Recent insights into microbial catalases: isolation, production and purification

Catalase, an oxidoreductase enzyme, works as a detoxification system inside living cells against reactive oxygen species formed as a by-product of different metabolic reactions. The enzyme is found in a wide range of aerobic and anaerobic organisms. Catalase has also been employed in various analytical and diagnostic methods in the form of biosensors and biomarkers in addition to its other applications in textile, paper, food and pharmaceutical industries. New applications for catalases are constantly emerging thanks to their high turnover rate, distinct evolutionary origin, relatively simple and well-defined reaction mechanisms. The following review provides comprehensive information on isolation, production and purification of catalases with different techniques from various microbial sources along with their types, structure, mechanism of action and applications.

The glyoxysomal and plastid molecular chaperones (70-kDa heat shock protein) of watermelon cotyledons are encoded by a single gene

The monoclonal a-70-kDa heat shock protein (hsp70) antibody recognizes in crude extracts from watermelon (Citrullus vulgaris) cotyledons two hsps with molecular masses of 70 and 72 kDa. Immunocytochemistry on watermelon cotyledon tissue and on isolated glyoxysomes identified hsp70s in the matrix of glyoxysomes and plastids. Affinity purification and partial amino acid determination revealed the 70-kDa protein to share high sequence identity with cytosolic hsp70s from a number of plant species, while the 72 kDa protein was very similar to plastid hsp70s from pea and cucumber. A full-length cDNA clone encoding the 72-kDa hsp70 was isolated and identified two start methionines in frame within the N-terminal presequence leading either to an N-terminal extension of 67 amino acids or to a shorter one of 47 amino acids. The longer presequence was necessary and sufficient to target a reporter protein into watermelon proplastids in vitro. The shorter extension starting from the second methionine within the long version harbored a consensus peroxisomal targeting signal (RT-X5-KL) that directed in vivo a reporter protein into peroxisomes of the yeast Hansenula polymorpha. Peroxisomal targeting was however prevented, when the 67-residue presequence was fused to the reporter protein, indicating that the peroxisomal targeting signal 2 information is hidden in this context. We propose that the 72-kDa hsp70 is encoded by a single gene, but targeted alternatively into two organelles by the modulated use of its presequence.

Yeast flotation viewed as the result of the interplay of supernatant composition and cell-wall hydrophobicity

Flotation is a process of cell separation based on the affinity of cells to air bubbles. In the present work, flotability and hydrophobicity were determined using cells from different yeasts (Hansenulla polymorpha, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida albicans), which were propagated in different media and at different temperatures. Alterations to the supernatant of the cells were also carried out before the flotation assays. The results described here indicate that supernatants of the yeast cells can play a more important role on flotation than cell-wall hydrophobicity. For example, wall-hydrophobicity of strain FLT-01 of S. cerevisiae was high but flotation did not occur when their washed cells were resuspended in water. Additions of neopeptone to cultures of S. cerevisiae and H. polymorpha repressed flotation and increased the volume of foam. An additional task of the present work was to show that the relationship between cell-wall hydrophobicity and flotation performance was dependent on the method used for the measurement of hydrophobicity. Based on the assay procedure, two types of hydrophobicity were distinguished: (a) the apparent hydrophobicity for cells suspended in the medium and expressed by the degree of cell affinity to the organic solvent in the two-phase system supernatant/hexane; (b) the standard hydrophobicity, which was determined for cells suspended in a standard solution (acetate buffer, in the present work) within the acetate buffer/hexane system. Flotation of cells of S. cerevisiae and C albicans were best related to the degree of apparent hydrophobicity (varying with the supernatant composition at the cell/medium interface) rather than to the degree of standard hydrophobicity (varying with the alterations in the wall components, since the liquid phase was constant in the assay). However, depending on the yeast unpredictable results can be obtained. For example, cells of H. polymorpha exhibited good flotation associated to a high degree of standard hydrophobicity while having a lower degree of apparent hydrophobicity. Concerning growth temperature, flotation of cells of C albicans was strongly repressed when the temperature was raised from 30 to 38 degreesC while a similar effect was not observed in cultures of S. cerevisiae and H. polymorpha. It is difficult to understand and predict flotation of yeast cells but simple modifications made to the supernatant of cultures can activate or repress flotation. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

