EP1697402A2 - Gene variants coding for proteins from the metabolic pathway of fine chemicals - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to mutant nucleic acids and proteins from the metabolic pathway of fine chemicals, methods for the production of genetically modified production organisms, methods for the production of fine chemicals by cultivating said genetically modified organisms, and said genetically modified organisms.

Description

Gene variants that code for proteins from the metabolic pathway of fine chemicals

description

The present invention relates to mutated nucleic acids and proteins from the metabolic pathway of fine chemicals, processes for the production of genetically modified production organisms, processes for the production of fine chemicals by cultivating the genetically modified organisms, and the genetically modified organisms themselves.

Many products and by-products of naturally occurring cellular metabolic processes are used in many industries, including the food, feed, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. These compounds, which are referred to collectively as "fine chemicals", include, for example, organic acids, both proteinogenic and non-proteinogenic amino acids, nucleotides and nucleosides, lipids and fatty acids, diols, carbohydrates, aromatic compounds, vitamins and cofactors and enzymes ,

They can be produced, for example, by large-scale fermentation of microorganisms that have been developed to produce and secrete large quantities of one or more desired fine chemicals. A particularly suitable organism for this purpose is Corynebacterium glutamicum, a gram-positive, non-pathogenic bacterium. Through strain selection, a number of mutant strains have been developed that produce a range of desirable compounds. However, selecting strains that are improved in terms of producing a particular compound is a time consuming and difficult process.

It is possible to increase the productivity of production organisms through genetic changes. For example, the targeted mutation of certain genes in a production organism can lead to an increase in the productivity of a desired fine chemical.

EP 1 108790 A2 describes, based on the wild-type sequence, coding a homoserine dehydrogenase from Corynebacterium glutamicum, a mutated nucleic acid sequence which encodes a homoserine dehydrogenase which has the mutation Val59Ala compared to the wild-type sequence. Furthermore, a mutated nucleic acid sequence encoding a pyruvate carboxylase is described which has the mutation Pro458Ser in comparison to the wild-type amino acid sequence from Corynebacterium glutamicum. The Introduction of the mutations in Corynebacterium glutamicum leads to an increase in the lysine yield.

From WO 0063388 a mutated ask gene is also known that encodes an aspartokinase with the mutation T3111.

Further mutations in genes and proteins in the biosynthetic pathway of fine chemicals from Corynebacterium glutamicum are described in WO 0340681, WO 0340357, WO 0340181, WO 0340293, WO 0340292, WO 0340291, WO 0340180, WO 0340290, WO 0346123, WO 0340389 and WO 0342389 and WO 0406389.

Although the mutations known in the prior art already lead to production organisms with optimized productivity, i.e. optimized yield of the desired fine chemicals and optimized C yield, there is a constant need to further increase the productivity of the organisms.

The object of the present invention is to provide further mutated genes and proteins which lead to an increase in productivity in production organisms of fine chemicals and thus to an improvement in bio-technological processes for the production of fine chemicals.

Accordingly, proteins were found with the function given in table / column 7 with an amino acid sequence which is at least one of the amino acid positions which, starting from the amino acid sequence referred to in table / column 2, that in table / column 4 for this amino acid sequence Amino acid positions correspond, has a different proteinogenic amino acid than the respective amino acid indicated in table / column δ in the same row, with the proviso that the mutated proteins according to Table 2 are excluded.

This invention provides novel nucleic acid molecules and proteins which can be used on the one hand for the identification or classification of Corynebacterium glutamicum or related types of bacteria and on the other hand lead to an increase in productivity in production organisms of fine chemicals and thus to an improvement in bio-technological processes for the production of fine chemicals.

C. glutamicum is a gram-positive, aerobic bacterium that is used in the industry

Large-scale production of a range of fine chemicals, and also for the degradation of hydrocarbons (e.g. when overflowing crude oil) and for the oxidation of Terpenoids is commonly used. The nucleic acid molecules can therefore also be used to identify microorganisms that can be used for the production of fine chemicals, for example by fermentation processes. C. glutamicum itself is not pathogenic, but it is related to other Corynebacterium species, such as Corynebacterium diphtheriae (the causative agent of diphtheria), which are important pathogens in humans. The ability to identify the presence of Corynebacterium species can therefore also be of significant clinical importance, for example in diagnostic applications. These nucleic acid molecules can also serve as reference points for mapping the C. glutamicum genome or organisms related to genomes.

The erfindugsgemäßen proteins me to hereinafter pathway proteins, meta- bolic pathway Prote ^'or MP proteins called the function specified in Tabel- Ie 1 / Column 7 each have. Furthermore, they each have an amino acid sequence which has at least one of the amino acid positions which, based on the amino acid sequence respectively referred to in Table / Column2 and the amino acid positions given in Table / Column4 for this amino acid sequence, has a different proteinogenic amino acid than the respective amino acid given in table / column δ in the same line.

The “corresponding” amino acid position is preferably understood to mean the amino acid position of the amino acid sequence of the MP proteins according to the invention, which the person skilled in the art a) by comparing the homology of the amino acid sequence or b) by structurally comparing the secondary, tertiary and / or quaternary structure of this amino acid sequence

with the amino acid sequence referred to in Table 1 / column 2 with the amino acid position given in table / column 4 for this amino acid sequence.

A preferred method for homology comparison of the amino acid sequences uses, for example, the laser gene software from DNASTAR, ine. Madison, Wisconsin (USA) using the Clustal method (Higgins DG, Sharp PM. Fast and sensitive multiple sequence alignments on a microcomputer. Comput Appl. Biosci. 1989 Apr; 5 (2): 151-1) with the following parameters:

Multiple alignment parameter: gap penalty 10 gap length penalty 10 Pairwise alignment parameters:

K-tuple 1

Gap penalty 3

Window 5 Diagonals saved 5

In a preferred embodiment, the proteins have the function given in Table Ie1 / column 7 and an amino acid sequence which is at an amino acid position which, starting from the amino acid sequence respectively referred to in Table 1 / column 2, that in Table 1 / Column 4 corresponds to the amino acid position indicated for this amino acid sequence, has a different proteinogenic amino acid than the respective amino acid indicated in Table 1 / Column 5 in the same row, with the proviso that the mutated proteins according to Table 2 are excluded.

In a further preferred embodiment, the proteins according to the invention each have the amino acid sequence referred to in table / column 2, the protein having at least one of the amino acid positions indicated in table / column 4 for this amino acid sequence having a different proteinogenic amino acid than the respective one in table / column δ in amino acid given on the same line.

In a further preferred embodiment, the proteins according to the invention each have the amino acid sequence referred to in table / column 2, the protein having a different proteinogenic amino acid at one of the amino acid positions given in table 1 / column 4 for this amino acid sequence than the particular one in table / Column δ amino acid indicated in the same line.

The amino acid sequences given in Table 1 / column 2 are wild-type sequences from Corynebacterium glutamicum. Table / column 4 specifies at least one amino acid positions for the respective wild-type amino acid sequence at which the amino acid sequence of the proteins according to the invention have a different proteinogenic amino acid than the respective amino acid specified in table / column δ in the same line.

In a further preferred embodiment, the proteins have at least one of the amino acid positions given in Table 1 / column 4 for the amino acid sequence with the amino acid given in table / column δ in the same line.

Another aspect of the invention relates to an isolated MP protein or a section, for example a biologically active section thereof. The isolated MP protein or in a preferred embodiment, its section regulates one or more metabolic pathways in organisms, in particular in corynebacteria and brevibacteria, transcriptionally, translationally or post-translationally.

The MP polypeptide or a biologically active portion thereof can be operably linked to a non-MP polypeptide to form a fusion protein. In preferred embodiments, this fusion protein has a different activity than the MP protein alone and, in other preferred embodiments, regulates one or more metabolic pathways in organisms, in particular in Corynebacteria and Brevibacteria, preferably in Corynebacterium glutamicum, transcriptionally, translationally or post-translationally. The integration of this fusion protein into a host cell modulates the production of a desired compound from the cell in particularly preferred embodiments.

The invention further relates to isolated nucleic acids encoding a protein according to the invention described above. These nucleic acids are also referred to below as Mete6o // c-Pat / 7way nucleic acids or MP nucleic acids or MP genes. These new MP nucleic acid molecules encode the MP proteins according to the invention. These MP proteins can, for example, perform a function which is involved in the transcription, translation or post-translational regulation of proteins which are important for the normal metabolic functioning of cells. Due to the availability of cloning vectors for use in Corynebacterium glutamicum, as disclosed, for example, in Sinskey et al., US Pat. No. 4,649,119, and techniques for the genetic manipulation of C. glutamicum and the related Brevibacterium genes (eg lactofermentum ) Yoshihama et al., J. Bacteriol. 162: 591-597 (1985); Katsumata et al., J. Bacteriol. 159: 306-311 (1984); and Santamaria et al. J. Gen. Microbiol. 130 (1984) 2237-2246), the nucleic acid molecules according to the invention can be used for the genetic manipulation of this organism in order to make it better and more efficient as a producer of one or more fine chemicals.

A suitable starting point for producing the nucleic acid sequences according to the invention is, for example, the genome of a Corynebacterium glutamicum strain, which is available from the American Type Culture Collection under the name ATCC 13032.

The nucleic acid sequences according to the invention can be produced from these nucleic acid sequences by conventional methods using the changes described in Table 1. For the back translation of the amino acid sequence of the MP proteins according to the invention into the nucleic acid sequences of the MP genes according to the invention, it is advantageous to use the codon usage of the organism in which the MP nucleic acid sequence according to the invention is to be introduced or in which the nucleic acid sequence according to the invention is present. For example, it is advantageous for Corynebacterium glutamicum to use the codon usage of Corynebacterium glutamicum. The codon usage of the respective organism can be determined in a manner known per se from databases or patent applications which describe at least one protein and one gene which codes for this protein from the desired organism.

An isolated nucleic acid molecule encoding an MP protein can be generated by introducing one or more nucleotide substitutions, additions or deletions into a nucleotide sequence from Table 1 / Column 1, so that one or more amino acid substitutions, additions or deletions into the encoded protein are introduced. The mutations can be introduced into one of the sequences from Table 1 / column 1 by standard techniques, such as site-directed mutagenesis and PCR-mediated mutagenesis. Preferably, conservative amino acid substitutions are introduced on one or more of the predicted non-essential amino acid residues. In a "conservative amino acid substitution", the amino acid residue is replaced by an amino acid residue with a similar side chain. Families of amino acid residues with similar side chains have been defined in the art. These families include amino acids with basic side chains (e.g. lysine, arginine, histidine), acidic side chains (e.g. aspartic acid, glutamic acid), uncharged polar side chains (e.g. glycine, asparagine, glutamine, serine, threonine, tyrosine, cysteine), non-polar side chains, (e.g. alanine, valine, leucine, isoleucine, proline, phenylalanine, methionine, tryptophan), beta-branched side chains (e.g. threonine, valine, isoleucine) and aromatic side chains (e.g. tyrosine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, histidine). A predicted non-essential amino acid residue in an MP protein is thus preferably replaced by another amino acid residue of the same side chain family. In a further embodiment, the mutations can alternatively be introduced randomly over all or part of the MP coding sequence, e.g., by saturation mutagenesis, and the resulting mutants can be screened for the MP activity described herein to identify mutants that have an MP - Maintain activity. After mutagenesis of one of the sequences from Appendix A, the encoded protein can be expressed recombinantly, and the activity of the protein can be determined, for example, using the tests described here (see Example 8 of the example part).

The present invention is based on the provision of new molecules, which are referred to here as MP nucleic acid and protein molecules and which, by means of transcriptional, translational or post-translational measures, one or more metabolic pathways in organisms, in particular in Corynebacteria or Brevibacteria, regulate particularly preferably in C. glutamicum. In one embodiment, the MP molecules regulate a metabolic pathway in organisms, in particular in Corynebacteria or Brevibacteria, particularly preferably in C. glutamicum transcriptionally, translationally or post-translationally. In a preferred embodiment, the activity of the MP molecules according to the invention for regulating one or more metabolic pathways in organisms, in particular in Corynebacteria or Brevibacteria, particularly preferably in C. glutamicum, has an effect on the production of a desired fine chemical by this organism. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the MP molecules according to the invention have modulated activity so that the metabolic pathways of organisms, in particular in Corynebacteria or Brevibacteria, particularly preferably in C. glutamicum, which regulate the MP proteins according to the invention, with regard to their efficiency or their throughput be modulated, which modulates either directly or indirectly the yield, production and / or efficiency of the production of a desired fine chemical by organisms, in particular in Corynebacteria or Brevibacteria, particularly preferably in C. glutamicum.

