Isolation and characterization of novel bacterial strains exhibiting ligninolytic potential

Background - To expand on the range of products which can be obtained from lignocellulosic biomass, the lignin component should be utilized as feedstock for value-added chemicals such as substituted aromatics, instead of being incinerated for heat and energy. Enzymes could provide an effective means for lignin depolymerization into products of interest. In this study, soil bacteria were isolated by enrichment on Kraft lignin and evaluated for their ligninolytic potential as a source of novel enzymes for waste lignin valorization. Results - Based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing and phenotypic characterization, the organisms were identified as Pandoraea norimbergensis LD001, Pseudomonas sp LD002 and Bacillus sp LD003. The ligninolytic capability of each of these isolates was assessed by growth on high-molecular weight and low-molecular weight lignin fractions, utilization of lignin-associated aromatic monomers and degradation of ligninolytic indicator dyes. Pandoraea norimbergensis LD001 and Pseudomonas sp. LD002 exhibited best growth on lignin fractions, but limited dye-decolourizing capacity. Bacillus sp. LD003, however, showed least efficient growth on lignin fractions but extensive dye-decolourizing capacity, with a particular preference for the recalcitrant phenothiazine dye class (Azure B, Methylene Blue and Toluidene Blue O). Conclusions - Bacillus sp. LD003 was selected as a promising source of novel types of ligninolytic enzymes. Our observations suggested that lignin mineralization and depolymerization are separate events which place additional challenges on the screening of ligninolytic microorganisms for specific ligninolytic enzymes.BT/BiotechnologyApplied Science

Transcriptome analysis of a phenol-producing Pseudomonas putida S12 construct: Genetic and physiological basis for improved production

The unknown genetic basis for improved phenol production by a recombinant Pseudomonas putida S12 derivative bearing the tpl (tyrosine-phenol lyase) gene was investigated via comparative transcriptomics, nucleotide sequence analysis, and targeted gene disruption. We show upregulation of tyrosine biosynthetic genes and possibly decreased biosynthesis of tryptophan caused by a mutation in the trpE gene as the genetic basis for the enhanced phenol production. In addition, several genes in degradation routes connected to the tyrosine biosynthetic pathway were upregulated. This either may be a side effect that negatively affects phenol production or may point to intracellular accumulation of tyrosine or its intermediates. A number of genes identified by the transcriptome analysis were selected for targeted disruption in P. putida S12TPL3. Physiological and biochemical examination of P. putida S12TPL3 and these mutants led to the conclusion that the metabolic flux toward tyrosine in P. putida S12TPL3 was improved to such an extent that the heterologous tyrosine-phenol lyase enzyme had become the rate-limiting step in phenol biosynthesis. Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved

Improved p-hydroxybenzoate production by engineered Pseudomonas putida S12 by using a mixed-substrate feeding strategy

The key precursors for p-hydroxybenzoate production by engineered Pseudomonas putida S12 are phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) and erythrose-4-phosphate (E4P), for which the pentose phosphate (PP) pathway is an important source. Since PP pathway fluxes are typically low in pseudomonads, E4P and PEP availability is a likely bottleneck for aromatics production which may be alleviated by stimulating PP pathway fluxes via co-feeding of pentoses in addition to glucose or glycerol. As P. putida S12 lacks the natural ability to utilize xylose, the xylose isomerase pathway from E. coli was introduced into the p-hydroxybenzoate producing strain P. putida S12palB2. The initially inefficient xylose utilization was improved by evolutionary selection after which the p-hydroxybenzoate production was evaluated. Even without xylose-co-feeding, p-hydroxybenzoate production was improved in the evolved xylose-utilizing strain, which may indicate an intrinsically elevated PP pathway activity. Xylose co-feeding further improved the p-hydroxybenzoate yield when co-fed with either glucose or glycerol, up to 16.3 Cmol% (0.1 g p-hydroxybenzoate/g substrate). The yield improvements were most pronounced with glycerol, which probably related to the availability of the PEP precursor glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (GAP). Thus, it was demonstrated that the production of aromatics such as p-hydroxybenzoate can be improved by co-feeding different carbon sources via different and partially artificial pathways. Moreover, this approach opens new perspectives for the efficient production of (fine) chemicals from renewable feedstocks such as lignocellulose that typically has a high content of both glucose and xylose and (crude) glycerol

