Previous Article | Next Article ![]()
Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2002, p. 4517-4522, Vol. 68, No. 9
0099-2240/02/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/AEM.68.9.4517-4522.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Division of Molecular Science, Graduate School of Science and Technology,1 Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kobe University, Nada-ku, Kobe 657-8501,3 Department of Synthetic Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan2
Received 18 March 2002/ Accepted 11 June 2002
|
|
|---|
|
|
|---|
In the most widely used yeast-based cell-surface display system, the gene encoding the target protein with the secretion signal is fused with the gene encoding the C-terminal half of
-agglutinin and containing the putative glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor attachment signal sequence. However, the activity of enzymes whose active site is spatially near to the C terminus (1) may be inhibited by fusion with an anchor protein, as in the results of a previous study, in which Rhizopus oryzae lipase (ROL) activity was strongly inhibited by fusion with a GPI anchor protein (30).
For surface display of such enzymes as ROL in active form, we have developed a new system, based on the FLO1 gene encoding a lectin-like cell-wall protein (Flo1p) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Flo1p is composed of several domains: the secretion signal domain, the flocculation functional domain, the GPI anchor attachment signal domain, and the membrane-anchoring domain (15, 26, 31). The Flo1p flocculation functional domain, thought to be located near the N terminus, recognizes and adheres noncovalently to cell-wall components such as
-mannan carbohydrates, causing reversible aggregation of cells into flocs (3, 15, 31). We have therefore developed a new cell-surface display system, consisting of the flocculation functional domain of Flo1p with secretion signal and insertion sites for the target protein. In this system, the N termini of target proteins such as ROL (i.e., with a pro sequence [ProROL]), are fused to the Flo1p flocculation functional domain.
In the present study, the applicability of yeast cells displaying active lipase to biodiesel production in a solvent-free and water-containing system was studied. Biodiesel fuel refers to methylesters (MEs) synthesized from natural triglycerides and methanol (8, 10). Since biodiesel is a clean fuel (28) and can be produced from waste oil, the development of an efficient biodiesel fuel production process using lipase (19, 22) is considered of great importance to help overcome environmental problems by utilizing renewable nonpetroleum sources of fuel.
|
|
|---|
Construction of FLO1-ProROL surface expression vectors.
Figure 1 shows the newly developed cell-surface display systems using the flocculation functional domain of Flo1p (FS and FL). To investigate the effect of the length of Flo1p on expression, the genes encoding amino acids 1 to 1099 (FS) and 1 to 1417 (FL) of the flocculation functional region of Flo1p were used. For efficient expression of the fusion genes of FSProROL and FLProROL on the yeast cell surface, the plasmids pWIFSProROL and pWIFLProROL (Fig. 1) were constructed. Both plasmids have the secretion signal sequence, and the fusion gene of the flocculation functional regions of the FLO1 gene and the ProROL gene was expressed under the control of the 5' upstream region of the isocitrate lyase of the Candida tropicalis (UPR-ICL) gene. UPR-ICL-mediated transcription is strongly induced by either glucose exhaustion or a nonfermentable carbon source such as ethanol or acetate (9, 27). Neither constructed plasmid possesses the GPI anchor attachment signal on the C terminus of the FLO1 gene.
![]() View larger version (13K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 1. (A) Structural features of Flo1p (31), FLProROL, and FSProROL. Arrowheads indicate possible N-glycosylation sites. Open arrowhead indicates the possible GPI attachment site (amino acid 1514). Numbers written vertically indicate lengths of proteins. The 45-amino-acid repeats comprise the proposed flocculation functional domain. (B) Yeast expression plasmids pWIFSProROL and pWIFLProROL.
|
Yeast transformation.
The expression plasmids prepared as described above were transformed into S. cerevisiae cells using YEASTMAKER (Clontech Laboratories Inc., Palo Alto, Calif.) according to the protocol specified by the supplier. The transformants were selected by plating and incubating for 2 days on an SD medium plate.
Cultivation.
Transformants harboring the plasmids for cell-surface expression of FS- and FLProROL were precultivated in SD medium at 30°C for 30 h (optical density at 600 nm [OD600] > 1.5) and used as starters to inoculate 100 ml of SDC medium (SD medium containing 2% Casamino Acids) in a 500-ml shaking flask to give an initial OD600 of 0.03. Initial concentration of glucose was 0.5%.
Measurement of lipase activity on yeast cells.
The hydrolytic activity of lipase in culture broth and yeast cells was measured with Lipase Kit S (Dainippon Pharmaceutical Co., Osaka, Japan) according to the protocol specified by the supplier and the resulting values were expressed in international units (IU). One unit of lipase activity was defined as the amount of enzyme catalyzing the formation of 1 µmol of 2,3-dimercaptopropan-1-ol from 2,3-dimercaptopropan-1-ol tributyl ester per min. Lipase activity on the yeast cell surface was measured as follows. Yeast cells harvested from the culture broth were washed and resuspended in distilled water with vigorous agitation using a vortex. The cell concentration was determined by measuring dried-cell weight, and an appropriate amount of the suspension was used for lipase activity assay.
