Project description:Corynebacterium glutamicum can survive by using ferulic acid as the sole carbon source. In this study, we assessed the response of C.glutamicum to ferulic acid stress by means of a global transcriptional response analysis. The transcriptional data showed that several genes involved in degradation of ferulic acid were affected. Moreover, several genes related to the stress response; protein protection or degradation and DNA repair; replication, transcription and translation; and the cell envelope were differentially expressed. Deletion of the katA or sigE gene in C. glutamicum resulted in a decrease in cell viability under ferulic acid stress. These insights will facilitate further engineering of model industrial strains, with enhanced tolerance to ferulic acid to enable easy production of biofuels from lignocellulose.
Project description:Improved Fermentative Production of Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid via the Putrescine Route: Systems Metabolic Engineering for Production From Glucose, Amino Sugars, and Xylose
Project description:The dicarboxylic acid glutarate is gaining attention in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry as promising building-block. Synthesis of glutarate via microbial fermentation is a desirable aim which will allow the production of biopolymers avoiding fossil raw materials. Here, by rational metabolic engineering of the biofactory microorganism Corynebacterium glutamicum the fermentative production of glutarate from glucose was established. Modifications focused on increase glucose consumption and reduce by-products formation together with the heterologous overexpression of the L-lysine decarboxylase, putrescine transaminase and putrescine dehydrogenase genes from E. coli in the L-lysine producer GRLys1 allowed production the glutarate precursor 5-aminovalerate. Additional heterologous overexpression of 5-aminovalerate amino transferase and glutarate-semialdehyde dehydrogenase genes from C. glutamicum and three Pseudomonas species enabled glutarate synthesis from glucose. By coupling glutarate production with the glutamate synthesis of C. glutamicum glutarate titer improved 10%. The final strain was tested in a glucose-based fed-batch fermentation
Project description:In summary, we have identified and characterized FtsR as a transcriptional activator of the essential cell division protein FtsZ in C. glutamicum, providing a novel regulatory player in the process of cell division.
Project description:Previous studies with Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Mycobacterium species revealed that the transcriptional regulator DtxR and its ortholog IdeR play a central role in the control of iron metabolism. In the present work, we used genome-based approaches to determine the DtxR regulon of Corynebacterium glutamicum, a nonpathogenic relative of C. diphtheriae. First, global gene expression of a dtxR deletion mutant was compared with that of the wild type using DNA microarrays. Second, we used a computer-based approach to identify 117 putative DtxR binding sites in the C. glutamicum genome. In the third step, 74 of the corresponding genome regions were amplified by PCR, 51 of which were shifted by the DtxR protein. Finally, we analyzed which of the genes preceded by a functional DtxR binding site showed altered mRNA levels in the transcriptome comparison. Fifty-one genes organized in 27 putative operons displayed an increased mRNA level in the DeltadtxR mutant and thus are presumably repressed by DtxR. The majority of these genes are obviously involved in iron acquisition, three encode transcriptional regulators, e.g., the recently identified repressor of iron proteins RipA, and the others encode proteins of diverse or unknown functions. Thirteen genes showed a decreased mRNA level in the DeltadtxR mutant and thus might be activated by DtxR. This group included the suf operon, whose products are involved in the formation and repair of iron-sulfur clusters, and several genes for transcriptional regulators. Our results clearly establish DtxR as the master regulator of iron-dependent gene expression in C. glutamicum.
Project description:We have reported a transcription profile of an adapted Corynebacterium glutamicum that showed enhanced oxidative stress resistance. To construct an artificial oxidative stress-resistant strain, gene clusters in the β-ketoadipate pathway, which were up-regulated in the adapted strain, were artificially expressed in the wild-type C. glutamicum. The wild-type strain was unable to grow under 2 mM H2O2 containing minimal medium, while the strains expressing pca gene clusters restored growth under the same medium, and the pcaHGBC expression showed the most significant effect among the gene clusters. The expressions of pca gene clusters also enabled the wild-type to increase its resistance against oxidative stressors, such as diamide and cumene hydroperoxide, as well as H2O2. The oxidative stress tolerance of the strain was correlated to the reactive oxygen species (ROS)-scavenging activity of the cell extract. The reason for the enhanced oxidative stress-resistance of C. glutamicum and its applications on the synthetic strain development are discussed.