Towards inclusive funding practices for early career researchers

Securing research funding is a challenge faced by most scientists in academic institutions worldwide. Funding success rates for all career stages are low, but the burden falls most heavily on early career researchers (ECRs). These are young investigators in training and new principal investigators who have a shorter track record. ECRs are dependent on funding to establish their academic careers. The low number of career development awards and the lack of sustained research funding result in the loss of ECR talent in academia. Several steps in the current funding process, from grant conditions to review, play significant roles in the distribution of funds. Furthermore, there is an imbalance where certain research disciplines and labs of influential researchers receive more funding. As a group of ECRs with global representation, we examined funding practices, barriers, and facilitators to the current funding systems. We also identified alternatives to the most common funding distribution practices, such as diversifying risk or awarding grants on a partly random basis. Here, we detail recommendations for funding agencies and grant reviewers to improve ECR funding prospects worldwide and promote a fairer and more inclusive funding landscape for ECRs.Instituto de VirologíaFil: de Winde, Charlotte M. University College London. MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology; Reino UnidoFil: de Winde, Charlotte M. Amsterdam University Medical Center. Department of Molecular Cell Biology & Immunology; Países BajosFil: Sarabipour, Sarvenaz. Johns Hopkins University. Department of Biomedical Engineering. Institute for Computational Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Carignano, Hugo Adrian. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Virología e Innovaciones Tecnológicas; ArgentinaFil: Davla, Sejal. City University of New York. Advanced Science Research Center; Estados UnidosFil: Eccles, David. Malaghan Institute of Medical Research; Nueva ZelandaFil: Hainer, Sarah J. University of Pittsburgh. Department of Biological Sciences; Estados UnidosFil: Haidar, Mansour. Hasselt University; BélgicaFil: Ilangovan, Vinodh. Aarhus University; DinamarcaFil: Jadavji, Nafisa M. Midwestern University. Department of Biomedical Sciences; Estados UnidosFil: Jadavji, Nafisa M. Carleton University. Department of Neuroscience; CanadáFil: Kritsiligkou, Paraskevi. German Cancer Research Center; AlemaniaFil: Lee, Tai-Ying. University of Oxford; Reino UnidoFil: Ólafsdóttir, H. Freyja. Radboud University. Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour; Países Bajo

Peroxicretion: a novel secretion pathway in the eukaryotic cell

Background: Enzyme production in microbial cells has been limited to secreted enzymes or intracellular enzymes followed by expensive down stream processing. Extracellular enzymes consists mainly of hydrolases while intracellular enzymes exhibit a much broader diversity. If these intracellular enzymes could be secreted by the cell the potential of industrial applications of enzymes would be enlarged. Therefore a novel secretion pathway for intracellular proteins was developed, using peroxisomes as secretion vesicles. Results: Peroxisomes were decorated with a Golgi derived v-SNARE using a peroxisomal membrane protein as an anchor. This allowed the peroxisomes to fuse with the plasma membrane. Intracellular proteins were transported into the peroxisomes by adding a peroxisomal import signal (SKL tag). The proteins which were imported in the peroxisomes, were released into the extracellular space through this artificial secretion pathway which was designated peroxicretion. This concept was supported by electron microscopy studies. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that it is possible to reroute the intracellular trafficking of vesicles by changing the localisation of SNARE molecules, this approach can be used in in vivo biological studies to clarify the different control mechanisms regulating intracellular membrane trafficking. In addition we demonstrate peroxicretion of a diverse set of intracellular proteins. Therefore, we anticipate that the concept of peroxicretion may revolutionize the production of intracellular proteins from fungi and other microbial cells, as well as from mammalian cells.

C1 compounds as auxiliary substrate for engineered Pseudomonas putida S12

The solvent-tolerant bacterium Pseudomonas putida S12 was engineered to efficiently utilize the C1 compounds methanol and formaldehyde as auxiliary substrate. The hps and phi genes of Bacillus brevis, encoding two key steps of the ribulose monophosphate (RuMP) pathway, were introduced to construct a pathway for the metabolism of the toxic methanol oxidation intermediate formaldehyde. This approach resulted in a remarkably increased biomass yield on the primary substrate glucose when cultured in C-limited chemostats fed with a mixture of glucose and formaldehyde. With increasing relative formaldehyde feed concentrations, the biomass yield increased from 35% (C-mol biomass/C-mol glucose) without formaldehyde to 91% at 60% relative formaldehyde concentration. The RuMP-pathway expressing strain was also capable of growing to higher relative formaldehyde concentrations than the control strain. The presence of an endogenous methanol oxidizing enzyme activity in P. putida S12 allowed the replacement of formaldehyde with the less toxic methanol, resulting in an 84% (C-mol/C-mol) biomass yield. Thus, by introducing two enzymes of the RuMP pathway, co-utilization of the cheap and renewable substrate methanol was achieved, making an important contribution to the efficient use of P. putida S12 as a bioconversion platform host

