Inactivation of the Levansucrase Gene in Paenibacillus polymyxa DSM 365 Diminishes Exopolysaccharide Biosynthesis during 2,3-Butanediol Fermentation

Reading time: 1-2 minutes

No need to search far and wide for current Biotechnology industry news as Lab.Equipment guarantees you’re updated no matter where you are. This week’s curated article is fresh from AEM: Applied and Environmental Microbiology:

The formation of exopolysaccharides (EPSs) during 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BD) fermentation by Paenibacillus polymyxa increases medium viscosity, which in turn presents considerable technical and economic challenges to 2,3-BD downstream processing. To eliminate EPS production during 2,3-BD fermentation, we used homologous recombination to disable the EPS biosynthetic pathway in P. polymyxa. The gene which encodes levansucrase, the major enzyme responsible for EPS biosynthesis in P. polymyxa, was successfully disrupted. The P. polymyxa levansucrase null mutant produced 2.5 ± 0.1 and 1.2 ± 0.2 g/liter EPS on sucrose and glucose, respectively, whereas the wild type produced 21.7 ± 2.5 and 3.1 ± 0.0 g/liter EPS on the same substrates, respectively. These levels of EPS translate to 8.7- and 2.6-fold decreases in EPS formation by the levansucrase null mutant on sucrose and glucose, respectively, relative to that by the wild type, with no significant reduction in 2,3-BD production. Inactivation of EPS biosynthesis led to a considerable increase in growth. On glucose and sucrose, the cell biomass of the levansucrase null mutant (8.1 ± 0.8 and 6.5 ± 0.3 g/liter, respectively) increased 1.4-fold compared to that of the wild type (6.0 ± 0.1 and 4.6 ± 0.3 g/liter, respectively) grown on the same substrates. Evaluation of the genetic stability of the levansucrase null mutant showed that it remained genetically stable over fifty generations, with no observable decrease in growth or 2,3-BD formation, with or without antibiotic supplementation. Hence, the P. polymyxa levansucrase null mutant has potential for use as an industrial biocatalyst for a cost-effective large-scale 2,3-BD fermentation process devoid of EPS-related challenges.

IMPORTANCE Given the current barrage of attention and research investments toward the production of next-generation fuels and chemicals, of which 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BD) produced by nonpathogenic... More of this in the AEM: Applied and Environmental Microbiology Blog.

If you are in the BioTech industry and are in need of feature-packed Bio tech equipment for probe labelling, direct sequencing or basic and advanced applications, then you are in the right place. Lab.Equipment delivers a broad variety of products for Biotechnology laboratories operating numerous quality control tests. Shop our recommended Biotech lab equipment such as:

• Stirrers
• Laboratory Mixers
• Lab Centrifuges
• Pipettes
• Analytical Balances

Discover valuable lab equipment to meet your specific application needs by going through our product portfolio produced by major MFGs including:

• Being Instrument
• Radwag
• Ohaus
• Scilogex

Focusing on other applications? You can count on Lab.Equipment for much needed help. Improve lab efficiency and productivity with lab equipment for other industries including pharmaceutical, veterinary, food testing, and more. Browse what you need for your application here.