This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Schubert, T.
Right arrow Articles by Breuer, U.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Schubert, T.
Right arrow Articles by Breuer, U.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Schubert, T.
Right arrow Articles by Breuer, U.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, May 2007, p. 3343-3347, Vol. 73, No. 10
0099-2240/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02482-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Continuous Synthesis and Excretion of the Compatible Solute Ectoine by a Transgenic, Nonhalophilic Bacterium{triangledown}

Torsten Schubert,1 Thomas Maskow,1 Dirk Benndorf,2 Hauke Harms,1 and Uta Breuer1*

UFZ, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Department of Environmental Microbiology, Permoserstr. 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany,1 UFZ, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Department of Proteomics, Permoserstr. 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany2

Received 24 October 2006/ Accepted 12 March 2007

The compatible solute 1,4,5,6-tetrahydro-2-methyl-4-pyrimidinecarboxylic acid (ectoine) acts in microorganisms as an osmotic counterweight against halostress and has attracted commercial attention as a protecting agent. Its production and application are restricted by the drawbacks of the discontinuous harvesting procedure involving salt shocks, which reduces volumetric yield, increases reactor corrosion, and complicates downstream processing. In order to synthesize ectoine continuously in less-aggressive media, we introduced the ectoine genes ectABC of the halophilic bacterium Chromohalobacter salexigens into an Escherichia coli strain using the expression vector pASK-IBA7. Under the control of a tet promoter, the transgenic E. coli synthesized 6 g liter–1 ectoine with a space-time yield of 40 mg liter–1 h–1, with the vast majority of the ectoine being excreted.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: UFZ, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Department of Environmental Microbiology, Permoserstr. 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany. Phone: 49 341 235 2186. Fax: 49 341 235 2247. E-mail: uta.breuer{at}ufz.de

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 16 March 2007.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, May 2007, p. 3343-3347, Vol. 73, No. 10
0099-2240/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02482-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»