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A mutant gene of rumen phytase (phyA-7) was cloned into pET23b(+) vector and expressed in the Escherichia coli BL21 under the control of the T7 promoter. The study of fermentation conditions includes the temperature impacts of mutant phytase expression, the effect of carbon supplements over induction stage, the inferences of acetic acid accumulation upon enzyme expression and the comparison of one-stage and two-stage operations in batch mode. The maximum value of phytase activity was reached 107.0 U mL(-1) at induction temperature of 30°C. Yeast extract supplement demonstrated a significant increase on both protein concentration and phytase activity. The acetic acid (2 g L(-1)) presented in the modified synthetic medium demonstrated a significant decrease on expressed phytase activity. A two-stage batch operation enhanced the level of phytase activity from 306 to 1204 U mL(-1) in the 20 L of fermentation scale. An overall 3.7-fold improvement in phytase yield (35,375.72-1,31,617.50 U g(-1) DCW) was achieved in the two-stage operation., (Copyright © 2014 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Conformational inversion occurs 7-8kcal/mol more readily in furanoses than pyranoses. This difference is exploited here to probe for active-site residues involved in distorting pyranosyl substrate toward reactivity. Spontaneous glycoside hydrolysis rates are ordered 4-nitrophenyl-α-l-arabinofuranoside (4NPA)>4-nitrophenyl-β-d-xylopyranoside (4NPX)>xylobiose (X2). The bifunctional β-d-xylosidase/α-l-arabinofuranosidase exhibits the opposite order of reactivity, illustrating that the enzyme is well equipped in using pyranosyl groups of natural substrate X2 in facilitating glycoside hydrolysis. Probing the roles of all 17 active-site residues by single-site mutation to alanine and by changing both moieties of substrate demonstrates that the mutations of subsite -1 residues decrease the ratio k(cat)(4NPX/4NPA), suggesting that the native residues support pyranosyl substrate distortion, whereas the mutations of subsite +1 and the subsite -1/+1 interface residues increase the ratio k(cat)(4NPX/4NPA), suggesting that the native residues support other factors, such as C1 migration and protonation of the leaving group. Alanine mutations of subsite -1 residues raise k(cat)(X2/4NPX) and alanine mutations of subsite +1 and interface residues lower k(cat)(X2/4NPX). We propose that pyranosyl substrate distortion is supported entirely by native residues of subsite -1. Other factors leading to the transition state are supported entirely by native residues of subsite +1 and interface residues., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The peptidoglycan of Selenomonas ruminantium is covalently bound to cadaverine (PG-cadaverine), which likely plays a significant role in maintaining the integrity of the cell surface structure. The outer membrane of this bacterium contains a 45-kDa major protein (Mep45) that is a putative peptidoglycan-associated protein. In this report, we determined the nucleotide sequence of the mep45 gene and investigated the relationship between PG-cadaverine, Mep45, and the cell surface structure. Amino acid sequence analysis showed that Mep45 is comprised of an N-terminal S-layer-homologous (SLH) domain followed by α-helical coiled-coil region and a C-terminal β-strand-rich region. The N-terminal SLH domain was found to be protruding into the periplasmic space and was responsible for binding to peptidoglycan. It was determined that Mep45 binds to the peptidoglycan in a manner dependent on the presence of PG-cadaverine. Electron microscopy revealed that defective PG-cadaverine decreased the structural interactions between peptidoglycan and the outer membrane, consistent with the proposed role for PG-cadaverine. The C-terminal β-strand-rich region of Mep45 was predicted to be a membrane-bound unit of the 14-stranded β-barrel structure. Here we propose that PG-cadaverine possesses functional importance to facilitate the structural linkage between peptidoglycan and the outer membrane via specific interaction with the SLH domain of Mep45.