Flotation of blocolloids suspended in liquid phases of different compositions and pH values

The flotation capacity was determined for cells of yeasts strains belonging to the genera Hansenula, Candida and Saccharomyces. A heterogeneous group of yeasts, comprising strains from the three genera, was identified as showing high flotation capacities (degrees of flotation above 50%), which were practically not affected by variations in medium pH in both the synthetic medium and 2% molasses. Thus, the flotation capacity of the cells in this yeast group seemed strongly dependent on the liquid phase properties and/or growth medium composition, more than on the simple variation in pH of the cell suspensions. A second group of strains, belonging to the Saccharomyces genus, including also brewing yeast strains, was identified as having lower flotation capacities (degrees of flotation below 50% at pH 1.5), which showed no alterations or variations significantly affected by the medium pH. Foam volumes obtained with Saccharomyces strains were greater in synthetic media than in molasses owing to the higher air flow rates required for flotation in molasses. The flotation efficiency decreased in molasses in all cases as well as the foam volume, except in the case of Hansenula cells, which showed an increased foam volume. This was probably due to variations in product excretion by the different yeasts and/or differences in cell wall composition.

H-OLE1基因的克隆与功能鉴定及维管组织分化的激素调节

脂肪酸是生物体内普遍存在、具重要生理功能的物质，亦是重要的化工原料。研究脂肪酸生物合成及其调控，既是揭示生命活动基本规律的需要，又具巨大的经济价值。多形汉逊氏酵母(Hansenula polymorpha)是一种甲基嗜热酵母，能合成多聚不饱和脂肪酸，是研究脂肪酸生物合成的理想材料之一。为阐明多形汉逊氏酵母细胞中脂肪酸生物合成途径、关键步骤、调节机理，并利用此系统生产有用脂肪酸，我们开展了不饱和脂肪酸生物合成关键酶基因--△9-脂肪酸去饱和酶基因研究。 以P. angusta IFO 1475的P-OLE1基因为探针，Southern杂交分析，发现在亲缘关系很近的不同种类的甲基嗜热酵母如H. pofymorpha、Pichia angusta、P. pastoris、P. methanolica和Candida boMinii中Δ9-脂肪酸去饱和酶基因的结构多形性。 构建了H. polymorpha CBS 1976染色体Δ9-脂肪酸去饱和酶基因座位的限制性酶切图谱，进而分离了3.4 kb BamHI-XhoI基因片段并进行全序列分析，结果表明这个片段含1个与已克隆的酵母Δ59-脂肪酸去饱和酶基因高度同源的、由1353 bp组成的ORF。推导的H-OLE1多肽具脂肪酸去饱和酶的一些基本特征，如含2个结构域：1个位于N一端、含3个保守的组氨酸簇、具催化功能，另1个位于C-端、参与脱饱和反应中电子传递、类似细胞色素b5。将这个序列申报DDBJ，获得Accession number为：AB024576，推导的蛋白的氨基酸序列的Accession number为：BAA75902。 为验证H-OLE1基因的功能，建立了多形汉逊氏酵母DNA电穿孔实验系统，进行了遗传互补测验。发现完整的H-OLE1基因可互补缺乏Δ59-脂肪酸去饱和酶活性的多形汉逊氏酵母营养缺陷型fadl突变体，却不能互补相应的酿酒酵母olel突变体，而由酿酒酵母GAP表达框架和H-OLE1 ORF组成的嵌合基因可互补上述olel突变体。说明H-OLE1基因编码Δ9-脂肪酸去饱和酶，多形汉逊氏酵母的Δ9-脂肪酸去饱和酶和酿酒酵母的脂肪酸脱饱和系统相亲和，而H-OLE1基因的启动子在异源细胞中没有活性。 为研究H-OLE1基因的转录及其调节规律，通过一系列实验，首次找到了可在研究多形汉逊氏酵母基因表达时用作内标的GAP基因。