The term “MP protein” or “MP polypeptide” encompasses proteins which regulate a metabolic pathway in organisms, in particular in Corynebacteria or Brevibacteria, particularly preferably in C. glutamicum transcriptionally, translationally or post-translationally. Examples of MP proteins include those listed in Table 1. The terms "MP gene" or "MP nucleic acid sequence" encompass nucleic acid sequences which encode an MP protein which consists of a coding region and corresponding untranslated 5 'and 3' sequence regions. Examples of MP genes are listed in Table 1.

The terms "production" or "productivity" are known in the art and include the concentration of the fermentation product (for example the desired fine chemical which is formed within a defined period of time and a defined fermentation volume (for example kg product per hour per I) ,

The term "production efficiency" encompasses the time required to achieve a specific production quantity (for example how long it takes the cell to establish a specific throughput rate of a fine chemical). The term "yield" or "product / carbon yield" is known in the art and encompasses the efficiency of converting the carbon source into the product (ie, the fine chemical). For example, this is usually expressed as kg product per kg carbon source. By increasing the yield or production of the compound, the amount of the molecules obtained or the suitable molecules of this compound obtained in a particular certain amount of culture increased over a specified period.

The terms "biosynthesis" or "biosynthetic pathway" are known in the art and include the synthesis of a compound, preferably an organic compound, by a cell from intermediate compounds, for example in a multi-step or highly regulated process. The terms "degradation" or "degradation path" are known in the art and include the cleavage of a compound, preferably an organic compound, by a cell into degradation products (more generally, smaller or less complex molecules), e.g. in a multi-step or highly regulated Process.

The term "metabolism" is known in the art and encompasses all of the biochemical reactions that take place in an organism. The metabolism of a particular compound (e.g. the metabolism of an amino acid such as glycine) then encompasses all the biosynthetic, modification and degradation pathways of this compound in the cell.

The term "regulation" is known in the art and encompasses the activity of one protein to control the activity of another protein. The term "transcription regulation" is known in the art and encompasses the activity of a protein

Inhibiting or activating the conversion of a DNA encoding a target protein into mRNA. The term "translation regulation" is known in the art and includes the activity of a protein to inhibit or activate the conversion of an mRNA encoding a target protein to a protein molecule. The term "post-translational regulation" is known in the art "and encompasses the activity of a protein for

Inhibition or improvement of the activity of a target protein by covalently modifying the target protein (e.g. by methylation, glycosylation or phosphorylation).

The improved yield, production and / or efficiency of the production of a fine chemical can be based on a direct or indirect effect of the manipulation of a gene according to the invention. Specifically, changes in MP proteins that usually regulate the yield, production and / or efficiency of production of a fine chemical from a metabolic fine chemical pathway can have a direct impact on the overall production or rate of production of one or more of these desired compounds from this organism.

Changes in the proteins involved in these metabolic pathways can also have an indirect effect on the yield, production and / or efficiency of production of a desired fine chemical. The metabolism Regulation is necessarily complex, and the regulatory mechanisms that accomplish the different pathways can overlap in many places, so that more than one metabolic pathway can be quickly adjusted according to a particular cell event. This enables the modification of a regulatory protein for one pathway to have an effect on many other pathways, some of which may be involved in the biosynthesis or degradation of a desired fine chemical. In this indirect manner, modulating the action of an MP protein can have an impact on the production of a fine chemical that is produced by a metabolic pathway that is different from that which is directly regulated by that MP protein.

The MP nucleic acid and MP protein molecules of the invention can be used to directly improve the yield, production and / or efficiency of production of one or more desired fine chemicals from non-human organisms.

By means of genre combination techniques known in the art, one or more regulatory proteins according to the invention can be manipulated in such a way that their function is modulated. The mutation of an MP protein involved in repression of the transcription of a gene encoding an enzyme necessary for the biosynthesis of an amino acid so that it is no longer capable of repression of the transcription may result in an increase in Effect production of this amino acid.

Correspondingly, changing the activity of an MP protein, which leads to increased translation, or activating the post-translational modification of an MP protein, which is involved in the biosynthesis of a desired fine chemical, can in turn increase the production of this chemical. The opposite situation can also be useful: by increasing the repression of transcription or translation or by post-translational negative modification of a PfP protein that is involved in regulating the degradation pathway for a compound, one can increase the production of this chemical. In any case, the overall yield or the speed of production of the desired fine chemical can be increased.

It is also possible that these changes in the protein and nucleotide molecules according to the invention can improve the yield, production and / or efficiency of the production of fine chemicals by indirect mechanisms. The metabolism of a particular compound is necessarily entangled with other biosynthetic and degradative pathways within the cell, and necessary cofactors, intermediates or substrates in one pathway are likely to be provided or restricted by another pathway. By modulating one The efficiency of the activity of other fine chemical biosynthesis or degradation pathways can therefore be influenced. The manipulation of one or more regulatory proteins can also increase the overall ability of the cell to grow and to grow in culture, especially in large fermentative cultures, where the growth conditions can be less than optimal. For example. by further mutating an MP protein of the invention, which usually represses the nucleoside biosynthesis in response to an underoptimal extracellular nutrient supply (thereby preventing cell division), so that it has less repressor activity, one can do the nucleoside biosynthesis and perhaps cell division increase. Changes in the MP proteins that cause increased cell growth and division in culture, at least due to the increased number of cells that produce the chemical in culture, can increase the yield, production, and / or efficiency of production of one or more cause several desired fine chemicals from the culture.

The invention provides new nucleic acid molecules which encode proteins which can carry out an enzymatic step which are involved in the transcription, translation or post-translational regulation of metabolic pathways in non-human organisms. Nucleic acid molecules that encode an MP protein are referred to here as MP nucleic acid molecules. In a preferred embodiment, the MP protein is involved in the transcription, translation or post-translational regulation of one or more metabolic pathways. Examples of such proteins are those encoded by the genes shown in Table 1.

One aspect of the invention consequently relates to isolated nucleic acid molecules (for example cDNAs) comprising a nucleotide sequence which encodes an MP protein or biologically active sections thereof, and also nucleic acid fragments which act as primers or hybridization probes for detecting or amplifying MP-encoding Nucleic acid (eg DNA or mRNA) are suitable. In other preferred embodiments, the isolated nucleic acid molecule encodes one of the amino acid sequences listed in Table. The preferred MP proteins according to the invention likewise preferably have at least one of the MP activities described here.

In a further embodiment, the isolated nucleic acid molecule is at least 15 nucleotides long and hybridizes under stringent conditions to a nucleic acid molecule according to the invention. The isolated nucleic acid molecule preferably corresponds to a naturally occurring nucleic acid molecule. The isolated nucleic acid more preferably encodes a naturally occurring C. glutamicum MP protein or a biologically active section of it.

All living cells have complex catabolic and anabolic abilities with many interconnected metabolic pathways. In order to maintain a balance between the different parts of this extremely complex metabolic network, the cell uses a fine-tuned regulatory network. By regulating enzyme synthesis and enzyme activity, either independently or simultaneously, the cell can regulate the activity of completely different metabolic pathways, so that the changing needs of the cell are satisfied.

The induction or repression of the enzyme synthesis can take place either at the transcription or translation level or at both (for an overview, see Lewin, B. (1990) Genes IV, Part 3: "Controlling prokaryotic genes by transcription", Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 213-301, and the references given therein, and Michal, G. (1999) Biochemical Pathways: An Atlas of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, John Wiley & Sons). All of these known regulatory processes are mediated by additional genes, which themselves react to various external influences (e.g. temperature, nutrient supply, or light). Exemplary protein factors that are involved in this type of regulation include the transcription factors. These are proteins that bind to the DNA, which either increases the expression of a gene (positive regulation, as in the case of the ara operon from E. coli) or decreases (negative regulation, as in the case of the / ac operon from E. coli ). These expression-modulating transcription factors can themselves be subject to regulation. Their activity can be regulated, for example, by binding small-molecule compounds to the DNA-binding protein, whereby the binding of these proteins to the appropriate binding site on the DNA is stimulated (as in the case of arabinose for the ara operon) or inhibited (as in Case of lactose for the lac operon) (see, for example, Helmann, JD and Chamberlin, MJ (1988) "Structure and function of bacterial sigma factors" Ann. Rev. Biochem. 57: 839-872; Adhya , S. (1995) "The lac and gal operons today" and Boos, W. et al., "The maitose system", both in Regulation of Gene Expression in Escherichia coli (Lin, ECC and Lynch, AS ed.) Chapman & Hall: New York, pp. 181-200 and 201-229; and Moran, CP (1993) "RNA polymerase and transcription factors" in: Bacillus subtilis and other gram-positive bacteria, Sonenshein, AL Ed. ASM: Washington, DCS 653-667).

Protein synthesis is regulated not only at the level of transcription, but often also at the level of translation. This regulation can be accomplished through many mechanisms, including changing the ability of the ribosome to bind to one or more mRNAs, binding the ribosome to mRNA, maintaining or removing the mRNA secondary structure, using more or less common Common codons for a specific gene, the degree of abundance of one or more tRNAs and special regulatory mechanisms such as attenuation (see Vella-noweth, Rl (1993) Translation and its regulation in Bacillus subtilis and other grampositive bacteria, Sonenshein, AL et al. ed ASM: Washington, DC, pp. 699-711 and references cited therein.

The transcription and translation regulation can be directed to a single protein (successive regulation) or simultaneously to several proteins in different metabolic pathways (coordinated regulation). Genes whose expression is regulated in a coordinated manner are often close together in an operon or regulon in the genome. This up or down regulation of gene transcription and translation is controlled by the cellular or extracellular amounts of various factors, such as substrates (precursors and intermediate molecules that are used in one or more metabolic pathways), catabolites (molecules that are caused by biochemical substances - metabolic pathways are produced that are related to the production of energy from the breakdown of complex organic molecules such as sugar) and end products (the molecules obtained at the end of a metabolic pathway). The expression of genes that encode enzymes that are necessary for the activity of a particular metabolic pathway is induced by high amounts of substrate molecules for this metabolic pathway. Accordingly, this gene expression is repressed when there are high intracellular amounts of the end product of the route (Snyder, L. and Champness, W. (1977) The Molecular Biology of Bacteria ASM: Washington). Gene expression can also be regulated by other external and internal factors, such as environmental conditions (e.g. heat, oxidative stress, or hunger). These global environmental changes cause changes in the expression of specialized modulating genes that trigger gene expression directly or indirectly (via additional genes or proteins) by binding to DNA and thereby induce or repress transcription (see, for example, Lin, ECC and Lynch, AS ed (1995) Regulation of Gene Expression in Escherichia coli, Chapman & Hall: New York).

Another mechanism by which cellular metabolism can be regulated is at the level of the protein. This regulation takes place either via the activities of other enzymes or by binding low-molecular components that prevent or enable the normal function of the protein. Examples of protein regulation by binding small molecules include binding GTP or NAD. The binding of low molecular weight chemicals is usually reversible as with the GTP-binding proteins. These proteins occur in two states (with bound GTP or GDP), one state being the active form of the protein and the other the inactive form. The regulation of protein activity by the action of other enzymes is usually done by covalent modification of the protein (ie phosphorylation of the amino acid residues such as histidine or aspartate, or methylation). This covalent modification is usually reversible, which is accomplished by an enzyme with the opposite activity. An example of this is the opposite activity of kinases and phosphorylases in protein phosphorylation: protein kinases phosphorylate specific residues on a target protein (eg serine or threonine), whereas protein phosphorylases remove the phosphate groups from these proteins. Enzymes that modulate the activity of other proteins are usually modulated by external stimuli themselves. These stimuli are mediated by proteins that act as sensors. A well-known mechanism by which these sensor proteins mediate these external signals is by dimerization, but others are also known (see, for example, Msadek, T. et al. (1993) "Two-component Regulatory Systems" in: Bacillus subtilis and Other Gram-Positive Bacteria, Sonenshein, AL et al., Ed., ASM: Washington, pp. 729-745 and references cited therein).

A thorough understanding of the regulatory networks that control cell metabolism in microorganisms is critical to the production of chemicals in high yield through fermentation. Control systems for downward regulation of the metabolic pathways can be removed or reduced to improve the synthesis of desired chemicals, and accordingly those for the upward regulation of the metabolic pathway for a desired product can be constitutively activated or optimized for activity (as shown in Hirose, Y . and Okada, H. (1979) "Microbial Production of Amino Acids", in: Peppler, H. and Perlman, D. (ed.) Microbial Technology 2nd Edition, Vol. 1, Chap. 7, Academic Press, New York).

Another aspect of the invention relates to nucleic acid constructs, such as, for example, vectors, such as, for example, recombinant expression vectors, which contain at least one nucleic acid according to the invention.

This nucleic acid construct preferably contains, functionally linked, a promoter and optionally a terminator. Promoters which are heterologous with respect to the nucleic acid and are capable of expressing the nucleic acid in the non-human organisms are particularly preferred. A particularly preferred promoter in the preferred organisms of the genus Corynebacteria or Brevibacterium is, for example, the tac promoter.

