Biomedical subjects

Beatriz S Méndez

Publications and source records attributed to Beatriz S Méndez.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

dye (arc) Mutants: insights into an unexplained phenotype and its suppression by the synthesis of poly (3-hydroxybutyrate) in Escherichia coli recombinants.

arcA codes for a central regulator in Escherichia coli that responds to redox conditions of growth. Mutations in this gene, originally named dye, confer sensitivity to toluidine blue and other redox dyes. However, the molecular basis for the dye-sensitive phenotype has not been elucidated. In this work, we show that toluidine blue redirects electrons to O2 and causes an increase in the generation of reactive O2 species (ROS). We also demonstrate that synthesis of poly (3-hydroxybutyrate) suppresses the Dye phenotype in E. coli recombinants, as the capacity to synthesize the polymer reduces sensitivity to toluidine blue, O2 consumption and ROS production levels.

Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins↗

PubMed2006

Impaired polyhydroxybutyrate biosynthesis from glucose in Pseudomonas sp. 14-3 is due to a defective beta-ketothiolase gene.

Pseudomonas sp. 14-3 accumulates polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) from octanoate, but not from glucose. To elucidate this unusual phenotype, genes responsible for the synthesis of PHB were cloned and analyzed. A PHB polymerase gene (phaC) was found downstream from genes coding for a beta-ketothiolase (phaA), an acetoacetyl-coenzyme A reductase (phaB) and a putative transcriptional regulator (phaR). All genes were similar to pha genes from several related species, but differences were observed in the distal region of phaA. Complementation with heterologous beta-ketothiolase genes from Azotobacter sp. FA8 or Pseudomonas putida GPp104 restored the capability of Pseudomonas sp. 14-3 to synthesize PHB from glucose, demonstrating that its beta-ketothiolase was nonfunctional. Analysis of the genome sequences of other Pseudomonas species has revealed the existence of putative beta-ketothiolase genes. The functionality of one of these thiolase genes, belonging to P. putida GPp104, was experimentally demonstrated. Pseudomonas sp. 14-3 is the first natural phaA mutant described, that despite this mutation accumulates high amounts of PHB when growing on fatty acids.

Acetyl-CoA C-Acyltransferase↗

PubMed2006

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) synthesis by recombinant Escherichia coli arcA mutants in microaerobiosis.

We assessed the effects of different arcA mutations on poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) synthesis in recombinant Escherichia coli strains carrying the pha synthesis genes from Azotobacter sp. strain FA8. The arcA mutations used were an internal deletion and the arcA2 allele, a leaky mutation for some of the characteristics of the Arc phenotype which confers high respiratory capacity. PHB synthesis was not detected in the wild-type strain in shaken flask cultures under low-oxygen conditions, while ArcA mutants gave rise to polymer accumulation of up to 24% of their cell dry weight. When grown under microaerobic conditions in a bioreactor, the arcA deletion mutant reached a PHB content of 27% +/- 2%. Under the same conditions, higher biomass and PHB concentrations were observed for the strain bearing the arcA2 allele, resulting in a PHB content of 35% +/- 3%. This strain grew in a simple medium at a specific growth rate of 0.69 +/- 0.07 h(-1), whereas the deletion mutant needed several nutritional additives and showed a specific growth rate of 0.56 +/- 0.06 h(-1). The results presented here suggest that arcA mutations could play a role in heterologous PHB synthesis in microaerobiosis.

Aerobiosis↗

PubMed2005

Statistical optimization of a culture medium for biomass and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) production by a recombinant Escherichia coli strain using agroindustrial byproducts.

A statistically based Plackett-Burman screening design identified milk whey and corn steep liquor concentrations as well as ionic strength (based on phosphate buffer concentration) as the three main independent components of the culture medium that significantly (p < 0.05) influenced biomass and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) production in recombinant cells of Escherichia coli. This strain carries a plasmid encoding phb genes from a natural isolate of Azotobacter sp. Response surface methodology, using a central composite rotatable design, demonstrated that the optimal concentrations of the three components, defined as those yielding maximal biomass and PHB production in shaken flasks, were 37.96 g deproteinated milk whey powder/l, 29.39 g corn steep liquor/l, and 23.76 g phosphates/l (r2 = 0.957). The model was validated by culturing the recombinant cells in medium containing these optimal concentrations, which yielded 9.41 g biomass/l and 6.12 g PHB/l in the culture broth. Similar amounts of PHB were obtained following batch fermentations in a bioreactor. These results show that PHB can be produced efficiently by culturing the recombinant strain in medium containing cheap carbon and nitrogen sources.

