The addition of exogenous polyamines increases the production of antibiotic cephalosporin C (CPC) in Acremonium chrysogenum high-yielding (HY) strain during fermentation on a complex medium. However, the molecular basis of this phenomenon is still unknown. In the current study, we developed a special synthetic medium on which we revealed the opposite effect of polyamines. The addition of 1,3-diaminopropane resulted in an increase in the yield of CPC by 12–15%. However, the addition of spermidine resulted in a decrease in the yield of CPC by 14–15% and accumulation of its metabolic pathway precursor, deacetylcephalosporin C (DAC); the total amount of cephems (DAC and CPC) was the same as after the addition of DAP. This indicates that spermidine, but not 1,3-diaminopropane, affects the final stage of CPC biosynthesis, associated with the acetylation of its precursor. In both cases, upregulation of biosynthetic genes from beta-lactam BGCs occurred at the same level as compared to the control; expression of transport genes was at the control level. The opposite effect may be due to the fact that N1-acetylation is much more efficient during spermidine catabolism than for 1,3-diaminopropane. The addition of spermidine, but not 1,3-diaminopropane, depleted the pool of acetyl coenzyme A by more than two-fold compared to control, which could lead to the accumulation of DAC.

Inorganic polyphosphates (polyP) are the linear polymers of orthophosphoric acid varying in the number of phosphate residues linked by the energy-rich phosphoanhydride bonds. PolyP is an essential component in living cells. Knowledge of polyP metabolizing enzymes in eukaryotes is necessary for understanding molecular mechanisms of polyP metabolism in humans and development of new approaches for treating bone and cardiovascular diseases associated with impaired mineral phosphorus metabolism. Yeast cells represent a rational experimental model for this research due to availability of the methods for studying phosphorus metabolism and construction of knockout mutants and strains overexpressing target proteins. Multicomponent system of polyP metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells is presented in this review discussing properties, functioning, and practical significance of the enzymes involved in the synthesis and degradation of this important metabolite.

The high-yielding production of pharmaceutically significant secondary metabolites in filamentous fungi is obtained by random mutagenesis; such changes may be associated with shifts in the metabolism of polyamines. We have previously shown that, in the Acremonium chrysogenum cephalosporin C high-yielding strain (HY), the content of endogenous polyamines increased by four- to five-fold. Other studies have shown that the addition of exogenous polyamines can increase the production of target secondary metabolites in highly active fungal producers, in particular, increase the biosynthesis of β-lactams in the Penicillium chrysogenum Wis 54–1255 strain, an improved producer of penicillin G. In the current study, we demonstrate that the introduction of exogenous polyamines, such as spermidine or 1,3-diaminopropane, to A. chrysogenum wild-type (WT) and HY strains, leads to an increase in colony germination and morphological changes in a complete agar medium. The addition of 5 mM polyamines during fermentation increases the production of cephalosporin C in the A. chrysogenum HY strain by 15–20% and upregulates genes belonging to the beta-lactam biosynthetic cluster. The data obtained indicate the intersection of the metabolisms of polyamines and beta-lactams in A. chrysogenum and are important for the construction of improved producers of secondary metabolites in filamentous fungi.

Inorganic polyphosphate (polyP) is an important factor of alkaline, heavy metal, and oxidative stress resistance in microbial cells. In yeast, polyP is synthesized by Vtc4, a subunit of the vacuole transporter chaperone complex. Here, we report reduced but reliably detectable amounts of acid-soluble and acid-insoluble polyPs in the Δvtc4 strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, reaching 10% and 20% of the respective levels of the wild-type strain. The Δvtc4 strain has decreased resistance to alkaline stress but, unexpectedly, increased resistance to oxidation and heavy metal excess. We suggest that increased resistance is achieved through elevated expression of DDR2, which is implicated in stress response, and reduced expression of PHO84 encoding a phosphate and divalent metal transporter. The decreased Mg2+-dependent phosphate accumulation in Δvtc4 cells is consistent with reduced expression of PHO84. We discuss a possible role that polyP level plays in cellular signaling of stress response mobilization in yeast.

