Project description:UNLABELLED: BACKGROUND:High tolerance to ethanol is a desirable characteristics for ethanologenic strains used in industrial ethanol fermentation. A deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying ethanologenic strains tolerance of ethanol stress may guide the design of rational strategies to increase process performance in industrial alcoholic production. Many extensive studies have been performed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli. However, the physiological basis and genetic mechanisms involved in ethanol tolerance for Zymomonas mobilis are poorly understood on genomic level. To identify the genes required for tolerance to ethanol, microarray technology was used to investigate the transcriptome profiling of the ethanologenic Z. mobilis in response to ethanol stress. RESULTS:We successfully identified 127 genes which were differentially expressed in response to ethanol. Ethanol up- or down-regulated genes related to cell wall/membrane biogenesis, metabolism, and transcription. These genes were classified as being involved in a wide range of cellular processes including carbohydrate metabolism, cell wall/membrane biogenesis, respiratory chain, terpenoid biosynthesis, DNA replication, DNA recombination, DNA repair, transport, transcriptional regulation, some universal stress response, etc. CONCLUSION:In this study, genome-wide transcriptional responses to ethanol were investigated for the first time in Z. mobilis using microarray analysis.Our results revealed that ethanol had effects on multiple aspects of cellular metabolism at the transcriptional level and that membrane might play important roles in response to ethanol. Although the molecular mechanism involved in tolerance and adaptation of ethanologenic strains to ethanol is still unclear, this research has provided insights into molecular response to ethanol in Z. mobilis. These data will also be helpful to construct more ethanol resistant strains for cellulosic ethanol production in the future.

Project description:Zymomonas mobilis is an ethanologenic bacterium currently being developed for production of advanced biofuels. Recent studies have shown that Z. mobilis can fix dinitrogen gas (N2) as a sole nitrogen source. During N2 fixation, Z. mobilis exhibits increased biomass-specific rates of ethanol production. In order to better understand the physiology of Z. mobilis during N2 fixation and during changes in ammonium (NH4+) availability, we performed liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based targeted metabolomics and shotgun proteomics under three regimes of nitrogen availability: continuous N2 fixation, gradual NH4+ depletion, and acute NH4+ addition to N2-fixing cells. We report dynamic changes in abundance of proteins and metabolites related to nitrogen fixation, motility, ammonium assimilation, amino acid biosynthesis, nucleotide biosynthesis, isoprenoid biosynthesis, and Entner-Doudoroff (ED) glycolysis, providing insight into the regulatory mechanisms that control these processes in Z. mobilis. Our analysis identified potential physiological mechanisms that may contribute to increased specific ethanol production during N2 fixation, including decreased activity of biosynthetic pathways, increased protein abundance of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADHI), and increased thermodynamic favorability of the ED pathway. Of particular relevance to advanced biofuel production, we found that intermediates in the methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway for isoprenoid biosynthesis were depleted during N2 fixation, coinciding with decreased protein abundance of deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate synthase (DXS), the first enzyme in the pathway. This implies that DXS protein abundance serves as a native control point in regulating MEP pathway activity in Z. mobilis. The results of this study will inform metabolic engineering to further develop Z. mobilis as a platform organism for biofuel production. IMPORTANCE Biofuels and bioproducts have the potential to serve as environmentally sustainable replacements for petroleum-derived fuels and commodity molecules. Advanced fuels such as higher alcohols and isoprenoids are more suitable gasoline replacements than bioethanol. Developing microbial systems to generate advanced biofuels requires metabolic engineering to reroute carbon away from ethanol and other native products and toward desired pathways, such as the MEP pathway for isoprenoid biosynthesis. However, rational engineering of microbial metabolism relies on understanding metabolic control points, in terms of both enzyme activity and thermodynamic favorability. In Z. mobilis, the factors that control glycolytic rates, ethanol production, and isoprenoid production are still not fully understood. In this study, we performed metabolomic, proteomic, and thermodynamic analysis of Z. mobilis during N2 fixation. This analysis identified key changes in metabolite levels, enzyme abundance, and glycolytic thermodynamic favorability that occurred during changes in NH4+ availability, helping to inform future efforts in metabolic engineering.

