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The authors have developed an efficient method to measure cellular activity of ATP synthesis. Although ATP is a major energy source of biological reactions, it has been difficult to measure [...]

[F.sub.1], a water-soluble portion of [F.sub.0][F.sub.1]-ATP synthase, is an ATP hydrolysis-driven rotary motor. The central [gamma]-subunit rotates in the [alpha]3[beta]3 cylinder by repeating the following four stages of rotation: ATP-binding dwell, rapid 80[degrees] substep rotation, interim dwell, and rapid 40[degrees] substep rotation. At least two 1-ms catalytic events occur in the interim dwell, but it is still unclear which steps in the ATPase cycle, except for ATP binding, correspond to these events. To discover which steps, we analyzed rotations of [F.sub.1] subcomplex ([[alpha].sub.3][[beta].sub.3][gamma]) from thermophilic Bacillus PS3 under conditions where cleavage of ATP at the catalytic site is decelerated: hydrolysis of ATP by the catalytic-site mutant [F.sub.1] and hydrolysis of a slowly hydrolyzable substrate ATP[gamma]S (adenosine 5'-[[gamma],-thio]triphosphate) by wild-type [F.sub.1]. In both cases, interim dwells were extended as expected from bulk phase kinetics, confirming that cleavage of ATP takes place during the interim dwell. Furthermore, the results of ATP[gamma]S hydrolysis by the mutant [F.sub.1] ensure that cleavage of ATP most likely corresponds to one of the two 1-ms events and not some other faster undetected event. Thus, cleavage of ATP on [F.sub.1] occurs in 1 ms during the interim dwell, and we call this interim dwell catalytic dwell.

Aim: The effects of detergent, ethanol and ethanol with plant meadowfoam oil on the growth of the red heterobasidomycete Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous and on the production of astaxanthin (3,3′‐dihydroxy‐β,β‐carotene‐4,4′‐dione) and fatty acids in this red yeast were investigated. Methods and Results: Ethanol supplementation at a final concentration of 0.8% (v/v) caused an increase in the growth, astaxanthin production and fatty acid production of treated X. dendrorhous compared with untreated X. dendrorhous. Supplementation of meadowfoam oil with 0.8% ethanol further improved the growth and astaxanthin production of X. dendrorhous. Fatty acid compositions following supplementation with various concentrations of ethanol and oil were also analysed. With 0.8% ethanol supplementation, the ratio of linoleic acid (C18:2) and α‐linolenic acid (C18:3ω3, ALA) decreased. Conversely, with 1.8% ethanol supplementation, the ALA ratio increased. Conclusions: Ethanol can serve as a promoting factor for coproduction of astaxanthin and fatty acids in X. dendrorhous, whereas simultaneous supplementation of ethanol and meadowfoam oil can cause further astaxanthin production. Significance and Impact of Study: Astaxanthin is widely used in various functional products because of its antioxidant activity. This study shows that X. dendrorhous can coproduce astaxanthin and functional fatty acids at high levels following supplementation with ethanol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomass resources are attractive carbon sources for bioproduction because of their sustainability. Many studies have been performed using biomass resources to produce sugars as carbon sources for cell factories. Expression of biomass hydrolyzing enzymes in cell factories is an important approach for constructing biomass-utilizing bioprocesses because external addition of these enzymes is expensive. In particular, yeasts have been extensively engineered to be cell factories that directly utilize biomass because of their manageable responses to many genetic engineering tools, such as gene expression, deletion and editing. Biomass utilizing bioprocesses have also been developed using these genetic engineering tools to construct metabolic pathways. However, sugar input and product output from these cells are critical factors for improving bioproduction along with biomass utilization and metabolic pathways. Transporters are key components for efficient input and output activities. In this review, we focus on transporter engineering in yeast to enhance bioproduction from biomass resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Oxidized glutathione (GSSG) is the preferred form for industrial mass production of glutathione due to its high stability compared with reduced glutathione (GSH). In our previous study, over-expression of the mitochondrial thiol oxidase ERV1 gene was the most effective for high GSSG production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells among three types of different thiol oxidase genes. Results: We improved Erv1 enzyme activity for oxidation of GSH and revealed that S32 and N34 residues are critical for the oxidation. Five engineered Erv1 variant proteins containing S32 and/or N34 replacements exhibited 1.7- to 2.4-fold higher in vitro GSH oxidation activity than that of parental Erv1, whereas the oxidation activities of these variants for γ-glutamylcysteine were comparable. According to three-dimensional structures of Erv1 and protein stability assays, S32 and N34 residues interact with nearby residues through hydrogen bonding and greatly contribute to protein stability. These results suggest that increased flexibility by amino acid replacements around the active center decrease inhibitory effects on GSH oxidation. Over-expressions of mutant genes coding these Erv1 variants also increased GSSG and consequently total glutathione production in S. cerevisiae cells. Over-expression of the ERV1S32A gene was the most effective for GSSG production in S. cerevisiae cells among the parent and other mutant genes, and it increased GSSG production about 1.5-fold compared to that of the parental ERV1 gene. Conclusions: This is the first study demonstrating the pivotal effects of S32 and N34 residues to high GSH oxidation activity of Erv1. Furthermore, in vivo validity of Erv1 variants containing these S32 and N34 replacements were also demonstrated. This study indicates potentials of Erv1 for high GSSG production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Red yeast, Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous is the only yeast known to produce astaxanthin, an anti-oxidant isoprenoid (carotenoid) widely used in the aquaculture, food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. The potential of this microorganism as a platform cell factory for isoprenoid production has been recognized because of high lux through its native terpene pathway. Recently, we developed a multiple gene expression system in X. dendrorhous and enhanced the mevalonate synthetic pathway to increase astaxanthin production. In contrast, the mevalonate synthetic pathway is suppressed by ergosterol through feedback inhibition. Therefore, releasing the mevalonate