3-Hydroxybutyric Acid↗

PubMed2004

rpoS gene expression in carbon-starved cultures of the Polyhydroxyalkanoate-accumulating species Pseudomonas oleovorans.

The expression of the rpoS gene during PHA depolymerization was monitored in Pseudomonas oleovorans GPo1 and its mutant defective in PHA degradation by analyzing the tolerance to oxidative and thermal stresses and the RpoS intracellular content. An increase in the tolerance to H2O2 and heat shock was observed coincidentally with PHA degradation. Western blotting experiments performed in carbon-starved cultures showed that the RpoS levels were higher in the wild type than in the mutant strain. Complementation of the phaZ mutation restores the wild-type RpoS levels. These results suggest a probable association between PHA depolymerization and the stress tolerance phenotype controlled by RpoS.

Bacterial Proteins↗

PubMed2003

Evidence of an association between poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) accumulation and phosphotransbutyrylase expression in Bacillus megaterium.

Molecular analysis of a genomic region of Bacillus megaterium, a polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB)-producing microorganism, revealed the presence of a gene coding for the enzyme phosphotransbutyrylase (Ptb). Enzyme activity was measured throughout the different growth phases of B. megaterium and was found to correlate with PHB accumulation during the late-exponential growth phase. Ptb expression was repressed by glucose and activated by the branched amino acids isoleucine and valine. Overexpression of Act(Bm), a sigma(54) regulator from B. megaterium whose gene is located upstream from ptb, caused an increase in Ptb activity and PHB accumulation in B. megaterium.

Amino Acids, Branched-Chain↗

PubMed2003

Null mutations in the essential gene yrfF (mucM) are not lethal in rcsB, yojN or rcsC strains of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium.

Insertion of factor MudJ in the intergenic region between divergent genes yrfF and yrfE, at centisome 76 in the genome of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium LT2, confers the characteristics recently described for mucM mutants, i.e. mucoidy and resistance to mecillinam. Cloning of the intergenic region plus either the yrfF or the yrfE gene in a multicopy plasmid showed that only the plasmid carrying the yrfF gene complemented mucM mutants, thus suggesting that mucM mutations are in fact yrfF mutations. A null yrfF mutation obtained by insertion of a kanamycin cassette into the yrfF open reading frame (yrfF28::Kan) produced abortive colonies when transduced to a wild-type strain but was normally accepted by rcsB, rcsC or yojN strains. Neither mutations preventing synthesis of the capsular exopolysaccharide colanic acid (cps, galE) nor rcsA mutations, which reduce expression of cps genes, conferred tolerance to the lethal yrfF28::Kan mutation. Spontaneous suppressor mutations arose very frequently in abortive yrfF28::Kan colonies, and all of them affected either rcsC, yojN, or rcsB genes. Thus, the lethal effect caused by inactivation of gene yrfF appears to be mediated by a function that is dependent on the rcsC-yojN-rcsB phosphorelay system but does not involve synthesis of colanic acid.

Amdinocillin↗

PubMed2003

Insertion sequence-like elements associated with putative polyhydroxybutyrate regulatory genes in Azotobacter sp. FA8.

The genes phaR, phaP, and phaF, encoding putative regulatory proteins, were found in the poly (3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) gene cluster of the free nitrogen-fixing bacteria Azotobacter sp. FA8. These genes were flanked by the insertion sequence ISAzsp1, belonging to the IS3 family, and a region highly homologous to insertion sequences of the IS630 family. These are the first site-specific recombination elements to be described in association with genes involved in the metabolism of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). A possible role for ISs in the assembly of pha genes is presented.

3-Hydroxybutyric Acid↗