Isolation and characterization of mutated alcohol oxidases from the yeast Hansenula polymorpha with decreased affinity toward substrates and their use as selective elements of an amperometric biosensor

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Accurate, rapid, and economic on-line analysis of ethanol is very desirable. However, available biosensors achieve saturation at very low ethanol concentrations and thus demand the time and labour consuming procedure of sample dilution.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>Hansenula polymorpha </it>(<it>Pichia angusta</it>) mutant strains resistant to allyl alcohol in methanol medium were selected. Such strains possessed decreased affinity of alcohol oxidase (AOX) towards methanol: the K_Mvalues for AOX of wild type and mutant strains CA2 and CA4 are shown to be 0.62, 2.48 and 1.10 mM, respectively, whereas V_maxvalues are increased or remain unaffected. The mutant AOX alleles from <it>H. polymorpha </it>mutants CA2 and CA4 were isolated and sequenced. Several point mutations in the AOX gene, mostly different between the two mutant alleles, have been identified. Mutant AOX forms were isolated and purified, and some of their biochemical properties were studied. An amperometric biosensor based on the mutated form of AOX from the strain CA2 was constructed and revealed an extended linear response to the target analytes, ethanol and formaldehyde, as compared to the sensor based on the native AOX.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The described selection methodology opens up the possibility of isolating modified forms of AOX with further decreased affinity toward substrates without reduction of the maximal velocity of reaction. It can help in creation of improved ethanol biosensors with a prolonged linear response towards ethanol in real samples of wines, beers or fermentation liquids.</p

Construction of uricase-overproducing strains of Hansenula polymorpha and its application as biological recognition element in microbial urate biosensor

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The detection and quantification of uric acid in human physiological fluids is of great importance in the diagnosis and therapy of patients suffering from a range of disorders associated with altered purine metabolism, most notably gout and hyperuricaemia. The fabrication of cheap and reliable urate-selective amperometric biosensors is a challenging task.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A urate-selective microbial biosensor was developed using cells of the recombinant thermotolerant methylotrophic yeast <it>Hansenula polymorpha </it>as biorecognition element. The construction of uricase (UOX) producing yeast by over-expression of the uricase gene of <it>H. polymorpha </it>is described. Following a preliminary screening of the transformants with increased UOX activity in permeabilized yeast cells the optimal cultivation conditions for maximal UOX yield namely a 40-fold increase in UOX activity were determined.</p> <p>The UOX producing cells were coupled to horseradish peroxidase and immobilized on graphite electrodes by physical entrapment behind a dialysis membrane. A high urate selectivity with a detection limit of about 8 μM was found.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A strain of <it>H. polymorpha </it>overproducing UOX was constructed. A cheap urate selective microbial biosensor was developed.</p

Flavocytochrome b2-Based Enzymatic Method of L-Lactate Assay in Food Products

L-lactate, a key metabolite of the anaerobic glycolytic pathway, plays an important role as a biomarker in medicine, in the nutritional sector and food quality control. For these reasons, there is a need for very specific, sensitive, and simple analytical methods for the accurate L-lactate measuring. A new highly selective enzymatic method for L-lactate determination based on the use of flavocytochrome b2 (EC 1.1.2.3; FC b2) isolated from the recombinant strain of the yeast Hansenula polymorpha has been developed. A proposed enzymatic method exploits an enzymatic oxidation of L-lactate to pyruvate coupled with nitrotetrazolium blue (NTZB) reduction to a colored product, formazan. The maximal absorption peak of the colored product is near λ=525 nm and the linear range is observed in the interval 0.005–0.14 mM of L-lactate. The main advantages of the proposed method when compared to the LDH-based routine approaches are a higher sensitivity (2.0 μM of L-lactate), simple procedure of analysis, usage of inexpensive, nontoxic reagents, and small amount of the enzyme. Enzymatic oxidation of L-lactate catalyzed by flavocytochrome b2 and coupled with formazan production from nitrotetrazolium blue was shown to be used for L-lactate assay in food samples. A high correlation between results of the proposed method and reference ones proves the possibility to use flavocytochrome b2-catalysed reaction for enzymatic measurement of L-lactate in biotechnology and food chemistry

Biosensors: Electrochemical Devices—General Concepts and Performance

This review provides a general overview of different biosensors, mostly concentrating on electrochemical analytical devices, while briefly explaining general approaches to various kinds of biosensors, their construction and performance. A discussion on how all required components of biosensors are brought together to perform analytical work is offered. Different signal-transducing mechanisms are discussed, particularly addressing the immobilization of biomolecular components in the vicinity of a transducer interface and their functional integration with electronic devices. The review is mostly addressing general concepts of the biosensing processes rather than specific modern achievements in the area