Cellular D-amino acid oxidases (ODA-FAD containing flavoproteins) are widely used in biotechnology. In this regard, it is of particular interest to investigate the functional role of the composition and regulation of individual ODA genes. The aim of this work was to investigate physiological and biochemical characteristics of ODA genes of strain DL1x Hansenula (O.) polymorpha in vivo using gene knockout methodology as well as to determine the nature of these genes expression and regulation of ODA activity as a function of nitrogen and carbon source composition in the cultivation medium. H. polymorpha is a thermotolerant methylotrophic yeast. They are used to study the mechanisms of peroxisomal biogenesis and degradation, regulation of methanol metabolism, nitrate assimilation and stress response. A serial dilution method has been used for rapid assessment of strain growth and stress tolerance. Vector design for genetic inactivation of ODA genes in H. polymorpha was performed using yeast vector pAM773. Selection of "knockout" cell clones was performed using PCR analysis. To complete the transformation process, H. polymorpha was deleted from the pAM773 vector and the obtained DNA was used in the experiment. In vitro cultivation of knockout strains of H. polymorpha was found to exhibit substratespecificity of the ODA. According to the authors, the HP2914 gene is important for D-alanine oxidation, while the gene complex 2400 and 2914 is important for ODA activation in the presence of D-Phe in the medium. It is likely that the gene complex 2082 and 2165 regulates ODA activation when cells are cultured in medium with D-Ala and D-Asp. It was found that in the absence of 2165, 2400, 2914 genes, increased ODA activity to D-Ala only was observed in cell culture medium. The presence of D-alanine combined with 1 % glycerol and 1 % methanol in the culture medium stimulated the activity of the three major ODAs of H. polymorpha through the expression of the HP2914 gene, while the presence of glucose and L-alanine in the culture medium suppressed their activity

Flor strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae are principal microbial agents responsible for biological wine aging used for production of sherry-like wines. The flor yeast velum formed on the surface of fortified fermented must is a major adaptive and technological characteristic of flor yeasts that helps them to withstanding stressful winemaking conditions and ensures specific biochemical and sensory oxidative alterations typical for sherry wines. We have applied RNAseq technology for transcriptome analysis of an industrial flor yeast strain at different steps of velum development over 71 days under experimental winemaking conditions. Velum growth and maturation was accompanied by accumulation of aldehydes and acetales. We have identified 1490 differentially expressed genes including 816 genes upregulated and 674 downregulated more than 2-fold at mature biofilm stage as compared to the early biofilm. Distinct expression patterns of genes involved in carbon and nitrogen metabolism, respiration, cell cycle, DNA repair, cell adhesion, response to various stresses were observed. Many genes involved in response to different stresses, oxidative carbon metabolism, high affinity transport of sugars, glycerol utilization, sulfur metabolism, protein quality control and recycling, cell wall biogenesis, apoptosis were induced at the mature biofilm stage. Strong upregulation was observed for FLO11 flocculin while expression of other flocculins remained unaltered or moderately downregulated. Downregulated genes included those for proteins involved in glycolysis, transportation of ions, metals, aminoacids, sugars, indicating repression of some major transport and metabolic process at the mature biofilm stage. Presented results are important for in-depth understanding of cell response elicited by velum formation and sherry wine manufacturing conditions, and for the comprehension of relevant regulatory mechanisms. Such knowledge may help to better understand the molecular mechanisms that flor yeasts use to adapt to winemaking environments, establish the functions of previously uncharacterized genes, improve the technology of sherry- wine production, and find target genes for strain improvement.

The effect of the yeast endopolyphosphatase Ppn2 overproduction on the metabolism of inorganic polyphosphates in Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast was studied. Expression of the PPN2 gene under control of the strong constitutive promoter of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene (PKG1) led to a significant increase in the endopolyphosphatase activity stimulated by cobalt/zinc ions. This activity was present in both soluble and membrane subcellular fractions; it was higher toward long-chain polyphosphates and could be stimulated by ADP. The content of short-chain polyphosphates in the cells of the overexpressing strain was ~2.5 times higher compared to the parent strain. The cells overexpressing Ppn2 were more resistant to peroxide and alkali. The role of short-chain polyphosphates in the adaptation to these stress factors is discussed.

