Project description:Methylorubrum extorquens (formerly Methylobacterium extorquens) AM1 is a methylotrophic bacterium with a versatile lifestyle. Various carbon sources including acetate, succinate and methanol are utilized by M. extorquens AM1 with the latter being a promising inexpensive substrate for use in the biotechnology industry. Itaconic acid (ITA) is a high-value building block widely used in various industries. Given that no wildtype methylotrophic bacteria are able to utilize methanol to produce ITA, we tested the potential of M. extorquens AM1 as an engineered host for this purpose. In this study, we successfully engineered M. extorquens AM1 to express a heterologous codon-optimized gene encoding cis-aconitic acid decarboxylase. The engineered strain produced ITA using acetate, succinate and methanol as the carbon feedstock. The highest ITA titer in batch culture with methanol as the carbon source was 31.6 ± 5.5 mg/L, while the titer and productivity were 5.4 ± 0.2 mg/L and 0.056 ± 0.002 mg/L/h, respectively, in a scaled-up fed-batch bioreactor under 60% dissolved oxygen saturation. We attempted to enhance the carbon flux toward ITA production by impeding poly-β-hydroxybutyrate accumulation, which is used as carbon and energy storage, via mutation of the regulator gene phaR. Unexpectedly, ITA production by the phaR mutant strain was not higher even though poly-β-hydroxybutyrate concentration was lower. Genome-wide transcriptomic analysis revealed that phaR mutation in the ITA-producing strain led to complex rewiring of gene transcription, which might result in a reduced carbon flux toward ITA production. Besides poly-β-hydroxybutyrate metabolism, we found evidence that PhaR might regulate the transcription of many other genes including those encoding other regulatory proteins, methanol dehydrogenases, formate dehydrogenases, malate:quinone oxidoreductase, and those synthesizing pyrroloquinoline quinone and thiamine co-factors. Overall, M. extorquens AM1 was successfully engineered to produce ITA using acetate, succinate and methanol as feedstock, further supporting this bacterium as a feasible host for use in the biotechnology industry. This study showed that PhaR could have a broader regulatory role than previously anticipated, and increased our knowledge of this regulator and its influence on the physiology of M. extorquens AM1.

Project description:In order to provide information about the gene expression response that occurs when cells experience a change in carbon source, succinate limited chemostat cultures of Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 were grown to and maintained at an OD of ~0.63, transferred to flasks and methanol was added. Cells were harvested for RNA extraction at time: 0 min, 10 min, 30 min, 1 hr, 2 hr, 4 hr and 6 hr post transition. At 30 min, a no methanol addition sample was extracted as a carbon starvation control. These data were used in conjunction with flux, enzymatic and metabolite measurements to assess the changes in central metabolism during this transition. Abstract from manuscript: When organisms experience environmental change, how does their metabolic network reset and adapt to the new condition? This study focused on the mechanisms of metabolic adaptation occurring during the transition from succinate to methanol growth by the methylotrophic bacterium Methylobacterium extorquens, analyzing changes in carbon flux, gene expression, metabolites and enzymatic activities over time. Initially, cells experienced metabolic imbalance with excretion of metabolites, changes in nucleotide levels and cessation of cell growth. Though assimilatory pathways were induced rapidly, a transient block in carbon flow to biomass synthesis occurred, and enzymatic assays suggested methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase as one control point. This “downstream priming” mechanism ensures that significant carbon flux through these pathways does not occur until they are fully induced, precluding the buildup of toxic intermediates. Most metabolites that are required for growth on both carbon sources did not change significantly, even though transcripts and enzymatic activities required for their production changed radically, underscoring the concept of metabolic setpoints. Gene expression in succinate limited chemostat cultures was compared to gene expression in cells transferred to flasks before and after methanol addition. As a control, a time = 0 sample (RNA prepared from cells harvested directly from the chemostat) was compared to a time = 0 sample immediately obtained after the cells were transferred to flasks, before methanol was added in order to identify changes due to flask transfer. A carbon starvation control was also done comparing expression from time = 0 (chemostat cells) to cells transferred to flasks for 30 min with no carbon source added. Two biological replicates each with two techinal replicates (dye swap) were analyzed for time = 0 (chemostat) vs 10 min, 30 min, 1 hr and 2 hr after methanol addition. One biological replicate with two technical replicates (dye swap) were analyzed for time = 0 (chemostat) vs time = 0 (flask transfer), and time = 0 (chemostat) vs time = 4 hr, 6 hr and 30 min no methanol addition.

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Methylorubrum extorquens AM1

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