Immunofluorescence microscopy.
Immunofluorescence microscopy was carried out as reported previously (30). Immunostaining was performed as follows. The rabbit polyclonal anti-ROL antiserum was raised against recombinant ROL produced by S. cerevisiae (25) and used as the primary antibody. The antibody was preincubated with cells harboring a control plasmid (pWI3) to prevent nonspecific binding to the yeast cell. Cells were washed with 10 mM potassium phosphate buffer, pH 7.2, containing 150 mM sodium chloride (PBS). The cells and the pretreated antibody were then incubated with 2% bovine serum albumin at room temperature for 1.5 h. After the cells had been washed with PBS, the second antibody, fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated goat anti-rabbit immunoglobulin G (IgG) (Molecular Probes, Eugene, Oreg.), was diluted to 1:300 and allowed to react with the cells at room temperature for 1 h. The cells were then washed with PBS and observed with a fluorescence microscope.
Isolation of cell wall and protein extraction.
Cell wall fractions were separated according to the previously reported method (11), with minor modifications. Cells were harvested by centrifugation at 3,000 x g and washed with iced buffer (10 mM Tris-HCl [pH 7.8], 1 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride). The cells, buffer, and glass beads (0.5 mm diameter) were mixed at a ratio of 1:2:1 (wet weight/vol/wt) in a microcentrifugation tube and agitated vigorously with a vortex mixer at maximum speed for 5 min at 0°C. The cell wall fraction was recovered by centrifugation of the homogenate at 1,000 x g for 5 min and washed with the same buffer. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) extraction and subsequent glucanase extraction were carried out according to the previously reported methods (3).
Endo Hf treatment.
To remove N-glycosylated carbohydrates from glycoproteins, endoglycosidase treatment was conducted using Endo Hf (New England BioLabs, Beverly, Mass.) according to the protocol specified by the supplier. That is, 20 µg of proteins, extracted from yeast cell wall by SDS, was denatured in 0.5% SDS and 1% ß-mercaptoethanol by 10 min of boiling and then incubated for 1 h at 37°C with 1/10 volume of 0.5 M sodium citrate (pH 5.5) and 2.5 µl of Endo Hf.
Western blot analysis of rProROL.
Using a 10% (wt/vol) gel, SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was carried out as described previously. The proteins separated on the gel were electroblotted on polyvinylidene difluoride membrane (Millipore Co., Boston, Mass.) and allowed to react with primary rabbit anti-ROL IgG antibodies (30) and secondary goat anti-rabbit IgG alkaline phosphatase-conjugated antibodies (Promega Co., Madison, Wis.). The membrane was then stained with nitroblue tetrazolium (Promega Co.) and 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolylphosphate (BCIP; Promega Co.) according to the protocol specified by the supplier. The staining solution was prepared by adding 66 µl of nitroblue tetrazolium and 33 µl of BCIP sequentially to 10 ml of alkaline phosphatase buffer (100 mM Tris-HCl [pH 9.0] containing 150 mM NaCl and 1 mM MgCl2).
Flocculation measurement.
Flocculation ability was measured according to previously reported methods (3). Yeast cells were deflocculated by washing with 50 mM sodium citrate (pH 3.0)-5 mM EDTA buffer twice and then suspended, giving a concentration of 108 cells/ml (5 OD units) in the same buffer. A total of 0.1 ml of distilled water or 1 M CaCl2 solution (20 mM final concentration to induce flocculation) was added to 4.9 ml of deflocculated cell suspension in a 10-ml test tube. The tubes were agitated at a rate of 50 oscillations per min for 5 min and then left standing vertically. After 1 min, 0.2 ml of suspension was collected from just below the meniscus of each tube and mixed with 1 ml of 0.25 M EDTA (pH 8.0) and the OD600 was measured. From the OD600 values of deflocculated and flocculated cell suspensions (ODdefloc and ODfloc, respectively), the ability to induce flocculation (i.e., the percentage of cells flocculated) was calculated using the following equation: ability to induce flocculation (percent) = (ODdefloc - ODfloc)/ODdeflocx 100. Percent values of 100 and 0 indicate complete cell flocculation and dispersion, respectively. Flocculation ability was also recorded photographically. Culture medium, cultivated in a shake flask for 150 h, was transferred to a test tube and shaken quickly and photographed immediately and after 5 s.
Methanolysis reaction using whole-cell biocatalysts.
The methanolysis reaction was performed as follows. A total of 100 mg (dry weight) of FSProROL or FLProROL surface-displaying yeast cells was suspended in 0.5 ml of 0.1 M acetate buffer (pH 7.0) and used as a catalyst. The yeast cell suspension was added to a mixture of soybean oil and methanol (9.65 g/0.35 g = 1 mol/1 mol). The molar amount of soybean oil was calculated using apparent molecular weight values calculated from the fatty acid composition (7). The reaction was carried out in a 30-ml screw vial at 37°C at 150 oscillations per min. Methanol (0.35 g [1 molar equivalent]) was added twice into the reaction mixture, after 24- and 50-h reactions.