An effective recombinant strain of Komagataella phaffii for Bos taurus prochymosin production was obtained. A method for the isolation and purification of recombinant chymosin that includes two-stage purification via ion exchange and hydrophobic chromatography has been developed. A highly purified (~90%) recombinant chymosin at a concentration of 4 mg/mL (1000 IMCU/mL) was obtained with a yield of 62%. The developed method can be used in industry.

The filamentous fungusAcremonium chrysogenumis the main industrial producer of cephalosporin C (CPC), one of the major precursors for manufacturing of cephalosporin antibiotics. The plasma membrane H+-ATPase (PMA) plays a key role in numerous fungal physiological processes. Previously we observed a decrease of PMA activity inA.chrysogenumoverproducing strain RNCM 408D (HY) as compared to the level the wild-type strainA.chrysogenumATCC 11550. Here we report the relationship between PMA activity and CPC biosynthesis inA.chrysogenumstrains. The elevation of PMA activity in HY strain through overexpression ofPMA1fromSaccharomyces cerevisiae, under the control of the constitutive gpdA promoter fromAspergillus nidulans, results in a 1.2 to 10-fold decrease in CPC production, shift in beta-lactam intermediates content, and is accompanied by the decrease incefgenes expression in the fermentation process; the characteristic colony morphology on agar media is also changed. The level of PMA activity inA.chrysogenumHYOE::PMA1strains has been increased by 50-100%, up to the level observed in WT strain, and was interrelated with ATP consumption; the more PMA activity is elevated, the more ATP level is depleted. The reduced PMA activity inA.chrysogenumHY strain may be one of the selected events during classical strain improvement, aimed at elevating the ATP content available for CPC production.

— L-asparaginase is widely used in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and several other lymphoproliferative diseases. In addition to its biomedical application, L-asparaginase is used in food industry to reduce the level of acrylamide, which is considered as neurotoxic and carcinogenic agent to humans, and in biosensors for determination of the L-asparagine level in biochemistry and food chemistry. In view of great significance of L-asparaginases in different fields, disadvantages of commercial enzymes, and the wide distribution of the enzyme in nature there is a need for novel L-asparaginases from new sources. In this context, extremophilic microorganisms exhibiting unique physiological properties such as thermal stability, adaptation to extreme cold conditions, salt, and pH tolerance attract much interest as one of the most valuable sources for novel L-asparaginases. The results of of structural, functional studies, physico-chemical properties, kinetic characteristics, and stability of L-asparaginases from extremophilic microorganisms suggest the prospect of using these enzymes in biology and medicine.

Modern industrial winemaking is based on the use of starter cultures of specialized wine strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast. Commercial wine strains have a number of advantages over natural isolates, and it is their use that guarantees the stability and reproducibility of industrial winemaking technologies. For the highly competitive wine market with new demands for improved wine quality, it has become increasingly critical to develop new wine strains and winemaking technologies. Novel opportunities for precise wine strain engineering based on detailed knowledge of the molecular nature of a particular trait or phenotype have recently emerged due to the rapid progress in genomic and "postgenomic" studies with wine yeast strains. The review summarizes the current achievements of the metabolic engineering of wine yeast, the results of recent studies and the prospects for the application of genomic editing technologies for improving wine S. cerevisiae strains.

A methodological approach was proposed for the search for natural strains of S. сerevisiae yeasts that are promising for sherry production. Their initial selection in the method is based on genetic markers and the subsequent study of their enological properties. Ninety-six strains of S. cerevisiae yeasts were isolated from grape samples. Genotyping of the strains revealed that 82 strains had the ITS spacer allele of ribosomal RNA gene typical of “wine” strains, while 14 had the allele typical for French “sherry” strains. No alleles specific for Spanish sherry yeasts were found. A 111-bp deletion in the FLO11 adhesin gene promoter typical of sherry yeasts was found in 11 strains, while the specific allele of the YDR379C-А gene was found in 20 strains. In total, 28 strains had a sherry allele at least for one of the three loci, while 21 of them formed a flor on the surface of fermented grape must. According to the results of genetic studies and estimation of the enological properties, five strains that are characterized by the presence of sherry alleles for three loci and are capable of flor formation were selected. Two strains were selected as the most promising for subsequent production selection based on micro-winemaking.