The invention further relates to a method for producing a non-human, genetically modified organism by transforming a non-human parent organism by going into the parent organism a) at least one above-described MP nucleic acid according to the invention or b) at least one above-described inventive nucleic acid construct or c) a promoter which is heterologous with respect to the above-described endogenous MP-nucleic acid and which is the expression of the inventive enables endogenous MP nucleic acid in the organism.

The promoter according to embodiment c) is preferably introduced into the organism in such a way that the promoter in the organism is functionally linked to the endogenous MP nucleic acid according to the invention; a “functional link” is understood to mean a link that is functional, ie a link which enables expression of the endogenous MP nucleic acid according to the invention by the introduced promoter.

The term “parent organism” is understood to mean the corresponding non-human organism that is transformed into the genetically modified organism. A starting organism can be a wild-type organism or an already genetically modified organism. Furthermore, the starting organisms may already be able to produce the desired fine chemical or be enabled by the transformation according to the invention to produce the desired fine chemical.

The term “genetically modified organism” is preferably understood to mean an organism which is genetically modified in comparison to the starting organism.

Depending on the context, the term “organism” can be understood to mean the non-human parent organism or a non-human, genetically modified organism according to the invention, or both.

The MP nucleic acid according to the invention or the nucleic acid construct according to the invention can be introduced chromosomally or plasmidically as a self-replicating plasmid. The MP nucleic acids according to the invention or the nucleic acid constructs according to the invention are preferably integrated chromosomally.

In a preferred embodiment, organisms which are already able to produce the desired fine chemical are used as starting organisms. Among the particularly preferred organisms, the Bacteria of the genus Corynne and the particularly preferred fine chemicals lysine, methionine and threonine, those starting organisms that are already able to produce lysine. These are particularly preferred Coryne bacteria in which, for example, the gene coding for an aspartokinase (ask gene) is deregulated or the feedback inhibition is eliminated or reduced. For example, such bacteria in the ask gene have a mutation that lead to a reduction or elimination of the feedback inhibition, such as the mutation T311 I.

The invention therefore relates in particular to a genetically modified organism, obtainable by the process described above.

The invention further relates to a non-human, genetically modified organism which comprises a) at least one MP nucleic acid according to the invention described above or b) at least one nucleic acid construct according to the invention described above or c) a promoter which is used in relation to the above-described endogenous MP nucleic acid according to the invention is heterologous and which enables the expression of the endogenous MP nucleic acid according to the invention in the organism is transformed.

In another embodiment, an endogenous MP gene in the genome of the parent organism is modified by homologous recombination with an altered MP gene, e.g. functionally disrupted.

The expression of the nucleic acid according to the invention preferably leads to modulation of the production of a fine chemical from said organism in comparison with the starting organism.

Preferred non-human organisms are plants, algae and microorganisms. Preferred microorganisms are bacteria, yeast or fungi. Particularly preferred microorganisms are bacteria, in particular bacteria of the genus Corynebacterium or Brevibacterium, with Corynebacterium glutamicum being particularly preferred.

Particularly preferred bacteria of the genus Corynebacterium or Brevibacterium as starting organisms or organisms or genetically modified organisms are the bacteria listed in Table 3 below.

Table 3

The abbreviations have the following meaning:

ATCC: American Type Culture Collection, Rockville, MD, USA

FERM: Fermentation Research Institute, Chiba, Japan

NRRL: ARS Culture Collection, Northern Regional Research Laboratory, Peoria, IL,

United States

CECT: Coleccion Espanola de Cultivos Tipo, Valencia, Spain

NCIMB: National Collection of Industrial and Marine Bacteria Ltd., Aberdeen, UK

CBS: Centraalbureau voor Schimmeicultures, Baarn, NL NCTC: National Collection of Type Cultures, London, UK

DSMZ: German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Braunschweig,

germany

A further preferred embodiment is the genetically modified organisms according to the invention, hereinafter also referred to as "host cells", which have more than one MP nucleic acid molecule according to the invention. Such host cells can be produced in various ways known to the person skilled in the art of the nucleic acid molecules according to the invention are transfected, but it is also possible to introduce one nucleic acid molecule according to the invention into the host cell with one vector and therefore to use several vectors either at the same time or in a staggered manner, so that host cells can be constructed which contain numerous, up to several hundred of the Such an accumulation often enables superadditive effects on the host cell with regard to the fine chemical productivity to be achieved.

In a preferred embodiment, the genetically modified organisms contain at least two MP nucleic acids according to the invention or a heterologous promoter functionally linked with an endogenous MP nucleic acid according to the invention in a chromosomally integrated manner.

In another embodiment, the MP proteins and / or MP genes according to the invention are capable of modulating the production of a desired fine chemical in an organism, in particular in Corynebacteria or Brevibacteria, particularly preferably in C. glutamicum. Genre combination techniques can be used to manipulate one or more regulatory proteins according to the invention for metabolic pathways in such a way that their function is modulated. For example. For example, a biosynthetic enzyme can be improved in efficiency or its allosteric control region can be destroyed so that the inhibition of the production of the compound is prevented. Accordingly, a degradation enzyme can be deleted or modified by substitution, deletion or addition in such a way that its degradation activity for the desired compound is reduced without the viability of the cell being impaired. In any case, the overall yield or production rate of one of these desired fine chemicals can be increased.

It is also possible that these changes in the protein and nucleotide molecules according to the invention can indirectly improve the production of fine chemicals. The regulatory mechanisms of the metabolic pathways in the cell are necessarily linked, and the activation of a metabolic pathway can cause repression or activation of another in an accompanying manner. By modulating the activity of one or more proteins of the invention, the production or efficiency of the activity of other fine chemical biosynthesis or degradation pathways can be affected. By lowering the ability of an MP protein to repress the transcription of a gene encoding a particular amino acid biosynthetic protein, other amino acid biosynthetic pathways can be depressed because these pathways are linked. The growth and division of cells from their extracellular surroundings can be decoupled to a certain degree by modifying the MP proteins according to the invention; by affecting an MP protein that usually represses the nucleotide biosynthesis when the extracellular conditions for growth and cell division are suboptimal so that it now lacks this function, growth can be allowed to occur even if the extracellular conditions are poor are. This is of particular importance in large scale cultivation, where the conditions in the culture in terms of temperature, nutrient supply or aeration are often suboptimal, but which still promote growth and cell division when the cellular regulatory systems for these factors are eliminated.

The invention therefore further relates to a method for producing a fine chemical by cultivating a genetically modified organism according to the invention described above.

The invention further relates to a method for producing a fine chemical by A) transforming a non-human starting organism with a) at least one MP nucleic acid according to the invention described above or b) at least one nucleic acid construct described above according to the invention or c) a promoter which is related is heterologous to the above-described endogenous MP nucleic acid according to the invention and which enables expression of the endogenous MP nucleic acid according to the invention in the organism, and B) cultivation of the genetically modified organism produced according to feature A).

The cultivation of the genetically modified organism is carried out according to the organism in a manner known per se. For example, the bacteria are cultivated in liquid culture in suitable fermentation media. In a preferred embodiment, at least one of the fine chemicals is isolated from the genetically modified organisms and / or the cultivation medium after the cultivation step.

The term "fine chemical" is known in the art and includes compounds produced by an organism and used in various industries, such as, but not limited to, the pharmaceutical, agricultural, cosmetic, food and feed industries. These compounds include organic acids such as tartaric acid, itaconic acid and diaminopimelic acid, both proteinogenic and non-proteinogenic amino acids, purine and pyrimidine bases, nucleosides and nucleotides (as described, for example, in Kuninaka, A. (1996) Nucleotides and related compounds , Pp. 561-612, in Biotechnology Vol. 6, Rehm et al., Ed. VCH: Weinheim and the citations contained therein), lipids, saturated and unsaturated fatty acids (e.g. arachidonic acid), diols (e.g. propanediol and Butanediol), carbohydrates (e.g. hyaluronic acid and trehalose), aromatic compounds (e.g. aromatic amines, vanillin and indigo), vitamins and cofactors (as described in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Vol. A27, "Vitamins", p. 443-613 (1996) VCH: Weinheim and the citations contained therein; and Ong, AS, Niki, E. and Packer, L. (1995) "Nutrition, Lipids, Health and Disease" Proceedings of the UNESCO / Confederation of Scientific and Technologic al Associations in Malaysia and the Society for Free Radical Research - Asia, held on 1-3. Sept. 1994 in Penang, Malysia, AOCS Press (1995)), Enzymes and all other chemicals described by Gutcho (1983) in Chemicals by Fermentation, Noyes Data Corporation, ISBN: 0818805086 and the references cited therein. The metabolism and uses of certain fine chemicals are further discussed below.

I. Amino acid metabolism and uses

The amino acids comprise the basic structural units of all proteins and are therefore essential for normal cell functions. The term "amino acid" is known in the art. The proteinogenic amino acids, of which there are 20 types, serve as structural units for proteins in which they are linked to one another via peptide bonds, whereas the non-proteinogenic amino acids (of which hundreds are known) are usually not found in proteins (see Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Vol. A2, pp. 57-97 VCH: Weinheim (1985)). The amino acids can be in the D or L configuration, although L-amino acids are usually the only type found in naturally occurring proteins. Routes of biosynthesis and degradation of each of the 20 proteinogenic amino acids are well characterized in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells (See, for example, Stryer, L. Biochemistry, 3rd edition, pp. 578-590 (1988)). The "essential" amino acids (histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine), so called because they have to be included in the diet due to the complexity of their biosynthesis, are converted into the remaining 11 "non-essential" amino acids (alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartate, cysteine, glutamate, glutamine, glycine, proline, serine and tyrosine) converted. Higher animals have the ability to synthesize some of these amino acids, but the essential amino acids must be ingested in order for normal protein synthesis to take place.

Apart from their function in protein biosynthesis, these amino acids are interesting chemicals per se, and it has been discovered that many are used in various applications in the food, feed, chemical, cosmetic, agricultural and pharmaceutical industries. Lysine is not only an important amino acid for human nutrition, but also for monogastric animals such as poultry and pigs. Glutamate is most commonly used as a flavor additive (monosodium glutamate, MSG) and is widely used in the food industry, as is aspartate, phenylalanine, glycine and cysteine. Glycine, L-methionine and tryptophan are all used in the pharmaceutical industry. Glutamine, valine, leucine, isoleucine, histidine, arginine, proline, serine and alanine are used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Threonine, tryptophan and D- / L-methionine are widespread feed additives (Leuchtenberger, W. (1996) Amino acids - technical production and use, pp. 466-502 in Rehm et al., (Ed.) Biotechnology Vol. 6, chapter 14a, VCH: Weinheim). It has been discovered that these amino acids can also be used as precursors for the synthesis of synthetic amino acids and proteins such as N-acetylcysteine, S-carboxymethyl-L-cysteine, (S) -5-hydroxytryptophan and others, in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Vol. A2, pp. 57-97, VCH, Weinheim, 1985 are suitable substances. The biosynthesis of these natural amino acids in organisms that can produce them, e.g. bacteria, has been well characterized (for an overview of bacterial amino acid biosynthesis and its regulation, see Umbarger, HE (1978) Ann. Rev. Biochem. 47: 533-606). Glutamate is synthesized by reductive amination of α-ketoglutarate, an intermediate in the citric acid cycle. Glutamine, proline and arginine are each produced from glutamate in succession. The biosynthesis of serine is carried out in a three-step process and begins with 3-phosphoglycerate (an intermediate in glycolysis) and, after oxidation, transamination and hydrolysis steps, gives this amino acid. Cysteine and glycine are each produced from serine, the former by condensation of homocysteine with serine, and the latter by transfer of the side chain β-carbon atom Tetrahydrofolate, in a reaction catalyzed by serine transhydroxymethylase. Phenylalanine and tyrosine are synthesized from the precursors of the glycolysis and pentosephosphate pathways, erythrose-4-phosphate and phosphoenolpyruvate in a 9-step biosynthetic pathway that differs only in the last two steps after the synthesis of prephenate. Tryptophan is also produced from these two starting molecules, but its synthesis takes place in an 11-step way. Tyrosine can also be produced from phenylalanine in a reaction catalyzed by phenylalanine hydroxylase. Alanine, valine and leucine are each biosynthetic products from pyruvate, the end product of glycolysis. Aspartate is made from oxaloacetate, an intermediate of the citrate cycle. Asparagine, methionine, threonine and lysine are each produced by converting aspartate. Isoleucine is made from threonine. In a complex 9-step process, histidine is formed from 5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate, an activated sugar.

