• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.215-222
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• 1997

The regulatory mechanism of the flux of acetyl-CoA in Alcaligenes eutrophus in unbalanced growth conditions was investigated using a PHB-negative mutant and transformants reintroduced PHB-biosynthesis enzymes through the transformation of cloned phbCAB genes. The PHB-negative mutant was defected absolutly in PHB synthase but partially in ${\beta}$-ketothiolase and acetoacetyl-CoA reductase, and excreted substantial amount of pyruvate to culture broth at late growth phase. The excretion was due to the inhibitory effect of acetyl-CoA on the activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase. The cloned phbC and phbCAB genes were transformed to the PHB-negative mutant strain to reintroduce PHB biosythesis enzymes. Pyruvate excretion could be decreased substantially but not completely by transformation of PHB synthase alone, while pyruvate excretion was ceased by transformation of all three PHB biosynthesis enzymes. To identify the most critical PHB biosynthesis enzyme influencing on the flux of acetyl-CoA, the effect of the variation of PHB biosynthesis enzymes on pyruvate dehydrogenase was investigated. ${\beta}$-Ketothiolase influenced the activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase more sensitively than PHB synthase. ${\beta}$-Ketothiolase, the first step enzyme of PHB biosynthesis that condense acetyl-CoA to acetoacetyl-CoA, seems to be the major enzyme determining the flux of acetyl-CoA to PHB biosynthesis or TCA cycle, and the rate of PHB biosynthesis in A. eutrophus.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.6 no.6
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• pp.425-431
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• 1996

The enzymatic characteristics of Alcaligenes latus were investigated by measuring the variations of various enzyme activities related to biosynthesis and degradation of poly-${\beta}$-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) during cultivation. All PHB biosynthetic enzymes, ${\beta}$-ketothiolase, acetoacetyl-CoA reductase, and PHB synthase, were activated gradually at the PHB accumulation stage, and the PHB synthase showed the highest value among three enzymes. This indicates that the rate of PHB biosynthesis is mainly controlled by either ${\beta}$-ketothiolase or acetoacetyl-CoA reductase rather than PHB synthase. The enzymatic activities related to the degradation of PHB were also measured, and the degradation of PHB was controlled by the activity of PHB depolymerase. The effect of supplements of metabolic regulators, citrate and tyrosine, was also investigated, and the activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase was increased by metabolic regulators, especially by tyrosine. The activities of ${\beta}$-ketothiolase and acetoacetyl-CoA reductase were also activated by citrate and tyrosine, while the activity of PHB depolymerase was depressed. The increased rate and yield of PHB biosynthesis by metabolic regulators may be due to the increment of acetyl-CoA concentration either by the repression of the TCA cycle by citrate through product inhibition or by the activation of sucrose metabolism by the supplemented tyrosine.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.327-330
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• 2004

An inducible expression system of poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate] (PHB) depolymerization was established in metabolically engineered Escherichia coli with the PHB biosynthesis genes. The Ralstonia eutropha PHB depolymerase gene was cloned in a vector system containing the PHB biosynthesis genes and expressed under inducible promoter. Recombinant E. coli harboring the PHB biosynthesis genes and depolymerase gene was first cultured for the accumulation of PHB, and then the depolymerase was expressed resulting in the degradation of accumulated PHB into (R)-3-hydroxybutyric acid (R3HB). R3HB could be produced with the concentration of 7.6 g/L in flask culture. Two different PHB biosynthesis genes from Alcaligenes latus and R. eutropha were compared for the production of R3HB. This strategy can be used for the production of enantiomerically pure (R)-hydroxycarboxylic acids with high concentration.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.196-200
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• 2004

The supra molecular weight poly(〔R〕-3-hydroxybutyrate) (PH B), having a molecular weight greater than 2 million Da, has recently been found to possess improved mechanical properties compared with the normal molecular weight PHB, which has a molecular weight of less than 1 million Da. However, applications for this PHB have been hampered due to the difficulty of its production. Reported here, is the development of a new metabolically engineered Escherichia coli strain and its fermentation for high level production of supra molecular weight PHB. Recombinant E. coli strains, harboring plasm ids of different copy numbers containing the Alcaligenes latus PHB biosynthesis genes, were cultured and the molecular weights of the accumulated PHB were compared. When the recombinant E. coli XL1-Blue, harboring a medium-copy-number pJC2 containing the A. latus PHB biosynthesis genes, was cultivated by fed-batch culture at pH 6.0, supra molecular weight PHB could be produced at up to 89.8 g/L with a productivity of 2.07 g PHB/L-h. The molecular weight of PHB obtained under these conditions was as high as 22 MDa, exceeding by an order of magnitude the molecular weight of PHB typically produced in Ralstonia eutropha or recombinant E. coli.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.120-127
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• 1996