BACKGROUND:We previously showed that glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) is S-glutathionylated in the presence of H2O2 and GSH. S-glutathionylation was shown to result in the formation of a disulfide bridge in the active site of the protein. In the present work, the possible biological significance of the disulfide bridge was investigated.METHODS:Human recombinant GAPDH with the mutation C156S (hGAPDH_C156S) was obtained to prevent the formation of the disulfide bridge. Properties of S-glutathionylated hGAPDH_C156S were studied in comparison with those of the wild-type protein hGAPDH.RESULTS:S-glutathionylation of hGAPDH and hGAPDH_C156S results in the reversible inactivation of the proteins. In both cases, the modification results in corresponding mixed disulfides between the catalytic Cys152 and GSH. In the case of hGAPDH, the mixed disulfide breaks down yielding Cys152-Cys156 disulfide bridge in the active site. In hGAPDH_C156S, the mixed disulfide is stable. Differential scanning calorimetry method showed that S-glutathionylation leads to destabilization of hGAPDH molecule, but does not affect significantly hGAPDH_C156S. Reactivation of S-glutathionylated hGAPDH in the presence of GSH and glutaredoxin 1 is approximately two-fold more efficient compared to that of hGAPDH_C156S.CONCLUSIONS:S-glutathionylation induces the formation of Cys152-Cys156 disulfide bond in the active site of hGAPDH, which results in structural changes of the protein molecule. Cys156 is important for reactivation of S-glutathionylated GAPDH by glutaredoxin 1.GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE:The described mechanism may be important for interaction between GAPDH and other proteins and ligands, involved in cell signaling.

Inorganic polyphosphate (polyP) is an important factor of stress tolerance in microbial cells. In yeast, the major enzyme of polyP biosynthesis is Vtc4, a subunit of the vacuole transporter chaperone (VTC) complex. In this study, we demonstrated that Vtc4 knockout in Saccharomyces cerevisiae not only decreased polyP content but also caused shifts in the composition of the intracellular polyP pool and changed the stress tolerance profile. In the mutant S. cerevisiae, the level of short-chain acid-soluble polyPs was decreased nearly 10-fold, whereas that of longer acid-insoluble polyPs was decreased only 2-fold, suggesting the existence of other enzymes compensating the production of long-chain polyPs. The Δvtc4 mutant showed inhibition of Mg2+-dependent phosphate uptake and decreased resistance to alkaline stress but increased tolerance to oxidation and heavy metal ions, especially Mn2+. Quantitative PCR revealed the upregulation of the DDR2 gene implicated in multiple stress responses and downregulation of PHO84 encoding a phosphate and Mn2+ transporter, which could account for the effects on phosphate uptake and Mn2+-related stress response in the Δvtc4 mutant. Our study indicates that short-chain polyPs, plays an important role in the regulation of stress response in yeast.

High concentrations of ethanol and oxidative stress can cause a mutagenic effect on mitochondrial genomes (mtDNAs) of flor yeasts. We performed a comparative analysis of mtDNAs of wine yeast strains and three sequenced flor yeast strains. mtDNAs of flor strains are characterized by high conservation of nucleotide sequences and the structure. The numbers of destabilizing elements of mtDNA (GC clusters, short repeats, active ori sequences) in flor strains are generally lower than that in wine yeasts. The mtDNA conservation of flor strains can be determined by both bottleneck effects in the course of evolution and mechanisms aimed at maintaining the genetic stability. In general, the data obtained do not confirm the hypothesis of increased genetic variability of the mitochondrial genomes of flor yeast strains.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae has high level of inorganic polyphosphate and a multicomponent system of its metabolism, including polyphosphatases Ppx1, Ppn1, Ddp1, and Ppn2. The aim of the study was to construct the yeast strain overexpressing Ppn2 and to compare the properties of Ppn2, Ppx1, Ppn1, and Ddp1 purified from overexpressing strains of S. cerevisiae. We overexpressed Ppn2 in S. cerevisiae under a strong constitutive promoter of the yeast glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase-encoding gene and suggested biochemical criteria for distinguishing among yeast polyphosphatases, which is important for their identification and understanding of their functions. Ppn2, Ppn1, and Ddp1 had endopolyphosphatase activities, whereas Ppx1 did not. Ppx1 and Ppn1 exhibited high and Ddp1 and Ppn2 low exopolyphosphatase activity: 240, 500, 0.05 and 0.1 U/mg protein, respectively. The enzymes had distinct patterns of exopolyphosphatase activities stimulation by divalent metal ions. Ppn2, Ppn1 and Ddp1 displayed endopolyphosphatase activity in the presence of 1 mM Mg2+. The endopolyphosphatase activities of Ppn2 and Ppn1 were induced by 0.01 mM of Co(2+)or Zn2+, whereas that of Ddp1 required 0.1 mM of these cations. The endopolyphosphatase activity of Ppn1 was inhibited by 0.01 mg mL(-1) of heparin, while endopolphosphatase activity of Ppn2 was weakly sensitive to 0.25 mg mL(-1) of heparin. The Ppx1 and Ppn1 activity with guanosine tetraphosphate was nearly 80% of activity with long-chain polyphosphates. The Ppn1 hydrolyzed dATP, while Ppx1 did not. The differences in the mode of polyphosphate hydrolysis, substrate specificity, metal ion dependence and cell localization suggest distinct roles of these enzymes in yeast. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. and Societe Francaise de Biochimie et Biologie Moleculaire (SFBBM). All rights reserved.