Amino acids, the amount of which exceeds the protein biosynthesis requirement of the cell, cannot be stored and are instead broken down, so that intermediates are provided for the main metabolic pathways of the cell (for an overview see Stryer, L., Biochemistry, 3rd ed. Chap. 21 "Amino Acid Degradation and the Urea Cycle"; S 495-516 (1988)). Although the cell is able to convert unwanted amino acids into useful metabolic intermediates, amino acid production is expensive in terms of energy, precursor molecules and the enzymes required for their synthesis. It is therefore not surprising that amino acid biosynthesis is regulated by feedback inhibition, the presence of a certain amino acid slowing down or completely stopping its own production (for an overview of the feedback mechanism in amino acid biosynthetic pathways, see Stryer, L , Biochemistry, 3rd ed., Chapter 24, "Biosynthesis of Amino Acids and Heme", pp. 575-600 (1988)). The output of a certain amino acid is therefore restricted by the amount of this amino acid in the cell.

II. Vitamins, cofactors and nutraceutical metabolism and uses

Vitamins, cofactors and nutraceuticals comprise another group of molecules. Higher animals have lost the ability to synthesize them and must therefore absorb them, although they are easily synthesized by other organisms such as bacteria. These molecules are either biologically active molecules per se or precursors of biologically active substances that serve as electron carriers or intermediates in a number of metabolic pathways. In addition to their nutritional value, these compounds also have a significant industrial value as dyes, antioxidants and catalysts or other processing aids. (For an overview of the structure, activity and industrial applications of these compounds see Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, "Vitamins", Vol. A27, pp. 443-613, VCH: Weinheim, 1996). The term "vitamin" is known in the art and encompasses nutrients which are required by an organism for normal function, but which cannot be synthesized by this organism itself. The group of vitamins can include cofactors and nutraceutical compounds. The term "cofactor" includes non-proteinaceous compounds that are necessary for normal enzyme activity to occur. These compounds can be organic or inorganic; the cofactor molecules according to the invention are preferably organic. The term "nutraceutical" encompasses food additives which are beneficial to plants and animals, in particular humans. Examples of such molecules are vitamins, antioxidants and also certain lipids (eg polyunsaturated fatty acids).

The biosynthesis of these molecules in organisms capable of producing them, such as bacteria, has been extensively characterized (Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, "Vitamins", Vol. A27, pp. 443-613, VCH: Weinheim, 1996, Michal, G. (1999) Biochemical Pathways: An Atlas of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, John Wiley &Sons; Ong, AS, Niki, E. and Packer, L (1995) "Nutrition, Lipids, Health and Disease" Proceedings of the UNESCO / Confederation of Scientific and Technological Associations in Malaysia and the Society for free Radical Research - Asia, held on September 1-3, 1994 in Penang, Malaysia, AOCS Press, Champaign, IL X, 374 S).

Thiamine (vitamin Bi) is formed by chemical coupling of pyrimidine and thiazole units. Riboflavin (vitamin B ₂ ) is synthesized from guanosine 5'-triphosphate (GTP) and ribose 5'-phosphate. Riboflavin in turn is used to synthesize flavin mononucleotide (FMN) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD). The family of compounds commonly referred to as "Vitamin B6" (e.g. pyridoxine, pyridoxamine, pyridoxal-5'-phosphate and the commercially used pyridoxine hydrochloride) are all derivatives of the common structural unit 5-hydroxy-6-methylpyridine. Panthothenate (pantothenic acid, R - (+) - N- (2,4-dihydroxy-3,3-dimethyl-1-oxobutyl) -ß-alanine) can be produced either by chemical synthesis or by fermentation. The final steps in pantothenate biosynthesis consist of the ATP-driven condensation of ß-alanine and pantoic acid. The enzymes responsible for the biosynthesis steps for the conversion into pantoic acid, into β-alanine and for the condensation into pantothenic acid are known. The metabolically active form of pantothenate is coenzyme A, whose biosynthesis takes place over 5 enzymatic steps. Pantothenate, pyridoxal-5'-phosphate, cysteine and ATP are the precursors of coenzyme A. These enzymes not only catalyze the formation of pantothenate, but also the production of (R) -pantoic acid, (R) -pantolactone, (R) - Panthenol (provi- tamin B ₅ ), Pantethein (and its derivatives) and coenzyme A.

The biosynthesis of biotin from the precursor molecule pimeloyl-CoA in microorganisms has been extensively investigated and several of the genes involved have been identified. It has been found that many of the corresponding proteins are involved in the Fe cluster synthesis and belong to the class of the nifS proteins. Lipoic acid is derived from octanoic acid and serves as a coenzyme in energy metabolism, where it becomes part of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and the α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex. Folates are a group of substances that are all derived from folic acid, which in turn is derived from L-

Glutamic acid, p-aminobenzoic acid and 6-methylpterine is derived. The biosynthesis of folic acid and its derivatives, starting from the metabolic intermediates guanosine 5'-triphosphate (GTP), L-glutamic acid and p-aminobenzoic acid, has been extensively investigated in certain microorganisms.

Corrinoids (such as the cobalamins and especially vitamin B ₁₂ ) and the porphyrins belong to a group of chemicals that are characterized by a tetrapyrrole ring system. The biosynthesis of vitamin B ₁₂ is sufficiently complex that it has not been fully characterized, but a large part of the enzymes and substrates involved is now known. Nicotinic acid (nicotinate) and nicotinamide are pyridine derivatives, which are also called "niacin". Niacin is the precursor of the important coenzymes NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) and NADP (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) and their reduced forms.

The production of these compounds on a large scale is largely based on cell-free chemical syntheses, although some of these chemicals have also been produced by large-scale cultivation of microorganisms, such as riboflavin, vitamin B ₆ , pantothenate and biotin. Only vitamin B ₁₂ is only produced by fermentation due to the complexity of its synthesis. In vitro processes require a considerable amount of materials and time and often high costs.

III. Purine, pyrimidine, nucleoside and nucleotide metabolism and uses

Genes for the purine and pyrimidine metabolism and their corresponding proteins are important targets for the therapy of tumor diseases and viral infections. The term "purine" or "pyrimidine" encompasses nitrogenous bases which are part of the nucleic acids, coenzymes and nucleotides. The term “nucleotide” includes the basic structural units of the nucleic acid molecules, which comprise a nitrogen-containing base, a pentose sugar (for RNA the sugar is ribose, for DNA the sugar is D-deoxyribose) and phosphoric acid. The term "nucleoside" includes molecules which serve as precursors of nucleotides, but which, in contrast to the nucleotides, have no phosphoric acid unit. By inhibiting the biosynthesis of these molecules or their mobilization to form nucleic acid molecules, it is possible to inhibit RNA and DNA synthesis; if this activity is specifically inhibited in cancer cells, the ability of tumor cells to divide and replicate can be inhibited.

There are also nucleotides that do not form nucleic acid molecules, but do serve as energy stores (i.e. AMP) or as coenzymes (i.e. FAD and NAD).

Several publications have described the use of these chemicals for these medical indications, the purine and / or pyrimidine metabolism being influenced (e.g. Christopherson, Rl and Lyons, SD (1990) "Potent inhibitors of de novo pyrimidine and purine biosynthesis as chemotherapeutic Agents ", Med. Res. Reviews 10: 505-548). Studies on enzymes involved in purine and pyrimidine metabolism have focused on the development of new drugs that can be used, for example, as immunosuppressants or antiproliferants (Smith, JL "Enzymes in Nucleotide Synthesis" Curr. Opin. Struct. Biol. 5 (1995) 752-757; Biochem. Soc. Transact. 23 (1995) 877-902). However, the purine and pyrimidine bases, nucleosides and nucleotides also have other possible uses: as intermediates in the biosynthesis of various fine chemicals (e.g. thiamine, S-adenosylmethionine, folate or riboflavin), as energy sources for the cell (e.g. ATP or GTP) and for chemicals themselves, are usually used as flavor enhancers (for example IMP or GMP) or for many medical applications (see for example Kuninaka, A., (1996) "Nucleotides and Related Compounds in Biotechnology Vol. 6, Rehm et al. VCH: Weinheim, pp. 561-612) Enzymes that are involved in the purine, pyrimidine, nucleoside or nucleotide metabolism are also increasingly serving as targets against which chemicals for crop protection, including fungicides, Herbicides and insecticides are being developed.

The metabolism of these compounds in bacteria has been characterized (for an overview see, for example, Zalkin, H. and Dixon, JE (1992) "De novo purin nucleotide biosynthesis" in Progress in Nucleic Acids Research and Molecular biology, Vol. 42, Academic Press, pp. 259-287; and Michal, G. (1999) "Nucleotides and Nucleosides"; Chap. 8 in: Biochemical Pathways: An Atlas of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Wiley, New York). Purine metabolism, the object of intensive research, is essential for the normal functioning of the cell. A disturbed purine metabolism in higher animals can cause serious illnesses, e.g. gout. The purine nucleotides are synthesized from ribose-5-phosphate via a series of steps via the intermediate compound innosin-5'-phosphate (IMP), which leads to the production of guanosine-5'- monophosphate (GMP) or adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP), from which the triphosphate forms used as nucleotides can be easily prepared. These compounds are also used as energy stores so that their degradation provides energy for many different biochemical processes in the cell. Pyrimidine biosynthesis takes place via the formation of uridine 5'-monophosphate (UMP) from ribose 5-phosphate. UMP in turn is converted to cytidine 5'-triphosphate (CTP). The deoxy forms of all nucleotides are produced in a one-step reduction reaction from the diphosphate ribose form of the nucleotide to the diphosphate deoxyribose form of the nucleotide. After phosphorylation, these molecules can participate in DNA synthesis.

IV. Trehalose metabolism and uses

Trehalose consists of two glucose molecules that are linked by an α, α-1,1 bond. It is commonly used in the food industry as a sweetener, as an additive for dried or frozen foods, and in beverages. However, it is also used in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and biotechnology industries (see, e.g., Nishimoto et al., (1998) U.S. Patent No. 5759610; Singer, MA and Lindquist, S. Trends Biotech. 16 ( 1998) 460-467; Paiva, CLA and Panek, AD Biotech Ann. Rev. 2 (1996) 293-314; and Shiosaka, MJ Japan 172

(1997) 97-102). Trehalose is produced by enzymes from many microorganisms and is naturally released into the surrounding medium from which it can be obtained by methods known in the art.

Particularly preferred fine chemicals are amino acids, in particular amino acids is selected from the group L-lysine, L-threonine and L-methionine.

Another aspect of the invention relates to methods for modulating the production of a fine chemical from a non-human organism. These methods involve contacting the cell with a substance that modulates MP protein activity or MP nucleic acid expression so that a cell-associated activity is changed compared to the same activity in the absence of the substance. In a preferred embodiment, the cell is modulated with regard to one or more regulatory systems for metabolic pathways in organisms, in particular in bacteria of the genus Corynebacterium and / or Brevibacterium, in particular C. glutamicum, so that the yields or the rate of production of a desired fine chemical by this host cell is improved. The substance that modulates the MP protein activity stimulates, for example, the MP protein activity or the MP nucleic acid expression. Examples of substances that stimulate MP protein activity or MP nucleic acid expression include small molecules, active MP- Proteins and nucleic acids that encode MP proteins and have been introduced into the cell. Examples of substances that inhibit MP activity or expression include small molecules and antisense MP nucleic acid molecules.

Another aspect of the invention relates to methods for modulating the yields of a desired compound from a cell, comprising introducing an MP gene into a cell which either remains on a separate plasmid or is integrated into the genome of the host cell. The integration into the genome can take place randomly or by homologous recombination, so that the native gene is replaced by the integrated copy, which causes the production of the desired compound from the cell to be modulated. In a preferred embodiment, these yields are increased.

In a further preferred embodiment, the fine chemical is an amino acid. In a particularly preferred embodiment, this amino acid is L-lysine, L-methionine or L-threonine.

Various aspects and preferred embodiments of the invention are described in more detail in the subsections below:

A. Isolated nucleic acid molecules

The term "nucleic acid molecule" as used herein is intended to encompass DNA molecules (e.g. cDNA or genomic DNA) and RNA molecules (e.g. mRNA) as well as DNA or RNA analogs that are generated by means of nucleotide analogs. This term also includes the untranslated sequence located at the 3 'and 5' ends of the coding region: at least about 100 nucleotides of the sequence upstream of the 5 'end of the coding region and at least about 20 nucleotides of the sequence downstream of the 3' end of the coding gene region.

The nucleic acid molecule can be single-stranded or double-stranded, but is preferably a double-stranded DNA. An "isolated" nucleic acid molecule is separated from other nucleic acid molecules that are present in the natural source of the nucleic acid. An "isolated" nucleic acid preferably has no sequences that naturally flank the nucleic acid in the genomic DNA of the organism from which the nucleic acid originates (for example, sequences that are located at the 5 'or 3' end of the nucleic acid).