Laboratory Prototype of Bioreactor for Oxidation of Toxic D-Lactate Using Yeast Cells Overproducing D-Lactate Cytochrome c Oxidoreductase

D-lactate is a natural component of many fermented foods like yogurts, sour milk, cheeses, and pickles vegetable products. D-lactate in high concentrations is toxic for children and people with short bowel syndrome and provokes encephalopathy. These facts convincingly demonstrate a need for effective tools for the D-lactate removal from some food products. The main idea of investigation is focused on application of recombinant thermotolerant methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha “tr6,” overproducing D-lactate: cytochrome c oxidoreductase (EC 1.1.2.4, D-lactate cytochrome c oxidoreductase, D-lactate dehydrogenase (cytochrome), DLDH). In addition to 6-fold overexpression of DLDH under a strong constitutive promoter (prAOX), the strain of H. polymorpha “tr6” (gcr1 catX/Δcyb2, prAOX_DLDH) is characterized by impairment in glucose repression of AOX promoter, devoid of catalase and L-lactate-cytochrome c oxidoreductase activities. Overexpression of DLDH coupling with the deletion of L-lactate-cytochrome c oxidoreductase activity opens possibility for usage of the strain as a base for construction of bioreactor for removing D-lactate from fermented products due to oxidation to nontoxic pyruvate. A laboratory prototype of column-type bioreactor for removing a toxic D-lactate from model solution based on permeabilized cells of the H. polymorpha “tr6” and alginate gel was constructed and efficiency of this process was tested

ARGINASE-BASED AMPEROMETRIC BIOSENSOR FOR MANGANESE IONS ANALYSIS

The development of simple cost-effective sensitive enzymatic methods for analysis of toxic metallic ions is an actual problem. Promising tools for elaboration of such methods are Mn2+-dependent enzymes. A novel manganese(II)-sensitive amperometric bi-enzyme biosensor based on of recombinant human arginase I (arginase) isolated from the gene-engineered strain of methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha and commercial urease is described. The biosensing layer with urease and apo-enzyme of arginase was placed onto a polyaniline-Nafion composite platinum electrode. The developed sensor revealed a high sensitivity to Mn2+-ions – 9200±20 A/(M∙m2)with the apparent Michaelis-Menten constant derived from Mn2+-ions calibration curve of 11.5±1.0 µM. A linear concentration range was observed from 1 µM to 6,5 µM MnCl2, a limit of detection being of 0.15 µM and a response time – 2.5 min. The proposed biosensor may be useful to monitor manganese compounds in laboratories of medicine, food industry and environmental control service

A Reagentless Amperometric Formaldehyde-Selective Chemosensor Based on Platinized Gold Electrodes

Fabrication and characterization of a new amperometric chemosensor for accurate formaldehyde analysis based on platinized gold electrodes is described. The platinization process was performed electrochemically on the surface of 4 mm gold planar electrodes by both electrolysis and cyclic voltamperometry. The produced electrodes were characterized using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray spectral analysis. Using a low working potential (0.0 V vs. Ag/AgCl) enabled an essential increase in the chemosensor’s selectivity for the target analyte. The sensitivity of the best chemosensor prototype to formaldehyde is uniquely high (28180 A·M−1·m−2) with a detection limit of 0.05 mM. The chemosensor remained stable over a one-year storage period. The formaldehye-selective chemosensor was tested on samples of commercial preparations. A high correlation was demonstrated between the results obtained by the proposed chemosensor, chemical and enzymatic methods (R = 0.998). The developed formaldehyde-selective amperometric chemosensor is very promising for use in industry and research, as well as for environmental control

Photo-stimulated self-powered electrochemical system for DNA release

The DNA-release activated by light in the self-powered bioelectronic system has been studied. The system was composed of two connected electrodes: one photo-active electrode was modified with photosynthetic thylakoid membranes and another electrode was modified with O-2-reducing bilirubin oxidase and nanoparticles functionalized with molecules changing their charge upon pH variation. When the photo-electrode was illuminated, it produced current resulting in O-2 reduction and local pH change at the releasing electrode. The interfacial charge was changed from positive, when negatively charged DNA was loaded, to negative, when the DNA was repulsed and released