Northern杂交发现，H-OLE1基因在细胞中以较低水平表达，产生1.5 kb的转录子;基因表达略受不饱和脂肪酸的抑制;在多形汉逊氏酵母HOLE1基因的转录调节中，Choi等在酿酒酵母OLE1基因中发现的脂肪酸调节元件FAR可能不是关键的。 利用基因敲除技术，通过转化H-OLE1∷S-LEU2线性DNA到多形汉逊氏酵母二倍体细胞(fadl／FADl)中，首次构建了多形汉逊氏酵母H-OLE1基因的破坏株。遗传学和分子生物学研究表明，破坏株细胞中线性DNA定位串联多拷贝整合到染色体中并置换了fadl突变部位。利用气相色谱分析了ΔH-OLE1破坏株、fadl-2突变株、野生型菌株及含H-OLE1基因转化子的细胞总脂肪酸，发现多形汉逊氏酵母细胞中除18:0→18:1(Δ9)→18:2(Δ9,12)→18:3(Δ9,12,15)这个脂肪酸去饱和主路外，还可能存在其它几个脱饱和反应与延长反应，如16:1(Δ9)→16:2(Δ9,12)→18:2(Δ11,14);16:1(Δ9)→18:1(Δ11)→18:2(Δ11,15)等。 近年维管组织分化研究进展迅速，取得大量可喜结果，也存在许多不足，如细胞分化调节机理，特别是激素诱导的分子机理研究比较薄弱。为建立研究维管组织分化的理想系统，研究嫁接体发育的激素调节机制，在Parkinson和Yeoman发明的离体茎段嫁接系统的基础上，研究了激素对嫁接体发育特别是维管组织分化的影响。 采用不同的嫁接方法，用试管苗对黄瓜离体茎段自体嫁接、亲和性的黄瓜／黑籽南瓜与不亲和性的黄瓜／绿豆离体茎段嫁接组合进行研究，建立了嫁接过程简单、污染率低的试管苗离体茎段嫁接系统。利用往培养基中添加或不加植物激素研究嫁接体发育，发现通过改变培养基中的植物激素，可使亲和的嫁接体难以形成贯通砧木和接穗的维管束桥，也可诱导非亲和性的嫁接体产生维管束桥。初步研究证明利用植物激素可以克服嫁接不亲和性，这一结果是嫁接基础理论研究的一个重要进展，对揭示嫁接亲和性机制具重要意义。由于黄瓜绿豆嫁接组合中，砧木绿豆是可以固氮的豆科植物，研究结果具有潜在的应用前景。 详细地研究了外源IAA和玉米素(ZT)对黄瓜自体嫁接系统中维管束桥形成时间和数目特别是贯通砧木和接穗的管状分子数的影响。当砧木和接穗培养基中都没有添加植物激素时，嫁接接合部难以产生维管束桥，也难以产生贯通的管状分子。当培养基中添加植物激素时，维管束桥数和贯通的管状分子数随激素浓度和种类的不同而不同。本实验的最佳激素条件是：在接穗培养基中加IAA 1.0 mg／L和ZT 0.25 mg／L，在砧木培养基中加ZT 0.25 mg／L。研究表明在试管苗离体茎段自体嫁接系统中，外源激素是嫁接成功的必要条件。试管苗离体茎段嫁接系统是一个理想的研究植物维管组织分化的新系统。 通过对嫁接体发育期接合部及嫁接体各部分IAA、玉米素及玉米素核苷(Z+ZR)的ELISA分析，发现嫁接接合部维管束的再生受IAA和Z+ZR含量的共同调节;连接接穗和砧木维管束桥的分化比维管束的网联要求更高的IAA水平及LAA(Z+ZR)比率。 上述结果为利用嫁接系统研究维管组织分化机理奠定了基础，使进一步研究嫁接体发育的激素调节机理成为可能。

Biotechnological Utilization of Biodiesel-Derived Glycerol for the Production of Ribonucleotides and Microbial Biomass

Ten yeast strains were evaluated concerning their capabilities to assimilate biodiesel-derived glycerol in batch cultivation. The influence of glycerol concentration, temperature, pH and yeast extract concentration on biomass production was studied for the yeast selected. Further, the effect of agitation on glycerol utilization by the yeast Hansenula anomala was also studied. The yeast H. anomala CCT 2648 showed the highest biomass yield (0.30 g g(-1)) and productivity (0.19 g L-1 h(-1)). Citric acid, succinic acid, acetic acid and ethanol were found as the main metabolites produced. The increase of yeast extract concentration from 1 to 3 g L-1 resulted in high biomass production. The highest biomass concentration (21 g L-1), yield (0.45 g g(-1)) and productivity (0.31 g L-1 h(-1)), as well as ribonucleotide production (13.13 mg g(-1)), were observed at 700 rpm and 0.5 vvm. These results demonstrated that glycerol from biodiesel production process showed to be a feasible substrate for producing biomass and ribonucleotides by yeast species.

