Project description:BackgroundZymomonas mobilis produces near theoretical yields of ethanol and recombinant strains are candidate industrial microorganisms. To date, few studies have examined its responses to various stresses at the gene level. Hfq is a conserved bacterial member of the Sm-like family of RNA-binding proteins, coordinating a broad array of responses including multiple stress responses. In a previous study, we observed Z. mobilis ZM4 gene ZMO0347 showed higher expression under anaerobic, stationary phase compared to that of aerobic, stationary conditions.ResultsWe generated a Z. mobilis hfq insertion mutant AcRIM0347 in an acetate tolerant strain (AcR) background and investigated its role in model lignocellulosic pretreatment inhibitors including acetate, vanillin, furfural and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). Saccharomyces cerevisiae Lsm protein (Hfq homologue) mutants and Lsm protein overexpression strains were also assayed for their inhibitor phenotypes. Our results indicated that all the pretreatment inhibitors tested in this study had a detrimental effect on both Z. mobilis and S. cerevisiae, and vanillin had the most inhibitory effect followed by furfural and then HMF for both Z. mobilis and S. cerevisiae. AcRIM0347 was more sensitive than the parental strain to the inhibitors and had an increased lag phase duration and/or slower growth depending upon the conditions. The hfq mutation in AcRIM0347 was complemented partially by trans-acting hfq gene expression. We also assayed growth phenotypes for S. cerevisiae Lsm protein mutant and overexpression phenotypes. Lsm1, 6, and 7 mutants showed reduced tolerance to acetate and other pretreatment inhibitors. S. cerevisiae Lsm protein overexpression strains showed increased acetate and HMF resistance as compared to the wild-type, while the overexpression strains showed greater inhibition under vanillin stress conditions.ConclusionsWe have shown the utility of the pKNOCK suicide plasmid for mutant construction in Z. mobilis, and constructed a Gateway compatible expression plasmid for use in Z. mobilis for the first time. We have also used genetics to show Z. mobilis Hfq and S. cerevisiae Lsm proteins play important roles in resisting multiple, important industrially relevant inhibitors. The conserved nature of this global regulator offers the potential to apply insights from these fundamental studies for further industrial strain development.

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:BackgroundLignocellulose-derived aldehyde inhibitors seriously blocked the biorefinery of biofuels and biochemicals. To date, the economic production of lignocellulose-based products heavily relied on high productivities of fermenting strains. However, it was expensive and time-consuming for the achievable rational modification to strengthen stress tolerance robustness of aldehyde inhibitors. Here, it aimed to improve aldehyde inhibitors tolerance and cellulosic bioethanol fermentability for the chassis Zymomonas mobilis ZM4 pretreated using energy-efficient and eco-friendly cold plasma.ResultsIt was found that bioethanol fermentability was weaker in CSH (corn stover hydrolysates) than that in synthetic medium for Z. mobilis, and thus was attributed to the inhibition of the lignocellulose-derived aldehyde inhibitors in CSH. Convincingly, it further confirmed that the mixed aldehydes severely decreased bioethanol accumulation through additional aldehydes supplementary assays in synthetic medium. After assayed under different processing time (10-30 s), discharge power (80-160 W), and working pressure (120-180 Pa) using cold atmosphere plasma (CAP), it achieved the increased bioethanol fermentability for Z. mobilis after pretreated at the optimized parameters (20 s, 140 W and 165 Pa). It showed that cold plasma brought about three mutation sites including ZMO0694 (E220V), ZMO0843 (L471L) and ZMO0843 (P505H) via Genome resequencing-based SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms). A serial of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were further identified as the potential contributors for stress tolerance via RNA-Seq sequencing, including ZMO0253 and ZMO_RS09265 (type I secretion outer membrane protein), ZMO1941 (Type IV secretory pathway protease TraF-like protein), ZMOr003 and ZMOr006 (16S ribosomal RNA), ZMO0375 and ZMO0374 (levansucrase) and ZMO1705 (thioredoxins). It enriched cellular process, followed by metabolic process and single-organism process for biological process. For KEGG analysis, the mutant was also referred to starch and sucrose metabolism, galactose metabolism and two-component system. Finally, but interestingly, it simultaneously achieved the enhanced stress tolerance capacity of aldehyde inhibitors and bioethanol fermentability in CSH for the mutant Z. mobilis.ConclusionsOf several candidate genetic changes, the mutant Z. mobilis treated with cold plasma was conferred upon the facilitated aldehyde inhibitors tolerance and bioethanol production. This work would provide a strain biocatalyst for the efficient production of lignocellulosic biofuels and biochemicals.

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.

Project description:BackgroundToxic compounds present in both the hydrolysate and pyrolysate of lignocellulosic biomass severely hinder the further conversion of lignocellulose-derived fermentable sugars into useful chemicals by common biocatalysts like Zymomonas mobilis, which has remarkable advantages over yeast. Although the extra detoxification treatment prior to fermentation process can help biocatalysts to eliminate the inhibitory environment, it is not environment friendly and cost effective for industrial application. As also reported by previous studies, an ideal and holistic approach to solve this issue is to develop microbial strains with inhibitor tolerance. However, previously engineered strains had the limitation that they could not cope well with the synergistic effect of multiple inhibitors as they are resistant only to a single inhibitor. Hence, understanding the universal cellular responses of Z. mobilis to various inhibitors may guide the designing of rational strategies to obtain more robust engineered strains for biofuel production from lignocellulosic biomass.ResultsQuantitative proteomics and metabolomics approaches were used to determine the cellular responses of Z. mobilis ZM4 to representative biomass-derived inhibitors like formic acid, acetic acid, furfural, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, and phenol. The differentially expressed proteins identified under the challenge of single and combined inhibitors were involved in cell wall/membrane biogenesis, energy production, DNA replication, DNA recombination, DNA repair, DNA transcription, RNA translation, posttranslational modification, biosynthesis of amino acids, central carbon metabolism, etc. Metabolomics analysis showed that the up- or down-regulation pattern of metabolites was changed consistently with that of relevant proteins.ConclusionFifteen up-regulated proteins (e.g., Isopropylmalate isomerase LeuC, transcription-repair-coupling factor Mfd, and phosphoglucose isomerase PGI) and thirteen down-regulated proteins (e.g., TonB-dependent transporter ZMO1522, transcription termination factor Rho, and S1/P1 nuclease ZMO0127) were identified as candidate proteins related to all the stress conditions, implying that these proteins are potential biomarkers for the improvement of Z. mobilis ZM4 to resist complex biomass-derived inhibitors. These data can be used to generate a database of inhibitor-tolerance biomarkers, which could provide a basis for engineering Z. mobilis that would be able to grow in the presence of multiple inhibitors and directly ferment the biomass-derived sugars into biofuels.

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Genome shuffling enhances stress tolerance of Zymomonas mobilis to two inhibitors.

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Genome shuffling enhances stress tolerance of <i>Zymomonas mobilis</i> to two inhibitors.

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