Examples of a new class of phytase related to protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTP) were recently isolated from several anaerobic bacteria from the rumen of cattle. In this study, the diversity of PTP-like phytase gene sequences in the rumen was surveyed by using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Two sets of degenerate primers were used to amplify sequences from rumen fluid total community DNA and genomic DNA from nine bacterial isolates. Four novel PTP-like phytase sequences were retrieved from rumen fluid, whereas all nine of the anaerobic bacterial isolates investigated in this work contained PTP-like phytase sequences. One isolate, Selenomonas lacticifex, contained two distinct PTP-like phytase sequences, suggesting that multiple phytate hydrolyzing enzymes are present in this bacterium. The degenerate primer and PCR conditions described here, as well as novel sequences obtained in this study, will provide a valuable resource for future studies on this new class of phytase. The observed diversity of microbial phytases in the rumen may account for the ability of ruminants to derive a significant proportion of their phosphorus requirements from phytate.

The degradation of mammalian ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) (EC 4.1.1.17) by 26 S proteasome, is accelerated by the ODC antizyme (AZ), a trigger protein involved in the specific degradation of eukaryotic ODC. In prokaryotes, AZ has not been found. Previously, we found that in Selenomonas ruminantium, a strictly anaerobic and Gram-negative bacterium, a drastic degradation of lysine decarboxylase (LDC; EC 4.1.1.18), which has decarboxylase activities toward both L-lysine and L-ornithine with similar K(m) values, occurs upon entry into the stationary phase of cell growth by protease together with a protein of 22 kDa (P22). Here, we show that P22 is a direct counterpart of eukaryotic AZ by the following evidence. (i) P22 synthesis is induced by putrescine but not cadaverine. (ii) P22 enhances the degradation of both mouse ODC and S. ruminantium LDC by a 26 S proteasome. (iii) S. ruminantium LDC degradation is also enhanced by mouse AZ replacing P22 in a cell-free extract from S. ruminantium. (iv) Both P22 and mouse AZ bind to S. ruminantium LDC but not to the LDC mutated in its binding site for P22 and AZ. In this report, we also show that P22 is a ribosomal protein of S. ruminantium.

Cell envelopes from the Gram-negative staining but phylogenetically Gram-positive rumen anaerobe Selenomonas ruminantium OB268 contained a major 42 kDa heat modifiable protein. A similarly sized protein was present in the envelopes of Selenomonas ruminantium D1 and Selenomonas infelix. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of Triton X-100 extracted cell envelopes from S. ruminantium OB268 showed that they consisted primarily of the 42 kDa protein. Polyclonal antisera produced against these envelopes cross-reacted only with the 42 kDa major envelope proteins in both S. ruminantium D1 and S. infelix, indicating a conservation of antigenic structure among each of the major envelope proteins. The N-terminus of the 42 kDa S. ruminantium OB268 envelope protein shared significant homology with the S-layer (surface) protein from Thermus thermophilus, as well as additional envelope proteins containing the cell surface binding region known as a surface layer-like homologous (SLH) domain. Thin section analysis of Triton X-100 extracted envelopes demonstrated the presence of an outer bilayer over-laying the cell wall, and a regularly ordered array was visible following freeze-fracture etching through this bilayer. These findings suggest that the regularly ordered array may be composed of the 42 kDa major envelope protein. The 42 kDa protein has similarities with regularly ordered outer membrane proteins (rOMP) reported in certain Gram-negative and ancient eubacteria.

Nineteen monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) were isolated based on reactivity with disrupted Pectinatus cerevisiiphilus cells. All of the Mabs reacted with cells from which the outer membrane had been stripped by incubation with sodium dodecyl sulphate, suggesting the peptidoglycan (PG) layer was involved in binding. Mab reactivity with purified PG confirmed this. Epitope mapping revealed the Mabs in total recognize four binding sites on the PG. Mabs specific for each of the four sites also bound strongly to disrupted Pectinatus frisingensis, Selenomonas lacticifix, Zymophilus paucivorans, and Zymophilus raffinosivorans cells, but weakly to disrupted Megasphaera cerevisiae cells. No antibody reactivity was seen with disrupted cells of 11 other species of Gram-negative bacteria. These results confirm that a common PG structure is used by several species of anaerobic Gram-negative beer spoilage bacteria. These results also indicate that PG-specific Mabs can be used to rapidly detect a range of anaerobic Gram-negative beer spoilage bacteria, provided the bacterial outer membrane is first removed to allow antibody binding.