A fission yeast homolog of Int-6, the mammalian oncoprotein and eIF3 subunit, induces drug resistance when overexpressed

Through a screen to identify genes that induce multi-drug resistance when overexpressed, we have identified a fission yeast homolog of Int-6, a component of the human translation initiation factor eIF3. Disruption of the murine Int-6 gene by mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) has been implicated previously in tumorigenesis, although the underlying mechanism is not yet understood. Fission yeast Int6 was shown to interact with other presumptive components of eIF3 in vivo, and was present in size fractions consistent with its incorporation into a 43S translation preinitiation complex. Drug resistance induced by Int6 overexpression was dependent on the AP-1 transcription factor Pap1, and was associated with increased abundance of Pap1-responsive mRNAs, but not with Pap1 relocalization. Fission yeast cells lacking the int6 gene grew slowly. This growth retardation could be corrected by the expression of full length Int6 of fission yeast or human origin, or by a C-terminal fragment of the fission yeast protein that also conferred drug resistance, but not by truncated human Int-6 proteins corresponding to the predicted products of MMTV-disrupted murine alleles. Studies in fission yeast may therefore help to explain the ways in which Int-6 function can be perturbed during MMTV-induced mammary tumorigenesis.

Molecular basis for lysine specificity in the yeast ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme Cdc34

Ubiquitin (Ub)-conjugating enzymes (E2s) and ubiquitin ligases (E3s) catalyze the attachment of Ub to lysine residues in substrates and Ub during monoubiquitination and polyubiquitination. Lysine selection is important for the generation of diverse substrate-Ub structures, which provides versatility to this pathway in the targeting of proteins to different fates. The mechanisms of lysine selection remain poorly understood, with previous studies suggesting that the ubiquitination site(s) is selected by the E2/E3-mediated positioning of a lysine(s) toward the E2/E3 active site. By studying the polyubiquitination of Sic1 by the E2 protein Cdc34 and the RING E3 Skp1/Cul1/F-box (SCF) protein, we now demonstrate that in addition to E2/E3-mediated positioning, proximal amino acids surrounding the lysine residues in Sic1 and Ub are critical for ubiquitination. This mechanism is linked to key residues composing the catalytic core of Cdc34 and independent of SCF. Changes to these core residues altered the lysine preference of Cdc34 and specified whether this enzyme monoubiquitinated or polyubiquitinated Sic1. These new findings indicate that compatibility between amino acids surrounding acceptor lysine residues and key amino acids in the catalytic core of ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes is an important mechanism for lysine selection during ubiquitination.

The role of the yeast cleavage and polyadenylation factor subunit Ydh1p/Cft2p in pre-mRNA 3'-end formation

Cleavage and polyadenylation factor (CPF) is a multi‐protein complex that functions in pre‐mRNA 3′‐end formation and in the RNA polymerase II (RNAP II) transcription cycle. Ydh1p/Cft2p is an essential component of CPF but its precise role in 3′‐end processing remained unclear. We found that mutations in YDH1 inhibited both the cleavage and the polyadenylation steps of the 3′‐end formation reaction in vitro. Recently, we demonstrated that an important function of CPF lies in the recognition of poly(A) site sequences and RNA binding analyses suggesting that Ydh1p/Cft2p interacts with the poly(A) site region. Here we show that mutant ydh1 strains are deficient in the recognition of the ACT1 cleavage site in vivo. The C‐terminal domain (CTD) of RNAP II plays a major role in coupling 3′‐end processing and transcription. We provide evidence that Ydh1p/Cft2p interacts with the CTD of RNAP II, several other subunits of CPF and with Pcf11p, a component of CF IA. We propose that Ydh1p/Cft2p contributes to the formation of important interaction surfaces that mediate the dynamic association of CPF with RNAP II, the recognition of poly(A) site sequences and the assembly of the polyadenylation machinery on the RNA substrate.