Project description:Zymomonas mobilis ZM4 produces near theoretical yields of ethanol with high specific productivity and recombinant strains are able to ferment both C-5 and C-6 sugars. However, the genetic and physiological basis of the ZM4 response to various industrially-relevant stresses is poorly understood. In this study, the dynamics of ZM4 oxygen stress responses were elucidated by characterizing the transcriptomic and metabolomic profiles of aerobic and anaerobic fermentations using whole-genome microarray analysis and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In the absence of oxygen, ZM4 consumed glucose more rapidly, had a higher growth rate, and ethanol was the major end-product. Under aerobic conditions, much less ethanol was observed with other end-products produced, including acetate, lactate, and acetoin. In the early exponential phase, no genes were detected as being significantly differentially expressed between aerobic and anaerobic conditions via microarray analysis. However, microarray analysis of the stationary phase cultures revealed that 166 genes were significantly differentially expressed by more than two-fold. Quantitative-PCR validated the expression values for seventeen genes from different categories of stationary phase microarray data. Transcripts for Entner-Doudoroff pathway genes and gene pdc, encoding a key enzyme leading to the ethanol production, were at least 30-fold more abundant under anaerobic conditions at stationary phase based on quantitative-PCR results. Expression of stress response genes was found to be greater under oxygen stress conditions. GC-MS analysis of stationary phase intracellular metabolites indicated that ZM4 under anaerobic conditions contained lower levels of amino acids, glucose and ED pathway intermediates, whereas metabolites such as ribitol, trehalose, myristic acid, glyceric acid, glucose 6-phosphate, mannose 6-phosphate, and 4-hydroxybutanoic acid were more abundant than under aerobic conditions. Transcriptomic and metabolomic data were consistent with faster glucose consumption and greater ethanol production under anaerobic conditions and suggested gene targets for deletion and improved fermentation. Keywords: Time course/ Stress Response

Project description:Zymomonas mobilis ZM4 produces near theoretical yields of ethanol with high specific productivity and recombinant strains are able to ferment both C-5 and C-6 sugars. However, the genetic and physiological basis of the ZM4 response to various industrially-relevant stresses is poorly understood. In this study, the dynamics of ZM4 oxygen stress responses were elucidated by characterizing the transcriptomic and metabolomic profiles of aerobic and anaerobic fermentations using whole-genome microarray analysis and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In the absence of oxygen, ZM4 consumed glucose more rapidly, had a higher growth rate, and ethanol was the major end-product. Under aerobic conditions, much less ethanol was observed with other end-products produced, including acetate, lactate, and acetoin. In the early exponential phase, no genes were detected as being significantly differentially expressed between aerobic and anaerobic conditions via microarray analysis. However, microarray analysis of the stationary phase cultures revealed that 166 genes were significantly differentially expressed by more than two-fold. Quantitative-PCR validated the expression values for seventeen genes from different categories of stationary phase microarray data. Transcripts for Entner-Doudoroff pathway genes and gene pdc, encoding a key enzyme leading to the ethanol production, were at least 30-fold more abundant under anaerobic conditions at stationary phase based on quantitative-PCR results. Expression of stress response genes was found to be greater under oxygen stress conditions. GC-MS analysis of stationary phase intracellular metabolites indicated that ZM4 under anaerobic conditions contained lower levels of amino acids, glucose and ED pathway intermediates, whereas metabolites such as ribitol, trehalose, myristic acid, glyceric acid, glucose 6-phosphate, mannose 6-phosphate, and 4-hydroxybutanoic acid were more abundant than under aerobic conditions. Transcriptomic and metabolomic data were consistent with faster glucose consumption and greater ethanol production under anaerobic conditions and suggested gene targets for deletion and improved fermentation. Keywords: Time course/ Stress Response A total of 24 samples were analyzed. These consisted of two times points, (3 hours and 26 hours) under two conditions (anaerobic and aerobic). There were 3 biological replicates and two dye swaps. Each microarray containted one to two probes per predicted coding sequence.

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Zymomonas mobilis: a novel platform for future biorefineries.

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Zymomonas mobilis: a novel platform for future biorefineries.

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