Comparative transcriptomics and proteomics of p-hydroxybenzoate producing Pseudomonas putida S12: novel responses and implications for strain improvement

A transcriptomics and proteomics approach was employed to study the expression changes associated with p-hydroxybenzoate production by the engineered Pseudomonas putida strain S12palB1. To establish p-hydroxybenzoate production, phenylalanine-tyrosine ammonia lyase (pal/tal) was introduced to connect the tyrosine biosynthetic and p-coumarate degradation pathways. In agreement with the efficient p-hydroxybenzoate production, the tyrosine biosynthetic and p-coumarate catabolic pathways were upregulated. Also many transporters were differentially expressed, one of which—a previously uncharacterized multidrug efflux transporter with locus tags PP1271-PP1273—was found to be associated with p-hydroxybenzoate export. In addition to tyrosine biosynthesis, also tyrosine degradative pathways were upregulated. Eliminating the most prominent of these resulted in a 22% p-hydroxybenzoate yield improvement. Remarkably, the upregulation of genes contributing to p-hydroxybenzoate formation was much higher in glucose than in glycerol-cultured cells

Differential (2+1) Jet Event Rates and Determination of alpha_s in Deep Inelastic Scattering at HERA

Events with a (2+1) jet topology in deep-inelastic scattering at HERA are studied in the kinematic range 200 < Q^2< 10,000 GeV^2. The rate of (2+1) jet events has been determined with the modified JADE jet algorithm as a function of the jet resolution parameter and is compared with the predictions of Monte Carlo models. In addition, the event rate is corrected for both hadronization and detector effects and is compared with next-to-leading order QCD calculations. A value of the strong coupling constant of alpha_s(M_Z^2)= 0.118+- 0.002 (stat.)^(+0.007)_(-0.008) (syst.)^(+0.007)_(-0.006) (theory) is extracted. The systematic error includes uncertainties in the calorimeter energy calibration, in the description of the data by current Monte Carlo models, and in the knowledge of the parton densities. The theoretical error is dominated by the renormalization scale ambiguity.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables, submitted to Eur. Phys.

Multi-Jet Event Rates in Deep Inelastic Scattering and Determination of the Strong Coupling Constant

Jet event rates in deep inelastic ep scattering at HERA are investigated applying the modified JADE jet algorithm. The analysis uses data taken with the H1 detector in 1994 and 1995. The data are corrected for detector and hadronization effects and then compared with perturbative QCD predictions using next-to-leading order calculations. The strong coupling constant alpha_S(M_Z^2) is determined evaluating the jet event rates. Values of alpha_S(Q^2) are extracted in four different bins of the negative squared momentum transfer~\qq in the range from 40 GeV2 to 4000 GeV2. A combined fit of the renormalization group equation to these several alpha_S(Q^2) values results in alpha_S(M_Z^2) = 0.117+-0.003(stat)+0.009-0.013(syst)+0.006(jet algorithm).Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables, this version to appear in Eur. Phys. J.; it replaces first posted hep-ex/9807019 which had incorrect figure 4

Multiplicity Structure of the Hadronic Final State in Diffractive Deep-Inelastic Scattering at HERA

The multiplicity structure of the hadronic system X produced in deep-inelastic processes at HERA of the type ep -> eXY, where Y is a hadronic system with mass M_Y< 1.6 GeV and where the squared momentum transfer at the pY vertex, t, is limited to |t|<1 GeV^2, is studied as a function of the invariant mass M_X of the system X. Results are presented on multiplicity distributions and multiplicity moments, rapidity spectra and forward-backward correlations in the centre-of-mass system of X. The data are compared to results in e+e- annihilation, fixed-target lepton-nucleon collisions, hadro-produced diffractive final states and to non-diffractive hadron-hadron collisions. The comparison suggests a production mechanism of virtual photon dissociation which involves a mixture of partonic states and a significant gluon content. The data are well described by a model, based on a QCD-Regge analysis of the diffractive structure function, which assumes a large hard gluonic component of the colourless exchange at low Q^2. A model with soft colour interactions is also successful.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Eur. Phys. J., error in first submission - omitted bibliograph