The characteristics of cell growth and poly-$\beta$-hydroxybutyrate biosynthesis of Alcaligenes latus ATCC 29713 were investigated. The PHB accumulation pattern of A. latus followed a growth-associated type where the cell growth and PHB accumulation were carried out simultaneously. Various intermediate compounds such as metabolites involved in the TCA cycle, amino acids, and saturated and unsaturated fatty acids were added to examine their effect on cell growth and PHB accumulation. Citrate, tyrosine, and palmitic acid showed the most significant increase both on cell growth and PHB accumulation. Maximum PHB concentrations were noticeably increased about 1.4 to 1.6 times higher than that of control, corresponding to 5.54, 6.45, and 6.45 g/l for citrate, tyrosine, and palmitic acid, respectively. The stimulatory effects of the supplemented metabolites were analyzed in terms of the increment of enzyme activities related to sugar catabolism and PHB biosynthesis.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.186-192
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• 1991

It is very important to have a good kinetic model which considers the effects of both ammonium and glucose for the control and optimization of the poly-${\beta}$-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) fermentation. A kinetic model for the growth of Alcaligenes eutrophus and the biosynthesis of PHB under both ammonium and glucose limitation was proposed. Growth rate of residual biomass was expressed as a function of concentrations of residual biomass, glucose and ammonium having glucose inhibition. PHB production rate was expressed as a function of concentrations of residual biomass, glucose, ammonium and PHB content having ammonium and product inhibitions. Novel approaches were made to estimate the parameters in the model equations which considered two limiting substrates. Model parameters were evaluated by graphical and simplex methods. The proposed kinetic model fitted the data very well.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.771-774
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• 2001

NADPH has been known as a regulating factor the biosynthesis of polyhydroxyalkanote(PHA), and the flux of NADPH for PHA biosynthesis could be enforced by the amplification of zwf gene encoding glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase. The recombinant plasmid pCZWF harboring PHA synthase, phbC from R. eutropha and zwf from E. coli were constructed, and were transformed to R. eutropha by electroporation. The biosynthesis of P(3HB-3HV) copolymer were carried out in transformant R. eutropha through the two-stage cultivation method using valerate as a precursor. The biosynthesis rate and PHA content of transformant R. eutropha harboring pCZWF were increased compared with transformant R. eutropha harboring only phbC. Especially, the molar fraction of 3HV was increased from 68% to 74% due to amplification of zwf gene. And the biosynthesis P(3HB-3HV) and P(3HB-4HB) carried out using propionate and ${\gamma}-butyrolactone$ as a precursor, respectively. But the rate, content, and molar fraction of biosynthesis copolymers were not influenced appreciably. This may be due to the reduced availability of NADPH.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.333-336
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• 2001

An isolated phbC gene from Alcaligenes latus was reintroduced into the parent A. latus through the transformation process, and the effect of the amplified phbC gene on the biosynthesis of P(3-hydroxybutyrate-3-hydroxyvalerate) [P(3HB-3HV)] and P(3-hydroxybutyrate-4-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB-4HB)] in the transformant A. latus was investigated. The biosynthesis rate and content of the above copolymers increased up to 1.3-fold after enforcing its own phbC gene, and the molar fractions of 3HV and 4HB in P(3HB-3HV) and P(3HB-4HB) also changed remarkably from 35.0 to 48.0% and from 34.0 to 56.0%, respectively, showing a critical role of PHB synthase which catalyzes the polymerizing reactions between eiher 3HV or 4HB from precursor compounds and 3HB.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.731-734
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• 2001

An efficient fermentation strategy for the high level production of ultra-high-molecular weight poly(3-hdyroxybutyrate) (PHB) was developed. Although the cell and PHA concentrations obtained by flask cultures at different initial pH (6.0 or 6.9) were almost same level, the molecular mass of PHB produced were quite different along with the initial pH. When a recombinant Escherichia coli XL1-Blue harboring pJC2 containing the Alcaligenes latus PHB biosynthesis genes was cultivated in flask culture (pH 6.0), the PHB having a very high molecular weight of 22 MDa could be produced while only below 1 MDa at initial pH 6.9. The ultra-high-molecular weight PHB could be synthesized to high concentration of 89.8 g/L resulting in the PHB productivity of 2.07 g/L-h by simple fed-batch culture. In this study, we report that PHB having various molecular mass can be produced by employing metabolically engineered E. coli strains harboring the plasmids of different copy numbers containing the A. latus phbCAB genes.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.221-228
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• 1993

In order to achieve poly-beta-hydroxybutyric acid (PHB) production using recombinant DNA in various host bacterial cells, the isolation of genes for PHB biosynthesis was attempted. As a result, a 5.2kb DNA fragment containing phbCAB operon of Alcaligenes eutrophus was isolated by colony hybridization using synthetic oligodeoxyribonucleotides as probes. The constructed recmbinant plasmid pSK(+)-phbCAB operon was transferred to Escherichia coli, and the obtained transformant accumulated considerable amount of PHB.