Molecular control of sucrose utilization in Escherichia coli W, an efficient sucrose-utilizing strain

Sucrose is an industrially important carbon source for microbial fermentation. Sucrose utilization in Escherichia coli, however, is poorly understood, and most industrial strains cannot utilize sucrose. The roles of the chromosomally encoded sucrose catabolism (csc) genes in E. coli W were examined by knockout and overexpression experiments. At low sucrose concentrations, the csc genes are repressed and cells cannot grow. Removal of either the repressor protein (cscR) or the fructokinase (cscK) gene facilitated derepression. Furthermore, combinatorial knockout of cscR and cscK conferred an improved growth rate on low sucrose. The invertase (cscA) and sucrose transporter (cscB) genes are essential for sucrose catabolism in E. coli W, demonstrating that no other genes can provide sucrose transport or inversion activities. However, cscK is not essential for sucrose utilization. Fructose is excreted into the medium by the cscK-knockout strain in the presence of high sucrose, whereas at low sucrose (when carbon availability is limiting), fructose is utilized by the cell. Overexpression of cscA, cscAK, or cscAB could complement the W Delta cscRKAB knockout mutant or confer growth on a K-12 strain which could not naturally utilize sucrose. However, phenotypic stability and relatively good growth rates were observed in the K-12 strain only when overexpressing cscAB, and full growth rate complementation in W Delta cscRKA Balso required cscAB. Our understanding of sucrose utilization can be used to improve E. coli Wand engineer sucrose utilization in strains which do not naturally utilize sucrose, allowing substitution of sucrose for other, less desirable carbon sources in industrial fermentations

The genome sequence of E. coli W (ATCC 9637): comparative genome analysis and an improved genome-scale reconstruction of E. coli

Background: Escherichia coli is a model prokaryote, an important pathogen, and a key organism for industrial biotechnology. E. coli W (ATCC 9637), one of four strains designated as safe for laboratory purposes, has not been sequenced. E. coli W is a fast-growing strain and is the only safe strain that can utilize sucrose as a carbon source. Lifecycle analysis has demonstrated that sucrose from sugarcane is a preferred carbon source for industrial bioprocesses

Escherichia coli W shows fast, highly oxidative sucrose metabolism and low acetate formation

Sugarcane is the most efficient large-scale crop capable of supplying sufficient carbon substrate, in the form of sucrose, needed during fermentative feedstock production. However, sucrose metabolism in Escherichia coli is not well understood because the two most common strains, E. coli K-12 and B, do not grow on sucrose. Here, using a sucrose utilizing strain, E. coli W, we undertake an in-depth comparison of sucrose and glucose metabolism including growth kinetics, metabolite profiling, microarray-based transcriptome analysis, labelling-based proteomic analysis and 13C-fluxomics. While E. coli W grew comparably well on sucrose and glucose integration of the omics, datasets showed that during growth on each carbon source, metabolism was distinct. The metabolism was generally derepressed on sucrose, and significant flux rearrangements were observed in central carbon metabolism.These included a reduction in the flux of the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway branch, an increase in the tricarboxylic acid cycle flux and a reduction in the glyoxylate shunt flux due to the dephosphorylation of isocitrate dehydrogenase. But unlike growth on other sugars that induce cAMP-dependent Crp regulation, the phosphoenol-pyruvate-glyoxylate cycle was not active on sucrose. Lower acetate accumulation was also observed in sucrose compared to glucose cultures. This was linked to induction of the acetate catabolic genes actP and acs and independent of the glyoxylic shunt. Overall, the cells stayed highly oxidative. In summary, sucrose metabolism was fast, efficient and led to low acetate accumulation making it an ideal carbon source for industrial fermentation with E. coli W