Amount of ME produced by methanolysis reaction was measured using a capillary gas chromatograph GC-18A apparatus (Shimadzu Co., Kyoto, Japan) connected to a DB-5 capillary column according to the method previously reported (8), with minor modification. Aliquots of 150 µl were taken from the reaction mixture and centrifuged at 19,000 x g to obtain the upper layer, of which 80 µl was mixed with 20 µl of tricaprylin in a 10-ml bottle, to which were then added a specified amount of sodium sulfate as dehydrogenating agent and 3.0 ml of hexane. A 1.0-µl aliquot of the treated sample was subjected to gas chromatography to quantify the ME content.
|
|
|---|
![]() View larger version (86K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 2. Microscopy of immunofluorescence-labeled yeast cells. Differential interference contrast micrographs (panels A, B, and C) and fluorescence micrographs (panels a, b, and c) are shown. Panels A and a, S. cerevisiae MT8-1/pWIFSProROL; panels B and b, S. cerevisiae MT8-1/pWIFLProROL; panels C and c, S. cerevisiae MT8-1/pWI3 (control).
|
![]() View larger version (23K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 3. Time courses of lipase activity in cell pellets during cultivation of S. cerevisiae MT8-1/pWIFSProROL (open circle), MT8-1/pWIFLProROL (open square), and MT8-1/pWI3 (open triangle [control]). Vertical axis indicates lipase activity in cell pellet per dry cell weight.
|
![]() View larger version (49K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 4. Immunoblotting of extracts from S. cerevisiae MT8-1/pWIFSProROL (lanes 1 and 4), MT8-1/pWIFLProROL (lanes 2 and 5), and MT8-1/pWI3 (lanes 3 and 6 [controls]) cell walls. Lanes 1 to 3, SDS-extracted fractions; lanes 4 to 6, glucanase-extracted fractions. All fractions were treated with Endo Hf prior to analysis.
|
![]() View larger version (61K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 5. Photographs of flocculating yeast during agitation (A, B, and C) and after sedimentation for 5 s (a, b and c). Panels A and a, S. cerevisiae MT8-1/pWIFSProROL; panels B and b, S. cerevisiae MT8-1/pWIFLProROL; panels C and c, S. cerevisiae MT8-1/pWI3 (control). Ability of different constructs to trigger flocculation is indicated by +++ (full flocculation), + (slight flocculation), or - (no flocculation). Values in parentheses represent percentages of cells that settled after 1 min.
|
![]() View larger version (24K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 6. Time course of methanolysis reaction using yeast whole cells. Percentages of ME weight in reaction mixture are plotted against reaction time. ME content was determined as the ratio of the weight of ME to that in the total oil phase in the reaction mixture. Arrows show times of addition of 0.35 g of methanol. Symbols: open circle, S. cerevisiae MT8-1/pWIFSProROL; open square, MT8-1/pWIFLProROL; open triangle, MT8-1/pWI3 (control).
|
|
|
|---|
It is also very interesting that S. cerevisiae MT8-1/pWIFLProROL showed stronger flocculation than the wild-type flocculent yeast S. diastaticus ATCC 60715, despite MT8-1 being a nonflocculent strain (Fig. 5a). The mechanism of flocculation is thought to consist of lectin-like proteins, fixed covalently at the C terminus by the GPI anchor, interacting with the mannan chains of another cell via the N-terminal domain (15, 26, 31). Recently, Bony et al. reported similarly that the removal of the hydrophobic C-terminal region was observed to prevent the anchoring of Flo1p at the cell surface and that the truncated Flo1p was mostly secreted into the culture medium (3). However, our findings reveal that Flo1p, a lectin-like protein, does not need to be fixed to the yeast cell surface via the C-terminal anchoring region for surface display and flocculation to occur. The mechanism of this flocculation phenomenon is under investigation.
Yeast cells displaying high lipase activity on their surface were used as whole-cell biocatalysts for methanolysis reaction in a solvent-free system. With cell surface-displayed ProROL, substrate molecules could easily access ProROL and no treatment was needed to catalyze methanolysis reaction. Since the initial reaction rate of FSProROL-displaying cells was as high as that of soluble ROL, the displayed FSProROL may have the same accessibility to substrates as free enzymes. There is almost no barrier to diffusion of substrates and products in cell-surface display systems, whereas in whole-cell biocatalyst containing intracellular ROL, various permeabilization treatments such as freeze-thawing and air drying are necessary to improve reactivity (14). For the industrial bioconversion process, lipases immobilized on the cell surface are more cost effective and convenient. These whole-cell biocatalysts are prepared by simple cultivation and recovered easily. Moreover, MT8-1/pWIFLProROL with strong flocculation ability was spontaneously immobilized within porous support particles (13) during cultivation (data not shown). The stability of lipase-displaying yeast whole-cell biocatalyst, which is important for industrial applications, is presently under investigation, and details will be described elsewhere.
Our novel FS-anchoring system allows N-terminal immobilization of targeted proteins in cell suspension form, while the FL-anchoring systems additionally give strong flocculation. Each of these novel surface display systems will be suited to a different range of applications.
|
|
|---|
This article has been cited by other articles:
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology. For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»