In various embodiments, for example, the isolated MP nucleic acid molecule can be less than about 5 kb, 4 kb, 3 kb, 2 kb, 1 kb, 0.5 kb or 0.1 kb the nucleofid sequences that naturally flank the nucleic acid molecule in the genomic DNA of the cell from which the nucleic acid originates (for example a C. glutamicum cell). An "isolated" nucleic acid molecule, such as a cDNA molecule, may also be substantially free of any other cellular material or culture medium when made by recombinant techniques, or free of chemical precursors or other chemicals if it is chemically synthesized becomes.

Furthermore, a nucleic acid molecule can be isolated by polymerase chain reaction, using the oligonucleotide primers which have been created on the basis of this sequence (for example, a nucleic acid molecule comprising a complete sequence from Annex A or a section thereof can be isolated by polymerase chain reaction by Oligonucleotide primers can be used, which were created on the basis of this same sequence from Appendix A). For example. mRNA can be isolated from normal endothelial cells (for example by the guanidinium thiocyanate extraction method of Chirgwin et al. (1979) Biochemistry 18: 5294-5299), and the cDNA can be obtained by means of reverse transcriptase (for example Moloney-MLV reverse transcriptase) at Gibco / BRL, Bethesda, MD, or AMV reverse transcriptase, available from Seikagaku America, Inc., St. Petersburg, FL). Synthetic oligonucleotide primers for amplification via the polymerase chain reaction can be created on the basis of one of the nucleotide sequences shown in Appendix A. A nucleic acid according to the invention can be amplified using cDNA or alternatively genomic DNA as a template and suitable oligonucleotide primers according to standard PCR amplification techniques. The nucleic acid amplified in this way can be cloned into a suitable vector and characterized by DNA sequence analysis. Oligonucleotides that

Corresponding to the nucleotide sequence can be produced by standard synthesis methods, for example using an automatic DNA synthesizer.

In a preferred embodiment, an isolated nucleic acid molecule according to the invention comprises one of the nucleofide sequences listed in Table 1 / column 1 with a mutation corresponding to the amino acid position according to Table 1 / column 4.

In a further preferred embodiment, an isolated nucleic acid molecule according to the invention comprises a nucleic acid molecule which is complementary to one of the above-described nucleotide sequences or a section thereof, which is a nucleic acid molecule which is sufficiently complementary to one of the above-described nucleotide sequences to be compatible with one of the sequences described above can hybridize, resulting in a stable duplex. Sections of proteins which are encoded by the MP nucleic acid molecules according to the invention are preferably biologically active sections of one of the MP proteins. The term "biologically active section of an MP protein", as used here, is intended to include a section, for example a domain or a motif, of an MP protein that transcriptionally, translationally or post-translationally a metabolic pathway in C. glutamicum can regulate, or has an activity given in Table 1. To determine whether an MP protein or a biologically active portion thereof can regulate a metabolic pathway in C. glutamicum transcriptionally, translationally or post-translationally, a test of the enzymatic activity can be carried out. These test methods, as described in detail in Example 8 of the example part, are familiar to the person skilled in the art.

In addition to other naturally occurring variants of the MP sequence that may exist in the population, those skilled in the art are also aware that further changes can be introduced into a nucleotide sequence of Table 1 by further mutation, which in comparison to the wild type leads to a further one Changing the amino acid sequence of the encoded MP protein leads without the functionality of the MP protein being impaired. For example. nucleotide substitutions which lead to amino acid substitutions at "non-essential" amino acid residues can be produced in a sequence from Table. A "non-essential" amino acid residue can be altered in a wild-type sequence from one of the MP proteins (Table 1) without changing the activity of the MP protein, whereas an "essential" amino acid residue is required for the MP protein activity. However, other amino acid residues (for example non-conserved or only semi-preserved amino acid residues in the domain with MP activity) cannot be essential for the activity and can therefore probably be changed without changing the MP activity.

B. Recombinant Expression Vectors and Host Cells

Another aspect of the invention relates to nucleic acid constructs, such as vectors, preferably expression vectors, which contain a nucleic acid according to the invention which encodes an MP protein. As used herein, the term "vector" refers to a nucleic acid molecule that can transport another nucleic acid to which it is attached.

One type of vector is a "plasmid", which stands for a circular double-stranded DNA loop into which additional DNA segments can be ligated. Another type of vector is a viral vector, whereby additional DNA segments can be ligated into the viral genome. Certain vectors can replicate autonomously in a host cell into which they have been introduced (e.g. bacterial vectors with bacterial origin of replication and episomal mammalian vectors). origin and episomal mammalian vectors).

Other vectors (e.g., non-episomal mammalian vectors) are integrated into the genome of a host cell when introduced into the host cell and thereby replicated together with the host genome.

In addition, certain vectors can control the expression of genes to which they are operably linked. These vectors are called "expression vectors". Usually the expression vectors used in recombinant DNA techniques are in the form of plasmids. In the present description, "plasmid" and "vector" can be used interchangeably because the plasmid is the most commonly used vector form. The invention is intended to encompass these other expression vector forms, such as viral vectors (e.g. replication-deficient retroviruses, adenoviruses and adeno-related viruses), which perform similar functions.

The recombinant expression vector according to the invention comprises a nucleic acid according to the invention in a form which is suitable for the expression of the nucleic acid in a host cell, which means that the recombinant expression vectors have one or more regulatory sequences selected on the basis of the host cells to be used for expression which are compatible with the is operably linked to the nucleic acid sequence to be expressed. In a recombinant expression vector, “operably linked” means that the nucleotide sequence of interest is bound to the regulatory sequence (s) in such a way that expression of the nucleotide sequence is possible (for example in an in vitro transcription / Translation system or in a host cell if the vector is introduced into the host cell). The term “regulatory sequence” is intended to encompass promoters, enhancers and other expression control elements (for example polyadenylation signals). These regulatory sequences are described, for example, in Goeddel: Gene Expression Technology: Methods in Enzymology 185, Academic Press, San Diego, CA (1990). Regulatory sequences include those that control the constitutive expression of a nucleotide sequence in many host cell types and those that control the direct expression of the nucleotide sequence only in certain host cells. The person skilled in the art is aware that the design of an expression vector can depend on factors such as the choice of the host cell to be transformed, the extent of expression of the desired protein, etc. The expression vectors according to the invention can be introduced into the host cells, so that proteins are thereby or peptides, including fusion proteins or peptides, encoded by the nucleic acids as described herein (e.g., MP proteins, mutated forms of MP proteins, fusion proteins, etc.).

The recombinant expression vectors according to the invention can be designed for the expression of MP proteins in prokaryotic or eukaryotic cells. For example. can MP genes in bacterial cells such as C. glutamicum, insect cells (with baculovirus expression vectors), yeast and other fungal cells (see Romanos, MA et al. (1992) "Foreign gene expression in yeast: a review", Yeast 8 : 423-488; van den Hondel, CAMJJ et al. (1991) "Heterologous gene expression in filamentous fungi" in: More Gene Manipulations in Fungi, JW Bennet & LL Lasure, ed., Pp. 396-428: Academic Press: San Diego; and van den Hondel, CAMJJ & Punt, PJ (1991) "Gene transfer Systems and vector development for filamentous fungi. In: Applied Molecular Genetics of Fungi, Peberdy, JF et al., Ed., Pp. 1-28, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge), algae and multicellular plant cells (see Schmidt, R. and Willmitzer, L. (1988) "High efficiency Agrobacterium tumefaciens-medialed transformation of Arabidopsis thaliana leaf and cotyledon explants" Plant Cell Rep .: 583-586 ) or mammalian cells, suitable host cells will be discussed further in Goeddel, Gene Expression Technology: Methods in Enzymology 185, Academic Press, San Diego, CA (1990). Alternatively, the recombinant expression vector can be transcribed and translated in vitro, for example using T7 promoter regulatory sequences and T7 polymerase.

Proteins are usually expressed in prokaryotes using vectors which contain constitutive or inducible promoters which control the expression of fusion or non-fusion proteins. Fusion vectors contribute a number of amino acids to a protein encoded therein, usually at the amino terminus of the recombinant protein. These fusion vectors usually have three functions: 1) to increase the expression of recombinant protein; 2) increasing the solubility of the recombinant protein; and 3) supporting the purification of the recombinant protein by acting as a ligand in affinity purification. In the case of fusion expression vectors, a proteolytic cleavage site is often introduced at the junction of the fusion unit and the recombinant protein, so that the recombinant protein can be separated from the fusion unit after the fusion protein has been purified. These enzymes and their corresponding recognition sequences include factor Xa, thrombin and enterokinase.

Common fusion expression vectors include pGEX (Pharmacia Biotech Ine; Smith, DB and Johnson, KS (1988) Gene 67: 31-40), pMAL (New England Biolabs, Beverly, MA) and pRIT 5 (Pharmacia, Piscataway, NJ), in which Glutathione-S-transferase (GST), maltose E-binding protein or protein A is fused to the recombinant target protein. In one embodiment, the coding sequence is the MP protein Cloned into a pGEX expression vector to produce a vector encoding a fusion protein comprising from the N-terminus to the C-terminus, GST - thrombin cleavage site - X protein. The fusion protein can be purified by affinity chromatography using glutathione-agarose resin. The recombinant MP protein that is not fused with GST can be obtained by cleaving the fusion protein with thrombin.

Examples of suitable inducible non-fusion expression vectors from E. coli include pTrc (Amann et al., (1988) Gene 69: 301-315) and pET 11d (Studier et al. Gene Expression Technology: Methods in Enzymology 185, Academic Press, San Diego, California (1990) 60-89). Target gene expression from the pTrc vector is based on transcription by host RNA polymerase from a hybrid trp-lac fusion promoter. The target gene expression from the pET11d vector is based on the transcription from a T7-gn10-lac fusion promoter, which is mediated by a coexpressed viral RNA polymerase (T7 gn1). This viral polymerase is supplied by the BL 21 (DE3) or HMS174 (DE3) host strains from a resident λ prophage which harbors a T7 gn1 gene under the transcriptional control of the lacUV 5 promoter.

One strategy to maximize expression of the recombinant protein is

Expression of the protein in a host bacterium whose ability to proteolytically cleave the recombinant protein is impaired (Gottesman, S. Gene Expression Technology: Methods in Enzymology 185, Academic Press, San Diego, California (1990) 119-128). Another strategy is to change the nucleic acid sequence of the nucleic acid to be inserted into an expression vector so that the individual codons for each amino acid are those which are preferably used in a bacterium selected for expression, such as C. glutamicum (Wada et al. (1992 ) Nucleic Acids Res. 20: 2111-2118). This change in the nucleic acid sequences according to the invention is carried out using standard DNA synthesis techniques.

In another embodiment, the MP protein expression vector is a yeast expression vector. Examples of vectors for expression in the yeast S. cerevisiae include pYepSed (Baldari et al., (1987) Embo J. 6: 229-234), pMFa (Kurjan and Herskowitz (1982) Cell 30: 933-943), pJRY88 ( Schultz et al. (1987) Gene 54: 113-123) and pYES2 (Invitrogen Corporation, San Diego, CA). Vectors and methods of constructing vectors suitable for use in other fungi such as filamentous fungi include those described in detail in: van den Hondel, CAMJJ & Punt, PJ (1991) "Gene transfer Systems and vector development for filamentous fungi, in: Applied Molecular Genetics of fungi, JF Peberdy et al., Ed., Pp. 1-28, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.

Alternatively, the MP proteins of the invention can be expressed in insect cells using baculovirus expression vectors. Baculovirus vectors available for expression of proteins in cultured insect cells (e.g. Sf9 cells) include the pAc series (Smith et al., (1983) Mol. Cell Bio 3: 2156-2165) and the pVL- Series (Lucklow and Summers (1989) Virology 170: 31-39).

In a further embodiment, the MP proteins according to the invention can be expressed in single-cell plant cells (such as algae) or in plant cells of higher plants (for example spermatophytes such as crops). Examples of plant expression vectors include those that are described in detail in: Becker, D., Kemper, E., Schell, J. and Masterson, R. (1992) "New plant binary vectors with selective markers located proximal to the left border ", Plant Mol. Biol. 20: 1195-1197; and Bevan, M.W. (1984) "Binary Agrobacterium vectors for plant transformation", Nucl. A-cids Res. 12: 8711-8721.

In a further embodiment, a nucleic acid according to the invention is expressed in mammalian cells with a mammalian expression vector. Examples of mammalian expression vectors include pCDM8 (Seed, B. (1987) Nature 329: 840) and pMT2PC (Kaufman et al. (1987) EMBO J. 6: 187-195). When used in mammalian cells, the control functions of the expression vector are often provided by viral regulatory elements. Commonly used promoters originate, for example, from Polyoma, Adenovirus2, Cytomegalievirus and Simian Virus 40. For further suitable expression systems for prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, see chapters 16 and 17 from Sambrook, J., Fritsch, E.F. and Maniatis, T., Molecular cloning: A Laboratory Manual, 2nd edition, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, 1989.

