolz Andreas A

Applied and environmental microbiology 20030801 8

The gene encoding a putative nitrilase was identified in the genome sequence of the photosynthetic cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC6803. The gene was amplified by PCR and cloned into an expression vector. The encoded protein was heterologously expressed in the native form and as a His-tagged protein in Escherichia coli, and the recombinant strains were shown to convert benzonitrile to benzoate. The active enzyme was purified to homogeneity and shown by gel filtration to consist probab ...[more]

PMID: 12902216

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Project description:BACKGROUND:The use of photosynthetic autotrophs and in particular the model organism Synechocystis PCC6803 is receiving much attention for the production of sustainable biofuels and other economically useful products through metabolic engineering. Optimisation of metabolic-engineered organisms for high-level sustained production of product is a key element in the manipulation of this organism. A limitation to the utilisation of metabolically-engineered Synechocystis PCC6803 is the availability of strong controllable promoters and stable gene dosage methods for maximising gene expression and subsequent product formation following genetic manipulation. RESULTS:A native Synechocystis PCC6803 small plasmid, pCA2.4, is consistently maintained at a copy level of up to 7 times that of the polyploid chromosome. As this plasmid is stable during cell division, it is potentially an ideal candidate for maximising gene dosage levels within the organism. Here, we describe the construction of a novel expression vector generated from the native plasmid, pCA2.4. To investigate the feasibility of this new expression system, a yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) encoding gene was cloned downstream of the strong Ptrc promoter and integrated into a predicted neutral site within the pCA2.4 plasmid. The stability of the integrated construct was monitored over time compared to a control strain containing an identical YFP-expressing construct integrated at a known neutral site in a chromosomal location. CONCLUSIONS:A significantly higher fluorescence level of the yellow fluorescent protein was observed when its encoded gene was integrated into the pCA2.4 native plasmid when compared to the isogenic chromosomally integrated control strain. On average, a minimum of 20-fold higher fluorescence level could be achieved from integration into the native plasmid. Fluorescence was also monitored as a function of culture time and demonstrated to be stable over multiple sub-cultures even after the removal of selective pressure. Therefore, the native small plasmid, pCA2.4 may be utilised to stably increase gene expression levels in Synechocystis PCC6803. With the complementary utilisation of an inducible promoter system, rapid generation of commodity-producing Synechocystis PCC6803 strains having high level, controlled expression may be more achievable.

Project description:BACKGROUND:The production of biofuels in photosynthetic microalgae and cyanobacteria is a promising alternative to the generation of fuels from fossil resources. To be economically competitive, producer strains need to be established that synthesize the targeted product at high yield and over a long time. Engineering cyanobacteria into forced fuel producers should considerably interfere with overall cell homeostasis, which in turn might counteract productivity and sustainability of the process. Therefore, in-depth characterization of the cellular response upon long-term production is of high interest for the targeted improvement of a desired strain. RESULTS:The transcriptome-wide response to continuous ethanol production was examined in Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 using high resolution microarrays. In two independent experiments, ethanol production rates of 0.0338% (v/v) ethanol d-1 and 0.0303% (v/v) ethanol d-1 were obtained over 18 consecutive days, measuring two sets of biological triplicates in fully automated photobioreactors. Ethanol production caused a significant (~40%) delay in biomass accumulation, the development of a bleaching phenotype and a down-regulation of light harvesting capacity. However, microarray analyses performed at day 4, 7, 11 and 18 of the experiment revealed only three mRNAs with a strongly modified accumulation level throughout the course of the experiment. In addition to the overexpressed adhA (slr1192) gene, this was an approximately 4 fold reduction in cpcB (sll1577) and 3 to 6 fold increase in rps8 (sll1809) mRNA levels. Much weaker modifications of expression level or modifications restricted to day 18 of the experiment were observed for genes involved in carbon assimilation (Ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase and Glutamate decarboxylase). Molecular analysis of the reduced cpcB levels revealed a post-transcriptional processing of the cpcBA operon mRNA leaving a truncated mRNA cpcA* likely not competent for translation. Moreover, western blots and zinc-enhanced bilin fluorescence blots confirmed a severe reduction in the amounts of both phycocyanin subunits, explaining the cause of the bleaching phenotype. CONCLUSIONS:Changes in gene expression upon induction of long-term ethanol production in Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 are highly specific. In particular, we did not observe a comprehensive stress response as might have been expected.

Project description:The production of biofuels in photosynthetic microalgae and cyanobacteria is considered a promising alternative to the generation of fuels from fossil resources. However, to be economically competitive, producer strains need to be established that synthesize the targeted product at high yield and over a long time. Engineering cyanobacteria to forced fuel producers should considerably interfere with overall cell homeostasis, which in turn might counteract productivity and sustainability of the process. Therefore, in-depth characterization of the cellular response upon long-term production is of high interest for the targeted improvement of a desired strain. Here we report the results of a monitoring experiment, in which the transcriptome-wide response to continuous ethanol production in the unicellular model cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 was examined using high resolution microarrays. In two independent experiments, ethanol production rates of 0.0338% (v/v) EtOH d-1 M-BM-1 0.002 and 0.0303% (v/v) d-1 M-BM-1 0.002 were obtained over 18 consecutive days, measuring biological triplicates in fully automated photobioreactors. Ethanol production caused a significant (~40%) delay in biomass accumulation in the producer strains and the development of a bleaching phenotype. Absorption spectroscopy indicated in particular a down-regulation of light harvesting capacity. Microarray analyses performed at day 4, 7, 11 and 18 of the experiment revealed only three mRNAs with a strongly modified accumulation level throughout the course of the experiment. In addition to the overexpressed adhA (slr1192) gene, this was an about 4 fold reduction in cpcB (sll1577) and an about 3 to 6 fold increase in rps8 (sll1809) mRNA levels. Much weaker modifications of expression level or modifications restricted to day 18 of the experiment were observed for genes involved in carbon assimilation (Ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase and Glutamate decarboxylase). Molecular analysis of the reduced cpcB levels revealed a post-transcriptional operon discoordination in the cpcBA operon leaving a truncated mRNA cpcA* likely not competent for translation. Moreover, Western blots and zinc-enhanced bilin fluorescence blots confirmed a severe reduction in the amounts of both phycocyanin subunits, explaining the cause of the bleaching phenotype. We conclude that the changes in gene expression upon induction of long term ethanol production in Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 are highly specific. in particular we did not observe a comprehensive stress response contributing to a complex phenotype as might have been expected. Gene expression of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 WT (#621) and the isogenic ethanol producing strain #309 was monitored at 4, 7, 11 and 18 days after induction of ethanol production by copper depletion. Each condition was sampled in biological duplicates

Dataset Information

Cloning of a nitrilase gene from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC6803 and heterologous expression and characterization of the encoded protein.

Publications

Cloning of a nitrilase gene from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC6803 and heterologous expression and characterization of the encoded protein.

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