Independent functions of yeast Pcf11p in pre-mRNA 3' end processing and in transcription termination

Pcf11p, an essential subunit of the yeast cleavage factor IA, is required for pre‐mRNA 3′ end processing, binds to the C‐terminal domain (CTD) of the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (RNAP II) and is involved in transcription termination. We show that the conserved CTD interaction domain (CID) of Pcf11p is essential for cell viability. Interestingly, the CTD binding and 3′ end processing activities of Pcf11p can be functionally uncoupled from each other and provided by distinct Pcf11p fragments in trans. Impaired CTD binding did not affect the 3′ end processing activity of Pcf11p and a deficiency of Pcf11p in 3′ end processing did not prevent CTD binding. Transcriptional run‐on analysis with the CYC1 gene revealed that loss of cleavage activity did not correlate with a defect in transcription termination, whereas loss of CTD binding did. We conclude that Pcf11p is a bifunctional protein and that transcript cleavage is not an obligatory step prior to RNAP II termination.

The complementation of yeast with human or Plasmodium falciparum Hsp90 confers differential inhibitor sensitivities

Developing novel drugs against the unicellular parasite Plasmodium is complicated by the paucity of simple screening systems. Heat-shock proteins are an essential class of proteins for the parasite's cyclical life style between different cellular milieus and temperatures. The molecular chaperone Hsp90 assists a large variety of proteins, but its supporting functions for many proteins that are important for cancer have made it into a well-studied drug target. With a better understanding of the differences between Hsp90 of the malarial parasite and Hsp90 of its human host, new therapeutic options might become available. We have generated a set of isogenic strains of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae where the essential yeast Hsp90 proteins have been replaced with either of the two human cytosolic isoforms Hsp90 alpha or Hsp90 beta, or with Hsp90 from Plasmodium falciparum (Pf). All strains express large amounts of the Flag-tagged Hsp90 proteins and are viable. Even though the strain with Pf Hsp90 grows more poorly, it provides a tool to reconstitute additional aspects of the parasite Hsp90 complex and its interactions with substrates in yeast as a living test tube. Upon exposure of the set of Hsp90 test strains to the two Hsp90 inhibitors radicicol (Rd) and geldanamycin (GA), we found that the strain with Pf Hsp90 is relatively more sensitive to GA than to Rd compared to the strains with human Hsp90's. This indicates that this set of yeast strains could be used to screen for new Pf Hsp90 inhibitors with a wider therapeutic window.

Hyperexpression of biologically active human chorionic gonadotropin using the methylotropic yeast, Pichia pastoris

Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a heterodimeric glycoprotein hormone, is composed of an alpha subunit noncovalentlv associated with the hormone-specific beta subunit. The objective of the present study was recombinant expression of properly folded, biologically active hCG and its subunits using an expression system that could be used for structure-function studies while providing adequate quantities of the hormone for immunocontraceptive studies. We report here expression of biologically active hCG and its subunits using a yeast expression system, Pichia pastoris. The recombinant hGG alpha and hCG beta subunits were secreted into the medium and the levels of expression achieved at shake culture level were 24 and 2.7-3 mg/l secretory medium respectively. Go-expression of both subunits in the same cell resulted in secretion of heterodimeric hGG into the medium. The pichia-expressed hCG was immunologically similar to the native hormone, capable of binding to the LH receptors and stimulating a biological response in vitro. Surprisingly, the maximal response obtained was twice that obtained with the native hGG. The le level of expression of hCG achieved was 12-16 mg/l secretory medium and is expected to increase several-fold in a fermenter. Thus the Pichia expression system is capable of hyperexpressing properly folded, biologically active hGG and is suitable for structure-function studies of the hormone.

Peculiar cytological behaviour of a distillery yeast

The question whether so-called ‘pure’ strains of yeast are cytologically pure ought to receive the earnest attention of those engaged in the study of the genetics of yeasts. The classification of yeasts is purely arbitrary, and the only reliable method of obtaining any particular species is to get a sample of the original culture. But even if the original culture is available one is not sure that it is cytologically pure, for proportion changes might have occurred in it since isolation. In rapidly growing organisms like the yeasts this is but natural. Investigations on higher plants indicate that polyploids usually mutate to dwarfness as a survival-measure and hence the random size relationships between the diploids and the polyploids offer no morphological criterion for differentiation into types.