In a further embodiment, the recombinant mammalian expression vector can preferably bring about the expression of the nucleic acid in a specific cell type (for example, tissue-specific regulatory elements are used to express the nucleic acid). Tissue-specific regulatory elements are known in the art. Non-limiting examples of suitable tissue-specific promoters include the albumin promoter (liver-specific; Pinkert et al.

(1987) Genes Dev. 1: 268-277), lymphoid-specific promoters (Calame and Eaton

(1988) Adv. Immunol. 43: 235-275), in particular promoters of T cell receptors (Winoto and Baltimore (1989) EMBO J. 8: 729-733) and immunoglobulins (Banerji et al. (1983) Cell 33: 729-740; Queen and Baltimore ( 1983) Cell 33: 741-748), neuron-specific promoters (e.g. neurofilament promoter; Byrne and Ruddle (1989) PNAS 86: 5473-5477), pancreatic-specific promoters (Edlund et al., (1985) Science 230: 912-916) and mammary-specific promoters (e.g. milk serum promoter; U.S. Patent No. 4,873,316 and European Patent Application Publication No. 264 166). Development-regulated promoters are also included, for example the mouse hox promoters (Kessel and Gruss (1990) Science 249: 374-379) and the α-fetoprotein promoter (Campes and Tilghman (1989) Genes Dev. 3: 537-546 ).

The invention also provides a recombinant expression vector comprising a DNA molecule according to the invention which is cloned in the expression vector in the antisense direction. This means that the DNA molecule is operatively linked to a regulatory sequence in such a way that expression (by transcription of the DNA molecule) of an RNA molecule which is antisense to the MP mRNA is possible. Regulatory sequences can be selected which are operably linked to a nucleic acid cloned in the antisense direction and which control the continuous expression of the antisense RNA molecule in a multiplicity of cell types, for example viral promoters and / or enhancers or regulatory sequences can be selected that control the constitutive, tissue-specific or cell-type-specific expression of antisense RNA. The antisense expression vector can be in the form of a recombinant plasmid, phagemid or attenuated virus in which antisense nucleic acids are produced under the control of a highly effective regulatory region, the activity of which is determined by the cell type into which the vector is introduced. For a discussion of the regulation of gene expression using antisense genes, see Weintraub, H. et al., Antisense-RNA as a molecular tool for genetic analysis, Reviews - Trends in Genetics, Vol. 1 (1) 1986.

Another aspect of the invention relates to the host cells into which a recombinant expression vector according to the invention has been introduced. The terms "host cell" and "recombinant host cell" are used interchangeably here. It goes without saying that these terms refer not only to a specific target cell, but also to the descendants or potential descendants of this cell. Since certain modifications may occur in successive generations due to mutation or environmental influences, these offspring are not necessarily identical to the parental cell, but are still included in the scope of the term as used here.

A host cell can be a prokaryotic or eukaryotic cell. For example. an MP protein can be expressed in bacterial cells such as C. glutamicum, insect cells, yeast or mammalian cells (such as Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO) or COS cells). Other suitable host cells are known to the person skilled in the art. Microorganisms that are related to Corynebacterium glutamicum and are suitable as Host cells for the nucleic acid and protein molecules according to the invention can be used are listed in Table 3.

Using conventional transformation or transfection methods, vector DNA can be introduced into prokaryotic or eukaryotic cells. The terms "transformation" and "transfection" as used here are intended to encompass a large number of methods known in the prior art for introducing foreign nucleic acid (for example DNA) into a host cell, including calcium phosphate or calcium chloride coprecipitation, DEAE-dextran-mediated transfection, lipofection or electroporation. Suitable methods for transforming or transfecting host cells can be found in Sambrook et al. (Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual. 2nd Ed. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, 1989) and other laboratory manuals.

For the stable transfection of mammalian cells, it is known that, depending on the expression vector and transfection technique used, only a small part of the cells integrate the foreign DNA into their genome. To identify and select these integrants, a gene encoding a selectable marker (e.g. resistance to antibiotics) is usually introduced into the host cells together with the gene of interest. Preferred selectable markers include those that confer resistance to drugs such as G418, hygromycin and methotrexate. A nucleic acid encoding a selectable marker can be introduced into a host cell on the same vector as that encoding an MP protein, or can be introduced on a separate vector. Cells that have been stably transfected with the introduced nucleic acid can be identified by drug selection (e.g. cells that have integrated the selectable marker survive, whereas the other cells die).

To generate a homologously recombined microorganism, a vector is produced which contains at least a section of an MP gene into which a deletion, addition or substitution has been introduced in order to change the MP gene, for example to functionally disrupt it. This MP gene is preferably a Corynebacterium glutamicum MP gene, but a homologue from a related bacterium or even from a mammalian, yeast or insect source can be used. In a preferred embodiment, the vector is designed such that the endogenous MP gene is functionally disrupted when homologous recombination occurs (ie no longer encodes a functional protein, also referred to as a "knockout" vector). Alternatively, the vector can be designed in such a way that the endogenous MP gene is mutated or otherwise altered in the case of homologous recombination, but still encodes the functional protein (for example the upstream regulatory region can be changed in such a way that the expression of the endogenous MP protein is changed.). The modified portion of the MP gene is flanked in the homologous recombination vector at its 5 'and 3' ends by additional nucleic acid of the MP gene, which is a homologous recombination between the exogenous MP gene carried by the vector and one endogenous MP gene in a microorganism. The additional flanking MP nucleic acid is long enough for successful homologous recombination with the endogenous gene. The vector usually contains several kilobases flanking DNA (both at the 5 'and at the 3' end) (see, for example, Thomas, KR and Capecchi, MR (1987) Cell 51: 503 for a description of homologous recombination vectors). The vector is introduced into a microorganism (e.g., by electroporation), and cells in which the introduced MP gene is homologously recombined with the endogenous MP gene are selected using methods known in the art.

In another embodiment, recombinant microorganisms can be produced which contain selected systems which enable regulated expression of the introduced gene. The inclusion of an MP gene in a vector under the control of the Lac operon enables e.g. expression of the MP gene only in the presence of IPTG. These regulatory systems are known in the art.

A host cell according to the invention, such as a prokaryotic or eukaryotic host cell in culture, can be used to produce (i.e., express) an MP protein. The invention also provides methods of producing MP proteins using the host cells of the invention. In one embodiment, the method comprises culturing the host cell according to the invention (into which a recombinant expression vector which encodes an MP protein has been introduced, or into whose genome a gene has been introduced which is a wild-type or modified MP protein encoded) in a suitable medium until the MP protein has been produced. In a further embodiment, the method comprises isolating the MP proteins from the medium or the host cell.

C. Uses and methods according to the invention

The nucleic acid molecules, proteins, fusion proteins, primers, vectors and host cells described here can be used in one or more of the following methods: identification of C. glutamicum and related organisms, mapping of genomes of organisms related to C. glutamicum, identification and localization of C. g / tvtam / cu / π sequences of interest, evolution studies, determination of MP protein regions which are necessary for the function, modulation of the activity of an MP protein; Modulating the activity of an MP path; and modular tion of cellular production of a desired compound, such as a fine chemical. The MP nucleic acid molecules according to the invention have a multitude of uses. They can initially be used to identify an organism as Corynebacterium glutamicum or close relatives thereof. They can also be used to identify C. glutamicum or a relative thereof in a mixed population of microorganisms. The invention provides the nucleic acid sequences of a number of C. glutamicum genes. By probing the extracted genomic DNA of a culture of a uniform or mixed population of microorganisms under stringent conditions with a probe comprising a region of a C. glutamicum gene that is unique to this organism, one can determine whether this organism is present. Corynebacterium glutamicum itself is not pathogenic, but it is related to pathogenic species such as Corynebacterium diptheriae. The detection of such an organism is of significant clinical importance.

The nucleic acid and protein molecules according to the invention can serve as markers for specific regions of the genome. This is useful not only when mapping the genome, but also for functional studies of C. g / utam / cum proteins. To identify the genome region to which a specific C. glutamicum DNA-binding protein binds, the C. glutamicum genome can be cleaved, for example, and the fragments incubated with the DNA-binding protein. Those that bind the protein can additionally be probed with the nucleic acid molecules according to the invention, preferably with easily detectable markings; the binding of such a nucleic acid molecule to the genome fragment enables the fragment to be located on the genomic map of C. glutamicum, and if this is done several times with different enzymes, it facilitates a rapid determination of the nucleic acid sequence to which the protein binds. The nucleic acid molecules according to the invention can also be sufficiently homologous to the sequences of related species so that these nucleic acid molecules can serve as markers for the construction of a genomic map in related bacteria, such as Brevibacterium lactofermentum.

The MP nucleic acid molecules according to the invention are also suitable for evolution and protein structure studies. The metabolic processes in which the molecules according to the invention are involved are used by many prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells; by comparing the sequences of the nucleic acid molecules according to the invention with those which encode similar enzymes from other organisms, the degree of evolutionary kinship of the organisms can be determined. Accordingly, such a comparison makes it possible to determine which sequence areas are conserved and which are not, and what when determining such Areas of the protein that are essential for enzyme function can be helpful. This type of determination is valuable for protein technology studies and can provide an indication of which protein can tolerate mutagenesis without losing function.

The manipulation of the MP nucleic acid molecules according to the invention can bring about the production of MP proteins with functional differences from the wild-type MP proteins. These proteins may be improved in efficiency or activity, may be present in the cell in greater numbers than usual, or may be weakened in efficiency or activity.

These activity changes can be such that the yield, production and / or efficiency of production of one or more fine chemicals of C. glutamicum is improved. By optimizing the activity of an MP protein that activates the transcription or translation of a gene encoding a biosynthetic protein for a desired fine chemical, or by affecting or disrupting the activity of an MP protein that represses the transcription or translation of such a gene , the activity or rate of activity of this biosynthetic pathway can be increased due to the presence of increased amounts of, for example, a restricting enzyme. Accordingly, one can change the activity of an MP protein so that it constitutively inactivates post-translationally a protein which is involved in the degradation pathway for a desired fine chemical, or by changing the activity of an MP protein so that it constitutes the Transcription or translation of such a gene represses, increasing the yield and / or production rate of the fine chemical from the cell due to the reduced degradation of the compound.

By modulating the activity of one or more MP proteins, one can indirectly stimulate production or improve the production rate of one or more fine chemicals from the cell by linking different metabolic pathways. For example. By increasing the yield, production and / or efficiency of production by activating the expression of one or more lysine biosynthesis enzymes, one can simultaneously increase the expression of other compounds, such as other amino acids, which the cell usually needs in larger amounts if lysine is required in larger quantities. The regulation of metabolism can also be changed by in the whole cell in such a way that the cell grows and improves better under the environmental conditions of a fermentative culture (where the nutrient and oxygen supply can be poor and toxic waste products can be present in large quantities in the environment) or can replicate. For example. can be mutagenized by an MP protein, which synthesizes molecules necessary for cell membrane production in response to high waste product amounts repressed in the extracellular medium (to block cell growth and division in suboptimal growth conditions) so that it is no longer capable of repression of this synthesis, increasing the growth and proliferation of cells in cultures, even if the growth conditions are suboptimal. Such increased growth or viability should also increase the yields and / or the rate of production of a desired fine chemical from a fermentative culture due to the relatively large number of cells that produce this compound in the culture.

The aforementioned mutagenesis strategies for MP proteins, which are said to bring about increased yields of a desired fine chemical in C. glutamicum, are not intended to be restrictive; Variations on these strategies are readily apparent to those skilled in the art. By means of these strategies and the mechanisms disclosed here, the nucleic acid and protein molecules according to the invention can be used to generate C. glutamicum or related bacterial strains which express mutated MP nucleic acid and protein molecules, so that the yield, production and / or Production efficiency of a desired connection is improved. The desired compound can be a natural product of C. glutamicum which comprises the end products of the biosynthetic pathways and intermediates of naturally occurring metabolic pathways as well as molecules which do not occur naturally in the metabolism of C. glutamicum, but which are derived from a C. g / utem / ci / m strain can be produced.

This invention is further illustrated by the following examples, which are not to be construed as limiting. The contents of all references, patent applications, patents and published patent applications cited in this patent application are hereby incorporated by reference.