The filamentous fungus Aspergillus terreus is the main industrial producer of a cholesterol-lowering drug, lovastatin, and simvastatin obtained on its basis. The biosynthesis of lovastatin in A. terreus is under the control of two major positive regulators, the LovE pathway-specific regulator and LaeA global regulator of the secondary metabolism of fungi. It is shown that laeA expression can be negatively regulated by LovE, the Zn 2 Cys 6 transcription factor of lovastatin biosynthesis. The overexpression of lovE under the control of the gpdA constitutive promoter from Aspergillus nidulans, which results in a 10- to 30-fold increase in lovastatin production is accompanied by a decrease in laeA expression in the fermentation process. The observed negative interrelationship between the LovE and LaeA regulators consists of the downregulation of lov resistance and transport genes in A. terreus with an additional copy of lovE and phenotypically manifests itself as polyamine toxicity for lovastatin production. Polyamine addition into the medium in the course of fermentation of A. terreus OE::lovE leads to a decrease in the lovastatin production by 30–40% and inhibited the expression of the lov and laeA genes.

The filamentous fungus Aspergillus terreus is the main industrial producer of lovastatin, a cholesterol-lowering drug that is also used as a semiproduct for simvastatin production. The exogenous addition of such polyamines as 1,3-diaminopropane or spermidine during the fermentation of wild-type A. terreus ATCC 20542 and overproducing A. terreus 43-16 strains results in a 20−45% increase in lovastatin production. In the case of strain 43-16, the maximum production level (10 g/L) was observed three days earlier than in the control variant. During this fermentation period, the expression level of genes belonging to the lovastatin biosynthetic cluster and the laeA gene (a global regulator of a fungal secondary metabolism) are increased, but the expression patterns for genes of the polyamine metabolic pathway were similar for both strains.

Rru_A3730 protein is a bacterial Rhodospirillum rubrum L-asparaginase (RrA), which is known by its anticancer activity. RrA variants with point amino acid substitutions in the region of 150 amino acids residues: RrA17N, K149E, RrAE149R, V150P, F151T, RrА17N, E149R, V150P, RrAE149R, V150P, showed antiproliferative properties, and also by their ability to suppress telomerase activity. This work is devoted to comparison of physical-chemical and catalytic properties of these mutant forms of RrA. It is shown that pH optimum is in the alkaline zone (8.5 – 9.3); L-glutaminase and D-asparaginase activity is respectively not more than 0.1% and 1.6% of L-asparaginase for all studied variants of RrA. The presence of the N17-terminal amino acid sequence MASMTGGQMGRGSSRQ of the capsid protein of bacteriophage T7 in the RrA structure leads to an increase in the thermal stability of mutant RrA analogues (from 50°C to 56°C) and their resistance to denaturation in the presence of 3 – 4 M urea. It is of Metal ions exhibit multidirectional effects on L-asparaginase activity of RrA. K+, Ca2+, Zn2+, Cs+, Co2+ in significantly affect the activity of L-asparaginase, while Mn2+, Cu2+, Fe3+ ions inhibit it. There was no correlation between antitelomerase (antiproliferative) activity and kinetic properties of mutant forms of L-asparaginase RrA.