synthetic pathway from this inhibition through the deletion of genes involved in ergosterol synthesis is a promising strategy to improve isoprenoid production. An eicient method for deleting diploid genes in X. dendrorhous, however, has not yet been developed. Results: Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous was cultivated under gradually increasing concentrations of antibiotics following the introduction of antibiotic resistant genes to be replaced with target genes. Using this method, double CYP61 genes encoding C-22 sterol desaturases relating to ergosterol biosynthesis were deleted sequentially. This double CYP61 deleted strain showed decreased ergosterol biosynthesis compared with the parental strain and single CYP61 disrupted strain. Additionally, this double deletion of CYP61 genes showed increased astaxanthin production compared with the parental strain and the single CYP61 knockout strain. Finally, astaxanthin production was enhanced by 1.4-fold compared with the parental strain, although astaxanthin production was not afected in the single CYP61 knockout strain. Conclusions: In this study, we developed a system to completely delete target diploid genes in X. dendrorhous. Using this method, we deleted diploid CYP61 genes involved in the synthesis of ergosterol that inhibits the pathway for mevalonate, which is a common substrate for isoprenoid biosynthesis. The resulting decrease in ergosterol biosynthesis increased astaxanthin production. The eicient method for deleting diploid genes developed in this study has the potential to improve industrial production of various isoprenoids in X. dendrorhous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adenosine-5′-triphosphate (ATP) is consumed as a biological energy source by many intracellular reactions. Thus, the intracellular ATP supply is required to maintain cellular homeostasis. The dependence on the intracellular ATP supply is a critical factor in bioproduction by cell factories. Recent studies have shown that changing the ATP supply is critical for improving product yields. In this review, we summarize the recent challenges faced by researchers engaged in the development of engineered cell factories, including the maintenance of a large ATP supply and the production of cell factories. The strategies used to enhance ATP supply are categorized as follows: addition of energy substrates, controlling pH, metabolic engineering of ATP-generating or ATP-consuming pathways, and controlling reactions of the respiratory chain. An enhanced ATP supply generated using these strategies improves target production through increases in resource uptake, cell growth, biosynthesis, export of products, and tolerance to toxic compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Measurement of mitochondrial ATP synthesis is a critical way to compare cellular energetic performance. However, fractionation of mitochondria requires large amounts of cells, lengthy purification procedures, and an extreme caution to avoid damaging intact mitochondria, making it the highest barrier to high-throughput studies of mitochondrial function. To evaluate 45 genes involved in oxidative phosphorylation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we aimed to develop a simple and rapid method to measure mitochondrial ATP synthesis. Results: To obtain functional mitochondria, S. cerevisiae cells were lysed with zymolyase followed by two-step, low- then high-speed centrifugation. Using a firefly luciferin-luciferase assay, the ATP synthetic activity of the mitochondria was determined. Decreasing the ATP synthesis in the presence of mitochondrial inhibitors confirmed functionality of the isolated crude mitochondria. Deletion of genes encoding mitochondrial ATP synthesis-related protein showed their dependency on the oxidative phosphorylation in S. cerevisiae. Conclusions: Compared with conventional procedures, this measurement method for S. cerevisiae Mitochondrial ATP Synthetic activity in High-throughput (MASH method) is simple and requires a small amount of cells, making it suitable for high-throughput analyses. To our knowledge, this is the first report on a rapid purification process for yeast mitochondria suitable for high-throughput screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation: Construction of synthetic metabolic pathways promises sustainable production of diverse chemicals and materials. To design synthetic metabolic pathways of high value, computational methods are needed to expand present knowledge by mining comprehensive chemical and enzymatic information databases. Several computational methods have been already reported for the metabolic pathway design, but until now computation complexity has limited the diversity of chemical and enzymatic data used. Results: We introduce a computational platform, M-path, to explore synthetic metabolic pathways including putative enzymatic reactions and compounds. M-path is an iterative random algorithm, which makes efficient use of chemical and enzymatic databases to find potential synthetic metabolic pathways. M-path can readily control the search space and perform well compared with exhaustively enumerating possible pathways. A web-based pathway viewer is also developed to check extensive metabolic pathways with evaluation scores on the basis of chemical similarities. We further produce extensive synthetic metabolic pathways for a comprehensive set of alpha amino acids. The scalable nature of M-path enables us to calculate potential metabolic pathways for any given chemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fine chemicals that are physiologically active, such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, nutritional supplements, flavoring agents as well as additives for foods, feed, and fertilizer are produced by enzymatically or through microbial fermentation. The identification of enzymes that catalyze the target reaction makes possible the enzymatic synthesis of the desired fine chemical. The genes encoding these enzymes are then introduced into suitable microbial hosts that are cultured with inexpensive, naturally abundant carbon sources, and other nutrients. Metabolic engineering create efficient microbial cell factories for producing chemicals at higher yields. Molecular genetic techniques are then used to optimize metabolic pathways of genetically and metabolically well-characterized hosts. Synthetic bioengineering represents a novel approach to employ a combination of computer simulation and metabolic analysis to design artificial metabolic pathways suitable for mass production of target chemicals in host strains. In the present review, we summarize recent studies on bio-based fine chemical production and assess the potential of synthetic bioengineering for further improving their productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]