Examples

Example 1: Preparation of the entire genomic DNA from Corynebacterium glutamicum AT ^" CC13032

A culture of Corynebacterium glutamicum (ATCC 13032) was grown overnight at 30 ° C with vigorous shaking in BHI medium (Difco). The cells were harvested by centrifugation, the supernatant was discarded, and the cells were resuspended in 5 ml of buffer I (5% of the original volume of the culture - all stated volumes are calculated for 100 ml of culture volume). The composition of buffer I: 140.34 g / l sucrose, 2.46 g / l MgSO ₄ • 7 H ₂ 0, 10 ml / l KH ₂ PO ₄ solution (1 OOg / l, adjusted to pH with KOH Value 6.7), 50 ml / l M12 concentrate (10 g / l (NH ₄ ) ₂ SO ₄ , 1 g / l NaCl, 2 g / l MgSO ₄ • 7 H ₂ O, 0.2 g / l CaCl ₂ , 0.5 g / l yeast extract (Difco),

10 ml / l trace element mixture (200 mg / l FeSO ₄ • H ₂ O, 10 mg / l ZnSO ₄ • 7 H ₂ O, 3 mg / l MnCI ₂ • 4 H ₂ O, 30 mg / l H ₃ BO ₃ , 20 mg / l CoCI ₂ • 6 H ₂ 0, 1 mg / l NiCl ₂ • 6 H ₂ O, 3 mg / l

Na ₂ MoO ₄ • 2 H ₂ O, 500 mg / l complexing agent (EDTA or citric acid), 100 ml / l vitamin mixture (0.2 ml / l biotin, 0.2 mg / l folic acid, 20 mg / l p -Aminobenzoic acid, 20 mg / l

Riboflavin, 40 mg / l Ca-panthothenate, 140 mg / l nicotinic acid, 40 mg / l pyridoxol hydrochloride, 200 mg / l myoinositol). Lysozyme was added to the suspension at a final concentration of 2.5 mg / ml. After about 4 hours of incubation at 37 ° C, the cell wall was broken down and the protoplasts obtained were harvested by centrifugation. The pellet was washed once with 5 ml of buffer I and once with 5 ml of TE buffer (10 mM Tris-HCl, 1 mM EDTA, pH 8). The pellet was resuspended in 4 ml TE buffer and 0.5 ml SDS solution (10%) and 0.5 ml NaCl solution (5 M) were added. After adding proteinase K at a final concentration of 200 ocg / ml, the suspension was incubated at 37 ° C. for about 18 hours. The DNA was purified by extraction with phenol, phenol-chloroform-isoamyl alcohol and chloroform-isoamyl alcohol using standard procedures. Then the DNA was precipitated by adding 1/50 volume of 3 M sodium acetate and 2 volumes of ethanol, followed by incubation for 30 min at −20 ° C. and 30 min centrifugation at 12000 rpm in a high-speed centrifuge with an SS34 rotor (Sorvall) , The DNA was dissolved in 1 ml TE buffer containing 20 ocg / ml RNase A and dialyzed against 1000 ml TE buffer at 4 ° C for at least 3 hours. During this time the buffer was exchanged 3 times. 0.4 ml of 2 M LiCl and 0.8 ml of ethanol were added to 0.4 ml aliquots of the dialyzed DNA solution. After 30 min incubation at -20 ° C, the DNA was collected by centrifugation (13000 rpm, Biofuge Fresco, Heraeus, Hanau, Germany). The DNA pellet was dissolved in TE buffer. DNA made by this method could be used for all purposes, including Southern blotting or to construct genomic libraries.

Example 2: Construction of genomic Corynebacterium glutamicum (ATCC13032) banks in Escherichia coli

Starting from DNA, produced as described in Example 1, "Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual" was used according to known and well-established methods (see, for example, Sambrook, J. et al. (1989). Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press or Ausubel, FM et al. (1994) "Current Protocols in Molecular Biology", John Wiley & Sons) Cosmid and Plasmid banks.

Any plasmid or cosmid could be used. The plasmids pBR322 (Sutcliffe, JG (1979) Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA, 75: 3737-3741) found particular use; pACYC177 (Change & Cohen (1978) J. Bacteriol. 134: 1141-1156); Plasmids of pBS Series (pBSSK +, pBSSK- and others; Stratagene, LaJolla, USA) or Cosmide, such as

SuperCosI (Stratagene, LaJolla, USA) or Loristβ (Gibson, T.J. Rosenthal, A., and

Waterson, R.H. (1987) Gene 53: 283-286.

Example 3: DNA sequencing and computer function analysis

Genomic banks, as described in Example 2, were used for DNA sequencing according to standard methods, in particular the chain termination method with ABI377 sequencing machines (see, for example, Fleischman, RD et al. (1995) "Whole-genome Random Sequencing and Assembly of Haemophilus Influenzae Rd. , Science 269; 496-512) The sequencing primers with the following nucleotide sequences were used: 5 ^* -GGAAACAGTATGACCATG-3 'or 5'-GTAAAACGACGGCCAGT-3'.

Example 4: In Vivo Mutagenesis

In vivo mutagenesis of Corynebacterium glutamicum can be performed by passing a plasmid (or other vector) DNA through E. coli or other microorganisms (e.g. Bacillus spp. Or yeasts such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae) that maintain the integrity of their genetic information cannot maintain. Common mutator strains have mutations in the genes for the DNA repair system (eg, mutHLS, mutD, mutT, etc., for comparison see Rupp, WD (1996) DNA repair mechanisms in Escherichia coli and Salmonella, pp. 2277-2294, ASM : Washington). These strains are known to the person skilled in the art. The use of these strains is, for example, in Greener, A. and Callahan, M. (1994) Strategies 7; 32-34 illustrates.

Example 5: DNA transfer between Escherichia coli and Corynebacterium glutamicum

Several Corynebacterium and Brevibacterium species contain endogenous plasmids (such as, for example, pHM1519 or pBL1) that replicate autonomously (for an overview, see, for example, Martin, JF et al. (1987) Biotechnology 5: 137-146). Shuttle vectors for Escherichia coli and Corynebacterium glutamicum can easily be constructed using standard vectors for E. coli (Sambrook, J. et al., (1989), "Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual", Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press or Ausubel , FM et al. (1994) "Current Protocols in Molecular Biology", John Wiley & Sons), to which an origin of replication for and a suitable marker from Corynebacterium glutamicum is added. Such origins of replication are preferably taken from endogenous plasmids which have been isolated from Corynebacterium and Brevibactertium aes. Particular uses as transformation markers for these species are genes for kanamycin resistance (such as those derived from the Tn5 or Tn-903 transposon) or for chloramphenieol (Winnacker, EL (1987) "From Genes to Clones - Introduction to Gene Technology, VCH, Weinheim). There are numerous examples in the literature for producing a wide variety of shuttle vectors that are replicated in E. coli and C. glutamicum and that can be used for a variety of purposes, including gene overexpression (see, e.g., Yoshihama, M. et al. (1985) J. Bacteriol. 162: 591-597, Martin, JF et al., (1987) Biotechnology, 5: 137-146 and Eikmanns, BJ et al. (1992) Gene 102: 93-98) ,

Using standard methods, it is possible to clone a gene of interest into one of the shuttle vectors described above and to insert such hybrid vectors into Corynebacterium glutamicum strains. The transformation of C. glutamicum can be carried out by protoplast transformation (Kastsumata, R. et al., (1984) J. Bacteriol. 159, 306-311), electroporation (Liebl, E. et al., (1989) FEMS Microbiol. Letters , 53: 399-303) and, in cases where special vectors are used, can also be achieved by conjugation (as described, for example, in Schäfer, A., et (1990) J. Bacteriol. 172: 1663-1666). It is also possible to transfer the shuttle vectors for C. glutamicum to E. coli by preparing plasmid DNA from C. glutamicum (using standard methods known in the art) and transforming it into E. coli. This transformation step can be carried out using standard methods, but an Mcr-deficient E. coli strain is advantageously used, such as NM522 (Gough & Murray (1983) J. Mol. Biol. 166: 1-19).

Example 6: Determination of expression of the mutant protein

The observations of the activity of a mutant protein in a transformed host cell are based on the fact that the mutant protein is expressed in a similar manner and in a similar amount as the wild-type protein. A suitable method for determining the amount of transcription of the mutant gene (an indication of the amount of mRNA available for translation of the gene product) is to carry out a Northem blot (see, for example, Ausubel et al., (1988) Current Protocols) in Molecular Biology, Wiley: New York), wherein a primer which is designed in such a way that it binds to the gene of interest is provided with a detectable (usually radioactive or chemiluminescent) label so that - if the total RNA of a culture of the organism is extracted, separated on a gel, transferred to a stable matrix and incubated with this probe - the binding and the quantity of binding of the probe indicate the presence and also the amount of mRNA for this gene. This information is evidence of the extent of transcription of the mutant gene. Total cell RNA can be isolated from Corynebacterium glutamicum by various methods known in the art, as described in Bormann, ER et al., (1992) Mol. Microbiol. 6: 317-326. To determine the presence or the relative amount of protein that is translated from this mRNA, standard techniques such as Western blot can be used (see, for example, Ausubel et al. (1988) "Current Protocols in Molecular Biology", Wiley, New York). In this method, total cell proteins are extracted, separated by gel electrophoresis, transferred to a matrix, such as nitrocellulose, and incubated with a probe, such as an antibody, which specifically binds to the desired protein. This probe is usually provided with a chemiluminescent or colorimetric label that is easy to detect. The presence and amount of label observed indicates the presence and amount of the mutant protein sought in the cell.

Example 7: Growth of genetically modified Corynebacterium glutamicum media and growing conditions

Genetically modified Corynebacteria are grown in synthetic or natural growth media. A number of different growth media for Corynebakterian are known and readily available (Lieb et al. (1989) Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 32: 205-210; von der Osten et al. (1998) Biotechnology Letters 11: 11-16; Patent DE 4 120 867; Liebl (1992) 'The Genus Corynebacterium ", in: The Procaryotes, Vol. II, Balows, A., et al., Ed. Springer-Verlag). These media consist of one or more carbon sources, nitrogen sources, inorganic salts, vitamins and trace elements. Preferred carbon sources are sugars, such as mono-, di- or polysaccharides. Very good carbon sources are, for example, glucose, fructose, mannose, galactose, ribose, sorbose, ribulose, lactose, maltose, sucrose, raffinose, starch - Ke or cellulose, sugar can also be added to the media via complex compounds such as molasses or other by-products from sugar refining, it can also be advantageous to add mixtures of different carbon sources Open sources are alcohols and organic acids such as methanol, ethanol, acetic acid or lactic acid. Nitrogen sources are usually organic or inorganic nitrogen compounds or materials containing these compounds. Exemplary nitrogen sources include ammonia gas or ammonium salts such as NH CI or (NH ₄ ) ₂ SO, NH OH, nitrates, urea, amino acids or complex nitrogen sources such as corn steep liquor, soy flour, soy protein, yeast extracts, meat extracts and others.

Inorganic salt compounds that may be included in the media include the chloride, phosphorus, or sulfate salts of calcium, magnesium, sodium, cobalt, molybdenum, potassium, manganese, zinc, copper and iron. Chelating agents can be added to the medium to keep the metal ions in solution. Particularly suitable chelating agents include dihydroxyphenols such as catechol or protocatechuate or organic acids such as citric acid. The media usually also contain other growth factors, such as vitamins or growth promoters, which include, for example, biotin, riboflavin, thiamine, folic acid, nicotinic acid, panthothenate and pyridoxine. Growth factors and salts often come from complex media components such as yeast extract, molasses, corn steep liquor and the like. The exact composition of the media connections depends heavily on the respective experiment and is decided individually for each case. Information about media optimization is available from the textbook "Applied Microbiol. Physiology, A Practical Approach" (Ed. PM Rhodes, PF Stanbury, IRL Press (1997) pp. 53-73, ISBN 0 19 9635773). Growth media can also be obtained from commercial suppliers, such as Standard 1 (Merck) or BHI (Brain heart infusion, DIFCO) and the like.

All media components are sterilized, either by heat (20 min at 1.5 bar and 121 ° C) or by sterile filtration. The components can either be sterilized together or, if necessary, sterilized separately. All media components can be present at the beginning of the cultivation or optionally added continuously or in batches.

The growing conditions are defined separately for each experiment. The temperature should be between 15 ° C and 45 ° C and can be kept constant or changed during the experiment. The pH of the medium should be in the range of 5 to 8.5, preferably around 7.0, and can be maintained by adding buffers to the media. An exemplary buffer for this purpose is a potassium phosphate buffer. Synthetic buffers such as MOPS, HEPES; ACES etc. can be used alternatively or simultaneously. The cultivation pH value can also be kept constant during the cultivation by adding NaOH or NH ₄ OH. If complex media components such as yeast extract are used, the need for additional buffers is reduced since many complex compounds have a high buffer capacity. When using a fermenter for the cultivation of microorganisms, the pH value can also be regulated with gaseous ammonia.

The incubation period is usually in the range of several hours to several days. This time is chosen so that the maximum amount of product accumulates in the broth. The growth experiments disclosed can be carried out in a variety of containers, such as microtiter plates, glass tubes, glass flasks or glass or metal fermenters of different sizes. To screen a large number of clones, the microorganisms should be grown in microtiter plates, glass tubes or shake flasks either with or without baffles. Preferably 100 ml shake flasks are used which are filled with 10% (by volume) of the required growth medium. The pistons should be shaken on a rotary shaker (amplitude 25 mm) at a speed in the range of 100-300 rpm. Evaporation losses can be reduced by maintaining a humid atmosphere; alternatively, a mathematical correction should be made for the evaporation losses.

If genetically modified clones are examined, an unmodified control clone or a control clone which contains the base plasmid without insertion should also be tested. The medium is oo to an OD of 0.5 ₆ - inoculated 1, 5, using cells grown on agar plates, such as CM plates (10 g / l glucose, 2.5 g / l NaCl, 2 g / l urea, 10 g / l polypeptone, 5 g / l yeast extract, 5 g / l meat extract, 22 g / l agar pH 6.8 with 2 M NaOH), which have been incubated at 30 ° C. The inoculation of the media is carried out either by introducing a saline solution of C. g / üfam / cum cells from CM plates or by adding a liquid preculture of this bacterium.

Example 8: In vitro analysis of the function of mutated proteins

Determining the activities and kinetic parameters of enzymes is well known in the art. Experiments to determine the activity of a certain modified enzyme must be adapted to the specific activity of the wild-type enzyme, which is within the ability of the person skilled in the art. Overviews of enzymes in general as well as specific details relating to the structure, kinetics, principles, processes, applications and examples for determining many enzyme activities can be found, for example, in the following references: Dixon, M., and Webb, EC: (1979) Enzymes, Longmans, London; Fersht (1985) Enzyme Structure and Mechanism, Freeman, New York; Walsh (1979) Enzymatic Reaction Mechanisms. Freeman, San Francisco; Price, N.C., Stevens, L. (1982) Fundamentals of Enzymology. Oxford University Press: Oxford; Boyer, P.D: Ed. (1983) The Enzymes, 3rd Edition Academic Press, New York; Bisswanger, H. (1994) Enzyme Kinetics, 2nd Edition VCH, Weinheim (ISBN 3527300325); Bergmeyer, H.U., Bergmeyer, J., Graßl, M. Ed. (1983-1986) Methods of Enzymatic Analysis, 3rd ed. Vol. I-Xll, Verlag Chemie: Weinheim; and Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry (1987) Vol. A9, "Enzymes", VCH, Weinheim, pp. 352-363.

The activity of proteins that bind to DNA can be measured by many well-established methods, such as DNA band shift assays (also known as gel retardation assays). The effect of these proteins on the expression of other molecules can be measured using reporter gene assays (as described in Kolmar, H. et al., (1995) EMBO J. 14: 3895-3904 and the references cited therein). Reporter gene test systems are well known and for applications in pro- and eukary otic cells are established using enzymes such as beta-galactosidase, green fluorescent protein and several others.

The activity of membrane transport proteins can be determined according to the techniques described in Gennis, R.B. (1989) "Pores, Channels and Transporters", in Biomembranes, Molecular Structure and Function, Springer: Heidelberg, pp. 85-137; 199-234; and 270-322.

Example 9: Analysis of the influence of mutated protein on the production of the desired product

The effect of the genetic modification in C. glutamicum on the production of a desired compound (such as an amino acid) can be determined by culturing the modified microorganisms under suitable conditions (such as those described above) and the medium and / or the cellular components are examined for the increased production of the desired product (ie an amino acid). Such analysis techniques are well known to the person skilled in the art and include spectroscopy, thin-layer chromatography, staining methods of various types, enzymatic and microbiological methods and analytical chromatography, such as high-performance liquid chromatography (see, for example, Ullman, Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Vol. A2, p. 89- 90 and pp. 443-613, VCH: Weinheim (1985); Fallon, A., et al., (1987) "Applications of HPLC in Biochemistry" in: Laboratory Techniques in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Vol. 17; Rehm et al. (1993) Biotechnology, Vol. 3, Chapter III: "Product recovery and purification", pp. 469-714, VCH: Weinheim; Belter, PA et al. (1988) Bioseparations: downstream processing for Biotechnology, John Wiley and Sons; Kennedy, JF and Cabral, JMS (1992) Recovery processes for biological Materials, John Wiley and Sons; Shaeiwitz, JA and Henry, JD (1988) Biochemical Separations, in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Vol. B3; Chapter 11, Pp. 1-27, VCH : Weinheim; and Dechow, F.J. (1989) Separation and purification techniques in biotechnology, Noyes Publications).

In addition to measuring the final fermentation product, it is also possible to analyze other components of the metabolic pathways that are used to produce the desired compound, such as intermediates and by-products, to determine the overall productivity of the organism, the yield and / or the efficiency of production To determine connection. The analytical methods include measurements of the amount of nutrients in the medium (e.g. sugar, hydrocarbons, nitrogen sources, phosphate and other ions), measurements of the biomass composition and growth, analysis of the production of common metabolites from biosynthetic pathways and measurements of gases that are generated during fermentation. Default- Methods for these measurements are in Applied Microbial Physiology; A Practical Apachach, PM Rhodes and PF Stanbury, ed. IRL Press, pp. 103-129; 131-163 and 165-192 (ISBN: 0199635773) and the literature references specified therein.

Example 10: Purification of the desired product from a C. glutamicum K r

The desired product can be obtained from C. glutamicum-ZeWen or from the supernatant of the culture described above by various methods known in the art. If the desired product is not secreted by the cells, the cells can be harvested from the culture by slow centrifugation, the cells can be lysed by standard techniques such as mechanical force or ultrasound. The cell debris is removed by centrifugation and the supernatant fraction containing the soluble proteins is obtained for further purification of the desired compound. If the product is secreted by the C. glutamicum cells, the cells are removed from the culture by slow centrifugation and the supernatant fraction is kept for further purification.

The supernatant fraction from both purification procedures is subjected to chromatography with an appropriate resin, either with the desired molecule retained on the chromatography resin but not with many contaminants in the sample, or with the contaminants remaining on the resin but not the sample. These chromatography steps can be repeated if necessary using the same or different chromatography resins. The person skilled in the art is skilled in the selection of suitable chromatography resins and the most effective application for a particular molecule to be purified. The purified product can be concentrated by filtration or ultrafiltration and kept at a temperature at which the stability of the product is maximum.

Many cleaning methods are known in the art that are not limited to the previous cleaning method. These are described, for example, in Bailey, J.E. & Ollis, D.F. Biochemical Engineering Fundamentals, McGraw-Hill: New York (1986).

The identity and purity of the isolated compounds can be determined by standard techniques in the art. These include high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), spectroscopic methods, staining methods, thin layer chromatography, NIRS, enzyme test or microbiological tests. These analysis methods are summarized in: Patek et al. (1994) Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 60: 133-140; Malakhova et al. (1996) Biotekhnologiya 11: 27-32; and Schmidt et al. (1998) Bioprocess Engineer. 19: 67-70. Ulmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry (1996) Vol. A27, VCH: Weinheim, pp. 89-90, pp. 521-540, pp. 540-547, pp. 559-566, 575-581 and pp. 581-587; Michal, G (1999) Biochemical Pathways: An Atlas of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, John Wiley and Sons; Fallon, A. et al. (1987) Applications of HPLC in Biochemistry in: Laboratory Techniques in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Vol. 17.

equivalent

Those skilled in the art will recognize or can - using only routine methods - determine many equivalents of the specific embodiments of the invention. These equivalents are intended to be encompassed by the claims below.

The information in Table 1 and Table 2 is to be understood as follows:

In column 1 "DNA-ID" the respective number refers to the SEQ ID NO of the attached sequence listing. A "5" in the "DNA ID" column therefore means a reference to SEQ ID NO: 5.

In column 2 "AS-ID" the respective number refers to the SEQ ID NO of the attached sequence listing. A "6" in the "AS-ID" column therefore means a reference to SEQ ID NO: 6.

Column 3 "Identification" lists a unique internal name for each sequence.

In column 4 "AS-POS" the respective number refers to the amino acid position of the polypeptide sequence "AS-ID" in the same line. A “26” in the “AS-POS” column consequently means the amino acid position 26 of the correspondingly specified polypeptide sequence. The position of the N-Terminal starts at +1.

In column 5 "AS wild type", the respective letter denotes the amino acid - represented in the one-letter code - at the position indicated in column 4 in the corresponding wild type strain.

In column 6 "AS mutant" the respective letter denotes the amino acid - shown in the one-letter code - at the position indicated in column 4 in the corresponding mutant strain. Column 7 "Function" lists the physiological function of the corresponding polypeptide sequence.

For an MP protein with a certain function (column 7) and a certain starting amino acid sequence (column 2), columns 4, 5 and 6 describe at least one mutation, and in some sequences also several mutations. These multiple mutations always refer to the closest, starting amino acid sequence above (column 2). The term “at least one of the amino acid positions” of a particular amino acid sequence is preferably understood to mean at least one of the mutations described for this amino acid sequence in columns 4, 5 and 6.

One letter code of proteinogenic amino acids:

A alanine

C cysteine

D aspartate

E glutamate

FPhenylalanine G glycine

H His

I isoleucine

K lysine

L leucine M methionine

N asparagine

P proline

Q glutamine

R arginine S serine

TThreonin

V valine

W tryptophan

Y tyrosine Table 1: MP proteins according to the invention

Table 1: MP proteins according to the invention

Table 1: MP proteins according to the invention

Table 1: MP proteins according to the invention

Table 1: MP proteins according to the invention

Table 1: MP proteins according to the invention

Table 1: MP proteins according to the invention

Table 1: MP proteins according to the invention

Table 1: MP proteins according to the invention

Table 1: MP proteins according to the invention

Table 1: MP proteins according to the invention

Table 1: MP proteins according to the invention

Table 2: Except MP proteins

Claims

claims

1. Protein with the function specified in Table / column 7 with an amino acid sequence which is at least one of the amino acid positions which, starting from the amino acid sequence referred to in Table 1 / column 2, that in Table 1 / column 4 for this amino acid sequence correspond to the amino acid positions indicated, has a different proteinogenic amino acid than the respective amino acid indicated in Table 1 / column 5 in the same row, with the proviso that the proteins according to Table 2 are excluded.

2. Protein according to claim 1, characterized in that the protein has the respective amino acid sequence referred to in Table / Column2, the protein having a proteinogenic amino acid other than at least one of the amino acid positions given in Table 1 / Column4 for this amino acid sequence the respective amino acid given in table / column δ in the same line.

3. Protein according to claim 2, characterized in that the protein in at least one of the amino acid positions given in Table 1 / column 4 for the amino acid sequence has the amino acid given in Table 1 / column 6 in the same row.

4. Isolated nucleic acid encoding a protein according to one of claims 1 to 3.

5. An isolated nucleic acid construct containing at least one nucleic acid according to claim 4.

6. Nucleic acid construct according to claim 5, containing a functional linkage of a promoter and optionally a terminator.

7. A method for producing a non-human, genetically modified organism by transforming a non-human parent organism by a) at least one nucleic acid according to claim 4 or b) at least one nucleic acid construct according to claim 5 or 6 or c) a promoter in relation to the starting organism the endogenous nucleic acid according to claim 4 is heterologous and which enables expression of the endogenous nucleic acid according to claim 4 in the organism,

Seq brings.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that the nucleic acid according to claim 7, embodiment a) or the nucleic acid construct according to claim 7, embodiment b) is introduced as a replicating plasmid or is integrated chromosomally.

9. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that the promoter according to claim 7, embodiment c) is functionally linked in the organism with the endogenous nucleic acid according to claim 4.

10. Genetically modified organism, obtainable by a process according to one of claims 7 to 9.

11. Nonhuman, genetically modified organism, transformed with a) at least one nucleic acid according to claim 4 or b) at least one nucleic acid construct according to claim 5 or 6 or c) a promoter which is heterologous with respect to the endogenous nucleic acid according to claim 4 and which enables expression of the endogenous nucleic acid according to claim 4 in the organism.

12. Genetically modified organism according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that an organism is used as the starting organism which is already able to produce a fine chemical.

13. Genetically modified organism according to one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that the expression of said nucleic acid leads to modulation of the production of a fine chemical from said organism in comparison to the starting organism.

14. A method for producing a fine chemical by cultivating a genetically modified organism according to one of claims 10 to 13.

15. Process for the production of a fine chemical

A) transformation of a non-human starting organism with a) at least one nucleic acid according to claim 4 or b) at least one nucleic acid construct according to claim 5 or 6 or c) a promoter which is heterologous with respect to the endogenous nucleic acid according to claim 4 and which enables expression of the endogenous nucleic acid according to claim 4 in the organism, and

B) Cultivation of the genetically modified organism produced according to characteristic A).

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that after the cultivation at least one of the fine chemicals is isolated from the genetically modified organisms and / or the culture medium.

17. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, characterized in that the genetically modified organisms are microorganisms.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that the microorganisms are selected from the group of bacteria of the genus Corynebacterium or bacteria of the genus Brevibacterium.

19. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 18, characterized in that the fine chemical is an amino acid.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that the amino acid is selected from the group L-lysine, L-threonine and L-methionine.